See The Fortress?

Not that you need to hear it from me - but Thee Oh Sees is still one of the most consistently breathtaking live acts on the planet. Not only carving a sweaty swathe across the globe at regular intervals, but John Dwyer and co are continually bringing out new material. Now 'Fortress' has been out since before Xmas, but I need to melt my face off to keep warm this Friday night, and knowing that pals Blank Realm and Kitchens Floor played with them in Brisbane last night (this afternoon for us UKens), the start of their Australian tour as over the course the month they traipse across the Great Southern Land doing show with mates White Lodge and Straight Arrows as well as UV Race, Terrible Truths, Power and Tyrannamen - so bummed! So I'm building a fortress with endless TOS records and beers - it should see me through, right? 'Fortress' will feature on a 7" out on Dwyer's Castle Face Records next month.

Waking Up Running

Chicago's Running are one of my favourite bands, that I have never seen, because as far as I know they barely tour out of their hometown, let alone come near where I'm hanging out. Their scorched-earth noise brand of garage punk is abrasive, dark yet hilarious. Their album Vaguely Ethnic was one of my fave albums of 2013, and I've been eagerly awaiting their follow-up, Wake Up Applauding, for at least a year. It was meant to be out this week through Castle Face Records - but no word! Anyone help me here? Anyway, here are two tastes from it. It takes the modern garage rock mould and hurls it into the fire, stomping on its smoldering remains before popping the coals on their slathering tongues with maniacal glee. It's hard to explain exactly how Running are better than most other bands out there - in essence they have much of what makes Thee Oh Sees and their ilk a constant source of energetic enjoyment, and garage bands are legion - they just simply are.

Mooning Weird Jack

Jack Name (touring guitarist for White Fence) has brought out a new album, Weird Moons, and it is pretty weird. It has a plethora of touchstones, both past and present. I can see why Castle Face Records were drawn to the record, especially seeing as they also recently put out King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard's latest LP. The woozy opener 'Werewolf Factory' could have come out of that band's think tank, with references to Ariel Pink, Thee Oh Sees and Warren Zevon mashed into the cracked centre. Its a seriously warped melange of sounds - the warble of 'Lowly Ants' reminds me of Air if they had lowered themselves into a Pink mire; the opening of 'Running After Ganymede' sounds like a stomach wind; the spectral swagger and stagger throughout 'Waiting For Another Moon' holds in thrall. In fact this entirely bizarre album holds one in thrall throughout, whether there is a glam rock blast-out, like King Tuff strung out on Numan's supply on 'Watcher Talk', the sun-warped sci-fi yacht rock of 'Io' or the maudlin introspection of maximal minimalist 'Lowly Ants'. This is an album that is made out of time and out of mind, and deserves to be huge. It won't be - but it deserves to be.

Grab Weird Moons here.