Popsheep

With the well-deserved success of Black Mountain and the Pink Mountaintops, Steve McBean is finally starting to get some recognition. I've been listening to McBean fronted bands for a long time now and have been waiting patiently for the rest of the world to catch on. My first punk rock show in grade nine was to see McBean's early hardcore band Gus, whose album The Progressive Science of Breeding Idiots for a Dumber Society on Nomeansno's Wrong Records is still among my favorites. Ex-Dead Teenager, McBean's next band after Gus, broke-up after only putting out a few self-released cassettes, although thankfully you can download their posthumous new wave/hardcore album at the Hive Studios website here. The unfortunately named Jerk with a Bomb marked a major change away from the intense hardcore of McBean's earlier bands to a stripped down rock/folk format. The early JWAB shows, with band mate Joshua Wells playing simultaneous drums and keyboards, were amazing and the first two albums Death to False Metal and The Old Noise are both great in their own right. However, their next album, Pyrokenisis, moved the band to a new level of quality and was marked by the addition of a full time bass player. I can't recommend the album highly enough and, given that it’s still in print, suggest that you purchase it here. I won't say much about Black Mountain and the Pink Mountaintops because they're getting a lot of press and you can read about them elsewhere. I will, however, strongly urge you to buy their albums and see them live if you get a chance.

Gus - Bad mouth expands (1995)

Ex Dead Teenager - Bon Scott (1998)

Jerk With A Bomb - I believe in mutilation (1999)

Jerk With A Bomb - Fine health is at home (2002)

Pink Mountaintops - Rock'n'Roll Fantasy (2004)

Black Mountain - Druganaut (2005)