Skip to content
Spotlight

Bands to Watch: DrugMoney

A tour of Fisher Meehan’s Asheville, North Carolina, wouldnot be complete without a visit to the local coffee shop/bar wherehe has vomited more than once onstage. “You get relaxedplaying your hometown,” the DrugMoney singer/songwriterexplains. “But puking is nothing. One time, this girl dancedout her tampon. That was pretty heavy.”

Heavyis a good word for the stories that drop out of Meehan after a couplePBRs. Like how he uses open guitar tunings so that he can play all hissongs “completely shit-faced.” Or the way he got cut off by a Brooklyndrug-delivery service while recording his debut, Mtn Cty Jnk. “The dealer was like, ‘I’m not coming back. Get as much as you want now.'”

Thatalbum may be the most addictive Carolina export since tar met nicotine.Meehan’s gruff voice lends an unusual Grover-fronting–the-Replacementsfeel to charming pop songs such as “I Know” and “Small Thinking.” It’swhat you would expect from a guy who was weaned off Ozzy and Kiss andonto eccentric indie rockers such as the Pixies and the Archers ofLoaf. But it’s not always clear which influence is stronger, especiallyconsidering that Meehan ingested most of his record-company advance ina mere two weeks: “I was like, ‘I already got a couple guitars. I gotan amp. Let’s party!'”

Murder by Death
Who Will Survive, and What Will Be Left of Them?
(Eyeball)

This doom-country album about a frontier townoverrun with demons was recorded by a bunch of Indiana indie rockerswho dress like tent-revival preachers and sound like Thursday afterwatching Unforgiven 20 times. Finally, freaky Christianity without the unwelcome goth aftertaste.

Immortal Technique
Revolutionary Vol. 2
(Viper)

Born in a Peruvian military hospital and raised inHarlem, Immortal Tech is a fatigues-rocking raptivist who humanizes hisleft-wing-nut conspiracy spiels by filtering them through a past thatincludes time served at a Pennsylvania jail. Extra points for shoutingout the late senator from Minnesota Paul Wellstone.

Hella
The Devil Isn’t Red
(5RC)

If you missed the 20/20 expose, our nation hasbeen overrun by two-piece spazzcore bands, including Lightning Bolt,Pink and Brown, and this pointillistically wankadelic drum-guitar duo.Hella ride the lightning and up-jump the boogie–they obviously spendway too much time together. A superb argument against Ritalin.