Java.June.2017

EXXXTRA CRISPY
They Don’t Think It Be Like It Is But It Do
W.A.S.H.
W.A.S.H. EP
ELEPHANT GUNN
A Simple Transmission
The lineup for Exxxtra Crispy is insane. Members of
some of the most exciting musical acts from the last
few years in one band at the same time: Dadadoh,
Naked Pizza, Bacchus & The Demonsluts, Jerusafunk,
Boss Frog, and the list goes on. Here they take what
they know of hip-hop, ska, skate punk and klezmer
rock and distill it into some wonderfully lo-fi funk
punk. The results are magical.
“Something Fresh Out of Something Stale” is Ricky
playing sax and Torrey trombone over a collection
of samples. The title actually defines the aim of this
collection, but the unsuspecting soothing mood is
soon dashed by the punk anthem “Scumbag.” This
was the first single from the band, and it’s still one of
their best. “What the Fuck Is Wrong with Me” seems
to question the daily cycle of inebriation as much as
it celebrates the concept. “Andromeda Will Have Her
Revenge on Tempe” gives nods to artists providing
the soundtrack to doing bad stuff, such as Black Flag
and Death Grips.
The band steps into the funk zone with “Brain Salad
Surgery,” and there’s more than a hint of Sugarhill
Gang here, with delightful results. “It’s Very Fucked
Up” is an interlude of just over a minute with sax
and spoken word, while “Not in My Band” returns
to punk-anthem territory and attacks shit talkers
and the pretentious brilliantly. Their debut finishes
with the epic “Drugs R God,” which kicks off with an
amusing sample about weed, before pumping out the
most majestic instrumental work found here—while
asking the eternal question, “How high are we tryna
be???” It ends with a Dave Chappelle sample that’s
perfect. If Exxxtra Crispy went on a tour with Playboy
Manbaby, they could change the world.
Ducky and Puddles are two twisted ducks with heads
full of drugs, sex and anything unsavory they can
muster with their imagination. They’re bona fide
DJs obsessed with EDM and basic naughtiness,
celebrating their vices with catchy dance tracks for
the last two years. Across their singles they’ve had
remarkable guest after guest providing vocals. In
truth, W.A.S.H. (We Are Shit Housed) has enough
for a complete dance album, but instead they’ve
released an EP, saving some of their most anticipated
tunes for this magical record.
“Help! Help! Gotta save me from this booty!” begins
“This Booty,” featuring Sam Tha One and Magikal,
which plays with hip-hop and pop as much as it
does dubstep. It’s a hell of a way to kick things off.
“Gucci Coochie,” featuring Klü and Lady KO, is—
like much of their previous material—as amusing
as it is downright addictive. Yet something tells
me that somewhere in LA or Scottsdale, people
will dance their asses off to it without any sense
of understanding the irony. Luna Aura leads the
fantastic “Stay High” and makes those Ducks put
their shoulder into making pure dance pop that stuns
the ears and stings the heart.
I have grave difficulty choosing between that tune
and “Get Off,” which features Harper Lines of Harper
and the Moths. The two tracks stand out because
they’re far different from W.A.S.H.’s previous
efforts and step into exciting new territory for the
Ducks to explore. It may be that Aura and Lines
both provide a slightly sexier experience, or less
specific and more ephemeral experiences. In the
meantime, I’m going to compile my own album of
everything Puddles and Ducky have done so far for a
debaucherous summer mixtape.
Sounds Around Town By Mitchell L. Hillman
Maybe it’s because they’re a three piece or because
they rock out in a less than traditional way, but on
their debut album, A Simple Transmission, Elephant
Gunn reminds me of Minutemen or at the very least
early Firehose. Granted, comparatively speaking,
their songs are impossibly long, but there’s a
certain je ne sais quoi that evokes Mike Watt, D.
Boon and George Hurley.
Elephant Gunn takes that sound and asks, what if
they had made stoner-minded prog rock in the desert
instead of San Pedro punk? This would have been the
result, I’m sure, at least on the first half of the record.
It seeks out more obvious prog rock territory on the
second half, with some Floydian moves, Crimson
grooves and a touch of psychedelia finding its way
through the smoke and the spaces. The album stands
out because few if any are taking this approach to
rock in the Valley.
“Birds” is the best single for the album, and it’s
easy to hear why it was released as such last year,
but every track here contributes to the overall
architecture. Honestly, the title track, which serves
as the finale here, didn’t make much sense to me as
the second single, but in the context of the album it’s
a stunner, especially after the two-part epic “That’s
What Gets Me By.” Zack Young, Michael Rodriguez
and Craig Merchant have put a hell of a lot of work
into their debut, and it truly pays off.
For more on these events and other highlights of
the Phoenix music scene, check out Mitchell’s blog
at http://soundsaroundtown.net. For submissions
or suggestions contact him at mitchell@
soundsaroundtown.net
JAVA 33
MAGAZINE