Los Olividados Listen To This!!! (2002) Alternative Tentacles

For those who aren’t in the know, Alternative Tentacles has long been re-releasing records by bands that are at the same time incredible but have been over looked in the history of punk. Many of these bands were brought back through their reissues of necessity series a few years ago. Now AT has a brought back another group of artist in the Skate Punk collection. These were the artist that not only pioneered skate punk, but also skateboarding as well. While at a record store one day I saw this disc, and thinking that I liked the song “Pay Salvation” from the “Not So Quiet on the Western Front” comp, I decided to take a gamble with it.

Los Olividados were a band from San Jose Ca. that played with many of the legendary bands, and in some cases would blow larger bands off the stage. Most of the songs on this disc were never released, LO only recordings before this were featured on a few comps, but the majority were recorded but never released because of financial problems.

This was one of the best bands I have heard in a long time. Los Olividados play an older style of punk that sounds like a cross between the Dead Boys and “Raw Power”-era Stooges. The music is just so intense that it makes you just want to get and thrash around the room, or drop into that newly drained pool. The singer on this is great, he really reminds me of Iggy Pop on most of this disc, at some points just talking quietly and then suddenly unleashing a furry full of depression, desperation, and angst. The lyrics follow themes of suicide (“Personal Genocide”), boredom (“So Dull”, “Something New”), drug use (“Home Is Where the Heart Is”), and a feeling that not all is right in you life or the world (“Pay Salvation”, “Listen to you”).

I can’t thank AT for finally bring these lost gems of punk to light, as this has quickly become one of my favorite cds. I would tell anybody who claims to be a fan of old-school punk to check this group out. I’m also planning on getting the other 2 releases in the Skate Punk series as soon as I can get the cash together.

(Moldy)