Red Rockers “Condition Red” 1981 415 Records. The debut LP from New Orleans-based 80’s punks. Of note: their cover of “Folsom Prison Blues” features Jello Biafra on backup vocals. It’s a good pairing as Red Rockers are less Cali or east coast hardcore which would become more widespread the next year or two, and more Clash, (they opened for The Clash when they toured Louisiana and Texas in early 1982), The Dils (from whom they got their name from) or DK in their political punk style. Their official first release, an EP from ’80, features a few of the tracks that appear on Condition Red: the single “Guns of Revolution” (also the EP’s title) backed with “Teenage Underground” (also on this LP) plus “Nothing to Lose.” My top tracks are the short, sharp and punchy “Peer Pressure,” “Grow Up,” the anthemic and politically biting “Dead Heroes,” the aforementioned Johnny Cash cover “Folsom Prison Blues” and the dark “Hold On.”

The Art Gray Noizz Quintet “The Art Gray Noizz Quintet” 2022. Bang! Records. The debut LP from the noisy, sometimes sludgy, frequently bizarre post punk band whose members have some solid noise rock pedigrees (though I admit to not knowing most of them: Lubricated Goat, The Beasts of Bourbon, Woman and Live Skull) and collaborations/show billings that include Lydia Lunch, the Scientists and Mudhoney.  Fronted by Stuart Gray (aka Stu Spasm), he says, “The quintet was originally put together as a one-off to play at the afterparty for the film Color of Noizz, which is actually a tribute to Tom Hazelmeyer and Amphetamine Reptile Records.” (from a article/interview that can be found here) I’m guessing the band (and Stuart) put on quite a show – I’m pretty sure Joe picked up this record last year or so at a show here in Milwaukee that I didn’t attend – the vocals are dark and gritty, Wait-esque but a bit less gravelly. Deep spine pounding bass balanced by occasional high-end saxophone squawk, some tracks are swampy (“Take Over This Town“) while others are fairly ass-shakey, including a couple of my top picks: the psychedelic stomping opener “A Call to You,” “Life of Crime” (which is actually a cover, the original by The Weirdos), the thundering sludge of “Here’s Johnny” and “Harder.”

Here’s a performance of AGNQ with Lydia Lunch from last year.

Vacation “Vacation” 2011. Let’s Pretend Records, the debut LP from Cincinnati garage rockers. I’ve been holding onto this record for a bit now in hopes that Vacation would be swinging back through Milwaukee for a show. I think the last time they were here was a couple of years ago, maybe for my pal Claire’s birthday, and looking at their Bandcamp page (if it’s up-to-date) they haven’t been out on tour for almost 2 years. Their live performances are wild and dynamic, body-tossing energy abounds. Vacation is noisy, buzzy and highly bop-able – they definitely have some pop sensibilities behind the fuzz. “People Watching” is one of the more pop-forward on Vacation. My top pick is the ass-shaking “Co-Workers.” I also like the gritty “Bleach Buzz,” the lo-fi garage-thundering “Cop Knock” and the frenetic “Sun and Moon.”

There isn’t a lot out there video-wise (though their name is pretty difficult for googling) but here is a live performance from 2011 of what I’m fairly certain is the track “Christopher Columbus Was Not a Hero” off of Vacation.