[This review was originally published in Badaboom Gramophone #3 and appears here by permission.]
In 1981, three critically acclaimed bands in different corners of the country were exploring the dark side of surf music. Two of them — Agent Orange in Southern California and the Wipers in Portland, Oregon — became American underground legends. The third — Connecticut’s October Days — faded into oblivion. Their obscurity is due, at least in part, to bad timing. Unlike Agent Orange and the Wipers, October Days didn’t stick around long enough to see the hardcore trend subside and its brand of complex, melodic guitar-based songs come back into style. Just don’t attribute it to the quality of the music, which is every bit as good as the band’s better-known peers. While near impossible to find now, both West Coast and Do the Right Thing are uniformly excellent.