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Glued jackets with textured covers and matte finish, new Neck Chop sticker done by Durango 65 and DL code
A band that calls themselves “Lysol” ain’t got no business sounding this fuckin’ filthy, but if this new single is of any indication, things are only gonna get far, far more filthier from here.
These Seattle-based garage rockers have been playing a dangerous, potentially litigious game of footsie with this identically-named multi-billion dollar corporation for years, even going as far as to censor their name to “L.I.” (Lysol Incognito) on two select releases in order to avert suspicion, and ideally, a cease and desist order -- but if there’s one thing that should be made immediately clear by their continued deliverance of demented, psych-tinged jams under the Lysol name, it’s that this band is aiming to live fast and die even faster. They do not give. A. Fuuuuck. Lysol’s “‘Teenage Trance’ b/w ‘Chemical Reaction’” is yet another two-track, grease-sodden helping of rock ‘n’ roll slop served atop a seven-inch vinyl record, effortlessly incorporating elements of the group’s preceding efforts in Seattle’s Freak Vibes, with frantic slews of garage-like grooves propelled by a hardcore ferocity. Drumbeats restrained as the songs cautiously degenerate into psychedelic, noodle-prone moments of mid-paced obscurity, Lysol regularly dislodges themselves into a violent, bombastic concoction of causticized riffs and throat-rending roars, burdened by paranoia yet driven by sheer funk. The only thing that sucks about this record is that it’s only two tracks. But then again, that just might be all the human heart can take before it fuckin’ ruptures on itself.
Our take: Latest 7” from this band out of the Pacific Northwest and it’s another scorcher to add to their discography. Lysol have sounded slightly different on each of their releases (at least the ones that I’ve heard), and Teenage Trance is no different. Whereas their last single on Total Punk was a blistering slice of hardcore, this time around they slow things down just a hair, particularly on the b-side, which locks into a swampy, Stooges-esque groove that I’m sure will remind more people than just me of Hank Wood & the Hammerheads. While their last single on Total Punk was so short that I felt like I couldn’t get a handle on it, Teenage Trance keeps us from pinning Lysol down because of its stylistic diversity… are they the blistering hardcore band that plays the verses of “Teenage Trance,” the catchy punk band that plays that song’s choruses, or the in-the-pocket rock group on the b-side? They’re great at all three modes, and just like their last one this single leaves me salivating for a future LP that brings together all of these compelling aspects of the band’s sound into a coherent, unified vision.