Wax of the Week #88...Cliff Jackson & Jellean Delk with the Naturals: “Frank, This Is It” 7” (1964)

Classic “crying” cut, with its instrumental version on the flip. Can’t get over this girl’s sass. One book says this is actually Sun session guitarist Teddy Paige of The Jesters.

Wax of the Week #87:..Aluk Todolo: Voix (2016)

Remarkable instrumental French trio that’s hard to classify. Their roots are in black metal (all three were in Diamatregon), but they play a sort of exploratory (like The Julie Mittens), heavy and rhythmic (like Guapo) propulsion prog (they’ve gigged with Faust and Magma), with touches of dark psychedelia in the washes of guitar (like some of Davis Redford Triad or even Caspar Brotzmann Massaker). Really well done and impressive. When I bitch about how Metallica have petered out and are running on creative fumes, while graybeard metallers shrug and stretch with an apologetic “It’s OK, I guess” at their new music, THIS is the kinda shit I’m trying to draw attention to: new sounds that stretch the boundaries of metal from artists that are following their muses and taking chances, not whipped by management into pretending to care so they can pay for personal chefs and shopping sprees in Paris. Hrmph.

Wax of the Week #86...Bathory: The Return… (1985)

I’ve long had the feeling that Quorthon did the first Bathory recordings on a lark, and, pleasantly surprised by the positive reaction, continued to bang out strong albums with a seemingly offhand effort, tongue slyly in cheek. Many Swedes seem to have this very dry, lightly cynical sense of humor, and I could just imagine this booze/blow/women-loving punk rocker saying, Fuck it, let’s have a go at this metal thing. And without being totally serious about it (though not everyone picked up on this), he cranked out these kickass records, helped define whole genres (black metal, Viking metal), and became a legend in the process. Says a lot about his innate talent. Musically, this was savage thrash metal with grunting Gollum vocals; remember, back in the ’80s black metal was defined more by lyrical content and image, not really by musical qualities (bands like, say, Venom and Mercyful Fate really had little in common). Bathory was not influenced by Bay Area crunch, but more German thrash with an infusion of varsity-level evil juice. Rumors about drum machines have long surrounded this band, and I do wonder if they were used here. Maybe it’s better not to know, and just enjoy the many mysteries of Bathory.

Wax of the Week #85...The Derelicts: Time to Fuck Up 7” (1990)

This Seattle punk band straddled the grunge and hardcore scenes—melodic enough for one, powerful enough for the other. They had a couple of good singles, but I never got around to their sole LP. Anyone rate it? Cover art by Joe Newton.