4 Way Wedding Split- Moms Basement Records

For anyone who knows me even on a very basic level, it will probably come as no surprise to know that my choice for any close friend is one who can talk music infinitely. While it's a great quality, this also means that I won't be perceived as a jellybean brain when I am happily describing the nuances that make me head over heels for a Ramones demo or am flipping my shit over getting outbided on a LP I really wanted(I do both of those in abundance haha). The right kind of pal understands those things and this leads to one of my very favorites, a guy I know named John. He fits that role of being completely dedicated to music with total precision and that is why I'm so excited he decided to start a record label!! Moms Basement Records is the newest entity in the American label scene that is definitely worth taking notice of and it's first release is focusing around a very special occasion. A wedding!! John tied the knot with his lovely gal Angie back in June and to celebrate this day accordingly, a four way split 7" has been put together with some great bands. That's what I'll be covering today!

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...

Horror Section

Teflon Dave- Vocals, Guitar

Tommy Boyer- Lead Guitar

Nick Habit- Bass

Gabe Usery- Drums, Backing Vocals

Eaten Back To Life

Tommy Boyer- Vocals, Guitar 

Nick Habit- Guitar 

Eric Perry- Bass

Jake Pfaff- Drums

Young Rochelles

Ricky Rochelle- Lead Vocals And Drums

Rookie Rochelle- Bass

Randy Rochelle- Guitar And Backing Vocals

The Putz

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"

The Mugwumps- "Can't Be The One"

The single aspect that made last year such an exciting one for punk rock was watching the return of bands that seemed to be long gone!! That alone had me on could nine and for the first time in years, I felt a greater hope for our little universe that can sometimes seem to be disintegrating. It can get a little depressing to look back on years that were so much more vibrant compared to now BUT, if there is even one glimmer of hope, I will be right here to hold it up high and make sure it is heard! The Mugwumps of course held a big role in my utter happiness for 2014 and while it was beautiful to see them return, it was phenomenal to know that they wouldn't be going anywhere, anytime soon. In conversations with Chris Mug right around the release of "Mutation In The Family", he had let me know that another batch of songs were ready to go for a second new record, so I waited. Like Riff Randell with little hearts in my eyes I waited for any news from my most favorite Austrian boys... At the start of the year they announced that the new songs were being mixed but as we all know how the overwhelmed pressing plants creep along at a snail's pace these days, the wait was not over just yet! With a little patience and ten Hail Dee Dee's said per night, I am so happy to say that the moment has arrived for "Can't Be The One" to be revealed, and I am beyond honored to be the first person to review it.

The songs were recorded during November of 2014 at the The Weirdo Garage in Innsbruck, AT by Matthias Magerle and Matthias Mayr. After that process was finished, the tracks were sent over to a favorite of mine in the recording industry who is none other than Bruno Barcella at T.U.P. Studio in Brescia, IT to be mixed at his fortress of analog brilliance, then Justin Perkins took things over from there to do the mastering he always does such a lovely job with at the Mystery Room in Milwaukee, WI. I must say these two made a fine pair in finishing the process because the sound is fantastic! The artwork/layout that was put together by Mario O. Eberharter includes photos of the band taken by Max Raggl who did a great job capturing their fun personality and then some drawings by Chris Mug. I always love his little creatures so much! This time he made a mummy that also makes an appearance on a poster that comes with the record too! Monster Zero Records once again shows their fabulous taste in music by making "Can't Be The One" available on your choice of CD or LP. The vinyl comes in black or a limited yellow and as always, yes, it will include a download code! You can buy digital only and stream the album in full over at The Mugwumps bandcamp page that also has their full discography available for streaming or purchase. The fine people of Striped Music will also be carrying both formats of the album in their distro soon and to mark the occasion, have made a very cool exclusive t-shirt designed by Manuel Manges that ties into one the songs! Make sure to check that out. I really love it.   

Chris, Hank, and Andy gave us a first look at "Can't Be The One" by making a video(click here to see it!) for the first track called "Peek-A-Boo/The Hate Monger" which had me shrieking with delight right away due to it's very Head style approach(think "Love Theme Of Head/The Tribulations Of Chinaman)! The first part is over in 35 seconds, then with a millisecond pause they launch straight back into a lightening fast speed for the second part. The lyrics are campy and fun describing an evil clone attempting to take over the world, showing in no time at all exactly why I love this band so much. While it's true that lots of people can pick up instruments and go for the minimal approach, it takes true talent to turn it to genius and THAT, my friends, is exactly what The Mugwumps do! Never disappointing with a variety of tempos, things slow down in the next track, "Tokyo Tapes", holding an extremely beautiful melody made it an instant favorite of mine. These twelve songs keep moving with so much energy and different themes too! "Iron Moon" veers off into a more sci-fi type direction, telling the story of runaway nazis hiding on the other side of the moon, "King Mastadon" is very playful and really illustrates what it could be like to discover one, then "Fin Fang Foom!" adds in a comic book monster set to a slower tempo. Let's recap all this. So far we have: an evil clone, nazis from space, a mastadon, a monster, and yes, I am smiling from ear to ear because someone remembered punk rock can be fun! I'm so glad these guys aren't afraid to show it and while a lot of the content on this record is as exciting as Kung Fury, I was also of course a total sucker for the love songs Chris does such an incredible job composing. "Can't Be The One", a great kind of scared of love song is perfectly full of 1950's charm but my most favorite is "The Way I Do". This is the one that had a girl getting teary eyed like a dummy(me haha) because it's that beautiful. The lyrics are so poetic to a point where you can really see the story through his perspective and the emotion in his voice is just goosebump inducing. It could have been a Dee Dee Ramone song and I truly think it's one of the best he has ever written. But the surprises keep coming! When details started being announced for this record, I had saw that an all time favorite punk rocker of mine would be doing some guest vocals but I didn't ask on which song before I heard it! I didn't ask because I know the voice of Andrea Manges as well as my own heartbeat and there he was, singing the last part in "Chinatown". The song is really cool with a strong element of danger and I think it was perfect to include Andrea in it because he is always able to give off that badass vibe with such great ease! So yeah, that one is another favorite and I guess I'll just go ahead and say that's my feeling for all twelve songs going into the closer, "Teardrop/C.B.T.O." a hybrid of two different songs that works so well starting with heartbreak but ending in an ode to being a misfit in life. Which is something I can more than relate to!

It's amazing to think about everything The Mugwumps have accomplished since their start in 2002. They've never had a moment that I haven't felt anything but admiration for and with that being said, I honestly feel "Can't Be The One" is their best work to date. Make sure to get on ordering this record from MZ or Striped because once it's gone, you'll be bummed to not own one of the best punk rock records made in the last ten years. They're playing this evening in Bergamo, Italy for the Monster Zero Summer Mash so make sure to go catch their set if you're nearby and if you're not able to make it, there's still a couple more exciting things coming from them! Very soon, they'll be making an appearance on a six way split from Rufus Recordings and then something else with One Chord Wonder Records which I won't say too much about since it's not been announced yet, but you will definitely be into it! Promise. Go like their facebook page if you haven't yet to stay tuned for what's next as always and in closing I'd like to say: Thank you Mugwumps for giving me such a big reason to smile with this amazing record. Punk rock has a chance when people like you are around.

The Mugwumps are...

Chris Mug- Guitar and Vocals 

Hank Hollywood- Bass 

Andy Hectic- Drums 

With guest vocals by Andrea Manges on "Chinatown" and additional backups by Matthias Mayr.

All songs written by Chris Mug.

Tracks

Side A

1. Peek-A-Boo/The Hate Monger

2. Tokyo Tapes

3. Iron Moon

4. Can't Be The One

5. The Way I Do

6. Dyna-Mite

Side B

7. King Mastadon

8. Fin Fang Foom!

9. Cast A Spell On Me

10. Chinatown

11. If You Wanna

12. Teardrop/C.B.T.O.