7 and 7 is

A bit of the old and new. To start with the old, Austin's Wonderland Gang has had a single on the wall at Sound Exchange for a while, and all the fans of that wave of sound emanating from New Zealand and Loveless-era My Bloody Valentine need to prick up their ears. On the lower fidelity end of the spectrum, the locals in the Cryin' Out Louds have a new two-song slab on Rip-Off Greg Lowery's Bay Area label Rip Off Records (get it?). Production minimal, "Bloodhound" is a true garage-gem chug-a-lug. "Motorcycle Cop" is problematic, sounding about a half-beat off the mark from being a true workout in rhythm, even if I have drunk a whole case of beer (a general prerequisite for COL's listening pleasure). Also from the Bay Area are two new singles on Man's Ruin, former Austin artiste-in-residence Frank Kozik's label. Blag Dahlia, former singer of the Dwarves has a new outfit with ex-members of Kyuss and Hemi helping him out. This particular single, "Haunt Me/Let's Take a Ride," is watered-down Dwarves with none of the guitar attack and buzzsaw vocal delivery of Blag's former days. I'm not used to hearing him sound so... relaxed. Production screw-ups also make this not worth the dough unless you're an absolute rabid fan, since both songs are A-sides of two previously released Blag Dahlia singles. However, the Dwarves' last hurrah, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, contains classics "Drug Store" and "Dairy Queen," both taken live from their last ever performance in S.F., and two unreleased gems, "Goodnight Tacoma" and "Radio #2," on the flipside. This single will kick your rock & roll ass so hard that your children will be born dizzy. You don't deserve to hear this record. Yes, it's that good. - Kelly M. Petrash

"7 and 7 is" reviews local and national 7" singles. Send to: "7 and 7 is," The Austin Chronicle, PO Box 49066, Austin, TX 78765.