Horribly Wrong
C’mon and Bleed With
Eradicator Records/Shit in Can Records

The Horribly Wrong is a band almost lost to the annals of obscure midwestern punk history.  They were active for maybe three years (2002-05), played maybe 20 shows and barely strayed from their home base of Bloomington, IN.  They put out a 7” EP and sold through two pressings (the first in three days, the second in five).  Every time I would visit friends in Bloomington, I would just miss a Horribly Wrong show by a day, hearing how crazy and drunk and out of control both the band and the crowd were (mind you, this was a time when Plan-It-X Records ruled Bloomington’s scene with their posi-core folk-punk blah.)  Then, in the summer of 2005, the Horribly Wrong called it quits.  Band members moved on, guess we all do.  I was fortunate enough to get one of the 70 or so CDR copies made of the album but I never thought it would get an official release.

For the longest time, I described C’mon and Bleed With to friends as “the best goddamn album you’ll never hear.”  Eighteen tracks of lo-fi garage punk that, if recorded in 1994 instead of 2004, could easily have been on Crypt or Rip Off Records.  Think the Misfits meets the Mummies.  There’s barely a break between songs and the energy stays high throughout.  Favorites, in no particular order: “Blood All Over My Body,” “Rogers Street,” “When I Say Evil” and “Attack of the Human Eating Robots.”

Bloomington-based Eradicator Records teamed up with French label Shit in Can Records to finally release C’mon and Bleed With.  Don’t miss your chance this time, kids.  It’s super limited – 500 copies on 180-gram vinyl (100 on blood red vinyl and 400 on black) – with beautiful silk-screened covers.  For the technologically advanced, there is a digital download card included with the LP.

Beastie Boys
“Ill Communication” Deluxe Edition
Capitol

I spent most of this past weekend blasting my favorite Beastie Boys record “Ill Communication” and I’m happy to report that it sounds as good today as it did when it first came out in

The Beastie’s fourth proper release has been re-issued as a double CD deluxe edition with all the trimmings. But it’s the original green-colored tape that purchased at Crazy Rhythms in Montclair way back when that really gets the emotions running. I remember going through a mild hardcore rap phase, back when hardcore was considered a melding or rock and hip hop. Keep in mind, this was pre Limp Bizkit 1994, and I was grooving to Kid Rock’s “Polyfuse Method,” anything by Rage Against the Machine, and the “Judgment Night Soundtrack.” Read the rest of this entry »

The Quakes
Negative Charge

If Buffalo, NY’s chosen sons The Quakes are known for one thing (besides their zeal for ’80s covers), it’s that they release the most consistently marvelous records year after year.

“Negative Charge” is no exception, commencing with the poppy “Seven Seas Alone,” an apropos tune in these days of non-swashbuckling pirates and a rocking non-sea chantey dowsed in twang and tremolo.

This record is a bit less aggressive than some of the band’s earlier outings, but the quality of the production and the catchiness of the tunes outweigh the need for slam dance fodder. The Quakes are now writing their own new wave classics, most notably “Ghost Town,”  a classic number in the vein of old school Echo and the Bunnymen. Read the rest of this entry »