Because there's four separate bands on this release, I'm not going to dive into each recording process but instead focus on what happened after all songs were submitted! I can definitely say that everyone sounds great though and all production info for each of the songs is listed in the liner notes if you're a nerd for that sort of thing. I am! Coming from the talented vision of Nicky Rivets, the cover was designed to be lighthearted in humor and is very cohesive with the wedding theme. A pair of gravestones are placed in the front of a graveyard bearing the names of the bride and groom, with extended skeleton hands holding onto each other. They're joined by ones for the bands in the background and I think it turned out great! I especially like the moon and then the jewel toned dark red color that was chosen for the sky. It almost looks like something from Tim Burton's imagination and I think that is very cool! As I mentioned above, this is the very first release for Moms Basement Records and they sure did not skip out on making it special. As of Friday, August 21st, there were a total of 500 7"s pressed into five different variants which are black, white, clear, red, and a splatter of all four colors! 25 of each were put into limited boxsets which are already sold out! One of them had a ticket inside granting the lucky purchaser free test presses for life from any future label releases so good luck to whoever bought them! So as of now you can buy the splatter and CD-Rs from Moms Basement or the Machine Shop; then the black from The Putz, the white from the Young Rochelles, the red from Eaten Back To Life, and the clear from Horror Section. For the European punk rockers who dread international shipping charges, sit tight! A small quantity was sent to Striped and they should have them soon. Now that we have all that out of the way, YES you can just get digital only from the label's bandcamp page where the split is streaming in full so go check it out here!
Now let's give that 7" a spin! Side A opens up with the horror pop punk favorites of mine who are none other than Horror Section. My "dreamy Dr. Frank-esque" description for Teflon Dave's vocals is once again 100 percent accurate as his pop perfect voice just melts anything in a more straight across love song called "Forever Close" but it doesn't lose any of the brilliance you know from his other songs. It's a lovely start and next up you'll hear their companion band from the "Split In Two" LP, Eaten Back To Life. "I Wanna Be With You" is a great little gem that takes quite a different approach from their usual vocals with Tommy singing the lead this time! Anyone who's a fan of this band knows he can most certainly sing from the backups he does and I really like the job he did as a lead. His voice gives a different flavor to the lyrics that are still most certainly EBTL and the guitars are wonderfully melodic as always. The B Side takes a turn into more traditional American pop punk and first up is the Young Rochelles doing a cover of The Queers "Psycho Over You". Now while this is a cover and a very well done one might I add, I am totally excited about it because I think this is hands down THE BEST I've heard the YR sound vocally on any recording. Without any modern vocal enhancements, Ricky sounds fabulous and completely three dimensional in his singing. I've never met their new guitar player Randy before, but I like this guy! His backups add in another layer to their presence that gives it a much greater fullness. Best lineup and sound for those guys yet! Last but not least on this split is a band that fills my little Riff Randell eyes with one million hearts every time. Yes, I am absolutely talking about The Putz. They are simply one of the most immense signs of hope for American pop punk in the present and "She's The Best" keeps that reputation with me in less than twenty seconds. Billy's wittiness as a lyricist in their songs is the first ingredient that makes them so catchy, then the signature backing vocals no other band these days is doing quite the same make it a total beauty. Great solo in that one too!!
I think this was a completely victorious first effort from Moms Basement Records so make sure to add the 7" to your collection before it disappears and then keep watch for what's next! Also stay tuned to all four of the band's facebook pages which I've linked below as well because lots is happening. Starting with Horror Section, they've got plans to release a brand new 7" through Eccentric Pop Records soon and a show with Dan Vapid And The Cheats on the 29th in St. Louis if you're in the area! Eaten Back To Life will be working with both Moms Basement and Eccentric Pop for a first time vinyl release of their 2012 album "Killer" so you can bet that will be something that turns out awesome! I wasn't able to get any updates from the Young Rochelles but they're always working on something and I have double the news for The Putz to make up for it! First, they will be going on tour with a very cool band from Saitama, Japan called the Hum Hums for a few dates in the Midwest next month. They will also be working with Moms Basement for a first time vinyl release of their debut album "Hole in One" and then to close things up for Putz headquarters, They are still in search of a full time replacement for the position of guitarist with the ability to deliver killer harmonies who can tour! If you are located in the Indiana area and would like to try out, don't be shy and send them a message! Anyone who gets to work with Billy and Dougie is getting a pretty sweet deal.
Seeing a release like this gives me a lot of hope for our little scene so make sure to support it, punk rockers!
The Bands...
Teflon Dave- Vocals, Guitar
Tommy Boyer- Lead Guitar
Nick Habit- Bass
Gabe Usery- Drums, Backing Vocals
Tommy Boyer- Vocals, Guitar
Nick Habit- Guitar
Eric Perry- Bass
Jake Pfaff- Drums
Ricky Rochelle- Lead Vocals And Drums
Rookie Rochelle- Bass
Randy Rochelle- Guitar And Backing Vocals
Billy Putz- Bass And Lead Vocals
Tyler Wrong- Guitar And Backing Vocals
Dougie Tangent- Drums And Backing Vocals
Tracks
Side A
1. Horror Section- "Forever Close"
2. EatenBack To Life- "I Wanna Be With You"
Side B
3. Young Rochelles- "Psycho Over You"(Queers)
4. Putz- "She's The Best"
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