Population: Doug

Finally: Best Singles of 2008

2009-02-20T22:25:00.004-05:00

It wasn't so much deliberation as procrastination, if you are still following, that delayed this list. Once again it was another great year for singles. We saw a couple of singles clubs re-emerge, one (CDR) standing heads above the other, but then again I'm biased. We saw a couple of artists releasing singles in place of actual full-lengths, though some (Jay Reatard) are more prolific than others (Mayyors). A handful of other bands successfully debuted with the self-released 7-inch platform to launch big years, bands like Box Elders and Nodzzz aiding from rapid word-of-mouth, internet style. And of course there were quite a few labels that established themselves as premiere singles labels, some new (Sweet Rot, Sacred Bones), some getting older (S-S, CDR, Florida's Dying) and one grandpa getting back into the singles action (Matador).

So, let's get to it. The best of the best, '08:

Blues Control, "Snow Day" b/w "Paul's Winter Solstice" (Sub Pop)

Box Elders, Hole in My Head (Grotto)

Catatonic Youth, Piss Scene (HoZac) - The only single to make my list two years in a row.
Eat Skull, Dead Families (Skulltones)
Electric Bunnies, Chewing Gum (Florida's Dying)
Guinea Worms, "Box of Records" b/w "I'm a Cobweb" (Columbus Discount)

Little Claw, Why/Why Not EP (Physical Sewer) and Race to the Bottom (Siltbreeze) - Little Claw revealed a new depth with these two singles by stripping down their sound and playing with structure. They mesh well with the 7-inch format.
Mayyors, Marines Dot Com and Megan's LOLZ (Self-released)
Meth Teeth, Bus Rides (Sweet Rot)
Nodzzz, "I Don't Wanna (Smoke Marijuana)" b/w "We Are the Only Animals" - Probably my most-played single this year. Both sides are so strong, and the b-side actually wins in a
Jay Reatard, See/Saw 7"and Painted Shut 7" (Matador)
Sandwich, "Assisted Living" b/w "I've Had a Few" (Columbus Discount)

Times New Viking, Stay Awake EP (Matador) - This one took a little longer to sink in. I guess that means they are getting more difficult to pin down, their influences more and more obscure (save for the TVP homage, "Sick and Tyred") or non-existent. Every listen reveals a new favorite.
Tyvek, Sidewalk (M'Lady's)
Unholy 2, "Kutter" b/w "Porky$" (Columbus Discount)
Wounded Lion, "Carol Cloud" b/w "Pony People" (S-S) - If "Pony People" didn't hook you in and make you a fan of Wounded Lion, you simply weren't listening. One of the more unconventional pop songs of the year, it was the party cut for those of us who consider garage and soul "dance" music. One foot in retro organ-and-bongos exotica, the other in some post-modern Ouroboros shit. Should've been a one-sided 12" with the extended version in place of the edit.

Zola Jesus, "Soeur Sewer" b/w "Odessa" (Sacred Bones) - I did a complete 180 on Zola Jesus this year. If you go back and read my bit on her debut, it didn't sound all that enthusiastic. I ignored this one because of my indifference, but once I heard the ZJ track on the XXperiments comp I saw her in a different light and revisited this single on Sacred Bones. Zola Jesus is the sort of worldly, post-grunge chanteuse we need right now, taking big chances, stacking chunks of crumbled buildings to form new structures.

Outstanding LP's of 2008

2008-12-28T17:54:00.009-05:00

There were quite a few great albums this year. I could have added at least ten more, but decided to keep it relegated to the very finest. So without further adieu, I bring you thee most excellent LP's of 2008, in alphabetical order:

Blank Dogs, On Two Sides (Troubleman) and The Fields (Woodsist) - Some of the year's best ideas can be found between the grooves of On Two Sides, from the schizophrenic guitar work in "Blaring Speeches" to the wobbly synth and breathy chorus of "Epic Moves". The album's centerpiece, "The Crystal Ladies", could be stripped of everything but its vocal melody and still be perfect. The Fields strips another layer of gauze from the limbs, revealing not necessarily a more "Pop" sound, as some are insisting - go back to the first two weeks and you'll hear plenty of hooks - but a more consistently adventurous (and comfortable) relationship with the song.

Cheap Time, Cheap Time (In the Red) - Americans taking what the Belgians like Hubble Bubble and Raxola stole from the Brits (glam riffs, snotty lyrics, dramatic changes), somehow making it sound very much like a Memphis thing. There's nothing remotely original about Cheap Time and that's okay, because there's nothing remotely bad about all fourteen songs and the effortless swagger they are brought forth with. And no, it doesn't matter that the best song here was actually written by Jack Oblivian.

Cheveu, Cheveu - (S-S) - The late-Winter night Cheveu spent in Columbus was one of the most excessive of the year. Two feet of snow didn't stop the loyal from witnessing one of the best shows at Cafe Bourbon St. ever, as the Parisian garcons partied onstage and off like it was their last, when it was in fact their first, night on tour. Their debut LP sounds exactly like that night: drugged and deranged, with little care of what came before and what would come of the mess after.

Children's Hospital, Alone Together (Sacred Bones) - The best thing any A-Frame has done since A Frames 2. Children's Hospital are not as horrific as the name and sleeve's imagery would have you believe. Instead they opt for a more nuanced sedative, lulling the listener in with layered grooves and vocals caressed through the hospital intercom. The vibes are not good, but not altogether evil either. But then again sometimes the scariest shit happens from where you least expect it.

The Dutchess and the Duke, She's the Dutchess, He's the Duke (Hardly Art) - I tried my damnedest to hate this record. Something about this group just really bugged me. Maybe it was the Seattle thing, or it could have been a song I heard from their first single. Long story short, I took a shot at a used copy and immediately changed my story. The sentiments on this record are heartfelt and sincere without the trite cutesey-ness usually associated with modern acoustic folk. Killer vocals, incredible songs and great performances. Just a great, great record.

Eat Skull, Sick To Death (Siltbreeze) - I LIVE NEXT DOOR TO A POWER PLANT. One of the more memorable opening credos in recent memory, and it just gets better from there. Eat Skull took hardcore and removed the macho bullshit, replacing it with flourishes of 90's lo-fi and 80's DIY. If you held a gun to my head and made me pick a favorite record from '08, this would probably be my choice.

Eddy Current Suppression Ring, Primary Colours (Goner/Aarght) - It was very early this year when I scored a copy of their debut LP and played it regularly until the new one dropped. Goner saved Primary Colours from becoming an Australian obscurity and we must thank them for this, because ECSR are a band for the people. Taut punk grooves that sound tough as nails and riffs that revel in their simplicity, while singer Brendan Suppression, leather gloves in tow, recites thug haiku. Brilliant.

Fabulous Diamonds, Fabulous Diamonds (Siltbreeze) - The Fab Diamonds have come a long way from where they were a year ago - an unknown Aussie duo with a sole 7-inch and little else to their name - having toured the states to ecstatic results and releasing this incredible debut long-player. Nothing else sounded remotely like Fabulous Diamonds this year, or any year in recent memory, with its dubbed-out fusion of European femme-punk and esoteric dance. The world fell in love with Jarrod and Nissa in 2008.

Factums, The Sistrum (Sacred Bones) - From my post earlier in the year: ...fans of their synapse-frying debut on Siltbreeze last year will not be disappointed with this doozy. But don't expect to be handed all the barbed hooks they passed out last time. The Sistrum has more of a cohesive feel, as many of the songs are allowed room to breath, venturing into the four- and five-minute range. Opener "Mushrooms" is the Peter Gunn theme played in a German bunker, while "Origami" pounds out sub-motorik pulses beneath layers of guitar feedback and tuneless organ. The second half cools down into a series of sinister grooves, a few of which you could even dance to. The midget from Twin Peaks would approve.

The Hospitals, Hairdryer Peace (Self-released) - There's Shitgaze, and then there's this. For some people, Hairdryer Peace was the line in the sand, and Adam Stonehouse is the guy swimming out beyond the buoys. I'm not exactly sure if this would make more sense to civilizations future or past, but what I am sure of is that most people who hear this are left scratching their heads like a chimpanzee. I know at least one individual who's goal next year is to top the utter out-ness of this album. To this person I say good luck.

Los Llamarada, Take the Sky - (S-S) - Zoinks! The gang from Monterrey take their sound to another dimension, riding the ship to Sun Ra's palace with Malcolm Mooney and Nico navigating. Wait, that's not even close enough to the energy, the fuckin' energy this album exudes. Apparently it took a couple tries to nail down all the right stuff for this album, and it's no surprise when you hear how out of control most of it gets. Take the Sky is an album with hundreds of brilliant ideas unleashed like a herd of cattle, with only a few cowboys to lasso them in.

Nodzzz, Nodzzz (What's Your Rupture?) - Of all the great records to come out of California this year, Nodzzz might be the purest distillation of that state's, er, state of mind. Listening to songs like "In the City" and "Losing My Accent" you get the feeling they've discovered the nerd-party Rosetta Stone and have decided to share it with the masses. I can't wait to see these songs live.

Nothing People, Anonymous (S-S) - From my post earlier in the year: ...You could play "name that influence" along with most of Anonymous, but that's not the point. At their best, Nothing People play by a new set of rules. That they're so impeccably well versed in all things cool should not go down as a detriment. Instead, enjoy Anonymous knowing that this genre of outsider rock has a new leader.

Thee Oh Sees, The Master's Bedroom Is Worth Spending a Night In (Tomlab) and The Peanut Butter Oven EP (Awesome Vistas) - The evolution of John Dwyer's most prolific project has been a fun one to follow, as it has progressed from an acoustic-based experiment to his full-fledged garage powerhouse. Last year's Sucks Blood was the perfect balance of the soft and loud, but it was no preparation for the onslaught of thumping rhythm and echo-drenched freak-outs on The Master's Bedroom. And then he goes and puts the cyclical doom of a song like "Kingsmeat" on the collectible Peanut Butter Oven EP. AND there's another LP from this year that I haven't even heard, with an additional DVD accompanying it. What did you do this year.

Sic Alps, US EZ (Siltbreeze) - I really liked this one. Still do.

Times New Viking, Rip It Off (Matador) - What I like most about this record is that Jared, Adam and Beth stuck to their guns. When I first heard the final mix I wasn't exactly sold, and I'm sure even Matador was taken aback a bit by the noisy, jumpy mastering job. But as with everything of theirs, TNV believed in their material, knowing eventually everyone else would get it. And sure enough, the songs I liked least at first are now my favorites. TNV, molding our minds with their sweet little anthems.

TV Ghost, TV Ghost (die Stasi) - I feel like this one has been overshadowed by the band's underage/on the road antics and consistently excellent live show. And there are those looking ahead to the upcoming full-length on In the Red. But this LP, especially upon re-evaluation, finds the band tooling with their sound and experimenting with recording techniques. Matt Horseshit's presence can be felt throughout, especially on the album's closer, "Long Talk", and his dry studio sound allows each member to stand out. One-two punch of "The Amputee" and "Babel" beats the shit out of just about anything released this year.

Various, XXperiments (die Stasi) - Damn. A truly excellent compilation expertly sequenced by Lane at the die Stasi label. I will provide no references, because there has never been a community of women making avant garde music of this caliber, ever, at least in modern history. That may sound like hyperbole, but in my mind it is simply hopeful thinking that these ladies are just getting started, and that XXperiments will be looked back on as the foundation for a monolithic movement rising out of Midwestern bedrooms and beyond. I want more from every artist involved.

Vivian Girls, Vivian Girls (Mauled By Tigers) - Say what you will about where they are and how they got there (and what they will do next), but there's no denying the greatness of this, their debut record. Each song stands tall on its own, especially such instant-classics from the melancholic back side like "Where Do You Run To", "Damaged" and "I Believe in Nothing", but the album is strongest as a whole. Not once did I listen to one song from the album without listening to the rest. In the future, when I look back on Summer 2008, this the record that will take me back. It's the truth.

Sacred Bones Year End Gifts: Children's Hospital and the Rebel

2008-12-25T08:57:00.007-05:00

As posted earlier in the month at http://agitreader.com/.

December, 2008: the end of a rough year for many and a time for many of us to get all reflective about what was good about the year, things we are thankful for, etc. Allow me a minute of your time to say that if you are reading this column, one of the items at the very top of your list should be the fact that tiny record labels such as Sacred Bones still exist, and that there are still people out there—like the folks who run this label—who are sticking their necks out so lousy folks like us can hear, see, and hold their beautifully-packaged and thoughtfully assembled discographies.

I am not joking. This is important stuff for a handful of us.

If it doesn't make sense to you to treat a tiny record label, still practically in its infancy, so seriously, it may be that you haven't purchased their offerings from 2008, wrapping up neatly with two monstrous LPs, the debut of Seattle's Children's Hospital and the anticipated full-length from infamous Country Teasers side project the Rebel. Both records, while quite different in sound and approach, could be exemplars of the Sacred Bones experience.

In one hand you have Children's Hospital, out of the A-Frames/Seattle experimental axis, a duo with male and female vocals beneath a cauldron of apocalyptic, industrial disease. Seattle can be a bleak place for seasons at a time, but the sound coming out of Alone, Together is much more sinister, as the band crawl from guitar-spiked dirges ("Unseen") to slimy, pulsating, keyboard driven mood pieces like "After the Aftermath." The two are obviously indebted to some of post-punk's permanent inmates, from Throbbing Gristle to This Heat to the less obvious SPK. But leftfield influences like the Sun City Girls and David Lynch-cohort Angelo Badalamenti can also be detected, refreshing for a record with such a thick, industrial oil on its surface. A seperate edition of this is album is a CD version featuring a full-color photo book with shots from a single pre-war children's hospital. Look for their ornate boxed set on the Vinyl-On-Demand label in 2028.

In the other hand is a full helping of Ben Wallers, lead man of the Rebel, Country Teasers, and a small but devoted legion of scumbags from both sides of the pond. Few musicians these days can truly call themselves rebels, and Wallers is one of them, offending without trying, touching all the wrong spots without asking, and usually hitting the nail right on the head. Recorded in a single day at WFMU studios, Northern Rocks Bear Weird Vegetable is a record many years in the making, as it sees Wallers picking some of his previously released staples along with plenty of new material, while recruiting a full band separate from his Teasers to enact his inconveniences.

With Northern Rocks, Wallers has officially stolen the drunkenly waved gun-as-torch from Mark E. Smith, in the process mocking the defenseless old man with lines like, "Is there anybody there?/ I am losing my hair." Because Mr. Wallers is out front here as the Rebel, rather than with Teasers, his words attract the most attention. In a way, this makes it a somewhat flawed release, as he tends to let his disgust for mankind get in the way of fun more than once. The band is great and keeps up and down with all Wallers has to say, but they never really get into it like his other group does. So there's a bit less to bite into, and more of you getting bit.

Taken as a whole, though, the record is as good as much of his Teasers output, a very worthwhile 45 minutes into the mind of a modern social scientist. Wallers' barbed tongue lashes modest civilians ("Bums on a Rock" is revisited, thankfully) and celebrities (Scarlet Johansen, England) alike. This album's special edition is apparently the most extravagant limited release yet in the Sacred Bones pantheon, with hand-stitched black velvet sleeves to soften Ben's harsh realities. Put it on while you put a few back, naturally, just don't expect to dance to it unless you're alone, pissed and behind locked doors.

Outstanding Reissues of 2008

2008-12-20T11:08:00.011-05:00

2008 has been a great year for reissues, though it seems as if with each passing year labels become more and more in-tune with exactly what we buyers are looking for. I don’t know, maybe I just pay more attention to this stuff as I grow old and develop a taste for the old stuff. But take Drag City, for example, who have decided to begin not only repackaging essential out of print pieces of their catalog on vinyl, but have also begun to reissue lost or obscure classics in beautiful packages, including worthy bonuses, digital coupons, the whole she-bang. Another label typically known for small-scale new releases now on the reissue track is Secretly Canadian, who've followed up two incredible Bobb Trimble records with their ongoing Dead C packages, more of which we will see in the near future, along with two Zero Boys reissues. Radio Heartbeat have continued their run of vintage power pop with Milk N' Cookies and the 20/20 7-inch, and look to have a full plate of goodies for next year. Psych labels like Shadoks, Void, World in Sound and Sundazed have unleashed essential platters, as have Sublime Frequencies, who look to frequent year-end reissues lists every year. Portland's Mississippi Records have become a major player in the reissue game, and a somewhat controversial one at that, but their discography is becoming something even the most amateur collector cannot ignore. Even my good pals at Columbus Discount have entered the fold, contributing two must-owns from Harrisburg, Ohio: Tommy Jay’s Tall Tales for Trauma and their Harrisburg Players Vol. 1 7-inch. And there is plenty more from Central Ohio to come in ’09.

The most revelatory musical experience in recent months has been the discovery of Cosmic Lightning, the package of the (almost complete) recorded output from Chicago street poet J.T. IV, brought to you from the aforementioned Drag City. The story of John Henry Timmis IV is just beginning to unravel for those besides a small handful of mostly Chicago-based punk enthusiasts, and it is one all of you should make yourselves familiar with, as his art was an all-encompassing package containing five-day long movies, music videos, battles with public transit, cries for attention and of course his glammed-up folk-cum-punk drug music.

The music alone is enough. Not unlike many punkers from the era, John nurtures healthy obsessions with Bowie, Roxy, Bolan, Lou and Iggy, even Dylan, but rather than attempt to re-write the book like other punks were around this time, John chose to re-imagine his heroes' stories in a conglomeration all his own. The man had some good ideas - "Destructo Rock" pins a Stooges riff beneath a jangly, Ziggy Stardust melody until two minutes in it becomes a phased-out, balls-to-the-wall psych scorcher that wouldn't sound out of place on an early Chrome record. The three-song acoustic suite sequenced at the end of the first half is as touching as "Destructo" is terrifying, unveiling a tortured soul simply wanting a chance at his fifteen-minutes (and maybe a bit more), staying up for days gobbling amphetamines and writing songs about diamonds falling from the sky.

J.T. IV was a truly unique songwriter and also a trailblazer with visual aides, as he self-produced a series of videos to accompany his songs which were compiled onto a video tape in the early 80's, included in full here. These video mostly feature John lip-synching his songs and ogling the camera, save for the couple of bits where he fakes a concert performance, full band intact, though it is hard to tell if any of the members had heard his songs before the day it was taped. This is not your average bonus DVD for the sake of it though, as it helps us dig into the paranoid, somewhat desperate persona. It has been rumored that his 85-hour long film Cure for Insomnia will be issued somewhere down the line, at least in abbreviated form, though I doubt Drag City will take the plunge with a 50 DVD box set.

Meanwhile, back in Ohio, Tommy Jay and his Harrisburg cronies were attending a similar yet more more earthy version of the same Punk Rock University that J.T. IV graduated from. The same basic influences are in full bloom on both Cosmic Lightning and Tommy Jay's Tall Tales of Trauma, especially both artists' affinity for Lou Reed. Tommy Jay and John Timmis IV were men out of their element in the 80's when these records were origianally compiled, speaking a language perhaps too simple for any sort of audience to form.

Tall Tales is also a greatest hits/life-encompassing work that cover a span of over a decade, featuring friends he's grown up with and songs he's grown connected to. This music out of the tiny village of Harrisburg, Ohio, along with the work of Jay collaborators like Mike Rep, Nudge Squidfish and others, has re-written the oral history of rural Central Ohio. Time is no longer an issue in this world, only the people who exist on this plane and the spirits that carry them through to death. There are ballads, moral tales, the ghost story of a Civil War fighter, and much, much more, played lovingly by a cast of the most real people you will ever come across. If I learned one lesson in 2008 it is that Tall Tales of Trauma is the unquestionable masterpiece of indigenous Ohio folk music. If you haven't yet heard this record I ask that you to visit Columbus Discount before reading any further.

To bookend their Tall Tales reissue from earlier in the year, Columbus Discount compiled four songs from the Harrisburg vaults, including an obscure Tommy Jay track, for the November edition of their singles club. The Harrisburg Players Volume 1 7-inch is another enigmatic batch of songs this time from a few you may not have heard of. This brief collection proves that others were sipping from the same weird well that Tommy and Rep had tapped, and word that this is only the first of many volumes makes me all fuzzy inside.

The Midwest reissue road trip ends in Cleveland, where a mysterious label has unearthed an essential piece of the Electric Eels puzzle, packaging a few impossible to find tracks onto the Dave E. & the Cool Marriage Counselors "Searching for Sears" 7-inch (Xmas Pets). The title track is some post-Eels skronk of the highest order, embodying all that is great about Cleveland - then, and it underscores now - in its oddly kitschy Beefheart and Mr. Ed-referencing way. It's an image only Dave E. could summon, a haggard and grumpy (still young) ex-punk stumbling through the aisles of his favorite department store, leaving a trail of melting black slush and beer breath behind. Listen to it during the commercial breaks of A Christmas Story, also set in Cleveland. The B-side features a a capella version of "Love Meant to Die", a Jazz Destroyers (Dave E.'s brief post-Eels project) song found on the Cleveland Confidential comp. Takes me back to Lakewood every time!

Other notables:

Milk N' Cookies, Milk N' Cookies 2LP (Radio Heartbeat) - best package of the year.
Cold Sun, Dark Shadows (World in Sound) - most expensive reissue of the year.
The Mirrors, A Green Dream 2LP (Hook or Crook) - remastered and expanded vinyl version of Greg Ashley's psych-punk opus.
Gary Higgins, Red Hash and Mayo Thompson, Corky's Debt to His Father (Drag City)
The Bachs, Out of the Bachs (Void)
Animals & Men, Never Bought, Never Sold (Mississippi)

Blank Dogs, Eat Skull, and others in Manhattan, ie Show of the Year

2008-11-22T15:12:00.007-05:00

I don't usually like to do live reviews, especially when they're ~~over a week old~~ really old, but his one has been dangling in my head like a loose tooth waiting to be pulled. There have been many shows of note these past few months here in New York, most of which I've passed up. But this one was not to be missed, the official coming-out party for the two-year not-so-secret Blank Dogs project, along with the second of three Eat Skull NY gigs, amongst others.

But first, the setting. Sunday nights in Chinatown are apparently the time when the community retreats to their apartments for family dinner, or something, as my search for booze, or even a decent bodega, proved futile. There was a festival being broken down in Little Italy, but no pints of whiskey to be had there either. The venue for this show was an old converted fire house on Lafayette, which is now home to a media center upstairs and a roomy, concrete garage downstairs. The bands set up in the far back of the garage, and it appeared at first that the crowd would be too thin to soften the aggressive PA as it rattled back and forth between the lacquered walls. By the end of the night a good 120 or more people filled the deafening room, but at that point the problem wasn't the space itself so much as the fact that I was without earplugs.

The Intelligence opened up to a handful of people sipping expensive Busch Lights. They were the first of two bands this night to be without the drummer they left for tour with, the other being Eat Skull, whose drummer apparently was to join the Intelligence for the remainder of their tour after this set. DRAMA. A respectful punk dude with large glasses filled in nicely, and Lars and co. performed a solid twenty minute set of mostly new(ish) material, along with a cover of the Urinals "Black Hole". Lars ended the set knees on the floor, hovering over a feedback-inducing theremin that resembled a sex toy more than your typical antennae oscillator. Next up were Little Claw, whose two drummers, two guitars/vox set-up engulfed the room. I'd heard they were a live act first and formost, that their recorded output was put to shame by their live sets, and the rumours were true. Heath and Kilynn lock in and wail away, trading strangulations with heavy, blues-based riffs, back and forth, while a pair of drum sets pound in unison like neanderthals summoning pagan gods. Somehow melodies emerged, mantras in the form of Kilynn's howl rose above the loud pulses. You can use all the cliches imaginable - primal, transcendant, gutteral, etc. - they all work in relation to the thirty minutes when Little Claw take the stage. I'm kicking myself for not attending any of their other shows that week.

Columbus' Psychedelic Horseshit countered with Sir Jared Phillips on bass, thee most competent player to hold down the position in Horseshit's three year run. Jared held his bass high up towards his chest, playing bouncy, rhythmic notes not far from the style he utilizes on the guitar in TNV. Matt set up a real live not-piece-of-shit-casio keyboard in front, which both he and Jared played while incoherently stumming other instruments. It's always a mess, especially with Matt's new sampler syncing up with Rich's carboard kit only when it was convenient. But this gang was tighter than the usual Horseshit unit, and nestled between some serious competition, Matt always seems to come through as victorious. The new songs are a tad better with the loose, five-piece Rolling Thunder-style group he conducted a few months ago in Columbus, but that sort of group doesn't lend itself to touring well these days, so a trio had to do. It was good to see Psychedelic horseshit under a little bit of pressure and time constrictions, something you never see at their gigs in Ohio. The mood brought out the best in Whitehurst and the ever-smiling Rich and their set was as good as anyone's that night.

Now onto Eat Skull, a set I anticipated for months. As I mentioned earlier, they were without their original drummer and were forced to find a stand-in each night for the rest of the tour (Jared had played the previous night in Philly). Despite this setback, the band ripped through a rather long set list of their two-minute powerhouse fun punk. They were extremely loud and cartoon-like in their expressions and playing. Eat Skull are the perfect contrast to the Midwestern stuff I've devoured for the past decade, the quintessential West-Coast band; two seperate halves, Portland's scruffy caffeinated style and California's concrete-and-acid suburbia, sewn together to make a Frankenstein for us to raise our fists to. They were great. Not quite as life-affirming as the records, but great enough. And LOUD.

But somehow not nearly as loud as Blank Dogs. By now you likely know the story, the two-year long history shrouded in afghans, indigenous masks, internet pseudonyms, evasive artwork and delayed boxed sets, all informing a secret society that wasn't so secret if you cared enough to figure it out. Mike Sniper was and is the brains behind the Blank Dogs recordings, and the night before he unceremoniously (as it should be - spectacle not needed) revealed the truth with a short set in a Brooklyn gallery. But this show was, according to Sniper, the official debut, as he and the band could tweak the technical glitches from the night before, push the volume to dangerous extremes, and perform their set with a touch more confidence. The set-up was an analog-lover's dream: outrageously large drum machine resembling something from a Fritz Lang set, vintage synths galore, warm and fuzzy sounds from towering amps. Mr. Sniper led from the middle and seemed comfortable with the sound of the band despite the obviously lack of monitor power leading them through the noise. They were great, taking pieces from the many variations of the Blank Dogs sound and maximizing it all into waves of jangly, buzzing pop.

We left directly after, needing immediate respite from the suffocating, deafening air inside. I would've liked to have a chance to party with the bands afterward, but I don't think I would've heard a word anyone said. For weeks my ears rang to remind me of the sweet, sweet damage done to them. And for the first time in my life I began to consider taking a pair of earplugs to shows. But for nights like this you just have to take everything in unadulterated. Who knows when Blank Dogs will return to the stage? I hear it could be this Spring, at SXSW and out on the left coast, but you never know. I'm just glad I got to witness the unofficial debut of one of New York's most intriguing musical figures, along with a handful of some of the best stuff going down in the nation.

Send Me Stuff

2008-09-17T14:28:00.005-04:00

Somebody please send me money to buy a new receiver. Or send me a bat to beat up my old one so that I am forced to get a new one.

I'm off to the local pawn shops to haggle with dudes over stolen electronics.

While I'm at it, here's my new address. Send me stuff. Concealed cash is fine:

239 Kingsland Ave. 1R
Brooklyn, NY 11222

Sic Alps Take Flower Power to New Heights

2008-09-09T13:23:00.015-04:00

As much as I really wanted to love Sic Alps last year, after the all the hype that snowballed into the Description of the Harbor breakthrough near the year's end, I must admit their recordings weren't marriage material for me. Astute readers will note that I placed the "Strawberry Guillotine" single on my best-of-07 list. Well, looking back, it's not all that great of a 7", and I'll admit to listing it because of the incredible live set I had seen a few weeks before that list was pieced together. I liked Sic Alps and thought they were brilliant live, and Harbor was nice enough, but let's just say I wasn't head over heels for the band's records.

Enter U.S. EZ on, you guessed it, Siltbreeze. Leave it to Tom Lax to get the best effort out of his athletes. I've seen him during practice and the man is nothing short of a drill sergeant. You know Sgt. Hartman, from Full Metal Jacket? Well, Lax makes that character look like Beetle Baily. But his teams know that all the hard work pays off. They sign on the Siltbreeze dotted line, endure training camp and eventually hole-up in a studio until a masterpiece is ready for the boss.

Mission accomplished. Sic Alps have eased into a recorded sound all their own, one that is noticeably more loose than their contemporaries but packs no less of a punch. Their live shows are some of the loudest I've seen in the past few years, but this record relies less on the volume of their sets (and previous records) and puts on a pedestal their brilliant song-craft. The palette is simple and pure: guitars, drums, voice, some bits of piano. The warmth of the recording tells me not a whole lot of overdubs were used. I could be wrong. It just feels like the rooms they record in are a member of the band, as they implement echo, distortion and feedback into the recordings as meticulously as (sometimes more so) any note struck.

The songs alone are surprisingly original creations, surprising because this genre of music usually relies on a structure put in place over forty years back. Take the minute and a half-long "Bathman", which begins as an acoustic Lennonesque echo-laden lullaby, until, thirty seconds in, a transitional burst straight out of Who Sell Out sets into motion frenetic pounds and squawks for the next minute. Then comes "Everywhere, There" a song as beautiful as leaves falling or clouds drifting, but is taken to new heights with their fuzzily loose execution. That it rivals the heart-wrenching renditions The Band performed of Dylan songs says enough. Songs this sweet have never graced the Siltbreeze racks. And there's the whimsical "Gelly Roll Gum Drop" a nod to the classic '66 psychedelic era in Britain, with it's stuttering word-play and one-note piano clanging along, it would make Kevin Ayers proud.

That time and place, mid-60's Britain, is obviously their inspiration for much of U.S. EZ, right down to the newspaper headline-themed artwork found inside. Tin Pan Alley on acid in Autumn is the feel, and you could very well file it next to such classics as Something Else or Soft Machine Vol. 1. But filing this one away is not on the minds of anyone who's heard this magnificent record, which when it's all said and done, is likely the best album you'll hear all year.

Go buy it straight from the Laxman himself at S i l t b r e e z e d o t c o m.

Day Creeper vs. Night Of Pleasure. Or, a Saltair II Party Put to Wax

2008-09-03T18:23:00.002-04:00

I was really pumped to see a package from 71 W. Tulane, Columbus, aka Saltair 2, in my hallway last week containing the brand new split 7" between pop-powerman Day Creeper and basement patriots Night of Pleasure, 'cause quite frankly there haven't been any budget parties like they throw in Clintonville here in Brooklyn. What I'm saying is I needed a freebie.

Not that this split isn't worth your hard-earned cash, because it is, as it features some of Cowtown's hardest working dudes and the best tunes they've written to date. Night of Pleasure have really gelled since adding new bassist Michael J. Hinze (two posts in a row, what am I gay for the guy?) to the mix, all Summer seeming determined to crunch out tighter sets and better tunes. They've recently wrapped a week-long tour of the great Midwest in support of this platter which I'm sure they're very proud of, as the songs reveal a new-found bravado in their sound. "Spasm Chasm" throbs for a solid minute until Dave Trenoff's guitar slashes through the whole groove, essentially engulfing the song. "Spasm", though, plays out as one long intro to what maybe NoP's best song yet, "Hipster Downgrade", a three-chord anthem featuring singer Jim Cowman's most melodic moment. Beneath the feedback and pounding rhythm is a flat-out expertly-written song. To top it all off NoP continue their tradition of including vintage nudity in their design. Well done.

Day Creeper is the year-old project of Aaron Troyer (Outerspacist drummer, Malabar Brothers guitarist), one of the freshest songwriters out of Ohio I've heard in years. He writes upbeat power-pop comparable to recent acts like Romance Novels or the The Pizzas. His songs are suitable for both the simple guitar-drums set-up (what he's done live) or a more fleshed-out group sound, and he chooses to display both sides here. And apparently Aaron is allergic to duds, as I've heard at least an album's worth of tunes, each one better than the last and all played to perfection, medium-rare. Anyway, "And How!" features the more stripped-down trebly sound, complete with a xylophone lead, while "My Blue Screen" boats a fuller, in-the-red production. There's keys, bass, raw guitar, a great singalong whoosh and a snarl to it that vintage Costello couldn't even touch. Great job Aaron! More, please.

You can get this puppy from the bands spaces or maybe Florida's Dying. Goner may get some back in stock.

The Internet Gets Better Every Day...

2008-08-25T19:29:00.012-04:00

So while you're here, you know, in front of a computer and all, not looking at porn, you should do these things I tell you. There are other places to go, and blogs to see, and links to click. For instance...

It's a total bummer to read that Detailed Twang is taking another extended break from posting, because Jay Hinman's musical tastes are so closely aligned with mine it is silly. I can understand, as anyone who frequents this place will know, this music blogging thing can suck the fun out of music. For the past two years Detailed Twang has been the place for dozens of mp3's a week of punk, post-punk and anything else that falls under Jay's radar. But more importantly you get his wit and intellect to go with the songs, usually with some personal anecdote to go with it all. He leaves us with what he calls "the single greatest 45rpm record of all time...the rock and roll record to end all records". And that would be:

Ubu's debut. Agree? Disagree? Go to the 'Twang and discuss. He has mp3's right there for you and plenty of other posts that will not be going away. Give him a few weeks and then beg for a return, you'll want to after checking it out.

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Columbus' Pat Leonard has been doing great, understated podcasts from his headquarters for a couple of years now, calling it Pat Radio. Pat stays pretty true to his focus on independent Columbus artists - a subject definitely deserving of regular podcasts - but every once in a while he'll stray away from the topic a bit. A few weeks back he broadcasted my favorite show of his thus far: #128, the Offense Fanzine. For this program Pat brought in Tim Anstaett, the original Columbus music journalist, a man whose Tet Offense and Offense Newsletter zines from the 80's documented Columbus music, British post-punk and everything in-between. Tim, or "TK" to some, was considered by some to be the State's most vocal propenent of the 4AD label and in particular bands like the Birthday Party and Cocteau Twins. Tim's zines featured content from local legends like Mike Rep and Jim Shepard to L.A. scenesters like Chris D. of the Flesh Eaters. The letters section of Tim's zines became a favorite place for many to voice their opinions (a prelude to internet message boards, for sure) and was famously the topic of Great Plains' most well-known song, "Letter to a Fanzine".

Pat's podcast features songs related to the Offense era, many of the tracks culled from live sets recorded in Columbus throughout the 80's. Tim put on many of the better shows that happened around then at places like Staches and Mr. Brown's. Another interesting piece trudged from the archives, surely dubbed from the television by Tim with glee, is a clip from a Columbus newscast featuring "punks" who are pumped about the Cocteau Twins show, one of only five U.S. dates the band played at that point in their career. Even if you're not a fan of the CT's this clip is worth watching, as is perfectly encapsulates a time in the Midwest when there was still a definitive Us vs. Them divide between the punks and normals. At least that's what I took from this clip:

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YOU'VE BEEN KEEPING UP WITH ART FOR SPASTICS, RIGHT?

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Oh, and last but most certainly not least in any way imaginable is mention of the very first Columbus Discount Singles Club, which went up for sale a few weeks back and should be close to selling out soon. If you read this here blog you know you want it. Shit, you've probably already ordered it. For the money it's about the best deal I can possibly think of, not just in record-land. I mean, I just spent $120 on student loans and look where that got me. $120 could snag you a year's subscription, a Tommy Jay record, the new Mike Rep 12", the new Electric Bunnies and Unholy 2 and Necropolis singles and you'd still have enough to get loaded at Bourbon St. Gotta love the Discount mentality.

Of all the great singles they have lined-up for the club, I must say the ones I'm most excited about are the singles from Sandwitch and The Harrisburg Players. Sandwitch will be the first Ron House songs laid to vinyl since Bait and Switch (wow, really?!) and the Harrisburg Players single should be an excellent companion to the Tommy Jay release from earlier this year, which is, like, the greatest thing ever made. I'm pretty damned excited about everything CDR has sketched out for next year, obviously. Itching for it all. Guinea Worms Double LP? El Jesus full-length? Necropolis full-length? AND the singles club? 2009 will be so fucking epic, Columbus just may explode. Go and pre-order now so BJ can buy bus fare.

Ebay Watch: Stone Harbour original

2008-08-25T14:01:00.004-04:00

Stock has risen for Stone Harbour in recent years, as the right tastemakers have name-checked it enough to push it from total obscurity to lost classic. Emerges is the sole record by these two acid casualties from NE Ohio, a spaced mix of pastoral electric folk jams and swirling guitar/keyboard passages all held together by the duo's vocal harmonies. It's fried enough for even the most out-there heads, light enough to pull in folk fans and for it's time - 1974 - was so out of fashion that only now has it found a legion of fans.

Bootlegs have been available since the 90's (FYI I'm still in the market if you have an extra) and the "original" bootleg fetched around $50 a few months ago, if I recall. This auction claims to be offering an original, of which there are only 500 in existence. There's a copy on Gemm for a fairly reasonable price but my guess is this will go for more. It'll interesting to see just how in-demand this LP has become. If you've never heard Emerges I suggest you track it down. If you're cool with CD's, copies are still in print.

14 Inches of Love

2008-08-05T11:03:00.009-04:00

Greetings fine readers. It's been a busy month. I just completed a move to Brooklyn and have been in a constant state disrepair, unable to find the proper tools to tune up the brain. But after almost a week in the new space I can finally feel a little breathing room and maybe even heard the juices flowing somewhere up there.

I know that I have neglected this place to the point where just about nobody checks regularly, and that has got to change. Hopefully I will get some posts up in the next week or so (not including the re-posts (of sorts) that I just included below, pulled from my Agitreader content), but seeing as I haven't purchased or received a new release in almost a month, it may take a bit longer.

So, my end of the internet has been sort of lacking, but I'd like to direct you to an excellent new "punk blog" about pizza called Pizza Slayer. These dudes (Hinze and Sugarbear) from Newark, OH, and their gang of unusual suspects (Seanzilla, Turco, Cowman, The Ice-Pic, Nut Juggler, etc.) have taken the call to review local pie in the central Ohio area. It needed to happen, and they eat enough pizza per week to qualify as experts in the field. We waited, for years it seemed, for Fern to start this very blog, and all we got was talk. I guess he'll just have to start his own shop to make up for it.

Pizza Slayer rules and their opinion is gold in my book. Mr. Hinze and I have nearly identical palettes when it comes to pie, so I trust his word more than any man on earth. Check it out, make comments and give them recommendations of where to slay next (Ledo's on Kenny Rd, guys).

Check back soon.

Doug

Pink Reason's Winona and Borrowed Time

2008-08-05T11:00:00.006-04:00

The Pink Reason singles that have surfaced in the earlier days of summer provide two completely different windows into the bedroom angst of Kevin DeBroux and company. First up is Winona, a 33 rpm 7-inch on Woodsist that collects the very first recordings under the Pink Reason moniker. Here DeBroux, collaborating with Shaun Failure, concocts a sound as far away from the fast, short and skuzzy bands he'd become accustomed to in Wisconsin over the years, taking cues from acid rock and folk bands instead of crusty punk.

The title track is a long, acoustic ballad about a trip to Winona, Minnesota that found them camping in the middle of the Mississippi River. If it weren't so damn stark—and DeBroux's voice so baritone—it could be confused as an outtake from Neil's Harvest record. It is exactly the type of song that Kevin later perfected on tracks like "Goodbye" from last year's Cleaning the Mirror, but "Winona" is worthy of repeated listens beyond its historical perspective. "Give Yourself Away" is a little more interesting, a gnarly take on the early Stooges sound, complete with a fried guitar lead and one-note piano ala "I Wanna Be Your Dog." Keeping with the theme of jittery isolation, DeBroux caps off the EP with "Letting Go," where he sings, "It's all over now. Why is it so hard to sleep?" A fitting end to the very beginning.

Seeing as DeBroux has always been in control of his own career arc, it is no mistake that Winona (length: 6:48) coincides with the Borrowed Time single, his briefest and most hardcore-sounding song to date. You could call the A-side, clocking in at just over a minute, a waste of precious vinyl space, but I think it works at isolating the song's message. This blistering, trebly anthem may not be the prototypical Pink Reason song, but the theme could be Kevin condensed into a minute of your time: waking up on floors, empty pockets, (failed) attempts at joining society while it flies right by you, realizing that "society" is shit. If only Danzig was this concise.

On the flip is "Scared Shitless," a cut reminiscent of late-period V-3, back when paranoia was Jim Shepard's only friend. You get the feeling Shep and DeBroux would've gotten along just fine. Musically it also reminds one of Pink Reason's early live sound, back when it was Kevin, Shaun and a computer playing a sort of strobe-shocked My Bloody Valentine, feedback piercing eardrums and colliding with the double guitar attack. Two more fine singles to continue a perfect streak. Go to Fashionable Idiots to beg for a Borrowed Time repress. Fuck it Tapes should have Winona in stock.

June '08 Singles

2008-08-05T10:56:00.007-04:00

Here's a batch of solid singles I wrote about back in early July but didn't get around to posting up here until now. Seems like it has slowed a bit on the singles front, so I'll catch up with the late-Summer releases in a few weeks.

I begin with two new singles from the die Stasi label, currently presiding in—of all places—Findlay, Ohio. This is the label that unleashed TV Ghost onto the unsuspecting world, and they do the same with Madison, Wisconsin's Zola Jesus. A one-girl juggernaut, and card carrier in the newly-christened Crimson Wave movement consisting of Midwestern, female-dominated bands of "difficulty," Zola Jesus showcases her strong pipes, albeit with heavy effects, atop clanging piano lines and chunky beats. I thought about writing this off as "trying too hard," but these songs are beginning to stick, especially the dramatic "Dog" and its tape-loop backing. The other die Stasi, "Coma" by Portland's Leper Print, is an instant hit. I've regrettably missed the boat on all previous Leper material and now must scramble for it all, as this is furiously minimal, lo-fi bedroom punk of the highest order. "Dead Flowers" isn't a Urinals cover, but it might as well be, as it shares that band's punctual primitiveness to a tee. There's plenty of Dave E. worship as well. Urinals and Electric Eels as prime influences? I think I'm in love. Both singles come in nice, hand-screened sleeves and are on quality wax.

It is always exciting to check and see whom Skulltones pick for their next release, as they always come up with winners, and Naked on the Vague are no exception. NOTV borrow from any number of great first-wave British post-punk moments, but not always the most obvious ones. "Poltergeist Palm" digs a grave directly next to Flowers of Romance-era PiL, while "Empty Tongues" mellows Throbbing Gristle's noise into a palpable lullaby. An odd single, but an excellent one, and another example of how great the Australian underground is today.

I've yet to be totally blown away by the Little Claw train, that is until I played this new one, the Why/Why Not EP (Physical Sewer). "World of Tired" is one of the best songs of the year; a sub-primal bass leads as guitars screech across the chalkboard and singer Kilynn sings about the world ending. She has a voice all her own and is finally finding the proper songs to display it. "Look Down the Drain" is as spaced as anything this decade, ~~Heath's~~ Kilynn's guitar scratching out Carl Sagan's eyes in the process. I am floored. Maybe it is time to revisit the LPs.

Cleveland's Homostupids always seem to lasso in just the right amount of energy, feedback and weirdness, enough so to be my favorite band from Northeast Ohio in a while. They never try and hit you over the head with anything (at least not while you're looking), put on a stellar live show and have now made five great records. "Cat Music" (Fashionable Idiots) begins with a feral cat's meow segueing into a bizarre mid-tempo jam about a trip to the circus. Then there's a song where they go apeshit. The flip isn't as apeshit, more of a Big Black rant but only two lines long. It ends with some horns from a Batman cartoon. Great single.

Last but not least are the much-hyped Vivian Girls and their second single in as many months. I loved "Wild Eyes" and absolutely adore their eponymous LP, but was a little bummed when I learned there would be some overlap in songs with the "Tell the World" single on Woodsist. Alas, what you get here are three demo versions of songs from the long-player, and these stripped-down takes warrant repeated listens. With the wall-of-sound removed from the VG's oeuvre you get more of a focus on the trio's unique vocal harmonies (think Shangri-Las meet c86) and, most-importantly, the quality of writing. These girls write some mean ones, and if you're a fan of this group you'll want every version you can get.

Eat Skull Interview

2008-06-30T18:43:00.008-04:00

It's rare for a band less than two years young to surprise with their debut album, but that's just what Eat Skull have done with Sick to Death, released this month on Siltbreeze Records. After a pair of exuberant, limited-run singles and a slathering of praise (guilty!), the gang in Portland raised the bar for the lo-fi pop set with an album full of bizarre, touching and often hilarious anthems. Eat Skull pick at the corpse of '80s hardcore, the scruffier wing of the Flying Nun discography and British DIY, laughing all the way. Sick to Death is immediately jarring and a tough cookie to crack, but after a week it will be that friend you've needed in these tough times. I caught up with singer/guitarist Rob Enbom as he gears up for their first nationwide tour later this Summer.

Let's begin with the band pre‒Eat Skull. Which members were in bands previously, and what did they sound like?

Rob Enbom: Rod (Meyer) and I were in the Hospitals. He started the band with (Adam) Stonehouse and left broke and destroyed, later to rejoin for the four-person line-up and leave again broke and destroyed. I was in the band for awhile on second guitar with the excellent Ned Meiners (the third person to play guitar). I remember we played Columbus once in a basement with Sword Heaven. I was wearing flip-flops. I quit after that tour, and then Ned quit and I rejoined and we started recording Hairdryer Peace. Later Rod and Chris Gunn joined, and that's how I met Rod. Rod was in some '80s hardcore bands in the Dixon/Sacramento area like Necromancy and Puppet Show and also some '90s bands. Most of the numerous weird bands I played in don't have much to do with Eat Skull. But I spent years playing in different projects with a couple of dudes who always deserve mention: Randy Lee Sutherland in San Francisco and John Benson in Oakland. Both are completely wonderful and insane and very active and inspirational. For a while Beren was playing drums in practically every band in Portland, but eventually she settled down with us. Scott (bass player Scott Simmons) was a deejay at this place called Tube.

Eat Skull seemed to take form not long after you left Columbus. How quickly did it all happen?
RE: While in Europe with the Hospitals, Rod and Chris told me I should move to Portland because I was totally broke and didn't know where I wanted to go when we got back. We talked about playing music there, and Rod said he would let me stay at his house. So we got back and all that happened and was really cool, except that it was cold and rainy as shit and I had holes in my shoes. It can be a depressing atmosphere and that comes through in the music. It's bittersweet, I think. We started the week after we got back and the first batch of songs came very fast. The name Eat Skull came fast too. Once we got Beren and then Scott we practiced once or twice and recorded the first 7-inch and the song "Dead Families." Then we started playing shows in town.

Did you have a specific idea of what you wanted the band to sound like or was it a more of a progression?
RE: We wanted to start two bands and write tons of songs and record ourselves. One would be a sick California-style hardcore band and the other was going to be a sick California pop band. We knew the hardcore band was going to be called Eat Skull, but we couldn't figure out what the other was called so it turned into one band. More than anything we're trying to make a classic California band while exiled from California in a green hell.

Did what was going on in Columbus at the time affect your approach to songwriting or the band's sound? Was forming Eat Skull in any way reactionary to the scene in the Midwest?
RE: I do enjoy the Midwest's whiskey-and-wings vibe, but it doesn't specifically have much to do with what we're doing. A couple of songs we play were written when I lived there, but I think they were looking forward to this time here more than being of that time and place. What we do is more about the sun being missing from our lives right now. The songs and sound come about naturally and very quickly from drinking a lot of beer and walking around here in Portland. Rod and I grew up on punk and acid in California. That's where the roots are.

Was it the band's intention to introduce a more hardcore approach (or at least a hardcore influence) into the lo-fi pop sound?
RE: Hardcore factored in because it makes sense when you are going crazy. It's also probably my and Rod's first real musical love. A good hardcore song is just as infectious as anything else. A good hardcore song is an undeniable assault. That kind of energy makes sense to us.

After the first (self-released) single came out it didn't take long for the collective slobbering to happen. How quickly did Mr. Lax (Siltbreeze Records mastermind) lock Eat Skull into a long-term deal. Did he make any of his infamous threats, or was the signing with Siltbreeze amicable?
RE: He got in touch some time after the first 7-inch came and went and during the six-month wait for "Dead Families" to come out. He came out and barbecued some octopus and acted like a dick. He's not a first impression kind of dude. He drunkenly made fun of us all while eating food I can't pronounce. Pretty much a class act.

I hear the song "No Intelligence" has an interesting back-story to it, something about a disastrous trip up to Seattle. Care to discuss the relationship between Portland and Seattle, or your opinion of Seattle?
RE: Seattle is a stupid place full of idiots. Every time I've ever played there there has been some kind of psycho drama. It's a place full of rich brats who think they are activists and are obsessed with the WTO riots and nitpicking. Either that or drug addicts. We drove up there last summer to play a show and immediately the shit began to fly. It was absolutely ridiculous and all sorts of these Seattle people should be ashamed of themselves. "No Intelligence" is actually about Scott. We did recently decide to give Seattle one more chance and it was really fun, so maybe all that hatred is paying off. Scott is a real sweetheart, by the way, that's why I get to make fun of him so much.

With the new album, I think it was Scott who told me it was intended to have two distinct sides, the first half more "difficult" and the second more "pop." Was this just an easy way to break up the different types of songs you guys have? It seems like the singles are split up that way as well.
RE: The idea was to have a "sick" side and a "death" side, like the tape 94 Mobstas by C.I.N. (a gangster rap group from Richmond, California). I used to listen to them back in Cali around that time with my dumb friends. C.I.N. loved MGD, but I'm more of a High Life kind of guy. That's where the name of the album came from. But really it was more about making the songs flow in a way that made sense. We picked 14 out of about 25 songs and figured out where they went. We didn't really argue about it much, they just sort of popped into place. I think it's the sort of album where side one doesn't really hit you right until you flip it back after side two. I like records like that.

What do you plan on doing with all the other stuff you have recorded?
RE: We put a song on the Worlds Lousy with Ideas, Vol. 6 7-inch, which should be out any day now. There's a split 7-inch coming out this summer probably with the Ganglians, who are a bunch of delinquents from Sacramento. They rule, and we're going to be touring with them in July. Other than that, I think we're just holding off on stuff. Maybe we'll use some of those extra songs on something. I don't know. New material is piling up and we've recorded some of it, but we're getting better at recording and want to spend a little more time on the new stuff to achieve different results.

One of the greatest things about Sick To Death is the lyrical content. You seem to tap into a very youthful dialect: confusion, "Punk Trips," licking spiders. Where does it all come from? Do the lyrics come before or after the music?
RE: Thanks Doug. Usually the song title comes first. There is no separation between the lyrics and day-to-day life here in Portland. The lyrics describe or predict what is already happening. Sometimes they come before and sometimes they come after the music. They always eventually feel predetermined and make more sense than I think they do at first. My uncle told me that Willie Nelson said that when he needed a song he pulled one out of the air above his head. It's kind of like that, but less evolved probably.

Does Eat Skull as a band have a favorite food to eat on tour?
RE: Tacos Sinaloa on International Boulevard in Oakland.

Do you all agree on the music in the van? What are some albums and songs Eat Skull love that most wouldn't expect?
RE: Scott puts on shit like Sun City Girls or Blue Cheer. He's a record collector and has an iPod. I prefer Rupert Holmes' "Pina Colada Song" for roadtrips. I think we all fucking love Buckingham era Fleetwood Mac (except maybe Scott). I love all his solo albums too. None of that Peter Green shit though. The blues suck. The stereo is broken actually, so I guess we can agree on conversation. I don't know what music people wouldn't expect. I guess people might find it weird that for most of the winter, when we were writing the tunes that ended up being on the LP, all I really listened to in my room was DRI's first stuff and TSOL's Dance With Me. People might expect that another big one is GBV's Same Place The Fly Got Smashed. I have, however, never listened to the Axemen.

I am also a huge fan of Lindsay Buckingham. If Eat Skull were to cover a Fleetwood Mac or Buckingham song, which would it be?
RE: "That's How We Do It In L.A."—definitely.

So, a big tour coming up later in the summer. Any fun tourist spots the band plan on hitting or ir is this tour one hundred percent business?
RE: One hundred percent business. Except the beach down in San Diego. Probably Encinitas. Should be cool to hang out at Carabar (in Columbus), maybe have a drink before the show at Bourbon Street.

Hospitals, Nothing People Reviews

2008-06-20T11:22:00.006-04:00

It is fitting, in a time when bands like Eat Skull, Psychedelic Horseshit, Sic Alps and Times New Viking are grabbing headlines with their lo-fi shenanigans, that Adam Stonehouse, a.k.a. The Hospitals, unveils his most chaotic statement to date. See, if you were to ask me where exactly the roots of the new shit-pop revolution began, the conversation may just begin with Stonehouse and the Hospitals records on In the Red and Load, from 2003 and 2005, respectively. As good as those albums were at reinventing the noise-as-pop sound, though, his new LP, Hairdryer Peace, blows them away.

If Eat Skull et al. use primitive recording techniques and off-the-cuff style to turn pop songwriting inside out, Hairdryer Peace turns that notion on its head, utilizing pop technique to sculpt a new kind of noise experiment. Song fragments—a vocal melody here, a catchy bass line there—tie together a series of violent sound icebergs. It is like somebody telling you a story while the vacuum is running. There is a peace to their voice being drowned in noise. That is the "hairdryer peace."

Stonehouse relies heavily on percussion for the backbone of most songs, with trebly symbol crashes and snare fills tackling each other for the lead. If not drums then scratched strings or warbled bass lead the way. There are, of course, times where nothing leads at all, taking an aimless route reminiscent of the Dead C's finest moments, only in much shortage passages. Whenever Stonehouse's vocal do manage to seep through, you're tricked into thinking a groove is forming—that is until the moment quickly dries up and shrivels into something sounding like Twin Infinitives played backwards.

Each note on Hairdryer Peace veers toward blown-out feedback, threatening to engulf every groove on the record. Like a tightrope walker carrying a batch of barbed wire, the Hospitals' newest record is as enthralling as it is dangerous. Some fans of shit-pop may find little to enjoy here, but those interested in the long-running history of way-out sound—from ESP Records to Sightings—will find plenty to be happy with.

After three excellent singles, Orland, California's Nothing People finally hammer out their much-anticipated full-length. A side-to-side comparison of the Nothings' debut single, the Problems 7-inch (also on S-S) from 2006, and Anonymous, the new record, shows a distinct difference in production and style, but not necessarily for better or worse. The trio began as a tinny, guitar-driven psych-garage unit with a heavy West Coast leaning, modern disciples of the Twinkeyz and early Chrome. On Anonymous, the sound is more paranoid art-punk, as the band places an emphasis on synthesizers, heavy bass tracks and a fuller, thicker production. The early sound is still there, just dosed with some glam barbiturates and New York smack.

Opener "In the City" is a perfect example of the new look; buzzing synths recall Roxy Music's debut, with a guitar solo that should please even more devoted Laughner fans. It's proto-punk with a heavy sci-fi obsession. On the other hand, tracks like "Should've Known" jam extensively, leading me to believe that these cats are in full embrace of the popular records from the era as well. Toys in the Attic anyone? Nah, put on Killer.

The back half grinds things into a more interesting dust. The Cramps-ian beat of "Suspicious" gets my stuff moving every time, before the killer solo comes to an abrupt halt. "Omega Man" is the Bo Diddley shuffle by way of Mike Rep, while "Outsiders Are" proposes a world where the freaks are "in," and industrial runoff is good for you. You could play "name that influence" along with most of Anonymous, but that's not the point. At their best, Nothing People play by a new set of rules. That they're so impeccably well versed in all things cool should not go down as a detriment. Instead, enjoy Anonymous knowing that this genre of outsider rock has a new leader.

Go to the Hairdryer Peace site to pre-order an copy of the second pressing. S-S should have the Hospitals record soon too. They have copies of Anonymous as well. Naturally.

New Batch of Sacred Bones

2008-06-18T12:47:00.005-04:00

Sacred Bones Records' newest batch of releases has raised the bar for high-quality, affordable, and most importantly, available music. After three releases that quietly trickled out more than a year ago (including the buzzed-about Blank Dogs 12-inch, Diana (The Herald), the label took an extended hiatus to work on a quartet of dark, mystifying discs.

The label model is admirable: take an under-the-radar artist, declare needed format—usually vinyl-only singles or full-lengths—and create limited-edition versions along with standard editions that are to be repressed upon demand. Both the limited and standard editions are handmade and carefully silkscreened, with a common design theme throughout every release. The limited versions all have unique embellishments to them, like wax seals, stamped sleeves, cardboard bands and colored vinyl. Each release—limited or not—is an item to behold.

But we wouldn't be talking about any of this if the music wasn't so great, and the new Factums LP, The Sistrum, is the best place to start. Fans of their synapse-frying debut on Siltbreeze last year will not be disappointed with this doozy. But don't expect to be handed all the barbed hooks they passed out last time. The Sistrum has more of a cohesive feel, as many of the songs are allowed room to breath, venturing into the four- and five-minute range. Opener "Mushrooms" is the Peter Gunn theme played in a German bunker, while "Origami" pounds out sub-motorik pulses beneath layers of guitar feedback and tuneless organ. The second half cools down into a series of sinister grooves, a few of which you could even dance to. The midget from Twin Peaks would approve.

Sacred Bones' second full-length offering does not disappoint either. After a single compilation appearance (on The World's Lousy With Ideas, Vol. 2), the Pink Noise dole out their highly anticipated debut album, Dream Code. While the Canadian duo plays by the same rules as other synth-guitar-pop weirdos like Blank Dogs (and dozens of other Myspace mysteries), their sound is the most naked of all. Live drum loops (or live-sounding drum machine), succinct synth lines, guitar and vocals are all they use to get these bits of shrapnel stuck in you. Check "Dead Glitter Sun" for some heavy Suicide worship; other parts remind me of '80s West Coast synth-god Minimal Man. Individual tracks tend to sound a bit throwaway, but as a whole Dream Code gets by on its raw sound and simplistic mission.

No less essential are the singles from Nice Face and Dead Luke. Nice Face brings a little deep bass to the equation, pushing both tunes into the party zone. These two are the most purely enjoyable songs of the whole batch, a fun time for all. Wisconsin native Dead Luke steps up to the plate with, of all things, a Troggs cover ("I Want You"), here re-imagined as a pent-up love letter to all dead machines. Ballsy for your vinyl debut, yes, but he takes the task seriously and nails it. Not so successful is his original on the flip, but who wants to outshine the Troggs?

Hole Class

2008-05-25T17:45:00.003-04:00

I've had a few requests in the past months to share the Hole Class cassette I wrote about last year, so I went ahead and created a sendspace link. Hole Class was the short-lived collaboration between Rob of Eat Skull and Beth of Times New Viking. Eat Skull have a brilliant new LP out on Siltbreeze. Beth cut her hair in the UK and is finishing up a European tour with TNV.

Love Radiation: Talking With Electric Bunnies

2008-05-16T12:39:00.010-04:00

For the first time in I don't know how many years something exciting is happening in Florida, and I'm not talking about Hanley Ramirez. From Miami to Orlando, bands like Shit Eagle, Jacuzzi Boys, Slippery Slopes and most notably Electric Bunnies are uniting against the bad metal and booty music that has plagued the Sunshine State for years. The tight-nit scene down South is anchored by Rich and Jean of Florida's Dying, who not only release the records for these bands and put on the majority of shows in Orlando (now attracting groups from across the globe) but run one the best little mail-order stores in the nation. But this isn't about Florida's Dying. This is about the best little band on the FD roster, Electric Bunnies.
Based out of Miami, Electric Bunnies are only two singles into their hopefully illustrious discography, but that is about to change. The trio, who experiment will all forms of pop, hardcore, psychedelic and noise, are about to unleash the first non-Columbus record on Columbus Discount Records, the Fantastic Metal Eye 7". It's an exciting release for all parties involved and just the tip of the iceberg for what is to come from the Bunnies in the coming months. Recently, I bothered the band enough for them to punch some keys on a board and respond to my stupid questions. Needless to say, their answers fared better. Thanks for doing all my dirty work, Electric Bunnies.

Okay, please state who I'm speaking with here and what you do in the band?

I’m Eldys. I mostly play guitar, although I occasionally fiddle with the various knob-laden items that we use as well (synths, samples, etc.). I also sing some of the songs and cut Victor’s hair when I have time.

And the other members are? They play?

Thomas almost always plays the drums; he did play guitar with us once, though, so I would describe him as a multi-instrumentalist of Prince’s caliber.

Victor plays bass and writes the songs. We have some songs that have no bass guitar; I don’t really know what he does on those. I did see him play a recycling bin full of broken glass once, which he was really good at. Victor should play that thing more often.

How long ago did the Electric Bunnies form, and how exactly did the members meet?

We’ve been together for about four years now. I can’t remember how we met, since that was a long time ago and my memory for things that aren’t related to fruit trees or panda bears is very poor. I do remember, however, that the original lineup featured a female keyboard player, which we were very hopeful about at the time since everyone knows that having a girl in the band is your ticket to making untold riches. Unfortunately, she couldn’t play very well and Victor made her cry all of the time at practice so she quit. We decided to settle on having our friend Jose play keyboards, but he got really nervous about having to impersonate a beautiful lady at shows and stopped answering our phone calls. I like to believe that if he had stayed on as a she we would all be famous right now.

Victor clarifies: Eldys got it wrong. We've been together longer than four years. We probably formed in 2002 or 2003.

Did you begin recording right away, or was it more of a live thing?

We started recording just about immediately, since Victor had already written several songs. We played very few live shows early on, largely due to the fact that there weren’t many venues in Miami that would book us. We played our first show at a strip club called Gumwrappers that had been converted into a go-go bar; I don’t think they wanted us back there, since by the time we were finished the place was covered in birthday cake and soil. We’ve been lucky in that people are more willing to book us now – too lucky, in fact, since we can’t really take most of those offers.

I hear that all of you have serious day jobs. Care to elaborate on what you all do for a living?

Thomas gets paid to tell computers what to do, which from what I understand can be frustrating if they’re uncooperative. Victor sells people conversations that he’s had with other people he considers interesting; it’s hard to believe there’s a market for that sort of thing, but then I guess that’s the sort of opportunity that made our parents want to come to this country in the first place. I put people in cages for a living; sometimes they’re covered in their own filth, and they almost always cry. It’s very satisfying work.

And do your jobs play into what the band can and cannot do? Do your jobs influence the songs and style of music you play?

I suppose I would say yes to both questions. The fact that we all have steady jobs allows us to play whatever we want, since we don’t have to worry about selling records to eat or buy decent pants; in that sense we have much more freedom than most full-time bands who are forced to make concessions in order to make their music profitable. The drawback to our position, of course, is that we can’t play quite as often as we would like and we tend to have to plan our shows out very far in advance.

Coming from Ohio, Miami is a fairly exotic locale to be playing the sort of music you play, and by exotic I mean completely different than most of the places that harbor experimental rock music...What is it like playing shows down there? Do you consider yourself apart of any scene down in Miami?

Miami is a nice place to play rock music because you’re never in any danger of becoming popular. You can feel comfortable playing music that makes you happy, since nobody here is going to care anyway. The people have a shallow quality reminiscent of folks in New York and Los Angeles, but with poorer taste. The weather is wonderful, of course, which is much more important. We’re not part of any music scene down here, but I would say that I am part of Miami’s thriving tropical fruit enthusiast scene.

HERE IS WHERE ELDYS GOT BORED AND VICTOR HAD TO STEP IN AND ANSWER THE REST OF THE QUESTIONS

Are you interested in the history of Florida punk at all?

No.

How did you come into contact with the labels who are putting out your music, Florida's Dying and Columbus Discount? Was there are particular reason (or release) Columbus Discount entered your radar?

The first time I saw Rich (of Florida's Dying) was when his band the Studdogs played here in Miami. He was screaming into the mic, naked from the waist down, rolling around in broken glass, out-of-his-mind wasted. Later when I went to see Cheveu in Orlando, he put me up at his house and we officially met. I discovered that he was actually very down to earth, in fact the only guy in the state trying to make cool things happen, setting up shows and doing his label. He had heard of us, so he asked me to send him some recordings. I thought he just wanted to book some shows for us or something, but instead he asked us to do a 7", which was quite a surprise.

With CDR we sent them a demo and they liked it and wanted to do something with us. They had put out that first Psychedelic Horseshit 7", so I guess that's why we sent them the demo.

Are there any bands going right now that you feel a kinship with? Or any groups down in So. Florida we should learn about.

Pink Reason for sure. Before either of us had records out I used to talk to Kevin all the time about music, and we both have a similar mindset when it comes to writing songs. Neither of us are afraid to experiment, even if it means turning people off. The personalities of both bands are really different but I think we understand music the same way.

We love playing with Psychedelic Horseshit, who are friends of ours and very fun guys. Same goes for the Jacuzzi Boys here at home. We consider them like our brother band.

A band you should definitely know about in Miami is HahaHelp! who haven't yet put anything out anything except a CD-R. They're especially great live and are also Dino Felipe's favorite local band.

I know that you have multiple releases due in the coming months. How much of that is recent stuff and how much of it is from the legendary Electric Bunnies archives?

I don't know because I'm not sure what the "legendary Electric Bunnies archives" is.

I guess what I mean by that was think it was Kevin D who told me that you have hours of music to pull songs from and didn't necessarily have to record new material for new releases.

He's right. We do have tons of stuff recorded, a lot of which we never even bothered to mix down. If all goes according to plan NONE of it will ever see the light of day except for maybe one or two songs. We're all bored with that old material. There will only be brand new recordings of brand new songs on the upcoming LP.

Care to map out exactly what you have coming out?

7" on Columbus Discount Records. Split 7" with Pink Reason on Die Stasi. LP on Florida's Dying.

Any chance of a tour in the future?

There is always a chance.

-----------------------------------------------------------END

And now, an awesome video clip of the Bunnies doing "The Stranger" from the Chewing Gum single:

Fantastic Metal Eye is available now on Columbus Discount Records.
Chewing Gum is available now on Floridas Dying.

More Spring 08 Singles...

2008-05-05T18:14:00.008-04:00

It's been impossible to keep up. Too many great singles this year and it's only May. Keep up the good work, bands. May I recommend...

Vivian Girls - "Wild Eyes"
After a few hearty endorsements I checked in on all-femme Brooklyn trio Vivian Girls, whose new single Wild Eyes on Plays With Dolls is mind-numbingly good. The title track shuffles beneath a heavy dose of echo and fuzz, the three of them harmonizing a sweet melody that reminds my girlfriend of Kiwi pop band Heavenly. I've not listened to enough Heavenly to agree or disagree, but I'll take her word for it. Note to self: get some more Heavenly. There are some references to the original UK femme-punks like Raincoats and Kleenex too. The B-side is just as good, a bit of guitar worship with an old girl-group theme: murderous boyfriends. Don't know if I've ever heard it done quite like this. I want to crawl inside their amps and make it my womb. Whoa. And they've got an album out soon!

Francis Harold and the Holograms - S/T 7"
This disgusting slab on Going Underground hasn't left my table for five days now. Two songs, both longer than should usually be tolerated for a single of this sort, but these fucks keep it scuzzy enough for continuous spins. The key to these songs are the brilliant vocal hooks buried beneath the sparp stabs of feedback and plodding rhythm. The A-side, permanently lodged in my skull already, features some heavy words about the fall of America that'll have armies fighting their war in no time. In that regard they really recall Flipper's more topical moments, but this debut's no imitation. A perfect slice of American Scum, and one of the three best singles I've heard all year.

Jay Reatard - See/Saw 7"
I've said it before and I will repeat it here: to hell with the haters; this single is great. I'll spare you the Reatard rise-to-fame story and get to what's here on his first of six singles to be compiled into his Matador debut. Jay continues to evolve into the pop stud he's aimed to be since Blood Visions, and if you liked the direction he took with last year's Goner single and the Night of Broken Glass EP you'll enjoy this one. Both songs took a little work to fully appreciate, especially "See/Saw", as it's almost too simplistic for it's own good. But the writing is air-tight and his vocals the most sincere of his career thus far. B-side "Screaming Hand" has a little more depth, both the song and subject, as Jay opens up and exposes a piece of his troubled (but not unusual) childhood. He plays with story and character without sacrificing the pop element, even hinting at more of a Glam influence than ever before. The song is all over the place and absolutely perfect because of it. Finally, a modern punk gets the Road to Ruin sound down. Those jangly guitars sound tremendous above the angular riffs. Cannot wait for number 2.

Bring Some Unholy Two Into Your Home. Trust Me.

2008-04-25T13:07:00.006-04:00

We may never know if the Unholy Two will shake the "joke band" tag they've picked up from the masses over their two-year existence, but I do know that one Christopher Lashe does not need validation from anyone. He can now let the music speak for itself. I could go on and on about how great this single is but my brother did a perfect job of it already. Out now on Columbus Discount.

Chris wanted me to send another message to the people. Remember this as you watch the band of sinners bang away at the devil's tools:

Damn, 2008! You Have My Heart Already

2008-04-03T20:41:00.005-04:00

No sense in wasting time on excuses. I'm going to try and get this thing going again, because there's just too much stuff coming out right now that needs heaps of praise and attention...The first of which is of course...

EAT SKULL! Scrambling ensued to snag a copy of the brand new Skulltones 7", "Dead Families", as I missed their batch of surely incredible SXSW shows, because, like, I wasn't at SXSW. But I heard it was enjoyable. The edition of 300 sold out immediately, as is typical these days when great bands release hugely limited shit. Word on the street in anticipation for this record was that it would be better than their perfect debut and damn if it isn't just as good. All three tracks are round pegs for square holes but still make great mixtape material. The A-side tumbles out of the gate much like "Seeing Things" did, like those dead family members stuffed in the closet, with swirls of LOUD, off-kilter organ, and a bunch of scratchy guitar jangle and drum clatter, eventually settling into a second-half groove that cleans up the mess a bit. Still a little bit of blood on the floor, but everyone is safe. The B-side has a cover whose name escapes me right now, because I have the third song, "No Intelligence" lodged in my head. Is this song about Columbus? Hah. Hope not. It burns a little bit slower than their other jams, which tells me the upcoming LP on Siltbreeze will be a well-balanced meal of epic proportions. Can't wait. Go and listen to "Punk Trips" on their myspace and try not to wet your pants.

While Eat Skull's brilliance surprised nobody, this Box Elders gang are quietly surprising each and every pair of ears who hear their debut on Grotto Records. It could be that their bratty, amped-up live set a few weeks back sealed the deal for me, but I think this record holds up quite well on its own. The double A-side features two understated pop perfections, "Hole In My Head" the winner by a nose. They call it Cave Pop and I can't really top that, very much in the vein of scruffy Sixties anti-heros like the Troggs and The Primitives; dance to their songs as they steal your girlfriend. The drummer Dave (also of the Terminals) plays standing up and keyboards all at once, a MADMAN, and the guitar-bass tag team are brothers who trade vocals and back each other up perfectly. Sounds like a force to be reckoned with for years to come. Looks like they're not touring again 'til June, so go grab the reissue of this record (first pressing with beautiful screened sleeve are all gone) and spin it over and over while you wait. Mine's wearing out already.

One of the more enigmatic bands to come forth in the recent wave of greatness over the last three years is the Electric Bunnies. Their origins unknown, with a sound hard to pin down, all I know is that they come from Miami, they may or may not be Cuban, and they all have consistent day-jobs that will keep them from ever touring for more than a week. They've been around for some time now and apparently have a fairly deep well of songs to draw from, with a handful of releases on the plate for the Spring and Summer (including stuff for CDR and Die Stasi!). Chewing Gum is their second single on their official label home, Florida's Dying, and it trumps their promising debut by a considerable margin. How awesome would it have been if Jesus and Mary Chain circa '86 covered "Yummy Yummy Yummy"? As awesome as the title track to this single. Better yet - nearly impossible, I know - is "Love Radiation", furious and fun, like the Muppet band doing hardcore. B-side is more playful (ie: difficult), the last track a solid take on mid-80's avant punk. Great single and due to its quality a lock to sell out by May. Go get one, and snag that Shit Eagle single from Florida's Dying (hell, check out all their offerings, excellent mailorder they're running down there) while you're at it.

Another single that seemed to pop out of nowhere is the new Nodzzz record, "I Don't Wanna (Smoke Marijuana)" b/w "We Are the Only Animals". Two incredible tracks from this Bay Area trio, who play a rhythmic, stripped-down sort of pop not unlike Half Japanese, early Feelies or fellow San Franciscans Icky Boyfriends. It's quirky, catchy, and bouncy without being the least bit annoying, which is a feat in itself, but they do it with ease. How so? Impeccable songs, my friends. Both tracks are simple, brief exercises in geekery that have kept me entertained for weeks. Great lyrics about day-to-day situations, unafraid and completely original. After much deliberation I've decided I like the B-side a tiny bit more than "I Don't Wanna", though both have been in heavy rotation. Pretty sure the first pressing is gone, but I'm sure the demand for a repress is there so hold tight. In the meantime they have some new songs on their space and a lot of youtube clips of house shows. Anticipating what's next.

J.P. Herrmann's Hieroglyphics, My Kind of Language

2008-02-25T17:04:00.008-05:00

Once again I return with apologies. I swear, I have four or five posts in the making and haven't had the focus to finish them up. I've been buying loads of vinyl lately, so it's not like I don't have anything to discuss. Guess I've hit a (hopefully) temporary wall.
In the meantime I'd like to share with you one of the best things I've heard all year, a little CDR handed to me by an old friend named J.P. Herrmann. Now I could go on about Mr. Herrmann and his wonderful family and the times we've shared, as I've known him for well over ten years now, but I'll try and stick to the music. Herrmann was the former bassist for the departed 84 Nash, whom he formed with my older brother Kevin and Mr. Andy Hampel (where's your solo album, bud?) back in the mid-90's. Their story is also one for another time, and hopefully I'll get to a big 84 Nash retrospective in the coming months.
Back to Herrmann, now a family man, but never one to stop recreating the sounds in his head. He never sang much in the Nash, maybe some backup vocals if we pushed a mic in front of him, sometimes if a little impromptu Fleetwood Mac cover came about, but I honestly had never heard J.P. belt it out until I played back his CDR, Hieroglyphics. Wow. The man knows his way around a melody, and his vocal style is pretty darn original. He's got a little bit of the old Nash style in him, which itself stems very much from an old Daytonian heritage if you catch my drift, but there's also something very angular about it, reminiscent of Lars from the Intelligence possibly. Maybe a little Will Foster/Guinea Worms influence?
Herrmann not only sings but bangs out everything else here, drums, throbbing bass (his most comfortable instrument), guitars all over the place. There's an excitable Post-punk vibe to "Monopoly's Approved" and its circular guitar attack, and then whack, next up is the robot clatter of "Waving My Arms". So great. I'm hearing a little Lindsay Buckingham circa Go Insane too. Every tune is killer, especially the irresistibly catchy "Car Conversation" - a tune you'll have to smack out of yer head with a good blackout drunk or whatever it takes - and introspective instrumental closer "Labyrinthitus".
What's really great is that Hieroglyphics has already been making waves, as DJ Rick, of Art for Spastics/KDVS (you've been listening, right?) has declared himself a fan! That's about the highest compliment a band can receive these days. ~~And guess what? J.P. has given me the OK to share this brief slice of genius with you. So click HERE and listen to it all. I know you're going to love it. Play play play.~~ UPDATE: Time's up, please contact J.P. for a hard copy and he'll be glad to send you one. And check his page regularly for more songs.

Tracklist:

1. Halt Your Retreat
2. Monopoly's Approved
3. Waving My Arms
4. Frozen Cabin
5. Car Conversation
6. Hieroglyphics
7. Catch the Mouse
8. Dead Water Dead Light
9. Labyrinthitis

The Busy Signals Are Really Really Good

2008-02-01T11:11:00.000-05:00

I know I'm more than a few months late to this party but man has this record been hitting all the right Pure Pop buttons as of late. Chicago's The Busy Signals, not to be confused with the (boring) indie pop Busy Signals from the early aughts, have followed up a string of well-received singles with a near-perfect eponymous LP on the Dirtnap label. Fans of Dirtnap's most famous product, Guitar Romantic, will find plenty to love here, as well as anyone into bassist Jeremy Thompson's ex-band, the Carbonas (Columbus people may also remember guitarist Kevin from his stint with the Feelers, as he played guitar while Alecks stayed home on their Euro tour last Summer).
These guys nail down the opposite end of the mid-70's powerpop spectrum than did the Exploding Hearts though, playing 100% up-tempo, airtight punk with nary a bit of the trash they rolled around in. They're the pills and cocktails to the Hearts' cheap beer and glue. I'm reluctant to use the F word because singer Ana McGorty possesses such an androgynous voice, one without a ton of range but with enough melodic prowess and loose confidence to drop any dude's jaw; think Hynde with a two-pack-a-day habit. It's doesn't make them female-fronted or girlpunk the least bit, just a great punk band who happen to have a female singer.
There's 26 minutes or so of note-perfect playing here, but the songwriting is really what makes this record such a classic. Just when it seems every punker has gone weird-punk or shit-pop, the Busy Signals bring a batch of straight pop tunes that rivals the wonderful Radio Heartbeat reissues or, dare I say, Singles Going Steady. I sometimes wonder what this would sound like with a little more dirt under the fingernails; perhaps they could have left a little more to the imagination. Other times I imagine how freaking huge they could be - like, Green Day big, man - if they took and even cleaner route. But in the end I usually conclude that the production and playing are just right. Fantastic record.

Columbus Discount Winter Odyssey, Part Two

2008-01-24T11:41:00.000-05:00

I was planning on posting up my review of Tommy Jay's Tall Tales of Trauma at some point this week but my brother beat me to it, and did a great job for a wonderful album. Read it HERE. Buy it HERE.
Seriously, fans of the Ego Summit record, Mike Rep's Stupor Hiatus, Lou Reed's mid-70's output, late 70's and 80's loner folk, etc...this is absolutely essential, sure to be one of the best reissues of the year. I've seen it on every turntable I've passed in Columbus this month. A new classic.

A Collection of Rip It Off Links

2008-01-21T08:16:00.001-05:00

Here is where I collect the Times New Viking web reviews/press (photo courtesy of the Wex).

Shitgaze article in NME (thanks x~ray vision)

Pitchfork review

Tiny Mix Tapes review

Wex Flexner Donewaiting interview

Jerry Dannemiller Village Voice review

Next Best Records blog goes thesis (great read)

Pitchfork Guest List with Jared

Victim of Time Breaking Sounds

Some nice photos from the release show

Joel from the Columbus Other Paper reviews the release show

SF Weekly review (read closely)

Columbus Dispatch piece

Columbus Alive Devillian piece

I Rock Cleveland review

All Music Guide review

Dusted review

Chuck Eddy/Billboard review

Cleveland Free Times tackles Ohio shitpop

Stomp and Stammer review

Paper Thin Walls: Adam tells a story

Mac McCaughan's thoughts

Spin review

DROP-OUT mp3

(My Head)/RIP Allegory mp3

Guinea Worms' Box of Records 7"

2008-01-17T19:46:00.001-05:00

It warms my heart and eases the pain in my liver to know that there is already a buzz about the new batch of Columbus Discount releases weeks before their official street date. After years of scraping together enough dough to get from one release to the next, their label has become a name that triggers automatic pre-ordering by paypalling collectors before records even hit the shelves. Records are pressed. Records sell-out. Business is good. Sounds simple enough now, but whole lot more goes into it with these gents, so let me tell you some about the great trio of records they bring to you this Winter.
Today, the Guinea Worms. One of the great mysteries of my musical existence so far is why Will Foster and Co. now have a grand total of only five tracks down to vinyl after ten years of banging it out in dive bars around Columbus. I know the Cheater Slicks have essentially crushed any longevity surprise with their 25th birthday last year, but ten years is a long time. I could write pages about the GW history and I am surely fit to be doing so, having witnessed every lineup and heard nearly every CDR Foster has put together (impossible, even Foster hasn't heard them all...I'll get to that later) over the last decade, but I'll try and keep it as brief as possible.
After playing bass in a local band named Clay for much of the late nineties, Will Foster decided to start a band which he would front, naming the project Guinea Worms. He quickly recruited a couple of inexperienced gals to play rhythm and rotated second guitarists until Bill Wagner moved in, solidifying the first great lineup. They were a really fucking great band, playing Bernies, the most divin-est rock club in Ohio (though not nearly the wasteland it is today), nearly every weekend, Foster drinking heavily, a wildcard out front. You never knew if he would finish the show in the bar or at home. Wagner was a perfect compliment to Foster, playing some slide and other more complex parts to his Slates-era Fall styled hillbilly drunk punk. Around this time is when they recorded the "Hello From Ohio b/w "Spring Rage" 7", an all-time CLASSIC Ohio single, without a doubt the anthem for Columbus in those days. Foster followed the single up with a number of self-made CDR's of all original material. Some were solo synth experiments, others contained classic GW tracks like "Kick in the Door"; some were made in editions of 5, others more widely distributed.
Unfortunately Foster and Co. never toured much and none of the music got any attention outside of a small circle of friends in Columbus and some acquaintances Foster made outside of Ohio. S-S Records out of Sacramento included the Guinea Worms on their Babyhead compilation and that was about the only attention they'd get. To make an even longer story as short as possible, around the time he became obsessed with late actor Oliver Reed, Foster recruited a new batch of friends - notably Gary Brownsteen on guitar and Danny Moreland on bass - to play with, this group even better a fit for the Guinea Worms live show. Foster quits drinking and with that newfound clear-headedness becomes more prolific than ever, taking a more serious direction with touring and finding like-minded bands and tastemakers like Detroit's Tyvek and Terre T from WFMU. That pretty much brings us up to date.
I mention all of this because a) a lot more people are going to begin inquiring about this band because b) the Box of Records 7" is the best thing they've done, ever, and will end up being one of the best singles you'll hear all year. "Box of Records", much like "Hello From Ohio" is a Will Foster mission-statement slammed into four minutes of an a-side. You can't say he doesn't make these 7" moments count. It's a Back From the Grave inspired dance/party tune about why records are great; direct and simple. Even better is that it's Lovingly Fucked With by Mike Rep (a long-time Foster friend/collaborator), which makes sense on paper and makes even more sense once you hear the way it sounds, rattling off of stacks of used vinyl. It's been called Foster's "Louie Louie" by Rep himself - a song that surely developed out of nowhere in Will's brain and became that instant hit he'd been looking for. Not that I don't love songs about commercial pastries (see "Zingers"), but "Box of Records" just feels like something that'll last forever. I'm going to say that on top of alla that it's also the greatest rambling ballad to ever come out of Columbus.
B-side "I'm a Cobweb" is more typical of the Guinea Worms sound, a perfect example of Foster's listener-as-subject interplay he's been perfecting these years, complete with sleeve-specific artwork. A punk-spike foil to garage twist of "Box of Records", making the single as a whole damn near essential. Okay, not damn near essential, this thing is absolutely REQUIRED. I'm not telling you to buy it, because if you've made it this far you already know that it's a must. Here's to the Guinea Worms making 2008 their best year yet. I'm guessing you'll hear much more from them in the months to come.

Stay tuned for the remainder of the CDR Winter Odyssey.

Real Talk: Complete Singles of the Year List

2007-12-19T11:24:00.001-05:00

Alright, let's just get this year-end stuff out of the way. I ended up posting my top albums list over at donewaiting, where I've been writing about a post a week on topics local or current or just a little more universal that what I attempt to do at this space. Check out that list HERE. I will continue to write there for the time being, even if it does take up some of my time for pop:doug, but honestly I need to devote more time to writing in general, so hope for more on both fronts in 2008. I mean it this time.
Anyway, right now, it's time for some seven inch talk. What a great year for singles. I'm still gathering a lot of what came out this year, piecing together my paypal account and dishing it out in intervals across the land. So in that regard this list is incomplete. There will always be that one great single that I forgot about or didn't know about or didn't care for at the time. Shit, I'm still catching up with 2006 singles. And for some reason a lot of great stuff was just release this December.
If you're not buying these puppies up, I hope that you are at least checking out these bands' pages, or soulseeking your life away tracking down the music, because these go beyond the mere fetish object of the vinyl single. All are on par with the best music being made anywhere, on any format, in 2007. So here goes, my top singles for the year:

1. Eat Skull - Eat Skull 7" (Meds)
A perfect debut EP. Eat Skull flail around like it's code: red at the mental ward, medicating themselves enough to get three songs down. Here's to hoping they don't change a damn thing for their upcoming Siltbreeze LP.

2. Blank Dogs - Blank Dogs 7" (Sweet Rot)
It took me the better part of the year to get past all the blog hype and finally listen to a Blank Dogs release. I'm glad this Sweet Rot 7" was the first to stick, a perfect introduction to Mr. Blank's alien synth-pop jangle. "Outside Alarmer" is the year's prettiest tune, pretty enough to be the only song I played for ten straight days in November.

3. Tyvek - Summer Burns 2x7" (What's Your Rupture?)
Four more nails in the diy/post-punk totem pole. Tyvek warrant your immediate attention but have been doing just fine without it.

4. Factums - Factums 7" (Polly Maggoo)
Yes, the Siltbreeze LP is great, but these bad dudes seem more in control with the limited format of a 7" - much like their obvious heroes in Cab Voltaire and Throbbing Gristle.

5. Pink Reason - By A Thread 7" (Trick Knee)
I think I've written enough about Pink Reason this year. FIY.

6. Nothing People - In The City 7" (S-S)
Psychotic glam-punk for nervous nobodies, with a Roxy cover on the back side. Their single on Hozac is just as good. Another band due for a big LP next year(?).

7. Blank Dogs - Diana (The Herald) 12" (Sacred Bones)
A little more to chew on this time around, the better of two Blank Dog 12"s. It seems like he's clustering recording sessions with each release, putting 'em out as soon as they hit the tape, and this is a good thing for someone as prolific and consistently great as he is. Can't wait to see what he does for the Troubleman album.

8. El Jesus de Magico - Funeral Home Session 7" (Columbus Discount)
Finally, a piece of El Jeezy's recorded output worthy of the worship they demand on stage. Probably the most overlooked single of the year on a national level. New demos for the LP are freaking amazing.

9. Sic Alps - Strawberry Guillotine 7" (Woodsist)
It wasn't until I caught Sic Alps' transcendent live show that I understood their intentions. They take chunks of 60's gold and slather it in 90's fuzz BBQ until your eardrums pop. Much like with TNV, the juxtaposition is irresistible.

10. Times New Viking - My Head 7" (Matador)
A teaser for the front-runner of album of the year, '08. "My Head" and "RIP Allegory" now go together like weed and coffee, but you're pre-ordering this one for the B-sides. "Western Civ" was a favorite of mine when I got a copy of the Rip It Off demos, and I was surprised they left it off the album.

11. TV Ghost - Atomic Rain 7" (Die Stasi)
The youth of America? There is hope. TV Ghost ripped through '07 with this single and a house show-ready live set. One time I saw the guitarist smile. Their upcoming LP should redefine Midwestern angst.

12. Wooden Shjips - SOL '07 (Sick Thirst/Holy Mountain)
In hindsight, the LP was a tad disappointing. I admire what they attempted with the opportunity: a high-fi version of their Les Rallizes-Kraut-Summer of Love hybrid. Sometimes trying to satisfy all of Julian Cope's sensors doesn't always work out. But the Shjips had two heady doses of 7" in them, this being the best of 'em, a single fuzz stretched over two sides. Still, they've yet to re-capture the perfection of their first 10".

13. Catatonic Youth - Piss Scene CDR (Fuck Jazz)
You could call '07 the year of the mystery myspace band. Dozens popped up, potentially all helmed by the same person, each group with a focused sound and aesthetic. I like the idea honestly, come up with a batch of two or three songs, give it a name and make it "real" online. Post-modern pop at its finest. That said, CY tapped into the stoned 80's West Coast hardcore fringes, shorts and flannel and Sweet records. I want more.

14. Los Llamarada - The Very Next Moment 7" (S-S)
Mexico's answer to....everything? I hear something different every time I play this. They seem like such nice, unpretentious, youthful individuals for kicking out such dirty, sexy stuff. If you don't like this and the LP I suggest you...go listen to your Liars records or something (I'm out of cute things to say today).

15. Night of Pleasure - Night of Pleasure 7" (Columbus Discount)
Awesome single no. 3 from the CDR HQ. NoP smother Columbus' punk past and spit on its inbred corpse. They are better than ever and have been stretching out their sound over 30 minute sets lately. Could bring a banger of an LP in '08.

Meet Kodac of Tibet, Fan of Whiskey

2007-11-16T13:29:00.000-05:00

Readers, allow me to introduce to you an old friend of mine, Mr. Greg Ziants. Formerly (little) neon wilderness, Greg has for the last two years been recording under the name Kodac, for the ears of few besides himself. Holed-up in various home studios - lately he's patrolled soon to be famous "self-esteem studio" on Tibet St. in Columbus - Kodac's mastered his own brand of lo-fi psychedelic drone-folk. And it's time people started paying attention...if only he'd play out, or release something.
The four tracks up on his space only tell half the story. The acoustic strum, slide and pick of "Fire and Sun" is the perfect example of his "pagan pop" side, usually accompanied by a simple, repeated rhythm. "City Eye With Sean Paul" is more of his "guided by drone" suit, layers of subtle noise topped with not-so-subtle crash and melody. Elsewhere, all that's needed is tape hiss and metal to get his point across. Sometimes the tracks are meticulously pieced together, other times they're recorded to a single mic. From kraut experiments to anglo-spirituals, it is all shrouded in a bit of mystery.
He's handed me homemade cassettes and CDR's, played me forty-minute drones from a hand-held recorder, and all of it is superb. But Greg has been reluctant to put it together into a package suitable for release. You see, Kodac is a perfectionist in his own frayed and fuzzy way. If I could, I'd throw up the money to get his planned debut, The Tibet Tapes, pressed onto wax. Maybe all that's needed is a slightly larger audience and a little encouragement. Go and listen, and bug him for a personal sample if you see him out.

Guide to GG Allin, Parts I and II

2007-11-14T10:34:00.000-05:00

This is the kind of stuff the internet was made for. Terminal Boredom has finally posted the second half to Jason Litchfield's Guide to GG Allin. Litchfield, an obvious GG collector scum extraordinaire, has posted just about everything you need to know about Allin's releases from 1977 up until the beginning of the reissue process (and his soaring international infamy) in 1987. He's included detailed cover artwork scans and release info all tied together chronologically with fascinating GG history. Awesome job, Jason.

Part I
Part II

No values? Sounds familiar. Let's hope that Christopher Lasch, set to release his debut single next year, pays close attention to Mr. Allin's career arc. After all, GG's brother Merle was in the Cheater Slicks for a brief stint. I predict an Unholy 2 defecation on stage by Spring '08.

Rip It Off One-Sheet

2007-11-13T09:35:00.001-05:00

This is getting me pretty excited. Best one-sheet ever?

My 7"s of the Year: Eat Skull and Nothing People

2007-11-09T11:37:00.001-05:00

In another year of great outsider, punk, shit-fi 7" singles a couple of bands have made it easy for me to pick the best. If you haven't heard (of) Eat Skull by now you should be putting the Portland group on your radar immediately. Fronted by Rob Enbom - part-time Hospital, half 0f Hole Class with Beth of TNV, former resident of the Lambsbread Deleware compound...let's not forget Negative World - the band kick up a reefer-induced swirl of guitars and cheap organ, toms and symbols, referencing just about any cool obscuro scene from '79 to '89, whether it be in New Zealand or Los Angeles or London. How's that for vague?
"Seeing Things" brings a smile from ear-to-ear in sing-along style without becoming too cute or twee, a first-class pop song that will rattle around in your head for months, on-par with any of the best early Clean tracks. That's about as high a compliment as I can give. "Things I Did When I Dyed My Hair" is about as stretched out as a fuzz-pop band can get, a chorus-less rant that loses control down the hill only to run into Sister Ray, knocking her across the street. Bloody, but really entertaining.
In a matter of about six months Eat Skull have managed to release the years best single, tour the west coast (twice?) and play host to most of Portland's best bills. Can't wait for the upcoming full-length on Siltbreeze and extended tour, both expected in the near-future I would hope. Unfortunately this one was out of print almost instantly, so you'll have to ask your nerdiest friend to tape it or go to their page for some tunes. They've also got a cassette floating out there.

Northern California's Nothing People approach the 7" EP in a more traditional way, with a strong, original A-side and a cover on the flip. Last year's stellar Problems EP reminded me of Sister-era Sonic Youth playing Chrome covers and while In the City isn't entirely different it does bring to mind a more muscular glitter sound, like a band raised on hard liquor rather than heroin.
Both tracks recall an era when (mostly west-coast) zit-faced garage-dwellers liked glam (Roxy, Sweet, Bolan) and punk (the British variety) and psych (Roky and his ilk) and didn't get beat-up for it. A time that I sure as hell didn't live through and one that probably didn't exist at all, but in my dreams it did and it was when somebody kicked up the stardust for bands like the Twinkeyz and Zolar X and Swell Maps, and today propels bands like Nothing People and Catatonic Youth. Their version of "Really Good Time" brings a more sinister angle to mid-period Roxy and will hopefully shed some light on how great Ferry's songs were on those albums. This one is available, directly from SS would be the best way to get it.

Invincible Donovan University

2007-10-31T14:25:00.000-04:00

Holy shit. Lately I've been thinking about applying to some grad schools, or at least starting the process by taking the GRE. But honestly, I just haven't had a clue about which programs I'd be interested in. Enter Invincible Donovan University. Problem solved.
That's right...Donovan Leitch is starting a university for transcendental meditation. With David Lynch. Not making this up. It's really going to be called the Invincible Donovan University. He speaks:

"The Maharishi told me during that 1968 visit that I should build a university in Edinburgh. I went to my room and drew a beautiful dome-shaped place of learning," he said Friday.

"I didn't know what to do because I couldn't do this on my own. But then I met David Lynch, who told me about the positive effects of TM in education. Although it's taken me 35 years, I will do what the Maharishi told me to do."

Apparently Lynch has been bringing transcendental meditation to schools across the US in hopes of reducing crime and drug use among teens. He believes that it would take "only 250 students meditating to protect Scotland from its enemies and to bring peace, to stop violence and drug abuse."
Sign me up. Though I doubt the tuition will be as peaceful with Donovan involved. This reminds me of my little brother Adam's dream of starting a Donovan museum after studying in Glasgow a few years back. I'm sure after hearing this news he'll attempt to be a member of the inaugural class.

SORRY ANOTHER SILTBREEZE WRITE-UP

2007-10-30T13:11:00.001-04:00

But this one's local!
Yeah, I know. I wasn't even going to post about Magic Flowers Droned, the new Horseshit record, because just about anyone hitting this silly page knows how I feel and how they feel about the Psychedelic ones. It's great, they're great, they're even better with Kevin D on bass, and this debut full-length is a top-five of the year for certain. No point in wasting time on critical blather. I'd rather talk about Rich's Papa John's hat he's always wearing, or Matt's new sleazy 80's Italian vagabond look he's been sporting lately.
But in a recent interview Matt went and inspired me to find some criticisms with the new record, which with, after finally nabbing on vinyl, I've settled into a nice daily listening routine. And yes, it's easy to find faults with the album's second half, especially in the mash-up of two perfectly great songs, but in reality the record just becomes more interactive with each flop of the needle. JUST LIKE THE NEW RADIOHEAD! Except this record will cost $10 every time, and has better songs. If you don't like the mash-up turn the channel to the left or right. It's up to you. If you don't like the version of "Bad Vibrations" you can skip it. It's up to you.
Mason Jones of Dusted says it sounds "as though it was recorded by placing a hand-held in the corner of the room and hitting the red button", which couldn't be further from the truth, in fact it sounds like Mr. Whitehurst went a little crazy with the knob twiddling in places. If you know him as a sound man at Bourbon St. or Blues Station you're probably used to his idiosyncrasies. He's obsessive about the way things sound, oftentimes to a fault. Go back and listen to the paper singles Mason, those were the tape deck-in-a-corner sessions.
My final fault would be with the design, or lack-thereof, on the back sleeve. It's not so great, some of it works but it looks a little last minute thrown together. The front is really great, especially produced at twelve inches.
So there, Matt, are my faults with the record. It's still at this point my album of the year. Magic Flowers Droned and Psychedelic Horseshit are that rare art where the flaws only enhance its power and relevance. Matt and Rich seem to revel in imperfection, so long as it is new to them. Every so often it really does result in complete shit, but when the reward is this high you have to keep betting on the horse.

The Times are Leary

2007-10-12T07:59:00.000-04:00

As a compliment my previous post's relaxation vibe (and going against my FIY ethos) I bring you a rapidshare link to Dr. Timothy Leary's Tune In, Turn On, Drop Out Soundtrack. The album, from 1967, features minimal psychedelic instrumentation - mostly sitar - as the backdrop to a spoken-word summarization of his philosophies. I find Leary's voice to be quite relaxing and his ideals to be more and more relevant with each passing year. Some of you I'm sure will disagree. Tune In's soundtrack is a great prelude to what Leary did in Germany a half-decade later with groups like Ash Ra Tempel.

The Beginning of the New Age, Again

2007-10-10T18:20:00.001-04:00

Dig, if you will, a picture:

That's J.D. Emmanuel, circa 1982, amidst his gear during the genesis of a small private-press album titled Wizards. As soon as I first viewed this shot on Volcanic Tongue I knew I had to hear/have whatever it was this guy created. Without any further reading I checked fusetron, ordered myself a copy of the Wizards vinyl that's been reissued by Belgian label Dreamtime Taped Sounds, and began peeping around for more info about this mysterious guru. What I found was endearing.
Apparently J.D. (Daniel to his friends) Emmanuel is a (not-so) regular ol' Texan who's been making minimal electronic for last three decades. Inspired heavily by the work of Terry Riley (along with other minimalists like Reich and Glass) and to a lesser extent the mid-70's output of German artists like Moebius and Roedelius and Conrad Schnitzler, Emmanuel set out to make spiritual relaxation music for various levels of meditation. As a self-taught expert on personal meditation and consciousness expansion, Emmanuel hoped to help others reach the "Seperate Realities" he was discovering through this new electronic music.
His first published piece was an album titled Rain Forest Music, which is available for download in its entirely on his website here. It is a pretty excellent set of tape loops (think Eno circa Discreet Music) against Emmanuel's field recordings of Texas forests, waterfalls and zoos. But Emmanuel's true masterpiece is Wizards. There's a reason why this album has been the object of nerdly desires for years, and the subject of a 2007 reissue. Wizards' 37 minutes contain some of the most delicate, captivating minimal electronic ideas ever put to tape. It is a song cycle containing five parts, each one based upon a cyclical synth pattern along with some form of melody. "Part II: Prayer" builds upon "Part I"'s simple repetition of notes with a more free-form use of sharp synth melody. These two tracks are similar in theme to much of Cluster's Zuckerzeit or parts of Low's second half. That is, it wanders along with other classic kosmiche nebula not missing a beat.
The album's three remaining tracks are longer and even more cosmic in spirit. Actually, the more I listen to these longer pieces the less Terry Riley I hear. These parts are more raw than anything the American minimalists recorded, and actually remind me of Conrad Schnitzler's Rot and Blau albums and Klaus Schulz's best work. Emmanuel does an excellent job of humanizing the synth without sacrificing the idea that it is an electronically programmed device. At its best, Wizards can either assist in relaxation as an ambient soundtrack or be the vehicle to whatever conscious voyage you wish to take.
It goes without saying that 2007 is a great revival year for Mr. Emmanuel. Still alive and well and living in Texas, Daniel has recently updated his site and has been posting some rare pressings of his work on eBay. The demand for a vinyl reissue of Wizards twenty five years after its release is direct proof of his growing influence on modern spiritual music. He says that a cd reissue is in the works, so those of you without turntables who want a copy won't have to wait much longer. But for now, you must seek out the last remaining copies of the vinyl or play the samples he provides on his website. Either way, Wizards and all of Emmanuel's work is worth your time.

(alternate artwork for Wizards)

Tupac Is Alive Dudes

2007-10-10T10:43:00.000-04:00

Seriously, I've been saying it for years. Tupac Shakur is alive and well and is planning the biggest comeback in music history. Here's a Holla Back Exclusive for proof. Believe.

Catatonia Is Taking Me Home

2007-10-09T15:20:00.001-04:00

Right now I'm really tired of every Dick and Jane trying to profit off of "indie" music. So it's totally refreshing to find a band like CATATONIC YOUTH who have not only given away copies of their debut cdep/poster (now out of print) but are now giving away their songs on myspace. Four songs are available on their page - did you even know that little download link could be used? Fuck streaming. Yay free.
Anyway, based on these four songs alone Catatonic Youth are one of my favorite new bands of the year. From the sound of it they're/he's/it's a one-man jams band utilizing supreme guitar riffage, really basic drum machine runs and some maniacally echoed vocals.
The sound has plenty of the Keith Morris/Darby west-coast fuck-it vibe butting up against primitive Suicide utility, with a bit of blue-collar glam tossed in. Rodney Bingenheimer would dig it for sure. Hozac will be putting to wax what will eventually be called "Piss Scene" but not until early next year which is a bummer because I want this on top of my 7" pile right now. Go and listen friends!

Alice Cooper Band, Beamed From the Future

2007-09-19T19:35:00.000-04:00

Check out these sweet Alice Cooper midis. I'm guessing some rad alien dude made these and beamed them down for us to enjoy. He picked a lot of my favorites.

No More Mr. Nice Guy
Elected
Billion Dollar Babies
Caught In a Dream

Edit: Well crap. The website won't let me link those up anymore. Oh well. Check here if you want to download one. Or, go and watch this clip of "Hello, Hooray" from a German tv program instead.

BAM!....the Essence of Siltbreeze

2007-09-16T15:33:00.001-04:00

2007 has been a banner year for Philadelphia's Siltbreeze Records and will continue to be up until year's end, but if you want a taste of their most truly classic release of the year put down your energy drinks and go find xNOBBQx's new record. Imagine the Harry Pussy catalog played by "a couple of flailing monkeys, constipated on McDonald's", dubbed to cassette as cheaply and quickly as possible and you've got "ex no barbeque ex". Are they vegan? Are their parents related? Do they not have color copiers down under? These are the only questions I have after playing Sunshine of Your Love, because it's about as nuanced as a couple of wasps in a ziplock bag.

But really, this is the sort of album that should have all the old lo-fi heads frothing like a pack of hungry dingos and the newbies as confused as your mother at a Dead C show. You can't help but think this is what the voices in Tom Lax's head sound like: a new language of primitive psycho-babble spoken in guitar and drum stabs, greasy Australian philosophy shouted into the corner of an abandoned warehouse. I was certain the album consisted of two side-long tracks but apparently there are fourteen in total. Fourteen variations of a single idea, pressed into a slab of tofu and shoved into a black and white sleeve. Watch for yourself:

Your best bet is to visit http://fusetronsound.com. Less than 500 copies available.

We're Sorry, Portland

2007-09-13T16:57:00.000-04:00

First I just want to say that the only sport I will write about here is the NBA. Don't ask me why, it's just feels right. Seems like a perfect diversion to weird underground music for some reason.

I nearly shed a tear today when I learned that Greg Oden will miss all of next season after surgery on his right knee earlier today. Seriously, terrible news. Our good buddy Greg has come across some bad luck (again) for being such a sweet, wholesomely good dude. I was really looking forward to watching him dominate his rookie year and take America and the world by storm with his gentle-giant charm and wide-eyed personality.
I am positive that not only Oden but the Blazers and the city of Portland will bounce back from this disastrous news. But for now, speaking for the city of Columbus, OH I'd like to say...we're sorry, Portland. Get well soon Greg.

The Midwest in Black and White

2007-09-12T17:14:00.001-04:00

A few thoughts on a couple of singles that were brand spanking new when I began writing this damn post...but by now are most likely sold out.

First, the new Pink Reason single on Trick Knee Productions. I don't know whether he's pulling from a decade-old treasure-filled archive or writing this stuff on the spot, but it doesn't really matter: Kevin DeBroux has a perfect record, something even Bart Starr couldn't manage! What else can I say, the kid is on fire. How he became this year's underground "it boy" is a story better told elsewhere, primarily over at Blastitude, but what it all really boils down to is him following up one of the greatest singles in a while with one of the greatest out-folk/psych records in a long long while. Nothing from '07 stands out more than the epic, ravaged angst contained on Cleaning the Mirror.
By a Thread contains three tracks that rival any of the other gems in his growing discography. I guess you could call this one his most "rock" or traditional statement to date. The title track is a perfect A-side. Spatial, melodic and disorienting, it's another take on post-Joy Division basement blues this time with the help of guitarist Shaun Failure (who accompanied DeBroux on his first major tour of '07 to excellent results). "The Devil Always Wins" is a live favorite usually played at the end of his sets as a spiritual clap-chant, here done a capella. I've always thought this was some sort of old blues cover but after a long internet search I've found it is an original. Very classic. "Down on Me" is another big winner, a post-grunge downer (surprise!) with more excellent work by Failure and an excellent big stupid drum machine holding it all together. The whole single is a stunner. Also, the sleeve of my copy smells funny.

On top of all that talent Mr. Debroux has become quite the taste-maker in these parts, using his weeks on the road to recruit fellow basement dwellers. Sometimes he'll just tell you about the bands, other times bring them on tour for a few dates. By now you've probably been hearing about the youthful death tornado that is TV Ghost and the wreckage they've left in Columbus and surrounding cities this late-Summer. The all-underage (one's, like, fourteen) foursome from Lafayette, IN have a new 7" on die Stasi (out of Findlay, OH of all places) and its another big Midwestern winner. Now that I've seen them a few times I can tell that the single is not perfectly representative of what TV Ghost can bring (and will bring...they've already done a batch of recordings at the Times New Viking studio w/ Matt "Whitey" Horseshit behind the knobs) but both songs are keepers just the same.
"Atomic Rain" is a nice Cramps-ish romp with a great little mush mouthed melody. The recording could be a little better for this style of song but everything is pushed to the max so it shouldn't matter. "Bird Flu" is more in their main artery, an off-kilter rhythm beneath sort-of darkwave keys and spiky guitar, and more mush-mouth.
When you see them live you'll think they've invented this sound, as they play about half their set with the template and it works wonders, at least on the crowds I've seen them seduce. Keep an out for these kids, as they like to tour and they're getting better by the month.

It's not for another two weeks, but....

2007-08-28T13:07:00.000-04:00

The Booty Shoppe flyer for this show is too good to wait. Beautiful:

Will the Silver Apples live up to the expectations? Are there expectations? All I know is Deathly Fighter are the hottest band in Columbus right now. And that I'm probably the only one who feels that way.

Saaaiiiiling, Takes Me Away

2007-08-23T21:12:00.001-04:00

Alright. So it looks like an advance copy of the new Wooden Shjips LP has leaked and already I'm hearing whispers of "disappointment". To that I say no way, José. Not having any of that. Expectations have been on the rise, for sure, after their instant classic, ultra-limited 10 and 7 inchers, both of which a year ago they could barely give away but now are fetching insane eBay heights. The San Fransisco quartet have quickly cemented themselves as a psychedelic taut-groove standard. Much like their home city's medicinal marijuana, their sound is potent and impeccably consistent if not a bit predictable. Still, you find yourself coming back every week.
The new, eponymous titled album on Holy Mountain takes no great leaps forward but does offer a recorded fidelity perfect for these five songs. Every sound - absolutely unhinged guitar leads reminiscent of Les Rallizes Denudes' Mizutani Takashi, locked locked locked rhythm that can boogie and motorik with the best, those Rev/Manzarek keys and a more prominent use of their echoed vocals (there are a number of places where they remind of those mainline moments Columbus' own El Jesus de Magico trigger) - is pristinely present, all perfectly placed in the mix. I imagine the gripes you'll hear about this brief record will be pertaining to just that; maybe the band left a little behind in composition to focus on that sound, and it may sound a tad too clean for some ears.
But damn, once the vinyl gets spinning on those tables there shouldn't be any complaints, especially when the solos are flying, which is for about half of the album's 33.3 minutes. It's an approachable half-hour that pinches more than punches but still gets you when you least expect it. Hum on.
Along with this full-length (out September 10th), the Shjips have two more 7"s due out before year's end, one a co-release they'll do with HM and another on Sub Pop.

There Ain't No Train to Stockholm...

2007-08-06T18:58:00.000-04:00

I wrote a little tribute to Lee Hazlewood today over at Donewaiting. Go read it here if you like. Also, watch him perform "You've Lost That Loving Feeling" and a watch Nancy do "Boots" as well.

Columbus Summer Fun Times, Part 1

2007-08-02T09:27:00.000-04:00

Alright, let's get straight to the point here: I've been out for quite a while and have missed out on writing about some really great stuff that's been happening in Columbus in these summer months so I'll try and take the next few posts to catch up. Then maybe a few thoughts about all the random sounds I've been filling my mind up with.
But first and foremost, I must mention what should be...no, scratch that....what will be the greatest debut show in a looooong time here in Columbus, and that is the unleashing of The Moon and Badtimes at Ruby's this Friday night. Surely to be shortened to "The Mab", this five-piece is the newest brainchild of Sir Dustin White and his "dream drummer" Travis Kline, who've carried over the look and feel of their short-lived Freedom project into something much more focused and awesome. REALLY AWESOME. I've only really heard three of the working tracks and it was enough for me to christen them Best New Band Ever. If you know Mr. Dusty you sort of know what you'll be getting: essentially all the good parts of 70's rock, from straight-up boogie to euro-prog to white-noise jams to drone. Think Crimson, Les Rallizes, Cactus, Captain Beyond, Ash Ra, etc., with plenty of stoner vibes, some vocoder and mellotron, Kraut-rhythms, and on and on. All that good shit. They like the good stuff. But one of the greatest things about this new project is that Dusty will be singing most parts, and from the sound of what I've heard he should have been singing in ALL of his bands. Now that I think about it he did sing a little in Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea, correct?
The Moon and Badtimes are filled out by newcomer to the scene, the youngster Mike Leach on guitar, who, by the sound of it should quickly become one of Columbus finest, as well as Bob Silver (Brainbow) on bass and little Jason W. (also formerly of BTDATDBS) on keys. Unfortunately there are no songs on their myspace, as the band hope to present a clean debut to this weekend's on-lookers and listeners free of any previous opinions or expectations. But let me tell you it will be well worth your time. It may be historical. Dusty will probably kill me for hyping this up so much, but I guarantee you it will be awesome.
The 'Mab will be last at Ruby's, Friday, August 3rd, along with the Makebelieves, the Malabar Brothers, Necropolis, Greenlawn Abbey and Cotton Jackson, as part of the Lost Weekend Records Summer Blowout.

Back in Business

2007-07-28T14:07:00.000-04:00

Okay, once again I must apologize for the lack of updates. No excuse, really, other than I've been busy being Mr. Greg Oden's spiritual advisor. He needed me. Now that he's settled in Portland I can rest easy and begin thinking about music. And writing. Look for a few posts in the very near future and we should be rolling...

Gerry Rafferty on VH1's Top 40 Soft Rock Tunes

2007-06-08T16:42:00.001-04:00

Hello mates, Gerry here. Doug's been slacking a bit of late so I thought I'd ask if I could guest blog on an issue that needs immediate discussion: VH1's list of the 40 "Greatest" soft rock songs. They use the term "softastic", as if the genre needed even more ironic poking and giggling. Well I'm here to put an end to this ribbing once and for all, and to inform the good people at Video Hits One exactly why they are wrong on so many levels with this list.
It appears to me that they've confused the genre of soft rock with other closely-related musics from the seventies and early eighties. Soft rock lies somewhere between the sweaty sounds of AOR Classic Rock (with your Billy Squier, James Gang types) and Top 40 mom-pop (Debby Boone, Tom Jones) but can sometimes stray into the surrounding genres depending on the artist and song. The best way to distinguish a soft rock tune is to listen closely to the production and the vocal melody and ask a single question: does this song barely rock? In order for a song to be soft rock it must rock little, but never too much. If it rocks too much it's classic, if it doesn't at all, it's pop. Another trick is to be pretty loose with the term rock. For instance, a cool melody in a song may not "rock" in the way a Jimmy Paige guitar riff rocks, but it can rock in a way that tugs at your heartstrings and sticks in your head. Rock by way of creativity and talent. Okay, let's take a look at the and see what they have on the list:

40. Bertie Higgins - "Key Largo"
39. David Soul - "Don’t Give Up On Us"
38. Peter Frampton - "Baby, I Love Your Way"
37. Leo Sayer - "When I Need You "
36. 10cc - "I’m Not in Love"
35. Extreme - "More Than Words"
34. Dan Hill - "Sometimes When We Touch"
33. Cat Stevens - "Peace Train"
32. Kenny Loggins - "This is It"
31. Richard Marx - "Hold On To The Nights"
30. Andrew Gold - "Lonely Boy"
29. Debby Boone - "You Light Up My Life"
28. America - "Horse With No Name"
27. Lionel Richie - "Hello"
26. Harry Chapin - "Cat's In The Cradle"
25. Anne Murray - "You Needed Me"
24. Phil Collins - "One More Night"
23. REO Speedwagon - "I Can't Fight This Feeling"
22. Roberta Flack & Peabo Bryson - "Tonight, I Celebrate My Love"
21. Orleans - "Still the One"
20. Captain & Tennille - "Do That To Me One More Time"
19. Michael Bolton - "How Am I Supposed to Live Without You"
18. Toto - "Rosanna"
17. Juice Newton - "Angel Of The Morning"
16. Bread - "Baby I’m - A Want You"
15. Journey - "Open Arms"
14. Seals & Crofts - "Summer Breeze"
13. Carpenters - "Superstar"
12. Starland Vocal Band - "Afternoon Delight"
11. Olivia Newton-John - "I Honestly Love You"
10. Chuck Mangione - "Feels So Good"
09. Hall and Oates - "One On One"
08. The Doobie Brothers - "What A Fool Believes"
07. Kansas - "Dust In The Wind"
06. Air Supply - "Making Love Out Of Nothing At All"
05. Chicago - "If You Leave Me Now"
04. Barry Manilow - "Mandy"
03. Rupert Holmes - "Escape (The Pina Colada Song)"
02. Styx - "Babe"
01. Christopher Cross - "Sailing"

My first issue after browsing this list are the glaring omissions, notably the absence of ME. That's right folks, no Rafferty on a soft rock list. Sad, 'innit? I wrote what many consider to be the greatest soft rock song ever in "Baker Street", and another stone cold classic with "Right Down the Line", but neither gem made the list. That right there pretty much invalidates the list for me. Do they think I rock a little too hard to be considered soft rock, or have they simply forgotten me altogether? Another one they forgot about is my dear friend Gordon Lightfoot. They've got "Cat's in the Cradle", which isn't even remotely close to a soft rock tune, but have left out "Sundown". Bullocks. What about Ace's "How Long"? Little River Band's "Reminiscing"? Player's "Baby Come Back"? All of these would be top 20 on my list. Nowhere to be found.
Problem #2: a lot of these songs are not soft rock. As great a tune as Michael Bolton's "How Am I Supposed to Live Without You?" is, the song is not soft rock. What it could be labeled is anybody's guess, but it should not be on this list. Orleans' "Still the One"? Too sweaty. They just wanted a good reason to talk about that homoerotic album cover. Roberta Flack and Peabo Bryson come from a genre called "quiet storm", look it up. And Debby Boone and Anne Murray, despite owning the proper amount of sugar and cheese to make it, sadly do not barely rock. The Carpenters of course do, because of their tragic story and immense talent. Plus, "Superstar" is just a stellar song.
That said, friends, I must give VH1 credit for choosing some of the greatest soft rock tunes of my generation. Some of them are no-brainers: "What a Fool Believes", "Afternoon Delight", "Summer Breeze", "I Can't Fight This Feeling", "Open Arms". Others took some guts, and I commend them. "Feels So Good" could very well be left off due to it's length and the fact that it is an instrumental jazz track, but in reality it speaks to the very heart of what soft rock is all about. 10cc's "I'm Not In Love" is more of a cultish soft rock song, but if you ask me it'd be in the closer the top. And though my top ten would be vastly different than what is presented, I really can't argue with the quality of their choices, especially with their high placement of "If You Leave Me Now". That song is so beautiful.
Have I rambled enough about this? I think I'll stop. It's just that, well, I was a little hurt when I learned I wouldn't be included in this list. I mean, Richard Marx over the Raff? Okay, okay, I'm done. It's off my chest. Now I'd like to know what you, fine readers, think is the greatest soft rock tune of all time, whether it's included here or not. Don't be shy...these songs are great!

Cheers,

Gerry

New Levels of Sorrow

2007-05-27T18:59:00.001-04:00

This post you're reading right now has been staring at me as a draft every time I log in for the past three months now. I just can't find the right words to finish my thoughts on a record that was the soundtrack to a pretty nasty winter here in Ohio. After repeated plays earlier in the year with an advance copy I acquired, I took a long break from this challenging dose of bleak folk and scraping anti-psychedelia until finally grabbing a vinyl copy from Mr. Pink Reason himself, Kevin DeBroux, who at this point calls the road home and considers Columbus as much as a spiritual resting place as his "actual" home in Wisconsin. In many ways this record is the the soundtrack to a young man's wanderlust, modern gypsy music to greet the apocalypse. I've seen Pink Reason four times in five months and never has the lineup been the same, nor the sound or feel or attitude. In fact all four times have been drastically different and have all gotten increasingly better as DeBroux rapidly becomes more comfortable with his own talent and his place in this world. This is only the beginning of a very long, most likely life-long, trip....
Anti-psychedelia...I like that. For a while, during my initial absorption into Cleaning the Mirror, I was calling this the saddest record I've ever heard, ever. More sorrowful than anything Ian Curtis - whom DeBroux uncannily resembles in voice - sang on, more strangely dramatic than Tim Buckley's weirdest sides, more dryly melancholic than even Nikki Sudden's starkest moments. There's really only one artist who has touched this level of sadness, and that's Nico. Yeah, I forgot about those Nico records, Marble Index and Desertshore. That's some desperate shit. But there's something about DeBroux's voice, and the key his songs are played in, and the strict black and whiteness of the way it is recorded that makes this so heart-wrenching. It makes my dog sad.
Cleaning the Mirror is a record that will swallow you whole, but never tries to. One listen to a song like "Thrush", with its post-industrial skeleton rhythm, or "Storming Heaven", the four-horsemen's drinking anthem, or the slightly (comparatively) upbeat "Dead End" - the album's cheeriest song is called "Dead End", and the chorus asks "where did we go wrong?", and you'll be hooked. Not becauase of emotional bells and whistles or outsider angst or anything like that, this isn't the Cure and it isn't Jandek either. This record is just one person's representation of truth; he's cleaning the mirror for us to see his perspective more clearly. Stay tuned for chapter two, because the first one is a masterpiece. Out now on Siltbreeze.

There Is Magic in His Beard

2007-05-04T19:19:00.000-04:00

I was planning on shaving off my beard sometime this weekend, but, in tribute to Baron Davis and his Golden State Warriors, I will refrain from doing so until they lose a series....

It seems like the NBA has been pulling me back in, slowly but surely, over the past five or six years. Like just about every other American in the 80's and early 90's, I was a huge fan back in the days of Magic vs. Bird, Jordan and Pippen, the Bad Boys and Laimbeer, the dunk contests with Spud Webb and the Human Highlight Reel, all of that. The Golden Era of the NBA, if you will. A lot of things happened for me to lose interest but for the most part I just grew out of league too dependent on glitz and glamour and the individual.
But recently LeBron James and a handful of great young players have made the game exciting again, and for some reason this week I found myself actually caring about an NBA game that didn't feature the Cleveland Cavs and King James. Baron Davis and the Warriors play with such obvious emotion that you can't help from being pulled in and rooting for them. My girlfriend even cared. For more than a few seconds. That he pulls a hamstring and continues to play, scores another 20 points and then bear hug Ronnie Lott only adds to the drama.
Don't ask me what my motivation was behind this post. It's quite possible that it was Baron Davis' hipster beard. Or the fact that I still envy anyone, anywhere who can play basketball, because they are the greatest of athletes. I love it that it's fun to watch the NBA playoffs again. So excuse me during the month of May if I happen to continue this obsession. LeBron and Co. should be playing in the Finals if all goes as planned, and if we're lucky, it won't be against the Suns but a battle against the bearded one from the Bay.

Walking the Plank with Deerhunter

2007-05-03T19:01:00.001-04:00

So I kind of pissed all over Deerhunter's Cryptograms LP a few posts back in a fit of rage, but I have to admit that the slam was a little unfair because I actually started off really liking that record and still enjoy at least three or four songs from it. It's not terrible, not at all, just not as good as every music site would lead you to believe, and I'll still stand by my belief that at least half of it is unlistenable. I guess I was just upset with writers confusing the potential to be great with true greatness. Today, though, I speak to you with a belly full of crow as I play the band's new aptly titled Fluorescent Grey EP finds them reaching their potential, its four songs pretty much forcing me into loving this band I dissed only a few weeks ago. Deerhunter is messing with my credibility.
The EP was apparently written during the mixing of Cryptograms, and it's as if they discovered exactly what that album's strengths were and used them as a jump-off for every song here. That is, they thought, "hey, we're a really good band when we write songs and stuff, let's do that more often." Deerhunter are air-tight in sound and style: pristine, ambitious production harnessing a fluid mix of various genres of music popularized in Britain between '84 and '92. There's plenty of JAMC and MBV as you've likely already been aware of, and plenty of the stuff Martin Hannett would've drooled over, but there's also radio-ready pop straight from the Cure songbook ("Dr. Glass") and with the title track even some Pavementesque post-REM jangle. Remember the much-hyped, more-disappointing Creeper Lagoon? Well, here's what that band should have been.
Some of the ideas are re-hashed from the album's tracks, but here, they're mostly better. All four of these songs would've fit nicely somewhere on Cryptograms. So I have to ask why they decided to leave such nonsense on the record? Obviously some like it. Maybe I will understand it all better somewhere down the path. But I do know that Fluorescent Grey is helping me understand, and I'll take some more chances with these lads. Luckily Kranky have issued the LP and EP together onto one double vinyl package, so we can all choose our own Deerventure.

Find a Place In Your Heart for David Crosby...Snorting Blotter Vol. 2

2007-04-27T19:58:00.001-04:00

It's taken me 27 years to come to the realization that David Crosby is a genuine American badass. Funny thing though, what pointed me towards this revelation wasn't the fact that he co-founded one of the most influential bands of the 60's in the Byrds or his underrated work with CSN/Y (those first two records sound great right now, sue me!). It wasn't that amazing mustache that he's been rocking since '65 or his artificial insemination of a famous lesbian rocker or even that awesome footage of his arrest during those cracked-out rock-bottom 80's. Sure, all of those things add to the enigma of David Crosby, a man who more than anybody else in popular culture has reflected the ups and downs of this country over the past forty years. What really knocked me out about this guy is a record I stumbled upon in the dollar bins at Used Kids called If I Could Only Remember My Name, Crosby's only solo record from his prolific early era.
I'll tell you right now that you don't have to be a fan of Crosby's other bands to appreciate what's here on If I Could Only Remember My Name, although the record, released in 1971 does bear a resemblance to CSNY's Déjà Vu in sound as it shares many of the same players and guests, including members of the Grateful Dead and Jefferson Airplane. But this is Crosby's first "whole" vision on record, one where he called all the shots and wrote all the songs, as far as he remembers. And no Stills, that hack. The mood is down and out, with little hope. Although mellow throughout, Crosby's sounds as if on the verge of a nervous breakdown, with every song basking in a post-Altamont, acid-comedown glow, full of paranoid tales of murder, despair and battles lost.
The eight-minute long "Cowboy Movie" sets the tone, with a mid-tempo rhythm that betters Crazy Horse and guitar leads better than Neil's as Crosby mutters a Mansonian ballad. It's On the Beach before Mr. Young began writing that record, and I'm sure that Neil was a proud friend upon hearing this collection of stunners. Elsewhere you get the classic "Laughing", a rich folk-rock tune embellished with slide guitar and multi-tracked vocals. And there's the strange "What Are Their Names", an outright political calling-out where you can practically hear Crosby give up and stop caring half-way through the song. A few other tracks veer into an interesting jazz/folk/harmony fusion, with Crosby's subdued freak flag consistently permeating the mix.
It really is something to absorb this album a few times and attempt to relate to what he was going through at this point in his life. You hear about so many records documenting the end of the 60's, the death of the flower generation, but this is one of the few works of this nature I can take seriously. The record bizarrely ends with Crosby layering echoed tribal chants, and its impact on the listener is unusual. Does it represent a new age for the man, a push away from society? We all know his story by now, but it makes you wonder what types of demons are being exorcised.
I guess its high time we all re-evaluate Crosby's masterpiece, as it seems Rhino has issued a deluxe edition with a bonus track, fancy mixes and extra video footage. Whether the masses embrace this as a lost classic is anybody's guess, but this record is out there in the new racks and the dusty bins of stores across the country for you to hear. I have a feeling Crosby finds great joy that this record is destined for positive re-evaluation, as it's evident in the music that he was more than a little bit misunderstood and, strangely a little bit ahead of his time. I never would've guessed.

Florida's Dead, Long Live Florida

2007-04-26T20:46:00.001-04:00

To be perfectly honest there hasn't been too much in my world over the past two weeks worth blogging about, save for a mysterious CDR I borrowed from the one and only Matt Whitehurst of Psychedelic Horseshit fame. On our way to see TNV/YLT down in Cinci, he immediately demanded we listened to "the greatest band in America right now", Florida's Electric Bunnies. It played through twice before we hit Jeffersonville and I was convinced Matt was onto something.
I'm not exactly sure what is on this disc - Matt said they were "demos" - but I'm pretty certain it contains their brand new 7'', Eskimo, and most likely a rough version of what may become thier debut album. You see, there's not a whole lot of anything anywhere on them besides the fact that they're from Miami and have some ties to Florida's Dying, a great little Orlando label that could very well be South's version of Columbus Discount. All I have to go on is the music, like it should be and used to be, and damn if it isn't some of the best Acid/Punk in years, maybe longer.
The Electric Bunnies are a psychedelic band first and foremost, at least this is what I've gathered from this CDR. They can play really nice three-minute punk numbers, some of them as catchy as an Exploding Hearts song or as swingin' as any of those by-the-numbers garage punk bands, and I'm sure they play alongside and in front of mostly Goner-worshipping collector-scum groops, but the truth is this stuff is all of that and then some heavy trippin' thrown on top. Much like the Urinals back in the day, or more recently our beloved Horseshit, or before all of that maybe Simply Saucer, the Bunnies use the three-chord new wave/diy template as a springboard for a holier, more acidic sonic trash.
They're unafraid of vocoders, buzzing keys, fucked solos, extended jams and deconstructed breaks, all the while retaining a wonderful pop-song structure. Hell, some of this borders on bubblegum it's so melodically catchy. All of it amounts to a perplexing package that warrants repeated listening and your deliberate interest. I'm going to the label site immediately to get an actual copy of the 7'' and to beg for an answer to their riddle. You can go here to listen to the Flipper-meets-Bomp! genius of "Eskimo" and we can all keep our fingers crossed on the rumour of an upcoming Midwest tour.

Why Harvilla's Hot

2007-04-11T14:34:00.000-04:00

I've said it before numerous times over the years and now I'll put it in writing: Rob Harvilla is one of our country's greatest music writers. I've had the pleasure of living in two cities where Rob has overseen free weeklies; first in Columbus, where he brought the Other Paper to respectability (it currently flounders with only a single decent scribe, Rick Allen) before leaving for Oakland, where his column in the underrated East Bay Express made me hunt for that paper each Wednesday for the brief time that I lived in the area. On a side note, I miss those Bay Area weeklies...all were very solid, with the Guardian and the Express both excellent.
A little over a year ago, Rob was named Music Editor of The Village Voice, the mother of all weeklies, and he's returned that paper's section into something quite readable again.
Besides choosing excellent freelance writers like the always controversial Chris Ott and compiling a solid staff, Rob's writing is what really brings me back to the Voice every week. He's funny, unashamed of his dorky nature and as unpretentious as any editor the Voice has ever hired, in my days at least. Most recently his white-boy analysis of Mims' "This Is Why I'm Hot" had me nearly in tears at its scholarly breakdown of the years dumbest, catchiest song. Elsewhere, his "Status Ain't Hood" and "Cred Sheet" columns are perfect encapsulations of each week's happenings. I really hope others are feeling same way about Rob's stuff. Check the Voice site each week to catch up on his musical obsessions.

The Hype Wrangler

2007-04-07T22:53:00.000-04:00

We're almost a third of the way through the year so I though now is a good time to take a look at the records other sites are going crazy over. Sometimes the others are right...but ofter they're very, very wrong. Let's see how some of these stack up to the Hype Wrangler.
Most recently it's been the young lads in Los Llamarada securing internet hype from the most worthy of places. Roland over at Siltblog was the first to bite into their debut long-player, The Exploding Now (SS Records, currently on fire) and Dusted's Doug Mosurak followed. Both love the group from Monterrey, Mexico, as they should. The record is quite a jarring listen through and through, as if the youngsters are learning to play and write on the spot with the tape rolling. I could throw out references to Jandek, Teenage Jesus, Cheater Slicks, etc...blah blah outsider this...but honestly, you just have to hear it. Their live show has received numerous thumbs up after only one gig in the states, including slobbering praise from Jared Phillips of Times New Viking, and this LP would get two thumbs up from me if it didn't already have me sucking on one of mine. Will end up on the year-end lists of people smarter than you. A-
One of the most highly-praised records of the year would have to be Panda Bear's Person Pitch, an excellent collection of sunny, melodic pop with stoneddd Wilson/Spector vibe, and like with those two I dunno if the vibes are all good. It's not your average "Pop" that Mr. Lennox presents here, instead a maze of loop-based mantras derived mainly from samples and Lennox's multi-layered vocals. Even without the delicious harmonies, it'd be an excellent (and very listenable) collage experiment. Not surprisingly, Pitchfork and Dusted are both on board, and I'll give it a hearty recommendation, as it's probably the best album he's been a part of. B+
The same two sites have been at the forefront of the hype for the year's biggest piece of trash thus far, Cryptograms by jangle-dance casualties Deerhunter. This record is horrible, people, and anyone who thinks this is good will surely be looking back in shame in a year or two. It's aimless, third-rate Happy Mondays (a second-rate band to begin with) meets second-rate Animal Collective. Does that sound like fun? Don't let the groovy Op-Art sleeve or Exploding Plastic video fool you...Deerhunter are the Rapture of 2007. Now that SXSW is behind us their 15 mins are officially up. D+
From Here We Go Sublime, by the Field, is a hyped record I can really sink my teeth into. Stylus gives it a top score, and I must agree that it is one of the better albums to ever come out of the always solid Kompact stable. The Field makes fairly traditional house, creating lush, uh, fields of rhythm with subtle twists and turns. Lionel Richie's "Hello" is sampled, Frippertronics are applied, but the secret weapon of this album is the post-Fennesz/Endless Summer melodic glow that fogs up the space of each track. May go down as the best big electronic record of the year and definitely deserving of any and all praise. A-
Finally, a record that's really been heavy on my mind the past week or so...Circle's newest, Tower, out on Last Visible Dog. If you liked the Finnish masters' ambient opus Miljard from last year then you'll assuredly love Tower....Blastitude and aQuarius (surprise, surprise...they gush over anything Circle) are into it. The record is a focused and trimmed extension of Miljard's expansive, slow-moving ambiance...much more upbeat and riveting but still remains calming. Think Eno's ambient masterpieces meet In a Silent Way. Each track is based around a different repetitive, jazzy percussion track with various analog and synthesized keys creating the rest of the movement. Constantly evolving, taking new shapes within each song yet remaining steady, Tower can be as demanding or as unassuming as you wish. Fantastic! A
There you have it. Was it a tad lazy of me to toss off these write-ups after a week of zero posts? Sure. But I had some things I had in the back of my head that just wouldn't go away. I'm taking another week off (I know, and I'm sorry) but when I return I promise to get back to at least two posts a week. Until then, go get that Circle record. And visit SS while you're at it and pick up a vinyl of the Llamarada record, as it is limited.

Millions of Def Cops

2007-03-27T20:35:00.000-04:00

Listen up, kids. This is what you'll be hearing out of the one-mirrored autos of Washington Beach in Summer 2007. It's Northern Aggression, a cassette EP and the first release by Columbus' Deathly Fighter on their own Def Cop imprint.
Essentially the tape equivalent of a 12" single, with a different version of the same track on each side, Northern Aggression plays out like a skeletal Industrial Records track dubbed out by the Scientist. A thick, analog drum machine beat consumes the entire tape, immediately locking into a groove perfect for a smoked-out midnight cruise. Minimal flashes of synth, tightly controlled guitar waves and loose, liquid bass lines direct the traffic straight to the planet Mars circa 1983.
I've been letting this tape roll in the car since Saturday eve and it just gets better with each drive. Although their recent live shows have been somewhat hit or miss - I witnessed one that sounded like a five-second S.P.K. clip on repeat (a good thing), another that reached moments of greatness but failed to impress the Bourbon St. elite - with Northern Aggression Deathly Fighter could not have brought out a better debut teaser. Cannot wait to hear what comes next.

Trouble Is a Farm House...

2007-03-16T14:11:00.000-04:00

At last I have acquired a copy of this self-released tape courtesy of my main man Seanzilla, who's been busy digitally ripping his collection of rare vinyl and cassettes. I still haven't found an elusive hard copy, so if you're reading this Ms. Murphy...
Hole Class is Beth from Times New Viking and Rob of the Hospitals/Gang Wizard/other Cali bands. They formed after meeting in '06 and recorded these tracks while living at the Lambsbread compound in Delaware, Ohio, amongst various farm animals, exotic birds and ample recording devices. A Glimpse of Hole Class is a compelling reflection of rural life for city dwellers, collecting ten brief, lo-fi ghost songs and one longer noise piece smacked in the middle for good measure. The songs are stark and more than a little bit deranged. Acid-tinged country and folk numbers accompanied by fuzzy bass leads, distorted acoustics, tape hiss and the strong vocal performances by both Rob and Beth. Think Lee and Nancy singing anthems for some future apocalyptic lonesome town, or the last third of Not in My Airforce played beside a campfire.
Standouts include the twangy "What Doesn't Kill You" (Rob sings: "What doesn't kill you, makes you want to die") and "I Don't Love You If...", which would fit perfectly somewhere on a Messthetics comp. But really, every track is superb in it's own unique way, and none of them wear out their welcome, as most of the songs hover around the ninety second mark. Fans of TNV and Rob's outfits should definitely seek this cassette out. Unfortunately, this may just be all we ever hear from Hole Class. Either way, I'd like to see this one put to wax (with a few edits it would fit perfectly on a 7"!) before A Glimpse fades away forever.

CDR Singles Bonanza

2007-03-14T14:08:00.001-04:00

After months of hibernation, contemplation and underground perspiration, the boys at Columbus Discount have emerged with four new singles, a new look (changed the logo and label art design) and a showcase at SXSW this upcoming weekend in Austin. What's really kept Misters Holesapple and Smith busy lately has been a long-term move of their Columbus Discount Recording Studio, a transition that not only quadruples the studio's square footage but also positions them to make big moves in Rontown, USA. Muscle like theirs will be of good use in Olde Town East. Look for it to be finished by mid-Spring.
Smith and Holesapple have been rather occupied with Necropolis as well, who have a new drummer - Mat Bisaro - in tow on their Stumpf 7" and utilize the last recordings with old drummer Kyle Heiberger on their Song For a Working Man 7". The songs on Working Man (lovingly fucked with by Mike Rep) are, fittingly, closer to the original Necropolis template - buzzy, pounding art-punk fronted by local record impresario Bo Davis and his collection of howls. Stumpf's songs are much leaner by comparison - both songs combine for a total of just over four minutes of music - and benefit from the tense guitar noise and fat-trimmed writing. Tightly wound B-Side "Van v. Art" is the winner out of all four tracks, the sound of a band refreshed and ready to pounce on any unsuspecting douchebag.
El Jesus De Magico's vinyl debut, the LGNO 7'', also showcases a
leaner, meaner band moving into a new phase. Recorded at drummer Mike O' Shaughnessy's family funeral home in downtown Columbus, these three songs have the humid, eerie sound you'd expect to come out of such locales. They play like five mystics toiling through a swamp, especially Dave Capaldi and Anthony Allman on guitar and keys, respectively. The two lead each song like dueling snake charmers marching behind shaman Jon Whitzky with a rhythm section controlling the hovercraft across the bayou. This is Columbus on drugs...any questions? Power plays to get you through to that point just before the sun rises.
Last but certainly not least is the official debut (a demo tape, recorded by Jared Phillips, had been circulating for a few years now) from Night of Pleasure in the form of the Godard vs. Truffaut 7". It's the most "Columbus" sounding thing CDR has put out probably ever, which if you've been paying attention is quite a feat. Three tracks of varying fidelity, all pushed to maximum redness with plenty of swing and speed like the Turks loved to do it. Singer Jim Cowman sounds like a classic Cbus frontman: muffled, literate and pissed at your utter stupidity. Pick this one up if you forgot where the best punk scene of the 90's existed. In fact pick up all of these babies and get a really nice taste of this particular piece of pie from the broad bakery that is Columbus Today.
They'll be selling these first in Austin, as the CDR hoodlums take over the Light Bar Saturday night. I'm sure that something formal in town will take place once they all return. I'm not sure what the distribution will be so for those out of town go to the CDR site or hang tight and I'll let you know which online retailers will be carrying them.

PS: here's a note that Adam S. sent me about the artwork and such:

"Here is the art. The scan isn't doing the el jesus one justice. There is a state of ohio notary embossed stamp on all of them and they are all different. The colored NOP singles (100) all have different, hand done ink paintings in the style of the one I sent you. **** did the Necropolis and the NOP covers, but I think he wants it to be a secret. We don't have art for the Nec-Rep session single yet."

Pick of the Weekend

2007-03-09T13:03:00.000-05:00

Blargh! Still no "real" posts...I've been busy busy busy with stupid stupid work and right now I'm on a lunch break having some of my girlfriend Kellie's award winning matzo ball soup. Delicious. Luckily I do have time to recommend - and later tonight (Friday) feast my ears upon - the best show in Columbus this weekend, Blues Control at Cafe Bourbon St. Their Riverboat Styx cassette from last year was one of those weird, unidentifiable masterpieces that hypnotized me into hitting repeat daily. The Queens guitar and keys/beats duo are extensively touring their Puff long-player recently issued on Woodsist, and according to a recent Siltblog post the new vinyl is a doozy as well. Lax gives it his highest recommendation, which means it will likely be out of print before they reach Austin. So for those of you still in town, go check 'em out tonight and get that record! They'll be sharing the stage with locals Celldim Frequencies and Toledo's premiere noisemakers Puffy Areolas. And if you don't live in Ohio be sure to check out Blues Control elsewhere, as they're tearin' up the Midwest throughout March, including, of course, SXSW.

Up Yours, Old Man Winter.

2007-03-03T20:35:00.000-05:00

Hey all. Whats up? Just laying low here, nursing a cold and cursing the return to bad weather before I go out tonight and see the Feelers/El Jesus/Pink Reason/TNV show in Columbus, but I wanted to give you a little view on things in general at the hq. If reviews have been a little slim as of late, it's probably because of our new puppy, Devo, has consumed about 98% of my attention over the last three weeks. Look how damn cute he is:

He was sick with pneumonia when we got him, so it's been a long road to recovery that is finally coming to an end. Stop by sometime and say hello.
In other blog news, there are a few good ones that I feel you should be pointed to. First is Sir Dustin White's Electric Pure Land, a little something he started while out in Los Angeles prepping for a tour with Sea Wolf. He's only three posts in but it looks promising. Today he slams Explosions in the Sky, which is awesome. More slams, Dusty.
Also, you all should be regularly checking out Jay Hinman's newest internet venture, Detailed Twang, one of my favorite spots in the whole interworld. His most recent (re)post is on Mike Rep, mp3 provided. Bookmark that fucker!
Finally, and I know most of you couldn't care less...the week's rotation. Expect at least two of these to be reviewed next week, with more to come soon.

Tim Buckley - Lorca
Pink Reason - Cleaning the Mirror
Sapat - Mortoise and Tenon
Conrad Schnitzler - Conrad and Sohn
Stone Harbour - Emerges
Hugs and Kisses - Casualties of Happiness
Columbus Discount's upcoming singles
Sword Heaven/Lambsbread - Split LP
Amolvacy - Ho Ho Kus
Tall Dwarfs - Weeville
Dub Specialist - Bionic Dub and Dub Store Special
Pharoah Sanders - Thembi
Wooden Shjips - Live at Cafe Du Nord
Mirrors - Hands In My Pockets
Panda Bear - Person Pitch
Airway - Live at Lace
VA - Treasure Isle Presents: Tribute to Peckings
Klaus Schulze - Cyborg

See you soon...In the meantime, what have you been listening to?

Turning the Strobe Up to 11

2007-03-01T18:54:00.000-05:00

Clockcleaner
Frogrammer 7''
Richie/Parts Unknown, 2007

In the matter of a weekend (last) I've gone from being a casual fan of Clockcleaner, somebody who picked up their highly-praised Nevermind album and liked it plenty, to full blown obsessive advocate of these Philadelphian buttheads. All it really took for me was my second helping of their seizure-inducing live show and a few spins of their excellent 7''s, in particular their brand new Frogrammer slab out on Richie Records/Parts Unknown.
There's something perfect about Clockcleaner existing in the USofA in 2007. Their antagonistic stage presence is genuinely terrifying. In a time when metalheads are turning around and falling into their amps and most noise acts have lost all semblance of performance whatsoever, Clockcleaner's display of psychosis channels equal parts wicked humor and fear. In a perfect world, Clockcleaner have no influences; every band which came before them are shit. In reality, they're three sweet people who share a love for those nasty creases of the 80's where an underground could only see the world in decay: East coast hardcore-metal (Cro-Mags, GG) and Texas noise-rock (Buttholes, Scratch Acid), mainly.
Still, amidst all this mean-spiritedness they retain a strong sense of melody and even (pop) structure, best exemplefied on "Frogrammer", where the band play a fairly straight cover (little to no effects) of Remo Voor's KBD classic. Sharkey sounds really different on the track - nervous and jittery rather than his usual aggro style. More Roky Erickson than Will Shatter for sure. The song is catchy as can be and Clockcleaner weird it up just enough to make it their own. Great choice.
"Early Man" brings it back home to the mid-paced grime of the Missing Dick 7'' tracks (both 7''s were pulled from the same 2005 session). Vocals drenched in reverb, guitars like the brainwaves of an electro-shocked monkey and the thickest rhythm section (Karen, bass, and Richie, drums) in the Eastern Seaboard. As with many Clockcleaner tracks, the song ends with Sharkey molesting the mic with wails and screams as if his toenails were being removed one by one.
Clockcleaner make the kind of clatter kids should be listening to while they make spitballs in detention. Get the vinyl and commit it to tape for your little cousin, immediately. Essential stuff for a new generation of miscreants and the first great single of the year.

Update: the good people at aQuarius are now carrying this puppy, so buy buy buy. You have no excuse. Or, go see the 'Cleaner on tour w/TNV starting this Thursday.

The Reich Fest in Pictures

2007-02-25T18:12:00.001-05:00

As promised, I took a few photos for those who couldn't make it to Times New Viking's Paisley Reich Fest. What a blast! One of the best nights of music Columbus has ever seen. I'm not really one for show reviews so I'll make it short: it was (very) crowded, Cheater Slicks sounded better than ever, Clockcleaner blew some Columbus minds (especially mine) and TNV proved once again that people will never stop starting unnecessary mosh pits. Can't wait to see what they have in store for the Matador release in the Fall. It was dark, so there's a lot of flash in these poor shots. Check out Rep's hair!

No More Paisley Underground

2007-02-22T13:20:00.002-05:00

The past 18 months have been like a whirlwind for my friends in Times New Viking. I remember wondering, back in late 2005 at their first release show (for both the Busy Making Love & War 7'' and the Dig Yourself LP) at Andyman's Treehouse, if they would ever break out of Ohio and fully realize their potential. I don't think it was ever a question of whether they would continue to do great things - it was obvious then how easily ideas and songs would just flow out of the three of them - it was more an issue of whether the rest of the world would catch on. While those in attendance back then were most likely in-the-know with TNV, I don't think anyone could have predicted what has happened between then and now: a flood of praise for Dig Yourself and the 7'' (from Spin to Wire to every blog worth a damn), their virtual perfection of the 40-minute live rock set, shows with everyone from Mission of Burma to Endless Boogie to Burning Star Core and the ensuing flood of praise for their live show....courting from Fat Possum, Sub Pop and Matador, among others, eventually amounting to a three-album agreement with the label they dreamed of joining back in high school.
But for now it is time for the celebratory, as the band continues their finely-tuned vision this week with Present the Paisley Reich and the Paisley Reich Fest. Many have noted that with the Paisley Reich Times New Viking are saying goodbye to Siltbreeze, the classic experimental label once stagnant (two years ago) but now making a very strong case (already) for label of the year, but I see it as just the opposite. The TNV'ers are eloquently passing the Siltbong from one generation to the next, and they'll be at TJ's side every Spring on draft day. One look at the lineup for Bourbon St. on Saturday night and you'll see a virtual museum of Siltbreeze past present and future, from label vets Ron House (playing a rare solo set) and Mike Rep (whose Siltbreeze classic, Stupor Hiatus Vol. 2 will get the reissue treatment later this year) to future friends Clockclean er (Lax will be doing a 7'' with these Philadelphians) and Psychedelic Horseshit (folky discharges in '07 as well). You also get the triumphant return of the almighty Cheater Slicks, who've been on injured reserve for the better part of a year and are looking to absolutely destroy in '07 with their upcoming full-length Walk Into the Sea. If that's not enough for ya you get our city's premiere noise duo, Sword Heaven, and a set from the hugely entertaining pop-theater-doo-wop crew Hugs and Kisses (with brand new album Casualties of Happiness in tow), who'll be joined by everyones hero, Envelope. If you can't find something to enjoy about this show I feel really bad for you.
As for the actual Paisley Reich release, I'll leave it up to the rest of the world to slobber over its greatness. Let me just say that Jared, Adam and Beth make this look too damn easy, and they should take this weekend to breathe in all the compliments and alcohol and good times, because they've earned it. The world needed a band like this and Times New Viking are more than willing to share the love. They're one of the hardest working bands I've ever seen and this show will be a testament to that.

Saturday, February 24th @ Cafe Bourbon St.
Tentative Line-up:
Mike Rep & the Quotas - 7:30 (happy hour drink specials)
Sword Heaven
Cheater Slicks
Hugs and Kisses/Envelope
Ron House
Psychedelic Horseshit
Clockcleaner
Times New Viking

Be sure to check back on Sunday with plenty of pictures and commentary.

Not Quiet on the Eastern Front

2007-02-09T12:33:00.001-05:00

Teenage Panzerkorp
Harmful Emotions LP
Siltbreeze (SB83), 2007

Afternoon, comrades. Just wanted to take a few minutes out of your busy Friday to request that you do two things over the weekend. First, go and take a look around Marble Stature, my good friend and Columbus legend Sean "Seanzilla" Wright's fantastic music blog that is the major inspiration behind what I'm doing here. How Sean finds time between graduate school at RISD (finals this weekend) and songwriting duties in the Stapler to come up with such dead-on cultural analysis remains a miracle. He'll be writing for the Z-Gun print zine as well. A complete joy to read. Next, get out and buy a copy of the new limited edition LP by Teenage Panzerkorp, also known as Der TPK (or even Teenage PzKps, if you are keeping track), the newest brigade in Lax's Siltbreeze army.
2007 will most definitely be the year of the Siltbreeze, and what a way to start out a season crammed full of incredible releases. After two cdr-EP's on the Pink Skulls label, the label run by Korps member Glenn Donaldson (of the Jewelled Antler collective...in fact every member minus singer Bunker Wolf are/were in various Jewelled Antler bands) and a 7'' reissue of the Gleich Heilt Gleich EP on Skulltones, comes Harmful Emotions, the full-length that does nothing but further mystify these Bay Area bandits. The sound of TPK on Harmful Emotions is gloriously damaged art-punk. And I really mean damaged. If you've ever heard the fuzzed-out, ghostly sound of the legendary German Oak record you have an idea of where this is going. Bunker Wolf's heavily inflected German accent will surely pile-up the Mark E. Smith Dragnet-era comparisons, as it should, along with Lydon's howl. Plenty of Anglo post-punk love here. Also a total Mars obsession, as the guitars rhythmically swell and scatter like only the no wave legends could. Throw in some 60's-beat organ drones and another layer of mushroom cloud fuzz and you almost have it. Now, project that noise through air raid sirens across the Eastern Front and you have Harmful Emotions.
The songs are completely delirious. They start then stop, stomp along with the Neu! motorik, stop again, carry on in waves of feedback for minutes at a time, then coagulate into a muddy ballad straight out of Peter Laughner's bedroom. There's a locked groove that ends Side A that moans like a demon for as long as you like, and when you start Side B that melody is reinterpreted in song. Fucking amazing. All of it fits perfectly alongside Siltbreeze's most cherished albums, nudging up with Harsh 70's Reality or Under the Blood Red Lava Lamp just fine. A psychedelic-punk mindfuck of the highest order! I could go on and on but lemme just say that this is instant cult material. Limited to only 500 vinyl copies, you better get in now. Try your local record dealer or, if you prefer the online method, Midheaven and Aquarius still have copies. Don't sleep.

The Day Devo Game Me a Surprize

2007-02-07T19:45:00.001-05:00

Devo
Duty Now For the Future
Warner Bros., 1979

No matter where you go in Ohio, Devo are typically considered punk gods, especially the more north and east you are. You know the old saying....the more your city smells like rubber, the more Devo nerds it contains. Across the globe, in fact, in cities just like Akron, there are thousands of Devo faithful who will put aside their greasy comics to argue about what their best record was, which piece of memorabilia is most valuable, and whether or not Eno really did ruin their debut album. I'm talking seriously obsessed people, and to be honest, I've never been one of the fanatics. I've always liked Devo enough, you could even say loved them - but I wouldn't say I hold them up as gospel.
But as each year passes that seems to be changing. A few months back I picked up a cassette copy of Duty Now For the Future at a Salvation Army, just for something to play in the car on mt way home from work. I had a vinyl copy at home but rarely ever played it. Always thought it was a little overrated by the Devo-heads (my good friend Serie Ozna, especially, who for eight years now has insisted this is the one) - I much preferred Freedom of Choice, the follow-up to Duty Now - but something about the cassette format gave me a new perspective. It sounded flat and a bit distorted, like a relic from an older, more primitive American generation...I let it play for weeks straight, front to back.
It's safe to say that the songwriting on Duty Now For the Future is probably the weakest of Devo's first big three. Are We Not Men? benefited from the six year old repertoire the band had built up, and it shows; nearly every song is a classic. Listening to the Hardcore Devo comps, though, you get the idea that their debut wasn't exactly what it could have been. With his production work, Eno (along with Warner Bros.) transformed the group from a bunch of basement rat sci-fi nerds, banging out three-chord pop songs on homemade synths, into a marketable new-wave gimmick of sorts, albeit one of infinite intellect and potential. Not that Mothersbaugh(s), Casale and Co. didn't have anything to do with this, because, in hindsight, much of what happened seems to have been in Devo's master plan, it's just that the sound and feeling of the debut feels a little boxed. I'm convinced Duty Now is what Devo intended for the debut to sound like. Make any sense? Maybe I am becoming a Devo nerd.
Duty Now For the Future is Devo's great, weird transitional record - a rare album that is impressive because of its transitional nature. Thematically, the record is all over the map. They pull ideas from decades of the American Pop aesthetic - Warhol's supermarket consumerism, Saturday morning cartoons, surf-rock, science-fiction UFO's, Cold War paranoia - to tell their stories of sexual frustration and humanoid inferiority. It comes off cold, awkward, tremendously weird and considerably anti-punk. By the time of Duty Now, Devo were beginning to take hold of the band-as-commodity reality and run with it (check the bar-code emblazoned sleeve). Much has been said of John Lydon being the first punk to become the quintessential psuedo-celebrity anti-hero with the first PiL album, and rightly so, but Devo accomplish a similar feat with Duty Now's pop funhouse.
Musically the album is a synthesizer smorgasbord only Bob Moog himself could fully appreciate. The band use synth as rhythm, synth as bass, synth as melody, synth as background...synth for no damn reason other than to sound different. It's a tight, focused sound, with guitars spiking in and out, drums punching hard and steady and vocals simulating the stiff keyboard stabs. Devo on Duty Now are so tight they at times remind me of James Brown's JB's, the way they made every instrument percussive. Elsewhere they sound like a computerized version of Pink Flag-era Wire, or even a jerkier entity of the polyrhythmic explorations that the Talking Heads were also mining. Sometimes I'm even reminded of a synthesized Magic Band minus the stoner haze.
The album contains a few classic pieces of songwriting, especially on the A-Side. "Clockout" kicks things off as well as any Devo album, in all of its Captain Caveman meets the Ventures glory, and "Wiggly World" is a brilliant Adult-ADD Beefheartian rocker, one of the finest lesser-known Devo songs (seek out This Moment In Black History's cover from a few years back). "Strange Pursuit" perfects their weirdo synth-pop before a similarly styled Freedom of Choice brings the band unlikely stardom. Aside from a few ill-advised conceptual pieces and a fairly boring rendition of "Secret Agent Man", Duty Now packs a punch in every corner.
While I'm still not sure if Duty Now For the Future is Devo's best or most important album, I will say that it is Devo's most interesting piece. Stuck between two very strong voices, Duty Now often gets lost in the shuffle. Well I'm here to tell you: don't let that happen anymore! It's your duty to give this album the credit it is due. For the future!
Bonus: I found an old review of the record stuffed in my vinyl copy and scanned it for your enjoyment. Even back then people weren't sold on this album. Click on picture to enlarge.

Snorting Blotter, Vol. 1

2007-02-01T23:54:00.001-05:00

Blue Phantom
Distortions
Vedette, 1971

It's been a particularly acid-drenched winter so far here at the pop:doug headquarters, despite the fact that physically I've remained fairly sober. Winter in Ohio can be rough and it seems we all tend to find something to keep our minds off the short days and long gas bills, whether it be alcoholism, psychedelic music, a combination of both...etc. Now sorting through psych "rarities" online is something that can occupy any weirdo no matter what the whether is like outside, but I'd like to think that 27 years of frostbite has given me the patience to sit on my ass and tear through these creatures until something really smells funny. And for the past few weeks Distortions, by Italian band Blue Phantom, has been stinking it up daily in my parts.
Don't ask me where I found out about this one - I think it was a vague, second-hand reference on some psych music message board - because a quick Google search on the record will turn up practically nothing on Distortions. What I've gathered so far is that it was a one-off, instrumental studio exploitation record originally released in 1971 on Vedette - an Italian label specializing in mostly library music - with the songs primarily composed by a man named Henri Tical. With that knowledge you'd think it'd sound like fairly pedestrian studio psychedelia. There were literally hundreds of records like this released around this time in mainland Europe alone, not to mention hundreds, maybe thousands more in the U.S. and Britain. What does this album have that the others don't?
Variety, for one. Distortions effortlessly stomps its way through a number of the era's genres while firmly holding onto a fuzzed-out, progressive-garage core. Now I wouldn't necessarily call this a library album - it's just too heavy, and too damn good - but this genre-jumping does give it some library-ish tendencies. You have your upbeat groovy spy film track in opener "Diodo", a sludgy, spaced-out blues number ("Distillation"), some space-aged, Mooged-out lounge tracks ("Equilibrium", and the even spacier, Moogier "Psycho-Nebulous"), your acoustic Morricone-ride-into-the-sunset atmosphere piece ("Equivalence"), a playful, Canterbury jazz-rock song ("Compression"), a psychotic, repetitive party jam ("Microchaos", Daft Punk before they were out of diapers) even plenty of Axelrod proto-funk sprinkled throughout. All of it driven by some completely wild, consistently inspired lead FUZZ madness. Some of it reminds me of Italian progressive legend Franco Battiato, who's masterpiece, Fetus, came out a year later. Other parts remind me of a heavier, less slick version of Northern Euro-prog bands like Focus. And then there are definitely strains of stoned madness that are channeling the same wavelengths as Kraut legends Guru Guru and Agitation Free. Hard to believe Distortions is only 35 minutes long!
And how about that album sleeve?! I've actually discovered three versions (one of them has the title as Distortions Pop), but the original Italian sleeve is the keeper, depicting the all-seeing eye spying a fetus, surrounded by a destroyed Stonehenge, dinosaurs, a mushroom cloud, the star of Bethlehem, a crucifix....geesh, I'm not touching the meaning of this one, but it sure looks cool, and it just adds another notch in the totem pole of mystery for this record.
There is some information out there on the further work of Mr. H.Tical, as he was credited, including an experimental synthesizer album titled Impact (which I'm in the process of tracking down...it's just been reissued by the wonderful Creel Pone label) as well as soundtrack work for Italian cult director Jess Franco. But it's Distortions that needs more explanation, or at least a proper, widely available reissue. Why records this incredible continue to go unnoticed, while crap like Thick As a Brick or whatever gets a 2-cd expanded treatment every other year, I'll never understand. For now, it's up to you to track this one down...sniff it out online, look on eBay, pray to the heavens for a random vinyl copy (a promptly send it my way)...just give your brain a taste of Distortions as soon as possible. I just cannot recommend it enough.

They Don't Have Burritos in the UK?

2007-01-30T22:33:00.000-05:00

The Rebel
Bums on a Rock 7" EP
Flitwick Records, 2006

Back in late November, good ol' Roland over at the Siltblog tipped his loyal readers to a certain UK label giving away supposedly free records of all varieties. It was called Flitwick Records and the reason they're free is that they couldn't find distro and they figured we'd download them anyway so why not take all the fun out of that and give them away. Anyhow, his review was nice and they had already done a Fall release and there was some sort of Country Teaser connection so I thought I'd try and sign up for the freerec program, not expecting anything to come all the way across the pond just for me. For free?
A month passes by and I get a package with some strange looking postage on it and - holy shit - they actually sent me a free 7''. It was the nicest thing any stranger in this record business had ever done for me. I had heard of lots of record giveaways over the years but never believed that these labels or bands actually came through with it. Doesn't take much to please me, I know...the record didn't even have to be good, it was free!
But you know what? The record they sent me is really fantastic. It's called Bums on a Rock, by the Rebel, the solo project of Teasers leader B.R. Wallers. The sound on this one is pretty far from the scummy, nihilistic Fall-worship of the Teasers discog (he's self-released dozens of cassettes and cdrs under the Rebel moniker, so the sound has got to be developed). In fact, A-side "Bums on a Rock" is almost cheerful, like your junkie uncle shooting up and proceeding to tell stories of a made-up past. The song is just consumed by this stuttering drum loop, which, combined with some liquid guitar warbles, reminds me a lot of the early Beta Band stuff, strangely. His vocals have a really dreamy, druggy vibe, the sort of half-sung banter Wallers has perfected, but here they are more playful, and damn catchy, as he utters the title over and over, along with tales of burritos and gin. I challenge you to listen a few times and consequently remove it from your head, because I have not been as successful.
The remainder of the EP is less immediate but charming just the same. Side-B's "Black Policeman" is mostly a Teaser throwaway, and "Brite Yn's Cnut" is a fairly entertaining bedroom industrial instrumental. You get the sense that the Rebel is Wallers' experimental outlet (surprise!), a place where he can throw anything besides his main band's garage-punk against the wall to see what will stick, only to grab what falls to the ground and piece it back together. I'm intrigued.
As for Flitwick, I've discovered it is run by long-time Teaser friend and current drummer, the Champagne, whose myspace features a cover of Times New Viking's "Devo and Wine". And though it seems the free records will not continue to flow at the pace they have in recent years, it's always worth a try over at the Flitwick site. And a note to Mr. Champagne: these records are worth buying. Cheers.

Bands to Shave, 1971

2007-01-24T19:17:00.001-05:00

Dumb Angel, Dumb Angel cdr
The Lindsay, Live At Fillmore West cdr

It's been kinda slow lately in Columbusland when it comes to new releases, but that's January for you. Luckily I've been handed two stellar cdr EP's of late that should give fans of scruffy indie pop enough hooks to keep warm until more comes our way.
First up is Brad Caulkins' Dumb Angel project, his one-man band that debuted late in 2006 before temporarily leaving the Midwest for Los Angeles. If you know Caulkins from his days with the Jive Turkeys and the Sun, the sounds on this eight song demo will not be a huge surprise: catchy, acoustic guitar-driven 60's pop with a kitchen-sink accompaniment showcasing Brad's numerous musical skills.
Of the six originals here (two covers; one each from Randy Newman and the Everly Brothers) opener "To Be Honest..." is a blueprint for Dumb Angel's style: a love ditty straight from the Zombies songbook recorded a little rough around the edges with acoustic guitar as the base and layers of electric and slide guitar, Beach Boys harmonies and a guitar solo worthy of the Rubber Soul. Oh yeah, there's a sax solo as well. Lot's of stuff going on, all performed by Mr. Caulkins, I'm assuming (great job on the drums too!). "Idle Bell" may be even catchier, if that's at all possible, despite the over-the-top vocal performance. It's a little more Kinksian in spirit - think circa-Village Green album - with flourishes of Spector's wall-of-sound in the production.
Pretty much everything here is of the highest quality, though - even the recording provides quite a bit of craft - and it's a shame for Columbus that Brad only spent a few months playing these songs out. No matter where Caulkins ends up - whether it be Columbus or California - let's hope his Dumb Angel experiment continues. Fans of the Minders, the Shins and another Sun side-project - Sam Brown's You're So Bossy - should take note.

Fortunately for Columbus The Lindsay are staying put, and they continue to bring the pain first felt on last year's masterpiece, Dragged Out, this time in the form of three sound checks from their sold-out shows at the historic Fillmore in San Francisco. While we don't get any songs about Manson Family murder victims, we do get a nice snapshot of the band's past and future. As far as I can tell (please correct me if I'm wrong), "Change My Oil" is a newer track, and it's the gem of this batch. The guitar interplay on it really reminds me of that Neil Young & Crazy Horse bootleg, Live At Fillmore East, which has finally seen the light of day. Two separate guitars twist and turn back and forth between each other to the point where it doesn't matter who's is where, until, during the extended bridge it all falls apart, de-tunes, and eventually joins forces again. John Olexovitch's vocals sound like a less-throaty Steve Wynn...in fact, I hear a lot of the Dream Syndicate in their more recent sound. If anything this song shows off The Lindsay's ability to stretch things out in a short amount of time; it's definitely a strength of theirs. At times during their recent live shows you could even call them Columbus' very finest mini-jam band.
The other two tracks are older songs, and "Thurston Moore Sed" is the band at their brattiest. Grechen Tepper's bass leads the way through a noisy three-chord romp as she and John shout different things that, apparently, Thurston Moore said at one point or another. I have a feeling this would be (or was at one point) local legend Don Bovee's favorite Lindsay song. Closer "The Bachelor" is more of a slow burner, again displaying the feedback-laden talents of lead-guitarist Tom Schmidt and John, while the rhythm section (rounded out by Jim Lavery) riffs on something resembling a reggae beat. All in all an excellent "pseudo EP", as the band is calling it, and definitely an important lesson in the book of Lindsay that all of you should be studying by now. They'll be taking a few months of much-deserved r'n'r while recording a 7" due out in early Spring. We'll be patiently awaiting Dragged Out on vinyl and any new recordings we can get our hands on.

Lambsbread: It's What's for Dinner

2007-01-16T20:53:00.000-05:00

Lambsbread
"King of the Crop" 7"
Skulltones (SKT-002), 2006

I know, I know, yet another release from Delaware, Ohio's Lambsbread, winners of the Robert Pollard Award for Midwest Prolificity in 2006 (actually, in the noise world, John Olson and C. Spencer Yeh collectively hand the statue out). I'm estimating they put out around 10-15 cdr's (edit: the band notified me it was 35 in total!!!...plus 10 on other labels...collect them all!) of their own stuff, not to mention a slew of collabs and stuff from other bands, on their limited-run imprint Maim & Disfigure. But this one here is the trio's debut vinyl release, an unlabeled 7" from the brand new Skulltones label, and damn if the format doesn't suit the 'Bread perfectly.
Now each Lambsbread jam requires a different set of listening rituals depending on where the noise situates in your brain. This one's shorter than usual, so what I've been doing with it is cutting out some cayenne pepper (chili powder works too), snorting a few lines, cranking up the volume and falling to the floor in convulsions. My cat hates the stuff, but it's an excellent soundtrack to a runny nose.
What you actually get here are three bite-sized mini-jams - two on Side A and one filling up Side B - that all seem to serve the same purpose yet build atop each other. The tracks are cleverly edited from what seems to be one longer piece, and the space between the songs are places where the band settles into feedback between more intense passages of strangled/gutted/moaning guitars and a wall of cymbals and snares. By the second side a rhythm forms between the two guitars and the crashing drums until a guitar veers away into near-solo territory, finally converging into a droned 80's sludge-rock beat kicked to death. It's been called a lot of things but in essence, Lambsbread are "free" anything. They can do free jazz or metal or stoned psych or hardcore but it's always left open, always loud as hell and, so far, always done themselves, for themselves, which never gets old to me.
If you are one of the many locals who've been throwing their baguettes up in disgust over these three farmhands, well, you're in luck! Expect a ton of hand-made releases to command frustration and confusion, as well as full-lengths on Parts Unknown and Ecstatic Peace. Also, if you'd like to meet Zac, Kathy and Shane on a more "personal" level, there's a nice feature on the band, including a video interview, on Columbus music site Donewaiting today. They've been picked as one of Columbus' bands to watch in '07.

Dudes of the Year, 2006

2007-01-11T20:50:00.000-05:00

2007 is already well on it's way, with lots of Columbus-related awesomeness on the horizon, but I wanted to take a few posts over the next week or so to look back on some things of which I'm very happy that '06 brought us. Over at Donewaiting.com, Rob Duffy has recently tallied voting on his first annual Friendship Farm Awards, including the ever-important band of the year category. It was between The Lindsay, Brainbow and Teeth of the Hydra - all great choices, indeed - and though it looks like the very worthy Lindsay are going to take home the crown tonight, there's no doubt in my mind that Teeth of the Hydra are Columbus' band of the year for 2006.
If you asked me what my favorite record out of Columbus from last year was a few weeks ago I'd have told you Dragged Out, by The Lindsay, without hesistation. But I finally got ahold of Teeth's massive Greenland LP (Tee Pee Records, TPE-071) and things have changed. It hasn't left my turntable since. And it sounds heavier with each listen, a heaviness I never thought TOTH - quite simply the loudest band ever from Ohio - could duplicate in a studio.
Greenland manages to do what very few Metal records these days do: to remain balanced, well-written, and consistently bring the heaviness over the entirety of the album. It's stoner without the excruciating intros, it's doom without the heavy-handed spirituality....hell, it could fall into many of the hundreds of sub-genres that have sprouted up in Metal over the past 35 years (a history that these dudes know about extremely well) but Teeth of the Hydra on Greenland are just fucking Metal. That's it. Sure, they channel many of the greats, from proto-legends like Pentagram, to the avant-blackness of Celtic Frost, up through the sludge of the Melvins and the green-worshipping Sleep and even, on side 2's "Narsaq", the legendary Krautrock bands of the 70's. All amounting to the finest Metal record this city has ever heard. It's a monster.
Yup. Miner, Bailey and Stillman had a pretty great 2006. And they deserve it. Seems like this record's been in the making for three years now. But seeing how it came out pretty late in the year (late September), Greenland has a lot of life left for 2007. Teeth didn't get to do as much touring as they wanted and plan on going out West (where I believe they'll do very well) in the spring. Hopefully word-of-mouth continues to spread nationally and some more reviews begin to pop-up because this album and these guys are worthy of all kinds of worship. For now, raise your fists in praise of Teeth of the Hydra - dudes of year, 2006.

Something smells. Oh, it's Bourbon St.

2007-01-10T20:10:00.000-05:00

Pink Reason @ Cafe Bourbon St.
Friday, Jan. 12th

I'm gonna take it easy on myself and start out with a nice show preview that nobody will read. But this may just be remembered as one of the best shows of the year in my book, and nothing is gonna top that sweet flyer. I'm handing out best flyer awards already. Anyway, Pink Reason are coming to town this Friday for the first time and I'm freaking excited. The Wisconsin one man-plus create smart, woozily-dark four minute songs that wouldn't be out of place in early 80's Manchester or anytime, Ohio. After a killer 7" last year they are geared up for a full-length, Cleaning the Mirror, on Siltbreeze in early February, among a slew of other releases. They'll be supported on a tour for that record by Columbus' own Psychedelic Horseshit, who've recently tasted the sweet nectar of floor sleeping and stale cigarettes on a mini-tour with my little bro's band Times New Viking (in support of their hot new split 7" on 300%). The TNVers are also psyched about a new album on Siltbreeze, The Paisley Reich, also out Feb. 5th, which will be their last release before starting up their newly inked deal with Matador. Congratulations, pals.
Wow. These bands are busy and will be for the remainder of '07. We're not going to get 3 Horseshit shows a week anymore. And when's the last time you can say you watched 3 Siltbreeze bands on the same bill? Rounding it out will be Sunshine/Moonshine Room, a new project from the makers of the Grave Blankets. Their newly posted songs on myspace sound nice so make sure and get there early.

Population: One

2007-01-10T18:59:00.001-05:00

Mission statement. This blog is for me. And for you. But I need to write more and I care a lot about local and regional and national music, among other things, and this is where I'll write my thoughts about them. I call it Population: Doug because I tend to be an asshole and I wouldn't want to drag anyone else into the mess that my opinions might get me in. I'll try and focus on stuff coming out of Columbus, Ohio and to a lesser extent the state of Ohio but I can't promise anything. Surely I'll be writing about Taiwanese occult-folk in a matter of weeks. And I won't narrow my focus to things in the now, because I like a lot of old music...especially old Ohio rock music. Also, I really like music from the future. So hopefully this will be an all-future blog. But who knows. If you'd like me to review, preview, overview, talk about, talk to, or scream at anything by you: the reader, please send or drop off to:

Population: Doug
239 Kingsland Ave.
Apt. 1R
Brooklyn, NY 11222

email me: meisdoug at gmail.com