Screamers ‎– Demo Hollywood 1977 (LP Red Translucent)

The album kicks off with my favorite Screamers track, “Magazine Love,” with its great chorus “You don’t love me you love magazines!” Tomata du Plenty’s snotty vocals really shine through on this crystal clear recording. “Punish or Be Damned,” which the label put out as a single, is a beautifully haunting track with the keyboards and du Plenty’s voice both slowly rising into a terrifying sense of foreboding and musical anxiety.

That anxiety continues on side B of the record, which kicks off with “Anything,” which was sometimes incorrectly labeled on the bootlegs with the much more wordy title, “If I Can’t Have What I Want, I Don’t Want Anything.” The shortest song on the EP at only 90-seconds in length, “Anything” is a statement of unbridled hedonism. “Mater Dolores” gives us a brief respite from the anxiety of previous tracks with a song that’s downright catchy and, dare I say, pleasant and fun? Finally “Peer Pressure” is a pretty traditional punk song, minus the guitars, but you’ll hardly miss them as the keyboards are played like punk guitars. On

e thing I love about this song is du Plenty’s casual mention of queer people that’s completely non-judgmental and even inclusive. This was a pretty big deal for the 1970’s, but also unsurprising considering that du Plenty and keyboardist Tommy Gear worked together in a drag performance group in Seattle prior to starting the band.

Label: Superior Viaduct ‎– SV177

Country: US

Media Condition: Mint (M)
Sleeve Condition: Near Mint (NM or M-)

Not sealed. Poster included.