Drakulas
Raw Wave
Dirtnap
Ripped from a time period before iPhones, before the internet, before DVD players and Compact Discs comes Drakulas. A ’70s band of porn-star pimp misfits who tell the tales of the unsung street rats by way of futuristic garage punk. If the high sprung vocals and charging guitar tones sound a wee bit familiar it’s because this Austin, TX creation has band members who would go on to make some gnarly noise in 21st Century bands like Riverboat Gamblers and Rise Against. But that has yet to happen so, please, keep the future to yourself.
This is Drakulas. Their debut full length is high art for punks, replete with bold character play and period piece lyrics (“My Collection/ My Collection/ My Collection is unique/ Recollection/ Recollection/ Recollection’s obsolete/ I need Beta Beta Beta Beta Beta Beta Beta Max” -from “Beta Max”). With the kind of commitment to period usually reserved for Keira Knightley, front man Mike Wiebe leads the time travel into the past, but brings the sounds of the future with him. “My Name In Your Mouth” could be a Riverboat Gamblers b-side (or maybe High Tension Wires), and Zach Blair’s guitar flair on “Sunny Tzu” is full on Rise Against territory.
In other words, if Drakulas are from the ’70s, they’re rubbing shoulders with punk rock innovators like Buzzcocks, or The Undertones. They were a band so far ahead of their time they were from the future.
