A great underground punk jewel, you might have to rummage through your local record store to get a physical copy, but once you listen to Looking Forward To Being Attacked the search will be all worth it.

Have you ever heard an album that is so weird and creepy sounding that it’s absolutely brilliant? There’s a cool shoegaze punk act called Cretin Stompers out of Memphis and I recently stumbled upon their debut album, Looking Forward To Being Attacked. Billy Hayes, Big Muff and Alex Gates have joined forces to start a band that sounds like a combination of My Bloody Valentine and The Sex Pistols. It’s one of the most inventive musical projects I’ve heard in a long time. With Hayes’ resume consisting of playing with the late Jay Reatard and Gates being the guitarist of San Diego surf punk act Wavves, you shouldn’t expect anything less than a mind-blowing album. Good thing Cretin Stompers’ debut lives up to the hype.

Those who know me know that I have an affinity for the fuzzy stuff when it comes to music. The interesting thing about this album is the high-pitched chipmunk-esque vocals on most of the tracks mixed with loud guitars and powerful drums. It’s almost as if the Pixies took acid, tried sounding like The Flaming Lips and Cretin Stompers was the end result. A great underground punk jewel, you might have to rummage through your local record store to get a physical copy, but once you listen to Looking Forward To Being Attacked the search will be all worth it.

Governments are mishandling tax money, there’s mass protesting everywhere, and there’s another militia working on taking over the entire Middle East. If your outlook on the world needs a little brightening, take a gander at the top tracks off of my Album Of The Week.

The trinity of the high pitched vocals, loud guitars and powerful drums is excellently exemplified on “Project: Object.” Each time I listen to it part of me wants to be freaked out, but it’s a truly wonderful track that puts me in a blissful mood. A punk rager to the fullest extent is “Adult Child;” the guitars definitely have that trademark shoegaze effect with raw energy upping the ante. If I had to pick any hit single off of Cretin Stompers’ debut, it’ll be “Eye Of The Storm.” There’s a nice pop aesthetic that pleases the senses while also being very catchy. Another great tune is “Cowboy From Mars,” a total rocker that has a lot of soul and blues tones.

There have been no tour dates announced by Cretin Stompers so unfortunately, who knows when and where they’ll be playing next. Hopefully they’ll come play in the New England area or even better, they’ll hit up a venue in a Providence soon. Until they come and raise hell in your hometown, grab a copy of Cretin Stompers’ Looking Forward To Being Attacked. It’ll give your ears that rock ‘n’ roll fix they’ve been craving.

Cretin Stompers’ BandCamp page:  cretinstompers.bandcamp.com