Reviews

L.G.

Circus Lupus Circus Lupus LP

Belligerence and beauty collide on this foundational text by one of this writer’s personal faves from the last decade of the premillennial era. Former IGNITION bassist and FURY singer Chris Thomson had ventured north to Madison, Wisconsin where he hooked up with Chris Hamley (guitar), Arika Casebolt (drums), and Reg Shrader (bass) in CIRCUS LUPUS. In August of 1990, the new band traveled to Washington, DC to record at Inner Ear with Eli Janney. Most of these tracks ended up on a demo tape, but a few found their way to releases, including their debut 7”. If “Tightrope Walker” isn’t already a classic in your household, now is the time to get on the right side of history. Half of these songs were re-recorded for subsequent LPs, but don’t think these are inferior versions, especially as Tim Green’s remaster makes them hit as hard as they were intended to. Waxing the original version of existential punk slasher “Marbles” is enough of a reason for this record to exist, but if this album gets a younger generation into CIRCUS LUPUS, then the future of punk will at least have a chance to avoid completely shitting the bed.

Las Mordidas Ex-Voto LP

A worthwhile snapshot of a killer band that snuffed out too soon, Ex-Voto was a long time coming. Composed of ex-members of DC-based firebrands, LAS MORDIDAS burned briefly, but brightly, circa 1993 into 1994. CIRCUS LUPUS had just called it quits, but singer Chris Thomson was already working his lungs in a new group alongside players from BEEFEATER, RAIN, and FIDELITY JONES. Ex-Voto takes LAS MORDIDAS’s demo tape and shuffles it with a few unreleased cuts and vinyl appearances. “Surrounded” is the hit, digging a furious, heavy groove reminiscent of I Against I-era BAD BRAINS as Thomson essays the volatile nature of everyday paranoia. (The glaring absence of ass-kicking B-side, “K.I.T.A.”, is probably due to its Dischordian provenance.) “Bad Man” shows that these dudes could cram a pop hook into a pummeling post-hardcore punch-up. “Not Again,” a heart-pumping punker distinguished by Jon K.’s Dr. Know-inspired fretwork, was LAS MORDIDAS’s side of a split 7” with queercore maniacs MUKILTEO FAIRIES (on Lance Hahn’s great Honey Bear label). “Surprise Goodbye” is another unexpectedly tuneful take on a sort of post-punk/grunge hybrid. “Solar System” starts out LUPUS-like, then gets bitey then beefy then beastly. “Life Preserver,” one of the never-released songs, is practically a commercial alternative radio rocker in the best possible sense; I guess WGNS counts? Ain’t gonna front—it’s nice seeing this one poking out of the stacks.

Vile Cherubs Lysergic Lamentations LP

VILE CHERUBS were one of the great teenage punk bands of the latter half of the ’80s, an out-of-time unit whose moment has finally come. Recorded by GRAY MATTER’s Geoff Turner in his garage (a.k.a. WGNS Studios), this LP remixes and remasters the legendary The Man Who Has No Eats Has No Sweats cassette onto its proper format. It’s frankly astonishing that a pack of high school kids could lay down these moody, intricate songs with such convincing authority and keen aesthetic sense. Hot off Revolution Summer’s aftermath, VILE CHERUBS looked through a glass darkly, and liked what they saw—Nuggets filtered through Flex Your Head. Bassist Seth Lorinczi channels John Entwhistle’s domineering style, providing big fat lines for the band to latch on to, while guitarist (and latter-day sonic restorer) Tim Green cranks the YARDBIRDS’ amps with hardcore’s take-no-prisoners attitude. Yet Lysergic Lamentations transcends being “merely” ripping punk with garage trappings—VILE CHERUBS peered hard through the 13TH FLOOR ELEVATORS’ kaleidoscope, opening up their third eyes with youthful abandon and delivering a lost classic ripe for rediscovery.