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DRUNK INJUNS
From Where the Sun Now Stands I Will Fight No More, Forever
Druggy-sounding California punk with a heavy gothic shade, this third (and finest) volume of Alternative
Tentacles? ?1980s Original Formula Skate Punk? presents the Drunk Injuns in all of their inebriated skeleton-masked glory.
Black tracks like the morbid revelry of ?Your Mama,? ?Mental Holocaust,? and the brilliant cyclonic gravity of ?She Gots a
Gun? are right at home alongside the more traditional punk themes ?Question Authority? and ?Bad Kid,? and there?s even a fine
crashing instrumental, ?Y-Camp.? As bonus tracks a couple songs by Ancestors: Gods of Sound are included, one being the grand
?Treasures of Mankind,? and an added hidden track is the acoustic immigrant drama ?Juanita.? (Just don?t get your hopes up
for the extra-hidden-bonus track beyond that one.) More moody than aggro, this is still great punk with a dark edge that fans
of TSOL in particular truly ought to appreciate.
* * * *
Alternative Tentacles - www.alternativetentacles.com
P.O. Box 419092, San Francisco, CA, 94141-9092
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THE DWARVES
How to Win Friends and Influence People
Although How to Win Friends . . . is a collection of re-recordings, be not afraid that this is some sort
of fancy-ass art-rock re-release. These unreleased versions are pure Dwarves-driven sucker-punching face-offs of ultra-tight
punk metal that are as much about fuckin? as they are fuckin? rock ?n roll: statements of bold defiance like ?Dominator,?
screaming needs for release such as ?Fuck You Up and Get High,? the lesson in terror ?Act Like You Know,? truly timeless punk
classics ?Speed Demon? and ?Drugstore,? and the tender tracks of love ?Let?s Fuck? and ?Fuck ?em All? are all here, all played
the way the Ramones SHOULD have sounded (?Anybody Out There?? and ?Saturday Night? in particular). The Dwarves even freak
out in different directions with weird space punk shit like ?Follow Me? and the wild pulp-porn evening ?Surfing the Intercourse
Barn.? And it?s amazing to me that such a foul bunch of degenerates can still pump out truly jolly punk rockers like ?Astroboy.?
One of the finest slabs of filthy, furious, fucking sound to cross my box in months, How to Win Friends and Influence People
will sooth your soul and put you in your place like only a righteous ass-kicking can.
* * * * *
Reptilian Records
403 S. Broadway, Baltimore, MD, 21231
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ENTHRONED
Carnage in Worlds Beyond
The perfect sound of instrumental warfare: an endless barrage of machinegunner drumwork driving a speed/black
metal assault as the vocalist?s constricted throat croaks out battlecries across ten tracks of bloody mayhem. The opener ?Boundless
Demonication,? ?Spawn From the Abyss,? ?Diabolic Force,? and ?Graced by Evil Blood? are especially wicked, and there?s a clear
satanic revelry dripping through the entire album that comes through clearly even without a lyric sheet. The majority of Carnage
in Worlds Beyond is truly excellent, and although Enthroned sometimes falls into that chasm of redundant metal chaos where
portions of the album are nearly indistinguishable from one another in their furor & flurry, at their many peaks the band
manages a superior and triumphant black metal majesty that guarantees them rousing adoration.
* * * *
Napalm Records - www.napalmrecords.com
P.O. Box 1983, Port Townsend, WA, 98368
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FEEDERZ
Vandalism: Beautiful As a Rock In a Cop?s Face
Man, this thing positively bristles with malice and spite, perhaps even more so than previous releases.
From the title graphics to the perfectly evil back cover photo (captioned, ?What if Jesus were aborted??), the catwoman CD
face stating ?Money can?t buy happiness: Steal it!? and the foldout from the Feederz? ?Office of Anti-Public Relations,? and
the band?s inciteful ?Nuremburg on a Budget? photo comparison of a 1936 Nazi rally with a 2002 anti-terrorism rally, this
album is spitting at you before you can even listen to it. (That is, if you?re not already so mortified by the icicle of self-righteousness
up your ass that you can?t bear to play it at all.) Frank Discussion has a more notable Biafran warble in his voice this time
around, not at all out of place in songs like ?Break It All,? and he puts it to work speaking out against a variety of horseshit
here on Vandalism . . . ?Fuck You? viciously reams a certain dainty record company exec; the ?official anthem? of alt.hackers.malicious,
?0wned,? is a jolly piracy theme; the tribal beats and sinister whisper of ?Burning MP3s? adds depth to the back cover credo,
?Trading MP3s is ruining the music industry. Keep up the good work!?; the prophetic Freaks rant ?One of Us? is wickedly underscored
by the ?Gooble Gobble? song; radio spots ?Off the Pigs? and ?Arizona Baked Hyena Tripe? are such perfectly cruel satires of
ad campaigns that the words will shock you out of your consumer mindset?s holding pattern; and ?Aborted Jesus? is so perversely
heretical, and so goddam happy about it, that it?s destined for instant anti-classic status. Yet amidst all of this black
humored, mean-spirited, revolutionary ethic the Feederz never lose their sense of fun: dig ?Mothra?!!! You?ll definitely be
playing that one more than once. As with previous releases, this Feederz disc will satisfy the disenfranchised, the angry,
and the alienated (not to mention those who just want to hear a good record) on so many levels that it is nothing but essential.
* * * * *
Broken Rekids
P.O. Box 460402, San Francisco, CA, 94146-0402
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GUIDED BY VOICES
Universal Truths and Cycles
A weird mix of tunes and tales here on Universal Truths and Cycles, as abstract lyrics match music which
is by turns folky and elemental or majestic and metaphysical. There?s a definite Sixties shine in Guided By Voices? performance,
usually taking the form of psychedelic pop strains trickling throughout the album and the deliberately surreal imagery, expansive
art-rock arrangements, and religious references. The psych-rock opuses ?Christian Animation Torch Carriers? and ?Everywhere
With Helicopter,? the new wave pomp and progression of ?Skin Parade? (given a rougher edge by the the rising bite of the vocals
and the stomp/clap rhythm), ?Storm Vibrations,? and the celebratory memory ?Cheyenne? all stand out, but it?s not all happy
hippy music, as numerous shadowy references indicate. All together it is a very pretty soudscape for the most part, driving
and nearly euphoric at some points and in others somehow both simultaneously melancholy and uplifting. In short, the kind
of music you?ll hear floating pleasantly through you head for days.
* * * *
Matador Records - www.matadorrecords.com
625 Broadway, New York, NY, 10012
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IRONBOSS
Rides Again
Fuckin? gearheaded heavy metal, man: perfect fuel for racing and rioting, Rides Again peals out tunes bearing
high volumes of sharp guitar flares, stadium-rattling bass, and crashing cymbals. Many come spattered with speedway soundbytes
and hard-workin? lyrics about fuckin? motherfuckers up that you can easily picture an entire crowd shouting along to as they
jump up and down in unison. Along with hallmark songs like ?Ride Again,? ?Motherfucker,? ?Hell Ride,? and the pummelling ?Eco-Freak?s
Nightmare,? there?s a rowdy head-nodding hymn to the wise-blooded alcohol-burnin? ?My Jesus?; the uplifting croon of ?Hot
Shoe?; you?ll know exactly who Ironboss is toasting with the string-driven tribute ?Angus?; ?Baja? sounds like an amped-up
Davie Allan instrumental; ?Sunshine On My Knife? made me think fondly of La Muerte; and the album closes with a live and loud
performance of ?Rumblin? Man.? Coulda done without the banjo-plucking, tambourine rattling, hamboning inside joke of ?Malcolm,?
but fuck it, it?s their record. Equal parts ANTiSEEN, Mule, and motor oil, Ironboss has more of a classic heavy groove thing
going on than the non-stop high octane of vintage Speedealer, but it?s a good thing and I doubt any patron of this platter
of country-fried grease monkey would complain. I don?t know if fuckin? bitchin? or fuckin? groovy best sums up this album,
but Rides Again fits both bills.
* * * * *
Reptilian Records - www.reptilianrecords.com
403 S. Broadway, Baltimore, MD, 21231
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DIVIT: Broadcaster -
Another band playing big & mediocre punk-tinged pop-metal and singing emo-style songs over it, aiming for the catchy with
big guitar chords and plenty of singalongs. And it works most of the time, even with the frequently bland musical passages
filling space between lines about broken hearts, existential angst, and faded friendships. Hell, even the choruses to ?No
Regrets? and ?Plan B? (?I?m sorry to say that I hate you and I never want to see you again,? and, ?I am gonna kill you later,?
respectively) are practically uplifting. But despite, or perhaps because of, the high production values, Broadcaster still
has too much of that made-for-MTV sheen to it. Really, how many more bouncy little songs do you need to hear repeating lines
like, ?Who?s that girl?? over and over again? But I have to admit that this did have my head bobbing throughout a good deal
of its playing time, so can?t rightly rate it too low on the monkey meter. * * *
Nitro Records - www.nitrorecords.com - 7071 Warner Ave., Suite F736, Huntington Beach, CA, 92647
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DOMINION III: Life Has Ended Here -
A heavier use of drum machine and keyboards give Life Has Ended Here much more of a techno/industrial sound than Dominion
III?s previous The Hand and the Sword. The electronics serve some songs better than others (for example ?A Dead Heart in a
Dead World? is a much stronger piece than the almost new wave dance sound of ?Conductors of Live? (sic)) but overall they
don?t entirely appeal. On the vocal fronts, throughout the album Dargaard?s Elisabeth Toriser and Tharen join together at
multiple points as her almost funereal chorals finely complement his gravely death rattles. Among the tracks the sorrowfully
moody ?The Priests of Emptiness,? the majestic and brooding instrumental ?Code Red,? and the closing electric eulogy ?Coming
Winter? all stand out, but still don?t quite manage to lift the album to classic metal hybrid heights. Although Life . . .
still retains something of a tentative/experimental sound, almost as if it had been recorded ten years ago, if Dominion III
continues to head deeper into the realms of heavy darkwave their next release promises to be a masterfully refined black electronic
ceremony. * *
Napalm Records - www.napalmrecords.com - P.O. Box 1983, Port Townsend, WA, 98368
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END ON END: Why Evolve When We Can Go Sideways? -
A raw, emphatic, socially conscious sound characterizes End on End?s brand of hardcore, with singer Andy Kindon?s harsh barking
vocals giving many of the songs an almost rabidly militant tone as subjects such as war, hatred, intolerance, and consumerism
are addressed in anguished cries and chaotically controlled chording. The entire album isn?t one multi-armed anarchistic diatribe
however, as the next-to-final track ?Have You Ever Heard of Victor Jara?? incorporates the album?s title concept into an uplifting
alternative ideology. And unlike some politically conscious bands who self-righteously rail away at everything around them
End on End takes time out to appreciate what they have (?I Will Never Take This for Granted?). With their brash unbridled
energy and complex ever-rising instrumentation End on End definitely has something in common with labelmates This Computer
Kills, a noble trait indeed. * * * *
Substandard Records - www.substandard.com - P.O. Box 310, Berkeley, CA, 94701
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ESTROGENOCIDE -
As the band name and song list declare, Estrogenocide is a shamelessly misogynistic effort. Tracks like ?Kick That Cunt In
the Cunt? and ?Miss-Directed Anger? pretty much sum it all up, and do so in a simple electronic program of synth, drum machine,
and voice box. The music plods along in a repetitious and elementary way as the distorted monotone recites various atrocity
scenarios, occasionally breaking out with a programmed riff of an irritatingly higher tone. When not bordering on the retarded
the angry lyrics can actually be kind of amusing in a black-humored, anti-PC sort of way, but you?ve probably gotta be a little
fucked in the head to appreciate them. So, points for a sick sense of humor and the ?Balls? to produce a work knowing that
only a small percentage of the population will be able to take it. But as far as playability, it kind of blows. *
M.H. Records - mrhymson@aol.com - 36 Central Park Rd., Plainview, NY, 11803
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THE FLAMING STARS: Sunset & Void -
Playing haunted tunes with strains of new wave, pop, the Sixties, and even a lonesome western twang and the occasional flamenco
flare fading in and out of them, The Flaming Stars flesh out their lovelorn atmosphere even further with harpsichord, marimba,
organ, maracas, and piano for a rather cool and appealing nightclub performance. The dusky bass tones of the low-key vocals
match the mournful bent of many of the songs, whose languid melodies are only occasionally stirred to emotional crescendoes
(some of the most memorable on Sunset & Void being the tough but chaotically pretty ?Baby Steps? and the seductively sorrowful
?The Waiting Game?). It?s all got a rainy evening ambiance ideal for driving, smoking and drinking at your lounge of choice,
or just sitting inside and looking out at the lights. * * *
Alternative Tentacles - www.alternativetentacles.com - P.O. Box 419092, San Francisco, CA, 94141
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THE FORGOTTEN: control me. -
Standard brand punk/oi/hardcore blend about all of the usual subjects (hey, let?s sing a song about ?Rock & Roll Rebellion?!),
filled with lots of cheap ?whoa-oohs? and other backing vocals. For some reason this is a LOT softer and simpler than The
Forgotten?s riotous Keep the Corpses Quiet; tracks like ?Retrofitted,? ?Listen,? and ?Same Old Story? are so mediocre they?re
practically guaranteed mainstream popularity. Punk rock of such a bland background variety that it would be alternately infuriating
and depressing if it weren?t so nonexistant. *
BYO Records - www.byorecords.com - P.O. Box 67609, Los Angeles, CA, 90067
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FREE BEER: The Only Beer That Matters! -
A spinning slab of skate rock revival, this is a most worthwhile resurrection of some of the genre?s better moments. Dig those
compilation favorites, the bass thumpin? and cowbell tinklin? of the ripping theme tune ?Pigs In Space? and the black mudslide
classic ?Start the Ark,? the equally bleak ?Memories,? and drunk rock classics ?We Can Do Whatever We Want (Drink As Much
As We Want)? and ?We Are Free Beer (We Got the Beer).? There are even a few live tracks packed in at the end. Loaded with
skate punk attitude in both the more aggro numbers (?Disaster?) as well as the more California soundtrack-quality pieces (?Tuna
Epic?), whether you?re a skater now or way back when you?ll want to hear these again. As one of the live segments so eloquently
shouts out, ?Free Fuckin? Beer!? * * *
Alternative Tentacles Records - www.alternativetentacles.com - P.O. Box 419092, San Francisco, CA, 94141-9092
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GBH: Ha Ha -
As the fairly recent (well, a couple years recent anyway) English Dogs release met with great approval here at Paniscus HQ,
so the newest album by GBH was highly anticipated as well. And although twenty-or-so years later these fresh offerings can?t
be nearly as epic as the City Baby-era recordings, they?re still filled with great rippling basslines, taut powersaw guitar
chords, crisply perfect drums, and that raw voice that all bring GBH?s classic punk sound roaring properly into the 21st century.
Great shouts out here include ?Crush ?Em,? ?Dustbin Rock ?n Roll,? ?Superhighway Robbery,? the title track, and the closer
?Punk Rock Ambulance,? and cranking up even higher the band slips in some headbangin? punk metal bursts with ?Sado Methodist?
and ?Choice.? Even the ode to a friend?s wrongful death, ?Song for Cathy,? is almost jubliant. Which brings the best thing
about punk rock jumping to mind: that no matter how sorrowful the conditions being sung about, good songs transcend them with
their vigorous spirit of protest. I won?t go to hippie-punk lengths here about how motivational and inspiring punk rock can
be, but you know what I mean ? music that can make you feel good in spite of bad situations is a valuable thing. Of course
throughout a set of seventeen songs this pace isn?t entirely consistent, as weaker moments come with ?The Power of One? and
?The Desire of Poverty.? But inside the length of the album these tired spots are rare, ensuring that the majority of Ha Ha
will leave you happy. * * *
Go-Kart Records - www.GokartRecords.com - P.O. Box 20, Prince St. Station, New York, NY, 10012
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GENOCIDE KOMMANDO: Black Metal Supremacy -
The band name and album title pretty much declare a war of Satanic terrorism even before this disc begins spinning, and once
started the opening drum machine/guitar whirlwind onslaught launches Genocide Kommando?s pogrom with full furor. But after
a few minutes of gargled shrieking and guitar work so quick and repetitious it almost sounds played on rewind (this sounds
like it should be a good thing, but it gets old fast), the overall impression is less one of awe and supremacy than of generic
black metal redundancy. To be fair there are a few moments of propulsive conquest that will pull your strings and get your
limbs jerking, but these are always swallowed in the din of backwards vomiting and guitar-in-a-blender stringwork. Although
numerous wide-ranging misanthropic declarations are made within the album?s packaging, there are also a number of homophobic
and anti-semitic references and images that paint Genocide Kommando into a corner even more narrow-minded than that of the
average member of the self-styled ?Satanic Elite.? The fact that their music isn?t more outstanding reflects this pretty well.
*
Moribund Records - www.moribundcult.com - P.O. Box 77314, Seattle, WA, 98177-0314
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GRAND BELIAL?S KEY: Judeobeast Assassination -
Anti-Christian musical crusades can go either way: straight to hell by way of shit creek, thanks to a redundantly sludgy and
senseless performance, or they can be so goddamn savage that they?ll simultaneously arouse and assuage your inner demons.
And thank fuck Grand Belial?s Key fits into the latter category. With wickedly churning riffs that refuse to be bogged down
in rambling death metal jams, lurid gloating vocals, and the occasional inventive and unexpected touch (hell?s bells ringing
out during ?The Tenderhearted?s Manifesto,? the electronic storm of ?The Hexenhaus Vigil? through which a ghostly choir of
the damned sings), Judeobeast Assassination is a slab of pure black metal satisfaction. Viciously colorful lyrics transcend
(at least a little bit) some of the stereotypically bad black metal prose about raping dead nuns in the ass, but still maintain
more than enough sick blasphemy to scorch the soul with songs like ?Satanicunt,? ?Fecal Parturition,? and ?Shitagogue.? Each
track proceeds along a varied and darkly scenic course, balancing power, lust, and rage with a ceaseless sense of black melody
that works at variable speeds. Not for the liberal or timid. * * * *
Moribund Records - www.moribundcult.com - P.O. Box 77314, Seattle, WA, 98337-0314
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HELLSTOMPER: Preachin? to the Choir LIVE! -
In a loud-as-hell shit-kickin? set of pure redneck honky tonk bliss, The Goddamn King and boys channel the entire history
of country rock and pound a hard punk-blues edge into it that refuses to let up until Preachin? to the Choir has run its raucous
18-track course. King?s voice has reached its distilled charcoal-filtered prime here, mature but not mellowed, and he uses
it by turns to either rhapsodize or belt out the lyrics in stout risen-again Southern style. This is one proud platter of
rebel numbers fixing to have you smoking, stomping, shouting, and working it on out with your brew of choice until throwing
the empty bottle onstage and demanding an encore: ?Stank,? ?Who Do You Love,? ?Son of the South,? ?Sumbitch,? ?Drunk in Alabama,?
?Prison Tan,? ?Carolina Shine,? and of course ?Pabst Blue Ribbon? and the mighty ?Thunderbird,? are only half of this rack
of royal tunes. Of course, this CD is a limited edition release of 100 hand-signed & numbered copies, and as mine?s #93 chances
are you ain?t got a chance in hell of gettin? one. But fortunately a vinyl release is on the way, and by the time this rag
sees print it may very well be available. And that?s a good thing, ?cause this is an even finer recording than their steel
cage opus Haulin? Ass. * * * *
Hellstomper - www.hellstomper.com - P.O. Box 9042, East Ridge, TN, 37412
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THE HUNCHES: Yes. No. Shut It. -
This album doesn?t begin so much as it just opens up and explodes; the first full-length album by The Hunches is a live one
(with the exception of some industrial-strength overdubbing) in every sense of the term, as the band twists all knobs way
past the breaking point and just cuts loose & goes fucking apeshit. Anguished howls and waves of distortion and noise colliding
over construction caliber musicianship contribute to the manic butchery of their set, which is loud and forceful enough to
strip paint and shake teeth loose. Hell, even the feedback is eaten alive by the rampage, and I imagine if you were attending
the show the sheer sonic blast from the speakers would be much like a punch in the face. It doesn?t sound like this is merely
a band of four, more like an entire wrecking yard of musical miscreants pounding away in unison to some schizophrenic inner
rhythm. Managing this much sound is a masterful task, but beneath the bombastic overload there is definitely an order to The
Hunches? frenzy. ?Explosion? sounds like CCR and the Blues Explosion duking it out in hell, ?Confusion? is pure triumphant
chaos, there?s a ?Peeping Tom Crawl? that I can?t tell whether is filled with more lewd anticipation, remorse, or punishment,
and songs such as ?Murdering Train Track Blues,? ?Static Disaster,? ?Chainsawdomy,? and ?Accident? all speak very loudly for
themselves. Musical scholars more well-versed in the garage/noise rock tradition than I are probably better qualified to say
exactly where the The Hunches came from, musically speaking, and what they?re going to do to the world, but me, I?ll just
say it?s one hell of a racket. * * *
In The Red Records - www.intheredrecords.com - 1118 W. Magnolia Blvd., P.O. Box 208, Burbank, CA, 91506
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ICONS OF FILTH: Nostradamnedus -
Seemingly melding English protest punk with Californian hardcore (a clash between UK Subs and MDC?), this old school revenant
rings with metallic British guitar chords and the politics of the disgusted & disenfranchised. Bashing away toward the decline
of all civilization, Nostradamnedus rips from the wordplay of ?Riddled With Guilt? to tunes of overpopulation dysfunction,
blind conformity and consumerism, and destructive greed, all with a sardonic pessimism and wit that holds little hope for
the future but won?t go down without kicking. * * *
Go-Kart Records - www.gokartrecords.com - P.O. Box 20, Prince St. Station, New York, NY, 10012
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IN-DK: Kill Whitey! -
Anarchic punkcore from NY?s anti- front. On Kill Whitey! IN-DK shouts out against cops, capitalism, and gentrification, spurring
other disenfranchised city kids to riot in jubilant singalongs of urban decay. ?The Rallying Point? is a grand ?let?s drink
and be merry for tomorrow we may die?-style war shanty, I don?t know exactly what the hell ?You?re Late? is about but it?ll
get you up for sure, and although it?s a song advocating tagging ?Off The Scope? has perhaps some of the album?s hardest and
meanest chording. Despite the band?s rebellious punk stylings though the music does have the curious quality of sounding at
once like both a street-tough gang of squatters and a group of spunky college kids; maybe it?s when they slip a speedy little
bit of ska into tunes like ?East Coast Rising? and ?Moonwalk Mafia.? This took a little bit of the insurrectionary tone out
of it for me, but not enough to completely dull their edge. * * *
Go-Kart Records - www.gokartrecords.com - P.O. Box 20, Prince St. Station, New York, NY, 10012
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INTERPOL: Turn On the Bright Lights -
Although nearly every article or review compares this band with Joy Division, while it?s true that Interpol?s music may be
equally as controlled and manipulated there?s a much more luxurious and free-flowing quality to it that prevents the band
from coming off quite as cold and sterile as their proclaimed forebears often could. There?s a consistently warm, sedative-hypnotic
quality to Turn On the Bright Lights (beginning with the shivers of the opening ?Untitled?), even when the songs seem to concern
some sort of emotional distance. Many of the tracks possess a lush and, though I almost hate to use the word, gorgeous sound
that spins and shimmers from social lullabye (?NYC?) to upbeat, punky, and almost new-wave (?Say Hello to the Angels?) and
into states approaching reverence (?Hands Away?). Although Turn On . . . lacks a track as ecstatic as the previous EP?s ?The
Specialist,? the sharp and artful drumwork, subtle keyboards, strings that chime or ripple smoothly through effects, and vocals
building into multiple levels of climax all create a many-splendored beast of a recording that will be ridden time and time
again. (Even if Interpol has been featured a little too prominently on a number of sitcoms and cable TV shows lately . . .)
* * * *
Matador Records - www.matadorrecords.com - 625 Broadway, New York, NY, 10012
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TIM KELLY: Demos: On the LIRR and in the Apt. -
Apparently a small set of recordings of comic artist Tim Kelly practicing singing a cappella directly into a bare tape recorder.
Demos . . . consists of six songs captured in different locations, for which Kelly provides his own sound effects and vocal
instrumentation to the pieces. These seem to be about a farmer losing a limb (?Arm Song?), and, um, I don?t really know what
the hell else, but Pochahontas is mentioned, there?s somebody named Valerie, one song?s called ?PBS,? and there?s a radish
in there somewhere . . . In numerous places Kelly appears to be laughing along to his own nonsensical lyrics (when he can
remember the words, that is), and at times he even stops to explain or revise a line here or there. His folky strains are
also occasionally interrupted by coughs and belches punctuating his rhyming, making the purpose of producing and distributing
this CD an elusive one. My guess is to justify the gift of a CD burner . . . but I could be wrong, he could just be fucking
nuts. 0
Tim Kelly / No HAHA - Y2KmanComix@aol.com
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KINGS OF NUTHIN?: Fight Songs -
Big band punk rockabilly ?n roll, baby! You got your dual saxes, stand-up bass, piano, scrub-board, guitar, clacking drumsticks,
and a raspy tatted-up vocalist, all adding up to a rowdy 8-piece slinging out songs like ?Shit Out of Luck? and ?Fight Songs
for Fuck-Ups.? There?s a shoe-scuffing twist to ?Waitin? to Leave,? and particularly quick and up-tempo numbers like the top-notch
?All I?ve Lost? and ?11 to 3? are catchy and lively as hell, outshining nearly every other track but for the favorite of the
album, ?La Chupacabra,? a pristine instrumental that makes some of the other Kings? ?born to lose?-style songs sound downright
childish by comparison. Singer Torr seems to aim for something of an old white blues style at points (?Nuthin? to Lose,? ?Callin?
To Let You Know?), but despite the formidable instrumental accompaniment his sputtery approach comes across more Duane Peters
than Tom Waits and doesn?t quite pull it off. But on most songs his gritty cheer well fronts this gangland orchestra, making
for a set of rough-and-tumble dance tunes that?ll have everybody in attendance swinging something. * * *
Disaster Records - www.disasterecords.com - P.O. Box 7112, Burbank, CA, 91510
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LOS OLVIDADOS: Listen to This -
Just the right accompaniment to Free Beer and Drunk Injuns in Alternative Tentacles? ?1980s Skate Punk? series, Listen to
This is a concrete set of skin-shredding ?Los Os? tunes. Collected from singles, tapes, and compilations to create the band?s
first actual LP, ?Listen to You,? ?Something New,? ?Don?t Cry,? ?Pay Salvation,? ?Their Eyes,? and more all ring out CA style,
with a careless, intoxicated, yet finely tuned defiance that?s all too rare in the 21st Century. * * *
Alternative Tentacles Records - www.alternativetentacles.com - P.O. Box 419092, San Francisco, CA, 94141-9092
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