Reviews

For review and radio play consideration:

Please send vinyl (preferred), CD, or cassette releases to MRR, PO Box 3852, Oakland, CA 94609, USA. Maximum Rocknroll wants to review everything that comes out in the world of underground punk rock, hardcore, garage, post-punk, thrash, etc.—no major labels or labels exclusively distributed by major-owned distributors, no reviews of test pressings or promo CDs without final artwork. Please include contact information and let us know where your band is from!

The Clay The Middle East Combat Area EP

Gut-crunching power thrusts a titanic wallop as the CLAY do their brand of Japanese hardcore. Fast, with enjoyable chord changes and strong leads, has metallic edges broken in with thrash punches; still, it screams with incredible bursts of energy. Potent lyrics on the political side. This is tasteful and scorches. Be sure to get this!

Bannlyst / Angor Wat split cassette

ANGOR WAT alternate between a heavy, powerful post-punk sound and excellent, powerful thrash—both coming off excellently (especially on the studio tracks…the live are weaker). BANNLYST have a more metal sound, with some pop sensibilities, reminding me a bit of some Japanese stuff I’ve heard lately, especially in the ultra- gruff vocals. Both bands are hot!

V/A Shoot ‘Em All cassette

Outside of some weak Britpunk material from BLABOIZ, we’re presented with some excellent tracks (studio and live) from the VANDALS (not the US band), INTENSIFIED CHAOS (again, not the US combo), and SABOTEUR. Vigorous stuff!

V/A Have a Rotten Christmas LP

The up-and-coming Rot Records label presents largely unreleased tracks for your holiday “enjoyment.” Good, strong material from ANIMAL FARM, VARUKERS, NO CHOICE, SKEPTIX, RESISTANCE 77, ENEMY, PARANOIA, and RIOT SQUAD. What, no BOBBY HELMS?

V/A Four on 4 EP

One cut each by four excellent rock ’n’ roll (in the good, teen rave-up sense) combos. The MILKSHAKES, PRISONERS, STING-RAYS, and TALLBOYS all turn in crisp, up-tempo rockers with varying influences (R’n’B, psych, mod). So don’t be no “skwayer,” and pick it up.

The Varukers Massacred Millions 12″

Here be the newie of the VARUKERS, sounding more like their first LP than that last blast of a speedy DISCHARGE riffs. High snare in the mix, but that doesn’t hold this back. Fast, powerful, and clean in the VARUKERS tradition, but what happened to Bruce??

The Stupids Leave Your Ears Behind cassette

A dozen very, very powerful and desperate thrash tunes out of the studio. These guys are “newcomers,” yet they deliver like old pros—tight, and with confidence. This band, among a few others, bodes well for Britain’s HC future.

Stress State of Decay cassette

A four-song mid-tempo Brit-punk style tape. It’s OK, but not very inspiring. I think this style reflects too closely the depressed nature of the English working class. Their lackluster, unimaginative lives come across, not so much lyrically, but in the dull repetitiveness and unexciting music. Somehow, punk should attack that existence with hope and verve. I dunno, maybe I have no right to say this from afar.

Riot/Clone Blood on Your Hands? EP

While the two B-side tracks are nothing special, it’s the A-side’s “Why Do You Have to Eat Me?” that grabs me. It’s about one-half spoken word (a woman reciting various facts about edible animals’ unhappy encounters with mankind, set to eerie sci-fi-like music), and then breaks into a classic punk chant song.

Resistance 77 Thoroughbred Men LP

A better release than I expected. While there’s some so-so stuff, many of the tracks have that “something special” that makes them jump out at you, and stick, too. Catchy tunes, powerfully delivered, and with zip!

Newtown Neurotics Suzi 12″

The NEWTOWN NEUROTICS again display their complete command of the ’77-style punk style with these three highly melodic up-tempo bursts. “Suzi” qualifies as a finely honed bit of pop-punk in the best English tradition, and the two songs on the flip are almost up to the same standard. Is this band capable of putting out a bad record? No.

The March Violets Natural History LP

I feel burned, Jack, cuz three-quarters of this friggin’ thing is the old singles, and if they wanna keep breaking new ground with their collective pinkys, then my green’ll be clinging wallet-side cuz their last single sounded like fuckin’ X anyway.

The Kick Let’s Get Back Together EP

A three-song UK mod release with all the prerequisites: vocal harmonies, R’n’B guitar licks, up-tempo beat. There’s just a hint of the unusual on “A Shot in the Dark,” but otherwise they’re just a pale version of the JOLT.

The Homosexuals The Homosexuals’ Record LP

This is a posthumous release of demos this band recorded on cassette, so the sound quality is raw—but that doesn’t bother you. Their music is fast pop similar to the SWELL MAPS and early XTC. You can probably find some of their old singles used.

The Fall The Wonderful and Frightening World of the Fall LP

There’s three new records by these guys, and it’s all like this LP. They’re faster and funnier than ever. Mark Smith maintains his tradition of never really “singing” the songs. They confidently thwart trends. They laugh while their peers join mindless tribes or dress up like gauchos just to get on MTV. All three records are available on one cassette.

English Dogs To the Ends of the Earth 12″

Yowsaaah! You say ENGLISH DOGS equals GBH clones, a ho-hum mucacho. You ain’t heard this! Blisters with speedcore franticness, mean with whining licks as it kicks into a maniac pace. Well-organized melodies that cry out in terrorizing metallic thrash. While some bands are trying to be metal, ENGLISH DOGS are just the dawning of speedcore. Put that on again, chalk one up for Rot!

Disrupters Playing With Fire LP

The DISRUPTERS continue their treatment of fascinating lyric themes with their second LP, but the music is considerably less impressive. The plodding tempos and sluggish guitarwork impart a certain lethargy to the song structures, which mine a basic Brit-punk influence. “Surfshock” qualifies as a pleasantly abrasive, mid-tempo rocker.

Devestation Drag You Down EP

This is a marvelous and thoroughly uncharacteristic British garage punk record. It’s not really good in any technical or musical sense, and that’s precisely why I like it. DEVASTATION create a fearsome ruckus with ultra-distorted, medium-speed drones punctuated at various points by primitive, out-of-tune leads. Not for musicians….which is fine by me.

Danielle Dax Jesus Egg That Wept LP

Women are created equal, and they are capable of parallel performance in any of 1000 arenas. Therefore, add to the list the gal here on the outer reaches of sanity. A truly bizarre platter incorporating various and sundry obvious influences. But, I am gasping, “A woman can do anything” (underneath my breath) as I drag my cigarette and flip this over for another spin.

Cult Maniax The Amazing Adventures of Johnny the Duck and the Bath Time Blues 12″

The title track of this five-track EP is a sedate dose of riffy funnypunk, but the only song here that shows any life is the fast rocker “Maniax.” While the compositions on this 12″ delve into a Brit-punk style of a less-than-generic sort, I found myself pining for the CULT MANIAX of a long time ago. Tiresome.

Chaos UK Short Sharp Shock LP

Yo to Chaos and the gang. This album tears me flesh away and sends shivers up the spine as that raw, unrelenting sound of CHAOS UK squeezes me brain boggen in sheer utter delight. Even though this is a new line-up (except Chaos on bass), the intensity and drive that charges forth is mayhemic insanity. In all of the punk globe, only two bands exist that put forth this burly sound, and both are from the same town. Yea, it’s great!

Ad Nauseam No Mercy cassette

Can this be the same band that put out that drone-like EP a while back? Yes, it is, but they’ve improved about 1000%, and return to blast our ears with some powerful noise and tune-laden thrash. Another excellent young UK outfit to watch for.

The Accursed Laughing at You LP

This is their third 12″/mini-LP (hard to tell which these days), and probably their best yet. By no means generic punk, there are all sorts of strange noises and various counter-rhythms running throughout, keeping the listener just a bit off-balance. And just when you think it just might be a bit too eccentric, they come back with their powerful sound. There is one self-indulgent klunker on the studio side, though, and the live side isn’t quite as neat as the studio. Still, it’s interesting.

V/A Music to Kill Brain Cells, Vol. 1 cassette

Band #1 is BROKEN TALENT, who, after the pornographic intro (Mykel Board, get this one!), indulge us with some classic garage punk. #2 is VERBAL CIRCUS, and they deliver some really weird shit (again M.B., take note). POP CRUDS bring us back to reality (ha!) with more garage retardedness. And that leaves it all up to FONZIE’S NEPHEWS, who polish us off in a demented fit of idiocy. “Weird shit,” as the liner notes say.

V/A Highs in the Mid-Sixties, Vol. 13 LP

Supposedly a return to the “punk” side of Texas ’60s music, it’s not quite the wailer I had hoped for. While there’s some killer stuff by the BRIKS, FANATICS, and BARONS (MOUSE AND THE TRAPS rip-off), there’s also an awful lot of filler here. Hope that’s it for the Texas series.

V/A Highs in the Mid-Sixties, Vol. 12 LP

Part two of the Texas retrospective in this on-going series has dug up a mixed bag. Side one is the ” acid-punk” side, and it’s a 50/50 proposition: highlights are by the REMAINING FEW and STEREO SHOESTRING, the rest being too far gone on the lighter weight psych side. Side two is the “pop” side, and it’s less than a 50/50 deal.

V/A Desperate Teenage Lovedolls LP

The soundtrack to We Got Power‘s video extravaganza, there’s lots of great rock ’n’ roll. REDD KROSS appropriately dominates this disc, not only with their own tunes, but with members sitting in with WHITE FLAG as well. They are joined by BLACK FLAG, SIN 34 (WGP’s “house band”), NIP DRIVERS, and DARKSIDE(?). Cool teen stuff!

V/A Back From the Grave, Vol. 4 LP

More primitive ’60s punk from pimply faced pubescents who couldn’t attract a “gurl” if their lives depended on it. And it’s a damn good thing, too, or they wouldn’t have been mad enough to produce these raunchy misogynistic rants. Almost everything here is primo stuff, maaaan, but I especially dig the CYCLONES, RED BEARD & THE PIRATES, the HALLMARKS, and the AZTEX. Can’t wait for future volumes.

V/A Attack of the Jersey Teens LP

No headbangin’ ’60s punk here, with most of this anthology concentrating on the Mersey/folk rock side of things (WHAT-NOTS, FRIEDLES, YOUNG MONKEY MEN)—but CALLIOPE and LOVED ONES do turn in an excellent rocker each. I suspect most of these bands hailed from South Jersey, hung out at “the Shore,” and would love to be BRUCE STINKBEAN.

White Flag Third Strike LP

Whatever one might think of WHITE FLAG’s attitudes—and I think they’re about as infantile as they come—it can’t be denied that they’ve managed to put out another fine album. Like the first, this one combines lots of power, imagination, and humor (some of which is purely unintentional). Musically, there’s some fast stuff, some slower stuff, some metal, and some weird shit. The kind of record you can close your mind and happily march off a cliff to.

White Boy Poker Chips / How Safe Are You 7″

This duo of Jake Whipp and Mr. Ott dates back to around 1976 when they emerged with their pre-punk classic, “I Could Puke. ” And here they are again. While neither side is as great as that debut, both sides exhibit their weird, punchy music that combines a rhythm machine, eerie vocals, and occasional wicked guitar outbursts.

Ugly Americans The Dream Turns Sour LP

This album contains a fair amount of monochromatic thrash on side one, but several tunes of the flip show that the UGLY AMERICANS have an unexpected versatility; I really enjoyed “The Bad, the Worse…” and especially “Bob’s Beach,” with its surfy overtones. The lyrics are always incisive and hard-hitting, so even though this LP is musically a mixed bag, I can recommend it without too much difficulty.

The Twisted Sheez Wycked / The Thing 7″

The TWISTED have a raw ’60s sound with psychotic vocals, a trebly, organ-based orientation, and twangy psychedelicized guitar work. “Sheez Wycked” is more demented; the flip is a spooky instrumental with human screams. Midnight does it again.

Stisism Introducing… Stisism EP

Yet another new band on the Mutha label. STISISM have a chunky, mid-tempo punk attack with a PISTOL-ian feel. The vocals have pronounced ’77 inflections, the sound is raw and garagy, and there’s more than enough belligerence to go around. Highly recommended.

Slovenly Even So 12″

It’s unfair to compare a very original band to another just to help explain their sound. But I will. A little like the MINUTEMEN, but fuller and less manic; a little like the FALL, too. The lyrics are offbeat and are used more for sound/mood than message. Most of them used to be a band called TOXIC SHOCK.

Skull Duggery Headlock LP

Bizarre—could’ve sworn this would be metal, judging by the cover. But as the ol’ expression goes, “You can’t judge a…” You want punk, you got it. You want country, you got it. You want garage, you got it. You want metal, you got it. You want experimental, you got it. And all done weirdly!

17 Pygmies Jedda by the Sea LP

Some people and songs from SAVAGE REPUBLIC here, but in a different direction. 17 PYGMIES are quieter (even mystical) on this musical trip to Israel. Like SAVAGE REPUBLIC, a knowledge and love of ethnic music from all over the world comes through. At times, they sound like a Herzog soundtrack. I guess if you like BAUHAUS and their ilk you may like this, but there’s no inherent doom and gloom here.

Sangre de Puerco Cheezy Dogs cassette

A lot of this band’s material is on the softer side, not unlike some of the REPLACEMENTS’ current material. There’s some freak-out jazzy punk, too, and even some thrash that’s twinged with country, reminding me of MDC’s “Chicken Squawk” or something.

Rich Kids on LSD It’s a Beautiful Feeling EP

Another in the “Nardcore” series (although RKL recently moved to SF) of mini-LPs, and they kick. As with many of the younger bands these days, there’s a decidedly metal guitar influence. I choose to not hear it.

Marlene Foreman / Killing Your Soul 7″

Ever wonder what happened to Jennifer Miro, singer of the late SF NUNS? Well, she now fronts MARLENE (or is she MARLENE?), who produces one slow BLONDIE-ish side and one cabaret-ish side. Can’t really recommend this musically, but the lyrics are intelligent. And, of course, it’s historically relevant. Right?

Legionaires Disease Placebo World EP

Hey, it’s only been five years since their previous EP, and somehow several of the original members have regrouped with others for this reemergence. While I don’t believe they are a functioning unit (they haven’t played here where they live and recorded this), this is pretty tight. Description: punk rock, with the “rock” as stressed as the “punk.”

Kraut Whetting the Scythe 12″

While this mini-LP boasts considerably more production finesse than past efforts, the songs by and large didn’t grab me. KRAUT use metal and punk power-chord figures with skill and taste—yet, it’s difficult to pick out a single memorable track here, or anything even remotely along the lines of past greats like “Bogus” or “Kill for Cash.” Disappointing.

Kor-Phu Kor-Phu LP

Uh oh. More sun-damaged crazies have invaded our area from the desert. Sure this is difficult music; imagine a hybrid of the SEX PISTOLS and KING CRIMSON. What lifts these weeds into a high-energy bracket is their fat, metallic guitar crunch, and a warped sense of humor. Check it out.