This Newport, Kentucky, band lived its first life deep in the American Midwest from 1983-87 and has reformed sporadically since. One of the “Killed By Death” outfits - so-called because a series of bootlegs using that title gave them and scores of others fleeting fame outside their own backyards - they’ve issued this three-tracker CD single as a precursor to a retrospective album.
On the strength of “Resuscitation” they could just as easily make it all-new material. This stuff burns like a clear-headed version of the Heartbreakers, although without the same swing. The licks make it obvious where guitarist Donny “Tex” Watson is coming from, even if his feet are planted on the ground, rather than skidding all over the stage like the late Johnny Genzales.
“Baby U A Freak” is an ode to a member of the opposite sex that has its tongue in its cheek and hands down its pants. “Jesus Save My Sorry Ass” is straw-chewing, bible-bashing cowpunk reach for the bottle with Steve “Snare” Arnzen playing the good ole boy to perfection. “Sweetie Doll” milks a simple riff for all it’s worth and then some. Subtle it ain’t.
Production is basic and might have benefited from an expensive studio but then it wouldn’t have sounded very punk, would it? Snare and The Idiots tick all the right boxes (Dolls, Stooges, Stones) and do it with humour so what’s not to like? Hit them up on Facebook or jump onto iTunes to, er, snare youself a copy (sorry.)
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