Notes from the underground.

FAR AND AWAY THE NOISE THAT IS MAKING ME the happiest this month has got to be the new LP by The Clone Defects. It's entitled Blood on Jupiter and it's on the Tom Perkins Entertainment label straight outta Michigan. And these guys have gotta be on some dust, man. They are definitely keeping the Detroit sound--heavy Stooges feel here. Some just punked out, flicked up, carnally charged humdingers that'll have you scratching where it don't itch. A mess among messes, this takes the throne and I hope I can see this shit live one day... And another really fucked up mess, totally expected seeing as it is coming from the likes of Jay Reatard and cohort Eric Oblivian, is the new LP by Bad Times on Goner. Obnoxo-rock, this is the kind of skit mothers warned their daughters against. One listen of this unholy cacophony and you'll be fuckin' in the streets and shootin' dope. It may leave you twitching in a corner by the time the needle kits the end of the groove. Don't pass up this one... Speaking of older hardcore stuff and Canada, Beer City also reissued Dayglo Abortions' Feed Us a Fetus L.P. Songs like "Stupid Songs" and "Argh Fuck Kill" will stick in your head for days to come, and these Jaks miscreants are still at it... On the live front, still continually impressed by The Glory Holes. A couple of chicks, a couple of clicks, and Doug Slug (ex-Sinister Six) screaming steady at the top of his lungs--one of the reasons I miss Seattle when I'm not there... And another reason, besides the high volume of regular shows with good bands, it is the place to catch stuff like The Fallouts and The Fells reunion shows. Opened by perennial favorites Head, they take so much from the Ramones it might be considered theft if it weren't for the Angry Samoans-style sarcasm. Sarcasm? Who said it was sarcasm? Then came the Fells, originally outta Tucson but have since broken up as their members have scattered the globe and are doing their own thing. And finally the Fallouts, who, not counting various hiatuses, have been around for at least 1 5 years by my count, but probably longer. Angsty garage rock mostly about those snakes, women. Hopefully they'll start playing regularly, but I am never one to get my hopes up too high.--Wez Lundry...

Remember that shoegazing wall-of-guitar band Slowdive? In the early '90s they were the thickest of the thick, right up there with My Bloody Valentine et al. So the guys and girl from Cornwall have traded in the superfuzz for a slide guitar and some acoustics, churning out proto-country and folk tunes under the moniker Mojave 3. Strip it all down and the best is right there underneath (yeah, just like if that one Minneapolis trio had done all their songs sans amplification... Do You Remember?). Mojave songwriter! UK surfing afficionado Neil Haistead hit the road on his own last month and killed it with fine lone ranger style. If only the crowd wasn't so mopey--it's rock, man. Quit treating it like a funeral. Anyhow, if the current state of indie hell's got you down, check out Mojave 3 or Neil's solo stuff, most of which is on Beggar's Banquet. Their roots are in the noise... Reminiscent of Lookout!'s Born Against! Screeching Weasel split 7" released nearly a decade ago, two pairs of our current almost-radio-f riendly unit shifters have fashioned similar projects, resulting in Hot Water Music doing Alkaline Trio doing Hot Water, and NOFX doing Rancid doing NOEX. Jade Tree and BYO, respectively... From NYC via the Dominican Republic is M-16; hairy scary blistery poli-metal in Spanish. Think a bit slower Sepultura. Canciones Escritos en elExilio is on Mother West... Strychnine's got a new seven out on TKO called "Hate Finger," consisting of two originals (including the title track) and a version of X's "We're Desperate." The blitzspeed Strychnine sound exactly like their name--toxic, painful, fast enough to kill within seconds... By the way, Run DMC have had their handprints added to Hollywood Blvd., the first hip hop artists ever to have bestowed on them such an honor. Most deserved, 'nuff said...