PETER & THE TEST TUBE BABIES.

I remember listening to this record for the first time - I was living in my Aunt Gloria's basement in downriver Detroit, circa 1986. I was 17, freshly out of high school in my small Tri-Cities Area town - (Bay City) - and trying to "live the dream" of moving to Detroit to be a "skatepunk". I was bagging groceries during the day & driving my shitty car all over to The Motor City at night looking for skate spots & girls & generally a good time, ya know?

(I didn't mention that my aunt was / is a born-again X-tian who put up w/ my heathen ass, but none the less, she was awesome as fuck & let me do my thing. She also made some serious carnitas & homemade chorizo, so why would I bother to complain)?

Anyways, to make a long story short, I first heard this while listening to a "Brave New Waves" radio broadcast on CJAM out of Windsor, Ontario, Canada. That's also where I heard a ton of stuff ranging from bands like Alien Sex Fiend running the gamut of "alternative" all the way to Black Flag & all points of chaos / art-damage in between.

I haven't listened to this album in a really long time, but every time I hear it, I still feel as though it is a "classic" U.K. punk album. The mix is a bit thin, but the riffs on this thing are epic. Excellent rhythm section & vocal harmonies abound as well. A band that definitely has their own sound. Not much of the rest of their catalog speaks to me, but it ain't bad - it's just that this album (for me anyways) is their pinnacle.

Peter & The Test Tube Babies - The Mating Sounds Of South American Frogs

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