Advance Base / Hello Shark split on PIAPTK Records

People in a Position to Know have been consistently coming up with the most amazing packaging for the lowly single and beyond, from an 8" square colored vinyl of Springsteen covers from Owen Ashworth and his brother to a sprawling 6 LP Wooden Wand boxed set (in appropriately enough...a wooden box), picnic plate shaped lathe cuts if I remember correctly he cut himself on his own machine...well machines plural because you can't have just one....literally, every piece breaks and you probably need to have a couple just for spare parts. It makes you want to move out into a part of the world where the cost of living is way less than brooklyn and start tracking down enough pieces to press your own records...in the meantime I will just be buying what PIAPTK is crazy enough to put together, always amazing, and worthy of blind buying their entire output. Consistently great, I admire all the projects they come up with over there.
It's no wonder Owen agreed to release a second single from his latest project, Advance Base, this time split with Hello Shark out of Burlington, VT, in a really nice matchbook printed chipboard sleeve from Stumptownprinters.
The Advance Base side starts out with a typically heartbreaking track, "Whirlaway The Horse", a Rhodes organ and a Whippany Rhythm Master (thanks liner notes) which is the sole core of his ever skeleton minimal structure. It serves to highlight Owen's songwriting, and this one is just a perfectly crafted story of the horse, Whirlaway that reveals a bar owners story verse after verse, and if this isn't based on some actual conversation late one night in a lonely bar then Owen, you are more of a genius than ever. Delivered in his deliberate understated style, barely rising above the trembling warmth of the organ melody, which against this ancient drum machine always reminds me of the sparse lonely sounds of Arise, Therefore, but Owen always manages to make these sad stories sound optimistic, the pieces seem to be always sort of working against that idea, and that's always the biggest trick of his songwriting, to give those kind of melancholy moments enough charm to be a little bit deceptive almost....once you start to investigate a little deeper.
Next up from Base is "Spanish Flangdang", which is listed as a traditional cover, and has a carnival uptempo carousel melody, which actually is so related to the Whirlaway melody they may as well be twins. This one still is riding that line of sadness, but maybe it's the closeness of these two that makes this sad somehow.
The B-Side from Hello Shark, starts out with "Stayed on an Island", recorded by Joey Pizza Slice in his apartment, the 4 piece reserved band lead by Lincoln Halloran on guitar and vocals, sounds like it works right alongside on old Palace album, he's just as understated in his delivery as Owen and the simple sentiments of making an island out of a mattress or giving a good friend a solo cigarette, come off as intensely personal, you're being let in on this intimate performance that doesn't ever need to be loud or scream for your attention. "Stars are Glow" continues this loose, good friends together writing music, a sleepy melodic track with Brooke Morrison bringing a high register harmony to the low key proceedings. A great pairing with Advance Base, and a serene end to 2011.

Get this one from PIAPTK who says:

The debut release from Casiotone For the Painfully Alone's Owen Ashworth's new band, Advance Base is a split with his Vermont buddies in Hello Shark (voted one of the 50 best new bands in America by the Boston Phoenix). 2 tunes each, in hand-screened arigato paks with free digital download coupon (and instant download upon checkout!).

Cousins on The Noyes Records singles series

The Noyes Record subscription series is still going strong and their latest from Cousins came in just before the holidays. In the same ways Yuck or Broken Water...or fellow subscription series-mates, Dog Day, this duo from Halifax is mining the attitude and guitar tones of the nineties. "Secret Weapon" on the A-Side carries the ramshakle good times of Pavement with a loose, gritty electric blaring out of a broken practice amp from the right side of the stereo. The percussion jerky, odd timings and slightly distorted at times, high falsetto vocal from Aaron Mangle gives this a less than deadly serious delivery which makes them immediately likable. When you can coax out a near perfect rhythm like this, the combination of gutsy muted strumming with double time ceramic (?) cowbell  it doesn't need any extra dressing up, the simple capturing of this rimshot stomper is plenty. It's not getting into anything near lo-fi, but the exact right amount room sound and immediacy, and more importantly precise, catchy songwriting. That's what reminds me of Dog Day, The Hussy or another 'related' band, Blood on the Wall...there's pure classic innovation pouring out of these guys.
B-Side's "Speech", brings out a bit more of this raw practice room, garage side. There's some kind of down the hall sound from a record being played...or someone singing and a bluesy blown out garage number blasts in. This combination of Aaron's high vocal under heavy reverb, this elegant almost frail vocal alongside this scuzzy guitar is a great crazy direction, not to say he can't completely belt this out when the drums, with all fills take this solidly into the red. A raw sound expanding on the loose groove....I think that might be Leigh Dotey on drums, if the video below is the current line up.

Fantastic single, playful and stripped down, elements of garage and loose indie-rock, but classically all in service of the songwriting.

Damn this came out a while ago and should have been in contention for the year end thingys, but that isn't what this is about, they deserve to be picked up from Noyes Records...another solid edition to the singles club...you need more reasons?

Get this one direct from Noyes Records.


COUSINS - Speech from Mitch Fillion (southernsouls.ca) on Vimeo.

Ghost Towns of the West on Chase Bliss Records

Joel from Chase Bliss Records out of Minneapolis sent me his latest single from Ghost Towns of the Old West, who are also residents of Mill city. This 5 piece classic rock, grunge era sounding group just committed these two new tracks to vinyl not long after their debut EP.
A-Side's, "Robust" takes a distorted twangy electric into a solo mini-funk area with Dan Crowe delivering a piled up Chris Cornell style vocal, a bluesy sounding emotional echo, extending syllables, drawing out the scene and a contrast to the punching heavy arcs of distortion. The whole thing being immensely clean sounding, a dense fuzz of classic power riffs heavily cutting through the delicate melody. Danielle Wagner is on belting soul backup duties, a seriously trained vocalist, adding her 'oh yea's' in overdrive, eyes closed one hand on the headphones. Against the guys in the band yelling into a room mic between going back into the valleys of riffs it's an attempt at a grungy blues with the power of a thousand watts.
"Mr. Loewe" on the B-Side takes things down into a narrative track about this know it all creep with tremolo organ and electric, piano, and an ultra slow rhythm see saw punctuated by the band on that room mic again yelling in chorus every once in a while... a nice break from the up close, smooth vocals by Dan on this one. He's not too angry about the whole situation, more like in a stoned haze about the whole thing. By the time this honkey tonk psyche ends he won't even remember what his problem was with this guy in the morning.

Get this one on White or black vinyl from Chase Bliss Records.

Buck Gooter on Flannel Gurl Records

There's a new label out of Christiansburg, VA, ...actually maybe the only record label out of Christiansburg, it's Flannel Gurl Records run by Jonathan & Kimmi, a little less than a year old already with a handfull of releases including this single from Buck Gooter which is the first time the band has released anything on vinyl. A duo of guitar and drum machine/electronics, it's the best kind of punk, experimental noise chaos.

Take the A-Side live track, "Devil Worship" which has that thin, fuck-the-drums repetitive loop running under a mess of distorted snake guitar work from Terry who along with Brat are yelling through a shitty house PA about...you guessed it, devil worship. You can hear the audience yelling along with them, there's no regular melody, this is based in pure expression. I will always hold something like this up a little higher than a commercially successful band who is making a living. You could almost make the theoretical 7" argument that if they're doing something that popular it's suspect by default. The motives behind it can too easily have to do with something other than the music itself. Buck Gooter exorcizes all the jaded marketing PR emails away. If these guys are at the Little Grill in Harrisonburg, VA then there's still hope for new music and frankly for the country as a whole. It's hard to overlook the massive strip mall that can be the US sometimes...but let's not get sidetracked, (red states, GWB) this is the sound of hope, a complete dirty, live mess of inspiration that resulted in wreckage physically and mentally in the form of an electronic theremin breakdown solo or maybe that was just manipulated feedback from a tiny guitar. A tree falling in the forest of VA. The only downside to this recording is that it feels too far removed, like you're standing way at the back of the room, or outside...I want to be right up in the middle of this...but maybe that's just because we couldn't handle it yet.
The B-Side, "Fife and drum" is a dining room recording of a heavy bass stomping drum track and classic riff rock echo guitar repeating a fist pumping anthem melody. All drums with a skeleton of rock, it's an awesome combination of that ballsy '70s almost metal with the freeform electronics of the days of Butthole Surfers, Ministry or Skinny Puppy...(you know those guys weren't ever thinking about the future, it's insanely dated and impossible to listen to, but you wouldn't get to the state of things today without it, it's an important overlooked era...where's the 33 1/3 book?) So here's this new line of thinking in obvious synth sounding electronics against the a classic rock sound. They want to go to the highway of hell, taking the exit off dystopian future bladerunner highway. Finally we come to a fitting end to the single and Buck's take on existence... a completely delayed out a capella blues track, "Echoes from a Lonely Tomb", it's layers of serious controlled heartfelt singing with yelps and screams just under the surface, all the stages of grief at once. A single 4/4 kick beat keeping time, they are willing to go anywhere, given the right effect...they don't even have a plan for this, this was overlooked, recorded too late/early in the morning and only months later did they realize it's worthy of the seven inch. That's a feat in and of itself.
They would also like to remind you that snakes are cool as artwork, but I don't see a single snake anywhere on this sleeve...lots of liner notes on the reverse which helps to set the scene of the crime further and are as important as the recording itself

I'd wish these guys luck but with their dark lord pressing record they don't need my help, they are also coming to Death by Audio on January 20th.

You can hear this and Flannel Gurls latest on their bandcamp page and pick this single up for $7 from Flannel Gurl. No multinational corporations will receive any percentage. Occupy seven inch! (Not 7inches, I don't have the room)

The One & Nines on Cotter Records

Got this updating of a throwback '50s harmony sound from The One & Nines who put this "Tell Me" sngle out on Cotter Records, and I'm pretty sure this 12 piece wanted the 7" format to reflect the roots of the 45 around that period as well.
The A-Side's "Tell Me" is a massive blown out classic '50s pop structure, BIG horn section, lots of R&B soul from Jeff Marino on dual duties of vocals and the reverby wet electric. This one reminds me a lot of that "Love is Strange" track from Micky and Sylvia, it's a combination of Chuck Berry era rock and roll, surf picking and even a Stax motown sound, keeping in mind that these are area's far away from what little knowledge I may have picked up in the past few years of this, but it feels like it comes out of the same place Electric Cowbell does: they greatly appreciate this overlooked style and are faithfully recreating a version of it with a contemporary angle to everything. The horn solo in particular near the end is sort of like that Calexico inspired Mariachi, and a lot of the latin stabs into unfamiliar waters on Electric Cowbell as well, sometimes that metal brass squealing belongs on the mini vinyl. Backup vocals from Vera are responding to Jeff's lyric in every verse on par with his controlled delivery, there's plenty of backup Doo Wop layers vocally making this dense mix of instrumentation probably ideal for an actual dance hall, bring back the velvet curtains and singles mixers at the churches, The One & Nines are headlining.
The B-Side, "Make it Easy" features Vera now taking a crack at filling this track with the same kind of soul, and she can clearly deliver the goods, from breathy and belting. Everything is faithfully arranged, this reconstruction is unbelievably put together in support of this room filling vocal. Almost funky, the big melody is driven along with this backbeat, the horn section doing this great punch and fade away during the chorus. A little bit classic rock influenced even by the end, like Janis on Pearl, having already arrived at this ensemble blow the roof off place it takes alternative bands years to get to, and out of their element, completely fail at. Leave it to the One & Nines guys, they're products of a hell of a music education and didn't get here by luck and talent alone.

On black vinyl from Cotter Records, who have the most minimal site on the best way, they just need a link to this record already. Go to The One & Nines direct.

Darling 'Keep Out' on Cardboard Sangria Records

Got a single in of dreamy layered pop from a three piece out of Chicago called Darling, on Cardboard Sangria Records, which is about to turn 13, and goes on the list of labels that have too long flew under the all powerful 7inches radar. Looks like these guys have at least 3 full length/EP's behind them already so this is no debut single baby, but just one of those personal labors of love in the form of the seven tiny inches (Isn't that a caroling song?), two tracks here, "White is Night" and "Mako Sica" from the
"White is Night" on the A-Side starts out with the warm acoustic guitar layers and background organ, while Jeff comes in with a slightly echo'd vocal that has that sincere slight break from a guy who's giving in to delivering the emotion and not to the judges. Something of a Jeff Tweedy comforting country...or is that the rim shot rhythm...or the call and response from the rest of the band like a ghostly chorus. It must be the stabs at the warbly hammond organ that put it in the lonesome west for me anyway. A solemn horseback tune, which is putting a new spin on the paint chip card that usually is the color for night. Same kind of melancholy though, wandering...might just be trying to convince himself of this positive spin. The breakout moment is this distorted organ/guitar solo where those two opposing sounds find their way into each other, maxing out in great ways.
The B-Side, "Mako Sica", goes for the slow guitar centric chorus this time, slowly building in the layers of shaker as the whole thing picks up to a poppy shaker, definitely in line with American Analog Set or Dean Wareham's projects. I think that's Native American for 'bad lands' if you trust the internet and these guys make it sound alright to me, another attempt at changing name expectations? Or they just can't help themselves to get a groove going under any circumstance. I hear some abstract lyric references to tough situations, but again is feels completely fun...maybe they're normally a hardcore band and this is their blue period which fails nicely. Clean as hell for getting to the bottom of the pit without getting too dirty, rocking the whole way.

Sleeve art from Stacey Chapman, liner notes thanking everyone on an interesting (raspberry?) shade of opaque red vinyl, with download card, 250 pressed on Cardboard Sangria Records.

Pillars and Tongues on Endless Nest Records

Pillar and Tongues are a three piece out of Chicago making expansive, spiritual droning orchestral pieces which feature Mark Trecka's cavernous vocals, which become the focus of the record. It's almost about someone who has this kind of control over his vocal ability, and can transform a lyric from just a vehicle for communication into a compelling instrument.

It shouldn't surprise me when a band like this makes the focus of their work the exploration of something that can too easily be taken for granted in music composition, but when Pillars and Tongues deliver it in this subtle way it sneaks up on you and suddenly seems obvious. There's still infinite possibilities for this most basic instrument before even banging on something outside that cave, we've been continually innovating the sound and use of the voice since the very first compositions. Evan has a deep Peter Murphy type voice, with an authoritative, blues style seriousness of Mark Lennegan. Sort of like that demo album, the recordings Wai Notes between Will Oldham and Dawn McCarthy for The Letting Go, recorded in Iceland, somehow perfectly representing that geography in spirit.

Pillars and Tongues then utilize minimal accompaniment, the three members are working with a bare bones structure from violin and bass which end up a lot of times being bowed in an imperceptibly endless way, resulting in one long, deep foundation to lay Evan's dense prose on this meditative album, The Pass and Crossings. There's a big churchy reverb to everything to give it that expansive feel, it belongs in this huge space, it easily fills that kind of area.

The A-Side begins with an expansive piece, "A Dance in The Billowing Absence", just strings and organ, the violin wavering in a deliberately unsettling way, conveying this kind of a breakdown, giving you an idea that this isn't going to be conventional classically delivered instrumentation. They are creating contemporary dirges between the harmonies of the stringed instruments. The pairing of Elizabeth Remis' violin with Evan's works throughout the album in the same huge frequency and range of expression, they are equals working in different ways.

They continue to explore melodies that range from slowly shifting drones to middle east inspired arrangements on the next track "Palms to Tell". While the instrumentation takes it's time, lyrically Evan is piling up all kind of abstractions seemingly dealing with the deepest primal emotions of love and death. There's religious references throughout to votives, pilgrims and virgins with children. Surprisingly, it doesn't ever feel dark, there isn't an ounce of gothic's foreboding or morbidity, they're dealing with these heavy subjects in something of a hymn to a higher powr. By the last track on the the A-Side they even start to introduce more tribal percussion rhythms moving clearly from an introspective personal place to maybe an outward celebratory feel, probably evident by the title of this one, "Thank you, Oaky".

The B-Side opens with "Oaky (Doting)" and I'm starting to put this entire album together as a conceptual album about a spiritual journey, where as the previous track, the narrator was praising this Oaky character, in this one another voice is condemning his following, and we're back to the bare minimal layering of strings in rising and falling mantra's. Introducing doubt. "The Making Graceful" picks things up again with a complex primal rhythm, the vocal and violin mixed closely together, the beat taking over the middle of the B-side and the violin here even sounding hopeful, optimistic. This side ends with "Decadent Crossing", bringing the somber tone of the opening full circle, this time Evan's vocal is echoing sentiment from a distance, another character chiming in from another plane, a far off echo on the vocal, this could be some kind of end/beginning transformation 'crossing' and these are just the kind of heavy themes Pillars are going for, trying to elevate self expression into something bigger than yourself.

Pillars and Tongues extend their tracks into hymns that stretch out for seemingly endless periods of time across both sides of this full length LP from Empty Cellar Records a hugely celebratory mantra about this abstract spiritual journey but for the human voice.

Track listing:
1. A Dance In The Billowing Absence
2. The Palms to Tell
3. Thank You, Oaky
4. Oaky (Doting)
5. The Making Graceful
6. Decadent Crossing


http://pillarsandtongues.tumblr.com/
http://pillarsandtongues.bandcamp.com/

Go pick up this full length record with great newsprint poster with reverse liner notes from Empty Cellar Records. Completely related to another on from Empty Cellar, The Sandwitches and Will Oldham's massive catalog.

Top 10 7 inches of 2011 with Darren from VOS

TOP

Darren, from Velocity of Sound and I talked about our top 7" picks for the year.
Spoiler Alert.

Darren:

10) Wilco - Dpm records

9) The Ketamines - Hozac records 

8) Fresh and Onlys - Sexbeat Records

7) Raw Blow - self released

6) The Boomgates - Smart Guy records

5) The Vivian Girls - Polyvinyl Records

4) The Lower Dens - Sub Pop

3) D Watusi - Cass Records

2) Diarrhea Planet - Infinity Cat

1) Tim Cohen - Captured Tracks

Jason:

10) Natural Child/Liquor Store split on Almost Ready Records

9) Snakeflower 2 - Southpaw Records

8) The Whines - Mt. St. Mtn. Records

7) Ty Segall - Drag City

6) Jeff Novak - Trouble in Mind

5) Real Numbers - Floridas Dying

4) Grass Widow - HLR Records

3) Art Museums - Dul-Ci-Tone Records

2) White Stripes - Third Man Records

1) Jay Reatard - Shattered Records

Now go listen to us play excerpts and defend our picks - download the show here (48mb).

Stay tuned for an upcoming TOP 30! with Styrofoam Drone as I reserve the right to completely change the entire list.

Just messing around taping singles off the stereo speakers for a year end round up Darren from VOS and I did about  week ago...talking about our top ten's for the '11's when this email came in from Matador about their singles club they're launching for the new year with bi-monthly exclusive releases from the OBN III's and the Jicks?
I'm in.
Early xmas present.

Launching in January will be the Matador Records singles club, Singles Going Home Alone, featuring six new 7" singles over the duration of 2012. The first of these bi-monthly releases featuresStephen Malkmus & The Jicks and L.A. Guns, with the former covering the latter's "Wheels Of Fire" and Tracii & Co. tackling "Gorgeous George" by The Jicks. Following this, releases are set to come from OBN III's (March) and The Men from New York City (May), with more acts to be confirmed for later in the year.
The annual subscription includes free shipping, a free Matador tote bag, a 10% discount on the Matador store all year long and a secret bonus item. The following subscription options are available:
$45 US
$55 Canada
$70 rest of world
Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks

L.A. Guns

OBN III's

The Men

Tenement on Toxic Pop Records

This one came in from Amos, a member of Tenement, a punky Wisconsin three piece with a full length behind them already and this single from Toxic Pop Records.

The A-Side track, "Taking Everything" is a punchy, blasting pop punk sound with a bratty punk vocal, feeling a lot like the huge catchy power chord sound of something like the Promise Ring, complete with backup harmonies. Singing as hard as the mic's will take, taking jabs at swinging guitars. Stop for the distortions to drop out for a minute and it's just a verse and drums, that tension launching back to the chorus of "Taking everything the wrong way!", with an organ (or synthy electric) melody line over the layers. I've been there buddy, you try to explain, but it just makes it worse.
The next one, "Paper Airplanes" really takes things down to a slow picked electric slow dance mood with a heavy distanced echo effect on vocals. This one is clearly positioned to be a sadtown tearjerker, it's what happens when all the energy is turned inward and you get that emo introspection...but it's definitely tempered by the medical oddities textbook imagery on this single...well, that description makes it sound ok...one guy is missing his entire lower jaw and mouth, even in black and white, on the reverse of the insert... it's disturbing. Is he going to appreciate being taken on this serious ride? Maybe he can... for a minute... forget about his problems. Or this will be the last thing he ever hears. Yikes. I did think this was going to be heavy doom metal, so when it's optimistic power pop like this, it throws me for a minute.
The B-Side with "Daylight World" then goes in an entirely different direction sort of power alt-country with a line dance rhythm, tinny acoustic guitars turn to power chords and alternating big riff harmonies. Big reverby solo makes this really feel like things are going to be ok, until it turns into and a long backwards song hidden track that makes me think the sleeve art wasn't a mistake. They're not letting you off easy with 4 tracks of cohesive material, it's a one band gymnastic mix tape. Here's the giant obstacle course and what we can do with it.

Check out their bandcamp page and get it direct from the band or on Toxic Pop Records.

Four brand new songs from your new favorite band. We're super stoked to get to bring you this EP. If you're unfamiliar, think a modern take on Sugar, the Replacements, Mudhoney, and later Husker Du. 100 on clear vinyl. First come, first served.

Witch Gardens "Raindelay" on Highfive and Handshakes

This single was released way too long ago for me to just be getting to it now, but really that's how this year has been going. The singles keep coming out in exponential numbers, to anyone who's wondering if I'm getting to their review, I can't believe that honestly once a day isn't at all enough to keep up and in order to get all the last candidates in for the end of the year lists etc, I'm going to step things up until at least a little past the new year....
So Peter over at Highfive and Handshakes Records let me know about this Witch Garden "Rain Delay" single he put out a couple months ago and both of these fuzzy layered guitar tracks have everything to do with letting go of the summer grooves and settling into a long winter, but we can still hold on to those surf memories, even on the East Coast. Especially this A-Side "Goodbye Ball", which also might refer to equally as tragic loss of a ball into that yard that you aren't about to go get it from. Just let it go, no one wants to deal with that crazy neighbor. There's a huge Real Estate chorus guitar sound, along with that laid back focus on a harmony to the point of only catching tiny fragments of lyric. The slow snowflake falling tempo is broken by a snare on every beat chorus, taking a page right out of the origins of the Vivian Girls with Frankie on drums, the huge wooden batons and tambourine resting on the tom.

The B-Side might be more related to Grass Widow in their 3 part unique vocal harmony, working in a separate vein altogether from the reverb strum but with that Nodzzz kind of laid back vibe. When this one really picks up reflecting that stayed indoors insanity, it's a nice touch, they're driving themselves crazy in their own song. I'd also like to note it's no accident this comes from a label encouraging fair play with their moniker leading right to "Good game, good game, (yea right, yea right) HEY! I like that you can hear the hum of the cables trailing out after the song is over, but that's the kind of succinct vision they carry out with this one, exacting and thought out.

A criminally small run of 300 copies from Highfive and Handshakes...damn I love this sound, it is the definitive soundtrack for the last 5 years or so. Dum Dum Girls, The Babies, Best Coast...these guys aren't taking themselves too seriously and I like them more for it.

Batwings Catwings - Radio on Gravy Records

Gravy HQ are the guys who put out that awesome Divorce single and they recently sent in this new one from LA based Batwings Catwings, which sounds to be something of a revisit of the rock punk synth movement from a few years back only expanded into a couple of towering mammoth-rock tracks.


"Radio" starts out with a minimal repetitive synth note with Dana coming in under a heavy layer of echo, powering out verses about the radio...which is a popular subject for catchy songs (*See Elvis Costello). When she's on the top of that cliff belting out, "I wanna listen to the radio!" I have to think she's talking about the idea that you can find anyone's great 'radio' station thanks to the internet, but actually tuning in a dial to someone playing records? I don't believe it even happens anymore and this isn't the thing she's talking about. It might just be NYC radio blows (except of course WFMU and WNYU) let's hope it's getting a second wind and beaten down by programmers and advertisers, maybe the only DJ's left will be doing it for the right reasons, and making those connections between tracks...live. Or the radio is actually pretty good in LA, which I'm sure is what she's talking about. After Dana gets you with this modest, low key opening there's a severe split in the single and this blows up super studio style, shiny guitars, booming drums, it's a little jarring...they're going for that big ass smash hit and they're definitely getting it...without a second to prepare yourself.


The B-Side "Early Exit" is a more of the full on rock attack from the beginning this time with a lot more keys of analog melodies, like some kind of x-games soundtrack version of Crystal Castles, or even the super pop of something like Bloc Party, a ridiculously over the top sound that's the furthest thing away from a garage, ultra compressed for maximum volume. (It says so on the center label). It's a heavy layered sound on the anthemic arena side, the bass slightly more distorted and defining a melody for that chorus wind machine effect on 11.


As always go check out their bandcamp page and decide yourself..this on is available from the Gravy

Buffalo Bangers on Private Leisure Industries

This one came in from Private Leisure Industries, who put out that Brian Lewis Saunders' bedbugs full length spoken word album. You aren't going to find anything even close to that release on any other label, and this single from Buffalo Bangers is just as unique. Private Leisure is quickly standing out with some truly original releases.

The A-Side, "Blockader" has a slow, deliberate attitude, that raw, stripped down electric over a simple beat, plenty of room to breathe, the sound of the silence as much a part of the composition... it's Lindsey Elcessor that's the standout element pushing this simultaneously into a goth place alongside that minimal post-punk place. It's as much informed by the cold nu wave of Pylon as it is the dark themes of Siouxsie Sioux. The minimal grooves of post rock get me every time, maybe because they're so accessible...if they're doing it, why can't I?... but her delivery and vocal is definitely anything but. In contemporary music I'd compare her to Zola Jesus, just being such a unique singular talent, an artist who is approaching the tracks with a complete vision with a willingness to go more experimental. There's no hesitation in switching from a deliberate quieter monotone vocal to breaking vocal.

Like Cosey from Throbbing Gristle, Lindsey's exploring a similar psychic territory, with a Georgian slant. Like Benjamin Smoke, who would have only been able to evolve in that environment, the darker southern elements, combining in that swamp, the unfamiliar specific creepiness from that part of the world. She's doing some great things with her voice, a croaking 'ahhhhhh' vocal, it's the way she's completely giving in to her instrument that I appreciate. If it's going to be a great contrast to go from that to a trained vibrato then that's where this track is going. There's no pressure to pretty it up.

The B-Side, "Granite Grandma" has a chorus-y, Cure guitar melody and a chanting vocal this time from Lindsey...when you are honestly able to pull this homage off, it's remarkable. Getting to that same place is just as interesting now as it was then. It is crazy to even try, but they're coming together with the right feel. She's obviously talented right out of the gate... a serious vocal force... she makes you think about the obvious advantage that female singers can have, putting energy into a track like this while still sounding laid back, or effortless, it's not exactly 'yelling', but she's got your attention. This one instrumentally is equally as creepy as the A-Side, a sturdy drum track and distorted bass. Lyrically there's a lot to dissect...plenty of layers here to transcribe in teenage diaries. It's really bringing back listening to the saddest bastard music on the bus on the way to school and praying the batteries would hold out for another side.

I'll be damned if I can't recognize what this sleeve is done after, I've been searching out every Siouxsie and Bauhaus cover for that typeface...but no luck. Get this one on black vinyl from Private Leisure Industries Records

Beerface/Pointing Fingers split on Rot Gut Records

First of all let me say this is a glow in the dark vinyl 45, which actually works, flip off the lights and it's a glowing platter, not enough to get picked up by a camera, so you'll have to take my word. This is actually a split between a gentleman who goes by Beerface among other hip hop aliases, and a pleasant fellow Pointing Fingers, AKA Progeny, not too many hip hop singles cross the 7inches desk, but I've kept tabs on Stones Throw and their insanity likeMF Doom dime box sets, but I really have no kind of context for this except a few touchstone albums.

So Beerface is going to school me about his part of the dirty south on the A-Side hip hop style, a classic combination of old school beats: grab a couple of good loops, some horns and of course barfing and pissing samples because after all this is a hardcore jam about drinking beer. "Number one" is impeccably crafted, a verse after verse jam about microbrews and getting wasted, this alter ego pushing the subject matter to it's absolute limit punctuated by a chorus of "I'm fucking drunk!". It's constructed in the perfect tone of those story tracks from LL Cool J or KRS-1, a utilitarian beat under that direct vocal track, that leaves it all up to Beerface to keep this interesting measure after measure. Completely entertaining he's just leaving me with one question after pouring a cold one myself....can he pull this off for a whole album of this? Each track an ode to a particular brand, Bud, Miller or Genesee, maybe the bars and especially the things that happen after having a few too many? There's a lot of material here, clearly Beerface is in his element and this has to just be scratching the surface.

The B-Side, "Goes So Hard" from one of Progeny's alter egos Pointing Fingers brings things somewhere into the late '90s with a real low bit rate sampled beat, and eastern style samples, a little like DJ shadow's more introspective tracks. Those muscley beats and unexpected instrumentation like this huge rattling chain sound. Progeny has a bit of that Marshall Mathers frantic yell style, between verses he's taking in huge breaths on the verge of hyperventilating.
I like that these guys got together and made a single happen....and on glow in the dark vinyl...a first for me I have to say.

Get this Texas hip hop glowy single from Beerface's tumblr, and after a few beers turn out the lights.

DBCR - Two song EP - Self Released

This single came in from Kenneth with a nice note on the reverse side of a miniflyer to a show DBCR played at the Charleston. This kind of dirty punk rock (that's recorded really separated and clean) has been living in that basement for years.

I was talking with someone outside Death by Audio the other day about how much the surrounding neighborhood has changed, and I have the same sentimental feelings about The Charleston, I hope it somehow sticks around for a while. A lot of friends and great bands have passed through, metal and otherwise, playing the low ceiling, full of kegs basement. I don't feel like I'm even in the city anymore, it's someone's random punk house in the middle of nowhere. The single from these guys makes me feel the same way, I'm glad they exist, this kind of enthusiastic DIY punk that made spaces like ABC NoRio possible.

The A-Side of this one, "Let Them Eat Bikes" is that DIY call to arms, do something about this bullshit... a sarcastic chorus...lay it all out: denial of human rights, people living with AIDS....well, they can all eat bikes, which I guess is to say all the hipsters are giving up their fixies for food? Or the green environmentalists are trying to solve these problems with bikes, when we need some armed resistance instead? DBCR has a fast, hardcore wrist shaking riff under the near growly vocals, all bulging neck veins, grabbing the mic. You can hear they're putting everything into this. The channels are real separated here with the two guitars working practically on opposite sides of the fence. Dense protest lyrics, on one hand I really hope these guys are making some noise down at Occupy Wallstreet but they've probably been disillusioned years ago. You think a couple of tents are going to make a difference? So you're stuck in that Suburbia dilema...to bitch or not to bitch?

The B-side has a slower dirgey Dead Kennedys feel, when Jello would get extra creepy, singing in a cartoon elf voice about blackmarket organ sales. Slow picked distortion, a couple of dissonant melodies, half stops and more of those alientated lyrics...I appreciate this kind of protest and I also think it's pretty great they get to do it in the first place without actually being a target of the man. They're taking that mix of politics and punk headon....in a lot of ways they're already intertwined, but it's a fine line of ruining the message altogether. I don't know too many band that want to attempt it...even if it is the perfect historic time. You get no arguement from me about the 1%, but I still feel guilty that I even have the opportunity to bitch about it when I think about the rest of the world saying, "you america....you are the fucking 1%".

So to be stuck in the dark basement having your eardrums blown out with a slice of free Charlestpon pizza in your hand and a cheap beer in the other you can sort of maybe just appreciate that you have it pretty good after all. Sure, there's room for improvement, but you can go see DBCR and think about it.

On black vinyl, massive 7x7 b/w cardstock insert and download card... listen to me the collector scum I am.

Get it from their bandcamp page.

R.A.D. Vinyl Interview of Sweaters and Pearls Records

Thanks to Ross over at R.A.D. Vinyl for the very first Sweaters and Pearls interview! I still have copies of The Super Vacations/Ceiling Stares, Fat History Month and Soccer Mom Records....check them out. I appreciate the support, these are great bands that deserve to have records out there...and do me a favor, and punch those skateboarding jerks in the face!

Craig Colorusso - Sun Boxes - Interview + Self released single

I got this in from Craig a few weeks ago, a self released single which essentially is an audio documentation of his ongoing installation project called 'Sun Boxes'. 20 boxes of different tones are set up in an outdoor space, powered by solar panels the loops of guitar chords take days to go through a complete song cycle, the two tracks here were even recorded at different times of the year and in completely different environments. It's as much a field recording of happy accidents, the natural sounds of the environment adding as much to the recording as the tones themselves.
The A-Side has this track listed as "Frozen Pond", it sounds a little bit like the Budda Machine in it's real ambient understated tones, it's actually hard to sort of focus on paying attention to the fading in and out of layers of harmony here, it's easy to drift off thinking about other things for a minute. The really nice thing about the recording is that you can hear literally this recording was created on the frozen pond, in fact, Long Pond in Plymouth, MA. Environmental elements start to appear here and there...birds, ice cracking, ducks....it's hard to pick out exactly what is captured, but I know I'm hearing something other than the slowly rising and fading tones....which have as much to do with either the distance away from the speakers or the suns intensity. I imagine they're a bit like the 2001 monoliths, stranded here from another civilzation just blindly communicating away, transmitting information...and it's exactly what a frozen lake would sound like. To then take this solitary, weird experience and put it on vinyl adds another layer of mystery...this thing that slowly spirals inwards recreating these vibrations.
The B-Side notes this track was recorded in Maudslay State Park in Newburyport, MA in September...because of course the time of year is going to have different ambience and in this case the sound of grasshoppers adds another perfect layer of natural quiet sounds. You start to wonder how this might have effected insects, or bats at dusk happening to fly by this piece. There might even be bullfrogs off in the distance? It's the kind of recording where the differences are going to be in the subtle, tiny things, the way the tones overlap, the air, the creatures...because there isn't a section or track that you could even judge as better than another. It's afield recording of a great sculpture that is transformed into it's own artifact that's different than the original, and is just as important as being there in person.

Check out the bandcamp page for a feel of these field recordings. Double sided color sleeve on marbled grey vinyl with download code and postcard from Craig's Sunboxes website

I got a chance to talk to Craig on the phone about the single and this piece, Craig comes from a 7inch background with his own music projects and we talked about the b flat 6th chord, and a possible Sunboxes phone app coming soon.

The except during the interview is from a Sunboxes performance at Martha's Vineyard.
Direct link to the MP3 (20min).

ATM + Yvette at Death By Audio

Went to check out both of these guys at DBA last night, Ted from ATM had sent me his latest cassette and I had been listening to it for past few days, so when I noticed he was on a bill with Yvette I had to go catch both of these guys at my favorite venue...that refuses to change, the last holdout, surrounded by vespa's and condo's.
ATM set up a semicircle on the floor with tiers of effects, and tom drums, from the shows I remember with him drumming for These are Powers, the heavy submissive beat is key, and the hit of a real booming tom is the cornerstone to being beat-notized. The effects come on heavy and thick, a repetitive echo-y sludge bounces around the concrete walls and Ted put on his sunglasses for Suicide effect. He's got the same kind of mechanical menace, combined with primitive rhythms pounded out occasionally on the cluster of raised drums beside him. It's a frightening version of Dirty Beaches, take away that twisted attempt at soul, the classy yesteryear vibe, or Handsome Furs neo-springsteen pop, you have this utilitarian unglamorous future. Like Mattress opening for the Liars, Ted's got an impressive master plan and is singlehandedly pulling it off.


Yvette set up in the same way, right there on the floor in front of the stage, facing each other with cases of pedals at their feet. You don't realize from the single the elaborate footwork required to create the dense layer of electronics that come out that guitar amp and the amount of control Noah has over that blinking mess...bursts of ringtoned chords, swapping between a high pitch bell feedback and a sweeping crunch. Rick is pounding away in precise polyrhythms, from hitting the metal edge of the toms to some kind of trigger attached to the top of the drum head. Just when you thought this overwhelming rhythm can't possibly get bigger, all kinds of alien rumblings come in on every hit. They are wizards at incorporating these kinds of technical possibilites without it ever being a crutch of complication, losing momentum live. They're capable of crafting an impressive collection of sound that doesn't even seem like it's possibly happening with guitar and drums, even though I'm standing two feet away. It's being done on an incredibly high level of established groups and you're lucky to catch them at a small venue like this, not that it's going to help you figure out what exactly is making these sounds. Go pick up their great single and then get creeped/chilled out with ATM.

Shenandoah Davis on Offtempo Records

Got this latest single in from Offtempo Records continuing their neverending mission of documenting the american Northwest underground. This single is from Shenandoah Davis from the Seattle area, and from looking at a lot of her releases she seems to be a ridiculously classically trained musician, combining that skilled sensibility with pop music, or vice versa. On top of being book smart, she was born with a seriously unique vocal ability...one of those almost scary musicians that you watch from a distance.
So it's no surprise that she's destroying me with this A-Side cover track, "Are You Devo?", as much as I have a knee jerk reaction against these sort of dramatic sitcom soundtrack moments (piano and heavy vocal) during a breakup scene, she won me over almost as immediately with this voice. I dont know the original track from Shelby Sifers, but Shenandoah sold me on this being her own emotionally. When someone is just born with vocals like this, it almost isn't fair. She's evolved beyond the normal voice, if you scientifically can't create a sound with your throat within this range than you're out of luck. To combine that talent with a handpicked track she's already trying to do some kind of justice to the sentiment, is a deadly combination for an A-Side.
Not only are the lyrics for "Are You Devo" are included on an insert (which in hindsight need to be consumed sober) But a huge personal note about how both of these tracks came into her own experience. It starts to almost reach that Kimya Dawson tipping point but just teeters here on the cliff, she even gets away with the red riding hood references, what can't she do after this? Where do feelings come from, I thought I was a robot.

The B-Side, "This is the Life" by Paleo is another cover of an artist I've never heard of, this one is slightly more upbeat, but will break hearts in a different way, you don't end up in the same place as the A-Side, and that's probably for the best, if you aren't used to it. Being able to be this naked, with only a thin sounding upright piano against this fluttery massive ranged vocal, she can pretty much do anything. It would be a real shame to overdress it with too much of a band. It doesn't ever become cabaret or too open mic singer. A real argument for the thing no ne can put their finger on that anyone can see in five seconds. The only thing holding back complete praise of this, is that now I want to know what music she is going to make, or if we have another Chan Marshall, capable of delivering established material, but apparently out of originals....cause I didn't come here for karaoke versions of old standards.

This effort, all the way down to the heavy stock silkscreened sleeve with a draw of ink splatter that ended up on the reverse and the insanely tiny block lettered, love letter to the discovery of these songs and the artists that created them. Just based on her choices in this entire package I'd take this relationship further. It's perfectly executed, two covers she is in love with and rightfully so, she wants to share them in this tiny intimate way, devoting a lot of energy to their presentation and recording, and it really shows. You will feel lucky to have this on vinyl, 5$ is a steal for this ultrahandmade object.

Listen to this on her Bandcamp page or check out the video below:

Shenandoah Davis "Two Cover Songs" 7" (promo) from Off Tempo (records) on Vimeo.

Plates of Cake on All Hands Electric Records

This one came in recenty straight from Jonathan, the lead singer of Plates of Cake on the gowanus label, All Hands Electric. It's a mellow vocal harmonic pop sound informed by jangly guitars which build the chorus on "As if the Choice Were Mine". The abstract lyric and winding melody is straight out of a psyche-influenced west coast sound, those huge ancient harmonies from a group content to sing together out in a field, or mic up the rehearsal barn space. But this was in fact conceived here in Brooklyn and their laid back delivery is an unusual direction for the hard, mean city, but that would explain the solid rock slant to the slight haze. They're from that era when the vocal harmony was king, just give it the barest of instrumental melody to hang on to and let the voices do the rest, as catchy as the Fresh & Onlys if more aligned more traditional cleaned up rock sounds, but again they're relying on that melody, which takes the most effort...a guitar can get along by itself just fine sometimes running through all those effects.

"Transit Trials" on the B-Side uses some heavy reverb stops, with that classic three beat kick and snare/high hat on the fourth, echoing all over the place. Those huge tambourine hits make this feel more contemporary, and Jonathan has an Alex Kapranos deep, sure feel to his vocals backed up again by upper octave harmonies from the rest of the band. It's a catchy storysong about the water behind the walls in the tunnel from NY to NJ. It's pretty delicate and about to fall apart.....the tunnel, not this tune...the fade out of crazy far off delay from the electric is the star of this one, a huge restraint, sounding more like summer than the scuzzy wet surf efforts do sometimes.

Check out these tracks on their bandcamp page and order this up from All Hands Electric, excellent sleeve art by Stan Vanderbeek, black vinyl, 200 copies.

Powerblessings on Manhattan Chemical and Electric Records

I was pretty sad that I ended up missing the Hot Snakes when they came through literally last week, my neighbor actually clued me in to them touring in town and that sold out tickets on craigs list were going for $200 bucks. Hey guys, maybe you should tour again? Or for those of us that inevitably missed out with those kinds of prices can check out this single from Powerblessings on Manhattan Chemical and Electric. Whenever I hear this kind of energetic punk, the hours of listening to Hot Snakes always comes to mind.....or AtomBombPocketKnife and At the Drive-In and even at 45rpm, these guys manage to fit in 4 lengthy tracks making this an EP...like that Peel Sessions Hot snakes single. Powerblessings match the punk freight train of those guys, and Jon is even a close match to John Reis' punk yell which makes these tracks, keeping up this intense rhythm, the best kind of thing for a long ass drive in the middle of the night...you would want to have this single on hand to wake the hell up and power through to the dawn. On 'Stunt Whale' Jon pushes his vocals to the brink of that hoarse point, dividing his time between a minimal post unaffected delivery and the melodic power scream, instrumentally they are hitting all those start stop moments, the drop in pauses of pure rock, taking the speed of something hardcore and then dealing with it in pop ways, it can be an unstoppable force...I'm a little sad the lyrics are completely lost on me, not that it ever stopped me on ATDI, but that would have been nice on the reverse of the huge insert.

On "Go To Hell" they hit those great chorus moments that made the Hot Snakes so great, there was this great era of bands working in between punk and hardcore which ended up in sounds like this.
The B-Side has the best Don Cab named track, "In the men's room of the sixteenth century" which sounds like the whole thing was recorded right on that in-the-red edge, a hint of distortion, threatening to blow the cones...it's also reminding me of Glass Rifle, but instead of the introspective Fugazi style pauses and delicate complex moments, Powerblessings just plow through not ever taking a breath. It's as frantic as it possibly gets, post-punk jagged structures and high register distortion running under a complete maniac giving it completely everything. Somehow they keep ramping these tempo's up, and who doesn't love that moment when everything stops but the grimey guitar distortion on 'Wet Ones'. I think the true test of this band would be to see how they manage to keep this up live, but I'd be willing to give them a shot.

Get this one from Manhattan Chemical and Electric Records

Ichi Ni San Shi 'Here Sometime Today' on Super Secret Records

Rich over at Super Secret Records just sent me this followup single from Ichi Ni San Shi, I reviewed their previous single just over a year ago and their latest sounds like they're still into exploring a dense array of weird electronics and rock guitar in that late '80s way? (I'm thinking of Klaus Naomi or Herbie Hancock) That odd combination of produced pop, using a heavy dose of synth because it was such a new sound...I can't imagine what it must have been like breaking the seal on an RX-7 and having your mind blown like that...of course you would write everything around it. Those sounds had never been heard, and someone else was definitely going to use them. This opening dotted sine wave on "Here Sometime Today" sounds exactly like The Units, "High Pressure Days" and they have a similar washed together new wave sound, Bill Jeffrey has a smoother, less nervous energy than Devo or The Units, but it would fit right into that enamored with the technology and adding it to what we've already been using sound of the '80s. At least that what it seems like in hindsight, but not getting as far as the super tech groups like Information Society or Camouflage, Ichi Ni San Shi are working around the days when a lot of the organic instruments weren't abandoned just yet...and here they're using a lot of layered trumpet even...and rely on a heavily distorted electric that provides an experimental dissonance, it's a nice contrast to the jagged keys. A dense production that goes through a lot of changes with all six members hard at work plugging the cables in to the old time telephone switching synth thing they lug around from show to show.
B-Sides, "Insurmountable" really pays attention to not only using these bizarre pioneering sounds but capturing them as cleanly as possible, which makes sense in this case. Sheila is after a cool crisp new wave sound, just barely mic'd off a PA. The guitar work here from the get go is playing completely against that precision with crunchy riffs evolving into layers of tuneless, rhythmless noodling...a complete human breakdown, the machines have won my friend...the last gasp of vibrating strings. The clicks of the high hat against this fading out warped mess is where Ichi is going to find it's most interesting moments for me. It's when they go for the cold unemotional pop that I want to go back to the green neon grid photo backgrounds and pink splatter paint paints of the future.

Check out Ichi Ni San Shi at their bandcamp page, easily there's no one really working along these lines, they're following along with the Art Museums in letting their lonely freak flag fly.

Red vinyl, freudian sleeve (or is because I just saw that Cronenberg movie?), I'm still not sure what exactly that mushroom/seashell thing is...it also looks like the behind of someone diving into a pool if you squint....available from Super Secret Records.

Interview with Pat from Cellar Hits Records

I talked with Pat a couple weeks ago about his label, Cellar hits and the singles he's recently put out by Netherfriends and his own project, The Zookeepers. He's documenting the scene there in Cape Cod and I had to hear what that's all about as well as this Davis Leibe Hart/Adam Papagan cassette. Pat put together the WTF fest in the cape that Fat History Month actually played at a while back...it's a small 7inches world.

A couple of tracks play during the interview, from the Netherfriends, on their angry coast EP, the cut, "Washington, DC", and the opening of the Teen Crumpets lathe from the Zookeepers as well as a couple of tracks from The Best of David and Adam cassette.

Click on this link to listen in your browser, (17-min).

The Gang Violets on All Hands Electric

Got a single in today from a local label All Hands Electric which isn't far away... in the gowanus section of Brooklyn...in fact they might have been neighbors with the old Issue Project Room that used to be out there in a huge silo shaped building on the polluted canal. Really awesome weirdo space actually that sort of mirrored the variety of serious art/music they had there. All Hands Electric have been around possibly longer than that venue from the looks of their extensive catalog, and was founded by a talented group of musicians who decided to put out their own records, which puts me completely behind this release already from The Gang Violets. This husband and wife duo also share coasts and in between get a whole lot of friends to contribute to the chorus of voices on "Black Clouds", which has this loose Lou Reed country jam feel. My whole introduction to Lou Reed was that "Dirty Boulevard" song, his cool voice, over bare bones electric, (the video is exactly as blunt as it shouldn't be...this was Lou Reed? Jesus.) and this is working in that general direction. Jim Schwartz has the same deep, real serious delivery and with this huge varied vocal accompaniment, it has something of a kids singalong album temperment...(Did Lou record a kids album?). Raw jangly honley tonk guitar, from that time and part of the country where people just played music to each other for enjoyment because there wasn't anything else to do. The Gang Violets are having the same kind of join along unpretentious fun...when this one starts to fade it comes back with a Velvet Underground "Heroin" speed up, faster and faster. Am I the only one hearing this? Seriously...did I listen to a lot of those guys lately or something?
The B-Side, "A Touch From A Wild Child", opens with some synthtastic sine waves into a more indie Fleetwood Mac sound with acoustic guitar, accordion and handclaps, and this time the vocals aren't coming off as directly a descendant of VU, more layered with optimistic harmonies, but still in a gypsy-country way. An american Beruit sound, mining all of those backwoods sincere influences, the porches of these united states.

Great sleeve of pieced together photos of billboard letters, which reminds me of JAMC for some reason, black vinyl in an edition of 200 with download card, from All Hands Electric:

Traveling band, The Gang Violets, play eclectic music as they gypsy their way between Long Beach, CA and Brooklyn, NY. Their blend of psychedelic americana effortlessly shifts from sunshine-pop to space-rock, while making more than a few country, folk, and blues detours along the way. Side A kicks off with "Black Clouds", a tune that rises up like a campfire despite moody lyrics, and is impossible to forget with its hook laden cadences, elated group vocals, whispery calls, gospel swagger, and swooning closure. Favoring an eclectic pop aesthetic that recalls early Beck as well as the highs from The Brian Jonestown Massacre, these tunes are are just mere hint as to what this band is capable of!

Mondo Ray - Hyptnotized on Windian Records

Windian Records sent this single in from Mondo Ray along with The Penetrators single, and the back sleeve liner notes report this is a brother duo, the Da Cruz's, out of Munich, Germany going after a heavy clear garage punk feel on the A-Side number, "Hypnotized". Actually it's even getting into late '90s Superchunck indie sound for me, palm muted chords over a beating away tom rhythm. It's essentially straightforward power rock track, create a massive racket with just the two of them. I'm starting to think part fo the equation with a duo is this insane energy that wants to make up for a lack of members onstage or something. David gets a little Jello Biafra warbly on the vocals towards the end of this one, but he just can't help it. Fellas, we all know what it's like to be hypnotized, it happens right before being dicknotized and in about as long as this track is on, that cover art is pretty accurate.
The B-Side, "Nothing" has a more layered melodic rock feel, interweaving those tight progressions of quick distortion. They really captured that raw, twangy sound of a metal string being plucked just a little too hard. This one is moving past just the punk garage of the first side and into a sort of nervous post punk present. Get a skinny tie out for this driving, one note punchy rhythm, which quickly blows out into both brothers woah! oh! oh! oh!-ing into the party. Is it any surprise that this genre is being steadily revisited lately with no end in sight? It sounds fun to listen to, let alone play in as a couple of guys touring the bars and basements of the world.
Ultra short bursts of garage rock via Germany with a great psychedelic sleeve from Alex Fine, on Windian Records:

MONDO RAY has been at the forefront of Munich Germany’s Pop-Garage-Punk scene for a while now, pushing out a hand full of singles and an LP due out as well. They have been on the WINDIAN radar since we started 2 years ago, and we are excited to finally release their latest offering “Hypnotized”. The A-Side title track is a quick heater with a “West Coast Sound” drawing from the States, reminiscent of a Circa: Now! RFTC. The B-Side “Nothing” is more of what you expect from this duo. Great Garage-Pop, with a Punk undertone, keeping this song moving at a nice pace.