Horsing Around In Palo Verde's Zero Hour

These guys are pretty damned ace. I was approached a little while back by Phratry Records (Swear Jar, Mala In Se) about this sludge-metal improv duo called Palo Verde that they thought I would dig. Well, as happened at the end of last year, things got a little hectic, and they fell through the cracks. I've been listening to their Zero Hour record - and it fucking slays, especially opening track 'Dark Meadow For Long Night'. Seriously if you liked my Die On Planes post the other week, or love your music to fall somewhere between Rangda and Shellac but without those troublesome lyrics, then you will love this. Loud, deliberately abrasive, bordering on offensive, ballsy, and definitely rock. The best part? That it is also catchy - the band don't stray from dynamism, so in the end it inexplicably remains about the sum of its parts - this is soooooo tight. These girls (yes, the ladies can flay your eardrums too...) are amazing. If you get to see em, I envy you - seriously.


Grab Zero Hour here - NOW.

Palo Verde - Dark Meadow For Long Night

Video Vacuum - Low, True Widow, Headless Horseman, Swear Jar

I hope that if you have this Monday off you are making the most of it! If not, just think - "What would Tony Danza do?" And the answer would be to sit back and delight in some audio-visual delights - and probably try to mount his stepdaughter Alyssa Milano. Just don't mention any reference to that Elton John song...

First we have those Minnesotans Low, and the video to first single 'Try To Sleep' off current LP C'Mon. Its cool for a few reasons - not least of which we see what is likely to be the proper resurgence of the acting career of one John Stamos! Admittedly his nihilistic ping-pong crazy version of himself on Entourage was invigorating, but this - he's a self-confessed Low tragic (rising the Stamos stocks tenfold there...) and you can tell he is putting his all into it. Well, he hasn't topped this since the heady years of Full House I reckon...(Yes, and the less said about his "star turn" in 'Kokomo' the better...)



Going from Low to the 'heavier Low', Seattle's True Widow have pulled off a truly evocative, moody affair for the video of single 'Skull Eyes' off their incredibly wordy upcoming LP As High As The Highest Heavens And From The Center To The Circumference Of The Earth. Three and three-quarter minutes of pensive tension without release, but a hell a lot of class and groove.



Long time between drinks, Fareed! The guy behind Headless Horseman brought out a great little EP last year that spoke about here - and finally he has a video for 'Wvlngth'! Its decidedly quirky and fun, just like the song - lets hope we hear more from him soon!

Headless Horseman // Wavlngth from Wooden Lens on Vimeo.

And finally, those varmints that make up Swear Jar has sent over a live version of 'Bury My Dead' that they did on Friday Night Fu that has me wishing they would somehow, in some way, play over here in Australia. Until that happens - IF that ever happens - Im content to revel in this...



Normally Id yell at you to get back to work, but today there is only one thing to do - tell me...

WHO'S THE BOSS???

Friday Cover Up Triptych - Burying Bodies Of Horses At The Party

I mentioned these two bands earlier in the week as unknowns whose albums really float my boat - Reno's Fa Fa Fa and Cincinnati's Swear Jar - and by the end of the week nothing's changed. But what is also special about these bands is that they have put killer covers on their debut albums. The more bizarre of the two surprisingly goes to Fa Fa Fa - or maybe unsurprisingly seeing as their penchant for Gothic 80s tinged glam pop. They tackle "Goodbye Horses", the Q Lazzarus song that was made infamous by the Academy Award winning scarefest The Silence Of The Lambs as the song playing whilst Buffalo Bill "transforms" himself - yeah, THAT one. It also reminds me of this weird dungeon of a bar I stumbled across in Vienna that only played stuff like this combined with The Birthday Party and Tom Waits, and had a drunk Irish bartender who insisted I put on a tab then got so plastered she couldnt add the final tally up so put it "on the house" - good times... Fa Fa Fa - Goodbye Horses (Q Lazzarus cover) Now Swear Jar's track is a killer one, but a little harder to come up with its genesis. Just labelled as a traditional track, Swear Jar's version is anything but, crawling along with enough buzzsaw brutality to get my blood boiling... And, because Im feeling generous, I thought Id once again share the love with PS I Love You. Seriously, Im loving their album Meet Me At The Muster Station, if you hadn't already guessed. Now they have put out a lovely cover of none other than Madonna - 'Where's The Party?' A fitting song for the duo, and a fitting song to finish off the week I reckon! PS I Love You - Where's The Party? (Madonna cover) Now, go get orn ah!

You Cuss, You Use The Swear Jar

Cincinnati's nihilistic noise rock band Swear Jar hold the not so dubious honour as being the second album I received this week that I had no expectations of whatsoever, yet it blew me away. Its another great release from Phratry Records (they were responsible for the Mala In Se record that I spoke about here), and it tears despite (possible because of) its low production values. The album, Cuss, doesnt belong in this decade. It belongs on blood, sweat and beer stained floors alongside the likes of a young Jesus Lizard or Shellac, with Fugazi watching on from the bar. It tears along at a million miles an hour. Its split into two sides, and in my opinion the B-Side (called Cavity Joel)is by far the best. I love the fact that you have to buy the vinyl to recieve all 14 tracks - 'Exit Bandvan' isnt on the CD album. Embrace the wax revolution... Seriously, this is a dirty exciting release, and one Im revelling in. Sweat Jar - On The Prowl Swear Jar - Heavy Corpse Song