The Blind Shake "Garbage On Glue" 7" on Sweet Rot Records

I didn’t expect a band like this three piece out of Minneapolis, MN, The Blind Shake, to introduce me to another underground R. Stevie Moore, Roky Erickson experimental psych artist, Michael Yonkers. They collaborated with Michael on The Period on SS Records. Before I even finished spinning this single from Sweet Rot I paypal’d SS to hear what Michaels homemade psych instruments and The Blind Shake’s rigid garage rhythms would sound like together. This perfect burst of raw, scuzzy garage sold me on anything these guys are up to in the future.

"Garbage on Glue" comes on with a massive chunk of scuzzy riffs with thick harmonic layers of fuzz all lining up in jagged time. The tom and bass work in perfect sync, coming together in a solid Morse code rhythm section with a guitar riff barreling along constrained by the buzzy effects like an ancient Ministry track. Lux Interior style pleading vocals are trapped under a reverb echo ride on top of this freight train of a melody. It's a fantastic rough riff and they know it, a raw Devo jittery burst of nerves and Mike blurts abrupt lyric syllables like Jay Reatard on Blood Visions, real definition garage punk perfection here with a slight edge of something like the Mayyors if they wadded their thick scuzz into a tight ball. Even the attempt at a solo is straightjacketed, straining against this wave of layers. Two and a half minutes, it takes longer to pull the record out of the jacket and put it on the turntable.

"Go Go 78" has a caveman stomp and a gritty riff of piled on shrill distortions but the thing I'm loving about these guys from the first listen is their straight ahead, blinders on sound. They don't mess with anything, no distractions in their rigid, stick to the tempo plan. The reverb echo chamber bounces and explodes before they return to this see saw rhythm. The vocals even match this clockwork signature; they don't really allow themselves any sort of looseness. It’s tightly wound with the conviction to get it done.
They’re economical with no excess in their sound, creating layers of paper thin scuzz, tightly stretched and threatening to rip right open. They have a great sense of paranoia and creep reverb. Both tracks are cold, hard versions of Warm Soda or the Dirtbombs, a perfect introduction for the uninitiated.

Get this direct from Sweet Rot Records, highest garage scuzz recommendation.

Case Studies "Villain" on Sweet Rot Records

Jessie Lortz is one of those rare individuals who combine fearlessness and talent to produce an intimate folk with just an acoustic guitar and vocals. It’s an easy combination to get tired of under the wrong circumstances, it can too easily be abused and like the comments in youtube - anyone can do it. But his Case Studies immediately falls on the side of being able to pull this off with a raw sincerity. Then again Jessie was one half of the Duchess and the Duke and has been slowly cultivating his quiet, highly personal tracks since the very beginning of his songwriting. For his latest single on Sweet Rot Records, Jessie ended up at his grandfather’s cabin in Montana where he recorded these tracks.

"Villain" pulls you in close; it’s the perfect marriage of vinyl and folk, cranking up the volume to get an imperfect surface noise that grounds this in a very real space. It’s close and alive, the surfaces aren’t deadened for sound reflection, it has the familiar atmosphere of having been captured in a real space. Jessie is right next to you, so close he bumps the mic. The slow, drawn out harmonies are a celebration of country late night truth, like Sam Beam’s deathly slow acoustic strumming, where the individual notes blend together caught in that hole in the wood. There are no effects here, just the simple layers of acoustic, taking two different roads to the melody. Naturally gifted, or hard fought, the songwriting is abstract and somehow speaking to everyone in a heartbreaking way. That relaxed sound of a memory in hushed, close melodies. The slightest tambourine fills the rhythmic gap and this isn't about any real genre or attitude it just transcends the whole idea of ‘getting rich and famous’ and is instead almost a keyhole. Hiking in the woods, coming across an open window in the cabin, and quietly sneaking away.

The B-Side "Dull Knife" doesn’t even need a pop filter, it's heartfelt country starts from a recognizable, damaged place. It’s not a demo or sketch for something else, Jessie is fine with leaving this exactly as it is, a document of this particular place and time. A managed studio would kill everything that’s good about this. His love is likened to a dull knife and strummed rhythms of acoustic stand in for bass blues lines. Soft improvisation from his experienced hand weaves melodies into a deep statement of the barest of materials. Never coming off like a sad home-spun hermit, this is out on the trail, next to a campfire. An ancient rehearsal at work, these feelings have been agonized over before… been turned into song even, but just now we’re being let in on the performance.

Get it from Sweet Rot who says:

Case Studies is the solo project of Seattle's Jesse Lortz, formerly of The Dutchess & The Duke. This is the just the 2nd Case Studies release after the excellent "The World Is Just a Shape To Fill the Night" LP on Brooklyn's Sacred Bones Records, and we feel that these two songs showcase Jesse's ability to write extremely memorable and sincere folk songs. "Villain" is the darker of the two, while "Dull Knife" is a bit more upbeat and while this is one of the more mellow records in the Sweet Rot archive, it's also one of our favourites. Recorded at his grandfather's cabin in Lake Inez, MT. 300 copies pressed.

Lamps on Sweet Rot Records

I must have missed out on The Lamps the first time around because they've been together damn near as long as the day I singed up for 7inches with blogger...or at least that's when they released their self titled full length on In the Red Records. Based out of LA, they were right at the front of the pack exploring this scuzzy reverb garage sound along with Ty, the Fresh and Onlys or hell even Mr. Reatard. There's a great interview over here from Turn it Down where Monty talks about being good friends with Larry at In The Red, not being too musical and the weirdness of LA. I was thinking this morning on the way into work about comparing these guys to Wounded Lion and Lamps are the version of Wounded Lion that got kidnapped and thrown in the basement with prison showers. It's a pretty dark sound, the way it's buried and layered, or maybe it's this sleeve photo that's pointing me in a sinister direction.

"All Seeing Eye" is the epitome of garage now... where it finds itself at the beginning of 2013. It's got that steady 4/4 beat, straightforward laid back vocals and a hell of a lot of noise covering every part of this individually and then run through a hiss on top of that. Jangle over distorted fuzz, buried back in this layer of time and sibilance. A fast jumbled take on The Jesus and Mary Chain. Who doesn't love this stuff that will make your ears bleed from the tempo and treble. For some reason this sounds like Dire Straights in a weird way. Fuzzy time with Nodzzz style vocals underwater at the helm. Loose and fast they're into a level of hiss that can be jammed in between the layers, this dead straight beat keeps everyone on time. You can get lost to the lack of tempo in the wall of sound. At some point Monty gives up on the content and goes for just making sounds which has to be simultaneously hilarious and awesome live. There's a sort of fuck-off energy but in the way that's not an act..this lives in the deep levels of no-fi.

"G. B. D." starts this looped digital rhythm bouncing around, a crazy harsh tone, a dirty bass line kicks in, one note, all rhythm and that screeeeeee tone drops out so a booming tom can work opposite that hyptnotic bassline. Next up, the echo vocals, getting a super Cramps vibe on this one, the cutting dirge of bass acting like that metronome percussion on the A-Side. Whiny electric and they lose the lyrics again. It's just about this texture and feeling, an abstract version of the garage....but when did these guys get almost industrial sounding? Like Throbbing Gristle electronic feedback.
Whatever influence here, it was raised on dark and mean, plenty of scary sounds here. The drums fall off a bit in an effort to humanize this but there's a lot of desparate melting circuits, especially attached to a guitar. Nightmare and chains, leather and glitch. A creepy cousin to DFA 1979?

Black vinyl, love these thick textured sleeves from Sweet Rot, who says:

Los Angeles band Lamps has been one of our favourites here at Sweet Rot for a while. This single, their first release in a couple of years, solidifies their place as one of the best angry punk bands in America. Title track “All Seeing Eye” is a two minute romp that finds Lamps at their catchiest, while the flip “G.B.D.” (an alternate mix of a song to be found on their upcoming “Under the Ground Under the Water” LP on In the Red Records) is perhaps the bands most punishing and sinister song yet with its five minutes of pure aural torture. Enjoy.

Cheap Time on Sweet Rot Records

There's no one out there like Cheap Time. There's no one so faithfully working in this Dictators, Richard Hell, Dolls vein, bringing back all that over the top glam rock sound in a way that's even better than the original stuff. It's not a surprise really, everything Jeff Novak has a hand in ends up with this incredible polish and energy.

"Other Stories" on the A-Side is probably the biggest late '70s pop punk sounding rock track yet from these guys. Driven by this rough, gutsy uncomplicated guitar chord sound, Jeff snarls through bad ass rock and roll lyrics about your sister being a bitch and matching twins with tattoo's on their arms, it's working on both levels. At first all I can hear is this blown out rock wall, power chords and piano stabs, it's got their signature tough and catchy sound while still sounding like they're half messing around, goofing on the whole scene and then a few plays later the lyrics start coming in over this punk kidney punch and it just gets better and better. These guys are the whole package making smart, impeccably crafted epic pop punk that gets even better live.
Flip it over and the B-Side "In This World" plays with this back and forth sort of punky blues rhythm, they're really getting more and more punk leaning these days from the sound of this single. The chorus of Jeff's singing "Nothing in the this world will do!" and the muted heavy burst chord ending on this one carries this weird kind of tension through Jeff's maniacal snotty delivery. That timeless nihilism with a sweet layered piercing solo. You really have to pat attention when someone puts together a list of grievances like this. The most exciting praise of that Johnny Thunders, Stranglers, Stiv Bators early punk sound, with his own thick, meaty production chops to take this to another level. You already know if you have to have this, if they weren't nice enough to send this along I'd be looking for it at any record store that was still open in the metro ny area. I know it doesn't make much sense.

Get this from Canada's Sweet Rot Records who reminded me:

Back in March 2007, Sweet Rot’s second ever release was the debut 7″ by Cheap Time. A couple of years later we released a single by front man Jeffrey Novak. Now Sweet Rot is pleased to continue the collaboration with a new two-song 7″ which comes hot on the heels of the band’s quite great “Wallpaper Music” LP on In the Red Records. These two new songs – “Other Stories” and “In This World” – are a prime example of what a 70s sounding glam punk single should be – short, well written and produced, and super catchy. We feel these songs perfectly complement each other and think fans of the band’s previous work will too.

Teledente666 on Sweet Rot Records

You can always count on Sweet Rot to be pressing real stand out heavy hitters, from Jeffrey Novak to Dead Luke, The Anals and Blank Dogs, so the fact that you've never heard of Teledente666 just means that you are behind the curve my friend (so many baseball references?) and I'm with you. From the reverse sleeve I think there are two members in this Strasbourg, France project, including Seb from Crash Normal (according to Melissa at Future Primitive).

"Les Rats" on the A-Side starts in with feedbacking scuzzy guitar bursts and a super gated cheapo drum machine. More and more squeals of crunchy glitched to all hell guitars or string breaks, ungrounded sounds over the machine and a real sinister sustained bassline starts. Random background basement clanking of pipes and the vocal on this, although in french, is pitch perfect, just slightly off center and creeping behind this dark instrumentation. Virtually no effects, far from the mic, secondary to this driving primitive future beat, it's reminding me of Lust for Youth in their capturing those underground electronic influences, making it contemporary in it's extreme delivery. Or even Blank Dogs lean towards great catchy melodies hidden in the hiss. That bass is heavily overdriven low squealing between the riffs into synth while metallic banging and creaks keep this one in bare bulb underground territory. A little mysterious and the low end really starts to break apart along with the space towards the end of the repetition. I love when someone can take minimal elements like this and still create an unsettling recording.
B-Side's "Panne Sexe" takes another steady thin static beat and works a higher distorted melody ring toned guitar (is that the MXR Blue Box?) into further darkness with a heavy synth undertow. Lots and lots of sexe, even I can figure that one out, and this time vocally he's lost the distant cold delivery and is back there in the distance belting out a weird melody under the single ringing note near feedback. The whole thing is pushed further into distortion, piling on the keys. A great creepy release from a band that hopefully has a full length in the works.

Heavily textured monochrome creep sleeve that says, I am going to scare you. Get it from Sweet Rot, who says:

Having released well received singles by French bands A.H. Kraken, Feeling of Love, The Anals, and The Dictaphone, Sweet Rot returns to France to release the debut 7″ from Strasbourg’s Teledetente 666. Taking elements from all of the aforementioned, Teledetente plays some of the most gnarly sounding, guitar damaged, drum machine punk that we’ve heard since The Anals. The two songs here “Les Rats” and “Panne Sexe” are pretty unrelenting in their all out attack on your senses. Menacingly recorded by Seb Normal. For fans of The Anals, Cheveu, A.H. Kraken, Volt, Pierre & Bastien, etc.

TV Ghost on Sweet Rot Records

I think I first met TV Ghost back in 2007 after talking about their single on Die Stasi, and I really wonder if it was even the same band? These guys are dedicated, honing and refining this creepy sound for years to end up in this disturbing unique place. But then again TV Ghost has a facebook page now...or should I say Television Ghost...maybe that explains it.

A-Side's "Phantasm" sounds like these guys have taken on a full psych attack strategy but maybe that's thanks to these organ squeezes, the vocals are just as disturbed as I remember. A dirty gutteral bassline under haunted house organ grinds. Split vocals, distorted across both speakers following that eerie organ melody. The springy reverb when finally released is an insane distant thunder thwack from the tesla coil in the next state over. I think from some of the previous reviews I read I was expecting this to be way more polished but they're still carrying this raw, unpolished edge. It's all done on a real passionate scale, the gunshot clicks from ungrounded cables are like sparks, electricity connecting that circuit, heavy and smacking. Still sounding like a Deadbolt neighbor, from down in the lab. They are plenty frightening, the distortions going way beyond just that guitar noise, but disembodied voices from the next room. Things get almost free jazz sounding with all of the layers of haunted organs and amplified strings and then it all stops suddenly. The ghosts of the tv have blown a fuse.

B-Side's "Panic Area" - now that I'm hearing this ensemble more clearly, you get a sense for the true weirdness of these tracks. The bounced back and forth vocals and their deadpan monotone inbetween manic bursts of chorus the whole thing falls apart, they're getting closer to the Nothing People than the wave of no-fi glitched out layered whatever-gaze direction a lot of other bands continue to explore. The vision is a lot more clear musically and the end result is maybe a little more disturbing now that you can hear every note. Like a halloween ride, a screamy blues laughing ghost ride ...TO HELL!

Creep me out.
In a sleeve/inner sleeve textured cardstock, on black vinyl. Sweet Rot. (Ordering info on their myspace page...one of the last holdouts.

Little Queenie on Sweet Rot Records

Sweet Rot records has been up there in Vancouver putting out singles probably even before 7inches was just a twinkle in blogspot's eye...those early Blank-its singles....so great (I wonder what happened to those guys), they put out Dead Luke really early on, tons of Jeff Novak sort of more recently...basically it's a label consistently releasing stuff across the board from great bands...they've been around forever so they're doing something right in the pressing and relationship dept...so when I saw they put this single out from Little Queenie, it ended up first on the turntable.

This foursome, from Oakland, is the kind of party that isn't planned so much as ends up happening, there's no decorations...the beer is stolen or cheap and the lights are off. So off in fact that you may be closer to the A-Side then you think.
"Blackout" has split up the double bass section to either side of the stereo, big time split left and right both driving, that raw, metal string sound clanging off the pickups. This is in that tradition of TV party, they're making no secret about what's going on, it's Friday, drink some beer...try to overdo it. They've put together these inspirational lyrics and melodies since their show last weekend when they had a few too many and this is the result. But it's all soberingly clear, they've taken the time to make sure you really take in all the ways they are drinking. They found a few moments in the sweet spot of drunkenness to hammer out this tune. Icki has a talky, low register delivery, if you listen close you can almost hear the ghost of Kim Gordon singing along somewhere in there. Some new types of hiss and fuzz work their way in this sort of breakdown pause, a solo of punched in inspired static, but don't be fooled, the only experimentation happening here is with different types of booze.

The B-Side's "SS Shipwreck" is using that trademarked slightly distorted dual power bassline again, and Icki equals out the straight ahead driving force with a breathy talking vocals about his predicament at sea. Singing louder this time, trying to be heard above this rolling tom beat. It's a desparate kind of manic track with the narrator, the only member of the crew of SS Shipwreck, who's doing... not so great...he's making the best of it, but in the way that only lunatics try to talk them selves into things...in the corner of the padded room.

Two party punk tracks, they're having fun with this, friends who care more about hanging out than fighting about how loud to make the solo on the 4th layer of bass.

Nice heavy, thick textured sleeve with a one color screen on it, Roarshack cats and spades. As simple as that. Listen to the A-Side here. Pick it up from Sweet Rot...they still rely on the myspace and the hotmail address...PUNK!

Jeffrey Novak on Sweet Rot records

Jeffrey Novak has done it again, this time on Sweet Rot. I have to say I'm loving Cheap Time and all the solo singles I can get my hands on. I hadn't even heard about this when I saw it on the shelf the other day, so I rushed home to give it a listen and see if this was still available anywhere.
He has this really amazing layered stylized pop punk approach. It's reminding me of the Kinks better tracks. There's always a playfulness that comes out in the weird experimental composition. It's really contemporizing where so many things from the 60's left off and avoids sounding dated by completely embracing this sound...or the best parts. Harmonizing with the distorted guitar. A deliberate bassline, with his stutter verse talking delivery and layers of vocals chorus. It's always interesting, there's so much going on working together seamlessly.

Short Trip Home is the A-Side. I really wouldn't imagine this is from the same guy in Cheap Time, it's very different...the way it meanders around the tune, the complex carefully places pieces. It's a really introspective side of Cheap Time.
One of A Kind, the flip, is equally as great, they're right. The effects on the vocals...it's warm sounding but a little off in the distance with a little distorted vibrato on it. This weird ending of vocal sounds, off beat drums, cowbell is a perfect example of how he can really put these elements together that sound simultaneously crazy and amazing.

Goner records has it, I got mine at Academy

SRR-11 - JEFFREY NOVAK "One of a Kind" b/w "Short Trip Home" 7"
After turning quite a few heads with his self-released debut LP and Shattered Records 7", Jeffrey Novak (Cheap Time) is back with another two song hit single of A+ worthy pop. Both songs are so good, we had to flip a coin to pick the A-side. His second LP "Baron in the Trees" will be coming out next year on In the Red Records. This is a one time only pressing on black vinyl.