As an avid fan of garage and psychedelia I used to, at a certain point in my life, buy anything I could find in those styles. Thankfully I'm cured of that, but in the Hentchmen's case I just had to hear what young Jack White was up to before he became famous. His influence in the Hentchmen's sound doesn't seem to be so big, as he mostly played bass and contributed some vocals. His Jimmy Page-like guitar is audible only in the Beatles' "Some Other Guy" and (appropriately) the Yardbirds' "Psycho Daisies" - both of which happen to be the record's highlights, the first one being the album's "pop" and second its "hard rock" moment. Pop, that is, for Hentchmen standards, since their sound is generally very raw and energetic, reminiscent of England's Headcoats or their Detroit neighbors the Dirtbombs. The first half of the album is the better one, featuring 60's sounding lo-fi garage dynamite like "Yesterday's Trash", "LA.M.F", "Automatic" and Bo Diddley-referencing "Me and My Monotone". "Little No More", "Carry Me Home" and "Big Screen Lover" are a sub-Sonics romps while "R&R Cancer" degenerates further into pure noise. Now, I know that garage punk is meant to be loud and noisy but, on record at least, a token melody is required. "Gawker Delay", "Club Wagon" And "Ham & Oil" are some raucous instrumentals filling up the record. The album closes with a pointless alternative version of "Psycho Daisies" that is almost identical to the first one. All in all, I don't doubt the Hentchmen must be a good live band, but their energy does not transfer well in CD and their own compositions lack hooks. They could have used more help from Jack White, who was at that time busy with setting up his own band The White Stripes. When he takes over the vocals or plays guitar, he elevates the band a notch. But, as is evident from the back cover, he was the odd man out here.
**** for Some Other Guy, Psycho Daisies
*** for Yesterday's Trash, LA.M.F, Automatic, Me and My Monotone, Little No More, Big Screen Lover
** for Gawker Delay, Carry Me Home, R&R Cancer, Club Wagon, Ham & Oil
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