Vulvarine – Fastlane – Album Review
2nd April 2025Vulvarine’s new release, Fastlane, is the sort of record that kicks your front door in, swills all your beer, and then whisks your nan out for a night on the town. From the opening riff, it’s obvious this isn’t background music for a quiet night in playing Sudoku. This is music for those who believe speed limits are merely ‘polite suggestions’ and leather jackets are a suitable wedding guest outfit.
Take the first song, The Drugs, the Love and the Pain; it’s as if you’ve been slapped in the face with a guitar made out of lightning. And take “Polly the Trucker”, which could have been penned by someone who has spent their whole life dodging parking fines and driving cop-evading racing cars around like a game of taxi. You can almost smell the petrol. And then, just when you’ve got the hang of this beast, they add a version of Cheri Cheri Lady (a cover of a Modern Talking song). Surprise? Yep. Genius? Yeah. Like finding out your granny had been a member of a motorbike gang.
The recording is dead-on accurate, capturing the raw, sweat-drenched energy of the band and yet still cutting enough to shave with. It’s perfectly balanced—like putting a lion in a three-piece suit. You know it’s deadly, but you can’t help looking.
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In short, Fastlane is a headbanging, fist-pumping, petrol-guzzling masterpiece. If you’ve ever wanted an album that makes you feel like you could punch a jukebox into submission, look no further. Vulvarine has served up a plate of pure rock ’ n ’ roll chaos, and it’s absolutely delicious.Score 8/10
Track List
01 The Drugs, the Love, and the Pain
02 Ancient Soul
03 Heads Held High
04 Demons
05 Alright Tonight
06 Equal, Not the Same
07 Fool
08 Polly the Trucker
09 Dark Red
10 Cheri Cheri Lady (feat. Filippa Nässil)
11 She’ll Come Around
Label: Napalm
Release: 28th March 2025
