DMZ - Relics

I've been randomly going through my vinyl now and again and realized that I hadn't listened to this 12" in quite a while. This was a compilation of 7 inches/EPs/demos/what-have-you done before the release of the Sire Records album. So, the sound here is quite raw, but that's fitting for a punk/garage band like this one! Led by record collector fanatic Mono Man, this crew did some of the best garage rock'n'roll ever and influenced many to come.

Showing their love of Detroit high energy right from the start, they rip off "1969" for their own "Busy Man" - in the best tradition of garage rockers! "Can't Stand the Pain" is the great, moody Pretty Things numbers and of course there's "You're Gonna Miss Me" - though in their defense, this was long before every other band in the known universe covered it - in fact, they were probably one of the first to do so. These cats had a penchant for creating memorable one-chord songs, and "When I Get Off" is a salacious one with plenty of wild guitar work and while a different version of "Do Not Enter" did appear on their LP,  here Mono Man really gets to let loose on some crazed, Little Richard-esque piano.

"Guilty Child" is punky high energy and raw to the extreme, while "Shirt Loop" is like a frenzied Sonics number, with one of the wackiest concepts for lyrics that I've ever heard - but genius in its way! With some cool starts and stops and a bit of a 50's feel, "Lift Up Your Hood" is another barely-double entendre tune and the vinyl version ends with their take on the Standells fabulous "Barracuda".

Of course, any garage rocker worth their salt has the official album from these cats, but if you wanna hear what they sounded like in the bowels of clubs like the Rat, check this out!