With special guests GEE TEE, SABÏRE, ITCHY & THE NITS

Flashy spandex clothing and teased hair haven't been at the forefront of rock music for over 30 years, but the Naarm/Melbourne rock 'n' roll gang Smooch are here to change all that. Following 2019's debut 7" Pucker Up, the band has just released their anticipated debut album A Force to be Rockin' With, through the always dependable Legless Records (Split System, Stiff Richards, C.O.F.F.I.N.). Self-described as "KISS without the misogyny and The Runaways on speed," Smooch certainly leans heavy on the forefathers of hard rock, but add their own thunderous statement to the searing arena-sized guitar riffage and jabbing rhythms especially with their garage punk roots.

Forming in 2019, Smooch is comprised of bassist-vocalist Ciarn "CC Star" Gallagher, guitarists Adam "Madam Gold" Ritchie and Mitch "Casino" Cassin, and drummer Steve "Silver Bullet" Kelly. Having all come from more harsher, garage punk-oriented bands like Dumb Punts, Drunk Mums, Meat, and Mesa Cosa, Smooch's full-throttle supercharged earworms are fueled by their heavy metal sensory overload and lethal tongue-in-cheek charm. In their quest for speed, the opening track "Feminine Touch" is a nonstop guitar onslaught while the razor-edged rush of "Pucker Up" replete with turbo-charged dual guitars that wouldn't sound out of place on a Thin Lizzy album