Havox Reviews

-------IN THE BASEMENT-------
The nice thing about running The Garage is that sometimes people remember the site and send all manner of cool things along. Often the material is great and complements the spirit of the resource while at other times the musical taste buds are left a little unsatisfied. Just occasionally an item drops through the letter box which, when placed on the Hi-Fi, takes your head right off. This happened once again a couple of weeks ago.

For the last couple of years I've entered into occasional e-mail correspondence with a certain David Behrel in Chicago who, between raving about The Fleshtones and all manner of other cool bands, mentioned he played guitar for THE HAVOX. Now David has been promising to send a demo tape for absolutely ages but, for whatever reason, it never materialised. In anticipation, I started to figure out what The Havox might sound like and, given his musical taste, thought they were a bunch of snot-nosed Punks à la the Pistols or Clash. Nothing wrong with that, but boy was I wide of the mark.

Come the day that the promised Havox recordings arrived I opened up the package and stared at a proud and defient DIY product called "Here Catch" with minimal artwork and a track listing boasting several familiar titles. Suddenly my mind flashed to the Billy Synth & The Turn-Ups album from way back in the eighties. A DIY ethos peppered with a bunch of the finest Punk anthems the sixties ever produced. But what were these particular versions gonna sound like and does the world really need another version of "Willy The Wild One"? The picture placed in the front of the CD case indicated a cramped rehearsal space in some loft with the singers face obscured by a large microphone while the drummer smashed into the kit. Flipping over the case and I saw all four Havox sat on the bonnet of an automobile with the track listing and the slogan "Your Record Label Here" written underneath. Nice touch. Hell, some of those songs are some of my all time favourites: Margio; Midnight Hour; Garden Of My Mind; and the awesome How Much More by Terry Knight & The Pack. My god, I can only think of one other band with the balls to cover that song (The Stingrays) and pull it off. Listening to these guys was going to be interesting at the very least.

On placing the digital beer mat into the CD player my ears were assaulted by the most aggressive "Hey" imaginable and a harmonica/fuzz guitar riff which was about to peel paint from the door and window frames. Hmm, good job, we are having the flat decorated at the moment. How to describe sound of The Havox? well, my original Punk theory was miles out and after 0.5 seconds I got to thinking of The Dwarves circa "Horror Stories" with maybe a smattering of The Mighty Mofos thrown in for good measure. This was a serious garage rocking session with the emphasis placed on jacking up the amps and less on period detail. And that is exactly how I like those tunes played!

Thank whatever gods exist that there are people out there with the balls to record this type of mongrel dog material and release it without any record label support. I have heard some weak releases over recent years and on some of my favourite labels too and it was and is a tonic to place a tape of "Here, Catch" into the Walkman on the way to work in the morning. My only reservation is that The Havox are still at the covers stage but then again when did that ever hold back The Fuzztones or The Chesterfield Kings?

David tells me that the guys are already working on some original tunes so fingers crossed that The Havox can maintain the energy level and direct it into their own tunes. My intuition tells me they can and will. How to sum up. Well, if any of you people know The Hatebombs, The Woggles or The Swinging Neckbreakers; please warn 'em that they now have some very hot competition in Chicago. In the meantime, try and grab a listen to this absolute stompfest. The Havox - Here, Catch Things She Says; Margio; All The Time; Nice Try; Midnight Hour; Listen To Me; Garden Of My Mind; Mojo Workout; Alright; Pride Of The Town; Willie The Wild One; How Much More; Hullabaloo; This Generation.

IN THE BASEMENT, THAT'S WHERE IT'S AT!