The Weird Lovemakers
Electric Chump (Gouramie)
by Jon Sarre
Hopefully the debut full-length from this self-described “lame four chord punk band” is gonna get some decent distribution. It’d be a shame if interested parties couldn’t get their dirty little hands on this one. Jim Waters (Blues Explosion, Workdogs) even produced it. For some, that’s reason enough to carry something. Seriously, people should be able to find this record. The Weird Lovemakers hail from Tuscon, and judging from the somewhat depressive lyrical tone and the self-effacing bio, it’s probably not very fertile ground for punk rock (or growing up in general). Alienation and general hostility, however, sometimes equal great songs (you don’t think Zen Arcade or Damaged came from reading Sartre, do you?). Electric Chump is simply a great punk rock album. It’s a record for these times and from a place y’ probably wouldn’t expect. It’s got young porn freaks, aging, sad and fat porn freaks, paranoia, self-hatred, loathing, junk food, and suddenly realizing that your tiny hometown is an actual “scene.” It’s got lotsa what some may dismiss as clichéd punk rock subject matter, but something real is here, don’t pass it over.