The Boneheads Single 1978–79 EP
Punky garage rock band the BONEHEADS sloshed around the Philly punk scene in the late ’70s alongside acts like PURE HELL, SIC KIDZ, and the AUTISTICS. Their claims to fame seem to be frequently opening up for a slew of more beloved punk acts—RICHARD HELL AND THE VOIDOIDS, the B-52’S, and the FEELIES to name a few—and eventually evolving into the better known, though still relatively obscure, post-punk band BUNNYDRUMS. They had the intention of releasing this, their one and only record, back in 1979…until the masters disappeared and the songs were lost to time. However, someone recently unearthed a cassette recording of the same sessions, and ferried it over to the good folks over at Good Times Rock ‘n’ Roll Club, which is how this release came to be. So, do we now have some sort of a lost classic on our hands? Not quite. Nevertheless, it’s a pretty good time! There’s four tracks on here, the first three of which are a mix of CRAMPS-y rock’n’roll Americana, straight up surf, and new wave pop. They’re fine. But the final track “Yesterday” is probably worth the price of admission by itself. It sounds like a wild mashup of HUBBLE BUBBLE’s “New Direction” and LOVE’s “7 and 7 Is,” over top of which the vocalist is singing more (better!) new wave pop in the stuffy-nosed style of EDWYN COLLINS. It’s fantastic! The record, pressed to green vinyl, also comes in a stylish silkscreened sleeve. My only complaint is that I wish it had come with some liner notes.