This time on Shake Appeal, Evan Minsker's garage/punk/psychedelic/etc. music round-up, it's nothing but singles. Take a look at a new 7" box set collecting the work of San Francisco punk heroes Crime, a garage pop gem from the Gooch Palms, a pair of rippers from Thee Mighty Fevers, and two new singles from Total Punk, who are very good.
Crime: Crime 7 x 7" box set [Munster]
There's a whole mess of 45s in this week's Shake Appeal, and the Crime box sits at the top of the heap. Munster Records have shared a package that includes reproductions of the San Francisco punks' original three singles, plus four other 45s that feature material that went unreleased in the period when they were recorded (1977-79). There's also a booklet with photos and interviews, but really, the draw here is that you get a choice pile of Crime music. The box gives you access to their lone "hit" "Hot Wire My Heart" (later popularized by Sonic Youth) and a previously unreleased "Peggy Sue"/"Be Bop a Lula" medley.
The Gooch Palms: "Trackside Daze" [Urinal Cake]
The Gooch Palms' Leroy McQueen and Kat Friend are a total party band. They wear colorful, kitschy outfits (when McQueen doesn't lose the briefs, anyway) and sing bubblegum-flavored garage rock songs. One of the Newcastle, Australia band's best songs yet is their Urinal Cake A-side "Trackside Daze", which is accompanied by a pretty incredible video (below). They recorded their latest single with Bob Marshall at Bauer Mansion in San Francisco, coming out the gate with an absurdly catchy "wooo ooooh, waahhh AI YAH YAAAH" doo-wop melody. This is a song about relaxing in the sun (it's summer in Australia).
Cal and the Calories / Midnite Snaxxx: "Bastard in a Yellow Suit" / "Don't Wake Me Up" [Total Punk]
Total Punk are back in early 2015 to further prove that they have no interest in releasing bad music (though, really, who does?). To kick off a year where they've promised long-players from Foster Care (!), Buck Biloxi & the Fucks, and Golden Pelicans, they deliver an all-muscle punk tune called "Bastard in a Yellow Suit" from Cal and the Calories (a band that's the brain child of Lumpy). There's also a paranoid new one from Oakland's Midnite Snaxxx. It's called "Don't Wake Me Up", and it completely rips. Your face. To shreds.
Thee Mighty Fevers: "Dead Boy" b/w "Vampire Punk" [Goodbye Boozy]
In the latest batch of Goodbye Boozy records (which includes really strong records from Useless Eaters, Raw McCartney, Sulphur Lights—listen to them all here), they've unleashed a breakneck assault from the Kobe, Japan punks Thee Mighty Fevers. "Dead Boy" and "Vampire Punk" are short, fast, and formulaic. It's a damn good formula, too, with their frantic "1-2-3-4!" scream setting the stage for a condensed and vicious garage punk good time. If you haven't listened to their album Fuck'in Great R'n'R, go do that.
First Base: "You've Got a Hold on Me" [Hosehead]
Toronto's First Base released their self-titled album on HoZac back in 2013. That record featured some ace bubblegum songwriting, and they keep their power pop inclinations sharp with their Hosehead single "You've Got a Hold on Me". Part of what makes this track memorable (and keeps it from getting lost in the power pop fray) is the music's continual fluctuation between joyous and dour. After all, the words "you've got a hold on me" eventually lead to repeated utterings of "oh no". We've all been there.
You should also check out: John Wesley Coleman and the Gaylords' "Aliens" (via Spacecase); Contant Mongrel's "The Law" (via R.I.P. Society).