The Morlocks - Emerge (Midnight Records)

 

Midnight Records was doing their best to pick up the coolest garage bands in the country around this time (mid-80's) - those that Dionysus didn't pick up, anyway, and this San Diego offshoot of the Gravedigger V is one of the best they put out. With singer Leighton and guitarist Ted from the V, the group added Jeff on bass, Tommy on wailin', fuzzy lead guitar and Mark on poundin' drums. They made a name for themselves quickly on the West Coast and while this mini-LP (a 12" with only 8 songs) is pretty strict garage rock'n'roll (certainly not a bad thing) , they expanded their sound a bit to include some heaviness over their musical life. Leighton has a new version of the band in Europe (Germany, I think?) so be sure to check 'em out if you're in the old country!

Snarling, snotty vocals and loud, fuzz-driven guitars are the order of the day as their tear through numbers like "By My Side", "In the Cellar", "24 Hours Every Day", "Judgement Day", "Born Loser", "Project Blue", "It Don't Take Much" and "One-Way Ticket", making the original 60's covers their own and making their own new songs sounds like they were decades old! 

If you're into garage rock'n'roll - which is, simply, rock'n'roll - then this is pretty damn essential. Again, not sure how available this is nowadays, but find it and dig it!