Vacant State "Internal Conflict" ep

From Vancouver, this is Vacant State’s second release. It sounds even more LAST RITES inspired than the first release. In fact I would say it is the same kind of LAST RITES envy that INSURANCE RISK had, who were from Norway. Now it’s Vancouver’s turn. The B-Side makes ample use of the echo feature conjuring up SSD’s “How Much Art?”. Yet another band with Boston envy. Well not a bad period of hardcore to emulate. (Deranged Records - 2700 Lower Road / Roberts Creek, BC / V0N 2W4 / Canada / www.derangedrecords.com)

Burning Love “Songs for Burning Lovers” LP/CD

To hype this as the new CURSED or LEFT FOR DEAD is dishonest. BURNING LOVE are more like the OUR FATHER side of the make up of the previous bands equation. OUR FATHER is a local band that loves the heavy rockin’ chunky riff riding extension of punk that has become the rage since redneck rock became a regular feature in punk. You know back in the days of TURBONEGRO and NASHVILLE PUSSY. Well the band are self-proclaimed fans of KYUSS. Their music hits you like later period FLAG meets TURBONEGRO. This is the follow up to the “Don’t Ever Change” ep that came out on Deranged earlier this year and makes this BURNING LOVE’s third official release, but their first official full length. I haven’t heard the other two recordings, but they did play on the radio show before any of that and they had the demo at the time. This sounds like a more polished version of the demo with more clever wittisisms from Colohon. Titles like “Morning After Party” and “Alien vs. Creditor” get one thinking long after the word play, which has always been Chris’ strength. I am glad they play to this strength. The songs found on this release are:

1. Destroyer of Worlds
2. Don't Ever Change
3. Momento Mori
4. Gain
5. Curse Breaker
6. Miserable Sound
7. High Speed Wires
8. Alien vs. Creditor
9. Money Shots
10. Morning After Party
11. Piano
12. The Needle
13. Burning Love


(Deranged Records – 2700 Lower Road / Roberts Creek, BC / V0N 2W4 / Canada / www.derangedrecords.com)

White Lung "Atlanta" ep

This third EP sees WHITE LUNG breaking in a new guitarist. While this quartet still play their signature lo fi garage punk which is common among the Emergency Room scene, the change in guitarist has had a subtle effect in sound. In listening to “Atlanta” next to “Magazines” I feel there was a lot more chaotic experimentation in the songs on “Magazines”. “Magazines” had a more BLACK FLAG meets the CRAMPS feel to the guitar. Oddly I find the songs on “Atlanta” a return to form even though the band has not really had a huge time to stray from their original sound. The songs on “Atlanta” share an appreciation for the mechanized GANG OF FOUR crunch that was heard on the “Local Garbage” ep. And in some ways “Atlanta” is a much better ep. The song “D.O.I.” is much faster than anything the band has ever written, which is something I appreciate. Most bands opt for slowing down the sound, but Kenny the new guitarist has injected more spirit into this WHITE LUNG release. “80,000 x” has a scratchy screaming guitar throughout the song. I think of the WIPERS as a Kill Rock Stars band. I look forward to hearing the “It’s the Evil” LP that is due out anyday now. WHITE LUNG carry on the mission of turning Vancouver from “No Fun City” into a musical scene to be reckoned with. (Deranged Records - 2700 Lower Road / Roberts Creek, BC / V0N 2W4 / Canada / http://www.derangedrecords.com/). The songs on this release are:

1. Atlanta

2. D.O.I.

3. 80,000 X

Vicious Cycle "Pale Blue Dot" CD

This was Vicious Cycle's only full length and it came out on Deranged Records. The band was inspired by Carl Sagan hence the name of the CD, the song "For Carl", and the stars on the cover. The band went into a big studio and as a result the production values are bigger sounding. Some think this is a good thing. I felt it killed some of the energy heard on previous releases. The songs on here are:

1. No Escape
2. Blur
3. The Waiting

4. Black Dot
5. In Tranquility
6. Death
7. Vertigo
8. Gamma Ray
9. Heaven or Hell
10. For Carl
11. Pale Blue Dot
12. Rebirth
13. Farewell

White Lung "Magazines" ep

Deranged Records is doing the second ep by this lo fi quartet. This record sounds a little more like the CRAMPS and a little less like GANG OF FOUR in guitar sound. I am digging how complicated and crazy the guitar sounds on this release. The songs on here include:

1. Magazines

2. Therapy

3. Backhouse

Tranzmitors 12"

The 12” represents the band's sixth release. It came out in 2008 on Deranged Records. One of the reasons why the band did a 12" is because it is the loudest format you can get for vinyl. Four songs split among two sides. The grooves can be wide and as a consequence loud. The band also complained that this record cost a lot and believes they are still paying for the recording costs on this one. As a Tranzmitors fan I would have to say it was worth the investment. The opening song "Live a Little More" starts out with a lyric that reminds me of the Jam's "The Bitterest Pill" but turns into a song about making the most out of life.

"Just the Other Day" is my favourite from this release. Jeff tells me ths song is about the best dressed man who he would see at the Roma coffee shop in Vancouver. This reminds me of the more upbeat Cure songs. "Who’s Gonna Tell Mary?" borrows from the English Beat and XTC as wel as the Manchester pop scene. The song is a predicament about a guy who falls in love with what sounds like his girlfriend's sister. Yikes. Once again the Tranzmitors deliver the goods.

Tranzmitors LP/CD

There was a self titled LP / CD came out in 2007 on Deranged Records and represented the bands first full length. The songs are:

1. Plastic Genocide - is a song that Jeff wrote about the death of vinyl. An interesting paradox that Jeff sets up in the song is that the chorus is super sing-a-long-ish but the lyric is "Genocide". Jeff purposely laced this song with language about Nazi Germany to a sickly sweet tune. Nick noted that tere is a glockenspiel used in the song.

2. Teen Man - a song written about Jeff's youthful spirit. The song was also inspired by a brand name of suit jackets that Jeff knows about from his tailoring profession.

3. Do I Really Wanna Know

4. Somethings Going On

5. Beating Up My Heart - inspired by bad relationships

6. Is Your Head Hallow? - inspired by jerks. The name suggest another way of calling someone dumb.

7. Why Don’t Boys Cry - Jeff was pondring why he doesn't cry, but he does get mopey.

8. Last Night

9. Alma Blackwell - the name of a co-op that Jeff used to live in. There were many weird things the residents did that made life interesting which leads Jeff to ask "Alma Blackwell what's going on?"

10. Everyone Wants to Lose Control - this is a song about getting lost in the moment of a show. It's along the same lines as the song "Dancing in the Front Row".

Tranzmitors "Teenage Tragedy" ep

 This is Deranged Records 88. "Teenage Tragedy" sounds like it is influenced by 50's rock and roll particularly Jerry Lee Lewis with the fast rockin' piano pounding parts that are a bigger part than most Tranzmitors songs. The song "Invisible Girl" is about an elusive girl. More syrupy goodness from this punk band out of Vancouver with a punk rock lineage to get jealous for.

Tranzmitors "Bigger Houses, Broken Homes" ep

This is an incredible new band from Vancouver that pulls together the essence of the UNDERTONES, STIFF LITTLE FINGERS, the BUZZCOCKS, the JAM and the CLASH in their material. Featuring Jeffie of JEFFIE AND THE GENETICS and Fergus of the legendary STRIKE and more recently of the incredible EMERGENCY, and Nick and Bryce from the SMUGGLERS. The A-Side starts off with a CLASH riff that breaks into some UNDERTONES melody had the UNDERTONES had the balls of STIFF LITTLE FINGERS. And the pop sensibility of this can’t help creeping through. It reminds me of some of the great new wave of “Look Sharp” era JOE JACKSON and “Singles Going Steady” era BUZZCOCKS. The song pokes fun at the silliness of the “Keeping up with the Jones’” phenomenon and contains one of my favourite lines of all time and I quote “If you wanna see the summer through the windows of a hummer, climb a ladder through the hole of the status quo.” There are all kinds of potshots about drinking lattes and whatnot. This song is dripping with class wannabe criticism. I fuckin’ love it. I found out that Nick wrote the song and is inspired by George Carlin and a piece where he references "Bigger Houses, Broken Homes" in a comedy routine. The B-side is probably my most favourite of the lot. The TRANZMITORS recording six songs out of this session, which will make up three separate eps. The second one is already out on Cat Call. But the B-Side, "Glamour Girls" of this record has my favourite song out of the lot. It is pure BUZZCOCKS worship. And in typical BUZZCOCKS fashion the song is sage advice about girls, which in this case is about club going teens. It is a song about the grossness of the meat market. This song was written by Jeff and is part of the first recorded material by the band. These songs were recorded at the same time as the Ugly Pop ep. (Deranged Records / www.derangedrecords.com)

Haymaker “It Only Gets Worse” CD

This is Haymaker’s first full length released on Deranged Records. Side 1 or the first 12 songs were recorded in April 2001. This line up features Chris Ansley of Burst of Silence fame. The next 12 songs were recorded in August without Chris. Haymaker are from Hamilton and the band features Jeff from Chokehold / Left for Dead. Christian played guitar in the Cursed and the Swarm. I’m not sure where Curtis and Scott are from. But Haymaker borrows from their past. The heavy down tuned sound, the breakdowns, the pushing the envelop lyrics all come from the Chokehold era. The fast hardcore with emphasis on short fast songs comes from the Left for Dead period of this group of people. Haymaker are the evolution of sound based around Jeff Beckman and although the musicians are really responsible for the sound the vision comes from Jeff. Musically you can hear bits of influence from different places but I have never heard it brought together in this way. The lyrics are pretty straight forward taking on some of the age old issues that hardcore did when it first became a thorn in society’s side. From the fatalistic view of the title track to the reflections of living in the rust belt  with “City that Always Burns” this is a playbook on the raw side of life. There are no Disney endings, no delusions or looking the other way, songs like “Another Million More Dead Cops” is born out of the experience. It is also a clever way of breathing life into a sentiment by a great band like MDC. And it is not the only time. Jeff pays respect to the Subhumans UK with the title of “From the Cradle to the Pavement” and to Unbroken with “Life. Love. Revenge”. They also do a cover of what may seem like an obscure band from Kitchener-Waterloo called the Nunfuckers, but to us were a band we would see often. Jeff brings popular culture face to face with the class war in “Who wants to Kill a Millionaire?” “Cameras in the Streets” is a big issue here in Toronto as the police installed security cameras on the major streets for the G8 summit and they were never taken down. This is just one of many observations Jeff shares about the erosion of our civil rights. And Jeff’s stand on atheism which were prominent in Chokehold to stave off the christians who were weaseling their way into the scene through straight edge in the early 90’s, this theme remains in songs like “God Can Fuck Hymnself”. There is a host of great issues to sink your brain into and here is a list of what can be found on the full length.

1. It Only Gets Worse
2. Can’t Believe
3. Sixteen
4. Don’t Ask Don’t Tell
5. From the Cradle to the Pavement
6. 35 Years Later
7. Dream No More
8. Life Love Revenge
9. Stressed Out
10. City that Always Burns
11. Don’t Want to Know You
12. Burning Chemicals (Nunfuckers)
13. What I Mean to You
14. Another Million More Dead Cops
15. Another Shit Movie
16. Cameras in the Streets
17. Should I Care?
18. Waxed Curbs
19. Questions Answers
20. 1460 Days
21. God Can Fuck Hymnself
22. Built to Destroy
23. Tax Attack
24. Who Wants to Kill a Millionaire?

One of the most stark things about this release is the cover artwork done by Pushead. It fits the ideas and the homage to the material on here.

MRR Inerview - Deranged Record

I did a record profile on Deranged Records when the label was first starting out. Gord and I were roomates at the time and we helped each other out on all sorts of projects related to the scene. I thought his label was doing great things and continues to this day. That's a sign of a good label. Issue #215 of MRR is still available at http://maximumrocknroll.com/back-issues/ but you can download a PDF of the interview with Deranged by clicking on the image above.