Reviews

Records With Attitude

Double Fisted 1979 CD

This Phoenix three-piece plays metallic, noodly, slightly prog old-guy punk. With song titles like “Hookers & Blow” and “Drunk All the Time” you might get an idea of what to expect, but it’s not all as offensive or unintelligent as you might think. The vocals are mostly done in a deadpan El Duce style, but the lyrics are well-thought-out, even if not at all my thing. The band can play and they seem to be having a swell time melding styles and jamming. I abhor “jamming,” but maybe a couple microbrews and a doobie will make you like this just fine?

Double Fisted The First Seven Inches EP

Here we have some mostly instrumental punk chugging from a couple of dads, pressed on a 7″. It opens with speedy skate punk and progressively gets slower, tossing out a few cool riffs along the way. On the last track, they finally decide to start singing and it’s some type of spooky theatrical ’90s rock number. It’s an interesting piece of work, but I liked this record title better when SLOPPY SECONDS used it in 1987.

Double Fisted Carousel / 3AM 7″

DOUBLE FISTED describes themselves best as “old school punk rock dudes playing whatever they want.” This two-song 7” comes straight out of their garage in Glendale, AZ, with a fuzzy, stoner-psych vibe. But there’s more to unpack with these two sides. The instrumental A-side “Carousel” starts like a demo cassette of a ’60s psych-rock tribute band before switching seamlessly into solid thrash riffage in the style of an early METALLICA demo. Then, around the 2:20 mark, the hardcore skate punk chugging kicks in. It’s a lot, but it works. The B-side, “3 AM,” has more of a stoner, metalcore build to it. The riffs are great, and the vocals kick after about 90 seconds singing about witches, demons, and junk. This track also has that ’60s heavy psych rock/proto-metal vibe until it closes with a quick, hardcore mosh.