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Plastique Pigs: Weekend Bender cassette (self-released) Raleigh, North Carolina’s reigning Kings of Punk follow up their demo from earlier this year with 6 new tracks. This cassette was supposed to be a tour-only release, but the tour got canceled at the last minute because of a family emergency, so we could get a good stack of them for the SSR faithful. From what I understand, these tracks haven’t been and won’t be released online, and while the originals may get re-recorded at some point, this is likely the only recorded version you’ll hear of the cover on the B-side. As for the music, if you heard the demo, you’ll notice immediately that Plastique Pigs is a changed band, having swapped drummers since their last recording. Usman from Scarecrow is now behind the kit, and he brings a huge extra helping of speed and power to the band. This is apparent on the two tracks from that demo that are re-recorded here, which are considerably faster and wilder than the previous versions. There are also three new originals on Weekend Bender, and while they stick to the fast-n-snotty style of the older material, I think the songwriting is even stronger. The track “Now Lay in It,” in particular, is my new favorite Plastique Pigs song. It starts off with this octave chord part that sounds straight off of D.I.’s Horse Bites, Dog Cries, then there’s an abrupt hard stop and they launch into a bad-ass riff that is as strong as anything on Government Warning’s classic No Moderation (which is obviously one of the band’s big inspirations). As for that cover on the B-side, it’s an unexpectedly straightforward version of “Lust to Love” by the Go-Go’s. The music isn’t miles away from the Pigs’ usual style, but the song’s big melodies really show off how strong Adam’s vocals are. The backing vocals are also killer… I don’t know who this Nail Dixon fellow is, but he’s got some pipes! As I noted above, you might hear these new songs again in a different form, but the re-recorded demo songs and the cover make this feel like way more than a throwaway, and the quick-and-dirty, Peel Session-type live-in-the-studio recording sounds as electric as a sweaty basement show.