Blacktop: I Got a Baaad Feelin' About This
Mick Collins of the Gories really stews things up with bassist Alex
Cuervo and Fireworks regulars Darin Lin Wood (geetar) and Janet Walker
(drums). Still a psychobluesy swamp thing like the Gories stuff, but more
soulful and personal--heaps of love and hate, less abstraction. This
foursome has come up with one of the best sounds I've ever heard--like
"King Ink" by the Birthday Party, or The Cramps' "Human
Fly," most of Blacktop's songs can transport you and gnaw at you
simply with their own sonic quality. God be praised though, because the
wonderful badness just begins with this trashed lounge production.
The
specifics get even better. This be quality noise here--stripped back, yet
so raw and in your face that you have to take notice of the back alley
beat, lovely searing feedback, and Collins' rough, bluesy voice--which
makes Vedder sound like he's still in Junior high--before you happily
surrender.
Live:
All this praise is well deserved. Even live, they are great. Walker
uses a garbage can lid for her cymbal, but that just hints at the
beautiful mess they produce on stage. Collins kept playing to the meager
but enthusiastic audience a few songs more than their planned set because
he was so pleased with the especially raunchy guitar sound he had that
night.
Blacktop's discography @ Grunnen
IN THE RED RECORDS: 2627 E. Strong Pl./Anaheim, CA 92806/USA
Cheater Slicks: On Your Knees
A very messy album taking fuckabilly knee deep into the sewers. These
guys must not originally be from Boston. It's not that all other Boston
bands suck, rather it's that these guys produce some of the noisiest, most
dissonant music on the planet. Call this a (semi)musical representation of
Mardi Gras under siege.
"On Your Knees" might capture this
best. A scathing rant full of enough hatred to make Nick Cave proud (or
jealous), "On Your Knees" attacks the listener by creating a
verbal and sonic hell. Perhaps the world's swellest example of
"uneasy listening" music, "On Your Knees" makes the
hair on my back crawl, but isn't the only great song on this album. The
catchy, "A Sad Guitar" fucks with sentimentality, "Weirdo
on a Train" makes me think of Dostoievski's Underground Man, and the
thing as a whole is awe fully wonderful. You can get great echoes in
those big waste tunnels.
gawdawful records: PO Box 1331/Cambridge, MA 02238/USA
Cheater Slicks: Whiskey
Having spent so much time on my favorite Cheater's album above, I just
want to highly recommend this other chilling piece from a fine band that
deserves far more recognition than they have received. They're a good
example of a band that becomes "legendary" while they're still
together, yet never really develop a large fan base. Aside from their fine
cover of the Scientist's "Set It on Fire," I didn't hear
anything of them until my buddy Johnny P. received and subsequently
reviewed their recent single, "Wedding Song"\"Walk Down the
Street." A snob about the Scientist's work for years, I didn't really
accept any of the various covers I heard on that comp until a year or so
ago.
For those who have heard some of their music but didn't like it,
give these guys another chance if you like some of the other bands I
recommend. Just listen to how Tom and David Shannon weave their guitar
work together. Notice how well they miss notes and deliberately fuck up
chords. They're taking Trash-a-billy in an interesting and unique
direction--after getting influenced by some of the best.
Listen to
their newer "Don't Like You" as well. Less abrasive than their
other stuff--hence less appealing to me--most of the songs on it are quite
good, although "Mystery Ship" is dull and Jon Spencer's vocals
on "Sensitive Side" sound too stoned for my tastes.
Live:
Their live show made me a believer. Noise. Dissonance. Noise. Angst.
Drummer\Singer Dana Hatch--obviously loaded --looked as fucked up as he
does on the bands "Don't Like You" album cover, except he
screamed a lot behind his snare. It reminded me of the short film called
"Drum Sticks," which comes with that Japanese cyberpunk
cinematic classic "Tetsuo." Noise. Great guitar play back and
forth between the Shannon Brothers. Noise, and more noise. A full convert
after that disturbing and joyful evening, I made them welcome on my floor
and purchased as much of their music as I could. They were kind enough to
give me "On Your Knees" for free when it was warped and barely
playable on my turntable. It couldn't sound better.
Cheaters' discography @Grunnen
IN THE RED RECORDS: 2627 E. Strong Pl./Anaheim, CA 92806/USA
The Chrome Cranks: The Chrome Cranks
One of the only bands who shamelessly plagiarize from the scientists
and do it well. Is Peter Aaron Kim Salmon? No, but the influence works out
well on this, the Cranks' first CD. Bass, drums, 2 geetars and vocals, the
Cranks conjure up repetitive minimalistic musical drunken rantings.
Now that we've got the obligatory Scientists comparison taken care of,
these guys stand on their own and offer up some messy, throbbin' swank
young and old alike can enjoy. The drunken "Subway Man" offers
up a memorable rant--likely the dictations of a late night lunatic in one
of NYC's various subway tunnels. From the Bad Apple, the Cranks sound like
they spend a lot of time down in them stinky holes. On "Outta My
Heart," Aaron screams out his love/hate for some special
someone--this one is lovely and a favorite of the ladies.
Live:
Fantastic live, the Cranks turn the noise and hypnotic qualities of
their music up to "11" and put on a great show. Rhythm guitarist
William Weber hid behind a stack to the right side of the stage and
maintained the same expression throughout the whole performance; drummer
Charles Hanson hid behind the drums and didn't change his expression
either; Jerry Teel paid attention to his bass (looking at the guy, one can
tell he's lived a hard life), and front man\backdoor maniac Peter Aaron
shimmied in tight black leather pants and sang into his hair. Near the end
of the show, Aaron collapsed to the floor as he moved the audience through
"Outta My Heart," putting a smile on the faces of America's
children.
Chrome Cranks' discography @ Grunnen
PCP ENTERTAINMENT: PO Box 1689/ New York, NY 10009-8908/or/Matador Records Inc./676 Broadway/New York, NY 10012/USA
The Drags: Dragsploitation ...Now!"
Wow! If you like retro garage angst with a catchy pop sensibility that
adds, rather than detracts from the songs, discover The Drags in every
form you can. Clocking in at 14 min, this eight song cd shakes off all 70s
classic long song and guitar jack off to provide dense, yet wonderfully
sloppy diamonds that shine with no sparkle. Keeping to the basics, and
then cutting back even more (especially production), they manage to
produce music that sticks to the beat but exhibits an uncontrolled
sensibility at the same time. This has a lot to do with the relative
tightness of the bass and drums, while the guitarist/singer alternately
follows and fucks with what the other two are doing. Obviously unconcerned
with control and a clean sound, he creates amazing psychosis on as many as
six strings--if he hasn't been playing the instrument for more than a few
songs, since he often breaks them skinny metal snakes with his erratic
style of staccato. This fine shit cuts right to the quick.
Live:
Let's just say that I'm going out to HelLA to see these folks again
because they were so good the first time. Full of energy and two minute
beauties, this band screams itself through more songs than Pink Floyd has
written since Syd Barrett left back in the late sixties. Of course, it's
better as well.
Write the Drags at: 2300-B Central SE/Box 198/Albuquerque,
NM 87106/USA
Estrus/PO Box 2125/ Bellingham, WA 98227/USA
Cheapo Crypt Sampler CD
More on this later, but I've just gotta say that this is a Must Have.
Unlike so many samplers, this one actually has great songs by great bands.
Crypt deserves as much credit as that other amazing label that nobody
knows about, Estrus. With bands like The New Bomb Turks, Teengenerate, The
Oblivians, Fireworks, The Gories, Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, and etc.,
how can you go wrong? As the cover says, "31 songs! 16 bands! 77
minutes of pure, hearty, rockin' raunch!"
Crypt label's discography @ Grunnen