Big Brave Lords

Since Canadian doomed rockers Big Brave sent me a track of theirs a couple years ago, I have been in acolyte thrall. It wasn't long before other, keener eyes took note, and now we finally have their second record Au De La out through the gargantuan Southern Lord label. Its sinister and seductive, slow monolithic rock that perforates with sheer, measured downstrokes, and caresses with a vocal dexterity that coalesces between the watermarks of PJ Harvey, Chelsea Wolfe and Bjork. The silences are as deafening as the crushing noise. Whispers of Eastern temporal mantras; the conscious building of otherworldly weight, both felt and imagined, permeates other quarters. Every song is a measure of patience and reward - everything calibrated to an inch of its life. Yet the passion and fury that courses through every microsecond of Au De La is what makes this album so breathtaking. As calm as things can get, or chaotic (sometimes, like closer '(re)collection Part II', both exist), everything is torn from Big Brave's very being. Very brave indeed - this album is unrelenting, but in my opinion, one of the most devastatingly enthralling records committed to tape in 2015. GET THIS, NOW.

Video Vacuum - Juan Wauters, Bed Rugs, Big Brave, Spring King

I just watched V/H/S 2. Breakdown - the surrounding story was better than the first V/H/S anthology wraparound; and each of the vignettes were really inventive with the use of "found footage" (mechanical eye and mounted bike helmet were both pretty great), yet the best by a million miles was the Indonesian cult story. Overall it's just a lot of fun - some great scares, but just a lot of fun. So let's get lo-fi and (potentially) get scared with these new tracks...

I showcased this track 'Sanity' from frontman of The Beets' Juan Wauters a little whiles ago. The vid for the song is bullshit crazy, with blunts, gimps, Juan doing psycho Z-grade wrestling against women (and Guapo!), a wonky American flag - and it's purely brilliant. "You know what country's ugly but they could have some very interesting ugly girls? England."



Some hazy rock pinned together by underwater synchronised swimming? Bed Rugs (hailing from Antwerp in Belgium) has you covered. This oscillating track 'Blinds' is off their just-released EP Rapids (out through Ample Play & Burger Records) - from this sound alone I'm intrigued to hear more.



I know even less about Montreal psych rockers Big Brave, seeing as this is all I've heard, but the simplicity and dirge held within has me very hopeful. The new song is titled 'There Is No Victory, Only Burning Flags and Fallen Men' - which I really, really like. More please.



And let's finish with this cut and paste slab of scuzzy silliness from Manchester's Spring King. I've meant to mention these guys for some time, but this dropped in the inbox over the weekend and has been played incessantly in the playlist ever since, so there is no excuse now. Spring King are probably certifiably insane, and I'm happy with that. They just supported Fair Ohs too, so the insanity is spreading.

NOW GET BACK TO WORK!