Pop Goes the Evil “Love Stained Heart” 2014. Cincinnati Native Records. Limited edition pink vinyl. A perfect band name to describe this now-defunct three-piece garage punk band’s sound: dark, glammy, and clever melodic alternative rock that skims at the murkier edges of pop. Pop Goes the Evil take the Pixies’ loud-quiet-loud formula and brings it to 11 on tracks like “Himalaya,” which goes from sweet and gentle, albeit dark and minor, with melody and harmony to crashing and cacophonous thrash and bang. It’s simply awesome. “Eat Your Heart Out” is like Queen but they took up residence in a horror house (think Rocky Horror Picture Show with garage punk rockers) and “Time for Bed” is utterly terrifying. Another favorite is “Saved,” which has a killer and danceable blues-rock riff and goes churchy-punk on the chorus (you really just need to hear it – see the video from their last show below). They even bring in some grunge and doom metal influences on “Wishing Well.” We never got a chance to see Pop Goes the Evil live – they played their last show in 2015 – but we did see Suck the Honey (the two-piece formed from the ashes of Pop Goes the Evil by drummer Jake Grove and guitarist/singer Lucas Frazier) a few times – they had a similar vibe and put on a great show. I miss those guys.