Hookers

First of all, let's avoid any confusion right off the bat and clearly state that this is not a record by the neo-Southern-heavy metal band the Hookers that features ex-members of Nine Pound Hammer. This is in fact an eight-song EP by Seattle's the Hookers, who later changed their name to the Murder City Devils after they underwent a change in drummers. The rock-action here is basically an abrasive, ultra-raw version of the loping, ranting, weird, dark stuff that the Devils would peddle a mere six months after this was recorded. The crazed distorto-energy of this EP, however, rocks a lot harder than anything the Devils ever did, as the panicked, screaming immediacy of "Fire" and "Broken Glass" show. Once again, we have proof that in punk music, a band's first stab is usually the best and that any "sprucing-up" or "improving" often just strips away the dangerousness of the music.