A Communal Late Night At Gaza

I thought I would end on this piece of ambient brilliance tonight. I'm physically and mentally drained, and 'Nablus' from NY's Ajnabi (the song is one of two abstract reflections/meditations on the situation in Palestine crafted after spending a time volunteering in the West Bank) has me close to tears. I had a conversation only yesterday with James, the guitarist from Violent Soho, about those moments where music moves you in such a way, and that those moments don't appear as often as you get older, or wiser, or more cynical...I don't know. I still remember when I saw the emotion on display at the 2009 Glastonbury when Blur reformed. I didn't get it, that much invested emotion into one thing... But songs like 'Nablus' pulls me back. Ive been looking over the twinkling lights of Brisbane, this plugged into my cerebral vortex, and I started to remember all the moments when it DID mean something: dancing to Mogwai by the side of the road at 4.30am, the fog starting to lift, the sun starting to rear its weary head; listening to Sigur Ros as the sunset lit up Mt Cook in New Zealand in various pastel hues; Radiohead causing my breath to catch when 'Like Spinning Plates' staggered over an awestruck Melbourne crowd. The list kept spooling forth - listening to My Father My King for the first time, or Raveonettes' Whip It On ad nauseum one heady evening, or when Source Tags & Codes first came out...then there is the first time I heard The Who's 'The Seeker', or Led Zep's 'When The Levee Breaks'; Alex Maas sing 'The Sniper', or Dad playing Born In The USA. All of these things are me, they make me who I am. And at this very moment, at this core second within the miasma of infinite seconds, I am Ajnabi too.

Ajnabi - Nablus

Crocodiles Are Like Cockroaches These Days

San Diego outfit Crocodiles keep spiralling further away from their batshit no-jazz Plot To Blow Up The Eiffel Tower days, as new album Crimes Of Passion attests. Brandon Welchez and his cohorts have been about embracing and eschewing the garage punk-pop mantras of the past few years ever since they dropped Summer Of Hate back in 2009. Yet if 'Cockroach' is anything to go by, it's still a retro-view sound, more akin to early Raveonettes (especially their Pretty In Black era) and a smattering of the genesis of BRMC than anything that is going on now. Both of these reference are bleeding obvious too - especially seeing as Sune Rose Wagner is on production duties here, their last album Endless Flowers felt like a Raveonettes cast-off (in a good way), and Welchez holds an air and a sneer not too far from BRMC's Robert Leven Been, leather jacket and all. I've always been a bit of a fence sitter with Crocodiles - enjoying their output whilst unable to put a pin into why its any better than the myriad other acts that permeated this fetid earth. Maybe its that their overt, obvious touchstones hold a place in the genetics of my musical tastes. Nevertheless, I await the August release of Crimes Of Passion (out through Frenchkiss Records - pre-order here) with anticipation.

Hits From The Box #63 - Young Cave Dinosaur Krosses

The past two weeks have been fairly crazy in the gig department due to the Golden Plains festival down in Meredith. Due to such an influx, its hard to get to all the shows - therefore Ive missed the likes of Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Wild Nothing, Bob Mould, Deniz Tek, Moon Duo... But I've still had a stellar week, taking in concerts from Neil Young & Crazy Horse, Deerhoof, The Wedding Present (I even had a couple of reds with David Gedge), Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, Mark Lanegan. This continues on Thursday where Ill witness the double-pronged awesomeness of Redd Kross and the mighty Dinosaur Jr. Plus some of the supports for these acts - Primitive Motion, Blank Realm, The Eversons - are excellent examples of Antipodean awesomeness. It's good to be alive... So here's to the little guys, that they may one day fuel such rabid appreciation. Who knows, maybe one of the next six bands are on the right track.

 

We start this week's Hits From The Box in Winnipeg. This could very well be the first band from Winnipeg I've spoken about. Departures brought out their debut LP Still & Moving Lines back in 2012. The five-piece delve into an abrasive style of emotive guitar pop that reminds me of Pedro The Lion when they got raucous, or at times like Australia's own unsung heroes Bluebottle Kiss. The songs are strong, loud, and forceful, finely balancing the tension and the release. It's a great little record - you can get it here.

Departures - Pillars
Departures - Swimming

Next up is Fins. The Connecticut trio made waves with this Lawnmower 7" (out through ObscureMe Records), and its not hard to see why. Four tracks of tinny, cacophonous punk that straddles the deranged angst of Modest Mouse with the deranged angst of Les Savy Fav, without the precision (probably equal parts deliberate and necessary). The title track is the perfect example - it's angular, bordering on the modern hardcore sound, yet with an inherent melody sewn into the guts of it. And those guttural vocals - expect these guys to be an electrifying live presence. It's actually a pretty rad find, one which I wish I had found much earlier. Grab Lawnmower here.

Fins - Lawnmower
Fins - Foxfire

Cheat Sheet has been on my radar for quite a while now. Their album from last year ...Is Dead is one quirky, off-kilter guitar pop record that evokes hazy 80s summers days (without the synth or New Wave, just nostalgia, like falling to sleep cradling a well-loved VHS copy of The Neverending Story). This story does end - and pretty quickly too, at under half an hour - but there is something trapped inside the maudlin meanderings of 'February Jinx' or the downturn of 'Rerun' that seems trapped in amber. Plus they cover the theme tune to 'Makin' It' - David motherfuckin' Naughtoooooooooooooon! Respect.

Cheat Sheet - February Jinx
Cheat Sheet - Makin' It

Want to get wrapped up in some sunny, sonorous shoegaze? Vancouver's appropriately named Sunshine are just the ticket. They are pretty unrelenting on their eponymous debut LP - all fuzzy washes of guitar, with the occasional jingle-jangle, this is like listening to a blended Galaxie 500, Pains Of Being Pure At Heart and sunny-side-up Raveonettes. Speaking of which, Sune Rose Wagner makes an appearance on the album, alongside members of the New Pornographers, Morrissey and The New Values. It's a very classy effort that is likely to light up a lot of people's dials this month and beyond - you can get Sunshine here.

Sunshine - Amprior
Sunshine - Shanghaied

Back across to the US - Washington DC in fact - to check out Harness Flux, the solo project of John Masters (previously of the bands Metropolitan, The Cheniers, Stamen & Pistils). This is Masters' effort to purge himself of all the No Wave, noodling noise that courses through him like an ages-old tapeworm. We know he will never win this battle, but it's goddamn delicious to watch him try. I want to hear more!

Harness Flux - Stockbrokers

I wanted to finish up with these UK guys The Modulated Tones, because they are awesome and are yet another band I let slip through my fingers last year. Their EP Turning On is not just space rock psych adulation, it's embodiment. You can't get much more Spacemen 3 than this before you find yourself actually listening to Spacemen 3. Or Suicide - there is more than a lick of 'Surrender' pumping through its veins. Kosmiche/motorik/chic/oblique. Drop out.

The Modulated Tones - Day Tripper
The Modulated Tones - Kids Don't Live Enough

Happy Tuesday!

Shooting Up And Raving On In Copenhagen

Those excellent dudes over at They Shoot Music, Don't They? refuse to let Copenhagen get on with its normal life, as the guerrilla Copenhagen Sessions continue to roll on. There have been a few notable ones in recent months in particular that I have been loving. Firstly, I couldn't go past The Raveonettes, paring it all back in the city where their wild musical ride all began. Their session is in the entrance hall of the Vega - how awesome is the 1950s decor?! Perfectly in tune with the monochrome duo. These guys have left an indelible mark on me ever since their amazing Whip It On EP back in 2002, which still ranks as one of the best records of all time for me (yes, big call, so what, wanna fight about it?) It is a special occasion, and Sharin and Sune don't disappoint, offering a rare song from their 2005 EP A Touch Of Black called 'Railroad Tracks'. Great stuff.



There have been some other great offerings in recent times as I mentioned, from the likes of S.C.U.M, Nada Surf (both in Vienna) and Kaiser Chiefs - yes, it's true, these guys glean the best out of EVERYone - and a snippet from each can be viewed below. All sessions are on their website. Cos I'm so slack, it might be best to head over here on your own so you don't miss out on future sessions as they happen!

Bringing Back The Love

Wowee Zowee peeps! Sorry about the downlay in musical mayhem here at Planet Masala - its been quiet here due to the ridiculousness in the "real world" (AKA I accidentally maxed out the home Internet fund - sorry Luke and Sal...) Plus searching for work, getting work, getting more work, getting heaps of work, and uni has meant that I was on the cusp of believing I had too many fingers in too many pies. But if there's anything that those cinematic genuises behind American Pie taught me anything - and they taught me a LOT - its that you can NEVER have too many fingers into too many pies - you just combine it all in an orgiastic piefest (I think - maybe if I had caught the fourth and fifth sequels Id understand more...)

SO I am rorting the university by using their sizable Internet access to keep the SM dream alive. And as this has been some time in coming, here are a few tracks for you to sink your teeth into.

First up there is The Raveonettes, whose Sharin Foo is still hands down the hottest woman in rock. It helps that their first EP Whip It On is one of my all time favourite releases EVER. Really. Anyway, their fifth album Raven In The Grave comes out next month on Vice, and if this is anything to go by its going to be another hit, especially after hearing what other member of the due Sune Rose Wagner thought of its genesis:

"I think we have finally hit on something quite important and different for this album. This is the first Raveonettes album we've done which doesn't feature the signature Raveonettes surf drumbeat. None of the tunes have any real sunshine to them. It's all very un-Rave. It has a mood of ethereal defiance. It's dark but not bleak, like the single minded determination caused by crisis that is not quite hope but just as powerful. It's the perfect winter soundtrack just in time for spring."

The Raveonettes - Forget That You're Young

White Denim are another band with a hotly anticipated album in the wings. Gorilla Vs Bear have named them the best band at SXSW for the fourth consecutive year - a bit of love there mayhaps??? We've already sampled 'Drug' from D here - now try "Anvil Everything"!

White Denim - Anvil Everything

One of my favourite finds of last year was Tampa nutjobs Merchandise, whose dark distorted pop has entranced me for some time (check out my thoughts on last year's (Strange Songs) In The Dark LP here). They have just released a 7" on Katorga Records, Schoolyard b/w Graveyard, showcasing an amazing remix of the A-Side which has me even more sweat-lathered. These guys know how to weave a warped rhythm, and with the beats interlaid here they have a bona fide club hit - from the guys responsible for Cult Ritual? Anything's possible...

Merchandise - Schoolyard (Club Mix)

A band doing amazing things this side of the Equator is The Middle East. The Townsville, Queensland quintet have a cultivated, lush ambient folk sound with the slightest tinge of darkness, and its been going down a treat globally. They are releasing I Want That You Are Always Happy on Spunk Records April 8th, and "Black Death 1349" is off it. (Can you tell this was recorded at Midlake's Denton, Texas studios? Nah, me neither...)

The Middle East - Black Death 1349

Darlings are a NYC garage pop band whose song "Spit It Out" off EP Warma (out now on Famous Class Records) has been on incessant replay since the SM downtime, so was pretty much a sure thing to be on this lil playlist. Its decidedly heads in the cloud whimsy crossed with Pixies nerd punk, which has helped get me across the line on a few days this past fortnight.

Darlings - Spit It Out

"Zeppole Ben" is off Hello, Nice Evening. We Are The Everymen, an EP by The Everymen (weirdly enough). Its two and a bit minutes that reminded me of why Rocket From The Crypt were great. The rest of the 7" is radness - lots of different genres (with help from Kurt Vile no less!) all infused with cigarettes, sweat and more than a few regrets, readily forgotten...but I like it most when Sarin McHugh is shredding his vocals to next to nothing Buy it here.

The Everymen - Zeppole Ben

Last on the comeback playlist is a band that many have been biting their nails to the quick in anticipation for, Crystal Stilts. Their Alight Of Night was at the very crest of the lo-fi, scuzzy as fuck euphoria of DIY noise pop shenanigans. Now we get to see if the lightning can strike twice, as In Love With Oblivion comes down out of the sky April 12th. Its a Slumberland release, so that will tell you a lot with what to expect... Also, here is the admittedly perfunctory video to accompany the song "Through The Floor"... (Also the Brooklyn band are playing Cargo in London March 30th - although it appears to be sold out!)

Crystal Stilts - Through The Floor

Crystal Stilts "Through The Floor" from Slumberland Records on Vimeo

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