Notes from the underground.

WHAT DO The Humpers, The Devil Dogs, The Muffs, The Gun Club, New Bomb Turks. The Dwarves. The Diesel Queens. The Junkyard Dogs, The Jet Boys, and Thee Headcoats have in common (besides being great bands)? They all put out stuff on Sympathy for the record industry somewhere between 1993 and 1995, and their tracks (as well as others) now reside on Their Sympathetic Majesties Request, Volume 2. This has got to be one of the best camps in ages, with hardly a dud in sight. It's got the New Bomb Turks' best song ever, "Last Lost Fight," so if you don't have that single it's worth it just for that. It's pretty limited, so get your ass down to the local record store before they disappear... Mother great camp from Sympathy is The Sympathetic Sounds of Toe Rag London. Toe Rag is world renown as a studio that captures the light sound for garage and retro bands, sometimes kitschy but sometimes balls out rockin'. This one's got songs by Thee Headcaats, Holly Golightly, The Kaisers, Ludella Black, The Masonics and others, and is a toe-tapping, finger-mapping good time... And another quality camp to come out this time around is the Dirtnap Records sampler CD. Thirty-one tunes from one of the Northwest's best labels, ranging from punk to nouveau wave to just plain out there. The Epoxies, The Briefs, The Cripples, Midnight Thunder Express, The Mexican Blackbirds, The Popular Shapes, The Gloryholes and others all have songs on this one. And The Spits' contribution has to be heard to be believed... Speaking of Dirtnap. they've just released a CD EP by a band called Cinch. The five-song EP starts with a near flawless power pop song, "Once a Week" and ends with a Jonathan Richman song, "She's Cracked," The two female vocalists harmonize perfectly and the music contains hints of The Pixies, The Breeders, and The Slingbacks... Straight outta Indiana comes The Romance Morgue and their EP Demo Days. It's got some of the power of Helmet, the dirge and decay of Neurosis, and some of the quirkiness of Pitchfork, which all work here, This shit rocks and eschews the cliches of all the new shitty "metal" bands... On the 7" front, check out the Los Olvidados /The Cliftons split EP, Skate Rock Fight on Superspeedway. Two great songs from Los Os off their recent LP culled from their heyday, in the early '80s, and two from relative newcomers the Cliftons. The former is classic skate punk, the latter closer to HC, and both are ballsy.,. The new Clone Defects LP isn't out an vinyl yet, but if the new 7" is any indication, it'll rule. Shapes of Venus on In The Red shows kids the dangers of breathing in too much formaldehyde in science class. Warped psych-punk that kills... Speaking of warped shit on In The Red, check out the A Feast of Snakes self-titled LP. It's pretty dark but good enough to drive a chisel deep into your ear. Maltes me think of Aristralia's Feedtime... On the live front, caught a couple Seattle area bands on tour. Hint Hint's keyboard-heavy no wave has the kids pogoing and sticking safety pins in their lapels, but also has a darker sort of appeal. Check their Sex is Everything LP on Cold Crush. Headliners were Pretty Girls Make Graves, who also kick ass. And speaking of former Murder City Devils (Derek is in PGMG), Cold Crush has released an eight-song CD by The Hookers, which was most of the MCDs guys before they were the Devils. It's rawer, and not quite as weighty (they were a four piece), but stands on its own in the rock and roll category... The Riff Randels' new 10" Lethal Lipgloss (on Alien Snatch Records) is a smoking' slab of garage (albeit an expensive import-Alien Snatch? Does that mean grabbed by an alien or...?). It's two chicks and one dick who play stripped down and turned up, and it's got a little cutesy appeal ala early Donnas but also has a harder side. Well, either way, it's a good fun... The Needles are Chet Childress' roommates in North Carolina, but despite that fact they rock! They've got an EP or two out (look for Captain America) and have some new stuff on the way (stay tuned) . Guitars up front, not noodly but balisy, just the way we like it here...