Whenever I prowl around Sound Exchange, I stop at the doorway leading to the
back and look at the singles high on the wall. The Bad Livers, the Rev. Horton
Heat, Sixteen Deluxe — all those Sub Pop singles-of-the-month. Then I look at
the prices — $10, $15, $30. Are any of those songs on albums? Probably not. I
could wait for the box set, but will there ever be a Shonen Knife box set?
Probably not. Looking at my new Starfish Four Song EP (Trance
Syndicate), I know what I have is black gold, Texas tea; there’s also a white
cover of this limited edition 45, and the two were handmade by the band. Though
“Burden” and “Local 506” are both on the upcoming Frustrated (due March
11), neither song is the same as what’s on the CD; alternate takes, demos, or
simply un-overdubbed, they’re a little rawer, and in the case of “Burden,” I
prefer the guitar work. Neither “Tom’s” nor “Johnny’s Got a Crush on Me” are on
Frustrated, but they should be, because together all four tunes make up
an EP that will one day be worth twice that Steve Albini crap. The Shindigs’
slightly oversized and drop-dead gorgeous pic sleeve — with green-vinyl 45 —
should blow out of the stores quick, if not for the art, then for this local
quartet’s girlie punk. (Okay, only Melissa Bryan fits that description, but
she’s the singer.) And if the A-side, “Boyfriend Song,” sounds a little thin,
knob man John Croslin makes up for it on the
B-side with “Spaceboy/Gaz.”
Hear that, Mindy Labernz? “Gaz.” As in Supergrass, maybe? That’s on Rock
Ha�s Records. Poopiehead’s new four-songer is on Peek-A-Boo, the folks who
put out last year’s swell Bicycle Rodeo comp, and even if Dean &
Anna, the folks who brought Austin the Teen Titans and 1-4-5’s, deliver sugary
pop so light it makes cotton candy taste like milk duds, then get the single
just for the label catalog. Miss Xanna Don’t & the Wanted are long overdue
for some good press in the Chronicle, and she gets it for her fine “Ode
to Punk” single (Ata-Glance), wherein she covers The Real Kids’ “Common at
Noon” and the Sons of Hercules’ “Damaged Goods” — country style. The results?
Libbi Bosworth, look-out. Finally, ol’ Parker Valentine of the Valentine Six
sent down a couple of 45s from his new digs in New York, “Zombie” b/w “Thin Red
Line” and “I Saw a Ghost Face” b/w “Always Is My Name” (V6), and while the
band’s dark, sax-driven punk bop conjures images of mayhem and madness at
Emo’s, on vinyl they grate like you faceplanting it onto one on the sidewalk. — Raoul Hernandez
Trance Syndicate: PO Box 49771, Austin, TX 78765; Rock Ha�s: PO Box
242, Austin, TX 78767; Peek-a-Boo: 2502 San Antonio #1, Austin, TX 78705;
Ata-Glance: PO Box 3859, Austin, TX 78704; V6 Records: (212) 219-0698
“7 & 7 Is” reviews all local and national singles. Send to: “7 & 7
Is,” The Austin Chronicle, PO Box 49066, Austin TX 78765
This article appears in January 24 • 1997 and January 24 • 1997 (Cover).