Podcast Episode 12 - January 19, 2014

Episode 12: Darren and Jason talk about the sad news of the passing of Windian Records founder, Travis Jackson. If you can donate to his family, the link is here. We also cover the latest 3rd man vault package, Flaming Lips RSD news, Suicide Squeeze's forever singles comp, The Merge Records singles club and a Bowie picture disc.

Jason's pick of the week is a Lee Fields single "Faithful Man" on Truth and Soul Records.
Darren picked The Babies latest Our House on the Hill from Woodsist Records.

Next week we talk to Justin from CQ Records.

Subscribe or download/stream over at itunes.

Woods/Kurt tour split + FHM record release party!

Hey there, super brief update this crazy rainy Friday, got an email this morning that woodsist has some of those split Kurt/Woods singles that were available on tour only! All exclusive to the single and I love both of these guys, so unreleased stuff is perfect for the single and I can't wait to hear this.

WE HAVE A FEW COPIES OF THE WOODS/KURT VILE SPLIT 7" FROM TOUR. 2
tracks from woods, 3 from KV. all exclusive to this release. limited
to 1000 on black vinyl. tracklist below

01 Woods: "Skull"
02 Woods: "Cold Blue"
03 Kurt Vile: "Commercial Reject"
04 Kurt Vile: "In/Out Blues"
05 Kurt Vile: "Water Fingers"

$8 ppd USA
$10 ppd CANADA
$12 ppd WORLD

PAYPAL TO:

cassettes(at)gmail.com

Raven Sings the Blues talked about it a while back and I wasn't able to catch them, so nows your chance.


I also want to mention that this tueday, September 27th, Fat History Month will be playing along with Lushes, Florida and Shareef Ali Elfiki at Legion Bar, 790 Metropolitan Ave. It's a Sweaters & Pearls Record release party for their single I just put out, so come by and say hi, see these awesome bands.

White Fence on Afterlife Records

Got word from Byron at Afterlife Records about a White Fence single just out on the heels of his full length 'In Growing Faith' on Woodsist. If you happen to live by Aquarius records out in San Fran, they should have some color vinyl in the Afterlife clothing store across the street, us mailorder dudes get the black vinyl, but hey, this is White Fence....who cares!

Their first full length on Make a Mess has been in rotation now for a while, and of course you ordered his latest from Woodsist with a description like this. I thought the Fresh and Onlys kind of represented a new path psyche could have gone down, the perfect example of a band picking up the torch and continuing full speed ahead...or the Art Museums in an entirely different way, but the White Fences are so completely in line with the sound from that era it's uncanny. He's really taking this to a pitch perfect psyche update place, I mean I know I've used that reference before to various things, but these guys are the realest of deals, so close to the era, I just had an old timer ask me what I was listening to. I'm dead serious. He said, "...never heard of them'

Is it me of does the full length on Make A Mess get completely different like halfway though the album, all of a sudden it gets a lot grungier, Tim goes the full spectrum of this psyche sound, massive delays and the most paisley, bubble projected light things you've ever heard and then they're back down the other side to a real dirty gritty garage, so lo-fi it's all distorted, like the 2" reel to reel with the input turned up to 11. It's working all the possibilities of the period so well.

'Harness' on the A-Side, has this multivocal harmony that's just totally blown out and on fire, plowing full speed ahead... damn if this isn't a close relation to what I've heard from Jeff Novak lately actually. They are both mining this late '60s, '70s sound for all it's worth coming up with a better version than the original. Something like this really highlights how much culturally the landscape has changed, if you take away the actually sounds and the instrumentation itself your left with vocals and delivery, which brings this decidedly into today. The combination of this distance and the fuzzed out, wired metal guitar solo, which unexpectedly turns backwards on itself and phases in and out devolving right to the end. Psyche done so well, you get some kind of contact high.

The Pool, on the B-Side is pretty damn clear, and his vocals have that high register nasal quality which is unlike anything I've heard up to this point. Super psyche randomly juxtaposed lyrics 'Fingernails go purple from the cold / saving your clippings/ just a drink of leather." The fact this is the one man project of Tim Presley is blowing my mind. It's got the straight ahead classic style of Kurt Vile, you almost can't believe this style can still be compelling when done right. Expertly crafted, just minimal, jangly electric, there's no way to break this down into pieces, they work so well together. Slightly folksy, but completely modern...it's what you want psyche-pop to be...new all over again. Great piece of work.

Afterlife via Aquarius says:

If you're anything like us, you can't get enough of the woozy, '60s laden sounds of White Fence. And if his latest release on Woodsist isn't enough to quench your thirst for psych-pop jangle, feast your eyes (and ears) on this hot new 7" featuring a stellar, unheard, unreleased song. Released by our friends Afterlife (rad clothing shop across the street from aQ), this slab of washed out psychedelic pop is exactly in line with past WF releases. Blaring fuzz guitar, catchy hooks and diluted melodies, all melted and warped into a unique brand of 'white light, white heat' drug-rock.
"The Pool" is completely new to us, a relaxed, slow burning trip into a blurred summer afternoon. Reminds us of Texas trippers Pure Ecstasy. Distant tambourine, chiming guitar and layers of tape hiss drift together into a wash of melodic goodness. Our favorite thing about WF is beneath all these layers of grit and haze are well crafted songs that only leave us wanting more. Don't miss out on this gritty pop gem! - (aquarious records)

Northside Fest Day 2 - Woodsist showcase and Dinosaur Feathers

Northside Fest Day 2

The Woodsist showcase was a no brainer and the Music Hall was the perfect place to support the amazing lineup that was going to be trading the stage all night.
I've wanted to see Sic Alps since I saw grainy dark youtube videos of them playing in basements . They're a substantial force, Mike Donovan and Matthew Hartman who actually were joined by Noel von Harmonson... not quite sure when they became a 3 piece and it drove their already massive sound way over into the red. I don't think anyone was thinking that insane sound really needed another guitar, but then maybe this latest tour, and opening for Sonic Youth and Pavement inspired them to get even bigger. The over all direction felt even more psychadelic than usual. Maybe it's the result of the three of them on stage, once the wave starts rolling it's harder to stop. The momentum of the jam with the two guitars listening for each other, playing off the last phrase. There's bound to be a delay or a hesitation in reacting to the other person. I didn't mind the jam, all I could really think about was the spirit of what early sonic youth might have been like as Noel and Mike squatted next to pedals and amps digging in and coaxing feedback noise out of the 60's kind of groove they'd been previously driving into.

It makes so much sense to think about Woodsist putting this show together, it was perfectly curated, getting these heavy hitters together who are rooted in that laid back kind of west coast psychadelia. Moon Duo is practically an exact replica of that era from what I've heard, pretty classicly true to replicating that era. Then Sic Alps bring an experimental noise to the guitar driven sound, and the Fresh and Onlys take it into catchy pop places. Woods brings it back into a experimental layered collage animal collective inspired place. How did that sound end up coming out of so many different bands on the East Coast? I wouldn't think that layered sound would come out of the historically urban straight laced east coast. Animal Collective or Black Dice's return to a primal rhythm and collage layers of vocals...but maybe that's the West Beach Boys influence making it's way back in the form of it's pinnacle Panda Bears, Person Pitch. Real Estate surprisingly takes the West coast laid back vibe and exports it to the shores of Jersey. Taking back the shore from the juice heads so you don't forget the little byways and deserted sandy shores. They want to remind you on every track, literally songs about rivers, the seagulls, and for better or worse the clear lazy suburban sprawl.



The Fresh and Onlys came on after the Alps and I had been really wanting to see them for the first time after their self titled full length had so many great tracks. They mixed those up with some new ones off their Captured Tracks EP and it's funny because I had always thought of them as dirty frantic garage rockers. Something in the spirit of that kind of hazy punk but live they seem to be a really laid back, solid, melodic band. With the backbone of Tim Cohens solo stuff they have this quiet, practically romantic base, so maybe it just had been waiting to rise out of the frantic shitstorm that has been their 7"'s up to this point. They can develop and draw out a brief psyche feel in a real full volume way. They benefited from the massive PA system and room of the Music Hall. I never even heard them filling out a space like this until now, and Tim is a character who really wins over the crowd immediately. This joking lumberjack, not the angry frustrated garage punk I might have had them pegged as early on.



After that ear ringing set I thought I'd check out the Pop Tarts Suck Toasted curated set next door at Public Assembly. I was just in time to catch Dinosaur Feathers who I've been hearing good things about and was surprised to see a trio of bass, hollow body guitar and synth - sans drummer rocking out catchy mini electronic jams. Every song launches with a hyped up messy electronic beat to be joined by indie acoustic style pop strumming and piercing harmonies from the three guys. It's like Orange Juice, anti-low-fi, no garage...unpretentious...they want catchy pop songs, and the audience was actually dancing, bouncing around the PA, yelling for them to turn up the vocals. Built out of weirdo tropical (?) sounds it stays grounded thanks to the guitar and harmonies. Plus it's hard not to root for them, they were super thankful and goofy, sincerely comfortable and knowing exactly what they were doing at the same time. Listening to an old EP on their website, they have a densely constructed, precise sound...almost pop Xiu Xiu...there's a lot to take in. Reproducing this live suits them as it gets stripped down a little bit more...a few less layers and more spontaneity.


After they finished I went next door (that's ridiculous when you think about it. I caught myself a few times last night thinking I saw Sic Alps a week ago....or the Fresh and Onlys was another life...not literally an hour ago) and made it in time for the end of Woods' set. I hugely respect what Jeremy has done for his band, the label, and then to take this secondary slot on their own showcase night? Just an all around nice, hardworking guy...they really deserve the attention they're getting for the label and hell ...people seem to like Woods on top of it. I'm not that familiar with their catalog but they seemed to be extending their tracks, teasing them out for the crowd. G. Lucas Crane looks pained, bent over the sea of electronics always in dead front, I think he was burning incense or else the faders and knobs were just in a constant state of near meltdown. It's hard to tell exactly what sounds are created but it definitely adds to the psychedelic haze that the tracks devolve into. It's would seem counter intuitive to add this to the jam pit vibe but then the vocalizations he's creating are just what the otherwise guitar driven songs need. It's done in an organic way, maybe because it's so hands on....it's that delicate high falsetto against this swirling menace that's Woods' trademark.



Real Estate was up next, with the perfect kind of lazy summer odes to New Jersey. The back and forth of guitar between Matt and Martin they both have a great high tone and melody sense that comes together in layered pop. You don't see these melodies coming or that the track chorus gets even catchier. Weirdly all the vocals reference the water, rivers, streams or reservoirs, it's something I never picked up on before, you would never pick out these 4 guys to be in the same band, but it's got to be these varied references coming together that makes it work. Matt even took lead on a new track I didn't recognize. But Etienne Duguay on drums is an insane showman, twirling the sticks between hits, with a huge reach hitting the backside of the crash cymbals flailing around with impressive control of velocity. I couldn't help but think of the wedding drummer video. Back out for the encore they somehow saved their best 7" tracks for last like Fake Blues and they're getting more comfortable every time I see them and the audiences are growing. Not bad for basically their first album.

Woods 'I was gone' on Woodsist

Saw Woods with Real Estate at the beginning of the rainiest weekend ever, of course their 'No Rain' tour, which actually I think refers to their Blind Melon cover jam with Real Estate they are no doubt going to do at the end of each night down to SXSW. I picked up this single at the merch table which I like it a lot better than their live show, which is missing a lot of these subtleties and layers. Live it's harder to pull off what is essentially close intimate recordings. I have a huge respect for what Jeremy Earl has done with Woodsist and it undoubteldly is contributing to his success with Woods, but live it's just not my thing. It meanders, gets way to psyche, and just kind of unremarkable.
The A-Side 'I was Gone' has a bunch of false starts which are nice, the layers are all over the place, tons of different rhythms, and once it gets going it's back to Jeremy's almost comic falsetto..it's like a muppet, I'm into the joke, it's unique..but musically it's getting lazy velvet underground or mv & ee, all kijnds of pointless noodling on guitar, gets faster, slows down again. I appreciate conciseness, you have a viewpoint, something to say, then get to the point. This sounds like guitars in love with making their own sound.
The B-Side (I think the woodsist description in wrong, The B-Side is definitely 'Days gone by' and 'Hang on') starts with an eastern sounding reverb electric, with a tighter pop high harmony vocals on this one, and we're getting somewhere. When they get this live in the livingroom sound with otherworldly angelic vocals, there really isn't anything better. The improv is at a minimum and it's a perfect length to ask yourself exactly what was that.
'Hang on' has a ton of Lucas' vocal manipulations over a heavy tempo drumbeat, I especially love the scream yells with massive tight plate echo, scary...but it doesn't end up with anything memorably melodic, but still an interesting side I didn't catch live. But again they're trying to recreate really intimate moments which come across as a little too hippie for me at the music hall.
Nice single, limited(?) to 1,500 copies....they're optimistic.

WOODS- "I Was Gone"- 7" ep (WOODSIST041)--->OUT NOW! $7.00 postage
paid in the USA

"guess this new woods ep is a more unconscious approach to the written song. A side is a 3 part tape collage/head scratcher called 'Days GoneBy.' B side features new easy breezy psych rock single, 'I was Gone' and the drugged out tribal child, 'Hang On.' its crunchy. take with some honey slides"- Tattoo Marty

limited/ one time only pressing of 1,500 copies

Real Estate -Fake Blues- on Woodsist

Real Estate has a new single from Woodsist, just out maybe today...I was just there looking at the Kurt Vile full length a few days ago and this wasn't listed yet. So I paypaled for both this afternoon, along with a new Thee Oh Sees they have as well.
Looks like a full length from Real Estate is scheduled from them later this year.
I'm really into this sleepy rock sound, not as tropical, dense sample heavy as Ducktails, Matt Mondanile being a member of both of course. This is a more live sound, heavy on reverb, two-step drums. Nothing like I expected actually. It's a produced and really clean full band sound...hypnotic and repeating, a little like Bedhead....or Fuck.
I love the Suburban Beverage track on their other single, which is still available. It goes on forever in this groove. They are creating a really catchy, almost jazz induced feel in every song. This live show from Breakthru radio is a great example, recorded at Piano's is full of great stuff. It's so familiar, every sound, but they manage to keep it really engaging.

I don't know why but it's reminding me of my first show ever... The Ocean Blue and The Mighty Lemon drops at oswego college. It's dreamy...and solid. I could stand there forever. Looking forward to catching them this Thursday at Public Asembly.

Fake Blues, the A-Side starts out with their signature reverb picking, a coupe of great little melodies layered and the drums come in with an all tom beat. They do this thing where the bass notes are hit at the same time as the cymbal crashes...it's all muted, but that little part is so perfect. The vocals are mixed down...angelic. It's really settling the scene for summer...I could see this as slow-mo music. The camera sweeps underwater as someone jumps in. Laughing. There's water everywhere.

From fusetron:
*Artist: REAL ESTATE
Title: Fake Blues
Format: 7"
Label: Woodsist
Country: USA
Price: $5.00

or of course Woodsist.

Idle times on Woodsist records

Woodsist is a name to trust in just plain new sound. If they are pressing this stuff into vinyl, then I am confident it's worth a listen. And God Dammit they are right down the street on Bushwick Ave. That makes the Wavves 12" even more special...it's like the neighborhood label I can get behind.
And they probably make it through the postal service more times than not.
This latest offering from Idle Times is really blown out, humming amps, cranked up with tons of reverb. The vocals barely make their way out from under the all treble high hiss of tracks and tracks of cymbals.
This is another solo, one man project. That really had to blow people away...to be able to record with yourself. Play the drums back and record the guitar parts. Rhythm sections cowerd in fear of being replaced by track 3 and 4. Interesting times.
'Get your feet off the ground' has that kind of psyche sound, all guitar based, stuttered, half stopping right at the end of a phrase. It makes for this weird rhythm that's a little off. Distortion screech solos here and there. Low, muttering layered vocals complete this rehearsal space side project. I love the way these drums sound....I can't tell if they are recorded first and they get kind of buried and then pulled out with weird eq-ing or there's a shitgaze pedal that just came out.

This can be had from Woodsist or Fusetron:
*Artist: IDLE TIMES
Title: Get Your Feet Off the Ground
Format: 7"
Label: Woodsist
Country: USA
Price: $5.00
"Debut release from 27 year old Brian Standeford. After the quickdissolution of his previous band Tall Birds, Standeford began recording songs onto cassette in his Seattle home using a Tascam 4-track, practice amps and a toy drum kit. Loner bedroom psych at its best. Edition of 500 on black vinyl." -Woodsist

Vivian Girls at Death by Audio

I came across the Vivian Girls after seeing that they were opening for Love is all at Market Hotel and looked up their myspace. I missed them that time, but the tracks on myspace were so great I ordered the singles still available immediately.

Then an email came through from ToddP about a last minute show at DBA supporting The Woods and Meneguars record release. After a walk around the block, and some confusion with the nights lineup, they were just finishing setting up.
I never get over how much I love this space. It's falling apart, the graphitti is ever changing on the walls, the ceiling tiles are more broken every time. Who's jumping up there and punching them? What guitars/mics have been thrown into the air?


They soundchecked the essential echo/chorus effects on all three mics, which was feedbacking along with the high range vocals, blending into a long screeching wail after the vocals faded. This part doesn't come through as much on the recorded material. The feedbacked endless echo is so much a part of this upper harmony/ethereal sound. It completely becomes another instrument taken to this endpoint, so completely pushed to the limit of possible echo that gives up coherence for pure harmonized vocals. They really use to their voices as women to their advantage, 3 high part girl harmonies working with the range of the intentional feedback... I just kept thinking 3 guys could not get away with this, it just wouldn't work.

The lyrics are so completely an afterthought live, they work completely... recorded, here it's the wall of harmony sound, all hiss and feedback. You reach for a little of the melody peeking through a punk rhythm, and jangly treble twee guitar.
I think that's the key to this sound that I love so much, the contrast between the usual moodiness tempo of this genre's sound. The My Bloody Valentine effect....with the echo set to '11' the first instinct is to slow down the tempo and draw out everything from the chords to the syllables. It turn's syrupy slow fall asleep town. Every track here live was probably faster than the stuff on their sold out self titled LP, the double snare hits are punked out, the chord strumming trying to keep up. The crowd was definitely bouncing around to the girl trio punk-gaze-a-thon.

They are living up to whatever kind of hype is already coming their way, it's an impressive debut album and the singles are so great. the way it's reworking a lot of elements: like mod/50's girl Phil Spector groups all the way through to Ramones punk to Shoegaze Jesus and Mary Chain and twee Swirlies, taking the best elements of all of that and keeping it fast and sounding new the whole time.


Tomorrow they play the Yard which is just a bad ass amazing space/venue, I'm sorry I'll miss it, this band is worth it... but there is a ridiculous lineup there anyway, I'm insane and you're insane not to go.


Here's a single still available from Woodsist (after July28th): VIVIAN GIRLS- "Tell The World" 7" (WOODSIST016) irresistible mix of shoegaze, punk, and 60's girl-group sounds with beautiful reverb drenched vocals. features three self recorded tracks of lo-fi goodness. first press of 1,000 on black vinyl.

7"= USA = $ 7.75 ppd Canada / Mexico = $ 10.75 ppd World Airmail = $ 12.75 ppd

price includes S&H and paypal fee paypal to cassettes( @ )gmail.com

WWW.WOODSIST.COM

Sic Alps - Strawberry Guillotine

This is more psyche/noise-awesomeness from the Sic Alps and they get some amazing distortion feedback sounds on the b-side of their latest from Woodsist records.
Side A is a wash of... I don't even know how many tracks of guitar, it's venturing into old Jesus and Mary Chain Barbed Wire Kisses territory. So much sound it's ridiculous...slow hidden vocals ...moving just enough to get out of the quicksand and not get sucked back under.

The B-side 'Ratroq' is a lot of distortion and something horn-like... I think a saxophone, making horrible screeching sounds with some big guitars and a word here and there. Pretty minimal with tons of effects, lots of breathing room. Like the worst factory making evil...just pumping it out.
Then 'The Drake' just sneaks in after and is a couple acoustic sounding guitars strumming away underwater. It always feel like it's mastered with tons of bass, lots of mud and no treble. This is actually a nice little tune. Hold my hand until we run into the sun.

The description from Woodsist actually sheds some light on the narrative, unless they just made it up:

"Sic Alps toss back 3 new tracks for this seven inch. Title track "Strawberry Guillotine" takes the listener on a guided tour of an imagined war between the sprawling Golden Gate Park homeless population and the more established model yacht community. Musket blasts sound off as shopping carts laden with gasoline and styrofoam emerge from the silent bushes and charge the blood dimmed shores of the cement bottomed Spreckles Lake. Cover art co-opted from 90s LA anti-legends The Summer Hits who themselves stole it from the Walker Brothers in the first place. Apparently Rex from Summer Hits is now homeless in London where his long beard is black on one side and fully grey on the other. This record is humbly dedicated to him." - Woodsist.

It's also available from parasol distro.