Meerkats – Enemy Planet

A remarkably strong indie release, Enemy Planet's 14 tracks draw from the various incarnations of punk and garage rock with echo-laden single -note guitar-lines making deft references to nebulous TV detective and beach movie themes: all held together by a strong melodic sense and clever lyrical constructs. Early faves include “Enemy Planet” a massive surf instro, "Shape of Your Skull" (a dopey, driving crusher), The Merseybeat-tinged "Psychograph", the amp-shredding "Tornados of Blackhawk County (with a metallic guitar coda that I swear is lifted from Gary Lewis' "this Diamond Ring") and the creepy "Too Precious for Words" (which recalls Pink Flag-era Wire). There's a lot going on here, and a lot left to unveil itself. A good record by a band with a remarkably sure sense of itself that seems destined to one day bring this planet around to their side.

1 Enemy Planet 2 The Thinker 3 Shape of Your Skull 4 Twenty Twenty 5 Psychograph 6 Fancy Girl 7 Tornados of Blackhawk County 8 Cigarette Baby 9 Too Precious For Words 10 The Way of the Derelict 11 Illusion of Hair 12 Subculture of Nerds 13 She Did Not Beleive Him 14 He Rides His Bike

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