Beware the Ides of March

Thee Mighty Caesars were Billy Childish’s third band, formed in 1984 after the dissolution of the Milkshakes. Milkshakes (and later Headcoats) drummer Bruce Brand was around at first, but left after their debut, replaced by Graham Day, with Milkshakes bassist John Agnew holding down the low end. On this, their second album, the band crank through nine Childish originals and covers of Bo Diddley’s “Road Runner” and “You Can’t Judge A Book By The Cover” and Link Wray’s “Rumble.” The sound is basic, distorted — but not deliberately noisy — garage rock; it’s obvious the band was influenced by the DIY ethos of punk, but the music harkens back to the mid-Sixties, not the late Seventies. Occasionally, an overdubbed guitar break will leap out of the mix. In addition to “Rumble,” “Cyclonic” and the amazingly titled “Young Man Afraid Of His Horses” are also instrumentals.