Axess

This is one in a long line of obscure indie singles from hard rock/metal bands that were active during the 1980s, and I’ve found very little information about Axess. I’m guessing it’s pronounced ‘access’, though I guess ‘axis’ or the plural of ‘axe’ can’t be ruled out. In case you hadn’t noticed, the onset of the Reagan-Thatcher Era coincided with people losing their ability to properly spell the name of whatever band they were in. Grammar issues aside, Axess is more of a rock band than any other style; file them close to bands such as The Cult, Thunderhead or a toned-down version of The Almighty- heavier than the popular rock acts of 1986 (Bon Jovi, Survivor, etc) but not heavy enough to run with the ‘real’ metal releases of the day.

This is what I call a ‘killer-filler’ single; one song is excellent, and the flip side is a throwaway. ‘Don’t Need You’ is the filler; it has a predictable, ‘happy’ guitar line that was meant to vie for airplay in the party-obsessed 1980s, except the band never got a shot at receiving any airplay. It’s not a horrible song, but it’s not heavy enough (or good enough) to be of any real interest. ‘You’re in Trouble’ is the winner, which has a heavier, rumbly vibe as the singer articulates his angst over having a drunkard girlfriend that he can’t quite get rid of just yet. I keep waiting for him to sing, “if she keeps it up, I might just tell her so”. It’s a smashing number; no, it doesn’t rewrite the history of music and it’s never gonna make my list of 25 Greatest Moments in Rock, but a good tune is a good tune, and this one deserves a shout-out.

Unspektakulärer 2-Tracker, der wohl schon anno 1986 niemanden vom Hocker gerissen hat.