With ‘Gimme 5!’ we take a peek into the collections of artists we admire. The premise is simple: artists WE like share five records THEY love.
Tomorrow marks the release of the new Unsubscribe from the Underground EP by Hayley and the Crushers, out via Kitten Robot Records. We’re big fans of this “poolside glitterpunk” duo, led by Hayley Crusher Cain and Dr. Cain ESQ, who continue to up their songwriting with each release. I’ll be sharing my thoughts on the new EP later this week — spoiler alert: it’s a smash hit.
In this week’s Gimme 5 feature, Hayley takes us through some of the influences behind Unsubscribe from the Underground, connecting each song from the EP to a specific classic track. The result? Five songs from five legendary albums that are a blast to check out side by side to the new Crushers tunes. Enjoy reading and listening!
Track 1: Unsubscribe >> The Avengers || The American in Me (from The Avengers)
“Melody and angst are not mutually exclusive, and the Avengers are a great example of this! In the grand tradition of pissed-off punk rock songs rejecting societal norms, the title track of our new EP, Unsubscribe, is the bratty kid sister to this classic 1978 banger by San Francisco’s The Avengers. Everyone knows the chorus to The American in Me, even if you’ve only heard it once or twice – and that’s not by accident. Penelope Houston’s got a unique singing style – her voice isn’t “pretty,” but it is real and instantly appealing. She sounds like she’s singing straight to YOU, and that is something I very much wanted to achieve with Unsubscribe. For a woman to be confrontational and intimate at the same time is pretty difficult – and pretty magical!”
Track 2: Alleyways >> Cock Sparrer || Where are they Now (from Shock Troops)
“Anthemic, nostalgic and somehow still so breezy and fun: Cock Sparrer’s Shock Troops brings me back to high school, blaring this CD in my best friend’s car as loud as humanly possible on the way to class in Redondo Beach, CA. We knew one day we’d be asking “where are they now?,” but didn’t expect that day to come so quickly. How time flies, eh? Our song Alleyways is all about peeking in the rear view mirror at your old teenage stomping grounds and giving one last fist pump into the sunset. Not only did Cock Sparrer come up a few times during the making of the song, but the compact-yet-slightly-bluesy lead guitar solo is 110% inspired by the licks on this epic 1983 album.”
Track 3: Blood and Treasure >> Ramones || Baby I Love You (from End of the Century)
“Phil Spector’s magical “wall of sound” production style is iconic – a white whale for so many musicians. Our song Blood and Treasure came together with rich layers and silky-sweet melodies, a nod to the Ramones’ rendition of the Ronnettes’ classic Baby I Love You, produced by Spector and a whole lot of cocaine, probably. Not to say we could ever hold a candle to what was accomplished on End of the Century, which sounds totally timeless and in no way like it came out in 1980! Let me also say – I know people absolutely hate this record (my bass player Dr. Cain ESQ hated it upon first listen), but I appreciate what the Ramones were reaching for. I can’t think of a better reference for what we were trying to do here, being a punk band hopelessly obsessed with lush pop confections (note the glockenspiel, pedal steel, whistle solo and backing vocals in Blood and Treasure). Rest in Peace, Ronnie.”
Track 4: Let Go >> Screeching Weasel || What We Hate (from My Brain Hurts)
“For fans of the only modern pop punk band that matters, our song Let Go probably feels like it’s drawing from the introspection of Screeching Weasel’s best album (my opinion), Anthem for a New Tomorrow, which was one of the first punk records I learned on guitar, song by song. But, as Dr. Cain ESQ pointed out, it’s got to be Screeching Weasel’s earlier (and more roundly celebrated) album My Brain Hurts that feels like the right reference musically when compared to Let Go. We have always been attracted to that early 90s Lookout Records / Bay Area combination of sticky melodies and frenetic bass plus soaring chorus. Although dealing with intense subject matter, the end result of What We Hate is so beautiful and sweet, almost transcendent. Not every song on My Brain Hurts does this, but when it happens, (like on The Science of Myth, it feels so surprising and out of left field. From my own songwriting experience, it’s not something you can do intentionally, so when it happens you just have to count yourself lucky!”
Track 5: Queen of Hearts >> X || Your Phone’s Off the Hook, But You’re Not (from Los Angeles)
“The back-and-forth, charmingly-lopsided vocal style of X has always been an inspiration to us (and it is always a compliment when someone says we remind them of this historic LA band). This probably happens live because we get a lot crazier on stage and trade off on vocals quite a bit. I love that Exene is rowdy and discordant and John Doe is holding down the fort with his smooth delivery. It’s just golden. This dynamic is on full display on the 1980 megahit album Los Angeles, which throws many facets of American music into the blender and loads up on the delicious Billy Zoom guitar glitz. Your Phone’s Off the Hook, But You’re Not almost unfolds like a conversation between each element of the band, and what a rock solid band it is. The result is something punk, a little twangy and totally unique. Queen of Hearts is our cover of the 1979 Juice Newton country classic, and we like to think X would have done a stellar cover of it if we hadn’t done one first!”