The Ichi-Bons Little Lil / The Witch 7″
Toronto trio ICHI-BONS play ’50s rock’n’roll the old-fashioned way, pulling from early rock, surf, and rockabilly. For this 45, they brought in Spencer Evoy, who leads London’s MFC CHICKEN, to blow the horn. The A-side is “Little Lil,” a 1959 rockabilly number originally cut by MEL DORSEY, and the flip is “The Witch,” the SONICS’ first single from 1964. Both songs come from an age before seatbelts and, uh, murderbots, when a song just needed two minutes, three chords, and some guy coming unglued over a girl. Drummer Paddy Burn bellows “The Witch” like he’s genuinely terrified of this lady. I could picture them in a battle of the bands with the 5.6.7.8’S, though I think they could learn a thing or two about cutting loose from those wild women from Tokyo. This was my first time hearing them, both sides sounded good to me, and now I want to hear what else they’ve got.