Mirah on Mississippi Records

I'll always remember that Mirah single I randomly ordered from K Recs. I wasn't really epecting anything, I didn't know her at other than random mentions in articles as a reference to something I liked. The A-Side 'Cold Water' didn't sound like anything else I was interested in at the time. Huge orchestration, and she has a great voice that borders on both some kind of innocent twee sound and classically trained belting it out.
Cold Water is great...I then went through C'mon Miracle, but don't remember it having that kind of impression on me. I just kept going back to that single to hear what it was I liked about it, and not having any other sort of info about her I just made up what other albums were going to sound like.
Looks like she has a full length coming out on K Recs soon and this single is maybe kicking that whole thing off. She is Portland and it makes perfect sense Mississippi Records would be putting this one out...two originals from Mirah, and it looks like she's getting into the '60s' girl group sound along with Frankie and countless others, starting with this motorcycle sleeve. I'd be interested to hear her take on a couple of Sha Na Na's covers...anything from that period. Couldn't find these on her myspace, so this Mississippi single is probably it...100 copies.
Get it from K recs themselves or Midheaven

MIRAH - Don't / The Tears That Fall - Mississippi - MR 071 - 7" - $ 6.45
***MIRAH (K Records) has graciously blessed the Mississippi label with a beautiful 45. This piece of wax contains two original Mirah songs, celebrating the classic girl group era of the '60's. Loosely following this format, and with the accompaniment of some individualistic musicians, something unique was born. Backing musicians from EVOLUTIONARY JASS BAND, PINK WIDOWER and GOLDEN BEARS. Recorded at The Pool Recording Studio in Portland, OR with ALEX YUSIMOV. Co-produced by TARA JANE ONEIL and CHRISTOPHER DOULGERIS (Hooliganship, Mirah). Old-Style Full Color Tip-On Sleeve.

Broken Water - Boyfriend Hole on Krecs

I first read about their full length through Doug who mentioned Unwound and that was enough to pull up their myspace and come across this embossed single from Krecs. It looks like they were mentioned in a demo of the week segment K was doing for a while and I'm assuming based on the strength of that they pressed this single.
I haven't been that interested in Krecs releases sadly for a while now, but the A-side of this is amazing...nothing low-fi, just massive drenched reverb guitar. They can get droney long distorted bass shaking chords, but it's Kanako's vocals that get MBV. It's dangerously slow, but insanely loud. 'SWOYM' is pure Thursten and MBV, delicate delayed melodies with crunchy refrains. A 90's version of The Big Sleep, a huge sound that borders on the goth side of the Cure somehow, really really great. I know exactly what they've been listening to and it's exactly the same things that make me keep buying unwound singles I already have 5 copies of.

Of course they were just here last week down the street at Bruar Falls and Death by Audio. I apologise. I'm going to start camping out in front. Jobs are overrated. Singles are the new currency and this one is easily worth giving up two slices of pizza. Rent is around 200 7"'s so I should be ok for a while.

Get a screen printed Shawn Reed full length from Night People Records.

Bash Brothers - 5 song EP on Vinyl Guru Records

Bash, or Bash Brothers is two friends Lindsay Coulton and Kristjanne Vosper. Like the truly solo 4-track bedroom project, I have a special place on my 7" shelves for duos. Is there something magic about two people having to work a little bit harder than a 3 piece to make some serious noise? Is it the intimacy of the rehearsals, performances, traveling on the road that make it less work in some ways, that makes it more willing to take chances or indulge weirdo tracks? It's a special rock and roll situation...The White Stripes, Handsome Furs, The Yips, Ween, the list goes on and on. Before I read the liner notes it wasn't even an issue...it's not something that's obvious on the single. Pounding overdriven drums, a little too loud, just the way I like 'em, fuzz pedal bass, or a crazy destroyed amp, punch in the vocals after a couple of takes, and you have a 5 song 7" EP like this.

Kristjanne has that destroyed raspy vocal like Jemina Pearl, or the Coathangers style scream/yelling, which is impossible to have playing without noticing the insane choice of lyrics like:
'I had a party hat on when I came out of my mom!'
'My aunt gave me lots of soap now I smell me wherever I go!'
At first I have to admit, it was a little direct, maybe the lyrics too obvious...I don't need completely obscure poetry or something, but then this could get old quick, but the last track 'Rat Jacket' has completely won me over, 'Rat Jacket! You don't know what's right or wrong!' and by the end they crack themselves up and have to stop playing in the middle of the track. It's not tongue in cheek party music, it's punk, but they aren't going to stab you either. Classic first band, nothing to do, fuck off wanker punk that isn't taking things too seriously.
Then on 'Modern Day Robinhood', it gets all Sleater Kinney, another completely ridiculous premise, but the harmony they pull is great. As soon as I stopped taking them so seriously it was a million times better, that's my cynical fault. It's sounding more and more like a Ween side project, with really authentic garage Yips sound.

But then maybe it was this profile from the stay at home blog on these two that really drove it home, they're having a good time and it's obvious. I get can get behind people who are in it for the sheer fun of playing and pressing a single. I bet they've never even been to SXSW.

Did I mention it's a hand numbered, white vinyl, big hole 45? I think it was pressed by Vinyl Record Guru, which is not a label, but an actual pressing plant?
It's available in the K Recs shop....or maybe contact them directly on their myspace? Mammoth Cave forwarded this along, so they may carry copies as well. That's the best I can do.
Pathetic.

Atlas Sound on K recs

A lot of interviews I read with Bradford Cox has him talking about a lot of this ambient stuff being done before and not wanting to repeat it, Pauline Oliveros, Eno etc....but honestly I don't think of this as a whole lot different. There are tracks on 'Let the blind...' that just go to the edge of repetitive hypnotic rock, like stereolab, where... before you are even aware of it, the melody rhythm has just slightly changed in front of your ears so subtly. That's happening here, but it also in general with this style feels to easily improvisational...just take some sounds repeat them as long as they aren't too aggressive or grating and then sing some heavily echoed vocals. It sounds easy until you try to do it I know. It takes a talent, but I'm just attracted to harder, or more effected electronics that are pushing the limits of taste.
It borders too much on something you can kind of ignore and I don't think I like that. I still want shit that at times can annoy everyone around.
I don't know that I've examined this genre as a whole enough to distinguish the differences in or the energy just isn't what I'm about most of the time. This hazy, dream world of slow rave...like the Orb or something....something about it just bothers me, or relates to that time too much? Or maybe references that ambient thing when I wasn't such a fan to begin with.
On K records....produced by Calvin Johnson...I'm investigating Beat Happening thanks to 'Our band could be Your life.' But he's a key figure in indie rock history period, and it must have been amazing to go put this down in Dub Narcotic Studios.
Probably will sell out quick and is a weird footnote to Deerhunter, the torch is passed.

Format: 7”
Release Date: August 5th, 2008
Limited to 1000 copies
7 inch
Atlas Shrugged (Atlas Sound)
“Shrug-a-Dub” Mix (Selector Dub Narcotic)
In March 2008, while Atlas Sound toured the U.S.A., chief Atlas Provocateur Bradford Cox stopped off in Olympia, Wash. to lay down some tracks at the Dub Narcotic studio for this stellar Disco Plate release. Entirely off the cuff, Bradford made up the song on the spot, played all the instruments and improvised vocals. The session was engineered by Calvin Johnson, who in his guise as Selector Dub Narcotic added his own flourishes, vocal and melodica, mixed the arresting B side "version".
Another instant classic in our Dub Narcotic Disco Plate series of 7" 45 RPM records.

jeremy jay - AlphaRhythm

I picked up A place where we could go the other day and it kind of changed my whole idea of J J. I remember the previous singles sounding kind of electronic, dark, a little off, kind of scary, unsettling, I was kind of thinking it was like Terror Visions a little bit, the Jay Reatard side project.
But on the full length it was pure Johnathan Richmond, the kind of storytelling, half talking style. Every song was about love...not like the usual kind of abstract songs about love, this is completely a near concept album about falling in love with almost a specific person, going through all those emotions, and all in a really sincere unguarded way, some of the lyrics were almost ridiculous. He's putting it all out there, which really what else can you do if it's going to be anything.
This single Alpharhythm is back to that off kilter oldies/glitch, raw guitar combined with this electronic high handclap snare sound.... tons of echo on a repeated 'dance, dance, dance' vocal. It's really great, half hearted, a little over the top in a great way....I didn't hear anything like this on the full length. Weird. It's like 2 different Jeremy's, the singles and then the one in love with love.

On K records...finally some domestic waste of oil, known as vinyl 7"'s

JEREMY JAY-AlphaRythm 7” (K/IPU117) $4.50 Limited to 500 copies. The reduction of pop music to it's core attributes of the catchy and the delightful, with a smattering of the fantastic mixed in, and an urbane sense of color and good taste: this is the reputation that Jeremy Jay has earned after releasing just a few 45s. His debut album A Place Where We Could Go [KLP187] is due in stores May 20, and the world awaits it with baited breath. In the meantime Jeremy Jay offers this slice of his rapidly growing oeuvre, not to be repeated on the much-anticipated LP: "Alpharhythm" an infectious dance pop anthem, and "Moonbeam Window", which explores the introverted, fantasy-laden elements of his inner psyche. A simply ravishing combination equally at home on either the dance floor or AM radio. K is happy to release "Alpharhythm" and "Moonbean Window" as the latest volume of our International Pop Underground series of 7" 45 rpm records. Jeremy Jay, a Californian, has toured the West Coast and ventured as far a field as New York City in the past year. He will performing across the U.S. after the release of A Place Where We Could Go, and has already begun working on his second K album, to be released in January 2009. His most recent release, "Airwalker" [KLP115], also a volume in the International Pop Underground series, was very well received by radio, press and interweb fanzines/logs/journals.

Hornet Leg - Blood Trilogy - K recs

Hornet leg really won me over with the tracks on their myspace, it's really dirty garage rock, I think everything there is live, so I'm really curious to hear how this has been translated. At first I was wondering how this ended up on K recs, but then with members that include Chris Sutton (Dub Narcotic, C.O.C.O) on geetar and Claudia Meza (Japanther, Thunder Thunder Thunder) then it all makes sense. I support anything Japanther does after seeing them open for Death from above once, I was converted instantly. I don't get to see them nearly enough and here's another seven inch to add to my japanther section.
Now I'm hoping there's more like these live tracks to come, it's a lot like Japanther, no frills, raw energy catchy punk rock. The idea that it's a conceptual seven inch having something to do with '...is consciousness tethered to the physicality of blood?', is perfect. This is the perfetc example of putting the 7" format to use. The concept can be worked out in the length of a seven inch, it's their first release, as far as I can tell from this side project, so that fits...it's textbook.

I call it a side project because Chris joined the gossip recently and Claudia is in Japanther, so I don't know what the future of this trio will be. That makes it even more important to pick this up.

Hornet Leg - Blood Trilogy 7" (K)
Blood Trilogy condenses the full-length concept album into three potent tracks of pure, unsentimental, raw energy. Expertly engineered by Calvin Johnson at the Dub Narcotic Studios, these recordings are an immediate grab to the throat but leave a haunting grip to the ear.

On K recs.

Jeremy Jay on K records

The songs on the myspace reminds me of something like The Cure's, 17 seconds... really sparse production, not a lot of effects on anything, pretty basic except for the really chorused out vocals on some tracks, in others it's all reverb and half sung, kind of depressed, but all solid songwriting. I can see the Joy Division influence but higher vocals, and more expressive.
It ranges from heavy synth to single electric guitar. Really flat, shallow sounding drums, it's not just the crappy myspace quality, they have like no decay or something, like slap drums.
Anyway, this is some interesting stuff that would have been at home in some dark early 90's sad bastard club, a little dangerous sounding, but accessible and ending up on every mix tape.

It's like 3.75 from K recs.

Here's what aquarius had to say:

JAY, JEREMY "We Were There" (K Records) 7" 4.98
If you've been in AQ more then a few times in the last few months you probably already know how obsessed we've become with Jeremy Jay. There’s a pretty good chance we were swaying back and forth listening to his ep Airwalker over and over as we have countless times, and we still aren’t even close to getting sick of it. Mixing a twee sensibility with the power of the Factory Records vaults, creating songs that invite you to jump right in and throw up your arms as you close your eyes and enter a world so dreamy and infectious.
So of course we've been starving for anything else to get our hands and ears on by Jay, and luckily we have two new songs on this 7” to get lost with. The tracks here are quite different than the songs on Airwalker and show that Jay is not content with having an easily defined sound. The A side “We Were There” made us think of prime time Make-Up with it’s sassy rhythms and spoken/sung delivery.
The B side “Beautiful Dreamer” is what’s getting us the most, with it’s sparkling and dizzying cloudy sonics and late night haze. Two more reasons to love this young talent from LA!