CRAZY SPIRIT - S/T LP

As if you don't already know, Crazy Spirit are the cream of the crop when it comes to punky HC. Imagine Dick Dale imitating Greg Ginn, backed up by Honor Role and fronted by a miniature Blane Fart... but faster. (I know, shut up!) On their recent S/T Lp, gleefully inventive, Spy Vs. Spy guitar riffs dangle from pepped up punk drums and winding bass like spittle off a small dog's tongue. Congested, ghoulish vocals toss among this memorable mess like a peanut trapped in a bubble bounce. This music is F. U. N! Not an ounce of your daddy's tough-guy shit from '89. More like what grandma listened to back in '81. CS manage to pull it off in a way that seems totally fresh and all their own. Can't stress enough, I absolutely need everything they put out. You do too! Because... CS = fun! :)

MAN IS THE BASTARD - SUM OF THE MEN "THE BRUTALITY CONTINUES...."

Aside from making what's among the most powerful and violent sounds on the planet, I never 100% understood how MITB could be categorized as powerviolence. The rest of their PV contemporaries took such a specific straight up HC or grind approach to the fast/slow thing. MITB evolved out of some earlier PV-ish projects, but ended up opting for a more flushed out, organic, even jammy feel. Sum Of The Men was my first exposure to the band. Despite being familiar with it's member's earlier work, this record came out of left field offering the most distinct and challenging music that had yet graced my dirty little teenage earlobes. To top it off, the lyrics are über intelligent. Really! Absolutely fucking hilarious. Poodles!