Review
Bogos
Empty Bottles

Voodoo Rhythm (2022) Christopher D

Bogos – Empty Bottles cover artwork
Bogos – Empty Bottles — Voodoo Rhythm, 2022

Sante, Salud, Prost ,Salute ,Saúde,Proost, Skål,Kippis,3а здоровье,乾杯, 건배,干杯 ,Şerefe ,في صحتك , לחיים , ΥΓΕΙΑ , Na zdrowie ,Na zdraví, Cheers!

I sauntered into the dimly lit old man's bar closing the door behind the impeding swirling snowstorm brewing outside. Upon my unnoticed entry(this was no Cheers!-no cries of Norm were echoed by patrons) my eyes were immediately drawn to a weathered figure slumped in a corner booth watching the ash of his cigarette burn into a long lingering arc. He sat alone, hunched over a glass of whiskey and a cheap draft. He wore a tattered cap pulled low over his one eye. Despite his ragged, chiselled appearance, there was something about him that commanded a secondary sideways glance. As I approached, he looked up and met my gaze with eyes that had clearly seen more than their fair share of hardships, pain and utter despair. He motioned for me to sit down not before shooting a quarter asking me to throw it into the jukebox and select The Pogues- Dirty Old Town.

Empty Bottles are going down, one by one and two by two. Hey Mr, Bartender slide me one of the house specials down the well-worn wooden bar.
Bogos are the ultimate theme of this bar. Hailing from Bern Switzerland -Bogos sound like a twisted Pogues, Mano Negra, Gogol Bordello, 16 Horsepower interspersed with a little Merle Haggard, Cash and Flatts and Scruggs. Stripped down toe tapping, drunken jig, arm locked in arm and fisticuff bare-knuckle, fuckle, punch em up beer swillin' slobbering rubbery leg chicken dance.
Bogos are the life source of the stiff corpse at a party. Want to wallow in misery and self-doubt and depression I would suggest digging out your Smiths' greatest hits compilations.
99 bottles of beer on the wall, 99 bottles of beer.
Take one down and pass it around, 98 bottles of beer on the wall etc

8 Large Pints Out of Ten!

Bogos – Empty Bottles cover artwork
Bogos – Empty Bottles — Voodoo Rhythm, 2022

Recently-posted album reviews

Lethal Limits

Elevate EP
GhettoBlaster Productions (2025)

The archival hunt for the "missing links" of first-wave California punk usually leads through a trail of grainy handbill Xeroxes and tape traders' overdubbed copies. But with The Flyboys, the story has always been a bit more elegant—and a lot more colourful. Long before they were swept into the gravity of the Hollywood scene, frontman John Curry was already performing … Read more

The S.E.T.

Self Evident Truth
Flatspot Records (2026)

Hardcore doesn’t need reinventing; just needs conviction. On Self Evident Truth, Baltimore’s The S.E.T. come out swinging with a debut EP that’s built on exactly that. It’s got groove, urgency, and a clear sense of purpose. Clocking in at around fifteen minutes, the EP wastes no time establishing its identity. From the opening moments of “This Chain,” it’s all forward … Read more

Dashed

Self Titled
Independent (2026)

When a band describes themselves as surf punk, it usually conjures a certain image. Reverb drenched guitars, sunburnt melodies, maybe even a sense of looseness that leans more carefree than chaotic. Dashed doesn’t really fit that mold. On their self-titled LP, they take those familiar elements and run them through something colder, sharper, and far less predictable. Across eleven tracks, … Read more