Bad Times - Bad Times
by Andrew Carver
published: 24 / 3 / 2003
Label:
Sympathy
Format: CD
intro
"Twisted collision of Memphis trash and Japanese noise" from one-off punk supergroup, Bad Times
It starts with a train-whistle guitar squeal and ends with a shout of "That’s the wrong way to love!” In between, three of the foremost practitioners of sloppy lo-fi rock and roll concoct a twisted collision of Memphis trash and Japanese noise, welded together with gobs of bile, treble and reverb. Eric Oblivion, Jay Reatard and King Louie Bankston each bring a ... er ... distinguished resume to this musical car crash: Oblivion has put his name to many an eponymous platter of lo-fi soul rock; Reatard has helmed his namesake band through a sea of punk rock snot and chipped in to the synth punk of the Lost Sounds, and King Louie has frugged his way through the Royal Pendletons’ frat rock sleaze and as a solo performer. In the wake of a fractured romantic and familial relationships, the three gathered in New Orleans assuage the pain of their poor broken hearts the only way they know: By beating the living daylights out of two guitars and a drum kit. The 14-song album kicks off with 'Streets of Iron', a howling tribute to urban paranoia that nods toward the Pagans’ 'Eyes of Satan' with a chorus of “You can’t push me around! Satan! Satan!”. It also acknowledges the triumphs, confusion and failure of romance with 'You’re So Lewd', 'Sometimes She Wants It' (an extremely mutated version of a tune by Japanese punkers the Texaco Leathermen), '“Over You' and '“Wrong Way To Love'. There’s also piss-take glam in 'Glitter Boys'and a cover of 'Crazy Dream' by Tokyo punk veterans Friction. With fourteen songs in just short of half a hour, 'Bad Times'is a work of bashing, crashing distorted genius from beginning to end.
Track Listing:-
1 Streets Of Iron2 Over You
3 Momma Told Me So
4 The Jim Miller Bounce
5 Glitter Boys
6 You're So Lewd
7 Sometimes She Wants It
8 Listen To The Band
9 Trapped In The City
10 Bad Time
11 Crazy Dream
12 Before We're Dead And Gone
13 Vaccination
14 Wrong Way To Love
most viewed articles
current edition
In Dreams Begin Responsibilities - #15- On Being Dignified and Old aka Ten Tips From Jah Wobble On How To Be Happy.Dennis Tufano - Copernicus Center, Chicago, 19/7/2024
Elliott Murphy - Interview
Wreckless Eric - Interview
In Dreams Begin Responsibilities - #16: Living in the Minds of Strangers
In Dreams Begin Responsibilities - #17: Tom Robinson
Adrian Gurvitz - Interview
Norman Rodger - Interview
Chris Spedding - Interview
Penumbra - Interview
most viewed reviews
current edition
Groovy Uncle - Making ExcusesPhilip Parfitt - The Dark Light
Jules Winchester - The Journey
Deep Purple - =1
Bill Wyman - Drive My Car
Ross Couper Band - The Homeroad
Hawkestrel - Chaos Rocks
John Murry and Michael Timmins - A Little Bit of Grace and Decay
Popstar - Obscene
Splashgirl and Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe - More Human
Pennyblackmusic Regular Contributors
Adrian Janes
Amanda J. Window
Andrew Twambley
Anthony Dhanendran
Benjamin Howarth
Cila Warncke
Daniel Cressey
Darren Aston
Dastardly
Dave Goodwin
Denzil Watson
Dominic B. Simpson
Eoghan Lyng
Fiona Hutchings
Harry Sherriff
Helen Tipping
Jamie Rowland
John Clarkson
Julie Cruickshank
Kimberly Bright
Lisa Torem
Maarten Schiethart