There’s been a flurry of excitement about this - and rightly so. Along with Filth, the Psychosurgeons were one of the first Sydney bands to firmly grasp the grasp the back of punk’s bondage pants, give them a good tug in a downward direction and expose its arse.
The Psychosurgeons’ “Wild Weekend” will always be a classic 45, so hearing that this was on the way created the sort of anticipation that you could cut with a figurative knife. Or razor blade, if that was your thing.
Both songs were captured on tape at a 1976 rehearsal at guitarist Mark Taylor’s parents’ factory and forgotten about for 35 years. “Crush On You” made its way into the set list of the Lipstick Killers, who grew out of the Psychosurgeons’ corpse after a bunch of bikies gave it a kicking at an especially unhinged Oxford Fun House gig.
“Crush On You” sounds like a car crash. Drummer Dave Taylor’s frenetic bang-crash barely stays anchored, while the combined fury of Paul Gearside’s vocal and Mark Taylor’s guitar could fuck you up worse than Jack Newton taking a chartered helicopter trip if you’re not careful. The Lipstick Killers’ version leaves it for dead for tightness, but you did know that already.
“Falling Apart” sounds like the band had a stab at a sensitive and emotive tune. If so, they failed miserably. It drags a little and barely makes it through to the end without, er, falling apart but who’s going to complain? It is what it is and you're not going to hear it anywhere else.
This is punk rock played by people who, at that stage, could barely play. The sound quality is as you might expect (i.e. one step up from shithouse.) The Gearside artwork is great. All of which means you need to buy it and can do so by clicking this link.
