There is an odd history behind this record. And The Hypnotics are an odd band. Starting out  as a punk band driven by a distorted keyboard pounding out chords alongside the guitar,  they had a unique sound and great, catchy songs. Their first album, the cleverly titled  “Indoor Fiends”, was released on Enigma Records and received some airplay on scattered  college radio stations and KROQ. It was an impressive debut and the band seemed sure to  follow up the record with another winner and grow a bigger audience. But some things  happened. First of all Enigma was struggling despite some impressive and important  releases. 

“We were obligated to record a second record,” says former singer Marky De Sade. “I  wanted to play out but our type of punk was over. The record label was being sued for the  Dead Kennedys album and knew the end was near.” The band had recorded their second  album and Enigma did not release it so the band went out and pressed anywhere between  100 to 500 discs with blank sleeves and sent a few out to radio stations that had supported  them in the past. But people who listened to the record were in for a bit of a shock. Instead  of the catchy, snotty punk rock of the first record the band had changed their sound  significantly. Gone was the speed and the band had now adopted a more carnivalesque  sound. It appeared the band had stopped drinking beer and snorting amphetamines and  instead started dropping loads of LSD while listening The Doors.  

“We were told I could not cuss on the record,” Marky exclaims. “Even on the song ‘Stolen  Maserati’ I had to change ‘call his mother a whore’ to bore. Absolutely no Nazi references. I  pissed them off with ‘Go See Cal’.” 

The record ended up having a life of its own. The independently pressed copies began  finding their way to the trader’s market and Grand Theft Audio released a CD with both the  first record and the unreleased second album on one disc. Now Artfix Records has released the second album on vinyl and it is official.  

The change in the band’s approach to this record is a bit jarring. The keyboards are more up  front and are not joined at the hip with the guitar. The opening track, “Reach Out And  Touch” has some interesting interplay between the keys and guitar. In a way the humor of  the first record is still there but this song, about obscene phone calls, is much darker in its  hilarity. You could say the band became better musicians and songwriters but there is  something deeper going on here. It appears they were really trying to hit a nerve here by  shedding their punk music past and going for the punk aesthetic by doing an about face  and NOT giving their fanbase what was expected. 

“I wanted to stay straight forward punk rock even though it was over,” Marky explains. “The  guys wanted to go in a new direction. They were extremely talented musicians and it was  just the natural progression.” 

Songs like “Homosexual Homicide” and “Teacher” ooze with a dark cynicism that go  beyond the whole punk thing both lyrically and musically. They are exercises in going  places most people don’t want to go. That being said, there are fun songs like 

“Watchtower” and “Jerry’s On Drugs” that will satisfy those looking for more of what went  down on the first record. I still remember hearing “Jerry’s On Drugs” on KXLU and  wondering what the fuck it was that I had just heard. But overall this record is a quantum  leap over the first release. Dark, musically uncompromising and WEIRD, this is an infinitely  interesting follow up from a band that could have stayed their course and gotten big.  Instead they took a chance and disappeared into the ether. But they left behind two  amazing records and that says a lot.  

“After that record we all just went our separate ways…”