ALIVE
0055 CD / LP (color - red
lt. edition)
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Falling somewhere
in between the old school bass-less dirt rock of the Leather
Uppers, Oblivians and Blues Explosion, with a hint of Devo-ish
craziness, and Crime. The production by Jerry Teel keeps the
vibe loose 'n dirty, and this is 11 songs of glorious noise.
My favorite songs are "I Feel It", "Victim",
and "I May Care", and the fuzz guitar sound is a-ma-zing.
Singer/ guitarist John Henry plays a Fender Tele with bass strings
through a complex bi-amp system, and guitarist Julien Fried plays
cheap garage sale guitars........the cheaper, the better! But
I'd never have known, because the album sounds like it'll blow
your speakers up. - Ryan Settee / Odyssey
Zine |
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The
Detonations play mondo trasho rawk'n'blooze and if you don't
like it, they sure as hell could give a flying fuck. On their
debut CD, these New Orleans speedfreaks kick out 11 trebly, skittery,
sonic jams of antisocial anthems and fucked up rave-ups the Electric
Eels would be proud of. The Detonations are the new rock damage
for the '00s (naughts), and I would suggest you catch these swaggering
sons of bitches live in a dive before they break up or die. -
Peter Santa Maria / Carbon 14 |
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The buzz and howl,
the fuzz, the swagger and the big beat, bad attitude, cool sunglasses
and hip lyrics, it's all here. The DETONATIONS fuck your stereo
and leave your speakers soiled. Stick this in your pipe and smoke
it. - AMP Magazine |
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This is a damned
fine album and a band I´m going to have to check out more.
Their sound reminds mne of early American Punk Rock N Roll with
a bit of raw Rock N Roll from the 50´s thrown in for good
measure. There´s 11 tracks on this album and that just
wasn´t enough to satisfy me. I wanted more but we can´t
have everything and with tracks like ´I Feel It´,
´Your Gonna Get It´ and ´See You Ride It´
really do it for me. It´s a shame these type of bands are
based in America but until Europe produces more than Horrorpops
I´m just gonna have to rock out to bands like Detonations.
- FullFrontalRecordings
(UK) |
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Some folks been
complaining that this disc doesn't capture them at their live
best, but if they're even better live than here then I'm definitely
getting tix next time they come to town. Post-Ig with a tinge
of seminal west coast punk thrown in for good measure (back when
Ig and a select few others were all that good-minded folks had
to choose from). - Shredding Paper |
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Giving
out a brash Seventies punk with a high garage noise quotient,
the sound of the Detonations is a legendary retro one, full of
all the thump, fuzz and howl you could want in electric caveman
rock. Static Vision bashes and bristles through eleven
enjoyably nerve-jangling numbers, edgy enough to convey a proper
ring of strychnine and speed that will have you gritting, smiling
and nodding in no time. - Paniscus Revue |
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Now THIS is what's
been lost in the age of CD: rocking out and then getting out
before one's welcome has been royally outstayed. The Detonations
have the same laudably single minded approach as Raw Power-era
Stooges, paring everything down to pure driven riff. The most
acute example is 'Victim', where the single chord piano could
have come straight from the Iggy's finest moment (nope, that
ain't Funhouse and apparently Henry Rollins will
back me up on this, so no arguing at the back). And in keeping
with their spirit, this review won't include any extraneous bullshit
about the band's background, history or inside leg measurement.
All you need to know is that Static Visions rocks like
a bitch. Get it. - Shindig |
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Featuring
members of The Drags and Sex Hunter, the Detonations create a
disturbing array of psychotic convolutions that surge with an
electrostatic pulse that'll make you get naked and tongue kiss
a toaster. Impure music for people who prefer their garage music
to be raw and bleeding on the floor. Delivers a devastating stilleto
between the fourth and fifth vertebrae, taking your wind away.
I've listened to this several dozen times already. Great. Simply
great. BL / Rock'n'roll
Purgatory |
Alive Records seems
to have grabbed the reigns of the rock 'n' roll world and is
steering us towards garage obliteration. On one of their latest
releases, by New Orleans' newest explosive trio the Detonations,
a defining garage raunch and swagger is established putting down
most that have tried before them. Their debut album sounds as
if it was conceived on a coke-induced and alcohol-binged haze,
but it is so nicely produced that it comes across as legit and
tight. Perhaps this is why I waited until that exact moment to
try and capture this album last week; maybe I felt I was doing
these guys justice by trying to squeeze myself into their mindset.
Maybe I like it because these guys actually share my mindset
who knows? (On an aside, speaking of production, this was done
by one Jerry Teel. As I learned from the press sheet, Teel also
produced Boss Hogg and one of my new favorites, the Knoxville
Girls.) What I can gather from this recording is that this group
has taken rock and roll firmly to mind and are trying to express
themselves in their fullest and most raw, pure form. Fuzz and
static bend from my speakers and sweaty vocals pound my ears.
The thick, choppy and distorted bass lines combined with the
hammered drums lay a solid foundation for blues-inspired guitar
work and singing. Now I'm not saying this is a bluesy album similar
to older labelmates, the Black Keys. This sound is more subtle,
and lurks in the feel and tone of the album. Their style of garage
is only slightly soaked and stained by rhythm and blues, more
Stooges-esque than Muddy Waters fueled. Plenty grind, crunch
and dance sweat went into this inspired piece of work. I think
I would give this record a buy. It's pretty damn solid and just
fun to listen to; I can see how it would be a great driving album.
- Chaz Martenstein / Left
Of The Dial |
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The
preceding Detontations 45' lacked some bite on the B-Side (in
my humble opinion), but what was captured on the a-side was enough
to get me thinking that great things are a comin'. Well, prepare
to have your minds blown (mine sure was) I've just listened to
the new one. Perhaps the most original "garage-punk"
band in recent memory, these guys are from New Orleans, but stay
away from the temptation to be obvious. Not to say that they
aren't derivative to at least a slight degree...just think of
a hybrid between the Gories and the Stooges and we're getting
warmer. This is how music should be done, loud, obnoxious, energized,
original. - Time
2 Rock'n'roll |
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If you are looking
for a nice jolt to the synaptic nerves then do yourself a favour
and check out The Detonations. They say that they play "old
school punk." Listen to Feel It
and Speakereater and tell me if that doesn't give your
eardrums that satisfying buzz you crave. Great stuff. - The
Rock'n'roll Report |
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Real
old school pounding "punk" rock like they used to make
in the seedy clubs of downtown America back in the 70s. Now that
don't mean that this is revival tho coz this is straight from
the burning backrooms of bad news bar land and pawn shop necessity
workouts. Yep, it's brilliant! - Charlie P. / Mohair
Sweets |
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If
you've been fruitlessly trying to satisfy your particular rawk
'n' roll jones, then it's time to unplug from the grid and get
detonated. This tidy little three-piece combo from south of the
49th parallel grinds out the kind of spiky, lo-fi menace that
will have you wishing your stereo volume control really did twist
to 11. Detonations whip up a furious sound that kicks dirt straight
into the face of ancient, Gang of Four-inspired, herky-jerk industrial
post-punk - and then looks around for the next victim. Vocals
and guitars sound like they were recorded using something less
than state-of-the-art equipment and burned onto the master tape
with a flamethrower. What makes the album so cool is the complete
lack of pretense of any kind - it's as dumb as any Stooges record,
and almost as beautiful. Don't wait - detonate! - Jeff Monk /
Uptown
Mag |
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Unbelievably hot!
Think late 70's SF / LA ie: Screamers, Crime, Weirdos, Gun Club.
Thid is a ripper and destined for an easy top 30 this year! -
Birdman Sound |
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Rock
& roll from New Orleans. Fuck the White Stripes. Basic rythms,
danceable tunes, strangely tuned guitars and disgracefully customised
instruments turn Detonations into an explosive combo. Boom! -
Thomas Dumarey / Munchkin
Music |
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I keep a Discman
by the door that leads into my backyard. It's an important part
of yard work equipment for me. When I'm out there raking up leaves
and piles of dogshit, ripping weeds away from the fence line
and picking up the trash that blows in I need tunes that are
gonna get me hopped up. When I'm out there with sweat dripping
off my nose as I give the pull cord 10 or more good yanks to
fire up 6.5 horses of grass slicing action I don't want some
frilly "butterflies and sunshine" sounds. I need something
where the "GRRRRRR!! GRRRRRR!!" of the lawnmower accents
what's blasting through the headphones not distracting from it.
I tried out a couple of different things this summer but I always
came back to the Detonations. Working up a sweaty nasty smell
from busting ass in the heat their ham hocked dirt rockin' gets
me through the chores and keeps me focused on the cold beer that's
in my fridge when I get it all done. - DM / Smashin
Transistors |
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Le
premier album de ce groupe de New Orleans (featuring l'ancien
batteur des Drags) est une vraie révélation. Difficile
de qualifier la musique des Detonations en un mot. Le premier
qui vient à l'esprit : garage. C'est en tout ce que ça
doit donner sur scène. "Static Vision" est autrement
plus hétérogène et c'est ce qui le rend
séduisant. Le son du disque est certes loin d'être
polissé et frise même parfois le lo-fi. Une approche
brute et noisy du rock n' roll, voilà une description
plus fidèle. Avec un penchant pour le punk et le blues
amphétaminé. Et des rythmiques à la fois
speed et mid tempo qui privilégient les ruptures. On est
loin, très loin de l'uniformité du punk à
roulettes et c'est tant mieux. Primitif, frénétique,
psychotique et produit par Jerry Teel (on peut lui faire confiance).
Ces gaillards doivent sérieusement faire mal en live,
espérons donc qu'ils viennent faire un tour dans nos contrées
un de ces quatre! - SDZ (France) |
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This release is
one of the most exciting I've heard for this issue. The New Orleans
trio with 2 members of Rock Antagonists Sex Hunter and the ex-drummer
of The Drags has a hard-as-nails raw and noisy approach to rock'n'roll,
yet it's very sharp and crisp. The odd tunings of the guitars
are quite unique, singer/guitarist John Henry's Fender can apparently
play both bass and guitar tones since it's hooked in a bi-amp
system. Fans of bands like Oblivians, Reatards, Cramps, and Revelators
will surely cream their pants over this fresh and sexy debut
album which greatly benefits from an excellent production job
by Jerry Teel. I'll bet they absolutely kill on a stage! There's
1 extra track on the vinyl version. - Jens / LowCut |
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Legendary
producer (and musician) Jerry Teel, whose street creed springs
from work with Dan Melchior, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Boss Hog,
recently moved his Funhouse Studios to New Orleans. Lucky us.
Also lucky him that his first project was this full-length debut.
Over the past couple of years, the trio has filled the opening
slot for acts including Quintron and the Fall with high-intensity
rock 'n' roll. The hard-and-fast chaos that makes a brilliant
rock show often translates poorly in the studio, and it's here
that Teel's touch works some magic. Static Vision is clean without
being sterile and retains the live intensity without sounding
sloppy. Though the group has been occasionally lumped under the
garage-rock umbrella, (drummer Keith Herrera once supplied beats
for Albuquerque rockers, the Drags) it's a harder sound to put
a finger on than that. "Ray Man" is all trashy blues
swagger, but rhythm guitarist John Henry's Telecaster hybrid
bass/guitar device adds a more futuristic, glam-punk sound on
tunes like "#1 Hit," and Julian Fried (both formerly
of the local Rock Antagonist Sex Hunter) can be accused of channeling
a little bit of damaged, danceable Johnny Thunders action. All
in all, it's a grown-up record from a band with the attitude
of a teenage street gang. Good production, solid band chemistry
and simple but essential touches like local belter Marcy Hesseling's
rich backing vocals make it tight, but the most important ingredient
is the genuine, audible commitment to keeping rock 'n' roll dangerous.
- Alison Fensterstock / Best
Of NO |
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Here in culturally
retarded East Texxxas where Fleetwood Mac, The Doobie Brothers,
and other such sickeningly safe and predictable monstrosities
rule the airwaves, I'm always enthusiastic and appreciative when
a release like Static Vision lands in my p.o. box and
mercilessly wallops my ears to a bloody, messy pulp. The Detonations
create a quirky, spastic Garage Rock cacophony with a definite
Detroit ghetto vibe that's as addictive and upbeat as it is thundering,
glorious, and wild. This beastly trio of street-fightin' Crescent
City scruffs has managed to channel the high-octane burning boogie
of MC5, the simmering nihilistic savagery of The Stooges, the
zany radioactive excitability of "Neat Neat Neat"-era
Damned, and the swaggering hellhound fury of 100,000 Mississippi
Delta bluesmen, thus carving out the most brilliantly blistering
burst of snarling sonic grit to hit the Deep South since God
was a lil' tail-wagging pup. Just one listen to Static Vision
and you'll realize why the Detonations are destined to put New
Orleans right back at the top of our nation's musical map where
it belongs. - Moser / Under The Volcano |
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Detonations
sound is unique enough to set them apart from the pack. It's
partly due to their setup, which is pretty unique in itself.
John Henry's guitar has two bass strings on it, so the lack of
a proper bass player isn't very evident in the recording (in
fact most of the time it sounds like there's a bassist very closely
following the rhythm). The setup obviously gives the low end
more pronunciation and adds to the grit in the band's noise.
Julien Fried's a fan of vintage pickups so his own rig is a patchwork
of parts from various sources. "re-wired microphonic guitars
thru Fuzz" if that means anything to you. The end result's
a sea of distortion and a really unique tone. Detonations' low
end, between drop D tuned songs and Keith Herrera's prominent
bass drum, is simply huge. On top of all this both Henry and
Fried sing in a very cool monotone that really wouldn't be out
of place coming from the late 70s NYC crowd. - Punk
News (U.S.) |
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You know when you
hear all these bands that come out and all look the same and
play fuzzy, quirky late 70s early 80s rock n roll and they just
don't grab you, it seems like they just jumped into the scene
because it was cool and bought some cool ties and tight jack-ups....
well I'm bored of that shit too, so thank God that there are
bands like the DETONATIONS who have talent, style and balls to
do what they wanna do. Absolutely brilliant. - No Front Teeth
(UK) |
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There's
threads of late 70's punk in this, as well as plenty of Detroit
thunder, and mebbe even a little Jerry Lee (I think the singer
even yells "CC Rider!" a few times here and there).
It's spazzy and electric and superfreaked, and although I don't
think the Detonations have particularly INVENTED anything here,
they do a smashing job at keeping the spirit of primitive, strangled-cat
fuck n' roll alive. And that's plenty, I reckon. - Sleazegrinder |
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Rock music may not
be making a comeback on U.S. radio (though videos like Jet's
"Are You Gonna Be My Girl" produce the same sort of
exposure), but hard-rock is certainly infiltrating all levels
of the music industry. In addition to media darlings like Jet
and The Hives, acts like this New Orleans trio are cranking out
fine sets of raging rhythm guitar, pounding drums and howling
vocals. The lack of high-tech studio wizardry gives this disc
a DIY-edge, but with an overdrive that marries the rawness of
the early '60s Northwest sound with the rock 'n' roll excess
of '70s glam-punk. Producer Jerry Teel (Boss Hog, Honeymoon Killers,
Yeah Yeah Yeahs) captures the electric glory of John Henry's
hard-edged guitar riffing (built from a Fender Telecaster wired
up with bass strings) and the Iggy-like mania of his vocals.
There's a bluesy swagger that provides hints of '60s garage rock,
but the relentless force with which this band lays down their
sound isn't something one would expect to peel off a dusty 45.
- CD Universe |
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A New Orleans-based
trio with the requisite fondness for black leather and sunglasses,
the Detonations wisely dial back on the new wave affectations
(other than the really ugly-'80s pastiche of the album cover)
in favor of a sound closer to the New York Dolls: sneered vocals,
clunky rhythms and buzzsaw guitar riffs, all stripped of any
non-essentials like harmony vocals and solos that consist of
more than the song's main riff played louder. Singer Julian Fried
has the post-Mick Jagger pout and whine down to a science, and
John Henry (who plays a homemade guitar/bass hybrid that gives
the otherwise bottomless group a bit more solidity than most
of their bass-lacking cohorts) plays a tight enough rhythm guitar
that drummer Keith Herrera (formerly of the Drags, a fine mid-'90s
punk-pop band that never quite managed to break beyond their
Albuquerque home base) has room to get a little sloppy in the
tradition of the Replacements' Chris Mars. - AMG |
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