Rocket From The Crypt: Speedo (vocals), Apollo 9, ND, Atom, Petey X.

All songs written by Rocket From The Crypt except "Take That" (T. Geck).

Personnel: Speedo (vocals, guitar); N.D. (guitar); Apollo 9 (saxophone, background vocals); Atom Willard (drums); Tom Geck, Gar Wood, Peter X, John Bunch (background vocals).

Audio Remasterer: Dave Gardner.

Liner Note Author: Speedo.

Recording information: West Beach Recorders.

Photographer: Johnny Donhowe.

The San Diego-based punk band Rocket From the Crypt were hastily lumped in with the garage revival crowd during their 15-year run, the prime years of which were the early-to-mid 1990s. The band's personal aesthetic--greased up hair, dark shades, tattoos--certainly lent itself to such labeling, as did their review-style stage shows,which included a full horn section. Still, one listen to the band's 1993 major label debut, CIRCA: NOW! (originally released on the indie Cargo in '92), and its clear that the band's sound was more complex musically than the retro fetishism garage often lent itself too.

In fact, the angular rhythms, muscular guitar riffs, emotive vocals, and soaring choruses here have more in common with Dischord and Touch & Go.-style post-hardcore than raw, fuzzed-out punk of the Gories or Supercharger. In many ways a product of its time, CIRCA: NOW! has the thick, chunky production quality that marked so many a crossover attempt from the era, but beneath the layers of grunge reside some bona fide would-be hits, including "Ditchdigger," "Dollar," and "Hippy Dippy Do," among others. In 2004, CIRCA: NOW! was released yet again on the indie Swami with four additional tracks.

Circa: Now!, Rocket From the Crypt's second album, represents the toughening up and expansion of the band's sound. Never content to play their punk rock by the book, the band uses dynamics, songcraft, and the sax of Apollo 9 to add texture and power to their rock hard guitar-bass-drums foundation. The album was recorded as the band was barricaded inside a L.A. studio during the April 1992 riots that tore the city apart. Some of the songs like the frantic "Killy Kill," "Short Lip Fuser," and "Dollar" are back-to-the-wall rockers that sound like the work of a band in the middle of something heavy. Elsewhere the band shows it isn't afraid to get melodic on the Soul Asylum-influenced "Hairball Alley." They aren't afraid to strip the guitars back and get atmospheric either as the Brill Building punk ballad "March of Dimes" illustrates. The truly epic track on the album that points toward the brilliance of 1995's Scream, Dracula, Scream! is "Ditch Digger," a track with amazing dynamics and a bullfighter's bravado that actually threatened to become a hit in the crazy post-Nirvana daze of 1992. Speaking of post-Nirvana madness, after Circa: Now! was released on Cargo/Headhunter the band became the subject of a frantic major-label bidding war which Interscope won after throwing a ridiculous wad of cash at the band. Circa: Now! isn't their best work; Scream, Dracula, Scream! takes that honor with RFTC close behind, but it is an album that will help clear out any lingering post-grunge hard feelings about the early '90s with a blast of good old-fashioned rock & roll energy, and that is nothing to sneer at. ~ Tim Sendra

Circa: Now!, Rocket from the Crypt's second album, represents the toughening up and expansion of the band's sound. Never content to play their punk rock by the book, they used dynamics, songcraft, and the sax of Apollo 9 to add texture and power to their rock-hard guitar/bass/drums foundation. The album was recorded as the band was barricaded inside an L.A. studio during the April 1992 riots that tore the city apart. Some of the songs like the frantic "Killy Kill," "Short Lip Fuser," and "Dollar" are back-to-the-wall rockers that sound like the work of a band in the middle of something heavy. Elsewhere, the bandmembers show they aren't afraid to get melodic on the Soul Asylum-influenced "Hairball Alley." They aren't afraid to strip the guitars back and get atmospheric, either, as the Brill Building punk ballad "March of Dimes" illustrates. The truly epic track on the album that pointed toward the brilliance of 1995's Scream, Dracula, Scream! is "Ditch Digger," a track with amazing dynamics and a bullfighter's bravado that actually threatened to become a hit in the crazy post-Nirvana daze of 1992. Speaking of post-Nirvana madness, after Circa: Now! was released on Cargo/Headhunter, the band became the subject of a frantic major-label bidding war that Interscope won after throwing a ridiculous wad of cash at the band. They sent the band in to record more songs for the imminent re-release, but without telling them rushed it out before the songs could be completed. The 2004 reissue on Swami adds the four songs and some liner notes by Speedo that really give a sense of how crazy the recording of the album was. The bonus tracks lack some of the power of the original album but are a nice addition, especially "Flight of the Hobo," which has an epic Styx gone punk feel. The other three are short and simple punk tunes. If you never managed to catch on to RFTC at the time, this reissue is a fine way to get acquainted with the group and their powerful and imaginative sound. It isn't their best work -- Scream, Dracula, Scream! takes that honor -- but it is an album that will help clear out any lingering post-grunge hard feelings about the early '90s with a blast of good old-fashioned rock & roll energy. ~ Tim Sendra

Spin (2/93, p.86) - "...classic crash-and-burn guitars, precise skin-slapping, and a soft bass backbeat...near-perfect..."

Uncut (p.132) - 4 stars out of 5 - "[It] remains ferociously potent. An inventive mix of grinding riffs, rabble-rousing choruses and Stax horn charts, it still sounds tremendous..."

Mojo (Publisher) (p.111) - 4 stars out of 5 - "[I]t was fun, smart and groovy as hell."

NME (Magazine) (2/6/93, p.30) - "...roars with something that foams with the same brand of teen spirit which catapulted Nirvana to the top of the tree, with Speedo's vocal reaching the same throat-tearing intensity as Kurt Cobain, while guitars explode with their message of youth on fire..."