Gallon Drunk - The Last Gasp (Safty) (Clawfist)

Maracas are an underrated part of any band's arsenal. When Gallon Drunk were touting their wares around some unforgiving London venues in the early '90s, they employed a guy, Joe Byfield, to simply stand on stage and play maracas. Incredible as it may seem, Byfield's bean-shakers were key to the band's sound--just listen to the way they kick in 30 seconds into 1991 single "Draggin' Along," lifting the song out of the mire of Birthday Party pastiches and into something altogether more exotic. The band certainly had the specter of Mr. Cave looming over them during these early stages in their career (singer/guitarist James Johnston eventually threw in the towel and started playing with the Bad Seeds in '93), but their range was always a little broader than they were given credit for; Suicide and Martin Denny both spring to mind on this single, which was also released in '91. "The Last Gasp (Safty)" is marked by some wildly overdriven guitar/organ playing from Johnston, who would frequently play both instruments, sing, and take swift gulps from a pint glass, often all at once, during the band's chaotic live shows. They never quite captured the raw power of those shows on vinyl, but "Last Gasp" comes close, with Johnston's indecipherable whoops vying for air amid tribal drums, a slow-crawling bassline and, ultimately, the sound of all his instruments collapsing around him. One thing Gallon Drunk did have was stage presence, and in Johnston and bass player Michael Delanian, two men who looked like they rarely saw daylight. With their greasy quiffs and stale second-hand suits, they bore the look of men who trawled the streets of Soho looking for a squalid strip joint or an after hours bar. "The Last Gasp (Safty)" plays like the perfect soundtrack to their dusky excursions.