Drunk Injuns
From Where the Sun Now Stands I Will Fight No More, Forever
Alternative Tentacles
The elusive – and according to legend, dead – Drunk Injuns is one of those legendary bands that very few have actually heard. Alternative Tentacles, bless them, assume responsibility and release a compilation of the band’s 1983-‘84 recordings, in what is either an act of pure love or evil irony. Wearing the ugliest masks to ever grace five faces, Drunk Injuns were the brain child of early-day Thrasher mag collaborator Marizen Foche aka Joey Headbone Restless Spirit, the man credited with coining the rarely used term “skate rock,” and surely one of punk’s most unique voices ever.
Although they’re skate and they’re punk, Drunk Injuns aren’t necessarily skate-punk. Their music is far too dark and repetitively churning for that, relying heavily on the dynamics of post-punk and kraut. Imagine Joy Division and Neu hanging out with The Dead Kennedys and early-day Chili Peppers, and you’re just about there, although there are few appropriate ways to accurately describe the possessed, haunted performances that the band gives. It’s insane and it’s weird but it’s also free-spirited, half-assed comic book punk, as fun as it is claustrophobic, half hippie and half punk. It’s great to hear those songs but one does understand why they haven’t been widely available up until now. Intriguing and relevant, but strangely unappealing as well. Worth looking up, but approach with caution.
Alternative Tentacles Records: http://www.alternativetentacles.com
