German Shepherds - I Adore You

Few underground scenes were as freewheeling as the Bay Area’s at the onset of the ’80s. Chrome, Flipper, Minimal Man, Dead Kennedys, Factrix, Monte Cazazza, Crime, Tuxedomoon … its pursuit of radicalism was staggering. Out of this sonic melee emerged German Shepherds, whose synth-punk nugget Music for Sick Queers was reissued in 2012 on the outstanding Superior Viaduct label. Teetering between extremely un-PC satire and downright bad vibes, the record is soaked in Cold War-era youth angst, mass murder chic and apocalyptic prophecy (“J. Christ” is credited as a contributor). Performances are delivered with such stone-cold intensity that it’s hard to imagine anybody but disturbed individuals making this music (apparently, the group enjoyed spreading unsavory rumors about themselves). Both “THC” and “Communist Control” are mandatory listening, but the group’s pièce de résistance is “I Adore You;” buttressed by bargain-basement drum machine, singer Mark Hutchinson comes off like a religious cult casualty while moaning, “Oh, Lord... I submit to you. I offer a sacrifice. Permit me to offer this sacrifice... I want your blood. Share your blood... oh, God.” Clearly, dude did not have a positive church-going experience as a child.