Murder City Devils - Thelema

  by Cara Ross

published: 17 / 12 / 2001

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Farfisa, farfisa, farfisa! Anyone who reads my reviews with any regularity knows that it is just this sort of organ-drenched garage punk that me likes. Spencer Moody doesn’t sing so much as yell, or maybe loudly growl, and with the heavy hitting of Coady Willis on the drums, and a very large sounding rhythm and bass section, this mini album smacks of drunken friendliness. There’s an extra Christmas track on this issue as well: '364 days' ---but it kind of looks more like Santa’s rock and roll suicide...he’s never been so down and out. The sound overall is fuller, but for the most part, this is classic Murder City Devils. The Murder City Devils are already host to 3 full-length albums, and this is their latest mini instalment with 6 tracks. Hidden amidst it all is their video for 'Idle Hands', as well as a few additional links. And while I will NEVER part with my records, I do have to say that it’s these kind of computer extras that make me appreciate CDs. What are the songs about? The usual...getting dumped...and then getting drunk, and of course, the freak show-esque dead bodies in the Mutter Museum in Philadelphia...your average concepts. The first time I saw these guys play live they were also touring with a couple other bands: Like Hell, and Speed Dealer (I think...that was awhile ago). I felt like Doris Day mistakenly wandering into a Hell’s Angels convention. I’m still sorry I didn’t pick up that brown paper bag with the band’s logo on it at the merch. table (note: brown paper bags make it legal for you to drink concealed booze in public in some parts of the U.S). But don’t be intimidated by the fact that everyone in this band looks like they probably have a criminal record...(that’s not really true) they clearly just want you up and dancing, and that should be incentive enough. Bad reviews abounded on their last offering 'In Name and Blood', but as usual it takes a lot less energy to slag off a record and a band than it does to praise them for what they’re doing right, and as such, bands like this often get a bad and usually unwarranted rap. Especially on a label like SubPop, which makes all those so-called indie “hipsters” instantly cringe with visions of tree-hugging, Starbucks-sucking Eddie Vedders. And I suppose that it must be a real burn to alternative thinking that SubPop had their finger on it once upon a time, and now everyone’s afraid to give them that credit, lest they get duped again. Because what’s the latest mantra? Only like the uncool? Slam the once-successful? SubPop is starting to have their finger on it once again, whether or not anyone wants to admit it. And it’s bands like this that are starting to blow some of that life back into the once mighty label. But then I could go on for hours about bad reviews. People have a lot to say when they clearly don’t know what to say. This isn’t brain surgery, people. It’s punk rock. It was never meant to be complex.

Track Listing:-

1 That's What You Get
2 Bear Away
3 Midnight Service At The Mutter Museum
4 One Vision Of May
5 Bride Of The Elephant Man

Label Links:-

https://www.subpop.com/
https://www.facebook.com/subpoprecords
https://plus.google.com/+subpop
https://twitter.com/subpop
http://subpop.tumblr.com/
https://www.youtube.com/user/subpoprecords

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