KNOCKOUT PILLS- 'S/T' LP/CD PRESS

ROCK N ROLL PURGATORY (The Knockout Pills- S/T LP/CD, Dead Beat)
I don't think any genre of music has so many generic bands crowding into it as those huddled under the canopy of punk rock. What I think a lot of it is missing is spirit. I mean, what I enjoy is that feeling that a band is just trying to get something out of their system, rather than trying to fill out a preconceived notion of what punk ought to sound like. The Knockout Pills give me that feeling on this disc. It was recorded on a four-track, but luckily someone knew how to do it right. There's a lo-fi quality while the instruments remain proportional and overall very listenable. They meld 70's punk rock with strong 60's influences (especially The Who & Yardbirds), but also leave lots of room for their own voice in there. Songs like "Trust Fund Rock" and "Twist Twist Slit Your Wrists" are so damn good I'm touching myself right now. There is a lot to admire here: great vocals, great energy – I’d recommend this to fat and skinny people alike. It’ll increase the size of your manhood and give your hair a natural glow with more body and bounce than you ever thought possible. Buy an extra one for your little brother, and that creepy spinster aunt you have with the harelip and mustache. (BL)

The Crutch Fanzine (The Knockout Pills- S/T LP/CD, Dead Beat)
Tucson’s answer to the LA’s Lazy Cowgirls - grizzled punk rock vets who can kick out beer-drenched pogo punk or bloozey Keith Richards rock & roll/junkie Johnny Thunders garage, with a modest (mod-ish?) dash of Kinksian influence. There’s a purity to them unlike like The Hangmen who seemed so caught up in being caught up in the scene (anybody remember Buck Cherry?); earnest record store clerk-inspired/ready for ‘90s college radio airplay/old school flavored good time rock & roll. Call it punk, garage, r&b, soul, blues, whatever. I detect a slight Big Boys vibe. It’s all good. They should tour with Dead Moon. (Greg Barbera)

COSMIK (Knockout Pills- S/T CD Sept 2003)
Something about the cover art for this CD made me want to put it on immediately. The lettering looks like one of those old '70s kids mags like "Bananas" or something. Plus, I notice it features ex-members of the Vultures and Resonars, really cool. Wow, this is great! Recorded on a 4-track, but it's not really that lo-fi. I mean, it ain't slick but it sounds damn good. Real energetic '77 punk, great kooky vocals and fun songs like "Reject Button," "Divine Distraction" and "Here Comes The Legend." I agree with Tom Dead Beat's assertion that these guys borrow aspects of bands like Radio Birdman, the Real Kids, Saints, and Pagans in their sound. "Confused" has a cool "Bo Diddley" beat and wailing harp, sounds kinda like mid-60s freakbeat. I dig this! (Alan Wright)

SLEAZEGRINDER (Knockout Pills- S/T LP )
Hailing from Tucson, Ariz. but skronkin' along like a hooched up buncha crazy eyed Texan bastids, The KP's exist in a vortex of the finest wham bam Rock'n'Punk'n'Roll traditions kicking up whole mountains of dust hootin' and hollerin charging around like The Light Brigade, but actually winning with their own barraging massacre of frantic fusillades neatly summed up by the aptly titled "My Initial Salvo" and the cannonading Bo Diddley beat of "Confused". Such vibrant amphetamine cranked carousers are tempered with Big star / Beatles melodies especially on the Jam style That's Why, Trust Fund Rock (where I'm sure you can hear a dog bark in the background - very Brian Wilson) and closer End Has Just Begun - check the way the voxist slips into scouse (but hopefully not a shellsuit) on "begun" and "done" - he'll be all head shaking thumbs up aimless cheeriness annoyance soon, Eh, our kid, don't do it - altho truth be told that's kinda like tempering scotch with bourbon. This slight schizophrenia is fought out on the swaggering stagger of opener "Reject Button" where the singer sounds as biblious and bilious as Mark E. Smith whilst almost simultaneously managing to conjure up the lost soul of Bobby Gillespie's fey indie boy rocker of his late 80's incarnation. From a Who whirlwind intro which sees them narrowly miss lurching down a cavernous gorge and becoming Highway Star(s), held back by the bassist calling for a time out before hauling them by the scruffs of their dirty necks like a protective mother lion with her cubs on a lumbering riff and on into the clanking Radio BirdmanDamnedStooge (more than a splash of Search and Destroy here) slam catapulted along on Nicky Turner drumming and gnashing Brian James guitars. And on thru a flash flood half hour of lightning bar blasted vehement, trashy tho tight as hell, inspired and unbridedly spirited tuneful punkaroll to come to a sprawling end (well, sprawling for these fuckers anyway at 3:52) in the rough hewn mini Television psychfest epic of End Has Just Begun, building to a platform for the geetarist to exercise his fingers a little. And that's a slight wee factor in what makes this such a damn good record - The KP's combine a classic pop noise - be that Brian Wilson, the Go-Go's or The Barracuda's - with their own lyrical angle, and pretty top notch playing before slinging em together almost carelessly in a fast, furious, brash, vital wreckin brawl, leaving em to it while spinning the 4-track to record the whole rough and ready results.. and they still come out shining full of essential Heartbreakers dash. Classic. Neat, Neat, Neat indeed. And they also have a good line about deciding what boots to wear before a show. While this is apparently meant to be derisive I disagree. Boots are good.

AMP (Knockout Pills- S/T CD| Aug 2003)
Wow! This one’s a real surprise! This Arizona band’s debut long-player kicks ass! Great across the board, as they play a speedy brand of ‘77 punk / pop one tune, then immediately move to a more garagey number, and then to a straight up rocker-on and on. But pay that no mind, it’s all Rock’n’Roll here, and some damn fine Rock’N’Roll at that. I’m absolutely positive that this band will force me to empty my pockets in search of beer money during their live show. Can’t wait! (Mel Cheplowitz)

AMERICORE MAGAZINE (Knockout Pills- S/T CD| Aug 2003)
The Rezellios meet The Deadboys in an alley for a knife fight only to get detoured on a surfing trip with the Crowd. Pogo-punk with a poppy edge, abrasive guitar attack over machine gun drums. It's eclectic, it's raw and just punchy enough to keep your hankering for retro punk satisfied. 13 songs of punk angst, sarcasm and humor. Definitely a much needed relief from all the over the top political air in the world today. Goes great with beer and tacos. - Larry Lugz

DEEP FRY BONANZA
Knockout Pills, the - Self-titled
In any other year, this Arizona garage rock band's debut full-length would be the best album of the year. However, this is 2003 so they'll have to settle for fourth...

When Nirvana hit in 1992 it was indeed a phenomenal thing; I could tell even though I was only a pimpled, thirteen-year-old would-be music geek at the time. I didn’t really understand what was happening while all this was going on, I just bought the records, and with Kurt Cobain spouting the names of bands like Flipper, the Wipers, the Vaselines, the Meat Puppets and tons of others endlessly it seemed as there was no bottom to the indie groundswell that Nirvana rode to the top of the pop charts. However, after I completely digested Nirvana and moved from pre-teen idol worship into teenage hipper-than-thou-ness I found that once Nirvana popped up on MTV their influence virtually disappeared from the underground. Unless you cared about getting signed to a major label (and don't get me wrong, plenty of people did), no one in 1994 was playing grunge in punk rock clubs; instead the most cutting edge styles were the East Bay pop punk of bands like Jawbreaker and Crimpshrine (which itself went bust after Green Day hit it big) and proto-metalcore of bands like Earth Crisis and Madball.

For the past few years now the music press has been trying to sell the youth of America ( the Wipers never leave us, do they?) on the fact that bands like the White Stripes are the new millennium’s equivalent to Nirvana. However, whereas Nirvana’s sound was built very gradually on a foundation of post-Damaged Black Flag, Kiss, the Beatles and Mudhoney, the White Stripes seemed to come out of nowhere. Sure, there has always been the Estrus/Sympathy for the Record Industry clique, but who do you know that was actually listening to that stuff before the NME picked up the scoop? Even given the White Stripes’ blatant garage-isms, it’s tough to argue that their combination of neo-blues with that subgenre was anything but innovative, and when “I Fell In Love with a Girl” came on the radio it sounded fresh to all but the most savvy ears.

Now, in an eerie reflection of the economic philosophy of our current Republican administration, the White Stripes’ influence seems to be trickling down into the underground, almost in an inverse pattern to the way in which Nirvana fed off and grew out of their own influences. You hear their garagey production in just about every record that’s come out in the past year, and Jack White’s back-to-basics approach to songwriting that takes the central melody away from the guitar and puts it back with the vocals feels omnipresent as of late. Even more strangely, while Nirvana’s success resulted in a thousand and one abominably shitty grunge bands that were all eagerly gobbled up by the mainstream (Candlebox anyone?), the White Stripes’ success has resulted in a mainstream-immune Renaissance of great, classic songwriting in the underground.

The latest band to land themselves on my seemingly unending list of great music to follow in the Stripes’ wake (see the Exploding Hearts and the Put-Ons for the two best examples to date) are Tucson, Arizona’s the Knockout Pills. Like the aforementioned bands, the Knockout Pills achieve their greatness by putting their own spin on the afore-described sound, mixing the Stripes’ garage-heavy rock and roll with the brilliant songwriting of bands like the Buzzcocks and the Boys and the super-high-octane tempos of groups like the Clash and the Ramones (by the way, just to be fair the members of the Knockout Pills have been at this for eons, serving time in well-known garage-punk acts like the Weird Lovemakers and the Vultures). I’m sure you’re listening to me rattling off all of these classic bands’ names right now and thinking “yeah, right, another over-zealous reviewer getting off by sending us on a wild goose chase for a record that’s just going to disappoint us in the end,” but that is not so my friend. The Knockout Pills are the real deal, pure and undiluted rock and roll the way that kids decades from now will remember 2003 as being all about.

When that wild, spastic opening riff to “Reject Button” leads off the disc you know that you’re in for trouble, then those drawling, Radio Birdman-esque vocals kick in and it’s all fucking over. I know that this is what I’ve been waiting for; an Exploding Hearts with more subtle and mature songwriting skills, a Put-Ons who take influences from the hardcore scene that I so dearly love. The Knockout Pills bring it all together magnificently in a twisted, swirling mass of layered melody whose only equal among current rock and roll bands is the almighty Arrivals.

I’d spend the next five paragraphs going through this rager song-by-song, but what’s the point? Great music like this doesn’t need analysis, it needs a breezy summer night, a car with the windows down, the stereo cranked up as high as it’ll go and a front end pointed toward the beach. Besides, you need to listen to this thing yourself, to absorb every chord, every bubbling bass line and every drum fill, to know every song like you know your own last name. You need to lie down in bed at night and wrap that spot-on four-track production around you like a quilt your grandma made for you. In short, this isn’t a record you like, it’s a record you live.

GO METRIC! (Knockout Pills- S/T CD| #17 Fall 2003)
The Knockout Pills came in just before we wrapped up the reviews, so don't be fooled by the relatively brief write up; this record is excellent and highly recommended. Revved up Chuck Berry riffs, revved up Stones riffs -- whatever they shift into it's revved up, and it stomps their first ep (which I liked) into the ground. These guys deserve to go into tax exile after a record like this. - Mike Faloon

NOW WAVE (Knockout Pills- S/T CD)
Alright! Alright! Alright! Garage punk is popular now. What was uncool in 1993 is hip in 2003. Everyone’s buying Rip Offs, Teengenerate and Mummies records and taking notes. Bands are popping up across the nation and around the world. All these bands take their pawnshop guitars, press record on their shitty four track and release their sonic disasters onto an unsuspecting punk rock populace. Most of these bands have no sense of melody and couldn’t find a hook in a fucking bait and tackle shop. Unlike most of these children of the lo-fi revolution, the Knockout Pills know the importance of a good hook and aren’t afraid to use them. These guys can flat out write great songs that are catchy without sacrificing that raw, trashy energy that makes garage punk so great. Also unlike many of these new garage punk bands, the Knockout Pills are not dependent on their idols. While I do hear shades of Teengenerate and the Saints (especially in the vocals which come off as a cross between Fink and Chris Bailey...fucking cool!!!), it’s easy to see that the Knockout Pills have done something many bands today either can’t or aren’t willing to do…..achieve their own sound. So do yrself a favor and get this.....now!!!
---Troy Canady

RAZORCAKE (Knockout Pills- S/TLP)
Sometimes, it's hard for me to let go. I know, I know, The Weird Lovemakers are done. They've fractured: one guy actually getting a girlfriend, the Radio Reelers, and the Knockout Pills. Whereas the Weird Lovemakers were, gloriously, all over the map, the Knockout Pills have their feet steadfastly planted in harmony-rich '60s rock, like The Zombies and The Animals. While these guys have a healthy respect to give the songs a true charge, they aren't so respectful that it seems like a merely coloring in of existing musical shapes. Nuts get kicked. Instruments get whacked. So, yeah, there's some understandable similarity the New Bomb Turks, but not so much to think that these guys don't have brains and extensive record collections of their own. Ultimately, what's pleasant about this LP is how listenable it is. When it gets mellow and a harmonica gets broken out in "Confused", it burns slowly without getting sleepy. When they pick it up, your ear gets humped. Not to sopund like Lenard Nimoy narrating In Search Of..., but as a dawn that casts long shadows slowly gives away to mid day, when a band has to stand up by themselves regardless of their predeccessors, the Knockout Pills pull out their own revolvers, and prove themselves. Although the album didn't stun me right off the bat, with each successuive listen, it gets deeper and stronger. Enthusiastic thumbs up. - Todd

WMBR TOP TEN (from Tim Kelly)
The Knockout Pills are one of those ringing, high-speed punk-pop bands that are trashy enough to be on the Ripoff label (a la The Marked Men), but their new self-titled full-length happens to be on the equally great Dead Beat Records label. This week, I played "Only Echoes", which, like the cut I played last week, "Divine Distraction", sounds like the Boys-inspired FM Knives on a coke jag.

PUNK FIX.NET (The Knockout Pills s/t CD, Dead Beat Records)
- Smoking garage punk at its finest. Why the fuck haven't I heard of this band before this? This record is kicking my ass right now. Really, really solid. Just the right amount of dirtiness and hooks. Get this! Get this! Get this!

HOUSE OF SMUT (Knockout Pills- ST LP, Dead Beat Records)
When you play straightforward garage/punk/rock and
roll, it can be really difficult to form your own
identity. Of course, the best bands of this genre are
able to do just that. Kind of like the Knockout Pills
do on this superb self-titled disc of theirs.The sound
of the Knockout Pills could be described as a hybrid
of Radio Birdman, Stop Rock and Roll-era Drags, and
vintage Cheap Trick. This music is to the point and
raw, yet simultaneously melodic and hook-filled, with
just the slightest hint of quirkiness mixed in. The
liberal use of harmony background vocals proves to be
the x-factor which seperates the Knockout Pills from
the rest of the pack. While wearing their influences
openly, this is a band with their own face. Every song
on this album is excellent but there is one standout
track--"Confused". This track is the standout mainly
in terms of the fact its so different from the rest of
the material on the disc. Deviating from the
aforementioned hybrid, "Confused" sees the Knockout
Pills bringing you Pretty Things-styled action,
perfectly. It's not just the fact its different but
that it's just as great as the rest of this album's 13
tracks, in spite of the departure.If you're looking
for a slightly fresher sound in your rock and roll,
the Knockout Pills are sure to fill your prescription.
This is an extremely promising start for an extremely
talented band. A keeper, for sure. Score this CD
directly from DEAD BEAT.

BLANK GENERATION (Knockout Pills- S/T LP, Sept 2003)
Here’s some great shit. The Knockout Pills are new to my ears and ah, such a treat! They have a classic Killed by Death punk sound, like AFRIKA CORPS or GIZMOS or something but unleash one fab track right after the other. All rage on the stage with this one... and you cant help but to turn it up WAY loud on a great one like this. You know, its on some records... PLAY LOUD... really though, there needs to be a council created that bands submit releases to and after a few listens a vote is cast seeking majority for a classifying of the term PLAY LOUD on a new release. A unanimous vote would bring about Capital letters in BOLD type with an exclamation mark ( PLAY LOUD! ). Either way, I think the Play Loud Council would vote unanimously, this Knockout Pills CD is definitly a PLAY LOUD! release even though they didn’t even go that route!!!! Such humbleness! No PLAY LOUD! anywhere! Lets face facts: fans of ‘garage rock’ and all that Rip Off Records stuff take note of this CD. Quite honestly, this is one of the best records I have heard in a long while, like since when I first heard The Registrators! Song after song...Hit after fucking hit! Man, this is such a good CD. A Definite Nu-Classic! This is the kind of CD you want playing when you have 200 soldiers outside YOUR palace shooting missiles at you and you know your time is near but hopefully the grim reaper dont call before the last track is played.... The End is the E-N-D! Hit the Deck! PITH RATING: 10 (Go and get one NOW! A MUST-HAVE! Changes perceptions and creates new definitions) -Shawn Abnoxious

ODYSSEY ZINE The Knockout Pills- S/T LP
I don't know if you've ever been fortunate enough to hear an album that accurately represents much of what you love most about rock and roll, but this is one of them for me. I was absolutely, completely floored by this record. That's something that only happens once in a great while. There aren't enough curse words to describe how fucking thrilling this album is from beginning to end. At first spin, you're hearing what could simply be classified as energetic, low-fidelity, punk rock in the Rip-Off records vein. But that's not enough. It's like all of the greatest Rip-Off moments rolled-up into one band. That's not to say that these guys are a clone. They're familiar, but on multiple levels. The Knockout Pills touch on so many amazing things. The Stooges, Back from The Grave, British invasion (ala The Who, Creation, etc.), Crime, Ventures, etc. In short, the Knockout Pills bridge classic snarling punk of the 70s and bellowing 60s garage, surf and psych records that came before. That is something many bands have tried to do. The only difference here is that the Knockout Pills have done it better than any band I've yet heard. I can’t stop listening. This debut is classic, high-octane shit. I'll be surprised if I hear another album this year that I enjoy as much as this one.

MAXIMUMROCKNROLL (Knockout Pills- S/T LP, issue #243)
The KNOCKOUT PILLS start out with plenty of gusto and verve. Solid power pop that'll knock yer socks off. Get it NOW! (HM)

MELODIK (Knockout Pills- S/T LP)
Autant la précédente livraison Dead Beat déchirait sa race, autant cette fois on a un peu du mal à se jeter dans la bataille (et Fontaine ?). Ca s’arrange pas mal avec KOP, du fait de la variété (du verbe varier) de leur compos et du background musical qu’il semble posséder au long de leur album. Loin d’une enfilade bruyante, KoP parvient à afficher un sourire complice sur la face explosée de l’auditeur. « Reject Button » sonne punk année 80 (punk wave) avec des guitares qui feraient presque penser à U2 (non on reste là, ce n’est pas insultant !), on y côtoie les New Bomb Turks, en plus pop, et on plonge chez les Plimsouls (dont vous me ferez l’essai, ils ont inventé en partie la power pop américaine). L’harmonica relève le goût, la batterie sonne Bo diddley pure RnR… Sans être le bazar de chez Mr Aziz, les gars connaissent leur histoire du rock, s’en imprègnent et en sortent quelque chose de perso. Un album qui s’écoute et même se réécoute.