Sea Monster - Here Come The Moon (Winged Disk)

Since the mid-80s, Sea Monster has successfully straddled the opposing worlds of suburban Long Island and New York’s punk scene. Whether igniting a biker rally in Hempstead or dominating the stage at the (now defunct) Continental, they have remained true to themselves, placating nobody, warriors against a world that will slice you open as soon as look at you. On their fifth album, the quintet continues their onslaught of blues-based punk rock with a fury unmatched by today’s younger bands.

Here Come The Moon finds Sea Monster in top form. The songs are raw, swaggering, full of balls and bravado and ready to scrap at a moment’s notice. Fred Wagner‘s sneering rock’n‘roll riffs perfectly compliment Arthur Stevenson‘s vocals as he effortlessly switches from meditative Jim Morrison to crude Bob Seger, even nailing a higher register in “She.” The songs may cover subjects like science fiction B-movies, superheroes, mythology and history, but Stevenson’s lyrics remain literary whether he is reliving the brutal murder of a Roman emperor or crassly describing a stripper’s pole dance. As usual, Sea Monster explores a range of styles, delving into psychedelia in “The Hammer of Thor,” delivering a solid MC5-style boogie in “Over The Top” (which also features Ism‘s Jism on piano) and returning to their origins with a powerful live rendition of “Sex God Chant,” the song that that originally put the group on the map in 1986. It’s a true, honest, thoughtful album, the contents of which Arthur himself would surely defend to his last dying breath.

It’s good that a band like Sea Monster is still around to give the kids a kick in the ass and say, “This is how it’s done, Billy. If you can’t take it, here’s the door…” They may be older, but they’ve gained a lot of wisdom in those years. And they’ve learned how to fight better.