Were they punk, power pop, or surf rock? After listening to Rhino Records' reissue of Agent Orange's classic 1981 debut Living in Darkness, that's probably what the listener will be wondering. By incorporating all three musical elements into one, this influential Orange County, CA. band showed that they were a step ahead of the rest of the punk/hardcore pack. By adding seven hard-to-find cuts (including pre-debut singles and an interview from 1981) to the original album, this rei...   [ read more ]

CD $11.38

Agent Orange's first major release after Living in Darkness was a bit of a time killer -- four of its six songs were covers -- but When is still a prime slice of surf/punk action with some fun little detours along the way. The most curious would have to be the opening track, Jefferson Airplane's psych classic "Somebody to Love," but while the original's full psychosis isn't around, Palm conjures up some pretty good spooky, reverbed vocals as the band merrily crunches through things. {$Joh...   [ read more ]

CD $9.48

The long-delayed second Agent Orange album isn't quite Living in Darkness part two, though it's little different from that album in many ways -- same nuclear-strength attack that's equal parts surf and punk intensity, catchy and threatening all at once. That said, it's a strong album on its own, with the small changes in the basic sound meaning a lot in context. For one thing, Palm stretches his singing voice more here than before, adding more of the reverb that helped flesh out earlier songs like...   [ read more ]

CD $11.38