The Judex are a Garage Rock band heavily steeped in Soul and regional R&B records from another decade. Described as "The Sound of Punk being invented in 1957" they recently put out their greatest EP, 'Long Live The Judex' which includes standout track 'Enter Madame', which is described as the story of a long-suffering psychic who can't stand her draining and clingy clients. All told in under 2 minutes complete with surf guitar!
With the global pandemic putting a halt to touring, The Judex have found an inventive way to bring their pumped fist gospel to audiences: by embarking on an ambitious "tour" of various indie radio stations and recording a live set, ala 'The Peel Sessions'. Get into them before it's fashionable!
EZ REVIEW: As I sat in my lonely garbage-filled bedroom and indulged in the grit of The Judex, a symphony of thoughts passed my way. With this in mind, I’d firstly like to offer you my initial impression of: It’s like Sid Vicious had a lovechild with Bryan Ferry- the major difference being that The Judex doesn’t suck like Bryan Ferry and never killed anyone like Sid Vicious. Secondly, I’d like to take a moment to appreciate their beautifully gruesome comic book aesthetic which screams and shrieks “I lost my virginity at midnight in a graveyard on Halloween”.
With those impressions out of the way, let’s get into the grub.
Modern punk has a gross reputation for pretentious musicians who wear tight leather skinny jeans and visit the church every Sunday. I’ve often found that these same dullard pop-punk arseholes drown themselves in fake positivity to ensure that their radio-ready music is non-threatening to grandmothers. This is not the case with The Judex. The Judex wants to burn holes in your church chairs with their cigarette butts. The Judex wants to burn holes in your leather skinny jeans with their cigarette butts. The Judex wants to kill your grandmother and burn holes in her corpse with their cigarette butts. The Judex wants to fill your ears with musical poison and then burn holes in your brain with their cigarette butts. The Judex wants to give you the authentic experience.
Okay... I think I’ve bitched about how much the current punk scene sucks, so let’s talk technical ability, sounds, and sleez of The Judex: Musically speaking, this shit hits hard and fast like a punch to the crotch (and I say that in a very positive way). Their sound is difficult to pinpoint but the rhythmic twist, guitar distortion and fist-pumping beat will no doubt raise your dead grandmother's cigarette burnt corpse. If all this wasn't good enough, The Judex can play this shit live on stage (no backing track needed here). Ideally, The Judex will one day score a gig playing their thick hot licks during a funeral- I like to see and hear this so if you're dying (or know someone who recently died), please contact The Judex and make this dream come true. I'd appreciate that.