As unlikely as all the skewed punks stuff springing from CLE’s scene dating from the ‘70s, Louisville, Kentucky seems like a town that could have gotten through that decade without too many punk acts finding an avenue to record. There’s a sparse, but unquestionably strong lineage from that seat in the blue grass state. Circle X may not be the best known no wave related act, but the band was able to hit up Europe for a jaunty time on the strength of its New York appearances. A group that didn’t find itself that lucky was the Endtables, which was hitting the scene at about the same time as that aforementioned, globe trotting ensemble.

The four piece didn’t make it onto a stage until 1978, but in Louisville that counts as the first wave of punk. Yeah, it’s still Kentucky after all and we couldn’t have expected the city to spur on the movement. Still, it’s surprising to hear of work coming so early on in the genre’s development – and good work to boot.  Regardless, the band worked out a sound that would today make the ensemble fit for inclusion on some KBD-styled compilation (and I’m sure the Endtables are on one of ‘em). Saved from being relegated to just a two track feature somewhere and rounding up the Endtables’ six studio tracks along with a few brief live performances, Drag City’s endeavored to issue the band’s entire catalog. It’s still only a handful of work.

Apparently, the first run of vinyl (just the studio tracks) and the ablum’s cd version (which includes those live efforts) are already sold out. Interestingly enough, though, the label is selling an mp3 version as well as FLAC files – both of which cost more than a physical copy of the record. Weird, but it points towards the imprint’s ability to understand the market place. And while that doesn’t sound too interesting to fans in passing, the fact that the Chicago label get’s it is going to allow fans to hear some more low key stuff in the future – hopefully.

The format doesn’t really matter, though, as the Endtables conjure some Stooges styled punk stuffs over the course of those studio recordings. Both “White Glove Test” and “Trick or Treat” have been properly issued as a single in the past. But apart from those two tracks, everything here’s brand spanking new and shockingly good.

Lyrically, the group’s singer, Steve Rigot attempts to throttle the establishment in roughly the same fashion that every other punk act from the time utilized. It get’s trying at points. Occasionally, his voice approaches David Thomas levels of atonality, though. Of course, since his caterwauling is frequently drowned out by Alex Durig’s guitar, it kinda doesn’t matter. Just as a final warning, the live tracks included on the cd version are pretty muddy, even by punk standards. Those first six tracks, though, are well worth the price of admission. The entire thing might be chalked to historicity, but even if its perceived that way, the disc still sounds good.