Smooth, Spacey Lullaby
By Zach Dundas
Last night, I stumbled upon a poor soul who has not seen The Light.
With my '78 Olds purring like a Valium-stunned puma, I was ripping down Arthur atautobahn speed when I nearly piled into a slow-moving Land Rover. Grinding my teeth andchoking on righteous bile, I squealed my tires to avoid performing an indecent (though nowlegal) act of automotive violation.
Stickers decked the back of the 'Rover, stickers advertising the driver's love forPhish and The Dead.
My foot hovered over the accelerator for a moment before superego grabbed the reins ofid and prevented the destruction of a fine expedition-rated all-terrain vehicle.
"Forgive," the angel on my shoulder said, "for they know not what theydo. They've not heard the Humpy/Oblio Joes split single on Pink House Records."
How true.
My vicious instincts settled, but my heart still pounded a war beat on the inside of myribs. I pointed the Olds toward home. Once there, I ran to the turn-table and slapped downthe seven-inch vinyl slab in question.
Humpy and the Oblio Joes are, of course, long-reigning titans of the local scene. Eachhave been conquering young hearts for about two and a half years now. The single theyshare, the first item in the Pink House catalogue, is only a week old but has alreadybored its way into the minds of many.
There are two ways to take this record in, reflecting the vastly different styles ofthe artistes.
You can start with the hard stuff, Humpy's 90-proof hardcore, and then slick down yourraw throat with the Oblios' smooth, spacey lullaby. Or, you can make the foreplay gentlebefore flipping to the Humpy side and finishing with a brutal, fleshy pummelling.
Humpy's four songs sound like the devil incarnate. The guitars rasp through shreddedspeakers. Andy Hate, Dave Goatboy and Dennis Beardid strip their vocal chords on fourbizarre punk rock nuggets. Hate's no-prisoners performance on"Unacfuckingceptable" is the highlight.
The Oblio Joes, on the other hand, give us only one song, "TelemarketingDrunk." This anthem of loser's bliss is beautifully recorded, crisp as could be. Leadsinger Johnny is sure to be a star, with a voice that sounds like every indie-rock heroever rolled into one. The music? This is how the Beatles would sound if they'd gottentogether in 1992 and booted that wanker McCartney right at the start.
Pink House Records will be the Stax/Volt of the End Days and the combined wattage ofHumpy and the Oblios will scour the acid-rock stickers off every Rover and Explorer in theland.
Check for this disc at Record Heaven and wherever fine punk rock is sold.
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