STILL SINGLE

A space for thoughts on music and culture, as written by Doug Mosurock and a select handful of individuals. This is intended as a supplement to our regular feature Still Single, published on Dusted Magazine. Updates will run here more frequently, and may feature writing on music not covered in the column. Compact discs are still not accepted for review -- we have more than enough vinyl and the occasional cassette to worry about.

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July 6, 2010

Los Buddies – s/t 7” EP (Buddy Brand)

It makes me want to hurt strangers when mentally-touched folk, and especially the things that mentally-touched folk make or employ, spark the use of the faux-adjective “buddy”. It’s almost as infuriating as the scene parlance of “boo you!” to express discontent with another person’s actions. But I’m referencing loathsome vermin here, and I’m almost convinced that the members of Los Buddies occupy an altogether different personality-spectrum. Check out this passage from the handwritten note (always a nice touch) that accompanied this 7”: “Los Buddies are from Jackson, Mississippi. We put this out on our own Buddy Brand label. There are 150. All black. All vinyl. MP3 cards included. They are available via Goner Records and Florida’s Dying – or as a last resort, the band.” Why is that last line so funny? Seriously. Belying the band’s self-deprecating tone is one major fact, and it will have the proverbial needle scratching across then grinding to halt, the day of each reader … and yet, within the context of the dismal garage-pop realm, this is next-level shit. The hooks are sterling hitters that underscore everyday activities like driving a car, making this a sublime experience. Opener “UFO” and its dumber-than-dumb lyrics are nullified by a chorus that MUST have be stolen from the Last or the Only Ones or some other top-shelf hook royalty. When the hook sounds stolen but one cannot place the song of origin (because there isn’t one), that hook is most likely a keeper. Driving the catchiness is a noisy form of garbage-pop that doesn’t beat listeners about the head and neck with reverb but DOES employ all manner of FX boxes (or just one box as a modeler – nothing wrong with that). When the songs stop, the squealing and ringing barbs continue for a few seconds or fire up first before the power-pop propulsion takes over. This is being noted because the noisy nature of this record is yet another quality built with QUALITY instead of affected for future party conversation. “Hey, love the extra reverb on your single … it goes perfectly with the discarded early ‘90s personal computer photo collage you used for cover art.” There will be none of that when one of the 150 copies of this record is the topic of discussion! (http://www.myspace.com/losbuddies)
(Andrew Earles)

1 year ago • Notes