Listen closely and you might hear a death rattle emanating from Albany, the home Möribund. The Northeast freakpunks recently dropped Greasy Stranglers, a hellish batch of anti-hymns brazen enough to knock on the door of Hades itself. Seeing as this is the only area band that punk about town Eric Pressman doesn’t somehow find himself in, kudos here for tipping off about the act inspired (somewhat, at least) by the last decade’s best horror film curio, The Greasy Strangler.
Comprised of the animated corpse of skate-crazed punks Early Grabs and current members of both Mystery Girl and Rotten UK, Möribund is a different proposition altogether. Fusing the rollicking, rudimentary good times of pub rock, early Oi!, and first wave British punk; the band still manages to toss in a dash of white line fever and proto-crust.
Various tracks find them courting both the drunken and mundane, as both opener “Telly and Beer,” and late album track,“Pints,” are boozy and rousing bar band anthems that make even Flag’s “T.V. Party” seem self-serious. Elsewhere, “You Liar” finds them exploring rougher areas a la Killed by Death. In much the same way their other projects dish worthy blasts of simplistic smash n’ grab punk rock and roll, Möribund excel at an unfortunately lesser heard sound.
The not-quite title song “Greasy Strangler” tips its skullcap at the umlaut-touting Lemmy and friends. Played as both a worshipful and blasphemous blast of righteous Motörhead-isms; it’s the sound of a band touring through their collective record collections and having a fucking blast.
The vocals swiftly dance between dizzy castoff lines and subtly smart, the SAT prep word that is their namesake points to a “so dumb it’s brilliant” aesthetic and approach.
Backed with a note-perfect UK affectation that pays homage to both ‘77 and ‘82, theyre unbothered by the more experimental years in between those golden bookends. The false start of closer “Top Notch” feels excruciatingly live, and the in-studio vibe lends itself well to their Cock Sparrer through the lens of Broken Bones/English Dogs attack. They even find time to playfully toss in a nasal barmaid mimic that feels like improv.
Fittingly, you’re equally likely to find these maniacs robbing graves a la “Code Blue” as you are to see them pantsdown, fleeing the seminary. “Mother Mary” is a ripping ode to sins of the flesh, albeit penned to your favorite celibate third grade private school teacher (“Nun” More Black, amirite?) Listen closely to the lyrics and you’ll find that the subsequent track “No More Birds” warrants no explanation.
At times straight down the line and menacing, Möribund seems to revel in cheekier territory. These songs, however catchy and ripping, feel like they were penned during a blackout and even more quickly recorded at the end of a lost weekend’s ill-advised bender. There’s a sense of urgency due to the primitive looseness and grime all over this thing. It’s, dare I say, greasy, which brings us to the zombified elephant in the room. “Greasy Stranglers," were you to drop the “S”, happens to be the name of the 2016 “jet black” horror comedy.
Informed by an oddity as dark and odd as said film, I couldn’t let the fine folks in Möribund off without a few questions. Vocalist cum comedian Twon Wood was kind enough to indulge me a few questions. Enjoy, you fucking greaseballs.
Our readers might be familiar with the band’s “punk day jobs.” If I’ve done my homework, Möribund is folks from Mystery Girl and Rotten UK, right? How’d this weirdo proposition come together?
So, originally, our drummer Gus (Mystery Girl), our bassist Tiger, and I were in a band called Early Grabs with another friend of ours, a skate punk-inspired band. We never practiced because we were skating, we were late to shows because we were skating, we had people skating in the venues at our shows. That band eventually fizzled out and the guitarist left the band completely. Matt, our guitarist (Rotten UK), had moved to Albany from Rochester for work. Gus subbed drums on a Canadian weekend tour with Rotten UK at some point. But since Gus and Matt already had a musical relationship getting together to play was easy.
As for day jobs, Gus and Tiger work together as carpenters, Matt works for a college and I’m a mover and a comedian.
Sonically, it’s not altogether dissimilar from the band’s myriad other projects, yet it certainly stands out. How’d it come together? How’s it been received in the upstate scene?
We have received nothing but love from the other local bands and promoters. It’s really a really fun band to be in. Every song feels like an homage to all of the British bands from the past that inspired us.
The demo is, shall we say, limited in its availability! Will there be a physical release or at some point or is it a one and done thing?
It’s currently on Bandcamp. We do have plans to release it on cassette, as punk bands do. As for anything past that we’ll have to wait and see.
I can’t look the other way on the title of the demo. “Greasy Stranglers” certainly isn’t a coincidence, right? Perhaps one of the weirdest films I’ve ever seen. Give our readers the elevator pitch/quick summary on the movie’s insanity. What’s the backstory on that?
Oh man, so this movie is bonkers out of control. It’s a horror/indie with some of the gnarliest and grossest scenes you could imagine. It’s a story of father and adult son that are roommates. The father spends his nights covered in grease and you guessed it... he strangles. The Greasy Strangler has a 15-inch hog that hangs below his knees, while the son has an inch and half thimble for a dong. This podcast Forever Midnight does an incredible review of the film for anyone interested. The song itself is inspired by Iron Maiden’s Iron Maiden from the album Iron Maiden. Moments before playing the song for the first time Gus looked at me and said “Haha remember when we watched The Greasy Strangler?"
If you’re willing to go in on a movie like this, any other recommendations for movies that’ll fuck me up?
From Beyond gets slimy, Brain Damage for best blow job, and Toolbox Murders for best rack. And I’d recommend any movie with a "Troma" stamp on it. Troma makes some of the most beautifully gross films.
Got the dish on some local bands I’m likely sleeping on that you’d like to big up?
Just find Eric Pressman and ask him what bands he’s in. Solid dude and in every punk band in Albany except for Möribund.
I know this is seemingly impossible, but I’m a fiend for lists. Got a Top 5 Weirdest movies you’ve ever seen?
Strange Behavior (aka Dead Kids)
We used the party scene from it for unofficial music video for "Mother Mary":
Demons 1 & 2: Zombie like Demons that just want to party.
10 to Midnight: Charles Bronson is looking for a serial killer... a fully nude serial killer.
Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead: Troma takes on fast food, slime and boobs.
Jury Duty: Pauly Shore.
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Tagged: moribund
