TongueBath©1993

TOT 1 - September 1995

Spew & Spittle: Quality takes time

I know. I know. Something had to give, so the TOT's been born. TOT = Tot of TongueBath. TongueBath has become a full-time job, and I already have the proverbial 9-5er as a Research Computer Programmer on a cancer study as well as a Master of Science in Environmental Engineering to finish up. So, `til that joyous graduation day comes, here's the TOT to tide you over...abound with 1-liners. I can't make any promises `bout the frequency of dates of publication, (why don't we just say quarterly for now) but I will assure you that the TOT will be out more frequently than the Bath.

ATTN: All labels....we're a collective of music afficionados with a keen appreciation for all musical genres...acid jazz, ethnobeat, techno, folk, jazz, blues, rap, hip-hop, ambient, experimental noise and regular noise, dub, calypso, reggae, soca, new age, old age, rock, metal (sometimes), punk and hardcore, etc., etc....you get the idea. Send it ALL!! TongueBath and TOT: not just your run-of-the-mill punk zine family.

Skim-gerlY, Publisher/Music Editor-in-chief

NOTE: This episode includes music reviewed between August 1994 - September 1995.

1. Buckets of Drool - Noteworthy, and tongues up!

2. Spitton level on the rise - Worthy of mention

3. Dribble out of the left corner of your mouth - Don't waste your hard-earned beans

4. Warm bucket of spit - Forget it all-together

BRUJERIA Raza Odiada (Roadrunner) - 3

CLOWNS FOR PROGRESS Self-titled (Flipside) - 4

DEAD FUCKING LAST Proud to be.... (Epitaph) - 2; cool bandname though.

KRYPTONITE NIXON Live at Jawbone Canyon (Flipside) - 2

LUNACHICKS Jerk of All Trades (Go-Kart) - 3

MACHINE GUN TV TV Violence (Japan Overseas) - 1; buy it for "Sha-la-la" alone.

MY LIFE WITH THE THRILL KILL KULT Hit and Run Holiday (Interscope) - 2

PICASSO TRIGGER Bipolar Cowboy (Alias) - 3; they make a decent racket though.

THE PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES Self-titled (Pop Llama) - 3; one hit wonders.

ROMANIA Remodel (Teenbeat) - 4

SICKO Laugh While you can Monkey Boy (eMpTy) - 2

TRIBE 8 Fist City (Alternative Tentacles) - 1

TRICK BABYS! Player (Go-Kart) - 4

VERSUS Dead Leaves (Teenbeat) - 1!!!; this band gets better and better!!

THE YOUNG GODS Only Heaven (Matador/Interscope) - 1!!!! Best release of `95, so far!!!! WHFS-FM (our local so-called alternative radio station) hadn't put this slab into their rotation as of 7 Sept.`95...on this date this release had been the CMJ's Top Release for some time, and had been in the stores since 25 July `95...some radio stations just don't deserved being called 'alternative' when they miss meritorious artistry like this....'New music first' (MY ASS!) 'Modern rock.'(MY ASS!!)..SpernK!

• One Liners...(or thereabouts)

(!) TARNATION Gentle Creatures (4AD) Sublime twang...if it weren't a promo, I would have bought it. EVIL STIG Self-titled (Warner/Black Heart) Buy this just because the royalties from this release will help fund the July 7, 1993 rape/murder investigation of Mia Zapata, lead vocalist of the Gits...features Gits songs. PRETTY AND TWISTED Self-titled (Warner Bros.) Never particularly cared for Concrete Blonde and Johnette's raw, rugged voice, but I dig this slab...simplicity is good. ULTRAVIOLENCE Life of Destruction (Earache) Must be pals of Chaos Face on the Subharmonic label; this is an industro-doom, speedball ride that leaves schrapnel in its wake. VA:The Fall and Rise of Los Angeles (Noise) Amen- I see a vid in the making; great choice for an opener...Das Klown - sounds like a 'butt-load-of-fun' band...Bottom 12 - No butt, no glove; kinda like no glove, no love...Humble Gods - Hey age and treachery will always overcome youth and skill...Anchor - crisper than usual hybrid rock, lose the Les Claypool-esque voxs...unfortunately, this band may be in the winner's circle...amazing how familiarity sells, huh? A.C. Everyone Should be Killed (Earache) When it's time for the unwanted party guests to scramble, this is the ticket...Arrrggghhh! DIE 116 Dyna-Cool (Wreck-age) Bite me, and staplegun my big liver lip. FAITH NO MORE King for a Day, Fool for a Lifetime (Slash/Reprise) Faith no more on the part of this writer. THE DERILICTS Going out of Style 1986-1990 (eMpTy) Raged and rudimentary punk that attempts to throw the yoke offa the ox. VA: Live from the Masque 1978, Vol. I (Flipside) A must see and hear. MESSIAH AD Underground (Noise) ...a veritable gehenna of ferocious velocity, dirge metal...not your typical package of metal mania rifferage...artphagoulsy creative...don't forget to wear your neck braces. BINSEY POPLARS Trip So Far (KokoPop) ...picked up where A.C. Marias left off...a wall of sound like My Bloody Valentine, but without all the heavy distortion and dissonace...real alluring. BRIDGET Bridget of California (Grass) Lyrically contentious and conceptual...Auricularly this trio possesses well-honed dirty guitar lines and flatulent bottom bass riffs that stick to your spleen. AMERICAN MUSIC CLUB Hello Amsterdam (Reprise) The Blue Nile affIcionados might appreciate this; almost crap, but the pop melodicism saves the day. FILTER Short Bus (Reprise) Just because this gets lots of airplay on WHFS does not make this a worthy release, as far as I'm concerned, Mr. Patrick and Mr. Liesegand need to hop on the 'short bus' and catch up. ORANGE 9MM Glistening (eastwest) Chew on cardboard, this will strengthen muscles you never knew you had!!! JANITOR JOE Lucky (AmRep) "Naked Ape" is a tune of beefcake proportions. MILK CULT Burn or Bury (Basura!) Milk builds strong bodies 12 ways, and the Milk Cult rips `em all apart. THE BEATNUTS The Clean Album (Violator/ Relativity) Get busy, loosen your grip on some clams, score this disk, take it back to your krib, and give it a peep and a listen. BERSERK Self-titled (Go-Kart) ...outrageously peppy, smart-assed egghead energy rock`n'roll outta Balto.,MD. CANDY MACHINE a modest proposal (Skene!) ...reminiscent of dissonant/dischordant late `70's punk, er like James Chance and the Contortions... COMPULSION Comforter (Interscope) Great stuff if you missed the Pixies in the late `80's. CONSOLIDATED Business of Punishment (London) Still anthemic in attitude. COP SHOOT COP Release (Interscope) CSC still indulges in pain, pain, and more pain. GOD The Anatomy of Addiction (Big Cat) This is BEHEMOTH...foreboding and down-right contentious.SCORN Evanescence (Earache) ...these folks have a fine ear for detail. enormous "Moondoggie, Chicken Lily" b/w "Tear Me Apart" (Treat and Release) Steeped in pop-a-billy melodicism, updated with some sort of ingrained grittiness..plenty of spirit; fervid, lurid, forthright, ...subdued, delicate, and anesthetizing...

(@) LORDS OF ACID Voodoo U. (DCG) Watch out mom and dad, I'm gonna be on sale at a mall near you...DOGBOWL AND KRAMER Hot Day in Waco (Shimmy-Disc) Kramer continues to revel in releasing total shit on his vanity label. GUTTERMOUTH Friendly People (Nitro) ...can sure churn out the pogo-inducers.Yet for some reason, today's production standards take away from the grunt and churn of this music. GODPLOW Red Giant Judas (Grass) ...too generic, too safe. Either evolution will bring out something more lively, or natural selection will swallow them. GOREFEST Erase (Nuclear Blast) I think the guys at Sesame Street have gotta start watching what Cookie Monster does on his off-time...I think the title pretty well sums up what I'm gonna do to this tape...been looking for a tape to put The Boss' greatest his album on..... CATTYWAMPUS Self-titled (Self-produced) My eyes and ears have decieved me! ...from a place in Salisbury,MD, but the music is straight out of the bowels of Lower Manhattan...there is no safety with these guys.Just watch out for speed bumps! OMOIDE HATOBA Livers & Giggers, 1987-1993 (Japan Overseas) Leave it to those Japanese to pick out the most innoucous, common-place things of our beloved Western culture, assimilate it , over-blow it, and throw it back into our faces until we beg for mercy

(#) CHRIS CONNELLY Shipwreck (Wax Trax/TVT) Mr. Connelly has done a fine job of recreating that point in time when Top 40 Music could and did try to reach the Venusian in us all. DRU DOWN Explicit Game (C-Note Records/Relativity) Is shock value and crime all there is in this world?

($) SMALL Chin Music (Alias) Personality crisis. COMPULSION Self-titled EP (Interscope) These cats owe their guitar riffs and chord progressions to Black Francis, but that's where the analogy stops. EVERCLEAR World of Nosie (Capitol) Recorded in a basement, as it should be. COME Don'T Ask Don't Tell (Matador) This group can slap you in the face and you still end up springing for dinner. NINE POUND HAMMER Self-titled (Crypt/Matador) Rock`n`roll out of the garage...synthesizers not included! CREEDLE Silent Weapons for Quiet Wars (Headhuner/Cargo)...I'd sooner invite George Bush and Ronnie over for dinner than pay money for this hooey. ZAXAS Self-titled (Noise/EMI) Unfortunately, I won't be able to share this rock`n`roll extravaganza with any of my closest friends, because the CD accidentally slammed againist the wall and shattered into many tiney pieces...ooops. SOUL COUGHING Ruby Vroom (Slash/ Warner Bros.) They wuz fun, but this thang ain't no homer. CASPAR BROTZMANN Massaker Home (Thirsty Ear/Koch Int'l) Three of the five songs are over 10 minutes long which allows the music to develop into a kind of cacophonous 'ambient' melee that is mesmerizing to me and scares the shit out of my cats. WITHOUT REZERVATION Are You Ready for W.O.R.? (Canyon) Oppression is the backbone of these rhymes....emotional boiling over music that must be common among all Native Americans with poignant socio-political commentary on their American elitist oppressors. IONA Holding Our Own (Barnaby Productions) ...current and relevant, but also true to the roots of music. THE FROGS "Now You Know You're Black" b/w "Adam + Steve" (Matador) A-side..loud, disorted and poorly recorded rock`n`roll bore...as for the B-side, see the second half of the previous sentence. ASPHALT "Thirsty" b/w "Black Rain" (Out of Bounds) It's not a terrible record, but I can't think of any reason why I'd be terribly disappointed if it was stolen TUGBOAT ANNIE "Jack Knife" b/w "Mock" (Sonic Bubblegum) Punkers who wish they were My Bloody Valentine. ARCHERS OF LOAF Vee Vee (Alias) A mixed bag, really. BIG HEIFER That Lucid Feeling (Hat Factory) When Barbara the bass player sings, I can almost hear the Breeders' lawyer on the phone....when Roby takes his turn, they lawyers sometimes laugh...your basic 'I wanna be a college radio rock star' stuff. TOXIC FREEDOM Jonesing For a Big Hit (Level 8) ...some merit in the madness...all in all they are quite toxic and freedom returns only as the CD slips quitely back into the jewel box. SNFU The One Voted Most Likely to Succeed (Epitaph) Heartless headbangers, hammering but hollow. VA: The Mortal Micronotz Tribute! (Iconoclastic Pop) ...a post-punk `80's band who were a great influence on the scene and scensters of Lawrence, KS. BARKMARKET Lardroom EP (American) Bombastic rock that is loud, distorted and umoving...welcome to the machine. SEADE "Kool-Aid Mustache" b/w "Weary" (Kwality) A couple of nicely done tunes from this Baltimore band...melodic and dissonant. SUDDENLY TAMMY! (We Get there when We do) (Warner) ...,(but) I think they need a theremin player. THE MUFFS Blonder and Blonder (Reprise) Ramones-ish three chord (sometimes four) rock`n`roll, but they don't believe in those three chords like Joey and the boys do. VA: Amateur Soundtrack (Matador/Atlantic) As always with soundtracks, some gems , some slop..."Only Shallow", a My Bloody Valentine tune (hauntingly transcendental); other highlights include P.J. Harvey's "Water" and Bettie Serveert's "Tom Boy."...second half is original (and rather boring) music. DEICIDE Once Upon the Cross (Roadrunner) ...from the festering cultural swill we know as Florida, comes Deicide...Florida, blood and disembowelment... any more questions?...I would equate the band's current level of 'evolution'with that time in history where human ancestors first started to consider the possiblity of walking on two feet. GWEN MARS "Cosmic Dick" b/w "Shrink" (Dragster) These guys must say 'dude' and gulp down a lot of barrels of Black Label Light as they slave away in the studio. EVIL TWIN "Living in Vain" b/w "Calling Home" (Stereophonic) Side-A is their best attempt at the monster mash of the `90's; kind of mix CCR and Bauhaus...the other side is a maudlin keyboard driven tune that does absolutely nothing to cheer me up.

(%) BRAINAC Bonsai Superstar (Grass) Little Timmy Taylor saturated with drugs, and now they call the band 'Brainsucker'...don't get mind phucked without protection. JON SPENCER BLUES EXPLOSION Orange (Matador) Go head girl..rock that skinny white-boy and make him sing for his supper. BIG CHIEF Platinum Jive (Capitol) ...the first song is ...this prelude to a Quaalude; one world, one Pearl Jam?...I must say,"Simply Barry" is simply pimply. SUPERSNAZZ Superstupid (????)Three chords, drag strips, surfboards, stuffed animals,sushi, mini skirts and enough volume to make my dreads into a pompadour. TODAY IS THE DAY Willpower (Amphetamine Reptile) From the first sample, it's like getting whipped with an axe...hurts so good. ZEKE FIDDLER Waterproof (Spinart) It's palatable with an average bottle of red wine and rainy days with nothing to do.

(&)TOADIES Rubberneck (Interscope) Theys guys and gal are definitely practioners of the 'think before you play' method. LIQUOR BIKE Neon Hoop Ride (Grass) ..nothing fraidy-cat...tight tunes bully their way through 39 or so minutes of 13 songs...Bawmer really does take care of its own. INCANTATION Mortal Thoughts of Nazarene (Relapse) Sometimes life shovels out too much of a heaping helping of unhospitality...I wouldn't let my goats listen to this, not because it is naughty, but because it just isn't nice (+ aided and abetted on this one). JOHAN SHARP/BILL LASWELL Visitation (Subharmonic)..tell-tale bass romp indicative of B. Laswell's past efforts...Vegetarian cuisine for the mind!...murky lake of moods, dredging and sounding for aliens...

(*)STEEL PULSE Vex (MCA) I guess this is what happens when bands cross-over...Pleasant grooves, fine musicians, vague platitudes to 'peace and justice' and absolutely no fire. JUSTICE SYSTEM Rooftop Soundtrack (MCA) Nostalgia for those with memories of the music before 'gansta' became its most familiar tag. SPEARHEAD Home (Capitol) Goodtime rap`n`rhythm with occasional surprises like the devastating 'Positive', a stark and powerful take on the anxiety of being tested for HIV.

(+)VENISON Hate (Big Money) Spuds are for kids! SOCIETY Yes N Deed EP (Luke Records) It seems to be about ruling with a fist of violence akin to Pitt Bull training. MARY BEATS JANE Self-titled (Geffen) Anyone with a penchant for snorting glass in a back alley will like them. CHAOS FACE Doom Ride (Subharmonic) Smoke that last cigarette because the execution is about to begin; the execution of, that is, this band...bombastic bombardment of bullshit. GREAT MUTANT SKYWHEEL Self-titled (Produced by them I guess) Worth a listen. MONSTER VOODOO MACHINE Bastard Is As Bastard Does (RCA) I just can't keep up with them; then again, I'm from the Chelonean Era of pre-menstral non-orbiting space shuttles. COP SHOOT COP Release (Interscope) The horns add a lot of confusion to the circus of sounds...vocalist is just ill; spewing out vomitfuls of lyrics...back-room buttish; the smell of wet cigarettes butts in a tin can?... CATHERINE Sorry (TVT) Tongues up! JAKS Hollywood Blood Capsules (Choke, Inc) "Fairy bitches dance over here like some fucked up rooster."...you be the judge

(~)THE JOY KILLER S/T (Epitaph) ...check this one out, but walk don't run, okay? WELD Heavens to Mergatroid (Shimmy Disc) Noisy, in-your-skull power rock with some hints of melody scattered throughout...like waking up drunk and having the day off. TEN FOOT POLE Rev (Epitaph) The whole damn thang just sizzles! GAS HUFFER One Inch Masters (Epitaph) The Huffers have been around for quite awhile...let's hope they'll keep it up for at least another ten! THE REVEREND HORTON HEAT Liquor in Front (Sub Pop) ...lip-smackin', hand-clappin', ya-hoo good time...good old punkabilly...

(=) CONFLICT Conclusion (Cleopatra) Into the frying pan...have another cigarette... DINK Self-titled (Capitol) ...what else rhymes with 'dink?'...Clink...New Kids on the Cellblock... GIL SCOTT-HERON Message to the Messengers EP (TVT) He was before his time, and still is...a very wise man. CATHERINE Sleepy EP (TVT) Lush, familiar, predictable, fair...Ride does it better...

(?) KUSTOMIZED The Battle for Space (Matador) Guaranteed to make your cows lay eggs and yer chickens squirt milk.(Fuck ya'll, I'm from Texass!). MECCA NORMAL Sitting on Snaps (Matador) Music to cut out your Raggedy-Ann's eyes to....challenging music that grates and shreds and pinches at your misfiring neurons. DOWN BY LAW puckrockacademyfightsong (Epitaph) Nippy! BAILTERSPACE Vortura (Matador) ...may not be everyone's cup of poison, but for those who like their music somewhat brooding and atmosphereic, it delivers. RHYTHM PIGS El Paso (Westworld) This recording has all the energy and bite of a post-Mexican-platter bout of flatulence (and will clear out a room quicker than the above mentioned colonic eruption)...boring and stinky. PORN FLAKES Business, Asshole, Chris Pfister (Lube) The Porn Flakes approach to music resembles a blender would have to a fluffy kitty...liquify, serve over crushed ice and enjoy the chunky goodness! ALL Pummel (Atlantic) Grouchy ex-Descendents curmudgeons proving they can still kick the sonic asses of most young punksters...wavering like an amphetamine-crazed hari-krishna between tightly knit noise-pop and punk, Pummel may induce nosebleeds in susceptible individuals.

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