The latest cover we’re releasing in Smallpox’ _Covers Album_ project is “Steppin’ Out,” originally recorded by Joe Jackson and released on his _Night and Day_ album in 1982. Listen to it “here”:https://dromedaryrecords.bandcamp.com/album/the-covers-album.

For me (this is Al from Dromedary writing), Joe Jackson circa-1979 was an introduction to a whole world of new sounds. Thing is, they were _punk_ sounds in 1979 – snotty, aggressive, and yes, mainstream – but they opened doors to a whole new place for me. _I’m the Man_ was an absolutely critical record in my own development. The music was aggressive, the subject matter literate and interesting, and man, the _hooks_. And next came a record that turned me on to reggae, and a Jimmy Cliff cover. Amazing. These were life-changing albums for me.

Next, though? Next was a big band record, _Jumpin’ Jive_. Young me just figured it was a novelty thing, like a Joe Jackson’s covers record, or Bing Crosby doing a duet with David Bowie, or like the Kiss solo albums – not something to be taken seriously.

When “Steppin’ Out” came out, though, that was it for me. My own tastes had gotten angrier and louder; at that point I was listening mostly to metal. My intro to angry rock had sold out. Joe Jackson was playing elevator jazz, and I most certainly was not buying in.

It was only years later, when discovering the unbelievable musicianship of Joe Jackson’s band (particularly Graham Maby’s amazing bass work) that I took time to revisit those later Joe Jackson records, with fresh, more mature ears. Unfortunately, I still hate them.

Still, Dan Smith is one of my favorite bass players, and so is Graham Maby, so when I saw “Steppin’ Out” listed among the covers that Smallpox would be releasing with this project, I gave it _another_ set of fresh ears, and found Dan tearing the song apart, layering it with heavy guitar and a driving beat, only a tiny hint of Maby’s signature bass line remaining from the original. Not a bad song for rolling down the windows and barreling down some highway somewhere, if I may suggest a weekend activity.

Every once in a while we enjoy springing an unannounced release on you, so here’s a cool piece of psych from some of New Jersey and NYC’s indie rock royalty – *Psych-O-Positive*, whose new psychedelic single “Gummy Bear” is available today on limited-edition lathe-cut 7″ and all digital formats via our webstore.

An iconoclastic attack on prohibition, “Gummy Bear” is a celebration of the mind unleashed. Hooked into the zeitgeist and freed from the shackles of criminality, screaming guitars, sotto voce harmonies layered with sick licks dominate this highly-infused track. There is no better way to kick off the new roaring twenties than with the complexity and color of a tune so intense that it’s practically edible!

This week’s *Smallpox* cover is their version of the Dead Milkmen’s “Dean’s Dream.”

Daniel Smith relates “At one point, Bob (Diamond, drummer) and I had this idea about starting a Dead Milkmen tribute band, but that went down the shitter pretty fast, because of a few inherent problems.

First, we were probably going to have a hard time finding two more band members who were willing to learn their catalog and not get paid very much (or at all).

Second, we were definitely going to have a hard time finding gigs, because aside from “Punk Rock Girl,” most people generally don’t give a shit about them.

So instead, we’d just jam on Milkmen covers from time to time, make inside jokes about Milkmen lyrics that nobody else understood, and act like dickheads.

Anyway, if I remember correctly, we were going to record a cover of “Life is Shit.” That didn’t exactly work out, either. But we did do “Dean’s Dream.”

You can download “Dean’s Dream” for a buck “here”:https://dromedaryrecords.bandcamp.com/album/the-covers-album – or buy the whole album, with a new download every other week, for $18.

Last year, we were stoked to release the “Bait”/”Couch Cooking” 8″ by New Jersey’s *Glazer*. We’d already thought they were among New Jersey’s best bands, and after playing their various records on the *Signal to Noise* radio show on WFDU and having them as guests, we got to know them a little and they’re among New Jersey’s *nicest* bands as well.

When Jeff Hersch shared his first *Civic Mimic* release, it blew us away to the point where we almost immediately asked if he’d be into doing something on Dromedary. _Deep Clean_ is the result of that initial discussion. Three outstanding songs that showcase the angsty, math-punk of Glazer but with a more angular edge. It’s available now in all digital and streaming formats, but we highly recommend the limited-edition lathe-cut 7″. Just be sure to pick it up quickly, because we don’t repress lathe-cuts – when they’re gone, they’re gone!

_Big Takeover_ premieres the new track “New Paint” by *Civic Mimic*, from the _Deep Clean_ single, which is out TOMORROW on all digital formats, plus limited-edition lathe-cut 7″.

Check it out “here”:http://bigtakeover.com/news/VideoPremiereNewPaintbyCivicMimic

This week’s *Smallpox* cover is a song that virtually everybody likes.

It’s “Don’t Change,” originally recorded by INXS.

Smallpox’ Daniel Smith explains “INXS always seemed like one of those bands that, aside from a handful of songs, weren’t really all that great. But that handful of songs? _Damn_.”

“The first thing I remember hearing was ‘The One Thing,’ which was sort of good in an ‘eh’ kind of way. It’s not like you’d change the channel if the video came on MTV but it’s not like you ere going to run out and buy the album, either.”

“Then they release ‘Don’t Change’ as a single and _holy shit_. One of those fucking perfect pop songs that when you first hear it, every time you get to the end, you have to start over. And then you finally go buy the album, and the rest of it is pretty much blah. And really, that kind of sums um INXS for me – the occasional _holy shit_ but mostly, blah.”

Stream it “here”:https://dromedaryrecords.bandcamp.com/album/the-covers-album, where you can buy the download for a dollar or the entire year’s worth of covers – so far, seven – for $18, and have immediate access as we upload them.