Upon listening to
Born Losers, it's easy to believe that
the Stomachmouths were the kings of the Swedish arm of the international garage revival of the mid-'80s -- they match the songwriting and attitude of the best American bands of the wave. Drawing from a vast knowledge of pulp Americana, singer Stefan Kéry and cohorts managed to build a composite persona that epitomized everything about '60s garage punk: the youth, the fuzz, the irreverence, and, of course, dirty rock & roll.
Born Losers culls 23 tracks recorded between 1984 and 1989: all five tracks from their two early EPs, a generous selection of cuts from the LPs Something Weird and In Orbit, material from the American LP Wild Trip (originally released without the group's consent or knowledge), and as a bonus treat, a single each from the Mongrels and
the Tonebenders, singer Stefan Kéry's two post-
Stomachmouths projects. The Stomachmouths had the look and the sound pinned down. Kéry's mad nasal punkish roar is strongly reminiscent of Canadian revivalists
the Gruesomes. The set list takes listeners from beginning to end and shortly back, messing around with the hard-edged surf garage of the early months and the slightly more R&B songs following the arrival of bassist Jens Lindberg in 1987. "Wild Trip," "Speed Freak," and "Something Weird" show the group flirting with psychedelia, while "Eegah!" and "Valley Surf Stomp" are excellent surf instrumentals. Generous liner notes round up this lovingly assembled collection. Recommended.