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I think there’s a hidden track on the album – though I couldn’t actually find it (or it’s only on the CD version): “Self Control” by Raf (1984), a song that “started the explosion and dominance of Italo disco-style recordings in continental European charts during the 1980s.” (Wiki). Weirdly the playlist I chose for this morning’s class was Reflex v. Control which has the Laura Branigan cover of “Self Control” (also 1984, #4 US, #5 UK) – I did not know that it would appear on today’s vinyl pull, especially because it is not listed on the record except for in the liner notes for writing credits. (Speaking of credits, I love that two neighborhood dudes are thanked: Dillon from RushMor Records and Chris from Vanguard/Wiggle Room). Next time I run into Martin I’ll have to ask him about “Self Control” – I can’t find a link anywhere for Diamond Life’s version.

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We saw Convert perform a couple of times pre-pandemic (they formed in 2019) and just recently saw them play when they opened for The Pack A.D. here in Milwaukee at the end of March. The lighting at The Backroom Colectivo sucks so it’s hard to tell how dynamic Convert are from these photos.

My top tracks from Saves are the EBM/Nitzer-Ebbish opener “Bleached Bones,” “Concrete Life” which recalls the good, old Ministry “Stigmata” and “Thieves” days, Convert’s first video/album single “Slow Choke” and the nihilistic “Watch It Burn,” which Dillon described to Milwaukee Record as exemplifying “the fruitless fight to solve the overwhelming horror of humanity and then ultimately accepting its hopeless cycle. It’s meant to express the beauty of our chaotic existence and the liberating feeling of letting go because no one is bothering to put out the flames. The song describes generations of souls watching in awe of the all-consuming flames until the last generation inherits the ash.”

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Static Eyes “Traps” 2017. Triple Eye Industries. Local Milwaukee trashy, thrashy garage punk. I’ve collected a tidy pile of local music over the last little bit, mostly on cassette (vinyl production issues, you know the deal) so this week I’m focusing exclusively on Milwaukee bands currently, or at least very recently, active. Static Eyes is 3/4 of one of my favorite MKE bands, Fox Face; both bands include Chopper (on drums in Static Eyes, on guitar in Fox Face), Lindsay (on bass, some vocals: Static Eyes, guitar and vocals: Fox Face) and Lydia (drums: Static Eyes, guitar and vocals: Fox Face). Lee provides howling, growling vocals and some crazy-ass dancing for Static Eyes — it’s been a few years since they’ve played out (I think) but their shows were dynamic, loud and nuts. I think the last time we saw them was maybe in 2017 at Burnhearts Pabst Street Fest.

“Traps” is a quick and brutal six-song EP, no filler. My top track is “Dahmer Faced Dog” which is both wicked and hilarious; I believe the story behind it is that Lee was at a yoga class and misheard, in the most Milwaukee way ever, the pose Downward Facing Dog as Dahmer-Facing Dog. It has a killer (pun intended) hook and is a total ass-shaker. The title track “Traps” is dark, menacing and more than a little creepy. My other top pick, “Close Talker,” has a sentiment pandemic-me can totally relate to: “Don’t stand so fucking close…get outta my face!”

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Suki Yaki Hot! is blistering and super-high energy, whipped up with a fuzzed-out surfy frenzy. My top tracks are the punk’d up opener “Diamond Rio,” the dirty garage punk “Dirty Tricks,” the psycho-surf’d “Party Shark Shake,” the slow menace of the Link Wray-ish “Understanding the Hands of a Killer” and another crazed surf track “Sakuraba.”

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