It's all gone a bit quiet with Imelda in recent years but it's easy to forget that for a little bit in the early years of the decade, she was genuinely hot property, bringing rockabilly into the 21st century and putting out a trio of great albums (this one, "Love Tattoo" and "Tribal") which deservedly pushed her into the national spotlight. Hopefully some new material will be forthcoming from her in the near future.
79. DEAD IDENTITIES - "Bad Cats And Heart Attacks" (2010)
Another group who burned all too brightly and briefly before sliding into inactivity. This was the Dead Identities' second album and saw them properly kicking things up a gear with the crisp production helping the tunes and riffs well and truly come to the fore. Unfortunately it's also their last album to date with frontman Keef now in the excellent Fiascos but there's talk of a reunion next year so fingers crossed...
78. THE SPECIALS - "Encore" (2019)
The best thing about this triumphant comeback was it was so unexpected. Following the Specials reunion at the start of the decade, the departures of Neville Staple and Roddy Radiation, the absence of Jerry Dammers and the untimely passing of John "JB" Bradbury looked to have derailed the train somewhat so it's to Terry Hall, Lynval Goulding and Horace Panter's credit that they put together a comeback album more than worthy of this band's name. It looks like we may well need this band in the years ahead given the current political climate in the UK so here's hoping it isn't their last...
77. EVIL SCARECROW - "Galactic Hunt" (2014)
Evil Scarecrow had sort of existed around the fringes of the scene for about a decade prior to this album but suddenly in the middle of the decade, they seemed to become the name on everyone's lips as "Galactic Hunt" made them the unwitting stars of the festival circuit with crowds doing the dance moves en masse to the likes of "Crabulon" and "End Level Boss". But it was no fluke - "Galactic Hunt" was a great album mixing ferocious riffage with some great tunes and hooks and a supremely daft sense of humour on the likes of "Book Of Doom". Follow up "Antarcarctica" was another worthy effort even if the mentions in Kerrang et al had dried up a bit by then. Hopefully though this band will be around for a good while yet and they remain one of the best live outfits in Britain today.
76. DEADCUTS - "Dark Is The Night" (2014) (Review here)
Fronted up by former Senseless Things frontman Mark Keds and Jerome Alexandre, formerly of the Skuzzies, Deadcuts' debut album was a devastating mix of goth and post-punk, recalling the likes of the Jesus & Mary Chain and the Cure. They would stick around for a second album, 2017's "Hit On All Sixess", but this band seemed to be perpetually dogged by bad luck and bad timing and it was officially confirmed that they'd split towards the end of 2019. A real shame.
75. PUSSYCAT & THE DIRTY JOHNSONS - "Exercise Your Demons" (2010)
Another group who've had rather a stop-start progress over the course of the decade although they've managed two more-than-decent albums after their debut (2013's "Dirty Rock 'n' Roll" and 2017's "Ain't No Pussy"). Their first album remains their best though with the likes of "Trouble With The Devil" and "Vampire Sugar" backing up just how much of a blast of fresh air this lot were when they first came through with the crazed psychobilly riffing and Puss' demented vocals rocking up a storm.
74. THE AMORETTES - "Game On" (2015) (Review here)
It's amazing how many bands in the lower reaches of this list put out one absolutely killer album then spent the next few years struggling to follow it up. In the case of the Amorettes, they just never quite seemed to recapture the lightning in a bottle of their second album "Game On" with the enthusiasm and rawness on songs like "Bull By The Horns" and "Get What's Comin'" stampeding you into oblivion. Unfortunately their second album, 2016's "White Hot Heat" was a real disappointment with the record company smoothing out a lot of the rough edges that had been its predecessor's selling point. They did manage to turn it around a bit on 2018's "Born To Break" which saw them reinventing themselves in a sort of Donnas style pop punk mould to reasonable effect but the start of 2019 saw the rhythm section Heather and Hannah depart the band. Frontwoman Gill would press on, bringing in the bassist and drummer from Tequila Mockingbyrd (who'd split around the same time) to fulfil the rest of the band's live dates for the year but going into the new decade, the future looks a bit uncertain for the Amorettes to say the least. Still, they shone pretty brightly for a while and this album remains a great record.
73. MAID OF ACE - "Maid In England" (2016)
Currently on hiatus due to motherhood, the signs are that Maid of Ace are plotting a return in 2020 and it'll be good to see them back. Blasting on the punk scene like a particularly hefty dose of gelignite in 2014 with their debut, their second album "Maid In England" saw them refining what worked on that album and taking it up a level while keeping the ferocity intact on the likes of "Minimum Wage", "Hollywood Rain" and the title track. Hopefully they'll still have that energy going when they hit the comeback trail next year.
72. RYAN ROXIE - "Imagine Your Reality" (2018) (Review here)
Although he seems to be busy with several bands at the moment (not least his job as one third of Alice Cooper's guitar attack), Ryan Roxie managed to find the time to put out a solo album in 2018 and it was a timely reminder of what the guy's capable of, blending supremely tuneful power-pop with spiky punk energy and the odd excursion into mellower countrified waters. Definitely one worth checking out if you missed it first time around.
71. THE LONG RYDERS - "Psychedelic Country Soul" (2019)
Another band whose comeback album far exceeded all expectations and could probably go toe to toe with their better known '80s stuff. "Psychedelic Country Soul" did exactly what it said on the tin mixing elements of all the above three styles to create a genuinely lovely warm-sounding album that you could happily relax and lose yourself in after a tough day.
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