26 Spicey Sizzlers
(Estrus)
by Jon Sarre
I’ll admit I’ve got no problem with shilling for this label. Not like I’m gettin’ anything for it (promos excluded, of course). Estrus consistently puts out stuff that’s the real deal balls-out rock’n’roll, so I’ll say that with a smile ’til Dave Crider’s sense of aesthetics dry up like old coke snot on Saturday morning (or I start receiving envelopes stuffed with cash, whichever comes first). This new thing they call a “sampler” for reasons that oughtta be pretty self-evident and, since it’s not Estrus in Love or Estrus Unplugged, ya can figure that it’s Estrus doin’ what Estrus does best: sleaze, laddies and gents, the best sleaze yer dirty money can buy (without the added dubious glamour of a communicable disease).
“Who’s on it?” you may be asking yerself, “Are there any bands I’ve heard of, y’know, stars?” Stars? Ya want stars? Okay hotshit, how ’bout (indie label) rock monsters like Man Or Astroman?, The Monomen, The Makers, and The Lord High Fixers who all deliver the goods like they’ve been known to (just ask all those label people who’ve grown rich [ha!] on ’em). Albuquerque, NM’s stars-in-the-wings (if they haven’t broken up again) The Drags run through “Explosives,” the geek firebug anthem offa their ’97 release Stop Rock and Roll (the best record of that year, Jackie-O). Veteran combo Girl Trouble also make an appearance on “The Track,” a drag-race drama that sounds like the Surfaris doin’ “Convoy,” or somethin’.
All ya surf aficionados out there probably already dig the instrumental twang of Portland OR’s cape-clad Satan’s Pilgrims and ditto for The Volcanos. While I’m in the neighborhood, I’ll mention the mellow strip sounds of The Untamed Youth‘s “Fire Breathing ’32,” and “Cozy Corner,” the backseat bump’n’grind inspiration number from Impala. Throw in the peep show strip’o’gram with sax appeal of the Crown Royals‘ “All Night Burner” and yer even startin’ to cross into jazz territory (??!!).
“Whoh! Back off there,” you say, but ‘fore ya go writin’ indignant letters to Maximum R’N’R, remember snide’n’crude rock’n’roll is what Estrus specializes in, and that’s the muck most of the bands on this comp wallow in. Straight off the bat, The Coyote Men smack yer churnin’ guts with a hammer, just so ya double over and pay attention to their messy Headcoatesque punk. That’s gotta hurt! The Quadrajets thoughtfully offer ya a taste of crank-fueled Faustian blues, Thundercrank deals more blues, but country-style like they grew up playin’ in places where the chicken wire screens kept patrons’ hurled beer bottles at bay.
In a more modernist traditional (or is it traditional modernist) sorta way, Gasoline ineptly rewrite Mudhoney’s “Touch Me I’m Sick” into a song called “Turbo Wave,” and it’s real nice how the singer’s speech impediment turns the vocals into Richard Hell-like mumbled nonsense. Seattle’s Gimmicks bleed right offa that into “Cigarette” where Mark Starr wails like he’s in a nicotine-free hell that’s decorated to resemble a dirty dentist’s office. Sugar Shack hops up the Third Bardo’s “I’m Five Years Ahead of My Time” to create their own “Five Weeks Ahead of My Time” and then throw in “Time Has Come Today” references like that was all they wanted to do in the first place, but Crider wouldn’t allot ’em the fifteen minutes or whatever of the Chambers Brothers’ original. Then, damn near seventy minutes after it started,The Von Zippers close 26 Spicey Sizzlers with “Kill That Guy,” a happy little innards stomper that sounds like it was written by the line cook at the Estrus cafeteria after a tense customer relations crisis involving an eyeball in the soup. The unfortunate patron shoulda kept his mouth shut and concentrated on the music, cuz it beats the food any day.
(PO Box 2125 Bellingham, WA 98227)
