Working On Time Well Spent

Nothing like a bit of humanitarianism with your post-hardcore. Florida band Frameworks are releasing a new 7” EP, Time Spent, in three different versions – clear with black smoke, white, and translucent gold. The clear/black smoke variation will have a $1 from each donated to the UN Refugee Agency to help with the crisis in Syria. The music itself is as typically asymmetrical as always, offering a melodic thrum before an explosion of razor-edged noise. There is a further industrial element underscoring Framework’s aesthetics though, a sign that Time Spent has been time spent expanding and reframing. ‘Time Spent’ spools out violently with moments of sepulchral calm – Nothing or a Jason Reece-led …And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead comes to mind here. Frameworks are priming an album for later in the year – this is the perfect precursor. You can grab it here.

Review - Beast & Flood's Lanugo and Tour Dates

Sydney trio Beast & Flood have graced the pages here a few times over the past twelve or so months, ever since I saw them play an energising set at Blackwire Records supporting Roku Music on their national Collider tour. The band are finally bringing out debut LP Lanugo and it's as chaotic, guttural, twitchingly melodic and fearlessly verbose. Opener 'Gold Maids' is indicative of the piano-wire strikes and emotive strangulation that these guys deliver in sonic cyanide capsule form. There is an affinity with Adelaide's Sincerely, Grizzly and Texan titans At The Drive In and ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead - the frenetic fretwork, the bearing of sinew and soul, the anguish, ambiguity and absurdity of life. Adam's vocals will be an acquired taste to some - each word is ripped from the throat, an involuntary expulsion of pent-up existentialism and ennui. but there are moments of synchronicity amidst the gnashing and gurning.

Lanugo is out June 22 on No Safe Place Records. They tour the album through June/July/August - see below for dates and supports:

25/06 - RAD, Woollongong w/ Milkk, Solid Effort
26/06 - Blackwire, SYD w/ Hannahband, Polyfox & the Union of Most Ghosts

09/07 - Rics, BRIS w/ On VHS

10/07 - The Bearded Lady, BRIS w/ Ghost Notes, Draining Pool, Low Season

11/07 - Beatdisc, Parramatta w/ Carb On Carb + Bare Grillz + Sweater Season

16/07 - Phoenix, Canberra w/ Primary Colours + Mind Blanks

17/07 - The Metropolitan, Adelaide w/ No Action + Great Oceans + David Crosby's Sinus

18/07 - Vice Bar, Melbourne w/ Worm Crown + Nun of the Tongue

24/07 - The Brisbane Hotel, Hobart w/ Naked + All The Weathers

01/08 - The Hamilton Station Hotel, Newcastle

07/08 - The Old Manly Boatshed, Sydney w/ Ruth Carp & The Fish Heads

Fawning From A Safer Spot

I only heard of York trio Fawn Spots when I heard their side of the split release they did with Scott & Charlene's Wedding last year - and I really liked what I saw. I'm also a massive fan of comedian Stewart Lee, so when I heard him compare them to Husker Du and Guided By Voices, I was in. From Safer Place is their debut record (out through Critical Heights earlier in the year). It’s a funny one. Not funny haha; not even funny peculiar. It’s just that I have had this album since February, and have listened to it a fair bit on and off since that time. It isn’t as melodic as I was anticipating – there is more angular attack and vitriolic caterwauling here that at times comes to be overbearing (even if the album only scraps over the thirty minute mark). It’s that mixture of …Trail of Dead freneticism and Thrice post-hardcore earnestness that walks a fine line for me. In fact it is the latter that From Safe Place most reminds me of – its highs and its lows. But it’s in the melody of the title track, the high-octane energy of ‘I’m Not A Man – I Never Will Be’ that grinds down then marchs forward, all in just over sixty seconds; the atmospheric ‘In Front Of The Chestnut’. The spit-flecked angst here is something I would have gravitated towards ten years ago; and yet here I am, drawn once more to their cathartic flame. I am yet to see these guys live – I think I would become one of the converted masses then.

Rebirth Of A Dead Meadow

I'm a massive fan of psychedelic rock music of all kinds, but especially the heavier, dirgier kind. I think the genesis of this may have come with discovering Led Zeppelin with my dad (who, whilst not a musical aficionado, did also introduce me to Johnny Cash, Australian Crawl, The Boss and 'Brothers In Arms' era Dire Straits, which I still have a soft spot for). The first album I can recall truly grabbing me in this mould though was The Warlocks' Rise & Fall, which was playing at the old Rockinghorse Records store PA back in 2002 (and a record very close to my heart). I've been a hapless acolyte ever since...

I haven't had the pleasure of bathing in the cavernous dirge of Jason Simon and his Dead Meadow brethren as yet - but again I have a sort of origin story for these guys too. Before wholesale piracy was passe, I remember being stuck out in the middle of nowhere in 2003 (Roma, Queensland to be exact) on my first stationed education position with nothing to do, so I delved into Amazon's then music website, CDNow. I discovered some pretty amazing things that year through that thing (Neutral Milk Hotel, Explosions In The Sky, Mono, ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead), one of them also being Dead Meadow's third LP Shivering Kings & Others. From there it was The Black Angels, Black Mountain - further down the spiral I would go.

As the years have gone by I have drifted somewhat from the "lightening" of Dead Meadow's aesthetic - despite the excellence of Feathers (2005), 2008's Old Growth didn't grab me at all, whilst I only gave 2010's Three Kings a cursory once-over. I have to say though that new album Warble Womb is a true return to form (some people will strenuously argue that the form never dissipated - whatever). Certainly more sonorous and less kosmiche than compatriots Wooden Shjips, Dead Meadow does have the same propensity for creating a cyclical, familiar groove that permeates their records - Warble Womb is no exception. But when you have the lackadaisical, off-kilter wooze of a track like 'Mr Chesty' or a roiling magma purge like 'This Song Is Over', you can't deny the trio's inimitable power. And this might be a bit of cribbing (who doesn't in this genre?), but 'I'm Cured' sounds like the sun-blasted paisley malaise of The Warlocks - full circle.

They aren't mellowing out so much as becoming one with their mystical powers, and Warble Womb may be the moment that I fuse with them. They are still masters of the domain, after all...

Warble Womb is out through their Xemu Records label - I have no idea where to get it. Hassle them I guess? But never fear. Stream the entire record here.

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

Canadian Weed Set Me Back

Weed. That's is such a weird word. It holds such negative connotations, whether it be in the plant world or in a physical sense, yet is also the label of one of the most loved 'erbs this humble guy here has ever encountered. Another positive is that Weed pops up in awesome bands' names - Weed Diamond, Tumbleweed, and now - just, er, Weed.

The Vancouver dudes marry dissonant noise with deep melodicism, fitting into the mold that ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead burst forth from before their artistry and flights of fantasy led to other sonic realms. Weed are bringing out Deserve on Couple Skate Records (also responsible for delivering M. Women's Faithful onto the world, which we were rather taken by) next month. This is loud, thick scuzz that doesn't sound like it's pissing out of an obliterated ham radio - a very good thing indeed.

Adult Creativity Of The Bovine Kind

Goddamn. Two brilliant shows this weekend - ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead performing Source Tags & Codes in its entirety (plus a full second set) on Friday night, then the raucous pop sunniness of Dollar Bar last night. I'm a bit sore and sorry though - its my first weekend without work for what seems like forever, so I went a bit hard. Need to make the most of this freedom though, and Creative Adult has landed to blast the cobwebs well and truly out of the ears. The San Fran outfit eschew the garage psychedelia of many of their hometown counterparts to instead power through brutality, atonal aggression and sonic athleticism - this is hardcore by the no wave set, as breathtakingly unpredictable as it is wantonly abrasive. Bulls In The Yard is a four track Q-tip to the urethra, dipped in liquid PCP and desperate sweat - aural jumper leads to the loins. Plug in, rush, consume, glow.

Buy Bulls In The Yard 7" (out through Run For Cover Records) here.

Glowing Wake For A Wild Moth

 

I’m finishing off today with a 7” that came out a few months ago but is getting some serious replay value around these parts. San Francisco post-punk subverters Wild Moth have crafted four tracks of angular angst on Mourning Glow, glossed over with some effervescent melodies. Whilst much further afield from Fugazi, there is something inherent in Wild Moth’s harmonies and warm sonics that evokes the titular band in the title track, whilst ‘Patience’ wouldn’t be amiss on a mid-2000s Trail of Dead record. The connection to Conrad Keely et al is also evident on the B-sides, which are just as delectable, especially in the screeched backing vocals on ‘Prison’*. Overall though, this is such a quality 7” that it feels much more substantial – you can see why they are opening for the likes of A Place To Bury Strangers – and the new album cannot come quick enough.

 

Mourning Glow is out through Asian Man Records - get it here.

Wild Moth – Mourning Glow
Wild Moth – Patience



*Sorry about the lazy reference points (although in my weary mind they do exist) – I'm finished work after a stupidly long week and I can only focus on booze and the cricket, and this 7” on the record player, followed by Murder City Devils’ back catalogue. You can understand why I'm rushing this through to get to that point, no? Have a good weekend kids!

Don't Suffer Tropical Trash - Fear Them

Talk about an about turn. A couple of months ago Kentucky label Sophomore Lounge Records released Fear Of Suffering, a 7" by seemingly newly-minted Louisville band Tropical Trash. Never heard of em? Well, the album is full of dissonant, warped rock, alternating between the driving despair of 'Baltimore' to the frenetic noise of the other, considerably shorter tracks - something akin to And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead attempting conceptual grindcore. Extreme guitar - by brass men? Yep, these guys are the horn section of SAPAT, whose evilly cantankerous Mortise & Tenon LP on Siltbreeze back in 2007 was pretty impressive. And it isn't entirely a surprise - hear the off-kilter squall on 'Pentagram Ring Finger' for example. And 'Burning Ghost' could be a nerdier Hot Snakes... Yet it's a rhythmic trance of dissonance that is strangely transfixing - and far too short. Incessant murky anti-math? Can't wait to hear what they have coming up for us next.


You can (and should) grab Fear Of Suffering here.

Tropical Trash - Baltimore
Tropical Trash - Burning Ghost

The Trail of Dead Numbers Up To Infinity

...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead are one of my favourite live bands - their set at the Hi Fi last year blew me away, and their Livid 2002 set stands as one of the best festival shows I've ever seen. Their albums have ebbed and flowed under the weight of their concepts however, with the last few albums suffering from the grandeur. Last year saw a return form though with Tao Of The Dead, and they have another on the way. Entitled Lost Songs, it comes out in October on their Richter Scale label, and there is a track off it called 'Up To Infinity', an angry purge about the Syrian civil war. It's really good.

...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead - Up To Infinity

Cursing Psychic Blood By Seasons

It wasn't all that long ago that I was raving about Western Massachusetts band Psychic Blood's three track EP Strain. Some anonymous bystander immediately slung me their debut longplayer, Autumn Curses (whoever you are, you are radness personified!), and I've been listening to it intermittently ever since.

Unfortunately for me it doesn't quite live up to the expectations laid on by the EP, but that is also because the EP was three songs in length. At this point in time there is a similarity throughout Psychic Blood's sound that runs the risk of repetition - the same squalling guitar line seems to trickle through a brace of these tracks. There are many touchstones to the first And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead album here also, which is amazing and it still kills due to its lo-fi production and aggressive approach, as well as echoes of Conrad Keeley's vocal delivery - which depending how you look at it equals ten tracks of emulating brilliance, or ten tracks of varying degrees of 'Richter Scale Madness.' Not all tracks blend into each other - the ambience of 'Roving Mind' and the slow down harmonics of 'Here Is No Truth' offer other swatches of depth to the mix.


Autumn Curses (out on Feeble Minds Records/Damage Mailorder - grab the cassette here) is still a solid album, with some killer tracks on there that help to augment the effectiveness of this trio as a brutal live force. It's not all there as a rounded album though. Psychic Blood are a band to be fully supported though, and with their next recordings having Justin Pizzoferrato (Dinosaur Jr., Sonic Youth) is in the recording seat, I'm salivating already.

Psychic Blood - Annihilator
Psychic Blood - Here Is No Truth
Psychic Blood - War Paint

Dressed In Wild Colonial Gold & Red

Brisbane's Nikko have been busy with supports for ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead and Boris, plus having made a brief sojourn to Melbourne. And although one member still lies ensconced in that chilly city, and other projects have occupied some (Ryan Potter's The Scrapes and The Maryettas getting shows around Brisbane), they are about to drag you further down into their darkly eloquent Gothic Outback Western apocrypha as they prepare to drop new LP Gold & Red through the stellar tenzenmen Records (alongside Music Fix).

Opening with the brooding, ominous 'The Child', Nikko envelop you with their atmospheric wall of sound, here perfectly captured by Cam Smith (of Tiny Spiders/Ghost Notes/St Augustus fame, and whose recording efforts include Velociraptor and the mighty No Anchor) in the cavernous orchestral hall of Brisbane's historic Old Museum. In fact, such an environment is perfectly suited to the band's melodic post-rock steeped aesthetic, with that lost country twang in the saddle also (the drawl of 'About The Spirit' perfectly exemplifies this). Aaron Cupples (The Drones, Snowman) and Nao Anzai (Laura, Because of Ghosts) mixed and mastered respectively, and their presence is immediate. Anzai in particular is well versed in these instrumental-based multi-layered sounds. Ryan Potter's voice is beautifully captured here, which isn't an easy task (his deep baritone can lose its rich timbre if not mixed properly). In fact Gold & Red is epic in every sense, the noisy moments are incredibly emotive, the quiet moments offered enough space to dance to its own tune without feeling perfunctory. 'Never Danced' is one of the most beautiful songs they have ever created, whilst the chugging rush of 'Dark Eyes' is a locomotive of smouldering tension. The title track is the most likely to evoke Western epics like Deadwood or The Proposition in its plaintive plinks, the itch before the storm, and it is the perfect example of how clever and evocative these guys' compositions are.


Nikko continue to carve a unique path across the Australian musical landscape, and Gold & Red is further proof that such rustic post-rock mysticism is warranted - nay, vital - to our Australian musical landscape.

The album is out on CD soon, and later on gold & red vinyl - I'm gettin' me some o that! They are also launching the album at The Waiting Room on Saturday June 23, as well as having an in store at Tyms in July before embarking on a national tour.

Trail Of Dead/To The North/Nikko - A Triumvirate Of Glory

Im getting goddamned excited! Texans ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead are playing in Brisbane tonight at the Hi Fi Bar in West End! The band always puts on electric shows, so it promises to be one not to be missed. Ably supported by To The North and SM faves Nikko also, so some serious bang for your buck! The times are -

8.20 - 8.50pm - Nikko
9.20pm - 10.00pm - To The North
10.30pm - 11.40pm - Trail Of Dead

Grab tix here or on the door. DON'T MISS THIS!!!

Trail Of Dead - Isis Unveiled by Superball Music

Akron Family Trails The Dead In A Handsome September

Brisbane, you are about to be blessed (and not from that amazing Selleck pic above - but wait, as it does relate...), as from the final weekend of July onward its an onslaught of killer international talent coming your way! Starting with the biggest Splendour to date (Mogwai, Kanye, The Kills, Warpaint, Dananananaykroyd, Elbow, Modest Mouse, Pulp), the gigs keep on hitting - Jim Ward, Times New Viking, Jason Simon (Dead Meadow), Wet Hair, LA Vampires, Russian Circles, Monster Magnet doing Dopes To Infinity in its entirety, Sebadoh...does it get any better?


Actually, damn straight it does! Intermingled in all that awesomeness are two tours put on by Handsome Tours that Im going schoolgirl-giddy over. First up at the beginning of September we will be blasted away by the incendiary Texan act ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead. Having completed seventh album Tao Of The Dead earlier this year to much rapturous acclaim, Conrad Keely, Jason Reece and co will bring their extremely physical live show to the Hi Fi Bar on September 9, featuring snarling refrains, fervent stage diving, epic anthemic jams; multiple instrument changes and the odd bout of stage destruction, all punctuated by flailing limbs and Keely and Reece’s ping-pong vocal exchanges and hooks in overdrive. You can get your tickets here for what could possibly be THE show of 2011...


But Handsome wont let you off that easy. Brisbane's world class Gallery of Modern Art (GoMA) is closing out their Surrealism: The Poetry Of Dreams exhibition (NOW do you get the pic above???) with mystical psych mainliners Akron/Family! Their latest foray into longplayerdom, S/T II: The Cosmic Birth and Journey of Shinju TNT was possibly their best album yet, continuing pushing genre boundaries with a leery sense of abandon. Imagine watching Mullholland Drive, looking at pieces by Man Ray and Salvador Dali, then seeing these brilliant freak rockers blow you into hyperspace! Its happening all right, on Friday September 30 - get your tix here. This one is stupidly cheap too, only $21.50, so expect these to fly out the window like toasters with wings.

AND - both gigs are on Fridays, so losing your shit is mandatory! SOOOOOOOOO good...

...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead - Weight Of The Sun
Akron/Family - So It Goes

And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Fruit And Fault Lines

Glasgow's United Fruit have released debut album Fault Lines, and as you can hear from opening tracks 'Kamikaze' and 'Liar' (and my post heading) there is a definite adherence to dischordant yet catchy noise rock a la the Texan black clad steampunk warriors. It is clear that being in close proximity to the likes of That Fucking Tank!, Future Of The Left and Desalvo has rubbed off favourably on the quartet, as the album is a sizable jump up from EP Mistress, Reptile Mistress!. What I really enjoy about this album is the raw energy that enervates these songs - 'Red Letter' borders the noise of DFA79 in its outro - coupled with the moxy of crafting solid pop structures and being incredibly angular and loud. Its not afraid to be unbearably loud yet strongly configured, making the album inherently infectious.

Fault Lines is out May 30. United Fruit play The Macbeth on May 18.

United Fruit - Liar
United Fruit - Go Away, Don't Leave Me Alone

The Exceptional Empire Express - Heavenly Brilliance

The post/krautrock ensemble Empire Express are based in Stockholm, Sweden. The band has been embraced by artists like Broken Social Scene, Stars and Faust - all Canadian bands/artists/collectives, and won The Music Think Tank International Awards & Festival 2010 in their genre with the song 'Stronge 7 km'. Their "top friends" on Myspace list Explosions In The Sky, Mono, Godspeed! You Black Emperor, ...And You Will Know Us From The Trail Of Dead, Do Make Say Think and Dinosaur Jr. They have only played a handful of shows, almost all of which have been in their home country.

And whilst this will give an indication of the calibre of this group, forget all that. You must know only this - Valleyland is fucking amazing. This is the kind of post-rock album that the titans refrain from making anymore, so thank you Empire Express! Valleyland has the perfect blend of harmonious melodies, whimsy and cascading sonics, so much so that opener 'Stronge 7km' - their first ever written song - was hailed by Faust's Zappi Diermaier as his favourite song ever. And he isnt half wrong - this entire album is exquisite, in the way that Explosions In The Sky are, but with horns. Thats Empire Express in a nutshell then - Explosions... with horns.

If this band doesnt go stratospheric this year, its a crime. Do not miss out on this one - pick it up ASAP and guaranteed it will become jammed in your subconscious for days - nay, months - to come. Gush...

Valleyland is out now through Western Lodge Records.

Empire Express - Stronge 7km
Empire Express - Asil (part 1)

Trail's Tao Of The Dead Blazes Ambitiously...And Masterfully

Texas' brutal rock lyricists ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead are just about to hit us with their seventh LP, titled Tao Of The Dead. As you may have worked out by now, i am an avid fan of these guys ever since I bought their 2002 opus Source Tags And Codes, then seeing them demolish that year's Livid festival in Australia. The band is burdened with a love/hate relationship with the rock intelligentsia, due to their juxtaposition of crushing, aggressive slabs of angular rock and elegiac, blown out stretches of fanciful whimsy, and the newie - their second on their own Richter Scale Records label - doesnt veer too much from their modus operandi.

Beginning with their staple introductory instrumental, there are shadows of the outro of Source Tags And Codes here amidst the pomposity and grandeur, which had me tingling in excitement. I know that there is a lot of hate for these guys, Ive heard all the "pretentious twats" arguments to fulfil a lifetime, and I can understand some of the points raised - but I dont give a fucking shit. I love what these guys do, whether they stick to what they know best, or attempt to (fleetingly) reign it in. 'Pure Radio Cosplay' has a very 'Jumping Jack Flash' vibe that bleeds into what is an essential ToD track, which bleeds into another 9 tracks which makes an essential ToD album...until the final track. You see, that is just Part 1 - called 'Tao Of The Dead'. The final track, on the flipside, is titled 'Strange News From Another Planet', and is sixteen and a half minutes, split into five movements, of the band at their most esoteric, soaring, and - go on, say it - pretentious - but is also fucking amazing; close to the best thing they have ever done.

And I couldnt love them any more - they continue to run headlong at the Sun, and beyond, regardless of what those around them may say or do. They have their own self-defined destiny, and the artistry and dedication shown here showcases how strenuously they will strive to get there. The themes inherent in the album - environmental art, the death of radio, the narratological arc of 'the hero's journey' (very close to my heart as that is in part what my Masters thesis is on) - are heightened further by co-founder Conrad Keely's ever-present artwork, now entered into as graphic novel - a truly ambitious endeavour. Both Keely and Jason Reece contend that this is not a concept album, but rather a sequence of albums with an overreaching narrative thread. And this is some amazing news - as Tao Of The Dead sees ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead at their most consistently excellent since Worlds Apart or possibly even Source Tags and Codes itself (although Im still fond of last album So Divided, so there you go. The Century Of Self - well, lets not go there). This is a true album - and an essential purchase.

Tao Of The Dead comes out February 7. The band are touring Europe March through to May, with an expected return to Camden's Electric Ballroom, exactly 2 years after they destroyed there. Genius.

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

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

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

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

Old news for most of you, Im sure, but ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead have a single out for their forthcoming album, Tao Of The Dead, out in February 2011 (what a month for releases!). The track is standard Trail of Dead fare, which may be a concern for some, but its still a rollicking tune - and I love these brooding Texans, so any new sounds are good to me!

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