CD Review: The Satisfactors – S/T – One of 2014’s Best

One listen to the Satisfactors’ new release and one may be tempted to draw a comparison to a former powerpop band of the 80’s, The Godfathers (remember “Birth, School, Work, Death”?). Appropriate I suppose, considering the band has roots in the land of Tony Soprano. Or one might have imagined hearing Iggy Pop front the New York Dolls. Either way, one thing is clear. This disc should come with a simple set of instructions.

PLAY IT LOUD.

The Satisfactors are Bruce Furgeson (The Easy Outs), Gar Francis (The Doughboys, Mark Lindsay), Kurl Reil (The GripWeeds), and Kenny Aaronson (who’s resume includes work with Billy Idol, Brian Setzer, Bob Dylan, Dave Edmunds, Joan Jett and New York Dolls, just to name a few) and their debut record is BALLS TO THE WALL rock n’ roll.

There are so many good tracks here its hard to list highlights but lets give it a shot anyway…

“I Love Girls” will remind one of Iggy Pop’s “Girls”, and for good reason. Bruce Ferguson’s Iggy-like sleaze vocals are incredibly convincing and the band simply kicks ass. New York Dolls fans will dig “You’re So Crazy” with it’s Thunder-esque guitars and “Sweet Sunshine” might have been the catchiest song of 2014 if it were not for the LPs next to last cut, “My Baby Got It”.

This is another Kurt Reil produced LP (co-produced with Gar Francis) – which is worth mentioning because Reil’s name shows up on a number of great releases out of New Jersey lately. Last year’s Gripweeds and the Meyerman release of a few years back immediately come to mind, but there are many more. If Bruce Springsteen is “The Boss” then Reil is at the very least, a made man.

Had I heard this recording before year’s end, it clearly would have been included in my list of best powerpop releases of 2014.
Bottom line: THIS IS A OFFER YOU CAN’T REFUSE. You can BUY THIS RECORD (thru CD Baby) HERE or BUY IT HERE.

To give you a glimpse of what you’re in for, here’s the promo from YouTube…