Money was tight, the engineer was stupid and the finished product was poorly mixed.
— Description of Divine Mission from the Thee Katatonix website
I don’t know if the engineer was indeed stupid, but I wouldn’t go as far as to call Divine Mission poorly mixed either. Thee Katatonix’s first and only full-length has a live feel, tracks like “Beltway Beat” bursting from the speakers, all guitars and drums, the vocals a bit distant and the harmonies unpolished. Stylistically Thee Katatonix cover a swath of territory. The aforementioned “Beltway Beat” has a garage feel; “”Formula for Our Happiness” is straight-up early punk rock; “Shake, Shake”, well that’s post-punk, and “Maison Le Rock” is all surf, all day long. Sure those styles are all part of the same family tree branch, but it’s unusual for a band to so effortlessly move from one to the other to the other and still sound good (and snotty) while doing so.
Thee Katatonix hailed from Baltimore. A battle of the bands win got them into the studio for the first time where they recorded the three-song 7″ “Valentine’s Day” in 1983. Divine Mission, which as near as I can tell was self-released, came out a year later, followed by another 7″ in 1985 and a five-song EP in 1988, and that was it for about two decades. A version of the band reconnected (by their own admission the band was a revolving door of members…) and re-recorded some older material in what became the CD Thanks Hon in 2009.
Thee Katatonix have a self-deprecating bio on their website HERE, which is a fun read if you’re interested. Perhaps of even more interest they advertise vinyl copies of Divine Mission for sale at just $20, which I think is a bargain if you have any interest in bands with an early punk sound (and I assume are new old stock). How much did I like Divine Mission? Enough that I just grabbed a copy of their EP All Sold Out on Discogs, so I’m putting my money where my mouth is. Thanks Hon is available for streaming on Spotify, so give ’em a listen and decide for yourself.