This bands rocks in a Cramp’s style rockabilly sound with a heavy dose of The Velvet Underground. The mix is stripped down to the barest of essentials. There’s no reverb here, just a raw minimalism that has a lot of charm. The singing and guitar playing take a front seat over the unmotivated (and, at times, intentionally wonky) rhythm section.
Hott DAMN!! Insane steel guitar-guitar combo. It’s kinda like the Ren and Stimpy theme but more insane and with slide guitar. Did I mention INSANE?!?!?
This is a side project by Big Sandy’s guitarist. They rock in swingin’ western rockabilly style, not unlike the Dave and Deke Combo. The album is on Deke’s Eccophonnic label to boot! These songs are fun and you’d have to be a vegeTABLE to sit through this one without tappin’ your toes.
Robot rock! This band is rumored to contain member(s) of Man or Astroman? and Supernova (I’ve since found out that this is not true), and follows those bands in their taste for goofy sci-fi rock. Servotron’s theme is robots and they play in a Devoesque robotic style. Bad birthday is a classic.
Another single from this ManorAstroman?-esque/Supernova-esque project. Not quite as good as the Bad Birthday single but still likeable.
The first full-length outing by Servotron. More songs about the elimination of the human race. Includes songs about Small Wonder, Magnus Robot Fighter, Robbie the Robot, and the much ignored red robot R5-D4. This is a great record, although admittably it could be annoying to some people.
A collection of mildly exotica inspired tune from this Portland surf band. It’s much better than some of their earlier releases. The high point being their cover of the theme from The Godfather.
I found this used for $4! A 1967 collection of the best of this clever band from the 60’s. It’s got Wooly Bully, Li’l Red Riding Hood, and Ring Dang Doo plus about 7 more hits. There just aren’t enough songs here! I want more!!
This is the Poster Children’s electronic side project. The music is generated mainly with analog and/or cheap synthesizers and electronic gizmos. It has an ambient techno feel to it but maintains a live human feel. This works to the band’s advantage, helping to distance themselves from the boring techno dance music (which usually boils down to being EZ listening for the stupid, ie people who own Amiga computers). Their songs tend to sound too similar after a while but it’s still interesting nonetheless.
This is the debut LP from this New Orleans frat-rock combo. This is a really good album. The opening track is one of the best instro’s I’ve heard in a long time. Although they have a much fuller sound, these guys sound very much like the Hentchmen. I may just be saying this because both bands prominently feature organ. Unlike most neo-surf-frat rock bands lately, these guys actually have some energy behind their music!