Micronotz The Beast that Devoured Itself Fresh Sounds, Inc 1985

Micronotz The Beast that Devoured Itself Fresh Sounds, Inc 1985 CAT# FS-211

Released 3 years after the debut album, The Beast that Devoured Itself, finds the band all grown up.  Well, to the extent they aren't high school students anymore and have probably been laid a more than a couple times.  This album also finds Jay Hauptil replacing vocalist Dean Lubensky.  It's not necessarily a bad thing, but it certainly created two different versions of the band.  Lubensky had an endearing teenage squall, his strained vocals complimented the youth of the band.  Hauptil comes with a more gruff, adult, punk rock scream.  It beefs the band up substantially, making them comparable to college rock punk like Husker Du.  Hell like Husker Du, the band even attempts some pop tunes, the song "War" is enjoyable and it's followed by "Decide Tomorrow" which is a clear attempt to crack college rock scene in Replacements-esque fashion.  Problem being, Hauptil can't sing like Westerberg and the band can't write as good pop tunes as that band.  And, we won't talk about "Polyester Slave," that song really had no reason to exist.

No fault there though, not many bands could write as a pop tune as good as the Replacements.  And, the Micronotz were far more consistent than the 'Mats (seriously, people gloat about the Replacements like they were fucking geniuses and wrote nothing but hits.  Do they forget songs like "Gary Got a Boner" and the fact that they were a joke of an actual punk band?) .  It is a shame the Micronotz couldn't figure out pop tunes on this one, otherwise it's as classic as their debut.  Overall, they sound like a punk band dying to get into pop territory.  And admittedly, the track "Whatcha Trying To Do" is close to finding a good balance between their punk damaged outlook and pop sensibilities.  It manages to stay mid-tempo and bridge the gap between failed attempts at slowing down and crunchy guitars.

The album does excel when it sticks to the straight ahead riff-driven punk rock.  More so than the band's previous albums, The Beast that Devoured Itself, just wants to break your face with huge riffs.  Screw melody when you got big chunky riffs and straight ahead tunes.  It's far too drenched in garage rock and punk to be an called aural assault or "sonic", but it's not far off.  They would explore the sound further on the following LP, Forty Fingers, sounding more and more like Husker Du.

Run My Life

Micronotz Smash! Fresh Sounds Inc. 1983

Micronotz Smash! Fresh Sounds Inc. 1983 CAT# FS 206

One year after the band debuted as the Mortal Micronotz, they became simply, the Micronotz.  At this point, band featured the same line up, just a change in name.  They were still Lawrence teens, still hanging out with William Burroughs (pictured with the band on the lyric sheet), and still bored about being teenagers.

The speed through 8 songs on this release, they are a tad bit more seasoned, but still keep it juvenile and give a nod to Iggy Pop by covering "I Got A Right."  They are a punk band, but there's pop sensibilities buried in all the charging guitars and strained vocals.  Just too young to slow down at this point, no teenager wants to slow down, so it's full throttle the whole way through.  It never sounds forced, perhaps a pop song would have, but I would have loved to hear them give it a try.

Still, you get some great punk tunes.  Stand out punk in terms of the early 80's since by this point, punk had lost touch with actual "music" by going hardcore.  And, while I wouldn't call Dean Lubensky's vocals good, when compared to the scream alongs that flanked them on every side, he's a bit more emotive and well, actually sings.  The first track, "Procrastination," is where you can hear a pop song dying to get out, instead, it would have fit in fine with the SST crowd.  "Feels Like" is a super charged attack on boredom.  They take Iggy Pop's "I Got a Right" and make it a teenage garage raver.  Time should find this band gaining more street cred, in terms of 80's punk, there's really fast or really bad and most had an agenda, there weren't enough teenage rockers like the Micronotz out there keeping it raw and punk by default.

The Mortal Micronotz S/T Fresh Sounds, Inc 1982

In about 3rd Grade, my mother gave me a book for the holidays entitled Stairway to Hell the 500 Greatest Heavy Metal Albums in the Universe by Chuck Eddy.  At the time, I was into ear splitting metal bands, Megadeath, Anthrax, that type of thing.  Chuck Eddy's book was not, so it was shelved.  However, occasionally I would thumb through the book.  As I got older, I started reading the reviews and started to understand that Chuck Eddy wasn't talking about "metal" at all, just ear splitting rock n' roll.  Throughout junior high and high school I was looking through the book for something new about once a month.  There's tons of obscure titles within his work.  The best of which is the Lawrence, KS punksters, Mortal Micronotz, who get the honor of #421 in his book.

The Mortal Micronotz S/T Fresh Sounds, Inc CAT# FS 201 1982

Well, this means a lot more to me than it does Eddy, for one, I’m from Kansas.  Two, I went to college in this band’s hometown.  Lawrence, KS, home of the Jayhawks and the best small music town in the nation.   Three, they hung out with William Burroughs, he even wrote some lyrics for this LP.  I went to William Burroughs house when I was in high school, and found out the same thing the Micronotz did, Mr. Burroughs liked high school age boys, which is creepy, but you throw that all way because he wrote Naked Lunch and Junkie.

Keeping on the same tip, one issue I do have with Eddy’s review is refers to the band as from the ‘burbs.  Well, that’s not true at all.  Lawrence is a college town.  Living in Lawrence for as long as I did, I always envied the high school kids in Lawrence, because I did grow up in the ‘burbs.  College townies have access to art (in this case the home of William Burroughs), a local music scene, cool record stores, and beer.  I think Chuck Eddy mistakes suburban boredom for kids begging for more.  Bored is when you grow up in Olathe, Kansas and go to the 711 every Friday night until the cops send you down the road.  Wanting more, would be having liberal college professors for parents and access to punk rock.  The best punk rock has anger, spite, angst, and is from an area where "the man" is out to get you.  Judging by lyrical content, the Micronotz lived a pretty normal life and "the man" was never out to get them, even if they tried.  However, we must also take into account when the band cut this record, they were still in high school.  And seriously, we’re all little embarrassed looking back at our world outlook when we were in high school, right?

As far as the punk rock moves, the Micronotz have them.  They must have had the coolest fucking record collection of any high school kid, ever.  This ain't your Washington, DC, angry at the government (because my parents work for it) white kid hardcore.   It’s got moves.  It owes a little to the Brits, the dance rockers like Stranglers, The Fall and Gang of Four, but overall, it’s got a nice early American punk feel.  Too dirty and loud to sound like the Talking Heads, more on par with trashy New York Dolls rhythms and some Ramones repetition thrown in.  They've got a lot of pop to them and you just sensed if they were to ever cross the nation as a band, they would've had the hooks to sound like the Replacements.  Best comparison, and almost an identical situation, would be Squirrel Bait.

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