Review #215: Lemonheads - Laughing All the Way to the Cleaners 7" (1986)

LAUGHING ALL THE WAY TO THE CLEANERS (EP)

Year: 1986
Genre: Hardcore Punk
Label: Huh-Bag Records
Tracks: 4
Length: 4 Minutes
My Rating: 6/8

The Lemonheads formed in 1986 in Boston, Massachussetts, U.S.A. The band's original line-up consisted of Evan Dando, Ben Deily, and Jesse Peretz. The three shifted duties on instruments on the four songs on this record, and Evan sings most of the songs here, but Ben sings on one too. The band is more famous for their '90s stuff like "It's a Shame About Ray", but their earlier records have a sound that's melodic like pop punk but also dirty and aggressive like hardcore. This is the first Lemonheads record that was made, and it's really short. They released it themselves.

1. Glad I Don't Know
I like this song a lot. Evan's voice is technically good but still kind of rough-sounding. The guitar riff is awesome... nice guitar playing. It's about being glad about not knowing something. I actually I don't know what it's about. I should read the lyrics. It's really upbeat and happy-sounding. This song was later re-recorded for the band's album "Lick".

2. I Like To
This one's fast. Some parts are fast, some parts are really fast, and some parts are slow. The chorus part has a really fast beat and it sounds awesome! Then there's a short guitar solo in the middle. Great riff. Really cool song! End of Side A.

3. I Am a Rabbit
This is a cover of a song by the New Zealand punk band, Proud Scum. It's about not wanting to get committed to a girl and just fuck her and run... BECAUSE YOU'RE A RABBIT. Contains allusions to the carrot as a potential pennis-like object. Later re-recorded for "Lick".

4. So I Fucked Up
This is the exact same version of the song that appears on "Hate Your Friends". Ben sings the first verse of the song, Evan sings the second verse, and then they both sing the last part. It's about having FUCKED UP and being RAELLY SORRY. GOODBYE!

All of the songs except for "I Like To" appear on the band's albums after this, which sucks because I Like [listening To] that song a lot! But it's a pretty good record. It's fast and slammable, but really happy-sounding. The EP was re-released in 1993, but as you might guess, that edition's out of print also. So, that's all I've got to say for now. A good EP to litsten 2.