Just got word about this singe on tREND iS dDEAD! Records out of Normal, IL (not anymore - ed) from Sonny Vincent and the Bad Reactions. Sonny is one of those guys when you step back and take a quick look at his discography has been continuously working on rock since the late seventies. Starting with of course the NY city scene with the Testors in 1975, he went on to play with just about everyone from Moe Tucker to Greg Norton in the years up to now and even, my favorite, getting banned from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. Here we are years later with this new crew assembled from bands like the Carbonas, Ex-Humans and Sorrows to continue what sounds like more classic work from the late '70s and definitely 2013. This raw punk sound just gets better...and to have someone who's paid dues like this at the center is that extra mind blowing element that can't happen with a couple of punk kids.
"Replica" is hard and fast out of the gate with those scratchy guitar chords, waiting for the pounding to come in on that next measure, this isn't going to take long. Sonny's got that biker growl vocal with the rest of these guys blasting in with the chorus backup. Cleanly put together, this is that kind of garage sound that has the experience of all these members behind it, things are separated, keeping that punch as hard as possible. Sounding like the Adverts or Dictators, like Sonny says "I don't fuck around." "Stare Down" then gets things going even faster, the guitars right up front in this thing, everyone on vocals all at once, sharing one mic, sweat flying. You'd have to be in the same room putting this together playing off everyone's energy, fast and dirty. This quick blown out solo screaming in is pushing it over the top, must be some kind of venue smashing live show. I can't imagine anyone avoiding the crush of bodies once they start colliding around in front of the Bad Reactions.
B-Side's "Jokers and Clowns" opens with a great power chord slow progression, I can't help but think a little bit about Jay on this one, something about that guitar tone and Sonny's attitude here. I appreciate when a band like this can go balls out fast punk style and then confidently go for a classic dirty sound like this. It's even darker somehow in easing into these heavy guitar tones. Sonny story talks about "...the fakes and the garbage piled high". I'm getting the tiniest bit of an idea how pissed I would be to see the East Village now. Set it on fire and start over, who needs another strip mall. Mars bar closed. Where's the character. I have no right to even be reminiscing about this. Better play this one again and cry in my glass penthouse condo on bedford ave about the good old days.
Couple of colors of vinyl on this one, available on tREND iS dEAD Records, not many left if you were wondering.
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