Conan Neutron is a guy, Conan Neutron & the Secret Friends is a band. It is a band featuring Dale Crover of the mighty Melvins on drums, Tony Ash of Trophy Wives and Coliseum on bass and the production skills of the iconoclastic and enigmatic Toshi Kasai. The Secret Friends bring forth a wiry and adventurous rock ‘n roll that is equal parts Cheap Trick, fugazi, the Cars, Black Sabbath and DEVO with perhaps Mean Streets era Van Halen mixed in.
Neutron, a rock ‘n roll lifer has spent the last 15 years making records and touring in such bands as Replicator, Victory and Associates and Mount Vicious, making uncompromising, sometimes challenging and daring rock music to anybody that is interested. This is the first record that he wrote and arranged himself.
The Enemy of Everyone was fully fleshed out at the secret Melvins HQ – Sound of Sirens September 11th-15th, 2014 during a brutal heatwave, Vocals for Fight Math were done at Antisleep audio, Oakland, CA by Mr. Eugene Robinson on October 8th, 2014. Those were tracked by Mr. Scott Evans. Mixing was done at Sound of Sirens between October 10th-15th. 2014 by Toshi Kasai.
For those familiar with the ouvre it has the Replicator muscle, the Mount Vicious weirdness and the V and A pop sensibility. For those that don’t, this is a record made by some smartass with sideburns that features one of the greatest living drummers. No big deal.
The Enemy of Everyone is a nine song jaunt with songs that range in theme, but largely have to do with being annoyed at things. There’s also a song about accidentally selling your soul while on a drinking bender, and whatever it is that Eugene Robinson is singing about.
Oh right… the inimitable and formidable Eugene Robinson of Oxbow lends a hand with the vocals to FIGHT MATH.
There will be some shows, and with any luck much, much more to come.
You can pre-order the record direct from Seismic Wave at bandcamp, and it will be available through PRF distro and other outlets soon enough.