Tag Archives: Slovenly records

nightmare_boyzzz

Trashy Tuesday: Nightmare Boyzzz

It’s true as the old song says that, “You can’t judge a book by looking at its cover.” That being said, the cover of the Nightmare Boyzzz CD is sufficiently trashy to capture my attention. Just look at that thing. How am I supposed to just overlook that? Obviously I couldn’t.

The sound of this band is like a punch to your earhole. And let’s face it, when you can’t go anywhere without hearing the spectacularly boring hit by Lorde, your earhole could use a good punch. Just listen to that guitar at the beginning of “Valium.” Pow! Not to mention the vocals that sound like they were recorded using a mic wrapped in duct tape. Sure beats the stuffing out of a pop song sung by some Kiwi teenager.

If that’s not enough for you, just check out the sonic explosion of “Bender.” This is two minutes and 18 seconds of pure rock and roll. “You Have No Friends” is a pretty good example of rock and roll too. It’s raucous, raw energy with trashy guitars and a rhythm that…well, let’s just say that if you hear this in your car, it will get you to push the pedal to the floor.

Bad Patterns by Nightmare Boyzzz will be available on 26 November from Slovenly Records.

Trashy Tuesday: The Penetrators

Garage goodness

Garage goodness

You know that feeling you get when you’re at your local record shop digging through the crates and you come across a find that you can’t believe? You look around for the hidden cameras and you wonder how no one has snatched up this record before you got there. No cameras. It’s true. That record is in the crate just waiting for you to rescue it and take it home. Finding The Penetrators on Bandcamp felt a lot like that, particularly since the album is called Kings of Basement Rock (Slovenly, 2013).
I don’t need to tell you, loyal reader, that basement rock is something that will always go over well with me. And this album whose songs were recorded between 1976 and 1984 doesn’t disappoint. This album is full of great garage classics like “Baby Dontcha Tell Me.” I’m not going to lie to you. If you want to set out to write a great garage rock tune, this is a great one to emulate. It has trashy guitars, a fuzzy bass line, and a brilliant rhythm pounded out by the drummer. And you know something? It’s not even my favorite track on the album. That designation belongs to “Rock n Roll Face.” This song declares, “If I’m trash, I don’t care.” Well, good. That’s what makes this band perfect for Trashy Tuesday. And just think about that title. A rock n roll face is a great thing. If you’ve ever taken in any live music, you’ve seen plenty of rock n roll faces. That’s part of what makes live music great.


There is one other song that really hooked me: “Life Stinks.” I’m not saying I agree with that sentiment. I’m of the mind that any day on the correct side of the grass is a good one. That being said, this song is a candidate for Take ‘Er Easy Thursday with lyrics like this:

Work in the factory, destroying your head

Push all the buttons and you’re half-dead.

Unfortunately, this describes the work situation for far too many people.  Even if you don’t work in the factory, it’s easy to feel like work is destroying your head.

If you like 60s-style garage rock, do yourself a favor and get this album. It’s lo-fi, loud, and T-R-A-S-H-Y. I guarantee you won’t find a lot of garage albums better than this one.