DemoListen Derby - The Mits, DMF/Punk as a Doornail, Knox Overstreet, A.M. Flyers, Supercell, and Sons of Hercules

By Wanda

Most people eschew the lowly demo. Not me. But then, most people have no idea what eschew means. Not me. I revere the lowly demo – the creative first-born of baby bands that comes to you in an envelope, in a jewel case, in a re-used puffy envelope with bad cover art and a picture of the band, or no picture at all, titles carefully handwritten on a CD-R, slipped to you surreptitiously at a gig, usually by the singer’s girlfriend, or mailed to you with a hastily scrawled note: “review my cd.” This early fruit is sometimes unripe, sour, poorly recorded, and just plain bad. Sometimes it’s sweet – a child’s earnest drawing touching in it’s primitive state, but with all the indications of later greatness. Anyone can make a cd. Not everyone can make a great one. Here is a sampling of some of the cds you sent:

Up Your Gas – The Mits – Terrible. The guitars weren’t bright, the drums were heavy and off time. Decent harmonizing, but the lead singer’s vocals are flat most of the time. Of course, singing isn’t necessary to be in a band – look at Exene’s early work with X – but this group isn’t doing anything except regurgitating bad pseudo-pop-punk. Worst of all, the songs weren’t interesting. Long, complicated lyrical lines with overly simplified musical structure and no trace of a hook anywhere. The best of the five-song demo is “It’s Time to Go.” Worst is the cover of the Grease song “You’re the One that I Want” which made me take out the disc and throw it away so no one had to suffer.

Punk As a Dirty Motherfucker – DMF/Punk as a Doornail – This split demo with six songs by DMF and six by Punk as a Doornail is genius in every way. DMF (Dirty Mother Fuckers) sound like Black Flag circa “TV Party” – great good-time anthems about things like pentagrams and nipples. Rocker “Shitty Day” will have you singing along every time your car breaks down and you miss the bus. “To the Death” will stick in your head for the rest of your life. Also wonderful, but in a totally different way, Punk as a Doornail sounds like Suicidal Tendencies-meets-Negativeland-meets-The Beastie Boys-meets some really drunk dude doing karaoke. Six songs recorded live at KXLU, supposedly all versions of the same song. This arty-smarty self-conscious noise by college boys pushes the boundaries of instrumentation, lyrical structure and everything else. If you’re an idiot, you might not get this. The best thing about these bands is that I don’t think they have any idea how truly wonderful they are. The worst thing is that no one else does, either.

Knox Overstreet (self-titled) – Knox Overstreet has a happy sound like Nick Drake on Prozac. Lead singer is a little breathy, songs are a little bit under produced, a little bit poppy, a little bit rocky. “Shake That Tree” and “Fast Women” have enough distortion and jangly guitars to be interesting without being annoying. Best of all, despite being from New York, the band has a little of that early 90’s Chapel Hill sound (Superchunk, Archers of Loaf). And I mean that in the best way.

A.M. Flyers (self-titled) – Someone is bound to like this band. They sound like Lenny Kravitz. People like Lenny Kravitz. Ladies love Lenny Kravitz. Big sound. Big production. Big harmonies. Big hair? Sample lyrics: “What will it take to get you over him and under me?” On the plus side, this is really “radio friendly”. And I mean that in the worst way.

Supercell – “Walk Away” – Only one song on this demo and that’s good, because they sound exactly like Bon Jovi or Rick Springfield. Big sound. Big production. Big harmonies. Big hair? Can’t tell. On the plus side, the song is really catchy. Really.

[Note from Wanda the writer to Jen the Editor: You gave me this cd which is not a demo. The band is well-established on the Austin scene and has one other full-length cd out (first one 1999, second one is this one). I think this threw you because it says "review copy" on it. Should not be included in the DemoListen Derby, but as a stand-alone review. Thanks.

Note from Jen the Editor: The band does not have its own website, and if the cd got included in the demo pile it is because it came without any info or press release or pictures... Review is so short, it will be included at the end of Demo Listen Derby, due to the fact that it would be a terrible teaser to have just 4 lines as its own page.]

Right Now – Sons of Hercules – Like all garage bands, this band reminds me of what they say about Chinese food – tastes great, but one hour later you’re hungry again. Garage rock with all the fuzz and distortion but none of the organ. Yum. All songs are good, but none are super memorable. Standouts include: “I Wanna Know”, “Hard Headed Woman” (with organ), “Snake People”, What’s Done is Done.” This band is better than the Bomboras but not as good as the Makers.