The Cramps’ Lost Album Gravest Gravy Set for Release

The Cramps officially disbanded in 2009 after co‑founder Lux Interior passed away unexpectedly. Since then, the group has released no new material, reissues, or archival recordings—even after Jenna Ortega’s viral Wednesday dance to “Goo Goo Muck” sparked renewed attention. That changes now with Gravest Gravy, a previously unreleased collection of songs the Cramps recorded with Alex Chilton of Big Star in 1977. The album arrives on August 21 through Vengeance. Below, you can hear the unreleased track “TV Set.”

In October 1977, the Cramps laid down their debut 7‑inch singles—“Surfin’ Bird” paired with “The Way I Walk,” and “Human Fly” paired with “Domino”—under Chilton’s production, issuing them on their own label the next year. By 1979 they compiled those tracks together with a rendition of Ricky Nelson’s “Lonesome Town,” releasing them as the Gravest Hits EP. During those sessions the band also captured several additional recordings that would remain unpublished for decades.

Nearly a decade later, Lux Interior and guitarist Poison Ivy revisited those tapes with the aim of issuing the recordings. However, according to a press release, the material was set aside for “reasons lost to time.” In the present day, Brian Kehew digitized the original reels, which were found to be in “pristine condition.” Listeners Henry Rollins and Ian MacKaye—both longtime admirers of the Cramps—reviewed the various mixes and selected the definitive versions. MacKaye offered to perform equalization and level adjustments on two tracks at Don Zientara’s Inner Ear Studios in Virginia, while Pete Lyman mastered the final masters at Nashville’s Infrasonic Sound; Poison Ivy subsequently gave the green light for public release.

“This new chapter for the band is a collaborative effort among individuals whose lives were transformed by the Cramps’ music,” Rollins wrote in a statement. “I have often noted that I first saw the Cramps on April 20, 1979 in a modest Washington, DC, venue, and I have never recovered. Ian was beside me that night. Bringing this music to fellow fans is an extraordinary thrill, and we feel privileged to be part of it.”

Additionally, Poison Ivy has established Cramps, Inc. alongside In the Red Records founder Larry Hardy and former producer‑turned‑film‑catalog owner Jimmy Maslon. Under this venture they are reviving the Vengeance label to reissue the band’s catalog and, for the first time, offering official Cramps merchandise. (Much of the existing merchandise is bootleg, so official releases are a significant development.) While Poison Ivy leads the artistic side, Larry and Jimmy manage the operational details.