How cool was it witnessing the author of “7 & 7 Is” – Arthur Lee – snarl his supreme Love song at S.F.’s Great American Music Hall last month? As Joe Cool as the white-wedding vinyl of the Ends‘ “New Rome” 45 on Dirtnap Records, which only pressed 100 copies. The Austin punk quintet’s debut disc last year, Sorry, XOXOXO, was essentially a singles gather-all, and it had teeth thanks to jagged edges like this one. The A-side is all bleeding treble riffs and Johnny Rotten vox, while the flip side, “Saw It Comin’,” is no less Damned. Credit Chris “Frenchie” Smith and Bubble studios with more raw refinement… “The Winks are a new band from Austin comprised of four girls who kick ass. … The band has been described as reminiscent of the Bags.” So proclaims local punk rock imprint Super Secret Records, and for those not up on their indie history, the local quartet’s four-song debut is full-throttle grrrl punk with its stiletto to the floorboard, especially on “You’re Gonna Die.” No less frank is “Fuck Me Around.” Grade-A graphics, inserts (lyrics even), and packaging; Jerry Milton’s inside shot of the grrrls at Beerland is the deal sealer on this EP. Total pressing is 500, with 100 done in red vinyl. No red for Raoul? Where’s the love?… Walter Daniels & Wade Driver have plenty of adoration for red-lining, slowing down their trio of raw cappella blooze tunes to 33 rpm, their “7 & 7 Is” submission number 43 of 300 on Shake Your Ass Records. Blind Willie McTell’s “Don’tcha Let Nobody Turn You Around,” the Stranglers’ “What an Old Codger I Am,” and a hootin’, honkin’ live take of Willie Dixon’s “Spoonful,” a Daniels’ standby, are harp-drum duets as no nonsense as the Converse sneakers and sleeveless black T they were created in. A 7-incher worthy of ol’ Arthur Lee, saints preserve him.
Dirtnap Records: PO Box 21249, Seattle, WA 98111; Super Secret: PO Box 1585, Austin, TX, 78767, www.supersecretrecords.com; Shake Your Ass: capinch66@fastwebnet.it
This article appears in February 6 • 2004.
