Clean Room: Madcity Meltdown EP (Rare Plant)

   
Photo Credit: Waldo Oswaldo, taken at Two-Til Club, San Diego 2017 Tour.

  
Some bands wear their influences on their sleeves, as the saying goes—but when a band has so many influences and each members' songwriting eclectic inspirations take a life of their own, it takes a keen ear to dissect each style. Music aficionados will have more than enough fillets-of-fuzz stacked on their palettes in a single sitting with the endless helpings offered on this next installment:
Madcity Meltdown is the latest installment from Madison, WI underground rock pioneers, Clean Room. Delving into familiar lo-fi rock ‘n roll territory while bringing unexpected, fast-paced psychedelic ingenuity into the carefully-selected mix, Clean Room hearkens back to the heavy-yet-melodic prowess of early-era Alice Cooper—notably on “Way Long Gone.” Rest assured, Thin Lizzy's skillful, metal swagger is not absent. Passages of garage rock-infused skate punk seamlessly permeate through Iron Maiden-meets-Tony Iommi soloing and power chord-driven choruses, reflecting the band’s innermost determination to experiment upon the tightly interlocked rhythmic foundations.
Jeff Halleran (also of Darker ‘n Darker) lyrically struts and prowls keenly along the riffs, invoking such greats as the oft-neglected simplicity of the Ramones and the ballad-style glam rock of T-Rex on “Rock ‘N Roll Dream.” More specialized influences permeate the mix as well, including underground skate/stoner rock giants The Shrine in “Jackhammer In A Fur Coat,” which depicts a real scene from drummer from the multi-talented life of Elyse Clouthier (also of The Lurk Hards and Gender Confetti), while jack-hammering a skate ramp clad in a fur coat! Her fluid songwriting abilities are deftly demonstrated on "Heartwork," featuring her own intense barrage of lyrics. Bassist Matt "Donut" Behm also contributes to the collective songwriting stew on "Sweet Muthatruckin," adding his own variety of bass-driven intensity that channels some killer early punk and a highly original, lo-fi garage flair.
Support their album on their bandcamp page, keep an eye out for their upcoming live album and the Clean Room/Lurk Hards split 7", plus a new EP all coming at the end of winter and spring! 

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