I was pleased as punch to learn that the first Painted Willie album, Mind Bowling was reissued on CD (and digitally) this summer. Arguably the runt of the SST Records litter, the Willie's skewed indie-punk struck a chord with yours truly, upon hearing a selection of theirs on The Blasting Concept Vol. II compilation when I was a wee tyke. I shared their debut release, a feeble but scrappy 7" ep back in the spring of '08. By the time the L.A. trio got around to recording their sophomore effort, Upsidedowntown, they had grown a thicker skin and sounded strikingly more taut and assertive, as evidenced by the pulverizing power chords that commence the opening cut, "Mother Nature's Breakdown," as well as several other destinations on the album. Total SST punk with trace elements of the Germs and Dead Milkmen finding their way onto my beachcombing "mental detector," but executed in an overall tenor that was somehow indigenous to Painted Willie. A neat record, save for perhaps the jammy, long-winded "Personality and Style" that occupies the better portion of side two. I call it a cure for insomnia. Here's two cents worth courtesy of Trouser Press:
Upsidedowntown has spiffy cover art and more taut riff-rock songs, this time on such less intriguing topics as "My Seed," "Personality and Style" (thirteen minutes of it!) and "Totem Pole." The playing keeps getting stronger, but the Willies should put out an APB for a songwriter.
01. Mother Nature's Breakdown
02. Upsidedowntown
03. Saturized
04. Totem Pole
05. All Over It
06. Son of the Night
07. My Seed
08. Subject
09. Personality and Style
2 comments:
spavid, thanks for the 2nd killjoys cd!! johnbuck
Could you please be so kind and re-post the album? Also, any chance of 1985 SST album upload? Thanks.
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