Midnight Creeps / Capo Regime
Split CD
Rodent Popsicle
There seems to be no middle ground with split punk CDs. They either suck thoroughly or they’re a great meeting of bands trying to explode each other off the map. This one, thankfully, belongs to the latter category. Both bands are unfamiliar to me, but after hearing this, I’m going to check out everything they’ve done previously. Yes, it’s that good.
Midnight Creeps are fronted by Jenny, who sounds like a female hybrid of Accept’s Udo and Meat Loaf, thanks to her screaming growls and theatrical moans. “Can’t Get It Right” sounds like a punked-up NWOBHM anthem, a delightful stomp of manic heavy metal. “G.G.” is a frantic love song of sorts about the late, great G.G. Allin. “Kids are Screaming” is teen punk without a cause, while “Tough Love” and “Dirty Animal” merely blast away at full speed, with great hooks and impassioned, glorious band performances.
Capo Regime, meanwhile, is less metal-influenced, but equally great. “The Blair-Bush Project” opens their set, an old-school hardcore anthem, and the only song on here devoted to something as trivial as politics. The rest of their set is spent on more important subject matters: love, the day-to-day grind and life on the road. Capo Regime blends ska, street punk and rock ‘n’ roll, played with a serious frenzy and great choruses. Capo Regime doesn’t pretend to be terribly deep, but their music has more meaning than your regular dozens of mediocre, self-important singer-songwriters who take themselves too seriously. Excellent stuff from two superb punk bands that I’d love to see on stage sometime.
Rodent Popsicle Records: [www.rodentpopsicle.com/](http://www.rodentpopsicle.com/)
