Java.Mar.2016

ZODIAC BASH
Pilot EP
SAINTS AND THE HELLIONS
Brave Words and Bloody Knuckles EP
COUPLES FIGHT
Breaking Up EP
Over the last year and a half Zodiac Bash have been
playing some of the most vital live shows in town.
They are something of an indie super group, featuring
Patro Gaston (Paper Foxes), Ari Leopold (Rolling
Blackouts), Ben Foos (Fairy Bones) and Ben Fuqua
(Bacchus and the Demonsluts). Whereas Gaston has
been a sideman in other musical projects, here he is
the visionary and leader of the group.
Their debut EP might appear to be an album with
ten tracks in tow, but starting with “ATTENTION,”
every other song is a short, psychedelic link track that
sounds imported from outer space. With a name like
Zodiac Bash, this all makes sense. These link tracks
are essential to the construction of this EP, as they
connect the five actual songs. Two of their earliest
songs, “Vocosis” and “Bouncy,” are here, and they
sound better than ever, fully fleshed from the demos
from which they were born. The latter is a clear
choice for a single.
The EP does come off as a sort of greatest hits
package of favorites from their live shows, with
“Break Party” kicking things off. Then there is the
amazing keyboard part in “The Crane Zodiac” that
kills me every time. It’s my favorite track for sheer
composition alone. The EP concludes with the epiclength,
apocalyptic “Tectonic Dreams,” which is
harrowing in its darkness. There is almost no better
moment on the record than when this song spins out
of control into the finale. This is a pretty impressive
debut that puts Zodiac Bash’s weirdness right up
front and delivers their signature sound perfectly.
Saints and the Hellions is the direct spawn of a
classic punk tribute band called Anarchy For Hire,
and surprisingly it’s only a duo consisting of Vinnie
Venom (vocals) and Lokki Saints (guitars, bass
and drums). Saints had some riffs and lyrics sitting
around while AFH was on hiatus and decided to put
them to good use.
While the four songs on their debut EP, Brave Words
and Bloody Knuckles, are all originals, it’s clear that
the guts are gleaned from the history of punk. These
all sound like instant classics that could have been
released 30 years ago. Still, there is an urgency and
a passion found here that indicate it’s the real deal.
Multi-gold and platinum chief engineer John Gray at
The Saltmine Oasis in Mesa engineered the EP, so
the sound is immaculate. It starts with the revving
of engines in “Rat Rod Phantom,” a tale of a ghostly
driver behind the wheel of a ’32 Deuce who spreads
mayhem everywhere he goes.
The title track is an anthem to getting into it with
fists ready, and it’s one of the best fighting songs
released in a while. Its sing-along chant will have
crowds singing and swinging to the breakneck guitar
line. “The Outlaw Rebels,” with its locomotive pace
and Johnny Cash vibe, is probably the least punk
of all, but it has a rockabilly twist. The EP finishes
with “Goodbye My Sorrow,” which sounds like a lost
outtake from Social Distortion’s early years. It’s about
Saint’s struggle with addiction and his triumphant
recovery. It’s the best song on the record, not only
because it rocks like hell, but because it carries an
emotional punch.
This has to be the most interesting concept for a
band in quite some time. Couples Fight is the dance
punk duo of Travis James (Travis James & The
Acrimonious Assembly of Arsonists) and Alaynha
Gabrielle, and they have taken the demise of a
relationship to a whole new level. While most songs
about lost love are mournful, slow and sad, this EP
takes the horror show of breaking up and turns it into
a miniature synth-fuelled musical of punk-tinged pop
songs. This is exactly the crap that goes down when
any couple falls apart.
While the music is high energy and catchy, the gold
is in the lyrics, as James and Gabrielle literally fight
back and forth using call-and-response phrasing.
It’s never been so enjoyable to witness a couple
becoming a train wreck. This is pretty much a
concept piece, moving from “Whatever You Want,”
which is a fight over dinner, to “Um, Who Was
That,” the start of suspicion and lack of trust. Then
“No, Not Tonight,” highlighting the lack of desire for
intimacy, and “Cover Song,” which is a humorous
piece about sleeping apart in the same bed. Finally,
“Space” is the last frontier of any breakup before the
actual breakup.
Breaking Up is an accurate portrayal of the stages
leading to the death throes of love. Clearly these
two know that territory well, at least well enough
to write a song about each stage of the cycle. There
is a wonderful discord found in the jaunty, upbeat
electronica backing this vicious, lyrical fighting. It
ends with the truest words possible, in case you’re
unaware: “‘Taking a break’ means breaking up.”
32 JAVA
MAGAZINE
Sounds Around Town By Mitchell L. Hillman