River City Tanlines “I’m Your Negative” 2006. Dirtnap Records. Garage-punk from Memphis. I’ve had this LP for awhile – my friend Ken (of Dirtnap Records) gave me one of his test pressings a few years back for my birthday because the regular LP has been out of print (we found it in a used bin at some record store along the way since).

River City Tanlines “I’m Your Negative” test pressing

Alicja Trout at GBUFO Invasion Fest

We saw River City Tanlines play at Dirtnap Records Fest in 2022 (they reformed for the show) and caught frontwoman Alicja Trout’s latest group, Sweet Knives, play up in Green Bay a couple of weekends ago at GBUFO Invasion Fest. She’s incredible!

I’m Your Negative (their first LP of two, the second released in 2012) is wild, intense and catchy as hell. The opener and title track “I’m Your Negative” is a blazing and shaking garage-rocker and definitely one of the best tracks on a record chock-full of great songs: track two “In My Mode Rollin‘” has Stooges’ swagger and “Cryin’ Bleedin’ Dyin’” has some sultry Stray Cat strut. Side B takes things (mostly) down a notch for intensity – more indie flavored with some alt-country undertones: “Not Gonna Think About it Anymore” is sweet, but also kinda dark with a relentless guitar riff that lulls until the next track, “Drowning Dreams,” which very suddenly explodes with all instruments and vocals furiously crashing in and seamlessly continues into the album closer “Gimme All Your Cuts.”