Fans of the Embarrassment often call them ‘the best band you never heard of’. Band members made some noise in their post Embos projects, in bands such as Big Dipper and the Del Fuegos, but the Embarrassment’s Wicheta heyday passed by before most folks outside of Kansas could notice. Most of their best work is collected on the excellent Bar-None anthology Heyday 1979-1983. There’s also a very good live anthology: Blister Pop.

Their song ‘Sex Drive’ is one of the finest an American rock band ever produced. Like ‘Road Runner’, it sounds effortless, almost tossed-off, and it navigates the territory between the inane and the profound gracefully. The original recording is all energy and power, with Bill Goffrier’s high harmony vocal threatening to push it all over the brink. You can hear it and download it in MP3 form their MySpace page or by clicking this link.

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