Release of the Day: Fang - Landshark!

"And I'll just sit and grin/The money will roll right in." So goes the chorus of Fang's best known song "The Money Will Roll Right In," the first song on Fang's second release from 1983, a 45 rpm 12" called Landshark. The song itself has been covered many times, but most notably when Nirvana covered it at their famous set at Reading in 1992. The other thing that Fang is known for is an incident of some significance from 1989: Sammy McBride, the lead singer, strangled his girlfriend to death and was served six years in prison. On his release in 1995, McBride renamed himself Sammytown like some phoenix of nomenclature. But that's more trivia than essential information.

Fang emerged from Berkeley, California in the early 1980s as a punk/hardcore band, though apparently with some protogrunge leanings if we check the hindsight mirror. There's actually a great comp from the era and locale that was put out by Alternative Tentacles with help from Maximum Rock n' Roll called Not So Quiet On The Western Front if you want to dig a little deeper.

It's a totally sinister record. Sammytown's lyrics are filthy, bringing out the junk and dope from behind the walls and forcing it into view. Like a toddler who learned to use the bathroom and needs to show you the results. There's violence, drugs, and all-around bad vibes, but it's a document of a damaged mind if nothing else. I mean the guy's vocals from the first song just sound like he's been slamming dope in his veins all dang day before he recorded. It ain't pretty, but it ain't a lie either, and the quality of the songwriting is really high, pun somewhat intended.

It just got reissued and is totally affordable and is absolutely EEEEESSENTIAL for your collection!