Hits From The Box #3

What a week to have your eye glued shut. Well, having a bung eye is never good, but there were a couple of nice days this week to venture outdoors, but I was too blurry eyed (and embarrassed) to make the journey to anywhere other than the NHS Walk-in Centre and the pharmacist. Which allowed me to pore over our inbox and see what juicy treats we had in store...

The first two acts have a common thread - they are projects of bands we have previewed recently, Luftwaffe and Smiley With A Knife. Firstly, Camera Phone is the solo project of Luftwaffe's Toby Altman, and is an interesting affair indeed, as its mainly made up of samples from the new Taylor Swift album... Red Stag (For James) is all shimmery lo fi dreampop though, that much we can be certain of. And its a nice little grab too.

Camera Phone - Red Stag (For James)

Late last year we posted about an instrumental math group from New Orleans called Smiley With A Knife, whose 3rd LP Long Now showed a real progression for the band. The guitarist from the band, Patrick Bailey, puts out musak of his own under the moniker LoOmis, and is releasing his own 3rd LP, A Solitary Attraction. Experimental looped ephemera. I likee...

LoOmis - Xanax Box

Talvihorros (AKA Ben Chatwin) has grace Sonic Masala with his presence before, with the Bad Panda backed track 'The Blue Cathedral' - check that one out here. Here he is extending his experimental exploration of the guitar with ‘Etude V’, a cut from the forthcoming album Studies For Acoustic Guitar and Electronics. I find his compositions alluring and enthralling – I cant wait to see what else he produces in 2011.


Etude V by Talvihorros

Slowwave have a component to their sound that is either a blessing or a curse for the Washington band, as the lead singer sounds at times like Jose Gonzales, or Jimi Goodwin, and at others very Chris Martin. Now I don’t mind, I think Gonzalez and Martin have good voices, and Goodwin’s is great. It just matters what the songs are like. And with Drag Lake Sin, Slowwave’s EP out on the 25th (through Savings n Loan Records, a small start-up indie label in Tacoma, WA), the songs a very strong indeed, particularly ‘Pour’ and ‘Gold’, although the electronics at times stands at odds with the rest of the sound. Drag Lake Sin will be in vinyl format sometime in the upcoming months too.

Slowwave - Pour

On Volcano, a four-piece from Tampere, Finland (a breathtaking part of the world I might add) have given the world New Blood. Their four track EP is beautifully emotive, sweeping along at a creeping pace, the hushed female vocals pushing the indie/post rock tunes towards a sudden rush of cacophonous exhilaration. You can download the entire thing here at their website.

On Volcano - The Explorer

Lastly we have Lady Lazarus, whose album Mantic is out on Tuesday. She is an acolyte to Cat Power with a smattering of Joanna Newsom there too. Its pretty good – very good in some places (‘The Eye In The Eye Of The Storm’, ‘Sick Child’). Just Lady Lazarus (AKA Melissa Ann Sweet) and her piano for the most part, making beautiful melancholic sparse compositions. And that Chan Marshall-esque voice...

Lady Lazarus - The Eye In The Eye Of The Storm

Happy Sunday!

Lubec Is Enough!

With the flurry of releases that are being pushed by Crash Avenue, its not hard to see how something like Lubec's Nothing Is Enough! EP could have sat on my desk for so long without being given the proper amount of attention. However it would be remiss of me to leave these guys by the wayside, as it is the first release of the year that has had me genuinely happy to be alive.

Released next week, the Richmond, Virginia four piece dish out sic slabs of fuzzy noise pop rock, each cut a little more salivatory than the last, until you reach closer 'You'll Know Then' and you work out that either you are drowning in your own blissfully flowing spit or you've pissed yourself. In my case, both occurred, but that's beside the point. Lubec have cut the perfect balance from scuzzy noise, denim rock and bubblegum pop. If you liked Sisters' Ghost Fits last year, then put that aside, as Lubec do the noise pop thang so much better here (no offence - Ghost Fits was one of my guilty pleasures of last year).

Fave cuts - opener 'Evan Wright' sets the off the cuff, happy as Larry attitude perfectly and leaves you without a doubt as to what is in store for you. 'Gang Knife Battles' hints at a more anthemic, moody version of their sunny garage fuzz, whilst 'You'll Know When' is a wistful reminder that it has all come to an end...before you realise there is a repeat function.

This is a very strong debut (out on Wednesday through The Acme Thunderer) from a band well worth looking into.

Lubec - Evan Wright

Hear The Psyche Hum Cyclically

Another album I wanted to talk about before 2010 finished up, but I only received it before New Years Eve, so Im excused! Its by a small two piece act from Gainseville, Florida called Hear Hums. Mitch and Kenzie make weird experimental electronic pop of the Animal Collective mould, and Psyche Cycles, their second LP (out through Crash Symbols) is an amazing pastiche of bubbling noises and woozy beats. Each track bleeds into the next, coming across as a technicolour, breathing mass of propulsive ectoplasm, talking out of the television from a videodrome of its own creation. Its very DIY, yet incredibly organic and crisp. Its a worthy release, thats for sure.

Check out the video for the first two tracks of the album, 'Cerebellum'/'Woo', plus another track 'Ay' below...

Hear Hums - Ay

Cerebellum/Woo - Hear Hums from Hear Hums on Vimeo.

McGuire Rises Above

I dont know how Mark McGuire made it to the end of 2010 alive, let alone in one piece - a man with this much positive creative energy must surely spontaneously combust! With six individual releases, one of which was a 2010 highlight (Living With Yourself), plus the amazing Emeralds album Does It Look Like Im Here?, plus the myriad releases he has put out in the past as cassettes and CD-Rs, you'd think that there is a lot of flotsam buried amongst the quantity of sounds on offer. Yet I think it would be an error on your behalf if you wrote anything off, which is why I have gone back to High Above The City, a four track opus that perfectly captures McGuire's guitar musicianship plus providing a template from which many of his Emeralds compositions must surely pour forth from. It is clear how strong McGuire is as a guitarist and composer here, with each song breathing in and out like living beasts, the ebb and flow of his guitar noodling organic to the point of otherworldly. The looping effect of these tracks fit into the essence of drone music, but McGuire crafts songs that are clearly a defined extension of himself - there really isnt anything else out there that can imitate his style, or vice versa. With this and Living With Yourself he is showing the strength to define his sound - 2011 could be the year that he produces a masterpiece.

Mark McGuire - Part 2

And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Steampunk...

Texan gods ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead are releasing their new album, Tao Of The Dead, next month. Their seventh LP, Tao Of The Dead once again features member Conrad Keely's iconic artwork, which has become an ever-present feature of each trail Of Dead album. Keely's concerns artistically are predominantly steampunk in origin, and he has created a graphic novella that include the 'characters' on the cover art to go with the album. I really like Keely's art, and have always liked the level of detail in each physical album, so this hsas piqued my interest. Check out the official website here to see more artwork!

The cover for the album is above; the single 'Summer Of All Dead Souls' is below, plus a brand new track, 'Weight Of The Sun'! See them play at Camden's Electric Ballroom on April 15, followed by gigs at Manchester, Birmingham and Glasgow. I saw them play the Electric Ballroom in 2009 - fucking amazing...

...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead - Summer Of All Dead Souls

...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead - Weight Of The Sun

Lost in Grasslung void

For the last few days I've been lost in the shadowy land of Grasslung and his Sincere Voids LP, that dropped last year. Grasslung, aka Brooklyn based musician Jonas Asher, creates haunting ambient soundscapes. This is noise at its saddest and softest extremes. Asher's previous releases have been floating around recently in the form of scarce tapes and CD-rs, the kind of releases that you hear about rather than ever see.

But Sincere Void is Grasslung's first 'proper' release, thanks to Root Strata and Thrill Jockey. Asher's noisescapes, packed with the softest melancholy and gentlest of twilight touches, have reached a more formed presence than his previous work. Tracks drift effortlessly into an endless dark sea,the floating of sounds that stretch in vast vistas. Sincere Void is achingly beautiful, ambient noise that washes over you leaving nothing but a dark stain behind. Buy it here.

Grasslung - Scarred Hands We Drift

Envious Of The Dark

I mentioned last week that And So I Watched You From Afar finished off the year in the US supporting Envy on a string of Stateside shows. And although Recitation has been out for a while, I thought it rated a mention, as well as a small discussion on Envy itself.

If you havent had the pleasure of hearing Envy before, then when you do it is likely to be something of a shock. There is no easy way to define this Japanese act - they are not Post-Rock really, due to Tetsuya Fukagawa's rasping screams and balls to the wall fury of noise; yet they are not Hardcore, as much of their sound (and Fukagawa's spoken word moments) is orchestral in scope somewhat like their brethren, Mono. Instead they traverse the uneasy territory between the two, creating music that is as beautiful as it is dark and terrifying - and yet somehow it works, really really well. Think of the Japanese heavyweights - the aforementioned Mono, or Boris - and Envy eclipse them in their visceral energy, yet match them in elegance. Never has darkness and light been straddled so openly, and with the ultimate of respect. The screamo style vocals can upset some - those used to singing as opposed to screaming I guess - and it is jarring at first, especially as its in Japanese therefore more indecipherable than usual. But it is a part of the whole, and once you accept that, it is an exhilarating ride these guys take you on...

Recitation, Envy's sixth full length album, opens even more elegantly than usual, thus lulling you into a gentle repose before 'Last Hours of Eternity' implodes in a white ball of fury. 'Rain Clouds Running In A Holy Night' is a more traditional Envy tune, being 8 minutes long and incorporating all that Ive previously mentioned, but also there is an element of bewilderment when the strains of 'The First Noel' are used in the quieter moments... And again there are some lightning quick tracks, like 'Your Hand' and 'Incomplete' - but these tracks work as quiet, emotive maelstroms, not the brutal physical kind. Recitation both adheres to and plays with the conventions that they have created as the Envy sound - a punk band with the requisite energy and zeal, but steeped in the moody atmospherics of creating orchestral walls of noise. Im not sure if this surpasses any of their previous releases - but it is pretty fucking awesome nonetheless.

As per usual, Recitation is out now on Mogwai's Rock Action Records.

Envy - Rain Clouds Running In A Holy Night

Sey Hollo Shows Conciseness In Growth

Sebastian Larsson, the Swedish one-man post rock army known as Sey Hollo, is bringing out a new album. The EP, Growth, follows on rather succinctly from last year's self-titled release (see my review of it here) - in fact in the short form the power of Larsson's instrumental compositions is magnified. Larsson says that the modus operandi for these songs remains the same, with the only alteration being an emphasis on piano rather than organs. Well, opener 'Eunoia' makes that clear - the piano is clearer, crisper, and somehow more emotive. The slightly eerie voice samples remain intact, as does the crunching distorted riffs that crash over the song halfway through. 'World Trade Centre' again has that brooding apocalyptic feel that Sey Hollo evoked, but is better realised here. The title track emulates the opening track of Sey Hollo, 'Dependistas' - but its the closer, 'Vita Si Chakula' that works to bring the emotion back to the sound. Whilst this may feel like a condensed version of his album of last year, Sey Hollo is proving to the world that it only takes one man to create evocatively rendered instrumental soundscapes with all the brute force of the heavyweights of the genre. As Ive stated before - keep an eye on this guy.

Sey Hollo - Eunioa

Shipping The News Never Gets Old

A mainstay of Touch & Go Records (well, its sublabel Quarterstick Records), Louisville post-rock sluggers Shipping News released One Less Heartless To Fear, their first album in five years, for Noise Pollution Records (AfricAntApe and Ruminance will distribute it in Europe) mid November last year. Im a latecomer to Shipping News, never having made the jump from the band's 90s predecessor Rodan. But when I heard 2003's Three-Four only last year, I was hooked. I only managed to pick this one up last week.

So how does the new LP sound? Having been recorded live in two very different locales (Skull Alley in Louisville, KY and the O-Nest in Tokyo, Japan), we can expect more sprawling and devastating compositions... Er, no. Although the sense of urgency, angst and unease runs through One Less Heartless To Fear like a thick ribbon of coal underneath the surface, its the tightly coiled songs themselves that prove to be the biggest change since the band's hiatus. Songs like 'This Is Not An Exit' and 'The Delicate', utilising sound more like Shellac or Gang of Four than they do like their previous leanings into Slint territory, with a liberal dose of Fugazi thrown in for good measure. Indeed, it is the abrasive post-punk math overtures here that most impress, showing that nothing will slow down Shipping News' verve and drive (founding member Jason Noble has been battling cancer for some time). And even if there are some instrumental tracks ('Half A House'), they are reined in to under five minutes. Whats more, though there is some crowd adulation, its on the whole difficult to fathom this is a live album, so meticulously is it recorded and produced.

Shipping News then have forged out of the blocks here wielding much agression and anger - yet there is vim and vigour that enlightens. There is much life and energy left in the tanks. And just ponder on the bands that Shipping News rose from like a phoneix from the ashes - Rodan, The For Carnation, June of '44. And the fact that they named their band after E. Annie Proulx's brilliant book (one of my all time favourites, a definite top ten). This is a class act. Grab this - now. Then, if you havent already, collect their whole discography, plus those of the preceding acts. Its never too late.

Shipping News - The Delicate

Shipping News - Half A House

Woodsman Take On Rare Forms

Psych-os Woodsman are readying to drop hotly anticipated LP Rare Forms on January 25 through Lefse Records, and if opening track is anything to go by, its going to be fucking amazing...

Woodsman - Insects

In fact, stream the damned thing over here - a review will be up very shortly...

Sweet Lights Needles Bill

Sweet Lights has released possibly his best song off his sunny self-titled debut last year in 'A Hundred Needle Pins'. He has made stellar videos in the past, but he has really outdone himself here, trading in videos of himself as a child doing mad breakdancing, with...Bill Cosby. Or more directly, a montage of the opening dance credits from various seasons of The Cosby Show. Its brilliant, very well orchestrated with the music. The constant cut back to Cosby's face halfway through is very funny indeed.

I do love me a bit o Bill...

Get Sweet Lights here.

Sweet Lights - A Hundred Needle Pins from Sweet Lights on Vimeo.

White On White

Here it is, a musical battles to the death (in my warped mind at least!). And here we have two bands whose monikers revel in the existence of all colours...er, have 'white' in their title, White Hills and White Rainbow, or should I say White Stag (White Rainbow is joined here by Stag Hare). Both bands using white as an adjective, both dealing in their own brand of sprawling numbers...how do they shape up?

Its widely acknowledged that Sonic Masala loves White Hills. Their self titled album on Thrill Jockey last year was ace, and their double billing with stablemates Pontiak in March at the Lumianire was stunning aural assaults as wave after wave of psychedelic sonics were forced down our throats. So its weird that Ive had Oddity II: Night Scene On Mill Mountain (on Drug Space Records) for so long without covering it here. I guess what with the manic ending of 2010 and the influx of releases at my disposal it somehow filtered to the bottom of the pack. Still, here it is...

And, well, Oddity II is a series of rarities and outtakes from various sources. 3 synth experiments, an alternate take on Hawkwind’s ‘Be Yourself’, a 27 minute remix… Its all a bit for purists at first glance, even if the Hawkwind cover is pretty blistering (though murkily recorded). Yet it is ‘Heads On Fire’, an outtake from their excellent White Hills album, and a slow, burbling untitled space jam that makes this release worth chasing down. These two track remind you once and for all why Dave W is a psych genius in the making, and will have you salivating at what he has in store for us.

White Stag is a different beast, but still a fearsome monster to behold. A collaboration of any kind can be anywhere from transcendental to the more likely occurrence of too many cooks. Yet White Stag (on Marriage Records) is a true cross section of White Rainbow's ambient electronic guitar montages and Stag Hare's tribal/hippy drones. The release is only 2 songs long, each song extended over 14 minutes, and it really isnt enough. The A side, 'Shhoopeey Shoop Mega House Remix' is a remix of a jam they had (which you can get in its 'original' form as a digital copy) and perfectly exemplifies the ambient propulsion that this collaboration brought forth, then cut in swathes of guitar interplay, drum sample loops and choral vocals into a menagerie of shimmering otherness. 'Driftwood Fresh Swells/Shells' is the B side, and it complements the other track perfectly, creating a oscillating dream swell of ocean floor incandescence. There is so much working within each track that it is a miracle how it all meshes together into the higher-plane behemoth that White Stag inevitably is.

So, two albums offering various stages of psych. One offers tantalising glimpses into the future, whilst the other is a work of art, fully formed, and the perfect launching pad into the cosmos.

White Hills - Heads On Fire

White Stag - Driftwood Fresh Swells/Shells

Cruising For A Bruising...

There is no doubt that when it comes to festivals, Europe is blessed with the cream of the crop. When you think of the lineups that All Tomorrow's Parties and Primavera Sound get, and that across the continent you can be viewing bands whilst in a castle, under a mountain or in the Mediterranean, you have to go the extra mile to make that impression.

And dont get me wrong, the other parts of the world have brilliant festivals in their own right (my current 'must go to' is Austin Texas' Psych Fest). But Im gonna put my hand up and say that Bruise Cruise sounds pretty fucking awesome.

On February 25-28, Bruise Cruise is a cruise (so we dont get lost here...) that sets out from Miami, Florida and ends up in the Bahamas. It features all the usual cruise options - dining, dancing, pools and spas, with a day stopover at Nassau, where you can explore the island, swim with dolphins, and swim in a shark tank. There's free room service, complimentary bottles of wine in the cabin and at dinner, and a free ice cream machine.

Oh, and its a festival too.

Bruise Cruise features a series of on the sea concerts that involves the likes of The Black Lips, Vivian Girls, Strange Boys, Ty Segall, Surfer Blood, Thee Oh Sees, Quintron and Miss Pussycat, Turbo Fruits and soul DJ Jonathan Toubin (late inclusion - Jacuzzi Boys). With some special surprises also in store, this does come across as a very unique musical experience.

And to highlight this, Bruise Cruise is releasing a series of 7"'s to showcase the bands on show. Volume 1 includes Ty Segall and Thee Oh Sees - who, along with Black Lips, are probably the best two acts on this bill too. So tuck in. And if you have a spare $US615 lying around, plus enough for a flight to Miami, it sure wouldnt be the worst way to round out your winter...

Ty Segall - Happy Creeps

Thee Oh Sees - Crushed Grass

Faux Discx four way awesome split

Faux Discx could have just dropped the split 7" of the year - a four way slice of epic proportions. Featuring three of Sonic Masala's favourite bands, Fair Ohs, Cold Pumas and crafters of the bittersweet Public Strain, SM's album of the year, Women. Also not forgetting the fourth slice from Friendo. This Anglo-Calgary split features new (ish - Fair Ohs' track 'Jeanneret' featured on volume two of last year's Music Sounds Better With Huw comp) songs from each band and is a complete steal at only £4 for a 7" and downloads.

We've mentioned Women and Cold Pumas (fingers crossed for an LP this year?) enough times on SM, and even south east London's Fair Ohs have had multiple visits to this blog before but as Friendo have only made one appearance on SM before, it's Michael Wallace's trio that feature below. As Brendan mentioned Wallace is Women's drummer but centre stage for Friendo, their delightful sound helping to explain the gentle underbelly of Women. Its the certain Friendo warmth that brings this piece of wax so nicely together, a stripped down DIY simplicity that is just as deserving of your time as the other three awesome bands to grace this 7". Hats off to Faux Discx, any chance of a London gig with the same line up please? Get it here.

Friendo - Pass Times

Triple Figures...

A small statistic, but we all start somewhere - we now have surpassed 100 followers on Facebook. If you like the blog, connect to our Facebook page here and get up to date...er, updates? And some other fluff. Whatever. So to celebrate...

Facilitating A Dead Red Sun

Dead Red Sun are a three piece instrumental band from SE London. They state their instrumental sound as "post rock terrain peppered with math, constructing disorienting contours". They have just released their first single, 'Facility', its pretty fine too!

They are backing this up with a few dates this month, starting with a support slot with the likeminded Talons at the Vibe Bar this Thursday. Check em out at the Old Blue Last Jan 20th, as well as a gig at Powers in Kilburn on the 25th (???do decent bands play here???)

Definitely a young band worthy of support - I cant wait to see what they produce on their debut EP later this year...

Dead Red Sun - Facility

Secret Colours Follow The Drone

Chicago's newest psychedelic warriors Secret Colours keep on churning out the releases, ensuring that every colour on their palette is used with flourish in the process. Follow The Drone is a 2 track taster, with the title track showcasing rollicking Black Angels-esque desert burlesque psych with a sprinkiling of pop tweaking, making this an assured track. The B side, 'Lust (Slow)' is a sparser affair but in the same vein. All of which begs the question - why do you keep teasing us? We really want to see them giving us the next chapter of Secret Colours, seeing as their self titled debut was a fresh slap in the face on a cold winter's day. Still, beggars cant be choosers, and something is much, much, much better than nothing. Insert tired cliche here.

Pick up Follow The Drone here. They are gearing up for SXSW, which Im sure will prove to be their home away from home...

Secret Colours - Follow The Drone

Angels And Demons Brought Back To Earth

I have to laugh when I read forums that bicker about Dylan Carlson, the man responsible for drone doom. When he burst onto the scene in the early Nineties with his Earth persona, his grunge inflected minimalist dark masterpieces blew everyone away, and is the sole reason why we have Sunn O))) today. Then Earth disappeared off the scene for a bit, but many didn’t notice as the drone doom genre flourished. Then in the early 00s Carlson returned, riding a flaming horse of death, and his music mirrored this – an underworld version of the true Western. His sound now encapsulates the type of music Ennio Morricone may have produced if he was scoring the end of the world. Both directions that Earth have taken are brilliant in my mind. Im not sure where Earth could have gone in its earliest guise, and this spectral dark country music that he now specialises in is scary in its resonance.

And so we come to Angels Of Darkness, Demons Of Light I, the first in a series of thematically similar releases that are due out this year. Earth returns to the drone, riff-empty ethereal ism of albums like Hex, yet remains light years away from the acid white noise of yesteryear. These five tracks meander through a sonic wasteland that is so visceral you can feel the murk, gunk, dirt and stench of a dying badlands. The use of cello in the title track add further gravitas, through not inhibiting the flow of the music by becoming an anchor. In fact that is the point – these tracks drift along at their own pace, both cynical and resigned to the fate of the world. Its dark, yet somehow beautiful in its apocalyptic malaise. This is not going to appease the purists who have not let sleeping dogs lie since Carlson returned in 2005, therefore the forums will continue to run bright with shouts of blasphemy, defamation and heresy. But seriously, Dylan Carlson is still a giant of brutal orchestral sonic beauty, and even though he has gone all hellish frontiersman, he rides his pale horse defiantly.

Angels Of Darkness, Demons Of Light I is out on February 11 on Southern Lord Records.

Earth – Old Black

Sunday Hits From The Box #2

Ive rediscovered my love of coffee. Being broke and in a house of tea lovers has meant Ive shunned the caffeine to a great extent in the second half of the year gone by. But due to my trip into the Midlands with my girlfriend over Christmas, I have become reacquainted with coffee, and we've slipped straight into the old habit like it was only yesterday.

And so I found myself in a rather gregarious mood today as I sat down at the laptop to sift through the messages and such in out now cluttered inbox. Im not sure there is any real connection, but Im using it, as I have found myself toe-tapping to these bands as I slurp my brown stuff, fiddle with my written musings and contemplate my lint filled navel. Coffee soothed the savage beast, you might say...

First up are a couple of offerings from Bad Panda Records. Johnny Hawaii is a purveyor of woozy dreamy psych beach pop - from Marseille. Yep. His EP Smurf's Up (on Microphone Records) is a nice 4 tracks of being stranded on a tropical island, having eaten the shiny berries and having the trip of a lifetime. Enough to make you warm inside - its a top little release, get it here.

Johnny Hawaii - The Lonely Smurfer

The T27 is the number of the train that travels from Beijing to Lhasa. Its a long trip, some 48 hours, and artist Nic Bommarito where he had no place to sleep so by the end he would drift in and out. His track, also named 'T27', is a bit like that train ride: a bit too long, sometimes noisy, sometimes boring, but a pleasant experience overall. And listing influences such as Godspeed, Do Make Say Think and The Album Leaf, you get a fair idea of what is in store with this 18 minute epic.

Nic Bommarito - T27

I would have liked to thrown this up around Christmas time (or even for the Friday Cover Up)! Bad For Lazarus, the five mad fuckers who make up the band, are UK bred and raised, having honed their skills in bands such as The 80s Matchbox B-Line Disaster, UNKLE and Nine Inch Nails, have shared the stage with Liars, Kong and Chickenhawk, and now are launching into a heady heavy mess of garage pop devillery. Their 2 track Christmas launch Good For Jesus...Bad For Lazarus features a Beavis and Butthead style headbanger of a 'Time Of My Life' rendition, but its their polished shambolic waltz through 'Minnie The Moocher' that impresses...

Bad For Lazarus - Minnie The Moocher

Now we have some indie rock, the likes of which havent graced our pages much in the past year. Maybe the caffeine is having a mellowing effect, rather than giving me the speed-like edge others crave. Still, Phoenix, Arizona's The Whisperlights offer up an interesting mishmash of styles, at times evoking Mumford and Son doing The Walkmen, at others coming across as an amplified Andrew Bird. Their self released EP Wake Up Dead isnt the usual kind thing that grabs me, but there is a lot to admire here, such as the two tracks below (one is instrumental, surprise surprise!). You can get the EP here.

The Whisperlights - Eaten Alive

The Whisperlights - The Storm

On the other hand we have Florida's Walking Catfish, who wear their influences firmly on their sleeve. And when one of your influences is Jeff Mangum AKA Neutral Milk Hotel, there's no complaining from this end - even naming a track in his honour on upcoming LP Optimist Club, available here. There is a touch of a more esoteric, lackadaisical Yo La Tengo too on tracks such as 'He Looked Up', whilst Jonathan Richman is all over 'Day In The Fog'. Its a nice album, and if you are into any of their music sakes, you'll enjoy Optimist Club.

Walking Catfish - He Looked Up

Happy Sunday!

Kitchen Wallet Be Watching You Motherfuckers

Or so they say. Kitchen Wallet have just released There's Still A Kitchen In My Wallet, 8 songs of 8-bit keys and crazy syncopated feral drumming, all of which I am enamoured and freaked out by. Im sure that was the intention! I get a Zach Hill vibe - not because it sounds anything like him (other than the intense drums), but that the template is used to basically fuck with anything that moves in the musical terrain that these guys traverse. Equal parts SNES wizardry, piano carnivale, Animal from The Muppets and an overdose on illegal diet pills and egg nog, There's Still A Kitchen In My Wallet offers childlike delight, the gnashing of rotten teeth and a nausea-inducing headache, all at once...

Whats more, not only can you download the release for free at their site, but you can buy it in 3.5" diskette form! Painfully slow, but with a healthy dose of 90s nostalgia.

Kitchen Wallet - Alien Parents

Kitchen Wallet - Beast Falls Through The Floor

Guitaro Hero

Its only a week into 2011, and here is my first post about an artist from Crash Avenue! The band in question is Guitaro - a trio from Vancouver that revel in spaced out disco rug-cutting - and their latest LP JJ's Crystal Palace is ten songs of the equivalent of making air shapes in the Tardis. There are elements of ambient experimentalism, digitised shoegaze, fringe-flicking psychedelia, and M83, "driving down the highway with a martini-sipping robot" coolness. Above all though, Guitaro have set themselves in a particular sonic groove that isolates them from their brethren - it feels lo-fi, epic, electronicised and analogue, but all in an unperturbed, organic environment. Its a pleasant release that grabs you with a pinch, then releases you with an addictive Chinese burn that you want all over your body, all the time.

The official release date is 1st March I believe, but head over here to download it with the band's best wishes!

Guitaro - Hill Mountain

Guitaro - Blastok

Friday Cover Up - Sex Beet get their boots dirty

This week seems to have been filled with news of awesome LPs on the horizon and this weeks Friday Cover-up is no different. Luke from Sex Beet has been in touch with Brendan with news of their debut LP that the London trio are currently in the process of (or at least planning on)recording, with Henry from Lovvers.


So to wet our appetites Luke sent us "a pretty fucked up cover" of Sonic Youth's 'Dirty Boots' from Goo. It's a Sonic Youth cover from one of SM's favourite bands with Henry from Lovvers taking a turn on bass, how could we resist?

Sex Beet - Dirty Boots (Sonic Youth cover)

Photo by Sandy Kim

Love Of Beaches

One of my favourite, most underrated Aussie albums from the last decade was Melbourne band Love Of Diagrams' debut effort, The Target Is You - ten tightly honed slabs of electric instrumentals that didnt outstay its welcome yet latched onto you like a tick, seeping its poison into the very marrow of your being until you had it on repeat for three weeks and forgot your own name. They went on to add vocals and produce some great indie rock, but I felt that the immediacy of those initial tracks were never eclipsed.

But this isn't about Love Of Diagrams, but about Beaches, whose new EP Eternal Sphere is coming out on Mexican Summer. Beaches are Antonia Sellbach (Love of Diagrams) on guitar and vocals, Alison Bolger (Panel of Judges) on guitar and vocals, Ali McCann on guitar and vocals, Gill Tucker (Spider Vomit) on bass and vocals and Karla Way on drums and vocals. The sound they evoke covers everything from psychedelic rock to kraut motorik and shoegaze, all very loud, yet its the layered sonic harmonics that impresses. Opening track "In A While" is laden with thick piles of reverb and rippling keys that envelop the vocals, which gasp for air until a knife sharp swath of guitar cuts the whole thing in two. Exhilarating stuff indeed...and not one Bette Midler reference in sight.

Beaches - In A While

To Akron Family Or Not To Akron Family?

Wow. My first listen to this had me scratching my freshly shaven face in bemusement (which is a bemusing gesture in and of itself). My second listen had me scratching my newly hewn (and instantly disliked) military-styled noggin. Ive always thought that Akron/Family were a group that have not garnered the recognition they have rightly deserved. Managing to swing from Animal Collective sonic pop abuse to pure psychedelic guitar sprawl, with various folky philanderings in between, it may be their strength (colouring various genres with a trademark zeal) that has kept them in the darkened corners. And their newie, S/T II: The Cosmic Birth and Journey of Shinju TNT, is NOT going to be the album that shoots them into the stratosphere. Unless by stratosphere I mean the outer reaches of human drone consciousness – then, they may have marked themselves new uncharted terrain. For Shinju (as the album will be referred to for the rest of this, and any subsequent, posts) is a slowed down methadone nightmare of a dreamstate...

Or is it? It seems that the initial version of Shinju that came out on the eve of 2011's inception was a warped remix loop of the album, leaked by the band themselves. Which makes sense in retrospect (and also proves my friend Dan cannot be trusted with his 'here's some albums that are awesome and are soooooooooooooo legit!' schtick...). Then the news that Akron/Family are having a listening party for the album in Northern Ohio this saturday - if you're nearby and are keen to get first dibs way earlier than the rest (Shinju aint released in the UK until March), check out deets here.

So maybe they will get the recognition they deserve? Its hard to say. But if you so feel, hunt the internet for the alternate version (if thats what it actually is - the guys have done enough subterfuge to have me still quite confused). Here is 'Silly Bearz' from the album, in the remix mode and as a live offering - can you spot the difference?

Shinju is out on Dead Oceans Records March 14 in the UK, February 8th elsewhere...

NB - if this isnt the true album, I still think its a good drone piece - so win win!

Akron/Family - Silly Bearz

Akron/Family - Silly Bears (live)

PS Since writing this Akron/Family have dropped the first single from the 'real' album - so here is 'So It Goes', followed by its droned counterpart.

Akron/Family - So It Goes

Akron/Family - So Tis Goes ('fake' version)

Sweet Bulbs in full bloom

Back in September a bit of fuss surfaced in blogosphere (including us at SM) about new Brooklynites Sweet Bulbs. Bitter sweet noise soaked intense indie pop, drenched in warm distortion and discord. It seems familiar ground at first, My Bloody Valentine being an obvious reference, but dig deeper and you have to admit this band have got a certain something that elevates them above other fuzz soaked, lady led outfits. Maybe its the band's past pedigree, Sweet Bulbs' members count Michael Jordan, Le Rug and The Crayons amongst their past adventures, "Breeders if their guitars sounded more like lasers." according to Dylan from Cloud Nothings.

Well its time for the Brooklyn quartet to take the next step with Blackburn Recordings dropping their debut 12" LP on the 15th. Pre-order it here. There's also a new track doing the rounds too, 'Down On My Life', taste below. And thanks to a tip off from Altered Zones, you can download a free live album from Beast Reality.

Sweet Bulbs - Down On My Life

Sonic Masala Becomes Acolytes To Zond

Warning - this review has been done by a person whose head has been totally blown...

Zond are an Australian band that I didnt even know existed until about a month ago. Admittedly I have been out of the country for about three years, and a lot can spring up and die away in that time. Nevertheless I was surprised when I heard their debut, self-titled LP. Why? Because its a fucking brilliant aural assault, all aggression, squalling distorted guitars and distanced vocals. Its not new, but it does sound fresh - as if the early Blonde Redhead maintained the Simone Pace vocals and Sonic Youth no wave leanings, then stole Kevin Shields' amplifiers and hooked them up to an imploding power plant. Zond opens ubiquitously - 'Io' spend half of its five minute duration meandering through an ambient, grey soundscape - before we are hit with bolts of sonic blasts barely reined in by guitarists Marney Macleod and Justin Fuller, as if the track had a mind of its own - and this continues with tracks like 'Choam' and 'Blue Haze'. The engine room - anchoring bassist Stephen Thomas and eight-limbed drummer Tym Krasevac - could let this all become a reverb-drenched mess, but it is their manic yet measured interplay that pins down the Zond sound, thus rendering it irresistible. There are more pop-sensible song structures in songs like 'Stupid Gods' and 'Dunvegan Castle', whilst the coalescing phoenix that is 7 minute 'Blind' places all of these elements together into a prolonged schizophrenic orgasm.

This is the dark, dirty, dirgey kind of shoegaze that I am particularly fond of - and is not expected from the island continent. The fact that these guys excel is an even greater admirable feat.

So if, like me, you hadnt heard of Zond before, become very acquainted. This album is just their stepping stone. Furthermore, in June last year Lou Reed himself invited the band to join him at the Vivid Live Festival at Sydney Opera House (yes, that's right, Bardo Pond were there too...). I can see the connection - laconic, wasted, acerbic, austere, nihilistic, nebulous. If My Disco, another amazing Melbourne band, were to do the opposite of their intensely reined in minimalist miasmas, Zond would be the result.

Im a convert - join me.

Zond is out now on RIP Society Records.

Zond - Choam

Zond - Stupid Gods

Gum Takes Tooth kindly

You've got to love a bit of band/blog mutual appreciation and Gum Takes Tooth were kind enough to give us a mention on their Facebook page, just before new year. Seems they're kinda pleased to make it onto four of our end of year lists, thanks guys. But it seems 2011 is the year the mutated and mangled noise duo take on the best LP list with their debut album due out on Tiger Trap Records April/May time. Its going to be a contender, you know it.

If you can't wait for April then fear not - Gum Takes Tooth have a limited edition triangular transparent 10" E.P due to drop this month, entitled TRI, also on Tiger Trap. Yeah, you read that right triangular transparent 10"...

"Wrapping up debut album. Expect a super limited special triangular single beginning of 2011 with the album following not too long after!"

In the meantime here is a taste of one of those awesome tracks we had last year and this gorgeously shot live video, by Dan Nixon, of the duo warping the Cowley Club. Witness it yourself at The Urban Bar 19th February.


Gum Take Tooth - Tannkjtt


Gum Takes Tooth at the Cowley Club from Dan Nixon on Vimeo.

Fully Submerged In Bardo Pond

I cant believe we have been around for almost a year, and this is my first Bardo Pond reference! Wow. Ok, here goes...

I came to Bardo Pond a few years ago, pretty much purely because the guys from Mogwai kept banging on about them. This was the mid '00s, when I was still a fat mid-twentysomething in Australia, tutoring rich kids at a school that bred faux intellectuals, thugs and the very occasional stand-up good guy, turning my back on my education career, struggling to get noticed with my writing and wondering what was the point in life... Ahem. So anyway, I also saw Bardo Pond's name floating about on various ATP lists, which piqued my interest even more. I found Dilate in the bargain area of the local record store, Rockinghorse, and - whilst not as mesmerising as hearing My Father My King for the first time - Bardo Pond were etched into my musical soul.

Therefore, Im massively excited and happy to tell you all that Bardo Pond's latest LP -the first in four years if you dont count the epic Batholith, which is a major departure for the band's once prolific nature - monikered, funnily enough, Bardo Pond (came out on Dec 8th through Fire Records) is fantastic. I noticed a few people included it on their best of 2010 lists. The reason that Bardo Pond didnt figure for me was because I didnt get it until Christmas. And because I listened to it for the final three days of 2010 right into the New Year, and we had already posted our best of 2010 lists before Christmas Day, it feels very 2011 to me. OK?

So, the album opens up with 'Just Once', an incredibly beautiful woozy jam, augmented by clearer production enhancing Isobel Sollenberger's slightly husky, warbled vocals, a great space odyssey, before blasting in with concise and gritty 'Dont Know About You'. The chamber oscillating rhythms of 'Sleeping' then lulls you into familiar terrain, wearing the Pink Floyd schtick firmly on the sleeve. All so Bardo Pond - all so good. Then we hit the middle of the album. 'Undone' warbles into existence, somewhat like a foal taking its first erratic steps. Then when its finished, 21 minutes later, you know you have ridden that horse down the rabbit hole into a dark rift in time and space that gets more chaotic yet cathartic with every passing light year, until you find yourself imploding, a dead star. Totally self-indulgent, totally fucking awesome. The rest of the album - the insistent sneer of 'Cracker Wrist', the wistful yet hopeful soaring 'The Stars Behind' and meandering trip 'Wayne's Tune' - help to accentuate the fact that after 20 years and basic anonymity, Bardo Pond are still very much the master of their own domain. I was bummed when I heard they joined the likes of Lou Reed for a very special festival at the Sydney Opera House mid-2010 - whats worse, I couldnt go see them support The Dead C in December due to a prior engagement (I think Im OK, just take deep breaths...) - now, with Bardo Pond by my side, I have them all to myself.

I can still claim this as a 2011 release, right?

Bardo Pond - Dont Know About You

Bardo Pond - Cracker Wrist

Heil Marley! Sieg Heil Mark E Smith!

The first few seconds of opening track 'Brief Terror' was all it took for me to be permanently hooked on Teenage Panzerkorps (or DER TPK if you're so inclined to acronyise...) Formerly calling Siltbreeze their home, the German act via Los Angeles and San Francisco have unleashed, in new LP German Reggae (on Holidays Records), the kind of post punk that The Fall are infamous for, yet with more abrasive squalls of guitar white noise, trampling and fumbling paranoiac drums, insistent bass rumblings, and with Bunker Wolf's German at times laconic/at times ranting vocals over the top. It insists that you listen to it, again and again. Its lo fi production perfectly complements the claustrophobic feel of each angular hook. I thought January was going to be a cracker month for a few reasons, I just wasnt expecting it to start off with such an agitated bang. This is a great release, and the more of you that buy into this the better the world will be...I think.

Keep tabs on Holidays Records for release dates for German Reggae.

Now, everyone, pass the duchie on the left hand side, and do the Goosestep!

Teenage Panzerkorps - German Reggae

Teenage Panzerkorps - Metal Seeds

Just when you thought Korea couldnt get any weirder...

...along comes US exports Weird Korea. Sure they arent provoking each other with nuclear holocausts or any such humbug, but the Purchase, New York trio are offering up a maelstrom of Trail Of Dead at their most punk style bout of punchdrunk love. NO ART NO TRADE is their EP, which exudes amazingly tightly coiled rhythms in what are essentially slack-jawed garage jams. What with the incessant cymbal rings, the Black Lips esque yowls and guitar riffs that lift the roof off the hovel you call a home, Weird Korea have instilled a helluva load of charismatic energy into these 7 tracks, all amazingly produced on their own Nintendo DSi! Such ingenuity and excitement has already caught the attention of the likes of Titus Andronicus, and with such a strong debut Im sure we'll hear more of these guys as the year progresses. Get NO ART NO TRADE now from here.

Weird Korea - Panasonic Pink Moon
Weird Korea - Youth Cult

Thank You for the Golden Worry

A quick reminder that Baltimore's Thank You drop their second LP Golden Worry at the end of this month. Out on Thrill Jockey the trio's distinctive incessant tribal cacophony of 2007's Terrible Two LP was one of my highlights of the year. Golden Worry seems a natural progression for the multi-instrumentalist three-piece, if the track 'Pathetic Magic' is anything to go by.

Pathetic Magic dropped as a limited 12" back in 2009 and also features on the new LP. Now you could be forgiven for thinking that its a little cheeky to include a track that's been around for two years on a new LP but it seems that Pathetic Magic is a corner stone to the album, the more direct and driven form of the track signaling the band's evolved direction for their collision of rhythm, melody, and noise. Golden Worry showcases a band growing in confidence, with vocals now far more prominent and are precisely interlaced, giving Thank You's new material even more hidden depth. Taste below and check out the beautifully shot vid for Birth Reunion.

Thank You - Pathetic Magic


Thank You - Birth Reunion from Thrill Jockey Records on Vimeo.

Mickey Brown's Soul Glos

Where do you even start? Those scorched airwave rapscallions otherwise known as Mickey Mickey Rourke and Lester Brown have joined forces again, Voltron style, to become Mickey Brown. Their last effort, last year's Vision Quest, was a warped carousel of sonic acrobatics. Now they are hitting us with their follow up, Soul Glo. Its easily as frenetic and schizophrenic as its predecessor, loop heavy, distortion laden, and weird as fuck, but it also offers a few new curveballs - the dreamy carnivale chill of 'Mojo Jojo' shows a natural progression, whilst 'Melt Me' is a earnest if candy-coloured rnb hip hop treat, albiet in the shape of a throbbing penis. Its incessantly weird, but Mickey Brown insist that they cant not have fun - and you will be pulled along in their swirling, fucked-up wake.

Mickey Brown - Mojo Jojo

Mickey Brown - Melt Me (feat. Roberto Antonio)

Mickey Brown - Dietcokehed

Now We Can See That Fucking Tank!

Leeds' own powerhouse maelstrom That Fucking Tank! have finally released a disturbing video for old track 'Mr Blood'. Its also a nice touch of base with the band as they prepare to drop something new later in the year. Cant wait.


That Fucking Tank: 'Mr Blood' from JakoMat on Vimeo.

Deerhoof By Numbers = Colourful Colourings Outside The Lines

It seems a little redundant to review a new Deerhoof record – you pretty much know what is inside the box, so to speak. Its not like they are going to pull a Blonde Redhead on us, are they?

Are THEY?

Haha, no, they aren’t. Chances are you've heard most of this album in bits and bobs due to the rad idea of releasing the tracks on various global blogs over the past month - check out where here. Deerhoof Vs Evil is all you’d expect – crazy syncopated drum rolls, pixie-on-meth-and-helium-bumps vocals, guitar noise skritching- yet I was still taken aback by some of the beauty within, such as the ethereal 70s shimmer via flamenco flourishes that is ‘No One Asked To Dance’ or the 8-bit via Seattle dirge that drives ‘Super Duper Rescue Heads!’ surprise in the way that these Bay Area misanthropes continue to strive at adding more bows to their quiver. Whilst being a massive fan of their live component, I haven’t really embraced their studio output as something worthy of a multitude of listens (except maybe Milk Man, and that may be only because it reminds me of when I heard them for the first time), and Im not sure that this album will buck this trend. I tend to choose tracks from various releases and make my own definitive Deerhoof playlist. Nevertheless, it is a true to form Deerhoof release – so for fans, keep salivating. And if you haven’t seen them live yet, do yourself a true service and get yourself a ticket this year – I know I will be first in line.

Deerhoof Vs Evil is out January 25th on Polyvinyl Records.

Deerhoof - The Merry Barracks

Deerhoof - No One Asked To Dance

Action Beat Beatings at last

Well its been a slow start to 2011 for me, Christ work was hard today! But you can't get a better start to the year than the news that Action Beat's second LP, Beatings, is finally dropping on Truth Cult on the 10th.

News of Bletchley's finest's second LP is nothing new, but I've been holding back posting until the long player had really landed and Id got a chance to really taste Beatings for myself - and it does not disappoint. Beatings was first announced back in September, with more tour dates to-boot. I was lucky enough to take a pummelling from the frenzied Bletchley seven piece (at least) at the Macbeth, but the band hadn't received any copies of the album back from the pressers yet, I was gutted. It would be the understatement of the decade to say that I've been gagging for this record. Had it dropped back in September as planned, I can guarantee Beatings would have made our top ten albums of 2010.

Its safe to say that Beatings sees Action Beat on very much the same territory as their first LP The Noise Band From Bletchley - manic improvised noise influenced by Glenn Branca, The Ex and Sonic Youth - but this is no follow-on. Beatings sees Action Beat turn it up a notch or three. This is Action Beat in a more frenetic, more intense, more full-on whirlwind of perfected noise insanity. You could almost say that Beatings shows a band maturing, particularly in tracks like 'Daddy Why', but for Action Beat maturity means more menace, more energy, with their foot pressed to the metal harder than ever before.

The crazy video of opening track 'Car Crash Halloween Disco' below - if you haven't seen Action Beat live than the vid is pretty close - and buy it here, through Southern Records - for a tenner! Its a steal.

Vitamins For The Weather Machine

I was talking to Crawf over at Tome For The Weather Machine before the Xmas break, mainly riffing over how amazing Tjutjana's self-titled LP was, and he threw me this video from his own act, Vitamins. They've been rocking Denver for about three years, so are well versed in all things Tjutjana, as well as getting chummy with Woodsman. they have been playing with the likes of Tennis and Gauntlet Hair too, which is pretty rad. There is talk of a new release in the works, and they may be doing a vid with Rob Feulner (who's done some wicked vids for CFCF and Hobo Cubes) so keep tuned...

Liquid Crystals-Original Score by Vitamins and Shyman from Matthew Daniels on Vimeo.

A Vision To Too Much Eye Makeup

We brought to you the impressive instrumental climes of Old World Vulture here. Well, they now have an artful video for final track 'Too Much Eye Makeup', check it out below.

Old World Vulture - "Too Much Eye Makeup" from Mr. OldWorldVulture on Vimeo.

The Beets Age Well When They Stay At Home

I mentioned last year that I didn't 'get' The Beets until I became hooked on their track 'What Did I Do'. Well they are hitting 2011 hard, with not one but TWO releases out on Captured Tracks, both coming out on the same day, January 11. Whilst I havent heard much from their second LP Stay Home, I am lucky enough to have the Time Brought Age 7", and it has helped to heighten my excitement. Featuring 2 tracks that wont be on the album, it displays two beautiful sides for the group - 'Time Brought Age' is a lackadaisical affair, infused with some slowed down Stones (hence the reference on the rad cover art), whilst 'Pick Another Corner' is mired in the garage wastelands of the familiar, yet definitive, Beets. Seeing as they are incessant on the live stage in the US, we should see them gracing our shores soon.

The Beets - Time Brought Age

Oblivious To The Sun

Irish sonic madmen And So I Watch You From Afar have had a bustling 2010, what with their fantastic Letters EP (which I criminally left out of my fave EPs for the year), support slots with the likes of Them Crooked Vultures and Japanese roarers Envy, and now this single release, Straight Through The Sun Without A Scratch. I really loved their self-titled album of 2009, and the Letters EP delivered on the promise. The new one takes their aggressive propulsive post rock one step to the left, with introspection and nuance added to the already heady mix. What you're left with is 'Straight Through The Sun', a more typical ASIWYFA track that is as fun as it is frenetic (their staple song structure - it even reminded me a bit of what London duo Friendship do at times). The B side, 'Without A Fucking Scratch', is just as enthralling, opening up with a meditative roll forward that harkens to latter-day Mogwai, before tearing the world asunder halfway through.

Purchase Straight Through The Sun Without A Scratch from Smalltown America Records here. The boys are opening up 2011 by touring Russia...

And So I Watch You From Afar - Straight Through The Sun

Beach Fossils Bring Cayler To Life

Dustin Payseur's Beach Fossils outfit had a happy 2010, culminating in the release of the solid self-titled release that I covered here. They are intending to continue riding the self-made wave of lo-fi guitar pop goodwill with the release of EP What A Pleasure through Captured Tracks in February, followed by a new LP later on. This track has been about for a couple weeks, but with the lists fiesta we had here I missed the boat first time around. 'Cayler', whilst still adhering to the hazy meandering shimmer of the past (and of what we expect from a Captured Tracks release) is somewhat clearer here, all the better to hear Payseur's vocals, and highlighting a Joy Division bent. Its nothing new, but its a happy track to bring in my New Year.

Beach Fossils - Cayler

Happy New Twenty Legs Eleven!

Well, we made it. Happy New Years dudes and dudettes. We couldnt have done it without you, and hopefully you reciprocate, although thats awfully presumptuous of me. Anyway, have much in store for you this week, month, and year. But its 9pm on New Years Day and I still feel that my soul, whilst still dancing, is in a serious state of disrepair, so Im going to end it here. See y'all tomorrow, bright(er) eyed and bushy(er) tailed...or some such. And here's a hint as to what Ill be talking to you about (and here's to your year being as beautiful as this)...