Schooling Knights For Free

We here at Planet Masala have championed School Knights since their Rush SK release came out almost two years ago, and what with the current weight of love being poured over surf garage punks such as Wavves and Bleeding Knees Club, I thought that I was on bridge of a ship that was sailing the highest sea of discovery. As it turns out, the Denver based cats are happy to keep bubbling under the surface, which is why when they couldn't find the right way to release the current crop of tracks they had at their disposal, they put them up for free on Bandcamp under the name Fre(E)P.

That's not to say their 2012 has been quiet - on the contrary, they have supported the likes of Black Lips and Japanther, with shows with Cloud Nothings, White Denim and King Tuff in the works. They just got sick of these songs sitting around and wanted everyone to hear them and love them. As they say themselves, "We want everyone to hear them, so that the next time we release some songs people can go 'Wow, I didn't think it was possible, but this is way better than that free EP they put out.'"


You can (and most definitely should, seeing as it's awesome AND free) grab Fre(E)P here.

School Knights - Powerslut
School Knights - Thanksgiving

Friday Cover Up - They Shoot Japanthers In Vienna With Shellshag, Don't They?

Great blog They Shoot Music Don't They? filmed Japanther and Shellshag in the snow on January night in Vienna, doing acoustic covers of Shotwell and Kung Fu USA songs. Check it out...

Japanther Scuffing Their Rhythm Up Tonight!

Its been a while since we talked up an Upset The Rhythm gig, but we have one for you now, headlined by an act that I came across accidentally. Near the end of 2009, my friend Dan had downloaded what he had thought was the album that I was talking to him about at a party some time previous. When he put it on, I was immediately perplexed at the scuzzy as fuck scattershot punk that was coming out of the speakers...and were they really singing about River Phoenix?

Turns out that the album Dan thought was Japandroids' Post Nothing was actually Japanther's Scuffed Up My Huffy - and a new favourite band was born. Japanther may have started out as an art project, but their profanity-fuelled sampled introductions, incredibly loud scuzzy guitars and nonchalant viewpoint on just about every aspect of society makes these crazy Brooklynites an absolute must-see. They are to be supported by Bitches (we have talked about them here) and Shellshag.

Japanther et al are playing The Dome tonight for 8 squid. Dont worry - there are plenty of tickets on the door. This will be a cacophonous clusterfuck of a gig, which means a lot of booze, a lot of noise, and a hell of a lot of fun.

Japanther's Rock N Roll Ice Cream is out now.

Japanther - River Phoenix

Negative Creeps

We here at Sonic Masala do love our noise. The bigger the better. Although I like mine with some sort of meaning behind it - something that is wielded by the band, not the other way around. So a lone article in Spinner Canada had my interest incredibly piqued. It claims that one of their own (from Ottawa no less!) are the wielders of so much noise and power that they compare to My Bloody Valentine back in the 90s - and its all sheer will of force, no stacks of amps and effects pedals in sight!

We Are Busy Bodies is responsible for bringing Metz to the populace (home of other noiseniks such as DD/MM/YYYY and Japanther), having just completed a trilogy of 7"s which would be well worth your time seeking out. Metz bring back the noise, 90s sludge style - there is a definite amount of Seattle slime oozing out of the speakers infused with some of the 00s aesthetics we have come to love. Definitely one to watch...

Metz - Negative Space