Review
Wheezing Maniac
Shade Through The Night Door

Puto Jefe (2023) Christopher D

Wheezing Maniac – Shade Through The Night Door cover artwork
Wheezing Maniac – Shade Through The Night Door — Puto Jefe, 2023

Breathe In Breathe Out. Wheezing is often heard as a whistling sound primarily while breathing out but can also be heard when taking deep breaths. It is frequently attributed to the small Bronchial Tubes situated deep within the lungs. However, a maniac can often be seen as a derogatory term used in place of a lunatic, mad person, loony, wing nut, psycho, head case or screwball.

In this case, it can be determined that these fine gentlemen most likely have early signs of undiagnosed Asthma coupled with psychiatric issues.
These Wheezing Maniacs were like a meteor glowing in the night sky and burning into the atmosphere. They existed from 1987 to 1989 with a healthy exhausting output of three gigs and a handful of demos.

Wheezing Maniacs don’t wear flowerpots (domes) on their noggin but have that left-of-the-dial pulse much like when long hairs would want to beat the living cream corned shit out of the Punks often starting with “Hey Devo”. Short blasts of Minutemen with the good-humoured ice cream dripping down a loveable chubby brat's meat hooks and coming at ya with it like an Angry Samoan. Grrrrrrr. The Skating community picked up on these short blasts of punk/lo-fi/garage wonderful weirdness and laid down the decks skating around a Butthole like a Surfer but not too heavy on the ring toss.

Wheezing Maniac most likely did not want to be pigeonholed and only the great Kreskin could predict how they would have solidified over the sands of Dali dripping time. Putojefe has saved the day (put on subliminal shoulder-Hip Hip Hooray) and exposed a passage through the thick fog to another world.

Wheezing Maniac – Shade Through The Night Door cover artwork
Wheezing Maniac – Shade Through The Night Door — Puto Jefe, 2023

Recently-posted album reviews

Nicole Alexis

Mirrors & Smoke
Independent (2026)

There’s a fine line between stripped down music and so stripped back that is sounds empty. On Mirrors and Smoke, Nicole Alexis lands comfortably on the right side of that line, delivering a debut EP that leans into simplicity without losing its emotional weight. Built around acoustic arrangements and minimal production, the EP feels intentionally close. It feels like these … Read more

The Remote Controls

Too Tough
Fail Harmonic Records, Mom’s Basement Records (2025)

There’s a certain kind of punk band that doesn’t overthink things. No reinvention, no genre-bending manifesto, just fast songs, big hooks, and enough attitude to carry it all. Indianapolis’ The Remote Controls lean hard into that tradition on Too Tough, a record that feels less like a statement and more like a well-earned victory lap. Built on a steady diet … Read more

Sahan Jayasuriya

Don’t Say Please: The Oral History of Die Kreuzen
Feral House (2026)

For those of us who spent the mid-to-late 1980s navigating basement community halls, churches, and loveable, armpit-smelling dive bars, the name Die Kreuzen was a permanent fixture on the punk rock radar. They were the sound of the Midwest underground --too fast for the goths to do their spooky Bela Lugosi "shoo the bats away" interpretive dance, too technical for … Read more