Here’s a reissued collection of various previous “SecretCenter” sessions, where this long-running Sacramento nerd-core band takes a break from writing songs about D&D and trying to woo Ms. Pac Man, and screws around with various covers. For the unfamiliar, they’re kind of like if the Bananas (especially since these are fairly lo-fi recordings, with a lot of biting trebly guitar sound that only helps it sound great) were a little more Chuck Berry style rock’n’roll, dare I say, even a little soulful at times (however, there’s a whole bunch of different songs in here, and they manage to pretty much tap in and nail it every time, even when they’re goofing on them—or are they?). I’ll say this much; I was in such a bad mood that I was literally punching the ground in frustration that my hand hurt, and then put this on, and started cracking up out of enjoyment, thinking “This rules.” Also, I feel compelled to point out that I’m pretty sure this was a thank you gift for explaining Pokémon to one of these guys via a message board. Who’s the nerd now? Oh, right…
–joe (Self-released)