Virgin Freak (Love Muffin)

lovemuffinrecords.com

Local singer and multi-instru mentalist Adam Rich marks the 20-year anniversary of this, his full-length debut, with a special reissue. A rough-sounding collection of tunes that Rich recorded at home on a Tascam cassette recorder, it’s likely to appeal only to his devoted fans. The noisy guitars on album opener “Hangover” are quite abrasive. Things mellow out a bit for groovy tunes such as “Rhet Ro” and “Judas,” instrumental tunes that feature some gritty guitar riffs. The lazy vocals in “Psycho John” make it sound a bit like something from early Meat Puppets albums. Also included: “Weaving,” a song from Rich’s 1993 EP Leave My Fish Alone.

This article appears in Mar 19-25, 2014.

Jeff has been covering the Cleveland music scene for more than 25 years now. On a regular basis, he tries to talk to whatever big acts are coming through town. And if you're in a local band that he needs to hear, email him at jniesel@clevescene.com.