Electric Frankenstein - The Time Is Now! (1996)

Two of my dearest friends, along with my beautiful wife, never gave My Bloody Valentine a chance, and they all had the same reason: they thought they were a mid-aughts MySpace emo band. (Honestly, I'm pretty sure they were all just confusing them with My Chemical Romance.) When each of them finally heard MBV -- two of them because of me, the other because she read the Thurston Moore book -- they of course loved them because they're the greatest band of all time. Is it a bad band name? I don't think so, no. At least, it wasn't when they came up with it. But I'm certain that my friends weren't the only ones.

Similarly, for years, based on their name and aesthetic, I thought that Electric Frankenstein was one of the hundreds of Cramps-worship bands that invariably failed to understand what made that band great. And of course, I was wrong. Electric Frankenstein make some of the best garage punk rock and roll this side of Scandinavia. It was about 10 years ago that I discovered this, and I'm still kicking myself for all the wasted years. Technically a compilation of an EP and two 7"s, The Time Is Now! was my first EF album, and it's still my favorite.

Track listing:

1. Teenage Shutdown

2. The Time Is Now!

3. Superstar

4. Right on Target

5. I Want More

6. Demolition Joyride

7. E.F. Theme

8. Fast & Furious

9. Rise and Crash

10. We Are the Dangerous

11. Too Much for You

12. A Sweet Sickness

My heart stopped aching

It just ran out of room

I don't feel crazy anymore

There's blood on the moon

You should also hear:

Teengenerate - Get Action! (1994)

Gluecifer - Ridin' the Tiger (1997)

The Resonars - Bright and Dark (1999)

Pitch-perfect Nuggets-style garage/psych pop worship, with a twist of Byrds worship. If my friend who hipped me to this had told me that it came out in 1969, I would have 100% believed him. They even have the severe stereo panning. Great cover of "I'll Keep It with Mine", too. This album and band are both completely new to me -- as I write this, I first heard it less than 24 hours ago -- so I can't really provide any context or information. But I very rarely rush to post something like this, so I obviously really like it.

Track listing:

1. The Golden Age

2. Bathyscope

3. Marina

4. Goodbye Melanie

5. Carrie Don't Care

6. Gina

7. Too Much Girl

8. Eden in Transition

9. I'll Keep It with Mine

10. If He's So Great

11. Under the Blazing Stars

12. Spider West

I can't help it if you might think I'm odd

If I say I'm not loving you for what you are

But what you're not

If you like this, listen to:

Gary Lewis - Listen! (1967)

The Misunderstood - Before the Dream Faded (1982)

Gomorrha - Gomorrha (1969)

Here in PDX, it seems that summer might finally be hitting. So to mark the occasion, 'bout some hard-driving German psych-pop? After this record, Gomorrha decided that hard prog was where it was at, and re-recorded their debut with a more pronounced psych/blues sound and English lyrics, but I prefer this rawer, less self-conscious version.

Track listing

1. Lola

2. Totes Land

3. Flammenhände

4. Reise

5. Regenbogenschein

6. Gestern

7. Kreiseltanz

8. Sommer

9. Trauma

Dance on a volcano

Also listen to:

The Lollipop Shoppe - Just Colour (1968)

The Misunderstood - Before the Dream Faded (1982)

The Muffs - Happy Birthday to Me (1997)

Pretty much perfect SoCal power-pop-punk. Simple, old-school rock 'n' roll chord progressions shot through with thick alt rock guitars and punk energy, and carried by vocalist Kim Shattuck's gravelly yet sugary-sweet delivery. Think a snottier Weezer, circa Blue Album. It kinda seems like someone with good taste at Reprise tried really hard to make The Muffs famous -- I first heard them on the Angus soundtrack, they were also featured in Clueless and a few others -- but the world just wasn't ready, I guess.

Track listing:
1. Crush Me
2. That Awful Man
3. Honeymoon
4. All Blue Baby
5. My Crazy Afternoon
6. Is It All Okay?
7. Pennywhore
8. Outer Space
9. I'm a Dick
10. Nothing
11. Where Only I Could Go
12. Upside Down
13. You and Your Parrot
14. Keep Holding Me
15. The Best Time Around / New Jazz Daddy-O [hidden track]

And I will read your mind instead
And I could tell you that you are very dead

You'd probably also dig:

The Queers -
Love Songs for the Retarded (1993)

that dog. -
Totally Crushed Out! (1995)

Charm City Suicides - Charm City Suicides (2000)

Related:
Human Host - The Halloween Tree (2007)

Though their run was relatively short and very few people outside of Baltimore ever heard them, in certain circles within The Greatest City in America, the Charm City Suicides are the stuff of legends. Raw, fun, noisy garage-punk with an electric, infectious energy. And it might sound silly, but for those who have lost too many loved ones to heroin, shouting along to the chorus of should-be classic "Heroin Sucks" can feel extremely cathartic. Low bit-rate rip, but it's a lo-fi recording anyway so don't be an anus about it.

Track listing:
1. The Worst
2. 9/6/99
3. Still Can't Get Paid
4. I Wanna Get with You
5. Vicious Circle
6. Pit of Sorrow
7. Rise and Shine
8. Out at the Reservoir
9. Now Is the Time
10. Pesticides Rock
11. Heroin Sucks

But now you're gone

Also listen to:

The Crucifucks -
L.D. Eye (1996)

Cheater Slicks -
Refried Dreams (1999)

The Misunderstood - Before the Dream Faded (1982)

Phenomenal, dark-tinted early psych/garage. Before the Dream Faded compiles material from various sessions between 1965 and '66.

Track listing:
1. Children of the Sun
2. In My Mind
3. Who Do You Love
4. I Unseen
5. Find a Hidden Door
6. I Can Take You to the Sun
7. I'm Not Talking
8. Who's Been Talking
9. I Need Your Love
10. You Don't Have to Go Out
11. I Cried My Eyes Out
12. Like I Do
13. You've Got Me Crying Over Love

But you don't want to go

If you like this, listen to:

The Five Day Week Straw People -
The Five Day Week Straw People (1968)

The Open Mind -
The Open Mind (1969)

Lost Sounds - Black-Wave (2001)

Synth-powered garage-y deathrock. One of Jay Reatard's old bands. Picture a young Jay Reatard gone full horror punk, and you're probably imagining pretty much exactly what Black-Wave sounds like.

Track listing:
1. Reasons to Kill
2. I'm Not a Machine
3. Plastic Skin
4. Don't Turn Around
5. Do You Wanna Kill Me
6. 1620 Echles St.
7. Throw Away
8. Citats Blanc
9. Ocelots Rising
10. I See Everything
11. Dark Shadows
12. Lost and Found
13. Saturn Stomp
14. I'm Not Me
15. Die Pax
16. What'd I Say
17. Soon This Tomb
18. Heart Felt Toys
19. Walk in Line

Some say the end is near
But I think it's already here
See the whole sky turn black
It's worth a laugh

If you like this, you should hear:

Fliehende Stürme -
Hinter Masken (1999)

Disappears -
Era (2013)

The Chrome Cranks - Dead Cool (1994)

Creepy, tense garage-punk-blues. You know how The Cramps are great, but bands that are influenced by them usually suck? These guys are an exception to that rule.

Track listing:
1. Dead Cool
2. Desperate Friend
3. Way-Out Lover
4. Down So Low
5. Bloodshot Eye
6. Nightmare in Pink
7. Shine It On
8. Burn Baby Burn

You're so dead

More like this:

The Necessary Evils -
Spider Fingers (1997)

Cheater Slicks -
Refried Dreams (1999)

The Bevis Frond - Miasma (1987)

British indie-psych rock. Classic psych as run through a lo-fi, early indie rock filter. At a time when all the kids were trying to seem as down-to-earth as possible, Bevis Frond were aliens from another dimension.

Track listing:
1. Garden Gate
2. She's in Love with Time
3. Wild Mind
4. Wild Afterthought
5. Splendid Isolation
6. The Earl of Walthamstowe
7. The Newgate Wind
8. Release Yourself
9. Maybe
10. Ride the Train of Thought
11. Confusion Days

All people marvel at her beauty

You should also listen to:

The Boo Radleys -
Kaleidoscope (1990) + Boo Up! (1991)

Moose -
Sonny & Sam (1991)

The Lollipop Shoppe - Just Colour (1968)

Fred Cole, a Portland legend and a punk rock n' roll lifer if there ever was one, has passed into the great unknown. To highlight just how dedicated and true this man was, let's take it back to 1968, when he was making topnotch garage psych with The Lollipop Shoppe. Be free.

Track listing:
1. You Must Be a Witch
2. Underground Railroad
3. Baby Don't Go
4. Who'll Read the Will
5. It's Only a Reflection
6. Don't Look Back
7. Don't Close the Door on Me
8. It Ain't How Long
9. It's Makin' It
10. I'm Gonna Be There
11. You Don't Give Me No More
12. Sin

God was always with me
Looking through the door

You should also listen to:

Sam Gopal -
Escalator (1969)

The Open Mind -
The Open Mind (1969)

The Feeling of Love - Reward Your Grace (2013)

Woozy, shoegaze-y French garage. Between keyboards and two guitars, there's a great deal of complimentary textural contrast, an effect that's heightened by their tendency to be ever-so-slightly out-of-tune. Bought this LP right after it came out based on the artwork and the fact that it referenced both Nico ("Reward your grace" is a line from her achingly beautiful "Afraid") and Julee Cruise.

Track listing:
1. Julee Cruise
2. I Could Be Better Than You But I Won't Wanna Change
3. Girl, Your Mother Is Your Best Friend
4. I'm Leaving You Today
5. I Want You (Just Like an Ambulance)
6. Mostly Pet Semen Unit
7. Castration's Fields
8. Jealous Guy
9. You're My Lullaby
10. I Want to Be the Last Song You Hear Before You Die

Cease to know or to tell or to see or to be your own

If you enjoy this, try:

Night Shadow -
The Square Root of Two (1968)

Mind Spiders -
Meltdown (2012)

Cheater Slicks - Refried Dreams (1999)

Previously on OPIUM HUM:
Cheater Slicks - Whiskey (1993)

Fiery garage-punk nirvana. One of the few bands in existence who seem to have truly learned the lessons that Funhouse can teach us -- and it's not just the saxophone that comes in for the second half of the record. It's hard to pick a favorite Cheater Slicks album, cause they're all pretty much perfect, but Refried Dreams miiiiiight be mine.

Track listing:
1. In This Town
2. Another Stab
3. I Think I'm Coming Down
4. One Life Story
5. Munchen Gretchen
6. Refried Dreams
7. George Washington
8. Dejected Soul
9. Deep Beneath the Sand
10. Don't Poo Poo Me
11. Last Call

The oceans won't let me in

You'll also wanna hear:

Teengenerate -
Get Action! (1994)

The Necessary Evils -
Spider Fingers (1997)

Life Uniform - Life Uniform (2016)

Totally sweet, catchy garage punk from Philly. The bassist, Joe, is one of my best friends in the world -- we've been friends for almost 20 years -- and I can't tell you what a relief it was when I finally heard this, and discovered that I genuinely love it. Free/name your price via bandcamp.

Track listing:
1. Got the Drop on You
2. Beach Metal
3. Montana Bill
4. News on the Radio
5. Dead Boyfriend
6. My Education
7. Determinist

The knife, man
What'd you do that for?

If you like this, listen to:

Royal Headache -
Royal Headache (2011)

Mind Spiders -
Meltdown (2012)

Alien Sex Fiend - "It" The Album (1986)

Punk-leaning, experimental deathrock from English underground legends Alien Sex Fiend. My favorite album by this relatively well-known, yet curiously undervalued band -- if you like Chrome, you should be jocking the shit out of this record.

Track listing:
1. Smells Like
2. Manic Depression
3. Believe It Or Not
4. April Showers
5. Wop-Bop
6. Get Into It
7. Lesson One
8. Do It Right
9. To Be Continued
10. Buggin' Me
11. Hurricane Fighter Plane
12. It Lives Again

You smell like shit

You might also wanna hear:

The Tear Garden -
Tired Eyes Slowly Burning (1987)

These Immortal Souls -
I'm Never Gonna Die Again (1992)

Barebones - Ground (2001)

Heavy, raw Japanese hardcore/garage for railing speed and burning rubber. Found 'em via their split with Boris. Buckle up, baby.

Track listing:
1. Speed Freak
2. Borderline
3. Drive 'Til the End
4. Insensitive
5. Red Stone
6. Dirt Slider
7. Black Dealer
8. Primitive Blood
9. Standing on the Verge
10. Shoot Up and Die
11. One

Still unknown

If you like this, try:

Fudge Tunnel - Hate Songs in A Minor (1991)

The Catalyst - Voyager (2012)

The Necessary Evils - Spider Fingers (1997)

Noisy, scuzzy, psychedelic garage punk. The band's savage performance, vocalist Steve Pallow's raw howl, a bit of space-age synth, and lines like "pretty white girl, it's okay to die" manage to achieve the nigh impossible feat of making blues-based rock exciting, unpredictable, and even a bit frightening.

Track listing:
1. Flames o' Heat
2. Pretty White Girl on a Black Death Train
3. Lost My Baby
4. Motorwitch
5. William
6. Tragedy
7. Back-Stabber
8. The Deceiver
9. Alone and Dead
10. Rock 'n Roll
11. Skin Ripper
12. State of Confusion

Dead drunk

Want more? Try:

Alice Donut - Bucketfulls of Sickness and Horror
in an Otherwise Meaningless Life (1989)

Cheater Slicks -
Whiskey (1993)

Cheater Slicks - Whiskey (1993)

Catchy, bludgeoning Bostonian (currently Columbus-ian) garage-punk. Thick, feedback-encrusted guitars, breakneck drumming, and a production job that more-or-less perfects the blown-out-yet-crisp sound that every punk band seems to want at the moment. Prepare yourself for the noise-addled, zen-like rock n' roll nirvana that is 28 minute-long centerpiece, "Thinkin' Some More".

Track listing:
1. Possession
2. Savage Affection
3. Time You Spent with Me
4. Leave My House
5. Indefinite Exhibition
6. Thinkin' Some More
7. Can It Be
8. I'm Grounded
9. Red Book
10. You Don't Satisfy

Half past high

You might also like:

Night Shadow - The Square Root of Two (1968)

Teengenerate - Get Action! (1994)

Teengenerate - Get Action! (1994)

Raw Japanese garage punk. Everything in the red all the time, scream, fight, cut yourself, and dance.

Track listing:
1. Mess Me Up
2. 1979
3. Dressed in Black
4. Fake Fake Fake
5. Human Tornado
6. Six and Change
7. Plastic Man
8. Let's Get Hurt
9. Radio 55
10. Right Now
11. Front Page
12. She's So Fine
13. Something You Got
14. Kicked Out of the Webelos
15. Don't Leave Me
16. I'm Beat
17. I Don't Want to Follow You
18. Hey Baby
19. Shake, Rattle, and Roll

Red alert

Royal Headache - Royal Headache (2011)

Garage-y, melodic Australian punk with a sweetly romantic core. Bands that play this style are a dime a dozen, but bands (like Royal Headache) that make this style compelling are extremely rare.

Track listing:
1. Never Again
2. Really in Love
3. Surprise
4. Psychotic Episode
5. Girls
6. Two Kinds of Love
7. Back and Forth
8. Down the Lane
9. Distant and Vague
10. Wilson Street
11. Honey Joy
12. Pity

So much

If you're into this, you'll probably like:

Mind Spiders - Meltdown (2012)

The Only Ones - Even Serpents Shine (1979)

Night Shadow - The Square Root of Two (1968)

The sound of the true, late 60s psychedelic underground. Raw, acid-inspired garage rock.

Track listing:
1. Prologue
2. So Much
3. In the Air
4. Plenty of Trouble
5. I Can't Believe
6. 60 Second Swinger
7. Illusion
8. Anything But Lies
9. Turned On
10. The Hot Rod Song
11. The Hot Dog Man

Into clouds of acidity, unity, yeah, yeah!