Got this one in from Damaged Goods, a UK based label who must be doing something right having been around for 24 years! What! They have a massive distro going with tons of releases, they sent a few in across the ocean for spinning in the worldwide headquarters and this one from The Cute Lepers was up first. Mostly because of this comic sleeve, which gave me absolutely no clue about what was going to be on this grey piece of wax..
A-Side's "Head over Heels" turned out to be a sticky bubblegum pop... no, punk single, just syrupy harmonies piling all over each other, a punk drunk layer cake, sunny as shit, I think they actually just mentioned 'sun' at the same time I just did. Almost a '70s harmony pop, singing their hearts out, in that ridiculously cheery way. Tapping scratchy guitar bursts, sugary production, the cleanest pure pop. Like listening to Keep it Like a Secret, but stir in some anime, or lasers...
B-Side's, "Aint that a Shame" is more of this crisp big distortion that's probably layered into oblivion. This kind of perfection doesn't come without it's price. Do you ever see drunks stumbling around main st. in Disney world? Or god forbid homeless people! NO! Because it is monitored...every inch....to be PERFECT. This one they trade in a bit of that speed for an '80s rock ballad sound, like the Cars or something, a
a story about the mistakes this guy made for a girl... of course. It's got a lot of that early punk attitude, but with some serious chops, they really get that teenage diaries soundtrack sound. John Waters would have loved these guys, they manage to slide a little bit of that sadness into this pop, the way it's so blindingly shiny...smiling away that pain, hide it under the chorus harmony. That just makes it even a little bit sadder somehow.
The sleeve is an homage to those old Creepy or Eerie comics, faithfully done... on grey wax from UK's own Damaged Goods Records.
** LIMITED EDITION 7” WITH EXCLUSIVE B-SIDE - PURPLE VINYL!**
** 1000 COPIES – 500 on GREY VINYL 500 on PURPLE VINYL **
‘HEAD OVER HEELS’ is taken from their third and latest album ‘ADVENTURE TIME’ (DAMGOOD370LP/CD)
The b-side is a cover of Brian James’ first solo single after quitting The Damned in 1979.
Check out this track from Adventure Time from 2011:
Great cover.
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