Fuck me, it's now nearly two years, since I first witnessed the rather splendid Loyalties live for the very first time.  Upstairs in a packed out Intrepid Fox the band were celebrating the release of 'So Much For Soho' and my then just purchased 'I Swear I Was There' CD was my first official fix of the band that made me smile when really all I wanted to do was rip the world's head off.

For those of you who have not heard of The Loyalties (surely you're joking, right?), this is the band formed by Tom Spencer (bass and vocals) and Rich Jones (lead guitar) after the sad demise of that last Yo Yo's line up, and throughout the twelve tracks that make up this album they are ably joined by Lee Jonez and Craig Herman (on guitar and drums respectively) making the best sounding rock 'n' roll racket you'll find this side of Soho.

Back when I first reviewed this album for Glitzine I called The Loyalties "The best UK Punk Rock band I've heard in ages", and that quote wound up on the vinyl pressing of 'So Much For Soho'. Now some two years on I stick by that bold statement, and ask anyone who knows better to show me the UK band that has topped the awesome slam-dunk power of '30nage' or the razor wire riffing of 'Sofa Surfin UK'. Until that day, I'll just tell you that the Loyalties' brand of rock 'n' roll is certainly not pretty, it's music from the heart with shed loads of soul, that when you hear the likes of 'Sugarcoat' and 'Ain't Love A Drag' you can't help but fall head over heels in lust with.

This Redux Edition of  'So Much For Soho' recently released on Devils Jukebox adds four extra tracks to the original twelve slices of musical perfection. These are the 'Black Jimmy' single track along with 'Don't Leave Me Alone With Her', 'I Am The Blues' and 'Too Much Junkie Business' from the Damp Cave Brighton sessions, making it an even more essential purchase for anyone still missing its greatness in their record collection.

Quite where The Loyalties stand in 2010 is one of the best-kept secrets in Rich and Tom's heads right now, but until the day we find out, (nudge, nudge, wink, wink Gaz) we can be content with the fact that 'So Much For Soho' is still one of the best UK Punk Rock albums to come out this century, and any music fan with half a brain should own at least one copy of this.

It honestly doesn't get much better than this...so buy the fucker right now!

http://www.myspace.com/theloyalties

http://www.lamf.biz/