Notes from the underground - News Briefs - Brief Article

Thrasher Magazine, Nov, 2001 by Wez Lundry

A 'WRIGHT YOU BAGS OF SHIT, LISTEN UP AND listen up good as I am only gonna tell this to you once: Pretty Girls Make Graves is gonna bit you like a shitstorm. They're a five-piece from Seattle who amazed me to no end. Throw n a Murder City Devil presence, two guitars and a singer who fives it all and looks as though she is having the time of her life, and here you go.

A must see before they either make it big or self-destruct. Another band on the live front is Cherry Valence, from NC. The name comes from the Outsiders, and the band rocks super hard with a big sound a Ia MC5. They've got an LP out that I haven't heard yet, but if it's 10 percent of their live show it'll be worthy... Finally. I got a chance to check out Seattle's Glory Holes while in the Northwest It's Doug Slug, longtime band member of Sinister Six and others on vocals, backed by two chicks and two clicks. They've got a real up-front guitar sound, loud and rockin'. They've also got a seriously good seven inch on Dirtnap Records... Check out th e Gospel Swingers' "Mississippi" on In the Red. These folks help make up the Tim Kerr-fueled Now Time Delegation, and they've got a real Texas-style down-home bluesy feel... Howzabout the Crack Pipes? Without wanting to get too personal, perhaps their mamas were hitting the crack pipe while they were in utero, but whatever made them the way they are, you gotta love their Hot Dang" seven inch on Palntcan Chandelier Records. Filthy, noisy, and most likely not pleasing to the ear of about 99 percent of the people out there; I know readers of Notes will be able to discem the subtle nuances of the peaking and falling crescendos--Aw flick it it's a noisy fucking mess, and will make lesser humans poop their pants... Essential comin'-at-you-like-a-fucking-train-without-brakes is Henry Fiat's Open Sore. Super speedy hardcore; look for the Makes Your Cock Big" and "Gnarly" seven inches on Rocknroll Blikrieg and Wrench Records... Jerry Lee Lewis played the piano like a madman and freaked out parents wherever he went, al though they had little to worry about as he eventually married his cousin while she was in her early teens. Rock and Roll! Norton has reissued Wild Child" and "High School Confidential" as a seven inch; both songs are worthy... On the LP front, I just got a copy of a German release by a San Diego band-supposedly some demo stuff released as an LP-called Machine Gun. Straight up guitars in the vein of the rock-oriented punk that's been re-emerging lately (hear the Dead Boys for one of the prototypes). The LP is called Taste For Blood and the label is called I Used to Fuck People Like You in Prison. Whoa... I have been pleasantly surprised by the Vue CD Find Your Home on Sub Pop. It looks as though it might be kinda wimpy, but it plays just fine. It's sonic as flick, sort of a '60s sound, with the occasional shake of maracas, but noisy like Lollipop (ho, nowhere near that noisy) and swingin' like the Mooney Suzuki... Like a swift kick to the neck comes the Reducers SF. They've got that blend of Oi!, hardcore, an d punk that is commonly referred to as "street punk" these days; although there are a lot of crappy bands waving that flag currently, these guys have a killer ;sound to go with the toughness. It's got that raise-your-fist-in-the-air-and shout-along quality, and will get any session hyped. Look for Crappy Clubs and Smelly Pubs on TKO... Finally this month comes the sophomore LP from the Deadly Snakes. They've got a stompin' garage sound that sticks from their first LP, but I like this one even better as the energy seems to remain throughout. Check out I'm Not Your Soldier Anymore on In the Red.