AM "Francophiles & Skinny Ties" CD
This album starts out with some goofy disco bass beats and morphs into some angular indie-geek riffing. That about sums it up for the rest of the album, it's the sort of record that the will be described as "quirky" by people who are a little more accepting than I. I think they're going for something kind of "funky," "indie rock you can dance to!" or something like that. I imagine some people enjoying this, but I personally can't take the nasally vocals on this thing, and the fact that these guys aren't patient enough to stick with something good and basic. This is the type of band that hits the stage at Ralph's and everyone else loves them, but I just stand there dumbfounded... So take that for what it's worth.
- Phil Hunt

Listen while you play: Toki

(AM Mayhem Records)

Anchorhead "Disaster" CD
These fellas are longtime favorites in the back room at Ralph's (and they claim Mr. Todd Holdman among their ranks, the man who actually makes his debut as the country specialist at The Odyssey this time around), so the rank and file patrons who've swilled down a few drinks with Anchorhead on various evenings will find a lot of familiar tunes on this little collection. And it's no surprise that this album has that loose, live atmosphere that makes the live gigs so much fun. There is a lot of acoustic twang and crying steel guitar, here, but it's laid down on a steady rock and roll foundation, so you don't have to be some No Depression-reading country geek to get into it. Good show, boys.
- Phil Hunt

Listen while you play: Steeple Chase

(SMA Records)

Ass-End Offend "Character Assassins" CD
Ass-End Offend are the best hardcore punk band I've heard in quite some time. It's fast, dark, loud, brutal punk perfection that's as rambunctious and sweaty as the last basement show you attended. I always have trouble talking about hardcore, or what is generally recognized as hardcore, because it's all pretty much the same to most ears (including mine), but some of it is just better. This one falls into the better category. I wanted to rip on the sorta silly-sounding intro/slowdown to "Becoming Our Destruction" or "Permanent Sick Leave" but the entirety of those songs are so great that it more than makes up for a couple of cheesy moments. I really like this. There are a lot of kids at the VFW who need to hear this.
- Phil Hunt

Listen while you play: Xevious

(Wäntage)

Baby Woodrose "Dropout" CD
Stoner band Baby Woodrose turned in an album's worth of covers of their favorite tunes. It's difficult to review covers, because they're always best heard when you're in the band that's playing it, or if you're in the crowd at a live show. On record, covers are a little trickier. Some of them are great, but most of them aren't. Baby Woodrose cover a lot of good tunes, Love's "Can't Explain," The Sonics' "I'm Going Home," "I Don't Ever Wanna Come Down," by 13th Floor Elevators Stooges' "Not Right" and "This Perfect Day" by the Saints being some of the best. Only the Saints cover really left me hungry for more. As is usually the case with covers, the originals have a bit more spark and energy than these versions. I don't fault the band for trying, but I'd say leave this alone unless you're really, really into the psychedelic stoner rock of Baby Woodrose.
- Phil Hunt

Listen while you play: Turbo Sub

(Bad Afro)

Bad Religion, "The Empire Strikes First" CD
For every amazing album like "Against The Grain", "Stranger Than Fiction", "No Control", "Recipe For Hate", or even 2002's excellent return to form, "The Process Of Belief", they've put out the occasional disappointingly flat album like "The Gray Race" or (what I consider to be the most overrated of all allegedly "great" BR albums, "Generator"). So then, where does this album fit in? I have to say that this album falls into my early candidates for disappointment of the year, so far. The songwriting is very good, as songs like "Sinister Rouge", "Atheist Peace", and the excellent "Los Angeles Is Burning" are all stand outs, and a few other tracks are very good, as well. The harmonies are all intact, and the lyrics are very good, and somewhat toned down from the "you'll need a dictionary to find out what everything means" aesthetic of past albums. But the production is cold, sterile, compressed to all hell, and the guitars sound absolutely lifeless and buried. Joe Barresi, a veteran producer/ engineer, has mixed a flat, dull, sterile album. Missing in action is Greg Hetson's Chuck Berry on steroids lead guitars, as the skillful and tasteful melodic lead guitars (handled by Hetson, Brett Gurewitz, and Brian Baker) are pretty much non-existent for this record. Kudos to a band who have put out their most political album in years (this one is basically dedicated to getting George W. Bush out of office), but if the BR empire is to strike, maybe they should make sure that the troops are into the musical fight, first.
- Ryan Settee

Listen while you play: Popeye

(Epitaph Records)

Baseball Furies "Let It Be" LP
One of the best punk bands in the USA just slammed another great batch of hits out of the park, but I still can't tell what that is on the cover. Some of these songs appeared on their demo that they floated around a few years ago, and the album as a whole took quite some time to be released, but at last their songs recorded with the mighty Jerry Teel (re: Chrome Cranks) finally saw the light of day. The opening track, "Taking Turns at Ground Zero" is one of my all time favorite songs (be sure to check out the slightly less-produced version on the Maybe Chicago compilation). I can listen to that over and over again. It doesn't stop there, though. Everything about this record is ferocious! Sleazy, smart-ass vocals and stabbing, riffs, and reckless fury abound. The sound of stinking back alleys, petty vandalism and out of control intoxication. Gotta have more, more, more. This review comes across as a bit rambling I'm sure, but I love this record. And thanks to Hollywood for coming to Fargo when he tours with his bands.
-Phil Hunt

Listen while you play: Space Duel

(Big Neck Records)

Bible Of The Devil, "Tight Empire" CD
I'd never heard of this band before - a friend hooked me up with them, and this album kicks ass. Residing somewhere in between Turbonegro and Three Inches Of Blood, there's guitar harmonies aplenty (very Maiden-esque), metal god guitar solos, as 80's metal shards throughout, as well as the required heavy assed blues riffs mixed with punk rock to update this and make for a fresh new sound. Re-released by Zeke's drummer Donny Paycheck on his own Dead Teenager Records, this album sports three deadly attributes: great songs, great musicianship, and great production. Plus with songs like "Shit To Pimp", "Balls Deep, Mountain High", "Fuckin' A" and "Sexual Dry Gulch", you know what you're in for. I do think that there could have been some better editing at times. Most of the songs are around or over the five minute mark.
- Ryan Settee

Listen while you play: Code One Dispatch

(Dead Teenager Records)

Big Business "Tour CD" EP
Jared Warren (ex Karp/Tight Bros from Way Back When/The Whip) and Coady Willis (ex Murder City Devils) are talking business... BIG BUSINESS that is! (insert laugh track here). If you're familiar with Karp, that's probably the easiest frame of reference here. You'll get four tracks, each taking that not-so-subtle smash the barricades, elephant and earthquake approach to rock and roll. The buzzing, schizo-metal guitar and rapid, busybody drum thunder will leave you with the impression that you are listening to some great malfunctioning machine. The last song, Off Off Broadway, has that ride-into-battle, hesher opera feeling and it's probably my favorite song to listen to at the moment. But I've always been into whatever Mr. Warren and his pals have been pushing to the youngsters, and this is no exception. You gotta hear this.
- Phil Hunt

Listen while you play: Castle of Dragon

(Wäntage)

Big Business "Head For The Shallow" CD
More beautiful, HEAVY noise from those great masters of bazzuzzing punk metal. A vast, thunderous drone and flashes of thunder -- the gods are speaking and it's fucking loud. Three tracks from the original "Tour CD" get a scrub-down via knob master Phil Ek, and five new ones. Really, the same descriptions as the 4-song tour CD apply here, only the production is a lot more crisp and clean and loud as a cannon blast in the brain. Jared Warren's banshee scream sounds beyond human and better than ever. Totally savage.
- Phil Hunt

Listen while you play: Cavelon

(Hydra Head)

Black Cat Music "October November" CD
Black Cat Music have mostly abandoned the punk rock stuff in favor of their gothic, gloomy shards of guitar and their signature howling vocals. You get an occasional nod to 60s garage, some Joy Division worship and plenty of tumbling, glam riffs and super high-range wails from Brady Baltezore. There are a couple of really interesting pop songs "The Jet Trash," and "Thirteen Foot" that really stand out. That is probably what I like best about Black Cat Music, how when these guys throw you a curveball, it sounds even better than their more standard stuff.
- Phil Hunt

Listen while you play: Western Gun

(Lookout Records)

Blinker The Star, "Still In Rome" CD
Jordan Zadorozny gets just can't seem to get a break. He's been on Dreamworks records (and been dropped, I guess), written songs for Stevie Nicks and Courtney Love, yet can't seem to ever break through with his own music. This album is a more aggressive straight ahead guitar rock album, and is quite the departure from Blinker's last album, the gorgeously majestic power pop album, "August Everywhere". This album is more of a logical successor to Blinker's earlier album, "A Bourgeous Kitten", and therefore has a few more decidedly noisier and uptempo moments to it. Songs like the title track, "Get It Together", "Got To Go Through It", and the retardedly catchy "Bathroom Wall" all combine to make a really solid album. The production and instruments, for the most part, were all done by Zadorozny, and the album has a really nice mid-fi home produced sound to it. Hey, even his buddy Lindsey Buckingham plays guitar and contributes backing vocals on the excellent "What Have I Been Waiting For?".
- Ryan Settee

Listen while you play: Up N' Down

(Maple Music)

  Burning Brides, "Leave No Ashes" CD
Unlike their previous album, this one was fully funded by a major, and therefore carries big expectations. In a lot of ways, it does live up to the hype and expectation--songs like the shaking rock n' roll of the lead off track, "Heart Full Of Black", the metallic rocking assault of tracks like "Alternative Teenage Suicide" and the title track, as well as the almost stoner rock-ish "King Of The Demimonde.".But the album faults when it tries too hard to appeal to a broader variety of guitar rock styles; styles that are similar enough for the most part, yet a little too diverse, making the album's flow very unsteady, sounding. On a track to track basis, the individual songs are good, but as a whole, the album sounds like a "best of" compilation of a band that has no "best of" yet. I read somewhere that singer Dmitri Coats was "sick of all these wimpy garage bands" (or something to that effect), but "Come Alive", "Century Song", as well as a couple of other tracks, are kinda garagey, yeah, but they're not gonna destroy sissy garage bands.
- Ryan Settee

Listen while you play: Bomb Bee

(V2 Records)

Clutch, "Blast Tyrant" CD
Hallelujah! It's nice to see a veteran band that's actually getting better this year. Clutch are continuing on their ZZ Top/ Sabbath/ Mountain/ Zappa/ Beefheart weirdo boogie riffage, and this is one of their best records. The highlights? Pick any track! This is one of those records that it sounds like one big, great song. There's a couple of slower/ quieter tracks, like the minor key acoustic blues dirge of "The Regulator", and the eerie and moody "Ghost", which reveal that the band can pull off some different, yet complimentary styles, when needed. My gripe with past albums such as "Pure Rock Fury" (though still a great record!), was that the production was really compressed by longtime Clutch engineer, Larry Packer. But Larry's gone, and the result is an album that will destroy your speakers, as the guitars sound great, the drums pound, and the bass will give you a heart attack! And who can't love a line like "everybody move to Canada and smoke lots of pot. Here's how we do it: bumrush the border guard before he and his dog ever knew it".
- Ryan Settee

Listen while you play: Buster Bros.

(DRT Entertainment)

C'Mon, "Midnight Is The Answer" LP
I expected this to be good, but this has entirely blown away my expectations. Ian Blurton cranks his vintage SG with P-90's through vintage amps, Katie Lynn Campbell (ex-Nashville Pussy) rumbles with Rickenbacker low end, and drummer Randy Curnew puts the cherry on top of the "putting power back in the power trio" aspect. I've gotta get a cowbell to play along with this stuff. The songs all have catchy singalong choruses, and this cruises along like a car down the highway with ZZ Top's "Tres Hombres" floating outta the windows at full blast. If you don't like this, you don't like rock n' roll, I'm afraid. It's The limited run of 500 vinyl copies has since sold out, and this is being picked up by MapleMusic, for wider distribution. Ignore this at your own risk.
- Ryan Settee

Listen while you play: Twin Eagles

(Maple Music)

Crime, "San Francisco's Still Doomed" CD
Receiving a new lease on life, courtesy of the generous and all knowing Swami Records (who re-released the Testors stuff last year, bless 'em), these guys dressed up in police uniforms pissed off everyone (including the SFPD), made very few friends, and basically were their own scene, antagonizing audiences mostly at the legendary Mabuhay Gardens. "San Francisco's Doomed" was originally released early in the 90's, and the band's recordings have been subjected to and often relegated to the bootleg variety. Not no more. Excuse the "p" word, Crime hated being called a punk band -- opting to instead be termed a rock n' roll unit. Nevertheless, this is some rowdy, primitive punk, just the way that it should be played. Tracks like "Frustration", "Rock n' Roll Enemy No. 1", "Piss On Your Dog", "Hotwire My Heart" and "Samurai" all charge along like a drunk who's ready to fight. The very live off the floor sounding nature of the record (save for the alternative takes of "Hotwire My Heart" and "Baby You're So Repulsive") makes it sound like it was recorded right there out of the band's rehearsal space--and most likely, it was.
- Ryan Settee

Listen while you play: Crime City

(Swami Records)

Cripple Creek Fairies "The Fist" CD
Given this CD of songs about masks, capes and fighting is accompanied by a comic book detailing the adventures of the Cripple Creek Fairies, I would guess that this would be classified as "Super Hero Rock" ala the Go Nuts or something like that. It certainly isn't that far off the mark from the Go Nuts if you compare them to the full-length albums (these guys don't take the surf). The album is sort of a mixed bag of cuddly garage rock with a bit of that ever-so-everywhere AC/DC influence. I'm sure this is a fun band and all, but I'm not really into it. Although the presentation is kind of cool, the music is really standard. It's missing a certain je nais se qua.
-Phil Hunt

Listen while you play: Mayday

(Catch and Release)

The Dead Idols, S/T CD
This is a sorta right down that path of Radio Birdman/ Dead Boys/ Saints punk rock school! My favorite songs are "Smile", "Facebreaker", "Teenage Heartbreak", and a few others, which have catchy choruses and singalong chants. As a matter of fact, the whole CD has plenty of reasons to pump a fist or three. The subject matter thankfully veers little from the holy grail of "sex, drugs and rock n' roll", with numerous references to drinking. I do think that the guitar sound/ tone could be a bit nastier (and the lead guitars are mixed too low, so this is something that would have made the album even better), but I realized something about this band while writing this review; they remind me alot of the late and great Forbidden Dimension, especially with the vocal style. The Dead Idols is a very cool name, too!
- Ryan Settee

Listen while you play: SDI - Strategic Defense Initiative

(www.thedeadidols.com)

Dead Moon, "Dead Ahead" CD
I really want to love Dead Moon on record. I've tried, I really have (especially in the past), and I feel like I'm committing some sort of indie rock sacrilige, but all their records sound like I'm listening to them through the neighbours' wall, even when I'm in front of the stereo! They're awesome live, and I really respect their indie DIY sticktoitiveness, but they really need someone that can actually hear to mix their records. Great songs, otherwise.
- Ryan Settee

Listen while you play: Death Race

(Tombstone Records)

Detonations, "Static Vision" CD
Falling somewhere in between the old school bass-less dirt rock of the Leather Uppers, Oblivians and Blues Explosion, with a hint of Devo-ish craziness, and Crime. The production by Jerry Teel keeps the vibe loose 'n dirty, and this is 11 songs of glorious noise. My favorite songs are "I Feel It", "Victim", and "I May Care", and the fuzz guitar sound is a-ma-zing. Singer/ guitarist John Henry plays a Fender Tele with bass strings through a complex bi-amp system, and guitarist Julien Fried plays cheap garage sale guitars........the cheaper, the better! But I'd never have known, because the album sounds like it'll blow your speakers up.
- Ryan Settee

Listen while you play: Devastators

(Alive Records)

Dirtbombs, "Live: North Of 8 Mile" LP
I got this at the Dirtbombs show in Fargo in October of '04, so I don't know how readily available it is, other than that it was a vinyl record that the band was selling at gigs. Pick it up if you find it, because you may not find it again. The rhythm section is huge on this. The bass lines flow like one fluid, funky soul machine, the two drum attack pounds, and Mick Collins sings like sex, if sex could sing, that is. Did you bring your girlfriend to this gig? Because that's too bad......you know that Mick was the one leaving with her at the end of the night, man.
- Ryan Settee

Listen while you play: Orbit

(MFIC Records)

The Divine Brown "The Dirty Gospel According To..." CD
This is pretty straightforward stuff. It's loud rock and roll, with song titles like "Kranked Up Really High" and "Hell Yeah! I'm Damned" and "Street Salvation." There are lots of hot solos, big brawny vocals, stuff like that. You get the idea. Nothing too offensive, but I'm still not quite down with them. I've heard a lot of bands with almost exactly the same sound and these guys don't quite rise to the top in that regard. Maybe I just don't dig their "rock and roll gospel" schtick. "The Dirty Gospel?" Please. How many other bands out there are pushing rock and roll as religious revival these days? About as many bands that are playing loud rock and roll with hot solos and big brawny vocals. They probably come across pretty well in a live setting.
- Phil Hunt

Listen while you play: Mr. Driller

(Wrecked Em Records)

Dragons, "Rock n' Roll Kamikaze" CD
Seeing as that the Dragons just broke up, it's kinda hard not to listen to this record in some post mortem way; the type where it's like at someone's funeral, where they did nothing wrong and you forget about how many times they ate your last piece of pie, or something. Adding a bit of metaphor to this scenario, this record was originally supposed to be released on the now defunct Junk Records back in 2001, but 9/11 happened while the Dragons were touring New York, and the fact that there was a plane on the album's sleeve was simply a matter of really, really bad timing. These guys were at it for 13 years, and while I think that many of the bands that they likely had influenced were/ are now better than these guys, the fact remains that the Dragons were playing and doing the Thunders/ Dead Boys worship before it really became any sort of scene. So that being said, "Rock n' Roll Kamikaze" is a damn decent record, full of some singalong choruses ("Three Steps From The Bar", "C'Mon", "Whoa Yeah", etc) and the same familiar guitar riffs. Sure this is hardly the best album of this genre, and they never reinvented the wheel, but they were never trying to, anyways. RIP Dragons.
- Ryan Settee

Listen while you play: Mutant Fighter

(Gearhead Records)

Drake Equation "S/T" CD
What does it say on the Web site, next to submissions? "None of that emo crap, please." I DON'T LIKE THIS. I actually like a lot of music that would be considered crappy in many circles, but none of this stuff stands out in any way whatsoever. Any band that uses the word "emo" in their press release does so at their own peril. I can't stand dopey, drippy, nasal-nostalgia. The people who like this stuff are under 25 or don't know any better, so I'm sure they'll find their audience.
- Phil Hunt

Listen while you play: Operation Thunderbolt

(www.drakeequationrocks.com)

Andre Ethier, With Christopher Sandes, Featuring Pickles and Price CD
Andre Ethier, he of the more well known Deadly Snakes, has put out a masterpiece 3 AM album for all those indebted to feeling down on their luck. The sound is a lo-fi (but dirty) and mellowed out garagey roots/ country/ blues album, and Ethier has oddly never sounded as Dylan-esque as he has on this album, with his warbling, drunkard crooning that sounds like a bastard cross between Shane MacGowan, Dylan, and Hank Williams. The best song on here is "Last Line", and not to be outdone, it's Christopher Sandes' sparse and haunting piano work that adds so much more… to an album that makes it's impact by saying so much less.
- Ryan Settee

Listen while you play: Virtua Striker 2

(Sonic Unyon Records)

Fireballs of Freedom "Greasy Retrospective" CD
You know that Dr. Teeth band on the old Muppet show? That drummer "Animal" who runs around speaking in one-or-two-word sentences - the one who sees a female and chases after her screaming, "WOMAN! WOMAN! WOMAN!"? If you had four of those guys in the same band, I'm guessing they'd sound like Fireballs of Freedom. These guys don't play songs so much as they go on a rampage with their instruments… screaming, hollering, bashing out slippery chunks of jittery sludge, hardcore punk and soul, and it's delivered with all the nuance and subtlety of a Hells Angels panty raid on Buffalo Chip campground. This is a healthy dollop of Fireballs from all eras, from their 7" recordings, and some unreleased rarities - from their humble era as Honky Sausage, and on into their later years. Only gripe? It's too bad they didn't dig back a little further back into their years as Hensquirt, or even their song from the nearly-forgotten "Fargo Top Sluggers," compilation didn't make it on here. I think people might be surprised at how different earlier incarnations of the Fireballs sounded. Nevertheless, it's a good dose of the gnarled, blown-out, crazy shit that the Fireballs have produced over the years, and a great place to start if you're not sure where to begin with these guys.
- Phil Hunt

Listen while you play: Total Carnage

(Wäntage)

Fu Manchu, "Start The Machine"
Truth be told, there's much bigger fans of Fu out there than me. I like 'em... but I've never really been motivated to buy more than one of their records, mainly because all their songs sound exactly the same! And I'm the dude who loves the Ramones, Chuck Berry, Motorhead and AC/DC! I do think that the sharper, clearer production on this record suits them a bit better in a lot of ways, and songs like "Written In Stone" actually threaten to coax some sort of melody out of singer/ guitarist Scott Hill, who always seems stuck in a two note range. Actually not all these songs sound the same, I correct myself. If you throw on a track like "Out To Sea" with it's spacy, ambient laid back feel, and say to your buddy, " this is Fu Manchu, dude", absolutely no one will believe you.
- Ryan Settee

Listen while you play: Van-Van Car

(DRT Entertainment)

The Gris Gris "S/T" CD
I saw these guys live earlier this spring and thought they were a great band. The surprising thing here is how accurately the CD represents their live sound. It's pretty startling. Every clown in a band says that they want to "capture their live sound" on record or some bullshit, but this is one album that actually delivers the goods. It actually sounds like how I remember the show. The first track, "Raygun," is a powerful, jarring tryptich that spans bedroom introspect and early-Stones-baddassery, ending in a resigned wail and light-as-air guitar. It's a damn near-perfect song that uses the very traditional '60s garage and psych bag of tricks, and fucks it around to sort of bridge it with the more modern noise you run across. The previous statement seems to me an adequate description of the whole album -- as The Gris Gris manage to ape the most ominous sounds from the bands on "Back From the Garage" or countless other 60s compilations, but it has a weird turbulent undercurrent and some decidedly delicate moments that may turn you off if you're just looking for something to holler along with. For example, "Me Queda Um Bejou" (I read that it means "I want a kiss" in Portuguese or something like that), is a layered, pretty little pop song with some piano, spanish-sounding guitar and even saxaphone. That shouldn't scare you off though. There is a fair amount of thick-skulled rock and roll on here as well. The only song I could do without is the noisy castanet and reverb freakout titled "Plain Vanilla." The overall package is super-solid, and I'm thinking it's one of the best I've had the pleasure of hearing this year.
- Phil Hunt

Listen while you play: Asteroids

(Birdman Records)

Halfacre Gunroom "Wrecked" CD
At times the singer sounds just like a later years Johnny Cash (and not in an intentional phony way). . . what a frontman! Musicianship isn't outstanding but the energy is there. There is, however, one of those awesome organs that the Murder City Devil's uses and the guitars sound real dirty. "Wrecked" contains your standard twang and drawl but this band is a little more rock and little less country on the dial. A nice rock a billy number is East Memphis Girls- the album is mostly driving steady at night but there are a couple of tear jerkers. Their one sheet says: "for fans of: White Stripes, Ryan Adams, Lucero, and Wilco". . . thats probably about right. This disc did get imported into my Itunes.
- Todd Holdman

Listen while you play: Touchdown Fever

(Icarus)

Hives, "Tyrannosaurus Hives" CD
Ah Hives. It's been too long, hasn't it? One has to wonder if the three or so years between their albums has taken some of the lustre off of their star, in an industry that tends to forget bands as quickly as they discovered them I've never been a huge fan of the Hives, as I've always found their sound to be a little too clean, a little too by the numbers, or maybe it's just that I find them to be an inferior version of Rocket From The Crypt. But I DO like the Hives, and though I've never been blown away by them--and I'm still not-- this album is pretty good, and those who loved the Hives before, should still find a lot to love, as the Hives haven't changed their sound at all (save for some strings on "Diabolic Scheme", a slow creeper of a song). And you gotta somehow--even if 'ya hate 'em-- feel proud for a bunch of butt ugly dudes who would have never gotten laid in their lives, if it were not for their band's success.
- Ryan Settee

Listen while you play: Smash TV

(Polydor Records)

Insomniacs "Switched On! CD
Hey girls and boys! The reigning kings of mod-pop-garage-ching-chang-jingle-jangle are back and making the world a better place with their too sweet dance hits. It's classic Insomniacs here, and it has everything that makes them so good... shimmering psych, powerful melodies that tug you right in the guts and sway your groin to the left and to the right. I could do without the sitar stuff that appears in a couple of songs, but it makes sense that these boys would give it a try. Everything else is aces, especiallly my favorite tune, Maryanne Lightly. Makes you want to zip up and ask that girl to shake it with you. I haven't listened to Little Steven's show in ages, but he should be playing more of this instead of wearing out his Nuggets box set.
-Phil Hunt

Listen while you play: Black Widow

(Estrus)

International Playboys "Sexiful" CD
It's been a while, or it's seemed like a while, since the Playboys dropped their debut CD, and they've amped it up about a thousand-fold. You can tell these guys have emptied a few hundred gallons of alcohol together in the practice space, since this shit is TIGHT. These fellas still loudly proclaim that sleazy, sweaty, squealed-out, redneck stink and growl that Missoula seems to be known for since the Fireballs first called the place home, but it's a bit more finely-honed than the aforementioned (not that their better, mind you, just different). Things blur along in a psychotic haze and squealing guitar solos grab you by the nostrils and pull hard. Occasionally, there's even a psycho Midwest noise tangent here and there, ala the Killdozer or something like that. The surprise Nazareth cover is especially appropriate, given the singer Monty Carlo's raspy howl and the loud, barbecued, rhythm and blues delivered throughout. If Whörehaüs, a laid-back number with classic Chuck Berry guitar sizzlin' and "oooohhoahoooo" background vox, doesn't get you lathered up nothing will.
- Phil Hunt

Listen while you play: Pengo

(Motron Records)

The Jet Set "We've Got The Dance Connection" CD
On one hand, I give these guys a whole lot of credit for making a farfisa-rock rock record that doesn't sound like every other single farfisa-rock record. But on the other hand, I sort of wish the guy playing keyboards was willing to be a little more showy with the thing. The keys are basically just doubling-up the guitar riff, which is good and simple, but it could use a little more volume and energy in some parts. I don't know. When you get to "The First Five Letters in Discovery Spell..." you can see things turn around a bit. I like the songs quite a bit though. Long song titles seem to be these guys' forte.
- Phil Hunt

Listen while you play: Lethal Enforcers

(Wee Rock Records)

The Knockout Pills 1+1=ATE CD
I've blabbered on and on about these guys to anyone who would listen, and I'm happy to say the Knockout Pills DO NOT disappoint on the follow-up to the phenomenal debut of last year. This band knows all the levers to pull. They've got breathless, catchy chugging pop, manic, Dickies-style energy, bashing punk riffs, the occasional surf-inspired wipeout wave of brilliant screaming leads. This album is a little *nicer* sounding than the first album. A little, little, little bit nicer. It's got a little more of a solid pop foundation than their last one, but it doesn't detract from the package at all. They've sweep over you like a herd of buffalo with every tune. Each perfect little chunk of sun-baked punk smashes over you so fast, you may find yourself saying, "What the HELL was that? I want to hear it again!" This is not just punk rock, this is what FUN sounds like. Ok. The KO Pills are clearly one of my favorites.
- Phil Hunt

Listen while you play: Crazy Climber!!!!

(Estrus)

Le Force "Le Fortress" CD
The first impression here is that you're listening to a little brother to the Fucking Champs -- which probably isn't too far off the mark. Mr. Tim Green fondled the studio machinery for this great little release, and the music is very similar in spirit to those instrometal gods (and I'm probably only one of 1000 or so people to say that, I'm sure). They even have those strangely tranquil intros like "The Invader" or interludes with funny titles like ""Sometimes Everybody Needs a Tissue (Trilogy)" A song like track 2, "Tribute to the Endangered," is where Le Force differentiates itself -- when they actually sing. Here the unrestrained vocal attack and gives you a sense that Le Force is all about punishment and relentless energy, where the aforementioned goes for a more disciplined, slightly more finessed approach. That small, but important difference sort of manifests itself after that point, and in repeated listenings. Not that Le Force isn't technical as hell. These guys obviously have nothing better to do than play crushing metal all of the time (I mean that as a compliment). While they might have the most singular sound on earth, they are really, really good -- and will easily fill the void left in hearts the across the nation by the recently departed Fucking Champs.
- Phil Hunt

Listen while you play: Major Havoc

(Wäntage)

The Link Quartet "Italian Playboys" CD
The Link Quartet are back with more of their spacey instrumentals and psychedelic organ jams. This time they get kind of crazy with the Moog for great effect. They even squeeze some cool French vocals, and some sexy femme fatale vocals in the mix on a couple of songs. At first the album comes across as a party record, with upbeat instrumentals dominating. As the record progresses things get a little more consistently complex and different, but it's still interesting and fun. The Link Quartet are at their best when they play up their European, hi-fi-obsessed, bachelor sophisticate style and start to go almost over the top, as the songs that really get the goosebumps rising have a Montenegro/Mancini-styled dramatic spy movie flavor, and conjure fantasies of late night partying with ice cold cocktails and maybe some hallucinogenics, saunas with a lady friend, private planes, fast cars or getaways at your private ski cabin in the Swiss alps. Still, it never quite approaches that ridiculous level You can tell by the absolute perfection in performance that they're really quite serious. They project a certain erudition that I really like.
-Phil Hunt

Listen while you play: Phoenix

(Hammond Beat)

Lost Sounds "S/T" CD
I've always liked Lost Sounds, but this shit is GENIUS! Some may be a little disappointed by the fact that this doesn't sound as brutal as earlier work, but they definitely haven't lost their sinister edge. They've managed to bring their Devo-esque, decayed computer punk to new highs with lurching electronic wheeze, hipnotic, dance beats, bloodletting guitars, hair-raising shrieks and paranoia, and rage all over the place! Lost Sounds are one of the most intense bands that have ever picked up a keyboard. The inhuman chanting chorus of "This is how we live" is some of the finest violence ever put to record. Every song is relentless and wonderful, apart from "Your Looking Glass," which comes across as a little over-the-top in the Lost Sounds mechanical, electronic flights of fancy. The only serious negative is that this album is way, way too short. I could easily listen to this thing all day. And live? Don't even get me started.
-Phil Hunt

Listen while you play: House of the Dead

(In The Red)

The Lucky Punch, "Kick Up A Hullabaloo"
Yes, I know that they're another "rawk band" and like you, I'm starting to get a bit more skeptical these days, but man, these guys wail (aside from a name that I still have trouble remembering). The singer Marco Knarco sounds like a cross between Billy Gibbons and Dusty Hill, there's all the guitar solos that you'd need out of a rock n' roll record, the production is loud, huge and in your face, and these boys actually know how to write songs, rather than just cock rock it until it just sounds like a mess of.... riffage. I've listened to this damn thing probably thirty times. I love the guitar tones/ sound here, and the fact that they throw some acoustic guitars in every now and then adds some dimension to it, as well. Sure it's really derivative of the Hellacopters, bordering on near plagiarism (esp. "You Never Know What You Haven't Tried"). But when a band can almost outdo the band that they're soundin' like, you know the 'Copters are looking over their shoulders.
- Ryan Settee

Listen while you play: NARC

(Dead Beat Records)

The Maggots "What a Girl Can't Do" b/w "Whole Lotta Nothing Goin' On" 7"
Yeah! These guys purvey some short and serious beer-spraying classic garage blasts. Big, fuzz guitars, upbeat tempos and a genuine party atmosphere makes for two, superb sides. Although I like the A the best. Fast, hard, simple and brainless. I like my rock and roll like that.
-Phil Hunt

Listen while you play: Mouse Trap

(Hipsville)