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.
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.
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:
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.
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.
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).
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.
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