When Ricky Hamilton isn’t busy running his DIY label Quality Time Records, the Cleveland-based musician is making noise as Ricky Hell–with a little help from The Voidboys. With a name riffing off of Richard Hell‘s work with the Voidoids, Hamilton’s moniker tribute also won’t disappoint fans of the original punk outfit. On their 2017 LP Hell Is Real, the band’s trashed take on the genre comes straight outta the gutter with 9-tracks of warped and fuzzy pop. Led by Hamilton on guitar and vocals, the musician wrote the record, and it was recorded directly to tape by Paul Maccarrone with musical help from the Voidboys–Carter Luckfield on bass, Adam Spektor on Clarinet, and with additional guitar from Noah Depew.
“The Feeling Is Alright” is the third cut off the album, and the video for the track was directed by LA-based artist Vinny Zazzero. Echoing the song’s lo-fi vibe with some sugar high visuals, Zazzero combines off-beat split screen viewings and no-budget animation with lyrics displayed karaoke-style. Plenty of gonzo images here like a telephone receiver hanging from a cactus or a palm tree on fire help make this the perfect accompaniment to feeling alright.
