Econo - The Recession:
I am deep in the heart of my "Worldwide Texas Tour", touring the towns in Texas both great and small, but mostly small. No worries, I will not be doing my rendition of I've Been Everywhere. Instead, I am cranking the tunes through the CD player and the mp3 player when walking the streets of the town I am in at the time. As I head west, I enter the big Space City of Houston, home to many killer bands and great food as well. Makes me think of my buddy Tom McMurray, but he will always be "Little Tommy Mac" to me. I have no time to stop if I want to be deep out west by the day, so instead of picking up the phone and giving a ring, I pay homage to my friend by playing Econo's CD.
Econo has brought back the free thinking and unrefined garage band spirit that breathes life into true love of music. Their roots of "just rock it" are what make Econo different from many of the bands trying to meld their sound. Samuel Barker, Tom McMurray and Casey Callais bring back the substance and strength in music from the intensity of the Minutemen to the grinding groove fashioned by Trapeze. The politics of living are highlighted against everything from crunching guitars, to groove and non-stop energy that will re-charge not only the Energizer Bunny but the listener as well.
The Recession, an EP of 5 tracks, also contain two main ingredients in their birth process: pure punk aggression in the vocals and overall fun provided by the trio. Barker's abrasive "barking" vox add a considerable element of depth to the raw muscled rhythm kicked out by McMurray's drumming and Jay Culver's bass (it was he who played bass on the recording). It is a revitalization for me as I catch my second wind, and push further into and out of the traffic woes and needless robots as they speed along their way to the office. Ah, such a life, I mutter to myself. Give them an ingest of Econo and maybe—hopefully—it will spring them out of the computer driven world and back to reality where human interaction is needed!
Speed Dating Could Change the World has a swinging groove and howling vocals to awake the listener from boredom. It is back to reality of revived early 90s groove from the grunge scene and the reflective expression of life. Overall all it is fun, and provides a time to take a break from all the hardships and appreciate good music writing. I find myself rolling back to track 3 and steeping on the gas a little harder speeding through the city; not so much as to get away, but it is the thrill of the tune and its intensity of the fun of it and reliving old times.
If you are looking for something to revive your numbed music senses from all the commercial garb being cranked out, let Econo grab you by the horns and steer you into a genre of real music for a real fun time.
Kenny Deville (Nov. 2, 2007)
The Squishees - Strands and Drools EP:
After Hurricane Rita struck and drinking countless gallons of water, my taste buds ached; craved something stronger to drink. I wanted something strong, numbing, and mind-bending. Musically, I thirsted for the same thing.
I found it in The Squishees.
The musically amazing trio is bananas; a circus captured on CD. Hailing from Hoston, Texas, it was really hard for me to pinpoint The Squishees, and you really don’t wanna do that-it can be a mess. Think of funky punk blues-ala Jon Spencer Blues Explosion in the psychedelic experimental atmosphere of the Butthole Surfers. Better yet, add some jazz and rock, a dash of metal, two parts more funk, a spoonful of punk, and put it all in a blender (like I’m doing with my drink right now)…this will give you the idea.
Strands & Drools EP is a swirling musical journey consisting of five lengthy tracks. This release goes well beyond the surface, and digs deep into soulful soil. This material grew to transcend most music you hear today. No one is this eclectic. It’s original and brilliant…a rare combination-and that’s not the liquor talking.
Zindlers Lobe is an instrumental journey for your senses. Passionate and flowing turns to chaos and turbulent; all pleasing to your ears. It is a new level in prog rock sound, and Mr. Zappa would be proud. My other favorite “cut” is Bacon. Lyrically, once again, Zappa would smile and be happy. Humorous lyrics supported by a Buddy Holly on acid style vocals are dominant. This reminds me of the Chrome Cranks to an extent, and that is a damn fine feeling.
I haven’t heard a full release that is so explosively expressive in years. Fresh and furious. Like Mr. Bungle, but neighborly. It has soul, a desire to roll forward and be absorbed…sweet… Jam.
Oh yeah, the drink came out good, but this drink was much better…
Kenny Deville (Oct 29, 2005)
The Pasadena goofballs formerly known as the Slurpees, forced to change their name by 7-11, continue to expand their no-longer-conventional definition of punk, creating for this EP, Strands and Drools, some kind of weird cross between mutant prog, post-rock and space-alien funk fusion. Drummer Jason Tortorice really comes into his own here, getting around the kit and the beat quite impressively. Prime examples of the raw power of the Squishees are "Bobbysox," a bizarro-world ZZ Top stomp with a salty sense of humor, herky-jerky timing, and a wicked solo, and the improv jam "Zindler's Lobe," which might as well be "Don Caballero 4" until it breaks into Minutemen-inspired funk, then heads off to Sabbathland and parts unknown. Even the rather silly "Bacon" comes off well when played by such imaginative musicians. Less successful is "The Theory of Billy and the Train," an eight-and-a-half minute dirge, less theory than half-assed epic poem, that tells the story of an unfortunate boy who is hit by a train and cut in half. I trust I will spoil nothing if I reveal that both halves survive and that one of them is -- gasp -- evil. Despite its problems, even this song is hardly weak, instrumentally speaking. This music is virtuosic and ambitious, while retaining a visceral punch -- and yet it's almost anti-commerical in its bizarre and idiosyncratic approach. Such a mixture, to me, seems quintessentially Houstonian in its artistic isolation. The Squishees represent the gritty, organic, and unpredictable sprawl of our city as well as anyone. (DM)
DM - www.Spacecityrock.com (Sep 24, 2005)
The Koopas - Sex, Lies and Videogames:
It's been nearly a year since last summer's Mutant Pop Fest, and one small memory I have from that trip was the short discussion of a certain band's choice of Mutant Pop Short-Run title, and how damn cool it was, and why no one else had ever thought of it... That band was of course, The Koopas and the title was in fact Sex, Lies, and Video Games, a great play off the movie of similar name. So I suppose The Koopas scored some points way before they even had a release out. And by by "way before," I mean "waaaaaay before", as it's been ages since that discussion took place, meaning this thing has been in the works for quite sometime, however more often than not that's how things work in the punk-pop underground, but we don't complain. Originally planned as a Mutant Pop short-run, the band chose instead to release these songs on Smelly Menace and have a batch of newer songs currently being slated for Mutant Pop release sometime in the future (obviously). Another point of interest is that this is another release that very effectively uses the CD-R format to mass-produce a bands recording. The CD-R's appear to be hand-screened and the layouts pretty well done, giving it a "more than demo, but not quite an official release" feel that I quite like. As much as people bitch about the whole CD-R flood, this is only the third release, barring the short-run series, that I've run across, and it's not half-bad, so I'm not complaining.
I suppose it goes without saying that this sounds like a Mutant Pop Short-Run, however it's worthy to note that if this had been an MP short-run, it would definitely be one of the better ones. I will admit when I first popped this in my stereo I was a bit afraid to review it, as I thought I would have a lack of verbiage to splatter on the page about another up and coming punk-pop band. However, I found that The Koopas brand of punk-pop, although not mind-blowingly amazing, is quite endearing in a really low-fi, just getting started, new punk-pop sorta way. This is your basic three-chord stuff, but with plenty of leads to keep you happy, and a great feel to it, sort of like one of those one-hit singles bands like the late, great (i'm assuming this anyway) Infatuations (sorry, not trying to use obscure references on purpose...but the feel of Sex, Lies, and Video Games really reminded me of the "Go, Go to Morocco" record by said band, pick it up if you don't already have it).
So...favorite tunes on this release: "No Way Out" (the definitive Koopas song, if there ever was one), "She's Outta Sight (and Outta My Mind)," which contains some nice whoah-ohs and hand-claps (always a plus), "Jenna My Love," also one of my favorites, and just one of the many three-chord teen frustration anthems penned by none other than Poppie Robbie of Punkhouse fame.
vinyl a gogo - vinyl a gogo (May 23, 2001)
"There's some serious SCREECHING WEASEL damage on display here, which in this day in age is a decidedly mixed blessing. But their garagy production, RAMONES-y wall of guitar sound, and juvenile snottiness lift the KOOPAS far above today's hordes of generic pop-punk bands. Most of the songs on here are pretty catchy, too, so if you're looking for some exuberant, non-commercialized poppy punk fix you needn't look any further".
Jeff Bale - Hit List Magazine (Jul 10, 2001)
Molly Maguires - Dirty Surf
Dirty Surf is a perfect way to describe the surfin’ action in Southeast Texas. Who would expect this area (known for its blues and country roots) to spew forth a surf rock band? The four fellas in Molly Maguires, that’s who.
Molly Maguires set themselves aside from many of the musicians in their region by taking the surf/punk genre “by the horns”. Sure, it’s surf music, good for parties and the general good times (and these guys can party), but Texas style. Some may wonder if surf and Texas mix-this CD has your answer.
For their debut CD, the boys packed up and traveled to Austin, afterwards, returned back to Beaumont to get ready for their upcoming gigs around the region. They have been touring the Gulf Coast, and opening for such national acts as The Murder Junkies and Reverend Horton Heat to name a couple. They have performed to fans of all ages, and picking up more fans as they journey on.
From the opening track of Big Hands, the waves start up in as the boys (Jake, Jackson, Jacob, and Dallas) get things rolling with some really good riffs and heavy jams going into two of my faves, Tombsurfin’ and Beer Bottle Baseball. Mark my words, this will be an alternative surf rock classic! Fans from old school Ventures to lately Los Straitjackets will love the muck of Dirty Surf! Don’t mess with Texas…Keep Texas clean…well, except for the surf music.
Kenny Deville (Jul 22, 2005)
Ah, surf rock. I'll bet that when most folks hear those two words, they conjure up slo-mo images of beefy, tanned guys or gorgeous, tanned girls jumping into bright blue barrel-shaped waves while Dick Dale-style guitars spiral in the background. Surfers hang out where it's all palm trees and clear blue water, right? Well, most of 'em, yeah -- not all surfers, however, are lucky enough to live within walking/paddling distance of Pipeline. Some, in fact, call the murky, smelly Gulf of Mexico home. Come on, stop laughing. As somebody who's done it himself a few times, I can attest to the fact that there are surfable waves in the Gulf; it's not as picturesque as Hawaii or Malibu, no (think more of the Venice Beach shore back in the days of Dogtown's Z-Boys, complete with random spars of wood sticking out of the surf), and the waves are a lot smaller, but hell, at least the water's warm, and you don't often have to fight a bazillion people to find a decent little wave of your own. I'm barely a novice, myself, so I've got no absolute proof for this, but my guess is that most Gulf surfers are about as far removed from their counterparts in clear-blue Hawaii as the waters off Maui are from those off, say, Surfside. With that in mind, since the surfing environment's a bit different, shouldn't it logically have its own special surf-rock soundtrack? Well, yes, you'd think so.
Unfortunately, The Molly Maguires' Dirty Surf ain't qite it. Why? Well, for starters, while the Maguires are indeed from the Houston-Galveston area, Dirty Surf isn't all that different from most other surf-rock I've heard, right down to the guitar tone and sparse, minimal arrangements. Don't get me wrong -- that kind of thing can be great, absolutely...if it's got the fire of a Nokie Edwards, Duane Eddy, or Dick Dale behind it. The Maguires' music doesn't, sadly, but is instead a lot more middle-of-the-road (although I've got to hand it to 'em for showcasing Galveston's ever-so-beautiful beaches at red tide on their album cover; man, the smell on those days is unbelievable...).
There are some good parts here, like the delicate melody that drives "Upper Stratus," the complicated guitar motif on "Tenderizer," or the creepy-yet-pretty "Attack of the Spiderwoman," but I'm afraid that the majority of the tracks on Dirty Surf can get to be a little hard to distinguish after a while.
It all sounds good, mind you, and maybe that's part of the problem -- the three "songs" that really start to rev things up a bit, "Slick 60," "Little Red Mushroom Chair," and "The Great Race," happen to be the two where the Maguires drop the shiny, ultra-clean guitar sound and go for a more distorted, manic, Agent Orange-style surf-punk attack. And y'know, it works -- it's a damn shame the band didn't start off the album with one of those tracks, rather than the anemic, twangy "Big Hands." It's that sound -- dirty, distorted, frantic, a little rockabilly -- that really screams "Gulf Coast breakers" to me. Next time around, guys, I'd leave the sparkly-clean stuff to the Cali kids and bring more of that down-home, dirty, Gulf sound.
Jeremy Halt - www.Spacecityrock.com (Jul 1, 2005)
Last Update: 1/23/07
