JACK ENDINO

 

I consciously avoided Jack Endino's recorded material in real time because I wasn't really grooving on the shit frequently associated with him.  What I thought of as 'the C/Z sound' always seemed like the lighter side of the burgeoning grunge subgenre (even though most of of the big dogs were associated with either the label or Endino as an engineer at some point) and SKIN YARD's material kinda reinforced that general, if incorrect, conclusion. I figured the solo stuff would be more of the same so I just never bothered....and these are the losses that are almost guaranteed by validating assumptions, punk. Fast forward to a few weeks ago and a still-in-the-shrink copy at Ragin' Records and I made my move. There are surely some tracks here that land when I thought they would and that's fine ("Big Seth," "Find The Key," "Angle Of Attack" all land somewhere in the MOTHER LOVE BONE realm but less butt rock), but it's the diversions that are blowing my middle-aged mind. The quiet patience of "Time Is Running," the Nik Turner inspired meanderings in "Create What You Fear," the fIREHOSE energy in the opener "Salvation." The instrumental interludes give subtle SAVAGE REPUBLIC vibes (especially "Folks, Let's Nebulate") and the entire recording listens like a journey; the way entire recordings are supposed to be listened to. Even the closer "Post-X" (a reprise on "X-Echo 1" and "X-Echo 2" naturally) feels like it's laying you down gently after your trip. Maybe I wouldn't have fully appreciated Angle Of Attack at 18? Maybe it's better that I waited? Maybe I just needed this one at this moment? Regardless, I'm glad it's here. 

ANGLE OF ATTACK

SAMIN ANARKIA

 

Sometimes you need to feel the surge of the crowded room, moving as a cohesive and chaotic organism as the band you can barely see makes the walls shake. Condensation on the ceiling, beer all over the floor, studded jackets digging into the flesh on your arms as you brace yourself - not knowing if you're preparing for the next body blow or the next riff. This is stadium crust built for basements, walls of sound laying waste to the room while clenched fists pound the air. SAMIN ANARKIA accomplishes in less than fourteen minutes what the previous decade of DIY punk worked to achieve.

MALAPETAKA

APLOGETIC DAWN

 

There are a few Loathed Sound Department tapes I haven't unearthed and I savor them as they (re)surface. I eagerly consumed every release I could when the label was active, each one felt like a deep dive into a world I was (almost always) unfamiliar with. Apologetic Dawn is no different - you know funk and you know soul, but ADAM GRUP's "I Got You" and 6IX will turn your shit on its ear. The hard driving groove of THE STOVALL SISTERS, the silky smooth funk of THE TEMPREES, everything about FUZZY HAWKINS. The whole damn thing - start to finish.

APOLOGETIC DAWN: Music With Movement For The Funk And Soul Deep Inside

ARMED HOGS

 

Drop everything and blast the fukk out of this demo. Jakarta's ARMED HOGS have just changed the game by following the damn rules - ripping USHC played with precision and passion. This hits like when Brandon handed me the DIRECT CONTROL demo 20+ years ago.... all of the sounds were familiar but somehow the shit just clicked differently. Though the sound is decidedly more unhinged, this feels like that felt; if I told you this was a new supergroup from North Carolina or Richmond you wouldn't flinch and you'd wonder which sonic archaeologists had carefully reconstructed a perfect hardcore recording - then there's "Bootlicker" and it's like street punk on Ritalin then the slide at the 0:24 mark of "Strangled" (it's the little things - it really is the little things) and then it's fucking over and you're scrambling to get back to the beginning so you can really listen this time instead of mind-moshing your way through your Thursday. 

ARMED HOGS

ANXIETY

 

A box of $2 cassettes right next to the register is....a good business move. And that's how this ANXIETY tape entered my life. Shit-fi Finnish black metal - kinda like THE DECAY interpreting the genre without using the actual genre as a reference point. I was almost to the point of dismissing this tape but it's a mere fifteen minute investment so I stuck with it and I was rewarded. The tempo shift near the end of "Coffin Song / War" into the perfectly crafted and laughably executed intro to "Burning Eyes" are worth far more than my $2 investment. I trust that both will be well worth your time. 

AUTUMN 2004

AGONY COLUMN

 

If you know me even a little, then you know how much I love God, Guns & Guts. AGONY COLUMN's debut full length is a visceral redneck thrash juggernaut and tracks like "Fiendish Plots and Diabolical Minds" and "Dead By Dawn" are timeless classics. I acquired the CD in real time and it blew my mind; a formative recording that falls right alongside Dimensional Depth Perception and Scumdogs Of The Universe for me (the only GWAR record anyone needs, honestly). When Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles dropped I was ready - I wanted more. I was excited. 
Y'all, this shit was such a disappointment. Still is. There are a couple of highlights that could have been captured on a 12" EP. With room to spare. Devil Chicken's vocals are still absolute fire but the cheese overtakes the novelty and the songs just aren't strong enough to save it. Shit feels hokey - "Bayou Road" hits like some middle aged dads covering ZZ TOP at a strip mall brew pub on a Tuesday. I love that first record so much and I still want to like this so I try to seize on the good moments....so I guess "Hellbilly Blues" is about on par with some shit off the first ELVIS HITLER record and "Rain Comes Down" almost its like a FIELDS OF THE NEPHILIM track from the upside down world. But that's all I got. That's it. Maybe not every Tuesday is about disappointment, but this Tuesday is. 

 

BRAVE WORDS & BLOODY KNUCKLES

HUGE PRICK

 

Sorry about yesterday, my friends. I was having a moment and I was happy that Tom T. Hall cared about me when I was twelve. So nostalgia today, no context and no emotions....just six minutes of high voltage sonic damage from HUGE PRICK. I never saw this band, but I hope they were a gloriously hot mess. Damn this shit is good - this is not giving a fuck hardcore. 

PSYCHO CHAIR