Locrian / Harpoon split on He Who Corrupts INC records

The image above hardly reproduces the embossed letter pressed sleeve, black ink on heavy black card stock. It's split in the middle on the reverse so you open both sides from the center, with both bands titles on either side of the cut, it's a really fitting heavy handmade object for these two ear splitters.
Unfamiliar with Harpoon I went to that side first which launches right in with tight speed grindcore...like I really know what that is...screamy evil vocals mixed loud, it's ridiculously complex and fast, could this be sampled and repeated? I doubt it, they are machinelike. But then, wait a minute, everything slows down a minute to work on the heavy side something like Pelican which makes the vocals come off even more evil...a lot of darkness, the faceless amputees/their wretched jubilee...that's an actual lyric. I won't be fucking with those guys anytime soon.
The Locrian side opens with a muted sliver of static, probably just the sound of the amps at 11 under the strain of the lines of pedals. Until a guitar heavily distorted and delayed breaks in. It's really epic, accessible even... melodic. They have a great vocal quality here, it's piled under tons of effects, that truly tortured feel, it's far back in an underground prison, echoing off the walls. It's a monstrosity of guitar noise, but really held back, deliberate...concentrated.
Andrew Sherer from Velnias is here heavily complicating the drums, but also holding back in all the right places. Even though this has been in the works for a while it sounds like it goes right along with their latest out in March, 'Territories', where they collaborated with a bunch of different noise/metal artists, hope that makes it to vinyl.
It gets right to the point, even at 33, they're compressing the epic landscape to the limit on this side.
I love the photos they've been including with all their releases, giant overgrown decayed factories, I love those places, I just want to get in there...at night. Completely abandoned. It's what I think Detroit must be like after all the fabricating companies all left. It's almost an alien landscape, you can't imagine what they were like when they functioned, it's like square footage porn for someone from Brooklyn. I would just go squat in that thing and build an ark...or get a generator and have Locrian play.

Get it from HeWhoCorruptsINC records, because sadly this is their last physical release. Haven't they heard? Vinyl is back!
I get it, this packaging, the puke swirl off green vinyl, the color insert, they aren't pulling any punches, this is so beautiful it probably emptied the accounts. This just is such a complete package, it's a loss for the object obsessed.

A well executed mash up of two of Chicago’s more notable enterprises of loudness – the long coming Locrian / Harpoon split 7” is finally complete. The vinyl portion of the release includes one song each by both bands. The accompanying digital card provides additional bonus material. This is Harpoon’s first release with a bass player. As well, Locrian collaborates with Andrew Sherer of Velnias. The release is limited to 300 copies on marble green vinyl with full color double sided insert and letter pressed cover. This is our final physical release which has been in the works for quite some time.

Panther - How well can you swim on Gold Robot Records

Here's another one from Gold Robot, from Panther who is Charlie Salas...a weird mix of electronica and what I think is just plain soul. The sleeve is a disco ball grenade pencil drawing...which completes this picture perfectly. A handdrawn image of a discoball, an object that is the very symbol for fake to draw you in, but it's a grenade. Panther and the beat just got you.

The Portland Mercury did a piece on his guerilla style park concerts of 'R&B singing over techno', which first made me kind of reconsider this single. On one hand he's really so committed to this style I know it's not a joke, but at the same time, too much of this might be lost in just hearing it.
How well can you swim is a catchy track with a just off the rhythm beat, layers and layers of falsetto harmonies sounding a bit like TV on the Radio, there might be some slight effects, or it's all in the layering here, the emphasis is on the over-emotive vocals. Especially on the 2nd track on the A-Side, 'Burning'. It's experimental no time beat for a while singing in layered falsetto harmonies over the free form percussion and synth.

The B-Side has an 'alternate version of How well can you swim, and I have to say even with y aversion to remixes on the B-Side's from bands you're friends with, this is perfectly fine for me. You came up with an alternate version, then I gladly want to listen to it. Too many time remixes are created in an afternoon, trying to stay as far away from the original as possible. How much of myself can I jam into the recording, or how many signature sounds can I use.
This version sounds a lot more raw, the whole thing covered by there's a completely different more drawn out vocal. There's a great moment where it stops in it's tracks for a mess of guitar feedback.
Tennis Lesson, is another free form layered it might as well be a capella weirdness. There has to be at least 4 vocals all trying to pull off '...a tennis lesson of love baby' all a little off from each other. The multiple takes of trying to keep up with the last vocal.

What can I say, this is not like anything I've heard lately.

Sadly just found out (back in Dec - ed) thanks to the Portland Mercury, Panther is no longer.

Panther is Charlie Salas, and Charlie Salas is Panther. A rare talent whose brand of music is oft-described as dance, sometimes as electronic, and just as often some sort of soul. While the fame afforded by his energetic live shows often precedes him, the tracks on this single persevere on their own.

Friday podcast - Philip from Mess Folk

Monday I posted a review of Philip's Mess Folk single on Horizontal Action Records, for this Fridays podcast we ended up talking about recent 4-track trouble, his previous projects, why Mess Folk can't play Sydney anymore, and The Vice interview.
Download it here (18min-17mb) or listen below on a new thing from Soundcloud I'm trying out.

I play a bunch of stuff throughout from his Hozac single and cassette, which you can get directly from him at philip420(at)hotmail.com.

Episode 69 - Mess Folk Interview by 7inches

Hello Sunshine on Les Disques Steak Records

Another one today from the Les Disques Steak catalog, this one from Hello Sunshine, which comes in one of 150 of the three sleeves cycling above at a seizure inducing rate...it makes it impossible to try to type...I got the 3 little girls weird dresses one. Try to stop looking at it.

The name, Hello Sunshine might lead one to believe this could be some kind of sensitive indie rock, but you would be insanely mistaken knowing LDS, and that is the case with this 4 song EP. If we learned anything it's that The Disks that are steak, want their singles loud and dirty, and Hello Sunshine is pummeling from the first kick. Screaming vocals, cavernous percussion and scratchy distortion.
'Living in a new world' is blistering, reminding me of the Mind is a Terrible Thing to Taste days of Ministry, almost sampled speed guitar, but they keep switching it up, taking away the drums, the guitar re-amped through a tiny speaker for a measure, a feedback rhythm...it's not quite in the low-fi garage genre as it is some kind of rockabilly industrial hardcore hybrid? I think it's the vocals...which are mostly screaming, and the drums are double-timing it always.
'Flying Chariots', has a low-key opening, nice kick and strumming combo, and then they punch you in the ears again. The guitars here are just a thousand percent louder than anything else, super clean gated distortion, fairly traditional well played hardcore, from what I've heard of them, you might have them open for Fucked Up or something.

Les Disques Steak goes all out in the printing side, putting together a nice looking release every time, they have a pretty clear direction for the bands they're putting out and someone has thought out the series graphically as well...it's not a bad thing to have this consistency. You could pretty much pick these up without hearing a note and know what you're getting into. Look for it from a local distro or get it direct, email disquessteak (at) gmail.com

Holiday 4-Way on Stumparumper Records

Finally getting to this 4-way split from Pat at Stumparumper. It's not so far after the holidays is it? I still have to throw out the tree, take down the stockings...who cares. I have a life! (i.e. I have to think about singles. - ed)
I have a Banned Books full length from Stump I have to get reviewing already so I was curious to get a taste of those guys and then I spotted a new Fuck Montreal track? I'm in. And what do you know? Snow is back!

There is a special place in the 7" boxes for holiday singles, it's a staple 7" browsing table of the WFMU record fair...but I'm tempted to avoid it completely, because there is some terrible shit out there with a holiday theme. I would be forced to buy and listen to tiny tim, or other ridiculous celebrities covering royalty free barf. So I'll stick to bands I know I like already who have just happened to have recorded something for that special time of the year. Or in the case of this split, it's esssential...all originals to this release, even written for this 7"...

Banned Books 'XXXMas' uses church bells in such a crazy way, at first you think of course, this is exactly where I would go, but the entire composition is so wacky, and classically pop it's an immediate gem. Like all the Pixies or that Lonesome Crowded West album from a band that will go unnamed...it's unexpectedly melodic, completely surprising, there is a distinct voice here and it's incredible. The fact this is written specifically for this single is amazing. This is where I think Stumparumper is really doing an incredible public service...really....providing a unique artifact of these 4 bands, curating these 4 together that just wouldn't have ever existed.

Granny Frost, is another perfect example out of Chicago has a stream of consciousness vocals, use every instrument experimental pop mentality that I really appreciate, like Why? or The Unicorns...A Faulty Chromosome...you can hear the hours of layers and cutting and pasting into 2 minutes of saturation. It's Times Square, an insane jawdropping spectacle of word play. I forget for a minute this has anything to do with Christmas, and I keep catching new connections every time I hear it.

And it's far from over the 'Eh' side starts with Hoop Dreams, who are part of the Radiator Collective with Scribbler and Fuck Montreal. Their track, 'Under a Christmas Star', is an impassioned late 80's story of the baby in a manger. It's pretty hilarious in it's sincerity, the falsetto chorus part with the giant headphones held up to one ear, eyes closed.... 'Frankincense and Myrrh...', it's a gravelly, country rock Ween-ish take on a Christmas cover. They even work 'Little drummer boy' into it, this could unexpectedly slide into that channel playing The Boss' 'Santa Claus is coming to town', and not feel out of place.

Next up Fuck Montreal, who are doing a pretty traditional version of 'Do you hear what I hear?', with with all sorts of electronic weirdness happening just underneath the acoustic guitar, and toy drums. It's featuring Jenna and Alex's vocal talents, harmonizing on this classic, they have a sensitive side after all, they are playing it straight, and it comes off as a real effort to bring some sort of life into an overplayed classic. That's the least you hope to do with a Christmas cover...and it's not easy...

This vinyl comes on a swirly red clear variety for the first 100...if you get it quick. Sleeves are appropriately printed red or green and handnumbered... go support Pat already for the love of Christmas.

Bobpopkillers - Yeah on Les Disques Steak

Another one from Les Disques Steak up today, this single is from the Bobpopkillers, two tracks from a recently expanding world of garage punk in France. Les Disques Steak seems to be singlehandedly documenting this movement with their recent line of singles or they just happen to be friends with a close bunch of guys borrowing each others equipment and filling bills at the last minute with side projects.

So what do they have to contribute to this pretty saturated scene? Well, it's a duo making a pretty faithful racket with just fuzz guitar and drums. There's not the usual no-fi overblown recording happening here, someone knew what they were doing with mic'ing the project, for better or worse. Blues chord punk progression, screaming narrative about being wasted.
I'm just a rocker / rocker in wasted
Maybe I'm just a fan of the translation, but that's nuts. Punk here can apparently be completely changing English sentence grammar. I'm not claiming I'm any kind of words genius...is that how you say it? But something is a little off there...in a good way. It's just a little too... clean. Compared to the B-Side where it gets trashier, bigger, with more distortion in this ode to Jagermeister. Everybody! Jagermeister! The most unpunk of alcoholic beverages first homage, I'm sure.
There are some things that just highlight the cultural differences.
Paired with the A-Side, I'm beginning to think this band has some kind of problem..where's my drink?
But then it fades out! What the fuck! You don't fade punk! Just end!

Floridas Dying has it, or go straight to the source, email disquessteak(at)gmail.com

Mess Folk on Horizontal Action Records

Philip from Mess Folk contacted me the other day about a single of his that came out on Horizontal Action, we ended up taling on the phone and I'm working on his interview for fridays podcast, but in the meantime I sat down to listen to his single again over the weekend. It's one of those inspiring stories that an established label like Hozac would take a chance on the strength of a cassette demo like this.

It's a full on solo homemade project starting with the sleeve a ballpoint pen xeroxed collage of....well.... pills and a 4-track. It goes without saying that's a match made in low-fi heaven. Phillip told me the entire effort was played entirely by him, layering tracks the old fashioned way, one at a time in the livingroom. Like an indie Naked Lunch it comes off as any number of home recorded singles from the early nineties, Eric's trip, Dump, Deluxxe, the endless Lou Barlow varaitions...with more of a raw rock edge, and less preciousness vocally. These aren't depressing I-give-up songs about love, they are part of that fight against everything normal, the boredom, a fuck you to an environment that's given up. I think the sincerely recorded project like this always comes off as intimate, there's nothing you can fake about the honesty. It's as close a glimpse I'm going to get to hear of an underground scene in Sydney, Nova Scotia.

'Something I Remember' from the A-Side is full of power chords, feeling a bit like Ty Segall's solo stuff at points, raw distorted bursts but then Philip's emotionless vocals, slightly echoed feel like a stand in track that ended up sounding better than anything else. 'Something I remember/ something / something I don't know', Whatever it is he's remembered he can't even bring it back. It just sounded good, and ends up a genius struggling document of apathy.
'Give me a gun' slows things down and Mess Folk's strength is in Philips vocals, this melody and delivery is decidedly his, he's this tortured character who can barely pull it together enough to sing. It's a dying death rattle from a completely powerless situation. It's a last resort song, but struggling to the very end. He wavers off from the song melody but makes it back every time, sort of leaving you hanging a little on that last chord change. The whole package is part of this picture...the notebook doodle sleeve, the imperfections, the pure sound of someone not interested in a single part of the business side of songs...it doesn't get better than this for me.

The B-Side 'If I don't get out' really let's loose with a massive blown out live sound. Philip is really losing his mind and vocal chords on this one, possessed in the middle of the garage haze of distortion and cymbals, but it never gets too freeform mess that looses the melody, it manages to keep it together to not be overindulgent or experimental, there is a song here after all. It's a confirmation of anti-everything and keeping yourself sane in the process.

Go pick this up from Hozac, they keep taking chances like this and I'll keep supporting them.

Mess Folk also has a cassette EP you can get from him directly at philip420 (at) hotmail.com.

Fuck Montreal - Winter Mange on Stumparumper

Massive EP from these Canadian Halifaxers up today from Stumparumper.
You know, googling Fuck Montreal isn't easy, there's a lot of anger towards the place I thought was doing pretty well, music-wise...I'm assuming it has something to do with some sports bullshit, but maybe for this band it's a purely sexual thing towards the city. Or there is a huge feud with Halifax and Montreal...maybe Montreal is Canada's Seattle...Yea, fuck Seattle. Nice.

'Alarm Clock' the first track on the A-Side: I remember going to their myspace a year back when Pat announced he might be pressing a single from these guys and liking them immediately. It had a little bit of the synth-punk sound I've been missing since '06, but then there was a kind of Blood on the Wall, indie 90's filter of anything goes. This EP only takes their influences even crazier places, and baffles expectation.

France 1954: I'm getting it now, these guys are like the Swirlies...taking weirdo chances on crazy sounds. Fuck Montreal has more of an edge though, not so twee, but that could just be history looking unfavorably on the Swirlies, I still love them. The drum machine rhythm track is great, her echo vocals here are calling up a little YYY's feel, but with their old experimental wacko sounds they used to embrace more. My favorite, but nothing like anything else on the single.
'Winter mange' then goes, believe it or not... 90's grunge. Heavy Harvey Milk-style sustained guitars, but they never had vocals like this bratty punk. It's even Mudhoney...that superfuzz bigmuff era. Trying to be heavier than anything else. Fuck Montreal have no fear, and no definitive sound. I love a band like this taking huge chances, alienating an audience. Like this video for 'Bucket of Blood'...they certainly aren't vegetarian...but it's always in a way that makes sense. Chickens are delicious...just raise them responsibly, and kill them humanely. It's really not so crazy....but as a video...well, they have view and it might not end up being so popular...but maybe that's the set up with a band name like 'Fuck Montreal'... They're good.
This could be a B-Side on an old Sonic Youth single, with Kim Gordon loosing her shit, FM's lady is a mix of an angry KG and Karen O on this one, they're freaking chameleons.

Pluto changes gears yet again to a sludgy psyche experiment...even though they are everywhere stylistically on this EP, and it's all intelligently done. Huge gong and tambourine...the whole thing is just hanging from a plodding beat, and again, Jenn or Blair (not sure, I think it's the same vocalist throughout) took this tiny bit of a groove and worked it into a creepy melancholy melody. This one my favorite, forget what I said before.

The B-Side then says 'Oh you thought that first side was interesting?... Well that was our pop side.'
'The Rabbits' actually gets all sad, the acoustic tone, and bare minimal percussion, thin organ...I think she's actually singing about a garden? Jesus...it's like the second coming of the Unicorns! I've made far too many comparisons to other bands, but you can't pick just one...there's so many great things going on here.
Then 'Beachglass' is one of the guy members goes a capella with a slow solo piano, and a few triangle hits are all it takes to bring everyone down.
'I pour Bees on myself', has crazy acoustics, there's a wind instrument played a couple notes back and forth while Jenna or Blair sings in a bathroom. The tracks get layered from the oboe someone had in the closet. It dies in the end.

I had no choice but to mention every track, otherwise you wouldn't believe me.

This is that band I always wanted to be in, where everyone brings a bunch of weird shit to the table, no judgements, no predetermined direction...but everyone has a great kind of songwriting sensibility to combine into something, not groundbreaking in little pieces, but as a whole band it would never have happened any other way.

I got one of the swirly red ones...not sure if any of these are left, but head over to Stumparumper and pick this up (for just 3.50$!), or better yet go pledge on his kickstarter page, it's going to be the same with shipping so support this label putting out gems like this. It's an insanely mature and varied release for essentially a band playing with rock archetypes, but honestly one of these will get you. I can't imagine a full length. Deerhoof is consistent compared to these guys.

"Winter Mange" is Fuck Montreal's debut vinyl release after countless previous releases on just about every other kind of media available (tape, cdr, vhs, who knows what else?), and it's a stunner. Over 14 minutes of music is crammed onto this small platter, taking full advantage of a format that is too often relegated to carrying 4 minutes of music...TOTAL. This is rare music - it comes from a space that you or I can't know...it has always been here, and will still be around for download after everyone's gone. There is nothing in the way except the sound.

The Last Rapes of Mr Teach on Les Disques Steak records

Les Disques Steak, who put out that tour Tyvek single a little while back, are at it again sending me their latest. I have to hand it to the production/art on these things, they are serious.
The sleeve is excellent as usual, heavy card stock screen printed. The green reproduced above doesn't do this fluorescent color justice. It's just great...the detail in the brown pen coloring, all the hieroglyphs, and the two color layers of raised ink, a little off register in places, it's amazing. Check out this guy PRT's myspace, he's been doing their flyers and it's all this wood cut, high contrast, primitive stuff...

The Last Rapes of Mr Teach...that's one hell of a name...I don't know what to say... at least they're done right?...with the raping? 4 Tracks at 33 1/3 from these French imports, and damn this is a grungy, punk blowout. They would have had me at 2.

Like Ty Segall, on 'Blood of Another Man' they've reinvented this familiar garage 60's sound with almost comical massive shitty surf reverb. The guitar is really bright, all rhythm, with sort of lost layered nasal vocals. It's full of overblown fuzzy hooks, and doesn't stop barreling through both ears. This one is mixed and recorded loud.
Last Rapes fits in exactly with the current crop of garagers from Hozac, Woodsist, Captured Tracks...they are making a case for some kind of universality with this stripped down raw recording. Everyone loves it, when the feeling is there, the rest is just audio semantics.
'I saw a corpse' is such a stand in for old Stones, or Sonics it's ridiculous. Slightly English mod sounding, with some honkeytonk... whatever that is. The sound quality is all there. It's scary sometimes how I think I might have been able to trick my Dad with some of the stuff I'm listening to these days. Especially on vinyl, I could just slip it in there and see if he even noticed. This one might be a little too textured...he'd probably check the stylus, the speaker connections...but the unmistakable era is here.

'It's all over' keeps this great bassline groove going under the surf guitar slight changes and solo tropic soul melody. The vocals are the best, they have that garage, overblown gritty sound massively in front, really driving every one of these tracks. It's got a little Nodozz in there, it's a fun trip, complete with off key moments, misspellings...the human moments of imperfection that just make this better.

I had to include a video from these guys, the sound quality sucks but french dudes are literally throwing themselves at these guys in the middle of their set. They hopefully can come through NYC and play with The Beets or Woods....Times New Viking.

Order direct from disquessteak (at) gmail.com or get it from the usual distros...it's a perfect release in every way. These 'last rapes' guys are the new ipad of France.

The Ostrich - Mt Fuji in Red on Mammoth Cave

How is it such a tiny world? I barely start looking into this last one, The Ostrich from Mammoth Cave and it's Chris from the Sharp Ends. Turns out he and the drummer, Mike went from Ostrich to the Sharp Ends.
This sleeve is classic punk, printed + cut out at home. It's a war photograph. I think Pearl Harbor...a bunch of ships from the air circling around on the back. It's massive destruction, a turning point in civilization...world war...so I was guessing this might be a tad bit heavier than the Sharp Ends direction...not really, there's a pretty clear line from this to the sharp ends.
So what's the difference? Well, The O is cleaner sounding, not the sort of direct blues garage direction let's say, more sinister then party garage. It's definitely dark vocally, the instrumentation maybe puts this into slightly laid back psyche/rock at times, thanks to the organ but it's more frontman heavy with Chris' delivery here, it's a little funhouse clown menacing this time. Kind of tough and a touch goth and mixed way out front.

Mt Fuji in Red has this great opening percussion part and the chorus is harmonic feedback alternating with chords...it's a great sound. If anything this sounds a little too together, something about the mix puts everything on the same level. This one ends with lots of spooky screaming theremin, and it's going rockabilly here for some reason. Leave it to the Cramps to have completely co-opted that 'instrument'.
The B-Side track 'Rabies' steps things up a bit, and it gets pretty raw....this is a precursor to the Ends definitely. It shows how much the way it's recorded is effecting the sound...this could be on a Sharp Ends single, if it had more life and texture to the recording...the performance is there.

Dig it from the Cave that is Mammoth:

After the demise of The Ostrich, enigmatic front-man Chris Zaijko and drummer Mike Bressanutti went on to form Sharp Ends to great success (selling out their debut show at Broken City in Calgary with people eager to find out if Sharp Ends could live up to The Ostrich's legacy). Needless to say, the rest is history.

We were lucky enough to find two boxes of Mt. Fuji in Red (the 2nd 7", and my favourite of the two - "Rabies" alone is worth the price of admission!), and have about 30 left, so act quickly.

Dan Friel - Obsoleter on Spooky Tree

I get financially why it was probably necessary to put this out on cassette 5 years ago, but I for one am super glad this is on wide groove 45 high speed 12" vinyl. Nice screened cover from Shawn Reed of Racoo-oo-oon too, which is just a bonus.
The frequencies have room to breathe, the compression is limited...and you can hear it. This is a true remaster of the original material... I mean if I want to get super nerdy about it, it's going to sound the best on vinyl like this, not hissy cassette. That would add it's own layer of something else...and it's not even tapes fault...I don't trust the shitty tape players I have. I don't care about them, never cleaned them, they have bad headphone jacks. They're a bucket full of problems I have to listen through. But I've taken the time to clear up all these problems with the record player usually, so I can trust it to be a listening neutral experience. It's as close to what the original artist intended. You might as well listen to a karaoke version of the song...I mean that could be interesting too, to have that interaction with the material...

So here we are as close to the intention as possible, and I'm still questioning the sonic limitations of my equipment. It'll never end. Dan Friel is fucking with the peaking of synth sounds, there are no nice, clean tones to be found anywhere. I like that most percussion rhythms sound like they're cobbled together from glitchy synths , it's something you don't notice at first, but it's clear he's taking massive control over all of the textures. So much so that you don't want to necessarily introduce that standard 808 drum machine...it's not going to add anything to the sound. At this point it's almost ignorable as a stand in for an actual beat. These are far better.

The first track, 'Obsoleter' has a sustained bellowing tone twisted faster and slower, to a distorted beat. A melody sounds like it's breaking through the mass of effects that can't quite contain it. As a member of Parts and Labor, this is someone who is just heavily acquainted with sound manipulation. It's always rooted in some kind of rhythm though, but whatever the original sound is, it's really being beaten to death.
'Pink Helicopters' uses a vocal melody screamed into a guitar pickup, and the electronics here start to get really gamey, almost decades ago videogame soundtrack...well not so much soundtrack as just button actions. Then a tropical melody breaks in, which varies between pan asian and 8bit Ducktails. I have to hope this is recreated live with 25 little blinking boxes in front of him and not standing behind a laptop. It also makes for a more interesting performance, I'm watching it being created, although I guess that takes a more intimate space to make that make sense. I keep remembering seeing Ducktails once and Matt was crouching, moving all over the tiny space to keep up with the evolution of the tracks I recognized, but clearly were just templates for another experiment.
'Intervention '05' has this epic U2 quality to it...you can sense the build up from the very beginning, like the robot streets-have-no-name program is running. There's some theremin sounding work over an increasingly pulsating beat and it all sort of ends before it can go down a dreaded dance attack mode, I appreciate how concise his constructions are, there's no filler moments or long stretches of ambiance...it's clearly got a destination, and one hell of a complex way of getting there.

God dammit! All the toasters lead to his myspace. I tried them all! His other work over on that page is equally sonically interesting. He's really pushing the sounds...I'm already lost on the direct reference and he's always taking everything one step further.

Spooky Tree has done a major service releasing this, and it's one more jenga piece pulled on the west coast sound/noise domination of NNF.

1. Obsoleter
2. Pink Helicopters mp3
3. Intervention '05
4. Glass Kite
5. Imploder
6. Untitled '05

Vinyl release of Dan Friel's out of print 2005 EP (originally released on cassette by Night People). Featuring artwork by Shawn Reed (Wet Hair, Raccoo-oo-oon, Night People). Friel has been making primitive electronic music under his own name and as part of the Brooklyn-based noisepunk band Parts & Labor since 2001.

Myelin Sheaths - 'Do the mental twist' on Horizontal Action Records

Paul from Mammoth Cave is currently touring with the Myelin Shealths who have this single out on Hozac, so I thought I'd give this a listen before I continue on with the latest singles on the Cave. Looks like they have one more show this month if you are in the Lethbridge area on the 31st, you are going to see these guys somewhere...probably the Red Dog Diner.

'Do the Mental twist', which should be the A-Side if I'm not wrong has an insane amount of reverb and delay distortion ricocheting around in a haze... the layers just keep piling on. Is that a cymbal crash or all treble chords? This is classic garage, fed through the indecipherable machine. Not insanely overdone, it's still a party, not a statement. The back and forth blown out vocals from Martine and Cassandra (or just one of those two) are perfect on every track, it's surfy and greaser punk with a little blues, and all balls. Cavernous drums and nearly arty feedback take this to another level, it's all blown out on the smallest speakers.
'Drugstore pharmacy' ups the ante with some weirdo gary war wavering organ, in front of the wall of echo vocals. It's managing to still be in a total wash of sound with the melodies desparately holding it together, definitely more than a sum of it's parts somehow.

I can't stress enough the recording process on these tracks will keep you guessing, expertly crafted to just be on the verge of a solid waveform.
The tone on this is perfect, they are doing everything right.

Paul was recently interviewed for The New Canadian Modern about the Sheaths and you should check that out here.

Get it from Hozac.


Just a quick note as well, Patt from Stumparumper Records launched a kickstart project to keep the label alive, he's put out a ton of stuff this year and there are some great deals on packages of singles and full lengths if you pledge by April 24th, so if you haven't picked up his singles...now is the time. I should be covering his latest this week as well, looking forward to that.