The Whines on Mt St Mtn Records preorder

Got an email about this Whines single coming out on the venerable Mt. St. Mtn. Records, with their typically tiny pressing, and awesome packaging (that image above is not it). They're taking preorders for this one which will ship in a couple of weeks.

To me, Hell to Play was a return to that scrappy, local band sound that didn't have a gimmick of any kind at all. They aren't the loudest, the most lo-fi.... they don't combine weird genres or have a ukulele. Just a group of friends coming up with some great solid songs that you're going to want to put on and listen straight through. I've been steadily listening to this full length since it came out a few months ago...whenever I don't feel like working on another review.
They will play a rocking epic, layered, off the rails psycheout and then they come up with the simplest acoustic stripped down melody. I remember when I first listened to that Blue cover debut Health album and how varied it was, how they would go all over the place one track tot he next. It still had an overall sound, but they were really diverse....maybe it's that willingness to experiment, or that they really go where ever the sound takes them.
There isn't one hint of hype with The Whines, whatever you hear about them is deserved, like Broken Water, it sounds '90s or classic, but to me that's because they take those elements that any band has, the drums, guitar and bass...they care about the songs, there's no image it seems like...but of course that is one....
I could go on and on why I relate to these guys, you don't need convincing.

All I could find was this track, Straybird to check out, sounds like they're going unplugged acoustic, slow tempo on this one, and like Pink Reason they're not going to be that band with that one sound. Solid all around....always and forever.

The Whines - "Shootinhead" b/w "Straybird" 7 inch
45 rpm, limited to 300 copies, mtn-07
Digital print with one-color letterpress, debossed overlay on thick uncoated stock
Illustration by Jay Howell, Design by Mark Kaiser

... Ships in 2-3 weeks, $7 ppd to mtstmtn [at] hotmail [dot] com. Overseas customers get in touch for shipping rates.

Hot on the heels of their awesome debut LP Hell To Play, we've got two exclusive tracks on limited edition wax. The Whines have been on our radar for some time, with Karianne hopping in on drums for Eat Skull for all of ten minutes and their debut 7″ making rounds a year or two ago. Previously backed by alternating members of the aforementioned Portland faves, The Whines have solidified a touring band and are hitting the road in May. They offered us these two reverb soaked noise pop tracks, one new and one alternate recording off the Hell To Play LP. Layers of over-saturated tape hiss, as well as Karianne’s sweet-to-sad-to-sexy vocals, glue this hot little single together. A dreary Portland Sunday with a hangover put to wax just for you.

U.S. tour information here.

Pink Reason on Almost Ready Records

Almost Ready Records sent this one in from Pink Reason who I haven't heard from in a little while, but I definitely remember the last sleeve looking exactly like this, only the reverse black and white scheme.
That made me to go back and listen to the Columbus Discount Club single from Year 1 with 3:16 and Sweet Sinister, which went from the slow rock bassline driven sludge of 3:16 to the loungy sounding 'Sweet Sinister'...and it confirmed it. Kevin Failure won't be tied to any sound...you get a new side of Pink Reason every time you flip the record.
The missing insert from 3:16 is an insane story...of course. I can't imagine anything not turning into a completely nuts story without even asking for it. The rumors and fantasy follow Kevin all over, who knows at this point what's true, but if even a tiny piece of it is...this guy has been through a lot and music probably has been something to keep him going from town to town...in fact I think he's about to head out to eastern Europe and Russia this summer to tour and '...study the history of underground/dissident/rock/punk culture there.' Kevin means it, and makes me feel a little douchey sitting at a computer typing about music. Get out there and go to a show, maybe talk to some people, get them to press a 7". It's inspiring.

Then there's the 'Borrowed Time' single which has a completely different sound quality...and if that track isn't a Ramones cover (it isn't - ed) , then it exactly captures that spirit of late 70s Queens, and Joey's echo. Recorded through broken speakers on practice amps...you literally hear a completely new space, the distances between recording tracks, the closets and bathrooms.
This single was my first entry into Pink Reason and the lack of credits or insert or even label(!) made this even weirder. Scared shitless on the B-Side is a different home recorded sound...and is that a drum machine? The guitar is devoid of any lower end or even midrange, and still there's a great melody here in spite of itself for the paranoid layered vocals.
I could see where if you are a super music nerd and want to start a band, you'd take one listen, read one article about Pink Reason and give up. You had better be as hardcore and dedicated, and nomadic and maybe you'll get a tiny little bit of respect. It's a good things bands are formed when you don't know any better....it's crippling.

So that brings us up to date....and what does this latest Almost Ready offering sound like? Kevin got into a studio in Brooklyn at the end of last year with two named contributors this time, Ben Greenberg on Bass and Jeremy Villalobos on drums to get a huge, fully realized sound compared to those previously named singles. By the second track 'The song with no name' is positively hardcore. Kevin even finds a second or two for a shredding metal solo before this side is over.
The first one, 'Empty stomach' has the fidelity of a Rapeman or a Husker Du demo, it's blown out, in the red, but then you can't ever seem to get that peak level just right, when they get up to full speed energy, it seems to be a part of Kevin's guitar. This is crafted punk, serious attention paid...and it runs right into 'The song with no name', talking about pills, bottles and guns. A little sweet reminiscing from childhood.

'Your Girlfriend (V3)' on the B-Side is a Jim Shepard cover...I know it won't seem like it, but this cover and the rest of his singles have kept me in a Pink Reason rabbit hole for like 2 days, going back and researching Jim, and Mike Rep...all of the Columbus Discount singles... I kind of love that surprise when you realize you had these things all along as part of that series, or bunch of singles you didn't get a chance to go through yet. They blast this Shepard cover out complete with a false start, you wouldn't have it any other way.
This live, blown out sound, when captured like this is perfect for punk, garage, everything I've been into these days....the Liquor Store single....
Massive distortion finale for a minute after the track which is almost and experimental psyche-out. I wouldn't put anything past them. Nothings out of reach. They're a power trio on this single now. there's a lot of years here, a lot of songs in their rear view.

I think that's why I'm fascinated with Pink Reason because it isn't consistent. I don't think it's about some kind of conscious reinvention, more like just exploring whatever he wants.
The sleeve art pretty much is consistent, always black and white, with that block lettering 'PINK REASON'. It goes back to classic days of xerox sleeved punk and hardcore, which this one brings back full circle.

7.50 or $18 ppd for this one, the prefeab messiahs, and liquor store singles, support Almost ready records, I could use more of those Worlds Lousy comps....or hey, a Liquor Store full length would be nice.

And while you're at it, go get Cleaning the Mirror from Siltbreeze...so glad that's still in print.

Mouse Grey on Catch Hell Records

Chris from Mouse Grey out of Oxnard, CA sent me his latest single on their own Catch Hell Records. Barely a week old, these tracks are only available on vinyl for purchase as of this Saturday. They manage to jam 3 epic sounding and length tracks onto the single which has to be pressed at 33, but even then...it has to be timed out to the last second, honestly.

The title track, 'Echo in my mind', has a down tempo, lush feel with a shimmery picked guitar line. Alex on drums introduces a tom beat to foreshadow the massiveness just around the corner. They were just waiting to grab onto a stutter strum, big jam sound, using the whole space in the process. It's no secret these guys go into a cathedral with a stack of amps and write songs for that space. The guitar will always be king and they aren't afraid to get into the effects, the chained together layers of effects.
Vocally there's a lot of delay and the whole package is reminding me of that grunge big guitar era of Seattle, an Alice in Chains sound or Mudhoney, raw crunchy distortion...but with way better production than all of those recordings.
The Echo in his mind also might have a little something to do with the volume they must be delivering these power chords.

The B-Side, 'Some things never change' rips out a really bad ass giant cavernous piece of a riff. The kind of thing that can only come out at band rehearsal and just plain sounds so good, you can't help but write something around it. Lots more painstaking production, which they show off in the back and forth with that ballsy guitar and drum fill work, capturing every clear heavy hit, and that huge space around everything. I love that Shellac sound where the silence and gates add something to each hit. They even hit the wah-wah pedal and solo out...it's almost going sound-wise into prog days of completely insane 25 minute solo's, maybe it's this sense if it's worth doing then it's worth doing it as big as possible. I get that enthusiasm from their sound, minus that tedium of course.

Finally 'Lush' rounds out the single, appropriately titled. Chris's quiet chorus vocal slowly fades in and out, no drums on this one, just the hazy guitars going for the moody finish. It's good for these guys to be able to bring that cock rock sound and then take it down into a dreamy modern shoegaze, or monster rock ballad in this case. I think there's a lot of possibilities being able to make some kind of hybrid out off those two areas...like Boris. That far off, slow, building feedback sound is a talent.

Mouse Grey says:

Recorded in February 2011, Mouse Grey's newest EP 'The Echo In My Mind' was recorded on purely analog only equipment, using vintage recording techniques for a truly authentic rock record. It is for these reasons that Mouse Grey's newest release will only be pressed on 7-inch vinyl records, a numbered pressing of only 300 units

Get this one by contacting these guys direct through their site or myspace...or Saturday, this link should be up to order direct.

Sophia Knapp on Drag City

Sophia Knapp's solo debut single on Drag City stems from her full length work with Lights...sorry, Cliffie Swan in that she's still drawing on very classic songwriting from across genres. At times it reminds you of '70s Fleetwood Mac all the way to Beach House and the ethereal sound that they conjured out of a cloud of swirling melody.

The A-Side's title track, 'Nothing to Lose' features Sophia's high register layered vocal over quiet tremolo electric and organ? or synth. They're both so quiet weaving in and out of each other's melodies, at this low backup volume, their indistinguishable. Sophia has a ridiculous, natural voice and with no effects whatsoever it deserves to be front and center like this. I can't help but keep comparing this to Victoria Legrand's way of creating a melody independently from the instrumentation. They both aren't relying on anything to drive the vocal. They never echo a chord progression. Give Sophia the slightest strum of a chord, barely a hint at an organ hum and she continues right along with a focused distinct solo performance.

Smartly the instrumentation shows huge restraint and almost becomes psychedelic in it's meandering off on it's own, improvising within the bare melody and providing the skeleton for Sophia's talent. The understated foundation follows into the chorus, keeping this vaseline on the lens fog. To be honest, I'm not even unpacking the vocal content at all, still after a bunch of listens I get caught up in just listening to voice and what has to be a testament to this trance; I keep forgetting to really pay attention to her imagery.


The Side B is a remix by Caroline Polachek of Chairlift who emphasizes a more electronic slant, with a heavy wave bassline with more texture in the percussion hits but remaining focused on Sophia's breathy vocals. It's a natural collaboration, Chairlift's understated electronica and Sophia's powerful vocal. This remix squarely places it in a contemporary place, the psyche and '70s making way for the fade of an envelope filter.


Get it from the great Drag City Records.

The Stalins of Sound on Volar Records

Here's another single from Volar Records who, based on the past few I've heard lately, are on top of this bedroom, minimal, metal-punk scene. They are raising it up local, I wonder if it isn't the case of a total of 8 obsessed dudes cross pollinating each others bands kind of deal, but the volume of material in this lockstep style denotes something happening under the surface in San Diego.

Take the first track from the Stalins of Sound, 'Bread and Circuses', based on the mechanical sampled sounds from machines must be due to their Stalinist upbringing on sandy, low resolution snare hits. It's a cold, cold world, not in the depressing, goth way that this robotic melancholia can go, but really getting punk and infusing as much melody into the track within this rigid structure as possible. It's maybe a case of setting up this structure to get off on breaking the rules a little bit.
A little bit like The Units, thy have a saw-blade rhythm, one, two, one, two...a Devo odd melody structure, but then those guitar chords land the whole thing in a indie or punk town, squarely miles from the Autobahn.
'Genocide Erection'..now we're talking...this uber rigid to attempt at revolution rock with programmed sequences is ambitious. But it's near impossible for these guys to have any kind of loose, improv quality. Obviously that isn't what they're going for.

Then B-Side's 'Baton of Discipline', does away with any of the members individuality, all of their decisions are informed by the Stalins. And by now I'm really getting on board with their fascist, unbending vision of punk. The mechanical beats are in such lockstep you wonder if it's possible to create a guitar version of the drum machine by now. Who needs someone to stand there and strum strings? These guys make that idea of a 'playable' instrument seem archaic. I wonder if they didn't take it upon themselves to have samples or robots at work here like those monkeys at typewriters and the Stalins take the choice cut riffs they feel, work.
'Grapevine' veers away from the super rigid structure more than anything else here with the introduction of a warbling phaser effect that seeps into everything, the guitars, the drums, the vocals. Making it the most melodic and natural sounding. I know that's probably going against everything they're trying to achieve here, but I appreciate that contrast once in a while, not that the irony is lost on an effect making them sound more human. That's a good trick.
I don't think I mentioned the vocals yet... I'm picturing a Sid Vicious, or Peter Murphy character, sung with a sneer and safety pins. The metronome 1,2,1,2 beat never wavers and the heavily emotional punk snarling works.
Given the minimal black and white soviet imagery and typeface on the sleeve this is all part of a well thought out master plan. I would have to say it's soulless, except for the vocals, and I'm sure they would take that as a compliment. Like SIDS they're trying to deliver on that promise of future punk. I'm not sure if music criticism exhausted or even answered that question yet? Because every kind of imaginary future is immediately outdated, and what is the promise anyway? All keyboards? Computers randomly generating melody based on 'pleasing' combinations? Then punk itself it never became mainstream enough to be completely rejected like the hippy rock or prog. There wasn't that huge shift by mainstream America to tear it down to start over. Music was either too fractured and idiosyncratic to ever be mainstream enough to have a reaction against again?
Punk either changed too quickly in style to be written off so easily or the moniker itself was just applied to so much across the board it became band-aid or xerox but then allows it to be reinvented all the time.
Even with this anti-punk going on in the Stalins of Sound, Drum machines? Synth? Rigid Structure?...not exactly the characteristics of punk, they apply it to that dystopian future where all the values and ideals are just a little off. After all humans rationalize anything in our behaviors to fit this sort of ever changing undefinable morality.


Get it straight from Volar records who says:

KBD-inspired, high-energy, satirical anti-establishmentarian synth punk from Hadi Fever of the defunct Dissimilars (who saw releases on Plastic Idol/Out of Order/Green Door, and featured Larry from Genetic Disorder and Jimmy from Slab City), this debut 7” represents years of anti-status quo angst unleashed in a four-song fury. Think Metal Urbain, the Spits, Mark Sultan’s the Mind Controls (see the cover of “Grapevine” on this), a little Slayer for good measure. With song titles like “Genocide Erection” and “Baton of Discipline,” these malcontents are sure to put an uneasy smile on your face while bobbing along to this fast, punchy Molotov cocktail of a record. They’ve already shared the stage with the likes of Nobunny, the Spits, Lenguas Largas, Earthmen and Strangers, and Destruction Unit, the latter of which they’ll join on a West Coast tour in the near future.

Limited to 90 on red vinyl, an edition of 200 on black vinyl.

Harbor Lights / Ribs split single on Power Records

Sam Martineau actually ended up sending me a couple different sleeve versions of this single from Power Records along with a super nice handwritten note about both bands. I still think it's funny that singles are not only a nostalgic format, but they compel bands and labels to still actually write something with a pen and paper. You remember those? Arcade Fire's latest album is all about them.

It sounds like Sam was behind the initial concept to get these two bands together and produce one of a kind handmade original art for each sleeve, an endeavor I wonder if he has plans to continue, this being the first single of it's kind in this series. (?)
Harbor lights has the A-Side track, 'The Price is Right'. They play their 3 guitars to pretty epic heights in this power pop movement. Soaring multiple guitar melodies from the minute the needle hits the record. The layers and layers work in tandem like Copper Blue. The song is all climax, once it opens up, about 3 seconds in, it stays in this rapid fire mode with Robins layered vocals speeding along. They're pushing this complex track along without pause, guitars falling in and out of sync with each other creating one hell of an impenetrable melodic wall.
There's no chorus, it's one long verse, over before it began, but you still have to play it a few times to grasp on to those things that slipped through last time. The bridges and repetition.
Is there such a thing as math-pop?
The band Ribs on the B-side is a collection of guys from all over the midwest, from bands like the MEANS, Love story in Blood Red, White Hassle and Beat the Devil among others.
This track, A Red 1, has a kind of angular heavy hitting off rhythm blues inspired feel. Jason on lead vocals has a gravely Hamilton Leithauser from the Walkmen sounding delivery. The lead guitar here is pushing this great canned distortion through a metal barrel with the cone opposite the mic, working against a treble heavy jangle electric. Jason works out a super original melody over the loose funk time rhythm that separates other kinds of experiments in timing like this.

Sam's art that accompanies the record is heavy hand painted cardstock, I had to look closely, thinking it was some kind of adhesive tape. Right away when you pick this up you're aware that someone went to a lot of trouble to put this together. It's also maybe echoing the angular jagged directions, the precise sounds each of the bands are making. and upon closer inspection there's an awful lot of heart and hard work that goes into these cover pieces. Like Peter Halley's circuits or Aakash Nihalani's public tape work, it's a cool idea to put it all together in a form that I can appreciate: the 7" single.

Here's hoping Sam has another 500, hand made, hand numbered, hand labeled singles in him.

Check out a bunch of work and pick up this single from both of these bands over at Power Recordings

P.S.
Holy Christ, go read this much more informed 7" review by a real writer, Doug Mosurock at Still Single. Any band would be damn lucky to have praise from the man himself like this.

Tyvek on Les Disques Steak Records

Tyvek has consistently been working in this dirty blown out style since I first heard their Sidewalk single on M'Ladys back in 2008 and their latest on Les Disques Steak finds the pace increasing and the vocals staying tinny and distorted, blowing out a mini megaphone, getting ever more punk... but not to them. They can't be oversimplified like that. After catching them live I saw a completely sincere bunch of guys with no pretensions, playing uncategorizable rock. I appreciated all of their work differently after that. If they like to smoke weed all day, or love their cat they certainly don't make it the focus of their music. There doesn't seem to be any preconceived construct of their sound and this single is a another solid step forward in their trash rock evolution.

'Time Change ' on the A-Side starts out with the grungiest guitar, it almost feels like the early Mayyors singles, a near metal sound, clean grungy distortion, with rapid fire vocals...what makes this different then the punk or hardcore cassettes you had to beg borrow or steal in the early '90s? Not much really...in a good way. Just like their live show, this one is a short pile up and so what?
Inter City Walks then takes their straight ahead immediate approach with Kevin and Heath dueling back and forth with ever increasingly glitchy guitars. A new development? By the final chorus it hits it's peak only to have the virtual needle skip on the last word 'om, om and abruptly end.
'Hole in my Mind' on the B-Side is still raw as the steak discs will let it and there's never any buildup, no breakdown parts, The Ramones had that same practical approach. We are here to do a job...I have to say I could do without the tedius stage banter from some bands. First of all I know it's the same thing every show, this isn't the best audience and I read that anecdote from another live review. I just want some honesty in your performance...that can be too much to ask sometimes.

The vocal and guitar start simultaneously on the first note. The 7" is also the perfect format for me for Tyvek. Everything is always about to end and you had better pack it with your best work at the time. It makes the deliberate pauses full of hum and feedback on this track feel like ages, are they really coming back in again?....or is this it? It's probably as close as you're going to get to a solo with these guys.

LDS offers a simple back and white sleeve, the disjointed text spread out, hardly resembling letters. On the reverse is typewriter text lyrics from the three tracks, cut up and arranged out of order, really a perfect representation of the band, no frills, back to basics like those xerox punk sleeves, they are purists of the form, in all possible ways. Keep it simple, get rid of the excess and create poignant bursts of rock. Tyvek is reinforcing their stance on all of these things in this latest single.

But you're going to have to look hard for this one, at Fusetron, maybe SS but maybe this kind of raw honesty maybe shouldn't be so easy to find.

Go listen to it on Bandcamp and then suck it up and trust the overseas shipping for this single on Les Disques Steak or your favorite importer.

Car Commercials - Eric's Diary on Soft Abuse

Check out this full length from Car Commercials...with review.

Out at the source...Still available from Fusetron.

Trent Fox and the Tenants on Kind Turkey Records

Bobby was nice enough to send me another couple singles off his label, Kind Turkey Records including this one from Trent Fox and the Tenants. Trent & the boys are Milwaukee natives and Trent even runs a local venue, the Vault, and I like this idea that this band formed around playing together, maybe even meeting at the shows Trent was putting on, and they were the guys that were always there...and the tenants stopped paying rent.

The entire single is recorded extra clean sounding, not even necessarily garage to me in the end. Jangly '50s rhythm guitar, jukebox era jams. Trent is definitely driving this disc from the very first track with a maniac laugh in 'Mess Around' over the backup harmonies and his offbeat lyric choices, that definitely bring this forward into today, but essentially this is working in that early garage period that Hunx or Shannon and the Clams are recreating with a contemporary angle.

Take A-Sides, 'Otta My Mind'... it has a clean reverb based guitar style, I almost get a Dead Milkmen overall feel from the vocals to that deceptively simple guitar, they all turn into familiar sing-a-long choruses, and Trent has a knack for lyrically turning the track in a ridiculous direction, that makes it a little punk, a little bit funny. No one but friends could get into this material...like Natural Child, or Liquor Store, just in content...it's not material anyone would put together with producers, at a piano with 3 songwriters...it comes from hours in the rehearsal space fucking around or drunk at home one night with your shitty guitar. Granted Trent and the Tenants have craft on their side, these guys can work in this sound faithfully, as much as it isn't taking itself too seriously, they execute the tracks with skill, like a really elaborate prank. They care.
Trent's vocals are always bordering Frank Black-esque, he has that theatrical energy with a story talking delivery especially on 'Jokes!'. The band sets him up with a catchy simple verse melody for Trent to go through a bunch of examples of his girlfriend not being able to take a joke...but obviously in a clever way. When you just sit down to describe this, it's not going to translate....same goes for this musically. They keep it simple with lots of harmonies, chuck berry solos packing in 5 tracks to a lowly single. It's an accomplishment to get this variety and range of joke jams into the single format. You're going to get your money's worth.

The B-side, 'Sounds fine to me' is essentially an ode to listening to records, and then going next door to the liquor store...am I getting punk'd? It's like some kind of twilight zone episode where the record is playing exactly what I'm about to do? Freaky. Of course any band that sings about listening to records is alright by me, it's almost too easy guys...you're impossible to hate.

Get this single from the Kind Turkey who says:

Trent Fox & The Tenants are Milwaukee's latest and greatest Up-N-Comers. Taking note from their peers (Midwest Beat, Goodnight Loving, Jaill, etc.), Trent Fox honed their skills in the seedy basement scene of Riverwest. Shit, Trent Fox even runs one of the longest-standing and most beloved basement venue of the neighborhood, The Vault. Kind Turkey favorites like Black Time, Bare Wires, Nobunny, Wax Museums, and plenty more have bashed brains in at the Vault. Trent Fox's brand of garage-punk-twang is definitely a fresh breath of air in a constantly evolving scene. This new EP features 5 tracks of instantly catchy garage/punk/rock n roll anthems. Songs about drinking, fights, girls, tomfoolery, drinking, Mario 3, old ladies and working class life in Milwaukee. Required listening for anyone who spends their summers drinking beer and soaking up the sun on their porch right after the Winter frost has thawed. This will make you bump 'n boogie.

500 copies - First 100 on color vinyl - All copies hand-numbered. Screen printed art by Zabby of Big Action Records. Art concept by Mikey, designed by Bobby.

Side A:
1. Mess Around
2. Outta My Mind
3. Jokes!

Side B:
4. Old Lady
5. Sounds Fine To Me

Ale Mania on Volar Records

Ale Mania came to me in a much appreciated shipment from Volar Records the other day. Ale Mania, according to the back liner notes, looks to be the work of two guys, Jeremy R, who penned the trippy, squiggle pattern owl on the cover sleeve and Andrew M. Both produced and composed the dancy, electronic, '70s-'90s era mashup single. 2 tracks from 2 dudes, which is always impressive on any level given the layers of instrumentation, all while going for this super pop sound which could easily be at home in the heydey of over the top pop in the '90s or '80s...to it's credit, it's pretty unspecific in it's synth and groove elements, they wouldn't give away any specific year this could have been created. That's the key for this kind of sound for me, when it can create an indie electronic sound that won't immediately be completely tied to a specific date and never age well.

'Lustfull Fistfull' on the A-Side has this geeky, staccato rhythm from something like Devo, a jerky, frantic, spaz beat, just hearing it makes you uptight, the muscles in your neck start seizing up. This is further punctuated by muted guitar downtrokes of chords that eventually gets into some pretty major solo jams at points. Vocally, it's taking a backseat to the dance direction of the track with Alan Vega style heavily echo'd lyrics. It's not so dependent on electronics though, it's grounded in all those rock and roll sounds that remind me of !!! or ILYBICD.

The B-Side, Vomitpig, is chiming synth melodied over another pounding bassline, always ultra clean and studio sounding....I keep checking if I have the right single? This has to be a little tounge in cheek, it's taking itself very seriously in execution, but there is a rawness that might hint at the fact this isn't a huge studio, they aren't wearing headbands under neon signs. They carrying a faithful torch for the new wave with some '70s funk or groove influences. I'm pretty sure no one mentions anything about a 'vomitpig' though and this that's sort of a cue this is some kid of nod at things unrelated to the thumping dance floor.

Both of these tracks are amazingly short, you can literally see you're in for a quick ride, given all the clear space at the end of both sides....the long run into the gutter. But they have a concise burst of groove to deliver and move on, you can't sleep on this one...they might be due for the 12" extended dub remix at some point, but they also aren't waiting around for you.

Check out these two at their bandcamp page.

DIE MYSPACE DIE!

Natural Child & Liquor Store - Bruar Falls 4-17-11

Caught these two at Bruar Falls last night, after missing Liquor Store opening for Ty Segall at DBA and then getting a hold of that great single from Almost Ready records, I had to see this live. The 7" just hinted at their live show, the raw riffs, the blown out kick and bass, hilarious vocals, they delivered on that manic energy and then some. There are some bands that are such a good time live, they pick up fans and word spreads. Liquor Store is one of those bands.

But first up was Natural Child from Nashville, now...that part of the country better start sharing, because it's starting to look a little ridiculous....a little mean to everyone else. I just want to point out Brooklyn has some great bands too...by the way. We're all getting jealous, get ready for it. You get: cheap places, and a super music scene, cheap beer, cheap smokes....you see where this is going? I could probably live off 7Inches, instead of working for the man! Great, I get the concrete jungle and every other jerk trying to get something going.
Nashville also seems to be inspiring/nurturing this garage punk sound in all forms...I really don't know how much it has to do with the geography, but this stripped down, back to straight up rock sound, subtly taken in different directions, dirty blues or glam is just being done so well, thanks to Seth Sutton and Jeff Novak. The record stores down there have to be out of control.

They had serious pedigree before walking into Bruar Falls, but then they had to go and sing about smoking crack with their friends, listening to the dark side of the moon on the dark side of the moon, and my favorite, I don't want to fuck you, but I have to (because basically she has his keys or something). I finally watched 'End of the Century' a Ramones doc just that afternoon and was making all kinds of comparisons. In attitude, in delivery, in writing about what they sincerely know, and how great that can be. The straight line from that Queens wall of noise punk, filtered through a smooth southern filter. Take that speed freak edge off a little, slow it down with that cough syrup sludge and then steal cars and sniff glue. I love when you know nothing about a band like this how they can crack me up with the balls on these songs.



Then Liquor Store brought that Trash Sandwich, classic brat sound at massive volume, Sarim was trading off vocals with the guitarist for different songs, which I didn't realize they were doing from that 7", you just see a really a cohesive group, having a legitimately great time.
In End of the Century, Joe Strummer was talking about 'the kids' bands nowadays, (which by the way, avoid at all costs in a music documentary) and how they seem to be too relaxed on stage, too much like they don't care...that The Clash learned from the Ramones how to put on a show, how to get people's attention. Liquor Store isn't that military machine...and it might hurt them in the end when it comes to the business bullshit it takes to make a living at it, but you know it's an honest show, they probably have a better than average time for hours in a van on the road for instance. They're easily a band to get behind for those of us seriously untalented masses, who want to rock like this, without all the bullshit.

Any drummer that can play and duck cans of beer at the same time like this, hold on to that one, he's a keeper. American man is simultaneously a punk anti-anthem, and serious commentary.
Natural Child was singing along, arm in arm, beers in hand, Liquor Store is a working class garage punk band that maybe doesn't want to make it to MTV4, they aren't out there emailing press releases, they just play solid awesomely funny rock.

Jeff Novak Solo EP on Trouble in Mind

New solo work from Jeff Novak on Trouble in Mind Records...you know I think I've been battling with TIM's packaging direction for a release myself, on one hand the generic sleeve keeps prices down, the singles are only $5 after all,you can spend the money to put more great artists out into the world, maybe put it into booking studio time.... but then you're basically left with a record in a white paper sleeve...and that's punk rock and everything....I just know I'm always into color vinyl and handmade prints and stuff, but maybe that's wrong? Getting caught up in all that ancillary crap when it should always be about the music...of course you love this object of course, but the single is about turning around new music, the latest and experimental tracks from an artist you've been completely into. I respect this approach, but I'll always get caught up in paper stock and inks and stencils, hanging sleeves from clotheslines in the kitchen to dry.
But if you're looking from new music from one of glam garage's best, then TIM has answered your prayers to the glitter gods with this 4 track EP. The single always feels like home for Jeff, I can only absorb this stuff in small doses, an entire album is overload, it's almost overwhelming...I think I still haven't listened to 'Fantastic Explanations...' nearly enough, or as many times as I have the singles, 'Woodland Drive' was the perfect, complex, catchy 3 minutes, that deserves the sort of careful study that a single forces you to consider.
The one preview track off his latest, 'Back at the Bottom' has Jeff getting this insane harpsichord feel out of an electric guitar melody which gets echo'd the nect time it comes around on piano. Complex delicate sounding riffs that he keeps on the wrong side of the tracks. The natural talent is ridiculous, an insane multi-intrumentalist who balances a history of garage and punk against a glam Bowie oddity era, hitting the best of both. You can't pin him to either...and every live show meets expectations. I hope Jeff is around a long time.

Kind Turkey has a great recent interview over here.

Nothing is going to replace Jay, but Jeff is doing a pretty good job of not making me think about it too much.

TIM025: Jeffrey Novak 4-song Solo EP
The second installment in our brand new SOLO SERIES! Jeffrey Novak is one busy dude. Since his teen years, he's been writing, recording & releasing music as a one-man band, with his groups the Rat Traps & Cheap Time, and under his own name as a solo artist. We've always thought Jeffrey was one talented fella, so we're pleased as punch to be releasing this 4-songer! Culled from sessions that were to be his third solo album (the second due out in April 2011 on In The Red), this EP finds Novak sharpening his focus, exploring & expanding on territories he touched on in his first self-released solo outing 'After The Ball' - Kinks-ian maudlin, John Cale-ish ballads, & the glammy flourishes that peppered Eno's first couple of solo records all mixed into four songs of regret, loss, & disappointment. The first press of this EP comes on randomly mixed vinyl, is housed in the Trouble In Mind factory sleeve and includes a download code.

Liquor Store on Almost Ready Records

I regret missing Liquor Store the night of a crazy god damn downpour when they opened for Ty Segall at DBA. My friend Ryan told me later, they have a song called 'Trash Sandwich' which is the B-Side of course, these guys know what they're doing. Go read this Vice Interview.

I love when a band like this is completely committed to this brainless sentiment, I mean free pizza? That sounds like heaven...and then a coupon for actual free pizza at moustache? Is that place even still around?
From the first grimy riff and empty spring reverb yell, they're coming up with a crowd cheer, F - R - E - E... Pizza of course. It almost sounds like a Dr. Demento commercial jingle, that hot rod greaser sound off the strip. Like a warped happy days, the kids are screaming, but it's because there's blood everywhere. There was a freak accident with the jukebox and the fonze's arms were ripped off in the milkshake machine.
When a band like this is so intent on almost calling themselves jackasses I have to reconsider people whining about their breakups or terrible childhoods. It's so easy to focus on that bummer stuff. When you really reach deep down into the primal unconsciousness to find what's buried there....I guarantee it's free pizza.
There's no need for a sleeve here, I get it, that would almost go against the entire concept, plus you actually get free pizza, they deliver on that promise, so suck it.
The B-side gets away from that completely goofy delivery but they're still focused on food, this time it's that 'Trash Sandwich' track, that's an important line they really want to get across, repeating it over and over.
Both sides are completely unmastered and blown out. But why would you have it any other way? They just barely held it together to commit this to tape. I'm just happy someone had the hindsight to actually press this snotty, garage where it belongs; on black, big hole vinyl.
By the way this is (part 2 + 3) of Trash Sandwich, the idea that this could be part of some larger theatrical movement, or conceptual album kills me. It's better it doesn't actually exist, but then I could see them pulling that kind of one drunken night, documenting-the-mundane mess off. It's hard to make out anything other than the nasal brat chorus, the solo is equally skillfully put together and haphazard, when you've been eating nothing but trash sandwiches I can see why free pizza is the most exciting thing.
It's a rare recording that can actually capture this raw, live sounding energy, but then to leave it buried and pure like this is what makes it great. Someone knew exactly what they were doing, the trick is sounding like you don't...like you don't even want to...the tracks exist in spite of themselves out of heart and inspiration. Something isn't lo-fi when it couldn't be recorded any other way....well, when all the fidelity's are available to choose from, irregardless of special equipment. It just exists like this, take it or leave it.
Like Times New Viking, who definitely were playing with the end game of that movement. Going to the absolute breaking point. But Rip it Off wasn't recorded with inferior consumer technology. That's 2" tape with the input levels all the way up and that's just the way the songs now exist. The live recreation is only a reenactment, like those guys at the civil war battles on the weekends. There's no real danger, you're going through the motions. Not to say both of these guys won't kill it live in a different, party explosion experience, but it forever exists in this form for a very specific reason and it doesn't have to.
liquor store is blowing it out because that's the way these songs should sound, as unkempt and wild as the dudes behind them. No image, no pretension, the songs are the document.

So good.

Get it from Almost Ready Records

For some reason if the site seems a little nuts, but you can email AR at almostreadyrecords (at) live.com to get a copy of this.

The Entrance Band on Black Tent Press

This latest single from Black Tent Press is another amazingly packaged, seriagraph printed sleeve from a band I should have known about by now. The Entrance Band has a full length out on Ecstatic Peace Records and are currently on tour, they seem like they've been around for a while and went for psyche-ing up a couple of classic covers for the day of records.

The A-Side , 'I Want You' is a Troggs cover which they suffocate under an echo depth turned all the way up. A driving bass rhythm carries this into Dead Meadow territory for me. Someone had the balls to comment, 'Why bother covering this, you aren't going to improve on the original', and after thinking, 'Wow, what an old dickhead,' I thought, 'oh, wait maybe he has a point'...after this version, the rest of you bands out there lost a good one, put it in the archives, it's off limits.
This sleeve is just perfect, the kama sutra couple against that burnt sienna gradient, it's kitchy and awesome at the same time while working with the late era toasted psyche sounds of both of these covers. I feel like I'd have to track down the original to get a sense of it, they've changed it so much I don't hear anything familiar...it's got to overshadow the garage beater original.

The B-Side 'A House is not a Motel' is a Love cover, the most under-appreciated band by music nerds, bands already know and love them, but I don't think they have their rightful place in the influence hierarchy from that time period....so The Entrance Band puts another notch on the bedpost here and hopefully it's going to once and for all tip the scales in their favor. There's a reason why every great underground/indie band keeps coming back to these guys.
The Entrance Band have a perfect amount of a full chorus-y echo on the vocals, with a sort of Doors tough mentality while getting to bring the soft super freak on 13th floor Elevators style. The passion and attention to detail is evident, somewhere they crossed over from emulating or paying homage to scarily becoming one of them. All of interesting psyche like this has those roots in collaborative free jazz, that sense of freedom and improvisation with a determined gritty garage sound.

This one should be available on Record Store day where ever you are going to spend money, or preorder from Black Tent Press who says:

#BTP009
Limited Edition of 500
2 color hand printed serigraph covers
Remastered to vinyl by David Vandervelde

PREORDER NOW. LIMITED TO 1 PER ORDER
IN STORES APRIL 16th.

They're coming to Glasslands, April 28th, buy a ticket, tune in, drop out baby.

We are Ben Franklin on Killing Horse Records

Billy sent over this single from a new label out of NJ from his band, We are Ben Franklin a four piece from Brooklyn, that hangs out together in the kitchen, making breakfast, and takes walks in the snow. I like that alien invasion cover, I think that's a Louise Bourgeois spider thing, I don't remember them being on top of a building...

'Urgency', from the A-Side has a bassline kick start the uptempo of this jagged jangly squeaky clean pop. A heavy psyche-y echoed guitar solo takes this to the verse, where they take full advantage of all the members harmonics with a back and forth echo of the lyrics at the chorus. I think he's trying to make a move on someone special, I keep catching '...you're sister's gone' and imagining the rest. Someone has some impressive guitar chops taking every opportunity to drill all kinds of fingerwork home. They further impress the literal urgency of the track in mixing up vocals all over each other before it breaks down showcasing their vocal talents.

You can check out the B Side track 'Teamwork' from their website. Here comes the guitar again to tear into some muted distortion strumming and blues lines.
This is a pop-anthemic, anti-war song, that almost sounds like it's from the point of view of a muslim terrorist? Maybe I'm completely misinterpreting here, but the initial talk about Mercedes Benz's and paying hospital bills along with this line, 'Tonight you''ll hit the synagogue / you'll die a valued martyr / you're gonna show the world / who's laughing harder' makes me think at the very least there's some kind of terrorism happening, maybe faction unspecific.
After catching Religulous the other day though, I'd be a little worried about performing this anywhere near Denmark. It nears that epic feel of the Desaparaceidos at moments. The combination of this weighted content and rocking the hell out. 'That's fucking teamwork!' You'd catch yourself thinking twice about fistpumping or singing along to this. I have to say it's a pretty provocative song to be promoting off the single, but I can respect not playing it safe, rock should be used to turn some heads after all, question authority...Fox News, CNN isn't gong to do it.
Finally, 'Smile' winds things down with some shimmery chorus guitar, and he's curiously missing a girl on this track. This is the makeup ballad, sewing it up with a sort of Pogues bar singalong chorus, of a hundred voices. Then they turn it around saying they'll sing for anyone but you. I guess they aren't planning on making up after all... it's bitter, but the track again doesn't reflect any sort of angst. They're pulling in the listener with this promise of catchy rock and then flipping the script lyrically.
These guys have been playing locally as of late and are hitting Matchless on the 29th.
Get this one from Killing Horse Records, or at the show.

Howe Gelb - Sno Angel / Melted Wires split on Fort Lowell Records

I got an advance copy of this split single from the ever prolific, Fort Lowell Records by one of the legends of alt-country, before it was alt, Howe Gelb. Keeping with the label's geographic theme, Howe is based out of Tuscon and this single unites a couple of his projects onto one split opaque deep blue marble vinyl. Fort Lowell gives this the standard deluxe 7" treatment with a double-sided foldover cardstock sleeve, download card and inserts for everything from the photography to it's subjects. All seemingly separate elements coming together, all essential to the process, and James connects the dots. Like that old expression, 'It takes a village to press a great single'.
The A-Side track 'Spiral' from Sno Angel is Howe on vocals and piano with the Voices of Praise choir backing him up with their angelic harmonies. This could easily go a few rounds with Leonard Cohen's best, tackling those major theme's, the apocolypse content; things are getting hotter, the waters are rising, a massive 'spiral down'. Recorded live in Ottowa, you can clearly hear intimacy of the changing distance to the mic, the huge hall echo and even the release of piano foot pedals. It's going to make you reconsider all of Howe's efforts these past 26 years, and solidifies his place, again, alongside those greats.
It's hard not to sound perfect with a choir softly echoing your vocal behind you. But those aren't even the more moving moments which come from the quieter parts and Howe's disarming vocals. You can take away all his previous achievements and consider this great completely on it's own. Balancing these heavy themes, while keeping it in perspective with the opening line: 'There's a lot of people having a hard time tonight', in that conversational vocal that's really not even trying to sing, an effortless storytelling kind of feel with the carefully crafted sound and skill of a Tom Waits, all those classic songwriting roots running up through it. It figures when you strip everything away to these bare elements and it's this moving, it's going to be around for a long time...which is no surprise coming from the founder of Giant Sand.

These are both great sides to turn up and hear that space on vinyl, the crystal capture of the little details next to the rising choir and full instrumentation.... or Howe's solo vocal. You're going to want to track down Sno Angels Winging it on Ow Om Records.

The B-Side has another project of Howe's, Melted Wires who recorded 'Cordoba in slow motion'. It's a moody, space filled instrumental, all captured perfectly within this 7" groove. The silences, the light brush of a snare or cymbal against a thumping drum kick. There's layers and layers of subtlety here. Recorded like historic jazz loft jam sessions, this project consisted of 2 members of Giant Sand and two from Calexico. There's no mistaking Jacob Valenzuela on trumpet, but where it's coming from is another matter entirely. This huge sounding space of this recording is unintuitive, the piano so upfront you hear the hammers striking strings, then between the far away hushed drums, heavily mixed left, the trumpet isn't anywhere in the middle?...it's a great effect and with any natural speaker separation, it's completely intensified by this capture and mix, you can really get in there and feel the smoke in that dimly lit room. Record players are meant for jazz after all and it's got that feeling of countless Blue Note records I'm now going to go listen to.

Get this one by supporting your local record store on Record Store day or straight from Fort Lowell when it becomes available. There's also couple of signed test pressing contest giveaways going on over at Fort Lowell for this one, as well as live shows scheduled this weekend for Record Store day.

Apparently James still has too much time on his hands.
Lucky you.

Xaddad - Samuel Locke Ward Vs. Manhorse - Joe Jack Talcum Cakeshop 4-7-11

I caught Samuel Locke Ward versus Manhorse last night at Cakeshop, the perfect venue to get up close and personal with his latest pop punk tracks, playing almost the entire split with the Mumfords and a bunch more that's equally as great. Manhorse destroyed the drums and the bassist had a table of mixers and cables. They would rocked through inspiring guitar based anthems and then even got experimental, feedback style, busting out a distorted ukulele and high pitch sine waves while Sam broke strings and crouched on the floor turning knobs, setting the high school on fire. But watching him create an songs out of the most minimal instrumentation at all the right points, with a single high note against sludgy basslines, or a delicate fingerpicked strum you could barely hear were all he had backing a vocal. He's completely got this effortless comfortable style that makes for a great live show. They reminded me of randomly catching So Cow at Monster Island and instantly becoming a fan of his brief power pop.


But first up last night was Xaddax, a duo from Bushwick, or East Williamsburg, take your pick, and I was immediately into their stuttered, minimal, post punk sound. Chrissy on drums would create these great primal fill patterns with electronic cymbals wired to the crash stands. It made for a really weird, alien, sound, half organic and electronic, adding some bizarre synth tones from some kind of box underneath the distortions. Nick has that Steve Albini vocal delivery and raw guitar start stop tone. All with a Gang of Four off timing and complex changes that made me headed off to track down more of their recorded stuff at their soundcloud page.

Finally Joe Jack took the stage with just an acoustic guitar and harmonica neck rack to play totally classic stuff from 'Punk Rock Girl' to 'Dean's Dream', it was fucking amazing totally blew me away to hear these nostalgic tracks that inspired many an alienated teen in the cafeteria to pick up a guitar and sing about the most ridiculous things they could think of. Sam told me they have a split 12" coming out with Joe on Grotto Records coming out soon where they both play on each others sides. That's amazing, it's easy to see the connection now, both of their classic, grounded songwriting and getting to play with a legend like Joe probably is one of those moments where you think it's really not going to get any better.


Get this split single with Toby Goodshank from Sam himself on tour or at his blogspot page. The tracks from it were great live, great punk pop rock in the thread of his Boo Hoos single and he told me it's some of his personal favorite work.

Audacity EP on I hate Rock and Roll Records and Volar Records

Why does this cover remind of Snoop's Doggystyle? Ok, it's a surreal, Dali version of that brick wall cartoon, so maybe this is the reinterpretation, after the party...and it's a really bizarre first impression of these guys. But you could take it as the notebook psyche scrawlings of the alienated garage band with hardcore stars in their eyes.
Audacity is a 4 piece from Fullerton, CA, and the first track, 'Ears and Eyes' is hitting that Replacements place for me, a great way to kick off a 4 song EP. It's the rocking replacements, the part I always wanted more of...not that I wasn't into the slower stuff...they were all over the place anyway and wanted it that way. So take 'Seen your video' or 'Favorite thing' speed it up just a bit, lose the super production and you'd get Audacity. The vocals are slightly blown out, the entire studio really couldn't contain any of this, they had the levels all set during rehearsal and then god dammit if they didn't go completely balls out and now there's no dialing it down. Did they plan it they way? Maybe. They switch up rhythms with a little bit of Smith Westerns blown out glam in there (?), but he really sounds like Paul Westerberg...a little gravely 'tude in there, that working man's springsteen blues voice.
'Don't be a Menace', I was stuck on this line, 'We don't go Eco!' or it's Ego, so I'm thinking it's either a nod to the Minutemen, or they're against ego rock, which of course sounds like a nightmare. I was surprised to hear another track start and realize this was a four song EP, how these guys manage to jam all this into a 45 has to have a little to do with D. Boone creeping through the grooves. They appreciate the succinct statement, the high tempo punk haiku.
The B-Side, this whole single has this great guitar distortion sound, it's thin, mixed just off into the background, with no low end...classic. The riffs again are thrown around here next to more catchy choruses...like the Hunx or Pizza's, they have a really epic energy, but seem to be a little more serious...I haven't heard one word about rock and roll or girls. It's a combination of working almost hardcore: as fast as possible and melodic harmony pop punk, all the catchy moments strung together. A little bit of a late '90s sound that takes me back to skating in the garage to old tapes of the Guerrilla Biscuits and 7 Seconds.
It makes the completely spazz solo on 'What not to do' almost impossible to replay, but they only need to ever capture half the spirit of this effort and they should be happy.

Get this one on purple or black vinyl from Volar Records, who have a bunch of other great releases to check out, including this Under the Covers Vol2 comp which is amazing...or head over to I hate rock and roll records, and get it there.

Dead Gaze on Atelier Ciseaux Records/La Station Radar Records

Just heard from the finger on the pulse folks at Atelier Ciseaux and La Station Radar that after putting out a few joint releases together they have officially merged! Combined they should have some pretty amazing future releases, including this latest from Dead Gaze. I had to go back and listen to that Firetalk one again...so glad Cole is getting more of his work on vinyl...I hope he's got big plans for a full length soon.

I remember talking to him a long time ago and just based on the CD-R he sent alone I wanted to talk to him for the podcast...he was an amazing encyclopedia of music knowledge...turned me onto a bunch of stuff I never heard of....really someone that can absorb a massive amount of various influences and then filter it all into his own dreamy pop aesthetic. Like I imagine Panda Bear sampling from all over the world, it's entire music history and subtly referencing the future at the same time.

The A-Side of this one, 'Somewhere Else' comes out with massive layers of swirly electronics and a solid foundation bassline. An acoustic guitar riff comes in over Cole's warbly phaser'd vocals. There's layers of texture here that sounds like peering through that dusty warped glass window to some kind of Victorian house in the middle of that Andrew Wyeth field. The chimes, strumming and oooo's adding up to more than their parts. A real mystery of gleaming and opaque fidelity, a true craftsman, excavating unusual sounds and them applying them to a patchwork pop.

'Enz' kicks off the B-Side with underwater crackling and ghostly vocals. Loops and repeated unrecognizable sounds slowly changing, gurgling up from the depths. A campfire crackling maybe, slowed down to the point of ring tone, so oversampled it becomes a rhythm. A quiet reprieve between the two journeys into muddy sunshine.

'Fishing with Robert' rounds this up with the straight ahead cool fractured pop that Dead Gaze has ready to pull out at any moment. To combine that washed out shoegaze with a catchy melody, that can sound like The Psychedelic Furs or the Cure all the way to Cloud Nothings and Minks. The textured overblown cymbal crashes and irregular vocals leave out all kinds of spaces for your mind to fill in. That's the most successful pop anti-fi is when things are left up to chance in the interpretation. So dense it calls for multiple listens and even then, it's a near mystery how things come together, I'm sure it's a little like that for Cole because you don't have to force something like this, you almost conjure it up out of thin air.

Go check out the interview from a million years ago, such a cool guy, I'm still kicking myself I wasn't in a place to be able to offer him a single...it's so great there's at least two of them out there now.

By now, you, like I did, have no excuse not to put together an order with Atelier Ciseaux or LSR and spring for the shipping...the Jeans Wilder full length is so great, I put that next to Sore Eros..and it's a good freakout modern psyche block, there's even a few Reading Rainbow/Coasting splits left, I know you wanted the US Girls or Jeans Wilder/Best Coast split...well don't miss out on this one. If you're lucky, convince fusetron or SS Records to import these.

Samuel Locke Ward and the Boo Hoos / Mumfords self released split

Samuel contacted me a while back with a full length he did with Darren Brown, From the Privilege of the Grave I remember it being a pretty sprawling, acoustic/experimental piece. Dark and folky.
I read his description on this insert how he's '...changing musical styles faster than most can be bothered to keep up with', and after listening it's completely true...well except for the part about no one keeping up. With the addition of the Boo Hoos on these three tracks he's taking an entirely new direction, it's a dense, concise, punk with plenty of attitude and growling guitars...all still grounded by his songwriting. It's great to be able to experiment like this, to know that the guy who created From the Privilege...can also dig into the goofy indie rock for a bit and record at a vintage clothing store in Ceder Falls, IA. I appreciated that Jay could go from Terror Visions, or the Reatards to his Blood Visions work. It only helped the work in the end to try on all these bands, and keep surprising yourself.

Samuel and the Boo Hoos Side Starts out with 'When it's gone (it's gone)' there's a distance plate echo on Samuels vocals, singing about an office guy and his regrets while this 5 piece is rocking this catchy pop punk tune. It's a bit like Harmacy when you take that foundation of songwriting and then go record a straight up pop album. The band and that collaboration come up with complex tracks that flesh out the foundation of Samuel's songwriting.

'Tell it to the man of diminishing clout' has a great alternating big distorted riff, while Samuel has that same far off yelling-into-that-punk-void between the power chords with a little bit of phaser warble. Great guitar melody on this one, getting dirty and anthemic like a Dino Jr solo.

Haunt you has a great rhythm guitar, rumbling away and Samuel's continuing that hoarse, open mouth delivery. He's reminding me again of Jay, getting into this head, taking on the alientated personality, screaming die die die die die die, with that indie jangle and grunge place the home recorded 4 trackers got to by the late '90s. It's a classic sound these guys pull off really well, completely great 3 song EP. He's got all kinds of interesting moves up his sleeve and you better believe I'm catching these guys Thursday at The Cakeshop.

On the flipside, the Mumfords 'The way that I live' on the other side go all out on one epic track, an intimately small room recorded somber track that showcases Nate's vocals and the packed Dave Berman style lyrics. Completely clever and darkly funny, it takes a few listens to realize (spoiler alert) that it's about a serial killer who's trying to relate to the listener repeating: '...and if you live the way that I live...' and imparting a little advice about the hunt to the young serial killers gathered around their turntable speakers. It's carefully crafted pop-folk that throws you off when you eventually realize where these vocals are going, describing this characters single minded goal of getting away with it. It's a demented kind of traditional country ballad filtered through Calexico, classic horns creeping up, supporting the guitar melody, turning it into a kind of theatrical story song. It's taking a small orchestra to create this unsettling vision, and that might be the scariest thing of all.

Get the single or the tracks from Samuel's bandcamp page.

Interview with Bobby at Kind Turkey Records

I talked to Bobby from Kind Turkey Records a few weeks back about starting up his label this past year and a new single they're working on from Madison, WI's own Dead Luke. Sean Reed himself is working on the design and screening the sleeves as you read this probably. Dead Luke is back with a live band, dark as ever, and ready to tour.
In addition to the label, Bobby and friends have a music blog called Kind Turkey, with tons of reviews; 7" and full length.

We talked about balancing the label with his own band, The Hussy who is coming to NYC in June in support of their full length(!) on Slow Fizz Records, any day now.
We also get into the spontaneous community that surrounds punk and garage, including singles, and the importance of small labels....you know....how 7"'s rule, and here's why...like you didn't know, but listen already, Bobby is awesome and this will make you really want to check out his label and releases. These things exist because of you.
Kind Turkey thanks you.
He's a nice guy.

Download it here.

Bass Drum of Death - GB City on Inflated Records

Inflated Records sent me this album, and it turned out to easily be one of the contenders for best album of 2011...easily.
If you love and or appreciate punchy, dirty, garage recorded in the bowels of a rapidly sinking metal room of a ship, this one is for you.
More elaborate description over here.

Michael Beach, A Horse, on Spectacular Commodity and Twin Lakes Records

Michael Beach spent some years in Australia, before ending up in back in the US in San Francisco to finally last year recording this single in Portland. These two haunting tracks have a lot to do with that scale of universal experience in the tradition of classic songwriting.

With nothing more than a lone electric guitar on the A-Side, with 'A Horse' he's creating an amazing song melody for this minimal riff. The narrative lyric itself is dense with imagery and his delivery is Jason Molina expressive within a single verse. There's no chorus. There's nothing obvious to hold on to....it's expert solo storytelling, just abstract enough to be relate-able, consisting of the bare minimum while being accessible...I always think it takes the most talented artists to get away with these themes without sounding at all like trying...more like the traveling musician passing this story down.
In that tradition of the Sandwitches or Bill Callahan combined with a blue collar, country leaning of Townes Van Zandt. The songs come from drifting...combining a huge amount of experience and distilling it down to a single side of a 45. This song in particular could be expanded into a never-ending 40 verse epic track, and that would be perfectly fine...and the thing is I don't hear much about a horse here at all. But why would he be so literal...a real songwriters artist. A hint of drums punctuates the strumming for a single measure, but otherwise it's so quiet, the vocals rising and fading back to match the guitar... effortless. You're left with a Will Oldham feeling of voyeuristically experiencing that distant melancholy all over again.

The B-Side, 'The Exhilaration Rise' truly tests his songwriting with a single chord strummed out changing just for an instant every so often, usually giving another example of that high. There's more of an edge to his delivery on this one and it's got the Velvet Underground written all over it. The live open ,room guitar quality and lack of changes to eventually speeding up past playability... rising itself into exhilaration. It's raw and the melody is classic, again, with this sort of folk feel, but the inevitable breakdown is unnerving, all of a sudden you take off with this out of control rhythm that has to go off the tracks. Is it some kind of warning about the rise? There's always another peak and it's going to lead to the inevitable self destruction...of this track at least.
A gifted songwriter and impressive single, a monumental taste of Michael's talents that just barely scratches the surface, but it will do for now.

Two labels came together to make this single happen, Twin Lakes and Spectacular Commodity Records that should tell you something of the believers Michael leaves in his wake.
I like their download card code most of all. I'm not going to give it away but it's a nice gesture.

Get it from the Twin Lakes order page, after you go sample Michael's bandcamp tracks.