The Battery Electric.
The Battery Electric: Little Eden Sessions, Vol. 1
The Battery Electric have re-recorded and repackaged last year’s three-song Got Your Soul EP with two additional tracks: the opening ’50s-fueled punk blast “Ghouls in Heels” and the closing “Shake,” a soul-punk party anthem that gets their legions of local fans fired up at shows. Speaking of which, TBE will be at the Punk Rock Bowling After Party on June 10 at Asbury Park Yacht Club with Jon Caspi & First Gun, featuring Dez Cadena of Black Flag.
But I digress. The new version of the previously released “Maybe” still has the ’60s Shirelles-like take on soul-pop, but this time out, the track has a more of a dirty Jerz surf vibe to it than before. The retake offers a gnarly, spaghetti Western-tinged guitar underbelly that adds some vinegar to the honey of a track. “Need Ya’,” featuring sweet backing vocals, and “Nobody’s Fool,” a damned-with-ya’, damned-without-ya’ ditty, also fit in nicely with the two new tracks.
Impressive throughout are guest horns by saxophonist Anders Carlson of Waiting on Mongo and Black Flamingos guitarist Robbie Butkowski, taking a surprise turn on trumpet. A master at not wasting any time or space on a record, Pete Steinkopf, the guitarist of the seminal Jersey punk The Bouncing Souls, once again has helmed a tight, clean production. He also has quite a little stable at his Little Eden Studios also with Crazy & The Brains, The Vansaders, The Hannas, The Moms and Hot Blood, featuring TBE bassist Alex Rosen (see interview here). There’s probably more, but they’re the bunch I’ve written about.
After you’ve taken all those bands in, you also can go see The Battery Electric play these five songs and many others live on June 18 at Cinfano’s Bar in Elizabeth with DejaGravy, Crust, Booth HC and a reunion of Altered Cross; July 1 at Brickwall in Burlington; July 27 at Pet Shop Bar in Jersey City, with The Furys; uly 28 at the Stone Pony in Asbury Park, with Primus and Clutch; Aug. 5 at the Bond Street Bar Complex in Asbury Park, with Governess and Crazy and The Brains, and Aug. 11 at Bettie’s Bombshells Fashion Show, The Overlook, Asbury Park. I’ve been told an LP is expected to surface by year’s end. Maybe they’ll play some tracks off that, too.
Bob Makin is the reporter at MyCentralJersey.com/entertainment and a former managing editor and still a contributor to The Aquarian Weekly, which launched this column in 1988. Contact him at makinwaves64@yahoo.com.
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