Dangus Tarkus: Rock N Roll For the People 12″

Description

After last years dazzling EP on Lumpy Records, its high time for Dangs Tarks mysterious, heretofore cassette-only, killer 2013 glam punk debut, Rock n Roll for the People, to get a proper (limited) vinyl release! Who is Dangs and whats a Tarks you ask (after all the searches of Google, Wiki and the works fail to reveal the truth)? Dangs Tarks is the alter ego of Joe Sussman. So who is Joe Sussman? Joe Sussman among other distinctions is the front dude and guitar guru of NANCY (Brooklyn come Chicagos dynamo punk duo). Loyal NANCY fans will recognize Dangs Tarks originals on the album (like My Josie, Inverted Kingdom and Hot Love) from NANCYs sizzling live sets, fleshed out here and tracked with a full band (although little else is known of the rhythm section, comprised of bassist Tsh MGsh and drummer YouTbe FartTbe). Well worth the wait and its weight in meatballs, tushy tickles and every last generation of pure AM/FM gold listeners at home can expect to find the best mutant punk blasts since the age of new records from The Spits (on bangers like Apocalloyd and Brain Teaser). Pressed for 45 RPM and lovingly remastered and cut at +5DB, its legitimately loud at ANY volume! And much like any serious RocknRoll effort, this platter summons its kindred spirits and primordial forbearers in a slew of covers, ranging from the classics (Sparks and Nikki & the Corvettes) to the more obscure and underappreciated (Pantherman). Theyre reinvented here, and newly indispensable like all the songs The Cramps ever taught us! Desperate times call for Dangs Tarks; now let RocknRoll for the People ring-a-ding-ding!!!

Our take: Second record from this solo project from Joe Sussman, who you may also know as one half of Sorry State favorites Nancy. Well, if you like Nancy, I think there’s a good chance that you’ll really like Dangus Tarkus too, particularly on this record. Toeing the line between Ramones-influenced punk and power-pop about as perfectly as one could imagine, Dangus Tarkus combines the propulsive energy of the former style with the sophisticated pop sensibilities of the latter. It’s a real peanut butter and chocolate type of scenario… actually, it may even be better than that because Dangus Tarkus’s style effectively removes the annoying parts of both genres. Ramones-influenced punk can be really one-dimensional and have little variation, while power pop can sound too wimpy and glossy, but Dangus Tarkus takes only the best from each genre and leaves the rest on the curb. If you’re grabbing the Midnite Snaxxx LP (and you should be) I’d suggest adding this one as well since it has a similar sensibility and is similarly great. Highly recommended.