A Grizzly Trick

Another post from San Diego - things are heating up (not sure why I've thrown in a NBA Jam reference, but I'm pretty scattered today...)

The guys at the cool little label Grizzly records flicked me over the new 7" from San Diego's Mrs Magician. The band had an incredible coup recently when they were set up as the support for the newly reformed Hot Snakes for their Stateside tour this month. To celebrate they have the Prescription Vision 7" for sale, a two-track slice of throwaway surf rock. Sweetening their 2012 is a two-month tour with CULTS, culminating in their upcoming debut Strange Heaven LP that's coming out on John Reis (Rocket From The Crypt/Hot Snakes)' own Swami Records in May. Heady times. The 7" doesn't miss a beat either, offering some 60s inflected fuzzy doo-wop that would be more at place at a summer beach party in a parallel world where Malibu Beach was an apocalyptic wasteland. Actually...that is pretty much what it is now. So they are right on the money then...

Grab the 7" from here.

Mrs Magician - Prescription Vision

Backwards Looking Forwards 2011 - Bad Sports, AIDS Wolf, Acid Baby Jesus

OK, so here are three more releases that I "discovered" over my two-month sabbatical that, whilst not anything overly groundbreaking, were a hell of a lot of fun.


Bad Sports, on their 2nd LP Kings Of The Weekend, have chiseled out some major disaffected pop rock that'll tear holes in the seat of your jeans. The Denton, Texas trio are made for summer benders with a sleazy bent. Dirtnap Records put out this fun-loving, fuzzy gem, and it reverently does what it says on the tin. I guess there are elements of Bare Wires about Bad Sports, albeit with more protopunk snarl, which makes me like these guys all the more.

Bad Sports - Can't Just Be Friends


Richie Follin's sister Madeline of Cults' fame will be here on Saturday as a part of the Laneway festival, so it would be remiss of me to mention Guards' Do It Again 7" that came out in December that I found quite delectable. Put out by White Iris, these tracks cement two facts - that Richie Follin knows how to pen a heck of a hook, and that they need to bring out their debut album STAT.

Guards - Do It Again


There was a stage when I seemed to be listening to a lot of Athens, Georgia acts back in 2010 - kickstarted probably by my love of Tunabunny - and it's more than possible that Acid Baby Jesus is going to bring that love full circle. Yet these clowns are from the "other" Athens - the one that proclaims to be the capital of Greece, the starting point (and possibly the endpoint - oh, political controversy!!) of civilisation as we know it. Their self-titled debut came out in October last year on Slovenly Recordings, and it sounds like another 2011 fave of mine, Human Eye, in its insistence of sounding like psych punk played by Ming The Merciless off Flash Gordon. Such space jams are morbid and strange, and oh so goddamn rad. This is a pretty killer album, and may have made the top 40 of 2011 if I'd heard it sooner. 2012 also has them firing up to join the biggest and best lineup yet for the Austin Psych Fest. Live long and prosper, you awesome weirdos.

Acid Baby Jesus - Tooth To Toe

No Slumbering On Brilliant Colors

San Francisco’s Brilliant Colors have been doing their thing, stuck in the middle of the sun drenched girl-fronted garage bands that harken back to the 60s. With the amount of bands plumbing the depths of this sound in the past few years, and especially seeing this year has had some take it to new heights, it could be easy to pass them by. Their debut Introducing was OK without being great, yet its in the smaller format that they have made more of a statement, especially with their split release alongside Belfast's brilliant Girls Names.

Now Brilliant Colors hit the studio again to create Again And Again. Ill be frank - I havent been hanging out for it. I do give most releases on Slumberland Records a look in though, so I will do the same here. And whilst 'Value Lines' doesnt blow me away, it is effective at what it does, so that's a win. Ive heard favourable things, and the love that I feel for the likes of Cults, Puro Instinct and Tennis (there are a few more here that have raised the bar considerably too) may wash over to this one. We'll wait and see...

Brilliant Colors - Value Lines

VIDEO VACUUM - Cults, Keep On Dancins, Future Islands, Vandaveer

Hey kids! Who wants to watch some stuff and listen to some stuff so that you can avoid doing stuff? Me too! So...

Not much can be said about this stupidly huge track - the fact that the band keeps flogging it, and it's still as infectious as it was last year, is nigh on miraculous - but Cults have finally endeavoured to put out a video for 'Go Outside'. Excellently based on the Jim Jones religious cult massacre, get prepared to collectively lose your shit...

Go Outside, by Cults from Boing Boing on Vimeo.

Shit, I peaked too soon! How do you top that? But slowing down with a distinctly country tinged number by Brisbane's own The Keep On Dancins, that's how! This is off their debut album The End Of Everything, which is really something special - I will be bringing you more from that soon...



that is sweet, no? It's now time to ratchet the fun times back up again. Who better than Baltimore's own Future Islands? No one, that's who. This is the leading single gfrom their Thrill Jockey 7" release, which has already sold out! Excited? Yep.

Future Islands - Before the Bridge from Thrill Jockey Records on Vimeo.

And to finish it off, this slick video for Washington's own Vandaveer's newie, 'The Great Gray'. Very The Road, Book Of Eli, end of times stuff - yet understated, bluesy folk? The juxtaposition suits it so (thanks Crash Avenue for this one...)



NOW GET BACK TO WORK!

Video Vacuum - Cults, Tennis, To Disappear, Alphacloud

Well, it's that time of year again. That time when its perfectly fine to get all primitive, to become blindly prejudiced, publicly drunk, incessantly biased and just a little bit violent.

Yep, its State Of Origin time.

If there are any SM readers out there that dont know what State Of Origin is, Im not going into it now. Ill wax lyrical for hours, so much has the spirit of the game and my inherent adherence to all things Maroon taken root. But seeing as I have a full day of work ahead of me, I need to settle down - and these four music videos might do the trick...

Cults are just about ruling the world right now, arent they? Im not going to say that they should lay claim to enslaving the earth just yet, but the duo sure do know their way around a pop song. They also know how to construct arresting visuals with their tunes. I could take 'Abducted' literally - it does have a certain Pied Piper element to it, ie that the more I watch/listen, the more I fall under their thrall - but it is Wednesday, the day I devote all to the golden calf that is Wally's statue. So, here's the clip...



Alphacloud, otherwise known as William Besson, has a certain level of Junip to him. He also seems to have a polygon-related skin disease. You should really get that sorted dude. Nothing a few beers and 80 minutes of hard-hitting, manly rugby league couldn't fix...



Tennis, oh how you taunt us with your hard to find moniker! Their Cape Dory record was nevertheless enough to make up for this...except for today. Tennis? Really? Sure, the French Open is on and its on clay and stuff and kinda exciting, but doesn't hold a candle to the glory that State Of Origin brings. Plus, if you hear a player groan in this game, its because they have been cut in half by 120 kilos of muscle, not just faked the most unattractive orgasm known to man whilst feathering a fuzzy green ball. Just sayin...



To Disappear is essentially a Canadian indie rock project influenced by the likes of The National and 90s noise rock. It is also an international act - one member from Ontaria, one member from Spain, one from Britain...and one from Australia, the guitarist Ben Sharples, who gave me this video for track 'To Be By Your Side.' Its a lovely song to be sure, but I cant imagine Ben playing this as he would be too busy glued to the screen in some godforsaken Aussie-themed bar in Canada, frothing his Fosters as he yells, "GO QUEENSLANDER!"...or some such. He probably won't, therefore for the next 24 hours we won't be friends. But this track is still lovely, and come Thursday morning the air will be cleared...



Im off to lace the boots on. And unless you're joining me...get back to work!

Cults Will Abduct You

I still cant get over how big Cults are becoming. There's no doubting how addictive their songs are - I heard 'Go Outside' on the radio yesterday and forgot how evilly infectious that little beggar is - and the biggest hit post on Sonic Masala has been my post about their upcoming shows in London. The blog wasteland is also awash with gushing Cultophiles. Its culminated in the duo of Brian Oblivion and Madeline Follin being one of the most watched at SXSW, the likes of Vogue, New York Times and Spin (among others) declaring them one of the bands of the summer, and their debut, self-titled LP – released on May 30 on In The Name Of and Columbia – becoming one of the most hotly anticipated releases of the year.

New single 'Abducted', a gloriously compact song which packs a considerable punch in under three minutes. It’s a track which builds beautifully and unexpectedly from a hushed intro to an absolute belter of a chorus, with Madeline singing, “He tore me apart ‘cause I really loved him/ Took it all away and left me to bleed out, bleed out”, expertly meshing a sinister undertow of dark, twisted love with bright, instantly infectious melodies in a way that only Cults know how to do. Its enthralling, bewitching stuff, yet another tantalising teaser from the Cults album and just another reason why they will undoubtedly justify all the hype.

Furthermore, Cults once again grace London's stages, this time in a much bigger venue (Scala) May 24th amid doing both the Great Escape and the Dot To Dot festivals. Start reaching for the Kool-Aid...

Cults - Abducted by cultscultscults

The White Heat Cult(s)

Is it any coincidence that Guards took over Madame JoJo's Tuesday night White Heat extravaganza last week, and tonight we see that the headliner is sister act Cults? I dont think so...

This is a massive gig, as with the pull out of earlier in the year, the arrival of Cults is much anticipated, so much so that tix are all but sold out! However there are 50 or so on the door - open at 8pm - so Id suggest getting yourself down there at around quarter to - you will not wanna miss this one! White Heat's sister outfit White Light is also playing host to Cults (alongside Two Wounded Lions and Prizes) on Friday at the Lexington, but this one is locked down - so tonight is your best chance. You wont be disappointed...

Guarding Madame Jojo

Tonight at Madame JoJo's, as the weekly behemoth that is White Heat rumbles up, we have taking the stage Guards, whose EP last year decidedly delicious. With strong links to SM favourites Cults, this should be a very good show to catch - and seeing its only 5 squid, everyone should do so - get your tix here! Ably supported by Reading trio Giant Steps, this will be a great way to start up your 2011 White Heat experiences. Later up this year there will be shows by the likes of Cults next Tuesday (the week after Guards? How...coincidental...), No Joy (1st March) and The Imbogodom (12th April). Matty's got it goin on...

Guards - I See It Coming

And since we've been lax on the cover front, following on from yesterday's Christmas Island cover, here's another one!

Guards - Born Free (MIA cover)

Cults Guard Their Family Secrets

Sonic Masala have championed the lo-fi musings of Cults in the past here - and if you haven't got their Go Outside 7", hurry up and do it! Then along comes Guards, effectively Richie Follin, who dishes out his organ-heavy retro pop like its the last day to dish out organ-heavy retro pop. And as it transpires, he is the brother of Cults' Madeline Follin. And this lovely sibling ring a ring a rosie comes full circle on Guards' debut EP that you can get for free on his Bandcamp (and its pretty much the only thing on the World Wide Web attributed to him, being all mysterious and such). With a penchant for featuring great female vocalists (Chairlift's Caroline Polacheck appears on 'Trophy Queen'), he teams up with his sis on 'Sail It Slow', in my eyes the best track on show. Its a solid release (even though the toe-tapping 'Resolution Of One' inexplicably reminded me of Cold War Kids - shudder...), and there is some real promise here. Nothing overly original, but the creative seed has been sown...

Guards - Sail It Slow (ft. CULTS)

Guards - I See It Coming

Guards - Swimming After Dark