Their timing couldn’t be better. As the world continues its love affair with raw, thrilling rock n roll, NPB have released a third album that fits the bill perfectly. From the first few seconds of dirty, fuzzy bass onwards, Let’s Work It Out is a pure sonic thrill. The effects-drenched vocals howl and rage, matched only by the furious musical background, but NPB also know that those garage credentials count for nothing without the songs to back them up.
It’s that realisation that elevates Let’s Work It Out to a far higher level. The raw intensity of ‘I’m Not Square’ may conjure up visions of the Stooges, but in essence is an engaging, 60s beat style pop song complete with handclapping chorus. Like many of the tracks here, there’s a classicist’s sense of having heard it before.
The band have claimed that this album sees them heading further down the alt-country route of their other El Diablo project, and while that’s not necessarily obvious, one can see what they mean. ‘It’s Not My Fault’ and ‘The Pit Of Love’ hang together loosely in the style of classic 70s Stones, while the closing ‘Poor Folks’ is a beautiful lament that wouldn’t have sounded out of place on one of the recent Johnny Cash albums. It’s that good. In fact, there just isn’t a single dud anywhere on the album. This deserves to be NPB’s year.