Found You, Asshole: The American Black Lung

Damn it, I am so happy to share this one with ya, kids... almost as happy as I am that I stumbled upon them a little while back. Actually, it was during a gnarconvo between the Hellion and I, when he expressed that he hasn't heard their jazz before, that i felt prompted to toss these fellas up here post haste.

So, where to begin? This ferocious Tucson act is still a little wet behind the ears, just being about four years old... but you seriously would not guess that by their sound, or even their style of sound for that matter. I say that cuz these cats are blending together stuff thats long been buried and that needs to make a damn comeback to the forefront of aggressive music. I'm talkin' energy and heart like the MC5, raw power like the Stooges (pun intended), groove injectors of soul and the blues, unfiltered rock purity of the early Who, unbridled aggression like Black Flag, and just that altogether we-don't-give-a-fuck-and-we're-gonna-plug-in-and-tear-this-place-down like so many early garage-rock bands... it just oozes with sex and radness... the perfect mixed gnardrink.



You know what, fuck all my (probably) pretentious comparisons and Six-Degrees-of-Kevin-Baconing of their style and sound... That stuff doesn't matter one bit, just pick up the record (I'd pick up the latest, "Sudden Departure of Vultures" which rips like there's no tomorrow) and you'll see for yourself... their shit is dangerous... and that's all there is to it. It doesn't matter how loud you're screaming or how chaotic the music might be, cuz even in aggressive music today, at times, things seem pretty safe by rock n' roll standards. But this band just comes in like a breath of fresh air. You can almost smell the shitty tour van, the broken bottle bar fights in Kansas, the switchblades in the boots, the sweat on jean jackets and beards in the crowd, the VD on the sleazy broad in the black leather skirt with the tar-stained fingertips by the Ms. PacMan machine, and especially the faint stench of fucking awesomeness that you just can't wash off. So do what you do, listen or not... but if you're looking for a group that delivers like a punch to the neck of the music industry, you needn't look any farther... Death to all false ragers.

The American Black Lung - "Doc Bollywood"