Notes: from the underground - Brief Article

Thrasher Magazine, Oct, 2002 by Wez Lundry

THE BOMB POPS IS TWO-THIRDS OF THE MIGHTY Devil Dogs, and they've put out a single entitled "Everything Looks Like Her" on Rapid Pulse records. It rocks slightly less than the Dogs, but that being said, not too many bands do, and slightly less rockin' than the Dogs is still mighty. It's even got a little twang thrown in; catch this one if you can

Sounding suspiciously grungy is The Superbees, although pigeonholing them like that would be accentuating their heaviness without regarding their more rockin' garage side, a la Stooges/MC5/Hellacopters. They've got a CD on Acetate records entitled High Volume, and it's high energy. Detroit-inspired rawk.

Check out the Severed Head of State 7" "No Love Lost." The name of the band and the apocalyptic cover is what drew me to this one, and then I was told they do a Corrosion of Conformity cover ("Prayer," originally on Eye for an Eye, an amazing song done well here too), which sealed the deal. Brutal and powerful that'll satisfy any of the tight-black-clothes-cover ed-in-patches crowd, but the raw power combined with excellent musicianship make this cream of the crop HC.

Proving, however, that covers can be deceptive, I grabbed the Kill The Hippies "Exterminate the Brutes" 7" EP expecting more crunchy hardcore, but I was surprised at what I found: awesome hybrid punk/new wave. Leaning toward the bizarre, there's a smidgen of X-Ray Spex/Epoxies weirdness with some quick and dirty punk starts and stops. Although they misspell "Maquilladoras," their inclusion of a riff from Elton John's "Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting" is killer.

And speaking of the Epoxies, they've got a new 7" called "Need More Time" on Dirtnap records. The title track is off of the recent LP, but the other two, "Molded Plastic" and "Beat My Guest" are fresh.

Now where'd I leave my wraparound shades? And if you're into that kind of stuff, check out the Cripples' debut LP Dirty Head, also on Dirtnap, the label that appears to be harnessing the punk/wave revolution. They've also released The Br iefs' "Shesabrasive" 7". The Briefs are so catchy they've.

Caught on. This may be the last time to check them before they have completely blown up.

And what about The Blow Up? Well, they blew up. But you can hear their posthumous 7" "Microscope" on Estrus Records for some mi-tee-fine punk and rage.

The Country Teasers warp things out mightily with their double gatefold LP (the vinyl has 20 bonus tracks!) Science Hat Artistic Cube Moral Nosebleed Empire. It's on In the Red records, and if you caught any of the other stuff, like the 10" on Crypt, that's a taste of what this brings from the Scots who seem to have always gotten the short end of the stick when it comes to women. Their cover of Ice Cube's "We Had To Tear This Motherfucker Up" has to be heard to be believed.

Perhaps as warped as the Country Teasers but 10-times spazzier is the new 10" picture disc by Holy Molar. This will set your gut a-rumblin' with its weird synthcore sound.

In the vein of Holy Molar and other odd bands is the Virgin Mega Whore 7". It's seemingly from another planet--weird synth, samples like a screaming crowd from a sports event, Ian MacKaye from Minor Threat and other freakiness, if you play this loud at home it may drive your mom to tears...

Right On!

This fearsome threesome have burst forth powerfully, shaking Seattle and soon to be taking over wherever they go, but it's not all that surprising. The guys in the band, Rob, Charlie, and Dan, have spent a good amount of time in various bands since the early '80s in and around Seattle Guitar player/vocalist Rob has been in bands for ages, most notably The Nights and Days, which eventually fused with the Kings of Rock to become the Night Kings. The Night Kings put out a great underrated LP and a couple singles, and then called it quits. Rob went on to the Gorls and the Pissed Off Zombies before setting in to Right On! Charlie did time in the legendary art-rock band The U-Men in the early to mid-'80s, and after they broke up went on to play in other bands while concentrating on his hobby of acquiring and fixing up old pinball games. Dan played in the power-garage band Flathead, among others, before settling in to four-string duties in Right On! With a pedigree like that, Right On generates high expectations and fortunately, lives up to them. The three of them can pound out some powerful garage and are amazing to watch. Hopefully they'll keep it together at least long enough to release some stuff and maybe play a tour or two. They've got one single out now, so look for it at the local record shop. And if they play your town, check 'em out.