With the Pixies kill-switch status, back in the on-position, and My Bloody Valentine back on the road, I have been spending a fair amount of time wishing it was somewhere between the years of 1990 and 96, mostly because I did not pay enough attention to everything the first time around.  Good things happened in these years – e.g. Pixies last two records, Loveless, Pavement up to and including Wowee Zowee, Drive Like Jehu’s entire career, not to mention Encino Man and Empire Records, as if all there weren’t I had one of the greatest summers of all time between my freshman and sophomore years of high school (1996).

As cool as all of that was, hardcore punk was going through some growing pains. CBGB’s had wrapped up their Sunday Matinees by 1990, and there was the whole ill advised Krisha-core movement. In Toronto Chokehold was getting its start, and would eventually go onto produce much more awesome things – although they did start slow – really slow (get it?). But today we turn our attention to the West Coast. Where good things were going down, Infest, Crossed out and the general awesomeness that was San Francisco’s Slap-a-Ham introduced the world to powerviolence, while San Diego’s Three One G documented hardcore’s artier tendencies. 

Three One G was always a horse of a different color in the hardcore world, which can be expected from hardcore label that takes its name for the chorus of Joy Division’s “Warsaw.” Their different direction was obvious from their first two releases, Ubroken’s And/Fall On Proverb 7″ and the Swing Kids EP. The latter would go to be included Swing Kids’ discography, which this seemingly rambling post is supposed to be about. 

Swing Kids, hailing from San Diego, have seemed to me what would happen if Drive Like Jehu lacked poise and restraint. Which is an interesting concept – by not holding back the band’s  viscera is immediately available to the audience, but laying everything out there for the audience has always meant that there are fewer nuances to discover and love with repeated listening. But the immediacy and urgency always manages to pull me into the record. For me, this has always been a hardcore record that helped to bridge gaps and make me appreciate records outside of punk (which was what I nearly all listening to when I first came across Swing Kids). The cover of Joy Division’s “Warsaw” alone opened a whole new world of musical possibilities.

The band is reuniting for a single show on May 9 this year, with other Three One G bands that I would love to see live, but like all the good reunion shows that are being announced, I will be nowhere near where it is happening.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Iev6FjNVac[/youtube]

MP3: Swing Kids – Warsaw