The Illusion “The Illusion” 1969. Steed Records. Hard psychedelic rock from Long Island. The Illusion was the band’s debut LP and went to no. 69 in the US. They had one hit single from the album, “Did You See Her Eyes” which went to #32; while most of the record was written by the band members that track is from their producer (and owner of Steed Records) Jeff Barry, known for co-writing other 60’s hits like “Do Wah Diddy Diddy,” “Leader of the Pack,” and “River Deep-Mountain High.” That Illusion hit is one of the strongest tracks on the record but the LP is an overall good 60’s rocker: the band toured with other 60’s heavies like The Who and Jimi Hendrix as well as funksters like Sly and the Family Stone. Besides the swirly acid-psych there is also a fair amount of funk and soul on songs like “Talkin’ Sweet Talkin’ Soul” and parts of “Medley: “Run, Run, Run” / “Willy Gee (Miss Holy Lady).” There’s also some poppy 60’s sunny vibes: “Alone” and parts of “Medley: “Why, Tell Me Why” / “The Real Thing,” the former also has some exotic trippy elements that are quite good. However, I really don’t get the whole medley thing that seemed pretty popular around this time, maybe it had something to do with the radio market but I don’t think either of these medleys were released as singles. The Illusion lasted another couple of years, releasing two more records, before splitting up.

Lambrini Girls “God’s Country” 2024. City Slang records, purple vinyl. We saw Lambrini Girls last night at the Vic Theatre in Chicago and it was just as feral and insane as expected. The mosh pit not only was tolerated but was actively encouraged – and sometimes orchestrated – by singer/guitarist Phoebe Lunny. Body passing and pogo’ing abounded. Lambrini Girls (the name I finally made an effort just now to understand: they took their name from Lambrini, a brand of pear wine described by a British daily as “aimed at the undiscriminating female drinker” and by Phoebe Lunny as “toilet wine for sluts.” (wiki)

The band played “God’s Country” (see my videoclip on Instagram), a single-only release which is backed with “Body of Mine” (which they did not play last night). The rest of their set was a mix of tracks from their 2023 release You’re Welcome including “Mr Lovebomb,” “Help Me I’m Gay” and “Craig David.”  From Who Let the Dogs Out (2025) album they performed “Bad Apple,” “Company Culture, “Y0u’re Not From Around Here,” “Cuntology 101” (as a singalong!) and for their last song of the night the always epically awesome “Big Dick Energy.”

Gino & the Goons and Chinese Junk “Talk Trash With…” 2025. Big Neck Records, red & white marbled vinyl. Split EP of upbeat, snotty garage/punk. Gino & the Goons are from South Carolina and it looks like they’ve been around and releasing albums and singles since 2013. Their side of the split (the Goon Side) is sloppy lo-fi perfection with my top picks the ass-shaking “Nothing At All” and the psychobilly tinged breakneck “Mess You Up.” Chinese Junk is a three-piece from the UK and a bit newer (though definitely not younger: both vocalist/bassist Ben Nuthink and guitarist/vocalist Steve Legend were formerly in Griswalds from the 90’s) with single releases starting in 2020 and one full-length LP in 2023. Tighter and more 70’s/80’s punk than garage slop, their side (the Junk Side) has hard-driving, chugga chugga guitar riffs, frenetic drums with a lot of fun subversiveness and snot: “Shut Up About the USA,” “Crimewave” and the sassy, rat-a-tat-tatty “Your Family Are Robots” (“your family are robots, your family is square, your family ain’t real”).