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APOCALIPSTICK NOW
by Apocalipstick
(EP/CD, $10.00 ppd from Bazoom! Records / PO Box 590144 / San Francisco, CA / 94159 USA. Web:
www.bazoomrecords.com)
Review by Ben T. Steckler
There's a portion of the song "Lick" (track number two on this CD) that reminds me of the saxaphone solo on "O Bondage, Up Yours" by X-Ray Spex. That's appropriate, for Apocalipstick is a Bay Area Punk group that wears its influences well. If they have a sleeve at all upon which to wear those influences, I'm sure that it is made of leather. Singer Jackie O. Nastie is a working Dominatrix, according to the press kit.
As I listen to these five songs, I hear traces of The Plasmatics, Judas Priest, The Gits, and The Dead Kennedys circa 1980. I'm even hearing a little Devo and Primus influence in the lyrics (but not the sound) to "Whoop-Ti-Doo". (Surprisingly, it's not "Whip It" that I'm reminded of.)
This group has efficiently mined the ore of its (that sounds like "orifice") influences, and put together an entertaining sound that's camp enough and edgy without being offensive. There's the power chords and anthemic riffs borrowed from heavy metal and just sped up a bit, and there's enough sardonic wit to the lyrics to give them an angry bite, without bringing politics into the mix. If I have a complaint, it's that the vocals are a bit muddied and lo-fi, but that gives the CD more of the feel of a club gig.
I think I'd have fun at an Apocalipstick show, and I fear the experience would change me somewhat.
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