Ghost In The TV

I can't really claim that either of these albums are new (well, one kinda is), or that I discovered them on my lonesome - Si pointed me in the direction - but goddamn if I haven't embraced the buzzsaw tenacity and grimy dirge of Lafayette, Indiana's TV Ghost. Their two main releases - 2009's Cold Fish and Mass Dream from this year, both through In The Red - uphold a series of ace underground reference points - The Monks, Drive Like Jehu, Jesus Lizard - and churns them out in a druggy, dark as fuck aesthetic that is equal parts terrifying and revitalising. It echoes down the halls of your mind like an amphethamine riddled zombie, lurching forth in fits and bursts that defy characterisation. Ive been hooked on Mass Dream for a while, and just recently picked up Cold Fish at the local rekkid store, and have since been caught between the incessant rock force they propel forth, and the hard place that such music inevitably leads me to. See me gnash my teeth in the bowels of the fire - see me grin maniacally - this is the kind of roiling depravity that should be legal. (Well all of it should be, but this should be sold in fun-sized chunks at schools around the world). Fucking ace. Grab the albums here.

TV Ghost - The Recluse (off Cold Fish)
TV Ghost - The Inheritors (off Mass Dream)

Built On A Yeesh Kebab!

We here at Sonic Masala cant claim to know everything there is to know about music, so we are constantly in contact with others to find the best and brightest of all things sonic...and masala-y? One group of guys Ive just become aware of are bloggists Built On A Weak Spot - their best of 2010 had some stunning additions that Im sad to say totally missed my attention! (And they also loved Creepoid, who we spoke about here - serendipity or what...) So whilst reading that I listened to another band they championed, Yeesh, a Vermont indie hardcore act, and their debut cassette Little Stabs At Happiness. I liked the raw nature of the lead's howls, the scratchy guitar noodling, the crash pummeling drums...it reminds me heavily of another great act, Australia's The Nation Blue. Even the post rock tendencies and urgency of closer 'Attack Ships' echoed of Drive Like Jehu, one of the most underrated bands EVER. A friend of mine, upon listening to Yeesh, said that they sounded like Sparta, the 'other' band that formed from the ashes of seminal act At The Drive In. Yeah, I can see the comparisons. I also think that this is much more Wiretap Scars than like anything Sparta came up with afterwards - and that can only be a good thing.

Anyway, an exciting little player which you can buy for a physical copy or download for a digital one here.

Yeesh - Long Distance Calls

Obit - March on, Hot Snake...

The past week has been rough on me. Work has been a

maelstrom of manic meltdowns, forcing me to miss out on
Supergrass' apparently excellent gig, tone down at a 30th,
and generally howl at the moon.  Today however has been the
payoff - glowing review of my output and portfolio, as well
as my short story being submitted to a major national
competition.  So Im chuffed as fuck.  This news did a double
helix to the sun with the news that Hot Snakes were doing a
reunion!  Unfortunately, it wasnt exactly true.  However it
opened up a lot of amazing memories, and with rose tinted
Ray Bans firmly in place, I thought Id highlight a
criminally underrated act - and what they have since morphed
into.

It was a sad day five years ago when Brooklyn balltearers
The Hot Snakes decided to call it a day.  Made up of members
from already fucking amazing acts Drive Like Jehu and Rocket
From The Crypt, Hot Snakes offered the world tightly wound,
tension filled garage rock to the point that your body would
secrete out every ounce of fluid - blood, sweat, tears, piss
- as its only recourse.  Three albums (Automatic Midnight, 
Suicide Invoice, Audit In Progress) and incendiary live
shows put Rick Froberg, John Reis, Gar Wood and Jason
Kourkounis (briefly replaced by Mario Rubalcaba near the
end) on a underground pedestal, elevating them into punk
demi-gods.  I was lucky enough to see them in 2005 just
before their demise - it was damned special.

None of the band have stayed idle.  Reis' 'day band' Rocket
From The Crypt also closed up shoppe in 2005 ( a sad year
indeed...), and since then he has continued work with his
independent label Swami Records, his artwork as seen on the
remarkable Hot Snake LP sleeves very much in evidence,
whilst playing in bands such as the Sultans (2000-2007) and
current act Night Marchers (which sees him reunite with
Snakers Wood and Kourkounis).  Froberg has been kicking
around with his new act Obits for just on two years now.

And now the exciting part - they are touring together!  No
Hot Snakes reunion yet, but Obits and Night Marchers are
stamping their seal of (dis)approval all over the US this
July.  Obits are taking it one step further, bringing their
admittedly "Hot Snakes with less vitriol and more melody"
schtick (which is actually a good thing - although not as
good as HS, still a damn sight better than most other stuff
out there) to Europe in October!  No exact dates for the UK,
but we'll keep you in the loop...

Anyway, here's a track from Obits' to date only LP, I Blame You.  Also
included is some Night Marchers (taut and fierce
guitars, drums pounding but not over-bearing, the occasional
shouted backing vocals mix well with Reis' powerful everyman
vocal delivery, nastily catchy chorus hooks - everything
we've come to expect from the big man), one of Hot Snakes'
best...and hey, what the hell, you only live once - some
Rocket From The Crypt and Drive Like Jehu!  Now how about
draining that keg?  What, its only Monday?  The vicious
cycle begins again...

Obits - Pine On
The Night Marchers - Jump In The Fire

The Hot Snakes - Let It Come

Drive By Jehu - Do You Compute
Rocket From The Crypt - Pigeon Eater