Things go in circles in D.C. With the rise of harDCore here, bands who pre-dated that genre felt overlooked. Bands like Urban Verbs were rising from this scene to offer a capital spin on New Wave, gaining some attention, and then Flex Your Head came along and offered up a sampling of the hardest punk these shores had. One can imagine then that Rob Moss in Artifical Peace on that seminal comp, and Danny Frankel in Urban Verbs may have been at opposite ends of an alternative music spectrum now, but they've convereged on Rob's fine new record called -- fittingly -- RECORDS.
While Rob does the heavy lifting here on rhythm guitars, vocals, and lots more, the presence of Danny Frankel on drums, percussion, and whatnot is the anchor. These tunes -- robust rockers and straightahead No New York-flavored punkers -- roar forward, the product of both D.C.'s New Wave and hardcore influences. The result is something special. Selections like "We Just Don't Know" feel like ones from The Motors and Dr. Feelgood more than those from, say, Government Issue, another band Rob was in. While the brisk "Basement Party", a winner here, has a slight Cramps-y edge that keeps things playfully snotty and rude. "You and Time", really the only number here that modulates its attack even a little bit, has a whiff of solo Richard Hell about it. Is there any higher praise I could offer than that?
For those expecting RECORDS to sound like G.I. or Artifical Peace, you're in for a (thankfully) rude awakening. Rob Moss and Skin-Tight Skin lob volleys of hard rock at us, and with too many contributors to list here, Moss commands the attack with economy. Smartly rendered and injected with a whole of energy, this is a heck of a fun record.
RECORDS by Rob Moss and Skin-Tight Skin is out now. Details below.
[Photo: Rob Moss Bandcamp]