Record Reviews: Alternative Tentacles

Disaster Strikes
Liberty Toast CD
Alternative Tentacles

This is punk/hardcore/metal(?) with a message, man. They sing/scream about exploitative labor practices, corporate sponsorships, apathy of hipster punk poses, the educational system, and more. Sounds pretty exciting, right? If you like angry/aggressive music and you’re into politics, this will be right up your alley. It’s not up my alley, but I do like the cover art (by Winston Smith). Oh, I almost forgot…! Jello Biafra makes a guest appearance on one song (“Mission Accomplished”), and that’s the only thing I really found interesting on this CD. Hooray for Jello!

Fleshies
Scrape the Walls CD
Alternative Tentacles

I like the sound of this CD. It’s raw and roughly recorded, and that’s a good thing. The vocals are often distorted, and that reminds me a little of Toys That Kill. There is no general sound or style here. Sometimes there’s fast and energetic punk rock, sometimes there’s sludgy rock, and then there’s “Runner’s Legs,” a song that sounds like it’s from the 1980’s. I don’t usually like 80’s songs, but it’s my favorite track on this CD. Jello Biafra makes a guest appearance (imagine that!) on a cover of Sparks’ “Happy Hunting Ground,” and that’s pretty entertaining. Otherwise, there’s not much here that’s memorable. It’s the kind of thing I hear and think “oh, this is pretty good,” but I can never really get into it. 

-- Justin Kearbey

(Alternative Tentacles – PO Box 419092 – San Francisco, CA 94141-9092)

Comments

[Jesse]

Thanks for the reviews! Bort told me about these & I've added them & some others to our website. Rock on!