Punk Rock Retrospective: Scratch Acid's Just Keep Eating

It's impossible to burn out with a regular injection of David Yow's vocal oddities. This time, it's Scratch Acid's "Just Keep Eating" keeping the mind sizzling.

Yow's enigmatic charisma fades in nicely with each track, especially "Crazy Dan," which commences the album.

Throughout "Just Keep Eating," the song-to-song transitions run a smooth high, with distinctive song structures-and plenty of noise.

Despite the overall production quality lacking a certain outlandishness, the overall sound is indisputably an organic punk-noise, which Scratch Acid practically invented in their 1980's Texas world.

Evidence of this comes in strong on "Big Bone Lick," the third song on "Just Keep Eating." It's rewarding in its melodies, and works nicely as a lead into "Unlike a Baptist," which is one of the best-and craziest-tracks of the album. Yow's storytelling stands out among the superior musicianship on guitar, bass, and harmonica... yes, harmonica.

Harmonica punk?

As Punk Rock Retrospective has proven in the past, there's really no defining what's punk rock and what's not.

Scratch Acid even use some crazy horn on the fifth track, "Damned for All Time." As one of the more danceable songs on the "Just Keep Eating" (depending on how one defines dancing), "DfAT" has a solid hook with a spine-tapping beat.

But it's the sixth track, "Ain't That Love," that really tears holes. It's all the fragility of Yow's vocals and lyrics, with some crazy musical backing that features a sick guitar solo.

Side A tapers off with a signature Scratch Acid groove that is, unfortunately, untitled.

Side B rips in with "Holes," a song that undoubtedly entertained many fans of Scratch Acid's style, including the Butthole Surfers. The song is short with a real kick in the jaw for a cut-off point.

But it's contrasted nicely by "Albino Slug," "Just Keep Eating's" ninth track. A subtle intro creeps in, until it builds and, eventually, blows up. A distinguished stoicism can be animated by this track, with slow zooms and unbridled fervor. This remains one of Scratch Acid's most balanced tracks ever.

As "Albino Slug" fades, it is crudely interrupted with the hammer and anvil of "Spit a Kiss," which is a song that could have gone a million wrong ways but, because of Scratch Acid's genius, ends up successfully wriggling its way out of various cliché's. Talent.

The eleventh track of "Just Keep Eating" could easily fool anyone with its jazzy introduction. "Amicus" is another "danceable" track that could be played for anyone, regardless of their mental state. This song should be placed in the middle of every Time Life infomercial, just to shake things up.

Unfortunately, the vinyl is winding down on "Just Keep Eating," as the final track "Cheese Plug" is thumping its way toward the end of the night. This track could put the funkiest of Red Hot Chili Peppers' songs to shame, with a bass drum pops the top off of any brew.

Overall, "Just Keep Eating" is a classic album that, despite being summed up as noisy by most reviews, is surprisingly universal in both sound and form.