Evil Triplet
Evil Triplet

'70s Austin punks Terminal Mind reissued stuff; Evil Triplet releasing new LP

Formed in 1978, in the first blast of Texas punk, Terminal Mind sounds remarkably fresh and prescient today, more than three decades since the group splintered in the heat of the Lone Star sun. In its short, happy life, Terminal Mind recorded a series of catchy but aggressive songs that earned the group opening slots with Iggy Pop and drew comparisons to John Cale, Wire and Pere Ubu…

…Listening to the clang and clamor of “Zombieland”, one can hear the skeleton of R.E.M. and other bands that crawled from the Athens scene. In “Sense of Rhythm” one can detect influences similar to the unsung Kansas punks the Embarrassment, a burst of energy that’s somewhere between the garage and the Silver Factory. “Black” predicts much of Steve Albini’s bleakest sonic explorations while casting an ear to Manchester and the sounds of Joy Division and its ilk. [PopMatters]

Earlier this year, seminal Austin punk band Terminal Mind — who were originally around from 1978 to 1981 — put out the compilation Recordings on Sonic Surgery Records. It includes their 1979 EP, all of their songs from the Live At Raul’s compilation, and “all other live recorded output of the band that could be unearthed.” They were contemporaries of other OG Austin punk bands like Big Boys (who Terminal Mind’s Greg Murray once drummed for), though they had more of a post-punk/new wave sound. If you haven’t heard Recordings yet, it’s very worth checking out and you can stream it below.

In the time since Terminal Mind’s breakup, bassist/vocalist Steve Marsh led the late ’80s / early ’90s era NYC-via-Austin band Miracle Room, and more recently he’s been leading the psych-punk band Evil Triplet. Evil Triplet, whose lineup also includes Kirk Laktas (My Education, Cinders, Stars of the Lid) and Joe Volpi (who also played in Cinders and other bands), are releasing their new album Have A Nice Trip this Friday (7/20) via Super Secret Records (pre-order). With song titles like “Aren’t You Experienced?”, you can probably get a feel for the kinds of sounds that influenced this album. There’s Hendrix-y acid rock, Beatlesque whimsical pop, Hawkwind-y space rock, and other acid-induced sounds all swirling together beneath a wall of fuzz. A full stream of the album premieres below.