Reviews

Rainbow Music

Capt. Future and the Zapguns In Her Klaws / King of the Orient 7″

I sure don’t remember the first EP by this Swedish garage group being as tough as this. They start off with angry fury like the early NOMADS and finish it off with some great abrasive harmonic playing to prove they deserve their foothold as an international psychedelic punk band to watch.

Shoutless Insane / I Tell No Lies 7″

This neo-? record from Sweden has an OK A-side, but “I Tell No Lies” is buoyed by a delightful pop sensibility, layered vocal harmonies, and good instrumentals. This combines the accessibility of modern rock with the stylistic elements of ’60s punk. A strong release.

Shoutless Out of Reach 12″

Very good neo-’60s punk, indeed—perhaps second best in the burgeoning Swedish scene. Tight, loud, and with really good influences (HAUNTED, CHOCOLATE WATCHBAND). But they are just a shade shy on pure aggression, and that’s why I give the nod to the NOMADS.

Shoutless Bowery at Midnight LP

SHOUTLESS combines 50s, 60s, 70s, and 80s into one, adds big production, and the end product sometimes cuts it, sometimes not. The grunge is maxed out and I think that hurts their impact. Needs a bit more madness.

The Bottle Ups Boppalina Goes West and 3 Others EP

All four tracks here are instrumentals, as I assume all the tracks are on their LP as well. If you’re into ’50s rockin’ tracks like “Tomahawk, “Rumble,” etc., you’ll jump for this. Modern spaghetti western rock ’n’ roll from Sweden.

The Maryland Cookies Don’t Lie to Me! / Into the Primitive 7″

This has a much fuller sound than most Swedish garage bands. But the thing that impressed me the most about this record is the fact that this band doesn’t try to sound like they live in the United States. This is the one neo-psych band from Sweden, besides WILMER X, that doesn’t mind having an accent. And musically it’s a little more hard-edged, like WILMER X or the NOMADS.