Words by Jim Testa
Jim Testa founded the highly influential zine, Jersey Beat in 1982 which he continues to edit to this day. Through writing for his own publication and a number of other outlets, including as a staff writer for Hudson County’s Jersey Journal, he has championed local, regional and national up-and-coming bands. Punk has always shunned credentials, but rest assured that Jim won’t lead you astray.
HOME RUNS
Wine Lips – TV Dinner (Stomp Records)
Roll over Red Bull and tell Monster Energy the news, Toronto’s Wine Lips bring caffeinated buzz that’ll have you banging your head and dancing around the room like a maniac. Fronted by the androgynous-voiced Cam Hillborn (who sounds like a chipmunk on Dexedrine), Wine Lips mix punk and garage with the kind of psychedelic energy produced by those Nuggets-y ’60s bands, lending the band’s frantic freakouts a timeless sense of contemporaneity. Hillborn, who plays guitar, is ably abetted by drummer Aurora Evans (who takes the fiery lead vocal on “Projector”). The duo (who add two members for live performances) also nail harmonized gang vocals. The one-string riff that opens “Trip to the Doctor” introduces a slower, slyer, sinewy side, the guitars on “May You Can Give It A Shot” scream like an ambulance siren, and Hillborn’s solo on “Leech” sounds like he’s being electrocuted. There’s much to like here, because however manic and extemporaneous Wine Lips makes this all sound, a lot of thought and work clearly went into honing these laser-focused arrangements. The timely “Semi-Detached Furnished Home” addresses the White House bugaboo of “affordability,” “Strip Club DJ” pays homage to sex workers in a standout track that recalls both Devo and The B-52’s, and closer “Static on the Radio” slows things with a stealthy, sinister vibe and some monster string twisting. Thirteen tracks in 34 minutes and not a second wasted.
THE GET AROUNDS – Going Out Tonight (self-released)
More Canadian rock! And the President doesn’t like them? What’s up with that? Vancouver’s The Get Arounds base their sound on the ’80s New Wave that blossomed just after the first onrush of Ramones-era punk. But that’s not to say the band completely eschews pop: Lana Ryma’s vocals – alternately wistful and wailing, sensuous and screamy – play against Carman Lethbridge’s guitar, which doesn’t mind dipping into hair metal for sizzling solos. “Bones,” “Hideaway,” and “Stuck In LA” could have been Blondie b-sides, while “Hold On” finds Ryma wailing like Pat Benatar. “Kill Or Be Killed” melds Bon Jovi guitars with a riot grrl vocal, while “Going Out Tonight” reaches back to ’60s girl-group pop for inspiration. The Get Arounds live up to their name by echoing different eras of rock ‘n roll, providing a continuum from downtown Vancouver to the Sunset Strip.
SINGLES
Vista Blue – “Championship of Love” (self-released)
The prolific Mike Patton, the man who cranks records as Vista Blue like Chef Boyardee makes ravioli, celebrates the start of football season with “Championship of Love.” Vista Blue celebrates lots of holidays with themed singles through out the year, but this track’s not about football, it’s about love. “It always used to be so cut and dried / the winners win, the losers lose, there could never be a side,” Patton laments, an organ humming the melody behind the usual barrage of distorted guitars. But now the stakes are raised and he’s playing in the “championship of love.” I hope he wins! And at 3:05, this track is like a Vista Blue double-album! More typical is the “flipside” at 1:54, “She’s My Taysom Hill,” more rampaging Ramonescore with a sports metaphor expressing the singer’s love that recalls Teenage Bottlerocket. Check out Vista Blue’s Bandcamp, it’s an archive of rewarding pop-punk delivered in small but tasty doses.
YOU’RE NOT PUNK (AND I’M TELLING EVERYONE)
Being a little short on punk rock releases this month, here are some other albums that come highly recommended. – JT
THE JAYHAWKS – Sanctuary Park (self-released)
You might have a fuzzy recollection of The Jayhawks as that country band on the same label as The Replacements and Soul Asylum and yes, they were that. But 40 years later, they’re simply one of the best indie rock bands in America, with a wealth of influences, impeccable technique (best 3-part harmonies anywhere), and songs you’ll want to hear again and again.
Continuing a theme of this month’s column, Sanctuary Park bears a distinct Canadian vibe, recorded in a Canadian studio with Canadian engineers and a Canadian producer, the legendary Bob Ezrin (Alice Cooper, Lou Reed, Kiss, and Pink Floyd), Louris sprinkles Canadian references throughout his lyrics, and some tracks recall the sound of a fabled Canadian export, CSN&Y.
It’s been six years since the last Jayhawk’s album, XOXO, and Louris has plenty to say. The album kicks off with two delightful bits of indie-pop, “Keeping Our Heads Above Water” (which sounds more like Fountains of Wayne than the Jayhawks), as happy to be alive as this band ever gets, and the playful “Kingston Girl.” ”Mr. Lincoln” considers the assassination of our 16th president from the point of view of a musician in the Ford’s Theater band (and a Confederate, to boot), providing a unique take on Lincoln’s humanity and what he meant to this country. And saving the best for last, “Leap of Faith” ponders our mortality and how we will be remembered, not in a sad way but with the life-affirming humor of John Prine.
ANTIETAM – The Counting Game (Dromedary Records)
Even though it’s coming out at the tail end of summer, The Counting Game feels like a winter album. There’s warmth, calm, and a somber, overcast feel that flows through its ten tracks (including an instrumental). For over 40 years, married partners Tara Key and Tim Harris (along with drummer Josh Mandell, who joined in 1990) have led Antietam through different sounds – from the sturdy Americana of their earliest years through a flirtation with a livelier, punk-adjacent jangle. What’s largely stayed the same were Tara’s guitar pyrotechnics and Tim’s foundational basslines, adding context and dimension to Tara’s lead vocals. On this album, though, the guitar remains in the background, eschewing solos to create textures and tempos that evoke the pastoral, balm for fans of Jersey’s Speed The Plough, the calmer moments of The Feelies, or Antietam’s longtime comrades-in-arms, Yo La Tengo. There’s a crunchy, dramatic flair to “Spy Vs. Spy,” a bucolic banjo on “Dorado Gold,” and a jaunty music-hall feel to “Coco Bella,” although every track eventually returns to the album’s themes of loss, regret, and yearning. Closer “Coney Island” (the second instrumental on the LP) takes us on a nostalgic trip to the home of Nathan’s Famous and the Cyclone – although, as with all of The Counting Game, the ride’s more sentimental than summery.