#burnhearts

Milwaukee WI

Static Eyes, 3 45′s plus swag. Clockwise from top left: “The Thaw” b/w “Blank Tapes” and “Blood Moon,” Kitschy Manitou Records. 2016. “Trouble” b/w “Waves,” Windian Records, 2012. “Frozen” and “Full of It,” Terror Trash Records, 2013. This past Saturday afternoon we headed down to Burnhearts’ 10th annual Pabst Street Party where Static Eyes were the opening band and nabbed all three of their releases, plus some stickers and a pin.

Static Eyes are a hometown Milwaukee trashy, thrashy garage punk band. They formed in 2011 “after The Gut Reactions called it quits. Knocking out loud, trashy rock-n-roll” (quote from bassist Lindsay), they are also - in classic Milwaukee-band-overlap style - 3/4′s of Foxface. The women, Lindsay on bass and Lydia on drums, are the powerful ass-kicking rhythm section, providing the foundation for Lee’s howling, Murder City Devil-esque vocals and Chris’ dirty guitar riffs. 

Their first release, “Trouble” b/w “Waves” is blistering garage infused punk swagger, reminiscent (to me, anyway) of the early aught’s Milwaukee band The Mistreaters: snarly yet really danceable. 

Static Eyes’ 2013 release is a split with another Milwaukee band, Drugs Dragon, and is more Cramps-like psychedelic garage (The Cramps are one of Static Eyes’ influences, as are Hasil Adkins, Dead Moon and The Gories), from the cover art (by Luke Chappelle) to the slower psychobilly beat to the A side at 33-1/3 rpm and the B side at 45 rpm (I think!!). The B-side is Drugs Dragon playing “Fester/Breed/Scatter” and “Waiting Around to Die” (which, notably, was recorded and mixed by Space Raft’s and RX Drugs’ Jordan Davis; RX Drugs also played at Burnhearts on Saturday), both of which are complete fuzzed-out insanity. 

Their latest release, “The Thaw” is the most polished of the three, albeit at an awesome scuzzy lo-fi frantic level. “Blank Tapes” is my favorite, with a minor chord hook that is slinky, dark, menacing and yet totally ass-shaking.