Or, more precisely, their first 2 albums (passing on LD EYE here). There’s plenty of stuff on the internet
about Doc (singer/lyricist) and his troubles, so I won’t go into any of that
here. And I’ll refer to him as Doc,
since it fits in the context of the albums.
I wrote him a few months before the 2nd one
came out (they had a contact address on the 1st one, and this is
what goofy-ass small town teenage punks do when they find these addresses) came
out and he wrote back to me, seemed upbeat and fully engaged, didn’t say
anything too profound or earth-shattering, but he seemed genuinely pleased to
hear from a fan and it was very cool getting a response.
Bought the first album because the artwork was so
jarring when set against the band name.
Plus the Alternative Tentacles logo.
Always a mark of quality. What
the first album sounds like, to me, is a sort of U.S. version of NEVER MIND
THE BOLLOCKS,
albeit a more minimal and roughly produced one.
Not much thrashing, mostly just a lot of mid-tempo anger focused around
guitar, bass & drums. And doc’s
insanely abrasive voice, which works in this context. There’s some slight sonic experimenting
here and there, which is reminiscent of early PiL. Doc’s lyrics, though, make J Rotten sound
like Mother Goose on tranquilizers. Insanely
caustic hatred and rage.
ANTI-AUTHORITARIAN is a good umbrella description and, more
specifically, anti- government (this was the Reagan era) and anti-(to the nth
power) cops. The dude does not hold
back, and the album is stronger for it.
And how much do things stay the same the more they change? This defining verse could just as easily be
about the ignorant, frightened, rabid mongoose xenophobia-posing-as-patriotism
that Fuckwad Trump has ushered in:
“Well fascists, I’ve got news for you
I was fucking born here, too!”
I was fucking born here, too!”
Pure goddamn truth.
Where the first album is a brick in the face, WISCONSIN is white-hot shrapnel, shredding everything in its
way. The guitar bash and crash is
stretched out and opened up, letting in strummy acoustic folk, cock rock guitar
solos, anthems, new-wave-from-hell keyboards and atonal post punk. Pure musical psychosis. And the hidden track at the end of
everything, I swear, is a completely sincere and heartfelt love song with a
beautiful piano intro.
The first album is visceral, the second one terrifying. You need them both. now in one convenient
package!
A lengthy interview here. There are others to be found:
And a P.S. On
the day I bought my copy of the Crucifucks self-titled debut, I also bought a copy of
10,000 Maniacs THE WISHING CHAIR. Because that's how much fucking ass I kick.
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