Diet Cokeheads – “Nasal” - Drugged Conscience/Vinyl Rites

Diet Cokeheads went on a tear for a few years where it seemed like everyone that was into noisy punk was extremely excited for them. They toured pretty extensively, put out three records and split in less than two years, and then disappeared into the swamps of Florida. The “Nasal” ep I believe is the first of the three 7”s, but I could be wrong. The two songs on this record definitely sound similar to a lot of the things that were happening in Florida, Texas, North Carolina, and Brooklyn at the same time. It’s very influenced by the AmRep/noise rock scene of the early 90’s, but I’d argue that most of the music that was coming out around 2009 in this vein was much less flat sounding than a lot of the 90’s bands that many reviewers so frequently mentioned. I think it’s that the beefy bass, noisy guitar, and occasional sketchiness of the collective group of punks making this music had more in common with those that had made music the decade prior.
“Oedipussy Complex” is a screeching mess of pounding bass, stomping drums, and spoken lyrics. The vocals remind me a little bit more of John Sharkey on this song than on any of the other Cokeheads tracks, but after Brian (or possibly Daniel?) stops singing on this track, the female vocals take over until the outro. It ends up much creepier than a lot of their other songs, and the literal tracks of just static only add to the very unhappy listening experience.
The flipside, “High Country”, is a slower, almost Butthole Surfers sounding song that plods along until a dramatic short-lived tempo shift. It’s heavy, noisy, and a real head-banger. When the tempo shifts for an extended period of time and the Viv’s vocals come back in, it really drives the song home. There are a few bits where the guitar noise combined with the vocals actually make this song sound a little bit like Teenage Jesus and the Jerks, though I’m not sure it was intentional.
This record was released by two excellent Florida labels: Drugged Conscience (Cult Ritual, Dead Friends, Libyans, Neon Blud, Tenemant, etc) and Vinyl Rites (Mauser, Pollution, Bukkake Boys, Nazi Dust, Church Whip, etc). It was also recorded by Carson Cox of Merchandise fame. Post implosion Brian moved all over New England but is now playing in Ukiah Drag and Cottaging, while Daniel opened the really excellent Arrow’s Aim record store in Gainesville, and Viv is living in NYC.
Everything Diet Cokeheads put out was perfect, so do yourself a favor and pick it up.