#throbbin and poundin

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1313 Mockingbird Lane - “Dig Her Up” Ultra Swank: Cacophone Sampler 1999 Song released in 1990. Compilation released in 1999. Garage Rock / Horror Rock / Indie Rock

Named after the residence at which The Munsters resided, Albany, New York’s 1313 Mockingbird Lane were, without a doubt, one of the greatest bands to ever come out of that late 80s to late 90s period of garage rock revivalism. But as their name might suggest, there was an added twist to their schtick, because not only did they supply a terrific dose of 60s-era garage rock, they also managed to infuse it uniquely with another piece of fun 60s pop culture: campy B-movie horror themes, a la those psychobilly punk heroes, The Cramps. So, mix those two things with a dash of 70s Detroit / Ann Arbor guitar power and a little bit of “The Monster Mash” and you get this incredibly fun band.

From the Scooby Doo!-vibed liner notes of their 1990 debut album, Have Hearse Will Travel, written by Greg Haymes of fellow Albany band, Blotto:

In the garage, the hearse is revvin’. the gears are grindin’ & this ghoulishly groovy group is ready to take you on the ride of your life. Slap this psychotic little sizzler of sinister sounds on the turntable and abandon yourself to the bone-chillin’ band of the damned.

Pulse to the throbbin’, goblin bass-bashin’ of Robin Graves! Thrill to Haunted Hausmann’s blisterin’, fuzz-buzzin’ guitar! Dig Kim’s fiendishly frightenin’ Farfisa riffs! Tremble at the primordial power-poundin’ of Marty Feier!

No paisley pop here, 1313 MOCKINGBIRD LANE cranks out gorgeous and ghastly grit and grunge. Their ghostly, gruesome growls’n’howls are guaranteed to blow away the cobwebs, melt your mind and scorch your skull. HAVE HEARSE WILL TRAVEL is jam-packed with nefarious nuggets of dastardly brain-damagin’, dizzyingly delicious dementia!

Hot! Hard! Heavy! Hellish! Real rock & roll the way you remember it... the way you wish it could always be... the way it is now and forever in the hands of 1313 MOCKINGBIRD LANE!

Have Hearse Will Travel, which was released by Cacophone Records, contains one of 1313 Mockingbird Lane’s most iconic tracks, an exceedingly noisy and loud piece of debauched, schizophrenic enjoyment called “Dig Her Up”. And probably because of how timeless this song sounds, Cacophone then managed to slip it onto their Ultra Swank label sampler nine years later, sounding just as, if not more, fresh than all of the compilation’s other tracks.

“Dig Her Up” really is a perfect representation of that freewheeling 60s garage rock sound though, from its flooding and buzzing Farfisa organ chords, to its jangle-scratched guitar riffs, to its drum and tambourine combo, to its wide, roving bassline, all with Haunted Haussman’s absurd and theatrical, reverbed vocals laid somewhere in between. And at a pristine audio quality, too, no less. Just really superb stuff all around.

60s horror and 60s garage rock terrifically fused together for the 90s and beyond. 1313 Mockingbird Lane were such a great band.