Little Records: January 1995

These are all singles. Most play at 45 rpm and you need a turntable to hear them. Some are colored, some are not; some have big holes and some don’t. The only place in town to find any of them is at Raunch, so flip BC the bird and tell him to fuck off. He’s done it enough to you on the back cover of this paper.

Top Jimmy & The Rhythm Pigs — “Hole In My Pocket” 

Top Jimmy & The Rhythm Pigs play gritty version of the Chicago blues, which I know virtually nothing about. I don’t have enough records to know about the blues and living them apparently isn’t good enough. Top Jimmy’s been around a while without making much money from his music, so his blues are pretty authentic. They’re on T.O.N. Records out of LA and these blues sound good to me.

Why? Things Burn — “The Joke” / “Destiny” 

Why? Things Burn are also on T.O.N. and their record is red! This is what vinyl was designed for—a low-fi, three chord rock-and-roll band. Yeah, it’s garage, not punk, so don’t buy it if trends are important. The flip is a psychedelic criticism of religion.

Elysium —“I Was A Child” / “Calm Peril” 

Elysium is distributed by T.O.N. and the label is Pure Sin. This is Siouxie Sioux and Joy Division together. Dark, gothic and scary. Jenny is the vocalist. More goth and scary. More goth bands need women to sing. I’m a closet goth hound, so I admit to enjoying this disc immensely and it’s a lovely shade of pink. It’s limited to 800 copies—good luck in your search. T.O.N is a label with variety—open mind, day what?

Liquor Bike/ W.O.D — “P.R. Song #18” / “Cadmium”

Let’s see if SLUG can get away with printing the cover for this one. It’s one of those split single things. Liquor Bike lasts about two minutes with their trash. W.O.D is white noise with vocals. Hmm, not bad. Both bands are from Baltimore—let’s see if the van can travel west.

Luvhammer — “Stoners Don’t Reach” / “D.C’s New Tat” 

Luvhammer sent a disc on gold vinyl. It reminds me of that Mormon thing you can find in thrift stores everywhere, especially the D.I. It has something to do with the Golden Plates. They sent a press release but I didn’t read it. I think they are on drugs. The record is divided into “Smoke” and a “buds” side, and I don’t like it. It’s heavy on the bass and drums with one of those metal guys riffing away in the background. Nice bass.

Triple Fast Action — “Revved Up” / “Sally Tree” 

They sent a NoDoz pill with the record. I took it to see if maybe they’d impregnated it with LSD or something, but no such luck. Their record sounds like something hard I heard on X-96. It should be big in ‘92. They’re on tour, but no place close, so I’m safe.

Broad — “COMA 25” / “Peel” 

This one was sent by accident. The letter is addressed to Natalie Kaminsky. I believe she’s at Diesel now. I drop to my knees and give thanks for the error because this Broad disc is good. I hid under my couch while it played. No way I could ever face these guys if I gave them a bad review. They’re from Baltimore, and are only part of the Baltimore stack that has me wondering  what the fuck is up with that town. Look for it.

Soursmash —”Suck Up To Rachel” / “Max Nix” / “Original Storybook Lines” 

Soursmash is from Bellingham, WA. Don’t hold it against them. First of all, the record is purple. Second of all, it plays at 33 ½ rpm and it’s quite good. They do punk rock and noise with more energy than I can generate. They are a tricky bunch, as the flip demonstrates. Pretty pop devolves into heavy rock and they have a horn break. Hey, it’s a power pop record, and I like those. The label is It Is. Records, so watch for them to appear in SLC.

Ässwipé — “Lab Rat Cellar Sunday” / ”Dryer Pets” / “Quarter Roy” 

Here’s another from It Is. and it is also good (what a way with words—I must be Avery or Fulton). Call me a sucker for that Washington sound if you will, but these two It Is. records are the good stuff—or good shit, I guess. This one has a girl vocalist buried behind all the instruments. The thing spins at 33 ⅓ rpm, but I tried it at 16 rpm because for some reason, the vocalist sounds like she’s singing at the wrong speed. Thrash, with a definite nod to pop, is my analysis.

Butte — “The Nymph” / “Vince” / “Gator” / “Speed Man” 

Butte demonstrates that even in the ‘90s, records don’t have to be that “one, two, three let’s go” punk rock. They come to us courtesy of San Francisco and they are labeled and categorized as an avant-garde band. The record is spoken word over experimental instrumentalization. I feel like I’m trendy after listening to it. Bob Schmitz has a chipmunk voice that somehow overpowers the musical strangeness backing him.

Lunk — “Creditman” / “Nurse” / “10K Flies” 

Lunk continues the experience that Butte began. They also record for the Lucky Garage Record Company out of Alameda, CA. The vocalist is listed as Tom George, but for some reason he reminds me of Bob from Butte. I’ll be damned if the music doesn’t sound the same, too. This artsy fartsy stuff is offensive to many around town. I happen to love the avant-garde; I always have and always will. Artsy fartsy it may be, but at least it doesn’t sound like ELO or ELP.

Harvest Theory — “Louder Than Words” / “Stalemate” 

This side deals with hypocrisy; the other side is about the safety from the world offered by love. Together we stand and actions speak louder than words, if you will. The music is of the Gang Of Four old school. Overall, it is one of the better records in the stack. Last Gasp Records in Texas sent a bunch of things. Look for the rest later.

Rubberbullet — “Entangled” / “Grinning Bitches” 

Rubberbullet has some talent. The singer rants and raves with power, and she reminds me of none other than hometown girl Brenda Lazerus. The flip sounds almost exactly the same. So they split the song in half, who cares. This record rocks harder than anything else. Grinding jazz and hard rock backs an intense singer? High fives all around, it’s a winner.

Bo Bud Green — “Content Fumar” / “In The Wall” / “Bjork” / “Fort” 

Bo Bud Green visited the town several months back. They’re from Texas but they like Seattle. The first side is heavy metal mixed with punk and the usual angst-filled vocals. The flip contains more of the same with a couple of breaks featuring a pounder on the skins and a guy experimenting with his guitar. I prefer the flip. Bo Bud Green isn’t bad, but Rubberbullet tops them (only my opinion). –Riley Puckett

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Concert Review: Big Sandy and his Fly-Rite Boys