Market Square 45s - The Wrong Society / Worthless / Paul Messis

Reviewed by Josh Robertson

This month's set of 45's by Market Square offers up nothing but good, mid-1960s style garage rock. If you like that sort of throwback styling from modern groups, you will LOVE these. Anyway, let's take a listen.

The Wrong Society's "She Destroyed Me" starts with a Kinks-y opening riff, this is a dead ringer for the 1960s, with protopunk Vox keys and clean, ringing guitar. It's all about bad women doing you wrong, and during the middle eight there are some nice harmonies before closing out with the main riff. This is great stuff, with a total throwback garage-rock feel. It's catchy and I really dig it. "Without You", the B side, starts off with a fuzz riff then switches back to clean guitar with some overbearing keyboards and a minor key pre-chorus. The band drops out to let the intro riff come through repeatedely, and this is simple garage rock, but as the band modulates it proves to be more than your average old hacking away. The fuzz riff is super effective and the theme of wild girls is the main driving force for these young lads.



Worthless' "Children of the Grave" , side A, has a major key feel with echo-chamber vocals and a late 60s feel. The rhythm is pure Doorsy goodness and you can feel yourself drifting away as the song goes along. Cold, dark, slightly gothic. "Softest" the b-side has what sounds like Farfisa organ and a whimsical, almost Pink Floyd feeling. Even though the band do this in a major key there is still a really ethereal vibe. It's hard to understand the lyrics on both these cuts, but I think that is not so much the point as the overall feel. Great stuff.



Paul Messis (the label owner) brings up the rear with more 1966-era garage rocking with hollow-bodied ringing guitars and lyrics speaking of Ivory towers. This is snotty garage rock and this 45 would have sounded right in place on "Nuggets" or "Back from the Grave". "As Time Rolls By" is kind of Byrdsy too, complete with Rickenbacker lead guitar overlays. Messis sings in a sort of dead-pan style which is nice and there is happiness meeting depression here, the way I see it.


Market Square Records definitely has something going here. All these cuts show a clear grasp of vintage garage-psych and all could have come out in 1966 if you didn't know better, when 45s meant something!