Mad Doctors/Sun Voyager split 7” “Rusty Knife”/“Ghost Valley,” King Pizza Records (Released 4/2016)

I’m not much of a blues listener, honestly. I’m grateful to the blues for its role in birthing rock and roll, but I’m far more grateful to rock and roll for knocking it over with volume, thunder, and electricity. That said, I’m not a total asshole, and when someone does something with the blues that excites me, I’ll own up to it. With “Rusty Knife,” The Mad Doctors throw down a slab of proto-punk-infused blues rock that is loud, thunderous, and electric. Take a video of your face when you listen from 0:10 to 0:15 for the first time, and try your hardest not to make a face like you just got slugged in the gut. Fail for the world to see. Give zero shits.

On the flipside of this 7”, Sun Voyager drops the fuzz-laden desert rock headbanger “Ghost Valley.” Judging by the titles and tracks on their prior releases — “Mecca,” “Desert Dweller,” “Gypsy Hill” — these guys are in dogged pursuit of a drugged-out journey that they conjure here. Despite the disembodied howls in the bridge — are we haunted by ghosts or pursued by coyotes? — the charging drums, rumbling bass, and squealing guitars give enough assurance that this is the trip to take and the car to make it out alive. This beast’s got the muscle to outrun them.

Check it out here: