Three years ago, rock 'n' roll was given a brief rebirth in the form of five funny-haired Texans. It wasn't like they were trying anything new, anything complex, or as if they were even good looking. The simple fact was that they just did what they did better than anyone else.
I first encountered Young Heart Attack in the legendary Glasgow Barrowlands in the winter of 2003, opening for the imperious metal juggernauts, Motorhead. Rock 'n' roll bands that last don't come by often. Fronted by Chris Hodge - Bon Scott reincarnated and still intoxicated - and flanked by a select group of rocking maniacs, Young Heart Attack justified Lemmy's selection of opening act, and surely won over a few fans over the duration.
It was only natural to follow their progress from there. Their next UK outing was in support of the god-awful Van Halen admiring, spandex-clad would-be relics The Darkness. Nobody's perfect. Jen's ill-fated fling with Justin Hawkins aside, the band did little wrong. The band were warmly received around Britain for their high-octane live shows, the BBC declaring that "they have a very promising future ahead."
Somewhere in between, "Mouthful of Love" was released, with a couple of singles in tow. Though the album left a lasting impression on their followers, as well as receiving some favourable attention from the British press, it seemed that sales of the album failed to impress the bigwigs and financial gurus at XL Recordings. A couple more self-funded UK tours were to follow, before the inevitable happened. Bassist Steven T Hall announced on a fans' forum that the band were to split. No reason was given, and this was likely intentional. Manic lead guitarist Frenchie's address of the issue on his MySpace page was laced with confusion. It became apparent that perhaps all was not well within the Young Heart Attack camp.
Almost two years of silence passed, before word broke in that the band - minus Steven T Hall and occasional drummer Joey Shuffield - would be reconvening. The new-look band sees Pauly Deathwish of the Pocket Symphonies take over bass duties, while ex-Crash Gallery drummer Jayson occupies the drum stool. Two new songs to their MySpace - "Rock and Awe" and "Hell on Earth" indicate that Young Heart Attack are back - back to stay.