Plates – Self-titled LP, Big Neck Records

(Stop Worrying and) Love the Bomb – I’m Haunted 7 inch, Big Neck Records

Möbius Strip – Escalate 10 inch, Left Out Records

For descriptions of each, please, read on …

Plates – Self-titled LP
Once again, the folks at Big Neck Records release some quality rock music. I pretty much love this Plates record. It opens with a bass and drum groove. But don’t read me wrong here: it’s not the kind of bass and drum groove you might hear on late ‘90s Acid Jazz records – I mean, it’s more like Flipper and not at all like Portishead. While I like the whole record, this band selected the perfect opening song to really grab your attention. The bass is fuzzed out in the best possible way (not too much and not too little), the beat is set to a perfect head-bobbing tempo, the guitar switches between an in-your-face effect and later lands on riffs somewhere between the Stooges and Minor Threat, and the singer’s vocals strike a classic punk approach (ie Black Flag’s Damaged).
Honestly, Plates have their own sound, but if you listen carefully, they have all the right influences. Fans of Black Flag, Flipper, Dead Meadow, Minor Threat and various Amphetamine Reptile bands should dig this. The punk moments are super punk (without ever stumbling into the monotone shriek category), and the rock moments are heavy and killer. Listen loudly.
(Song #4 “Arrows” is the other jam to look out for.)

(Stop Worrying and) Love the Bomb – I’m Haunted 7 inch
Also from Big Neck Records is this 3-song seven inch, and it’s certainly in the same vein of quality as the other Big Neck releases. The music is fast-paced and upbeat, and all three songs are catchy without being corny – they’ve all got serious bite. The songs are short and super good. Great lyrics from the chorus of side A, “Haunted” (that is, of course, if I’m deciphering the words accurately, but if I am … I like the idea that everyone is haunted and everyone is someone else’s ghost). And side B’s “Yellow Black & Blue” ends with one of the better guttural screams in rock.

Möbius Strip – Escalate 10 inch
This is a 6-song ten-inch on blue vinyl by local trio, Möbius Strip. Most songs are fast-paced punk jams (with two exceptions), and the lyrics are mostly political, referencing topics such as animal rights and drug abuse. Recorded with Don Zientara at Inner Ear studios, the overall sound quality of this release is top-notch. The last song on side A is the scorcher – “Battery Cage.” Hat’s off for sending shout-out to H.P. Lovecraft in the opening line of that song.