
Download (in wav format with front & back cover scans)
Today's download is the 1998 Home Alive benefit split featuring Stiletto and The Blood Brothers. The Blood Brothers provide two blasts of hyperactive screamy hardcore, backed by two tracks in the indie rocker, riot grrrl-ish vein by Stiletto.
"Seattle synth-punk revivalists The Cripples formed in 1994. The band's formula began with a standard electric bass and drums that were fronted by two singing synth players. Over the years they incorporated guitars at times and a whole variety of mobile, hacked, modified, and even toy plastic keyboards. Early punk bands that used synthesizers like The Screamers were a major influence on The Cripples. The band pre-dated the more recent wave synth bands like The Epoxies and certainly has never been as polished or commercial as their contemporaries, there is a unique sound and raw edge to most Cripples songs, which I'd credit to both the vocal style and the the hacked up and homemade keyboards." (This description is stolen from an article by Dan over at the 10 Things Zine Blog)
Sicko were a glorious pop punk trio from Seattle that existed from the early to the late 90's. One of the first club shows I ever went to was when I got to go see Sicko open for Gas Huffer at the old Pioneer Square Theater in downtown Seattle. I had initially gone to the show solely for the Huffer but Sicko really blew me away with their short quick pop bursts. I also remember thinking that it was really cool when co-frontmen Ean and Denny traded bass and guitar duties halfway through their set. Today's download is a blast of pure pop punk joy, one of my favorite Sicko tracks entitled 80 Dollars, coupled with the track Together Tonight by The Mr T. Experience, a band that hail from Berkeley, CA.
I honestly don't know much about the band Homo Eradicus. I learned of them through the Is It... Dead? Northwest Hardcore compilation that came out in 2001 and featured bands like Raft of Dead Monkeys and Botch (speaking of which, if anyone out there has a cd copy of Is It... Dead? that they could hook me up with a rip of, that would be awesome). While they're just as aggressive and screamy as you'd expect from the local hardcore bands of the era, musically Homo Eradicus definitely fall to the slightly more technical side of the pile. Homo Eradicus featured members of Akimbo and Teen Cthulhu and singer Dylan Sharp went on to play in the Olympia based punk rock band Gun Outfit.