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Deniz Tek and the Golden Breed
Glass Eye World\r\n(Career Records)
By Ken Shimamoto
A direct inheritor of the Stooges’ feral mania, Michigan native turned Aussie Deniz Tek deserves props as a punk progenitor. But before they imploded in 1978, his Australian band Radio Birdman always bristled at the punk label, even though their formation and first Aussie album predated both the Ramones and the Sex Pistols. And since launching his prolific solo career in 1992, Tek’s always shown himself to be more of a rock guy (Blue Oyster Cult, Stones, Doors, surf music) than a punkster.
On Glass Eye World, he’s joined by twin brothers, famous SoCal skater-punks and tattooists Art and Steve Godoy. The Godoy boys formed the Exploding Fuck Dolls in 1990 and backed Tek on a series of U.S. mini-tours. Art Godoy’s muscular bass playing and punk yelp make him a better foil for Tek’s exploratory guitar and Iggyesque voice than some of Tek’s earlier sidemen. Todd Eagle, aping the finger-tapping bass playing of Primus’ Les Claypool, was too techy-geeky for Tek on 1997’s Equinox, and Stump Wizard Jack Chiara sounded too much like the sloppy Stooges on two albums with the Tek side-project Deep Reduction.
Engineered by longtime Tek collaborator Dave Weyer and his new Career Records partner Ron Sanchez, Glass Eye World juxtaposes Equinox’s experimentalism with strains of the anthemic punk sound that’s infiltrated the mainstream over the last few years. Indeed, the overdubbed backing vocals on the live “2 PAM Chloride” (that’s a nerve gas antidote, for all you disaster obsessives out there) almost make it a pop song.
While he’s kind of a sex symbol for obscurantist rock chicks, Tek will probably always remain a minority taste. That said, Glass Eye World proves that he can make accessible, intelligent post-punk hard rock for those with ears to listen.
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