So here’s the last of the Yeah God! vinyl I own, which ironically according to the catalog number was actually their first single on Chapter 22. There’s an air of optimism on this E.P. which I definitely wouldn’t associate with the band, with tracks titled ‘Love Is Like The Sun’ and choruses singing “Lift up your head and say that tomorrow will be a better day”. OK, so one of the tracks (the best one) is called ‘Eat Plutonium Death’, but the other tracks sound like Blink-182-ish uplifting skate-punk. So yeah, not my favourite release by the band but it’s not terrible either. Just a bit too conventional (verse, chorus, verse, chorus, solo, chorus) and optimistic to be the same band who would frequently use samples and pitched-down vocals and went on to record “Everything’s Not Fucking Irie, Man“.
Track list
01-So Far Down
02-Look Better Gone
03-Eat Plutonium Death
04-Love Is Like The Sun
Yeah God!’s debut release on Chapter 22 records. Title track Sumo On My Back is a storming tune, mixing rap with thrash and some chanting thrown in for good measure! Used To Even Care brings the death growwwwwls found on their excellent debut LP. The E.P. finishes with Beast In The Box – a ludicrously fun satire of rock cliches.
01-Sumo On My Back
02-Used To Even Care
03-Halitosis Girl
04-Hypocrite Carnage
05-Big Bad Noise
06-Beast In The Box
Gaye Bykers On Acid made their triumphant return after 25 years apart last month on their Electric Banana tour which concluded with a gig at Indie Daze 3 this past Saturday. The band were absolutely on fire delivering arguably the best set of the day. Although I never got a chance to see them during their original run (because I was like 5 years old), I’ve listened to many, many bootlegs and this weekend they played tighter than I’ve ever heard them. The set included songs from their earliest EP right through to their final work as PFX. Much thanks to Stef Cunningham for this excellent recording. Newcastle and Leicester recordings to follow!
1. Intro
2. TV Cabbage
3. Delirium
4. After Suck There’s Blow
5. What Happened To Malcolm?
6. Git Down
7. All Hung Up
8. It Is Are You?
9. Shoulders
10. Better Off Dedd
11. Disinformation Rise and Shine
12. Hot Thing
13. Rad Dude
14. Face At The Window
15. Everythang’s Groovy
16. Nosedive Karma
Gaye Bykers on Acid were the opening band for the main stage of Reading Festival 1989. Relegated to a 30 minutes they manage to storm through a set of mostly ‘new’ songs from their 1990 album Cancer Planet Mission. Two interesting inclusions are slightly different versions of Face at the Window and Bleed the latter having an extended outro. Fairway To Heaven feels like it goes on forever – I assume there was miscommunication between the band! Sound quality is pretty good, especially for an outdoor show, but sadly there’s some chewed tape during one or two songs.
Set list
1. Shoulders (starts part way)
2. Face At The Window
3. Advertise
4. Welcome, Cancer Planet Mission
5. What Happened To Malcolm?
6. Bleed
7. In The Lyrics
8. Catalytic Converter
9. Fairway To Heaven
Yeah God! decided to change their name for some reason to Ugly Noize Inc. following the release of Noizgasmin 1989. Not quite sure why, but maybe someone out there knows? Anyway, in 1990 they released the humorously titled D*nce Like A Bastard!! The album is quite a departure from their previous one. While Noizgasm was rooted in thrash, and quite experimental at times, featuring unusual song structures, loads of samples and down-pitched vocals, Bastard is a lot more like conventional metal/hard rock. This is anything but an insult as the results are fantastic. The tracks are tighter and the album flows better. The lyrics are easier to hear and the riffs are fantastic.
While The Buzzard’s vocals were often death growls and shouting on Noizgasm here he sings quite a lot, and it works better in my opinion. Not to slate Noizgasm, I love that album and the vocals suited it, but I have to say I prefer this one as the songs are more memorable and the album is more accessible in general.
There are some outstanding tracks, complete with The Buzzard’s amazing guitar playing and darkly funny lyrics. Stand out tracks for me are “A Prayer To The God Of Obscure And Skint Independant Artistes” (“I ain’t too proud to take charity, gimmy all you got just as long as it’s free”), “Bitch, Bitch, Bitch”, the dubby/metal mash up of “Everything’s Not Fucking Irie, Man” and the rap/rock track “Dance Like Your Ass Is On Fire”.
Overall an excellent album which has been on constant rotation on my phone for the past few weeks. I’ve just ordered their E.P. Nitro Injected Trash Pop For The Deaf and I’m very much looking forward to hearing it! If anyone knows if the band had anymore releases please get in touch through the comments!
Edit 12/08/16 – Paul from the band had this to say –
We recorded and mixed this in just over a week at Brian Tatlers studio (the fridge?) in Stourbridge. All I can remember of it was there was a trivial pursuit coinop that I never got to play on!
1 Back 2 Reality
2 A Prayer To The God Of Obscure And Skint Independant Artistes
3 Offin’ The Good Guys
4 Scheherazade Jones
5 Hindsight Binoculars
6 Betterways
7 Bitch, Bitch, Bitch
8 Beirut Timeshare Love Affair
9 Everything Is Not Fucking Irie Man
10 Dance Like Ya Ass Is On Fire
11 Worst Bad
12 Ogres (My Guitar Dies Screaming)
Live recording of Hyperhead at Phoenix Festival 1993! They played on Sunday 18th July on the Phoenix Stage. Really good sound quality on this one and some songs which never made it to the album including No Respect which has an aggressive chorus and Let The Monkey In which has a great bluesy feel to it. Many thanks to Martin Lane for providing this!
01. Making Waves
02. Mean What You Say
03. Teenage Mind
04. No Respect
05. Let The Monkey In
06. Easy Slide
07. Easy Slide (part 2)
After releasing their debut Desert Orchid on Food in 1988, Crazyhead switched labels and released Some Kind Of Fever in 1990 on Revolver Records. After the departure of bassist Alex ‘Porkbeast’ Peach, the band re-grouped and recorded a covers album entitled Live From Memphis which remains unreleased.
Eventually, after recruiting bassist Christina Wigmore and guitarist Peter Creed, the band recorded the covers E.P. Chemical Lunch in 1998. The pharmaceutical-themed E.P. features covers of songs by The Fugs, Bo Diddley, Julian Cope and Gene Vincent. The band recorded it in Kev Reverb’s ‘Memphis Studios’ and burned the album to CD-Rs which were then sold at their gigs. Many thanks to Adrian Manning for forwarding the album to me.
Track list
01-I Couldn’t Get High (The Fugs cover)
02-Pills (Bo Diddley cover)
03-Out Of My Mind On Dope And Speed (Julian Cope cover)
04-Bird Doggin’ (Gene Vincent cover)
First post in 4 months – life has been rather hectic lately!
Here’s a live recording sent to me by Stef Cunningham of Crazyhead at the Town and Country Club (currently the Forum). It was recorded after the release of their debut Desert Orchid, prior to the release of their second LP Some Kind of Fever. Very good set list of songs from both those albums and a few b-sides thrown in for good measure. The band are on fire, but there’s a lot of echo/reverb from the venue (which I’m told is very common for gigs recorded at the T&CC!).
Setlist
1. What Gives You The Idea That You’re So Amazing Baby?
2. I Can Do Anything
3. Buy A Gun
4. I Don’t Want That Kind Of Love
5. Tower Of Fire
6. Rags
7. Train
8. Jack The Scissor Man
9. Have Love, Will Travel
10. Fish
11. Here Comes Johnny
12. Cardinal Phink
13. Rub The Buddha
14. Rome
15. Dragon City
16. Time Has Taken Its Toll On You
17. Bang Bang
18. Baby Turpintine
19. Out On A Limb
20. Screaming Apple
21. Fortune Teller
Bugblot (aka Bugblot And The Shocking Confusion) released their debut single ‘Steeple’ on Gaye Bykers On Acid’s label Naked Brain in 1991 (Jan 14th to be precice!). Taking their infleunce from 60s garage rock and the likes of Captain Beefheart, Can and numerous Blast First bands, Bugblot recorded this driving, noisy, sometimes dark and often psychadelic EP. The title track “Steeple”, accurately described in their press release as sounding like a “year 2000 Stooges”, thunders along with heavy stoned riffs and catchy melodies. Up next is the psychadelic “Started Going Out” which somehow ends up sounding part-The Doors with a grunge-esque chorus (at least to my ears, anyway!) and features Noko of Apollo 440 fame on viola. The last track “Danny’s Psycho Jazz Tent” is a quick trash of crazy jazz metal which rounds the EP off in a noisey fashion. Well worth a download!
Tracklisting
1. Steeple
2. Started Going Out
3. Danny’s Psycho Jazz Tent
Bit of an oddity, this one. Hardly any information about this band exists online (aside from a blog post from 2008 and a Discogs page). The album was released in 1990 on Gaye Bykers On Acid’s label Naked Brain, and yet, no one from GBOA that I’ve asked can recall this band! (Possibly released without the bands consent by a manager of Naked Brain?). If anyone knows anything about this band and the album please write in the comment section!
Anyyyyyway, I discovered this album through the GBOA connection and it’s pretty damn good! Experimental-rock-spazz-jazz. Think Butthole Surfers with a dash of Frank Zappa and a tiny pinch of Bad Brains.
Tracklist
1. Philadelphia
2. Pump
3. Immortal
4. Decisions
5. Alaska
6. (Theme From) Johnny Scab
7. Should We Should We Shall We
8. Speakers
9. Cow On My Back
10. Young Apprentice
11. House O.D Blooz
12. Belly Of The Beast
13. Cardboard City Jam
14. Drums Like Cardboard Boxes
15. An Absurd Idea
Another Boring B Side 