Reviews

Secret Mission

Combat & Ruler The Loco-Motion / Action 7″

Third single from Tokyo band RULER (featuring members of TEENGENERATE, RAYDIOS, FIRESTARTER, etc.). This go-round they’ve recruited vocalist COMBAT, who’s apparently the drummer from the KANNANA SPEED CATS (she gets top billing on the 7″, which makes me think I should know who she is, but…I don’t). The A-side is a cover of the LITTLE EVA classic (written by Goffin/King), and the B-side is an original. It’s my favorite release of theirs thus far. This trashy—but not too trashy—take on “The Loco-Motion” is fantastic, and the original reminds me of what I loved about these folks’ previous projects. Give it a listen!

David Quinton Overlook Road LP

DAVID QUINTON cut his teeth as the teenaged drummer of late-’70s Toronto band the MODS (recently reissued on vinyl by Ugly Pop) before landing a gig backing STIV BATORS on his underwhelming post-DEAD BOYS work, Disconnected. Having penned that LP’s best song, “Make Up Your Mind,” QUINTON subsequently recorded a superior version for his own solo album, released in 1981 on Canadian indie Bomb Records. The twelve-track Overlook Road compiles unreleased tracks mainly from the early 1980s, including several alternate versions of LP tracks. This is slick power pop (with emphasis on the “pop”), including a couple piano ballads. If you’re a wimp like me who can hang with 20/20 or PEZBAND, it’s worth checking out.

Flashlights Shadows and Lights LP

Secret Mission continues to make vinyl wrongs right by issuing the 2016 debut by Tokyo’s FLASHLIGHTS on LP. Originally released on CD only by Fifi (TEENGENERATE and FIRESTARTER) on his Stay Free imprint, this album has been a dark horse favorite of mine for a couple years now. Though boasting members of ROCK-A-CHERRY and the impossibly fantastic KNOCKS, FLASHLIGHTS’ approach is quite obviously centered on ’80s guitar pop, most akin to bands RAZORCUTS, the FLATMATES or even the FEELIES. I’ve opened up a lot more to this stuff in recent years, so I’m very much on board here. As is customary with so many Japanese acts, there’s a tastefulness to their entire operation that captuers part of the spark and spirit of their influences in a genuine way. Great.

The Outcasts Tell Me the Whole Story 2xLP

This appears to be the first complete and definitive singles / EPs collection from this Belfast group. The ’78—’79 material is classic jagged-edged adolescent punk with a dash of that mandatory pop that’s evident in basically every Irish punk band from the ’70s. Sort of akin to more distinguished and catchy ’70s punk like THE ADVERTS, but far more juvenile. I hadn’t previously ventured into the ’80-’85 material, and turns out they predictably become more refined, with prominent new wave tendencies, but the tunes remain enjoyable, or at least listenable. Song themes don’t stray far from love, adolescent misogyny, street life, or inspiration from whatever the songwriter was reading at the time. “I wrote this song about a girl I was dating. She told me one day she was now a Christian, so this line came to me: you’re a disease babe / your faith’s a disease I don’t wanna catch.’” Each song gets a little blurb or anecdote from the main songwriter Martin Cowan, laid out across a gatefold sleeve with the original sleeve art of each single and EP. The whole thing sounds great, and appears to be about as faithful of a collection as anyone could hope for.

The See Saw Get a Chance! EP

Cool debut from this new Japanese punk/pop act, boasting some connection to NYLON. Three tunes total, but the title track is the obvious kicker and punkest of the lot, delivered in a sweet/slashing style that recalls STAIRS or RAYDIOS. A sound and school of punks near and dear to my heart.

The Sensitive Lips / Weekend Fan! split 7″

This split of fun power pop from Japan takes me back to the early days of MTV with guitar-forward, uptempo earnestness. WEEKEND FAN! kicks off the party with “I’m a Failure,” which reminds me of the JAM or FALL OUT BOY with a bouncy rock feel, yet with a foot still firmly in the garage. On the B-side, SENSITIVE LIPS blow the doors off with a ripper, “Nervous,” that outpaces the other song in tempo but matches it with listenable bubblegum sweetness. Much more pop punk than pop, “Nervous” actually has a more new wave quality like early ADAM AND THE ANTS. Think “Dirk Wears White Sox,” but faster. Both songs share harmonized “oohs” in their bridges and guitar solos that have an edge but not too much bite. Each band turns in a tight performance, and the recording is clean as the parachute pants your mom just bought you.