Casting Spells Over The River Of Souls

Spirited alchemists Magic Trick are conjuring up another album in the form of River of Souls, due out in December on Empty Cellar Records. Tim Cohen and his cronies appear to be falling further down the rabbit hole of pastoral psych folk pop (insert genre here...), yet Cohen's vocals are stridently front and centre, the laconic instrumentation is meticulously placed - there is a effortless confidence here. Below are the first two tracks given from the album. It's a nice way to see out the weekend. Pre-order River of Souls here.

VIDEO VACUUM - Batpiss, God Damn, Fist City, Cool Ghouls

Long time since we've attempted a good ol-fashioned brainwash, right? Here are four videos that are pretty rad, ranked in order of brutality. Let's get fried.



With a name like Batpiss, who needs enemies? Bursting out of the bowels of Melbourne, this trio have taken visceral annihilation to a new, bilious artform. Their debut record Nuclear Winter is out this week, and it is seriously the best thing I have heard this month. Melbourne has given birth to some killer acts of recent months - White Walls, Deep Heat, The Spinning Rooms. Speaking of, Nuclear Winter was recorded by Tom Lyngcoln - yep, the deranged redneck that spits vitriol and rhetoric when fronting The Nation Blue, gnashes his teeth like a blue-collar choirboy done wrong in Harmony, and recorded The Spinning Rooms. This dude always knows what he's doing, even when he doesn't. Don't trust me? Watch the video for Batpiss single 'Drag Your Body' again. This is indeed this. Listen to a stream of this killer record here.



Over to the UK and Wolverhampton's rakish rockers God Damn. I liked their first single 'I'm A Lazer, You're A Radar', and the video for 'Heavy Money' is just as impressive. A homeless man with telekinetic powers, going all Scanners on the scum of the earth? With a primary school kid in a Batman mask as his willing eyewitness? Gravy Records have unearthed a number of bands in the Midlands region that like to eat their candy with a liberal dose of razorblades - and with God Damn, they've done it again. This will be on an EP of the same name, pre-order it here.



I never thought I'd see the day that a band like FIDLAR would be a drawcard on the festival circuit. They aren't huge yet, by any means, but their name keeps floating closer to the surface with each passing week. And here we are with the band that brought you 'Max Can't Surf' featuring in RIYL's. None of this is derogatory - there is something aesthetically cleansing about a band that is so laconic in their slack-jawed stoner guitar punk that it feels like their tunes are aural hydro. And there is something equally great about a band mirroring such relaxed angular rants. that's where Canadians Fist City are at. Hit me.


Cool Ghouls - Natural Life from Robert Thomas on Vimeo.

Let's tag out with Cool Ghouls. This band from San Fran have been taken under the wing of Tim Cohen (Fresh & Onlys), and you can hear why. Talk about cruisy. But GOOD cruisy. Chilllllllllllllllll.But GOOD chillllllllllllllllllll. The more I listen to 'Natural Life', the more I want this to be my life. Cool ghouls indeed. Can't wait to hear the debut self-titled full-length - out now through Empty Cellar Records. Blow it - let's listen to it together!


NOW GET BACK TO WORK!

I'll Only Get Fresh On This Long Slow Dance

I've mentioned in the past that it took me seeing San Franciscans The Fresh & Onlys live (supporting Deerhunter no less) for me to truly appreciate what they did, as on record I couldn't get past the poppiness of their tracks - it all felt staid to me. I've since become a convert. This year could see me become a zealot though. What with great solo records from Tim Cohen and Wymond Miles, and now their impending LP Long Slow Dance (out September 4 through Mexican Summer), the quartet are doing all they can to "rectify" their past undoings (this last comment is aimed squarely at me, folks, before I get the backlash and death threats - although is any F&O fan straight enough to get that wound up? I know that I'm not...) The album physically looks beautiful, and if the two singles that have been released (which you can get as 7"s) the album will be the aural equivalent.


See what I mean about the beauty of the package? Get in fast and grab any/all of these releases here, here and here.

Not So Quiet Cohen Gets Fresh With Some Magic Tricks

And so we end our Sunday triptych with a more tenuous, yet valid, connective. It is not everyday that new release day falls on your birthday, and you also happen to be releasing an album. It is, however, more likely to happen if you are the ever-prolific Tim Cohen (of Fresh & Onlys fame). On Tuesday July 19th 2011, Tim Cohen released 100 limited edition copies of his new 4th album The Glad Birth of Love on Empty Cellar Records. Featuring some ace guest appearances by the likes of John Dwyer (Thee Oh Sees), Grace Cooper (The Sandwitches), Diego Gonzalez (The Dry Spells, Citay), and several other San Francisco musicians, The Glad Birth of Love is the first Tim Cohen album to not directly bear his name, but the name of his band, Magic Trick. Its a 45 minute album composed of four epic long-form compositions saturated with Tim’s uncanny pop sensibilities and vivid lyrical imagery. Transitioning seamlessly from sparse acoustic blues, to dense bass, to layered of lush vocal harmonies - this album is a culmination of Tim’s work to date.


You can get the limited edition of The Glad Birth of Love HERE, which comes in an elegant old-style tip-on jacket with a 11x22 poster - saweet! Don't fret, if you're not quick enough on the draw, the record will see a full worldwide release (LP/CD/digital) August 23rd.

Magic Trick - Daylight Moon

And the connection? The Quiet Americans are friends and have played with Fresh & Onlys! Ok, maybe its more than tenuous, but its a great way to round out our Sunday.

Shining Wrays On Some Quiet Yet Medicinal Americans

The second of our web of musical mystery comes from a seemingly unrelated email form Luke Giffen, who has been seen in Sleepover Disaster. He has recently formed a new band called The Quiet Americans, also from central California like Fay Wrays...then I noticed that the drummer was one Eli Reyes! Apparently Luke had no idea Eli had contacted me about Fay Wrays, yet they bounced my way within 24 hours of each other. Yet the guys have more than a supernatural bond to Sonic Masala - the recording of Medicine was a family affair, as Eli is married to Luke's sister, and Luke's little brother Ross contributed moog synth to the record (aww, right?). Family brings the best out of many creative groups. Its a different sound that this crew is crafting - combining predominantly short and fast songs with bright melodies and fuzzed out guitar squall. They really love the fuzz! The six song EP Medicine is their first release and is out on local label Coattrack Records (also responsible for putting out Fay Wrays' Strange Confessor). They have also been punching above their weight on the music scene, opening for the likes of A Place to Bury Strangers, The Fresh and Onlys, Royal Baths, and Light Pollution.

Check out Medicine below - and head to their Bandcamp to get it for free!

Strange Confessions With Fay Wrays

This is the first of three posts today, in lieu of our normal Hits From The Box (trust me, it will be back very soon!), and they are inextricably linked! I was contacted by Eli Reyes, who plays in Fresno band Fay Wrays. He confessed to liking my review of another band, So Many Wizards, which is always nice, before discussing Fay Wrays' new album Strange Confessor. So I had a listen, and this stuff feeds into discordant noise pop with enough fresh angst to give it some legs. Its been on regular rotation here this week, so give it a shot below.

Gettin' Wet...

I was dubious when the single 'Born Stoked' came across my desk. Wet Illustrated - if a Chet, Chad and Ralph from frat house Alpha Omega Wanker formed a band to sing about their beer bong chugging and how big their theoretical dicks were, this would be the name that would be picked. So its with a hell of a surprise that not only am I posting about this band, Im championing their efforts.

They are nothing like the aforementioned faux slacker circle jerk band I had created in my mind. These San Franciscans - helped out by Tim from Fresh and Onlys - have crafted a perfect summer slice of guitar pop that has drunken singalong prowess and pogoing to burn. A mix between Japandroids of '09 (see previous post to get my meaning) and my mates' Brissy band Nova Scotia - as random a comparison as any, and Ill post about Nova Scotia soon to give you an idea of what I mean - 'Born Stoked' - the debut 7" single, put out by Corvette City Records - should generate a hell of a lot of excitement for these guys. I cant get it out of my head, especially due to the shitty weather of the past few days...

Wet Illustrated - Born Stoked

Golden Triangle sucks you in...

What is the Golden Triangle?

There is the infamous area in China that revels in the drug trade...

The isosceles triangle in which the two longer sides are the same length and the ratio of this length to that of the third length is known as the golden ratio...

The area in Victoria, Australia, famous for its consistency in the discovery of gold nuggets...

Then there is the 3 boy/3 girl Brooklyn retro rock wizards of pop bluster, with a distinctive Debbie Harry/Blondie edge and some sort of carbon copy hangover of mid career Sonic Youth whilst Joan Jett watches in disdain from the shadows...

The first I heard of these guys/girls/whatever, I saw they were playing a Dickies music call at South By Southwest (pushed hard by their label Hardly Art, which also stables Talbot Tagora) alongside Texan post rock legends This Will Destroy You.

The next time was through my good friend Tash, who mentioned that she'd heard them on Radio Six and I just had to check em out.

Well Tash, its taken me over a month, but I have finally listened to Golden Triangle - and thank fuck I did.

They released a split 7" release with the Fresh & Onlys a little while back, on which Cold Bones can be found. And for added pleasure, here is another track, Neon Noose. Im a big fan - they sound like an absolute blast, something everyone would want to get involved in as this English winter subsides and we begin to remember what its like to live again.

Thanks a mill Tash!

Golden Triangle - Cold Bones

Golden Triangle - Neon Noose