Split 7-inches: So fuckin’ bittersweet because just when you’re getting to know the first band they’re switched out for an often-totally different act. Still, I love ‘em on the rare occasion they pan out for both parties. Lame Drivers, a traditional indie-rock outfit, lead off with “Headhunting” and “Excess,” and it’s quite deceptive how quickly these tunes jump into the spotlight then disappear with barely a whimper. My money’s on “Excess,” a bleary-eyed latenight drive down a deserted highway, fuzzy guitars and memorable synths your only guide. The vox on this one kill it. Woolen Men pop in and out of the good blogs/zines out there with regularity and it’s not difficult to discern why: They approach mom ‘n’ pop geek-punk from a deliriously salty angle that browns out any and all bright colors like an old sepia-toned photograph. It’s a neat trick they pull, sucking the blood out of their arrangements then spitting it into an urn and pouring it onto 7-inch wax. These dudes wouldn’t know bass/low end if it were butt-fucking their dads in the shower, and after buying a string of records that inflate to rumbling levels even with the volume turned down, that’s a welcome development around here.
More about: Lame Drivers / Woolen Men
