LENGTHY hiatuses can be a difficult thing for bands to recover from, sometimes an act which once demonstrated such great promise is now destined to languish in obscurity as their time in the spotlight diminishes at a frightening rate. Finding themselves straying erratically and hypnotically from one genre to another in an almost reckless fashion, King Khan And The BBQ Show have returned after completely abandoning the project after 2009’s Invisible Girl. Consisting of Canadian duo Mark Sultan and Blacksnake (AKA King Khan), the garage rock outfit have returned with new record Bad News Boys, an incredibly joyous full length that certainly keeps its listener on their toes.

Opening with the raucous ‘Alone Again’, it sets the tone for the madcap genre melding motif that recurs throughout its 12 track duration. Featuring stylistic nuances of 50’s doo wop groups whilst its vocals stray into the lauded territory of Frankie Valli, it reimagines the hallowed sounds of rock ‘n’ roll’s formative stages and places them in a distinctly 21st century context of fuzzy guitars.

Providing a harder edge which is reminiscent of Fear’s debut LP in its crunchy riff; ‘Illuminations’ comes across as though Cerebral Ballzy had abandoned their abrasive punk in favour of more 60s indebted material, whilst the bizarrely titled ‘Kiss My Sister’s fist’ indicates that they haven’t lost the quirkiness that was evident on previous releases.

One of the record’s more tender moments, ‘Bye Bye Bhai‘ sounds heartfelt and sincere with its almost pained croon. Utilising  the vocals of Mark Sultan as opposed to King Khan, the band’s impressive vocal showings are expanded with his impassioned range. Yet again throwing their audience a curve-ball in the form of the unsavoury ‘D.F.O’,  the duo parody the overtly aggressive nature of hardcore punk;  faithfully adopting the sound derived from acts such as Bad Brains and Black Flag.

‘We Are The Champion’ finds the garage rockers sounding almost eerily similar to The Men on last year’s Tomorrow’s Hits whilst When Will I Be Tamed could pass for a Stooges B side from the Funhouse era. 

‘Ocean Of Love’ is  unremarkable and sounds far too similar to other tracks on the record before ‘Snackin’ After Midnight’ restores the momentum with a Chuck Berry influenced guitar stomp. One of the most comically ludicrous tracks on the album, its lyrics are sure to assist it in becoming a live favourite.

‘Killing The Wolfman’ sees the band resemble The Walkmen at their most unhinged during their A Hundred Miles Off’ era; albeit whilst maintaining the overall 60’s aesthetic which is so pivotal to their unique sound.

Despite its delicate harmonies, ‘Never Felt Like This’ comes across as listless and phoned in as a Shangri-La’s style attempt at a ballad, proving that whilst they are capable of producing a homage to the era’s garage rock; they occasionally struggle to prevent themselves from delving into something more insincere and mocking in tone.

Closing the album in primal fashion, the ironically titled ‘Zen Machines‘ follows; featuring an infectious and pungent riff that resembles punk’s formative years at their rawest.

Whilst Bad News Boys isn’t an album without flaws, it reaffirms the fact that its creators are an incredibly entertaining duo capable of moments of truly great songwriting and performance.