The New York Dolls wore lipstick and dressed in drag. Outrageous,
but never effete, they could be a violent, dangerous bunch: of all the bands
in mid-70s New York, they were the most clearly punk. When he stopped
managing them, Malcolm Mclaren formed the Sex Pistols.
The combination of camp and terrifying is one of rock's favourites -
think of Mick Jagger, or Dave Davies, that guitar-throwing sociopath, with
his frilly shirts and frock coats. It's in this tradition that Louie belong.
Unlike most current bands, there is a lot of anger here, and a couple of
really fierce songs to prove it. There are also some rather good
la-la-las.
It's a great sound, but they don't do much with it. For its raw guitars,
sloppy vocals and breakneck pace (140 seconds total), Trees could have
fallen right out of the Sex jukebox. It's bright and shouty, and it's fun
while it lasts, but Louie haven't given us anything we haven't already got.
And it's not a good enough song in itself to excuse that kind of
nostalgia.
