Reviews

Phantom Records

Highway Patrol In Tears cassette

This is the third full-length release from Germany’s HIGHWAY PATROL. Recorded live to tape, this somehow ended up sounding more produced than a majority of the recordings I get sent to write about. While that aspect is certainly impressive, beyond that, I’ll admit it, I just don’t get it. A self-proclaimed “country” and “wild rhythm ’n’ vodoo [sic] blues” band, a made-up genre name so bizarre it even comes with a glaring typo. Twelve tracks of sleepy, sing-song meandering with the occasional fuzzed-out solo. There is a very real possibility that I am just not the target audience for this music, although I do consider myself pretty versatile in my knowledge and tastes. If this band were a patrolled highway, I imagine the many crash reports would indicate “fell asleep at the wheel” as the cause for the crash, with the drivers having been lulled off to sleep by the lullabies found within.

The Deadly Hume Me, Grandma, Iliko, and Hilarian LP

You know what’s irresistible and charming about this record is that it reminds me of JOHN CALE during his best period, right down to the vocalist, and acoustic ballad and some of the crunchiest rock’n’roll with perceptive lyrics that I’ve heard since I bought Sabotage.