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Plucking their name from a 1955 Stanley Kubrick film about the star-crossed coupling of a washed-up boxer and a mob-connected private dancer, Killer's Kiss is a rowdy San Francisco quintet approaching garage rock as if possessed by the Stooges, a spattering of riled In The Red crews, and plain ol' Pussy Galore. Ably echoed, this self-titled debut was recorded by Oakland's Gris Gris frontman Greg Ashley, who also added his own piano, harmonica, and sundry noises. (Fucking Champs six-stringer Tim Green turned knobs on three tracks and mastered the whole shebang). Highlights include the grinding Iggified/Stonesian "Backslider" (originally a 7" b-side), the bluesy prom-dance two-step "Shine It," and a hot-flash opener, "Mama's Nightgown," which power-drives hyperactive tambourine, palimpsest organ lines, and Chris Owen's whiskey-torn vocals into a badass basement humidifer. Perhaps offering a glimpse at unlikely inspiration, Killer's Kiss also wrangle a solid cover of Oklahoma country/folk rocker Hoyt Axton's "Lightnin' Bar Blues." (Axton's best known for penning "Joy To The World," covered by Three Dog Night, and "The Pusher," covered by Steppenwolf and included in the Easy Rider soundtrack.) The ingredients and atmospherics are undoubtedly there, and Killer's Kiss rocks a hootenanny in discrete doses, but when taken as a whole, a songwriting sameness diminishes the excitement, turning exorcism into torrid background music. (Peanut gallery suggestion: As a series of carefully spaced 7"s, this would most certainly destroy.)

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