Leave it to Mammoth Cave Records to constantly remind me of my own shortcomings when it comes to pressing vinyl over at S & P. Paul was telling me of the 'mammoth' amounts of money he's been putting into pressing this extensive catalog of records and how it's finally just barely starting to support itself. A couple sales of back catalog recordings can pave the way for a new release, and that's a dream scenario. Basically realizing, like those virginia slims, I've got a long way to go baby.
So here's a five piece from Canada going for a super damaged kind of bubblegum garage pop. On "Scary Black Cherry Nap" the jangly distorted guitars bounce along to this pumped up super high tone organ, up in the super squealy registers, those stabs at this carnival better be perfectly placed and so far Shauna hasn't drawn blood, she just dances around this peppy melody like second nature. Craig on guitar and vocals is teetering between this blown out distortion and underwater phaser on the chorus. A real demented nightmare ride that goes for whiplash, fast and slow, fast and slow. Like Wounded Lion with a Cramps surf tiki vibe, especially on "Suspicious Hunch Amongst the Bloody Mary for Lunch Bunch" and this time the organ dives low into beefy riffs, with a scuzzier guitar, all played with a manic energy, getting these four tracks together at 45. This has that sinister B-movie danger sound, no matter how much they keep trying to steer this into pop, I know they're up to no good. Singing back and forth with himself, a perfect schizophrenic split. Jamming the two halves of these melodies together at all costs.
B-Side's "Lay Down and Die" lets the smooth guitar riff warm up next to a funky bassline, but that organ is again the star of these kooky tracks, it's a children's gameshow run amok sound, all spazz and Craig is howling somewhere behind this bouncy rock trying to find a foothold. The echo is liberally applied to his half singing delivery, while the guitar rhythm and the demented organ stay in this CR-A-ZY SYNC.
"I Don't Know Why" slows things up in a heavy tom fill explosion and more restrained organ melody, but Chris is back banished to the back of the room, while on chorus Shauna takes her keys to an almost cute in an english twee way, making room for the guitar to take stabbing duty. Bizarre and utterly unique, I can't even at this point figure out what kind of garage they're playing in. You'd imagine it was half a joke if they didn't deliver this so convincingly.
On black vinyl with download card and wacky inserts from Mammoth Cave Records.
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