Interview with Dustin from Skeleton Head Records

Talked to Dustin last week for the podcast about his new label, SkeletonHead Records and their first release from Tired Old Bones, turns out we have a Boston art connection through my friend Matt and I was blown away by the handmade silkscreen sleeve of this single. We nerded out on the printing process and the design in the interview and I played parts of a couple tracks on the single. Dustin has plans for putting out another Tired Old Bones single soon, actually in the next few months and future releases from yet unnamed Boston bands.

That's this weeks podcast (27 min), which you can download here.

Taco Leg - Freemasons Hall on Fan Death Records

Not quite sure how I found out about Taco Leg, but the name stuck with me for some reason, go figure, that and they are from Australia, so I'll probably never get a chance to ever see them live and figure out for myself where they are actually coming from. Being from the other side of the earth makes them kind of exotic, even though it's sounding so completely close to home. The kind of home with shitty equipment and microphones, and even shittier recorders. A home of 15 years ago, where a couple of friends in a tiny world, play music based on completely normal, reasonable influences, but end up sounding nothing like any of them, because they aren't contaminated by big pipe dreams, or a scene they want to be a part of.
It's raw, recorded in a room with one mic, like moments of Tyvek, and Los Llamaradas, pure rock, they are just putting it all out there, and it works. It's simple.... the repetitive distorted melody, pounding drums. I remember hearing someone coming across Noise Addict from seeing a flyer for a show where they were playing at a garage sale. I want to believe in these guys, they sound like the real deal, a variation on the garage rock, it's a little more nerdy, more 90's, unpunk.

From Fan Death Records, who are a distro place and release their own favorites....or maybe the other way around after reading this massive washington post article about the label, but it's a domestic place so don't be scared of insane shipping. I wouldn't do that to you.

Herizon / Virgineola split on Harding Street Assembly Lab Records

The sleeve on this one is setting the tone in the right direction, like something from Not Not Fun...crazy tripped out collage...cross legged hippy toking up, while god holds his head up... the rainbow fence is just getting started. The the back really brings you down man, black and white hard edged mechanics, cars, the crap of daily life rearing it's ugly boring head.

Nathan from the Labs is involved in both sides on this very first single from the label split between a band he produced 'Herizon' (which I just realized is spelled wrong) and another project he plays in, along with Joanna, and others called Virgineola on the B-Side. All of this 7" nepotism is just adding to my picturesque lens of Virginia, everyone is getting together to play music on the front porch and pressing records.

The A-Side from Herizon is a slow tempo, slow picked close mic'd piece complete with acoustic strings vibrating against the fretboard, the moments that mean this is a happy accident...accident is even the wrong word. The way this came out is the way it's meant to be. Guy/girl vocals barely sung, almost whispered on top of each other remind me of that Wai Notes Will Oldham album, all sorts of nice bird samples all over it. A giant rumbling sound at the end breaks the quiet moment, like the close up of a campfire...or a microphone being set on fire.
The second track 'All Gone', speeds things up just slightly and goes more instrumental with picked acoustic guitar and tin can vocals. The electronic cicada sounds are a nice touch, again it's working with my utopian Virginia view...it's all filed sort of country, in the way Will Oldham could be...reflective, working with time honored instrumentation, classic, but contemporary.

The B-Side from Virgineola starts with the first track 'Lorraine', which is all about the human voice...and proving you don't need anything else sometimes, challenging the usual arrangements of harmonies. It's like Laurie Anderson, there's no church influence, the clear vocals are separate on top of each other, struggling between melody and storytelling, and trying every variation of unusual vocal variations as song structure...who thought to attempt this? It's a noble effort.
The second one 'Boyd's Ferry' has a vocalist delivering lines from a CB radio out in a boat, making his rounds, it's not an emergency...more like a report on sea conditions while an acoustic melody and quiet electronics build on top of each other in disparate pieces...it couldn't be planned to work, there's no obvious direction...like the collage on the front sleeve, it's a little nostalgic, subversive and just weird. Take a chance and pile it on.

All on mixed olive green swirl vinyl from Harding Street Assembly Lab...for a pittance. The lab will stop all experiments immediately to email you back at hardingstreet(at)gmail.com

Having been friends for nearly a decade (they played together in a rowdy, dark country band at the beginning of the decade), Tim Condon (Herizon) & Nathan McGlothlin (Virgineola) have brought their respective projects together for our 1st release! Herizon’s A side features Condon’s first available songs. “Home Again” & “All Gone” are haunting, somber pieces that travel to the mind’s darker recesses. The B side showcases a never before heard instrument for Virgineola. “Lorraine” is nearly a cappella, with a toy accordion providing the only accompaniment. The split ends with a previously recorded version of “Boyd’s Ferry” which has been a staple of the group’s live set all year.

Dum Dum Girls Jail La La on Sub Pop Records

Just caught The Dum Dum Girls Sunday night, and amazingly the 4 way Art Fag split was at their merch table, I actually ordered this from a couple of places and they were sold out, so that was a nice surprise to see those still available. This Jail La La single was there too, but I figured there's going to be plenty to go around, maybe I'll combine this with all the pavement LP's they reissued at super discount prices. Can't wait to hear the Pens on that split, looking forward to a full length from them this year, maybe.
They've been accused of not putting on the best show, not really moving maybe being a little apathetic towards the whole thing, but if you're into this fuzzed out chorus reverb drenched sound then you'll be satisfied. They have a pretty specific look, in all black puffy sleeve prom dresses, sort of like Heart, almost hair metal 80's, a little goth, a little bad ass...combined with the sweet harmony it's a little weird, in a god way. Dee Dee has a voice that brought me right back to Siouxie Sioux, she can belt it, the subversive dark content. How did the west coast inspire a darker Vivian Girls? Frankie Rose is great, her trademark drum style has been making it's way through everything that's good the past few years. I don't know how much longevity the Vivian Girls or Crystal Stilts will have, how that sound is going to evolve, but she's been there from the beginning...it's impressive.
Jail La La, is a lot more produced than the captured tracks EP, or Hozac single, it's clear, Frankie's drums sound loud and flat, she's a metronome, I swear at the show she had one stick in her left hand with sleighbells attached to it or something. It's not on this track....and Dee Dee is playing with that sweet sound singing about sitting a shitty jail, with a la, la chorus. Not so much layers of echo here, it's getting closer to that girl group 60's sound. The seemingly upbeat song about unpleasantness. It's a good combo. There's a stones cover on the B-Side, which they played live and I didn't even recognize until the chorus. It's slowed way down, and she makes it her own...plus it's perfectly suited for their style...they're coming from that classic place, looking ahead.

“Jail La La” for the forthcoming I Will Be, available March 30th in LP, CD and digital formats. The B-side is a cover of “Play With Fire” by The Rolling Stones. Mixed by Alonzo Vargas and Richard Gottehrer.

Get it from Sub Pop.

The Late Virginia Summers on Harding Street Assembly Lab Records

Every time I even think this band name in my head 'The Late Virginia Summers' I can't help but think it's memorializing some deceased celebrity (seems I'm not the only one), and then realize it has to be just the right description for their somber, instrumental style. I almost wouldn't put this in a post-rock place as much as I would something more delicately rocking akin to Jack Rose or James Blackshaw. It has a sort of meandering folk direction at first, but it's all building towards an epic climax that sounds like Explosions unplugged. The high trembling melodies, with a quick start and stop. They're pushing the math equations of the classical composition just slightly with a nod to all things Chicago circa late 90's. It's avant garde without needing a decryption.

This single came in from the brand spanking new Harding Street Assembly Lab of which husband and wife team Nathan and Joanna are curating the new sound of central Virginia. Nathan is one half of TLVS with Joe Morgan, and Joanna, who is a showing artist in the VA area is behind the sleeve art of this single. Cue Sly & the Family Stone: It's a handmade affair, the kind of thing that makes 7"'s so great. They're assembling them on the kitchen table, hanging with clothespins across the livingroom, moving piles around to find a place to sit down and have coffee. It's commitment, not to mention at $5 postage included, it's not a part of their retirement plan. They love music, period.

The xerox insert says these two sides were recorded almost exactly in opposite seasons, this one on the A-Side, 'Pebble Azalea Starfish' was committed January 1st, and both sides could be a commissioned study in seasonal disorder. Pebble is looking towards the coming spring, dramatically building layers of guitar, acoustic and electric while the percussion works it's way in there to abruptly come to a screeching halt. I'm going to think that's not the end but the beginning.

The B-Side, 'Golden Cypress', has a bass melody, that could possibly be electronic. There's a lot of delayed electric atmospherics amidst a decidedly more subtle experimental feel here. Low end hum builds. This being recorded in the summer, it's that blinding oppressive heat...you can barely move. Sweat everywhere, set up the loop and carefully reverse it. I bet now you're wishing it was winter again, but that's the curse of the seasons, just when you think you can't wait for summer, you're dying for snow again. When are we going to just sit back and appreciate the season we're in?

A full length should be out sometime later this year, and I hope it makes it to a long playing LP, and I will put it right in between Pullman and Ativin on the shelf.

HSAL 02: TLVS, “Pebble Azalea Starfish” b/w “Golden Cypress” $5 PPD
This single marks the first recordings of The Late Virginia Summers (TLVS) in their current two piece incarnation. “Pebble” features a trademark Joe Morgan rift pushing through cascading layers of electric guitars & phased out organs. The flow of “Golden Cypress” resembles a hazy west coast sunset, with a low end groove dissolving into an ocean of guitar washes. Both sides were tracked & mixed at the Harding Street Assembly Lab by the band.

Get it direct from Harding Street Assembly Lab by emailing the Laboratory at hardingstreet(at)gmail.com

Frankie & The Outs - So Cow - Blank Dogs at Monster Island 2-13-10

Checked out the Monster Island Basement Saturday and made it just in time with Pat from Stumparumper to catch Frankie & the Outs set. Hadn't seen Ms Frankie since I saw her drum for the Stilts at Less Artists and her Vivian Girls line of thought is stronger than ever in their latest incarnation. I'm convinced she was the mastermind behind the origin of that layered guitar 60's girl harmony sound. This time out in front on reverb guitar and lead vocals, the driving 4/4 beat is back, even more a capella harmony moments and a dedicated tambourine player. All rhythm and dreamy vocals, where is a full length already? I'm guessing it's in the works at Slumberland later this year.
Every song was great, they are impressive live, and Frankie even stepped behind the drums for the last song...too short, but damn damn good...every minute.

So Cow, who have to be my favorite band from Galway, Ireland...well the only band I know from Galway, were up next. In all of driving around Ireland, Galway was the best, it was a small big feeling town on the coast (what isn't really), exactly what you want Ireland to be. I remembered listening to his 7" a while back, but this was even better live, they are punchy pop punk energy from the second they started, simple no effects electric guitar, insane melodies. Brian's glasses would periodically completely off his face and onto the floor without skipping a beat. A frantic Nodzzz, great vocals, lyrics, he's giving everything to the performance, and for a monster island basement? He's out to win it...completely won over the crowd live, Sadly they didn't bring any vinyl with them, but Tic Tac Totally just put their latest up for order with a bonus 7" single. He's got my money. Finally Blank Dogs were up after a lengthy set-up with fold out suitcase mixers, theremin stands, keyboards, and a saxaphone effects (?!) setup but I had heard this was going to be the debut of their two piece, which actually ended up being four, but they sounded the best I've ever heard them. The couple times I caught them with a full band, it was a weird direction, completely changed the sound blowing it out with full instrumentation, live drums etc...it was just so completely different, like a Blank Dogs cover band.
Devo was blasting as they checked cables, and I never really thought about that connection before...here was this band in the early days of analog synth, completely involved with making the show a complete experience visually, a bizarre, ironic take on everything pop. Fast forward to Blank Dogs who are taking that same aesthetic, which has a nostalgic slant added to that mix, going darker, but reviving the dead horse in a weird mad science way.

The crazy equipment setup, the time in between songs was all worth it, these were completely faithful reproductions of the originals, definitely reinterpreted, some of these sounds in a live situation just have to be close, it's a turn of the dial, not punching in a code, it's inherently going to be different every time, but that just made them even better.

Here's a few tracks from each for this Fridays podcast. Download direct here. (14min) Forgive the crackling, I tried everything.

Beach Fossils on Captured Tracks

Just caught this latest single from Captured Tracks on a Facebook 'news' posting...no, I'm not above doing whatever it takes to find out about singles, in fact I think I first heard about Dustin in New York magazine for gods sake, although I don't know that it immediately made me want to check these guys out, I think I might have figured it could be some kind of vanity project from a friend of someone working there, or a hype machine was shoving it into inboxes everywhere and this one stuck. Oh, snap judgements.
But a single from Captured Tracks on the other hand made me finally give them a go...I'm also not above thinking I can really be a music snob sometimes. Their myspace tracks are giving me a Real Estate feel, especially this one 'Daydream', and it couldn't be more perfectly named. Laid back minimally effected guitar, heavy on the chorusy reverb boys of the beach vocals that put it in an almost shoegaze place. (whenever I hear this slow layered dream sound, it takes me back to The Ocean Blue). Tracks are built around mid tempo creative picking, and either heavily gated drums or possibly a cheap drum machine, it's a real mellow combination, the end of the night, last drink need to sit down, enough of the punk rocking.
I find myself wanting to go back to that Real Estate album a lot, and Beach Fossils would fit right into that classic sound, Real Estate just updated that whole alt-country genre with some damn catchy songs...not to sing along with, but let wash over...I guess if you put Nodzzz with Real Estate in some kind of TransChamps situation, then I think this is what you'd get, more up front vocals, the minimal catchy guitar....looking forward to catching them at The Market Hotel on the 27th and pick this up in person...finally.

"Brooklynite Dustin Payseur records dreamy, slightly fuzzed pop as Beach Fossils. Yeah, another "beach" band, but the word "fossils" rightly hints at nostalgia that goes deeper and more distant than a few summers past."

BoomSnake 'Re/visions' on Grizzly Records

Grizzly Records just sent me their latest release from Boomsnake and I was poking around and found this interview from San Diego Citybeat. Boomsnake is the vision of Gabe Rodriguez who incidentally did the great black and white cover art for the single, and on their site. It sounds like he's worked with a variety of people in Portland, NY, and San Diego developing the multi layered massively precise sound over the course of touring and reworked some of their previously released material for the A-Side with a brand new one on the B-Side.

This is a long player at 33, with a 7 minute A-Side, but these tracks need their space to spread out and really take time to develop. They are slow burners, full of unexpected rhythms, full of serious song crafting, they aren't the result of an afternoon jam, it's been a long road of development, tweaking an odd time signature, adding that extra layer of background vocal. Like 'Busy' the second track on the A-Side, which has a dense animal-collective style percussion, clackity rim shots with tom rolls, which start and stop on a dime. I'm getting the idea this is in line with that modern primitive aesthetic of These Are Powers without the grating electronics. Boomsnake is drawing from ancient tribal sources going in a folk pop direction at the end of the day. All with Gabe's vocals at the center of this universe, back and forth verses, layered harmonies, sometimes just abstract vocalizations floating around, completely opaque...there's no spaces, nothing gets through.

The B-Side 'Sampled Demolition' has lots of changing percussion rhythms again, if that sounds like a vague description it's because it could very well be live and/or programmed, but none of it is a traditional snare or kick. Somehow it's never overdone, sounds that are there for the sake of surprise. It's a really definitive, very subtle but ultra dense background of handclaps rimshots, snaps, low high hats? With headphones on you'll actually turn around to see whose making that noise behind you.
A jazzy electric guitar against an acoustic keeps it tethered to the melody while the rest flows around in between quiet electronics and atmospheric vocal sounds slowly creeping in the background. His high register voice, close to falsetto, is a little bit like Thom Yorke in some of the wavering phrases. It's a huge sound, but not in volume, it's the sound of someone who can easily make the case for being at home with an insane array of devices, using everything to it's potential.

Get one of these on mixed colored vinyl from Grizzly Records...home of the Drug Wars single, which is still available:

Boomsnake's new EP, Re/Visions, is exactly what the title entails, the same old songs reworked. 6 of the 7 tracks on the EP are re-recorded songs taken from the bands previous releases (Give and Take LP 2008, Vitamins EP 2009). After their US tour in April/May 2009, Gabe Rodriguez and the rest of the band, then comprised of Nathan Aguilar, Cory Stier & Chelsea Hernandez, decided upon recording the set they had just played 40+ times across the country. The recordings were engineered/mixed by Adam Lathrum at Barn Studios in Rancho Santa Fe, CA.

The lone new track on the EP, Sample Demolition, further shows Boomsnake's new musical direction from once 2-piece minimal/singer/songwriter to a 5-piece indie/ambient collaboration.

The accompanying 7" will feature "Sticks, Stones & Animal Bones" and "Busy" from the Give and Take LP along with "Sample Demolition" filing side B.

The Lovetaps on Super Secret Records

This was sent in from Super Secret Records to the not very secret 7Inches HQ a little while back and I've been listening to it this morning.
The Lovetaps are from Austin, a town I've heard is equally as indie friendly as Portland or even upstate NY, Ithaca, I'd just like to go sometime SXSW wasn't happening actually, I wonder what a band like this does. I'd imagine it's like the classic BMX movie RAD, here's a bunch of outsiders who rampage the town for a huge race and the locals never get a chance except one day Cru shows them what real heart is all about...or something like that.
The Lovetaps are descended from a huge line of local bands, my favorite of which was named 'The Titz' and it sounds like they've settled on this single for a pretty classic rock and roll (Chicago) blues sound. It's got everything from The Stones to The Replacements to JSBX ...a little swagger everyone sings the chorus, and a requisite solo.
The A-Side 'Love Em or Leave Em' relies on that jangly treble heavy electric with half step blues chords, all rhythm with Sean Morales' slightly reverb vocals. He sets the tone with a sort of nonchalant blues delivery, bravado and soul...trailing off because he's on to the next verse already. Don't stop crying now baby baby baby love em and leave em. Don't you ever come out alone? It's a rockabilly country inspired nod to the one night stand.
The B-Side ' Goodbye Sunshine', slows it down a bit in sort of a post 67 stones psyche direction. Almost a ballad at first but Sean gets increasingly distraught almost peaking out the vocals, driving the whole thing in a Joe Cocker direction, he's nearly losing his shit on this one and it's captured nicely.

A tiny edition of 200 from Super Secret Records.

New Gold Robot kickstarter project and Sea Monster single soon!

Just a quick announcement today, I got an email from Hunter a few days back about this kickstarter project between him and Graham Hill from Roman ruins. Hunter gives Graham a painting to write a song about, then Hunter paints another painting based on that song, they just keep going back and forth forever. If they reach the 2000$ goal they'll be pressing a single from the tracks that are created, plus prints, and even the paintings themselves are up for grabs as part of a pledge.
I wonder how long they are going to go back and forth like that. I love the idea...he's taking the Designed Entropy series to another level, instead of the tracks being based off a book, he's getting directly involved in the music process, creating something completely unique to the single that's going to be produced. It's more than just supporting an artist and putting the vinyl behind it. I'm sincerely hoping they can pull this off with two more months to go.
Plus in the same email is news that the Seamonster single we briefly talked in a 7Inches podcast is about to hit the shelves shortly, the tracks on his myspace all have a real homemade layers of weirdness sound, with his Jeff Magnum sounding vocals at times... that aesthetic even, it's a little demented carnival, experimental folksongs that balance the melancholy with melody. One track 'Oh Appalachia' is available from the Gold Robot here.

Hunter says:

1... We've just launched our first Kickstarter project. It's a collaboration between the musician Roman Ruins (Graham Hill) and the artist Hunter Mack (that's me, incidentally). We're raising funds to produce a 7" EP and an archival art print at the end of the collaboration. Check out the details and support the project here.

2... Only a couple more days left to pre-order the new t-shirts, created by the illustrious Doe Eyed Design. It's only $12 plus shipping right now, which is insanely cheap. Thanks to those who've already ordered theirs, we should be shipping them in a couple weeks. Choose your size and color here.

3... The next release will be a 7" EP by Seamonster, and we couldn't be more excited. It's really a beautiful package. We will be offering instant digital downloads of the album plus a ton of extras (b-sides, covers, remixes) for all pre-orders once it's launched in the next two weeks. I'll get back to you with further details then. Relevant information and a free MP3 (first time available anywhere) here.

Interview with Fuck Montreal

I talked with Alex and Jenna from Fuck Montreal this week about their latest single on Stumparumper, or should I say they interviewed me in a weird way. I was asking the questions, but Alex was kind enough to record it from his end off a speakerphone and reedit. Let's just say it's almost an unreleased track.

For some reason my trusty system went all crazy in the middle of a snowstorm (what does that have to do with the internet, I'll never know) but anyway, it worked out, hopefully I an catch up with these guys in person someday and reassure them I'm not completely inept.

So with that stunning endorsement here's 7inches limited edition speakerphone-fi interview with Fuck Montreal. Download here.

In listening to one of their cassettes 'lo fi', I was pulling songs out for the podcast, and I think the thing that keeps getting me about these guys is that I can hear how excited they are to sing, I can hear this kind of optimism, the sheer energy they put out there, it's all here. Their personalities in (sort of) person were exactly what I expected.

To get all things Fuck Montreal, it's best to either contact pat at Stumparumper, The Radiator Family or hit up Alex directly for the cassette awesomeness at alextheidiot (at) gmail.com

Quail Lungs on Post Present Medium Records

Just heard about this single on PPM from Quail Lungs, a one man bedroom 4-track project? I'm in!
Haven't talked about PPM in a while and noticed they are sold out of the Best Coast single they recently put out, so here's an excuse to combine stuff for evil shipping.
Quail Lungs is Travis Bonilla from Portland, one of my favorite cities, home of Mississippi records. Listening to one of the tracks on this single, 'Dumb Dadadum' from his myspace is all about the acoustic guitar and cheap sounding casio organ, with some pretty incredible vocals. Kinks influenced, affected, with a sort of waltz rhythm keeping it on the up and up. Layered, half yelled... really enjoying himself, voice cracking, it's making sense when the sun comes out after the insane snowstorm. Things are going to be alright after all. These aren't songs of self flagellation, they are celebratory.
Other tracks over there really get into all kinds of weird canned demo percussions and reverb guitar, the 4-track experiments never get old for me.

QUAIL LUNGS "S/T" 7". FIRST PRESSING OF 500. BLACK VINYL. 2 SONGS.
PRINTED PURPLE AND WHITE COVERS.

Description - Two killer, garbled popular songs recorded to 4 track cassette. Quail Lungs lives in Portland Oregon, making weirdo songs described by one fan as "beautiful crisp snapshots of a real human being, extending life to others". Limited to 500 copies.

Cave Bears - Crawl Space on Feeding Tube Records

I can get into super drone, experimental weirdness that is basically just sounds, the weird manipulation of a single tone, instrumental, slowly building (this is better on a full length obviously) it can be a little pretentious sometimes...it can really be taking itself too seriously, it's humorless and challenging. Sometimes it's too much of an investment. Like the foreign films on netflix I get, I really want to see and then they sit on the coffee table for weeks. I kick myself for not watching them later, but can't a guy just watch snookie get into a fight again?

But then there are the Cave Bears. It's the other end of the spectrum weirdness that blows my mind and is equally rewarding in a completely different fucking-around-seriously way. Everyone wants to get together with their friends, get drunk, make some weirdo music in the garage, which is what Cave Bears are essentially doing, but in a way that's pretty unique, and is a tiny window of something totally genius. This is like a found cassette on the side of the road, or at the thrift store, it's exactly what you've been looking for for years...it's completely insane, there are no rules to music, I think it's good to be reminded of that. I get obsessed with a genre, who's slightly outside the box, but just adding to the insane movement that's already started. Cave Bears are starting over with a basement full of instruments, capturing amazing moments, and are genuinely funny. That's important, I'm in on the joke, you realized in the middle of what you were singing how this is going to sound, and you can't keep it up anymore.

This is mostly a conceptual single about a crawlspace. I can imagine they rehearse in someone's attic or basement and there it was...that creepy tiny door that leads to the crawlspace. Or the pull down rickety ladder in the ceiling. That abandoned place in the house where you can't even really store things, it's just an empty area where all kinds of things/people could live. It's inherently scary...Cave Bears are dong their best to get that across through this free form rehearsal jam insanity.

Crawlspace Pt. I:
First off, this is the cheapest quality cassette tape that cuts in and out, I had to start the record over a few times thinking it was pressed wrong somehow, but I think it's just the master itself either being so overblown it gates out or the 4-track was sitting on top of the kick drum and it vibrates the record head out of place every other beat. It's a complete mess. There's no beginning or end... They are adding another level to the sound of someone like Foot Village, maybe they knew what they were doing but chances are they just caught that moment that can't be duplicated, or would sound contrived if they ever tried to repeat it. This isn't the kind of band that's going to play live....this is it. We caught these imperfect moments, and pressed them on vinyl because it's the only place they are going to exist. The song starts over and they start to do something about a barbershop quartet, which immediately devolves back into more lyrics about the crawlspace. The vocals are too close to the mic, or running around the mic. I think what's so inspiring about this is it's so unfinished, so raw, but I can completely relate to it, unlike the weirdness of Ariel Pink, or Gary War, who are doing something just completely alien, I can't imagine anyone even producing it.

I'm not positive where the tracks break up but eventually 'Electric Dog' starts as some kind of Tom Waits character sing growling over some real jazz on LP playing in the background (who knows what), but the lyrics are truly inspired:

your hindquarter starts bleeding / here comes Electric Dog again
I like moonbeams / lazer beams too / Electric Dog gonna burn you

A finger gets jammed on the tape rollers exactly where the vocals are, nice touch.
And that's just the A-Side.

Crawlspace PtII
The crawlspace theme is back, I have to think an altered state of mind was at work here. Free form drums, sometimes a capella, Starting and stopping the recording to get just disjointed passages, don't get me wrong it's a nightmare, completely unlistenable, but it's not often you hear this total honesty. It was even recorded over a classical cassette which plays through before 'Beetles Rock' which is either the best tribute song I've ever heard or it's about insects, either way it borders on Daniel Johnston unintentional beauty. I'm going to cry.

I love the inner label art, these great color illustrations, and the insert is full of weirdo scribbling and a Bed Bath and Beyond portrait. The whole thing is a suburban wasteland masterpiece.

I can only imagine what a test pressing at the plant sounded like, they must have been double checking the equipment.

Go get this from Feeding Tube records, who are probably putting out equally as insane records...a truly great find.

Locrian / Harpoon split on He Who Corrupts INC records

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

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

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

Panther - How well can you swim on Gold Robot Records

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

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

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

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

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

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

Friday podcast - Philip from Mess Folk

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

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

Hello Sunshine on Les Disques Steak Records

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

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

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

Holiday 4-Way on Stumparumper Records

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Bobpopkillers - Yeah on Les Disques Steak

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

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

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

Mess Folk on Horizontal Action Records

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

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

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

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

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

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