The Brood – In Spite Of It All [LP] (1988, Skyclad Records, Get Hip recorgings)

When The Brood released 'In Spite Of It All' in 1988, the garage-rock revival scene was already bubbling away in basements, tiny clubs and independent record stores, but the record landed with a kind of ragged intensity that immediately separated it from a lot of its contemporaries. Coming out through Skyclad Records and distributed with help from Get Hip Recordings, the album captured everything that made The Brood such a word-of-mouth favorite: fuzzed-out guitars, Farfisa organ, sharp hooks and a raw attitude that felt more like a threat than a retro exercise. 

Formed in Portland, Maine in 1983, The Brood quickly became one of the most talked-about acts on the American garage underground. Led by guitarist and vocalist Chris Horne, alongside bassist Betsy Mitchell, drummer Crystal Light and organ player Allyson, they were often compared to West Coast revivalists like The Pandoras, but there was something rougher and more aggressive in their sound. Their reputation grew through relentless gigging, compilation appearances and a string of singles before they finally assembled the sixteen tracks that became 'In Spite Of It All'. 

The album is packed with short, punchy songs that rarely waste a second. Tracks like “I Need You There,” “You Lie,” “How Many Times?” and “I’ll Put You Down” hit with that classic combination of teenage frustration, sneering vocals and blown-out guitar tones that made garage rock such a durable language. Everything feels immediate, as though it was recorded with the amps cranked and nobody particularly concerned about polishing the edges. The record was sequenced and prepared during 1988 after months of recording sessions in Massachusetts, arriving at the end of a year that also saw the group touring with fellow garage revival heroes The Cynics. 

Skyclad was one of the key labels keeping underground garage rock alive during the 1980s, releasing records that major labels would never have touched, while Get Hip became one of the most important hubs for the revival scene through both its label activities and mail-order catalog. 'In Spite Of It All' fit perfectly into that network, reaching college radio stations across North America and helping push The Brood beyond New England. Contemporary press coverage praised the record's relentless energy and the way Chris Horne's songwriting distilled garage rock down to its essentials without sounding like a museum piece. 

Reactions from garage-rock fans over the years have only added to the album's reputation. One listener summed it up with the wonderfully understated line: “Not as exciting as 'Hitsville' but still a good album.” Others were a lot less restrained. One review called it a “Crazy, wild, teeth-baring record by a bunch of scary-ass babes that PUTS TO SHAME the wimp-rock that was floating about the ether 'round about '88. These girls are tough and raw and pull no punches. I did the gnawing on my hand thing more than a few times listening to these angry wild girls, because really, there's nothing better in the world than a girl, a guitar, and bangs that nearly hide the eyes. One of those records I was always aware of but can't believe I did without for so long. A snarling, gritty, garage masterpiece.” 

Another fan wrote: “Yo, picked this up by accident for a coupla bucks and its friggin great. The Brood were a all girl 4 piece from Portland ME, that had a slant on the 60's fuzzed out garage thing as good as The Cynics and better than better known mobs like The Miracle Workers or Chesterfield Kings. We all know that rock fans lean more towards the male of the species, but The Brood prove that women can rock as well and even better than their male contemporaries. Give em a go! It's cheap, it's sleazy and mostly great and its pumping out of the speakers at our joint right now - and its fucking loud!!!” 

Those reactions pretty much explain why the album has never completely disappeared. Original pressings became collector pieces, later reissues kept it circulating, and younger garage-rock fans kept discovering it long after the first wave of the revival had faded. More than three decades later, 'In Spite Of It All' still sounds like four people locked in a room with vintage gear, bad attitudes and absolutely no interest in toning things down. 

 

Label: Skyclad Records – NAKED 21, Get Hip Recordings – NAKED 21 

Format: Vinyl, LP, Album 

Country: US 

Released: 1988 

Style: Garage Rock, Garage Punk, Punk Rock 

 

Tracklist: 

A1 Satisfyin 2:21 

A2 Cry 2:25 

A3 Why Don't You Call Me? 2:24 

A4 See If I Care 2:27 

A5 I'm Not The One 1:55 

A6 Everybody's A Liar 2:08 

A7 Don't Look For Me 3:35 

A8 I Need You There 2:45 

B1 You Lie 2:25 

B2 You Turned Your Back On Me 2:15 

B3 How Many Times? 2:55 

B4 You'll See 2:20 

B5 Yer No Good 1:41 

B6 I'll Put You Down 2:20 

B7 Taste Of The Same 2:25 

B8 On Fire 2:45 

 

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