The Pows - Once With Snot and Blood Like most of the people not living in or around Columbia, Missouri I had little exposure to The Pows until having some well deserved light shown upon them by Chicago's Permanent Records. The band, part
of Columbia's under documented Cat Jams CD-r label, was a ragged and ripped garage unit that operated in the scene from around '98 to '04 and then faded away with some hometown hero pride and one last reunion show to their name before the label itself folded in 2008. This retrospective sees the band move from threadbare garage rippers to more heady, noisy experimentalism. It’s the sound of a band that could have only existed in a fervent fanbase at a specific time and place but its isolation doesn't belie it vitality. The songs sting with life and an inherit weirdness that calls to mind Chrome, The Monks and will certainly appeal to fans of the frayed sensibilities of current slingers like Sic Alps. It ain't pretty but then no one ever said the best things were supposed to be. The Permanent peeps pressed these in a scant run of 100 hand glued LPs and you'd be well advised to pick one up as soon as you see one (they're available at Permanent in Chicago and L.A. on Record Store day and most likely eBay in the near future). Download: [MP3] The Pows - Female Fantasy