Christian Death just isn’t the same without Rozz Williams or Gitane Demone. But Amen isn’t all bad. A double live CD with extremely good recording quality.
At times, they out-Stooge the Stooges with their metal-grinder meets spin-cycle guitars. The harmonica and swampy rockabilly feel reminds me of Blues Explosion.
Among the inventors of crust. This is a marginally listenable live recording from ’83, four unreleased studio tracks, and outtakes from the UK/DK soundtrack.
A short, bitterly transcendent fiction piece entitled “Why I Ate My Wife” by M. Gira of Swans, and an interview. A fanzine, sometimes marshmallowy positive.
Guitars replace them kick-ass bagpipes, vocal harmonies still stacked to the ceiling. Pure guitar pop. I kinda dig some of the songs, but I miss the bagpipes.
Even though these bands would go on to release some landmark material, no one has before or since released a record of such concentrated explosive punk energy.
This soundtrack takes the same route the Natural Born Killers soundtrack took – threading the songs in the order of the film, with bits of dialogue thrown in.
Frantically inspired scratchings and wailings from the scuff zone. Ostensibly the best of underground aural abrasion, primarily from the USA and Japan.
A bit of indie rock, some punkabilly, some rap-a-long, and The Jayhawks. Digable tunes by The Muffs, Our Lady Peace, Matthew Sweet, 311, God Lives Underwater.
If you remixed the Chili Peppers’ first album and added scratching and funky samples and replaced Anthony with Mike Patton, you’d end up with Trapped Instinct.
The Bottle Rockets may sound a little too reminiscent of middle-aged mom heartthrob rock, e.g., the Bruces Hornsby and Springsteen. Look a little deeper.
Space Needle are not boring pop. They’re one of the most satisfying and challenging bands around, and if the pop’s there, it’s anything but ostentatious.