Perfect Pop Records

Perfect Pop Records

POP19 – Ugly Things

This mag seldom ventures into the relatively barren 1980s, but I’m occasionally ready to make exceptions, in this case for the Watch Children. The Kinda Retarded Tapes (Perfect Pop) is a double-pack EP of ten songs recorded circa 1986-87 and they’re amongst the best garage recordings I’ve heard from that period, infected with a great cheap reverb no-fi vibe that really taps into the whacked spirit of ‘66-’67 garage punk. Guitarist/vocalist Marc Saxton’s clever/simple pop tunes have a snotty born-outta-time attitude plus a great twisted sense of humour. “Little Plastic Flowers In The Bathtub”, “Please Don’t Lose Your Mind” and “I Don’t Like You” are demented Pebbles-style punkers; “Nelson, Where Are You?” is a trippy Brit-psych piece ala Rubbles/Chocolate Soup; and there’s even an hilarious Back From The Grave tribute/send-up called “I’m In Love With Your Mother”. Only a decade after the fact is maybe too soon, but this stuff is destined for cult status some day, believe me.

-Mike Stax

(From Ugly Things # 15, USA)


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