The Sway Machinery featuring Khaira Arby on Electric Cowbell/Jdub/Fatbeats Records

Electric Cowbell is at it again with another classy as hell release, this one from The Sway Machinery who include an incredible pedigree of musicians a truly esoteric and talented bunch of influences, styles, and resumes. The band majored in cantorial music but seems to combine that centuries old tradition with modern rock and jazz. Recently they traveled to Mali (of course) and ended up recording with various musicians there including Khaira Arby who says:

When Sway Machinery arrived, they came to me and said, “Khaira, we're going to play something and we want you to join in.” When they started playing at the festival, and everyone was there, I thought, “What am I going to sing what this music?" But when I sang, everyone was... "Wow!” So then they came to see me in Bamako and they invited me to come and record on their album. Everything went well. I'm not sure if you've heard their album. It's really good. One could say that they are musicians of the north now.

The A-Side "Gawad Teriamou" (can't seem to translate that via google) is, well how am I going to describe this...to me Khaira vocally has some what I think of as Arabic sounding, the quick shifts in an entirely new scale, almost a vibrato operatic waver, and I can pick out the repeated title of the track. The scale rises and at points she's really belting this out, her vocal just near cracking and based on her quote of the experience I'd like to think this was just a jam that happened out of a few scratch track takes. So here's this jewish traditional structure of a track with an african, muslim vocal essentially? I'm getting into some dangerous territory probably if I'm wrong, I'll admit I'm in deep waters here, but that's a noble idea.
Musicially, you have that almost reggae muted strum, with long blasts from the horn section. I love the way Khaira is just resting her right hand on that giant saxophone. That must be easy to check on the plane.

The B-Side, "Youba" kicks in with a distinct break beat and gets a lot dirtier and funkier, that bass sax hitting incredibly rumbling low bass notes against a great high bleeting of trumpet, vinyl has to be the way to reproduce this range of sound. Khaira is singing all over her amazing range, following the bass melody for a moment and branching off into her distinct intonation. A funky as hell blues gritty guitar solo slowly works it's way into the mix, somehow sounding completely at home in the middle of this horn call and response. I have no idea of the content of these lyrics, but they're coming across like some kind of blues funk hybrid, which can transcend the cultural barrier.

I think someone told me once the whole point of Jim Jarmusch's films were in a way to promote the very idea of multiculturalism and the blurring of cultural experience. The cross pollination of ideas and in this case, sounds. I think that's what The Sway Machinery, and Electric Cowbell or JDub or Fatbeats are essentially doing as well. Exploring this type or truly fringe music that doesn't seem to directly have a place in history yet. Go forth audio pioneers. I will study the strange sounds on your single and one day understand their influence.
Get this one from Electric Cowbell Records.

For those sad souls out there who don't have access to a turntable, but still read this blog, or feel they are missing a few key Electric Cowbell releases that are out of print, EC has conveniently released a huge selection of their 7inch releases on the dead "CD" format. Have you heard of these things?
Go check out samples of all the Electric Cowbells music here and if you want to listen to them, say, in your car...well you're in luck.
Pick up a copy of 101 things to do in bongolia. for that Compact Disc player.

Vein Cranes on Floridas Dying Records

This one came in from the great Floridas Dying Records, a single from husband and wife duo known here as Vein Cranes. A duo has it's own special kind of music magic, the close collaboration can bring out the best of both, while keeping a laser focus on direction and sound, all of this is amplified when that duo is married which is the case with the Vein's special brand of weirdo.

A-Side opens with "True Believer" a fractured drum rhythm and acoustic guitar introduce a slow distanced feel to the track, which the tom tom drum pattern quickly picks up. They are straddling the line of '60s girl group harmony and dirty garage with Denise singing "I believe" in an angelic backup sound, while Owen has the gritty garage distorted delivery in his lead. Denise is the masses response to Owen's sermon. The instrumentation overall has that ramshackle racket of an anything goes layered 4track experiment, the feedback, the tuneless rattling guitar melody...sorting out the glorious noise. The track eventually winds up where it started, with a mainstream slow dance dance.

The next track, "Pink Motherfucker" is more of this oldies combination, an old school pop classic oldies sound, with a hint of a damaged drum track just out of reach while they go full on spector '50s, like Shannon or the Hunx, that big, full orchestral rock, the guitar jangle and overlapping of 'yea yea yeahs'. Owen delivering the vocal with that greaser snarl, only leather jackets and switchblades the whole effect even more unsettling thanks to the lyrics:
you're a pink motherfucker / and your brain is full of shit / we can spare the discussion / let me introduce my fist
which takes this into that twisted un-romanticised place...like John Waters looking at the prom dresses and glitter curtains and taking a big dump on them.

The B-Side, "Attitude", continues to bring the orchestral ruckus beginning with an electronic feedback meltdown rhythm they both bring their distorted layers of harmonies too. An acoustic is buried in there somewhere, snare smacks of metal almost take it to a garage Magnetic Fields sound as much as they blues howl with reverb, and play with a slide. The '50s tom beats start up towards the end with an overwhelming feedback. They have absolutely cornered this almost Ween devotion to this unique reinterpretation of a new history.

Hear it on their bandcamp page and get it direct from who else? Floridas Dying Records.

[FDR-36] Vein Cranes are a new group from the husband/wife duo who also make up Orlando band Lagues. These are the first three songs they recorded under the moniker of Vein Cranes, and have me really excited for what these young kids have to come. Lo-fi catchy as hell garage songs with dual male/ female vocals thrown through a wall of guitar squelch, keys, drum machines, and assorted noises. Since recording they have grown into a full band, and plan to tour extensively this years so keep your eyes peeled. Limited to 350 with 100 on colored vinyl with different color sleeves.

Grass Widow on HLR Records

Grass Widow has gone and upstarted their own label, HLR Records and what better debut single to kick off their catalog their very own Milo Minute single which features 2 covers on the B-Side. I keep reading this is the first in a series? Whether or not that means other bands are going to be doing this covers on the B-Side thing or they plan to run the label for a limited number of releases is unclear. I'm happy to see these guys going the Wild World direction and curating releases they are personally invested in. I trust them already.

A-Side's "Milo Minute" showcases yet again their excellent focus on their esoteric harmonies and off kilter layers of rhythms getting in and out of sync of each other. These complex instrumental patterns come off as effortless and loose. Unbelievably, a simple guitar melody for little more than a measure, is repeated in the bassline while the original guitar line takes off on it's own route. They sing over and under one another in some kind of vocal gymnastics, packed with enough intricate melodies for a slew of catchy choruses, but they don't have time or too much talent to let any one of them have a minute to relax. They keep a nervous energy stretched taught throughout their songwriting, stuck walking that tightrope of changes. Just when you start to get some kind of handle on the patterns, and the vocal patchwork, the track has ended and you have to put the needle back at the beginning. Even Lillian Maring on drums is constantly working her own unsettling fills and post rhythms against the echoing back and forth guitar and bass structure. They encourage this kind of under the microscope dissection, charting a new mathy pop. Even more amazing the three of them vocally don't just harmonize well, like some Beach Boys track, but add another entirely different kind of complexity to that equation, swinging back and forth between completely independent lines of verse to meet back up again in different pitches. This track continues their idiosyncratic line of thought, and I'm up for another full length.

The B-Side covers start out with "Time Keeps Time" from the Neo Boys, an all-female Portland band I was completely oblivious of, Grass Widow definitely awknowledging not only a musical influence but even the the politics of being a girl group...which I'm sure they hate to be marginalized with riot grrrl categorizations, and terms like 'girl group', but I guess we haven't moved past that kind of thing yet. Maybe their saying 'here we are back in the early '80s again, what's really changed?' It's a great cover, their styles are similar in a lot of subtle ways. I don't know the original, but they've made me want to track it down.

Next up a cover of a Wire track "Mannequin", which having been only credited to 4 names, (I don't know their names? Pathetic) and until the end chorus, I had no idea what track this was, the fact they could take this song I'm so familiar with and change it, not in an overtly obnoxious change for changes sake way, is really an achievement. The liner notes say it was recorded in their rehearsal space, which doesn't sound like it all. They take the sort of loose rock and roll sound from the original and stiffen it up with all sorts of interweaving melodies, and of course harmonies. It's really a completely new arrangement, respecting the source material.

This second side is completely risky, you would think, but they come out looking better than ever, nodding to those offbeat references and making them their own.

Go get it from Grass Widow directly.
I even got a pin a week later with a note thanking me for preordering.
See if you get that with any other label.

The Normals - Reissue on Last Laugh Records

Here's another great reissue from Harry at Last Laugh Records, from The Normals out of New Orleans. I know what you're thinking, I haven't ever heard of any kind of '70s punk scene in that part of the country either, and that's why it's great to find out about singles like this that LL is determined will never be forgotten. This was their first release from 1978, entitled Almost Ready, and I'm starting to think that must have had something to do with naming Harry's other label, Almost Ready Records.

The A-Side, "Almost Ready" has the guitar taking the lead in tempo with massive power chords, setting the pace for the drum and vocal. This is surprisingly big and punchy, everything mixed at the perfect power punk volumes, even the backup ooooo's, I'm beginning to see not just the roots of Jeff Novak, the Busy Signals, or even Jay but a direct link. This literally is going on still today, but deliberately not recorded half as clear. They have a concise, manic energy here, a muted power chord chk chk chk chk verse blows up into those constant attacks while Charlie Hanson on vocal has a new wave low delivery and I can imagine around this time those lines were pretty blurred. Call it punk, or the REAL punk, but the thing I love about that classification is how little it has to do most times with the music itself and being more about a scene or ideology. If their posthumous full length sounds anything like this then I'm going to have to pick up a copy.

The B-Side, "Hardcore" on the other hand has a more minimal stark sound, the guitar leads off again with a compact crunch distortion, vocally their as punchy as the 4/4 beat with staccato lyrics off on their own rhythm, sounding like The Units or Devo. Great harmonies in a back and forth vocal of Charlie against the chorus of the band. They're really in the middle of that fracture between punk and post punk of something like The Wire and Gang of Four.
Doesn't really matter / the things we talked about.../ I wouldn't miss you if you fell through the floor
The guitar lead eventually takes over the track, and another melody is introduced that leads to a bigger punk chorus of everyone singing "My Hardcore!", with a fake finish where they reintroduce that original melody again to finish it off. Two great tracks of insane promise for the Normals.

Last Laugh not only has copies of this, pressed from the original stampers (!) but is offering an unreleased full length Vacation to Nowhere on their site.

Further reading on the New Orleans punk scene courtesy Offbeat mag and James Lien.
Also check out this live show from 1980

The Wiggins on Needless Records

Got a new one in from Needless Records, this single from The Wiggins, which includes a giant color 14x14 poster of a waterworld apocolypse scene with a punk rock aquaman fighting some nasty huge carp, and if that wasn't enough, on the reverse is a crayon backyard wrestling scene being shot with camcorders. Some weird unsettling child/adult imagery going on for this scuzzy, distorted slow surf rock sound on blue vinyl.

The Wiggins is basically Jon Read, who definitely created the cartoony hell world poster inside and from what I'm picking up puts this project together solo, The A-side, "Walk" comes in with a seriously damaged drum track, buried under crackles with the bass punched up, a simple guitar line creates another layer of this faster Suicide sound. A chugging away, slow tempo machine beat with bratty vocals if you could imagine Sarim from Liquor Store going dirty surf Ty Segall. I'm getting the feeling this volume is an important part of the process...that little melody doesn't need anything else, just turn it up. It's recorded just as loud, the amps breaking the sound as much as whatever mangled effects are already running into the mix. There's no end to this dirty garage sound going around, plenty of room on the bus still for another 2 minute pickup.
The B-Side, "Sick" (the titles are as direct as the tracks, get to the business, I don't want to read, I want to rock), even gets semi-acoustic on this one, big echo trap on the vocals again, and this sludgy track somehow is catchier than the other side. Is there a post surf garage rock? There's a weird blacklight vibe to this and who doesn't want that unpolished Wavves (first album) punk sound with a little less weed references. A bluesy south of the Mason-Dixon Psychedelic Horseshit that turns into a front porch singalong at drunk speed. Normally I would think it can be a mistake to take that surf sound so slow, but it's not even an issue getting this laid back.

Swampbats did a great interview with Jon over here.

Listen to this one on their bandcamp page, sold out from Needless Records and can't find this from any of the usual distros...pressed in an edition of 100! So contact those guys and tell them to repress already.

Blake Mills on Analog Edition Records

Spending Monday with another release from Analog Edition Records, this one from Blake Mills who's been a touring/session guitarist for Band of Horses and Jenny Lewis among others and is younger than anyone is comfortable with, probably because of his already impressive career and the quality of these tracks. Both off his debut, Break Mirrors are available on vinyl for the first time.

The A-Side, "Hey Lover" is impeccably crafted and produced, with an impressive amount of clear layers of instrumentation, acoustic and bending notes on the electric with a lean towards a big country sound, plenty of brush rolls on the snare. It's a deep riff and unique melody that's in the vein of Ted Leo or Spoon, a contemporary take on songwriting with surprising combinations. As pop and catchy as the entire track gets, Blake counters the sunshine with plenty of lyric self depreciation:
sometime I hate myself / for trying to be so bold / but nothing else / seems to get the story told
The tongue in cheek sentiment with a little vocal gravel gives this essentially a love song teeth for the sincerity to sink in.

The B-Side, "Winter Song" starts out with a hushed acoustic tone, muted drums along with layers of vocal almost hushed with a little '70s Neil Young feel. The chorus features a distorted piled under effects miniature guitar riff that screeches in, and this combination of classic multi-tracking sound with the taking of great chances on the accidental experimental sound keeps it looking forward, firmly placing it in 2011. The crack of a piece of metal, an organ, some woodwind underscoring this rolling orchestral sound which after all is pure folk.
The tracks slows down to nothing but an acoustic for a second, and I have to check if this next section is even a separate track, a twangy loud guitar starts to rise out of the barreling train rhythm, and Blake is joined by an unnamed (?) female vocalist and all of a sudden the whole thing takes on a Rumours era Fleetwood Mac sound, to the point where I want to reconsider that album immediately. It doesn't feel like a conscious homage, it's just that what worked then, works now and Blake can't help but end up with that same conclusion. I lean to saying this is the standout track because of this unexpected change, but then I'll play "Hey lover" again and change my mind.
The two of them questioning back and forth in a slow building epic layered harmonizing vocal finish.
even when the love's gone / don't I show it?
even when your loves comes / baby don't I know it?

Black vinyl with a Marlboro man collage. Masculine yet sensitive, which says, I appreciate a low tar cigarette while swimming.

Get this one from Analog Edition Records who says:

Limited to 500 copies, the double A-side 7" features "Hey Lover" and "Winter Song" by Los Angeles musician Blake Mills.

The songs, now pressed to vinyl for the first time, come off Mills' 2010 debut album, Break Mirrors. While Break Mirrors may be Mills' debut as a solo artist, the musician already has years of experience under his belt touring with and working as a session musician for acclaimed artists like Jenny Lewis, Cass McCombs, Lucinda Williams, Band of Horses, Andrew Bird and Weezer. He also founded Simon Dawes (now Dawes) with Taylor Goldsmith. The only thing more impressive than the 24-year olds’ sizable resume is his knack for songwriting—an ability far beyond his years. With “Hey Lover” and “Winter Song” come the album’s uptempo one-two-punch: a nuanced lo-fi meets hi-fi production of timeless and highly original folk rock.

Cop City - Chill Pillars on Floridas Dying Records

So what if I said I'm forced to step up review production because some kind folks have taken it upon themselves to send 7inches those larger records and the only way I can devote real consideration to them is by sitting next to the A/C indoors on the weekend. There's no else where I'd rather be.

Oh Jesus, Floridas Dying has been busy as hell with their label and this full length from Cop City is just the tip of the iceberg, but it’s what struck the bow of 7Inches first and I’m taking on water. Cop City, which if the cover sleeve is any example, is surprisingly a pretty mellow place that celebrates aliens with peace signs for eyes and glowing tongues. You wouldn’t figure a city named after Cops would actually be some kind of utopian mecca for smooth reveb jams like this, but that contradiction shows up in the instrumentation, which consistently pairs weirdo ancient analog electronics with a super surf reverb sound.

“Nobody Likes You” the opener on the A-Side, introduces that buried basement vocal sound and their simple strummed repetitive jangly surf guitar, broken up with a moment of freewheelin' melody, until the entire thing takes a turn breaking to a crawl. A slow sludgy bassline and off key guitar chords with room for the reverb to fade out in the distance...then they speed punk this back out to the end. “L@@k ar@und’ brings out a future laser sound, laying it on thick underneath this weirdo minor key repeated guitar melody. As laid back as they appear on the surface, this is more anxious and sinister sounding to me. Maybe there’s more to that cover art after all. The alien looks scary all of a sudden, and why are the cockroaches lining up to communicate with us? The initial surf sound rapidly turns into a menacing nervous robotic energy. The old school synth electronics only further confuse the surface chill tone...this sounds like the future, but from a long time ago...a dusty, messed up future.
I think, “I shot the deputy” is a..... well, not really a cover exactly...they switch the vocal around from the Bob Marley track to say that THEY were the ones who killed the deputy. They rightfully ignore the original melody completely, this one being more outer space tom and bass beat, while the guitar noodles around a melody.
Jennifer actually gets into a kick ass, air bass groove and sticks with this funk almost the entire time, breaking up the name Jennifer into only syllables that they can hear with a completely unnatural vocal rhythm over this smooth bass. The metallic plate reverb never sounded so anti-dance then it does with Cop City. They must have heard about Deadbolt, because this is a long lost cousin to their sound. One of those stories about how twin brothers grew up a few towns away from one another and never knew it. They run smack into each other one day when both of these albums are played.
“Stuff Happens” lays on the electronic nightmare sound for most of this track and now I think the alien on the cover hypnotized me into thinking they are all a bunch of hippies and like “They Live” I can’t actually see they aren’t here for the blacklights and weed.

This whole record is buried deep in the basement of echo and odd repetition, it’s a sort of Devo-ish frantic, maniacal sound that continues with this B-side, “The Greatest Man That Ever Lived”, which I swear is a refrain of the A-Side opening tracks slow to a crawl melody, they seem to get off on pounding this caveman beat home over and over, the Nothing People both of them should really get together to play some kind of apathetic surf tour. The meltdown damaged synth towards the chorus of this is a typical example of their brand of weird, putting it against the warbling surf echo on the guitar. How those sounds end up belonging together is what makes Cop City awesome.
Spend an afternoon writing your band name in cockroaches on a scratch-board, it’s the mindless actions of a mental patient making up completely different rules to the boardgame in front of him.
“Subtropical apartment” plays with expanding on a garage beat, and this could easily have been alongside the Mummies on a weirdo compilation put together with that Eerie comic dripping typeface. The fact that in addition to the vocals being trapped behind a wall of amber, they’re layered by apparently all the band members making for a creepy, chanting vibe...monotonously blank expressions in a circle, holding hands trying to break your spirit. They truly create a weird place to live in for a half hour, one of those great B-movie experiences where you can’t believe this exists, and why doesn’t anyone know about this?

Listen to a couple of samples from their bandcamp page and then get it from Floridas Dying who says:

[FDR-37] Off kilter minimal punk from Lake Worth. Strange, dark, creepy vibes abound. Chanted vocals, surfy lead lines that weave in and out of the songs, primal tom heavy drum beats. Party music for alien cavemen on a planet with high gravity. Good for your next seance, or for worshiping your sun god. The musical equivalent of being hit in the head with a hammer, not so much the blunt trauma, more the long term affter effects. I hope I never have to leave Planet Chill. Limited to 500/ first 75 on green vinyl.

Freestone - Bummer Bitch reissue on Last Laugh Records

I've been working my way through this recent batch of singles from Last Laugh Records, East Coast's punk version of Mississippi Records, tracking down the important artifacts of overlooked and ignored music of yesteryear. This latest one, which looks to be the first release from Last Laugh is this single from Freestone, named after the town in Sonoma County CA, and the stand out has to be the A-Side's "Bummer Bitch" which is barely a minute and a half. It's comforting to know tracks like this were being recorded and pressed to vinyl in the late '70s.
Bummer bitch / you make me sick / bummer bitch / suck my dick
You could almost say music didn't even really start to get interesting until right around 1975 starting with the Ramones and leading to Freestone yelling 'Lick my Balls!' which must have partially inspired the warning at the bottom of the back of the sleeve: WARNING Due to the subject matter of the following program parental discretion is advised. The PMRC didn't exist yet, so was this some kind of preemptive self censorship? Or it probably got the attention of any kid browsing through the 45 bins in the late '70s. That and the cover of Jesus hanging on the cross probably made this an easy choice. As subversive as humanly possible? Check.
Billy DeMoya's vocals are loud as hell and what I thought might have been a girl fronted group at first is probably just giving away the age of these guys at the time. There isn't a hint of vocal effects, they made the obvious choice to have these genius punk lyrics way on the top of the 4 chord rhythm with piano! Everything else is pretty much buried, the chorus has a great vintage '70s carefree feel, I can picture them trying to get that sound just right...ok, take 14.
"Bummer Bitch"
That was pretty good but can you sing it a little happier?
The final verse finds Billy completely out of his head screaming, "Eat my ass!". This would have been the first 45 I would have to play quietly with the door closed when my parents weren't even home, or all music would have been banned immediately. I would have to listen to it late at night with headphones, it's good to be an adult.
The B-Side, "Church" doesn't have a chance of living up to the previous side, but the organ opening is a nice touch, but it has that '70s prog rock sound, bordering on Dead Kennedys nasal punk, which is delivered by Willie Braun on this side, going crazy with the effects, phaser guitars, echo vocals, layers of attempts at big time radio sound, which actually today are a perfect period example of Ariel Pink, the underwater warbling drums that have been bounced down numerous times, muffled guitars the vocals added last and weirdly clear. Could easily be a Spinal Tap song. Two weird sides of this short lived band, and another example of the historic importance of the format. I'm glad Last Laugh is taking the time to track down the rights to these and reissue them.

Thank god... honestly for Terminal Boredom message boards for keeping track of articles on a band like this.

Killed by Death ripped a test pressing you can hear over there, (Bummer Bitch was a joke?) but you don't have to pay $600 bucks to hear this universally loved classic, get your copy from Last Laugh Records and friend them on facebook or lick my balls.
Either one.

Birds of America on Seacave Records

This came in the other day from Nathaniel Russell (I knew that cover art looked familiar) who's done tons of record sleeve design for Vetiver and Cryptacize among others. This single is actually from his solo music project, Birds of America. As you would expect, every one of these sleeves are handprinted and unique, a huge foldover handnumbered insert gives some insight into both sides of this one from Seacave Records.

The A-Side, "Nitewalker", has a restrained intensity, a loud electric guitar barely strummed at first, a similarly quiet, hardly moving shaker and when his strong layered vocal comes in over the instrumentation just hitting it's stride, it's reminding me of Chad VanGaalen, not up in the Neil Young register so much but the same confessional, bigger than a bedroom sound. There's minimal use of any given instrument, the heart of this is the understated layers of vocal and slow moving melodies taking their sweet time. The sum of all of this holding back making you anxious. The insert photo is a vintage national park picture of two guys standing on the edge of a rock perched out into space over the grand canyon (?), the feel of this track is very much like that distant memory of something very personal... slightly dangerous but beautiful. It has to be turned up very loud to hear the subtlety over the constant whir of this air conditioner that is on the verge of completely breaking down.

The B-Side track, "Now I see it" begins with an almost looped sample warm reverb guitar, circling around. There's a lot more of that bedroom sound present here, lots of background kitchen noise, a clattering of plates, moving instruments, drumsticks. A heavily separate dual layer vocal rises out of the setup like a improvised dining room choir. The snare chains underneath are as important as that hit, and maybe it's because of this insert photo of a giant standing in an apartment a normal size kid barely coming up to his midsection, (I swear I saw this in the Guinness book of world records) but this side has an oddly religious feel, in the same way Jeff Magnum seemed to be exploring those dark, personal areas of existence. You are a witness.
Now I see it / the way it is / I'm not new here / it's always been
Getting hypnotic with a couple of chords in a very Velvet Underground jam way, finding that groove and going for enlightenmentin repetition. A great introspective handcrafted single in art and sound without the usual home recorded tells. Nicely captured intimate moments of solid songwriting. Something quiet to melt away to.
Get thee to a designated cooling station with a record player.

Listen to it
NITEWALKER by Birds Of America

Get it direct from Nathaniel on his bigcartel page, Midheaven or Insound.

Outdoorsmen on Clown College Records

This Outdoorsmen single came in via Harry at Almost Ready Records, a buddy of his runs Clown College Records and this is the second release for the label. Based out of San Francisco, the Outdoorsmen sleeve shows minimal hand drawn, black and white penned bottle with a leather jacket, driving a car. On the reverse side, the art for "Dead Meat" is that same driving bottle running over a guy in the street reaching for a 100, he's cut in half but still trying to grab that money...I think the message here is, there's a lot of dumb things going on in the world, don't get killed by them.

The A-Side track, "Drunk Driving" starts out with a warble distorted vocal melody that sounds like it's being played back on a messed up tape deck. If you couldn't tell from the sleeve, it's clearly aligned with that stripped down minimal garage punk. The muted guitar chords have their roots in the southern dirty blues, a running train of I wouldn't say this song is celebrating drunk driving, but it doesn't exactly sound against it either. In NYC it's not really an issue, but who are these small towns kidding with their bars in the middle of nowhere off the highway? How is anyone getting home? There's no such thing as a cab? Designated drivers? Right.
The plain guitar distortion here reminds me of Bare Wires, stripped down clean rock electric guitar that lets loose on that chorus, saving the attitude to beat you to the punch with a moment of letting loose in that brief climax, then it's back to the hushed riffs and storyline.

"Dead Meat" however is getting as loud and lovingly obnoxious as Nobunny, or the Hunx, more garage blues, crunchy guitar and everything is pushing the needle (or LED's) pleasantly into the red....and this is all without distortion, just that warm slight reverb fast electric. The distortion is kicked on for a second to push the sound well over the top, but really it's the gritty vocals with attitude at top speed that's selling this. The, Oh yeeeaaaah! is so important, it's not angry or maniacally happy, but working it. It doesn't have to be sold, it's a statement, take it or leave it.
To the point of hardly catching any lyrics, there's hardly a breath taken. There's a lot to deliver and not a lot of time to do it. I can see the microphone stand going down on this one, lots of standing on the monitors, and pacing like an animal.

Classic sounds that I still never get sick of from the genre will never die. Easy to like, hard to reproduce. The Outdoorsmen do a fine job of a well crafted, attention to detail 2 minutes of punk garage.

Get it from Goner Records or try emailing direct Clown College Records at CLOWNCOLLEGERECORDS (AT) YAHOO (DOT) COM

Silent Barn - Miss You

Just found out about this robbery/vandalism of the Silent Barn this last weekend....a damn shame.

Of course.... not to be set back for more than a day, they launched a kickstarter campaign to rebuild everything bigger and better. I love(d) this space and saw plenty of great shows there. It was always an intimate audience and I'm sure there's a lot of bands that were happy to play another show on their way through NY at a community/fan run space.
I know people are going to step up and keep this running. I'll be a little sad that, like all amazing things, it will change, so I hope you got to experience this venue while it was around because I'm sitting here thinking what if they did just decide to call it quits?
That would be a disaster for music and NYC.

Bridesmaid / Sunsplitter split on Bastard Sloth Records

The Bridesmaid A-Side track "Vilkin' it for all it's worth" I thought was some reference to Norwegian black metal, but I'm pretty sure it's just close to milk and that was enough for these guys. A Harvey Milk or Don Cab type of clever metal title, that gives them a sense of humor I appreciate in something as black as this.
The sleeve and all art is ominous, glossy coal cardstock, pictured is some kind of glowing alien craft, or one of those jellyfish living miles below the surface of the ocean in complete darkness. Why hasn't more black metal adopted that iconography? It's pretty much exactly what their music is about, that desperate fighting for your life existence in total darkness. Sounds badass to me.
The track starts out with the slow analog tape spinning up, Bridesmaid is a trio of two basses and drums, so right away I'm interested... this isn't going to be that crunchy layered distortion. These rumbling bass guitars create entire rhythms that almost overwhelm the percussion, the only thing left to pick out is that high pitch crash of cymbals, the low end is washing over that kick entirely....it's a novel idea to just have the entire range of sound not rise above 1K, and you can spot on the vinyl that this is cut wide. They aren't going for pure speed either, I appreciate when the darker side of tracks like this can let things air out, those long sustained bass parts really highlight that here. I'm also getting this weird metallic twang sound, like a high tension metal tightrope guide was struck with a leadpipe. I guess that's sort of what's happening on a smaller scale with the bass essentially. When Scott and Bob layer this sound and their playing, it almost becomes anything but a live instrument, that low note may as well be a synth...it's a great effect...and in this case I have to say the vinyl, even if it is the closest analog to the band playing, still can't come close to the feel of this band playing 20 feet away. It almost wants to be music for the deaf, at that frequency range, it's all about the vibration. These guys take their time and slowly develop this complex track over the length of the side, never getting into the human range of speech, but communicating through tectonic shifts.
Sunsplitter on the B-Side, had a great interview where they talked about their amps and physically driving the kind of wattage live that makes a PA system worthless. I like the idea of a band not relying on anyone else to the degree of bringing everything to reproduce their sound the specific way they want, down to the last detail. The venue doesn't ever have what we need, we bring it ourselves. Also that basically this started as something of a self proclaimed performance art project in that it was directionless experimental sound that's evolved into this complex ancient Ministry industrial metal. I wonder why this cold machine feel isn't still as effective in metal these days, why an audience still wants to have the most expressive instrument, the guitar to be the center of these instrumental passages. Conceptually it makes sense to get rid of the human element as much as possible right? Just a bunch of machines trying to kill you. This is a track that completely evolves, that metal riff, slowly changes. Disintegration Loops? This has long been going on in side long length drone music for a long time.
The guitar is still front and center in this, mostly flat, it's impressive these rhythmic sounds are all coming from outdated old drum machines. It falls into an old ritual sounding, un harmonic vocal with an odd overall rhythm, that at times explodes with the otherworldly machine gun kick/snare combo that isn't dependent on weak muscles. They're getting those giant highs and lows from this epic guitarwork, quick staccato riffs to the longest sustained chords. The yelling or slowly spoken word section of vocals towards the end is in the instrumnet range and sits alongside this wave of sound nicely. It's not important or valuable enough to be front and center, the wails of humanity are drowned out. You can barely hear this. The rapid drum machine fires up with the doom finger exercises on the guitar neck which I think symbolize that the machines won, and why should they even express themselves anymore, that does not compute. The end.

Go listen to both of these on pathetic tiny laptop speakers...

Of course a label named, Bastard Sloth Records would release this. Thank them and spend a couple of bucks to hear these sounds on the closest thing you can get to seeing them live... if your amp goes to 11.

Little Gold on Sophomore Lounge Records

This single from Little Gold arrived from Sophomore Lounge Records. A lot in common with an earlier single on Heartbreak Beat Records, but the fully layered indie country sound is bigger, the melodies harmonically crafted, and the low distortion is always on the vocal. Mostly sounding like they're having fun without breaking bottles.

There's a color insert for the children of a crazy sesame street birthday scene with monkey stickers and adult, very out of place captions, sort of in the style of this party single, don't get too bent out of shape. A trifecta of folk '70s icons greets you over the handwritten lyrics on the reverse.

The A-Side, "Mike Swan" is just the name of a dude that hit Christian Deroeck, founder of Woods and Meneguar, who was innocently riding his bike one day. But of course Christian turned that catastrophe at the corner of Willoughby into gold with this track. The actual swans on the sleeve were extra confusing. I know swans can be insanely aggressive and I think I thought maybe one of the birds happened to chase Christian on a park path off his bike? It's not unbelievable.
But Little Gold is able to cleverly craft this song to be fun and catchy while essentially being a story song about a tiny inconsequential incident, and of course those moments can say a lot more about life. I can relate to this more than most songs and not just because it's about riding a bike in Brooklyn (wear a helmet) but because it's that everyday situation and the fact that they both 'allegedly' were drunk and also high diffused the situation into a simple accident. I'm constantly telling myself to calm down and not be so insanely defensive when an inevitable pedestrian or car runs into he bike lane....take it easy. I mean they both could have been watching out for each other a little better. But thankfully it ended alright, no hospitals no lawsuits, everybody go home, a little scrape, no big deal. It has a slight bar jam country feel, a bent electric guitar with layered wavering vocals. Great harmonies especially when singing the title of the track. "Mike Swan" is the most beautiful part of the whole thing, a nice tribute to the driver and Christians songwriting. There's a Beirut gypsy horn melody towards the end bringing this side safely home.

I hope Mike gets to hear this.

The B-Side, "Oh, Dad" is a cover of a James Toth (Of Wooden Wand) song which they grunge up a bit here. At first it sounds like quotes or advice from the Dad, but it's actually the son after the Dad. He's past that age of defiance when you criticize everything your parents do. Dad's an equal, he's a person, and the protagonist isn't disappointed here so much as just sad that he sees the way his Dad gets treated and is worried he's letting himself get walked on a little. It's a nice sentiment, the "In Defense of Dad" song, sounding very dirty garage'd out. A little distortion on the vocal, definitely with attitude. The sleeve photo couldn't be more perfect on this side of a '70s photo of a Dad in the backyard, next to the chainlink fence reluctantly waving to the camera. bog collar polyester brown jacket. Beard and sunglasses. Sort of happy times.
Dad's change and sometimes you start to question if his life choices make sense...Oh, Dad. Not unlike the teenage "Oh. Dad" which is always disappointed. It all comes back around.

Check out these tracks from Little Gold and get this one from Sophmore Lounge Records.

Terrible Feelings on Sabotage/Lack of Sleep Records

Impending Doom are a 4 piece from Sweden who sent me their latest, a split label release from Sabotage / Lack of Sleep Records.
I was expecting from that cover that I was in for a Zola Jesus type situation, that headlamp black and white photo, combined with the name Terrible Feelings and the title of this single "Impending Doom" might have had something to do with it.
If that weren't enough the high contrast xeroxed inside lyric sheet with an upside down cross and black and white menacing band photo got me thinking I was headed for another Blessure Grave combination.
This A-side track "Impending Doom" is actually this is the exact opposite, these punchy jagged guitar chords and tempo are headed towards a Franz Ferdinand reincarnation (When's the last time you heard that reference? - ed) and Manuela pictured on the front of the sleeve is an extremely capable unique vocalist, reminding me of that metal leaning, powerful female vocal of any of the Runaways, Lita Ford, Joan Jett, a big, yelling amount of control direction.
All of the melody is brought on by this power indie, guitar pop. A sort of new wave/ Bloc Party sound, it's straight ahead clean rock. The curious part is vocals like:
To my unborn child / there is nothing to enjoy in life
Is this a party pop subgenre of norweigan black metal? Only if you could understand what those guys were saying. This is a pretty bleak view for the uptempo rock sounds going on here. I guess we're used to this level of morose coming through in the tempo and instrumental delivery.
"Death to Everyone" on the B-Side is not a Will Oldham cover, it's got more of that contrasting jangly dance guitar sound and bleak vocals:
It's not my fault everyone is going to die
Again you have to imagine this delivered at frantic pop pace, the ultra angst delivered like '80s era political dogma:
leave me alone
I never wanted to compete with others
what's the point of anything today?
Literally those are the un-poetic straight ahead vocals...you know exactly what they're getting at, it's just usually more hidden among the metaphors or dense cryptic descriptions. To hear this alienation in these terms with this spin is unusual to say the least.
They are attempting to get at these raw emotions on that uncensored level with a slight of hand, a trick almost to get the listener on board and then sink the ship.
Is anyone going to left for the next one?

Check it out Maximum Rock and Roll, they loved it, you can pick it up from Sabotage Records overseas or email the band directly.

Diarrhea Planet on Infinity Cat

Just found out about this single from Diarrhea Planet today from Infinity Cat Records, looks like it's part of their "Econoline series", this being the second release. Like an old crappy touring van, Diarrhea Planet is rolling into town with 3 new tracks on this one.
Of course they are from Nashville...which is just an out of control epicenter of bands and labels.
I think Ryan brought this band to my attention originally knowing how much I love crazy band names...but they are so much more than just a back of the school bus insult. The visual that comes to mind is priceless...a planet of diarrhea? Steer clear.
They remind me of seeing Natural Child, another artist on Infinity Cat's roster, who similarly rocked the hell out of Bruar Falls, with punk rock garage energy, catchy and reckless songs...it takes a lot for a band to win you over cold like that. They were having a great time and took the crowd along for the ride. Diarrhea Planet is also going to make that wet river of rock come out all at once. You feel drained, but in the end it's for the best, you are going to heal...drink a lot of water, or electrolytes. Pediasure.

I'm still listening to ALOHA!, these slop rock anthems never seem to get old and I can turn to them at any time to sing out loud quietly at my desk...'partied the shit out of myself'. Have fun, let's make a plan to not always listen to serious music ok guys?

The series and this single is strictly limited to 350 copies.

I also learned it's very hard to spell diarrhea, I have to sound it out in my head and that cracks me up.
I like small records.
I am five.

Charles Manson on Holy Terror Records

I've been looking around to see if I could find a place that had samples of these tracks to listen to, and I'm just wasting my time....I don't really care. I was going to maybe write some kind of review about the music itself but at this point I've decided it doesn't matter what he's actually doing, what instruments he's playing, what he's singing about. It doesn't matter and it never will. This is going to appeal to a subset of collectors who have to really have the singles no one else is going to get.

If I did buy it... if it was at a dollar store somewhere, I'm sure I wouldn't ever listen to it more than 4 times at the most, and just because it was so bad, or it needed to go on a Christmas mix.
I did read that having been recorded in jail there's a lot of background toilet's flushing and cell doors being buzzed open and closed....a field recording of prisons? Now that's a Smithsonian anthology I could get behind.
But really there are far more interesting things going on with this singles very existence:

1.) How did Holy Terror get these tapes?
1b) Have they been corresponding with this guy for years in hopes of this new material?
2.) When pressing singles you need to have the artist sign a release for the material or the plant won't press it (Heylin, Clinton. Bootleg! The Rise & Fall of the Secret Recording Industry.) so basically this batshit label would be better off selling that piece of paper...oh wait, that would be gross.
3.) What about payment? Is Charlie getting extra Snickers Bars or cartons of cigs thanks to you?
4.) I thought that was illegal?

First 100 on red...oh how clever.

Go get it if you must from Holy Terror Records or Weirdo Records. Best name for a distro ever.

blah blah Freedom, I'm actually still curious what the hell this sounds like. But I'm sure 750 copies will be for sale at Spencer Gifts this halloween. I might buy one.
No I wont.
Is it ok to steal these MP3's?
I say yes.

The Lazy on the Record Machine Records

Brock contacted me about his band, The lazy out of Kansas City, I should know better than to create any kind of preconceived notion about a band based on their own description... or the name... or even the sleeve art. The Lazy is a perfect example of why you try to wipe everything clean from one day to the next. Each tiny vinyl single is a 7inch blank slate.
But you can't help it...lo-fi immediately comes to mind, maybe it's that thrown together punk, maybe garage psyche, and of course they are all of these and none of them.
Here are some key elements: They are from Kansas City, they feature dual guy/girl vocals, they've played shows in leather jackets and goth makeup and describe themselves as gothic-soul. Granted, this doesn't really even create any kind of clear picture but it's this haphazard mashup is what modern rock is always about, the overused pieces always have life left if recycled right.
This packed 6 song EP is anything but lazy.

"Lin and Gin":
First off to be perfectly clear, this is cleanly produced, not a hint of overblown, peaking sound anywhere. Clear separated elements that sound like early '90s PIL, with the unique phrasing and conceptual subject matter of Frank Black with an anything goes rock leaning aesthetic of The Replacements. Be warned, this review is going to be overly positive and I can't help but avoid these references, these guys are just that good. This entire single may as well be a full length, decidedly art rock - maybe because of the variety of tracks, held together by this nostalgic sound, but mostly because they don't have any master plan in mind, a good track composed of these disparate elements they make their own is rightfully all they need.

"Around" - has a big distorted Blood on the Wall sound. Almost '90s, it's a jagged, cold Pixies sound, angsty...the two of them singing together, the back and forth is pitch perfect with this chorus:
big around as you are tall
Not to mention all these tracks are the perfect punk length leaving you wanting more....why is this one over so soon? There's always a simple, great idea, completely fleshed out and then quickly abandoned for the next one.

"(I'd rather) take the fire", this one has a minimal Pylon feeling, or dare I say even going so far back as X-ray Specs, with a subtle more laid back feel, not quite as abrasive. A mechanical beat, that slight reggae sound, with a muted kettle drum? Layers of slightly off vocals, there's hardly anything here once you get to picking the pieces apart. Sarica Douglas' instincts are perfect, to combine this cold post punk vocal with a more expanded sung chorus, they hit on what makes both of those bands classic.

On the B-Side, "Future Boy" there's a great warped bassline intro that leads to some straight early punk rock with Brock's snotty delivery, playing off Sarica's vocal, easily a lost track from Let it Be, it's that chorus-y anthem for F.U.T.U.R.E. Future boy.

Next up, "Clothes" is the real argument for the second coming of Poly Styrene Sarica Douglas has the attitude and even the fact she's delivering this great vocal about selling your clothes, and not feeling cool around the time of a Janet Jackson album is great.
Like the German Measles, it's really clean art-rock when the talking heads make you nervous and they're combining these weird styles together, anti-performing.
Or Gang of Four's Entertainment!, completely unapologetic and unpretentious combining indie pop with the quiet Young Marble Giants direction.

Finally in "Birthday Letters", which for lack of anything else I'll say has a Replacements feel, because I just can't nail it down, has a deep, Barry White call and response vocal comes in just after Brock's main vocal and is something only the Lazy could think of and simultaneously pull off…so completely ridiculous and non-judgmental, I love that they took this chance, topped off with a guitar solo that drunkenly stumbles around.

This is coming out of Kansas City? I can only equate this to Mission of Burma and Boston or Pere Ubu out of Cleveland, it almost doesn't matter environmentally where they come from as far as their sound, they would be driven to these experimental pop extremes, but I imagine a lack of scene helps to focus the sound, and if you can get like minded people to find each other, and if they happen to be this talented then you get something as special as The Lazy.

300 copies. 100 red.

Listen to the single at their bandcamp page and then go get it from Record Machine.

They are also playing tonight at the Riot Room in their hometown.

Jack of Heart on Slovenly Records

Here's a new one from Slovenly Records, who recently brought us the Acid Baby Jesus single from garage creeps in Greece. Turns out Jack of Heart happens to be based out of - - the south of France? Is Slovenly Records on some quest for frequent flyer miles? Is the label based in NV or NY? Is this scuzz rock going to find a new audience with the Nashville garage set?
Absolutely.

"Eureka", on the A-Side has one of those completely surprising guitar sounds, simultaneously loud and quiet with an insane gravely tin distortion which they can turn off with the flick of a switch during the chorus for a great rock contrast. It's consistently running in the middle of being so put together and produced with an overall mischievous feel, while being on the edge of rattling apart.
The evil elf or demon vocal is definitely unique, possibly twisted up in tempo ween style just slightly? Can anyone actually sing like this?

What the hell all the creepy dolls are doing across this sleeve I'll never understand. It's next to impossible to use dolls ever in anything, let's face it, they've been overused by outsider creepy old man artists or lazy horror movies. What they have to do with this psyche garage? Something isn't quite translating graphically.

The next track, "Oscar Wilde":
Maybe just because I've been listening to a lot of Art Museums as of late, but this low end subsonic synth baseline is a page right out of their analog book and even talking about Oscar Wilde, It's the contemporary instrumentation combined with really out of date ideas and icons, that become cool again.
Compared to "Eureka", this has a completely different vocal and instrumental feel , it's a 180 degree turn, going for that sober photo side of the pastel Barbie trying to freakout, really letting loose. The monkey vocal noises are a nice touch along with repeating "Oscar Wilde" over and over, slow psyche style, layered background F&O's vocal and laid back sound.
Such a great weirdo synth sound I can't get over, with the bizarre pairing of subject and style.

Big hole, great Slovenly center label graphics, like an old 45 blues company, instantly recognizable and standing for this outsider garage as a whole, looking far and wide for these uncompromising sounds.

The B-Side, "Primitiv (The Groupies)", Pays homage to another unmined '60s garage band, The Groupies (and The Cramps who also covered it), Jack of Heart bring the single back around to embrace this past. The fact they even cover this track says a lot…it points to their influences and aligns them further with this specific sound. This slow creepy vibe, and rockabilly reverb surf guitar with a lot of vocal squealing and screaming into the mic. Not so much being tortured yourself, but getting off on the sadism. Dirty, slow, garage blues. Taking the guitar sounds and vocal effects really seriously, specifically calibrated for maximum unsettling. The extra creep factor is here because of this attention to detail in just the right color distortion that's unfamiliar.

Ignore the pedestrian sleeve and order this Jack of Heart 7" from Slovenly Records.

Slovenly gets creepy with a new three track 45 from esteemed French muck wranglers, Jack of Heart! Lead by Piero (ex-Mighty Go-Go Players/ Fatals/ Demon’s Claws) this 7" starts off with a disheveled fuzz stun-gun called "Eureka," a catchy dancer with snotty attitude out the ass, then slinks into trippy carnival grounds for a spell with the whimsical "Oscar Wilde." For Side B, Jack of Heart takes on the task of covering a song The Cramps taught us, 1966's "Primitive" by The Groupies. While Lux and Ivy arguably couldn't even improve on the original, Jack of Heart gives this standard a nasty, stinging twist of their own, and it works perfectly for the 45 format. This superb blend of headphone worthy psych-garage comes housed in a gorgeous full color sleeve, with band dedications to fallen friends Seb Favre, Bobby Ubangi, and Jay Reatard.

Grace Basement on Eastern Watts Records

Eastern Watts Records who brought you the Brosby Kills and Kash single a while ago are back with a new 7" from Grace Basement. Kevin Buckley who runs the label is a big time vinyl aficionado and it makes sense the next step for an uberfan of the format would be to start your own label, Eastern Watts (*see sweaters and pearls). With a few releases so far under their belts in tiny runs of 150, this one happens to be of Kevin's own band, Grace Basement....which may or may not exist anymore?

The A-Side features, "Broke up Man", is right in line with the Flaming Lips or early Grandaddy, and possibly the name was foreshadowing things to come for fans. I like the whirr of the tape rolling into the groove to a big sampled mechanical beat against a thin sounding acoustic....two completely separate sounds in the way Beck used to folk freestyle. The guitars gradually get a little dirtier, with less of the polish, a piano hits the big chords along with an ever present organ underneath everything that started up even before the tape. The whole thing seriously produced like Rouge Wave or a smooth more rock oriented Shins, thanks to that heavy vocal layering. Surprising new sounds keep working their way in between verses, a thermin, bells, new synth...all the way to a huge horn section finish. The biggest theme song, borderline operatic finish, where they found a horn section of at least 6 is a feat itself.

The B-Side, "Lay on the Wheel, Sweet Sally" get real country, slide guitar, honkey tonk piano complete with a solid bassline. Neo-country folk along the lines of Blitzen Trapper, contemporary sounding in production, but with deep craft roots and a slight twist when compared note for note.
The 2nd track on this side, "I've got some good news!" is a heavy echo vocal over a buried deep acoustic...so loud it may as well be a capella, as close and heavy as a Stephin Merritt vocal that gives way to a huge chorus of voices in a brief chorus. Grace Basement seem to play with the expectation right before a huge sound, waiting to turn the track epic at any moment. This one is an almost quiet, whispered ballad until this choir comes in rolling the dice again.
I've got some good news! is delivered in a hushed, slow tone, the exact opposite of a celebratory title. Some good news isn't something to sing out loud to your neighbor, maybe it's some sort of frighteningly unbelieveable good fortune or it comes at the expense of everyone else.
All in all a mix of indie and alt-country, closest to a shit kicking Flaming Lips with all the experimentation of big sounds and weird references track to track. They go for the unusual, not content with just a traditional delivery.

Crazy pieced together David Hockney style cover of a million patchworked pictures of the beach from Eastern Watts, who must be running out of their run of 150 by now.

The Art Museums on Slumberland Records

This single "Dancing With a hole in your heart" is on a yellowy opaque almost fluorescent vinyl, perfect for the Bauhaus, Peter Halley inspired pastel sleeve, and if you've learned one thing about the Museums it's that there's going to be a foundation of crazy percussion sounds that could only come from the wing of the synth museum next door. Where they find these giant machines, with the wire connections like old telephone operators, the dials and switches for changing soundwave shapes I'll never know, and from the sound of it, no one else does either. They take the bass side of these low tech sounds, combined with a minimal guitar line and those layered harmonies...which makes it sound easy...but this fine line of '60s psyche, early experimental electronica and waifish sneaking pop is too weird to have ever existed before. An entirely new manifesto for music making.

"Imaginary Day" on the B-Side has a shimmery surface guitar and double time rhythm. They effortlessly work with the bare bones sound of decidedly old technology and compose shifting multiple harmonies over this demo sound, making the sum bigger than the pieces.
Next up, "You don't want to live like that" is another complex rhythm with the most inorganic sounds against this angelic vocal. This one should really have been a contender for the A-Side track. I'm in awe of this combination. The heavy low end bassline and that clack of a digital snare. The guitar here has a new depth that's not like the usual indie-jangle they go for, but every track is an exercise in experimentation. Not unlike deerhoof conceptually, it's a blank canvas, and they don't ever hesitate.
I never considered this being on Slumberland, but of course it makes perfect sense. The labels historic pop sensibility would support this weird new wave classic folk, a futuristic reinterpretation of Simon & Garfunkel. The Art Museums vocal harmony is the smart bottom line that's going to carry this the furthest. At the end of the day they can pen such an unnatural pop song that couldn't be from the era of sound it consists of. That gives everything a truly unique feel, like the great artists of any movement, they've created their own niche and never wavered from this completely single minded vision.
Both of these singles offer a glimpse into another incredible full length and these singles are both essential. I have to have everything they put out, they are always worth tracking down. My only question really is what a live show might possibly be like, and I should be so lucky.
You, reader, are lucky this is ridiculously cheap and plentiful from Slumberland, the way a consistently amazing band's releases should be.