The P-90′s need no introduction in the North Carolina music underground.  The lineup consists of  of Billie Feather; John Howie, Jr.; Dillon White; and Josh Caldwell;  all of whom are legendary for their musical talents,  as they have all ruled the stages of the Carolinas and beyond in one band or another.   With the P-90′s, they have brought this same talent and rebellious energy to the world of Punk.   I had the good fortune to finally see the P-90′s for the first time at The Cave in Chapel Hill, NC.  The band was kind enough to give me an autographed copy of their CD.  Upon listening I was  immensely pleased, though not surprised, to hear the same musical punch on “Limited Supply” as the band delivers in person.

With very versatile vocals and some fine rock guitar licks, “Surburban Nightmare” evokes images of ’70′s Glam rock, with the guitars reminding me of both early Alice Cooper and Nick Lowe, gloriously fused with a sort of epic garage band sound that seems right on the cusp of some new musical frontier.  As such, this is a fine beginning track that admirably sets the stage for what follows.

“Apathetic” is a Punk locomotive that roars straight through the walls of complacency, with  shattering guitars and Billie’s fantastic vocals.   Her drawn out “apppppathetic” drops off very viscerally at  the right moment.  She has the sheer force of Penetration’s Pauline Murray combined with the edginess of Siouxsie.    “Apathetic” may be short at just under two minutes, but it is an indubitably  powerful song.

“My Roommate {Took My Date Away}”  is a clever nod to the Ramones that is fabulously crafted, yet retains a sheer simplicity that brings to mind the dawn of the punk era with its sheer energy.  The guitars are just fabulous, with percussion driving things along .   The song ends on a superb vocal flourish  sort of reminds me of The Slits.

“Business 40″ simply  blows the listener away like a charge of musical C-4.    Layered guitars remind me of The Buzzcocks or later era Ramones, while Billie’s shouted vocals wonderfully evoke shades of Poly Styrene.  From the guitars and bass to percussion, this is powerhouse of a song.    It is also quite true in regards to the Business 40 highway loop!  “Can’t see ’round that SUV/why are you in front of me??? The song ends on a wonderfully discordant and ferocious slide into feedback that crashes to a halt, which is about the only way to stop this song.

“I Don’t Wanna Talk to You” starts a bit mellower, but then soon dispels the listener of that silly notion.  Mellow? Not here!     I love John Howie’s  pounding percussion (reminds me of The Jam), and the fine, perfectly  understated, yet wonderfully dissonant backing vocals.  The brief guitar solo midway comes at just the right time, as a  great balance to Billie’s  fabulous drawn out vocal effects.   Listen closely to the phenomenal  instrumental interplay in last segment of the song.

“Inside Your Head” changes gear, grinding into sheer punk.  Loud, with excellent guitar riffs playing off against teach other and percussion relentlessly pounding away.    At about one minute and forty seconds into the song, the guitar weaves masterfully around Billie’s vocals, which have a certain timbre that is simply gripping.  This is great music in the finest Punk tradition!

Listen to “Limited Supply” once and it will be stuck in your head for days.  This is a tight, precision crafted machine of a CD that showcases the enormous talent of this band.   To me, the P-90′s are great because they invoke the best era of Punk music.  A bit of Sex Pistols to be sure, and the Ramones of course.   But also Iggy and the Stooges,  Richard Hell, The New York Dolls, Magazine and the bands I mentioned earlier.   The P-90′s have an added level of  sophistication, along the lines of early Sonic Youth.    I hate to seem like I’m giving a who’s who rendition of early Punk, but I think it is important to differentiate the P-90′s style from Hardcore and Thrash/Metal influenced  Punk.     The P-90′s have  a totally contemporary and relevant sound that is a perfect amalgamation of early Punk sensibilities and their own musical prowess.   Even if I’m off the mark on the musical associations here, and this is not what the band intends, it doesn’t matter.    Go see the P-90′s!   Buy this CD!  Have the band autograph it, they will be glad to do so.    I predict that The P-90′s will soon pass out of the range of underground ezines like this one on their way to greater things.    Hey, Ho, lets go!

http://www.facebook.com/thep90s?sk=app_2405167945

The Black Sleep rose from the ashes of Adam’s Evil, and though the Black Sheep are going in a vastly different musical direction, it is a fine direction indeed!   Usually billed as a Psychobilly band, I think this does not really do justice to The Black Sleep.  They are more refined, with quite eclectic influences, reminding me of performers such as Mather Louth.   The Black Sheep can clearly throw down a party, too!

“Ballad in Hep C”  has a steady, hypnotic bass line that drives the song nicely.  The guitar has a exquisite retro sort of sound, cool and sophisticated, reminiscent of Chris Isaak, but balanced with biting salvos that lend a contemporary, gritty feel.  The vocals are simply marvelous.  Sarah veers deftly  between a Hot Jazz ’20′s sort of sound and  a fetching rockabilly “whoa-ooah” chorus.

“Choke and Die” begins with a slow gripping,  guitar line that picks up Sarah’s sultry and evocative vocals on the way. “I don’t want your sympathy/I’ve just had too much to drink“.    Percussion is dexterous and dead on, while the bass maintains a perfect cadence.   Just under three minutes into the song, the levee breaks, no, it shatters, as the bass and guitar suddenly turn magnificently discordant, while the lead vocals take an  epic and gripping turn, like a ’49 Cadillac coupe on a dangerous Nevada curve.  The guitar solo is superb.   Her seductive, yet classy, slightly drawn out “oh-oah’s” are perfect, and she ends the song with a perfect sigh.  I have a sudden urge to put on my three piece suit and fedora, then go steal a DeSoto Firedome.

The next track, “Guns”, titled after a subject dear to me, picks up the pace, with a fine retro bass line and guitar that suddenly turns rattlesnake vicious.  I love the fullness of the guitar here,  the slight echo effect on the bass, and the backing vocal exclamations. There is a cool Noir Western feel to this song, low and mysterious, in an interesting Marty Robbins meets the Cramps way.   Sarah’s vocal range is superbly demonstrated.

The rollicking “Into the Grave” has a bit more of a traditional psychobilly style,  with hammering bass and fierce percussion.  This is balanced by buzzy, edgy guitar, which has a very gripping interlude laced with feedback.  Intemittent retro, echo-y guitar is a perfect touch.  Vocals are excellent, with catchy and expertly executed shifts and  turns, along with a backing chorus that is clearly punk-influenced.

“Zombie Box” is a fitting finish to the CD, with a sophisticated combination of distant, retro guitar and rolling percussion, laced with alternating bursts of heavy, grungy guitar.  Bass perceptibly underlays the process.  Vocals are masterfully poignant yet brazen.  The song is filled with unexpected twists, more of which emerge with each listen.

“Zombie Box”  is a great debut CD that is superbly produced.  The music is  well crafted, showcasing the skills of the band, and has a  visceral impact that is unexpected and therefore all  the more stunning.  As regular readers here know well, I have a penchant for vocals, and  the vocals here are just astounding, not only for the sound, but for the unpredictably and sheer impact.   There is no mindless bass-bashing or chord flailing here.  Everyone in the band is part of the tapestry, yet unafraid to make their own forays. Yet they know precisely when to return to the fold, which is one of the great things about this CD.

I highly recommend listening to “Zombie Box”  on the road.  Preferably back desert roads,  with abandoned gas stations, rusting signs, and secluded, inexplicably ominous diners.    The Black Sleep have created a  musical vision that magically evokes a rougher, somehow more romantic  era yet is firmly rooted in the present.  This is the Magical Mystery Tour with a Chicago typewriter and a case of moonshine in the false trunk.    With  ‘Zombie Box”, you can’t go wrong, Mac.  Now where did I put my, er,  violin case?

http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/theblacksleep

Fetus X was formed in 2008, consisting of Ian “Karlheinz” Taylor on Guitar, Keyboard, Composition; Julie X  on Vocal, Composition; and Steve Black  on Bass.   This was an extraordinary array of talent that produced some truly extraordinary music. Sadly, their work was not released, but it can be heard on Myspace and perhaps other places.

“No Mercy” is one of my absolute favorite songs of all time.  The edgy, razor sharp guitar takes me back to the early ’80s and evokes the same feeling I got when I first listened to deathrock and postpunk for the first time. I remember driving back from somewhere or other, and I randomly  tuned into a local college radio station that was playing some of the greatest music I had every heard.  (Turned out this was a late night program sort of like MTV’s much later “120 Minutes into the Future”, showcasing deathrock, postpunk, new wave, etc.)  Back home, I hurriedly found the station so as not to miss anything that night.    When I first heard “No Mercy”, I spent months trying to figure out just what band this song reminded me of.   Finally I realized that it didn’t remind me of a band, it reminded of the feeling I had, sitting in the dark that night listening to the radio.  The guitar is accompanied by some wonderful bass lines, and steady, on-target  percussion.  Vocals are edgey, almost deathrockish, before dropping to an ominous spoken interlude before the song changes back into frantic gear again.

“Fist to the Sun” starts with wonderfully fuzzy guitar  and slightly echoed vocals  that are very evocative.  Percussion and bass lend a very full sound to the ensemble.   I absolutely love the Neo-psychedelic sound encompassed here.   “Fist”  takes the best of the psychedelia, i.e.  sonorous, sense-pervading  guitar and bass, and combines it with the sheer edginess of early Goth and Deathrock.  Vocals are otherworldly and distant, as the guitar alternately roars and cuts with the precision of a samurai sword.

“Lost it to a Kiss” also  a magnificent neo-psychedelic feel, with buzzy guitar that careens like a sonic roller coaster.  I love the chord progressions here, which dramatically build up a  sense of  urgency and speed, artfully balanced by the dark vocals which sound almost stream-of-consciousness.  Imagine a synthesis of Grace Slick and Siouxsie Sioux.     The guitar  is slow, sharp, and deliberate, while the bass is determined and relentless, like an Old Western Posse on a long pursuit.   Then guitars and percussion race towards a frantic finish that ends with the abrupt finality of a hanging.   This song has a  languid, yet powerful effect that manages to sound psychedelic yet doom-ish at the same time,  reminding me somewhat of the Red Temple Spirits.

These are some truly magnificent tracks.   Alas,  the sojourn of Fetus X was all too brief.  While we may regret that they did not produce more of this fine music, we can be grateful for what they did.  After all, time marches on.  I look forward to hearing material from Karlheinz and Radio Pravda.

http://www.myspace.com/fetusxxx

I ran into Raging Nipples quite by accident at  the Cave in Chapel Hill, NC.  I was glad I did, because this Punk band from Statesville, NC  packs a mean punch.  Marzilla, Mel, Jaimi, Panda, and Pretty Kenny  put on a great show.  They may have only been together for a year, but they deliver a straightforward Punk sound  that is simply fabulous.   Marzilla kindly provided a copy of their demo CD for review.

Put on your body armor, because bass, percussion and guitar rake the listener like  .50 caliber machine gun fire in “Crack Meth”.   Rather strangled lead vocals are backed by a discordant cacophony, punctuated  by mad laughter and jangling noises.   A rather addictive song.    A bit of catchy bass opens “Porn Shop”.  The  fast, mesmerizing guitar and reminds me a bit of the Ramones.  Halfway through, the song slows with punctuated percussion and rock-ish guitar before heading back into the fray.  Vocals are nicely harmonized, but with a bit of dissonance that is quite fetching. “Insane”  starts with measured bursts , then erupts into rollicking guitar and furious percussion, while the vocals alternately merge and separate, effectively giving the song a spontaneous, yet, crafted song reflecting the contradictions of….insanity.

Say what you will, every girl knows that “Size Matters”.   Vocals bring the Runaways to mind, as the bass nicely reins in the rampaging percussion and sawing guitar.  At the end of the song, the percussion and bass shift into a clever flourish.     “PMS Massacre” masterfully contrasts guttural, Metal lead vocals with finely blended backing “whoa-whoa-whoa” harmonies reminiscent of the bubblegum girl groups of old.   This contrast is very artfully done,  and I love the sudden ‘drop’ of the backing vocals into a darker timbre. They are  cute, but very dangerous. 
“$”  brings to mind GBH, in tempo and lyrical content.  “Can’t even relate to this fucked society. Do what I can to escape from all this greed.“   Vocals are in perfect.  The song starts to unwind and slide like a Harley on a wet, hairpin curve, then a solid rock guitar sequence brings it back on track  brilliantly.   This a great road song.
“Bad Girls” has shades of Bad Religion in it somewhere, balanced by a smooth chorus, and wonderful hardcore guitar.  I love the chorus “Whatever , whatever we do what we want…“   Maniacal percussion  pushes the song to the outer limits.

“Sparks Attack”  is an awesome song that merges the hardest rock with punk sensibilities.  Vocals are brassy and brazen, yet cool.   Guitar is absolutely magnificent, as the bass firmly lays the foundation, while the percussion is deft and furious.    “Tighten It Up”  is a show-stopper, adrenaline fueled and high octane,  that has a roaring guitar that is momentarily almost psychobilly, then alternates with a low, vicious howl.  Percussion and bass drive at top speed, weaving underneath tight, edgy vocals.  “Oy Vey” has ominous, plodding bass and militant vocals,  buttressed by high, sharp percussion and grungy guitar that shifts into a rollicking classic 90′s Punk sound.  “Bully, Bully, push around the crowd/bully, bully you’re so fucking proud.” Carried along on gusts of  guitar, the girls shout stridently as the song ends.

This is great music!   Raging Nipple knows their Punk roots, they are all talented musicians, and they put it all together magnificently.  Though this is indeed a demo, the music is clearly well -crafted yet does not loss its visceral edge.    Raging Nipple puts their  own contemporary stamp on classic Punk, and are filled with the same energy and  grand sense of spontaneity that gave rise to Punk in the first place. This is a great thing in 2012.    Last, but certainly not least, they are very nice people.    They are presently working on a CD, and I have no doubt that it will be a joy to behold.   Until then, if you can see Raging Nipple perform, do it!   You will not be disappointed.

http://www.myspace.com/ragingnipple

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Raging-Nipple/139095162826315