Car Crash

“Execution”, “I Don’t Care” b/w “Bright Future”

scum stats: 200 copies on black vinyl

I am shocked to see that this record was released in 2015. That feels like eons ago. I’m pretty sure I was hipped to this by the K Records email list but instead of buying it straight from the source I put it on a running list of “need to purchase” items that I kept in my pocket for a few months. This copy came straight from Grimey’s, the record store down the street from TMR that is always happy to special order items of this nature when I request them on the regular. These three tracks have been sitting contently in my “to listen to” pile for at least a year. I’ll get better, I promise.

Jams here are gems, all high energy punk ’n’ roll, a vibe that feels properly updated from the mid-90’s heyday when Rip Off Records was king. Tight, lockstep, there is absolutely nothing wrong or out of place on this record. I could (and should) listen to shit like this for days without ever tiring. I feel like my tastes exist in a previously undefined ether-region where something of the approach/style/tone needs to be vaguely familiar, yet anything slavishly rehashed or redundant throws up immediate red flags and shade. Such a fine line and Car Crash is on the proper side of it. Sold out from the label, it’s worth the troll around to find one elsewhere in the bottomless pit internet. I believe the band is Japan and that should only further your appreciation.

I love 45’s existing as 8 minute time capsules into an exact period. No fussing about, make a statement, make it quick and leave it behind for the rest of the world to uncover. I’m STILL turning up wonderfully brilliant 45’s, forgotten for decades, quite regularly. Outside of love for my family and time spent with them, it is no doubt my absolute favorite thing to do.

I’ve no indication that this band is not absolutely killing it live. In my mind, they do. Highly recommended you search this one out..

SIDE NOTE: I guess I’ve been writing about records here for just about 52 weeks, only missing a handful of times when travel or fatherhood became prohibitive. Hooray for me, hooray for you. I’ve got an extra copy of a wonderful book called “Why Vinyl Matters” by Jen Otter Bickerdike that features stellar interviews with all sorts of folks in the “biz” speaking about vinyl. Including yours truly. So in the comments here, in the spirit of the book, these weekly missives and everything we do at Third Man, let us know your thoughts on WHY VINYL MATTERS. I’ll pick the winner, as objectively as possible, and they’ll get the book mailed right to their door. How cool is that?

Thanks for reading for the past year and here’s to another 52 weeks.