The Termites - Square Go (2026) 13 Deluxe Records

Live albums are of course often enough infamously contract fillers.

And more recently cash grab releases for record store day.

But occasionally one will come along that flips the tables over in the temple of rocknroll by capturing the intangible essence of a show. They are the albums that should have scratched into their dead wax ‘you shoulda been there’.

Among those rare beasts are the Ramones with their It’s Alive, Motörhead had No Sleep Til Hammersmith, MC5 certainly Kicked Out The Jams, AC/DC asked If You Want Blood, while The Cramps got primal with their Smell of Female. And now The Termites have their ‘Square Go.

For those who are unaware, in Scottish parlance, a square go is a fair fight. And fair means no weapons, but fuck the Queensbury rules. Which seems apt as titles go as this is a no holds barred album. Captured in the shadow of the Dean Castle in Kilmarnock, this was their second gig after reforming - which followed their warm up debut in a deconsecrated chapel - but there are no hints of any baby steps being taken here as they return to the fray. If there was any rust left to shake off then it has been deposited at the side of the road as they peel off in a cloud of dust to the sound of squealing rubber and no doubt a blood curdling rebel yell. When local music legend, and MC for the night, Munro roars out ‘The Termites’ as the intro to ‘Overload’ it sounds like a war cry. If he’d tagged on ‘ya bass’ it would be reminiscent of the street gang cry before they went steamin’ in, and this aint no west side story baby.

With Kenny ’the Duke’ joining the band on ‘Crazy Mama’ there’s no going back.

With the full compliment of the band on stage they are all coming out swinging and the quality of the recording puts you right in the eye of the storm. ‘Kicked in the Teeth’, a tongue in cheek murder ballad with a revenge theme is an example of why those in the know hold the band on high esteem in psychobilly quarters as lyrically it’s streets ahead of so many of their peers. ‘Fuck you all fuck the world you motherfuckers’ as a refrain in ‘FTW’ is another example of how they can wrap some nihilism in humour and tread the tightrope line between both without following off, while ‘Don’t Touch’ reinforces that their ability to do that isn’t a fluke.

The rhythm section of Ewin on drums and Dougie on upright bass provides a solid platform for Bally, on guitar, and Johnny, on fiddle, to layers so much over it with all of them in their own way laying down a gauntlet and saying ‘follow that".

Calling it all relentless in the context of the force of the momentum that they build up would be selling it short. There’s so much going on under the hood here and it’s exquisitely finely tuned. Put your hand on a muscle car that is giving out a full throated roar as the gas is pumped and it partially gets close to how ‘Square Go’ sounds. You not only hear it, but feel it vibrating through your bones.

Eleven songs, zero chance to take a breath, and to be honest you wouldn’t want it any other way.

So, dae ye want a square go?

#thetermites #psychobilly #punk #Scottish #rocknroll

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