Friday, February 26, 2010

Croatan-Wrong Hole, Dumbass! And Separation Anxiety 7”s


Croatan is a weird two-piece punk/metal act from Cincinnati, Ohio. A husband and wife team, the band has released a couple of full-length albums (several of which are available on itunes), but most of their 7” records are out of print. These are my two favorites. “Wrong Hole, Dumbass!” was released in 1996 on Satan’s Pimp Records. “Separation Anxiety” (released in 1998 on GOD Inc. Records) is particularly good, with the ripping, haunting song “Split the Image” paired with a brilliant metalish cover of the Devo classic “Jocko Homo”. They cheated a bit on the record by overdubbing a bass track (when they play live it’s just Mark on drums and Jenny on guitar/vocals), but I think we can forgive them for that. The band maintains an extensive website with a lot of good information.

1. Up Your Butt and Out the Door
2. She Said “Asshole”
3. Split the Image
4. Jocko Homo

Enjoy

Friday, February 5, 2010

Three Liter Hit-My Life Before The Accident Cassette

I saw Three Liter Hit play at the Magic Bean coffee shop in Springfield in the mid-1990’s. They played punk/alt. rock with a goofy abandon, and I picked a copy of their professionally recorded tape, which became a favorite of mine. Coming out of Wisconsin, the band was apparently something of a local legend. This 1994 release features upbeat, unpredictable songs with some very thoughtful lyric courtesy of frontman Keith Killoren, who later went on to play with the bands Budapest One and the Drams. Keyboard player Nate gave their music some interesting texture by performing some low-key ballads to go along with the more up-beat stuff. A truly obscure band that is very much worth checking out.

1. The Luxurious Alcoholic
2. Rendezvous with a Chambermaid
3. Sinsemilla
4. Rock and Roll Loser
5. After-School Special
6. No Smoking Policy
7. The Altruist
8. Pocketful of Shankers
9. Suddenly, It’s Raining
10. Nate’s Mic Check
11. My Life Before the Accident
12. Whirling Dervish
13. You May Be Right

Enjoy