August 2009
74 posts
Cacaw – Get a Brain one-sided 12” LP/CD...
Anya Davidson and Carrie Vinarsky, formerly of terrifying Chicago agitpunk combo Coughs, meet up with two dudes, one of which was in a band called Slut Barf, and let their collective hair (scalp, armpit, etc.), down a bit, in the process taking a step back into that city’s storied tool-and-die noise rock circuit. Cacaw is certainly a harsher example than most, with the dude factor dialed way...
The Cultural Decay– Eight Ways to Start a Day:...
Remember, youth, that there was a time WAY before “Just Like Heaven” or “Lovesong” (or even Seventeen Seconds) where the Cure must have seemed like a slightly less arty Wire; one which might have been more social, one less concerned with feats of reinvention. I would be pretty surprised if the members of the Cultural Decay hadn’t ever heard Three Imaginary Boys before putting together...
Customers – Howlin at the Moon 7” EP (Rob’s House)
There is a sticker on the sleeve that says “features members of Beat Beat Beat, The Carbonas, and the Heart Attacks.” Do I really need to add anything else or does the sticker have it covered? It’s a perfect blend of the first two bands, and they left the Ron Wood hair fanfiction of The Heart Attacks out. Vocalist Stephen has a touch of Frankie Stubbs’ gravel in the voice, which helps keep them...
James Ferraro – Clear LP / Discovery LP (Holy...
Two LPs worth of grainy synth, guitar, and Casio drumbox drone from James Ferraro, who is a member of Skaters, and who’s also recorded under a host of other monikers (Lamborghini Crystal, Edward Flex, 90120). These reissues of self released CD-Rs were pieced together using crude boom box overdubs, and it shows in the underwater fidelity on display here. Both records have a washed-out and distant...
GHQ – Requiem for Bhopal 7” (L’animaux Tryst Field...
Long and extended 33 rpm seven-inch records are such a bizarre idea. This drone super group (well, Pete Nolan and Marcia Basset) drone really gets higher key, but by the time you’ve made it back to the couch to get your slippers and hot toddy set up, it’s time to flip it over. While it’s definitely in line with past recordings, its brevity is a little bit of a tease. That said, it’s pretty long...
Harvey Milk – s/t 2xLP (Hydra Head)
Jumping the gun is what I do. Harvey Milk’s never-released debut LP, bought and paid for by an unnamed man who absconded with the master tapes, is now out, and already out of print. Hydra Head is pressing this thing up for the masses momentarily, but for now, 300 copies were blown out on the band’s recent tour at $30 a pop. That’s a lot of Whoppers. Recorded by Bob Weston in 1994, it has that...
The Mantles – “Don’t Lie” b/w “Secret Heart” 7”...
Pouty-lipped but resilient, SF’s Mantles are working classic cars, Everly Brothers-style pleasantness, and syrup-sticky guitar lines back into the modern vernacular. Following a rough-hewn debut single comes these two pleasant little numbers, “Don’t Lie” gently scolding over sweet Silvertone strum while “Secret Heart” gets a little stormier, with some crumbling fuzz guitar and a slightly more...
Mosquito Bandito – Hello from Haiti 7” EP (Milk...
This record is a collection of garage rock clichés. Mosquito Bandito is a one man band from Wisconsin and all signs point to the fact that he is “rocking’” (organ, “wild” vocals, rockabilly riffs), but he doesn’t really do anything interesting or have songs with hooks. For the most part the record superficially sounds kind of like a mash up of the Real Losers with the forgotten bands...
Nodzzz – “True to Life” b/w “Good Times Crowd” 7”...
Nodzzz are such sweet, righteous kids who’ve shown an ability to refine beyond a catchy, garage-y stroke of genius to a careful, joyous pop outfit with a couple of great records. This fits in nicely, the trio exhibiting what I’d call giddy politeness across two pleasant, brief tracks that find the group becoming more mannered and opening up their melodic sensibilities to bands like the Clean or...
Jeffrey Novak – “One of a Kind” b/w “Short Trip...
Up for the role of Reatard’s kid brother we have Jefrrey Novak; having grown tired of the Tennessee trash sounds of his One Man Band and the Rat Traps, he’s set his musical sights on England’s past. Jay laid claim to The Adverts, and Novak has gone full on British Invasion. While the goal might be a Kinks/Hollies sound, the results are more cartoonish and flouncy, reaching Herman’s Hermit’s...
The Pink Noise – “Gold Light” b/w “Prince Charlies...
Nobody sent by a copy of any of the recent Pink Noise records aside from this one, which is a bummer. They’re one of the few in the class of Blankdoggers to which I’d offer a free pass, simply because they intrigue without being too obvious. At one point I read a list of all the releases this band had been planning, promising way too many albums and singles and tapes to way too many eye-rolling...
Pollution – Nasty DNA CS (C6 Recordings)
Judging by the cover, you don’t know what to expect from this recent cassette by Brooklyn band Pollution, but this tape is pretty hard hitting from beginning to end. Perfect blend of later-era Gravity Records back catalog sounds meets the power of Jesus Lizard. Experienced band with an equally fitting & intense vocalist. Can only imagine how powerful these guys can be live. Limited to 100...
Radioactive Prostitute – King Maris Day 12” EP...
Jokey noise rock with improv aspirations, mixed with some one-fingered riff rockers. First song really goes off on some rock-block-ready radio rant before launching into feedback blasts. Apparently the project has been around for seven years and played with likely East Coast noise Mafiosos. This record goes for more noise than rock, however. The feedback is mixed up with some marble-mouthed...
Teenage Panzerkorps – Arc de Triomphe 7” EP...
Captured Tracks once again covers the ass and taint of fraud label Down in the Ground (see also the new Blank Dogs 7”, and for a character reference, the Blessure Grave 12”, though for the latter I would not recommend it). This record was a pre-order scam finally made good, and represents the cleanest Der TPK recording to date, but also some half-assery that leaves you feeling cheated. The...
Kurt Vile – Fall Demons 7” EP (Skulltones)
The smoke is clearing from the spate of releases and the signing to Matador, and I respect both Skulltones as a label and Mr. Vile for any closet-cleaning he has left before stardom approaches … that said I really am not seeing the appeal of this one. It’s not that his voice has changed, or any elements of his other recordings don’t exist here, but this one feels phoned in. Five tracks, the...
Woolfy – “Oh Missy” b/w In Flagranti remixes 12”...
Over the last five years, Simon James, the mastermind behind LA’s Woolfy project, has had the valuable ability to cater to picky dancefloors as well as the more ‘with it’ segments of the indie rock world. James’ compositions are catchy, but also don’t ignore the demands of a club system. Recently turning Woolfy into a full-fledged live band will undoubtedly attract more listeners to the fold and...
XYX – Momento Ácido Contemporáneo 7” EP...
This is more like it. XYX, a bass-drums duo from Monterrey, Mexico, burst onto turntables and the blogosphere last year with a hectic debut EP on S-S, trippin’ balls on heavy groove bass and maniacal rhythms in a way that recalled both Melt-Banana and Teenage Jesus, without leaning too hard in any one direction. They killed it live down at Chaos in Tejas, and now follow things up with a new 7”,...
C.S. Yeh – Songs 2002 one-sided 12” EP (What...
Cruddily-pressed one sider with some oddly singer songwriter styling savant super hero C. Spencer Yeh, best known for his solo outfit Burning Star Core. First song is a break up song featuring someone on a ventilator in the studio during the recording. I hope that person pulled through. Further developments feature some real unhinged wigging out sounds … not sure if its violin, but it goes from...
The Anals – Total Anal LP (Permanent)
Was I disappointed when I learned that most of the French punk/noise records I’d been enjoying over the past few years were actually made by the same group of people under different names? Hell no, that’s nothing to get disappointed over. As I continue to write these reviews, I feel compelled to know less about these people. I rarely venture to their shows, don’t have much contact with them, and...
Blue Sabbath Black Cheer/Dried Up Corpse – split...
BSBC: contact mic’ed sounds of a fat guy walking up the stairs on a cheap cassette recorder. Really scary cover with black and white “metal” look, so it makes the huffin’ and puffin’ sound pretty intense. I wonder what these dudes were dressed like when they recorded this. I’m guessing like Count Chocula. Dried Up Corpse side is a little scarier, sounding like those Abruptum...
