TJ Cabot & Thee Artificial Rejects - Digital/Tape

Well I guess the cat's out of the bag. Goodbye Boozy Records, that veritable institution of lo-fi trash, has identified the previously mysterious TJ Cabot & Thee Artificial Rejects as the home recorded solo project of Tyler from Phone Jerks. This revelation accompanies the label's release of the latest ear-battering product of Tyler's recording under the influence. This EP is available as a digital release from Goodbye Boozy's Bandcamp. In addition, 14 cassette copies were made - of which none remain at the time of this review (I guess if you've ever considered Tyler a sellout, you are now technically correct). The release of exactly 14 copies seems like an oddly specific choice. Was this based on a meticulously-calculated projection of how many people world-wide would actually buy it? Does it represent the number of adult beverages that fueled the conception, recording, and production of the EP? Is this a subtle tribute to Maple Leaf great Dave Keon?

This release is something quite different from Phone Jerks, and it's actually quite different from the previous TJ Cabot demos. It's...what's the word I'm looking for...weirder? Yeah, that's it! "What's In It" is really great Devo-inspired minimalist punk rock, the second in what we can all hope will be a long string of songs written about Tyler and Emily's beloved greyhound Donair. "On The Menu" sounds like a rare Stooges cut that could have been released as a Rip Off Records 45 (and if it couldn't be on ROR, Goodbye Boozy is surely the next best thing!). It's the most straight-forward punker track on this EP - a raging ball of hate hurled at some of the most despicable individuals known to humanity: foodies. I can laugh at this one become I'm kind of a foodie myself (If Tyler ever does a song about craft beer dudes, I'm really in for it). I appreciate that this track sounds less like the work of one man at home and more like the creation of a full band that routinely caps off its recording sessions with fistfights and crime sprees. To finish, "Kissin the Causeway" is a weird as fuck cover of a song by Cape Breton, Nova Scotia legends Buddy and the Boys. Common reactions to this track so far have been "What the hell is this?!" and "God, turn that off!". But if you consider the TJ Cabot project to be an on-going tribute to the land of Tyler's upbringing, then this cover choice makes perfect sense. Goodbye Boozy, a label with the stated mission of releasing "crude and minimal records", has most definitely found a kindred spirit.



-L.R.

https://goodbyeboozydigital.bandcamp.com/album/digital-tape
https://tjcabot.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/Goodbye-Boozy-records-290057827714548/

Phone Jerks - Out the Gate

If Phone Jerks' recent 10-inch full length was not quite full enough for your satisfaction, you should be glad to hear that the band's new EP Out the Gate restores those missing couple of inches and tacks on another five for good measure. That makes 17 inches in all - essentially a full album and 42% of another. No one is getting short-changed on this band's watch! And while Out the Gate is comprised of songs recorded in the same sessions that produced Phone Jerks' two albums, it would be a huge mistake to refer to this material as "scraps". These songs weren't cut from their respective albums so much as they were being saved for a killer 7". The Moncton (yeah, that's in Canada) foursome clearly gets that punk music was made to be played on 7" vinyl. So here we have it - a joint release between Resurrection Records from the USA and Wanda Records from Germany (the Germans sure love Phone Jerks, and why wouldn't they?!). With this EP largely being a continuation/extension of last year's 10 x 10, it's logical that the vibe is similar. These songs hit that sweet spot where Rip Off Records circa 1997 and Sire Records circa 1977 smash into each other at full speed. And true to the band's intentions, this is indeed an absolute ripper of an EP. The title track (an ode to the failed racing career of Emily and Tyler's greyhound Donair) will send you straight to budget trash paradise. "Gospel" is a raging kick in the teeth a la first album Saints. "Kill Kill" falls somewhere in between and must immediately be considered a classic Phone Jerks song. And I love how the band can take Protex's "Don't Ring Me Up" and make it sound like something Teengenerate might have written!

No less of a authority than the distinguished Mick Fletcher has placed Phone Jerks in the highest pantheon of present-day garage punk, and I concur wholeheartedly. I just love how raw and tough these recordings sound (the guitars, as the kids say, are fire). James from Outtacontroller (who have a new album coming out NEXT MONTH!) re-mixed these tracks and absolutely deserves some kind of award. I think in the beginning of Phone Jerks, there was the novelty of "Holy crap! It's just so great that we still have bands that sound like this!" But with each passing release, I'm more struck by what great songwriters all of these fine individuals are. That's right, I'm saying it: Phone Jerks aren't just cool - they're actually good! If you like old style punk rock that's equal parts guts and hooks, this is a must-hear band. The digital version of Out the Gate includes a bonus cover of "Drive Me Crazy" by The Penetrators. Talk about a perfect choice in cover material! I would generally recommend that all fans of The Penetrators check out Phone Jerks and that all fans of Phone Jerks check out The Penetrators. And they really nailed this rendition of "Drive Me Crazy". If they ever needed to, they could totally headline the Catalina Wine Mixer as Atlantic Canada's preeminent 1980s Penetrators cover band. Vinyl ships this coming Saturday. You can order now over at the Resurrection Bandcamp!



-L.R.

https://resurrectionrecords.bandcamp.com/album/out-the-gate 
https://www.facebook.com/Monctongaragepunk/ 
https://phonejerks.bandcamp.com/ 
https://www.facebook.com/GetResurrected