Basement 69 - Torn, Worn & Full Of Holes EP | ||
| Tracks:
Basement 69 EP:
The Bitchen Hogs EP:
Young Grasshopper EP:
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Album Cover: ![[Image]](../../Images/basement69.jpg) ![[Image]](../../Images/BitchenHogsSingle.jpg) ![[Image]](../../Images/Younggrasshopper.jpg)
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Label: Superlava Records Producer: Mike Militello & Adrian Emsley Year: 2001 Total Playing Times: 14:41, 9:08 ,9:20 m:s Review date: 03/08/2001 |
| Web site: www.superlava.com Email: venuseye@aol.com | ||
| Rating: 60, 55, 67 % | ||
| Verdict: Basement 69 & Bitchen Hogs are retro-rock for those into the psychedelic 60s. For the rest of us, Young Grasshopper offers a reminder of New Wave. | ||
| These three get reviewed together because they are the brain children of Mike Militello (a.k.a. Mike Superlava). Mike's day (or maybe that should be night) job is as a DJ in various nostalgia based clubs around London. The details can be found at the website. Instead of playing other people's records, Mike is now creating ones of his own.
Basement 69 Basement 69 is the main project & is described as a rocket-fuelled, southern fried, psychedelicizied 6 piece band. A studio album was recorded in 1999 and the band formed later as a result of positive feedback on the album. To date the band have recorded two albums and this EP. The material is available via the website - www.superlava.com. "Mother Nature" kicks things off with a modern raw retro-rock feel. There is a bit of a contradiction going on in that last sentence, but think Kula Shaker and you'll get the idea. Spacey garage rock. "Naked To You" continues in a similar high-octane style. After all that racket, "Junky" cools things down at the start, but cranks it back up for the chorus. Once again the 60s influence is there. "Superstar" is a little different, with a retro-pop feel rather than retro-rock. Once again the chorus is almost shouted until the vocals become distorted. The Bitchen Hogs CDs make you listen for all sorts of reasons and with a name like The Bitchen Hogs you just gotta investigate. The Bitchen Hogs is a collaboration between Mike & Californian mate Charlie Vartanian (a.k.a. Chaz Skinbanger) who flies into London for a few days a year to record Mike's more garagey/surfy/offbeat tunes. The songs are played at Mike's psychedelic 60s club - Super Elastic Bubble Plastic. The music is slightly more 'rock' orientated than the Basement 69 stuff with the guitars more to the fore. Most memorable tune is "The Bitchen Hogs Theme", which is a 60's psychedelic instrumental romp that I'm sure you could do all sorts on manic 60s dances to. Young Grasshopper Young Grasshopper is Mike's powerpop project based around his punk tunes paying homage to The Ramones, The Jesus & Mary Chain, The Pixies... "What Can I Say" is a good slice of jingly powerpop. "Just Can't Wait" continues with energetic New Wave meets powerpop. On "In My Face" I'm reminded of say Stiff Little Fingers. On the Young Grasshopper Mike finds a formula that comes closest to matching my musical tastes. There seems to be more melody going on and it is more 'my era'. Overall If I was to pick up one of these EPs it would have to be the Young Grasshopper's blasts of Powerpop. | ||
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