Billy Hopeless vs. The Hip Priests
“Gutter Ball”/“Wired, Amped, Skulled” (Little T and A)

“Gutterball”, Billy Hopeless’s side of his new split with the Hip Priests, suggests that the Black Halos’ frontman—aka Billy Bonito of the Bonitos—never needed punk to develop much beyond the Dead Boys. He makes a convincing argument, in fact: snarling, drawling, mostly incomprehensible vocals about being “down in the gutter” rip along over Cheetah Chrome–style guitars, climaxing in a near-perfect solo from Black Halos cofounder Rich Jones. Ferocious, less than two minutes long, and impossible not to love, this song knows how to keep the faith.

U.K. band the Hip Priests’ anthemic flip side is nowhere near as tough but still plenty catchy, in a kind of Turbonegro-meets-pop-punk kind of way.

This is very, very easy music to like.