Useless Eaters needs a van

Just heard about this kickstarter type thing from Seth and Useless Eaters, they are coming to NYC on the 23rd and 24th, not sure where exactly but they do need a van to get here. I already claimed that test pressing...sorry, but you can still get them to dedicate a song to you, or fistfight them or makeout. They are lovers and fighters.
Of course he's got a new full length out on Tic Tac Totally...and a new single. Move over other hardest working man in show business.

Useless Eaters EP on Jolly Dream Records

This is how a new label starts, first you are a huge fan of music, second there is a band so great, and you believe in them so much that you have to put their record out maybe for selfish reasons...you want to play that record at home on your turntable, maybe you want to just plain hear more muic from those guys and you realize you can be the one to make it happen. Here's how it started with Jolly Dream: they loved the Creamers so they decided they should be the ones to put out a single from those guys, and next thing you know, they're a record label with a second single...by someone I would also throw money at, Seth Sutton of Useless Eaters.
It's out of control how talented this guy is, and on top of being a completely natural performer, he's equally at home tracking all this stuff himself solo, like on this single, or give him and amp and an electric or he can put together a full band. When Jay played bass for him, it took about five seconds of Seth jamming his own jerky reverb to completely forget Jay was even onstage. It was a great show of solidarity and a little passing of the torch moment, especially now...and Seth keeps living up to the expectations of that gesture.
He's doing his own thing, and doesn't need that kind of pressure, everything so far has been insanely consistent, I can barely keep up with the sheer number of full lengths and singles, like with this one (I'm so glad these guys sent me) which I didn't hear about anywhere. He manages somehow with every release to keep slightly changing the sound, experimenting with pining down a specific texture while always being as catchy pop garage punk as humanly possible, like last week at the Cakeshop.

The A-Side starts out with "American Cars" and a slower, dirty sound, the percussion here almost sounds slightly drum machine, that thin, muffled blankets in a corner sound, but it's just another element he's paying close attention to...it probably seems obvious after the fact...I just appreciate this kind of attention to detail, and that the four of these tracks are so different...playing around in that formula he's created for himself...but he isn't just satisfied with the formula. I'm going to spend an afternoon fucking around with this kick sound, and go for this restrained guitar sound to match it. He can work in this straight ahead classic pop way or deftly bury it under more reverb than you've ever heard. "The Moves" has UE back in his stuttery delivery, like Mr. Oscillator single, a nervous kind of stabby mental breakdown. The springy reverb sounds like that tortured blues yelp, which Seth manages to match vocally...when he lets loose like this, it works the best for me. An admirable release.

B-Side's , "Proper Conduct" another sort of more low key number, the subtle spazz taking control and what's this? A crazy fadeout? There's nothing he's not willing to try in under 3 minutes. It's exhausting to listen to this much great stuff...what is a rehearsal like? What 20 songs is he going to have to remember...I know this sounds like, 'oh big deal, I have to work for a living' but this is ridiculous to pull off almost singlehandedly day after day, single after single.
"Plague is vague" has a snottier punk vibe with guitar violence, on the verge of broken strings. He's just impressive. One of the best musicians out there. Here's a dream lineup, Ty Segall, Seth Sutton and Jeff Novak...not even playing music, just hanging out like in that guitar doc It might get Loud. I'm stupid.

This cut up seventies collage sleeve style has been working it's way across the full length records I've seen recently and is a perfect kind of homage to his kind of punk and a nod to all that mix up, appropriation he's doing. It's not a brand new bag, just the best version of an old one.

On your choice of red or white vinyl, red inner sleeve, goth lettered inner label...sexy insert pic of that kid from mask.

Get this one from Jolly Dream Records.

So you think you've got the moves? More moves than a sharecropper? Not yet, you don't!
Jolly Dream brings you this swarthy slab of Nashville punk from Useless Eaters. Our second offering to gods unknown. Four songs in a heartbeat's time of pilled out puke with a penchant for rough shit at a fast clip and a minute to live.
Overselling, you say? With any other label you'll likely overpay for an inferior disc, a band that lisps, limp wrists, and songs that aren't hits.
"The Moves", "American Car", "Plague is Vague", and "Proper Conduct"...Seth Sutton, sucker!
Written & Recorded by Seth Sutton
Mastered by Orville Neeley & Seth Gibbs

Useless Eaters on Nashville's Dead Records

Well god damn if Seth from Useless Eaters hasn't put out yet another single, this has to make it at least 6 that I know of...with no full length...normally I wouldn't mind...in fact I even encourage the massive use of the single like this, but they have all been so great I'm selfishly looking for at least 10 or 12 songs back to back in one huge frantic burst. Like the Home Blitz album I can't get enough of...I found a lot of similarities in the two...the appropriate use of that anti-fi sound because it's so damn genius, there isn't a second to lose in getting this down, whatever way is immediately at hand. There's no masterplan in following some kind of trend. It's the most fun punk pop, with a huge spring reverb sound..the wettest, playing their hearts out and the levels reflect that. I'd like to think it's blown out because no recording equipment made can handle this raw talent, the microphones malfunction, and the input level even at 1 gets overblown. We aren't technologically advanced enough to invent a means of capturing the sound accurately yet. It's not Useless Eaters fault.

Take the Agorophobic single for example. The shining example for me of perfect sound, 3 songs, frantic, angular and punchy. The building was going down in flames around him...there's 10 minutes before the studio collapses, and this is his last 100 bucks. The blown out, cranked treble reverb is completely classic sounding and futuristic at the same time.
So I've set the bar high, but live he delivers every time....so compared to that single, which is the gold standard, this sounds more produced, but Seth just has a super unique pop punk style that makes all these singles worth getting. He's a freaking talented songwriter...who I'm hoping can carry on the Reatard torch in his own way.

Thanks to Darren at Velocity of Sound's who let me know this was available from the brand spanking new Nashville's Dead label, which couldn't be further from the truth. I for one am going to plan some kind of pilgrimage to 3rd man records one day soon...and I'm staying. I'll build a shack out of 45's out back and get a junkyard dog to guard them. I want a porch, and you can throw a nickel in my hat to hear anything you want.

Checking out Bass Drum of Death tonight at Pianos. 9PM.

7Inches - Singles awards of 2010 extravaganza- PT 3 - hello 2011

Finally.... best singles of the year:

Dirty Beaches - on Italian Beach Babe Records - I just hope more people can get their hands on this one, or he does a stateside single soon on someone's label...cool, detached, minimal home recorded awesome, with completely unique world influences.
Tonetta - Get it Going on Black tent Press - Oh Tonetta, where do I begin? Completely inspiring weirdness from Toronto (!?). The videos almost ruin the music they are so freaking amazing. A thousand thanks to Black Tent for putting this and TWO full length albums out now.
Useless Eaters - Mr. Oscillations on Mastermind Records - Everything Seth does is punchy to the point punk pop with a great layer of crisp distortion across everything. I hope it never ends. Everything so far has been on cassette and 7"....I never thought I'd say it, but enough already. I want a full length.
Sore Eros - Blackburn Recordings - Incredible hazy, melodic weirdness in line with the genius of Ariel Pink and Gary War. Completely mindblowingly complex. I have to catch this live this year.
Ariel Pink (round and round) - 4AD - I don't care how many times I hear this, it gets better and better. He works across genres in the most authentic and sincere way, with tons of experimental pop strewn across every track. There's a sad nostalgia to all of Before Today, that title now makes sense.
Sediment Club - on Soft Spot records - I still can't get over the ragged, simple, new wave from these guys. They're playing Jan 2nd.
Bare Wires - on Southpaw Records - So glad they ended up putting out a single from the guys that did Artificial Clouds, a record I played at least once a week because I wanted to. Mathew Melton is a serious bad ass.


RIP: Blessure Grave, Jay Reatard




Greatest Book ever written award goes to Touchable sound from Soundscreen design : A clear winner, no contest really, everything I ever wanted from a book: that it's entirely about the greatest single design of the past 20 years, every page in full color. The closest I'll get to ever seeing a lot of these historic pieces of art.

See you monday, happy new year.

7Inches - Singles awards of 2010 extravaganza - PT 1

Worst B-Side remix 2010.

This one pretty much kicked this whole list off the beginning of last year sometime.
Remixes have always pissed me off, especially when they waste the B-Side of a 7 inch, they are predictable and always boring, and nothing made less sense for a remix then the stripped down messy garage of the Coathangers. A real bummer of a single from Suicide Squeeze.


This one I knew early would make the list too....from the Mammoth Cave Recording Co.
Winner of best insert 2010 is from their Bloodstains across Alberta single. At the same time hilarious and personal, it tied the whole Alberta theme together explaining the references and the ache's and pains of recording all these maniacs...hands down wins the best Canadian single category as well..nice work, there's something for everyone on this diverse 10 way split, that reminds me, this one won for most tracks on a single as well. That's three gold singles coming your way...a new record.


Winner of best xmas themed single is the angelicly vocaled, Shannon and the Clams on 1,2,3,4 Go. They aren't ruining Christmas at all....You know, I haven't actually heard this, but I'm into the couple of singles they've put out so far, capturing that garage nostalgia, wrapping it in pop punk and giving it to you in new ways...and Shannons voice is ridiculous. This better have been under the tree or Santa hates you.
I honestly think I haven't ordered this yet is because they tell you how many copies are left....so I keep putting it off.

Jack White won in two categories this year:

Most expensive single.... by a longshot was this Dead Weather test pressing that went for $3200 from a live show at the 3rd man store...photo booth pics, handpainted sleeve, signed by all members. This is all Jack White, creating an entire blackmarket for records, controvertially putting 3rd man stuff directly on ebay and all with a not great band...impressive.

He also winds hands down the coveted 7inch prize for format innovation, with the Triple Decker Record®, and the hair record:

Finally for PT1.....Best single not actually reviewed on 7Inches:
Home Blitz - 'Perpetual Night'.
Any label want to step up and give this guy another single? I tracked down the full length, and he just gets better and better. The Northeast answer to Seth's Useless Eaters. Fucking great raw garage no-fi whatever....none of those labels matter, it's great, frantic, the 4-track's on fire songs...this B-Side Searchers cover 'Murder in my Heart' is game changing. The art doesn't need to shock you because the music on that single is better than anything all year.

More tomorrow from snowed in 7Inches.

That's the best xmas gift of all.

Useless Eaters on Jeth Row Records

I search for everything Useless Eaters on google because whenever I think about the Agoraphobic single I have to make sure I've heard everything he's possibly put out. Malfunction is one of the best songs....the Goner single is maybe better then the Agoraphobic one? It's a hard choice.
That somehow led me to this Useless Eaters auction via ebutt on a label I've never heard of: Jeth Row. I'm sure I would have remembered that awesome name if I came across before.
When I saw J Reatard play bass for Seth on the Shattered tour and it was completely unexpected and amazing...when you get blown away live like that it's going to get you tracking down every last release...even if that means tracking down loose leads like this one:

OUT NOW!!!!! Useless Eaters "panic attack b/w death view" 7" jeth-row records 013 paypal $6.50 to jethrowrecords(at)yahoo.com distros/stores get in touch for wholesale rates

Not a day goes by the paypal button goes unmolested.

'Panic Attack' is seriously buried in a sea of blown out punk instrumentation. He must record the vocals after the fact on these because they're so clear considering the condition of the rest of the sound. But then again if that's the case, it doesn't sound like it's separated out either. There's a great live sound to his work, you know it's not far from the live show, I think you really can hear the manic energy...it comes out in nearly every song as a stuttered chord change and brief complicated melody...with all kinds of effects scuzz layering everything. He liberally uses the phaser pedal which is an awesome direction for the punk...plate echo and phaser. It's so cold sounding it could be sort of a new wave punk, except the track steamrolls you the entire time. Seth is really in love with a lot of weird afflictions...a lot of psychological issues, agoraphobia, panic attacks...reminds me of the Sebadoh dramamine track.

'Death View' is the B-Side...like Ty Segall, the texture and sound quality is a big part of the song but for me it's more making something out of nothing. There's hardly a chord change here...it's like the early days of punk, make the song about the rhythm, the structure of the song is paramount. The change of tempo, time signature, get these to be the focus, not the technical skill of playing notes...you can't compete...don't even try.

Go paypal Jeth...apparently there are some of these with R.I.P. Jay Reatard sleeves like the one pictured above? But you'll have to bid heavy on those.

Useless Eaters 'Sucked in' on goner records

I've been listening to Useless Eaters 'Agoraphobic' single since I picked it up after seeing him open for Jay at Le Poisson Rouge a while back and he's got a couple of new ones now at Goner, like this 'Sucked in' single. I love the sound he's getting on these singles, huge reverb, stripped down punk melodies. Sort of surf....always punk with raw, effortless vocals, but the punchy melodies are perfect...'I don't want to go out / I don't want to socialize / Agoraphobic / that's what they call me'
It's drawing from all these garage/punk influences and it's channeled through someone whose kind of realizing he's got to start from scratch anyway. Throw out the history and move on...but of course you can't. He's smartly remembered, been influenced enough to have had it stick. It's garage pop perfection, down to the recording...it's all messy, peaking all over the place. Like Nathan from Wavves it's just forward thinking...putting the blinders on and racing ahead. I hope he can keep this momentum forever. If Jay is involved/supporting in some small way....then he's a pretty good chance of keeping it.
But it really came together live...It's rare to have that experience hearing someone play for the first time and completely get blown away...it's ridiculous he's 19 or something. It's like I'd heard them all before, and I wanted to again immediately.
Perfect example is 'Malfunction' at his myspace, the melody against the bursts of echo and distorted vocals. It's reckless. You lose this fearlessness as the years go by and self consciousness creeps in.
You see that?...I'm going to stay positive...what an old asshole I am.

I can't wait to finally get a full length...and who's going to put it out? Goner? Shattered Records?

USELESS EATERS - Sucked In - Goner - 52 GONE - 7" - $ 5.75
***Using cheap amps, cheap mics, and cheap tricks, Seth Sutton has created a fantastic and fascinating body of work as Useless Eaters. Taking his name from a snotty Vomit Pigs track from a snotty Killed By Death compilation, Sutton has aligned himself with the losers, the forgotten, and the never-were-knowns of "back in the day." Think Legionaires Disease, or The Trend, or Tampax, or Unnatural Axe--all fantastic bands content to dwell in the gutter, spewing out noxious, humorous, untamed punk rock with cheap and nasty equipment.Barely out of high school, Sutton has absorbed all the lessons of punk rock's first thirty years and avoided the traps of sentimentality, phoniness, and the urge to impress anyone outside of the band. Useless Eaters hate fashion, hate proficiency, hate snobbery, and probably hate you.Singles on Jay Reatard's Shattered Records, Italy's Goodbye Boozy, and other obscure vinyl outposts worldwide are spreading the sound. Useless Eaters are the real deal. Get in on it now, and share the secret. Or don't--Useless Eaters really don't care.

Get this one and the shattered records single from Goner.

Useless Eaters and Jay Reatard at Le Poisson Rouge 10-1-09

Pics by Molly

I ended up checking out Le poisson rouge for the first time Friday night since I heard Jay Reatard was bringing his Shattered Records tour there. It was an amazing lineup, Jay, Box Elders, No bunny, Hunx...insane. I've been meaning to check out the space, they've been booking really varied shows there and I kind of thought it must be a fairly small space being on Bleecker Street...so if Jay was playing there then it couldn't be all that bad. The space is pretty crazy, a little fancy pants but has a great stage, and great sound. It's a perfect alternative to Bowery, bigger than Mercury, but it's not so huge that it's pointless. Someone clued me into Jay playing with the first band Useless Eaters, and since the show wasn't starting until 11:30 or so I figured on catching them and I'm glad I did. Seth Sutton is a maniac, the second they got on he was jumping around, and listening to his myspace stuff, this stripped down thin sounding punk was a different story live. I like the recorded tracks a lot, don't get me wrong, but like Jay and Ty, it somehow gets better live. When you see it with the energy that Seth has, every song is great...he blew me away. I can see why Jay was supporting on bass, it's great that he's helping all these bands out first of all, starting his label, turning the whole thing into a way to get exposure for all this stuff he's obviously into. There was an insane light show going on at first and Jay squashed it two songs in. 'Can you stop with the overhead lights? Just turn em off. This ain't no fucking rave alright?' Seth plays with this great tight reverb echo, at times it's pretty minimal, like 'Malfunction' starts out with a great bassline with his tight bursts of melody. Single notes to punchy hard chords. It's that post-punk, punked back up sound. He's got the perfect combination of stripped down, catchy pop punk down, I'm sure he's like 19 and it figures. He's heard it all I'm sure, but then out of sheer balls, just takes it to a new place. I can't remember the last time I was completely along for the ride a few songs in. Especially since he's such a great performer...he's amazing, I was into every song. Incredible. So of course this morning I've been trying to track down anything he's got out. Luckily there's this single from Goner, couldn't find it on their site though, maybe it's gone already, or didn't go up yet, but it's available at Midheaven and Insound.

Jay's show was amazing, as usual, he's even great at bigger venue's but here it was complete mayhem, the tiny space was one big mosh pit, people flying around, I could barely pat attention watching for falling bodies. There was just no where else to go once he started playing, the place erupted. I kind of understand why beer just goes flying, they're possessed, it's like an epileptic convulsion...whatever's in you hand goes flying. He got pissed at one point about someones smelly sweater. He was yelling at them to stop something...I don't know...he yells for a minute and then kills 'Greed money useless children' and who knows, he's a force.