Punk, rock and everything in between – review of “Sublime Destruction” by Desperate Measures

Punk rock band Desperate Measures was originally formed 1981 in Christchurch, New Zealand. They released their first EP and one live album before they split up when vocalist Eugene Butcher moved to London. After that Desperate Measures did a few re-union gigs with U.K. Subs and Peter and the Test Tube Babies years 2009 and 2010.

Then Eugene Butcher decided to re-establish the band in England with new bandmates. Now Desperate Measures includes Butcher on vocals, Michael Gaffney (Rich Ragany & The Digressions) on guitar, Ricky McGuire (U.K. Subs, The Men They Couldn’t Hang, Rich Ragany & The Digressions) on bass, and James Sherry (Dealing With Damage, Done Lying Down) on drums. Eager music fans might also know Butcher from Vive Le Rock -magazine.

“Sublime Destruction” was released in March 2024 via Cadiz Music. The album includes 11 tracks in total. All the material was made during the pandemic and was finalized after that. There are many different themes: personal ones, political ones and so on.

The album starts with “Back to The Rats”, which grabs you quickly along. The next one is “Pocket” – a little bit calmer, but very rolling song. After that we go full speed ahead with the title track “Sublime Destruction”, which presents well Butcher’s jagged sound, and his interpretation is more than furious. This track gives everyone of us something to think about – why we take ordinary things so obviously, when it all could be gone in a second? “Enjoy The Ride” reminds you to live in the moment and without caring about the opinions of others.

“Flowers at Your Door” is really tearing, heart-breaking love song, which is based on a true story. It fades out atmospherically and leaves me a little bit sad, melancholy feeling. “Seven Sisters” continues the same true based storyline, and it was inspired by Butcher’s daily surroundings. It tells us what it feels like to live in North London, where some kind of desperation and despair are always near – but there is still hope. The last song in the album is “Still Got Me”, and this track begins with the sound of ticking, old clock. There is only vocals, acoustic guitar and keyboards: this combination generates beautiful scenery which is almost hypnotic.

“Sublime Destruction” is musical fireworks from start to finish. It is a pleasure to listen to Butcher’s rough voice with Gaffney’s melodic and skilful guitar playing. And when they are added by McGuire’s bass and Sherry’s drums, I must say that this album is almost flawless.

Desperate Measures describes that their music is a high energy punk with a big helping of rock and they are musically between The Cult and The Stooges. I agree with that – there is so many shades from different bands and music styles. It is good thing, because now there is no certain band to comparate. And you don’t need to do that – Desperate Measures and it’s music speaks for itself. I found echoes from bands like Michael Monroe, Hanoi Rocks and The Wildhearts, which pleased me much. I must say that I have found lately a few new favourite bands, and Desperate Measures is one of them!

For Chaoszine’s readers living in Finland: there is some interesting connection as for Finland. The frontman Eugene Butcher has many friends in Finland, and he has visited here for 20 years. Desperate Measures just played gigs in Helsinki and Turku, and I have a strong feeling that they are coming back quite soon!