Dream Syndicate

Reputedly recorded for a mere 100 dollars at a Pasadena studio, this self-titled release was the first offering from Southern California's Dream Syndicate. The comparisons to the Velvet Underground that would dog the band for most of their career originated here. From the opening, icy arpeggios of guitarist Karl Precoda's "Sure Thing" to the six-string train wreck that brings frontman Steve Wynn's "Some Kinda Itch" to a close, the mark of the seminal pre-punk outfit is all over these recordings. A larger kit doesn't stop drummer Dennis Duck from locking the band into a rigid, primal framework à la Maureen Tucker and the White Light/White Heat-style recording tactics of the self-production only enhance the gritty sound of the group's twin-guitar attack. On "That's What You Always Say," Wynn lays down a ragged, metallic strum over which Precoda delivers his buzzing, atonal solo. The two then engage in an exchange of fractured chords and six-string shards against the stark rhythm section. Precoda speaks a similar language on "When You Smile," though here the notes seem to corrode to his guitar strings in a rusted mess. As derivative as the sound may be, Dream Syndicate were clearly onto something. Just months later, a similar combination of Wynn's deadpan vocals and the band's austere soundscapes would surface on the triumphant The Days of Wine & Roses, the group's acknowledged masterpiece and a classic from the (paisley) underground. ~ Nathan Bush