The Chrome Cranks

The Chrome Cranks were an NYC-via-Cincinnati punk-blues act led by guitarist/howler Peter Aaron and guitarist William Weber, with Jerry Teel of the Honeymoon Killers on bass and Bob Bert, formerly of Sonic Youth and Pussy Galore, on drums. Though it features Charles Hanson on drums, their 1994 self-titled album establishes their sound quite authoritatively. Their guitars have an impressive clang and scrape, and the songs are less anarchic in structure than the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion’s; they tend to pick one blues or rockabilly or garage-rock riff and pound on it for a few minutes, until it’s yielded all the juice it’s going to. Aaron’s vocals are full of desperation and mania; you can almost hear his sweat hitting the microphone.