Big Trouble in Little China "Una Comedia de Musica Satanica" CD
[self-released]
This Canadian act may have in its ranks ex-members of Head Hits Concrete and Malefaction, among others, but expect nothing of the short from this camp.  No, instead you're in for 20 minutes of rugged punk rock ‘n' roll, but it's not generic at all.  For one thing the vocals are a little more sneered than many such bands, but not in an over the top manner - it's kind of a mix of speaking and yelling to varying degrees, with hints of singing and a sarcastic edge.  Then there are tracks like the awesome "John Saxon Blues" that throw around a lot of weirdly discordant melodic influences and structures that are pretty damn memorable.  Were I to be potentially obnoxious, which I am, I could argue that there are some twisted indie sounding influences going on as well, but think dry and jangly rawness with a lightly acerbic bite - nothing of the modernly perverted definition of such terms.  "Roman Holiday" is another quirkily rocked out number that sticks with you a little more than the others, with "Violent City" coming not far behind in terms of overall punch.  Some of the stuff kind of has a classic California punk thing going on, maybe like the Circle Jerks or something to a degree, though most of this stuff is pretty moderately paced.  I kind of wish they'd throw some more speed into the mix at times as it would spice up the energy level, but "John Saxon Blues" is a seriously great song, so they're making do as is.  The sound is definitely a little rough, though largely in a tradition that makes sense.  The levels are even so you can hear all of the instruments and stuff, so I'm not sure what I'd like to hear different.  Maybe the guitars feel a little out of tune or something, I don't know... tightening up a couple of elements might clear everything up in that department, because the more I think about it the more the recording fits the material and adds a dated sort of aesthetic to the already historically influenced songwriting.  The CD-R is professionally duplicated with two color screenprinting on the disc face, housed in a nice looking booklet with bright red, white, and yellow artwork and a black and white live shot of the band.  No lyrics are included, but everything looks nice and simple.  I'll look forward to hearing more from this band because it's cool to hear a take on this style that's got a classic vibe without sounding tired or typical at all, so there's more creativity at work for sure, and it grows on you with time.  Check ‘em out.  I'm absolutely loving this "John Saxon Blues" shit, I'm telling you... fuckin' great song, that one. (7/10)
Running time - 19:15, Tracks: 7
[Notable tracks: John Saxon Blues, Roman Holiday, Violent City]
Big Trouble in Little China - http://www.wearebtilc.com

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