An essential feature of any mid-70s glam rock LP was the assured emblazoning of your debut LP’s cover with a band shot in full glamour and attitude. Kiss, New York Dolls, and Love It to Death all broke with the stodgy, prog concept artworks that clogged the music stores in favour of dazzling snapshots of glittered superheroes or androgynous cartoon characters. As signalled by Marc Bolan shifting his initially psychedelic band’s name to the pithier T. Rex, this was a glimmering wave that owed nothing to the turgid FM radio rock that hadn’t realised the 60s ended and unashamedly made music for ‘the kids’.

One look at any of Smooch‘s videos or promo shots displays exactly the records most played in their collection. The Runaways, The Sweet, and Suzi Quatro all inspire the band’s playful strut. A Melbourne four-piece comprised of members of Dumb Punts, Drunk Mums, and Reaper, a house share revealed a love for the swaggering glam rock and hard-rock garage that set the stage for the ensuing punk explosion. Donning sparkle and lightning bolt make-up, a comic book smacking lips logo, and singer and bassist Ciarn Gallagher zipped up in a flared jumpsuit, Smooch has pursued a direct glam stomp sound with tough, NWOBHM edges as inspired by their love of Girlschool and Judas Priest.

Recorded on a genuine ’74 Neve console (the same 8024 mixer used to record AC/DC’s Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap), Smooch’s debut LP A Force To Be Rockin’ With is an authentic portal to the sounds and impact of proto-punk power pop. Fifth track ‘Pucker Up’ captures the electric powerhouse showmanship they strive for perfectly; lyrical flaunts to sexual chemistry and “pistols in pockets” set to Adam Ritchie’s heavy melodic riffing that feels straight out of early Cheap Trick. Their adulation for glam is at its purest on the swaggering ‘Glitter Thugs’, a sauntering ‘theme tune’ of sorts complete with an air-raid siren that embellish the band into comic book heroics akin to some dangerous gang skulking The Bronx streets in The Warriors.

While Smooch wear their hard rock glam inspirations on their sleeves, A Force To Be Rockin’ With isn’t some cynical exercise in empty mimicry or retro imitation. Their heavy metal and garage punk foundations place them squarely alongside the Melbourne rock ‘n’ roll explosion, crafting a unique character yet sharing the same special energy imbued in peers like C.O.F.F.I.N. and Sandy Dish. Neither does the band veer too far into juvenile escapism, references to “rising temperatures” on ‘Evil Insider’ or scrutinising masculine rigidity place them firmly into the contemporary discussion, summed up trenchantly on their Bandcamp: “Kiss without the misogyny”.

If you’re gonna plaster your first album with a cocksure band shot in the glam tradition, you better have the musical chops to back it up. Thankfully, Smooch matches their glimmering aesthetic with an electric album of expertly crafted hard rock licks complete with god-given hooks and songs that bristle with brash energy. Studiously honouring the glam heritage they’re so enthralled with yet injecting their distinct personality that avoids them being a novelty act, A Force To Be Rockin’ With is a glorious debut that dares to go big, unleashing anthems that speak directly to the audience in a sincere effort to stir and thrill.