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I have often wondered what eating mushrooms in a garage with a running car, sucking down the exhaust and 8 oz. bottles of Miller High Life and listening to late 50s early 60s outlaw rock would feel like. Well now I know; it would pretty much feel exactly like listening to Uck Life, the stellar debut full length by everyone’s favorite shirtless short people Paint Fumes. Building off the dick hardening madness of their EP Egyptian Rats, these fucking shit-turtles added a little more glue huffing goodness to the mix. In a lot of ways, Uck Life reminds me of what The Doors would have sounded like if they switched bodies with The Ramones.  The energy is raw and aggressively smart; leather pants and fur vests are the only appropriate attire. If you could bottle up sass, mix in a dollop of Cholula hot sauce with a splash of blue raspberry flavored Mad Dog 20/20, you would only begin to understand the greatness of Uck Life. Elijah von Cramon sings with an urgency that sounds like a mix of that scene in "Over the Edge" where the kids light the school on fire and delightful howls that Del’s dog bellows whenever Del drops trou and breaks out the chunky Jif peanut butter.  Elijah pulls double duty banging out riffs with some other dude named Brett (fucking Brett? Seriously bro bro? With a name like Brett I gather that ass-porpoise has fucking allergies and hay fever all the time..Brett..ugh) that slash and burn through my bush mound leaving the groinal landscape smooth and scorched. Couple that with Josh Johnson's drumming and you have a delicious dish of sensual assault perfect for an all-out window breaking and bike stealing good time. That Fucktard beats the skins the way I beat my dick the first time I saw Halle Berry in Swordfish.  This is probably the first album of 2013 that has gotten both my jorts tight in the front and the back. Paint Fumes just got their names added to my sexception list, and they are in rarified company of the cast of The Fast and Furious movies and Barbara Mandrel. Congrats assholes. -- SYFALL


Modern rock ‘n’ roll doesn’t get much trashier, dirtier or more frantic than Charlotte, N.C.’s Paint Fumes. These guys seem to live the results of huffing their name, spewing reckless rowdiness with a dizzying fury from every song.  Uck Life is the garage-rock-rooted band’s debut LP, and it’s a balls-to-the-wall explosion of energetic grit and grime. Frontman Elijah von Cramon’s shouts and howls are too fiery to decipher, and paired with the frenetic riffs and drummer Josh Johnson’s relentless fast-paced pounding the sound threatens to blast out your eardrums even at low volume.  Paint Fumes left a mark in my memory at the last Atlanta Mess-Around. It was early afternoon at 529, the daylight still streaming in to the hazy club. But von Cramon and company were long since up an’ at ‘em. Or maybe they hadn’t slept. Who knows? During their raucous set, cans of beer soared above like party missiles, and one of them nailed a friend of mine square in the nose. A girl who was part of the Paint Fumes posse hopped onstage, dancing wildly and whipping her hair about. Within a few seconds she was topless, still hopping around and vibrating like a madwoman. It was the second day of the weekend fest and most folks were still trying to shake off hangovers. Paint Fumes’ set was a kick in the face, a blaring, tinnitus-inducing alarm to wake up the weaklings. The album is as much a bewildering blitz as their live show. The individual sonic romps are so equally assaulting it’s hard to tell them apart. But that’s not a complaint: It’s rare that an LP is so wholly listenable from start to finish. And there actually are differences between the songs, of course. The title track employs a piercing tone, “Walking Song” shows off a surf-rock side and “999” is dark and bleak in melody like the soundtrack to a midnight tombstone-defacing party in a haunted graveyard. “Sevol Natas” is introduced with a chilled-out air organ but quickly crescendos into Paint Fumes’ signature mania.  That’s mainly what’s so noteworthy about Uck Life. Paint Fumes have crafted a sound that’s all their own, and they’re only on their first album. Few bands are so self-assured and cohesive this early on. One Paint Fumes song is pretty much any other Paint Fumes song. You know it when you hear it – or when your body involuntarily does that rock ‘n’ roll seizure dance, rather. – STOMP AND STAMMER

 


If you are planning on doing some petty vandalism in the next few months boy do I have the soundtrack for you – Paint Fumes excellent three song EP Egyptian Rats. It is full of the kind of music that makes drinking cheep beer, wearing second hand clothes and breaking windows seem like a good way to waste a few hours on a Wednesday night. Heavy in rebellious spirit and a punk meets garage meets honky-tonk attitude this fucker makes me feel like I could land the head cheerleader if I had the right set of wheels and just the right mix of pissed off and not-give-a-Fuck attitude. Is that statement creepy coming from someone who is nearly 40? Probably, let’s just move on.  Paint Fumes comes from the stacked with greatness roster over at Slovenly Records, which is probably the best label going right now for this brand of angry, energetic, and downright amazing rock n’ roll; and Egyptian Rats carries on that legacy to perfect pitch. Whether it’s the steady rumbling and fuzzy bass driven shit kicker of a title track, that feels like what I imagine a night at the speed way would smell like, the feel of an alcohol fueled night of madness and unforgettable fun vibe of Waste of Time, or the hopped up on speed frantic Saturday night rumble feel of Panic Attack; Paint Fumes have come to ugly up the scene just a bit, kicking off the false veneer and spray painting a dick on the hood of your car. You know, Rock N’ Roll the way Rock N’ Roll should be.  -- SYFLL

 

 

From time to time you have to look at a plate tracks two or three times. So also with Uck Life of the Paint Fumes. Right, here is the F has not been forgotten, but omitted. Why should the trio from Charlotte, North Carolina do that? I have no idea. If you look at the supplied tape photo to, you get a vague idea of it. The guys are just a little bit crazy. The interests of the band include, among other things, Glue, hot sauce, tampons and panties. Any questions?  The music reflects this state of mind again perfect. There are eleven times delightfully sick garage punk, described by the band itself as Uck punk. Except for the title track and Jim and Juan All tracks move in handy portioned two to three minutes radius. These exceptions also stand out quite clearly with just under six and seven minutes. Due to their length, the above two songs are frankly a bit exhausting. The rest, however, promises exciting entertainment. In the meantime, one inevitably thinks of the hive and especially to The Cramps, which also certainly have a big impact on the sound of the musicians. Catchy melodies are nowhere. But you get a wonderfully appropriate for the genre krachige production with screaming guitars and drums jolting. From time to time also exotic, not quite identifiable instruments are unpacked. Everything together is accompanied by screeching to howling vocals of Elijah von Cramon. Contender for the title song of the year is definitely surf party Apocalypse. – SOUL SELLER MAG

 

 

The three Elijah Von Cramon, Whittlesey Brett and Josh Johnson brings a mix of punk, garage rock and surf. Two minutes of catchy punk to 7 minute ment noise, the band knows how to make a party. And we mean the rest of the street is probably the kind of parties where less enthusiastic about.  Frontman Von Cramon decision less than two years ago that it is a good plan to the new year as a guitarist to go. As a programmer of the now closed club rock Sewercide it takes little effort to recruit. Whittlesey and Johnson After practicing some chords they are less than a month later on the podium. After a successful EP Paint Fumes begins yet to take really seriously and the result is the full-length CD 'Uck Life'.  The album starts quietly for their actions. Although many opener "Space Cadet" will entitle all noise as it is for this band a cheerful and catchy garage rock number. The subsequent 'School Days' and 'Surf Party Acapolypse' up with this trend. Paint Fumes reminiscent of Dead Kennedys and Agent Orange, the sounds that anyone can appreciate.  As the album progresses, the atmosphere of the music violent. Especially the nearly seven-minute "Uck Life 'can best be described. Consumption and noise This will incidentally occasional compliment for this mess, with a real punk attitude they are mostly out of chaos and noise. Alcohol, drugs and parties are therefore the greatest inspirations of the group. The song 'Sewercide' concerns whatsoever about, parties to the police at the door.  The strength of the band and this CD is mainly due to the songs to operating expenses around two minutes. Short and sweet. In the longer songs you hook automatically because it is too much monotonous noise and that will eventually work. On your nerves Do you like a lot of noise, or do you just hate your neighbors, then this CD is definitely a good purchase. – INDY STYLE

When Elijah Von Cramon picks up the phone, it’s about 8 p.m. and the Paint Fumes frontman has just woken up from what he describes as a “really weird nap.” I brush it off; dude deserves some rest.  This time last year, Paint Fumes was barely formed. “I never really played music before, but I always wanted to,” Von Cramon admits. “So last year for a New Year’s Resolution, I was like ‘I’m gonna fucking write some songs and learn how to do shit, start a band and play a show by the end of January.’”  It didn’t take long for Paint Fumes to become a staple in Charlotte’s underground rock scene. It helped that Von Cramon supplied his own venue for early gestational gigs, the defunct house-party HQ Sewercide Mansion. The nascent Fumes — formed around guitarists Von Cramon and Brett Whittlesey — met drummer Josh Johnson when they opened for Johnson’s one-man blues explosion Pinche Gringo in the Sewercide basement.  The house named after the Electric Eels song became Charlotte’s rock & roll hub, hosting locals like the Fumes and Brain F≠, as well as touring bands like Acid Baby Jesus and Jacuzzi Boys. “It was real gross in there,” Von Cramon remembers. “It was fun, but it was a free-for-all, with people like smashing bottles and shit. It was a punk-rock house.”  It was also an opportunity for Paint Fumes to build a reputation among the bands they hosted. A Milestone gig with Puerto Rico’s Davila 666 put the band in touch with Slovenly Records; praise from the Slovenly-signed Greek band Acid Baby Jesus sealed the deal.  “When we first recorded our stuff, once we got it mixed and mastered I sent it to Pete [Menchetti, Slovenly’s founder], just like, ‘Hey man, if you wanna check us out, here it is. We just finished recording this,’” Von Cramon says. “Then, like two hours later, he was like, ‘Let’s make an album.’”  By October, Paint Fumes were signed to Slovenly. On March 13, the Nevada-based label released the Fumes’ first 7-inch. “Egyptian Rats,” backed with “Waste of Time” and “Panic Attack,” is a rocket off the rails, skewering early-60s riffs with tangled leads and needle-in-the-red squall. Von Cramon howls and yelps as much as he sings, asserting more than he enunciates. (Here, it should be noted, Von Cramon’s indecipherable vocal detracts nothing; one assumes these are the thoughts of the little head.) Johnson, somehow, is most in control even as he steamrolls his kit.  “We never really think about stuff, we just kind of do it,” Von Cramon confirms. And so far, the divining rod has steered the band soundly. The single sold through its initial pressing before its release date; “We had to send back our copies that we got because they needed to fill orders,” Von Cramon says. The Fumes’ LP debut, Uck Life, will follow later in 2012.  But more importantly, Paint Fumes are ready to burn gasoline. In addition to an already busy regional touring schedule, plans are in motion for an April jaunt that will take the band through California and Mexico; then, Von Cramon says, maybe Puerto Rico in July, Montana in August, the Hopscotch Music Festival in September, and perhaps even a European tour in November. For a year-old band born in a dingy basement, it’s a new reality. For Von Cramon, it’s a relief.  “It’s weird playing in front of people I know,” he says. “It bugs me out, kind of. It’s more fun to be some random person up on a stage that no one knows. You can lose your inhibitions more.” As if inhibition was a problem for these impulsive rockers. – SHUFFLE

 

 

New 7in - Paint Fumes - Sally Smoke Dope - "Maybe the cover says it all, Paint Fumes are some of the hardest partying, most ferocious garage punkers around these days. Not content to lay low after last year's Uck Life, these North Carolina rabble rousers are back with a three-chord three song wallop entitled Sally Smoke Dope on Slovenly Records of course, who have some adjectives for the occasion:  "Slovenly Recordings has pulled three previously unreleased tracks sourced from the same sessions that brought you the ace PAINT FUMES’ Uck Life LP, and pressed ‘em up for you nice and loud on this new EP. The utter roar of “Killed By Puerto Rico” and the ominous “Ghost Highway” give you a crusty glimpse into the dynamic of one of the gnarliest rock’n’roll combos on the scene today. This record comes housed in a beautiful full color jacket featuring the band playing with lead howler ELIJAH VON CRAMON’s vomit."" – Slovenly.  We can't believe these were the songs left off "Uck Life," cuz any garage mayhem this lo-fi, high octane and in yer face deserves to be played over and over again and LOUD. Like the drunk cousins of Crypt and Rip Off Records, Paint Fumes are filling the hole in our hearts left wide open when Supercharger and Beguiled disappeared for good. For sure a solid addition to yer collection if you're a Hozac, In The Red and/or Goner Records junkie like us here at the shop. Make sure you grab a fifth along with this 45. SUPREMELY RECOMMENDED! – PERMANENT RECORDS

 

 

Paint Fumes’ debut LP does a much better job than their previous 7” of capturing the energy and the noisy, off-kilter guitar lines that make their live show so compelling. This is a band that’s still relying on sound more than song, so although there are some hooks on songs like “School Days” and “999,” I would be hard-pressed to tell you what “Hippie” sounds like, even though I’ve apparently listened to it seven times. But I don’t really care that much, I guess. I’m enjoying listening to it. (Except the excruciatingly long, unnecessary “Jim & Juan.”) Those guitar lines are truly killer. Work on songcraft a little more, find a way to capture the live-vomiting element of the live show and I’ll be completely sold. – RUBBER NECK

SLOVENLY just released the debut LP of North Carolina huffers PAINT FUMES. My friend April told me about these guys about a year ago promising me that I would be blown away by them but she couldn’t exactly describe their sound to me and I’m sorry to say that I can’t exactly describe their sound to you, either. Equal parts garage and guitar insanity, just enough rock-n-roll, psychotic howling a la Roky Erickson (but somehow more deranged than that) and drum beats that will pound your brain harder than the worst hangover you’ve ever had, and it sounds like nothing I’ve ever heard before. What’s really impressive to me is that they’ve managed to develop this incredibly unique intense sound with only two releases to date, a 7″ called EGYPTIAN RATS and this new LP, UCK LIFE. – BOSTON HASTLE

 


Last year, before the apocalypse, I ventured to the the great state of Georgia to hang out with filth-pots, burnouts, rockers, rollers, and outtacontrollers at the Atlanta Mess-Around. I was very excited to see Paint Fumes* having heard their smash hit single “Egyptian Rats” earlier in the year. Well, the bad news is that I fell into a bottle(s) of (seemingly poison) wine on Mess-Around night one and needed some recovery time. Sorry creeps.

Oh yeah, the good news. The Paint Fumes now have an LP out on Slovenly Records, so you, I or your Grandma can listen to these slugs in high fidelity in the privacy of your dank cellar. Or garage. Or church.

Paint Fumes have grown into a monstrously tite rock ‘n’ roll vehicle, considering they’ve only recently sauntered into existence (early 2011). Uck Life begins with a bang. “Space Cadet”‘s opening riff is a blown speaker sonata. Saying that this stuff is akin to that of early-era Makers doesn’t do it justice. “Space Cadet” inspires like the first tones of Teenage Hate, or some Crypt Records 7″ in the 90s. You’ve really no choice but to whip your hair back and forth, spring outta yer Chucks, and smash into the nearest sweaty body around. “School Days” sounds as though it were recorded in a tin can; a really fucking cool classic Campbell’s Soup can. The album title track is almost seven minutes long!** Do Paint Fumes pull off the seven minutes of swirling psycho madness. Yes. Yes they do.

“Buried Alive” features screaming, about six total chords, and a pummeling drum beat–a spastic punk blast that is likely about (yes, you guessed it) being buried alive. “999″ tosses out s’more Oblivians fuel on the fire; a quick reveb’d up rocker. “Servol Natas” and “Hippie” venture into 13th Floor Elevators territory, before sliding into the fantastically magnificent “Jim & Juan”; a ‘68 Comeback-ish fucked up blues wail. This is a phenomenal first LP.

*Rumoured to be from the greasiest dank pit in North Carolina. Or somewhere in Charlotte named SewercideMansion/Nazi Island! **That’s almost Doors long, without any artful meandering. Or in layman’s terms, a shorter amount of time than Ray Manzarek taking about Jim Morrison’s greatness. Which is close to equaling the time of humanity’s residency on Earth. -- GET BENT


Black Lips, Thee Oh Sees, Vivian Girls, Davila 666, Times New Viking, White Mystery, ad infinitum—the indie trash-rock end of the end of the ’00s and the start of the teens (or whatever) has been verily suffused with waves of distortion over surf-ish garage lines, clattering drums, messy production leakage, and warbly vocals stumbling through seemingly the same amps as the guitars. Slovenly Recordings has taken that stew and spilled in copious amounts of discarded cheap Chinese restaurant fryer oil, via more manic tempos and a general deference to the crankier end of that echo/clang thang. Often from overseas (probably because Slovenly jetsetter Pete Menchetti is based in Amsterdam), bands like Acid Baby Jesus, Sultan Bathery, and Bazooka have all tumbled out ace albums in the last year steeped in a cacophonous bramble of ’60s garage thumping, twitchy riffs, a wee bit of ’70s punk jump, and soiled psychedelia drawn more from serendipitous pick-ups of latter-day bootleg compilations, Black Lips B-sides, and cheap beer than any graduate classes on Roky Erickson.  What separates North Carolina trio Paint Fumes from the Slovenly oeuvre is the (jingoism alert!) intrinsic American trash-rock genetic glop in ’em. Like singer/guitarist Elijah von Cramon is actually a fervent Johnny Thunders fanatic, in budget couture and Cointreau. Hence, he and his mates kind of wobble around the stage in an ever-hungover swagger, punctuated by moments of vicious kickback, like throwing a bottle or puking onto their own trousers mid-tune—not to mention the sick pile of swamp-rock they build via their two-guitar and drums set-up. And they pretty much mimic that perfectly on their smashing debut LP, Uck Life.  Right away over the first half of the platter (“Space Cadet” and “Buried Alive,” in particular), they splash about with a cutting, powerful garage beat and Von Cramon’s snotty vox. The title track’s six-minute messy tornado hints at the mind-bending that seeps in along the end of the record (“Hippie,” “Jim & Juan”). As per my usual beef with this whole micro-movement, a wee more vocal clarity would make for a more complete ingestion of what’s making these fellas so gosh-darn pissed off. But hey, it’s a debut, and just like the lifespan of man, gonads start to descend in a band as time goes on, and Von Cramon, should he survive numerous trips to the liquor store and STD clinics, will adjust his mumble. (Eric Davidson) -- AGIT READER

 

 

Within a year of existence, Charlotte’s Paint Fumes have toured the country, inked a deal with the international garage rock imprint Slovenly, released a roaring debut 7-inch and — finally — issued their full length debut, Uck Life. It’s been a fast ascent, but for the band’s frontman Elijah Von Cramon, it hasn’t been fast enough.  “I’m so glad we finally fucking have the actual copies in our hands,” he says, sitting on the back patio of Slim’s, the small, narrow bar in downtown Raleigh where Paint Fumes are kicking off the first of several tours in support of Uck Life. “I was almost thinking it was never going to happen,” he adds.  Somehow, that seems as likely an outcome. Paint Fumes formed as a whim, or, actually a New Year’s Resolution. Von Cramon wanted to be in a band, so in January of 2011 he bought a guitar, recruited guitarist Brett Whittlesey, and started booking gigs at his house — dubbed Sewercide Mansion. The band’s lineup congealed after one such gig, headlined by Pinche Gringo, the one-man bruise cruise of Joshua Johnson. Excited by the Fumes’ potential, Johnson claimed his spot behind the drum kit.  Things moved quickly from there. Within a year, Paint Fumes had recorded the album, Uck Life, and an EP, Egyptian Rat. Slovenly Records released the 7-inch in March. After some delays, Uck Life followed in November. But having lived with the record for a year, Von Cramon already is on to the next thing. There’s a new 7-inch in the works; he got the test pressings last month. And plans are coming together for a new full-length, too.  “The record we have now, we did it in, literally, like five hours,” Von Cramon says. “It’s sort of rushed. This one, we’re going to try to sit down and live in a house for a week and just make sense of it and add in shit, just make it real cool and psychedelic.  And with Johnson living in Los Angeles and Whittlesey limited by the responsibilities of work and family, Von Cramon also talks about the solo songs and possible new bands he’s working on. It’s quickly evident that even as their roster stabilized, and their career gained momentum, Paint Fumes never lost their impulsive impetus — or the risk of calamity that implies.  In September, performing at the Hopscotch Music Festival, Paint Fumes launched into what has been universally reported as a disaster. “We didn’t get through one song at all, and we got in a fight,” Von Cramon says. “It was terrible.” Rumors spread that the band had broken up on stage. It didn’t.  “We just got in the van and did drugs,” Von Cramon says. “We got in the van and just sat there, like, ‘That was awful.’ Then we were just like, ‘I’m sorry. Let’s just go home, I guess.’”  The reason for the sloppy showing was no mystery, Von Cramon says: “We practiced 30 minutes in my garage, but I was getting shocked the whole entire time, and we couldn’t see anything because it was dark.”  “But,” he counters, “we practiced this time, so hopefully it’ll be alright.” Sure enough, practice paid off. Paint Fumes’ November gig at Slim’s opened with “Egyptian Rat” before running through an assortment of Uck Life cuts — including standouts “School Days” and “Uck Life” — and new tracks, one of which Von Cramon says will make it onto the band’s next album, which they plan to record in December. After September's catastrophe, this served as a sort of redemption.  Minus a faulty cable or two among Whittlesey’s pedal configuration, the set was as tight as punk’s inherent volatility allows. The trio played like they’d been on the road for a week already, not an afternoon. Johnson is a garage rock veteran whose former glories include The Spinns, Tandoori Knights, and the road-tested one-man-band Pinche Gringo. On stage, he hunches over a low kit, lunging into the back-beat with the muscular force demanded by the band’s primitive stomp ’n’ stammer. But his fluid and surprising subtleties — no doubt the product of his loaded résumé — provide a vital push, offsetting the band’s linear momentum with dynamic agility. Whittlesey slashes guitar leads that unite whammy-rippled surf rock with psychedelic blasts, and punk power with gritty grooves.  Von Cramon fronts the band with a well-learned swagger. With a visual nod to the fey aesthetic of Johnny Thunders and Keith Richards, Von Cramon glides on his toes, drifting away from the microphone as the lines end, and lunging back when he has to sing again. He ended the second to last song sprawled on the floor, having spilled off the stage into the arms of an enthusiastic audience member who welcomed her role in this beer-stained Pietà. She presented a bottle to the supine guitarist, who used it as a slide before pouring himself a mouthful, passing it back to its owner, and rising to complete the set with “Waste of Time,” the highlight of Paint Fumes’ debut 7-inch.  “There’s only one way to fucking make it, I guess, and it’s just touring, get yourself out there,” Von Cramon says. “If people like you enough, it’ll work out.” The Raleigh gig bodes well. Elon Shomaker, a friend of the band riding along as a touring DJ, has high hopes for the coming weeks. “I got a good fortune cookie the other day, man,” he says. “It said, ‘The next month of your life is gonna bring you much happiness.’”  Von Cramon, though, relishes uncertainty. “We’ll probably end up dead or in jail, in the hospital, or in a mansion,” he laughs. -- CHARLOTTE VIEW POINT

 

Of the dozen or so songs slated for Uck Life — the forthcoming debut LP from Charlotte's feisty and furious Paint Fumes — "Sewercide" doesn't immediately seem the most important. It is, however, the most stripped down, powered by ragged guitar shambles and what sounds like a single tom for percussion. Singer Elijah Von Cramon howls about late-night debauchery and neighbors almost calling the cops. The intermittent intelligibility of the words reflect the rock 'n' roll delirium that not only inspired the song but gave birth to one of this city's most promising garage-rock offerings. "Me and Josh (Johnson, the drummer) were walking down the street, about to go get some beers in my neighborhood," Cramon says of the day he penned the scuzz-blasted ditty. "He had just gotten fired from his job and thought his car got towed but found out the next day that it did not. It was just someone else's car. We were just walking down the street after practicing or whatever. I had my guitar. And I had glass in my foot and shit, and I was bleeding. I wasn't wearing shoes though, like an idiot."

These circumstances are tame compared to the raucous shows that went down at his Sewercide Mansion, the now-defunct house party hotspot that Cramon lived in and booked bands for during Paint Fumes' formative months. In addition to pulling in nationally known garage and punk heavyweights, Sewercide was instrumental in the rise of Charlotte's recent onslaught of top-notch loud bands, with outfits like Joint D≠ and Young and in the Way playing early gigs in the Mansion's grimy basement.  Cramon formed Paint Fumes early last year, the result of a fortuitous New Year's resolution. The goal was to learn his way around the guitar and start a band like he always wanted to do. He booked a gig in late January and recruited his friend, Brett Whittlesey, as a second guitarist. It was the first proper band for both of them, and that inexperience led to an energetic and uninhibited approach. A great example is "Panic Attack," a highlight from this year's Egyptian Rats EP. It's a taut, high-impact jam powered by vicious riffs that cut at odd angles, mostly because the guitarists had little idea which way they should go.  "A lot of the early stuff is about having panic attacks or just feeling stressed out and not knowing what to do," Cramon says, explaining he had just quit drinking, which was an early source of the nervy energy which has become Paint Fumes' calling card. "It just came out super-weird and energetic. It was very spazzy. I don't know if you've ever quit drinking, but it's like having the shakes and nightmares and shit and feeling fucked up. That definitely had a lot to do with it."  More than just the dirt-crusted womb in which the Fumes's music gestated, Sewercide Mansion provided connections integral to the band's success. Guitarists Cramon and Whittlesey hooked up with drummer Johnson after his one-man band, Pinche Gringo, rolled through town. A Sewercide show with Greek garage-psych outfit Acid Baby Jesus connected them with underground mainstay Slovenly Recordings, which will release Uck Life later this year.  "In those beginning stages, I didn't think that anything would come out of it," Cramon laughs. "I never thought it would happen this fast. I mean, this is my first band basically. I didn't think it came that easy. I don't know if it usually does or not." – SHUFFLE MAGAZINE

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