In the beginning, there were the Gravedigger V, a mythical garage band hailing from San Diego like the Tell-Tale Hearts. Their “All Black And Hairy” has taken on the stature of a small classic of the genre over time. The music was a raw garage-punk played with lots of energy but with an approximate technique. Voxx also released the unlistenable “The Mirror Cracked”, a collection of demos of indecent quality. At the time, I was following garage and reading Claudio Sorge, who was very popular on Rockerilla, but in hindsight, there are few truly valid groups today. One of them was the Morlocks, a direct evolution of the mentioned Gravedigger V and led by the legendary singer Leighton, an outsider with a heroin habit. The Morlocks were losers, but they never cared about that. The name evokes the fearsome creatures living underground mentioned in H.G. Wells's “The Time Machine”. In 1985, the group released “Emerge”, a rough album full of very obscure covers. Despite being recorded in an appalling manner, the mentioned Sorge considered it a masterpiece. For the record, the album was played with instruments salvaged after a devastating concert of the Tell Tale Hearts. Certainly, it doesn't lack the right “feeling,” but the quality of the recording issues hampers everything.

A different matter for the subsequent "fake live" album “Submerged Alive”. The recording is finally good, and the group literally rocks. The Morlocks prove they can play well, alternating between hard rock moments and more relaxed and psychedelic ones. You can feel the influence of Blue Cheer and Stooges. The initial psychedelic blues “Get Out Of My Life Woman” (a cover of Al Touissant) introduces the rite with a possessed Leighton supported by the corrosive and incisive guitar of Jordan Tarlow (formerly of Fuzztones and Outta Place). The qualitative leap, compared to the same Gravedigger V, is remarkable, as you can hear in the subsequent dark, ultra-garage, and “fuzzed” “She’s My Fix,” almost the manifesto of their approach. “Leavin’ Home” is an explosive cover of the Birds, while “Body Not Your Soul” covers Cuby & The Blizzards and will give goosebumps to old garage fans. But my favorite track is the wonderful, melancholic, and slow “My Friend The Bird” that seems to come directly from the first Stooges album. A masterpiece track. “Different World” is another great moment with the music supported by a lysergic guitar, with Leighton literally seeming like he’s on acid. “Black Box,” on the other hand, is cryptic and sick. The closure is entrusted to the sharp “Empy”.

Unplug, join the fake applause, and you'll have the sensation of being present at this fake concert. Over time, my tastes have changed (or rather expanded), but this doesn't mean that pleasant memories haven't remained. “Submerged Alive” is one of these, and listening to it again takes me back in time to ancient rites never forgotten. Those who claim to love garage-punk should necessarily pass through these grooves. Today, this classic is still in the catalog (with the mentioned “Emerge”) thanks to the commendable Area Pirata, which has reissued it on CD and vinyl (unfortunately sold out). Area Pirata has also recently released the single “The Morlocks” with a completely new lineup. Available on Bandcamp: https://areapiratarec.bandcamp.com/album/submerged-alive.

Tracklist and Samples

01   Get Out Of My Life Woman (00:00)

02   She's My Fix (00:00)

03   Different World (00:00)

04   Black Box (00:00)

05   Leavin' Home (00:00)

06   My Friend The Bird (00:00)

07   Body Not Your Soul (00:00)

08   Two Wheels Go (00:00)

09   Empty (00:00)

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