Dog Faced Hermans "Mental Blocks For All Ages" (1991)

rocky says:
the last time i saw these guys
it was the basement of some SF bar.
we were playing pool, drinking beer.
it was after their last show ever there.
they were giving up the ghost for good.

i didn't understand and was heartbroken.
they were kind enough to invite me along
(on the pretense that i was writing a piece
about them for one of the local rags)
but in reality i was just another startstruck fan
(who still has a half-dozen lovingly recorded
cassette boots in a closet somewhere).

i recall that Gert-Jan lived in our house a few days
and gave me a shirt as recompense, and that
we talked about the international squatters community

(he was in the process of writing a book about it...)

i recall having beers with Andy and Colin;
they were enamored of some Bukka White records
they'd found up at Amoeba, and amazed
that I'd never heard of Bukka White.

They also turned me on to bIG fLAME
and The Honkies (now, where did that CD go?)
and Dawson (gotta get that vinyl ripped!)

oh, and to think this was all fifteen years ago.
The Hermans were always such a sweet spot for me
and I don't think their records have lost an ounce of verve,
a sliver of punch, or a decade-and-a-half of time

~~~

amg saith:

There's something in the accessibly deconstructive sound of the Dog Faced Hermans that's both immediately likeable and long-term gratifying — their combinations of scratchy guitar work, liberal use of horns and other instruments uncommon in rock, and ultra-political vocal rants fall somewhere between very angular neo-punk and the most experimental sides of new wave, but in a fashion that's more likely to engage than distance the listener. Mental Blocks for All Ages' tight performance and groovy, rhythmic construction fit perfectly with the sharpness of their free-form guitar attack and political commentary, recalling everything from the Scissor Girls to the Family Fodder's more aggressive side. The band rampages through compositions so fiercely and effectively that the record lives up to its fractured, deconstructive ambitions. An excellent release.

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