Sound defects Blues Bastard and other awesome aberrations BY BOB GULLA

We’re well into summer now and music is everywhere. That’s why the summer is so great. It’s not the beach; it’s not the weather. It’s the music. It’s riding down the road like a fastback king in your beat-up Vega, windows rolled down and slammin’ a great cassette in the dashboard confessional known as your stereo. Feel the breeze. Feel the heat.

Blues Bastard

On its debut six-song EP, Blues Bastard bumps and grinds its way through a bloody set of searing blues-based garage-punk, the likes of which could, with a little flint, set your big ol’ Afro alight. With a primal stomp straight outta the ’60s Pacific Northwest sound, the band is a full-throttle throwback to the aesthetic of the MC5 and Blue Cheer (and the Miracle Workers/Lazy Cowgirls). But the best thing about this whole mess is that it doesn’t succumb to the New Garage mentality that’s so in our faces these days. Blues Bastard is its very own thing — and with a name like that, it better be.

Led by the grimy, overreaching voice of Mitch Winston — who recalls Mudhoney’s Mark Arm — and Gibson SG monster Vint Victrola, the EP is an experience I’d liken to sticking your face above the windshield in a convertible that’s flying down a slippery interstate. The damn thing’s swervin’ all over the place, so you’d best get those white knuckles on something that’s nailed down. Songs like "She’s Faster Than My Hot Rod," "Traded My Girl for a Pack of Butts," and "Scumbag" carom out of the speakers with ample misogynistic vibes, but one gets the feeling that the boys would feel pretty swell if they just found the right girl. Anyway, check these righteous Bastards out. It’s one wild ride.

Comic Book Super Heroes: Return of the Comic Book Super Heroes (www.superheroesmusic.com)

What do you get when you merge punk, electric Miles, and phat phunk rhythms? The Comic Book Super Heroes’ demonic return to the recording fold, a smokin’ five-song slab that seems to be getting its groove on in ever more comfortable ways. Nobody knew better than CBSH that while their nu-metal/ska sound of old rocked the house massively, the shtick wore thin on repeated plays. Not anymore. The innovative tricksters go considerably deeper on this project, dipping into salsa and other ethnic idioms without losing their patented barrage of Beavis and Butthead guitar distortion. The chemicals commingle best on the opening "Spaceship," where punk-rock and James Brown horn charts meld, and the short closer "Freedom Force," in which a fiery electric guitar line rips through a wall of brassy horns. At just over 12 minutes, the project is fleeting, just enough to get the juices going, only to find yourself reaching for the ’round-again button. Adrenaline rushes like this don’t come along all that often.

Motormags: Simple Made Easy (www.motormagsrock.com)

Yeah, I know it took months to get to this, and for that I offer a litter of apologies. No excuses, especially for Motormags, a member of local rock royalty. Mike, Phil, and the rest are punk-damaged riff-rockers a la Motorhead and the Flesheaters, growling, pulsating heavies with lots of bitterness in tow. And that bitterness comes a-gushing good, especially on songs like "Poor Boy," with its piercing double lead and spit-angry lyrics. But Motormags aren’t all bluster. There’s a clarity to their guitar work and rhythm section that indicates a penchant for classic hard-rock and the crisp riffs of bands like Thin Lizzy and Foghat (!). This clarity punches the band’s three-chord barrage out nicely.

Recorded at Sound Station 7 and mixed at Dream Edit in Newport, Simple Made Easy is the perfect soundtrack to rumble to, the kind of songs that make sense to mullets and mohawks alike. Here it doesn’t depend on what shit you’re into — it just depends on how hard you feel like slamming your ass into the guy next to you. Viva la rock!

Patrick McAloon: Angels and Ferris Wheels (www.patrickmcaloon.com)

Some promising stuff here from the Providence-based Patrick McAloon, a 24-year-old melodic romantic with designs on writing a disc-full of great American pop songs. Has he done it? Well, no, not yet. I mean, he’s only 24. But he still has plenty of worthwhile stuff to sing about and his sound, similar to poignant, literate artists like Paul Simon and Squeeze and, to a lesser degree, Dave Matthews (whom he obviously follows), is well on its way. McAloon is more talented than Matthews — the former Berklee student plays all the instruments (excepting a few guest appearances) — and he produced, recorded, and mixed the album together with partner Don Jutras.

So McAloon’s no slouch. You can hear it on his fresh picking on "Wireman," his bluesy vocals on "Thief," and his telling lyrics on the soulful "Isaac": "Hidden corners open up / And release me from this bind / I wish it could be that simple / To escape this frame of mind." Read it and say, "Ahhh."

ROADTRIP. This Friday and Saturday (the 18th and 19th), it’ll be worth the trip west on Route 6 to check out some badass rockabilly at the vintage funny car rally otherwise known as the Road Agents Hot Rod & Rockabilly Rumble. The lineup is as follows: Nick Curran & the Nitelifes, the Rockats, local heroes the Young Ones, the Starlight Drifters, Hank Engel & the Hoosier Daddies, Jittery Jack (members of the Raging Teens, Cranktones, and the Spurs), and our very own Jack Smith & the Rockabilly Planet! It takes place at the Hartford Elks Lodge (148 Roberts Street, in East Hartford, Connecticut). For more information, go to www.TheRoadAgents.com

Jeri as Janis! Jeri Verdi will be performing three special shows as lead singer of Big Brother and the Holding Company, the late ’60s band famously fronted by Janis Joplin. Jeri has performed with Big Brother before and rocked the house. You have three chances to catch this little slice of history in the making. Tonight (the 17th), go to Point Breeze at 114 Point Breeze Road in Webster, Massachusetts. Call (508) 943-0159. On Friday, the show moves to Ocean Beach Park, off of Ocean Ave. in New London, Connecticut. The number there is (800) 510-7263. And on the 19th, Jeri and BBHC will play Mason Field on Commonwealth Ave. in North Attleboro, Massachusetts. Also appearing on that day is a time-warp bill with the Lovin’ Spoonful, Canned Heat, the Rascals, and more! For more info on all of the shows and Jeri, go to www.dauntlessmusic.com. Good luck, JV, and give ’em a little piece of your heart now, baby.

WANDERING EYE. One of Boxing Tarantula’s few gigs this summer will go down tonight (the 17th) at the Met Café. They’ve been working on some new stuff and some covers to broaden their appeal, so you’ll hear them trying some cool stuff out on you. Also tonight, The Essentials will be at the Rocky Point Pub (formerly Fiddler’s Green), to open for Grandizer Punch and Hearsay. On Friday, braving the Newport throngs will enable you to catch Amazing Mudshark at the Rhino Bar on Thames Street. Nice place, good band, scenic vistas. The wry guys in Black & White, have a typically busy weekend. On Saturday they play a sweet spot — the Ocean House in Westerly. Then on Sunday they bring their shuckin’ knives (and a few swingin’ tunes) to the Quahog Festival at Burr’s Hill Park in Warren.

E-mail me with music news at big.daddy1@cox.net