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© 2010 Dead Dick Records
[rating:3/5]
Dead Dick Hammer and the TBA Band is a ghoulish undead trio from the hellbilly area of Kentucky’s Temple Hill. Apparently the band died in their rockabilly prime sometime, I gather, around All Hallows Eve, 1957. The opening haunt, 10.30.57 is an eerie tribute to their demise.
Welcome Home Babydoll unearths eight rocking tracks (and a mystery number) all very much focusing on the macabre. Themes center on such pleasantries as stalking, domestic violence, murder and necrophilia; All the things that you love, of course. Presumably tongue-in-cheek, but the disc does have an overwhelming air of misogyny about it. I suspect it is merely thematic, but if it were any other genre of band, it would sit pretty uneasy.
The music is a dark combination of 50s style rock and rockabilly. Think of perhaps: Big Bopper meets Elvis Hitler with a bit more hillbilly swagger in the mix. The sound is a mix of rockabilly and harder more distorted punk ala many psychobilly acts. It is solid, performed and recorded well and certainly blends well to the dark nature of the subject matter.
Overall, a solid debut from Dead Dick Hammer, though I should certainly hope that they’d be able to hone their craft in the over 50 years of practice time they’ve had. At any rate if you like your rockabilly server dark cold and dead, then Dead Dick Hammer has got just what (whether you want it or not)
–Jerry Actually
For fans of: Elvis Hitler, Sour Mash Whiskey, Stabbing
Tracks:
1. 10.30.57
2. Elcumino
3. Welcome Home Babydoll
4. She Likes It Ruff (My Baby)
5. Sweet Connie
6. Creep’r Creep’n
7. Girl I Won’t Hit You
8. Black & Blue

This demo from Wichita KS country/blues/other act goes a bit outside the scope of what I generally review, so I apologize in advance if I step on too many toes.
Assuming that they made it through the recent tidal waves, Can Toker is a low-fi punk rock quintent from outta Santa Cruz, CA. The band consists of: Jack Mehauf (raging vocals), Chappy Left Standing (blazing guitar), Bon Gripper (thunderous bass) and JT Murdoc (earth shaking drums).
The end of the Cold War brought many things. For the West, a long hard battle was won. For the East, doors to unfamiliar lands and individual commerce were opened. Along with that came new freedoms. For instance, the freedom to rock! Flash forward a couple decades and the culmination of the good fight has finally been realized.
In a genre that has been around for quite a long time, with both great and sub-par examples, Only Fumes & Corpses exceed the marginal with piss and vinegar. Driving rhythms dressed in aggressive attitude, with a spirit of quality musicianship that shows they truly feel the passion for their music. I don’t think this album will make it to the top of the heap of the best hardcore albums, but it is far superior to the mass releases, and shows to me that I should keep a keen eye on this band and their development. I do not find a bad track on this album. It courses along with heaviness, emotion, heart, and a diverse arrangement of influence . If you like hardcore, pick this album up. You won’t be disappointed. Cheers to Only Fumes & Corpses!
Because I’m so disorganized as of late, I’m not only running behind on reviews, but losing bios and other materials. At least I didn’t lose the CD, right? At whatever rate, I present to you Heads Held High, a melodic hardcore band hailing from Cincinnati, OH.
Bringing The War Home is the new five track E.P. From Reno’s boys done good, Cobra Skulls. In addition it is their first release on their new home at Fat Wreck Chords. I hope everyone welcomes them warmly to their new label by going out and buying the disc and supporting them at shows.
Welcome to 1984 is a newer (Oct 2010) release from multi-regional (both Maine and Arizona) “peace punk” band Freedom Assault. From the band’s website: “We are a political and socially conscience punk rock influenced band. We play mid to fast paced music with dual female and male vocals. We are Travis, Les, Brand-o and Rob.” The sound is very very garage/lo-fi with distorted hyper-fuzz guitar and drum over low-in-the-mix vox. A very DIY sounding effort indeed. I’m not saying that is a bad thing, I like raw music, but if you like a little more polish, Welcome to 1984 may not be for you.