german dutch italian spanishs french
...REVIEWS !!
THE
TURPENTINE BROTHERS
"s/t" LP
german dutch
italian spanishs french
ENGLISH
ROCTOBER (USA) SEP 2008 Peeled my Paint! Trash Rock that is not afraid to slow down or to crank it up, resulting in an LP that is positevly wicked (both in the New Enland slang sense and the New England burn at the stake sense)!
BIG TAKEOVER (USA) SEP 2008 I haven’t heard from Boston’s Turpentine Brothers since their 2005 debut We Don’t Care About Your Good Times on Alive Records, which is a shame because I really liked that. This LP reminds me why. Unlike their lo-fi garage rock peers, who can be more worried about sloppy drunkenness than songs, the trio of Justin (vocals/guitar), Zack (organ) and Tara (drums) is really focused on the music. Furthermore, they don’t pigeonhole themselves into garage rock formula with the same tired riffs. There are real songs: “Forget Loyalty” has an almost Devo-esque groove, while “Tired Luxury” is somewhere between prairie cowboy music and LOU REED. “Plans” is catchy emotional catharsis. More bands should be this good.
MONKEY BUSINESS OCT 2010 Was habe ich mich gefreut, als im Briefkasten ein Päckchen aus dem Hause Alien Snatch! Rec. lag. Vor 11 Jahren lernte ich den heutigen Labelchef Daniel in Stuttgart zufällig kennen. Er verkaufte Platten beim Yum Yums Konzert, welches ich besuchte. Wir kamen ins Quatschen und ich erstant noch ein Tape, welches er herausbrachte. Es war voll mit Garagen Bands und alten 77-Kram. Genau mein Ding. Man blieb sporadisch im Kontakt und bereits damals erzählte er mir von einer Idee ein Label zu machen. Er gründete dann kurze Zeit später Alien Snatch. Von Anfang an war ich begeistert von den Platten die aus einem Kaff (irgendwas mit Untergruppen-dingens, keine Ahnung mehr) im Süden des Landes rausgehauen wurden. Garage-Punk war das Stichwort! Ist es bis heute geblieben und so kommen Platten heraus, die sich in eben diesen Dunstkreis aus Schwachsinn, Schnaps, verstimmten Gitarren und der Hure Liebe zusammen setzen. Kommen wir zur Platte: Die Turpentine Brothers sollen eine gute Live-Band sein, so erzählte man mir, nach einem Konzert im Gleis22, welches ich nicht besuchen konnte. Nun gut, jetzt also endlich mal die Platte im Haus. Mit 10 songs doch arg kurz geraten, da man dann in 21 Minuten bereits durch ist...ABER!!! ABER!!! Das ist völlig egal. Ich habe lange keine so geile Platte gehört. Das Info erzählt irgendwas vonwegen Memphis/Montreal-Sound und es stimmt! Reigning Sound und Les Sexareenos sind auf alle Fälle hier und da herauszuhören. Besser kann ich es auch nicht erklären. Es rumpelt und bollert die ganze Zeit. Die Orgel jammert und Sänger Justin trägt das alles in einer überzeugenden Art und einer perfekten Stimme. Der Song "Tired Luxury" hat es mir von Anfagn an angetan. Baladen sind genau mein Ding. Wer mich damit überzeugen kann, hat auf ewig einen Platz in meinem Herz. Garagen-Krach der genialsten Sorte und kein NME-Hype-Kunst-Schwuchtel-sound in Anzügen und schrecklichen Frisuren. This is Rock & Roll. (El Chico Loco)
INCOGNITO
(GERMANY) MARCH 2008 Erinnerten die TURPENTINE BROTHERS auf dem Album
"We Don't Care About The Good Times" noch stark an die späten
Veröffentlichungen der OBLIVIANS, geht der dichte treibende Sound mittlerweile
eher in Richtung MURDER CITY DEVILS. Die R&B Wurzeln sind durchaus noch
vorhanden, wechseln sich beim Gitarren-Sound aber mit messerscharfen Garage-Punk-Riffs
die fast schon an die REATARDS heranreichen, dazu ein meist dichter Orgel-Teppich
vom Sound zwischen R&B und leicht düsterm New Wave Punk. Starkes Album
mit treibenden Garage Punk Krachern wie etwa "Time/Min.", "Man
With Direction" oder "Ritalin" die irgendwo zwischen MURDER CITY
DEVILS, OBLIVIANS und T.S.O.L. zu Zeiten von ihrem Album "Beneath The Shadows"
liegen. Dazu kommt mit "Forget Loyality" eine Nummer mit Songstrukturen
im Stil von WARSAW, mit "Tired Luxury" gibt es eine schwer von Soul
und Memphis-Rock'n'Roll infizierte Nummer die an REIGNING SOUND erinnert, und
zum Rhythmus von "Like A Dead Man", bei dem die TURPENTINE BROTHERS
No Wave Strukturen mit erdigem Blues Punk verbinden, kann man bildlich gesehen
eine ganze Horde Zombies torkeln sehen.
Dig
It ! (FRANCE) MAY 2008
Autre univers et architecture plus tourmentée pour les Turpentine Brothers
de Boston. Le duo, formé par Justin Hubbard (chant/guitare) des Kings
of Nuthin' et Tara (batterie - Mr Airplane Man) pour assurer les entr'actes
de leurs groupes respectifs et se faire offrir quelques verres en plus, s'est
transformé en trio avec l'arrivée de Zack Brines, organiste chez
les Kings Of Nuthin' lui aussi. Du coup, le son s'est étoffé et
les influences primitives des tout débuts (Hasil Adkins principalement)
se sont élargies pour englober la Soul (sur son premier album, le groupe
reprenait Curtis Mayfield et le classique Motown "Love's Gone Bad")
ou le garage psyché à la Black Lips. Et l'orgue très "Mr
Quintron" de Zack rappelle une période précise des Oblivians...
Dommage quand même que sur ce deuxième album, les influences Soul
soient moins discernables que précédemment.(GC)
THE
TURPENTINE BROTHERS
"Get Your Mind Off Me / Not Your Fashion 7"
german dutch
italian spanishs french
ENGLISH
RAZORCAKE
(USA) SUMMER 2007 Blues and soul used to heartbeat around the highways
of America one road house, chapel, and boozing ken at a time. It’s a different
war of culture now; against the stucco footprints of chain store giants. In
between the toes, a jangly fungus is proving resistant to the merciless stomps
and flattening. Surely, The Turpentine Brothers owe the Reigning Sound several
quarters in their tip jar, but this is far from a straight-up rip. They hold
steady on their own with organ-alive, harmonic-piping, gasoline-soaked, rag-on-the-mouth
music that stands proudly by itself. Great stuff. –Todd Taylor (todd)
GONER RECORDS (USA) SEP 2007 Justin Hubbard's great baritone powers through the mid-week mess like a shot of smoky whiskey... no wonder Germany's sharp-as-german-tacks ALIEN SNATCH label put this out! Love us some Turpentine Brothers around here- features Tara from Mr Airplane Man, too! LP is GREAT! (WC)
HIGH HEELS SLUT #6 (BELGIUM) AUGUST 2007 Boston has always had a vivid hardcore and streetpunk scene, but the Turpentine Brothers put the city on the map as well when it comes down to nasty garagepunk. With “Get Your Mind Off Me” and “Not Your Fashion” this trio pukes out two blistering gems of upbeat garagepunk. Tara’s drumkit provides a whippin’ drum rhythm to which the guitar puts some sharp and filthy riffs. The organ heats things up even more and adds up to the total energetic outcome. A damn solid release, so it’s just too bad there are only two songs on the wax! (WC)
KULTURSREVR GRAZ (Asutria) Feb 2007 Bluespunkband aus Boston (bestehend aus Leuten von Kings Of Nuthin und Mr.Airplane Man), scheinbar schwer vom Oblivians-Gospel-Album und ganz klar von Gun Club beeinflusst (Vocals), aber auch Cheater Slicks- und Soul-Einflüsse sind vertreten. Nach den Dirtbombs und den Little Killers eine DER Bands die es zu beachten gilt, gerade weil sie nicht den üblichen Beat-Einfluss aufweist, sondern auch ohne Retro-Klischees versteht, die Hüften zum Schwingen zu bringen, vor allem mit einer wunderbar dramatisch melancholischen Grundstimmung.(AB)
INCOGNITO
(GERMANY) SEP 2006 "Get Your Mind Off Me" ist ein wilder, extrem rhythmischer und tanzbarer Blues Punk Hit und bislang von der Intensität wie auch vom Hitpotential her ihre stärkste Nummer - Orgel getriebener, Soul infizierter Blues Punk im Fahrwasser der späten OBLIVIANS, härteren REIGNING SOUND. Dazu kommt mit "Not Your Fashion" eine, vor allem durch die schneidende Gitarre, und den aggressiven Gesang, härter gehaltene Nummer, die musikalisch irgendwo zwischen den REATARDS und melodischeren KILLED BY DEATH-Sachen steht. Kommt in fester Papphülle mit durchdachtem Artwork - der TURPENTINE BROTHERS-Schriftzug auf dem gezeichneten Kopf schlängelt sich in Hirnform.
GREEN HELL (GERMANY) SEP 2006 Atemloser, dicht am Kontrollverlust vorbei schrammender, aber dabei stets unheimlich groovender Garage Rock mit einer riesigen Portion Arsch-schüttelndem Soul. Stell dir eine Mischung aus The REIGNING SOUND, LES SEXAREENOS und den GHETTO WAYS vor und du hast eine ungefähre Vorstellung der zwei Songs auf dieser 7". Der Sound ist verhältnismäßig trashig, aber dem hochexplosiven, R&B beeinflußten Songs kann das rein gar nichts anhaben! (AB)
Dig
It ! (FRANCE) OCT 2006 Chez les *Turpentine Brothers* (dont un membre est en fait une sister), on donne dans la déjante lo-fi avec orgue abrasif et on édifie un mur du son qui rappelle les Reatards ou certaines prods post-Oblivians de Greg C. Déconseillé aux sensibles de la feuille mais recommandé des deux mains et des deux pieds aux accros du Memphis punk sound. Anecdote : c'est la première fois qu'/Alien Snatch Rds/ sort un 45t avec seulement deux titres, d'habitude y'en a toujours au moins trois. Les Turpentine Brothers seraient-ils avares de compos fraîches?
coming soon .
coming soon .
coming soon .
Album reviews
Chaz Music Rule #1: If the album youre listening to reminds you of a twisted 50s teen dance party, keep listening, cause man, its probably gonna be pretty damn good. Rock n Roll is still being reborn from smoking ashes everyday. Well, maybe not everyday, but it seems to pick its geriatric self up off the toilet every now and then, and smoke another one out. The brothers Turpentine offer us up twelve tracks of loose, shakin, swamp boogie. One for each can sittin here next to me perfect. A pocketful of change gets you in the door, the punch is spiked and the chucks are dancin, so bring your best gal or guy along and dont stop til the sun comes around. We Dont Care about Your Good Times (already the defending heavyweight of this years best album title) is the debut album from this sleazy Boston trio. It moves you in every way possible; its a complete, awkward dance party all the way through, with downright boogie rock and slow eye-searchin songs. Think Greg Cartwright (and his many band incarnations Oblivians/Reigning Sound/etc.), the Gun Club and the Cramps, and youre warming up to their sound. One of the things that these four bands have in common is their obvious love for old soul, gospel and lost basement rock 45s. Were all music nerds here, right? The Turpentines have that good down-home, soulful garage blues thing happening (like Mr. Cartwright), a swingin, slimy dance beat (a la the Gun Club) and the assertive, darkly reverbed vocals akin to Lux Interior himself. The guitar of Mr. Hubbard snakes thickly underneath more reverb and fuzz, while Mr. Brines organ warbles jumpin and spittin out of a Leslie cabinet. Drum knockout Tara McManus (also of Mr. Airplane Man) steadies the boat with her heavy-bottomed beat. Altogether, its a good scummy mess of an old rock sound. Three quarters of the album is all originals, while the remaining quarter gives you an idea of where theyre coming from Curtis Mayfields Fool for You, Charles Browns I Wanna Be Close and Holland, Dozier, Hollands Loves Gone Bad. The twist, however, is that they are all personalized and sound like theyre being shoved out of an old, finicky blown speaker jukebox. If you can find it, listen to the track Why Cant I Do; its a beautifully slow one but is easily one of the albums best. This album is definitely worth the buy if you need to add a little swing to your step. - Chaz Martenstein / Left Of The Dial
Boston's Turpentine Brothers (actually two brothers and a sister) rip through their R&B-infused stompers in a breathless rush, all drums and guitar and organ used as blunt instruments. Most of the time, anyway; while "Wastin' Time," "People are Talkin'" and the title song break bones and bruise kidneys, "Why Can't I Do" and covers of Curtis Mayfield's "Fool For You" and Charles Brown's "I Wanna Be Close" hint at a throbbing heart, even if singer/guitarist Justin tries to hide it under a layer of grit. One hundred percent pretension free, We Don't Care About Your Good Times is raw, crude and primitive in the very best way. - Michael Toland / Highbias
I'm loving this bands dirty garage groove. Max'd out with guitar, drums and an organ straight swiped from a haunted hockey rink. These grimy rock gems ooze! The Turpentine Brothers rock it out with oodles of savoir faire perching them right up there with the champs of the division! "Why Can't I Do" is a creeping rock/blues ace, "Fool For You" a rollicking and original Curtis Mayfield cover and a smattering of other smoky rockers makes you eager to experience the sonic, sweaty environment of the band live on stage... Maybe a dream lineup matching this Boston trio along with Dead Moon and The Black Keys. - Craig Goossen / Culture Bunker
This Boston band melds perfectly together old-time gospel, '60s garage, '70s minimalist punk and '80s swamp rock to deliver one of the most exciting new releases of 2005. (...) What you get are some dark yet disturbingly exciting masterpieces that would sound perfect in a dark, smokey nightclub. This shit is just the way I like it, dirty, gritty, lowdown rock'n'roll. Fave cuts: "People Are Talkin'," "Somethin's Not Right," "Why Can't I Do," "Wastin' Time," and the title cut. This is magnificent. Get this album or miss out on one of the most exciting and important new releases of the year. - Kopper / Primordial Ooze
A stumbling, drunk, angry, head bobbing good time. I really dig them. The organ is absolutely awesome. It's somewhat revival, somewhat not. But whatever you want to call it, it sounds right. - Brett O'Connor / Negatendo
It seems today that every band either wants to be Duran Duran or The Stooges. Judging from their debut, count The Turpentine Brothers in the latter camp. They're a guitar/drums/organ trio creating the kind of 60's-flavored garage roick that would make Steven Van Zant's [sic] babushka fly off in excitement. This is the record Mooney Suzuki should've made to follow up Electric Sweat. Melodic, ominous, and lo-fi, it's like watching a black-and-white horror movie in the middle of the night. That vintage organ sound gives a vibe equal parts roadhouse and haunted house. "Wrong Night" could've been used in a 60's crime movie with Lee Marvin ore Steve McQueen. "Somethin's Not Right" is the kind of kick-ass rave-up Aerosmith used to excel at, like "Rats In The Cellar." Rock and roll could use a boost right now. Be thankful we've got The Turpentine Brothers. - Matt Leinwohl / The Sentimentalist
Even when the Boston organ-drums-guitar trio Turpentine Brothers take on soulful R&B songs like Curtis Mayfield's "Fool for You" and Holland/Dozier/Holland's "Love's Gone Bad," they plow through them with a bear-like abandon and garage-band energy. The Turps' own "Somethin's Not Right" comes off like a trashier version of Radio Birdman, and Zack's organ gives "Why Can't I Do" an early Animals feel. Singer-guitarist Justin has a casually moody, unconcerned-seeming low voice that drives the snappy folk-rocker "All the Same," while Mr. Airplane Man drummer Tara McManus' experience keeps things chugging along in a hypnotic fashion. With its pinball-light reverb and crashed-train-to-Clarksville druggy plucking, "Wrong Night" is an electrically haunted instrumental, a cool break on a cool debut. -Falling James / Carbon 14
Hmmmm...Alive records is Bomp's high energy division so I could expect something less pop and more MC5, right? Heavy organ brings back some Doors memories though I hear a lot more Hackamore Brick in the stew. The vocals are pure post-Morrison anyway. Nice '69/'70s cusp energy tricks here, sorta like the stuff Richard Robinson said was gonna be the top guns of the seventies scene and he was right, in a certain way. Amazing high-energy sound I haven't heard from a live/kicking group in quite some time, with the right touch of "garage" tossed in just so it doesn't go hippie on us. Drummer is actually a Turpentine sister as well! Some tracks like "Wastin' Time" seem to venture off towards more of a "boogie" direction but on the whole I found these Brothers (and "sister") to be a pretty enthralling batch. - Black2comm
What a waste of time it would be to mention The Doors or Iggy Pop at a time like this! Tara McManus on drums, Justin Hubbard on guitar and vocals, and Zack Brines on organ (rumored to belt out of speakers bigger than Oprah), Turpentine Brothers stands on its own sleazy, stomping feet. We Don't Care About Your Good Times is retrospective defiance at its finest and most gritty. And just in time! Garage rock could use more grit and spit. So huff the turpentine and pay respect to a band not afraid to reinvent an exhausted sound. Viva el dirtbag! - Angel Baker / Mesh
Garage rock, garage rock... Hell, it was birthed at a time when raw soul action was as important as post-Stones teen snot action proto-punk. The guitar-heavy snot Stones teen angle has gotten worked a bunch since the original Nuggets double LP sprung from the loins of Pan to help rescue us all. However, Turpentine Brothers work off a tangent which draws more from soul and R&B organ trio jazz, thus being closer to brooding rock lanced from one of Ray Charles' boils than the aforementioned spazz action. Their set-up and aesthetic is culled from the garage, or more probably the panelled basement equipped with vintage swizzle sticks and a keggerator (a small refridgerator with a hole in the top that a tap can be inserted through to reach the keg held within). Thankfully, the singer has a good voice, used well, the organ's full of smog, and the guitars chime, chisel, and bite. Look, if you can get to The Strokes, this ain't far off, and it's twice as fun. Like all Alive releases, it's recorded wonderfully and will have decent distribution. So hope on board, 'kay? - Craig Regala / Lollipop
It's starting to seem like 1980 all over again with all these great garage revivalist bands springing up, a la the Voxx, Bomp, etc. movements from the late '70s and early '80s. The TURPINTINE [sic] BROTHERS have one of the important elements that a lot of the modern bands are missing--Soul. That, and a great echo chamber sound to the CD, makes it sound like it was recorded in a cave. Having roots deep in classic R+B as well as the classic R+R can make for some great music and this band delivers. - Jimi Cheetah / Loud Fast Rules Issue #2
Think the Doors meet Mooney Suzuki. Turpentine Brothers' music works so well because the members have really done their homework on R&B, blues and garage rock. Copying the White Stripes seems as though it would be easy in these garage rock days; the Turpentine Brothers avoid all the trappings of the White Stripes' sound and produce music that sounds very pure and alive.(...) The best part of the album is the keyboards. They sound so amazing and fit into the mix perfectly. With the left hand on the bass and right on the Wurlitzer, Zack Brines fills in whatever needs to be filled in. It really really sounds like the Doors at times, but in an updated form; the nuances of the keys provide so much depth and grace to the music that it seems spiritual. It is garage rock at its dirtiest; fun, loud, and a little irreverent. No moping allowed. - Andrew Glasset / Now On Tour
Kerrang (UK)
For those who like their rock 'n' roll filthy and unvarnished, perhaps scraped with a putty knife off dank, Schlitz-can-littered cellar floors, fear not: The Turpentine Brothers have absolutely no intention of scrubbing your hands clean. Mainly, this Boston trio is interested in turpentine's other major property: flammability. The group features drummer Tara McManus from the garage-blues duo Mr. Airplane Man and two players from the Kings of Nuthin', the only rockabilly band in Beantown tough enough to lug a piano to its gigs. The guy behind that piano, Zack Brines, switches to "Nuggets"-style `'60s organ for this project, creating a signature sound that oscillates between swirling and creepy. On the opener, "People Are Talkin'," Brines' riff encompasses both, adding retro menace to Justin Hubbard's crashing guitar chords and lyrical tirade against gossiping two-faces. Throughout the album, Hubbard is cucumber-cool and dangerously electric, like some standard-singing crooner in 1966 who mistakenly wanders into a Question Mark & the Mysterians session, is slipped drugs and decides to go along for the ride. Even when murky - the mentally ill blues of "Why Can't I Do" and instrumental "Wrong Night" - the Brothers rocket out of the basement with a sound that proves them liars: Of course they care about our good times. -Kenneth Partridge / Hartford Couran
It seems appropriate to craft dramatic passages about this Boston three-piece. There's something about their mix of punk defiance, 60's soul and garage sleaze that's so well-suited for storytelling. Their cumulated efforts have resulted in such a sense of character, such a striking attitude, that what may very well be a side project feels like the most important band on the planet while the record's spinning. Turpentine Brothers is the brainchild of guitarist Justin Hubbard of the Kings of Nuthin' and drummer Tara McManus of Mr. Airplane Man. While the duo started off moonlighting old country standards, their creation soon became something comparable to Reigning Sound, the Mystery Girls and the Deadly Snakes. Integral to their current sound is the swirling, wild organ work of Zack Brines (a King of Nuthin' himself). While ably filling out the band's low end with a foreboding drone he manages to contribute striking, song-stealing solos that push Turpentine Brothers to another level entirely. Those that compare him to the Doors' Ray Manzarek are certainly on the right track. The sound works so well because the band's drawing from a far deeper and more interesting well of history than their peers. It's easy to have a sleazy garage band that sounds like the Stooges, but less so the vintage Stax R&B sounds found here. This is most obvious in the album's three covers. The first is of "Fool For You," a Curtis Mayfield tune from his days with Chicago soul group the Impressions. Hubbard's take is spirited and lively, but there's a tortured quality to his vocals that make the chorus work in this context. Midway though the record the band delivers a cut written by Texas bluesman Charles Brown, and the distorted wall raised behind "I Wanna Be Close" would fit well on a Black Keys record. Most strikingly, the band turns Chris Clark's Motown standard "Love's Gone Bad" into a stomping, sleazy garage tune. These covers all seamlessly fit the band's lyrical themes and they rightfully filter and interpret, rather than mimic, the artists' original work. Speaking of originals, the Brothers' own tunes are no slough. The album kicks off with the hard-hitting pair of "People Are Talkin'" and "Something's Not Right" before delving into the haunting and soulful "Why Can't I Do." The instrumental "Wrong Night" features an earthy country guitar, and perhaps some of the most vintage-sounding moments on the record. The chorus to "All The Same" is fascinating, featuring that same anti-climactic buildup that the Strokes so often lift from Television and the Velvets. "One Man" is a mournful tune, somewhat of a murder ballad, that closes off with a harshly distorted guitar solo and some well placed, gloomy trumpet. This song leads into the title track, which (quite effectively) carries the sorrowful tone on for a few seconds only to explode into a fast, upbeat punk song. It's a brilliant buildup to a fantastic tune, and "We Don't Care About Your Good Times" lets Hubbard and Brines break into a few choice solos over McManus now raging backbeat. Considering how it's sequenced on the record, it's a breathtaking track. Turpentine Brothers have delivered a remarkable record with We Don't Care About Your Good Times, one that feels like some great unearthed gem: the bastard lovechild of 60's soul and Nuggets proto-punk. Yet for all this, there's something very real going on here, something deeply rooted but not quite revivalist. This is growth and development in a genre that so often looks back instead of ahead. - Adam / Punknews (rating : 4 and a half stars)
if you accept a suggestion, throw yourself on Turpentine Brothers's "We Don't Care about Your good times". Then, take White Stripes records and, with all the respect, throw them away on your backdoor field or, if you live in cosmopolitan big city hell, on the streets, directly.. Turpentine are half Kings Of Nuthin and half Mr. Airplane Man. They play garage revival soul punk blues, as a cross between the best Voxx and Sympathy stuff, a cross between Solarflares and oblivians. I Swear. This is a record that get inside your brain. They move from black ballds (Fool For You, Wrong Night, I wanna be close) to real garage blues tracoks (Something's not Right). INCREDIBLE. - Mario / Rockerilla (Italy)
Boston's Turpentine Brothers are brazen liars. One listen to the album and it's pretty obvious that they do care about your good times. This stockpile of disorderly garage r&b is highlighted by the thundering organ work of Zack Brines, but band founders Justin Hubbard and Tara McManus round things out with such admiration for the genre they've chosen. In addition, Hubbard's versatile cords deliver either a menacing growl or a self-confident baritone precisely when called for. Best served with whiskey and cigarettes. - Paul / 75 or Less
The minute Justin Hubbard snarls, "It's just too bad your two faces can't be choked," you know you're in the backseat of an out-of-control Galaxie 500 driving cross country from hell to redemption with several liquor stops along the way. A fine entry into what I call "grown-ass blues," where it's clear the deck is set against you, there's no sweet hometown girl to save you, and the only thing to do is to take as many others down with you as you can.
- Mario Villanueva / The Link
The Turpentine Brothers, with two members of the Kings Of Nuthin and one of Mr. Airplane Man, play a garage/punk-influenced R&B and rock n roll. The trio does it without a bass guitar (garage, à la White Stripes), but added a little Wurlitzer organ instead (hence the Doors). They cover "Fool for You, originally by Curtis Mayfield (hence the R&B/soul). The Turpentine Brothers take their music further than most of the "modern garage bands, they sound dirtier and raunchier, and add that little twist with the organ. Some may say it's a gimmick, but the addition of that organ is more than a gimmick, it's a necessity. Cool album. Score: 8 - Munchkin Music (Belgium
The Turpentine Brothers are doing what The White Stripes can only dream about creating loud, nasty, greasy garage rock in the spirit of the originators of the genre, and without the half-assed art school pretensions of Jack White. There are a few superficial similarities between the Bros and the Stripes: both work without a bass player, and both have a female drummer. Oh, and the fake-sibling thing, too. There are some mighty big differences, though. Tara McManus can actually keep time, for one thing. And how! She pummels, pounds and generally kicks percussion ass. Nothing too subtle, but then again subtlety is not called for. This is crushing rock & roll we're talking about, not the Junior League's annual flute concerto. Bash it out and move on is the name of the game. And she does, with aplomb. Also, Justin Hubbard can sing without sounding like an asthmatic stoat. That's a big step up right there. His vocals contain the requisite amounts of snotty aggression and slurred consonants. (I'm pretty sure he's pissed off about something on "Somethin's Not Right", but I'm not sure exactly what it might be.) And let's not overlook his appropriately down-and-dirty guitar playing; the tone he achieves on the instrumental "Wrong Night" is one I haven't heard on too many records made after 1966. This is a very good thing he's accomplished. And then there's the band's secret weapon, the element that puts them head and shoulders above the vast majority of combos plowing the same field namely, the wicked keyboard stylings of one Zack Brines. Oh my goodness, what a difference a little Wurlitzer makes! The left-hand keyboard bass fills out the bottom end magnificently, leaving Hubbard free to focus on six-string freak-outs and trashy chording, while the right hand makes with the swirling counterpoints and carnival/roller rink solos. It's everything that worked about Ray Manzarek's sound, only scaled back a bit and without Morrison spewing ostentatious, dime-store Freudian/literary eyewash all over the top of everything. Yay! (...) The Turpentine Brothers may claim that they don't care about our good times, but if that were really the case they wouldn't be making such fine music. If you care about rock & roll at all, you owe it to yourself to go out and hunt this album down.
- BMarkey / Blogcritics
They make the kind of music that makes you want to sway on the dance floor, nod knowingly to friends to or exorcize demons from nervous drunks to. This trashy funky set of nine originals and one song each by Charles Brown, Curtis Mayfield and the Holland/Dozier/Holland team is a great start. - Garage and Beat
This band's version of garage rock is crossed with a soulful edge in the organ, dramatic vocals that bring to mind Hasil Adkins and Iggy Pop, and the psychedelic undertow of '60s stalwarts like The Doors. But this is hardly a retro exercise, as there's also a helping of thrashing punk energy in the tempos and general execution. Particularly compelling are the stomping instrumentals that bring to mind the roaring rock of the Pacific Northwest's Wailers. The band reworks Curtis Mayfield's "Fool For You" and Charles Brown's "I Wanna Be Close" a bit more loudly than the originals, and adds a thrashing take of the Motown rarity, "Love's Gone Bad." Fans of retro bands like The Black Lips, or the band's ancestral predecessors (Mr. Airplane Man, King of Nuthin') should check this out. - Eli Messinger / amazon.com
This I like. And so will you if The Dirtbombs and the gospel album by Oblivians rules your world. The Turpentines Brothers are a guitar/drums/organ trio from Boston and this is their debut album Although it's hard to compete with the above mentioned bands I really enjoyed listening to We Don't Care... And there's plenty of traces of mid-60's soul too which is always a plus in my black book. Recommended. - Don K / Lowcut
If you dig: The Dirtbombs, Oblivians, 60's soul with an edge
Un disque très soigné qui place le groupe quelque part entre les Oblivians (époque "9 songs with Mr Quintron"), Cheater Slicks et Reigning Sound. un bel album, mélancolique mais pas mièvre comme le prouve la chanson-titre, "We don't care about your good times". - Nico / SDZ (France)
Reeking of cigarettes and cheap booze, the Turpentine Brothers come barreling out of the chute like a bunch of drunken, amphetamine-tweaked swamp creatures from the wrong side of Hell. In actuality, though, the Turpentine Brothers are comprised of Justin (vocals/guitar), Zack (organ), and Tara (drums), but, Lord a-mercy, do they ever create one helluva smokin'-hot Garage Rock racket like a hundred shotguns a-blastin' their way into infamy. A heavy, sleaze-ridden R&B vibe is present along with a heady dose of grimy, white-trash Psychedelia, and it's all thickly smothered in echo, sweat, and mange. The Animals, The Seeds, Love, and The Stooges were the highly influential originators of such growlin', greasy-fried sounds, but they weren't anywhere near as filthy and dangerous as the Turpentine Brothers appear to be. So get off your asses, people, and fuck the night away. - Moser / Under the Volcano
Garage rock, garage rock.....hell it was birthed at a time when raw soul action was as important as post-Stones teen snot action proto-punk. The guitar heavy snot Stones teen angle has gotten worked a bunch pretty much since the original Nuggets double lp sprung from the loins of Pan to help rescue us all. However the Turpentine Brothers work off a tangent which draws more from soul and r&b organ trio jazz thusly being closer to brooding rock lanced from one of Ray Charles boils than the afore said spazz action. Their set-up and aesthetic, is culled from the garage or more probably the panelled basement equipped with vintage swizzle sticks and a keggerator. Thankfully the singer has a good voice used well, the organ's full of smog and the guitars chime, chisel and bite. Look, if you can get to the Strokes this ain't far off and it's twice as fun. Like all Alive Records releases it's recorded wonderfully and will have decent distribution. So hope on board, okay? - Craig Regala / Lollipop
The Turpentine Brothers are not brothers but a threesome that play raw, gnarly garage rock and roll or as their record label so adequately describes it "garage/punk/dirtbag R&B." Hailing from Boston, the Turpentine Brothers are being called a grittier version of the White Stripes by some but I just listen mesmorized to their raw rock and roll fury especially with that screeching wailing organ going at full throttle. - The Rock'n'roll Report
Did you notice? There's no bass... crazy... any way, they sound these three are pushing can be called (and has been called) many things; Garage-Rock, Soul, Punk, Psychedelic, R&B, Broken Blues, etc. To my ears, the band comes across as a mix between The Doors, and The Stooges. They have that rough, early proto-Punk garage sound, but it's drenched in this psychedelic Doors-esque organ work. The sound, and the vibe, is pretty cool. Young 'uns will see comparisons to bands such as the White Stripes, Jet, The Hives, and the like, while old timers will think of MC5, Iggy Pop, and The Animals. If you were to mash all the underground sounds of the late 60s and early 70s into a single sound, the all-out sonic assault that you find on this debut effort would be that sound. - Jeff / Urotsukidoji's Pad
There´s no words that I can say than give this album the justice it deserves. This album should be in your collection and has every right to be there. Just sheer quality right from the opening track ´People Are Talking´ right through to the final track ´We Don´t Care About Your Good Times´. This is Sleazy Garage Rock N Roll at it´s best. Forget ´The White Stripes´ this is where it´s at with the TURPENTINE BROTHERS. Everything is spot on with this album especially the production - Brilliant! It has to be said though that originality is always the best way to go and with this band it´s the organ they incorporate in to their sound that gives them the edge. What is also noticeable about this band is they admit they didn´t set out to play this style of music - It just happened. And damn I´m so glad that this is the sound the managed to create what with all their influences bouncing about. It clearly demonstrates to me that originality is the way to go. This album proves it. Nuff said really! 10/10. - Ffruk (UK)
As Boston-based deadbeats and nightcrawlers already know, the Turpentine Brothers consist of two of the Kings of Nuthin' (Justin Hubbard and Zack Brines) and one sinister sister from Mr. Airplane Man (Tara McManus). As expected with a pedigree like that, the trio grinds out saw-toothed basement blues and soul that's cut from the same oil- and bloodstained cloth as the Reigning Sound/Oblivions and Deadly Snakes. But there's also a rueful coolness and polish to the Brothers' material that belies their rockabilly/broken-blues day gigs and also places them outside the pack of frantic freakers that currently work the garage rock fields; check the midnight blues stagger/swagger of "I Wanna Be Close" or "Why Can't I," or Hubbard's mournful twang on "One Man," and you're hearing something more akin to the Gun Club's hipster gloom or a less jazzed-up Morphine than, say, Thee Headcoats. As any biologist will tell you, mutant strains are essential for any organism to evolve and survive, and if there's any musical genre in dire need of some fresh DNA, it's garage rock. So here's hoping that the Turpentine Brothers keep pissing in the gene pool.
- Paul Gaita / Sleazegrinder
The Turpentine Brothers are two parts Kings of Nuthin' (singer/guitarist Justin Hubbard and organist Zack Brines) and one part Mr. Airplane Man (drummer Tara McManus). They started as an outlet for Justin and Tara to play old-time country, but they've evolved into a boot-stomping, finger-pointing rock-and-roll band.
- Chris Rucker / The Boston Phoenix
Turpentine Brothers son un trio originario de Boston, con un background que incluye a dos miembros de of Mr. Airplane Man y otro de King of Nuthin', combos muy emparentados en el cuento este del rockabilly, el punk, el blues y el rock en su vertiente más ortodoxa. ¿Y que se podía esperar de este disco?. Mas de lo mismo, claro. Eso sí, sazonado con muchas dosis de buen gusto y algunos momentos realmente notables. Su sonido evoca claramente referencias sonaras como los Oblivians y The Deadly Snakes, es decir, una marcada tendencia al garage rock en su vertiente más revivalista. Pero ojo que esto no suena como si la banda estuviese empecinada en imitar a sus influencias, "We Don't Care about you Good Times" presenta un inteligente y eficaz uso del órgano que ayuda a resaltar las abundantes dosis de energía que forman parte de este disco. - Iván Dague / Especial 35
CD of the month club - February 2005
Another Chain Whipped magazine weird review
The most unique thing about the TURPENTINE BROTHERS is the fact that they are so upbeat, they don't welter in the usual miserable shit that so many in the genre do- this is fun and exhibits the wild spirit and flair that garage music is all about. It's crude and it's feral and that's what's so beautiful about it. Spot on. - NFT (UK)
Every song has its very own style and at the same time each song sounds like it belongs to the The Turpentine Brothers very distinct big sounding music. This music begs to be heard in a smoke filled super LOUD little club, a stiff drink and your girl close by your side . Hopefully, the Turpentine Brothers will find their way to Atlanta sometime soon cause we NEED you here. - MusicFilter