All Aboard The FFS Locrian

I haven't had much to do with Flingco Sound System in the past half year, yet there is an excellent release out now that is well worth making time reacquainting. The 7" single from Locrian actually opens with a cover, Krautrock act Popol Vuh's 'Dort ist Der Weg', and it is fucking amazing - motorik in the seventh level of a Paradise Lost. The sound is immaculate too - it is by far the best I have ever heard the Chicago noise torturers sound. The B-side then is left for a new track, 'Frozen In Ash'. Having been spending much of my time listening to FFS-championed Brisbane trio No Anchor, I have left Bruce and his minions alone for a while - but if this is the first of many releases to blow my mind coming out of his Hellhole, expect me to become an avid acolyte again in short order.

As always the vinyl looks purty too - check it out below, grab it here:



Locrian - Dort Ist Der Weg

October, October, A Dark Week Of No Anchor...

Back in May of this year, hedonistic (at least in theory) sludge-rock band No Anchor released their third album Real Pain Supernova. Big shows, gushing reviews and sell-outs of the first LP print ensuring the band have a little crumb in the pocket. Now they are pumping out a second pressing (because they are gluttonous, money-hungry bastards) and have a national tour booked, which finishes up with an almighty 1-2 combo - a support slot with Japanese noise monoliths Mono in Perth, then a 'residency' of seven consecutive nights at Brisbane's The Waiting Room. Cramming into the tiny West End venue promises to be a balltearer (or possibly a ballache - how much punishment can one take?), and for better or worse, Im taking on the seven day challenge.

TOUR DATES

Wed, Sept 21 - The Croatian Club, Newcastle NSW
Sat, Sept 24 – The Old Bar, Melbourne, VIC
Sun, Sept 25 – The Squatters Arms Hotel, Adelaide SA
Mon, Sept 26 – The Northcote Social Club, Melbourne, VIC
Tues, Sept 27 – The Make It Up Club, Bar Open, Melbourne, VIC
Thurs, Sept 29 – The Patch, Wollongong, NSW
Fri, Sept 30 – Repressed Records (Afternoon Show), Sydney NSW
Fri, Sept 30 – Tone St, Sydney, NSW
Sat, Oct 1 – The Tatts Hotel, Lismore, NSW
Sun, Oct 9 – The Bakery, Perth WA w/ Mono (Japan)
Sat, Oct 15 – The Waiting Room, Brisbane QLD
Sun, Oct 16 – The Waiting Room, Brisbane QLD
Mon, Oct 17 – The Waiting Room, Brisbane QLD
Tues, Oct 18 – The Waiting Room, Brisbane QLD
Wed, Oct 19 – The Waiting Room, Brisbane QLD
Thurs, Oct 20 – The Waiting Room, Brisbane QLD
Fri, Oct 21 – The Waiting Room, Brisbane QLD

Shut My Mouth by No Anchor

Dead Pony by No Anchor

Expect Real Pain Supernova With No Anchor

Last year Flingco Sound System put out a sampler of bands on their roster, one of which was no Anchor. Their song 'Wolves Bite And Disappear' killed, and Ive been hankering for some of their joint ever since.

now, not only do they hail from my hometown of Brisbane, Australia, but on the 9th of May 2011, No Anchor hope to release their new album Real Pain Supernova. They would LOVE to guarantee that this album will be released but there are no guarantees in this world. None. The band could all die mysteriously between now and the 9th of May. They could all take up dice living and just decide not to do the band ever again. Things happen. The apocalypse might happen, you never know. They could all be dead by the time you read this.

But if not, enjoy this raw, apocalyptic album - hey maybe this will be the harbinger of things to come? It was mastered for vinyl by Mell Dettmer [Boris, Earth and Sunn O)))] and will be available in s 2 x LP format from the band's website www.noanchorband.com (and their bandcamp). When was the last time an Aussie band fucked with double vinyl? Almost all of the album packaging is hand made by the abrasive trio and their screenprinting buddy Matt Deasy. There are only 150 copies of these all up, 25 of whcih will include deluxe versions (AKA extra shit like shirts and woodcuts). THERE WILL BE NO CDs - they are as dead as Diana! However, a free/donation digital version of the album will be available online on the 9th of May 2011 here, which you can stream now below! Unless, that is, something bad happens. And it might.


If you havent picked up on this already, Real Pain Supernova is out May 9 (and look at the artwork! Stellar...) No Anchor will launch the sucker on May 13 alongside Undead Apes and Dreamtime at Brisbane's Woodland venue.

No Anchor - Wolves Bite And Disappear

Let The Rats Talk

I havent heard much from Flingco Sound System in the past six months, after being introduced to the great San Fran band Dead Meat, although I mentioned a few other delectable acts on their roster (read and listen here). One dude that got a bit of notice from us was A Story Of Rats, who comes from the 'northwest plateau of the United States'. Otherwise known as Garek Druss, A Story Of Rats' M.O. is crawling atmospherics, investigating polyphonic tones, repetition, and distorted field recordings. He has a few releases out, most notably the Sea Of Sand split LP he did with Pussygut (they have since renamed themselves Wolvserpent) out on Olde English Spelling Bee.

Relinquishment is a cassette tape manufactured by FSS in a limited edition of 100 copies. The two tracks on Relinquishment are extended, cavernous and gritty. "Composition ii" is heavy organ drone while the slurried tones of "Composition iii" features a contribution on guitar from Matthew Merris. Its a dark, disturbing ride into the belly of the vermin gods.

You can pre-order a copy of Relinquishment here.

A Story Of Rats - Composition ii (Excerpt)

And as a little aside - Dead Meat are playing a few US shows with Cheap Time and Idle Times in March. Well worth checking out!

They Don't Know Unless You Tell Them

FSS put out a nice lil sampler a little while back, titled They Dont Know Unless You Tell Them. Its a true showcase of what FSS has to offer, namely noise, ambient noise, static white noise, noise (insert type here)core and noisy rock. Bruce FSS loves his noise, what can I tell you! And so does Sonic Masala, so you'd be right in guessing that we love this sampler, introducing us to sprawling static specialists A Story Of Rats, the dark ambience of Interbellum, and the industrial roar of Grief No Absolution. However, as Ive already thrown my full backing behind Dead Meat (see here), there are more structurally 'mainstream' (EXTREMELY loose use of that term here though...) bands on display also. So here were my highlights, in a brief synopsis a la the Tough Love sampler review from the weekend...

No Anchor - I had to start with these guys. From my hometown of Brisbane, Australia, this three piece are raw and powerful - and are getting noticed. Having played with other Brissy underground brilliance merchants Turnpike, Dick Nasty and Del Toro, as well as doom maestros Grey Daturas, this month they support The Boredoms in their only stand-alone concert Down Under - well done boys.

Dead Meat - monikered along with about a million other bands, most of which suck serious arse, these San Fran miscreants are well and truly on my radar - we're trying to get them over to the UK, to seriously destroy. They are also doing their biggest support slot to date, propping up Scream later this month.

Wrnlrd - one of the most eclectic and prolific bands in black metal, Wrnlrd have released eighth (I think...could be higher) LP Myrmidon, and all standard and no-so-standard implements are applied - including banjo and fiddle. Their influences include Bathory...and the Shangri-las. Weird, yet darkly wonderful.

A Story Of Rats - another eclectic dude, who comes from the 'northwest plateau of the United States'. Has created some nice crawling atmospherics. Worth a look.

Interbellum - a producer and engineer by trade, what is created here is some dark and haunting ambient chamber music brilliance - is capable of some great compositions.

Grief No Absolution - incredibly dark noise drone a la Sunn O)))) and Earth - yet to me has more substance (although LOVED Sunn O))))'s last LP, loved it!), unrelenting, delves into the darkest of winter months and drags you even deeper.

Caves - a dirty black metal band from NYC that create actual innovative soundscapes of darkness. Im not a black metal fan, and Caves wont turn me on this fact - but they gave it their best shot, Satan bless 'em.

And here are a couple of tracks to give you the idea of what to expect. Flingco Sound System are giving this away over at their site, so go get it!

No Anchor - Wolves Bite And Disappear

Grief No Absolution - Befalling The End Of One's Own Harpoon

Wrnlrd - Mephitic Celebrator

Carnivores Know Best

I got an email from Bruce over at FFS (Flingco Sound System - started after he left Kranky Records a few years back) about some bands we might be interested in that he deals with. We get this kind of request quite a lot. As you can tell, we tend to sift through and pick what we like to listen to, then pass it on to you (except for maybe in Bad Panda Record's case - Ive gone a bit overboard this week - it should be called Bad Panda Week - but most of the music has been pretty stellar, and very eclectic...ahem, sooooo...) Whilst FFS have a lot of bands at their disposal, I was offered up a 7" sampler of San Fran via Miami's Dead Meat.

Its really fucking good.

Dead Meat's sound encapsulates the likes of Killdozer, Murder City Devils and a lighter (?) Jesus Lizard, but slowed down to a bluesy drawl and dragged the back of a pick up truck by a one-eyed alcoholic narcolept. There is something lazy and yet dangerously relentless in what coils at the heart of this beast. The name befits the band - it pulverises, rancifies and eviscerates, all in incremental stages...

Its also of no surprise that Surfer Blood have championed them earlier this year, not because they sound anything like Surfer Blood, but because they bear a striking resemblance to the dirge blues evillness that makes up their side project, Weird Wives. I wanted to put all Dead Meat songs on here, but I have to settle down and just a couple. I also tried to pick songs that arent floating about already so that you have a fresh ear to what these guys are going to bleed all over you. Hunt the 7" down, and you'll get a 9 track digital record of everything these boys have put to tape thus far. Deal, sold, gimme gimme gimme!

Oh, and make sure you check out their website - its amazing...

Dead Meat - Burger Bash
Dead Meat - Fuck Amsterdam