The Exit reissue on Permanent Records

There are basically two results from all of the internet about The Exit, a four piece out of Chicago from 1979; a photo of the original sleeve from Collector scum (of course) and this post from Todd Killings at the Victim of Time blog. Seeing that pic from Henry's Collector scum really drives home just how DIY things had to have been back then. The crazy story is that no one remembers much about this band who was around in the punk scene in the late seventies in Chicago and this was the band's only release. One of the members of the band walked into Permanent and got to talking with those guys there who's first question must have been "Can we repress the Exit EP?"

A-Side's "You Lose" is clean, perfectly measured guitar winding a cranky, dirty riff, circling around with no sense of what decade it is yet. Michael Massey on vocal has that great snotty, snearing vocal spiting words out over this Stooges inspired riff that has something to do with a twisted high tempo blues with more rounded out and gated production. There's space between these notes, like shitty jeans just barely held together with more in common with the post punk of The Clean or is it the other way around? "Unsatisfied Man" has that guitar perfection again that's the centerpiece of these tracks, you wouldn't have been able to ignore this power mixed in your face crisp distortion, for my money this has everything that makes these reissues indispensable. The impossible to reproduce late seventies guitar sound, the concise snapshot of the age - the way the vocals are pushed to the back, forcing this pissed off strain - isn't something you'd want to do these days. This stutter muted stutter chords from Geo Wagner in both songs are coming off completely different than the usual fast and loud chords all...the ...same...tempo. Massive style to his playing and completely unique.
B-Side's "Who asked you" has Geo blasting in one of those big strut strums and then what!? heading for subtle folk fingerpicking that starts to pick up speed and crap from the road blowing into the main riff of this one, this guy is fantastic. Michael goes right for a popular target of this era of punk, the TV, even mentioning giving Ronald Reagan a try, darker and it even sounds more like Iggy with a lower tough punch in the face style instead of the over the pond Pistols sneer. Weird split solo separated in both speakers...are they getting all psych in this last part? For "Night" they were smart to push this guitar on you, somehow Geo manages this bluesy bendy style while leaning into the big power chords, balancing that whole thing. He's even excited to add a layer over this verse giving him room to solo again, tastefully of course making every second count on these two minute tracks. It's weird that "Out in the street" isn't a part of this but then this is it's own completely new thing, never released tracks and a gatefold sleeve give it the recognition it deserves.

Think this is sold out from Permanent, but they have it as ones and zeros embedded into a shiny plastic disc about four inches across. Weird. try the discogs or an auction.

Bad Axe on Permanent Records

Two brothers Dennis and Danny Gray named their band Bad Axe, which is a city in Michigan, close to Chicago where they were from. It also sounds a lot like 'Bad Ass' which is completely appropriate for this sludgey '70s heavy rock recorded in 1973 to be exact. Five long hair bad asses (see sleeve) went into the studio to get these two songs on reel to reel tape. They must have pressed up a few hundred copies, one of which managed to end up at Permanent Records and is a truly incredible time capsule.

A-Side's "Coachman" opens with a trio of beefy low end guitars washed out in fuzz and chopped into blunt bricks. Everything screams '70s, the kind of muddy tube production that you can't even fake these days. Bouncy, no make that insane groovy bass from Stan Marcheska that flies all over this thing like he's been let out of a cage. Thin vocals from the Gray's and songwriter J. Turner are pushed to that early metal background that corrals the harmonies coming off like Hawkwind meeting Crazy horse. They can technically compete with those guys and still manage that loose Easy Rider, bar in the woods vibe. Solo perfection over bass punches makes you ask why there isn't this much lower end boosted in rock these days? We are in treble heavy garage my friends. Wackka strumming shows up towards the end and their guitars line up in a Sabbath way stopping immediately and giving the drums a chance to step into the spotlight. Timeless perfection from a couple of buddies with a big dream. Before your time, Bad Axe.

B-Side's "Poor Man, Run" also sets the tempo with compact fuzz and the drums take that skeleton riff into snare wailing head banging. An acoustic blows with melodic high register vocals from J. adding an air of psych to the otherwise beefy proceedings. Lofty vocals about this 'poor man' and 'no tomorrow' give this a serious medieval Yes sound with NO ORGAN. It all breaks down to drums and a Stairway to Heaven acoustic and bass moment that grows into solo after solo and more freakout double tempos from Stan, someone look that guy up. This one turns into a real Hotel California epic with ride cymbals into the sunset, more than enough to leave you sad that it's over and sadder that they may not have ended up recording anything else.

Get it from Permanent Records Chicago.

Charles Albright on Permanent Records

This is the third single from Charles Albright, who's played in numerous Sacramento area projects until striking out on his own for a couple of early singles, I'm sorry I missed and delivering this latest on Permanent Records.
The A-Side "Weight" has a thin sounding, a couple of tracks bounced down distance, distorted riff with Charles just belting out a layered vocal. A home recorded fizzy garage unpolished wailing. Out there, pretty naked and ending up in a more measured, concise Ty Segall. A little bit more of the punk instead of dirty bending blues. A faux-pause sets up a squealing scummy buried solo and then abruptly cuts out. I can't put this voice together with the nice looking philosopher dude staring back...but I guess that's him, letting loose in a less is more way.
The B-Side, "I am a counter culture (Drop Out)" gets things partying with a couple of interweaving layers of pure distortion from those compressed, direct line in guitars. Phasers, grind metal, octave doublers...who knows what's going on here. Listen to Useless Eaters? How can just distorting a signal have so many distinct voices? He's got one, when you find that distortion right on the edge of feedback, where you can hardly even nudge the thing or it starts wailing, then you've got a Charles sound. There's some blues in this one, a little groovy solo that Definitely has nothing to do with psyche and more with experimental noise, a Cheap Time metal machine music by the end, those drugs are really coming front and center obscuring the harmony 'Drop Out!' backup vocal. Talk me down man, this one is going to be rough.
Do it again.

Not many left, get it direct from Permanent Records in Chicago, full length coming I think from Permanent in a couple of months.

Nothing People on Permanent Records

Just finished up a review of Nothing People's full length Late Night from last year on the message boards because I saw Permanent Records, Chicago came out with this new single from those guys.
Printed like a wedding invitation, it's great packaging and I'm sure just as great a single. In fact one of the tracks 'Enemy with an Invitation' is on their myspace. It doesn't remind me of anything from Late Night. Sounds like a fast one with even different style vocals...I swear if I had to identify their tracks in the middle of a bunch of this dark sort of garage, lots of effects style, it would be hard to pick them out...and I'm saying that's one of their strengths, mind you.
They don't have an insanely distinctive sound that's painting them in a corner. Something that gets played for a week or two straight and then maybe enough. And it's my own fault. I wonder if it's the inherent construction of Wavves, the peaking distortion, muddy drums, major chords or the fact that it was the best thing I heard for a few weeks....not to add to the backlash...I still listen to it, but only if it comes up organically, I have to say I'm not seeking it out as much these days.
Like Sonic Youth when I was in high school. I couldn't name a song or even all their albums, but I knew when I was going on a roadtrip it would be one of the tapes I always grabbed...it's just undeniably good. it has a consistent quality I keep going back to. I know Nothing People are the same....Late Night is one of those inconsistent, unpigeonholable albums I keep going back to. I have to track down that first one now definitely.
They are changing all the time, getting better and better.

Get this one from Permanent Records directly:

New 7in - Nothing People, like Wooden Shjips, are one of our generations great bands, that doesn’t tour much. Unless you live in or around their hometown of Orland, California or you happened to pick up one of their excellent releases on S-S or HoZac, you may not have ever heard of them, but those who have, love them. On previous releases, they’ve blended influences such as Chrome, Hawkwind, Roxy Music, and obscure proto-punk bands like Twinkeyz into a sound that’s all their own. This new limited edition 7”, housed in a texured glue pocket sleeve with gold foil stamping on the exterior, is the first release featuring former Monoshock member Doug Pearson! This release includes two of their most rockin’ numbers to date. Limited to 100 white vinyl copies and 500 black copiesl!

Sneakers on Permanent Records

Just heard about this single from Permanent records (in Chicago) who have been releasing a few things lately I've been meaning to check out...but then a 7" comes along and I had to see what this band was about.
It makes perfect sense that a store like this would get into the pressing game...if you have a store like this you are obsessed with music. Who couldn't see themselves, if given the chance, owning a store someplace like this just to supplement your record buying habit...you're obsessed anyway, why not try to make it a full time job? I have to say it's a little bit of a dream of mine too.

The only thing I could find out about Sneakers was the track 'Chick Freaked out' on Permanents myspace. It's female vocal heavy echo delay on top a really stuttered fuzzed out guitar over a some nice drum work. It's super speed bluesy in double time...the beat is really carrying this into more than your standard garage punky recording. The vocals are wailing, I like the washed out yelling vocals over this tight catchy rhythm section. I hope they keep up this energy on the other side.

I admit I checked it out when they said for fans of Wavves, but I don't really hear the connection. It's a pop Los Llamaradas...I didn't know about the other project, Cave either, but this drummer is great. The one track of Cave on the myspace is kind of Health sounding, but those guys are all over the place anyway. It's feedback distortion droney dark...with a pounding tribal percussion underneath.

You can get this right from the myspace page, they have a paypal button right below the release...

SNEAKERS-Children Into People 7” (Permanent/PERM005) $6.99 “The fifth jam in the Permanent Records label discography is also our first 7”, the Sneakers "Children Into People EP". Sneakers consists of Rex (Cave’s drummer) and Zach (former Cave bassist) and "Children Into People" is their debut vinyl release. The grooves within contain some of the catchiest weird punk jams you’ll ever lay ears on. For fans of: Cave, This Heat, Wavves. 7” with tri-fold cover. Limited to 500.”