No, these guys aren't the lost first punk band*, but they are a band that made a wildly fun, inventive, hard-rocking album in the vein of the the MC5 and the Stooges (and, retroactively, Bad Brains). It's a legitimate lost gem of rock and roll.
If you haven't heard the hype, well you're in for a treat. Short version: three black brothers banged out 7 kickass rockandroll songs in the mid 70's, did a tiny run of a single single, and disappeared for decades. And now we have those 7 songs on an album and they're goddamn great, full of insights, riffs, swerves, and just straight up killer instincts about how to use rock to pump people's blood. Brilliant, proto-punk full of life and spontaneity, finely aged and righteously ready to enjoy today 4.5/5
* here's the easy argument against that storyline: is punk about playing loud and fast or about rejecting traditional notions of musicianship and quality in rock and roll? If it's the former, the Stooges and MC5 did everything Death did first, and they're the first punk bands. If its the latter, then these guys don't qualify, and the Ramones and Sex Pistols retain the crown: these guys are decidedly trying to make good music. And they succeed! There's nothing fundamental these guys did first, they just happen to be super fucking good at making vaguely punk-flavored music, and they were completely unknown until recently. And isn't that enough as a storyline goes?
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