Night Beats /TRMRS split on Resurrection Records

Four years ago I mentioned the Night Beats, the same band who put out this single on Trouble in Mind. Damn if I forgot about their super psych out sound and on this split Resurrection Records introduced me to another mind bender, TRMRS out of Costa Mesa, CA. It’s a perfect pairing and highlights some of the subtle differences in their take on modern psych.

On the A-Side Night Beats "Messiah" opens on a ringtone feedback peaking over springy reverb. The echo is massive creating that illusion of distance, playing the kind of strums that suddenly appear and take all day to wander off, drunkenly stumbling the whole way. The beat is equal molasses with Lee on vocals in his late '70s stoner drawl. The chorus elevates to a higher echo plane and the vocals disappear in a wave of doubled up drums and that peaking trip. Just when you were mellowing out next to this fire that tree trunk broke and a shower of sparks flew into the air scaring the shit out of you. There’s a warbling organ under this track and a solo wanders out of this haze breaking into pieces and howling without slowing down or wandering. Heavy stuff simultaneously managing layers of distorted power and slowed down cool. The cables crackle and the beat that’s always been off on the horizon is now silent. If you made it this far you're going to be ok man, just focus on the sound of that needle spinning, it’s over.

TRMRS on B-Side’s "Good Time Blues" uses that heavy leslie rotated reverb here which might give away their more experimental direction, letting this density find it’s surprising way. The vocals seem to rise from the back of this room. Guitar heavy you barely hear a low thud kick strike from under the boosted low end pillows. High plains jangle and black beat turtlenecks wrangling the psych, like the Super Vacations or Radar Eyes at half speed with vocals trapped behind some kind of tempered glass. A pause for countdown sticks that burst into the heavy stuff that sounds like the Make Up. They’re enjoying a sloppy thigh slapping hoot of a tempo with falsetto vocals taking control of the hazy situation in bursts. An attempt to tame this fog, to even blow it around into one place is a real exercise in futility. They turn to a serious punk psych sound before switching this rhythm once again like they’re trying to prove that they aren't messed up enough to do this. A tie dye curtain medley making some kind of special sense.

Pick this up from Resurrected Records.

MDK "Moonmaiden" on Resurrection Records

I can appreciate when a band commits fully to their love of the devil. Metal wouldn't be where it is today without inspiration from the dark lord and if you had to pick a side this one is obviously more conducive to sludgy, rumbling distortion of Orange County, California'sMDK. The sleeve is an important marker for where to begin with these guys, and they've taken a cover straight from Heavy Metal Magazine with some past or future barbarians having just conquered something. We really have to thank the Norwegians for combining the devil and metal with Vikings and medieval times - in retrospect it makes perfect sense.

And if you're going to listen to the sludgy doom of "Widowmaker's Revenge" theres no reason it can't be on the thin static medium of a flexi disc. This starts out with a great quote from something I can't quite place, something about vampires and feeding, you know, blood basically. I like the vocal effect here, it's not the growly incomprehensible guttural howl of most of this sort of thing. One of the duo, Digger or Mike, isn't afraid of massive echo with a weird cavernous distance. The instrumentation is separated into planes but the guitars bleed through everything, across all channels, extremely creepy. They take the time to build this creeping momentum and keep everything pretty accessible without having to study lyric sheets.

I still can't get over the AM radio quality of the next track, "The Moonmaiden". Is it the recording or the flexi, it's hard to decide which. Slow and grindy again, letting the distortion ring out, the choppy waves have time to echo and settle. Great vocal again, with echo and delay, a giant sound to it, very theatrical and extra evil, makes me wish they could match the thickness in the guitar sound, but maybe it's this format again. Droning almost stoner metal like dysrhythmia they can get complex and also settle into measures delivered as slow as possible without collapsing and then return for a little speed. Crazy phasered laser sounding solo reminding me of The Fucking Champs swirling all over the place.

More samples of a guy almost describing the sleeve of this record opens "Wrath of Satan" the fastest one yet, still buried under mattresses with a more extreme vocal, creaking and groaning but proving they've got the speed, with church bells. Classic. Awesome horror samples on this. Just in time for the end of this month. Perfect.

Get this blue square one sided flexi from Resurrection Records.

"The Very Best of..." Mojo Hand on Ressurection Records

I first heard about Resurrection Records thanks to this La Corde single from last summer and those guys took it upon themselves to grace the 7inches offices with this dangerous single from Oakland CA's Mojo Hand. Looks like a trio of vagrants are on the opposite end of the sand and surf spectrum of the West coast...there's a darker underbelly to all that fun and sun and it has a lot to do with Mojo Hand and this 'very best of' record.

A-Side's "Run with the Pack" is a perfect muddy, surf garage sound that I am immediately a sucker for... when the needle creeps around the spiral to that start of this... I have no idea what to expect and that's how it like it, but when the low end of this rumbles in with everyone singing vocals, it completely sealed the deal. This jamming style surf punk stops just long enough for Harley Rotten to come in with his echo vocal and like a hyped up wounded Lion they have a dirty laid back vibe to me of hard riding harleys all day up in humbolt country...I have no idea what I'm talking about. But that's the scene. A little surfing, no shirts required. A three piece like this is the fucking trinity of rock, making the case for anything else being completely unnecessary. "Never Been Caught". The bass line is key in their work I'm realizing... the feel of this heavy groove is the focus, the guitar is generally the higher almost harmony to reintroduce that melody, but it's secondary..even the drums have to pound away back in behind the baffling. Harley is somewhat less frantic here in a laid-back-settling-the-score slow punk style here. Loose and free, this is that neo easy rider soundtrack to a ripping party. The way they can even say "California" like they mean it. Simple progressions and pure but the attitude sells this one.

B-Side's "Rebecca". I think the guitars heard what I was saying about them on the A-Side and they are the first ones to tear out of the gate here, getting almost fun. A little off for this black leather atmosphere they are cultivating, but the dirty distortion gets a little bluesy here without that nerdy precision, just a drunken stumbly dance with Harley's snarly, slurring attitude, this muffled echo chorus is the best sound ever.
A stones cover? "Let it Bleed" keeps that style intact but turns up the damn volume and echo, improving immensely on the original. It's like they're asking the question if there's still something here? If Natural Child grew up on the west coast and had a predilection for choppers and bandanas, they would have started out playing this Stones covers until an original would sneak in and next thing you know they would be playing a bar after the opening band didn't show up. Turning heads guys... completely inspired classic interpretation. The stoney cavern of a sound booth bouncing into treble makes this sound that much sweeter, putting their own spin on the solo, and you'd better believe this is better than what ol' Keith would have done. Leave it to these guys to not even be bothered with going after the pedestal, just knocking it right over.

Black vinyl, of course, no apologies, wolves and harleys, black and white. Watch out.