The Chrome Cranks “Dead Cool” 1995. Crypt Records. Dirty, noisy garage punk blues, Dead Cool is the Chrome Cranks second LP. Chrome Cranks’ lineup included two Jon Spencer collaborators: Jerry Teel on bass (Honeymoon Killers, The Work Dogs) and Bob Bert on drums (Pussy Galore and more recently Jon Spencer’s HITMakers); Dead Cool was Bert’s first recording with the Cranks. It’s an ass-shaker of an album: raw, nasty (in the best way), swampy, a bit bat-shit crazy and, yes, dead cool. My top track is the garage-rock ripper “Desperate Friend” which had me dancing at my desk, followed closely by “Down So Low” (for the bat-shit crazy). “Bloodshot Eye” has a killer bass line hook, creepy lo-fi vocals (Peter Aaron) and a solid, relentless beat. All track on Dead Cool are originals except for the final track, a cover of the 1966 Yardbirds “Lost Woman” which keeps the bass and adds more than a little raw punk edge to the 60’s blues rocker.

Not surprisingly there isn’t a ton of live video footage of the Cranks out there, but I did find a video from ’09 which includes “Desperate Friend” about 3 minutes in: