Tarentel on Geographic North records + part 2 podcast interview with Scribbler

Didn't know anything about Tarentel either before putting this on this morning. The last release out by Geographic North, the Psychic Powers single being slightly delayed (see below)
This is what I love about this series so far, I don't claim to know everything about music, far from it. I'm suspect of anyone who does. This is an evolving medium, music. I could argue faster than anything else. The rate we consume music and the little, technology-wise it takes to produce makes music this virus that adapts and divides every 24 hours.
This blog is part of trying to keep up with it, track parts of it...I don't know if I'll ever make the jump to 'music critic', I'm constantly coming across whole genres and connected bands I've never heard of...forcing me to start over.
Anything, and new subscription series or label that introduces new work, new artists to me is completely appreciated.

The A-Side
Sounds live, with lots of effects, like we just cut into a live set. I think I'm hearing live drum sounds that are being sampled as they are played and then delayed back and messed with, fed through all kinds of ringtones and distortion. I love getting into sound where it's a bit of a mystery, where it's not easy to dissect.
I was just reading all kinds of reviews about these guys fitting into Post-rock, how useless that tag is, and Tarentel's 20 minute track times. It must have taken some convincing to find usable section they would be happy with to abbreviate on a single...even at 33 1/3. It does make me want to go find a full length somewhere. I get into Mono and Godspeed every now and then when I'm working on something else...I think it's there to not distract me, but mostly it does even more than mindless pop. There's a lot of tortured guitar sounds...this is definitely recorded in a space, with everyone together, which is a nice change...to have that live, raw feel in this instrumental genre. The track abruptly ends, the same way it began.

Side B: I'm getting a soundtrack feel here, not immediate rock. It's this 70's chorus synth. Then some
Electronic metallic explosions that end up as feedback? Or you take a feedback sample and blow it apart, gate it to the point where the effect wants to cut it out completely but something is sneaking through...on top of that fading in and out is a chime-y electric guitar. It sounds like it's being hit with sticks...but delicately. Great weird sounds panning back and forth....this one is moving through changes quick. I hope this was a good experiment for Tarentel, to work within the confines of the 7", there isn't a dull moment on either side...they pull out all the stops and I'm forced to go back and see where this all started.

Tarentel...file them into my favorite genre....instrumental post rock jazz noise...whatever.

Just got word from Farbod from GN:

We're having the worst luck with the Psychic Powers sleeve printing, so it may be another month before you get that one. Belong's "October Language" 180 gram vinyl issue is next.

Part 2 of the interview with Craig from Scribbler is up this week. Episode 55 (18 min / 17 mb). We get into growing up in Halifax, whether or not geography has anything to do with a band's sound, the response from their single on Stumparumper, more of the Radiator Collective, Scribbler songwriting and recording....and Craig's solo project Chief Thundercloud...and what the Box Meat revolution is all about....

Scribbler songs played: (Prussian National Anthem, Sixth Side Road, Woodscar, croscarmellose, furnace (live)). These can be found at their reverbnation site...all free, a hundred songs or so...all over the place in a great way...like popping in an old sebadoh, or folk implosion cassette...could be an intimate home recording, or rock out rehearsal, or sound collage...but it all has a scribbler imprint on it. I have to really appreciate a band that has this range. Like Blood on the Wall...the album is a mix tape.

Customers on Robs House records

First of all, I didn't know Carbona's broke up? Crazy...along with a couple other Atlanta projects it seems, but they reformed into the Customers.
I don't know why all I can think of are the Replacements...it's something about the production quality, two people singing in that slightly scratchy voice. Customers are pulling this off perfectly, nothing low-fi, it's really authentic 90's. No gimmicks, no gadgets, glitches, just guitars, drums and bass...but it's not a mess of punk either, trying to piss off everyone around you. Something you ike just because it annoys everyone else...I've done it.
These tracks could in sneak next to something really good and no one at the barbeque would even notice.

A lot of bands like this can write a good song, throw something together, pop a tape in the tape deck, hit record. As talented as they are, that's a very specific choice, you are determining your audience to a certain degree. Customers are the opposite...or they aren't relying on any typical shit I can pin down...it's great...No weird attitude, they aren't trying for anything...except to make for themselves a great single....I hope.

'She's Heroin' has this great phaser/distortion guitar melody kick it off and then it jumps ahead just great back and forth just the right amount of room guitar. Vocally these guys are great, the call and response thing going on between Stephen and Travis, they separate...come back together in a gravely harmony. Like the Replacements they're singing about some depressing scenes but musically it's really uptempo. They are singing like they are having the time of their lives, about heroin and suicide....take that Lou Reed.

You can't really go wrong with Rob's House...they are always putting out great singles...I think this is a kind of genius that comes with music done at this level. You couldn't put these bands together on paper under one label. You couldn't force this kind of thing to happen. Rob's House is organic ... pressing whatever happens to be next, whatever band just broke up and reformed or is completely new on the scene. Every time I get an announcement for something new it's just great to see this developing, growing with the scene and just existing...I'm happy to support music at this level...and especially when it's great, let's face it, but we can't all be so lucky.

Both tracks on the myspace are on the single plus one more...I'm going to go see these guys at a new Cakeshop owned space, Bruars Falls on Grand Street, June 5th.

rhr052: Customers - Howling at the Moon, She's Heroin b/w Monster on the Loose
with the break up of carbonas, beat beat beat and the heart attacks, customers are just one of the new bands emerging from atlanta with the forementioned band members regrouped. notwithstanding, the customers are bringing a fresh sound to the southern capital and are sure to make a name for themselves outside of their previous connections. here's their debut release, get in on it now as we expect many more to follow.
[600 pressed; black vinyl]

Vibes on Not Not Fun

I love Not Not Fun's sleeve art. There really ought to be a gallery show at some point of the entire collection of releases...all 12" or 7" size. There's something about it, it's collage, but not primitive xerox, or haphazard. Someone has a real eye for graphics...it's completely distinctive, and is half of whats great about getting these LP's and singles.

So I'm trying to figure out what I think about the Vibes project before I (you) order this and I came across a download somewhere of the 'You God it' cassette...been listening to both sides and it's very live jam funk feel. Amanda from Pocahaunted has got a great voice and really confidently uses it. There's a definite plan here she's executing, a definite direction. She's got this master plan for the track and then takes it there through quiet talking, loud vocalizations...it's the best part by far. I know this is a lot of NNF groups members, and this is some kind of supergroup or something.
It's just OK....I don't know that funk/psyche jam is really my thing, thankfully on the single it will be somewhat abbreviated...maybe a little more concise. I liked the darkness of Pocahaunted and Robedoor...this sounds more acessible or something....granted that was the tape, which has great tracks, but meanders at times too much. It's one of those things I wonder if i would ever listen to again once I'm done listening.... I don't know what's on this single, or if it's along the same lines, but probably.
Still love you NNF.
Sincerely,
7inches

Vibes

Psychic

NNF159—7" ($5)

Every family has a freak (or 2). Every deck’s got a wild card. We’ve got Vibes. Ante up. NNF’s loosest cannons return to the recording fray with, Psychic, a blown-out briar patch of basement garage fantasy masquerading as obscurist protest funk – and the band’s first vinyl statement. Recorded in Eagle Rock on a “last legs”-style 4-track, the EP’s four songs are jacked deep in the red, with fuzz bass, wah shrapnel, vocal sloganeering, and drum racket all fighting for tape room. Competition is fierce. Recent live faves like “Dead Horses” and “Night Court” appear in particularly revved-up form, as do the first two Vibes songs ever written, “Psychic” and “Prisms Of Fame.” All bases are covered. All soul trains are derailed. Here comes the judge. Black vinyl 33 RPM singles in full-color fold-over sleeves with collage artwork and lettering by Cameron Stallones, photographs by Caitlin C. Mitchell, plus a rant-y revolution scrapbook insert. Edition of 400.

Tussle on Geographic North records

The second in this series GN02 is by the group Tussle...didn't know anything about these guys before setting it down for a spin.

More ultra minimal sleeve graphics on heavy card stock...I have to say it's nice to have a unified graphic look like this, I can pick them out of a stack easy...in fact I'm still looking for one GN03 (which is a poster, not a 7"....that explains it .....ed), but I'll know it when I see it from a mile away. Yellow swirl heavy vinyl here...

Tussle is giving me a kind of Cornelius feel, more like a remix kind of thing, not a DJ project, but more like sample archivist or environmental project. It really has that feel of separate pieces magically tacked together.
Turns out it's a four piece consisting of drums (live/sampled), electronics and bass. I don't know why it feels sampled. Maybe because the melodies are so independent, the sounds so idiosyncratic...the sounds so specific they're like sound effects.

The A-Side, sorry the North side, 'Animal Cop' is very bassline groove driven. This had to have been the foundation for the track, it's so right up front and sure. The drums are so clean sounding, I'm having trouble telling what could have been recorded live and what wasn't...aside from the obvious electronic glitchy hits. So many different sounds are used, cowbells, warning alarms. There's a breakdown part of just live minimal drums at one point. It doesn't sound too far away from Tortoise, Pullman...that post-jazz influenced sound. It's instrumental, and full of little twists and turns.

The B-Side 'Room 191' is a little less groovy, it sounds really like a rehearsal track or a demo take, and this is a little sliver of something larger. Near reggae dub-like in the bassline this time, with delayed piercing keyboard blasting in. Super short, must be less than a minute...nice little sample of what they can be capable of.

This one is still available for order from Geographic North....

A Sunny Day in Glasgow on Geographic North records

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

I subscribed to this 7" series a little while back from Geographic North and dug the first three out the other day to give them a spin...you know there's that pile or section on the shelf that's for new stuff, and I have been waiting to review these kind of as a body of work. To see if I could figure out where Geographic North is going...where they might be headed.
All the sleeves for these singles, this one included are really minimal graphics...solid sky blue with gradients of blue running through at the top in a bezier curve. The flip side is completely black with the track listings and speed. The vinyl itself is a nice heavy opaque sky blue, just slightly marbled.
Now I remember how I heard about Sunny Day in Glasgow...they released a double album on Ruined Potential that looked pretty amazing...I think before I even actually heard these guys I was drooling over this vinyl package....that's ridiculous I know...but they got my number...it's all handmade, letter press, linen...limited to around 300. Same with this single...it might be sold out...it looks like you can still click the buy button on their site..so you might get lucky.

The A-Side (North side)
There are at least 3 ladies adding vocals in Sunny Day (who aren't from Glasgow, as I mistakenly believed at first), not sure how many are singing at once, how many layers are going on at any given time. It's reminding me of Lush, or Magnetic Fields...more specifically Future Bible Heroes with Claudia Gonson... angelic swirling harmonies with herself. It also has that quirky synth melody that's so hard to get away with. It's really deep in the mix here, you almost can't pick out any actual words.
The little high pitch almost electronic sounding 'oooo oooo' is a perfect example of something that might not work on paper, but it seems like they are trying to fully explore this sound and force it into something new, play with the conventions. The sounds gets a little heavier, full of muffled handclaps, layers of synth, it's a little twee, but hazy, my bloody twee. I can kind of see this as another tangent in a completely different direction to where the Vivian Girls ended up. Start from the same inspiration, but get rid of the guitars and 4/4 rock...

I'm still trying to work out if I have some new problem with my speakers or they are panning the low end back and forth, it's wobbly and I'm still not sure I'm hearing it right. I've reconnected the wires a few times now and it's got to be the song. Either that or I give up.
That's the beauty of this, the nuances in the sound, the subtle layers and layers that stick together in this sound that's bigger than it's parts.

The B-Side (South) begins with more vocal breathy loops, which work their way into a subtle dance 808 rhythm then comes the drone airy synth that is delayed forever. It doesn't veer off into dance like Dan Deacon I think because it's essentially quiet. The bass doesn't overpower anything, it's not mixed to push the bass cones around. They hold back a little... it's like Lost in Translation...that dreamy looking out a rainy car window at the neon. Is everything in slow motion or really fast? There's a sample...'I felt terrible....like...I felt sick.' ....now I get the 'Walking Pneumonia' title...
The synth and vocals really bleed into each other, like they are in tune with each other, and become something else. Sunny Day really has a handle on this tweegaze sound...it's never overdone...it really sounds like they're pushing this genre...there's still places to go.

Catchy and repeatable at 33 1/3...of course, you can't build up something like this quickly, but they make the time work.

This is limited to 300 copies available from Geographic North....the rest reviewed this week...

....and look at that, they're coming to Death by Audio June 27th....

The Convocation (of?) on Gravity records

Well I guess they changed their name since last I listened to their self titled first album. No 'of' just The Convocation. My friend Tim gave this to me while I was in an Unwound phase which since hasn't ever really ever ended. It fit in perfectly, a three piece guitar centered post rock.
It's ridiculous to think this was 2001.
I think the thing I still appreciate about this is how minimal it sounds, pretty sparse instrumentation, there's a lot of room to breathe. The starts and stops, I'm going as far to say mathy. Heavy, deliberate, nearly instrumental. The drums are recorded in a huge booming room, you can hear every hit. The bass is a little distorted, it's not precious, just get the notes out. But the vocals really push this into post rock perfection. They're far away from the mic, like unwound, not secondary, but when your pushing melody like this, I guess that comes first. It's almost recorded somewhere else, with no effects whatsoever, just flat yelling, or a backwards reverb....is there a reverb that has a minus echo? Something like that....making it sound more intimate...you get closer somehow in that mix. I remember it took some getting used to at first. It wasn't screechy yelling that turned me away from anything remotely emo, to whiny to cry-e. These guys sounded tough, the music came first, bad ass complex intricate rocking, with vocals that weren't trying to emulate emotion but singing through it.
I went to look for it in my itunes playlist, and it was still there...this is after migrating between countless laptops, desktops, external hard drives...there aren't many bands that make the cut of having to dig around to find the CD and rerip it for the thousandth time. Now if I only had this on vinyl....well that would be a find.

With the limited research I did on this single I couldn't find any idea of what this might sound like, but of course I'm in. Gravity has an impressive roster of truly great bands, Unwound included, and I'm willing to see where these guys are at for $5. Just looking over their bands page I'm reminded of a bunch of great stuff I should be listening to still. Clikatat Ikatowi....damn. they even have an oold Black Dice 7" for sale there still. The Convocation myspace weirdly has two kind of remixes of tracks from the self titled....nice to hear but nothing like the originals.

From Gravity records.

Also available from stickfigure distro who says:
*Convocation, the s/t 7” (gravity) - Gravity is proud to announce the release a new 7" from The Convocation. With this new release Baltimore's The Convocation return from an extended hiatus joining new bassist Jason Stevens (formerly of Wash. D.C.'s Wooly Mammoth) with founding members George France and Tonie Joy. A decade ago Joy and France started The Convocation OfÉ with original bassist Guy Blakeslee (now leading The Entrance Band in L.A.) as a natural evolution beyond bands Tonie Joy founded in the previous decade: The seminal D.C. area band Moss Icon and avant hardcore (and earlier Gravity band) Universal Order of Armageddon a.k.a. U.O.A. (as well as The Great Unraveling, both also on Kill Rock Stars), plus bands he served time in (Born Against and Men's Recovery Project). Before dropping the "Of" from their name The Convocation released their debut 12" "remix" e.p. and first full length LP/ CD on Sonny Kay (of The VSS) and Omar Rodriguez-Lopez (of The Mars Volta)'s label GSL (Gold Standard Labs), as well as a second LP/ CD on Insound's in-house label Tigerstyle. While The Convocation's sound has loose ties to the hardcore, punk, and "indie rock" of the above mentioned bands it's roots run simultaneously back thru time before these terms were coined and into a future where genres implode to allow this band's heavy psych rock post whatever sound to speak for itself. The Convocation have shared the stage with other heavy acts such as Nebula, Dead Meadow, and Acid Mothers Temple as well as diverse bands such as Blonde Redhead, Unwound, and The Locust. This new 7" was recorded and co-produced by J. Robbins (Against Me!, The Promise Ring, Clutch).


The podcast this week - Episode 54 is a recent interview I did with Craig from Scribbler. We finally hooked up after a bunch of emails back and forth and a weird time difference. (Halifax is one hour ahead?) This is part 1 of another 2 part interview...we talked about their single on Stumparumper records, touring in the US, the noise side of Scribbler, his brothers other band Fuck Montreal and the Radiator family.
A bunch of tracks are played in the background (Aributus, Ocean Floor, Dramamine, Rust, Sine Cosine Destroy and Negative Band) from Scribbler....all available for download at Reverbnation...hundreds...literally. (14.5mb, 16min)

Cave on important records

Just got an email about this release from Important recs last night...don't really know Cave, but I've been hearing them mentioned different places, so I went to go check them out at Important Records. They are a longtime releaser of noise/experimental bands, releasing Merzbow, Acid Mothers Temple and Wolf Eyes for a few.

Listening to Cave it's a lot like Kinski...a mix of psyche and rock. Fuzzy repeating guitar riffs, like they can't stop once they find a perfect little two note melody, wah wah pedals, buried vocals...really groove driven psyche on steroids.
After learning about that Hawkwind tribute single series on Trensmat records I feel like I'm hearing that sound everywhere. Dinowalrus and definitely with Cave. It's sci-fi psyche where synth and electronics are mandatory...there's some kind of jazz influence in here too at times. Almost a Tortoise kind of groove improvised repetition, not that I ever know where they are going from track to track.

This one from the single 'Made In Malaysia' is almost liars in it's use of glitchy electronics and chanting over it.... easily Drums not Dead.

Interesting stuff.

You can download a track from the single from the Important Records site to get an idea.

CAVE "Made In Malaysia" 7" $6|
-Bonus Bside track not on the LP. Essential listening.

I was a king on Hype city/morningside records

New single from I was a King I saw listed on KDVS's charts, so I checked it out this morning. Norway strikes again...is it just me or is there an inordinate amount of music coming out of that country? Or is that Sweden? Let's just say...that part of the world. There's something happy, undyfuctional there. Is it the health care? Either that or it just turns out a seemingly large number of bands are simply resonating somehow in indie rock...here's another one.

Two tracks here 'It's all you' and 'Norman Bleik'. 'It's all you' starts out with this piano riff that's reminding me of that 'send me an angel' song from my favorite movie 'Rad', not that it eventually goes anywhere in that direction. Well...a little...it blows up after a few measures and sounds very indie gone major label in the 90's. Teenage Fanclub, The Replacements, The The...anyone on any of those soundtracks. It's a big overblown sound combined with almost falsetto vocals...I swear had to check out videos just to make sure there wasn't some female backup vocals in there somewhere. He's got a high layered effects vocal that gives the whole thing that airy point of entrance...like an indie Neil Young. Ok there is a lady involved...on guitar or something...she must be singing at some points. Dam it's confusing. There's a serious guitar solo which is taking it even further into Dinosaur Jr. territory but with my bloody valentine vocals....ok that's it, I swear, no more band comparisons.
And that's Mr. Sufjan Stevens on the piano...very interesting.

They will be playing live later this month at Mercury Lounge, 30th and Union Hall, 31st...

I found the single available from insound...

THE MANTLES on mt st mtn - preorder

Not sure if this is the sleeve image, but I like it....The Mantles are San Francisco's answer to the Crystal Stilts....I know.... you could argue that these guys were around before the Stilts, that this sound maybe even originated in San Francisco, but I don't know if any of that is true. It's just my point of entrance to this.
I know that I'm happy to buy anything from Mt St Mtn, they are in the middle of a great scene going on...they aren't pushing out quantity but instead take their time to press the best....do I have to remind anyone of the Mayyors? No.
Or then there's the fact The Mantles full length is scheduled to be pressed by Siltbreeze? Forget it, this is going to be everywhere.
So why am I thinking of the Crystal Stilts? Well it's 60's psychedelic, fuzzy, a little druggy echo reverb all over, but there's an air of optimism. If Crystal Stilts are Joy Division, then the Mantles are New Order. Not quite as dark sounding to me as Dead Meadow, or Wooden Shjips, who are almost experimental.... more of a party with Austin Powers here...a velvet paisley freakout. A little groovy baby. Really faithful to this era's sound in an eerie way. The could crossover all kinds of noise jam/lo-fi/psyche shows...fit onto a bunch of different bills. It's building on that sound without becoming stereotypical garage or junky. Like the vocals...it's not as theatrical and lifeless as the Stilts...more feeling. It manages to be just as catchy...really great.

Neither of these tracks are on their myspace...

THE MANTLES "Trust" b/w "Secret Heart" 7 inch {MTN-O5}
limited to 300 copies, 45rpm, black vinyl
1 color silk-screened outer cover
$6.50 ppd (overseas orders, $5 + shipping cost, contact first), paypal to mtstmtn-at-hotmail.com

THIS RECORD WILL SHIP IN ABOUT 2-3 WEEKS With the deceptively determined surge of a sleepy glacier, The Mantles have been quietly and slowly perfecting their trademarked dark n' dirge pop sound over the past few years. Starting as a trio, the band recorded their Dulc-i-Tone single with the mysterious & unreliable Cram-Ro production team. The band then dug themselves out of the Cram-Ro shit-morass for a batch of sunnier sounds courtesy Papercuts' Jason Quever, two songs of which make up their forthcoming Mt. St. Mtn single. Soon after this session, the band lost a bass player but simultaneously absorbed both halves of the Cram-Ro team (including the half that sometimes gets "Personal" wink-wink), and it's this current four-piece incarnation that recorded the upcoming Siltbreeze full-length album with Gris Gris' Greg Ashley. Reviewers & showgoers alike regularly struggle without success to pin down the Mantles sound, though the Paisley Underground scene somehow seems to come up alot, and though reviewers have an affinity for the words 'New' and 'Zealand' when describing the Mantles, band members insist that Mantles songwriting mainman and Graeme Downes-lookalike Michael O. has no idea what Flying Nun is other than a goofy TV show, nor is he familiar with that "Slitbree" label people keep talking about.
release show: MAY 30th @ Amnesia, San Francisco The Mantles, Brilliant Colors, Aerosols

They also have a single from Dulc-i-tone, their first...don't know if it's possible any are still left, might be hard to get a hold of the guy at that label to see....the Eat Skull / Ganglians split was worth it though.

Sneaky Pinks rerelease 1st single on 1,2,3,4 Go

No idea what this single sleeve looks like as it hasn't been released yet, the one above was the first press...and you can't get much better than that. This is a pre-order from 1,2,3,4 go records from the Sneaky Pinks. This is the guy from NoBunny? Now I'm getting it. Are there only like 50 good bands out there? They just swap members and change their names?

There's something really endearing about their drum machine garage punk...like on the two tracks that should be on this repress...especially if you can make fun of yourself and the whole scene. I appreciate not being taken seriously.

The A-Side, Loner with a Boner, has this great beat track programmed by a monkey, minimal kick and snare, fucked up by something. Guitars run right into the 4-Track, flat distortion, sounds too clean. Vocals that fade in and out sung by everyone, leaning over, back to back, very Ramones stylized. That almost 50's inspired Elvis snarl.
Like the Fresh and Onlys, they have that I don't give a fuck attitude down, the songs are hilarious. It's almost a parody of macho punk.

The B-Side 'We're the Punkles' is confirming they have to be skewering this kind of bubblegum pop punk. This is a song the fictional band the Punkles would write. Crap drum machine, crap production, lyrics like 'we're punk punk punk punking around'.
I think they're trying to say the categorization 'punk' is lazy.
Is punk still cool? Not the leather jackets and spikes at the head shop in the mall, but is the idea of something being punk important in any band? Well....would any decent band refer to themselves as punk? Or is it something you say to someone's parents to describe your music.

Punk is so punk it can't be co-opted by shit bands. Even someone like Green Day has to think they are ridiculous to even mention it. It's a little bit sacred still...in a good way. At least I think you can still use it and mean it.

The Sneaky Pinks want you to think otherwise maybe, but they are punk....go DIY something. It's stupid and anti-punk to dissect it.
Middlefinger myself.

It's a seriously good first single. I missed out the first time, so I'm looking into this.

From 1,2,3,4 go:

I've got some sudden news about a record that's suddenly coming out! It's a re-release of the first Sneaky Pinks 7". Something this retarded needs the strength of two labels to keep it in print so Rubber Vomit and 1-2-3-4 Go! are tag teaming this thing and re-releasing it in late may. Fans of Nobunny, The Spits, Ramones and other retard lo-fi punk will definitely want to check this out if you haven't heard of it before. Four songs of idiot savant cretin punk fronted by the man behind the mask of Nobunny! This was self released in a few small batches a few years back but we're helping keep this thing around for awhile. You can actually check out a few songs at their myspace over here http://www.myspace.com/sneakypinks.

We're doing 200 blue vinyl copies for mail order purposes and black vinyl for stores and what nots. Since this is so close to being done I'm including the maaaassssive mail order update with it as well. So if you want to order the Sneaky Pinks and some other stuff I'll take your money and hold on to the other stuff until the 7" is ready to go. Email us at store@1234gorecords.com with your order and your address and we'll get back to you with a total. If you just want to order the 7" and leave it at that here's the info.

$8 ppd in the US and Canada

$11 ppd tot he rest of the world

If you want additional copies add $5

Payable to store(at)1234gorecords.com

The Fresh & Only's on Dirty Knobby + Dinowalrus pt2 podcast

Picked this up at Academy the other day after hearing a couple of people literally staring into the 7" case and talking about how good it was...that was enough for me. Nicely done raw 60's sounding grungy pop rock. Harmony and feedback, a beautiful combination.

They jammed two tracks onto the A-Side...the first one 'I'll tell you everything'...they get that nice fuzz from huge bass under everything, layers of distortion, but keeping everything separated and clean...it just sounds classic. Get a milkshake on rollerskates...but how it still sounds today, I'm not sure...it could be the feedback, or just the overall edge vocally.

I'm really loving 'I saw you seeing me'...this has a great background ahaaaha vocal melody with fast picked chorus reverb guitar...almost surf-like. I can feel the tiki torch heat. If I didn't know better this could really be on one of those wood door hot rod surfing compilation LP's, It wouldn't be at all out of place at all. Just a little tropical punk.
The straightforward unassuming vocals are a nice change for this style, not too affected and snarly or snotty, but not typical or too crooney.

500 snakes, the B-Side, gets a tiny bit more contemporary, bring it into 70's territory, something about the recorded quality of the guitar melody takes it there for me, like rocking Ariel Pink. I know, I'm obsessed.

Sold out at the source, Dirty Knobby Industries but the bands myspace still has a paypal button so get it from them or aquarius records who says:

FRESH & ONLYS, THE "I'll Tell You Everything & I Saw You Seeing Me" (Dirty Knobby) 7" 5.98 It's easy to forget that The Fresh & Only's are a new band as the songs they've been cranking out have the self-assuredness of a band who's been around for decades. Two new cuts of their garage pop sprinkled with enough punk spirit and weirdo undertones to make their songs always piques our interest. We hear a really cool Joe Meek influence in the sound of "I Saw You Seeing Me" proving that just because these folks are zoning in on some pure garage pop delight they haven't forgotten how to infuse nice touches of their wide range of musical influences into the mix. Can't seem to keep Fresh & Only's vinyl in stock too long, they're already flying out the door, so better grab one of these while you can.

As promised, the second part of the interview Dinowalrus. Episode 53 (22mb, 24min).
Pete talks about the difficulty with pressing your own singles, trying to tour outside NY, playing SXSW, booking your own shows, having a day job, and new tracks from a full length album.

T7IF.

Thank 7inches it's Friday.

I had nothing to do with it.

Cheveu on Born Bad records

Latest Cheveu on Born Bad records...I'm glad Academy had this because I wasn't about to try to ship it from France....looks like SS records announced in yesterday's email they have 25 copies so email jim or something...they aren't on the catalog page yet with paypl buttons...but he's got them.

A
'Like a deer in headlights' is a really put together, polished, full sounding studio track compared to the experimental anti-pop pieces from the full length. There's plenty more drum machine and synth, but the focus is purely Cheveu melody here. Heavy distorted guitar breaks in about halfway changing the direction of the slow tempo practically dance track. It's sounding to me like early 90's industrial directions...severed heads, killing joke. It's pretty minimal, dark sounding, and purposely devoid of human emotion. But it's a catchy, nearly fun A Side. I keep wanting to hear it.

B
'C'est ca l'amour' If high school french is good for anything it's got to be Cheveu song titles, I'm pretty sure it's 'That's love'. This side we get a dose of the french in electro punk pop recipe. I can only imagine he's singing about some terrible relationships or irony and then the repeated chorus comes in...that's love... Tell me about it.
This track has a simple picked guitar melody, like Smog...it goes on for a while and then the drum machine starts in with pipe organ. The vocals are spoken with lots of deep echo...it's a little sinister, a little halloween...again I'm in high school failing french and listening to Pigface and Meat Beat Manifesto.
Nice work.


Get it from ss records:

Cheveu Like a Deer in the Headlights 7" (Born Bad) 8
These guys are a great band. I know you know that, but damn, this is not only a good single, it isn't retred. The Cheveus push into some nice merge of Tubeway Army and spy guitar music and Cheveu. The flip is a moody spoken over brooding organ piece. A winner. I only have 25 to
sell. No restock.

Cheap Time on in the red

Cheap Time has a new one from In the Red, but don't try to find it there... i don't know if the places I saw it listed even have it for sale yet? It's a bit of a mystery. But the tracks are on their myspace, so I think this actually is available from the places below.

Woodland Drive is really classic punk rock, it's recorded really clean, with all snotty punk chorus vocals. It sounds a little slower tempo for these guys. A song about this street they know. They are just recreating the best part of late 70's punk rock, like the Dictators. Really punchy crafted pop punk. It's purely a good time. I was listening to the Ramones today and they just had that same party unpretentiousness. They weren't super creative musicians...it just existed to rock...it's that pure songwriting that's audience driven...they have to have a good time. It's meant to be performed live.

The B-Side is Penny and Jenny...I swear I heard this when I saw them live...it has this distinctive crazy vocal up and down melody punctuated by guitar chords and snare hits. I love this sound...they just create this out of love for rock...I can see how this came out of Be Your Own Pet. They took a step back to pay homage to all the great pop rock that existed. These two tracks are really cleanly recorded there isn't a hint of distortion in the vocals anywhere. Less garage and more studio...but it makes sense with what they are doing here....like Jay Reatard...you use the shitty room sound if it makes sense for the song, not because you have to.
Anything they put out will get played when you don't know what else to listen to...when you are sick and tired of fighting to understand everything else out there.


From Parasol:
Cheap Time Woodland Drive b/w Penny & Jenny PS, US 2 brand new tracks from Nashville's favorite pop-punk-glam-bubblegum band. Snotty, catchy ditties informed by Sparks, The Quick, Milk 'n' Cookies, & early Kinks. Limited to 1,000 in a handsome, Fontana-esque picture sleeve InTheRed 45 $5.25

and interpunk... has it too.....don't know them, but there it is...

If anyone cares, I'm reviewing the Animal Collective Crackbox vinly side by side in the forums....

TeePee on Weird Hug records

Weird Hug records also sent along their second release (002)....TeePee, a one-man project from Miami.
According to TeePee's myspace this is the first of a bunch of singles coming out as part of the Hozac singles club and on the Florida's Dying label. When a group of people get behind something like this, you know it's got a pretty amazing seal of approval.
Rest easy ordering a couple of these from TeePee's myspace. He's also got a blog I've been looking over...with lots of limited cassette releases and compilations he's contributed to for download.
All the singles, look like they have the same type of cover art...kind of tribal, pen and ink or wodcut drawings. I would worry that it's so calculatedly done like Blank Dogs that it couldn't be good, but trust me, it really stands on it's own...in that genre of solo tortured bedroom geniuses, that I can never get enough of really...at least when they are writing slightly experimental, near pop...now that I think about it, it's like the even moodier side of Owen from Casiotone for the Painfully Alone.

The A-Side, or actually the 'T' side is titled 'So sure that I'....a weird slow oscillating drone sample starts the track off and really never leaves. It's like a sci-fi flashback sound effect or some kind of future jail electric hum...you know, the kind without bars, just an invisible shield. Then a slightly mechanical echoed drum beat comes in with a stripped down, no effects, huge guitar chord melody that repeats throughout. The vocals are slow, spoken and mixed barely audibly with just a tiny hint of melody that follows the guitar...it's minimal, dark, but so listenable...easy to keep flipping over and over.
Lyrically it's mirroring the repetition of the melodies...he says 'So sure that I....married you/killed you/carried you' but practically whispered, I didn't notice the naunce in verse at first.

The 'P' side - MBISO has the usual backing of a drum machine....I just want to point out he seems to be using organic drum sounds...real kicks, high hats....you can just tell it's too on time not to be machine...and there's a little room echo, which sounds like he plays it through a PA to play the track 'live' to tape. It seems like he wants to provide just the most basic rhythm, it doesn't really have changes, it isn't filtered or messed with really in any way. It's admitting what it is: I need a rhythm to work off.
This one is plodding along...really hypnotic....lyrically he's doing the same thing here as the 'T' side: repeat a main idea: "I've seen the way....they touched you/loved you" etc. sung over and over. Steadily, like he's convincing himself.
TP is just a great craftsman at slow catchy guitar melodies. Making something out of nothing...or maybe more accurately willing to let the essence of the song idea come through. It doesn't need too many extra layers. He's not trying to hide behind anything. There's a great section at the end where he's strumming, doubling the drum tempo and he's singing 'oooo wooo oooo'. The whole thing builds up here, completely changing the slow head banging up to this point.

I like this home recorded one man band stuff, it really got me thinking about that single vision and how it can be so great...how the home 4-track, and later computer software really let all of these Brian Wilson's out of the bag. Maybe it's the purity I'm attracted to. The Ariel Pink's and Conner Oberst's that have no choice but to get it down in their audio diary....by themselves, in the middle of the night, quietly, with whatever fits in their room. Even when it's bad it's pretty much good. TeePee is doing that, but definitely live, I don't get the feel he's laboriously punching in tracks and editing each sample, who knows how many takes, or how long to find that sound...it's the sound of playing with yourself live.

(I'm talking about music....sicko)

Bundle of Fags on Weird Hug Records

Weird Hug Records sent their first couple of singles in for review a few weeks back and I put them on this weekend to give them a spin.
I'm not going to lie, this cover worried me....Bundle of Fags? They are obviously looking for a fight. You can't take anything too seriously with a name like that.
It's a black and white xerox looking sleeve... all cut up, scotch taped together. I swear that's Clive Owen getting a blowjob from a stripper while a bunch of bald mannequins or amputees with the word slave on their heads stand in the background in bondage.
Fun times.
The back of the sleeve is a suburban living room scene with the same slave cut and pasted in.
This led me to believe I was going to be listening to some harsh experimental noise or some punk grindcore not this catchy garage pop punk.

A-Side 'Art School Asshole'. I have to hand it to them, this subject never gets old. Yes, a lot of bands are formed in art school, real artists probably go there, but it can be a place where a lot of people who decide they have to go to college end up going by default.
Too many of them can easily get away with doing nothing...literally, that is your conceptual art...how you do nothing all day (which I have to admit can be kind of genius in and of itself), but this also leads countless people to get away with doing nothing or worse... throwing pots for four years.
So I fully understand the hatred for art school assholes, there was a feature film about them for God's sake...I went to school with some of them. But get on to the music already.
Ok, this guitar line is classic, people can say every chord has been played, every melody has literally been figured out at some point. I just don't believe it, I don't care anymore. This is a perfect example of how you can't over intellectualize this, you can't claim to know why this is working so well.
The track starts strummed with a pause to count it in...it's really warm sounding guitar...lots of low end, just a hint of reverb. The drums are crystal clear, fast high hat, minimal use of cymbals, it's all business. The vocals are mixed perfectly, I can hear every word, and you don't want to miss them. But even more than the relatively clear mix I have to say I love this guys vocals he's really selling it. Of course anyone would write a song like this...the cops suck, I hate my parents...I get it, but this guy is so serious when he yells 'What a fucking asshole!' the song stops and asshole echos, it's perfect. When the rest of the band yells 'art school asshole', he sings back 'You're a fucking fag!'. As I'm writing this out it's not a quarter as good as the delivery. It's so sincere, he is so serious about these assholes that I can't take it seriously. It's genius.
The first song you would write in your garage with shitty equipment...but Bundle of Fags is doing it better and getting away with it.
I'm catching more and more lyrics that are cracking me up...don't get your brushes wet, why do you dress like a bum, you date chicks with no asses, a book in your back pocket....
Listen this is a real problem, Bundle of Fags is out there trying to change things god dammit. I just wish I had this song years earlier.

In the B-Side 'Attitude', they are really playing for some kind of speed record. The vocals sound more distorted and it's too bad because after the A-Side, I don't want to miss any of these. It's got something to do with being cool and having too much attitude? I'm not sure if he's singing from the asshole perspective here or about them. This would go along easily sandwiched between Cheap Time and No Bunny. I like this track too, they have that bratty fucked up attitude themselves but I feel pretty confident they wouldn't completely trash my house if they stayed over. You know they are nice guys in the end.

Weird hug has some of these still available from their myspace where you can paypal them directly...info below.

ORDERING:

USA
1 7"= $6.50 ppd
2 7"= $11.00 ppd
3 7"= $15.50 ppd
4 7"= $20.50 ppd

CAN/MEX
1 7"= $8.25 ppd
2 7"= $12.75 ppd
3 7"= $17.25 ppd
4 7"= $22.25 ppd

OVERSEAS
1 7"= $10.00 ppd
2 7"= $14.50 ppd
3 7"= $19.00 ppd
4 7"= $24.00 ppd

Paypal: weirdhugrecords (at) gmail.com
Please remember to specify exactly what you're ordering. _________________________________________________________
DISTROS:
Rocket Reducer, Floridas Dying, Tic Tac Totally, Ptrash, Puke n' Vomit, Green Noise, Permanent, Ho Distro, Going Underground, Academy, and more soon!

Dinowalrus interview - podcast 52

Pete from Dinowalrus contacted me after writing about their latest single a little while back and he agreed to talk to 7inches about the band some of their releases.

We talked about naming bands, how they are serious students of 70's psychedelic rock, taking quirky sounds and then translating them into the future. How Cause Co-motion inspired them to press their Electric Car Gas Guitar single which turned out to be a collaborative effort with everyone including friend Ian from Titus Andronicus who screened the sleeves.
They also have another split with Bachelor of Arts from Australia who hooked up with them online and ended up doing a split single and shows at SXSW.

These singles and CD-R's are available from Pete directly at dinowalrus (at) gmail.com....or:

ELECTRIC CAR, GAS GUITAR VINYL 7". $5, $7 with shipping. Available in NYC at Kim's, Other Music, Earwax, Soundfix, Academy. Online at www.igetrvng.com and www.insound.com.

Click here to download podcast Episode 52 (Played an excerpt from 'I hate Numbers' at the beginning and 'Made in CCCP' after the interview...(20Min-19Mb)


This is a great video of a rooftop show which gives you a better idea of some of the range of influences and instrumentation of Dinowalrus.

Cloak / Dagger untitled on Jade Tree

Cloak & Dagger have a new untitled single on Jade Tree, which I've been putting on here and there this week along with their full length album 'We Are' also from the Tree.

I really have to watch that movie again with Henry Thomas, I remember wishing I would bump into some spy on the way from my friends house and he'd give me a secret disk as he was dying and I'd have to get it to the government, and avoid the Commies. Or Red Dawn...I was obsessed...me and my brother stole my dad's Vietnam coffee table book and built covered traps for the Russians (and each other) in the back yard with sharpened sticks and bent trees back with triplines full of spikes. I'm lucky to be alive. If we had grenades I would have put fishing line on the pin and put that between two trees. That's not a good book to have around.
All this makes sense with Cloak and Dagger, bear with me....it's hardcore punk, with a produced giant sound. This is the big budget movie version of Black Flag. If Minor Threat was Red Dawn, classic and awesome (Patrick Swayze, Tom Cruise!) then Cloak & Dagger is Die Harder, it's rooted in classic history, but updated... it's fast paced and things fly from the screen at your face.

The A-Side 'Surf Song'
This is produced huge sounding completely punk. The only reference I have for anyone even like it is Fucked up or Hot Snakes. It sounds completely loud: it's mixed loud, the vocals are fighting their way through layers of punchy distortion, the cymbals are practically the only quiet thing, which makes no sense.
The vocals are a mix of yelled individual vocals and then at the chorus everyone chimes in...you know the deal. Not surf punk...post punk that's talking about surfing.

No Sand / No Surf / No Sun / Real life is not much fun

It sounds fun for Cloak / Dagger

Concentration Camp: More fullness, like every square inch of frequency is being occupied by some instrument. A couple of guitars it sounds like, phasing. The bass and kick are dominating the low end.
That's a split for you...surf song and then by the way our B-Side is called Concentration Camp. Now in their defense it sounds like they mean it literally. They are concentrating and they happen to be in a camp...it's not the Nazi version. I could be reaching, but I know it's not the Nazi kind for sure....as punk as that can be, they are taking the higher road.

I've been comparing these tracks to their full length from a couple years ago and I have to say it, they are kind of giving into their pop side...this is very Hot Snakes...who I always felt like they were just doing what they wanted, not really trying to please anyone in particular, what was fun to play, to record. The songs are the same length, the speed it there, the instrumentation...it just ends up being a little softer (wow, is that ok to say?) not as angular, abrasive. There's melodies now I keep wanting to go back to.

Direct from Jade Tree...home of the late Pedro the Lion and Cap n' Jazz. They've been at this for years.....

Cloak and Dagger

1. Surf Song
2. Concentration Camp

Layout by Rich Perusi
Mixed by Paul Michel

Colored Vinyl
500 Black
500 Clear

Insound represses 2 classic singles

Insound has decided to repress a couple of classic singles from the Ramones and The Replacements...I love this idea, I mean why shouldn't singles be available to whoever wants them. Only to a point I guess...there's only 1000 of them being repressed, but that's a great start. The originals of course will still be just as valuable, don't panic...but not to me. If they are faithfully reproduced by insound with the same sleeve...down to the barcode, well then that's just as good in my book. I just want to hear it.

I could see this happening with a bunch of essential singles like this. Who doesn't want to put on 'Tv Party tonight' sometimes or '8 miles high'....or 'Waiting room'. I have no idea if the ones I have a reprints or represses...the point is what they represent, on 7" vinyl...that's how they came out, that's my tiny way of reenacting that time period.

There's so much weirdo bootleg Ramones stuff out there it's hard to keep it straight, but for collectors....and not nerd collectors of objects, but collectors of the music, this is exactly what you want to have...as close to the original as you can get.

Sure... Damien Hurst didn't put this shark in the tank, but we know how he did it based on his notes, so we remade it as close as possible. Can you tell the difference? Scholars and art critics can, but the concept is there for anyone to appreciate....you know maybe it's closer to reprinting a book. They are words on a page for gods sake! Who needs a first edition! Have you even read it! Do you know how important these singles are! Or maybe if you have an original copy...now you can actually hear it for once. Go ahead put it on the turntable.
Bottom line, if I could order any single I wanted from some kind of 'single-on-demand' service I would...and I'd want everyone to be able to do the same.

Like with all of Jay's singles, I just wish they pressed more...they certainly could have sold them...it was a little disingenuous as Matador to press them in less and less limited numbers. It's a story, and might make for some extra coverage here and there....but it might have pissed a few people off with what seemed like a way to profit off not pressing enough.
I love the singles, don't get me wrong...and I have as many as I could possibly/luckily get, but it's always going to kill me a little I can't hear those last few.

So way to go Insound, I'm hoping you team up with Rhino again to do this with more releases. It's a public service.

Insound has announced that it will be working with labels and distributors to bring back to the market essential, out-of-print punk, post-punk and indie 7” singles. The initiative kicks off today as Insound teams with Rhino Entertainment for the exclusive reissue of two long out-of-print 7” records -- The Ramones California Sun EP and The Replacements I’ll Be You. Neither available for decades, these 7” records have become highly collectable and sought after by fans. Limited to 1,000 copies each, they are now available for pre-order exclusively from Insound and are expected to ship before early June. The singles will be re-pressed on premium vinyl with the original artwork. More about the releases:

1	California Sun (Live)
2	I Don't Want To Walk Around With You (Live)
3	I Want To Be Your Boyfriend

The Ramones – California Sun EP: Originally released on Sire Records in 1976 and back in print for the first time in over 30 years, The Ramones California Sun EP features the title track plus I Don't Want To Walk Around With You taped live at The Roxy on 8/12/1976. The B-side is the unforgettable studio version of I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend. This EP is highly sought after by Ramones collectors and goes for steep prices on the open market. For more details click here.

1	I'll Be You
2	Date To Church (Feat. Tom Waits)

The Replacements – I’ll Be You 7” Single: Back in print for the first time since the original release in 1989, this superb single from the Minnesota legends’ Don’t Tell a Soul album also contains a Non-LP B-side song Date To Church featuring the inimitable Tom Waits. The long out-of-print single is essential for Replacements and Tom Waits fans. For more details click here.

The Whines debut 7" on Just for the hell of it records

The Whines 4 song EP paying at 33 is just the thing for this rainy NYC weekday. Maybe they are bringing a little of the overcast Portland to Brooklyn...via the Velvet Underground. It could just be that I saw Adventureland which was really perfect. The music, that time period, first love, getting drunk, mix tapes...everything is really important and at the same time you are completely ridiculous...your world is small and you have no idea what's happening ten feet past your face.

'Insane OK': Takes a while to build up, far off reverb guitar strum. I think it's going instrumental jam until Karianne's vocals come in. They really have this high pitch little kid feel to them, slightly off, like Nico or something, but with emotion... don't get me wrong. It's maybe the determination that's the same? The disregard for any way you think you're supposed to sing. It's got it's own charm... like Sarah Vowel fronting Times New Viking.

Starving Dog Art: This is slightly fast garage-punk at first, the drums are recorded with a weird echo some kind of effect that makes it sound like they are hitting a flat piece of tight metal for a snare... A snare made out of aluminum foil. It see saws from fast with a lot of yelling to slow down breakdown for a part..then the vocals are back all whiny distorted. It's quick and dirty...exactly how I like my coffee.

Indian Homewrecker: That scratchy punched up 60's guitar is way out in front here. It's turned up, and you can hear the amp hum at the ends of the track. It's a pretty mellow track until Jesse kills it with a screaming solo at the end of every verse, then pulls it back to get back in line before the vocals start up again. Really nice. It's a pretty sick sound... reverb scream...I'm glad is kept pretty clean here. This is generally recorded pretty raw, but it's not done afterwords, if that makes sense. It's doesn't feel like it's hiding anything. It actually sounds like a clean recording of a noisy session, loud high end PA. It captured it all.
Karianne ends up screeching 'Someday it will be good and it will be fine!'. The high end in this entire recording really has to be boosted for extra hiss and crack. I keep trying to turn down whatever treble is left and it's at zero.
It sounds a little like RTFO bandwagon, soft and loud, lots of layers...a real live collarorative sound. Raw and spontaneous.

The thing that carries this is Karianne's vocals, it's definitely good garage punk but vocally she takes it somewhere interesting. She's singing with all kinds of range, she's yelling like a maniac and then whispering...but it's not overdone, it's almost buried by distortion in the mix sometimes. It's just got a good sound, she knows what she's doing, she's confident. I don't have to hear every word to know what they're talking about. She's singing backup on the new Eat Skull album that's out now and that makes perfect sense. I'll be looking out for that.

Lines Between us: Karianne's quiet talking here over an up and down chord progression that gets louder, more blown out by the end while her vocals switch into some other effect for the chorus, just a little phaser? Unlike the Pixies, this is Loud Loud Louder. I like this one.

This sounds like it knows where it's going. It's 4 bad ass songs with a xerox cover of knives. I just described the perfect 7" from any time period in music history.

I want to hear more...that's it.
Give it to me.



Go send Just for the hell of it an email and see if this second pressing is already sold out:


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

Real Estate -Fake Blues- on Woodsist

Real Estate has a new single from Woodsist, just out maybe today...I was just there looking at the Kurt Vile full length a few days ago and this wasn't listed yet. So I paypaled for both this afternoon, along with a new Thee Oh Sees they have as well.
Looks like a full length from Real Estate is scheduled from them later this year.
I'm really into this sleepy rock sound, not as tropical, dense sample heavy as Ducktails, Matt Mondanile being a member of both of course. This is a more live sound, heavy on reverb, two-step drums. Nothing like I expected actually. It's a produced and really clean full band sound...hypnotic and repeating, a little like Bedhead....or Fuck.
I love the Suburban Beverage track on their other single, which is still available. It goes on forever in this groove. They are creating a really catchy, almost jazz induced feel in every song. This live show from Breakthru radio is a great example, recorded at Piano's is full of great stuff. It's so familiar, every sound, but they manage to keep it really engaging.

I don't know why but it's reminding me of my first show ever... The Ocean Blue and The Mighty Lemon drops at oswego college. It's dreamy...and solid. I could stand there forever. Looking forward to catching them this Thursday at Public Asembly.

Fake Blues, the A-Side starts out with their signature reverb picking, a coupe of great little melodies layered and the drums come in with an all tom beat. They do this thing where the bass notes are hit at the same time as the cymbal crashes...it's all muted, but that little part is so perfect. The vocals are mixed down...angelic. It's really settling the scene for summer...I could see this as slow-mo music. The camera sweeps underwater as someone jumps in. Laughing. There's water everywhere.

From fusetron:
*Artist: REAL ESTATE
Title: Fake Blues
Format: 7"
Label: Woodsist
Country: USA
Price: $5.00

or of course Woodsist.

Bowerbirds at Mercury lounge 4-28-09

I was really looking forward to this show, The last time I saw the Bowerbirds they were great, they had a minimal setup and the audience so quiet you could hear the pump of the accordion. They didn't even need mics, Phil was singing into the space, punctuating louder parts, stepping away slightly and belting out vocals.
Now I'm sure I'm romanticizing, that's the curse of a new album, a new band, the first show I see
Are they doomed to suck after a show like that? But they're still touring with their first album, so I expected something of a repeat performance, the audience has had an extra year to listen to their material and sing it by heart. Which someone next to me managed to do for a few verses of every song. It was fucking maddening.

That brings me to my next problem/question. Can an audience ruin a band?
Can they be such douche's that they can ruin not only the experience that night but then reflect badly on the band itself and retroactively change the way you feel?
I'm leaning towards yes.
There was a group of dicks literally talking through the entire show like no one else was there. Do you think you earned the right to fucking have a little party because you bought a ticket? Should everyone else just be lucky to have you there? You missed the whole show...what were you doing there? Sometimes you just get the feeling the crowd is just weird and full of first dates or people looking to like cool music, this band was in Elle magazine or something?
And I really debated if I'm just getting old, which again the answer is yes.
But were they promoted in certain ways, to a certain audience? An audience that I don't agree with and this makes them ruin the band?

And their new material.... it's bordering on alt country like Band of Horses or god forbid...Wilco. It's that middle of the road, just boring instrumentation. Slow rock, no chorus...even if I could pay attention, I just didn't care...at least it stopped the singing along.

So what specifically went wrong?
I think they took their formula, which I would never think of putting into an Alt-country category, that middle of the road slow rock. and expanded it in the most obvious way. They added a bass player, and new drummer who was playing with a standard kit, and it just sounded louder and muddy, too much going on, layers not adding anything. Was that just because they wanted to tour with these musicians specifically? Were they friends from an opening band? I'm not quite sure what was going on, except the old drummer left I guess, and took a lot with him.

I'm a huge fan of their album Hymns for a Dark Horse. Lyrically it's genius, it's really beautiful sounding, the melodies never match in obvious ways. The guitar is going completely other places. Every chorus you want to sing along to, it's hushed like a bedroom recording, it's really intimate. So I'll always have that, I just won't want to pay money to see them.

Was I ruined because I had seen them under better circumstances? And was I partially an idiot not to move somewhere else?

I think Yes to both.

Here's the show EP 51, Bowerbirds at Mercury Lounge.

If anyone knows more than me about podcast rss feeds, I am having a bitch of a time getting mine to work with itunes...send me an email or something...or comment. Thanks.