LENNY’S INTHEGARAGE
And there’s only one way out! ________________________________________
THE BASEMENTS from Greece exemplify the fuzz- scuzz as favoured by many ’80s and ’90s garagers on their
Heart Of Stone EP (Lost In Tyme). ‘Always Satisfyed’ and ‘I Wanna Leave You’ offer most definition – subtle, appealing.
OS HAXIXINS’ self- titled EP (13 O’Clock) ladles on terrific dollops of fuzz garageadelia – these Brazilians are
authentic to the max! ‘Noites Brancas’ and the superb ‘De Lei’ are from their excellent Under The Stones LP on Groovie. The alternatives are sweet-dose covers – ‘Victim Of Circumstances’ is uncanny.
San Diego’s THE LOONS and Liverpool’s This double
sucker punch four tracker certainly doesn’t see the guys decked in flares playing lengthy guitar
solos or stomping feet in a Slade like manner. Sucked Into The ’70s harks back to the London pubs of the early to mid-70s when all manner of honest, unpretentious rock bands aired their wares, whether it be the rockin’ blues of Dr Feelgood and Ducks Deluxe or the country-rock and folk-rock of Eggs Over Easy,The Kursaal Flyers and Brinsley Schwarz. The four tracks here echo the simplicity of that direct appeal – with hooks, riffs and choruses
aplenty.This is music how it should be from the very first run-in to the final lift-off on side two. Jon ‘Mojo’ Mills
LEE MOSES Reach Out (I’ll Be There)/Day Tripper Jazzman
www.jazzmanrecords.co.uk I’m not averse to the odd cover version or two. The best ones can often breathe new life into your most cherished
possessions. If this is your drug then you’ll feel right at home here. Lee Moses took on the world of soul and pop with two gritty, heavy speaker-shredding funk bombs back in
CLINIC make for an off-kilter and wonderfully out there experience on their split single ‘If You Could Read Your
Mind’/‘I Wanna Get You (Woman)’ (UT Splitzophrenic). The former is incisive and bristling, with swirling in-your-head guitars. Clinic pour Cabaret Voltaire/Suicide avant- garde soup over tough garage rock from The Loons’ recent Red Dissolving Rays Of Light LP on Bomp. An intrusively weird grower.
THE X-RAY HARPOONS peddle new breed German psycho-garage horror-schlock a la vintage Fuzztones on
their Zombie Love EP (CopaseDisques). Cool meshings of organ and fuzz. Best cuts: ‘Shame’ and ‘Phantom Of My Mind’.
the ’70s. The super-loud, fatback drums and greasy Hammond took on the Four Tops with gusto, creating a sleazy, funky club sound that should keep dance floors bouncing and heads smiling. ‘Day Tripper’ is by far the best Beatles
songs you can dance to and has been taken to another soulful dimension before by Otis Redding, JJ Barnes and The Vontastics to name a few. Lee Moses’ version is a punchy and frantic organ heavy instrumental. Great to have these two excellent sides
on 7” vinyl. Paul Ritchie
RADIO SAIGON Another Time Bad Afro
www.badafro.dk
Appealing Danish garage-rock with a wan, snotty ’66 era vocal and a guitar sound that’s much less overdriven than
the usual modern garage bands (and all the better for it). The A-side is a catchy affair with a sneering central hook that drips effortless cool. The two flips are less successful but still enjoyable in their own right, particularly the lyrical loser bile of ‘Low Class’ which recalls the chip-on-the-shoulder outcast attitudes of their forbears. So many of these garage singles push
everything in to the red to mask the band’s shortcomings, so it’s refreshing to hear Radio
Next up are two 7”s from THE FLIGHT REACTION: ‘Flying Colors’/‘A Broken Heart’ and ‘Won’t Give In’/‘I Lost You’
(both CopaseDisques). Praised last issue, these are the debut releases from legendary Swedish garage-man Mans Mansson and cohorts’ new band. It’s US ’66-68 atmospheric acid and folk-punk territory. ‘Flying Colors’ says it all, Mans doing his best Psychedelic Unknowns vocal/guitar combo, and ring modulation FX moves.
Britain’s excellent garage contender PAUL MESSIS brings alive the kind of Byrds and Dovers jangle ’n’ chime that
we don’t hear enough of these days. ‘Time Will Tell’ (State) is plaintive folk-punk with mournful harp and engaging lyric about a “mystic tree” and “castle keep”. Pacier flip, ‘When You Pass Me By’, adds fuzz and melody lines straight outta east LA circa ’65.
Saigon apply a bit of restraint to proceedings, albeit still in a powerful rocking
way.The three songs here are all well written and played, though perhaps missing that certain something that would elevate it into an essential purchase. Enjoyable nonetheless and certainly a band worth tracking on future releases. Austin Matthews
SPIDERS Spiders Crusher
www.crusherrecords.com
Wow! Swedish female- fronted supergroup Spiders have released a 10” vinyl EP – a format I never expected to see again.
Side A hits the spot for those who like
their retro riffing rock with a distinctly garage edge however, the flipside is more my thing, more trad-rock, with heavier prog leanings. ‘Nothing Like You’ reminds me of Andromeda, and I’d put money on guitarist John Hoyles owning and ingesting their ’69 album. Overall it’s difficult with female-fronted acts not to compare them with all the usual suspects (Shocking Blue and Coven are mentioned in the press release), but there IS a whole heap of Mama Lion, Affinity and Earth & Fire going on here. Apologies for the easy target references. Neatly produced by Soundtrack Of Our Lives producer Don Ahisterberg, and featuring members of
Graveyard and Witchcraft, Spiders will definitely fill a crack in the ever-burgeoning retro-rock scene. Louis Comfort-Wiggett
WOLF PEOPLE Silbury Sands Jagjaguwar
www.jagjaguwar.com
No doubt many of you have enjoyed the delights of Steeple, the recent debut by one of our finest contemporary acts.
For those that haven’t, this lead single is a fine introduction, providing the blues-rock groove that now dominates their sound. For all you fans of 1970-71 proto-metal exponents, the taste of ‘Silbury Sands’ is like a delicious soup containing many ingredients, not least Fairport Convention, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath and The Moody Blues. The playing is fluid and exceptional from all four guys, the repeating vocal hook beautifully rendered with delicate harmonies. Embrace these wise young dudes and never look back. For those wolfers already signed up and
wearing the badge, Steeple outtake ‘Dry’ is a great bonus cut on the other side, and frankly should have made the album, if just so that everyone – especially the Clapton/Beck fans amongst you – can hear the mesmerising lead guitar played throughout. Two classy songs on one 45 = heaven. Phil Istine
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www.myspace.com/lostintymerecords www.13oclockrecords.com www.ugly-things.com www.copasedisques.de www.myspace.com/garagestaterecords
Paul Messis searches for the mystic tree
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