Brain Drugs Ooze From The Wound

As you are reading this, I am in Braintree. That is a little town in Essex. A killer, pagan-horror name for what is essentially a quaint little town. I am off to a wedding. I'm sure I will have a good time at said wedding. But it is a themed wedding - no not Game Of Thrones or something as dreadful (although I do enjoy the show), but possibly something infinitely worse - "festival chic." Jesus. Further investigation brought about the dress code for men as being checked shirts, decent coloured trousers, BOW TIES AND BRACES.

This had me physically trying not to retch. If EVER I dress like a member of the fucking Mumford & Sons you have the express wishes and gratitude of yours truly to beat me to death with my own braces and brogues.

So here is my antidote, to get me through the day. Oozing Wound is a band from Chicago that deal out thrashy metal in garish floods. Their influences (as labelled on Facebook, so you know they are true) stand as High On Fire, Black Sabbath, and the Beach Boys. I'm gonna take them on face value and agree wholeheartedly. And fuck it - I'm gonna need everything I can to get over the line here, so 'Drug Reference' - with its thrashing drums, lacerating vocals, and exact 4:20 minute runtime - is the kind of thing that will help elevate things above mere pretension and allow me to drink this free bar dry. In my Roku Music shirt at a twee wedding. DONE.

Oozing Wound - Drug Reference

Imperialist Art For The Suburban Surf Set

Shit its miserable in Brisbane today! All rain and bluster. Thank God then for Toronto's Art Imperial, whose Surf Suburban EP I received recently. The idea of the EP apparently came from having The Mamas & The Papas' 'California Dreamin' on repeat during a long winter period, with the wistful dreaming of standing on a white sand beach, watching crystal blue waves crash against the shore. Im with you there brother... Sure, there are umpteen inferences to other acts here, from pop pioneers The Beach Boys to more recent acolytes such as Wavves, Girls and Beach Fossils. There's even a hint of good 80s new wave under the twanging surf guitars on tracks like 'Bugs Out My Mind' that invokes the cheerier moments of the Raveonettes. All amazing touchstones, Im sure you'd agree. Nevertheless there is a genuine thematic zeal underpinning these six tracks (plus a surprisingly crystalline production) that helps to elevate them above mere mimicry. Dreamy euphoric pop whimsy maybe? Im not sure, but Surf Suburban is doing it for me. And for you folks stripping down as summer approaches, then you have an early contender to crown your seasonal mixtape.

You can get Surf Suburban at Art Imperial's Bandcamp here.

Art Imperial - When Im With You (I Feel Dumb)
Art Imperial - Bugs Out My Mind

Wasted Sun - My Own Private Brazil...via Liverpool

I featured an entrancing artist out of Paris earlier this month called Burzinski, whose dawn til dusk musings reminded me of a Tom Waits like character caught in an Edward Hopper painting. Well, there were a few favourable responses to this, and one from another Parisian who performs under Any Version Of Me. His latest offering is called Wasted Sun. now Ive talked recently about faithful throwbacks to sounds of yore (Ringo Deathstarr, Anne, Shimmering Stars, just to name a few) - but here on Wasted Sun we have an album of love, all wrapped up in a Fab Four bow. Opening with 'Monday', Any Version Of Me is all about the 60s. This could be 'Lady Madonna Mk 2', it mirrors the Liverpudlian game changers so well. And throughout the album we get cuts across the spectrum of great pop - 'The Grass Was So Green' channels a melancholic Ray Davies, whilst elements of The Mamas and the Papas and The Beach Boys emanate throughout. This is a true homage to a bygone era that will never leave the heart and soul of music - a clin d'oeil like they say in France - and for that Im grateful.

Grab Wasted Sun here.

Any Version Of Me - Monday

Heavy Bombs On Hawaii

We had a taster of San Diego's Heavy Hawaii at the beginning of the month with 'Teen Angel'. Well their debut 12"/cassette HH dropped yesterday. Its very lo-fi, and there are a few different elements that draw cross references here - Deerhunter/Atlas Sound in 'Beacons', a Casio-and-stompbox bound Elliott Smith in 'Sleeping Bag', also in evidence in the already plugged 'Teen Angel' whilst also mining territory that the likes of Meth Teeth have occupied in a more assured manner - and whilst its unlikely to storm the heights of some of the other Art Fag releases due this year, it does hint that there is more here than meets the eye. They have been playing with the likes of Beach Fossils and Sleep Over of late, so with that kind of creative exposure, and if the Wilson Brothers' vibe and the tinkering with toys can be merged in a higher concept setting, we may see something worthy.

Love the .gif like cover art too.

Heavy Hawaii - Beacons