Jesus Lizard box set on Touch and Go

I had a Jesus Lizard tape in high school...I think it had flames on it...I remember that...I liked it, I might have not appreciated it the way I would now in hindsight. I need to hear this progression. I know they are really important, like Flipper, I missed them a little bit and could use a crash course like this box set.
Either way, I'll work on getting some of the full lengths on vinyl and try to revisit these guys.
My recollection is they have a lot in common with Shellac...that kind of slow sinister big sounding 90's rock. Huge rooms of drum echo. They settle into this weird repetitive groove and just ride it...it's really taking me back, the sound quality...the ay things were recorded...there is some kind of production that's a distinct part of sound from this period. Was everything recorded by that Flood guy?

This massive thing will be available from Touch and go

The Jesus Lizard Record Store Day 7" Box Set and MORE

* The Jesus Lizard Record Store Day box set
* ATP: The Fans Strike Back performance
* New London date announced

As you have likely heard by now, the Jesus Lizard, known in some circles as the greatest live band EVER, is reuniting the original line up to perform in 2009. You may have also heard that April 18, 2009 marks the return of Record Store Day, an event to support the independent record stores we know and love. So we got to thinking…what better way to celebrate two things we wholeheartedly believe in than by bringing them together? So with that in mind, we’re excited to announce INCH from the Jesus Lizard, a special release Touch and Go is offering up for sale on Record Store Day only.

INCH is a collection of all the 7” singles The Jesus Lizard released on Touch and Go, lovingly remastered by Bob Weston and enclosed in a foldable clear plastic package, suitable for both compact storage and bedroom wall display. Adding to the allure is the fact that each 7” has been out of print for over six years, so finding any one single (let alone all of them) at a store has been near impossible. Also included here is a 7” of “Puss”, the Jesus Lizard’s side from the long-gone split with Nirvana. Still not enough? INCH also contains the “Gladiator” single, originally given away exclusively at a Jesus Lizard Brixton Academy show in London back in 1992 and nowhere else.

INCH Tracklisting:

“Chrome” b/w “7 vs 8”

“Mouthbreather” b/w “Sunday You Need Love”

“Wheelchair Epidemic” b/w “Dancing Naked Ladies”

“Gladiator” (live) b/w “Seasick” (live)

“Puss”

Lash 3x7” containing

“Glamorous” b/w “Deaf as a Bat”

“Lady Shoes” (live) b/w “Killer McHann” (live)

“Bloody Mary” (live) b/w “Monkey Trick” (live)

“(Fly) On (the Wall)” b/w “White Hole”

happy burger on douchemaster records

I love Douchemaster records...from the first time I heard a WFMU DJ say their name out loud and say 'sounds like the kids are back pressing records' I knew I had to look them up. It's an easy name to google and they have been consistently releasing great stuff, The busy signals, carbonas...steadily with the content for years. It's not just a clever name!

This 7" from Happy Burger is from France?! God damn I'm going to have to reexamine everything I think I know about the French. With things like this and Cheveu, and the Weakends...every tiny label should do themselves a favor and pick up a french punk act fast, they are on to something. They are playing a show with Cheap Time, and I couldn't imagine a better pairing...they were meant to be together. Happy Burger is just plain ridiculous, they really sing about cheeseburgers, but the title of this single is Pizza all around? Not that you have to make a choice, those two camps don't seem that different. They are pretty univerally liked....and I think that's what they are trying for here. Simplify the content: I like cheeseburgers but I like you better (something like that, but even simplier, plus I think he's talking about pizza, not girls), 3 piece stripped down garage/pop punk with completely retarded lyrics, ADD length songs. Their engineering consists of pressing record on the tape deck and putting a mic in the middle of the room. In other words they can't hide behind anything but their own good time with songs about zagreb, herpes and pizza. They pretty much hit the nail on the head of a super retarded american audience. It couldn't get any dumber, and I mean that in a really good way.

I know a lot of people that would love this without even hearing one note.

HAPPY BURGER-Pizza All Around 7” (Douchemaster) $6.50
It hurts me that a record in a cover this ugly appeals to me. “In spite of living in the heart of the culinary universe, our French friends known as HAPPY BURGER have found none other than pizza and burgers as their songwriting muses. The argument is as fundamental as chicken vs. the egg, but in the eyes and mouths of these Frenchies, the cheeseburger loses a nail biter to the pizza. Four songs. Simple and short with mandatory French garage production. Jonathan Richman would be proud. Jacques Pepin would be horribly disappointed.”

Pat from Stumparumper records

I spoke with Pat again for this weeks podcast (EP 48) from Stumparumper records about a couple of his latest releases: the H.A.N.S lathe cut, which sold out and this Scribbler 7" which is still available from his myspace.
We talked about this latest Scribbler release some upcoming singles, how Stumparumper has been developing the past few months some future cassesttes the next couple months.
We talk about how the singles have been received, I get some advice in pressing and how my turntables are still getting fixed.
The single is also available at Academy for those of you in Brooklyn...it's really worth tracking down and funding Stumper's next project.

black orphan on hozac records

Oh Electropunk, I can't get enough of you...I think SIDS started some kind of weird deep down need I had for 4 track electronic messes like this. Well, not exactly like this, just checking out their myspace, it's pretty guitar driven with tons of vocal effects...like phasers, a little distortion. There's a weird almost sebadoh feel to this stuff...maybe it's just the home recording or maybe it's the guitar base of tracks like 'Asteroids'.
'In the Dome' sounds exactly like my friend Tim laying shit down in the middle of the night and then having me over the next day 'You have to listen to this! I don't even remember writing it.' Ahhhh the days of being unaware of the internet of the insanely huge scene that was already taking shape in every corner of the country. Who knows what he might have come up with. A different myspace every day for a different solo project.
I like this, it's weird, guitar based blank dogs...because of the home recorded, a little off, a little electronic feel of this stuff.
What can I say, I'm a sucker for a weirdo trapped in a basement or attic with a 4 track and alcohol...or just bored out of his mind. It can really be gold.

Black Orphan
Video Kids
PS, US From the ominous depths of hell's inner circle, BLACK ORPHAN rises up & their slimey drooling of punk's primordial ooze seeps into every exposed pore on your body, languishing & writhing w/ emotional destitution. 4 ethereal tomes that decapitate, reverberate, & exacerbate the unruly demons that live deep in your mind, these songs allow you to walk through walls, see through clothing, & transcribe weird animalistic codes that only owls & sloths can truly understand.
RED VINYL LIMITED TO 200
HoZac
45

brilliant colors on make a mess records

I actually ended up buying this single straight from Eric at the Nodzzz show at Underground Lounge, we had been emailing back and forth about a couple of his releases....the Traditional Fools LP, his first single from Nodzzz and not wanting to be too much of a weirdo I didn't hand him a business card or even introduce myself. I knew any single he was selling at the show....well, I had to have it and wouldn't be disappointed. I'm glad I did, this single from Brilliant Colors is great, I've been stuck on these low-fi melodies for days.
Brilliant Colors is in line with Nodzzz in the way that it's back to basics, straight up rock. Stripped down distorted solid melodies, with the old standby's: bass, guitar and drums.
It's reminding me of sonic youth's Kim Gordon tracks ('Not this one') or Love of Diagrams, maybe even Sleater Kinney, but with a smoother edge, less abrasive (minus Corin Tuckers high pitch scream vocals). Or at times it's even like the Yips...that Bonfire in a Dixie Cup album, sounding like it's the first take (the good one). Especially this 'I'm 16' track...it's all attitude
I'm 16 / don't you try to teach me a thing
That pretty much sums it up. Surprisingly this doesn't come off insanely annoying or snotty in a Be Your Own Pet way, which seems effortless...they just have this kind of tempered classic indie-rock way about them. Still it's hard to pin them down...there's a lot of references they're drawing from, but still sounding original and definitive.
So glad I picked this up...it's classic.

Get this straight from the source Make a Mess records or From Fusetron:

*Artist: BRILLIANT COLORS Title: Should I Tell You Im Sixteen Format: 7" Label: Make A Mess Country: USA Price: $6.50
"Influenced by New Zealand junk like the clean, the bats, and the chills interwoven with early nineties krecs like the female beat happening shit BRILLIANT COLORS infects your mind with fuzzy-female-catchy pop." -Make A Mess. Release soon on Mike Blank Dogs label??

Robs House - a few new ones

I'm a little on this one unfortunately, the demons claws single is already gone from Rob's House but the Personal & the Pizzas and Brimstone Howl are still available.

Just listening to the tracks from Personal now on their myspace and it's NJ greaser rock alright, they have a heavy Ramones influence at times or even Jay Reatard. Really specific classic songwriting, just a hint of distortion on the vocals...definitely sing a long worthy....like Cheap Time, but a slow ballad version. Aware of their influences and playing them up fully.

'I ain't taking you out' is really a Ramones outtake, and there are times I can't get enough of the Ramoes, this is really good, harmonies...the same vocal tremble, with a little tough accent. It's that contradiction that never gets old. Kind of a bad ass that can work out these really sweet melodies and changes....really really classic...this will never get old.
I don't feel so happy now is equally as strong and that's just the A-side! Damn I need to get this.

rhr051 // Personal & The Pizzas / Bobby Ubangi - Split 7" side a: i don't feel so happy now, i ain't taking you out. side b: that's alright, maybe. personal and the pizzas and bobby ubangi (ex-lids, gaye blades) team up and release the sappiest punk rock record known to man. i mean, these guys really got some balls to release something so sappy, but goddamn if its not some of the best shit fi budget rock since the fums unveiled 'you might get me'. if you've been looking for someone to fill that void these are the guys to do it.. [600 pressed; black vinyl]
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rhr050 // Demon's Claws - Weird Ways b/w 9000 Feets demon's claws are one of the most dynamic combos to take the filthy route directly to your brain, and each live performance solidifies their earnest ambition to stomp their furious rock'n roll death trip into submission. their stumbling, rambling ways have lead folks down the darker side of americana-tinged blues-punk on more than one occasion. these two tracks come from the same recording session as the previous rob's house single, when the guys knocked out 12 songs, fully recorded in a single day. amazing! [500 pressed; black vinyl]

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Brimstone Howl...well I guess you like these guys or you don't....they have a little too much honkey tonk, john spencer sound for my taste...like this weird rocking blues, that isn't really doing anything new, but Rob's House has their finger on the pulse of everything garage that's good, and I don't doubt people are going crazy for this.

rhr049 // Brimstone Howl - Mammon b/w Solitary Man brimstone howl are less of a band, and more an offensive attack. Unashamedly passionate about garage rock and gloriously dispassionate toward those who fail to recognise it as the feral noise of a caveman pounding wild boars with jagged granite. Mammon, the single's massive a-side, is a beautiful, multi-faceted, and most notably, mature track from one of the best non-shit-fi pigfuck garage bands around. Neil Diamond's Solitary Man backs this single, though its nothing like the original as Nick Cave vocals and dark closet production keep front-man John Ziegler firmly in check. [500 pressed; black vinyl]

The Whines on just for the hell of it records

Not sure if you really have a chance of picking this up but this is worth noting anyway, the tracks I've been able to hear so far feature lots of echo guitar, recorded with that attention to crystal clear production values everyone likes to use these days...ummmmm right. Anyway the lead female vocals caught me off guard I have to say, for a little bit it I was convinced it was some kind of weird ween tape manipulated effect, but no it's just some kind of not super blown out distorted mess, a little held back, or that's just her voice. It's original.
Straight up garage rock, sounding a few decades ago, backed up nice with some organ, Barky, who plays bass as well, certainly has got an energy, this is near Love Is All proportions, but without the cute (for better or worse).
'Insane OK' is the case in point, it's a little quiet kind of meandering number which she completely pulls together with this great vocal quality, kind of nico-esque. Making it her own without a lot of overused references. The other tracks I sampled on the myspace go from blowing everything out with super distortion rock out mess to acoustic near twee, but edgier....and sad.

I hope there are still a few copies left...email below first and paypal immediately.

the whines - insane ok 7" ep

THE FIRST PRESSING OF THE WHINES 7" IS NOW SOLD OUT! BUT THERE WILL BE A REPRESSING OF ONLY 300 MORE COPIES, I AM NOW TAKING PRE-ORDERS FOR THESE THEY WILL MAIL OUT THE FIRST WEEK OF MAY! IT IS VERY RECOMENDED THAT YOU PRE-ORDER THIS AS THE THE FIRST PRESSING SOLD OUT SO QUICKLY, AND THESE WILL BE THE LAST OF THEM MADE EVER! TO HAVE ANY SAVED FOR YOU YOU MUST PAY IN ADVANCE, ALREADY GOING QUICK! just released! the first 7 inch from just for the hell of it records!
the debut release from the whines. this 7 inch is limited to 300 copies. it has 4 tracks side a - insane ok, starving dog art
side b - indian homewrecker, lines between us

the record is $6 ppd to the usa , $7 ppd to mexico, canada and $8 rest of world.

order online via paypal
send money to: justforthehellofitrecords@gmail.com

or send cash, money order or check made payable to hendrik deherder to:
just for the hell of it records
p.o. box 28187
Portland OR 97227

Crystal Stilts at Music Hall of Williamsburg 3-14-09

The thing live that struck me is how much Frankie really sets the tempo for this otherwise dreary sound. Watching her pound out this frantic tempo with two mallet handles is tiring just to watch. Its this constant pounding with her right hand that's keeping time like a high hat with the tom and then the snare is something like the accent hits. It's the most simple drumming style... really primitive and completely keeps this from getting bogged down in the slow psyche sound this could have ended up in. She singlehandedly sets the pace for the entire sound. Here is this kind of depressing shoegaze sound: muddied effected vocals, washed out heavy chorus strumming but Frankie keeps forcing the speed up to some kind of frantic dance track tempo. Taking the sound in this whole other direction then where you imagine it should be going.

The thing I notice about this live recording after the fact is how completely out of key Brad is...it's nothing I've noticed right away, it's not obviously off putting....it's kind of a genius, just a little too late in delivery, just a little lower than the guitar melody, that disaffected chorus low mumble.
It's not a compelling live performance, he holds his hands back behind his body kind of holding back, not engaging the crowd. Instead the keyboard player took up the mic in the stage banter role. He was making it his show, annoyingly on the mic in between every song, trying to heckle the crowd back, I guess making up for the lack of perceived stage presence. I could have done without it. Not every band has to be about forcing the crowd to have a good time. It's enough to be performing something interesting for me.
it's not necessarily the kind of thing that has to be rocking your ass, crowd surfing. You don't give anything up by not trying to win over an audience with your personality. It goes with the territory. I wouldn't expect these guys to be doing some kind of stand up routine. They shouldn't feel like they have to.
Where's the antagonism towards the audience? Are they just in such a mutually beneficial relationship that we're all worried about not stepping on each others toes?... I wouldn't mind a little distance. A little more mystery behind this sound.



Here is the show complete with encore: Crystal Stilts at MHOW, that's this weeks podcast. 42mb-45min.

Vivian Girls on Rough Trade

Looks like Rough Trade is getting onto the Vivian Girls train with a color vinyl 7" with two exclusive to this release. They are playing 9 billion shows at SXSW and then their myspace shows them touring through the Us and europe until August! That's pretty insane...I don't even think they are supporting anyone, at this point they must be headlining themselves. Well, good for them.
I just got that 12" from Troubleman Unlimited 'Live on WFMU', which I can't wait to hear, it was cool to see that they pressed it, I couldn't help myself. I think I downloaded it from WFMU earlier, but come on this will sound way better.
They keep coming up in playlists and I'm still enjoying the full length. I still feel like there is more life in these songs yet, I'm really curious to hear new stuff. They finished recording a new album already and to hear how their new drummer is going to change the sound. I still think it's interesting how they practically 'cast' the part. She literally looks exactly like Frankie...kind of weird. I'm sure they knew her and she's just as talented, it's a coincidence.

For the song Wild Eyes, I keep thinking they are singing 'why oh why oh why', instead of 'wild wild eyes'.

As exciting as this is, It's just too annoying to go through the check out process right now and deal with shipping and the exchange rate...sheesh what's wrong with me?

pre order this single and you will recieved a coloured vinyl version. two brand new and exclusive songs that are only available on this limited 7" on for us records (the label of rough trade shops). these two songs were recorded at the end of their last tour at studio plateaux on platts eyot island by kristian robinson from capitol k. 'moped girls' is one minute and 54 seconds of reverb drenched indie pop perfection that sounds like it should have been released in 1986 on the subway organization or 53rd and 3rd records. on the flip 'death' starts like a long lost 60's 'girls in the garage' nugget before turning into a much darker beast with reverb vocals and guitars taking the lead.

3-14-09-Blank Dogs Music Hall of Williamsburg

I completely loved Blank Dogs from the minute I heard them, Mike Sniper was building on the greatest parts of new wave, really early Cure...everything that I had written off at the time as boring old synth crap from high school. It takes someone like this to go out on his own, realize the good things that were happening...the potential of re-imagining this scene now, really making it something new. So good, so stripped down it really sounds effortless, so inspiring it's firing up old 4-tracks everywhere I'm sure, myself included.
Why was I going to this show you ask? Well, I wanted to see Silk Flowers, Women and Naked on the Vague also, but the idea of standing there for 4 hours is just not going to happen any night of the week. I'm just getting to old and don't have the patience to sit through all the take downs and set ups, but there was no way I was missing Blank Dogs, they had played around too much to miss them again and the Stilts, well the Condos show I know wasn't a good representation of their sound...it was rushed, the venue has maybe a preamp mixer before it hits a PA. So I wanted to hear them in under the best possible circumstances, plenty of sound checks and preparation.
I was up in the balcony, which was surprisingly empty, I usually never think to go check it out ever.

So you know what you're in for Blank Dogs live is going to be a completely different show then anything you've heard recorded... it's almost a cover band, a full 3 electric guitar band, bass and synth where all the individual parts are now separated between band members and most notably different, a live drum sound. It's just everything that the cassettes and 7"'s aren't. A fast moving, rock show with weird vocal effects. I recognize and love the songs when they come up...in the end they hold up, it's great songwriting after all, it's just a different feel completely from the demos, which is what I guess they are, I've been listening to. I just wanted to see maybe a solo show with a backing track of the minimal rhythm stuff. But then that's pretty daunting to be out there alone in front of this kind of crowd keeping it interesting.
It's not Dylan going electric or anything, but it's a different sound that isn't anything like what got him this attention in the first place. I just wonder what the thinking behind this is. They are completely different versions, interesting in their own right, but not the feel of the original tracks...that's all I guess.



Go have a listen to the show for yourself....Blank Dogs at MHOW.

Just a side note, and I had long discussions into the night about this....that afternoon I was at Academy record and noticed all the Captured Tracks releases in the new LP section had handwritten notes on them recommending them for fans of...etc. It seemed like they were being given special attention. Now I know there's some connection between Mike and Academy so it just seemed a little weird to me.
That being said I love the Dum Dum girls 12" that he put out so I don't disagree with maybe highlighting the release...and then I wonder how much those really make a difference anyway, if that kind of singling out really affects sales, so who cares right? But I just think it's a little weird that connection isn't completely disclosed.
Not that if you go there you aren't looking for that album or know what's going on. I can't find fault with Academy at all really, if that does move a few more records and allow Mike to put out more great music, well then what am I bitching about. I just wonder where the line is a little but when the standard falls a little bit and they just give special attention because they are friendly? It's a slippery slope.
Then another point of contention....I went to check out the merch table for a second during the Stilts and all the back singles from Blank Dogs were out...everything, including a few I had missed, but all were selling for $15! I think I'm mostly pissed I couldn't bring myself in principle to spend that kind of money on a single I missed when they were out there. And maybe that's to prevent people from just taking the whole table and quadrupling their money when they should go out to fans....it just was another weird page to the story. Again I'm not saying he shouldn't be making money, I'm sure he's not saving up to buy another condo on McCarren park or something...I don't know how I feel about it. That's what they're worth, so by all means get it. Make a living for god sakes. Quit you're day job, press records....I'll help you.

I'm a pile of contradictions.

Jacuzzi boys / Woven Bones split on Needless records

Jacuzzi Boys have a new split with Woven Bones on Needless records just announced on Termbo yesterday.
The Jacuzzi boys have been making the rounds of 7 inch friendly labels...Rob's House, then Hozac...this is the very first release for Florida based Needless and they are aligning themselves with a good batch of vinyl single heavyweight labels.

Jacuzzi boys are back with their characteristic mellow, almost quiet delivery...with an acoustic foundation this time. It's almost surprising to hear all the space here in the recording and instrumentation. They leave a lot of space to breath. The more I hear this, the more I'm getting like a Velvet Underground feeling...that far away echo vocals that are barely keeping up with the slide guitar. Maybe it's the tom based low tempo rhythm, or they just really have really nailed this slightly 60's drug pop with a dash of pysch sound.

Woven Bones on the flip are a heavier version of this time warp...the guitar is harder, a real high screechy clipped distortion, almost Ty Segall sounding. There's a lot more effects on the vocals, almost shoegaze in the chorus reverb that has a really sloping decay. Great use of a wah-wah solo...haven't heard that sound used in a while. The bass is somewhere inside all this harsh overdriven treble sound and kind of works complimenting the guitar with this warm rumbly distortion underneath.
It's a great pairing for anyone who is into JB's sound already and looking for more...speaking of more it looks like individual singles by both are in the works in Needless' future.

Both tracks are available to preview at Needless so you can get an idea if the flip side is going to be just as worth it as the Jacuzzi side...or the myspace.

Get it from Needless Records...there may be some clear vinyl 'gold' editions available: (Sorry looks like they are all gone - ed)

Split 7" between Miami Florida's Jacuzzi Boys and Austin Texas' Woven Bones.

Tracks: Jacuzzi Boys' "The Countess" b/w Woven Bones' "Grown Crazy"

Abner Jay on mississippi records

This came to my attention via Volcanic Tongue:

Abner Jay
Depression/I’m So Depressed
Mississippi Records No Cat
7”
£7.99

Totally cool single release from Mississippi that bundles real people/folk spirit legend Abner Jay’s classic “I’m So Depressed” in an alternate solo version along with a stunning full-band house-rocking take entitled “Depression” on the flip. Totally fantastic – has to be heard to be believed. Highly recommended.

This is just one of those amazing stories that is going to make tracking this down really worth it. Abner Jay himself is just one of those amazing american blues one man band forgotten artists, he plays with this great tremolo electric picking guitar and incredible voice. Supposedly he played out of an RV that would convert into a stage for random shows wherever he ended up playing hundreds of classic reinterpreted blues and originals on a banjo passed down in his family from the late 1700's!
Of course the two tracks here are about depression...the lyrics are so amazing...it's not typical blues...he's really belting it out kind of 50's echo style, great melodies, with harmonica...a weird flat metallic high hat and kick drum.

We had nothing / we had nothing / but grasshoppers

I am a boy so full of love / I have no one to hold my hand

I love how this is recorded...minimal and powerful...that sincerity of just sharing these songs with anyone who would listen.

Then Mississippi records founded by Byron Coley, Thurston Moore and Johan Kugelberg in 1983, (No they didn't actually, as a couple people pointed out....what!!! wikipedia is wrong!?) which has released only vinyl by the way in insane limited numbers of undiscovered gems like this, released this...I think recently...the only way to get any of this stuff is through distro's or visiting the physical store in Seattle (wrong again.... Portland, WA)... the mythology just grows and grows.

You can go hear 'I'm so depressed' on Chances with Wolves.

Academy in Brooklyn just posted that they got a few copies of this and his full length in....I'm going to go head over there and check it out.

Interview with Spencer Grady from Record Collector Magazine

Spencer Grady first contacted me through Index7, a UK based singles review site I used to write for. We emailed back and forth about 7"'s and he told me about a magazine he was writing for called Record Collector (above pic) which I unfortunately hadn't heard of. He just recently started devoting a column to current singles and Spencer was nice enough to send me a couple of issues, which have taken me up until now to get through...they are packed with an insane amount if information about every genre of music really...something for everyone. They do a great job covering all the bases, and with plenty of room for huge in depth pieces about everything really. It always amazes me to find out about how different bands were related, going through a complete discography of an artist. It's a pretty amazing resource.
So I sent Spencer a few questions, just out of curiosity really... how does one become a bigtime music magazine writer and actually get paid for doing something they love?


Can I ask how you got your start as a music journalist? Did you end up here there by accident? Or have you always written about music for self published zines etc?

I was late to it. I used to work as a speechwriter to a leading UK politician, while also writing a few album reviews and small features on the side for magazines/websites such as Wire, NME, Dusted and Plan B. Then, at the ripe old age of 34, I thought why not not try and get a full-time career writing about what I love. So, after a year of building up my portfolio and working at the Barbican theatre for some pocket money, I eventually landed the job of Production Editor at Record Collector. I have been there for about eight months.

I saw you've been writing for a 7" specific section in Record Collector magazine...how did that come about? Did you push for that section or is it something they decided to focus on?

I inherited it from my predecessor. It is a weird format for me to focus on, as much of the music I love (ambient, classical, electronica, black metal) is best-suited to being heard over a longer duration on album. But I have to say that the 7" Single Cream section might just be what I like best about my work.

What other rock critics have influenced you in your own writing? Your personal Lester Bangs.

Simon Reynolds and David Keenan. Also, Ben Watson despite his dubious politics. Definitely Byron Coley.

Any recommendations for other music writers out there? Essential music reading that inspires you, that everyone should read.

David Toop's "Haunted Weather" and Ben Watson's Derek Bailey biography.

The last music related book you read?

The last one I read was Mark E Smith's"Renegade", although I have just started "Muslimgauze: Chasing the Shadow of Bryn Jones" by Ibrahim Khider.

You must have a few 7"'s in your personal collection. Anything notable? Do you focus on a particular era or do you have space to collect whatever you want.

Mmm, I've got a plethora of strange noise and grindcore 7"s by groups like Seven Minutes Of Nausea, Man Is The Bastard and The Gerogerigegege. More recent stuff that I have received in relation to my job - some nice-looking singles by Fucked Up and cuts from the Touch Sevens series (the Oren Ambarchi still gets spun alot). Oh, and I also have the first Green Day 7", back when they were called Sweet Children - might be worth something, though I doubt it.
I did have that limited edition KLF/Extreme Noise Terror disc - but I sold it when I was hard up.

Where do you weigh in on the blog vs print issue. Is everyone having a voice helping or hurting music criticism?

I personally prefer print (but then I would say that I guess). But I don't have a problem with all these voices being heard. The marketplace of ideas will sort it all out and I am guessing that only the most valuable or worthwhile will survive in the end (I hope).

I struggle personally with writing bad reviews...I think it's important to be some kind of judge in the world of music blog after music blog praising whatever , but I appreciate musicians putting their idiosyncratic view out in the world. How do you straddle this line? Do you even think it's a problem?
Have you regretted writing an unfavorable review...have you ever changed your mind later?

Yeah, I sympathise. My solution is usually to review stuff I like. Why waste space slagging stuff off - music criticism has become a form of cheap advertising really, so I think this line is the right one to take. Sometimes I lay into something, but it's a rare occurrence. I understand that some creativity is better than none (believe me, working in politics reinforced this idea over and over). Usually I reserve my ire for those times when I think that a musician, band or a label is pulling the wool over our eyes e.g. Jandek or Foot Village, what's up with those guys?
Of course, I have changed my mind on a review (positive and negative), but there are bigger things to worry about, don't you think?


Podcast EP 46:
Really informal this time.....sitting around with my friend Dave (from TNV podcast)Ryan, and Molly talking about the subpop singles club, weird colored pressings of singles, Peter King lathe cuts, chocolate singles, decay, the smell, LA... We don't actually have any information but we talk about them anyway.
I play the singles club Unnatural Helpers and Mika Miko. Then the Tyvek Sidewalk 7".

Art Brut Alcoholics Unanimous on cooking vinyl records

Tracklisting:

Side A
1. Alcoholics Unanimous

Side B
1. Positively 5th St

Eddie Argos from Art Brut is one of those guys that just shouldn't have success with this formula, talking through every song as this kind of a larger than life persona...a manifestation of the ID, all those bad things you want to do... the things we're thinking but don't want to admit. Somehow he never comes across like a complete asshole, he smirks at his own songs and self deprecating humor always let him slide by and just escape the problems of other song story artists like Flight of the Conchords or Tenacious D. That's a terrible comparison, but it's the closest thing lyrically I can think of...but then to do it with real style and drive it musically into a place that can carry it's own, that's worthy of repetition.

Eddie carries everything about this band, you literally can't imagine any of these song without him, he's such a Rosetta stone for the direction of the band, this music.
But I can easily see how this is either your thing or it's not, this is going to breed really fanatic super fans and equally have people that will have to turn this off immediately. It's black or white, there's no middle ground with Art Brut. It's not going to just exist between two other songs.
I can appreciate a decisive choice to make music like this, to have this definitive view of songwriting....to have an original take on this style and really go with it.

I've been watching the video for this track 'Alcoholics Unanimous' on their myspace, the A-side track, it's right in line with the self titled album, built on great hooks, which they seem to have an unlimited supply, with Eddie's definitive lyrics. ( I think that's the thing that I again can appreciate him getting away with...the bare minimum lyrics it takes to get this idea across...everything is spelled out, there's no abstraction, it's completely clear... every thought). And what he's talking about is classic: getting drunk, blacking out, fighting and the rest of the band sounds against him in the call and response:
'I've been up all night / He's been up all night.
I've been making mistakes / Lots of mistakes
I'm hiding it well / not very well.'
I'm starting to think of this track as Art Brut's kind of modern take on 'TV Party tonight'. Let's all admit it we do stupid things, we drink, and it's hard to get dressed the next day. Art Brut captures that guilty pleasure of a perfectly crafted pop song with a truly original front man, who is literally getting away with murder....murder of everything you take seriously.

Why the track ends with crickets I'm not quite sure...it works in the video...everyone has been fighting and Eddie leaves quietly out the back door, maybe it's not part of the track on the LP?
What I'm most curious about is Positively 5th Street. I can only imagine where he might be going with this (alternate) take on the Dylan track. It's one street down after all.
That's it, I'm going to have to track this down.

This is an interesting label 'Cooking Vinyl', and that's where, directly from the source, you can get this single...import only at this point...but I'm still looking.

Oneida on These are Not records

I thought I had some singles from these guys but for some reason I'm confusing them with Oxford Collapse...I don't have a thing. They've been around since 1997? Guilty as charged. Their latest LP is part of a 3 part series called 'Rated O', I think...There's a lot I'm trying to decipher in their news section.
I like the Deerhoof style blend of crazy sounds, real experimental pop sounds with weird percussion...like sitar's, metal bells, the couple of things I've heard so far on their myspace have a definite middle eastern sounding slant. They must have had access to one of those studio with 10 thousand instruments in boxes in the other room. It sounds like they played with every one. I wonder if you think about that shit either writing before or in the studio, that eventually you're going to have to recreate this live.
Overall it's kind of neo-psyche at times, going in an animal collective direction...at least conceptually...working within that framework of world music, but then with a little bit of Deerhoof thrown in to make the sound completely their own. Pretty interesting....I'm glad I finally got to straighten this mess out.

Now this being said, I would definitely be into getting this, but I think both of these songs are Grateful Dead covers?
Here's hoping they breathe some life into that hippy jam shit.
It's hard to bring myself to order this from These are not records:

ONEIDA
Heads Ain't Ready 7"
(TAN005 - RELEASED 5-27-08)

Finally, our release from Brooklyn indie psych-monsters Oneida arrives! "Heads Ain't Ready" features the bands take on two Grateful Dead tunes: Cream Puff War and Cold Rain and Snow. Pressed in a hand numbered edition of 600 with two color variations: 300 on translucent light blue with white splatter and 300 on translucent red with white splatter. Oneida rocks!
www.enemyhogs.com
www.myspace.com/oneidarocks

A :: Cream Puff War
B :: Cold Rain and Snow

Rival Consoles on erased tapes

Completely different direction today with Rival Consoles a digital heavy laptop project of UK's Ryan Lee West.
The track on the A-side 'Helvetica', which I was checking out on his myspace has this simple piano melody with lots of sustain slowly building up to create a foundation for insane Richard James style inhuman drum patterns, all ricochet, ball bearing bouncing ticks. Even at points forcing the hits into something melodic....beats being stretched into ring toned tinny sounds of their own. It's really reminding me of days spent listening to Druqks. It's a little unnerving, un-'danceable', not at all background. Continuing to push the limits of composition technology which I can completely appreciate, however much it usually leads to an uneventfull live show. It's going to end up in the headphones of anyone caring about the experimental side of conceptual electronics

Is it bordering anything near what Aphex Twin is doing? It's skillfully put together but I can't conceive of any new ground this could cover, but it could just be the tip of the iceberg. I'm hearing those same drum attack decay filters that I got plenty of with Rephlex etc. Sure it's probably the best out there with this kind of thing....and shit for 21 this guy is off to an amazing start.
I could always hear the development in albums or even tracks with Richard James, I mean he opened me up to a world I didn't give a shit about, it takes talent to be so good that you literally have to listen to him.

From Erased Tapes and sadly import only:

Rival Consoles is 21-year old IDM-smith Ryan Lee West from Leicester in the Midlands of England. After having supported his city neighbours and label comrades Kyte on an extensive European tour in November 2008, West locked himself away all winter to finish his first full-length album, set to see the light of day in mid 2009. In the meantime fans of his debut ‘The Decadent EP’ will be pleased to hear that TODAY Erased Tapes Records released an exclusive 4-track 7” single / download bundle – Rival Consoles’ take on classical music entitled ’Helvetica’.

Disappears - Old Friend / Magics - self released

Disappears sent me their latest a while ago and sticking with their unmistakable bold graphic style on the sleeve, they have two new tracks on this single 'Old Friend' and 'Magics' this time going with magenta, the 7" pictured on the upper left.

I'm happily revisiting these guys previous single as well...it's all coming together on a full length I've been reading about them recording...maybe previewing some of this material at SXSW.

The A-side 'Old Friend' gets a groove going right away, in that Dead Meadow vein, really strong bassline driving the rhythm...it's working with the heavy reverb/echo on distorted guitar, kind of mixed down to be that great complex haze, impossible to separate. It sounds like it should be blown out, just pushing the levels into the red, but it never does. Relentless drumming from Graeme sounds like an exercise in endurance... at points is exactly in time with the reverb...creating another sound completely...really incredible.
They have mastered that JAMC layering that's subtly propelling everything. It's like this wave machine of reverb.
Brian Case, on vocals, has this exactly on time rhythm I really appreciate....it's kind of following it's own structure that works. It's in between yelling and lyric bursts in it's own time delivery. By the end it's sounding dangerous the echo is turned all the way up...it's an intense two minutes. I can't believe it's over every time.

The B-side 'Magics' gets more psyche-y on you...a big pile of reverb right from the beginning, slowing it down a bit this side. I love the washed out melody they develop in every song, the way they stick to that repetition, building the structure and just changing it so slightly. They know a good thing when they hear it.
Graeme adds these perfect tom hits right in between the changes that's one of those perfect little touches I'm only now catching onto after a bunch of listens... the restraint, or oversight you have to have to just use that effect so minimally.
They constantly straddle that line where their heavy reverb guitar strumming is just about to screech into feedback but then mutes out at the last second. They have a really disciplined handle on the effect near chaos. Seriously getting into this....by now they have a really strong EP's worth of material and I'm waiting for the full length.

Someone let me know how they are at SXSW. This can only get better live.

Give them a listen at their myspace.

I think I missed out on their limited CD-R of live stuff, so I'm going to have to check their blog more often also.

How to get one:....
(tell them 7inches (everyday) sent you.)

HOW TO ORDER A 7"

If anyone would like to order a 7" from us please paypal the correct amount to: brianedwardcase(at)yahoo.com
here's what you'll need:
usa - $6.50 canada/mexico - $7.00 uk/europe - $10.00

The Swirlies - Mercury lounge - 2-27-09

photo courtesy two cups of tea

It's been way too long since the Swirlies played their last show.

I was really shocked to see tickets available from oh my rockness one email. I admit I had to check around and make sure they were talking about the same Swirlies...insanely it was, and I bought tickets as soon as they were available.

I bonded with someone at a party once when I brought up the Swirlies, somehow she knew them and we couldn't believe we found someone else that even knew who they were. It really shocked her...I wasn't convinced we were still talking about the same band in the end, she was so sure she was the only one.

They were one of the first singles I ever bought, lost to someone and then years later I found it again at Eat records...the Brokedick Car EP, on blue vinyl. I've since pretty much picked up all the rest that exist...within reason. They seemed like one of those bands I could always listen to when I wasn't sure what to put on, what I was in the mood for. They ended up on mix tapes for roadtrips for jaded music friends. I had 'They spent their wild youthful days....' and it was such a range of music, from short french sound collages, to never ending blown out shoegaze riffs with all kinds of off tune guitar chords, trading off vocals...real indie...that was indie rock to me, east coast boston based smart complex indie rock.

All this being said, maybe I had the bar set pretty high for a band that doesn't seem to have performed live in like 10 years....and it showed. The tracks are technical, the amount of layers, effects pedals, multiple vocals, real analog keyboards. I could hear the hours of finding these perfect sounds that complemented a blown out chord progression....so no wonder there were so many problems. Recreating this material must have been a nightmare even when it was barely created, let alone by now when literally the machines are way past their prime.
It took forever to set up and it takes a lot to say that, I can tolerate a lot...I mean I think it's obvious I have a serious love for this band that kind of existed in this little bubble of not knowing too much about them, forever being mythologized. They didn't end up in other music projects...it just seemed like life took over and there wasn't the hype machine raging like today or something.
It was good, listening back, they started really strong...but wasn't amazing....they seemed a little like they were out of their element and a bunch of separate musicians trying to keep it together, not communicating, not really excited to be there. I really have to wonder what this whole thing is about for them...a reunion tour? Because they could? The crowd was completely supportive it seemed, through the tangents and sound trouble...we wanted them not to fail.

So here's the live show to examine for yourself....complete with huge periods of time in between songs...for me it completely fell apart around 21 minutes, and I had to leave after just feeling a little let down. Swirlies (44min).

Yuppies / Noah's Arc was a spacecraft on Dutch Hall records

I think a lot of these 7" labels like Hozac, Sacred Bones, Tic Tac Totally have my attention because of their manic release schedule, I have to keep checking in on them at least once a week and see what their up to... half the time I'm just reposting something that's probably out there all over the place already. I admit I give them probably an inordinate amount of coverage here, but this single from Omaha's Dutch Hall came up while I was checking out some indie label's blog about demo cd-r's he's come across that were noteworthy.
Whoever was writing compared Noah's Ark was a Spacecraft to Lync, so I had to start the 7" investigation...the mere mention of lync's name sends me off once again ignoring work and searching myspaces and blogs for some new piece of the puzzle.

So Noah's Ark was a spaceship has a split with The Yuppies on Dutch Hall records.
Their track 'Flamingoes our Father' is growing on me everytime I have to hit 'continue listening to music' on stupid myspace...it's an epic track, nearly seven minutes, running the complete range of rock. It rises back and forth between slow repetition...that kind of a breakdown instrumental part to all out rock assault with backup screaming and lead vocals distorting out in the mix. There's a little ATDI where he's yelling 'Flamingoes our father! Flamingoes our father! Stretch to remember.' That kind of stream of consciousness, weird association lyric shit I love especially when it starts to rock like hell.
It sounds like in this particular track there's no high end, the guitar just sounds really deep and kind of in the next room, but everything is mixed together perfect...it's loose and kind of informal....they absolutely know what they are doing while letting go a little at the same time.

I'm trying not to hear too much else, just to see how I feel about them based on this one track but it's too late, I can't help myself and 'Constructing destruction' is a great track as well. I think what I end up liking about this so much is that kind of vulnerability.....sure it's all loud and ass kicking on first listen, but if it's only macho, I'm not interested...but there is a lync or cap'n jazz quality here, they are stumbling a little, taking chances, not following the usual path.

Go get their full length and an EP here via rapidshare, burn it for friends.

The Yuppies are The Yips as Noah's Ark is to Lync...super underproduced...I love that I didn't even notice this underlying hum until the song ended...it's like nothing was grounded or someone had something plugged in leanign up against the amp...it's unintelligable, screamed, complete with some nice changes but all recorded with a broken fisher price microphone. Half garage, half punk, but all without an aspiration to be the next big asshole, so I take it seriously....you know....it's that other kind of good time.

This is a great cross section (to me anyway) of Omaha and a couple of great bands out there right now you should be seeking out if you are anywhere near them. They make Brooklyn feel like there are better scenes going on right now and you're in the wrong place.

$5 From Dutch Hall Music

Yuppies/Noahs Ark Split 7 "

Dutch Hall Records 002 is almost here, slowly but surely. Hopefully by the end of the month Yuppies/ Noah's Ark Was a Spaceship split 7" will be ready. Tracks are as Follows

Yuppies - Side A:
1.) Leper Blood
2.) Need More Cream

Noah's Ark Was a Spaceship - Side B:
1.) Flamingo's Our Father

The limited edition screenprinted 7" sleeve pictured above is sold out. You and I are going to settle for the shitty xerox one!

Her Space Holiday on ruined potential records

I found this while looking around on the Ruined Potential site for the full length from A Sunny Day in Glasgow....the only thing I remember about Her Space Holiday is being part of a split series from Better Looking Records...what was in the series for $23? (That was 2003 money by the way) Two singles...that's right, that label that seemed like they had their shit together sent 2 singles...and some CD EP...I guess they think we're even? No fucking way. I'll never forget!
So Her Space Holiday, you'll forgive me if I hold you partially responsible, (no, that's not fair, I have to hold Album Leaf responsible, it was supposed to be a series of split singles with them)....

The cover photo is from this amazing documentary Streetwise, still not available on Netflix, I think I rented it at Kims once...it's really amazing...kids in Portland in the 80's, drugs, hooking, squating...sick.

This is like folk / twee, I mean I like a wussy song every now and then with really sad sensitive bastard lyrics...but this is a little over the top...there aren't those levels of meaning with say.... Conner Oberst, or a singing style that sounds like the singer is going to break down and cry any second.
This sounds really produced and 'cute', that's not such a good thing in this case. In fact this song Japanese Gum is practically offensive, I keep listening to it and it's killing me...I think this is the gist of it: A girl gives her 'love' away, he can't fix her she tells him something about how she just wants every boy who comes over to walk away happy.
That's not a cute sentiment...that's not even so anti-cute that it gets me either, it's kind of just obvious, rammed down your throat songwriting.
I could see this being a gateway for people just getting away from mainstream music for the first time....like Badly Drawn Boy or something.

Oh well....
From Ruined Potential Records:

70g limited to 300 copies jackets all dedicated to Streetwise kids Rat, Tiny, and Dewayne in additions of 100. Each jacket hand numbered by either Marc or myself

Young Widows / Bonnie Prince Billy split on Temporary Residence Records

I heard about this a while back, and in case I already mentioned it a bunch of posts back, sorry, but here it is again. Temporary Residence announced this split series with Young Widows. The first split announced in the series is with Bonnie 'Prince' Billy. I have to admit I blindly ordered into this series without really listening to Young Widows....I'm a little surprised, but then again I guess not. Mr. Billy has an eclectic group of recordings and is a fan of some crazy shit obviously. Maybe it'll be amazing because it is such a polar opposite pairing.

Now that I'm actually listening to Young Widows, there are elements of shellac, stuttered clipped guitar...they get into some great metal-ish running riffs, with pauses, slightly math....it's just the vocals really aren't doing it for me....now maybe it's something I could get used to .....like ISIS...or just appreciate them musically enough to not care that much.

There are times when I think 'Ok I have some room in my library for more instrumental metal' and then they go and scream almost emo exaggerated vocals that sound layered and recorded in an empty room it just takes me out of it, this sound has been ruined by too many hacks...you have to be aware of the baggage that comes along when you sound like so many of those dicks. This band isn't making it easy on themselves.
Them I swear it sounds like Rollins Band or something....or Helmet. When everyone is yelling the chorus it goes a little Fugazi and I'm into it again.
If I was skating in my garage on a shitty halfpipe, this would kill. It would be stuck in the tape player.

If Bonnie is any indication of where this singles club is going It's going to be a real interesting series that's for sure.


TRACK LISTING
1. YOUNG WIDOWS: King Of The Back-Burners
2. BONNIE 'PRINCE' BILLY: Poor Shelter

Following on the heels of their breakthrough Old Wounds album, Young Widows have assembled an all-killer-no-filler split single series, featuring new, unreleased Young Widows jams, split up over four separate 7" singles, accompanied by a handful of their favorite friends and artists on the opposite sides of each single. Those artists include Bonnie 'Prince' Billy, Melt-Banana, Pelican, and a final mystery artist to be named at a later date. All songs by all artists are brand new and exclusive to this series. Each single is strictly limited to a one-time pressing of 2,000 copies. The artwork for the four singles fits together to form one large, beautiful puzzled image. This first single in the series features Young Widows and Bonnie 'Prince' Billy.

A SUNNY DAY IN GLASGOW on geographic north records

(cult of) The Cemetery Flowers (mandolins version) 7″ - Released July 8, 2008

A: (cult of) The Cemetery Flowers (mandolins version)
B: Walking Pneumonia

Shoegaze, Shitgaze, whatever...this could have been on the Lost in Translation soundtrack, let's just put it that way.
I think the problem with that sound is it's so pigeonholed that any experimentation with that piling up of layered distortion can only go one way..does it end up sounding the same by default? Not necessarily... I think A Sunny Day In Glasgow is definitely doing something interesting within this framework. It's really reminding me of the Spinnanes vocally with the instrumentation of a Magnetic Fields....very Stephen Merrit layered synths sounds that become a repetitive base, turning into percussion. A rhythm to build on.
The thing that fascinates me about this sound is what happens when the sounds are allowed to just bleed all over each other like this...blasted into a space at full volume and then captured. The separation is gone, where it came from doesn't matter anymore...it really becomes it's own thing entirely, it's own haze...like some kind of sound alchemy...at least that what it sounds like from here.
Like the track '515 train', there is a wobbly synth sound that comes in and out, and is probably getting that effect from being recorded to magnetic tape and the natural overdrive and gating of the mic that happened when being completely blown out by some kind of super synth bass that comes in now and then...like the bass note sine wave is cancelling out the higher synth sound? That's where the magic happens...creating these sounds that we can't even capture...that cause the mechanics to just act a little wacky...this is as close as you are going to get, but still it even becomes something else once you record it. Like quarks.

They aren't sticking to this formula either, which could easily drive a bunch of albums...vary it just slightly, echo beyond recognition...at times it's a single instrument working on echo overdrive with most of the sound being clear like the track on this single 'Cemetary Flowers', ...there are just a bunch of electronic sounds, creating this deceptively chipper sterolab kind of loop. And the vocals are just right for this...any less echo and you get into Enya territory...it's right on the edge, but falling into the Crytal Stilts side of the fence.

Available directly from Geographic North Records who actually have a subscription series now that I'm looking at it...I'll have to look into that and get back to you about the releases....

From Aquarius records:
A SUNNY DAY IN GLASGOW "You Can't Hide Your Love Forever Vol. 1" (Geographic North) 7"

This Philly band captured our hearts a couple years back with one of the best shoegaze inspired records we had heard in ages, Scribble Mural Comic Journal, an album with which we fell more and more in love with every listen. So we were excited to see that they were picked to kick off this awesome new series of 7"s put out by Geographic North, called You Can't Hide Your Love Forever, which will also feature talented folks like Tarentel, Tussle, and more! These two new songs find ASDIG in perfect form, delivering more of their swirling daydream delights that remind us of brighter sunnier Cocteau Twins. Perfect for the 7" format as this is a band who creates songs that only get better with constant listens, we've been playing this over and over! Comes on cool blue vinyl and of course pretty limited as most of these sorts of things tend to be.

If you're interested, they have another one on Disjuncture records also....which looks like their only 7" release.