One Perfect Song: "Seeing Black"
One Perfect Song is an ongoing series in which I highlight a song that stands out of the crowd.
Songs can take many forms. Some are engineered to be an anthemic single. Some are the perfect opener or closer (for an album or a live show). Some were included on an album just to make up the numbers. In this series I highlight a song that always grabs my attention when I hear it.
Today’s Song: "Seeing Black" by Pow Wows, from their 2011 debut album “Nightmare Soda”
I’m not entirely sure how I got turned onto Pow Wows. Maybe because this record came out on Get Hip Records or maybe because they are from Ontario, a famously fertile place for “garage rock”. Probably just because 2011 might just have been the highwater mark1 of that specific era of garage rock and I was highly attuned to the garage rock frequencies. I was buying records at a pace, both making up for lost time, and trying to keep up with the weekly demands of being the host/producer of a weekly radio show.
Wherever Pow Wows came from, they arrived with a fully-formed debut record: a great album name, a suitably creepy album cover and a record both in keeping with the genre/era but also offering up their own take on it. It’s a pretty underrated record. Then again, albums by Canadians on Get Hip probably always are? I believe they were one of those Canadian bands that weren’t allowed into the US for visa reasons. (See also: underrated independent professional wrestler “Speedball” Mike Bailey.)
Seeing Black is, by some distance, the best song on this album and - as I have said before - a perfect garage rock song.
I think with this song, more than any other single song - by anyone! - Pow Wows have perfectly captured and distilled that era:
The stomping drums? A classic hallmark!
The twin guitar attack? Can’t do it without those!
I’m not really hip with guitar tech talk, but I know enough to say that the tone on these guitars is fuckin’ killer!
The doubled up/twin vocals in the verses. That’s good shit, pal!
The section running from 1:45 to 2:08? Pure bliss, must have been so great to hear live!
An endorsement from King Khan2? As legit as it gets!
Until next time, play this one loud, and let the memories of dancing with 100 other weirdos in a sweaty dive bar sweep you back to the age of the NEW GARAGE EXPLOSION~!!
Random closing thoughts:
The other standout song on this record is Séance.
Not sure anyone is gonna name a song Pandemic #44 anytime soon. 2011 feels like two decades ago, not one.
If you dig this record, Pow Wows 2015 follow up album “Broken Curses” is also worth checking out. It pulled in a little more of their surf-ish elements in. The standout track is probably Hidden Future.
2011 being the year that the Ty Segall released “Goodbye Bread” and Thee Oh Sees released “Carrion Crawler / The Dream” which are very high on the list of best records by both of these overly-prolific acts.
"Pow Wows gloriously carry the flower punk torch and continue in our debaucherous death cult tradition. In the spirit of Simply Saucer and The Monks this recording bleeds and should be a hit during any afternoon Robitussin session.... My only advice is to keep hydrated... lots of water & GRAPEFRUIT... it will save you in the end...." - King Khan