DMZ – Relics [PINK MARBLE VINYL BOSTON 1978] – New LP

"When DMZ made their debut on Sire, it was as disappointing as major-label debuts by fellow Bostonians the Nervous Eater and Willie Alexander's Boom Boom Band. Flo & Eddie just didn't know what to do with DMZ.  Meanwhile, four Craig Leon-produced tracks released on BOMP -- which is the parent company of Voxx -- and five demo tapes that were recorded on four-track comprise this excellent collection. "When I Get Off" was the number two Garage Record of the Year in 1978 in Boston's Real Paper, and it is a psychedelic masterpiece. The dueling guitars, slashing riff, and great Corraccio bass complement Mono Mann aka Jeff Connolly's blitzkrieg vocals. Here is a slice of pyschedlia that is the fans outdoing the bands they idolize. Also, as with Willie Alexander's demos, it seems Craig Leon did a much better job on smaller budgets. The lyrics are sexist, but fun in "Barracuda" -- definitely not the Heart song -- "Lift up Your Hood," and the aforementioned "When I Get Off." There is also a cool cover of Roky Erickson's "You're Gonna Miss Me" and a fantastic album jacket of the band photographed at what looks like the Rat nightclub inside a red background covered in barbed wire fence. A definite statement about the heart and soul of demos having a special something major-label homogenization fails to establish.