Musky, Scuzzy Blues

What to make of the self-titled album from Oakland's blasted bastards Musk? Out on Holy Mountain (who had a diverse roster in the past, with the likes of James Ferraro and Country Teasers passing through their corridors), Musk is a heaving, roiling, gnashing beast, unable and unwilling to stay on the melted tracks. 'Funny Feelings' may be emblematic of the blues rants that many critics have stuck bloodily to their lapel (think JSBX with rotted teeth and cardboard bedspreads), but 'Rot Soft' is just as ready to take a wild detour into pigfuck country, as if the four-piece rutted down in the bayou and fucked Jesus (Lizard). 'Trash Roof' devolves like Aussie reprobates Deaf Wish scratching at their cold sores and two-bit whores. But above all else, the majority of Musk rolls out the fetid carpet into the quagmire of insanity, taking the redneck road less travelled - something another Antipodean act, Six Ft Hick, have made their own. No matter the fisticuffs or the rough-and-tumble, Musk is a grotty powerhouse of rancid rock that I hope I can bathe in forever.

Grab Musk here - you really must.

Flaying The Cow From My Bones

Here is a distorted chugging Western thug disaster classic if I've ever heard one. Probably haven't, but this is what I imagine it to be. French outfit Cowbones are bringing out their new album Vox Populi Pollux on Casbah Records (The Future Primitives, Bits Of Shit, Mesa Cosa) and first cut feels like a demented bastard child of Grinderman and John Spencer Blues Explosion if their dirtiest dirge got caught in a timeloop. The masked madmen look a sight to behold, and if this track is anything to go by, this album is going to melt the bones of the most hardened gunslingers. Colour me excited.

Hell Or Blankus Larry - I Know Where I'm Heading

 

There is this psychedelic garage duo (which has expanded into a five-piece, according to their website) from Washington, DC and VA Beach, VA, called Blankus Larry. AAAAAAAges ago they contacted me, letting me know that they had released the second song from their upcoming LP, ‘I Am A Heatseeker’. It’s a ripsnorter, that’s for sure – but for whatever reason I neglected to post about it. Well, they have finally released their album, Hell Or High Larry, and it’s pretty bloody good. The first two tracks show the band’s split personality – ‘Fall Forever In Tha Sun’ is slow crawling, howling psych rock from the deserts of your mind; ‘I Am A Heatseeker’ is that dirty garage blues that the likes of John Spencer can deliver when he isn’t wildly thrusting his loins and slinking around like a madman. The album ricochets back forth between these two extremes, making it a strong record that steams along with violent intent. And don’t be misled by the long tracks – ‘Nassau’ and ‘Scupper’ are the strongest songs on here. Its that grit that sticks in the gears of these tracks that truly makes this band – dark, rocking tunes that will tear your head off, if only you’ll let it. Douse that wound with a bottle of booze, and get back on the horse, because come hell or high water, Blankus Larry will be coming back for more.

 

You can get Hell Or High Larry for free here. Seriously good.

Blankus Larry – I Am A Heatseeker
Blankus Larry - Nassau

When John Spencer Drinks The Kool-Aid...

There is something inherently sexy dirty about out and out sleazy bluesy rock and roll. Antagonistic anti-hero John Spencer has been doling it out in heavy dollops over a long period of time, under many different guises, and it never ceases to amaze me how something so two-dimensional can still enrapture an entire audience and turn them into a writhing sea of hormones, sweat and leers. But Mr Spencer is but one man...

Lucky for The Jim Jones Revue then. The East London rabble rousers have been relentlessly scouring every dive and dank den of iniquity for a few years now, and all of this is about to come to a head with the release of their new album, Burning Your House Down, released by Punk Rock Blues Records / [PIAS] Recordings on September 6th. Produced by Jim Sclavunos (of Nick Cave &The Bad Seeds/Grinderman), the LP captures the roar of an untamed band at the top of their game. With the microphone shredding wail of Jim Jones at the helm, fearlessly spurred by Rupert Orton’s six-string maelstrom, Elliot Mortimer’s savaged ivories and the jackhammer rhythm section of drummer Nick Jones and bassist Gavin Jay, The Jim Jones Revue swing like a giant ball and chain.

Just to get you salivating over this, here are two extra tidbits - first single 'High Horse', is out on Monday, and the fourth track from the forthcoming album, 'Big Len', is below for your perusal and abusal. If you think there is too much sleazy rock'n'roll in this world, you may as well reach for that red cup brimming with Ratkill, because with the likes of these guys, plus the neverending energies of Nick Cave and John Spencer, floating around this great wide planet, there's gonna be a whole lot more being passed around. Me? Im reaching for my bottle of whiskey as we speak, sweat-stained leer firmly etched into my features. You know you love it...