Punch The Boss b/w Down The Coast – The Crankees (Evil Tone)

There’s no prospect of a new dawn in Australian industrial relations with sentiment like this going around. Sydney’s Crankees express something we’ve all felt on the A side, a furious little garage punk tune that’s fuelled in equal parts by Jimmy Meek’s snakey guitar line, Rodney Todd’s snarkey vocal and guest Hammond organ from producer Jay Whalley. What do we want? Puglism. When do we want it? Now.

The B side is almost as good, a wry ode to tree changing that keeps it simple and manages to namecheck Mollymook. There’s not a hint of garage slop; the band is tighter than the bends in the Princes Highway at Foxground with Meek’s guitar again to the fore. The production sounds great. Hopefully, they have an album in them. 

Buy a copy here. It's a limited edition. While you're at it, look around and listen to Evil Tone's other stuff. They're putting out some great stuff.

The London Sessions – Iggy & The Stooges (Easy Action)

This is something for the Stooges obsessives rather than newbies looking for an entry point. But if the newbies take the plunge, is that going to ber such a bad thing? This is s a double-seven-inch pack of five songs from the 1972 pre-production and recording sessions for “Raw Power”, none of which made it to the album in these versions, and all celebrated in true Easy Action style.

There’s plenty you won’t have heard here even if you have the Easy Action “Heavy Liquid” box set. In fact, only one of these versions ("I Got A Right") has been offcially rleleased; “Tight Pants” is a Scotty and James instrumental run-through of what would become “Shake Appeal”. “Gimme Danger” is an early version of the album track that still resonates.

Real Gone - The Naked Lunch (Aldora Britain Records)

Surf punk pop is alive, The Naked Lunch has a new single out - and what a bloody good tune it is. “Real Gone” is so catchy. A different version was recorded and released by an earlier line-up back in the 1980s and the song was written by Tony “The Kid” Robertson and Died Pretty legend Ronald S Peno. Play it loud. This is what Sydney’s underground surf rock was/is all about.

The line-up of The Lunch boasts some of Australia’s finest musicians: Tony Gibson on guitar, Murray Shepherd on drums, The Kid on bass and Steve Beaves on vocals. It’s a brilliant single to follow 2019’s “The Naked Lunch” album. The second album is on its way and has the same name as the single. “Real Gone” is real gold and I am so looking forward to hearing the long player. The song is available in digital format here. 

Ugly Life b/w I Just Wanna Die – Mad Brother Ward (Ruined Records)

Uplifting choral music, it is not. Mad Brother Ward is best known as being the North Carolina gutter punk fronting Screaming Street Trash among others in the '90s. who joined sometime GG Allin collaborators Antiseen after guitarist Joe Young checked out.

Mad Brother hasn’t done anything under his own name since when creepy Michael Jackson staged a sham marriage to an Elvis progeny when he really preferred the company of children and his chimp. In other words, 25 years ago. Sheesh, Joe Biden was only old then and Trump might have been careless enough to be paying taxes. 

“Ugly Life” is slam-me-down-and-kick-me-till-I’m-dead punk rock, with a riff that’s chewed on until its marrow seeps out. You know the drill and it makes its point without hanging around in the memory bank too long. “I Just Wanna Die” is a more measured mid-tempo rant that’s the pick of the pair. Props to guitarist Chris Michael here. If the sentiment within appeals, you can always call Lifeline Australia on 13 11 14. 

Both songs are one side of a shiny blue platter with laser etching on the other (non-playable, you dummy) side. Buy or die here.

2/3

You Might Be Through With The Past, But The Past Ain’t Through With You b/w Ruby Baby – Pat Todd and The Rankoutsiders (Heavy Medication)

Ex-Lazy Cowgirls leader Pat Todd makes records that his contemporaries wish they could. If you ever see an album by Todd and his band The Rankoutsiders in the wild, just grab it.  Get your hands on this non-album track 45 on Polish label Heavy Medication as well.

“You Might Be Through With The Past…” is a prime slice of Americana-via-Chicago-blues goodness with blazing blues harp, bristling guitars, a willing engine room and the knowing vocal of Mr Todd dishing it all up with a side of punk rock attittude. It’s the same crew that brought you “…there’s pretty things in Palookaville…” (on Hound Gawd! Records), one of the best records of 2021 bar none.

Flip it and you get a good-time take on the Leiber and Stoller song “Ruby Baby”, a standard that’s been done to death by evertone from The Beach Boys to Dion. In the hands of Todd and Co, it’s spraypainted with a liberal coat of rough ‘n’ roll charm to sound damned near brand new. Raucous and righteous! Don't walk, run, the purchase link is below.

Buy it 

Wrong Train Home b/w Quicksand – DangerMen (Swashbuckling Hobo)

Lovely and raw. You do know those two words go together? This return 45 by Brisbane’s DangerMen after a five-year absence is as ragged as Grandpa’s undies after an unfortunate late night accident on the way home from the pub, with a sound that’s more than a little Stooge-efied, thanks to some single-note piano and Dr Rock and Dover’s “Raw Power” guitars.

“Wrong Train Home” is about an ill-fated train trip while tripping, and sounds like what health professionals these days call “a lived experience”. Zoltane the Maniac’s wail is both wrong and just right. Flip him, Danno, and you’ll sing along to “Quicksand” which, it must be said, is more of the same. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

Buy it as a download if you must but drop some cash on the seven-inch here and you’ll get something that’ll last almost as long as herpes.