THEE HEADCOATS: "BEACHED EARLS"

Thee Headcoats are 1960's garage punk revivalist band hailing from Britain and led by Billy Childish. Their output is extremely prolific yet somewhat uneven. The best work I have heard so far of theirs is "Beached Earls" (1990). This is a brilliant piece of fiery, drug-induced sleaze, very grimy retro 1960's punk. While their music is primitive, Billy Childish's lyrics are not...they are very dark, violent, surreal, and poetic. Childish's vocals are sneering, melodic, and charged with sex and violence. This is how The Cramps would have probably sounded if they came out in the 1960's and went to art school. "Beached Earls" is an exhaustive release with thirty tracks. The only complaint I have about this one is that it could have been a little shorter. Fifteen or twenty tracks of Thee Headcoats is all you really need to hear in one sitting. Still, I highly recommend this one. It can be a bit hard to track down at the moment (currently out of print) but it is worth the hunt. This CD is also available as "Beach Bums Must Die", but it is missing the last ten tracks. It too is out of print, but friendlier on the wallet.

Here's the leering, snide, and vicious opening track "Youngblood"...

Youngblood - Thee Headcoats

and here's the brilliantly surreal and poetic "A Town Named Squaresville".

A Town Named Squaresville - Thee Headcoats