Review: THE SNAKES, _I_Won't_Love_You_(Until_You're_More_Like_Me)_, Dischord, 1986

[Hofmann <hofmann@AMSAA.ARPA>]

Date:     Wed, 26 Feb 86 17:33:12 EST
Subject:  Jah give me de liscense to . . . fish (fish(ish(ish(ish(sh . . .

I was thinking how it's about time I wrote a real snotty thing about a record
and was considering this new Snakes thing from Dischord to rant about.  After 
all, it's an easy target - with the retread garage punk psyche that this mostly 
is but I've realized that, damnit, I like this vinyl.  Sure, it's funny but I 
could probably spend days describing the various influences that pop up here
with hardcore being among the least of them.  This strikes some as suprising
since the release is a brainchild of Mike Hampton and Ivar Jacobson, who though
they claim not to listen to hardcore spend a hell of lot of time playing it
with their respective bands, Embrace and SOA (well, correction - SOA isn't 
playing that much anymore ...).  At times, this soars with the best of the 60's 
garage compilations (Nuggets spring to mind here) with the punky melodic
tunes as, "I won't love you (till your more like me)" (the title cut), "Twelve
Angry Men", "Serv Pro Joe" (with its Keith Moonish vocals!) and "She's got
it now".  But they didn't stop there and included some send-ups of other
genres with Snake Rap, License to Fish (reggae - see subject header) and
Fixing A Chair.  The latter cut in it's first few moments sounded like some
real cool thrash but before they pound into it - one of the boys stops and
says he can't play because he has to go fix a chair.  Must be an in joke
because this baby is ripe with them.  For example, the last cut on side 1 
features someone pouring a cola and is entitled Confirming Suspicions 
perhaps referring to Ian's supposed Coke (we're talking about the soda here, 
folks) addiction that invariably he mentions in interviews.  Oh yeah, Ian 
MacKaye is producing here in case you didn't know but with all the dubbing and 
ping-ponging that was probably going on at the Inner Ear during this recording 
the mix  comes out somewhat flat.  Too bad, they couldn't have waited until the 
Ear  went 16-track.  

So how could I hate this vinyl?  With all this and the price ($5) - how can you
go wrong (as !stolaf!robertsl would say)?  So if you're into garage-punk psyche  
dub or something of that configuration, I strongly recommend you add this to your 
collection.

Available from Dischord Records, Washington DC