Man, these Traditional Fools have a great thing going. My shorthand for the local garage rock trio is they’re San Francisco’s version of the Black Lips. But their music veers down more shady lanes than horny teens in slasher movies. The band’s a little bit surf, a little bit punk, a little bit Coachwhips (the super lo-fi trash spaz thing), and whole lot of fun. Live, the band swaps instruments like they swap styles, and on record the loose vibe of their shows is fully preserved.
I finally got around to ordering the Traditional Fools’ self-titled 7-inch from local indie Chocolate Covered Records, and it’s a fine debut document for the band. Of course, the record sounds like it was taped inside a van, and then broadcast on AM radio (very fuzzy, with the vocals far too low in the mix for these ears). But if you’re into roughing it a little, it’s easy to get intoxicated by the fanatic vibe of the five songs on offer here. “Please” and “River” are my current faves, with manic vocals and a pace that moves like a brazen shoplifter from a meaty security guard.
Michael Pearce from Chocolate Covered Records tells me the Traditional Fools will be releasing an actual full-length soon on Wizard Mountain. There’s no official date yet, but Pearce says the record’s supposed to come out “in a couple of weeks before they begin their first US tour.” Since that tour starts the end of this month, that’s soon. In the meantime, check out “Please” here. And if you like what you hear, you can still get copies of that 5-song 7-inch here (vinyl, with a download code for digital copies of the songs). – Jennifer Maerz
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