DMZ

Before Jeff "Monoman" Connolly formed Boston's seminal garage rock terrorists the Lyres, he was in a late-'70s prototype known as DMZ. With the exception of a few musicians, DMZ and the Lyres were essentially same-sounding bands; DMZ just played with a little more speed and punk verve. Oddly enough, during the late-'70s signing frenzy of any band even remotely associated with the punk scenes in Boston and New York City, DMZ got a shot with Sire Records. The label, exhibiting near-total artistic myopia, teamed the band up with goofball has-beens Flo and Eddie as producers. While the resulting record was panned, it's far from a disaster, due mainly to DMZ's ferocity and trashy ebullience. Fans of mid-'60s rock such as the Seeds, ? and the Mysterians, and the Kinks, and who have an unending jones for speedy trash-rock and whiny Farfisa organs, will love DMZ. ~ John Dougan, Rovi