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).

Recording information: WestBeach.

Photographer: Johnny Donhowe.

Unknown Contributor Roles: Tom Geck; Petey X; Gar Wood; Apollo 9; N.D.; Speedo; Atom Willard.

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.

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..."