The Supersuckers - The Smoke Of Hell LP - Red Vinyl (/2000)

Sub Pop (2024, Reissue)

The Supersuckers are a band that I discovered around the same time as I discovered Rocket From The Crypt and the two bands often seemed like they went hand in hand, at least to a certain segment of fans.  As the years have gone by, it's felt like that cross section of fans has gotten smaller and smaller.  I think that is at least in part because of how the two bands' catalogs diverged around the late 90s.  I always thought that The Supersuckers started to embrace their metal influences more than their punk ones.  At least for me, that was more than enough to make me less interested in their other albums.

But I really do still like a lot of the early Supersuckers material.  La Mano Cornuda was my introduction to The Supersuckers and that album along with The Sacrilicious Sounds of... are the two of theirs that I always dug the most.  I never had The Smoke of Hell or The Songs All Sound The Same compilation album, but a buddy of mine in high school did.  So while I heard them back then, I then went decades without hearing them again.

I was excited when Sub Pop finally rereleased The Smoke of Hell.  Here was my chance to add the vinyl to my collection without paying the collectors prices that the original pressing of the album had been going for.  This version is on red vinyl and is a somewhat limited reissue with 2000 copies pressed.

All these years later, I think I see some of the things that I don't like about The Supersuckers more than I did back then.  Again, those pesky metal influences are there and while maybe they are sharing the bill with a louder, riff based punk sound..they are still there.  No aspect of metal has ever been anything I've been interested in, so for me, The Supersuckers are at their best when they're just barrelling ahead with simpler chord progressions and the catchy hook in the chorus.  I'm sure a lot of folks would argue about how catchy some of these songs are, but these guys have always known how to write a pop hook, they often just bury it under a cloud of whiskey and attitude.

Again, I'm happy to finally add this to the collection.  While it's not my favorite Supersuckers release, there's plenty of good stuff on it.  I'm still debating on whether or not I need to hunt down a copy of The Songs Still Sound The Same or not.  That one kind of completed the quadrilogy of the Supersuckers albums that I have interest in.

The Supersuckers - The Smoke Of Hell:
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_mCWoW4jMnbefNh13LkZKsLmsO9q8CTSWY

Fastbacks – Zücker LP - Mint Vinyl (/500)

Sub Pop (2021, Reissue)

Another album that it's taken me forever to spend any time to write about is this reissue of Zücker, the first Sub Pop release from Fastbacks.  I absolutely missed the boat of Fastbacks during the 90s.  I was aware of them, for sure, but I never picked up any of their records.  Even in the years following that it took decades before I finally got it, mostly thanks to seeing a sort-of incarnation of them play at the Seattle Pop Punk Festival in 2018.

I said then that I'd start adding their records to my collection, and while I have not done so with the speed that I would have liked, it's still an intention.  A few years ago, a reissue of Zücker popped up and that sure seemed like a good time to get this one in the collection.  I can't claim to be an expert on any of the Fastbacks records, but so far their high water mark for me is their album Answer The Phone, Dummy.  Comparing Zücker to that, it's pretty darn close to being just as great.

As someone who can certainly get behind a band with poppy songs and big guitars, I am still kind of amazed I didn't hear more Fastbacks songs over the year.  They hit that sweet spot of being energetic and fast, while still maintaining the sort of sugary sweet vocal melodies that really tie things together for me.  Plus, the guitar riffing is next level, never settling for simple three chord progressions.  There's a complexity at play here that tricks you into thinking it's easy, while not realizing just how many changes a lot of these songs really have.  It's such a rewarding listen, especially as you go back multiple times.  And writing about it today is reminding me once again that I really need to grab some more of their records.

Fastbacks – Zücker:
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_l6b3ZewGR_0Dfsl9tG_cO8RJORK7b0Q3Q

Supersuckers - The Sacrilicious Sounds of the Supersuckers LP

Sub Pop (1995)

For me, the key Supersuckers albums are the first three and while La Mano Cornuda has always been my favorite, The Sacrilicious Sounds of the Supersuckers has been a very close number two.  Sacrilicious hit my freshman year of college.  It had a big rock and roll sound with just enough pop hooks to satiate my newly forming interest in pop punk.  The band had a similar group of fans as Rocket From The Crypt at the time and I'm pretty sure that's how my good friend at the time Joe and I stumbled across them.

Supersuckers were also one of the first bands he and I interviewed for our college paper at the time and I have odd memories of that Maxwell's basement interview.  I remember coming out of thinking the dudes in the band weren't particularly nice, but I have no recollection of anything they actually did that would make me think that.  Bizarre for sure.  I also remember sitting on the speaker that was at the right hand side of the stage during the show, back when they had one speaker on the ground and the 2nd speaker hanging from the ceiling.  I don't think that set up lasted much longer after that at Maxwell's.

All these years laters, I think the album holds up well.  "Born With A Tail" is still a smash hit and is probably one of the best two or three songs the band ever wrote.  The mid album trifecta of "Marie"/"The Thing About That"/"Ozzy" still smokes pretty hard.  This isn't the sort of album I can listen to every day and  I'm not even sure I would like it if you played it for me for the first time today, but it has those early college memories baked into it and twenty six years later, it's sometimes nice to revisit those feelings. 

It took forever for me to add this one to my collection and it ultimately involved me trading my copy of the first Carbonas record on red vinyl to obtain this copy, which was still sealed.  It wasn't a one for one trade, but it did take a deep dig into the archive and relinquishing a fairly rare record.  I justified the trade for three reasons.  One, I got some cash on top of the deal. Two, I still have the record release version of that Carbonas record, which is the rarest variant of the three. And three, I don't even like that specific Carbonas record.  Everything they did after that one was way better.  

All in all it ended up being a good trade, but I'm surprised I had to make it at all.  It strikes me as being very unusual that the Sub Pop Supersuckers records have never been reissued.  I wonder why. I still need to hunt down a copy of The Smoke Of Hell eventually.  Hopefully it doesn't require another collection sacrifice.

Supersuckers - The Sacrilicious Sounds of the Supersuckers (YouTube Music full album playlist)

https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_l2stBkMn-fMLWcxTFauTnYmAHs-c9yow4

Supersuckers - La Mano Cornuda LP

Sub Pop (1994)

Supersuckers are one of those early rock and roll bands that caught my attention in the 90s as I was figuring out the sort of things that I liked most.  They tended to go hand in hand with Rocket From The Crypt in those early days and it was my high school friend Joe that first picked up one of their albums.  Even though the Supersuckers have released about ten thousand records at this point, the only ones that I really like are the first three.  This is likely because they have some strong nostalgia built into them, but also because I think that is when they were at their peak as far as writing songs that appealed to my taste.

I have always thought that La Mano Cornuda was the best Supersuckers album and it starts off with "Creepy Jackalope Eye," my favorite song of theirs.  The building guitar riff and the punchy chorus are a perfect combination and it's a song I always drum along to on the steering wheel of my car when played.  The entire album is pretty strong, with the Supersuckers laying down their version of rock and roll that pulls from garage and punk elements without veering too far from straight up rock.

With all of that said, I don't know if I would like any of their albums if I heard them for the first time today.  They were all something of a time and place sort of thing and my affection for them is very much tied to hearing them for the first time over twenty-five years ago.  Regardless of when, how or why I like them, I so still think their first three albums are a lot of fun.  They've been hard to add to the collection at a reasonable price on vinyl.  I've got the most important one locked in, now I need to get my hands on the other two.

Supersuckers - "Creepy Jackalope Eye":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7F4e4BDORk

Supersuckers - "On The Couch":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-NJio1E89k

Mudhoney / Hot Snakes - Split 7" - White Vinyl

Sub Pop (2018)

This week, I'm going to go through each of the four split 7"s that Sub Pop released as part of their SPF30 singles spectacular.  These 7"s were available at the Sub Pop 30th Anniversary show and then were later sold online.  Last on the list is the split 7" between Mudhoney and Hot Snakes.  This 7" is the reason I wanted these.  I was very lucky as a friend in Seattle picked up a copy for me at the festival itself.  At the time it was unclear if the records were going to be available elsewhere, so I just wanted to say than you Sir.

Mudhoney is a band that I don't think I've tried listening to in twenty five years.  They were never really my thing and I always felt they had more noise than hooks.  Their contribution is "One Bad Actor."  They still seem to have a fair amount of lead guitar wanking and a sludgy, heavy sound that's probably not too dissimilar to what they were cranking out in the 90s.  Chances are if you already like Mudhoney, you're going to like this.  For me, it's just not a sound that's ever been close to my heart.

A band that is very close to my heart is Hot Snakes.  They are one of my all time favorites and it's no surprise that I love this song as much as I do.  "They Put You Up to This" ticks all of the boxes that I want to hear from Hot Snakes.  It has a riff that is reminiscent of "Bye Nancy Boy" and it builds while the drums pound into a deceptively catchy crescendo.  It's another in a proud line of mid tempo maulers from the Snakes and I couldn't love it any more if I tried.  It's an essential addition to your Hot Snakes collection.

Frankie Cosmos / LVL UP - Split 7" - Red Vinyl

Sub Pop (2018)

This week, I'm going to go through each of the four split 7"s that Sub Pop released as part of their SPF30 singles spectacular.  These 7"s were available at the Sub Pop 30th Anniversary show and then were later sold online.  Next  up is the split 7" with Frankie Cosmos and LVL UP.

Frankie Cosmos took me by surprised as it reminded me of something that would have fit in on K Records in the mid 90s.  There are elements of "Home is Where" that bring Go Sailor to mind, but it's not quite as cuddlecore as that.  I also think it's something that probably could have fit in on the Juno soundtrack as it has a similar vibe to those songs.  The vocals seem a little loud in the mix to me, but it's a decent enough song.

LVL UP on the flip side is slower and has some psychedelic leanings.  There's a bit of fuzz on the vocals and the music itself is very full, with the bass guitar very prominent.  It sounds like a cross between a less poppy Mikal Cronin and some of the bands on Trouble In Mind that are too far out for me.  "Orchard" isn't a bad song, but it's nothing I find that exciting either.

Shabazz Palaces / Chad VanGaalen - Split 7" - Blue Vinyl

Sub Pop (2018)

This week, I'm going to go through each of the four split 7"s that Sub Pop released as part of their SPF30 singles spectacular.  These 7"s were available at the Sub Pop 30th Anniversary show and then were later sold online.  Next  up is the split 7" with Shabazz Palaces and Chad VanGaalen.

Shabazz Palaces is another group that I hadn't heard (or even heard of) before I put this 7" down on the turntable.  I can't really say I know what to make of it.  It's drum machine beats paired with a warped bass sound that sort of makes me think of godheadSilo, but with no distortion.  The vocals as kind of spoken word, but also somewhat odd.  This might just be one of those things I don't get.

Chad VanGaalen is someone who I'm familiar with, but I've never been particularly impressed with the songs I've heard.  On "Friendly Aliens" it starts off pretty much like I would expect.  Minimal drums and electric guitar, but it's just barely louder than being acoustic.  There's a few sound effects buried in there and it seems like the sort of song that's boring indie rock to me.  But, as the song progresses things really pick up in the chorus.  Everything thing gets louder and the drums are pounding and the guitars are roaring in a way that reminds me of the first Black Eyed Snakes album. Probably the best song I've ever heard from Chad.

Metz / Clipping - Split 7" - Orange Vinyl

Sub Pop (2018)

This week, I'm going to go through each of the four split 7"s that Sub Pop released as part of their SPF30 singles spectacular.  These 7"s were available at the Sub Pop 30th Anniversary show and then were later sold online.  First up is the split 7" with Metz and Clipping.

Metz is a band that I always want to like a lot more than I actually do.  There's something intriguing about every song that I hear from them, but for whatever reason there is also something that keeps me from really getting into it.  Their contribution, "Escalator Teeth / On and On" has pounding drums and a repetitive, but quite excellent, guitar riff.  It's somewhat marred by spacey sound effects inserted here and there and vocals that I don't really love.  It's noisy, but still pretty catchy.  Again, I want to like this, but I'm not there yet.

I've not heard Clipping prior to this 7" and I wasn't exactly sure what to expect.  It's hip hop, but it's lacking the sort of thing I look for.  The flow of the rapping itself is very good and reminds me a bit of Akrobatik from The Perceptionists, but musically I just don't get what they are doing.  There is no real beat to speak of, just an electronic drone that sounds a bit like Flash Gordon background music whenever Ming is on screen.  It does get progressively louder throughout the song, but it's a total case of blue balls as you keep waiting for that beat to kick in, but it never does.  While I think this song is kind of a bust, I am intrigued enough to check out some of their other stuff to see if that's more my speed.

The Fastbacks - Answer The Phone, Dummy LP

Sub Pop (1994)

When I went to the Seattle Pop Punk Festival in January one of the bands that played was K Streets.  A band featuring multiple members of the Fastbacks, playing Fastbacks songs.  For whatever reasons, The Fastbacks were never a band that I had listened to much, if at all, over the years.  They embarrassingly just weren't on my radar and I never bought any of their records.  K Streets, however, blew my goddamn mind and I knew right then I had to go buy every Fastbacks record I could possibly get my hands on.

At the recommendation of my buddy Alan, I've started with their 1994 album Answer The Phone, Dummy.  The dual vocals of Lulu Gargiulo and Kim Warnick coupled with the insane guitar pyrotechnics of Kurt Bloch create a real firestorm of catchy songs that have an unbelievable energy to them.  Guitar solos are not always my favorite things at the best of times, but the way Kurt weaves them into these songs, they never feel like self indulgent wanking, they are always in service to the hook and the song.

There are so many incredible songs throughout this album.  Crazed fast rockers like "Went For a Swim,"slower more introspective ones like "Old Address of the Unknown" and flat out pop masterpieces like “On The Wall” and "I Found The Star."  Every song has something unique to offer but still work in the context of the album as a whole.

Again, it's borderline ridiculous that it took me until 2018 to realize that the Fastbacks are great and that I should be listening to their records.  I'm well over twenty five years behind the curve on this band, but now that I've seen the light my hunt begins to track down the rest of their large and very intimidating discography.  If anyone has a recommendation of the next one to pick up, let me know.

The Fastbacks - "I Found The Star":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=50QTl8SYEnA

The Fastbacks - "Trumpets Are Loud":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KuArA4BDW3E

Hot Snakes - Jericho Sirens - Black Vinyl

Sub Pop (2018)

It still seems a little surreal that there is a new Hot Snakes record to write about.  After all it has been 14 years since Audit In Progress came out.  When Hot Snakes and Rocket From The Crypt both wrapped up in the mid 2000s, I accepted it and found closure.  John Reis moved on to the Night Marchers and I was excited about the next chapter of rock and roll greatness.

Then the reunions started.  Rocket, Jehu and Hot Snakes.  Suddenly I was gripped with a longing for new music by one of those bands and thankfully Hot Snakes has stepped up to the plate and delivered.  I don't know what I was expecting from them exactly, but damn if it isn't fucking perfect.  Everything I've always loved about Hot Snakes is on display and they've somehow managed to get better in some regards and grumpier in others.

The album starts out with "I Need A Doctor."  I actually heard this one at a show late last year, so I knew it was going to be something special.  But even that didn't prepare me for how powerful it ended up being in recorded form.  Rick's howl is coupled with the rest of the band beating their instruments into submission to create something deathly potent.  I think just listening to it cured a few ailments I was experiencing.

"Candid Cameras" and "Why Don't It Sink In" are next up and at first they didn't grab me right away.  But the more I listen to them, the more they sink in and just fit in perfectly in the flow of the album.  If I dissected the rest of the record track by track, we'd be hear all day, so know that every song is incredible.  Highlights are "Six Wave Hold Down," "Death Of A Sportsman" and my favorite track of the bunch, "Death Camp Fantasy."  "Death Camp" is probably the closest thing on the album to being a poppy song, but more than anything it's a thunderous display of downstroke guitar riffage.  The chord progression on the verse is unexpected, but works so damn perfect it makes me want to smack someone.

I really can't fathom a record coming out this year that is better than this.  If it happens, well that's a hell of a record so I look forward to that.  It doesn't make sense tto me that anyone wouldn't buy this record, but just in case you were on the fence, rest assured it's as great as anything the band has ever released.  Do it.

Hot Snakes - Jericho Sirens:
https://hotsnakes.bandcamp.com/album/jericho-sirens

Hot Snakes - Audit In Progress - Pink Vinyl

Sub Pop (2017, Reissue)

The very first time I heard Audit In Progress, I was actually in bed recovering from a surgery.  The record was sent to me in advance of the release date because I was helping out with the radio promotion.  I just remember lying there and being blown away by the absolute ferocity of the first five tracks.  Hot Snakes have obviously always been a loud and aggressive band, but this sounded crazy to me.  The addition of Mario on drums really ratcheted things up a bit and from "Braintrust" to "Think About Carbs" there isn't a second to catch your breath.

From there, things cool off a bit and the title track is a crushing, medium tempo number that again is one of my top ever Hot Snakes tracks.  That being said when side B kicks off with "Hatchet Job," right there you are listening to my very favorite Hot Snakes song of all time.  The way Rick's jangly leads play off of John's pounding downstrokes is just magical. I love that goddamn song.

The rest of side B is also excellent closing with the somewhat incongruent "Plenty For All."  It's poppy and upbeat in a way that's not super common for a Hot Snakes song, but at the same time is a perfect way to wrap up the album and really couldn't have been pulled off by any other band.

This Sub Pop reissue doesn't sound too dissimilar from the original version to my ears.  It's on pink vinyl, though I do understand why it's not on red vinyl since the original pressing on Swami was on that color.  Like with the other reissues, it doesn't make sense to me that you wouldn't already have this if you're reading my dumb website, but if you don't you should go buy it right now.  I'll wait.

Hot Snakes - Audit In Progress:
https://hotsnakes.bandcamp.com/album/audit-in-progress

Hot Snakes - Suicide Invoice LP - Yellow Vinyl

Sub Pop (2017, Reissue)

Suicide Invoice is the second Hot Snakes album and is always fighting a battle with Automatic Midnight as my favorite Hot Snakes release.  Usually Auto wins, but it's neck and neck.  The thing that I remember most about the first time I heard Suicide Invoice was that there was a snippet of the intro riff of "I Hate The Kids" that was posted up on the Swami records website prior to the album coming out.  It was a loop of just the intro part and it never went into the whole song.

So, the first few times I listened to the CD I skipped the first song and went right to "Gar Forgets His Insulin" (which is just one of the jewels of the Hot Snakes catalog...what a song).  If probably wasn't until the 3rd or 4th time I played it that I just let the album start at the very beginning and realized there was a whole song there. Just one of those weird quirks.

This entire album is pretty jaw droppingly amazing.  "XOX," "LAX," "Paperwork," these are insanely great songs showcasing a band cohesion that wasn't quite there yet on Automatic Midnight (for the obvious reason that the band wasn't completely put together for that album).  Having all four members contribute elevates the game of these songs and they just churn out hit after hit.

Of all of the Sub Pop reissues, this is the one that sounds like it gained the most in the reissue process.  Everything sounds a little crisper, without sacrificing any of the original version's energy.  Like with Automatic Midnight, the vocals are a little more upfront and clear and the bass sounds warmer, though it's more noticeable this time.  It sounds great, but it always sounded pretty great.  Still the tweaks are a positive.  And Sub Pop put the first batch out on yellow vinyl.  Matches the artwork and looks great.  I don't know why you wouldn't have this record already, but it seems like an obvious pick up to me.

Hot Snakes - Suicide Invoice:
https://hotsnakes.bandcamp.com/album/suicide-invoice

Hot Snakes - Automatic Midnight LP - Orange Vinyl

Sub Pop (2017, Reissue)

My goal this week is to review each of the Hot Snakes albums.  The three reissues that Sub Pop put out and then their new album, Jericho Sirens, on Thursday.  Just a warning, there is some real life stuff that may interfere with this schedule as this is kind of a crazy week, but I'm going to try to adhere to this plan.  We'll see.

Automatic Midnight was the first Hot Snakes album and it came out all the way back in 2000.  It doesn't seem like that should be as long ago as it actually it is, but as they say, time flies.  I remember very specifically how much I loved this record from the second I heard it.  What I don't remember is how I first heard of this coming out.  I assume it must have been one of the versions of the Swami board, but man was I excited to hear Rick and John working together again.  After all, it had been forever since Drive Like Jehu broke up.  Actually it had only been six years, but back then that seemed like a significantly longer amount of time than it does now.

To this day, this is still my favorite Hot Snakes record overall.  The one-two blast of "If Credit's What Matters, I'll Take Credit" and "Automatic Midnight" are among the best album openers out there.  But I also really like the diversity.  Things get a little slower and hypnotic on "Salton City" only to have the energy build right back up into "10th Planet" and one of my favorite songs of all time "Light Up The Stars."  The intro of which is just a perfect little slice of riffage.

Top to bottom, Automatic Midnight is a ridiculously record.  Though this new Sub Pop release is remastered, I don't hear a huge difference in the sound.  The bass is a bit more pronounced and the vocals are slightly clearer in the mix, but I don't think there was much need for tweaking this masterpiece.  It's pretty much perfect, though I wonder why they didn't go for white vinyl on the reissue.

Hot Snakes - Automatic Midnight:

https://hotsnakes.bandcamp.com/album/automatic-midnight

Built To Spill - There's Nothing Wrong With Love LP - Yellow Vinyl

Up/Sub Pop (2015, Reissue)

I first discovered Built To Spill, probably sometime in 1995.  At the recommendation of a friend, I picked up the "So And So, So And So From Wherever, Wherever" 7" from a used bin.  I was pretty floored with how great it was and that continues to be one of my favorite Built To Spill songs all these years later.  Very soon after that, I grabbed a copy of this record.  I am one of the lucky ones who has been sitting on an original pressing of There's Nothing Wrong With Love for about 20 years.  Because of that, I'm probably not quite as excited about this reissue as a lot of folks are, but I still decided to pick up a copy and at least I can compare it to the original pressing here.

So as far as the pressing itself goes, I think it sounds great.  It's every but as warm and inviting as my original copy.  The treble leaning guitars shimmer just as brightly and the low end of the bass is as full as it has ever sounded.  Unlike the recent Leatherface reissues where I could notice a real difference between the original and new pressings, There's Nothing Wrong With Love sounds just as good as the original.  From a sound standpoint, there's no reason to not grab this pressing and be pretty content.

Musically, this album is just wonderful.  Though I think Built To Spill eventually topped this when they released Keep It Like A Secret, There's Nothing Wrong With Love still stands as my second favorite of their records.  The songs are not as complex as some of the extended jams they would go on to release later in time, but there is something so perfect about the simplicity and honesty of this album.  The songs are all supremely catchy and with surefire classics like "Car," "Big Dipper" and "In The Morning," some of Doug Martsch's very best work is collected here.

If you've been one of the many waiting so long for this reissue, there's no reason to be on the fence.  It is absolutely worth picking up and is really an essential part of any good indie rocker's record collection.

Built To Spill - "Car":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6omZ5GsuGrI

Built To Spill - "In The Morning":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJCC3QPtv5o