Mama Tick - Discography

Labels: Amphetamine Reptile, Skin Graft, Bovine, Dubious Honor, Action City

Years: 1991 - 1994

This one is by request, and I'm happy to do it. I should also thank Arsonaut over at Lucidmedia for providing digital copies of the 7"s months back at the request of my alter ego "Megan" who used to drive the boys crazy over there.

Truth be known, this is an incomplete discography as it's missing their 1991 demo, and a compilation track from a record called "Pressure Cooker", but otherwise, it's all here. Warts and all as they say.

As to the music itself, Mama Tick were an ignored piece of the noise rock puzzle in the early 90s. They released a few 7"s and one lp, but none if it ever caught on, and they ended things after the full length was released to a luke-warm reception. Why only a handful of folks "got it", I'll never know, because they had all the right bona fides, loud, crunchy guitars, throaty vocals that ripped throw the songs, and a pounding rhythm section that propelled their metallic cum sludge cum punk cum noise cum rock juggernauts. They were fucking loud, and fucking heavy, and fucking great. Shit man, their bassist played slap bass, and I'm not even going to fault him for it. It worked. Shit wasn't funky in the least. This was ugly music for ugly people. Plus they put out records on three great labels that people would normally eat up. I don't know man, but they should have been bigger than they were, even on the strength of the Skin Graft 7" alone, that shit is unreal.

Here's what you get:

Hatefest / Breathe Out - 7" - 1992 - Amphetamine Reptile (Research and Development)

Horsedoctor - 7" - 1993 - Skin Graft

Torture - 7" - 1993 - Bovine

Little Girls - 7" - 1994 - Action City

Crust Busting - 7" split with Faucet - 1994 (I threw in the Faucet track as well)

Gimme The Five Bucks - cd - 1994 - Dubious Honor

DL - 7"s

DL - full length

Cop Shoot Cop - Headkick Facsimile

Label: Supernatural Organization

Year: 1989

I think this particular record bounces around the music blogs from time to time, but I don't think we've ever posted it here, and that's a crime for which I truly apologize. This is an absolute "must have" for folks who enjoy the type of music spotlighted on Shiny Grey Monotone. No question, you have to have this playing in your ear holes at some point at least once a month. Minimum.

Cop Shoot Cop were the quintessential New York City noise rock band, and in my opinion, this (their first release) is their crowning glory. The bass tones are punishing, the drumming and percussive treatments are tribal, and the vocals are all seething bile and condescending vitriol. Note, there is no guitar, no screeching treble or slashing chords, only two mind-numbingly relentless bassists. In addition, Cop Shoot Cop have augmented their sound with keyboard and saxophone samples to enrich the low end assault. Please be aware that I do not condone, under normal circumstances, the use of saxophone in my life, hence my distrust for jazz, my suspicion of salsa, and my loathing of ska. I just don't want no goddamn woodwinds fucking up my good time. Period. But, and this is a big "but" ("let's talk about your big 'butt'" - Pee Wee Herman), Cop Shoot Cop have employed these sounds to great effect and so I must allow them to enter my brain just this once.

So, saxophone aside, if you do not own this record, please stop, drop  and roll...then grab it and listen at top volume.

By the by, there was a reissue of this put out in 1994 with an additional song, but I don't have that, this is the original 12" version.

DL 

Coffin Break - Rupture / Psychosis

Label: Tupelo Recording Company

Year: 1990

Here's an interesting little band out of Seattle who flew below the radar of that city's much hyped "other" musical scene. While they operated simultaneously with their bigger, more popular peers, Mudhoney, Nirvana, Melvins, and Soundgarden, they eschewed the temptation to look back to classic rock for their inspiration. Instead, they played a mix of punk, metal, and pop music that drew not from Led Zeppelin, but the Descendants and Corrosion Of Conformity instead.

This cd collects their first two albums, both released in 1989 on C/Z Records originally. And I'll be the first to admit that there are some real clunkers on this record, especially when they slow down and play power-pop, and the vocals are make or break for these guys. You either can get on board or you hate 'em. If you hate 'em, I can't rightfully blame you, because I hated 'em too. Now, in retrospect, they aren't bad, just different, a little cleaner than most of this style. And to further bash this band, there are moments of outright O.C. jock-punk bullshit (Offspring anyone?), but again, when they fire on all cylinders, it's good stuff. The second half (the Psychosis lp) is superior to the first half, but both have their moments. 

This might be the first thing I've posted to this blog that I can't stand behind 100%, but hey, you may like it, or you might have had this back in the olden days and want to relive the glory. Chalk it up to "Gray's cleaning off his hard drive", and before I released this album from this mortal coil, I thought I would share it.

DL

Ed Hall - Motherscratcher

Label: Trance Syndicate

Year: 1993

Sticking with the Texas noise rock from the last post, here's another great example of how consistently good the Trance Syndicate was for a few years there in the early to mid 90's. Ed Hall took some cue's from label owner King Coffey's band, Butthole Surfers, in that they blended their bass-driven low end attack with moments of psychedelic guitar squalls. Another notable influence would be Flipper, in that the band seems to relish in drilling a rhythm into your head, and coating that rhythm with scratching vocals and venomous, prickling guitar. They even manage an homage to Flipper's "Ha Ha Ha" in opening track "White House Girls". 

If you like your noise rock a little weirder than normal, I'm thinking Steelpole Bathtub, Cherubs, and the aforementioned Flipper or Butthole Surfers, then you'll certainly be into this trio. 

I chose this record because it's probably the most straightforward of their releases (although their final lp "La La Land" strides mostly the same ground), and I think the best introduction to the group. I will post some earlier records though eventually so you can get a real overview of the acid backed psychosis that was Ed Hall.

Enjoy.

DL

Johnboy - Claim Dedications

Label: Trance Syndicate

Year: 1994

I believe someone was requesting Johnboy awhile back, and I kinda forgot about that until a day or so ago. Sorry. But, here's that Johnboy you wanted. Their second (and final) album anyway. 

The band were a trio that plays some thick, repetitive, noise rock that skews more towards the Shellac end of the spectrum rather than the Unsane side. Meaning, it's heavy but not in a chugga chugga way, more a molten lava advancing towards your Waikiki winter home way. The songs unfold as simple arrangements but very effective in creating a warm paranoid blanket of sound. This second album has a more polished sheen than the first one (which I'll get around to posting soon), which hearkens back to some of the midwest math rockers of the late 80s, but sans the more complex tempo changes. Johnboy likes to set a tempo, and then ride that all the way through the song, subtly altering the riffs around that beat as they progress. Of course, that's not to say they won't throw a curve ball every so often, but generally speaking once you're locked into a song, you're locked in. Vocally, it's reminiscent of say, Slint, but there aren't that many lyrics here anyway, and those are buried down in the mix more so than most bands, so I wouldn't worry too much about that. In fact, this record was produced by Steve Albini, so rest assured, it sounds perfect, the bass and drum tones are phenomenal, so heavy.

Basically, here's another band from Austin that kills it like a lot of Austin bands were killing it during this time, and if you know Trance Syndicate then you can get an idea of what this sounds like. It's real, real, real good. Alright? Great.

DL

Zeni Geva - Freedom Bondage

Label: Alternative Tentacles

Year: 1995

For my money, this is the best Zeni Geva record they've done, and that's not an easy thing to judge, as all of their records are fantastic. Few bands manage the same intense bludgeoning that these guys can, it's a tightly coiled snake wrapped around a rabid dog (how's that for a non-musical euphemism about music?), wild music played with supreme precision. And while there's some strange hesitation to call this music "metal", I'm not sure how else you could classify it. Certainly, there are elements of noise rock, hardcore, art rock, prog, and experimental music, but once it's all filtered through this band the resulting effects are purely metallic. To be more precise, it's heavy metal of the utmost quality. If you're prone to like Neurosis, Today Is The Day, Pain Teens, Melvins, Dazzling Killmen, bands like that, and Zeni Geva has slipped by until now, please do yourself the favor of getting this record into some headphones attached to your cranium at maximum volume. Do that for me, will you?

Just so you know, this record (like many of Zeni Geva's) was recorded with Steve Albini, so you get that punishing drum tone, and a stark, dry wall of guitar distortion. There is no bass on this record, merely two guitars, drums, vocals, and some synthesizer. Rest assured though, it's heavy as fuck...no bass required.

If you listen to only one Zeni Geva record today, make it Freedom Bondage.

DL

Cosmic Psychos - Blokes You Can Trust

Label: Amphetamine Reptile

Year: 1991

So I'll make this one pretty quick, just cause, I don't know, just cause.

Cosmic Psychos are one of those Amphetamine Reptile bands who flew under the radar, and never achieved the kind of notoriety that the noise rock, or art punk bands on the label managed. Maybe because they were pretty straight up by that scene's standards. Musically, it's punk music as played by a rock-n-roll band, so you get a liberal dose of wah pedal, and some classic rock wankery, but ultimately it's punk rock music in the old style with enough dirt under the fingernails to raise the attention of your Subpop and Amphetamine Reptile record labels. Not unlike a band like Fluid you know? They called themselves "yob rock"which I believe to mean, blue collar, common man rock that speaks to issues if a day at the pub, and concerns scant little else beyond that. Of course, unlike Cosmic Psychos, I am not from Australia, so you probably shouldn't look to me for a treatise on yob rock, or what it takes to be a yob rocker.

I imagine people in 1991 felt this band was sort of "retro" the same way people in 2008 feel a band like The Bronx is "retro". Make sense? Well, do you like punk rock with emphasis on the rock? Yeah? You'll like this then.

DL

Unsane - Lambhouse: The Collection 1991 - 1998

Label: Relapse

Year: 2003

Here's a "greatest hits" collection that Relapse Records decided to put out culling output from all of Unsane's studio records up to that point. There's a DVD as well, but you'll have to shell out the cash for that one.

If you don't know Unsane, and I'm not sure how you could be at this place on the internet, and not know them, but just in case you're someones mother checking out 'Lil Bobby's bookmarks, Unsane are the epitome of "noise rock". They craft deceptively simple songs that rely primarily on heavy, rolling bass lines with shards of guitar slicing across the song, pounding drums, and the omnipresent, slightly over driven vocal shouting of guitarist/vocalist/constant member Chris Spencer. They are from the same scene as contemporaries Helmet, Copshootcop, Pussy Galore, Loudseaker, Surgery, Action Swingers, Swans, and on and on. They refuse to play music that does not aurally bludgeon with relentless power and heft. They have a sound that has been aped by lesser bands, but no one ever manages to sound like Unsane. There mom, you got it? When I said they were like Action Swingers, did that drive it home for you? Lord knows, if you don't have a clue about Unsane, you sure as shit ain't gonna know Action Swingers.

The bottom line though is this: Unsane are a great band, and they excel at doing one thing very well. Their records are of a remarkably consistent quality (even the new ones), and their live shows are always of a high caliber in terms of volume, intensity, and punishment. They're good, but I've always been of the opinion that you can own one Unsane record, and you pretty much "got it". You can see Unsane play once and you pretty much have seen Unsane as many times as you need to. They seldom deviate from the formula, and while it's comforting to know that there's a band out there destroying themselves in this way for your benefit, and you have to respect their dedication to perfecting "that song", you can also check in and out of their career without missing much. Hence, and "greatest hits" isn't a bad way to wrap it all up in the Ipod world. 

DL 

Tad / Pussy Galore - Damaged I and II

Label: Subpop

Year: 1989

Let's get one thing real clear right now, I am not a religious person, and there ain't much I hold sacred, but buster, when you start talking about Black Flag it gets up my dander. Gets it up good and proper like. So the idea of anyone...ANYONE covering the mighty Black Flag is a losing proposition to begin with. You just can't. Sorry, but you can't. There was only one group of folks, and specifically one dude who could strangle that sound, that Black Flag sound out of thin air. Only one band can coax those most unholy notes from the ether, so unless your last name is Ginn, you might want to steer clear of this legacy. I needed to get that off my chest.

So then, why on earth would I post this record where Tad and Pussy Galore tackle Black Flag, and not just any ole jams, but two of the best, most iconic Black Flag offerings? 

Simple. They both kill it. Both of these bands pay homage to the original versions, but then put their own spin on them. By the songs' very nature, as long as you play the thing, it's going to illicit a certain vibe, but the key is then to not try and compete with that vibe, but to roll with it and make it your own. So I say, kudos to Tad and Pussy Galore. Well played ladies and gentlemen, you have made me, and America proud. Chuck Dukowski is somewhere saluting you. Greg Ginn is somewhere else petting his cats. Robo is...alive? Dead? In South America? Dez Cadena is wiping that ridiculous Misfits make-up off. And Henry Rollins just squat-thrusted an extra set in your honor. Oh, say can you seeeeeeeeee......

DL

Gear Jammer - Two Tons Of Chrome 7"

Label: Amphetamine Reptile

Year: 1990

By request, here's a follow-up to the Halo Of Flies post, the Gear Jammer 7". They had a second 7" called Horespower 2000, but unfortunately I don't have it. This band features Tom Hazelmyer again, from Halo Of Flies and Amphetamine Reptile records, and is rounded out by Bill Hobson from Killdozer and Frank Thorpe from Like Hell. 

If you liked the Halo Of Flies stuff, you'll like this as well as it follows the same trajectory as that band, although more caustic and noisy. It's a really underrated band, but from what I understand Hazelmyer felt this band "failed" because he was trying to continue the Halo Of Flies legacy with two dudes who weren't Halo Of Flies, so it didn't work out. I'm not sure I agree, this might even be better than Halo Of Flies, but that's just me.

If I can track down the other Gear Jammer record I'll post it (hint, hint to anyone out there with it). Also, I don't have any Pogo The Clown  aside from one track on a Dope Guns and Fucking In The Streets compilation...which reminds me, I need to post those just in case folks don't have them.

Anyway, enjoy Gear Jammer.

DL