Drake & co. have gone above & beyond the call of nature (and am I wrong, or is this his FOURTH solo release), this time boiling the rock down to its essentials... you know him from his OTHER band, the Humpers, but this is where the really weird stuff gets heard. The band backing him is Eight Foot Tender plus some other guy on the other guitar - the SONGS are some sick, demented songs. "Foxy Deputy?" Good lord. It's like a carnival. Not too far removed from the middle period Damned, maybe - and there's a definite nod to The Stranglers in there too. For a bunch of So.-Cal.-type rockers, they're practically stuck in the United Kingdom - for our benefit, I'm sure, as listeners. Buy it. Request it on your radio station - especially if you live near WFMU. Go see the band live. Praised be Scott "Deluxe" Drake.

This CD is the work of a sick, SICK mind, for sure. "Foxy Deputy?" I mean - what do we have here? Sounds like a story about some twisted fool returning home from Iraq with a head fulla buzzing ducks & quacking douglas firs. I may be reading this wrong, but that's one loony bastard in that song! I managed to score a copy of the disc after watching the band disassemble the audience at the Twilight Cafe in Portland - their 10-minute version of the MC5 chestnut "I Can Only Give You Everything" has gotta be seen to be believed. Their basserist, Greg Odell, played the whole song by banging his instrument (not what you think it means) on the "stage" at the Twilight, in time, and in the right key. Color me freaked out! Drake's new songs are a darker hue than the stuff his previous outfit was known for - you've heard of the Humpers, yes? These songs on this thing are like the last words outta some poor sap's mouth when he's jumping over the edge of a 30-story building. As if we could do that any longer. I digress. There's 6 songs on this thing, and it's like hearing hit after hit, or being hit over the head repeatedly - luckily there's codeine nearby to alleviate the suffering! I mean this all in a good way. It's the 18th release on Rankoutsider Records, and their track record (again, pardon the drug-related double entendre) keeps travelling in an upward trajectory. Buy this CD, somebody for god's sake license & issue it on RECORD, and all will be well in the world. I hear it's a limited edition release, so snap it up, punk! NOW!