Notes: from the underground

Thrasher Magazine, May, 2003

PERHAPS DESTINED to become a "folk classic," a relic of the early 21st century to be pondered centuries in the future should turntables survive, The Poontang Wranglers debut 7" finely meshes classic American kazoo and poor-quality, punch-line-and-victim comedy in a combination as classically American as say, "punk-funk," or, as a more recent example, "rap-metal." And in a nod to another classic, the B-side's early bass solo will leave one scratching one's head as one would after one hears, say, a Cliff Burton bell-bottomed bass solo (Cliff wasn't late, as people assumed, but merely ahead of his time in bringing back the classic look of hip-huggin' bellbottom trousers. RIP). And for those whose may ponder the pedigree of the Poontang Wranglers, think of a melding of Crime and the Phantom Surfers, two American classics. It's another classic release from I Don't Feel a Thing records... Lookin' for more bang for your buck? The sophomore release by Seattle's Glory Holes will fit the bill, It's straight up blazing punk rock, and Doug White's yelpin' and hollerin' rise above the din. A fave live band, their records never disappoint. Look for the Want a Divorce LP on Dirtnap wherever fine quality sound recordings are sold... The Dirtbombs are back with another addition of their obscure (or not) covers done up Detroit style, this time taking on two tunes from Australia: The Elois' "By My Side" and the Bee Gees "I Started a Joke," the latter just in time for Maurice Gibb's death (nice timing). It's punikified, soul-fried, and a veritable rarity, so snatch this one if you see it because you won't see it again. Look for Australian Sing-Along on Zerox records... A fine mess indeed is the debut 7" of The Heroin Elbows. What did you expect when you name your band after a junlde affliction that has affected some of the finest acts in rock and roll, punk, jazz, blues, you name it? It's got a Johnnie Thunders' guitar appeal, up front, and slovenly, sloppy but somehow still there amongst everything else. Look for Walk like an Affli ction on Sharon Needles records, and do a slow pogo with your arms tied behind your back at the elbow... Melodic but just straying far enough from "Inspirational Snowboard Rock" TM, the new record from Fabulous Disaster (Panty Raid on Pink and Black records) rocks pretty good and stuff, and the all chicks, no dicks line-up singing about lost love and tough chicks will inspire a new generation of young girls to shear their hair and wear spikes, which, if you think about it, isn't a bad thing at all... --Wez Lundry

Strange goings-on over at Chicago's Lens Records; Reptilica has once again entered our dimension through the quicksilver and offered forth another gift, Nurse. Yeah, it's hard to describe (what music isn't?), but with Reptilica there's no context to even start with. Usually, the best place to start is "It sounds kind of like..." Nope, doesn't work here. So be it. Here's one curious attempt--"The soundtrack of limousines crashing." Don't worry, it's listenable. Damn good, even. Nurse is a follow-up to Chrome Feather Future, which gained considerable steam through website music reviews (who knew those were worth anything?) Hear it, buy it or pirate it straight from lensrecords.com.