Review Revue: Miracle Workers - Inside Out

Review Revue
01/09/2020
Levi Fuller

Welcome to Review Revue, where every Thursday I dig through the KEXP stacks to share DJ reviews and comments written on the covers of LPs (and occasionally CDs) in the ’80s and ’90s, when the station was called KCMU, the DJs were volunteers, and people shared their opinions on little white labels instead of the internet.


Miracle Workers (who occasionally seem to go by The Miracle Workers; yet another band that seems to care not a fig about definite articles one way or the other) were, as you will hear, a garage-y rock band from Portland whose tunes really seemed to rub the KCMU crowd the right way. (I love that two different DJs described this album, positively, as "snotty.") Alas, they moved to LA and most of their records thereafter were imports, so they were less reliably added to the library — and no longer part of the local section.

The bulk of the band's activity was in the '80s, although they did release one last hurrah (recorded in Portland) in 1995, and they actually just played a show in Portland last October! Could there be new Miracle Workers music in the future, either live or on record? I don't know, but I bet the best way to find out is to join this Facebook group of Miracle Workers diehards.

"Pre-psych '60s punk (say '66) ie, streamlined, snotty, no bullshit. From Portland, 1985. May not save your soul but can cure leprosy - the guitar sound will peel any dead flesh."

"Yeah! Finally, an L-Pee! Palz from P-Land!"

"Want to wake up your show? Put me on . . ."

"Moved down to LA - those stinkers! And most of their discs are imports, too . . . A great, snotty garage stomp hoedown!!!" [It's possible that last word is "hot dog" or "holdover," I just can't be sure.]

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