Reviews

Feral Kid

Antler Joe and the Accidents Go Commercial! EP reissue

This is killer. Minds much sharper than I dredged through the Florida muck to find the surviving sickos from this band to re-release their one and only attempt at stardom. It’s probably a Killed By Death favorite up there with EBENEZER AND THE BLUDGEONS or ED NASTY AND THE DOPEDS, which means small-town punkers playing ’70s punk a little late in the game. In this case, really late, as in 1981. I’m sure no one was listening when the masterwork known as “Bullshit” first made ears ring way back when. They most likely sat puzzled by lyrical mastery such as “I sit here this whole day / Trying to think of what to say, / No one listens anyway / It’s all dogshit” spewed forth at some weird party. “Words” ain’t no slouch either, but “Who Needs a Woman Like You” makes the blunder of including saxophone?! Ugh. Well you can’t win ’em all, but you can one day see your youthful mishaps displayed on public view in your golden years. Buy this and pray you’re next.

Mononegatives Kill Mono flexi 7”

Here’s a cool one from MONONEGATIVES out of London (not that London, the Canadian one). “Kill Mono” sort of reminds me of John Dwyer from OSEES playing songs by SUICIDE. It has a repetitive nature often found in this style, but with some great hooks thrown in to keep you interested. Lots of style, lots of swagger, I dig it.

Mononegatives / Mystery Girl split EP

I gotta say, I’d seen this record in distros and always assumed based on the cover that it was some synthy Factory Records-worship by a lone band—MONONEGATIVES. Turns out this record does feature a synth…that’s maybe wielded in a less new wave-y manner than I was imagining, but also there’s a whole other band on here! MYSTERY GIRL is not the name of the record. Instead, they’re a punky power pop band out of Albany, NY, who kick things off with a couple tracks. “Loveline” starts as a somewhat ripping garage pop track that crashes into an odd cooing power pop chorus with really off-kilter harmonies. It caught me way off guard at first, but I came to appreciate its strangeness by the track’s end. For their other song, they slow down the BOYS’ “Tumble With Me” and turn it into some NEW YORK DOLLS-esque swagger rock. It’s a cool cover! London, Ontario’s MONONEGATIVES close things out with three tracks of synth-drenched, garage-y post-punk. A track like “Time Warp” even justifies my inkling about what this record would sound like—the bass line could have been plucked from an early NEW ORDER track. But overall these guys’ vibe is way heavier, and they come off sounding like a less gimmicky and more overtly post-punk SERVOTRON…or maybe a weedier A FRAMES. Either way, I’m into it!

Pleather Wasting Time / Riot 7″

Another killer group from Hattiesburg, Mississippi! I assume they are somewhat aligned with JUDY AND THE JERKS scene-wise as a result, but their sound is totally their own thing. ’70s meets ’90s lo-fi power pop punk with cool monotone female vocals that remind me of a cross between like JOSIE COTTON and SU TISSUE, and like the kid from UNIT 3 PLUS VENUS in the most insane manner?! So in short, I love this record!!! Disaffected brat style. Is “Riot” about a cat or a girl? Doesn’t matter. Looks cool, sounds cool, it’s throwaway yet an earworm.

Science Man Nines Mecca LP

This band first caught my attention when it was just a one-person project. John Toohill (singer) has since put together a group of like-minded curiosities to record with him on Nines Mecca. The album connects the dots between MC5 and ELECTRIC CHAIR with some metal riffing to carry the weight. Might sound more interesting than it actually is? There is not a ton of variety, as the album’s tracks list all bleed into one another. Standouts for me would be the “The Sign” and “Old Timer,” which offer a bit of refuge from monotony and display a level of vocal terror that could chum around with a young Jerry A. Would be interested to see how the new group continues to formulate.

Spit Kink Yes to Everything EP

SPIT KINK sounds like a new wave kid’s first attempt at singing PRINCE songs. There are simple electronic beats backing breathy vocals. At first it seems all wrong, but then about halfway in, I am starting to enjoy it. It’s just weird enough while also being peppy and dancey.  Best track title: “Ted Talkin’.” Best track: “Yes to Everything.” 100 copies lathe-cut 7″. Don’t snooze.

Telegenic Pleasure Concentric Grave LP

Synth punk is a style that was born perfect. Distilled down to its most primordial elements, it can be taken and re-created over and over again, and you know what? It is made of such noble stuff, that the results are always highly enjoyable. In the case of TELEGENIC PLEASURE (a band composed of members of the GAGGERS, ISOLATION PARTY, MONONEGATIVES, and MISCALCULATIONS), in addition to the aforementioned genre potentialities, you can expect the great talent and experience of such prolific people to generate great songs. And there are plenty of them on this album. Think of the unbridled energy of LOST SOUNDS and the fun and snotty attitude of late ’70s bands from the San Francisco and Los Angeles scenes. Plus, they have an excellent cover of Canada’s the DEMICS that is sure to become a cult classic.

V/A Big, Big Wave LP

Wild and very ambitious project that tries to give the listener a good glimpse into Hattiesburg, Mississippi’s underground punk scene, attempting to document as much of the scene as possible in a single day while on tour (with great success, in my opinion). Biff Bifaro, you are a crazy visionary! Keep on driving to far-away and under the radar scenes! Eleven bands with one or two tracks each recorded on the very same day, no doubt sharing some common ball of sound—to my taste, most of the bands were more on the garage side of rock than the punk side, minus FUMES, JUDY AND THE JERKS and YEAR OF THE VULTURE, but that’s only my view. Also features PLEATHER, CONTROL ROOM, and BIG HITS, among others. Great effort, give it a listen.