HOLY CRAP SO GOOD. Earlier this year, we were pretty keen on the Born Liars’ Go Back One Day 7”, and why not, it was a tightening up (if not branching out) of the sound they rocked out hella on their Exit Smiling debut. With this new 7”, they’ve kept their better halves in the rock garage while buffing out the little bit of twang their boots tracked into the house with a healthy schmear of power-pop bluster. “Don’t Tell Me, I Know” is a cigarette boat pressed into service as a party barge: all speed/all good times. It’s simple four chord verse holds everything together while the lead guitar sparks around the edges, never giving the good times a first chance to catch a second breath.

B-Side “I Don’t Know Why” is a Stevie Wonder cover from 1968, while his creative output was steadily ramping up to the genius of Talking Book, Innervisions and Songs in the Key of Life. In Stevie’s hands it’s a classic Motown ballad from the height of the classic Motown suit and tie era. The Born Liars capture the bummed out soul of the composition, but bring a worn-down desperation that sounds way more hurt than Stevie’s measured delivery and slick strings.

This is the first release by Ditchwater Records, the recording arm of scene photographer/promoter/Radio DJ/institution Miss Rosa (trivia nerds take note – this is officially the second entry in the Ditchwater catalog, the first being a collection of recordings by now-defunct punks Gay Marriage, though production delays resulted in this 7” actually hitting the shelves first). Anyone who’s seen her Ditchwater photo-zine knows she has a great eye for capturing the wonderful visual grit of our scene. Sounds like she’s got a hitmaker’s ears to match. Recommended.

The Born Liars’ Don’t Tell Me I Know 7” was available for a while at Sound Exchange, though it is alleged to be sold out. You might visit the Ditchwater blog to try and get a copy, or, better yet, get one from the band itself at their show Saturday night with Patt Todd & the Rank Outsiders and Hickoids at Rudyard’s