Artist: Wet Ones
Album: S/T
Label: Slovenly Recordings
Released: January 2016
Kansas City, Missouri (KCMO) is still the party city, even after I ranted and raved a few years ago about how amazing its up and coming music scene. L/A/Z/Y was my prime example, but now here we have Wet Ones, and it’s a beautiful thing. Slovenly has tapped into this market of weird garage punk whatever. This one definitely comes across as a garage record and in the red-style recording with everything up to 10. It has a certain character about it that differs from the rest of the KCMO counterparts. They mix garage with noise and post punk antics, while Wet Ones seems to stick to the sloppy garage formula with some good screaming thrown in there for good measure. It reminds me a lot of the second Black Lips’ record– out of tune and all over the place, but still manages to find clarity somehow in its mess.
One more thing I need to mention and it’s a valid point. There are some solid pop hooks that are sloppy and solid. Kind of like Supercharger, if they listened to one power pop record and then tried to write a record based on it before saying to hell with it and put the Supercharger record back on. No dissing here; it’s just perfect. It’s the first record that didn’t frustrate me. It’s not trying too hard to be something that it isn’t. It’s just rock and roll and good, dammit. You can’t complicate what is meant to be simple, fun, in your face and way drunker than you 95 percent of the time. It’s an expression of KC life. Not to mention they’ve got the best barbeque in America (Sorry Memphis, you’re in 2nd on this one). You know, reckless party shit. A life I can vouch for because I used to live it. Hearing this one for the first time reminded me of all the stupid shit I once did, although, I wouldn’t take it back for anything in the world. Anyway, put this one on and count off 1, 2, fuck you. It’s condescending in the best way possible.
By Justin Crumpton
Heatwave Magazine 