SONIC MASALA

Strangely Transfixed By Royal Baths

2012-02-03T03:33:00.009Z

I'm still not wholeheartedly convinced that I like Royal Baths. I mean, the Brooklyn-via-San Francisco band tick the right boxes - dark, brooding, garage based tendencies, drone tinged rock, a love of Spacemen 3... Yet I can't quite get them. Whether it's because I think/thought they're style over substance, or that they are/were a little over-hyped, I'm not sure. I wasn't enamoured with their debut Litanies (on Woodsist), but I listened to it quite a bit anyway. Weird.

I'm equally flummoxed by how much I'm enjoying them right now. I find their songs to be fairly insidious in how they squirrel under my skin without my notice or permission. It kinda hurts my head, because I can't put my finger on it, yet there it is, on repeat, making me happy and maudlin at the same time. Their new album, Better Luck Next Life, is coming out through Kanine next week, and it will be interesting if there is a similar sensation to the first. Likewise, I'll keep you posted as to whether it bewitches me the way the first one did, or if I genuinely dig it (or genuinely loathe it - nothing is off the table here...).

Royal Baths - Black Sheep
Royal Baths - Darling Divine

Video Vacuum - Dan Melchior, Rhyton, Jason Urick, Sennen

2012-02-02T03:02:00.005Z

Who needs a break? I can hear your shouts from here! I do too, although people may not guess it - my increasingly accurate physical resemblance to an elegant hobo is raising eyebrows and rashes both. So here are some choice cuts from Thrill Jockey, who look to have us covered once more in 2012...

But before we get there, if you remember, I really enjoyed Dan Melchior's Assemblage Blues record last year. The man is nothing if not prolific, and he has some good stuff coming out soon. This vid has been available for a little while, but its a fair summation of how Melchior does his shtick (it's also on a 7" put out by SDZ Records). Love him or hate him, he is true to his idiosyncrasies... (NB - I love him).

Dan Melchior "Red Nylon Valance" from max dembo on Vimeo.

Here is one band I had never heard of until TR sent me this clip. Rhyton are aiming to liquify your bones inside you so you become quivering bags of mush. Their bass played is from Psychic Ills for Chrissakes! Their self-titled debut sounds pretty killer, by the way - grab it here. And while I'm at it, here is a track you can have on top of the vid - happy Friday yo!

Rhyton - Shank Raids

Rhyton - Stone Colored from Thrill Jockey Records on Vimeo.

Jason Urick has melded dub and drone into a delectable tapestry on his latest, I Love You. Here he has pared the static noise to create something otherworldly, something akin to High Wolf in some respects, which is always welcomed, but there is something...warm about this record that is great. Anyway, here is the clip. Bliss out folks...

Jason Urick - Ageless Isms from Thrill Jockey Records on Vimeo.

To finish off today, let's veer out of the Thrill Jockey stables, but not too far. Sennen sound like they would fit right at home, so I'm placing them in the meadow adjacent. The UK band are releasing their Vultures 7" in March, which will be on heavenly white vinyl - pre-order here. Their upcoming album Lost Harmony looks to be a sweaty palms kinda release - I'm itching for it already.

NOW GET BACK TO WORK!!

Raven Steals My Hovering Resonance (Not Really)

2012-02-02T00:05:00.001Z

Dammit, Raven Sings The Blues beat me to this by a day! Goes to show what wading through a backlog of music will do to ya. Still, RSTB is an amazing music blog, if you don't already frequent their page and delight in their delicacies, then you aren't living.

Sound Of Cobra put out a cool release by Cannibal Movie last year (word is that CM are bringing out a full length release this year - watch this space...), and now they have mixed blood with the ever excellent Expo 70 (AKA Justin Wright) for Hovering Resonance, a swirling, coalescing masterpiece of motorik haze. It is nuts how many releases of great consistency this dude puts out - it's hard to even ascertain where to start! But I think that this rivals anything he put out last year, including the Night Mist cassette he put out on Nurse Etiquette, or Inaudible Bicoastal Trajectory which was far spacier. This has a hedonistic bent that is yet somehow more palatable, and that isn't a detriment. There is a lot of playback value on this one. The krautrock drive underneath the title track in particular will have you coming back for more.

You can grab Hovering Resonance here - I highly recommend this one.

Expo 70 - Hovering Resonance

Nothing Wild Leads You Nowhere

2012-02-01T10:24:00.000Z

Jack Tatum rode a tsunami wave of adulation on the back of his Gemini album of 2010 under the moniker Wild Nothing, and his underground king status is bound to escalate into something otherworldly with the release of his sophomore album later this year. In the meantime, Captured Tracks are releasing Wild Nothing's new 7", Nowhere, on Feb 21st. Check out the single below, which features vocals also from Andrea Estella of Twin Sister. There is something distinctly 80s sounding in the alt-rock college radio sense, yet with a more polished sound due to this being the first time that Wild Nothing has ventured into a real live studio. I personally think it sounds amazing, possibly the best track he has laid down to date - the production really suits him. Nothing feels fabricated here - this could be the sound of Real Estate if they weren't so fucking boring.

Pre-order the album here, where you might be lucky to get 1 of 500 limited white vinyl editions of the 7".

Wild Nothing - Nowhere

Rustic Women

2012-02-01T04:28:00.007Z

It's time to get in touch with my feminine side today, so Ive made a mini-playlist of four ladies that, either on their own or out front of a band, are belting out some amazing tunes leading up to special releases in 2012.

First up is a band that I haven't mentioned before, which is strange because their band tee is my fave t-shirt of all time. Erika Wennerstrom fronts Heartless Bastards, a brooding garage country band (having been compared to Crazy Horse, Neil Young, The Black Keys and more) who brought out a pretty amazing album in 2009 called The Mountain. Check it out - especially the title track - and get it here. Anyway, they have a new LP about to drop called Arrow, and this is the first cut off it. Its been floating on the blogosphere ether for a while - that's what happens when you hibernate for two months - but it's a good track for what promises to be another great album. Plus, Wennerstrom shreds, seriously. Arrow is out on Partisan Records, and you can get it here (there is a $US65 deluxe package that includes 2xLP, shirt, ltd edition lithograph, CD, and digital download with bonus tracks - well worth it methinks!)

Heartless Bastards - Parted Ways

I've somehow passed Sharon Van Etten by, but 'Serpents' brought me whiplashing back to have another listen. Her new LP Tramp is also out soon (out on Jagjaguwar - pre-order it here). She has a bit of a "topper" of a career - encouraged by TV On The Radio's Kyp Malone to pursue a music career, she has done backing vocals with and become good buds with The National, and Tramp feature the Dessner Bros, Matt Barrick (The Walkmen), Jenn Wasner (Wye Oak, whose Civilian was pretty ace and I forgot all bout it for last year's lists, oops!) and one Zach Condon (AKA Beirut). I can't see the songs from the stars! But seriously, listen to 'Serpents'. This is Neil Young (again!) and Stevie Nicks procreating, and that is an inimitably awesome thing.

Sharon Van Etten - Serpents

Lower Dens are also a bit of alright - each single they produce has me salivating, they are really coming into their own - and new track 'Brains' is all kinds of ace. I'm a bit in love with Jana Hunter (actually I'm in love with every woman in this list, their music is truly amazing), and on this latest brooding bubbler of a track I think she nails the spectral vocals perfectly. They have a new album coming out in May called Nootropics, which after the strength of this single is too fucking long! Get ready to become addicted...

Lower Dens - Brains

And finally we have an album that I actually talked about last year as part of Hits From The Box but has just recently gotten a vinyl release, Cheyenne Marie Mize's We Don't Need. You can get it here. It's a nice way to end of this excellent post, by revisiting an oft-missed little release. Enjoy!

Gauntlet Hair Go Chillwave On The Top Bunk

2012-02-01T01:26:00.000Z

You've gotta give it to Gauntlet Hair - despite their constant pigeonholing, the Denver duo refuse to be taken seriously. Latest track 'Top Bunk' is impressive in its innate ability to capture the shimmering insularity of the "chillwave" movement (I shall refrain from this abhorrent name from here on out) whilst remaining solely live instrument based, and wearing their Animal Collective thinking caps for all to see. The skewering of the coastal sounds is of particular note. Now, I haven't heard their self titled debut (on Dead Oceans) yet - I know, I'm a bad person - but with this twist in the tale track, I'm sure their noisy pop has many other trajectories on which to travel. I think I will try to find this record today...

Gauntlet Hair - Top Bunk

Have A Lot Of Faith In Errors

2012-01-31T12:19:00.000Z

We have a frontrunner for album of the year, folks.

I'm not going to say much about this, but Glaswegians Errors have managing to combine pop with synth ice, epic noise and soaring ideals to create an album that is eloquent, garish, flamboyant and subversive, all at once. Have Some Faith In Magic (out on Rock Action Records today!) is so different to last album Come Down With Me - which was pretty ace in itself - and so, so much better. I was apprehensive about the possible inclusion of vocals, but it works. Not traditional vocals of course (nothing here is ever conventional!!), but as another sonic instrument. This is a crazy awesome record. I implore you - buy it now!

Have Some Faith In Magic by Rock Action Records

Hinder The Shot That Curses Us All

2012-01-31T09:04:00.003Z

I shared a little love for Denver band Hindershot's 'I Won't Change' video last year - check it out here. Im pretty excited about their upcoming release, second EP Curse Us All. Out through Hot Congress Records, the 4-track EP offers some dark indie guitar rock with a devilish twist, the incessant synth with a slightly cheeky swagger and twist in the tail that was indicative of last year's excellent single. Im hoping that this record will mean that a longer release is in the waters soon - these guys mean business.

Hindershot - Curse Us All

Curse Us All is out now. Check out the vid too - I would like to be on either end of that treatment...

VIDEO PREMIERE: "Curse Us All" by Hindershot from Hinder Shot on Vimeo.

Baldi Loses Sentiment, Cloudy Disposition

2012-01-31T08:00:00.000Z

Many of the detractors of Dylan Baldi's latest output under his moniker Cloud Nothings, Attack On Memory, attest that he has flagrantly thrown out the old without any clear reference as to why, or at least without paying respect to the fans who had been enamoured with his glowing version of sugary pop rock. But the title itself heralds Cloud Nothings' album as a complete wiping of the slate - and how.

I loved much of Cloud Nothings' oeuvre, the insane ADHD infectiousness of it all, yet Attack On Memory is much more my cup of tea, and the fact it's a polar opposite to everything that has come before isn't the astonishing part - it's that it is so fucking good. Produced by Steve Albini you would expect it to be loud, bottom heavy and abrasive, yet it is the insidious way that Baldi and his cronies eschew their pop machinations for a far more sinister, stalking rhythm that surprises.

Attack On Memory is out on Carpark Records.

Cloud Nothings - No Sentiment

Friday Cover Up - You'll Find Secret Kinky Colours On A Sunny Afternoon

2012-01-27T14:16:00.004Z

Closing out this loooooooong week with a Kinks cover. I love the Kinks. My Kinks Greatest Hits CD got the shit played out of it back in the mid-2000s. Ray Davies, man...fuck! SM favourites Secret Colours have done a cover of 'Sunny Afternoon' which rounds out their EP3...er, EP (it came out on New Year's Day). They acquit themselves well, and have left me a very happy man this evening.

Secret Colours - Sunny Afternoon (The Kinks cover)

Here is another track from the Chicago psychedelics' latest EP for good measure. Go buy it (or any of their releases) here. Bonjour!

Secret Colours - Faust

Gross, But Not The Final Scene

2012-01-27T10:23:00.001Z

This is the first of two Gross Relations-based posts that we will give you over the weekend. It wasn't long ago that the Brooklyn outfit brought out their Come Clean 12" (on Raven Sings The Blues Records), so its exciting to hear that their debut LP isn't fair away. In the meantime, quit biting your fingernails and lose your mind to the below single, it's a good 'un. You can also buy it in vinyl format here.

Gross Relations - Cut The Final Scene

Backwards Looking Forwards 2011 - Hired Muscle, Charalambides, OBNIIIs

2012-01-27T08:33:00.000Z

I'm almost done with the albums that I should have posted about last year but didn't. These three releases are deserved of more attention, so I'm gonna give it to them.

Hired Muscle are yet another band outta Leeds whose discordant nihilism elicits migraines and orgasms simultaneously. These crazy cats splurge on some balls-out mania on the tracks on their The Last Minute LP. Paul extolled these guys' virtues to me a couple months ago, and the proof is in the pudding. Pavement meets Action Beat. Delish bom bish.

Hired Muscle - Evil Genius

Exile is the new record from Charalambides. It is the only thing I've heard from the prolific spiritual conquistadors, and that is saying something, as they have releases a plethora of aural excursions since forming in Houston back in 1991. Their sound wavers in and out of sonic parameters, but their chakras are always aligned, ensuring that you never stray far from the ethereal pathway that the band has crafted for you. Its still ambitious, being a double LP and all, but when Kranky Records agrees to put it out, you know that the wealth within is worth mining.

Charalambides - Before You Go

This final album is related to one from two days ago, Bad Sports' Kings Of The Weekend, as Orville Neeley also plays in OBN IIIs (named after himself), whose The One And Only LP is razor sharp and energetic with gritty swagger and lecherous intent slathered all over it. Its verve and tenacity electrifies every song, never repelling the listener with overt aggression or obnoxiousness. These tracks are made for delighted repeat listens. One can only imagine how stellar these guys could be in the live arena... Grab their record here.

OBNIIIs - No Enemies

Dropping Out From Radiation

2012-01-27T05:46:00.000Z

This one has been played incessantly for months, and sitting around for me to post about it so long that another release has already come and gone also! So it is with Apache Dropout, whose self-titled LP made my top albums list for last year. The Indiana three-piece hit on angular garage punk with some mainlined psych fuzz and some Jagerbombs to boot - these guys are the gas. It really is a rip-roaring release, and 'Teenager' just plainly kills...

Apache Dropout - Teenager

Then along comes Radiation a three song taster that is just as good albeit much shorter in length. Put out through Mexican Summer, it heightens the psych motorik preamble, yet somehow remains coherent and concise. A lovely surprise of the smokiest order.

Apache Dropout - Radiation
Apache Dropout - School Girl

But they aren't slacking off. Trouble In Mind are releasing a 4-way split 7" that the band did with the excellent Mikal Cronin (another I missed out on posting about last year - his album is just as rad), The Paperhead and Liminanas for the upcoming Record Store Day. Keep up the mind-melting work, lads.

Some Aussie Day Flavour That Isn't Bloody Goyte

2012-01-26T02:39:00.000Z

Happy Australia Day! I'm incredibly hungover after another successful Sonic Masala show, bur raring to do it all again! Before I do, though, here are some Aussie bands doing good that you wont find on the Australian yoof channel's top 100 shitfest.

Blank Realm are a band that are incessant in their breakneck rise into the centre of the sun. Unlike Icarus, this Brisbane quartet want to feel the molecule-rending heat, to feel themselves morph with a might much greater than their own. Such a brazen exploratory outlook is evident in their ever-evolving live shows, which can swing from skronky pop to languid psych to rampant rock to slacker malaise, at times within the one instrumental interlude. Negative Guestlist is hoping to extend such an exciting reputation by releasing the band's latest 7", which you can buy in physical form here. Listen to the track below and tell me how these guys aren't huge already. They are bringing out their next album, the follow-up to the great Deja What, later this year through Siltbreeze, so you never know, their time may come before the Mayans bring it all to an end...

Falling Down the Stairs by Blank Realm

Gold Coast duo Bleeding Knees Club are more likely to get a run on Triple J, seeing as their MO consists of thrashy-yet-addictive straight-cap surf rock. The boys (BOYS! Just look at 'em!) have stuck as close to the Wavves musical aesthetic as they possibly can, and it really clicks. Next month sees the arrival of their debut LP Nothing To Do, which should see them explode into some sepia-tinged hipster frenzy, but when the music is as addictive as this, fair dues.

Bleeding Knees Club - Teenage Girls

Chinese Burns may be flung across the state of Queensland, but when this trio get together the results are sweaty, salty and magic. They have just released their Calculator 7", and it is all kinds of awesome. Seeing them play live is a once in a blue moon event, and life-changing (maybe). Buy this record now, support these fuckers so that they give up their day jobs and treat us to more music - seriously good stuff.

Calculator 7" by Chinese Burns

Finally there is this album from Woollen Kits. The Melbourne act's debut is the first great Australian album of 2012. GET IT.

Woollen Kits - For You

Enjoy the festivities kids!

Backwards Looking Forwards 2011 - Bad Sports, AIDS Wolf, Acid Baby Jesus

2012-01-25T11:18:00.000Z

OK, so here are three more releases that I "discovered" over my two-month sabbatical that, whilst not anything overly groundbreaking, were a hell of a lot of fun.

Bad Sports, on their 2nd LP Kings Of The Weekend, have chiseled out some major disaffected pop rock that'll tear holes in the seat of your jeans. The Denton, Texas trio are made for summer benders with a sleazy bent. Dirtnap Records put out this fun-loving, fuzzy gem, and it reverently does what it says on the tin. I guess there are elements of Bare Wires about Bad Sports, albeit with more protopunk snarl, which makes me like these guys all the more.

Bad Sports - Can't Just Be Friends

Richie Follin's sister Madeline of Cults' fame will be here on Saturday as a part of the Laneway festival, so it would be remiss of me to mention Guards' Do It Again 7" that came out in December that I found quite delectable. Put out by White Iris, these tracks cement two facts - that Richie Follin knows how to pen a heck of a hook, and that they need to bring out their debut album STAT.

Guards - Do It Again

There was a stage when I seemed to be listening to a lot of Athens, Georgia acts back in 2010 - kickstarted probably by my love of Tunabunny - and it's more than possible that Acid Baby Jesus is going to bring that love full circle. Yet these clowns are from the "other" Athens - the one that proclaims to be the capital of Greece, the starting point (and possibly the endpoint - oh, political controversy!!) of civilisation as we know it. Their self-titled debut came out in October last year on Slovenly Recordings, and it sounds like another 2011 fave of mine, Human Eye, in its insistence of sounding like psych punk played by Ming The Merciless off Flash Gordon. Such space jams are morbid and strange, and oh so goddamn rad. This is a pretty killer album, and may have made the top 40 of 2011 if I'd heard it sooner. 2012 also has them firing up to join the biggest and best lineup yet for the Austin Psych Fest. Live long and prosper, you awesome weirdos.

Acid Baby Jesus - Tooth To Toe

Do Away With The Rain With Sonic Masala Tonight!

2012-01-25T04:43:00.006Z

I may have laid dormant in terms of posts, but Sonic Masala has been movin and shakin in other realms, predominantly in the live arena. December's showcase featured a blistering set by high-concept grungers Sleepwalks, an intimate sojourn with Do The Robot, some cathartic meanderings courtesy of Nite Fields and some balls to the wall blues bust-ups from El Motel.

Matt & Sarah loved that show so much that Do The Robot will kick off proceedings once more at West End's The Waiting Room tonight in a pre-Australia Day knees-up. It's a holiday tomorrow, so why not start the celebrations early? Joining DoT are the glass-eating Bottlecock, the ambient tantrics of Anonymeye and the noir gleam of Keep On Dancin's. Once again it's all for a tenner, all for giving bands a chance to get paid for their efforts for once, and all really just an excuse to see bands I like whilst getting drunk for really cheap (it's BYO, doncha know?)

Fuck the rain. This party is where the shit goes DOWN.

The End Of Everything by Keep On Dancin's

Pyramids Split The Throne On Horseback

2012-01-24T08:28:00.003Z

This comes out today in physical form, a good harbinger of what's to come from the excellent Hydra Head Records stable. Whilst I'm familiar with the dark experimentalists Pyramids (whose self-titled debut release is also physically available here in clear, slate blue and black vinyl - yum!), Horseback are new to me. However the two bands are kindred spirits, with A Throne Without A King Pt. 2 being an hours of atmospheric dankness the likes of which strangely lights up my life. I love listening to this kind of music when the rains beat down on a sinister summer afternoon, when the sun is an eerie instagram-esque hue, and today is one of those days, so guess what I'm off to do? Check out the first two individual tracks below, but the true joy is the collaborative suite, which you need to purchase this release for. Worth every dirty penny.

A Throne Without a King by Pyramids / Horseback

Tough Love Is Being Pulled Apart By Horses...For Free

2012-01-24T03:52:00.002Z

Some big news for Pulled Apart By Horses fans. Sophomore effort Tough Love is out today via Transgressive Records. Quick turnaround, seeing as their debut LP was released only last year, but many of the tracks floating about on that were pretty old. So this is very exciting indeed! But as ever the Leeds quartet like to throw in a curveball, and to celebrate the release of the album they are lending fans their new album via a unique facebook app: www.facebook.com/pulledapartbyhorses. Anyone visiting the band's page can borrow a stream of the album, which they can listen to for an unlimited amount of plays over the course of seven days. As even more of a thank you for their fans' awesome support, they can also receive an exclusive free download of V.E.N.O.M's b-side 'PWR'. More exclusive treats will be added to the app over the upcoming months. Direct access to the app here.
We don't do fully fledged reviews or articles here often - I leave that to my 2nd day job - but expect both in the upcoming weeks also. Times, they are a-changin...

If you are in the UK or are UK bound next month, PABH are destroying the following venues.

FEBRUARY 2012 live dates//
13 // GLASGOW, King Tuts
14 // ABERDEEN, Tunnels
15 // NEWCASTLE, Digital Other Rooms
16 // SHEFFIELD, Leadmill
17 // MANCHESTER, Club Academy
18 // BRISTOL, Fleece
20 // BIRMINGHAM, Library
21 // NORWICH, Waterfront
22 // SOUTHAMPTON, Talking Heads
23 // LONDON, Electric Ballroom

Taming The Regal Mantis (A Most Tenuous Title...)

2012-01-21T03:08:00.000Z

There will be posts over the upcoming weeks where Ill be tying up loose ends AKA posting the posts from 2011 I wanted to do IN 2011. SO Ill jam a few releases together each post so that I feel better, you have more music to listen to, and 2012 doesn't go by the wayside. Yeah? Yeah.

The first triptych of releases that I wanted to show you are a bit different. Kicking off with Tammar who are carving their own warped path out of Indiana. Visits is their first LP (via Suicide Squeeze), and the self-professed "wobbly popsters" have crafted an interesting aural journey that feels like more of a prologue. More please.

Tammar - The Last Line

Then there is this 7" by Chicago duo Redgrave. It's a two track taster of things to come, and with Tim Rutili (Califone) lending some guitar back-up and David Yow (that guy from the Jesus Lizard) on art design duties, Redgrave are likely to make some serious waves in 2012. You can grab this delicious record through Lovitt Records here.

Redgrave - Mantis

Actually the connections of this post aren't so transparent, as Lovitt Records also put out 4-Song, the self explanatory 7" from Regents. The 4-sometimes-5 piece all hail from 90s hardcore bands, and whilst they have inevitably steered into other territory here, that intensity bleeds through. Even more exciting is the fact that they are tying up the final recordings for a full length due later this year. 4-Song can be gleaned here.

Regents - Cinder Machine

Sonic Masala's Best 40 Albums of 2011...One Month On

2012-01-21T00:39:00.000Z

December of every year is the month of lists, where you get to see what people thought about the music of the past twelve months and either rant at said person's shit taste, laud your similarities, facepalm over forgotten gems, or scramble for something hitherto unheard of. But a list in January for the year before is more redundant than use by dates on a nymphomaniac's condom (sorry). Still, at first I thought that 2011 was a little low on the good music front, but after a sift there was some pretty killer moments. I'm sure things slipped through to the keeper, but here is a list of music-related guff that floated my boat in 2011 (my number one album? The clue is in the picture above...). No discussion - I've missed the boat on that - but will enter INTO discussion with any and all of you who leave a comment below. Feel free to berate as much as you want...

TOP 40 ALBUMS OF 2011

40. Natural Child - 1971
39. Active Child - You Are All I See
38. Religious Knives - Smokescreen
37. Barn Owl - Shadowland
36. Civil Civic - Rules
35. Snowman - Absence
34. Tim Hecker - Ravedeath 1972
33. Mikal Cronin - Mikal Cronin
32. Witch Hats - Pleasure Syndrome
31. JEFF The Brotherhood - We Are The Champions
30. Fucked Up - David Comes To Life
29. Black Lips - Arabia Mountain
28. Bon Iver - Bon Iver
27. No Anchor - Real Pain Supernova
26. Liturgy - Anaesthetica
25. Mountains - Air Museum
24. Plankton Wat -
23. The Skull Defekts -
22. Black Eagle Child - Lobelia
21. Crystal Stilts - In And Out Of Oblivion
20. Apache Dropout - Apache Dropout
19. Pure X - Ecstacy
18. Oneohtrix Point Never - Replica
17. Tune-Yards - w h o k i l l
16. Young Widows - In And Out Of Youth And Lightness
15. Nova Scotia - Nova Scotia
14. Wooden Shjips - West
13. Harmony - Harmony
12. Twerps - Twerps
11. Explosions In The Sky - Take Care Take Care Take Care
10. Disappears - Guider
9. Ty Segall - Goodbye Bread
8. Cola Freaks - Cola Freaks
7. EMA - Post Life Martyred Saints
6. Sex Church - Growing Over
5. Rank/Xerox - Rank/Xerox
4. Royal Headache - Royal Headache
3. The Men - Leave Home
2. Total Control - Henge Beat
1. Iceage - New Brigade

Honourable Mentions:
- Veronica Falls
- Times New Viking
- Dick Diver
- The Vietnam War
- White Denim
- Cat Cat
- Mr Dream
- Illness
- Human Eye

BEST SONGS

"Brooklyn", Happy People
"I Can Feel It", Ty Segall
"Let Me Back In", Explosions In The Sky
"White Rune"/"Collapse", Iceage
"Grey Ship", EMA
"No Surf", Wet Years
"Gatton Bohemia", No Anchor
"Around The Twist", Nova Scotia
"Down The Lane", Royal Headache
"Down At The Farm (live)", White Denim
"You Are All I See", Active Child
"The Other Shoe", Fucked Up
"Montana", Youth Lagoon
"Turn Into", Batrider
"Bad Feeling", Veronica Falls
"Bones", Male Bonding
"Backseat", Tape/Off
"Psychic Mesa", Total Slacker
"Shootinhead", The Whines
"Heartache", Harmony
"Safety Surf", Kid Chocolate
"Fucking Despair", Fat History Month
"Wild Horse Mountain", Feathers
"Pitiful", Extra Happy Ghost
"Truth", Alexander
"Ice Cream", Battles
"Small Streets", Brief Candles
"Modern Love", City Center
"Graveyard's Full", The Growlers

BEST EP/7"s

Crystal Stilts - Radiant Door
Happy People, Happy People
Puffy Areolas & Purling Hiss, Puffy Areolas/Purling Hiss
Tape/Off - ...And Sometimes Gladness
The Growlers & Thee Ludds - The Growlers/Thee Ludds
Assassins 88 - Kaneda
Surfer Blood - Tarot Classics
Black Gum - Black Gum
Cousin - And Other Relations
King Dude - My Beloved Ghost
Otro Mundo - Jellied
Part Chimp & TorchePart Chimp/Torche
Pontiak - Comecrudos
Thee Oh Sees & Total Control- Thee Oh Sees/Total Control
Ty Segall - Ty Rex
Weekend - Red

BEST LIVE SHOWS

...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead - The Hi Fi
Explosions In The Sky/Harmony - The Hi Fi
Fucked Up/DZ Deathrays - Alhambra Lounge, 09.12.11
The Drones/Mike Noga - The Hi Fi
Ty Segall - Woodland
Times New Viking/Cobwebbs - Woodland
Mono/No Anchor/Secret Birds - The Hi Fi
Gareth Liddiard - Spegieltent
Besnard Lakes/Nova Scotia - The Zoo
Black Mountain/ - The Zoo
Swervedriver - The Zoo
Skul Hazzards/Turnpike/No Anchor - The Step Inn
Batrider - Woodland
Nova Scotia/Tape-Off/Arbuckle - The Lofly Hangar
Sonic Masala shows - The Waiting Room

BEST FESTIVAL SHOWS

Mogwai (Splendour)
Warpaint (Laneway/Splendour)
Les Savy Fav (Laneway)
Portishead (Harvest)
Flaming Lips (Harvest
Holy Fuck (Laneway)
Pulp (Splendour)
The National (Harvest)
Hypnotic Brass Ensemble (Harvest)
Mars Volta (Splendour)

Welcome to 2012!!!!!!

These Tiny Spiders Have Bite

2012-01-20T02:00:00.002Z

Tying off the first day back in the saddle we have Brisbane sludge pop duo Tiny Spiders. Consisting of Cam Smith (Ghost Notes, Mount/St Augustus, runs Incremental Records and West End venue The Waiting Room) and Innez Tulloch (Feathers, Pastel Blaze, co-runs Nowhere Records and West End venue The Waiting Room), Tiny Spiders are simple, yet complex. Simple, because they play scuzzy as fuck guitar and rickety drums. Complex, because they are inherently pop. Result? Some of the rustiest, dirtiest pop sounds you are ever likely to hear. Which is something I inherently love.

Tiny Spiders have just released new single 'Shoot The Rainbow Rays Out' which is their tastiest slice yet, and have put it on record with three live cuts in what then becomes the Shoot The Rainbow Rays Out EP. The three tracks were recorded when they supported other local behemoths No Anchor during their 7-day squat at The Waiting Room, and the recordings are as close you will get to being at that performance without a revamped Delorean. Its great stuff. Get the EP here.

The terrible twosome are also launching said EP at the Alhambra Lounge in the Valley tonight for a tenner, and have roped in some stellar names for support, including Happy New Year (also spreading the love for her recent split with Nite Fields, that you can read about and hear in the previous post!!), Go Violets and Tangle.

Tiny Spiders - Shoot The Rainbow Rays Out

Prince Rama & Sun Araw Touch Out In Woodland

2012-01-20T01:29:00.000Z

US psych-pop bedfellows SUN ARAW and PRINCE RAMA head down under this Summer for Sugar Mountain Festival in January, but can't get enough of Aussie sultriness, so are hitting Woodland tonight! The bands join forces for a kaleidoscopic double whammy, bringing their dubby dance jams and transcendental melodies in their wake. Prince Rama's Trust Now and Sun Araw's Ancient Romans were two solid releases of 2011, so this promises to be one hell of a show. Supported by one of Brisbane's best bands of the moment, Blank Realm, along with Rites Wild from Adelaide, and all for $20-odd, get to this show - your life depends on it. Tix can be gleaned here.

Prince Rama - Summer Of Love
Sun Araw - Bump Up

Happy New Year With Some Happy New Year On The Nite Fields!!!

2012-01-19T23:33:00.000Z

YAWN.

Sorry guys and gals, but Ive been hibernating for some time, no? I best get back on the horse and mainline some tunes into your psyche. Some new music fit for 2012 is warranted after such a long time away, right?

Here is the radtacular 7" split between Brisbane soulmates Happy New Year and Nite Fields (on Lost Race Records). Both groups share a moody avant-pop air, with Happy New Year leaning more towards pop territory, and Nite Fields having more of an ambient-punk vibe.

Brooklyn based and Brisbane born Eleanor Logan's music embodies the 'art of noise', with a pop base and focus on producing avant singles. Her songs blend DIY recordings of percussion, drones, and tech sounds with silky vocals to create pop music that's equally as explorative as it is addictive. Her contribution takes the bitter pain of love and loss and turns it sweet as sugar.

Happy New Year - High Sea

For Nite Fields, a SM fave who graced our Sonic Masala Presents showcase back in December, this split see the first release for this young moody group. Taking cues from electronic and shoegaze spheres, to post-punk, and weaving in some goth rock basslines, Nite Fields are forging a new explorative rock sound coming out of Brisbane sharehouses. Having been together for less than six months, Nite Fields are already establishing themselves as a force, not of nature nor of reason, but an innate neurological urge to enter a Lynchian coma en masse. Which actually sounds like a good thing, if the Mayans would have the apocalypse come our way this year...

Nite Fields - Come Down

Grab the 7" here - its sex on wax, and with only 150 copies available, they will fly out the door. Happy New Year kids!

Slumbering With The Grown Up Sea Lions

2011-12-03T11:30:00.004Z

Slumberland Records aren't sitting idly as the Christmas month comes lumbering out of the darkness, instead they are intent on adding one more parcel to the bundle. This pressie comes in the form of the (almost) self-titled debut LP by the Californian band Sea Lions - seriously, look at the below piece o wax! It even has Christmas colours!

The album itself is fully of jangly cheek, playful disdain, angsty stiffness - a quivering ball of pop contradictions, basically. but what I really dig about Everything You Always Wanted to Know about Sea Lions But Were Afraid to Ask is their propensity to walk the tightrope and not fall into the abyss of tweeness or arrogant hipsterdom - even though there are teetering moments (the Woody Allen reference in the title is a glittering nugget of gold though in my opinion). It's harmless fare, yet its warm, and gets multiple plays with the addition of some real hook-laden fun

You can grab Everything You Always Wanted to Know about Sea Lions But Were Afraid to Ask here.

Sea Lions - Grown Up

Friday Cover Up - Eddy Electrifies The Chosen Few

2011-12-02T12:10:00.000Z

A great way to end out a quiet week here on Planet Masala, which then leads into an almighty month of craziness! Here is a cut of the brilliant Eddy Current Suppression Ring's bits-&-bobs release So Many Things, which is a better album than most other bands' actual albums. This one is a cover of terminally underrated Aussie act of yore The Chosen Few, 'T.A.L.O.I.G.A.' So good. Later kids! If you're in Brisbane this week, you must get to AT LEAST THREE OF THE FOLLOWING SHOWS - Mere Noise Meltdown (Saturday, featuring Guitar Wolf!!), OFF! (Sunday & Tuesday), Mudhoney (Monday), Unknown Mortal Orchestra (Monday), Future Of The Left (Tuesday), Kurt Vile (Thursday) and Fucked Up (Friday)! Jesus tittyfucking Christ, it's good to be here and not there (IE anywhere else) right now!!!

Eddy Current Suppression Ring - T.A.L.O.I.G.A. (The Chosen Few cover)

Kicking Back In With Some Black Tambourine(s)

2011-12-02T08:30:00.000Z

Wow, a quiet week (IE no posts AT ALL). I apologise. It isn't going to get much better over the next few weeks though, what with the avalanche of international bands bombarding Brisbane and the heady Christmas celebrations going on around here. I had such a handle on December last year too...sigh.

Well, I thought Id give you some good stuff anyway. Here is the EP from Cornish devils The Black Tambourines, Chica. Art Is Hard are putting out this hedonistic slice of dark-corner-of-the-garage fuzz, and it'd make a lovely little Christmas entree. In fact, I will have a multitude of cool Christmas gifts in the forthcoming posts that you could consider for those you truly love. Anyway, listen to Chica below, then take '27-25 Blues' home with you. Go on - you deserve it.

Chica EP by The Black Tambourines

The Black Tambourines - 27-25 Blues

10% Off Rules Rulez!

2011-12-02T06:35:00.001Z

Guess what? For the next few days (until midnight Monday December 5) that dastardly duo otherwise known as Civil Civic are giving Sonic Masala punters (that's YOU!) the chance to get their debut LP Rules for 10% off the normal price! This is great news, as all of you should own a copy of this fun as hell record and play it till it breaks, thus buying a second one as backup. The catch? Not really - you only have to head over here and add "discountsrule" in the code section, and voila! This incredibly awesome piece of instrumental alchemy is all yours, for a fraction cheaper, meaning that you can still score tonight.* WIN WIN WIN.

RULES by CIVIL CIVIC

* By score, I mean shooting holes. I mean hoops. Yeah, you knew what I meant...

Sleepwaling Robots In The Nite Fields Motel

2011-12-02T03:42:00.003Z

In October we had our very first sponsored/curate/whatever show, imaginatively called Sonic Masala Presents. It was a graveyard smash. Greg Charles was gloriously shambolic; Psy Ants were awesomely explosive; Nova Scotia were inimitably fun.

Tonight it all happens again for the second instalment. Headlining are the upper crust grungeheads Sleepwalks, whose debut LP The Milk Has Gone Sour (produced by Steve Albini no less!) came out at the crowning of the year. A smash and grab affair, it is a fun piece of work (despite the fact I gave it only three stars for Time Off at the beginning of the year, a fact I may never live down). This is likely to be a fantastically sloppy earblast, and the lineup is rounded out by much-loved husband/wife dream-pop manipulators Do The Robot, garrulous shoegaze explorers Nite Fields, and new kids on the block, rusty blues duo El Motel. All for a tenner (and BYO means it stays a cheap night!) It looks like it could rain again, but don't let that deter you for an awesome night of eclecticism and alcoholism! Should be madness, and it kicks off at 8pm - see you there!

The Milk Has Gone Sour by Sleepwalks

Hits From The Box #42 - Macey Road

2011-11-25T13:48:00.005Z

Seriously, Lieutenant Pike is the biggest douche. It's Kenny Powers, without a redeemable bone, for real. Yet we can laugh can't we? Ah, 21st century, I love you.

Here's a new band from UK's Brighton to kick today's Hits From The Box off, and they aren't mucking about. The UK has a penchant of producing some brilliant left of field instrumental rock bands that flutter along many, mostly noisy, genres, and Cousin is no exception. Their debut four track EP And Other Relations is a crackers. The trio have claimed Pavement, Polvo and Enablers as overt influences, and their warm, intricate math rockers more than adeptly hold true to such inspirations. Much like Avalanche Ammo before them, this EP is inherently exciting, and proves without a doubt that you can noodle away on a guitar with math rock leanings and be the polar opposite of a wanker. Grab the EP here - its a corker.

Cousin - Super Toight
Cousin - Tensions At The Lido

Next up is Spy Island outta Portland, a self-proclaimed ragtag troupe of caffeinated cellar dwellers. Aren't we all? They have finalised their 3rd LP New Milesian Kings, an album the ebbs and flows between languid slapstick drunken shambolism and languid homemade singalong shanties. Its solid, and whilst not without its filler, bookends its entrails with two great little tracks, both of which you can sample below. New Milesian Kings will be out early next year.

Spy Island - The Punchline
Spy Island - Geisha On The Beach

On a previous edition of Hits From The Box, I mentioned a little act by the marbles-in-mouth moniker of Dovie Beams Love Child. The brain behind the act, Juan Torregoza, has more than one feather to his bow, as The Climbing Rose attests. A solo project that lends itself to the flourishes of the flamenco school - an interesting option. It's out on Cactus Killer Records - well worth a listen.

Juan Torregoza - Romance

Philly's Bridge Underwater began in August 2005 as the recording project/one-man band of Patrick Mellon. Since then Bridge Underwater has released more than one hundred songs ranging from simple lo-fi tunes to experimental “noise delights.” At the moment Mellon is working with drummer John Basile and bassist Danny Click. The trio plans on releasing an EP of new music in early 2012. Here's a tasty slice of what to expect.

Bridge Underwater - Be Loved

If you are going to reference the creator of some of the most iconic 60s British pop music, you'd better do it right. Influenced by early electronic music and experimental pop, and has been described as ‘Bizzaro Pop’, Narrow Sparrow are a new band that hail from Chicago, Illinois, are dropping their Synthworks EP on us (the 4-song ep will also be released on 7” vinyl on December 21st - pre-order is here), and the opener, 'Joe Meek's Dream' definitely tickles the excitement bone.

Narrow Sparrow - Joe Meek's Dream

I know very little about Violet Hour outta San Fran's Bay Area, and sometimes that's the way it ought to be. They have released an EP, Cowardly Loins, but I have only heard the below track. Obviously I see the allure. Good times indeed!

Violet Hour - Least I Could Love You

HAPPY WEEKEND!

Fear Of Alice Munro

2011-11-25T07:59:00.000Z

First turned onto this London via Brighton band through Art Is Hard Records, Fear Of Men recently recorded a set of songs in anticipation of their forthcoming tour with another SM "One To Watch" (I have never said that about another band, at least not given a definitive label - but it's kinda true, we are fans here) Bos Angeles. The avid experimenting with mic placement and an eight-track tape recorder produced some gems, called the Alice Munro demos (to be released December 12), and the best of which is 'Doldrums'. Suitably gloomy and jangly, akin to Brisbane's own Keep On Dancin's that we showcased yesterday, or even another Brissy band Feathers, the track shows a gloss that we haven't associated with the group in the past, and may be a slight glimpse into their beautifully morbid future...

Fear Of Men - Doldrums

VIDEO VACUUM - Copenhagen Sessions

2011-11-25T05:12:00.000Z

Here is another brilliant guerrilla initiative by maverick crew They Shoot Music Don't They. They have a new series of offstage videos entitled THE COPENHAGEN SESSIONS! For three they intend to meet bands in Copenhagen and film offstage sessions in the autumnal darkness of the Danish capital, inviting international and Danish, upcoming and acclaimed bands to play in front of the lens. The locations are bike sheds, industrial buildings, cafés, parks or just streets - nothing is sacred.

The first release is with the amazing Seattle-based Craft Spells. After being kicked out of a laundry they play two songs ('The Fog Rose High' and 'Your Tomb') in an abandoned shopping mall in the Vesterbro neighbourhood of Copenhagen.

The second episode features Philadelphia-based The War On Drugs playing a semi-acoustic session in the bike shed of a school in Copenhagen's Christianshavn neighbourhood, including performances of 'Brothers' and 'Best Night' from their new album Slave Ambient.

And finally (so far, at least...) we have the 7-piece Danish folk-pop band Cody, recorded in an abandoned building in the abandoned Carlsberg brewery in Valby, Copenhagen.

NOW GET BACK TO WORK!

Roberts Sings Songs With A Dime Of Milk

2011-11-25T03:09:00.000Z

I only just spoke about the surprise belter that is Luke Roberts' Big Bells & Dime Songs the other week - it's a really good album! Now here is a bonus track that didn't make the album (which is strange, seeing as it bears half of the LP title), 'Dime Song'. Even more surprising is how good it is - although this isn't really a surprise when you find out that the backing band Roberts has used features members of the cult noise merchants Harvey Milk (or maybe it still is - such subtlety isn't really their forte...) Really nice stuff, and the best way to help string out the last Friday of Spring...

Grab Big Bells & Dime Songs now, it's a slow burner that could force its way to the top of the pops come December 31st...

Luke Roberts - Dime Song (full band)

Keep On Dancin' For A Standing 8 Count

2011-11-24T06:19:00.000Z

That Meltdown that Mere Noise is promising gets ever closer, so it's high time we threw the limelight on two more local acts that will be brandishing the blowtorch.

First up we have a band we have briefly mentioned here in the past, The Keep On Dancins. Their debut album The End Of Everything came out earlier this year, and it is just another of Brisbane's 2011 Easter eggs of rocking delectability. What's even better though is that in December it's being released on vinyl, so it will be the greatest Christmas gift too! This album is the brooding, maudlin, eyelids-at-half-mast kind of garage rock, less giddy I love the sunshine and more I love twilight (the time of day, not that raping of the vampire genre shtick). you can pre-order it on Bandcamp now if you want to take advantage of a sweet limited edition pack that includes the vinyl (w/ download), a black (of course) tee and a poster, all for $35 + ph. It can be a gift to yourself if you want...

Secondly, it's all about the institutions at the Meltdown, and these guys are elder statesmen of kicking arse. The Standing 8 Counts are the band that pretty much started it all for this label has reformed, with the original lineup getting together just under a month ago at the Crown Hotel in Lutwyche for the first time in over ten years - it was like 2001 all over again! Very exciting.

The Keep On Dancins - Summertime

The Standing 8 Counts - (You Make Me) Stiff

Burying Strangers Beyond The Wall

2011-11-23T09:27:00.005Z

We, along with just about everybody, loves A Place To Bury Strangers' 2009 LP Exploding Head. Hell, I played the Dinosaur Hunt light gun arcade game with former bassplayer Jono at ATP the very night this blog came to be! But since then it has been kinda quiet. Now they have announced February's launch of EP Onwards to the Wall, their first release since leaving Mute Records for Dead Oceans. The incredible noisy shoegazers (complete with new bassist Dion, formerly of cool Ramones-obsessed Kiwi band The D4)have done everything behind the scenes in order to bring these new tracks to light, which pretty much ensures it will be loud as fuck and just as exhilarating.

A Place To Bury Strangers - So Far Away

Total Control/Thee Oh Sees Split

2011-11-23T08:19:00.001Z

What a delightful meeting of minds! San Fran crazy horses Thee Oh Sees are touring the States with Aussies debauched maurauders Total Control in tow, and have this split for you to ascertain how these two acts sound meshed together under one seedy sweat-stained roof. It is the usual spastic exuberance from Dwyer and co, whilst the four tracks from Total Control are embedded with seething disdain, a bizarrely corrosive counterpoint. Why it works I don't know. Maybe that cat that got it on with Paula Abdul is onto something...

And further good news is Thee Oh Sees will be playing in Brisbane at the turn of the New Year. Yes, they will be playing Woodland (after their show this time last year was cancelled due to the floods) on Jan 11. Maybe TC can make the trip northwards too?

Thee Oh Sees - Dead Energy

Total Control - Nervous Harvest

And for the live stuff?

Watch live streaming video from lepoissonrouge at livestream.com

Embrace A Happy Death

2011-11-22T11:49:00.003Z

It's taken me a while, but I received this 7" EP from New York-via-Portland band A Happy Death about three weeks ago (and is that an esoteric title I see before me? Camus fans playing short, spiky garage psych? Well, I never...). Like, physically received it. And as the Tympanogram blog states, that is a beautiful thing. However, I hadn't gotten around to even listening to it until last week due to a multitude of tiny factors equalling a massive clusterfuck of issues. But now I have. And whilst it is nothing necessarily new, it is a hell of a lot of fun.

I was a fan as soon as I saw the song title - 'Nazi Zombies'. I have lost many a drunken/stoned early morning hour trying to kill those WWII undead critters... and this track is just as sordid and dirty, yet wearily addictive. You want to stop you really do - but just one more listen... The playfulness continues with 'Surf Rock Band,' suitably scuzzy, noisy, and smart-arsed. 'Mr Rutter' offers the other facet that such an EP needs - a faux ballad that slumps around the dark alleyways spouting the sour tales of a transvestite factory worker (for real). Then 'Ghost House' kicks the final limb out from under you, leaving your prostate and gagging.

The psychedelia that A Happy Death play around with is deeply entrenched in garage rock, like much of today's DIY rock outfits tend to be, but with the right balance of shambolism and anarchism, they have crafted a gritty slice of wanton cheese.

A Happy Death - Nazi Zombies

A Happy Death EP by A Happy Death

J Won't Keep You Thinking For Long

2011-11-22T08:26:00.006Z

J Mascis has been the gift that keeps on giving this year, hasn't he? After the impressive solo album Seven Shades Of Why (through Sub Pop), he is releasing a new 7" single featuring a cover of Edie Brickell's song, "Circle", and the b-side, "I've Been Thinking" - which is yours below! Not only is this an opportunity to listen to new J songs, it's also on purple/green vinyl--it looks a like candy, and sounds just as appealing.

J Mascis - I've Been Thinking

But that isn't all! The master of rock will be all solo-ed up (and acoustic!) to take on the Brisbane heat as he heads to the sublime environs of the Powerhouse on Thursday January 10! This is incredible news, all the more so due to the fact that Danny Widdicombe has snavvled the support - way to bring in 2012 in style buddy! Grab your ticket here.

Lose Total Control On The Henge Beat

2011-11-22T03:07:00.000Z

To complete today's triptych of incredible Aussie rock releases, we have Total Control with their Henge Beat. I mentioned seeing Dick Diver last week - well, seeing as Al is from Total Control, it's important for you to see on the strength of the Dick Diver album why Total Control is still his day job. The Henge Beat LP is dark, dank and oh so seductive, a driving synth-punk behemoth that wallows in the flooded basements of Berlin, hiding the remains of the Birthday Party, Ultravox and Wire. You can see a correlation with another white-hot album of this year, Iceage's New Brigade, yet this is a little less brutal. The musical nous of founding member Mikey Young (Eddy Current Suppression Ring, UV Race) may surprise some, but it is clear he not only understands what makes garage rock tick (rather than poseurs), he can also pat Ian Curtis on the nape of the neck before giving him a donkey punch. Henge Beat is rabid, a little perverted, but also another release that seems unaffected by affectedness. This is a sound that pervades the participating members because they believe in this. And that is what makes Total Control a dangerously beautiful (albeit combustible) commodity.

I implore you (like I have with Royal Headache and Witch Hats) - get this now!

Total Control - One More Tonight
Total Control - Carpet Rash

Love Me A Royal Headache

2011-11-22T01:20:00.001Z

OK, so I kinda blew my wad over Witch Hats' Pleasure Syndrome. Well, I better change my pants AGAIN, because we have another absolute killer jumping out of the gates and totally destroying all preconceptions about what it means to create good music.

Royal Headache, in their debut self-titled longplayer, have done something that revels in its unaffectedness. In fact, it’s hard to imagine in this world today how such a band can exist. Devoutly and intrinsically DIY, these rabblerousers don’t pride themselves in living the music they play or the reputation they may garner; they just are. Now that Pitchfork et al (and to an extent, the glaring spotlight also turns on me, for better or worse) are espousing their brilliance, their progression can only go one of two ways - implosion, deliberate obscurity, or an evolution of sound. As it stands, then, 2011 will be a time capsule for the group, for this point forward their lives aren't likely to be the same unless they wilfully make it so. Therefore thank fuck for Royal Headache, an album chock full of influences, garage tendencies, fundamental mistakes and innate love of what they do that a better template of what it means to be rock and roll may not subsist.

OK, so that sounds like an outrageous declaration. However, after one listen to this album it becomes evident that this kind of lightning cannot be emulated. Each track on Royal Headache brims to overflowing with original wants, demands and expectations – this is fun, dammit. No pretensions, or aloofness, or affectations.

Maybe it comes from the juxtaposition between the frenetic musical interplay and the almost friendly, appeasing vocal stylings of vocalist Shogun (the comparisons to Ted Leo notwithstanding - and more than a little OTT) – his crooning on 'Back And Forth' when offset by the manic garage punk wailings becomes a beast unto itself. Shit, there is a song that sounds like fucking Rod Stewart! But 'Honey Joy', one of the strongest songs on offer, shows exactly who Royal Headache are. A song filled with heart-rending despair with a hint of loving redemption, played without a hint of irony, reference wink-nudges or aspirations.

Like I said, whether this kind of alchemy can be maintained under scrutiny is dubious at best. Let's hope that they find a way.

For the love of God, buy Royal Headache now! Its becoming very difficult to buy this on record, just so's you know...

Royal Headache - Girls
Royal Headache - Down The Lane
Royal Headache - Honey Joy

Friday Cover Up - Bonding With Males Causes Aneurysms

2011-11-18T12:10:00.003Z

Male Bonding covering Nirvana's 'Aneurysm.' That's all you need to know. Happy weekend people...

ART CONTEST - The Chance To Design School Knights/Night Manager Split!!!

2011-11-18T09:22:00.003Z

Those crazy folks over at Mind Fortress Records have an awesome competition for y'all - and they have asked Sonic Masala to help distribute the love! Two of our most beloved dirty gems, School Knights and Night Manager, are about to release a split release, something Mind Fortress have being trying to coerce out of them for some time now. This is uber exciting news in and of itself, but this is where you - YES, YOU! - come in!

YOU GET THE CHANCE TO DESIGN THE ART!!!!!

Ahem...

All's you need to do is submit your creative masterpieces to Mind Fortress. Submissions end on January 1st 2012 (yes, astute followers, that IS New Year's Day!), with the winner getting a free copy of the split and the multitudes of accolades and sexual trysts that one can handle. Only condition - use the standard CD dimensions when designing and sending in the art, BOTH SIDES. Track names will be added laterz.

Hells a poppin'! This is great news (I'm looking expressly at you A-Rey...), so get crack a lackin. Send your submissions here. And in case you have forgotten, here are some of our posts of the bands and below lies a taste of the bands' nutty goodness...

School Knights - Out Getting Ribs
School Knights - Bullies

Night Manager - Pizza Pasta

Eliza Remains After The Radio Gaslight Burns Low...

2011-11-18T03:43:00.000Z

I know that Sonic Masala mainly talks about either London or Brisbane shows, but here is one that is in Victoria, Australia, that whoever is in the vicinity should make an effort to get to.

I think that Gold Coast indie band Gaslight Radio were one of the most underrated bands of the 90s, not just of Australia but the world. Their output was consistently stellar. Now singer and guitarist Rory Cooke from the band has FINALLY fronted his own project called The Eliza Band, and they are launching the debut album Firework Dogs tonight at the Grace Darling Hotel in Collingwood. You can grab said album here. Seriously, if I wasn't being blessed by another great show here, Id consider travelling south of the border for this. Testify.

The Preston Front by The Eliza Band

And here is one of the lesser greats from GR - fuck they are amazing...

Royal Headache/Dick Diver Gig

2011-11-18T02:48:00.000Z

just a quickie here. As previously mentioned, Harvest (featuring Portishead, Flaming Lips, Mogwai, The National, Holy Fuck and a host of others) hists Brisbane's Botanical Gardens tomorrow, followed by the amazing iPhone replaying of the Flaming Lips' epic Zaireeka album as orchestrated by Wayne Coyne himself. Also on that night will be Melbourne's great exponents of post rock atmospherics Laura, playing at Woodland. But if you want to start your music overdose early, get to Woodland tonight, as the bands responsible for two of the most exciting albums of 2011 are converging for a night of drunken passion.

Royal Headache (self-titled) and Dick Diver (Now Start Again - listen to the whole thing here) are going to blow everyone away, and this is a promise. Very exciting! Supported by local act Loose Grip, and at just a tenner, this promises to be a stellar show.

(As a side note, my mate (and now brother-in-law) can't get into RH because the vocalist sounds too much like Ted Leo. As I haven't seen them live yet, I cant pass on the definitive verdict - but that summation is fucking funny.)

Royal Headache - Down The Lane

Dick Diver - Through The D from Chapter Music on Vimeo.

The Old Origins of A Young Tennis

2011-11-17T08:23:00.001Z

Those lovely retro kids that make up Denver band Tennis are set to release their hugely anticipated sophomore effort Young and Old on Valentine's Day next year, again through Fat Possum Records. For their forthcoming album guitarist Patrick Riley, vocalist Aliana Moore and drummer James Barone headed to Nashville to work with The Black Keys’ Patrick Carney. These sessions were very successful, with Carney coming out gushing about the band. Yet today we can make up our own minds with first taste 'Origins' streaming below! It will be available on a clear blue 7" through Forest Family Records on December 6. Once again, I cant quite finger the exact ingredient that lifts these guys above most of their contemporaries - but 'Origins' hits the target, and makes Young and Old an early contender for best album of 2012...

Origins by tennisinc

Get Pleasured By Witch Hats

2011-11-17T03:14:00.001Z

Today heralds in a few days' worth of posts devoted to some fantastic Aussie releases that I have been saving up, including ones by Royal Headache, Straight Arrows, Dead Farmers, and Total Control. Not all of them are this year's news, but are warranted another look in. This one though, is fresh off the presses, and is a veritable delight to boot.

Melbourne's Witch Hats have the guttural firepower and diseased charisma necessary to corrupt the minds of the masses. On their debut release Cellulite Soul the rawness and aggression inherent in their swagger suggested that style and substance weren't independent of each other, instead always wrestling for control. And in Pleasure Syndrome they really nail their MO to the wall. The beauty of this LP though is that the cohesion, the Araldite that grips a band into a fevered vortex of sonic elation and cosmic power, seems to have arrived. By the metric tonne.

Opening track 'The Bounty' is the perfect example of this. Frontman Kris Buscombe still sounds ready to double glass you at the drop of an ill-place syllable, yet there is a comfortable presence behind his lyrics now that suggests that such a glassing wouldn't be a violent outpouring so much as a graceful balletic manoeuvre that you would be in awed fascination by even as pints of blood pulses out of your split forehead. Such reigning in of the bountiful seams of sleazy abandon is what makes Pleasure Syndrome an infinitely better release, and possibly one of the best Aussie releases of the year (neck and neck with another that I will talk about very soon...) 'Mahoney' lends lyrics that sings to their previous incarnations, the S&M rife imagery as disturbing as it is titillating. 'Hear Martin' has taken references to serial shooter Martin Bryant, thrown together some Clash and Doors hubris and percolated it all with a sense of lackadaisical longing - something that shouldn't work, yet offers a slinky number that exudes originality and intensity. Closer Closing out with the suitably heavy 'Ashley', Witch Hats assert the notion that they are well-heeled rabblerousers with hearts of tainted pitch.

Pleasure Syndrome is out now through Longtime Listener.

Witch Hats - Hear Martin

Return Not So Yucky

2011-11-15T13:22:00.001Z

2011 has been a Yucky year. The quintet from London have really come into their own, dominating most festival stages, being at the pinnacle of the hip as fuck blogosphere intelligentsia, and raping the slacker rock songbook writ large.

As you can see from the above, I don't have the biggest love.

It stems from the only time I have seen them play, as a support for another massive band that I don't "get", Real Estate, back in January last year. Real Estate I found to be incredibly boring - I spent most of their set standing at the downstairs bar at the Lexington drinking Jagerbombs and talking shit to my sister and some other person to this day I cannot remember. Yuck and Colours supported, and whilst both acts exploited the Pavement MO, it was actually Colours who came away with the most points in my opinion that night.

Yet the release of Yuck has gone gangbusters for the Londoners, and although im happy for them, I haven't really given them the time of day (except for Mogwai's ace remix of 'Rubber'...). It seemed that they filled out the right questionnaire or application form, for, like Colours, there seemed to be many bands mining the 90s penchant for noodling guitars and haphazard pop hooks yet they remained on the periphery, whilst Yuck conquered the US and jammed with Jools.

Now Fat Possum is re-releasing Yuck as a double LP stacked with B-sdies and rarities. The editor at Time Off magazine in Brisbane implored me to listen, to be more forgiving (as he has seen millions of bands on many different continents, it kills him to know that he hasn't seen Yuck, an employee has, and said employee slags off his favourite new band on regular intervals).

TRACKLISTING

Get Away
The Wall
Shook Down
Holing Out
Suicide Policeman
Georgia
Suck
Stutter
Operation
Sunday
Rose Gives a Lily
Rubber
Milkshake (previously available on limited vinyl only, streamed digitally)
The Base of a Dream is Empty (vinyl and digital B-Side to Rubber)
Cousin Corona (iTunes bonus)
Soothe Me (brand new)
Coconut Bible (B-side to Holing Out)
Doctors In My Bed (vinyl B-side to Get Away, only streamed digitally)

So I have. And it's...pretty good. Im not changing my tune too much - I really don't get hooked on these tracks at all enough to spin the record on frequent occasions - but it's ok. Right place, right time perhaps? 2012 will tell...

Below are two of those "new" cuts. Believe me, there is substance here. 'Soothe Me' has seen a lot of press due to the blatant Kevin Shields stealing, but who doesn't in this day and age? It is also a sound that is stolen precisely because its a style that can go with almost any other genre, and its cool as fuck. And it probably isnt their fault that they have been lauded so hard. AND, as seen by my intermittent Real Estate posts, I will give bands a second chance if it's deemed warranted. And on the strength of these two tracks alone, I may still be bemused at the level of hype and adulation, but it has me soothing the previously held rage. These kids seem ok. Bring on LP #2.

Before the band retreat into the studio however, they are slamming the UK in one final jaunt - although the London show is already sold out (again, THAT confuses me...)

UPCOMING LIVE DATES

November
14 – Rescue Rooms, Nottingham
15 – Academy 3, Manchester
16 – Leadmill, Sheffield
18 – Academy 2, Newcastle
19 – Cabaret Voltaire, Edinburgh
20 – King Tuts, Glasgow
21 – 53 Degrees, Preston
22 – Wedgwood Rooms, Portsmouth
23 – Waterfront, Norwich
24 – Electric Ballroom, London
26 – The Button Factory, Dublin
27 – Speakeasy Bar, Belfast

Video Vacuum - Mister Heavenly, Portico Quartet, Lester The Fierce, Crushed Beaks

2011-11-15T11:04:00.001Z

Well it may still be spring in Australia, but the feel-good temperatures emblematic of the season appear to have fled, allowing summer to beat on down earlier than expected. I'm working in a room made for thirty people - it's currently housing 34, and only one ceiling fan is working. Sure, I should be molding these kids' futures, but screw it, let's watch some flicks!

That veritable supergroup Mr Heavenly have really impressed with their Out Of Love record on Sub Pop, an album that has indie pop on a skewer, slow roasting in a kiln of fun (I'm not getting on any press releases with that one...). Opener 'Bronx Sniper' is one of the more impressive cuts off the album, and it now has a suitably funky yet bizarre video. The band hit London for the first time later this month, and hints are thrown that they will be Down Under quite early on next year - get excited.

I have to say that for a Mercury Prize nominated act, Portico Quartet don't readily ring a bell. The East London-centric act have their 3rd self titled album ready to flaunt, which delves into new sonic territories, drawing on the inspiration of electronica, ambient, classical and dance music as they take their strange, beautiful, cinematic, future music to exciting new vistas. Influences are listed as Burial, Flying Lotus, Max Richter, Steve Reich, Bon Iver...the eclecticism yet musical verbosity bodes well.

Lester The Fierce is the newest project from Anita Lester, the irresistible chanteuse who is set to release her stunning debut EP ‘The Summer Deluge’ this November. The visual artist turned performer describes her music as ‘dark cinematic folk rock,’ her songs bleak but beautiful and full, illustrating her experiences of love and death in a unique and often graphic way. Below is her luscious video for 'Holland'.

Finally we have Crushed Beaks, a London duo that we only just brought to your attention a couple weeks previously. They continue the build up to their debut single release with a brand new video for lead track ‘Close-Ups’. Taking in the band’s shared love of kitsch horror films, the video for ‘Close-Ups’ is a brilliant juxtaposition against the song’s bittersweet melodies. As if being forced through a broken vintage projector, both Poile and Morris seem to be convulsing and morphing into different beasts throughout. Eyes twist and mouths foam as the song nears its effervescent climax.

NOW GET BACK TO WORK!

Political Outrage Plays Cat And Mouse With Sacred Animals

2011-11-15T08:19:00.004Z

Before I had listened to the collaboration between Irish sonic explorers Sacred Animals and Michael Owens aka Owensie, I had high expectations. I am often dubious about concepts in music, but there are moments when a concept really arrests the imagination.

'Cat And Mouse' was written about a Russian family who fell to their death in a housing estate in Glasgow last year. An apparent suicide from high in an old tower block used to house asylum seekers, it is thought they may have jumped for fear of deportation by immigration authorities. The father was also known to have suffered from mental problems. After the family were removed, a vigil was held by other local asylum seekers & many came forward with similar accounts of jumping from buildings in fear of deportation.

The track itself, alongside an amazing video by Brendan Canty, is a piece of wondrous, aching beauty. Sacred Animals is someone we should all be taking notice of. He debuted an EP Welcome Home at the beginning of 2011, but 'Cat & Mouse' promises leaps and bounds on this promising foundation.

Sacred Animals VS Owensie - 'Cat & Mouse' by Type PR

Sacred Animals VS Owensie // Cat & Mouse from Feel Good Lost on Vimeo.

Hits From The Box #41 - Long Time Between Drinks

2011-11-15T01:42:00.000Z

It's been a tumultuous week behind the scenes on Planet Masala. The sharehouse has lost two members, as they venture out into the home-owning market (suckas). Yet two new people take their place - a natural medicine expert...and Ali all the way from the UK. Its been almost a year since I fled those sorry Isles, and thus it is that long since Ive seen her. So let's just say I'm happy - well, happier than usual, and I'm a pretty happy guy generally speaking. PLUS there are some really exciting tidbits of music info that will end the year with a bang! So let's get into out latest brace of Hits From The Box artistes, shall we?

From the same breeding ground of Portland shoegazers Anne, A389 Records (in essence anyway), comes Pale Creation, a band out of Cleveland that juggle the heady realms of hardcore and metal with steely, doom-laden precision. A389 are releasing the band's 2000 album Twilight Haunt, a much-lauded cult album that has been out of print for a while now, on vinyl for the first time. It is perfect timing too - although Pale Creation have put out various EPs in the decade since, are only now preparing to release their follow-up LP. Going back to where it all began, you can't help but feel energised and itchy for the new material...

Pale Creation - Nightburned

We were pretty enamoured with Deathdream, an artist on cool little New Zealand label Papaiti Records, only a fortnight ago. Here's anotheree. Mammal Airlines are much less concerned with soundscapes and nightmares than their brethren - in fact, their only concern is how loud they should be so that they make your ears rupture without damaging their own. Their album Wounded Lions Crying Iron contains five fuzzy noise pop gems that are reminiscent of Japandroids at their most lo-fi and dissonant. It's great stuff, but hard to track down, seeing as it's their only official release and there were only 25 copies of the CD-R. Still, bug the fuck out of them to put it out in some other format, there is gold in them thar hills...

Mammal Airlines - Swim Team
Mammal Airlines - Grass Cannons

Don't judge a band by it's name, or the title of its album. I'm not saying that this act and release have bad names per se, just that they are somewhat misleading. I have to say that I was very impressed the first time I threw on French band Trunks' album On The Roof - yet I thought it may have been solely due to my expectations being suitably low... On subsequent listens, though, the admiration only grew. I should have known the calibre would have been high due to the mastering prowess of Bob Weston who was behind the wheel - Weston is a heavy genius. There is a certain element of Grails in the jazz-inflected psych groove, that instrumental sinuous grind that drags you into unexpected dark corners where dangerous mores lie in wait. They are pretty special, and you should hunt down this album - it could be the precursor to something very incredible.

Trunks - Hardfiscurry

Expect some glacial trips when hoppin on board with New Brunswick soundmaster Eric Sarmiento. The tracks that garnish his latest album The Friend Is This Animal (out on Alchemist Records) are littered with movements that play with conventions of pace, space and time, and are swirling expressionistic pieces due to this fact. This ambient trickster has done wonders here.

Eric Sarmiento - Bilumsman

And just when we thought that inimitable children's Goliath The Wiggles getting into Australian music's Hall Of Fame was good news enough, along comes a band with a similar moniker and catchy, sugar sweet pop hooks to rival any band worth their infectious salt (I'm not sure I know what I mean either...) The Wiggle Room is a band from New Jersey that sings about small dogs and cotton candy with barbarous intent - possibly the architect is the now MIA original Yellow Wiggle? The album is called The Wiggle Room, I Presume, and has a heavy hitter pitching in the recording studio - Kevin McMahon (Titus Andronicus, The Walkmen, Swans, Real Estate). It's a lot of fun.

The Wiggle Room - Been So Long
The Wiggle Room - Song In My Head

And finally we have Vermont rockers The Concrete Rivals. The band formed back in '08 when they learned a set of classic instrumental surf rock and movie theme songs for a one-time gig. One gig led to another, and guitarist Jay Ekis began introducing some of his original instrumental songs. Eat Their Weight in Snakes is a collection of their high-energy rock music that showcases the constant evolution of the trio. When you read their list of influences - from John Williams to Fugazi, from Dick Dale to The Who - it's clear that you will get a set of songs with a certain classical aesthetic that will bend around an unseen corner at the drop of a D. It's surf rock, but not as we know it.

Black Sea Surf by The Concrete Rivals

Happy Top O' The Week To Ya!

You'll Have A Lot Of Friends With Some Black Tambourines

2011-11-14T08:04:00.004Z

UK's "Kings of the Southwest Slackers" The Black Tambourines put out a new track just on the eve of Halloween (yes, about a fortnight ago, I'm so lame and shit...) It's been a while between recording drinks for these guys, but this track is ace of base! Art Is Hard are putting out the EP in December, which is great news and even more exciting considering the quality of this first off-cut.

The Black Tambourines - A Lot Of Friends

Bare Wires Stay Cheap, Smell Golden

2011-11-14T00:12:00.005Z

Those slackers Bare Wires have pumped out their third album, aptly titled Cheap Perfume, and it shows a continuation down the road of sleazy dispropriety. There is nothing new here, either by Bare Wires' standards nor by the standards of musical history. These dudes do what they do, when they want to do it. The more I listen to this, the more I enjoy the easy shambolism, the heady heavy-lidded promiscuity, the abject fun of it all. Don't talk to me about a revolution - if its as full of charismatic malaise as this, I don't have a problem with that at all.

Bare Wires - Cheap Perfume
Bare Wires - Dirt Beach

P.A.H.B. Spit V.E.N.O.M

2011-11-14T00:12:00.004Z

I still remember the second time I saw Leeds legends Pulled Apart By Horses, a small show in the cavern that is the 100 Club. They set a blowtorch to my brain and mailed me the remains. Their self-titled debut LP was killer, even if most of the tracks had been floating around in one form or another for years. So its with feverish excitement that I present their new single, 'V.E.N.O.M'. It is out in January through Transgressive Records. It is the first cut of their time with legendary producer Gill Norton (Pixies, Foo Fighters etc), ahead of the album’s release in 2012. Tentative title? Tough Love (indeed...) The single will be released on digital and 7” formats and will be backed with two exclusive b-sides. Fuck yeah.

The band are smashing the winter out of the UK in February. Below are the tour dates. Can I smell an Aussie assault? Its all in the wind...for now.

FEBRUARY 2012 live dates//
13 // GLASGOW, King Tuts
14 // ABERDEEN, Tunnels
15 // NEWCASTLE, Digital Other Rooms
16 // SHEFFIELD, Leadmill
17 // MANCHESTER, Club Academy
18 // BRISTOL, Fleece
20 // BIRMINGHAM, Library
21 // NORWICH, Waterfront
22 // SOUTHAMPTON, Talking Heads
23 // LONDON, Electric Ballroom

Blasted Canyons Live Up To The Name

2011-11-12T11:54:00.007Z

I posted about Wax Idols the other week, as their guitarist/frontwoman Heather Fedewa/Fortune is one punk rock goddess who slays all and sundry with her barbed hooks. Fedewa created something nasty and delectably palatable there; but I feel that her work on No Future may be underdone, if the self-titled LP from Blasted Canyons is anything to go by.

Hole E SHIT.

This album is pretty fucking incredible. Having taken pride of place on the eclectic and ramshackle Castle Face stable, Blasted Canyons serves as a manifesto that is full of vitriol, is scribed in blood and is wired to tonnes of Semtex. They have been heftily aided in their quest to destroy the world by producer Matt Hartman - yep, he of Sic Alps, whose Napa Asylum was yet another ace record of 2011. Throw Ty Segall into this crowd and you have San Francisco, the cornerstone to the best music made this year. Uh huh - Blasted Canyons is that good. For your sake, get this now.

Blasted Canyons - Blood On The Wall
Blasted Canyons - Death & A Half

Bearded Spaceships From Boston Guided By Voices No Longer...

2011-11-12T09:58:00.007Z

Last week I gave out a taster from the new Guided By Voices record. I also stated in that post about an interview where fellow Columbus, Ohio band Times New Viking felt that they may have to call it a day as they were "growing up". Well, if that GBV incumbent LP isn't enough to shake the youngsters out of their doldrums, they should look to Robert Pollard's other projects, one of which is Boston Spaceships. They put out an album a month or so ago, Let It Beard, a simple play at the Beatles album. If people doubt the validity of elder statesmen rocking out to original tunes, Let It Beard should cast those aspersions into the fire where they belong. This trio have put out some fine releases in their time, and although this ambitious 2LP affair doesn't always hit the bullseye, the quality ratio is substantially high, and Pollard kills.

Sadly this is said to be the final release, so if you like what you hear (and you bloody well should!) get to buying the back catalogue. Start here, then in my opinion take on Planets Are Blasted first - but they are all ace.

Boston Spaceships - Blind 20-20
Boston Spaceships - Tourist UFO
Boston Spaceships - Let It Beard

Friday Cover Up - Asobi Seksu Walks Those Savage Men Home

2011-11-11T16:54:00.006Z

I'm pretty pissed about Brisbane's Harvest timetable. Seriously, why are you allowing The National and Flaming Lips to clash? Normally I would skip National altogether for this kind of show, but seeing as they are my girlfriend's favourite band and I haven't seen her in almost a year, it may be remiss of me to do so. Still, mega pissed, and aim to get most of that set in. There are other gripes too, but let's focus on today. The Walkmen are playing Harvest and have no real competition as they are earlier in the day. Here is the beautiful shoegaze majesty of Asobi Seksu covering their great track 'House Of Little Savages.' It almost salves the burns of injustice...Actually, I'm all good. Will be meeting Wayne Coyne in person on Sunday at the 4ZZZ iPhone Flaming Lips party, where lucky peeps (me included haha!) will be "orchestrated" in playing the mammoth Zaireeka album in a world first event! So yeah - life is good once more...

Asobi Seksu - Little House Of Savages (Walkmen cover)

Case Studies vs King Dude - Two Twisted Rustic Troubadours Throw Down

2011-11-11T06:55:00.009Z

I've decided to put these two artists into a musical cage death match of my own devising because they have just had releases that for whatever reason are inextricably linked to each other via my muddled, viscous headspace. No one wants to get in there, so let me vomit it out on this here page so that you can pick out, between the corn and the carrot, what you deem to be the better corner to stand behind...

Case Studies isn't exactly a new kid on the block - that would be Jesse Lortz of The Duchess & The Duke fame, hitting out on his own. The release The World Is Just A Shape To Fill The Night already piques interest due to its release on Sacred Bones. But we are only interested in the result, and what we have in this finished product is some dark, lonely, windswept folk numbers that are coloured with water-damaged, smoky images of American melancholia. Sounds depressing as all get out, but therein lies Case Studies' genius in that you are locked into his vision, his stories, and marvel rather than despair. Think a more harmonic Micah P Hinson, with the Biblical quaking dialled down a notch, yet the nonchalant violence of the Cormac McCarthy stylings of America a prominent feature. Now you see why I love this record...

Case Studies - The Eagle, Or The Serpent

And then there is this guy. I have already raved about King Dude's My Beloved Ghost that was re released by Bathetic earlier this year (I grabbed it on vinyl before it disappeared, which it has. It is as hissy, warped and fundamental maudlin yet exciting as it seemed on first listen!). The self-confessed Pagan is one of the greatest underground enigmas that we have right now, and whilst I support his entrepreneurial skills with his clothing line (yet see as a goth version of Ed Hardy), I'm enamoured with his skewed (and probably skewered) take on folk and pop. His LP is weirdly - albeit fittingly - titled Love (out through DAIS Records), and whilst it follows more of a synth drive than his brilliant My Beloved Ghost, it still maintains his constant awareness of the Devil - this time with smoky blue peepers.

King Dude - Big Blue Eyes

Now...FIGHT!

Luke Roberts Drifts Out With The Thrills

2011-11-11T01:57:00.004Z

Thrill Jockey really hit the stellar releases into hyperdrive this year, and with Luke Roberts' Big Bells And Dime Songs, an understated gem that in its poetic lyricism evokes hope and frivolity, the label's sublime record remains indelibly intact. The label itself says the record is about "running, stumbling, falling, crashing, crying, spitting, fighting, sleeping, dancing, healing, bruising, the butterfly, crawling, creeping, building, flying, fording, gargling, just starting out, homecoming, claiming, calling, bridges, tunnels, planets, and the sun and money." Exhaustive. Like life flashing before one's eyes - yet it's a epiphanous experience without the sense of losing out or regretting anything. Mr Roberts, you have tapped into something that is subliminal, primal, and oh so beautiful - thank you.

Big Bells And Dime Songs is available now - grab it from the source.

Luke Roberts - Unspotted Clothes
Luke Roberts - Just Do It Blues

Migrating To The Woodland And Into Your Drunken Heart

2011-11-11T00:05:00.003Z

Murky fuzz band and local whale enthusiasts Tiny Migrants are releasing their debut EP on CD (7” available through Mere Noise later this year) at Woodland tomorrow night! Ive been a big fan of every facet of this shambolic collective ever since I saw them support Mark Sultan in February - they were literally the first "new" band I saw when arriving back in Brisbane, and they still delight with every show, especially their interesting set when in support of the brilliant Ty Segall.

Now this show will be incrediballs, not just due to this (and they love to drink, so you know it will get fuzzy and friendly), but the supports have stepped up in the form of motivated party-bunch Cannon, reverb spiked Sunshine State and the return of punk trio the Sulphur Lights. That is huge, shitfaced-worthy news, and seeing as its all for $8 you cannot go wrong. CAN NOT. So get there. And to sate you, here is the first song I heard them play that really grabbed me...

Tiny Migrants - Honeycomber

Beeting On The True Widow

2011-11-10T12:47:00.008Z

Both of these tracks came up a while ago on the blog merry-go-round - in fact I have so many posts backlogged from past releases they are starting to grow mould - but I couldn't let them slide by, nor could I decide which one to write about to close out this balmy Thursday, so I'm hitting you with both barrels!

First up, it's well known now that I have begun a love affair with Captured Tracks favoured Queens trio The Beets. I love their silly cartoon cover art, their blase attitude, their slacker malaise wrapped up in Black Lips Halloween garb. They released an album at the beginning of the year - Staying Home - which I thought was a lot of fun. Now they are releasing another album called Let The Poison Out (this time finding its home on Hardly Art, still with the cover art though!). I have already gushed over first track from it 'Doing As I Do', but here is another. I'm yet to get my mitts on the LP, although when searching for it down at my local record store (which, after a huge closing down sale and the requisite mass protest, fevered vinyl purchases and gnashing of teeth, is still inexplicably open) I found their first album, Spit In The Face Of People Who Don't Want To Be Cool, so it still kinda worked out for me.

The Beets - Friends Of Friends
The Beets - Doing As I Do

I am a massive fan of True Widow, and their debut album slays me. So when I heard that they already had some new releases coming our way, I was more than stoked. I.N.O is in fact a mixed bag of both leftovers from their impossibly long monikered LP As High As The Highest Heavens And From The Center To The Circumference Of The Earth and brand newies, such as the track 'Bathyscaphe' below. Apart from the title that is at the other end of the length spectrum, it is droning beauty as usual from these Texans. Which means it's crazy good.

True Widow - Bathyscaphe
True Widow - Skull Eyes

NOW do you see why I've included both? Good! Now I'm off to the airport. I will be predisposed for the next few days - not seeing your girlfriend for ten months means there is some catching up to do - but I'm not leaving you hanging! Expect posts about Luke Roberts, Blasted Canyons, a Friday Cover Up, our next Hits From The Box and more!

Old World Vulture - Lovers, Not Losers

2011-11-10T08:40:00.006Z

Toronto-based instrumental band Old World Vulture really impressed me last year with their self-titled EP - here me waxing lyrical about its shiny twists and turns here. Well, clearly I'm not the only one impressed with the band, as 2011 has seen the quartet play alongside some great acts. The greatest highlight though was snaring the support slot for Mogwai's Toronto show in April.

Now they have a single that precedes their debut LP, called 'Trophy Lovers'. There is a noticeable difference in that the squalling guitar/bass double-barrel assault is dialled right back, with shimmering synths coming to fill the gaps. Not as much a departure as that sounds, though - it feels like they may have been watching a little bit of countrymen Holy Fuck... Thus, still uber excited about this release.

Old World Vulture - Trophy Lovers

Better Days With Minty Fresh Fonda

2011-11-10T04:31:00.001Z

LA dream pop outfit Fonda returned after a lengthy hiatus earlier this year with the Better Days EP. Well, in very good news, label Minty Fresh has decided to rerelease Better Days on vinyl, with an added single for the occasion! The release isn't until November 22, but you can book yourself some wax right here.

Unsure? Try the new track below, as well as another cut from the earlier release. These guys, around the core of couple Emily Cook and David Klotz, may have lain dormant for seven-odd years (and Klotz edits music on Glee - seriously dude?!?*), but Fonda are welcome back any time.

Fonda - Some Things Aren't Worth Knowing
Fonda - Better Days

* Cook writes screenplays such as Ratatouille, so I guess it almost cancels out the bad taste in my mouth about the "day jobs" - almost...

North/South America's Psych Malaise

2011-11-10T02:53:00.007Z

I love discovering bands from far-flung corners of the world! Last week I had the utmost privilege and pleasure of seeing Carsick Cars, one of the best noise rock acts coming out of China. This week I am pleased to gush over this 7" from Peruvian psych warriors Fantasmas. Ok, let's clarify - they are Brooklyn based, but leader Kam was born in Lima before spending his teenage childhood scouring the streets of DC. First of all the noir cover photo is killer in itself. Then there are the two tracks, which clearly show this clash of cultural identity. It's only really a taster, an entree if you will, but Fantasmas have shown here that they have something percolating in the darkest recesses of their music that, with a little time, will burst forth in all its vehement beauty.

The 7" is currently digital only, yet will be put out on vinyl later this month on Kam's own Red Pyramids label...stay tuned.

Fantasmas - Blind Children (Shake)
Fantasmas - La Maga

Guilty Ghosts Pulls Back The Veils

2011-11-09T14:29:00.005Z

There was a solo artist that contacted me at the beginning of the year and really impressed me with his self-titled EP. That person was Tristan O'Donnell, and he goes by the name Guilty Ghosts. He produced his debut LP Veils last month, and whilst it features some familiar tunes, they are welcome returns rather than awkward overstayers - the gamble has paid off. The class of this release is inherent from the cover art - Woman Draped In Veilis a famous piece of photography by Amelia Van Buren around the turn of the twentieth century, and it's a bold, striking, ethereal piece of art, something that O'Donnell attempts to replicate with admirable results. He is equally at home with drone or post-rock tropes as he is with ambient synth drifts and guitar ambles. Added guest vocals by Sea Oleena and Guerre add nuance to some of the tracks, but it is to O'Donnells credit alone that Veils ends up being the understated triumph that it is. A beautiful listen from start to end. Guilty Ghosts is a project you should invest time with and get lost in.

Veils is availble here.

Guilty Ghosts - The End Of Akira
Guilty Ghosts - Everlasting Evening (ft Sea Oleena)
Guilty Ghosts - Tinted Windows (ft Guerre)

Islet Display Their Wealth Of Fortune

2011-11-09T07:46:00.005Z

I was warned by Paul one fated May night as we travelled to the sadly now defunct Barden's Boudoir in Dalston, London that I should prepare to have my face melted off. We were going to yet another Upset The Rhythm gig. The headliners - Mi Ami, the nigh on impossible to categorise US band that certainly killed many cells in my body. but Paul was also making reference to the support, a small Welsh act called Islet. With their manic instrument swapping, impromptu percussion (using the ceiling, anyone?) and effervescent exuberance, these kids won me over.

Their EPs Celebrate This Place and Wimmy are great, yet its hard to believe that it has taken them this long to get around to releasing an album proper. Yet it is finally in the can, and Islet have announced their debut LP, to be released 23rd January 2012 on Shape (Turnstile), called Illuminated People. Being largely recorded on a farm in Worcestershire, Islet worked with an outside producer, Drew Morgan, for the first time - hence this may become their most coherent and cohesive record to date. Seeing as the label putting it out is run by the band's Mark Thomas, though, there will be no compromise on the band's manic maelstrom of sound.

Don't believe me? 'This Fortune' is the first taste off the album, and is available now as part of a tour-only 12", which features a vinyl only 15 minute sound collage made by the group; a swirling mass of found sounds, fragmented thoughts and previously unheard tracks.

If you are in the UK this month, you will have ample chances to pick up this release whilst seeing this exciting band in action, culminating in a show on November 16 at one of my favourite London haunts, The Lexington.

Paul, thanks for the Islet warning. Now get me that vinyl, or we're done.

Islet - This Fortune

VIDEO VACUUM - Secret Birds, Fucked Up, Sex Beet, Sunken Seas

2011-11-09T01:49:00.006Z

I don't know about you, but this week is hurting. Real bad. SO rather than knuckle down and get through the massive load of work I have, I'm gonna hunker down for some movie-watching. You in?

First up is Brissie aural alchemists Secret Birds, who have just completed this beauty for their track 'Part II'. I need to zone out for a while and this will do the trick...

Secret Birds - Part II from Sonoptik on Vimeo.

I do love me some Fucked Up in the morning. Here is a decidedly more lo-fi approach to a David Comes To Life video than the past, and its a lot of fun (as filmed by band member Sally Miranda). I wish I was hanging out with Fucked Up right now...

Fucked Up "Running on Nothing" from Sandy Miranda on Vimeo.

We haven't heard much from London rabble-rousers Sex Beet of late. And although it may be a while before the new recordings see the light of day, we have this video to sate us just that little bit. Sure, it's an old song, but the video is a fresh one, so it all feels new once more...

Now I don't know much about NZ noisemongers Sunken Seas, but I'm a fan of the moody atmospherics inherent here on 'High Rise'. They have new recordings on the way, so expect to hear more from this band in the near future...

NOW GET BACK TO WORK!

Take 'Em High, Kosmonaut!

2011-11-08T18:12:00.000Z

Kösmonaut is a one-man kosmiche machine outta Texas who has seen fit to flood the market with not one but two full-term releases. These bestial cosmic hypnotic-hymns are mind-numbing in their insistent synthetic drone, fidgety like a glue-fuelled red/blue nightmare about stop-motion worms. Tangerine Dream, Heldon, Cluster - they are all littered throughout Emanations and Voyage of Time. The former is a little darker, steeped in the psych end of the spectrum, whilst the latter is definitely an acid reflux version of much of the 80s synth moodpieces (and the way better release in my opinion). its pretty incredible stuff, to be honest. I am not a usual fan of this stuff - well, not enough for it to be on constant rotation - but if you have good headphones, and like chilling out in the middle of the night, this is the soundtrack. Im not suggesting anything else need accompany this trip - Ill let you improvise on that length - but suffice to say that this is transportation music to the nth degree. Highly recommended.

Kösmonaut - Monad (From Emanations)
Kösmonaut - Voyage of Time (From Voyage of Time)

Mystical Specs Never Change With Woodsman

2011-11-08T15:47:00.001Z

I don't know how Denver spaceniks Woodsman do it. They have a new release, an EP called Mystic Places (once again through Fire Talk), and somehow it maintains the excellent quality that they have been pumping out the past few years. Even more heartening is that they find new and unusual ways to keep these tracks tight yet languid and free-form - so much so that on 'Specdrum' it feels that twice as much time has passed, you have slipped so deep into its trance. Then when you realise the song is over, and so little time has passed, you immediately put it on and jump into their slipstream once more. Its a Herculean feat, but one Woodsman seem to be able to achieve on a whim. Furthermore, what with the recent addition of vocals (very Jason Simon of Dead Meadow in tonality and usage), it shows that the boundaries are continually shifted by these adventurous folk.

Mystic Places is out now - get it here. My big call for the day (other than Matt Kennedy of Kitchens Floor possibly becoming an icon - that one was pretty huge)? This EP is miles better than their Rare Forms album of earlier in the year. This is what I wished that album was. It is amazing.

Woodsman - Specdrum

Kitchen's Floor

2011-11-08T07:45:00.000Z

The fact that I'm writing a post about Brisbane band Kitchens Floor says a hell of a lot for their latest LP, Look Forward To Nothing, out on local label Bedroom Suck and US juggernauts Siltbreeze. My first connection with the trio was last year at the Zoo when they supported Eddy Current Suppression Ring. Now, ECSR played probably the best show Ive seen them play, and one of the best shows Ive seen at the Zoo. But Kitchens Floor - Jesus Christ. What a fucking train wreck. Matt Kennedy may be the epitome of self-loathing, but shit is still shit, and boy, it sounded like the biggest nugget laid on mankind. It was amateur hour. It was lapped up by hipsters who actually did look like they would eat human poo because Pitchfork told them to.

Seriously, I hated that show.

However, I did listen to their first LP Loneliness Is A Dirty Mattress a couple weeks later. There was something in there amidst the grime and overt slacker ennui. Actual killer rock with pop aesthetics without the pretensions - it just was what it was. So when the newie Look Forward To Nothing hit, I listened with a little less apprehension.

This is a massive leap forward. Sure, Kennedy still fucking hates himself. He's got enough depression/self-loathing/displeasure to wrap five hundred Bieber tragics up and suffocate them in before dropping them into a shallow creek. But this really ups the ante in songwriting, ably abetted by the boisterous drumming of the ever-busy Joe Alexander (Bedroom Suck founder, playing in Per Purpose and a plethora of other ill-fitting garbs, almost all of which are infinitely better for his inclusion) and Liam Kenny's bass lines. Hell, rather than sounding like an affected art project, they sound like a goddamn band. With proper hooks. Let's hope Kennedy keeps the double chambers coming, the Valium at hand, and the guitar firmly gripped in his fist. We might have a grungey icon in the making here.

Kitchens Floor - 116

The Power Of Styrofoam Is Too Great...

2011-11-08T05:18:00.003Z

About a fortnight ago I started writing for ace US blog The Styrofoam Drone. That is my post today about Brissie locals Feathers and their vinyl LP Feather's Moon. The past two posts - Otro Mundo and a Palmist 10" split between SM mainstays Thee Ludds and awesome US band The Growlers. You can read those two here and here. I have already mentioned the Feathers and Otro Mundo releases, but haven't touched on how awesome Palmist Records' recent run of splits really are, although I mentioned the one that had The Whines and Burning Yellows on it here. Suffice to say it's killer. How killer? Thee Ludds finally showing their potential is warranted, whilst The Growlers have produced one of the tracks of 2011 with 'Graveyard's Full'. It really deserves a mention. Have a taste below, then head over and check out Zac's work on The Styrofoam Drone - it's an excellent blog that really goes that extra mile.

The Growlers - Graveyard's Full

Thee Ludds - Jagged Prowl

Hits From The Box #40 - An Offer I Couldn't Refuse

2011-11-08T04:07:00.010Z

I became a godfather on the weekend. Now, Ive always thought I was the centre of the universe, yet to be given an outright label to influence someone else's is pretty heavy. Despite my affinity with the Dark Side, though, I have decided to be a shining light in this child's life, especially when it comes to music. I will be Ruby's musical guardian, protecting her from the Auto-Tuners and Gleeks of the world, and turning her onto the various frequencies of distorted noise and feedback.

Plus, I look really good in frilly lace.

That said, although being called a godfather is pretty ace due to its connotations thanks to Puzo and Coppola, it is pretty redundant. My godparents are my aunt and uncle, one from either side of the family. My aunt bought me copies of The Babysitter Club when I was fourteen. My uncle is MIA after shacking up with his ex-wife. So I guess nothing really has changed, and this entire diatribe is worthless. Maybe I should take back the godfather mantle. Swan in wearing a trenchcoat and hat, flick silver coins to waiting paupers' outstretched palms, offering counsel, doling out justice. I'm certainly not subjecting my goddaughter to crap novels and albums, that's for sure. Bootleg ones, maybe, but not crap ones.

Maybe I should raise up Ruby's expectations on Hits From The Box - burgeoning talent just finding their sonic feet. Just like The Fighting League, Aussie label Dream Damage's latest signing. Hailing from Canberra (who since toning down their fireworks and porn allocations, has gotten a hell of a lot more boring in recent times), The Fighting League are taking tropical pop rock and punching it in the kidneys, due in no small part to their visceral live performances led by livewire frontman Dominic Death. Produced by Saints maestro Bruce Calloway, Tropical Paradise promises to be something snottily special, and will be on our doorstep next week.

The Fighting League - Guys You Want To Be

A change of pace here with Mirador, the music project of twenty-something Philadelphia resident Kyle Robinson. Combining the limitless instrumental palate of electronic music with live guitar, synth, effects pedals and percussion, Mirador build intricate worlds of sound for the listener to explore. Verdant is the EP, and it's bustling with free-range sound collages that jostle for attention in a sanguine yet elusive manner, a juxtaposition that sounds off-kilter until you imagine the times when Animal Collective try to rein in the mania. The calm is offset with the roiling electricity that slithers underneath. It's one that I haven't necessarily struggled with, but struggled to finger why I like it so much. The mystery, therein lies the solution... you can grab digital or physical copies here.

Mirador - Dance Of The Lantern People

Britt Teusink likes to make noise pop under the moniker deadCAT, a project that is fleshed out by whoever he can get involved on a semi-regular basis. The debut EP R.I.P. contains songs named after Teusink's past feline friends. Now that his moniker makes sense, and the title of the EP, but you just get a sense that he is doing it himself - killing the cats, I mean - to get his twisted muse on... No, this is not inherent in the tracks, which are warped in a sunny sense (although if you intend to call your cat Rosie O'Donnell, it inevitably has a horrific demise lined up...)

deadCat - Rosie O'Donnell

Glasgow based act Honey threw a nice curveball at me in the form of self-released debut EP Taste It And See (it's streaming below - it's also a free download from their Bandcamp!). The follow-up single 'Nowhere Floating' is a fine slice of spectral shoegaze pop,

Honey - Nowhere Floating
Taste It And See by Honey

Heading to the other end of the UK, Bristol kids Mayans were a fan of our coverage on the band Spectres (and if you haven't heard their EP yet, rectify that shit immediately!) As for Mayans themselves, as their 'Fitzpatrick' track attests, they are all about melding droning rhythms with eruptions of noise, all with a perfect kernel of pop nestled within. This is early days for Mayans, yet 'Fitzpatrick' promises much more.

Mayans - Fitzpatrick

Finally we have Benjamin Shaw, who was "born to soiled genes in ‘80s Blackpool and loathed in soiled scenes of 2011’s London." Gritty indie self-loathing notwithstanding, his debut LP There's Always Hope, There's Always Cabernet - despite having a very true and prescient title - is one hell of a longplayer from a troubadour who aims for the side streets rather than the sunny boulevards of the singer-songwriter realms. There are a few singer-songwriters in Brisbane who are delving into this twisted narrative bent, but Shaw has rightly found himself making a few ripples at home. Revelling in lo-fi dissonance, fuzzy production, abstract and self-depreciative lyrical approach. His single 'Somewhere Over The M6' drops some of the rambling (mis)demeanour for a more aural assault, a perfect counterpoint to the ambiguous lyricism on display. Equally at home with making wicked wordplays as he is percolating noise bubbles, Shaw may be someone that will rock the status quo of the mainstream crowds - or at the very least, eat away at the foundations.

Somewhere Over the M6 (single) by Benjamin Shaw

Happy Tuesday!

Double Dose Of Not Not Fun Fun

2011-11-07T22:45:00.003Z

Seriously, summer is looking like a killer season for Brisbanites. Another amazing show to add to the list is the pairing of psych mind-melters Sun Araw and Prince Rama (pictured above). Both acts have put out some amazing records in the past few years, and both have great ones out now in the form of Ancient Romans and Trust Now respectively. They will be playing Woodland (where else?) on Friday January 20. So here's an idea - get blitzed and drop out with these guys, and continue the sun-bleached vibes into Australia Day! There's no better way to spending that holiday in an altered state. All for $15 +bf! Amazeballs - get on that!

Sun Araw - Bump Up

Prince Rama - Golden Silence

Weird Wives Swear And Drone On A Lot

2011-11-07T12:31:00.000Z

The incredibly abrasive alter ego of Surfer Blood, Weird Wives put out some insidious little demos earlier this year that got under the skin and into your cerebral vortex, shutting everything down whilst flooding the blood stream with endorphins. Not a bad way to get rigor mortis on I suppose. Well they have just released an album, and the title is killer - Motherfuckers Gonna Be Walking 'Round With a Size 9 Diehard up Their Ass, Cause Apparently They Ain't Never Seen a Short AC Man Get Bad Ass on Methadone. Someone's looking to piss off mummy and daddy...

It still follows in the Jesus Lizard mold, but has a slower, more lethargic grind to it. In some ways this works to their detriment, for all you want is a proper explosion of fury and intent, rather than such constrained, fitful fare. But there are some tasty tracks on offer, no less 'Plastic Masks' which is all yours below. The Pitchfork review is pretty hasty in my opinion, but then I haven't lived with the album for that long. Still - I'd hedge my bets it's a better stayer than those guys are letting on... It's out on West Beach Beotches now.

Weird Wives - Plastic Masks

Double Baltimore Magic

2011-11-07T10:21:00.001Z

It was sad news indeed that two Baltimore acts, Double Dagger and Ponytail, have hung up their chaps in 2011. Both bands were up in my top ten live acts of all time (as witnessed by me - that's how these things work, right?). But two other B-more acts continue to ply their trade with excellent results.

First up we have the electro-shock artist and dance-party authority Dan Deacon, renowned as one of the world’s funnest and most epic live performers. I saw him play at London's ULU in 2009 - such an amazing show, it had all the funky white kids shuffling (they are too hip to dance). The Dr Marvin Monroe maniacal yet lovable alchemist, is equal parts crazy and inspirational, participatory and energetic, and his intense live show breaks down audience inhibitions to enable mass mayhem and fun. He has just signed onto Domino Records, and is making his way to Australia in January 2012! What's more he is bringing his ensemble - sop full band awesomeness! AND one such member is Denny from Double Dagger! Wow.

But the excellent times do not halt there, as he will be supported by one of 2011's most lauded artists in John Maus. His groundbreaking new album We Must Become The Pitiless Censors Of Ourselves (released on one of our fave labels ever, Upset The Rhythm (as if you didn't already know!!!), distributed locally through Inertia) has been one of the iconic records of 2011. The confrontation of punk, the fleeting poignancy of 80s movie soundtracks, the insistent pulse of Moroder and the spirituality of Medieval and Baroque music all find salvation in John Maus.

The show is rounded out by locals Toy Balloon, whose sound is a collision of shambolic noise, plump dance grooves, brother / sister vocal harmonies and rigid polyrhythms. The result is a brilliant and confounding bastardisation of pop music that few people can resist. With one foot in a world occupied by new wave, cosmic disco, early hip hop and acid house, and the other foot firmly planted in the introspective, experimental indie rock world, the four piece has built a scene-busting following through their dynamic and diverse live shows. It all happens at Woodland on Thursday January 12 - grab your tickets here. AND A NEW ALBUM IS ON ITS WAY!!!

Dan Deacon - Red F

Then we have Future Islands, who also played that titular ULU show. Their new album, On The Water, is every bit as great as was hoped, and whilst they aren't known to be touring Australia soon, this album is more than enough to keep you afloat! Grab it here.

Future Islands - Give Us The Wind
Future Islands - Before The Bridge

With these two acts in business, the world is not a cold, dead place...

The Horrortones

2011-11-07T08:30:00.000Z

The next band to come off the Mere Noise Meltdown honour roll is...

The Horrortones. This behemoth of a Brisbane supergroup slash institution slash intermittent rockabilly raconteurs are currently working on a triple 7" box set, which is hugely exciting. The band revolves around ex-Vegas Kings frontman Pete, with a steady backing band and a revolving door of hangers on. The bands cover the gamut of ace Brisbane band - the aforementioned Vegas Kings, The Grates, Texas Tea, SixFtHick, The Stress of Leisure, Wiseacre, The Tremors, Gin Club, Giants Of Science, Butcher Birds...the list goes on and on. The membership is fluid, its all about drinking with buds and having a good time (space permitting). The M.O. is to funk the fuck out, have a hell of a time, systematically destroy everything and everyone in sight, and wake up the next day in a perpetual state of amnesia and pain. And seeing as they list King Khan, The Dirtbombs and Reigning Sound as influences, there isn't much else to do than ensure you catch one of their shows... (And due to their reticent nature to get things down, all I have is this not so great video of them covering King Khan & the Shrines' 'Saba Lou' from back in 2009. Still, as more about the box set comes through, I will let you know).

Mark's Sultanic Mish Mash, Whatever And Whenever He Wants It

2011-11-06T08:26:00.009Z

Mark Sultan does like to rub people up the wrong way. That said, Ive spoken to the guy a few times and found him to be an ace dude. Fair dues. The fact is, he has been thrashing the garage flag here, there and everywhere for a very long time, and is consistently producing top-shelf stuff. He is releasing two albums, titled Whatever I Want and Whenever I Want respectively. Both will come out on vinyl on In The Red Records. However, you can get a conglomeration of both albums in one package called Whatever/Whenever. Its got 7 tracks from each album, so it's basically a sampler. Really, it is good. But you need to get the albums and hear the 12 other tracks left behind! There are some Bobby Darin/Buddy Holly ghost harbouring on there, alongside many other rad touchstones, and if that sounds exciting (which it fucking should), invest. It covers every gamut of rock music, has collabs from members of Black Lips and The Spits, and promises to be seven shades of brown awesomeness.

Mark Sultan - Let Me Freeze
Mark Sultan - Axis Abraxas
Mark Sultan - Sing In Grey

Thos Voices Will Guide Us To The Very End

2011-11-05T13:25:00.001Z

I saw Times New Viking play earlier this year in what was one of the best shows of 2011. However one thing they mentioned struck me as a little...well, sad, although I understand the idea. The band mentioned that now that they are in their thirties, they feel a bit silly from time to time creating noise and thrashing about, and are considering their options for the future. The Columbus Ohio trio are fantastic, and self-confessed Guided By Voices fanatics (no less due to the hometown connections), so I hope they look to Robert Pollard to see how it can be that they make it work.

Guided By Voices go from strength to strength, and have just released the below track off the forthcoming Let's Go Eat The Factory LP (featuring the classic line-up that includes Tobin Sprout - and he's writing songs again!). Pollard has also released an awesome album with side project Boston Spaceships which will be here very shortly. These guys have been around much longer than TNV, and are still finding ways of being inimitably awesome. Hopefully some of that Columbus mojo will rub off on them...

Let's Go Eat The Factory will be out New Year's Day - what a way to bring in a bleary-eyed 2012! Actually, maybe the world cannot handle this record - this is what the Mayans warned us about! Ah well. In that case, I guess there is no hurry in keeping TNV together...

Tracklist below (the amount and brevity of tracks also heralds TNV - come on guys, stay on for the good of humanity!!!)

Laundry And Lasers
The Head
Doughnut For A Snowman
Spiderfighter
Hang Mr. Kite
God Loves Us
The Unsinkable Fats Domino
Who Invented The Sun
The Big Hat And Toy Show
Imperial Racehorsing
How I Met My Mother
Waves
My Europa
Chocolate Boy
The Things That Never Need
Either Nelson
Cyclone Utilities (Remember Your Birthday)
Old Bones
Go Rolling Home
The Room Taking Shape
We Won't Apologize For The Human Race

Guided By Voices - The Unsinkable Fats Domino

Your Sex Grows Over In This Church...

2011-11-05T11:24:00.001Z

There was a time late last year when everyone seemed to be losing their shit over Sex Church, the Vancouver outfit whose music dealt in masochistic mayhem of the rustiest variety. Their Six Songs release was raw, brutal, and inherently enervating. Since then though, we have seen a surge of acts drink at the same fetid pond - namely TV Ghost and Brisbane's own Slug Guts. But where TV Ghost embrace a more indie-centric viewpoint to the industrial malaise (and I mean no disrespect - I think it is this pop aesthetic that elevates these guys to a much higher realm than most others plying their trade) and Slug Guts are more style over substance, Sex Church really seem to inhabit the rabid viscera contained within their performances. That's not to say these guys are worse than trash humpers - I'm sure they are lovely tea-sipping fellows? Or maybe THAT will be offensive to them? Maybe humping trash is their ultimate pastime? Whatever, the point is that this is REAL.

And on Growing Over, their latest on Load, Sex Church feel a little more cosy amongst the shards of jagged glass and broken syringes. Its insidious. It sometimes feels like Disappears headed by Rowland S Howard, at others like a freebasing Iceage. But comparisons are useless, like they always invariably are. All's can be said is that Growing Over is exactly that - Sex Church have just let the ether take them over to spew forth whatever it sees fit. Such abandon means that tracks either start with intent before tangentially chugging into the shadows, morph from garage staple to oozing wretch, or thrash you with a thousand hammers before kissing you deeply. Its skewed, somewhat brutal and a more than a little unhinged - and very, very real.

Sex Church - Waking Up
Sex Church - Beneath The Bottom

Friday Cover Up - Heirs Apparant To The Never Land

2011-11-04T14:42:00.002Z

Melbourne's innovative post-metallers Heirs put out an amazing couple of albums the past couple of years - I particularly loved Fowl for both its sounds and its vinyl ingenuity. They are prepping their third LP, and if their live sound is anything to go by this is hugely exciting news. They released a double A-side 7" a month or so ago called Hunter. Holding the back end was this sprawling cover of Sisters Of Mercy's 'Never Land'. And this is where I leave you this Friday, in a dark, desolate place that you may never return from - but I'm sure you won't be complaining...

Heirs - Never Land (Sisters Of Mercy cover)

Video Vacuum - Wooden Shjips, Ghost Wave, Balkans, United Fruit

2011-11-04T08:31:00.000Z

Ah, it's Friday. I was subjected to Staind's 'It's Been A While' when I got to work. Just needed to steel wool my brain. These four clips did the trick...

Can't get enough of Wooden Shjips - their West album really killed it, best of its kind this year I reckon (which is a big call, I know...) Yet another video coming from it, this time for the track 'Crossing'. Check it out below.

Wooden Shjips - Crossing from Thrill Jockey Records on Vimeo.

Now here is a band I didn't know a lick about until last month. New Zealand's Ghost Wave are linked to Arch Hill Records, have put out their self-titled EP, and here is a taste off it. Pretty tasty...

This one is a wee bit NSFW... Daring slackers Balkans have launched into rebel mode here with their video for 'Let You Have It'. These guys are just simmering away on the hotplate, ready to boil over at any minute - be on the bandwagon with your bowl when it does, ready to lap up some more.

BALKANS - Let You Have It from Frank Broyles on Vimeo.

Finally we have United Fruit's video for 'Go Away Don't Leave Me Alone', one of the grander cuts off their great LP of earlier this year Fault Lines.

NOW GET BACK TO WORK!!

Let's Play A Game Of Knifey Spoony

2011-11-04T02:09:00.000Z

These Oakland reprobates probably know what they are doing, but don't sound like it. I mean this as a compliment - it's very much a stew of idiot savant level lunacy being discombobulated by a homoerotic horse stud (check out the Bandcamp page...). I do love me some stupid noise though. Knifey Spoony's debut 7" is out now on Orifice Dorm Records (seriously, these names have been picked out of Trey Parker's copy of the Necronomicon, right?), which you can listen to below, or grab here (where they also have some demos available).

S/T 7" by Knifey Spoony

Some New Hits From Old (S)hits

2011-11-03T23:19:00.000Z

Its been a busy few weeks here on Planet Masala, and the lil ol inbox has copped a flogging! Whilst sifting through the myriad emails I found some seriously cool updates from past SM recipients, so I thought it a good idea to finish up the week touching base...

The quirky rock slant that LA natives The Reminding Ideas bring to the table on LP House of Weather is intriguing yet entrancing and contains many hidden treasures. They have another single forthcoming that displays this uncanny knack even moreso. It would be worth your while to pick up this album - you can do so here.

The Reminding Ideas - Good Clown, Bad Clown

Salamander, the ambient drone machine out of Western Australia, came across our path back in mentioned his Jaws Of The Vise album some time ago - check it out here... They have a split EP out with fellow WA noisenik Ourobonic Plague, and it's pretty ace.

Salamander - Molten Embryo

Our Ceasing Voice and their album When The Headline Hits Home was also introduced to us in February this year as part of Hits From The Box #9, same as Salamander, and here they are putting out a split AS WELL - will the wonders ever cease? Combining their thrilling intensity of with the raw power of Vienna's Post-Metal pioneers Satory, this split 7" is a pretty brooding yet brutal affair. For Darkness Fears The Light is a heady return of Our Ceasing Voice after the success of their debut album 'When the Headline Hit Home'. You can grab the vinyl here.

Our Ceasing Voice - For Darkness Fears The Light

Satory - The Translator

Phantom Vibration came along a month later in our thirteenth HFTB, and I was a big fan of their meandering poptastic EP Kids. They have tropped it up a bit on new EP Growing, probably a direct run-off from supports with the likes of Craft Spells and Dominant Legs. There are elements of their dream pop aesthetic permeated within the spaces in between though, so its an interesting listen. Grab it here.

Phantom Vibration - Summer Blood
Phantom Vibration - Retinas

Those hopping mad psych surfers from Northampton Massachusetts The Fantasies have ANOTHER release to hit your ears. With each song their are whittling away at their sound, and 'So Dumb' is the closest yet to discovering the "real" Fantasies. Don't hold your breath though - they are bound to hit us with a Ke$ha cover next...

The Fantasies - So Dumb

I spoke of Memphis' Nick Burk AKA Acid Glasses first in May, then again in July. Well, the big guy has a new collection of tracks that were meant to be part of his inaugural tour of the UK, but it didn't eventuate due to immigration problems (Border Office, causing a ruckus? No, surely not...) The tracks have now been released online via Memphis independent label Sunday Fir under the all-too-appropriate name of Tape, Deported (and it features 'Polnara Setera' that I personally think is a kick-arse woozy track). It is released just after the recently put out 7" single on Stroll On Records, which featured 'My Pale Garden' and 'JPEG Hoarder'.

Acid Glasses - Polnara Setera
Acid Glasses - Bay Hangar

Finally we have yet another earth-loving, aural shattering sprawler from Inner Islands, this time from the mouthful gkfoes vjgoaf. The new cassette is called Healings, and as one punter penned it, it sounds like "earth, electronics, and acoustics woven together to create a space dedicated to peace, love, and light for all." Right...you know what? That is pretty much spot on.

gkfoes vjgoaf - Healing Dream

PEAS!

Have Some Faith In Errors

2011-11-03T12:17:00.007Z

One of the most innovative instrumental bands in the world now is Glasgow based Errors. On one of the most influential instrumental bands of the world's label (Mogwai's Rock Action Records), the four-piece have exploded since releasing their second LP Come Down With Me in 2010. They are preparing to release another hybrid meta-beast upon the quivering masses in the form of Have Some Faith In Magic, off which the single 'Earthscore' leaps from - and they threaten to rip the time-space sontinuum even further by providing more dominant vocals! Agh! Before this release though they have spent the past few months supporting label mates (and bosses) Mogwai in the US, then support Mogwai again in Glasgow just before Christmas, before planning to assault the UK's senses in February.

HAVE SOME FAITH IN MAGIC - Tracklisting:
1. Tusk
2. Magna Encarta
3. Blank Media
4. Pleasure Palaces
5. The Knock
6. Canon
7. Earthscore
8. Cloud Chamber
9. Barton Spring
10. Holus-Bolus

Errors - Earthscore

Anne Dreams Of Her Punx

2011-11-03T08:16:00.003Z

Anne are those Portland shoegaze punks that brought out the nice mixtape earlier this year - have a listen to it here. A389 Recordings have announced they will be releasing the debut LP by the band, called Dream Punx. The LP will consist of nine tracks of material pulled from the band's self released mixtapes as well as new/unreleased studio recordings.

Virginal Plight by annepdx

Hunting The Narwhals

2011-11-03T00:15:00.005Z

I picked up this 7" a few weeks ago for three reasons.

One, I was on a recording buying binge and couldn't help myself.

Two, I wanted to support local bands, especially good ones.

Three, my mate Dan who plays in the band wouldn't give me a free one.

Instrumental surf rock bands need to err on the side of Dick Dale or The Shadows if they want to avoid being thrown in with the Best Coast crowd, which Narwhals do well. Its at times funky, at times moody, at times addictive, at times surly, at all times it floods the place with hooks.

Unfortunately it's nigh on impossible to see them live anymore due to members being flung far and wide. That said, have a listen to a couple tracks below, hunt down their 7" here through Mere Noise, and then hunt the members down and give them crow pecks, noogies and Chinese burns until they play once more!

Narwhals - Cosmic Reef
Narwhals - Hell's Gates

Put On Demented Calories With This Pineapple

2011-11-02T14:36:00.001Z

Paul brought to my attention the cracked psych melodrama of The N.E.C (The Natural Extension Concept) and their incredible release of last year Is. The Atlanta trio managed to meld temporal motorik propulsions with excessive noise, all infused with a sense of melody that made this a continual spinner. Next week they are backing the excellence into the garage and roaring forth with a new, improved beast, called Pineapple. Despite the excessive allusions created by the voluptuous cover model, there is no flab on display, every flight of fancy is centred by a grizzled, determined core element of steely chaos. It truly seems like whilst these guys think they know what they are doing, they are barely harnessing the power at their disposal - who controls who by the end is anyone's guess.

Grab Pineapple here for cassette (through Itslips), here for vinyl (through Pretty Ambitious). I have a feeling that this one is going to creep up the favourites chart...

The N.E.C - Creatures Flaming

Sacred Crystal Opens This Radiant Door

2011-11-02T09:43:00.004Z

Sacred Bones has been crazy prolific with its releases this year, averaging two a month. Their 22nd and final release for 2011 is a special one (aren't they all though?). New York dark light trippers Crystal Stilts only released their eggsellent In Love With Oblivion LP earlier this year, but Radiant Door, rather than a collection of offal off-cuts, is a great EP that further broadens this band's aspirations. And is kinda fitting, as the band's drummer is Keegan Cooke, the dude who has screen printed all the label's records since their inception - this guy doesn't know how to quit!

The EP has five new tracks on it, all of which are teetering perilously over the bottomless well of pop perfection. It shows another, light shade of the band's aesthetic, and with each strip of dirty laundry they tear away another persona comes to light. Its a fascinating listen from a fascinating band that often gets swallowed up by the many retro-fitted scuzz garage dwellers of the modern age. Help make amends - elevate Crystal Stilts by grabbing Radiant Door here.

Crystal Stilts - Dark Eyes by sacredbones

No Anchor Present A Rise From The Dead

2011-11-02T04:22:00.005Z

Seems like it isn't enough for No Anchor to rule their own terrain, they want to help take over all parts of the heavy music spectrum. I'm all for it to be honest. Ian, the bass player from the band (as opposed to the other bass player) had this to say:

"Look, I very occasionally book shows here in Brisbane for interstate bands because I dislike almost all bands, no matter where they're from. Bands are - if you think about it - usually a terrible idea. Bands from Melbourne, give me a break.

But...DEAD from Melbourne are No Anchor's best musical friends, forever AND they're great. Imagine Big Business meets Lightning Bolt (see attached track, if you don't believe me). Now imagine that it costs $10 to see them + there are four other rad bands playing on the bill + the venue is BYO.

Your imaginings can be real."

Yes they can. Friday night at the Waiting Room this will all come to pass, alongside support from Cyberne (from Japan), Idylls, Acid Snake and the next chapter of No Anchor-affiliated global annihilation, Black Hole Gazers (first show).

More about the show here. This looks to be a show that will rattle the glorified house to its very foundations - be a part of it when the shit goes down...

Dead - You Just Lost My Appetite