Meat Puppets
In A Car

The punk scene in Phoenix, Arizona has often been overlooked. Wrongly so, in my opinion, given the presence in the city's music circuit of notable bands like the Sun City Girls, the Feederz, and, getting to the point, the Meat Puppets, a trio composed of brothers Curt and Chris Kirkwood and drummer Derrick Bostrom.

"In A Car," their debut 7" released by the tiny World Imitation Records of Van Nuys, California, is in my opinion simply spectacular: starting with the title track, all the elements that would make the Meat Puppets the lovable freaks of the American indie scene are present, in this case turned (but in their own unique way) into hardcore style: the guitar derails, the drums grind out a monotonous and obsessive rhythm, and the bass carves out fluid and unstoppable lines. Yet, it is not a simple HC work. This is evidenced by "Big House", an ultrafast attempt at a Neil Young-style guitar song, which foreshadows the undisputed masterpiece that was "Meat Puppets II". Furthermore, the decision to present an instrumental track once again sets Our Guys apart from the other violent punk bands of the era.

A classic, adorably irregular and now worn out by my repeated listening.