Blue Cheer’s biggest hit leads this split single, with the garage psych trading hard on the power of its raw-sounding electric guitar lead, though the bass gets a power-plugging solo of its own (while the guitar gets four or so in the ~4-minute run). The Blues Magoos back it with a considerably smaller hit, though it’s lathered up with quite a bit more psychedelia, bopping and grooving along in on poppy hooks and spangly chorus treatment. A nice pairing, though the shift in mood is more jarring than it would seem.
On 10cc’s half of this record, they play a keyboard-driven ballad persistently denying being in love while detailing its effects on the singer’s behavior. Though it’s structurally sound, the content is bland, and it ends up only vaguely hooky. Steam’s B-side, show-casing their big hit, ups the energy and musicianship considerably, with a much more memorable melody and chorus. An uneven pair, but not bad for the purposes of contrast.
Devoting their side of this split to a single song, “White Cell”, Meth Drinker open on loose strumming of low-strung bass chords, following that lead for half a minute or so before slamming in the harsh electric guitar, and then the even harsher vocals. Sludgy and caustic, the band throws itself into the rhythms until caving into to a quick break to regather themselves, launching from there into a more guitar-driven grind back down to the low end, until trailing off in a wail of feedback interference.
Dead Instrument split their time between three tracks, leading with “Kill.Control.Kill”, its grindcore blitz coming as a sharp change-over. Jackhammer drums, barking grunts, and buzz-saw guitar lead from that to “Pathetic Intent”, with breaks lasting just a couple seconds to show that there’s a bass lurking beneath the furious treble. “Parrot” erupts with highly similar tempo and rhythms, its craggy Sex Pistols-melting guitar solo being the main thing to set it apart. Despite the divergence of the musical styles, both bands get across a commonality in their fuck-you attitudes and presentation, with violence bleeding from both, just expressed in different ways.
Scrambled Brains 