2 song 7"
(Rip Off) www.ripoffrecords.org
Italian- or possible Japanese, depending on who you ask- pogo punkers who's guitar player (JC) is about on par with Anti Nowhere League's Magoo, which means he's probably frantically staring at his fingers the entire time he plucks through the one and half chords it takes to plow through these songs. "Alright" is a hellfire punk n' roller, and the flip is snotty, snarly teenagers from Mars stuff. I like the attitude on these cats- on their website they write, "Ok, First off I would like to say thanks to people that have sent me mails telling me that they love our single. Secondly, I would like to tell these people that I'm not gay and that the Atomsmashers are not a fucking boy band like the Zodiac Killers...we are real men so stop asking us when we are coming to your town." The guy that runs their label is, of course, Greg Lowery, head honcho in the Zodiac Killers. Punk rock. Bonus points for having a blank b-side. I listened to it anyway. I could use three minutes of peace and quiet.
2 song 7"
(TKO) www.tkorecords.com
"Rich Girl" is all chorus ("I never met a rich girl I didn't like"), but it's a great one, so who cares? Brooklyn's own Bad Luck Charms are glam-punk and rollers with an impeccable ear for the perfect pop hook and the crunchy, swivel-hipped guitars to back them up. Sorta like the Erotics without the stench of suicidal sleaze, or maybe the Dimestore Halos minus the Clash fetish, but with all the Hanoi Rocks pins and suede creepers intact. "Ain't Gonna Be" rolls a little rougher, a dirtier piece of rock candy, but it's still sweet in the middle, and overall, this single is just about the swankiest swagger rock I've heard in months. The BL Charms may or may not be the new Heartbreakers; that's for the drugs to decide. If this single is any indication, though, I'd say they're up to the challenge. 4 song 7"
(Pelado) www.peladorecords.com
Beautifully designed single pressed on pink marble. I wasn't sure whether to eat it, fuck it, or listen to it. I opted for the latter, and was richly rewarded with the Beatings signature glossy glam punk, in the blue-black vein of the Babysitters or the Speed Queens. Or American Heartbreak, if you're too young to know who the fuck I'm talking about. All the songs are hook-heavy, bleary eyed hits, but if you ask me, "Broken Shoe", with it's candy-coated Pistols riff and it's "woo-ooo" backing vocals, sounds the swankiest. All right, I'm gonna go have sex with this record now.2 song 7"
(Wax) www.altamontrecords.com
There's a black werewolf in a Rattan chair spanking some foxy afro-mama's bare ass on the cover, so you can surely expect some freak powered love makin' music inside. Well, it turns out that "Ballad of Jimmy and Dean" isn't a ballad at all, it's a snotty Dead Boys-styled rocker with a rubber kneed, frizzle frazzle guitar solo slashing through the middle and some bubblegum chewing brats screeching out the backing
vox. Righteous. The flip is Gun Club's classick all slathered in lipstick and dressed up in chicken bones. Another doubleshot of evil glitterpunk from Baltimore's raunchiest.4 song 7"
(Sonico) www.sonico-records.com
Says here it was recorded at "Frank's Place" Frank must live in a buzzsaw factory, because this single sounds like it was recorded on masking tape. Ah, but deep within the hiss lies some serious rocket-powered skull rock. The whole thing is over in less than 5 minutes, but while it's happening, it's
happening, baby, as the Blow Chunks thrash out ferocious, feedback choked, death rattling garage power-punk that actually manages to inject a little lust-filled rhythm somewhere in the smashing, trashing chaos. I'm guessing these cats are German, since they're on a German label. I'm also guessing that they're completely off their tits, judging from the gonzo savagery of this single. Rock and roll that's as raw as it gets without splitting wide open and bleeding all over the turntable.
5 song 10"
(Rock and Roll Radio) http://listen.to/rocknrollradio
Ten thick inches of sleaze metal from the almighty Rats. These guys have shorn free of the standard, triple speed punk n roll thrasharama of their early days, settling in to a big manly groove that grabs big chunks of the Comatones and Guns N' Roses and smashes them together like a bouncer with a couple of drunken heads. Of the five meaty tracks on display here, special mention has just gotta be made for the bitchin' "Flat on My Face", with throws some nasty ass Southern rawk guitar into the mix, and the 70's FM crunch n' roller "Its a Long Way to Barcelona" for it's sheer arena rocking power and swaggering Urge Overkill overtones. Goddamn, these fuckers got good. Highly recommended. 2 song split 7"
(Cheetah) www.cheetahsrecords.com
Although their album had me convinced Bottles and Skulls were grenade launching street punk crazies, this single is more like an acid rocking, Motor City freakout of crashing volume, thick, ropy chug-a-chug riffs and red-eyed testifyin'. Both tracks are fierce declarations of independence disguised as Fireballs of Freedom-esque junk rawk extravaganzas, just one vial of bad chemicals away from all-out death n' roll, and they are a supersonic thrill machine, baby. My favorite single in months. The flipside is clammy weirdo punk from 400 Blows, and frankly, it creeps me out. Stick with the A-side. That's where all the action is.
2 song 7"
(Scarey) www.geocities.com/scareyrecords/
Killer single with equally stellar production, even though my copy is warped like a motherfucker. The heat seeking riff n' roll of the Bulemics charges out of the gate like a berserk white trash bull with "Product of America", all horns and spittle and punk rock snarl. The flipside has the boys backing up lust-rock queen Texas Terri for a raucous cowpunkin' take on Johnny Thunders' ode (#42 of 595) to the thrills and chills of junkiedom. Bonus points for the gun toting nymphette on the front cover. Don't know what's going on with the back cover, but it looks like trouble in a "COPS go to Rock City" kinda way. This one's a power packed crowd pleaser, for sure. Just make sure you get a flat one. 2 song 7"
(Slow Gold Zebra) www.crimsonsweet.com
Sexy blue wax containing a couple slices of downtown NYC band Crimson Sweet's unique New Art Rioting, garage punking power pop. Lead rock chick Rooster Booster got herself a voice like Debbie Harry and a guitar that lies bleeding in her arms, alternately dark and pouty and rip-roaring. The post-punk comparisons that Crimson Sweet attract like fruit flies is not only gross, but misleading, as these songs are simply CBGB's strut-rock caught in a tangle of shadows. Erotic and menacing, just like you'd expect from a punk rock girl from Gotham City.
10 song 10"
(Home Sick) www.demolition-girl.de
Insanely catchy all-night party bubblegum punk n' roll from Germany, Ramones-fried and Heartbreakers- baked to perfection, and led into giddy battle by a chirpy Satanic cheerleader named Hedwig. Contains Motorhead and Mudhoney covers, but even the originals sound familiar-not because they're rip-offs, mind you- but because Demo Girl sounds exactly like the band you make up in your head when you're standing around at the rock show wishing that the band you're watching was actually good. Everything about this band is bad fun city, even the naked guys in gas masks running around. Packaged in a beautiful gatefold sleeve, "Glittercocks" is a winner, and a must-have for collector scum and fans of raunchy, hooky rock and roll alike.
2 song 7" 4
(Twist) www.cionlne.com/twist/
I'm going to believe the Lavender Brigade liner notes, where Julian Starr's breath smelled of roses in the back of a cab after a Beatles show, even though they're not true. Truth is over-rated, just ask any acid eater. While Walter Ghoul (there is no Walter Ghoul) and his purple powered love children may actually be a contemporary Californian retro-psyche band, this single sounds so much like the loopy, faerie boots elfin bop of the pre-glam T Rex, that even I'm feelin' mellow, baby. "House of Sound" is a George Harrison-esque, dayglo-bouncing ball of a garage-pop song , "Frumpy" is stripped down spaceman stuff from the first Spinal tap album, or maybe the last Turtles, and it's all a stone groove. It's like the Green Pajamas changed colors, or something. My furry marshmallow ears approve.
4 song 7"
(Rockin House) www.ampcast.com/loose
Italian swagger punks that sound like they like to fight. "Untamed!" is a fitting title, what with the gang-land vox and the psychoactive guitars, and Loose play some seriously muscular sleazepunk here. Of the four tracks, I'm gonna finger "Cool as Fuck" as the highlight, both for it's winning subject matter and it's punchy chorus, but any of 'em ought to get your motor running.
3 song 7"
(Cheetah) www.cheetahsrecords.com
Orange vinyl and an all-black label spells Halloween ghoul punk, right? Mostly. Pitch Black lay on all the trappings of corpse rock, and they've got a Danzig-meets-KISS blood spitting live show, but the terrible true tales inside reveal some powerful, smoking rock and roll that's more in line with anthemic TSOL styled marching tunes than the Misfits creep-thrash. Pitch Black's hardcore roots (ex-Screw 32 and Nerve Agents dude abound) are more pronounced on the flip, but even then, these cats keep it lean, tight, and muscular, with only a light dusting of batwing powder to darken the edges. This one's so sold out it's ridiculous, but I'm sure you can still score a copy if you've got a spare soul to sell, or something good like that. 8 song 10"
(Dead Beat) www.dead-beat-records.com
Swedish motor rawk played at break-neck speed, somewhere between Motorhead and Motley Crue with a pit-stop at the Backyard Babies uh...back yard. You know what I mean. You can just smell the gasoline burning on this one, see the radials spinning, hear the engine revving. It's a racetrack on wax that threatens to burn up like a Formula 1 on the rails in a burst of hardcore thrashing at every turn, but pulls back to adjust it's crotch and check the mirror every time. Puffball
are such reckless speed demons that the songs are over before you even walk across the room, so be prepared to stand next the stereo, flipping this thick chunk of vinyl over and over, 'til you're satisfied. Could be a long night.
2 song 7"
(Self-released) www.theriverboatgamblers.com
Twin barrels of smoking sleaze rock from these Texas motherfuckers. There's a definite Ramones influence in the Riverboat's grooves, especially on "Jenna (Is a No Show)", but then again, there is a Ramones influence on every 7 inch single I've ever heard. RBG trash the teen punker up nicely with slithery Thunders guitar lines, and the a-side, "Mean Motormachine", has more of a Swede-swagger vibe. Punk and roll super-sized, as befitting for a bunch of Texans.
4 song 7"
(Big Neck) www.bigneckrecords.com
I love this goddamn single. Sagger- and what the fuck is a Sagger, anyway? - sound like all the devils in Hell are tugging on their ankles as they try in vain to slog through their muddy freak rock without hurting themselves too much. This is what it would feel like if you got cracked in the back of the head with a baseball bat at the exact second you were about to splurt your man-gravy into some super-model's mouth. Well, more like the agonizing minutes afterwards, when you're waiting for the ambulance, and you're still really not sure whether that was the best 5 minutes of your life, or the worst. Or maybe both. The Skull Rider EP worries a lot of people that I play it for, which is a good sign that I'm absolutely right about Sagger. They are mean, dirty, rock and roll animals that came straight out of the gutter, and will probably be back there any day now. Just like me. No wonder I like 'em.
4 song 7"
(DB's) www.stilettos.nl/
4 songs full of snarled hooks and boogie punk from a swinging gang of Amsterdamned sleaze rockers. Of the four tunes, "Devil Woman" stands out as the jukebox fave, filled with manly growls of lust and derision, thundering powerchords, and a few well placed 'Oooh Oooohs!' to lighten the mood. For a power trio, the Switchblades build up a nice blistering squall of action rock. Right on. As the locals say, "Stilettos Knappen! Mooi!" I have no idea what that means, but it sounds about right.
4 song 7"
(East Side) www.trashcandarlings.com
Oslo's Trashcan Darlings are masters at an odd but winning rock and roll concoction that involves patently suicidal lyrics wrapped around sunny pop melodies that they drag right down into the dirt and fuck half to death with a one-two punch of Ramones' head bopper punk and New York Dolls swagger. And they nail it every time. "Holiday in My Head" is no exception, being a creepy Hanoi Rocks-er with a nearly perfect glam pop chorus, and there's a trio of vicious little ragers backing it up. I've said it before, and this slab o' wax compels me to say it again- if there's a new Dogs D'Amour roaming the earth, it is without a doubt, the Trashcan Darlings. Rock and roll.
3 song 7"
(TKO) www.tkorecords.com
While the streets of Boston (and neighboring Quincy, where these Terrors are actually from) aren't necessarily mean, they are rude and highly inconsiderate, which makes them the perfect atmosphere for
Tommy and the T's rabble rousing thug n' roll. I readily admit to disliking elbows to
the throat enough to have this far missed a dose of their local live debacle, so this single serves as a good way to observe 'em from a safe distance. While 1977 was most certainly an important year to the band, these three tunes are all classic melodic rock and roll tunes roughed up with enough gritty vox and gang-land choruses to please the lager louts and street punks. "Outbound" is the snarliest track, with it's rumbling bass, dive bombing guitar, and shout-a-long lyrics, but I bet you could pick a good fight with just about any of these songs.
2 song 7"
(Rip Off) www.ripoffrecords.org
Goddamn it, another one-sided single that faked me out, leaving me staring at the spinning wax, wondering how I blew out my stereo again. After a couple minutes, I got wise and flipped it, and got sprayed in the face with a blast of bratty, female fronted Chicago punk fuckin' rock that immediately brought to mind the riot-baiting rock and roll chaos of Boston's own Midnight Creeps. Word is the Tyrades is a Baseball Furies side-project, but if you ask me, Jenna Tyrade, with her snaky new wave screech, deserves somebody's full attention.