Pushy are a dirty, filthy, nasty, stanky, greasy fried, stained wax paper, too-much-ketchup-on-that-burger retro-70s Hard Rockin’ blast. Their sound echoes Slade, Alice Cooper, Janis Joplin, latter-era Jimi Hendrix, Nugent, Joan Jett, Rolling Stones, The MC5, early Aerosmith, Bad Company, the harder sides of Kansas and the Eagles, Boston, Free, Led Zeppelin, Clutch, and Guns n’ Roses. . . My first thought of comparison was Atomic Rooster.
There are some just magical wah-wah parts of this sandwich, either in the meat, the mayo, the bread, or the crust. Opening track “Fannys” kicks off with some funky guitar strutting to let you know exactly what you’re in for. Joined shortly thereafter by Adam Burke’s leering, screechy vocals - - his voice just conjures the image of a big, toothy, sleazy grin - - sealing your first impression. It’s a pretty goddamn great 3-minute introduction, which will surely get your head noddin in tune.
Track 2, “Nasty Bag,” is just about the worst song I’ve ever heard. I usually don’t spend too much focus on the bad tunes on a good album, but holy shit. This song sounds like a Cartoon Network representation of a terrible song.
But that’s fine. Lots of good to great albums have weak tunes. “Hard Wish” only has one. The rest of the album is a groovy good retro-Hard Rock time, the kind of thing the white girls dance to while the guys in baseball caps nod and drink through their longnecks. I greatly enjoyed the long-winded Allmans Bluesy jamminess of “If I Cry” and the superb 9-out-of-10-star closing track, “Lay of the Land.” “Blacktop” is also a good one. Just fucking avoid “Nasty Bag.”
I like that everyone in this band works and produces; no freeloaders on guitars, vox, bass, or drums. At the best times, it’s enjoyable just to sonically observe these guys playing together and listening to each other. “Hard Wish” is easy to recommend to Classic Rock and Hard Rock fans, plus a certain segment of the Metal community.
