The World's Lousy series from Almost Ready reads like a greatest hits collection of an era, starting way back on Volume One in 2007 with Home Blitz, Boys Club and Nothing People...then checking out Volume Two,a year later has Nobunny and Wax Museums among others. The incredible thing Harry is doing here aside from putting these out on seven inch vinyl is making all the tracks exclusive to the series. To me, that's what seven inches are all about, discovering new music from artists by taking a chance on this cheap artifact. Even in an age of 'sampling' everything online, if you want to seriously consider something, you have to sit down with the record....and the length of this format forces you to consider nothing but what's happening musically. It's one thing to put out a split between two artists who might be related but looking at the series as a whole it's clear he's been documenting/curating a cultural movement of garage, punk...just plain great music. Back catalog names I don't recognize need to be examined based purely on their inclusion in The World's Lousy. It's only looking back it's clear that Almost Ready has becomes a trusted source of taste, and a new addition to the World's Lousy collection is going to be the cutting edge, the canary in the coalmine...hopefully they continue to be repressed forever.
A-Side finds the Cheater Slicks doing what sounds like a live version of a track, "Silver Fox" which comes off like a slower drunken country sounding number, the lead on this one is stumbling all over the place loud and up front, the vocals are sloppy, jamming back out of the PA, barely hitting those notes, like some kind of cover that they know just well enough...and the mere fct they are attempting it is meaningful. Out of tune hoarse sounding delivery those vocals...giving these drunken notes to the foundation of trash rock to come back with those crunchy deep reverb chords, just another night with the Cheater Slicks. They've been at this for twenty years, and have a massive discography. You don't have to go home but you can't stay here. Slow scattershot rhythm to the end of this side.
The 'R' side has Thee Spivs doing "Men don't cry", I loved their other single from Almost Ready and have been following what they've been up to from across the pond...glad to hear more from these guys. Here they're exploring more of their surf shitty as hell sound, that Cramps style yelling blues melody, Ben can barely even stop and take a breath, which he spectacularly does on this one. They have that romanticized English punk authenticity and are as massive and raw as OBN III's (my new standard for balls out recordings). AR says they are the ones to watch. I've heard enough of their garage, surf punk to be on board for something longer, fitting right slongside that Ty, Useless Eaters, nashville crunch sound with a nod towards those early days of English punk who took things to a whole new level.
Psandwich rounds this out with a thin reissue sound, like something you'd find on Harry's other label, Last Laugh that finds us in a rehearsal space...sounding like Liquor Store, blasting goofy melodies, sing a long chorus, "Singing in the shower"
All with that classic punk gritty distortion and three chord high melody because they're going to win you over like Wounded Lion or The Hunx by being a little vulnerable....let's make fun of ourselves and we're going to win you over because we're irresistible. Snare rolls, belting steady vocal rhythm, repeat that chorus because they're having a good time and they're asking for the audience to do the same.
Get this one from Almost Ready...no bandcamp samples...go buy it.
No comments:
Post a Comment