Herms, The

Herms, The

Drop Out Vol. 1

Castle Face

“No one sounds like The Herms. No one sounds like Matthew Lutz. The Herms are a smudged window into a neighboring dimension to ours, Berkeley. Even though it’s right next door to Oakland and San Francisco, it may as well be a million musical-miles away.  “Back when they were playing around town, it felt to me like not too many in my scene ‘got’ this band. I thought people should have been going crazy for these guys. The local rag gave them accolades (a curse, perhaps?), and even a cursory listen to this collection should clue you in to how great they were. This may be one of the few times that I have to concur with a music writer—this band is amazing. They are sun, heartbreak, pop and fried-static all in one master package, evolving from song to song, and I think they’re fantastic. “The Herms did have a proper release years ago, but on CD only (gasp!) and frankly I’ve always been in love with these earlier, rawer 8-track Tascam demos. They sound like the band did when you were standing in front of them. “I love The Herms and have been waiting a looooong time to do a proper release for them. Sorry it took exhuming their songs from the grave before I was ready. Please listen loudly with the windows open, so maybe that music writer may pass by, hear it and think, ‘Finally! I told you so, you assholes.’” —John Dwyer, July 2013 Street...