When John Szymanski,
Dave Shettler, and Marty "Mother" Morris up and left
the Hentchmen, Paybacks, Sights and Cyril Lords to tour with
no less than those Black Keys, perhaps the most aurally arresting
Detroit amalgamation since the MC5 themselves was born. Bravely
mashing Simply Saucer with Blue Cheer one moment, Plastic Ono
Iggy with Blondie the next, then dragging Holland/Dozier/Holland
screaming towards Devo just for good measure, SSM create insightful
sounds which, thankfully, are NOT for the musically faint or
fickle, yet stand incongruously straight and solid despite their
wickedly wide source-base. In less obtuse words then? If you've
ever wondered what would or Should! have become of
those not-so-young Rascals, or how Beck might act if he plugged
all the way in for a change, then this disc, and this trio, are
totally up your valley. Meanwhile, should Nardwuar's Evaporators
ever get the call from JXL to produce the next posthumous Elvis
Number One, hopefully Messrs. Szymanski, Shettler and Morris
will be along for that joyride as well! - Gary Pig Gold / Ear Candy
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Dig the weireded
out album cover? You'll certainly dig the tuneage. SSM (or Szymanski,
Shettler, and Morris for those not into brevity) are a garage
rock trio out of Detroit Rock City. Scratch that. SSM are a trio
who do something like garage rock, but something entirely different
at the same time. Is it electro-garage rock? Is it psychedelic-stoner-dance
rock? I don't know quite exactly what it is, except to say It
rocks. - I
Rock Cleveland
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The garage
rock revivalists from Detroit take the reinvention of classic
rock to a whole new level, blending fuzz guitars with synth and
drum machines to create a formidable alliance. (...)
Their eponymous debut is a
psychedelic experience. Atmospheric tracks like "2012"
and "The Fourth" are spacey and disconnected trips.
"Ain't Love" and "Candy Lover" are groovy,
electro-pop romps, studies in self-control (can you keep from
dancing?). Dan Auerbach, Black Keys guitarist extraordinaire
and SSM friend-the bands toured together last winter-lends his
talents in "Dinosaur," a snarling tempo changer. -
Lisa Stahl / TheMagazine |
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Made up of members
from The Cyril Lords and The Hentchmen, with their new project
SSM move beyond the familiar three-chord duties of other local
bands: recorded with the help of the very good Dan Auerbach from
Akron, Ohio's Black Keys, their debut limited edition album is
awash with bursts of energy and moves into industrial punk territory
with krautrock influences. Like curators of a museum with a small
but enthusiastic clientele, the band evidently feel a genuine
love for what they're up to, and it's hard not to be stirred
by their passion. - The
Guardian (UK)
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In some ways Detroit
trio SSM sound like they're trying to be a nouveau disco band;
they have the beat and hi-hat heat, but otherwise they miss the
target entirely. Not that you can say exactly what it is these
guys are up to: Their full name, Szymanski Shettler Morris, is
a straight 70s-prog nod, and the artwork for their self-titled
debut on Alive rips off the nude-girls-on-rocks thing from Houses
of the Holy--only these ladies are buxom, have cockatiel heads,
and are posed next to a spaceship against a nuclear sky. The
band members all came up in Detroit's garage scene--they've played
in the Hentchmen, the Sights, and the Cyril Lords--but now they're
riffing on some fardled deep-space electro-rock. It's like watching
Brainiac prance around in Mick Jagger's football pants and Capezios:
oh so wrong, but somehow oh so right. - Jessica Hopper /
Chicago Reader
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If electroclash
had left a dent, it would have been for sounding something like
this. Garage punk trio SSM have followed their pants-dropping
debut record with this six-tracker, and damn if these boys ain,Äôt
doing it right. EP-1 contains one remix and five new tracks (three
of which were once again engineered by THE BLACK KEYS,Äô
Dan Auerbach); opener ,ÄúPut Me In,Äù
sounds like LCD SOUNDSYSTEM but more organic, with real flesh
and bones it,Äôs a dance floor breaker, if DJ,Äôs
only knew their heads form their asses. Second cut ,ÄúFiction
Rock + Roll,Äù goes back to basics, most of the dance
elements are left on your heels and its sound regresses to a
tiny soundproof garage. It is with songs like this that SSM actually
sounds like the trio it is, the music is still grand but capable
of deafening frequencies. Formed by John Szymanski (HENTCHMEN,
PAYBACKS), Dave Shetler (THE SIGHTS) and Marty Morris (CYRIL
LORDS); SSM sounds like a fuzzy and furry 60,Äôs psychedelic
combo, if only those damn hippies would not have ruined it all
with all that patchouli and songs about wearing flowers when
you move to San Francisco. Damn them. But this is no mere revivalist
act, if anything these boys sound like they,Äôve had
too much Kool Aid. Slow seducer track ,ÄúBelle Isle
Daze,Äù is a delicious blend of fuzz strumming and
? THE MYSTERIANS type key work, while ,ÄúCountry
City,Äù jerks itself from several positions; before
finding solace in organic dance drums and rocking guitars. ,ÄúYou,Äôll
be Glad You Did,Äù is childish, and as such it plays,
it foams at the mouth, it throws stuff right at you and in the
end shits itself amidst the milky way. Good stuff all around.
- Hansel Merchor / Deaf
Sparrow
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SSM follow up their
debut, eponymous, full-length album with this six-song mini-set,
cleverly titled EP, Vol. 1, and yet again defy anyone
to describe their sound. The rollicking "Fiction Rock +
Roll" and the slamming "Country City" posits them
on the punk side of garage rock, which is where most exasperated
critics tend to lump them. "Ha, that's what you think,"
the band cry triumphantly, slinging into "You'll Be Glad
You Did," a synth pop-goes-pop-punk ditty that could have
been written by Vince Clarke, or the Ramones for that matter.
To further muddy the waters the EP suddenly falls straight into
space rock territory. The remix of the album track "Put
Me In" has new wave pretensions, too, but a decidedly funky
flare, and even a hint of proto industrial fuzz and drone. But
the trio aren't done yet. "Bell Isle Daze," is way
too slow for garage, but you can hear its antecedents within
regardless, along with fabulous psychedelic organ and wah-wah
guitar. Simultaneously laid-back and insistent, thanks to the
spacey atmosphere and a new wave drum machine beat, here SSM
are, perhaps, at their genre-bending best. Until they take "Daze"
into "Dub" on the final track. Onscreen it just looks
goofy, while the lyrics are decidedly loopy, but on disc it's
brilliant, absolutely inspired, in fact, and a ton of fun besides.
- Jo-Ann Greene / AMG
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EP-1 blasts listeners off into a space
adventure of exotic monster woman, silver shiny ray guns that
shoot out "shake your ass or die" lasers, and a spaceship
that only runs on bar beer. It's the world every young rock fan
wants to be a part of. SSM reminds us all in this current nation
of crying man-children and indie rock pastels that music can
be fun. It doesn't have to be "prove you can get into fucking
Harvard" bullshit. You can just dance with a hot chick in
a tight shirt and have a good time. No existential whimpering
allowed. And even when things get a little quieter (the new "Belle
Isle Daze"), it's more like having a cigarette out on the
porch with your best friend. Things are cool and mellow, baby.
- Zach Hoskins / Modern
Pea Pod
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This Detroit three
piece belts out really great tunes, playing back and forth between
electronic synthesized sounds and traditional rock deliveries.
The unique thing about their sound is it manages to straddle
the line between the two forms amazingly evenhandedly, swinging
back and forth between electro clash barrages, intriguing keyboard
tones, and good old fashioned rock guitar with a deftness that
defies categorization. The best of both worlds might be a good
way to describe their raw yet complex sound. I can't remember
when I've heard a more tasteful mix of order and chaos. It has
bursts of weirdness and noise but still remains accessible and
driving. This is easily one of the most interesting and likable
records I've heard in recent memory, and it stands up on repeated
listens. High fives and kudos to the fine people at Alive Records
for putting this out. 9 on a scale of 1-11. - The Swede / Culture
Bunker
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Opening with a hail
of echoed guitar and synths, the debut album by SSM is packed
with dense guitar riffs, sing-a-long chorus, strange keyboard
interludes and enough attitude to carry it all of in gloriously
confused style. The first two tracks maintain a power pop manifesto
with "Exit Strategy" being particularly strong. Third
track "Ain't Love" changes the focus however, sounding
like a UK new wave song, all angular and keyboard driven. From
then on in, it's no-holds barred, as the band suck in influences
from all points from the last thirty years and blend them into
a melodic, unexpected and cohesive whole, creating a highly entertaining
album for your ears. - Simon Lewis / Terrascope
Rumbles
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To describe this
current trio as a garage band would be to serve them with an
unjust sentence. To describe them as a temper tantrum of various
degrees would probably be more accurate. SSM have created a sound
that could merely be described as original, challenging and fresh.
It is obvious that their creative output comes from deep within
their souls. As a collective unit they have nothing to prove
to anyone and it shows that their love for different genres and
arrangements leads to deviceful product. Adding Art-rock, garage
and chaos to the mixture has spurned a cd that would rival any
terrorist bomb. KaBOoM! Liquid ecstasy banged into the bloodstream
makes for a high of such bombastic proportions that this trio
may have created their own genre. Filled with analog keyboards,
rhythm machines and sonic body strapped bombs. Controlled chaos
bitten by the gods of art rock and pumped for a wall of sound.
- Demonseed / Sugarbuzzmagazine
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Another Detroit
supergroup in the making? Not even close to super group but that
really isn't the point. Thankfully SSM, exceed expectations
and delivers a solid debut effort. Part psychdelia, part new
wave, part funk, part shoe gaze. SSM is made up of members of
The Hentchmen, the Paybacks, the Sights, and the Cyril Lords.
All these bands have been churning out 60's pop and garage rock
just as long as White and Benson's "other" projects.
Their stories and their successes are vastly different stories,
but John Szymanski, Dave Shettler and Marty Morris' collaboration
doesn't have those same expectations or pressure that is "put
upon" The Raconteurs. Szymanski and Morris drive the the
sound of SSM. The band was originally conceived by Szymanski
while he was on tour with The Black Keys. Szymanski was eager
to make music that didn't follow "The Hentchmen formula".
He found a partner in the Cyril Lord's Morris. Like The Raconteurs
SSM have not abandoned there roots. There are hints of The Hentchmen
and the Cyril Lords, but that is where it ends. The two have
taken advantage of this side project to expand and explore. Morris,
in addition to his drumming, brings his experience with sound
effects. This experience fills in the canvas. SSM opens
with one minute of keyboards and sound effects before launching
into Beck/ Blur-ish "Exit Strategy". SSM overall is
heavily influenced by these mid 90's alternative powerhouses.
"Aint Love" and "Sick" make ample use of
sound effects but do not forsake the song. "Put Me In"
turns out a very serviceable rhythm and would be a great dance
song. Don't expect a remix though. "Candy Loving" and
"Viking's Daughter" gets close to the Hentchmen's and
Cyril Lord's sound. Most notably "Candy Loving" tones
downs the odd effects on other tracks by using more organ sounds
and a nice backing harmony. The sexual overtones are also a nice
touch. "2012" is a droning psychedelic experiment that
is surprisingly satisfying, as is, the Beatle flourishes on "Dinosaur*".
SSM isn't for the average Hentchmen or Cyril Lords fan.
The music can at times disjointed and the subject matter is definitely
not cars, parties or booze. Still, if you stick around for the
"Worst of Me" you will be rewarded with possibly the
best sing along to come around in years. SSM just might put the
Szymanski and Morris on the alternative map. - Rinjo Njori /
Another
Sunny Day In Pop
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Bravely mashing
Simply Saucer with Blue Cheer one moment, Plastic Ono Iggy with
Blondie the next, then dragging Holland/Dozier/Holland screaming
towards Devo just for good measure, SSM create insightful sounds
which, thankfully, are NOT for the musically faint or fickle,
yet stand incongruously straight and solid despite their wickedly
wide source-base. In less obtuse words then? If you've ever wondered
what would or Should! have become of those not-so-young
Rascals, or how Beck might act if he plugged all the way in for
a change, then this disc, and this trio, are totally up your
valley. - TorpedoPop
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From their absurd
blacklight sci-fi album art to their acronymous band name (ELP,
anyone?), (John) Szymanski, (Dave) Shettler and (Keith) Morris
are a supergroup thoroughly conscious of their status as such.
Everything about this self-titled debut is bigger and more exaggerated
than the sum of SSM's parts, right down to epic nine-minute
closing jam "The Seer." But what keeps this
power trio from descending into bloated self-parody is the ability
of each member to take the modi operandi of their more
well-established "day jobs," and coax them into exciting
new directions. Sure, the Farfisa-driven Nuggets raunch
of Szymanski's Hentchmen is all over tracks like "Exit Strategy,"
"Ain't Love," and "Candy Loving"; but hotwired
to Cyril Lords frontman Morris' heavy guitar licks and some double-team
percussion courtesy of ex-Sights drummer Shettler and the band's
secret weapon, a vintage drum machine, it's a whole new beast
- one which threatens to breathe some much-needed new life into
that rickety bandwagon we call "Detroit garage."
(...) if Brendan Benson is right and the Raconteurs' record can
be considered the Rust Belt's answer to Nevermind, then
SSM's debut must be Bleach: raw, ragged, crackling with
potential; maybe a little too murky for its own good on occasion,
but by and large a harbinger of great things to come. As for
its relevance to the transitional scene from which it hails,
well, this is as solid evidence as any that Detroit's garage
cognoscenti need not hang up their white belts yet. Strap on
your space helmets, kids: this is Garage Rock 2.0. - Zach Hoskins
/ Blogcritics
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Like writers, who
cannot avoid inserting their lives into their writing, SSM marinates
in the rough but endearing Detroit sound that they've been surrounded
by for over a decade each. But this is just a base a foundation
that is even bypassed at times on SSM's self-titled debut . Take
the introduction to the album's first track, "Exit Strategy",
as an example, which is nothing but a collection of noises that
serve as a soundcheck of creativity to come. From there, the
record seamlessly shimmies from Gories-styled soulful garage
("No Looking Back") to a statically distorted glam
hand-clapper ("Sick"), and shakes from the blissfully
danceable "Put Me In" to the psychedelic sonic caboose,
"The Seer". But it might be "Dinosaur"
the only track to make the cut from their critically acclaimed
(New York Times) demo, LP1, onto the official debut
that is the killer which every album invariably needs.
"Dinosaur" has elements of Beck, The Beatles, and Andre
Breton the blips of the Atari game keyboard line, the tumbling
breakdown, and the surreal guitar solo garnish the dynamics of
the upfront bass and backdrop stun-drumming. Equally as sticky
is the repeated opening line, "I've had much better than
you," which is wonderfully simple and direct, much like
SSM themselves. Yet, like the band, its power lies in the layers
behind it. - The
Crutch
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Blaring retro organ
that brings to mind ? & the Mysterians on such cuts as "Exit
Strategy" and "Candy Loving," the band takes a
new wave-ish detour on "Put Me In," and if Suicide's
two-man lineup was expanded to include a guitarist, it would
probably sound close to "Ain't Love." With many of
their garage rock compadres being more concerned with looking
the part -- SSM deliver musically on their self-titled outing.
- Greg Prato / AMG
| Billboard
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White soul lives!
Members of The Hentchmen and The Sights stumble through saturated
sloppy guitar chords, drunken vocals, reverb drenched keyboards,
and weird sound effects. You can't go wrong by sticking to the
Blue Cheer, ? and the Mysterians, Lyres, and Blues Explosion
playbook, heavy on the wah pedal and handclaps. The final track,
"The Seer", at over six minutes, is the absolute peak.
As it trails off, you can lay back covered in sweat, smoke a
cigarette, sleep a bit and sneak out before anyone notices. -
Mark / 75 Or Less
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This is perhaps
the appropriate version of garage rock to compare to the Yeah,
Yeah, Yeahs herk'n'jerk, or The Epoxies zany new wave via weirdo
punk. Healthy amount of fuzzed out keyboard smog populates mid-tempo
grooves. More relaxed Devo, or early Brian Eno as "Nuggets
style" garage action these guys could play with the White
Stripes/Raconteurs or anyone name checked above and any kind
of non-brain dead audience could have a great time. There are
vocal lines that wouldn't be out of place on a Zombies or Flaming
Lips record, sythn-boom that could wander out of a Residents
disc, Tiki hut cha-cha moves by way of Neu and tons of cool hip
swivel r&b moves absorbed and rolled out with referencing
anything specific. And the Cars. And Trio, don't forget Trio.
The cover looks like they stole it from Budgie, WTF ? Shit I
dunno any straight up comparisons but lets go with people who
can grip the fun side of Neu, The Flaming Lips, Enon, Eno, Sam
the Sham and the Pharaohs and the Cars. - Craig Regala / Lollipop
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Fuck the Raconteurs,
SSM is the true Detroit supergoup, pulling members from Dirty
D heavy weights the Sights, the Hentchmen and the Cryil Lords.
They play the typical garage rock that dominates the Motor City
but I think they got bored halfway through making the album and
started throwing in lots of psychedelica, funk and electronica.
And that makes for fun rock and roll. Plus, the album cover is
kick ass. - ELarceny:
Better Living Through Music
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The men of SSM were
already Detroit rock scene fixtures before becoming SSM their
work with the Paybacks and Hentchmen (John Szymanski), the Sights
(Dave Shettler) and the Cyril Lords (Marty Morris) had those
in the know knowing them. But SSM 's members weren't content
to get by on their impressive pedigrees alone. Instead, they
went to work melding danceable, good-time grooves, emotionally
intense lyrics and a penchant for experimentalism into a sound
that continues the redefinition of garage rock's boundaries.
- 24/7
+ 1
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If Jack White is
a more focused, less eccentric Jim Morrison, then namesakes Szymanski,
Shettler and Morris should at least be as renowned as Medeski,
Martin and Wood by 2012 - the year referenced in SSM's epic,
"2012." Meanwhile, "Worst of Me" is perfect
potpourri for this summer's dance caves. Throughout the album
they make use of phone ringers, bong hits, and what could very
well be a Theremin, yet, if anything, its Auerbach's turn at
the axe on "Dinosaur," which grates of wankery, and
the more straightforward attempts at pop songs that miss their
mark. In a world without artistic pretensions, this is what Liars
would have sounded like five years ago if they were from Detroit.
- Aaron Levy / Exclaim
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Whoa, these guys
have really got their own thing going here. Kind of like a punk
rock Medeski, Martin, and Wood, SSM perform a kind of drum, guitar
and Farfisa organ combo with vocals somewhat reminiscent of bands
like Love or even a tougher T. Rex. The cover art looks like
one of those weird Yes albums from the 1970's, the opening track
sounds like a B-side from soundtrack to The Shining and song
titles run the fantasy / sci-fi gamut from "Viking's Daughter"
and "The Seer" to "2012". Yet another unique
notch on the growing belt of awesomeness embodied by Alive Records.
- Justin Habersaat / Altercation #19
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SSM are part of
the whole Detroit rock scene that spawned WHITE STRIPES, The
Von Bondies and BLANCHE. The main difference between these bands
and SSM is that SSM are smashing boundaries by taking what was
once a sacred cow amongst American muso's - COUNTRY AND WESTERN
- and dipping it, whether it likes it or not, screaming into
modern art-rock and blue grass rock. Sounding like an explosion
at a White Stripes supported by The Black keys gig this is an
album that drives and centres around the hallowed and mythical
being called "Americana". Huge sounding rock, with
balls as big as Nabraska, and a lot of soul. To find out that
their previous EP was recorded by the Black Keys main man Dan,
is no surprise at all, as the 'Keys are obvious influences, but
never once do you question the huge brilliance and originality
that they seemingly exude. Like a party hosted by the Death from
Above 1979 guys, attended by The 'Stripes and the 'Keys, this
is a band who will make headlines, and deliver regardless of
trend and what's apparently hip at the time From start to finish,
its juts pure utter and total greatness. - Andi James Chamberlain
/ Subba-cultcha
(UK)
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You may remember
Szmanski, Shettler and Morris (SSM, respectively) from such notable
Detroit garage acts as the Hentchmen, Paybacks and the Sights,
but this new project knocks these bands right back to the minor
leagues. And this isn't some Jack White-endorsed motor-city revivalist
group, either. SSM has its feet grounded in tradition, but its
roots only serve as a reference point. Playing fuzzed-up glam
on the recent single "Sick" to carnival oompah-pah
("Candy Loving"), culminating with the stomping space
odyssey "2012" - and that's only in the first 20 minutes!
The remainder of the record is equally as unpredictable: bouncing
between straight-up rock to the more spacey, drugged-out moments
("You're Next", "Seer"). It's hard to find
fault with such an ambitious and well-rounded record - let's
just hope these gems fall into the right hands, lest it become
an overlooked, lost classic. - Adam Simpkins / The Nerve
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Not so much an avant-rock
outfit as much as a trippy garage combo with a sick penchant
for fucking with ear-bursting levels of volume; Detroits trio
(singer/keyboardist John Szymanski, drummer Dave Shettler and
singer/guitarist Marty Morris) SSM makes enough noise to bring
the city down. First, the garage side prevails; the groovy
melodies, the 60s acid drenched keyboards, the permanent feedback
adhered to the fuzzy string work and those warm psychedelic keys
which seem to encapsulate as much mindless drug-taking in the
span of a five-minute song as the hour and something that a Russ
Meyer film lasted. The melodies too are of a post-hippy
nature; bathed in a Pre-Reagan time where the white powder was
not yet considered addictive and careless fun was a pastime you
immersed yourself into without the ever thought of the possible
consequences. Tracks like No Looking Back, Sick and Candy Loving
seem to revolve in a parallel universe; where at some point during
the pre-disco 70s history took a left turn and conservatism,
without rhyme or reason, simply vanished. - Hansel Merchor /
CD
Reviews
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The album covers
a multitude of genres - futuristic rock/garage rock/synth pop,
you name it. Using organs for some songs with catchy space-riffs
on others, plus bringing back some 60's garage rock in places
- they seemed to have nailed the quality album trophy well. Plus
lyrically the album is majorly touching in places. 13 tracks
of lush space-rock-pop coming from Szymanksi, Shettler and Morris.
- Paul Meggs / Velvet
Grooves
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SSM, a supergroup
of sorts, have succeeded in creating a modern psychedelic/garage
rock hybrid. Three members from bands the Sights, Cyril Lords
and the Paybacks got together to raise Detroit rock sound to
a new level. (It's no surprise these guys are friends of the
Datsuns). Relentless grooves, stomping rock percussion and unpredictable,
gutsy turns make this self-titled debut, with its songs about
space girls, a must-have for rabid rock fans. - Celine / The
Sentimentalist
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Detroit's avant-rock
outfit SSM is made up former members of The Hentchmen, The Sights
and The Cyril Lords. Their trippy reinvention of garage rock
is so infectious that you'll find you can't get enough of this
album. I've been listening to it almost all day and it still
hasn't got old yet. If I had to describe it in one sentence I
guess I would say it's sort of like a mix of the Amboy Dukes,
early Rolling Stones and the Gang Of Four. "Candy Loving",
"Viking's Daughter" and "The Fourth" are
my picks on this disc but the whole thing sounds pretty damn
cool if you ask me. - J.R. Oliver / Ear
Candy
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Motor City's SSM
- singer/keyboardist John Szymanski (The Hentchmen), drummer
Dave Shettler (The Sights) and singer/guitarist Marty Morris
(The Cyril Lords) - makes everything from gritty, howling bar
rockers to synthed-out electro-trash anthems, all the while disguising
it as Detroit garage. However, as the wall of noise/sound check/intro
gives way to the inebriated swagger of opener "Exit Strategy"
and it's ripping analog keyboard climax, it's obvious that there
are influences here that reach beyond Detroit. As far, in fact,
as 60s Swedish garage rockers The Backdoor Men. There are hints
of many things along the dizzying ride of this debut full length
- from The Rolling Stones to the Frank Black-ish belting vocals
of highlight track, "Put Me In" and all the way to
space-rocked-out jams that The Flaming Lips could join in on.
Aside from the energy, attitude, fuzzed out guitars, heavy drums
and sleazy sex appeal in their sound, there are two main elements
that come together to define the SSM sound. Shettler's use of
both organic and programmed beats throughout gives the record
a modern spin while Szymanski's vintage analog keyboards keep
it old school and authentic sounding. So if it's not futuristic
and it's not a throwback this must be the sound of now. Future
vintage garage rock. - Just
Add Noise
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The keyboards on
this CD absolutely swoop and growl and roil and shake with mighty
slabs of low end rumble that nicely compliment some pretty heavy
guitar parts. People are saying that this is more garage-rock
revival stuff but I beg to differ. This is pure sonic sludge
that defiantly takes on some of rock's past influences but yet
wraps it all up into today's rock and roll. - The
Rock An Roll Report
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Lazy, crudely contagious
'SSM' is irrefutably bedecked with all the trademark garage punk
attire that you'd come to expect of an ensemble made up of members
from some of the Detroit scenes finest rockers, yet there's a
subtle difference at large here. While most bands might happily
peddle their vintage near cloned tributes to Pebbles finest until
the cows don't so much come home but rather more start a spot
of spontaneous breeding with the natural habitat, SSM's brand
of customised garage has instead of being left to choke on exhaust
and spray paint fumes been allowed out onto the open road to
fill its engine with as much cross pollinated generic air as
its turbo charged eight cylinders can take.
Cannibalising Keith
Richard's early 70's street cool riffs and giving them a much
needed shot of adrenalin is only part of the equation at the
heart of SSM as they run the gamut and spit out at unnerving
frequency all the keynote reference points of rock 'n' roll's
multi faceted heritage. The bone rattling boogie 'Sick' with
its scuzzy Stones-esque skeletal thrill burns with shades of
classic Ronson while 'Candy Loving' is the long lost cousin of
the Standells 'Dirty Water' with the tear inducing rawness being
brought about by the bands reliance on only guitar, drums and
keys - the latter executed in the most part with a sure fire
kooky delivery.
'Exit strategy'
opens the set with a to die for mooching riff that owes more
to old school rock steady / ska than garage while the ghost of
Link Wray is in attendance throughout to varying degrees no more
so is this the case than on 'Worst of Me' with its lurking fuzzy
overlays, soft psyche washes and crooked detuned keys. Then there's
the electro blues of 'Ain't love' while elsewhere 'Put me in'
even dabbles with a spot of deliciously choked white funk before
mutating into something not to dissimilar to early wired up Fall.
Glam rock is dragged through the blender on the seismic 'No looking
back' and comes out of the other end tie dyed and bespoked with
a hint of crucial darkly toned psyche for good measure - a bit
like a scrubbed up and tightened New York Dolls. All said and
done nothing quite compares with '2012' - a horny as fuck hi-fi
humping b-movie suited and booted shades wearing bastard love
child of the Stones '2000 light years' and the Monkees '(I'm
not your) Steppin' Stone' with Baby Woodrose overseeing the delivery
- snakes seductively with such primal sensuality that it could,
if bottled up, put Viagra out of business. Absolutely essential
debut release so much so that you'll never want for those Pebbles
compilations ever again. - Mark Barton / Losing
Today
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What SSM sounds
like: like Ian Sevonius if he didn't try so hard, the Jesus and
Mary Chain w/out so much pretension, and a lot of early 60's
garage band stuff that you've heard before, maybe, but not quite
filtered through the psychedelic keyboards or the rubbery guitar.
There's also this very gritty Detroit feel to it, possibly because
they're from Detroit, but you get the drift (...) Best lyrics
of the year so far are from their song "Worst of Me:"
Sorry I never sent no flowers/when she overdosed/yeah/ sorry
i never sent no candy/when she was comatose/yeah/and sorry I
wasn't there for you/when you needed me most--they're just deliciously
silly lyrics, made all the more ridiculous with a guitar solo
smack in the middle of the song, ala Pink Floyd. Yes, my friends,
that's the worst of anyone right there. - Poly's Revenge
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Rough and somewhat
distorted guitars hit hard with a classic garage feel, while
the drums keep up a steady beat. Tracks like "Candy Loving"
and "Ain't Love" give this album a toe-tapping feeling
of joyful energy, while songs like "Dinosaur" brings
a psychedelic edge. No matter how it's described or sold, SSM's
throwback to the '60s psychedelic sound should have no problem
pleasing its listeners. - Matt Edmund / Skratch
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SSM self titled
debut disc is a wild ride through the minds of musical mad scienctists
fusing rock with psychedelic pop and any other music that comes
in handy. SSM is awesome musical chaos played by three guys who
have been in the game long enough not to care about sticking
to some sort of formula and play what they want. Tracks like
Dinosaur and Vikings Daughter are nothing short of fun with their
catchy and straight forward lyrics. SSM is a solid band that
is definitely worth a listen. - Ectomag
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SSM injects the
whole Detroit neo-garage trend with a big dose of heaviness and
psychedelia, creating something closer to the experimental, anything-goes
spirit of '60s garage rock than their more watered-down, MTV-friendly
contemporaries would ever dare imagine. At the same time, they
aren't '60s rock purists, or yet another formulaic, Nuggets-inspired
rip-off. - Kat Stewart / Maximumink
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There´s certainly
a lot of influences in here from the likes of Iggy Pop &
The Stooges to The White Stripes to MC5 to Alice Cooper and even
some Stones thrown in amongst it all! If anything this disc is
far from predictable and anyone in to Garage Influenced Rock
will certainly get in to what SSM are about. There´s 13
numbers on here and each and everyone as mind blowing as the
last. My advice to get the best out of this album is to put your
feet up and either sup on a beer or light up a spliff! - Steve
DIY / Fullfrontalrecordings
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These Detroit rockers--keyboardist
John Szymanski from the Hentchmen, drummer Dave Shettler from
the Sights, and guitarist Marty Morris from the Cyril Lords--look
like a garage band and play shows with garage bands, and their
new self-titled full-length is on Alive, a label that mostly
puts out records by garage bands. So when you discover that they're
messing around with space-epic analog synths and stoner-dumb
lyrics about UFO girls in songs that jump the rails of the usual
verse-chorus structure, you might feel kind of confused, or even
angry. That's totally OK. Garage thrives on hybridization, but
mixing it with prog--its complete antithesis in sound, scope,
and fidelity--is straight-up kinky by anybody's standards. Fortunately,
like Eno on the better parts of Here Come the Warm Jets, SSM
manages to fuse the low- and highbrow into something better than
the halfway point between. And as always, ten bonus points for
putting a bong-rip sound on your record. - Miles Raymer / Chicago
Reader
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We think SSM, a
name comprised of the first initial of each band principal's
last name, benefits from the same electrified roots that power
acts like Detroit contemporaries The Von Bondies or late-lamented
Bethlehem, PA garage-psych unit The Original Sins. Perhaps SSM's
greatest strength is in the non-blues-derived flourishes it uses
to augment its music. Album opener "Exit Strategy"
rides a two-chord Fall riff, analog keys lace much of the proceedings
with a touch of space rock and the band delivers foot-stomping
power pop anthems with the curiously sequenced album highlight
"The Fourth" and "Put Me In." Closer "The
Seer" hits a rigid groove in its final minutes that lays
the foundation for a guitar melt-down and takes the record out.
- Clicky Music
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SSM's self-titled
debut has many hallmarks of past and present Motor City garage
rock, sounding at times like the love child of the MC5 and the
White Stripes. Morris' unhinged, bordering-on-chaos guitar thunder
is matched by Shettler's wall-of-sound drumming, with the ace
in the hole coming from Szymanski's old-school, analog keyboards.
It's as if ? & the Mysterians had walked in on a session
with Iggy & the Stooges, a happy collision between pop and
hard rock, melody and noise. Shettler's use of programmed percussion
on such songs as "Ain't Love," "2012" and
"Put Me In" is also refreshing, helping to steer the
band away from cliche and toward the realm of the arty and unpredictable.
Among the many high points are "Sick," which has the
stomp and bluster of early Alice Cooper, and "Viking's Daughter,"
which starts with a relentless groove and then takes some unexpected
twists and turns. "Dinosaur" is the only track included
from SSM's limited demo "LP1," done last summer shortly
after the band's inception. The other 12 songs were recorded
this past February by Chris Koltay at his High Bias Recordings
studio in Corktown. SSM's debut album is anything but cookie-cutter
Detroit rock, its tangle of unexpected moments and blend of guts
and brains making it truly memorable. - Martin Bandyke / Detroit
Free Press
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Go ahead, name a
good band with a lead singer who also plays the keyboards. And
if you say "Flock of Seagulls", than get the fuck out
of here. It just doesn't happen in nature, rockin' bands with
keyboard singers. Singing drummers, maybe- Exciter and the Mentors-
but not the synth guy. Until now. SSM (Szymanski, Shettler, Morris,
just like ELP!) is a far-out trio from Detroit led by the first
S guy, John Szymanski, who plays a crazy, wobbly organ and warbles
about weird shit while the guitar dude (Marty Morris) bashes
out 60's fuzzpunk riffs and S2, drummer Dave Shettler, tries
to keep the band on Earth. It's space rock with a beat, and it
gets wilder as it rolls along. The first few tunes are sorta
stripped down and jumpy, but as the album progresses, SSM starts
sounding like early 70's BOC fronted by a mad calliope player.
By closer "The Seer", it's just squiggly dialtones
and acid-metal guitars, pure cosmic freakery. And that's fuckin'
alright with me. Turns out that keyboards go way better with
drugs. - Sleazegrinder
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Garage rock? Detroit
sound? Dance Rock? Synth pop? Who cares?
SSM's first full-length is a lot of fun, original and interesting.
And the trio is made up of three weathered Detroit-based musicians.
John Szymanski plays bass in the Paybacks and vocals/keys for
The Henchmen. Dave Shettler has played drums with The Sights.
And guitar player Marty Morris was a part of The Cyril Lords.
Together they have created a sound that doesn't need to be defined,
only listened to. There are passionate vocals, pots and pan drum
beats hitting all over the place, raw guitar riffs and strange
synth noises floating through the whole album. Pick this one
up and get ready to dance and enjoy some original local jams
that sound like they could be from another planet. - Erik Adams
/ State
News
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"Candy Loving"
and "Sick" bend new wave through a prism, and are can't-miss
download hits. But the nearly seven-minute closer "Seer"
is a slurping and spidery near-dub workout with more echo than
a canyon, and "You're Next" alternates detached psychedelia
with spiky lead guitar and an overdriven chorus. "You're
next on my list of hearts I gotta break," it goes, telling
those bird women what's what. And the rest of the conversation
is lost in echo and sly organ, a sticky early-summer splutter
of pop multiplicity that puts SSM on the cusp of space and maybe
more. - Johnny Loftus / Detroit
Metro Times
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SSM are the initials
of the last names of the three principal players in the band
(Szymanski, Shettler, Morris). But I personally think it'd be
a more appropriate abbreviation of Sonic Shattering Madness,
because these 13 apocalyptic psycho-beat dirges and dizzying
Garage Rock anthems wildly veer all over the musical globe, incorporating
a bit of Syd Barrett, Swell Maps, The Pixies, and Butthole Surfers
along the way. Late at night when the rest of the world is fast
asleep, I'm gonna hear the SSM noise in my head and let the demons
dance accordingly. Boo-ga-da boo-ga-da oh yeh! - Moser / Under
The Volcano
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Detroit; dog bollocks;
connections to the Hentchmen, the Sights and the Cyril Lords;
wickedly screwball with lashings of lo-fi fuzz to 60's Pebbles
derived psyche - garage - crusted with elements of Link, Lou
and the Standells as though bitten by the groove bug wearing
shades and leather, quite possibly the sexiest thing we've heard
all year so far - need we say more. - Losing Today
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This Detroit trio,
singer/guitarist John Szymanski, drummer Dave Shettler and singer/guitarist
Mary Morris, has the requisite overdriven amps and three-minute
songs, but with a deep swirl of droning chaos that recalls the
paisley underground works of Dream Syndicate and The Rain Parade.
"Exit Strategy" opens with a space-age collage of sound,
Joe Meek style, before finding its bass-heavy groove, launching
into a wilder double-time passage and resolving back to the original
groove. "Ain't Love" and the intergalactic love saga
"2012" match Perry & Kingsley styled early-60s
synth sounds with '70s drum machines and roaring electric guitars.
Even stranger is "You're Next," mediating its blistering
guitars with warm organ interludes that provide unsettling shelter
from the psychedelic storm. This trio rocks hard, retaining the
raw energy of '60s garage rock while seasoning their productions
with exotica, primitive electronica, punk, blues and more. -
Eli Messinger / CD
reviewers
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SSM is a merely
a trio, yet their wall of sound belies this fact, sonically punching
you in the face from all sides without apology. It's a crazy
mix of styles and sounds, taking classic garage rock into multiple
musical directions, all the while overwhelming the listener with
a sheer amount of unforgiving sound. The keyboard-and-guitar
attack proves to be quite impressive, jumbling together an array
of noise and discordant retro melodies which seem to work in
spite of themselves. It's a piece of work that's out of time
and space, not falling into anything easily labeled or categorized.
When it comes down to it, it's just rock, but it it's rock that
will knock your socks off. - Mish
Mash
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With cover art pleading
for a vinyl release, or a mural, this 21st Century boy is thankful
beyond his years that SSM came delivered on an 'easy to get started'
5" disc. This album... there is really something new and
exciting - yet rooted in a thick nugget of nostalgia some 35
years past - going on here. "I'm sick / of making front
page news", says this band of mind-slayers on "Sick".
Well, Szymanski, Shettler & Morris, I'd say get used to it
- 'cause it's not everyday you hear rock any music this exciting.
Hell, "2012" sounds like the theme Bond - James Bond
- has been waiting for since he started getting all Octopussy.
All that and the jam is about women from the future who feed
their lovers "mashed potatoes and iced tea". Deal!
Drums, all six strings (that slaying solo on "no looking
back" grips me), multiple categories of keys and vocals
supreme - this album.. . I mean Good! Lord! Detroit! Rock! City!
Mothership! - Kaleb / SCTAS
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These thirteen songs
combine elements from techno, jazz, funk, progressive pop, and
garage rock into a great big creamy stew. Szymanski, Shettler,
and Morris play with confidence and enthusiasm...and their songs
immediately stick. Fun, upbeat, and melodic...this album
is sure to be a big hit among fans of the real underground.-
Babysue
(5+ babyheads)
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SSM are the initials
of the last names of the three principal players in the band
(Szymanski, Shettler, Morris). But I personally think it'd be
a more appropriate abbreviation of Sonic Shattering Madness,
because these 13 apocalyptic psycho-beat dirges and dizzying
Garage Rock anthems wildly veer all over the musical globe, incorporating
a bit of Syd Barrett, Swell Maps, The Pixies, and Butthole Surfers
along the way. Late at night when the rest of the world is fast
asleep, I'm gonna hear the SSM noise in my head and let the demons
dance accordingly. Boo-ga-da boo-ga-da oh yeh! - Moser / Under
The Volcano
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Despite the Detroit
band's pedigree, bluesy garage rock is more of a starting point
for SSM than a final destination. The album kicks off with the
appropriately savage "Exit Strategy" and similarly
rockin' "No Looking Back." But by the sixth track (the
slow, spacey jam "2012"), the album takes a slight
turn into synth territory before closing with the funk-heavy
blues of "The Seer." - Jason Budjinski / New Times
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Avant garde trio
that is going to burst out of Detroit and into the national eye
with this ear popper that is played with old instruments and
rock that mattered passion, but they can deliver headache music
with the best of the 90's Chicago underground. Certainly music
to scare parents, this is hyper active, highly kinetic modern
rock that takes no prisoners. Kids looking for the next unruly
sound of the suburbs have a hot one on their hands here. - Midwest
Record Recap
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Concert review :
... and man, did SSM certainly bring it that night. The band
consists of refugees from other Motor City favorites: Marty Morris
of the Cyril Lords, ex-Sights drummer Dave Shettler, and John
Szymanski from my personal favorite Detroit live group, the Hentchmen.
And strangely, much like Voltron, none of the sounds usually
associated with this trio overpower the other - instead, they
gladly become a synthesis of all their better-known projects,
with a dash of unforeseen flavor in the form of the mighty drum
machine. Not to mention they put on a juggernaut of a set. Add
in the fact that SSM also perform with their own laser light
show (if you can count a bunch of very disorienting strobe lights
as a laser light show, anyway). - Brendan Benson / Blogcritics
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Garage-rock revivalists
can get tedious fast, but the legacy gets transfigured by bands
like SSM, a three-man band from Detroit that brilliantly twists
its chosen genre: with a drum machine, with synthesizer swoops,
with startling tempo changes and goofy electronic effects. -
The
New York Times / Jon Pareles SXSW 2006 Journal |
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