The Spits
The Spits V
In The Red Records
2011
The Spits are a brilliant modern punk collective that have been plying their trade for well over a decade now. The Seattle based band dabble in all things grimy and revel in the disgusting and hedonistic, all the while remaining melodic.Their brand of Ramones-core punk rock is as loud and abrasive as it is short and sweet. Recalling the garage bands of the 1970’s the Spits keep the approach simple but in recent years have become much more experimental, messing around with synth sounds and production techniques. This, “The Spits V” is, shock horror, their fifth LP and below is a track by track run through of what to expect:
All I Want: The album begins with the clatter of drums and some superbly distorted garage-rock guitar. The vocals ooze melody and songs like this are built around simple yet affective punk hooks. The production muffles the music in such a way as to achieve a rawness seldom seen in today’s modern punk scene. The Spits musical style is often minimalist and strips away any notions of technicality. Their brand of punk is more akin to 70’s garage rock and owes its debts to bands like the Ramones rather than the metallic crunch of hardcore. The perfectly executed harmonies and lyrics about girls found in this song should attest to that.
My Mess: Fuzzy bass, 3 chord guitar work and pounding drums pick up where “All I Want” left off. The song is a stomper from the first chord to the final crash of the symbols. The vocals are as fuzzed up and distorted as the bass and are a perfect fit for this tale of apathy and drug abuse. The Spits gave never been ones to shy away from vulgarity and reckless hedonism and this grimy cut is as sleazy as it gets.
Tomorrows Children: The Spits sound as if they recorded this song on a tape recorder. As a result the instruments sound brooding and ominous like an alien transmission from a 1950’s B-movie. The vocals sound like a clarion call beamed through a charred black box or crappy FM radio found smouldering beneath the rubble of a nuclear warzone.
Electric Brain: This song clocks in at around 1 minute and 17 seconds and sees the Spits indulge in another slice of filthy sounding punk rock. I don’t use the word filthy in regards to the lyrical content but rather seek to apply it to the overall mood and feel of the music itself. The fuzz of the bass, the crunch of the guitars and the languid, and quite obviously inebriated, sound of the singer’s vocals combine to create a glorious kind of swampy, mucky punk that is enveloped in the grime of life.
Fed Up: It tells you something about the Spits attitude to music and the industry that they decided to make this 50 second long wad of punk rock the lead single from “Spits V.” Quite simply a list of everything that makes the band fed up, the song does exactly what it says on the tin.
Fallout Beach: The Spits have the amazing ability to take a song which details a romantic walk on the beach and warp it completely to their own twisted ends. They distort things beyond belief
by a liberal use of keyboard synthesisers as well as warping the vocals. Seeing as how it sounds like it was being sung by a pack of rabid mutants the title could not be more apt.
My Life Sucks: The Spits keep up their relentlessly paced punk rock whilst continuing to toy with vocal effects and keyboards. The lyrics and style may be, to some, mind numbingly simple but their
grungy take on punk rock still sounds, for want of a better term, fresh.
I’m Scum: This song is the Spits doing what they do best and is delivered with the same, candid, snotty, fuck-you nature that is garnering them a sizable a vociferous cult following. The song is a mixture of punk guitars and squealing keyboard noises as well as the band shouting “I’m Scum” over the top of all the chaos...what’s not to love?
Brick By Brick: This mid-paced rocker about a hostage taking is another sludgy slab of gritty punk. The singer takes a page out of Darby Crash’s book of punk rock by choosing a delivery style that is as slurred, sloppy and rough as humanly possible, made to sound even more so by echo’s and various vocal distortions.
Acid Rain: The bass takes up prominence in this song which helps drive it forward nicely. The vocal stylings have changed to a much more sinister sounding whine and the lyrics describe a post-apocalyptic nuclear wasteland that the band seems to revel in; “Our pleasure has turned into pain/The children play in acid rain!” Due to its creepiness and affecting atmosphere this has to be one of the best songs on the record.
I Wanna B A.D.D.: This is the track on the album where the Spits come away sounding like their English forebears the most. They sound like they have stepped out of an English pub smashed out of their minds and fallen in the gutter. The lyrics in the verses are slurred to the point of being incomprehensible and a rousing gang chant that has the band screaming “I wanna be A.D.D.” is all that I could make out.
Last Man on Earth: The tap tap tap of a drum machine coupled with keyboard noise and abrasive chords give this final song a schlocky, somewhat alien feel. The Spits do a superb job of creating a sonic landscape that sounds eerie, creepy and above all, completely unfamiliar. The post-punk experimentation of bands like Joy Division and Suicide can be heard in every last reverberation.
Verdict: It is hard to put into words why I like this album but the simple truth is that I do, I really really do. In fact I would go so far as to say I love it. The Spits have released more accessible and hook laden material than this, most notably on their brilliant self titled debut, but never before have they come so close to capturing the mood and feel implicit in their scuzzy modus operandi. The band takes you on a brief but exhilarating tour of their post apocalyptic world which is as terrifying as it is gloriously grungey. I feel like I need a shower after this.
Score: 8/10
For Fans Of: The Ramones, T.S.O.L, 70’s era Garage Rock
BadIdeaDan for MLM
All I Want: The album begins with the clatter of drums and some superbly distorted garage-rock guitar. The vocals ooze melody and songs like this are built around simple yet affective punk hooks. The production muffles the music in such a way as to achieve a rawness seldom seen in today’s modern punk scene. The Spits musical style is often minimalist and strips away any notions of technicality. Their brand of punk is more akin to 70’s garage rock and owes its debts to bands like the Ramones rather than the metallic crunch of hardcore. The perfectly executed harmonies and lyrics about girls found in this song should attest to that.
My Mess: Fuzzy bass, 3 chord guitar work and pounding drums pick up where “All I Want” left off. The song is a stomper from the first chord to the final crash of the symbols. The vocals are as fuzzed up and distorted as the bass and are a perfect fit for this tale of apathy and drug abuse. The Spits gave never been ones to shy away from vulgarity and reckless hedonism and this grimy cut is as sleazy as it gets.
Tomorrows Children: The Spits sound as if they recorded this song on a tape recorder. As a result the instruments sound brooding and ominous like an alien transmission from a 1950’s B-movie. The vocals sound like a clarion call beamed through a charred black box or crappy FM radio found smouldering beneath the rubble of a nuclear warzone.
Electric Brain: This song clocks in at around 1 minute and 17 seconds and sees the Spits indulge in another slice of filthy sounding punk rock. I don’t use the word filthy in regards to the lyrical content but rather seek to apply it to the overall mood and feel of the music itself. The fuzz of the bass, the crunch of the guitars and the languid, and quite obviously inebriated, sound of the singer’s vocals combine to create a glorious kind of swampy, mucky punk that is enveloped in the grime of life.
Fed Up: It tells you something about the Spits attitude to music and the industry that they decided to make this 50 second long wad of punk rock the lead single from “Spits V.” Quite simply a list of everything that makes the band fed up, the song does exactly what it says on the tin.
Fallout Beach: The Spits have the amazing ability to take a song which details a romantic walk on the beach and warp it completely to their own twisted ends. They distort things beyond belief
by a liberal use of keyboard synthesisers as well as warping the vocals. Seeing as how it sounds like it was being sung by a pack of rabid mutants the title could not be more apt.
My Life Sucks: The Spits keep up their relentlessly paced punk rock whilst continuing to toy with vocal effects and keyboards. The lyrics and style may be, to some, mind numbingly simple but their
grungy take on punk rock still sounds, for want of a better term, fresh.
I’m Scum: This song is the Spits doing what they do best and is delivered with the same, candid, snotty, fuck-you nature that is garnering them a sizable a vociferous cult following. The song is a mixture of punk guitars and squealing keyboard noises as well as the band shouting “I’m Scum” over the top of all the chaos...what’s not to love?
Brick By Brick: This mid-paced rocker about a hostage taking is another sludgy slab of gritty punk. The singer takes a page out of Darby Crash’s book of punk rock by choosing a delivery style that is as slurred, sloppy and rough as humanly possible, made to sound even more so by echo’s and various vocal distortions.
Acid Rain: The bass takes up prominence in this song which helps drive it forward nicely. The vocal stylings have changed to a much more sinister sounding whine and the lyrics describe a post-apocalyptic nuclear wasteland that the band seems to revel in; “Our pleasure has turned into pain/The children play in acid rain!” Due to its creepiness and affecting atmosphere this has to be one of the best songs on the record.
I Wanna B A.D.D.: This is the track on the album where the Spits come away sounding like their English forebears the most. They sound like they have stepped out of an English pub smashed out of their minds and fallen in the gutter. The lyrics in the verses are slurred to the point of being incomprehensible and a rousing gang chant that has the band screaming “I wanna be A.D.D.” is all that I could make out.
Last Man on Earth: The tap tap tap of a drum machine coupled with keyboard noise and abrasive chords give this final song a schlocky, somewhat alien feel. The Spits do a superb job of creating a sonic landscape that sounds eerie, creepy and above all, completely unfamiliar. The post-punk experimentation of bands like Joy Division and Suicide can be heard in every last reverberation.
Verdict: It is hard to put into words why I like this album but the simple truth is that I do, I really really do. In fact I would go so far as to say I love it. The Spits have released more accessible and hook laden material than this, most notably on their brilliant self titled debut, but never before have they come so close to capturing the mood and feel implicit in their scuzzy modus operandi. The band takes you on a brief but exhilarating tour of their post apocalyptic world which is as terrifying as it is gloriously grungey. I feel like I need a shower after this.
Score: 8/10
For Fans Of: The Ramones, T.S.O.L, 70’s era Garage Rock
BadIdeaDan for MLM