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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The Honeymoon Killers – Let It Breed [LP] (1986, Fur Records)

 

'Let It Breed', released in 1986, shows The Honeymoon Killers doing what they do best: making noisy, messy, blues-punk chaos that feels like it was recorded in a smoky basement at 3 a.m. The album is loud, dirty, and totally unpolished, with distorted guitars, snarling vocals, and a grimy horror-movie vibe running through the whole thing. It’s still wild and chaotic like their earlier stuff, but there’s a bit more shape to some of the songs -not enough to make it “clean,” just enough to keep it from totally falling apart. 

When it came out, critics basically said, “Yep, this is noisy as hell,” but they also admitted it had a certain gritty charm. Later reviewers often compare the band’s sound here to a rougher, trashier version of groups like The Cramps or Pussy Galore, but with their own weird, scrappy edge. The album feels like the band reined in the madness just a little bit while keeping all the attitude and raw energy.

  

The album’s charm is in how completely unapologetic it is. It’s grimy, noisy, and aggressive on purpose, and if you’re into that kind of underground, trash-blues aesthetic, it hits the spot. But if you prefer cleaner production or more tuneful vocals, parts of it can feel like a wall of noise. 

In the bigger picture of their career, 'Let It Breed' feels like a transitional moment -the band is still wild, but they’re starting to find a bit more structure without losing their edge. It stands out as a snapshot of The Honeymoon Killers doing what they do best: making loud, dirty rock that refuses to behave. 

 

Label: Fur Records – FUR 666 

Format: Vinyl, LP, Album 

Country: US 

Released: 1986 

Style: Post-Punk, Noise Rock, Pigfuck, Garage Punk 

 

Tracklist: 

Man 

A1 Power Man 3:52 

A2 Injun Joe 2:41 

A3 Dr. Pain 2:38 

A4 Rich 'N' Famous 4:54 

A5 Dip It In The Gravey 2:17 

A6 Day Of The Dead 3:31 

Beast 

B1 Zoo Train 0:55 

B2 Brain Dead Bird Brain 4:21 

B3 Face Of A Beast 4:45 

B4 Don Gato 3:13 

B5 Godzilla 4:37 

 

Notes: 

A Side recorded at Noise New York, engineered by Kramer 

B Side recorded at CBGB, engineered by Stevie McAllister 

 

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Moe Tucker – Moejadkatebarry [12''] (1987, 50,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 Watts Records)

 

Moe Tucker's second recording project is a collaborative EP with Jad Fair, founder of the avant-garde group Half Japanese, guitarist Kate Messer and bassist Barry Stock (hence the title). A handful of weeks in a makeshift studio (a garage) for a repertoire consisting mostly of covers, including two obscure songs by The Velvet Underground ("Guess I'm Falling In Love" and especially the torrential "Hey Mr. Rain", perhaps in its most successful version ever recorded); the new "Jad Is A Fink" crowns the experiment, one of the few happy moments in Moe's solo affair. [SOURCE: RATE YOUR MUSIC]

 

 

Label: 50,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 Watts Records – MOE 1 

Format: Vinyl, 12", 45 RPM, EP 

Country: US 

Released: 1987 

Style: Lo-Fi, Psychedelic Rock, Art Rock, Indie Rock, Slacker Rock, Garage Punk

 

Tracklist:

A1 Guess I'm Falling In Love 4:28 

A2 Baby, What You Want To Do 2:44 

A3 Jad Is A Fink 1:36 

B1 Why Don't You Smile Now 2:23 

B2 Hey, Mr. Rain 4:06 

 

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Black Snakes ‎– Crawl [LP] (1988, Radium 226.05)

Black Snakes was a punk blues and garage punk band formed in 1986 in New York and disbanded in 1988. Members were Darin Lin Wood (guitar, '68 Comeback, Blacktop, Fireworks, Jackknife, Red Devils); Richard Kern (guitar), American photographer and filmmaker, born in 1954 in Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina and based in New York City; Jack Natz (vocals, bass, Cop Shoot Cop, Excop, Lubricated Goat, Red Expendables); and Patrick Blank (drums), first drummer for US punk band The Undead. His intense drumming style defined the early sound of the band. Sadly, Patrick died in a diving accident in the Dominican Republic in 2001. Jim Thirlwell mixed the album under the name Bubba Kowalski. Lots of feedback and howling vocals. 

Label: Radium 226.05 ‎– RA 035 

Format: Vinyl, LP, Album 

Country: Sweden 

Released: 1988 

Style: Art Rock, Punk, Avantgarde, Punk Blues, Garage Punk

Tracklist:

A1 Rear View Mirror 

A2 The Hanging Of John Daniel Lee 

A3 Black Snake 

A4 Same Old Shit 

B1 Ride 

B2 Ain't That A Shame 

B3 Three Tongues 

B4 Ain't No Sunshine 

B5 Train

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The Fluid ‎– Clear Black Paper [LP] (1988, Sub Pop)

It should be pointed out that it was Denver outfit The Fluid that seemed to fire the first shot in the stakes which would later be deemed grunge rock not Seattle (although it came via Sub Pop). Previously there existed a taboo in the underground not to mix 70’s riffs with 80’s hardcore, yet as the 80’s progressed Black Flag seemed to almost lobby to have their name Flag changed Sabbath. The Fluid showed that punk could progress only so far before you had to seek outside influences. Tracks such as "Cold Outside", "It’s My Time", "Left Unsaid" and "Try Try Try" were powering and indicated that The Fluid were an act with enormous potential. Later efforts such as ‘Glue’ and ‘Roadmouth’ gleamed acclaim for The Fluid’s yet their golden moment clearly remained ‘Clear Black Paper’. [SOURCE: RATE YOUR MUSIC] 

Label: Sub Pop ‎– SP 16 

Format: Vinyl, LP, Album 

Country: US, Canada, Germany

Released: May 1988 

Style: Alternative Rock, Garage Rock, Garage Punk, Grunge

Tracklist:

A1 Cold Outside 

A2 Nick Of Time 

A3 Lonely One 

A4 It's My Time 

A5 Left Unsaid 

B1 Try, Try, Try 

B2 Hall Of Mirrors 

B3 Much Too Much 

B4 Your Kinda Thing 

B5 New Questions 

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Cat Butt ‎– Journey To The Center Of [LP] (1989, Sub Pop)

Seattle's Cat Butt was known for its supergroup lineup. Its original members consisted of two parts U-Men, one part 64 Spiders, and one part Girl Trouble. They were all bands that had created a stir in the Northwest punk scene during the mid- to late '80s. With two separate lineups, Cat Butt lasted a total of two years, churning out garage rock with a hardcore attitude. They left a trail of debris stemming from their fall 1989 tour, on which their bassist vomited at GWAR's home in Richmond, VA; their singer fell in love with Superchunk bassist Laura Ballance in Chapel Hill, NC; and they discovered The Reverend Horton Heat. Ultimately, one of the incidents from the tour, which involved a van supplied by Sub Pop records, led to their release from the label. [SOURCE: ALLMUSIC] 

Label: Sub Pop ‎– SP 41 

Format: Vinyl, LP, Album 

Country: US 

Released: Aug 1989 

Style: Garage Rock, Grunge, Garage Punk

Tracklist:

A1 Maximo 

A2 Freebase 

A3 3 Eyes 

B1 Born Loser 

B2 Sedgwick 

B3 Zombie 

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Various ‎– Subterranean Modern [LP] (1979, Ralph Records)

One of the original forefathers in the industrial boom of the 1980s, Chrome's amalgam of distorted guitars and vocals, samples from TV, and a raw punk aesthetic (inspired by The Stooges) became much more popular in the early '90s than it ever was while the band was around in the '70s and '80s. Although active for only six years, Chrome left behind a huge discography, including nine full LPs (several of which were released posthumously) and numerous EPs and singles. 

MX-80 Sound is an eclectic art-metal-rock band founded in 1974 in Bloomington, Indiana by guitarist Bruce Anderson. Considered “one of the most out of step but prescient bands of its time," MX-80’s signature sound consisted of breakneck metallic guitar combined with atonal chord structure, cross-rhythmic percussion and dispassionate vocals. Notoriously difficult to categorize -the band has been labeled noise rock, post-punk, acid punk, and heavy-metal-, MX-80’s sonic melange set the stage for bands such as Swans, Sonic Youth, Codeine, and Shellac. 

Over the course of a recording career spanning several decades, The Residents remained a riddle of Sphinx-like proportions; cloaking their lives and music in a haze of willful obscurity, the band's members never identified themselves by name, always appearing in public in disguise -usually tuxedos, top hats and giant eyeball masks- and refusing to grant media interviews. Drawing inspiration from the likes of fellow innovators including Harry Partch, Sun Ra, and Captain Beefheart, The Residents channeled the breadth of American music into their idiosyncratic, satiric vision, their mercurial blend of electronics, distortion, avant-jazz, classical symphonies and gratingly nasal vocals reinterpreting everyone from John Philip Sousa to James Brown while simultaneously expanding the boundaries of theatrical performance and multimedia interaction. 

The music of avant-garde, electronic-oriented collective Tuxedomoon ranged from new wave pop to jazz fusion to more experimental synthesizer soundscapes (usually including saxophone and violin), which were frequently married in concert to performance art shows. Tuxedomoon signed to The Residents' Ralph Records in 1979, which eventually got them overseas exposure. 

Label: Ralph Records ‎– SM7908 

Format: Vinyl, LP, Album 

Country: US 

Released: Aug 1979 

Style: Space Rock, Psychedelic Rock, Avantgarde, Experimental, Post-Punk, Garage Punk, Minimal Wave, Minimal Synth, Experimental Rock, Noise Rock

Tracklist:

A1 – Chrome Anti-Fade 3:52 

A2 – Chrome I Left My Heart In San Francisco 0:27 

A3 – Chrome Meet You In The Subway 5:15 

A4 – MX-80 Sound Lady In Pain 2:49 

A5 – MX-80 Sound I Left My Heart In San Francisco 1:52 

A6 – MX-80 Sound Possessed 4:54 

B1 – The Residents I Left My Heart In San Francisco 2:02 

B2 – The Residents Dumbo, The Clown (Who Loved Christmas) 2:07 

B3 – The Residents Is He Really Bringing Roses? (The Replacement) 2:34 

B4 – The Residents Time's Up 2:54 

B5 – Tuxedomoon I Left My Heart In San Francisco 1:03 

B6 – Tuxedomoon Everything You Want 4:14 

B7 – Tuxedomoon Waterfront Seat 4:28 

Notes:
"Subterranean Modern was Ralph Records' first album involving music from anyone other than The Residents or Snakefinger. The idea was to widen Ralph's appeal by bringing a greater variety of styles into the label. To this end Ralph had four band submit contributions on the theme of "San Francisco". Each was required to include a version of Tony Bennett's I Left My Heart In San Francisco. The four bands chosen were The Residents (of course), Chrome, Tuxedomoon, and MX-80 Sound..." (notes from The Residents website) 

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