Never Grave In Negative Space

Berlin label Grave Imprint (putting out the awesome Pretty Hurts releases) have stepped out of Germany for their next release from Kent punks Negative Space. They have a Crisis/Institute sound (especially 'II'), but there are other touchstones too, from the light wiry buzz of Fugazi and the metallic bounce of Wire - but this is much dirtier, grimier, something I can see spewing out of the gutters of Australia's punk underground.  None of the tracks rise over two minutes, but all make an incendiary impact. These are just demos. Blistering set from an amazing new band.

Friday Cover Up - Dirty Provisionals

Let's finish off the week with a roaring cover of Fugazi, shall we? Ontario rabblerousers The Dirty Nil are off on a North American tour this month, and are dragging their rendition of 'Provisional' in their wake. It's a quite faithful cover, fed with raucous energy. Sure it doesn't have the same sinuous intensity that the original has, but no one can touch those guys. The Dirty Nil though go for broke, as they do on all efforts - it's worth your while catching one of their shows if you are Stateside.

AA Roman Typo

Another of the acts we have on Tuesday's Sonic Masala showcase, Roman Typo is a new London band that have me champing at the bit. It's clear the trio have that post-punk angularity etched into their DNA, but rather than the Joy Division route, or even the Wire route, we have a cross-Atlantic reference that we don't hear too much these days - that of seminal band Fugazi. Sure, the vocals share a tonal affinity with Mackaye and Picciotto, but there is a languid fluidity to the grooves that are laid down before things blast through the breakers. The inflections, the dragged notes, the melodies that feel ominous - it is all there, fermenting.

Stand Still, Stop Breathing

This has taken me by surprise. First of all, Ex-Breathers have a song that is more than a minute long. Secondly, it is three-and-a-half minutes long (I was slayed by their EXBX release of last year, a brutal yet giddily, maniacally fun - as much as an acid tongue lashing and pummelling can be considered fun). Thirdly, it is quite polished. But there is no need to worry - 'Stand Still', the first taste off their upcoming LP on Exploding In Sound, Past Tense, is a effectively bristling beast. It opens in a much more melodic manner than you might expect from these hardcore heathens, but the first lyrics, "This is not an end", makes it clear that this is a different type of trip. Think more in line with Double Dagger meets Cloud Nothings with Fugazi interludes, with more bottom-end aggression. I love how it cuts off, almost in mid-statement. Which is a statement in itself really... Yeah, I'm dead on board with this.

Xylouris White's Chicken Song Is Punk As Fuck

I had to post this. I was writing a review of Goats, the excellent album that melds the minds of Cretan folk legend George Xylouris and Dirty Three drummer Jim White (as Xylouris White). As the review only is 100 words long, some of the review was cut. Including the above phrase. Well it actually went 'And 'Chicken Song' is the one song where White and Xylouris get dark, mystical and punk as fuck.' The reworkings of traditional machinations into the musical genius of these two twisted troubadours is great, yet not many people may prescribe to such a outlandish claim - but I stand steadfastly by it. There is a sinuous, almost sinister groove that insinuates itself at the core of 'Chicken Song', taking it from European or Eastern composition, caricature or appropriation, and moving it into a sonic plateau all its own - with serious attitude to burn. There are many more great songs on Goats - it's an incredible suite of rhythmic interplay, both mischievous and elegant, a series of games that the duo play where the winner invariably is the listener - but 'Chicken Song' displays just how kindred their spirits really are. Let's hope for many more collaborative efforts between Xylouris and White if this is anything to go by.

Xylouris White - Chicken Song from Michalis Aristomenopoulos on Vimeo.

Goats (which was also produced by Guy Picciotto from seminal outfit Fugazi) is out through Other Music Co - get it here.

Fraudband For Everybody!

In keeping with great vocal less acts/releases today, here is the debut release from Melbourne duo Fraudband. Imaginatively entitled First Songs, the five tracks on display offer a brutal, minimal/maximal approach, driving by pummelling drums, an unrelenting rhythm that the guitar runs roughshod over, a charging bull. But there is a balletic kineticism at work here that underpins it all - its the work of two guys who are intricately dancing with one another, weaving their disparate instruments into a seamless whole, a weapon of mass disruption. Think early Love Of Diagrams or Faspeedelay, yet with a harder, Fugazi-centric bent (yet on 'Tangled Up' we go into more outback-tinged fare, something that an early, more frenetic Dirty Three would have approved of). The sixteen minute ramble 'I tried To Tell You, A Few Times' is my favourite though - but I'm a sucker for those kinds of things... Out next month on new label Kasmuen Records, First Songs is a great document of a duo already setting sight on the stars, if only to send them crashing harmoniously to the ground. Preorder it here.

Krack-a-lackin' Times At Sioux Falls

Back in action with Portland trio Sioux Falls. Big Krackel is an EP that marries the best parts of Doug Martsch, Paul Westerberg and a angst-riddled Fugazi into a broiling melting pot, tempered by the thinnest of veneers, ready to erupt at the slightest provocation. The title track does so, in fact - a few times. There is a blue collar strength that courses through these six songs' veins - people struggling to get by, eager to flee, to retreat, before baring their teeth and fighting against their plight. Great stuff.

Libyan Hit Squad Get Round-Eyed

I got this crazy slice of punk skronk insanity from Genjing Records (the Chinese subsidiary for Maybe Mars Records) and Orlando, Florida's Ripping Records. Full Circle grabs a band from each locale - Round Eye from Shanghai, Libyan Hit Squad from Florida - and lets them go no holds barred at each other. The result is bullshit crazy, bullshit awesome. Black Flag's Greg Ginn chimes in! LHS keep things off-kilter, swinging between breakneck SST punk annihilation ('Blown Asshole'), Descendents sensibilities ('Rubber Shoes'), and the more harmonious ends of Fugazi ('Brave New World').

Round Eye (ANOTHER ex-pat band from China! sharing a leadman too) then offer a more dissonant edge, complete with melting brass, and in my opinion take things up a couple of notches. 'Kenting' even pins down some of that wonky Springsteen-aping rock that Titus Andronicus have made their bread and butter. 'I'm So Young' slips the mickey to a doo-wop number that would be cute if it weren't so slurred and devious; whilst the one-two punch closers 'Carne Seca' and 'Got Her Runnin'' energise and pulverise. Two bands I'd never heard of before joining forces to slay - intercontinental shitstirrers.

You can grab Full Circle here. It is very, very good - get on this quick smart.

Libyan Hit Squad - Blown Asshole
Libyan Hit Squad (ft Greg Ginn) - Full Circle 

Round Eye - Kenting
Round Eye - Carne Seca

Boyd Well

It's sad when something of a gem falls at your feet, only to find out that you cannot bask in its glory. That was me and Nirvana - as a thirteen year old I was a little late to the party when ol Cobain dusted his cranium. And of course that speaks to a lot of past glories - the Beatles, the Kinks, the Who, Fugazi... And I've been lucky enough to see bands re surge to something that has equalled if not eclipsed those younger days of their musical heights (Swans, Dinosaur Jr and Godspeed You! Black Emperor being the latest and most prominent of these acts). 

But it is much more likely that you will blink and miss a local act. In Brisbane and other ephemeral melting pots like it in the world, there are so many side-projects, vanity features and one-offs that it is easy to have something slip through your fingers before you even knew it existed. One such band was almost James X Boyd & the Boydoids. Essentially a solo venture for James Boyd (Velociraptor, Running Gun Sound, The Majors), he has been doing the local circuit in sporadic bits and bursts over the past year, first back by the CEOs and now with the much more excellent Boydoids. And just as he releases his first album, Boyd announces that he is winging his way to Europe, thus the likelihood of catching these tracks on this excellent debut record has gone down to slim to none. Which is a downright shame, because this lil bruiser (put out in cassette form by Long Gone Records, with rumours rumbling a vinyl version is in the near future) is one of the best troubadour-esque albums to come out of Australia in a looooong time. Whilst I'd be wary to put it on the same pedestal as Gareth Liddiard's Strange Tourist or Ben Salter's The Cat, in my opinion James X Boyd & the Boydoids is at least on the same dais, even if it's taking out the bronze. It’s understated, it’s founded in a juxtaposition of posturing and frailty, it’s very funny, and it is incredibly measured, dry, well-rounded pop of the highest esteem.

The music itself is tempered, an engine to drive Boyd further into the spotlight. It comes back to Boyd’s drawled, distinctly Australian vocal delivery, and those laconic lyrics that are as steeped in abject romanticism as they are watching The Simpsons and Sunday morning blues. Ordering takeout “if you want to”, singing songs that you can’t get wrong, ditching jobs and travelling the world with painted shoes, being in the movies with friends and people you love – it’s all highlighted with wryness and effervescence, warmth and a twinkle in the eye. And it is indelibly entrenched in the Sunshine State – Blue Apia’s banana trees proving to be a beautiful sight to see, whilst Brunswick Street Junkies revels in seesawing love and revulsion of the tenacity of a Fortitude Valley addict. Boyd’s skewed lyricism is something to behold, and it deserves to be front and centre amongst the warmly buzzing guitars, the subtle piano, and the languid brushstrokes. 

Check the album out below, and buy it here. He does have one final show next Wednesday night, ANZAC eve, at Alhambra Lounge alongside Velociraptor, The Good Sports and Pool Room. It's the official album launch too - it would be sensible to make your way along, I think, don't you? Grab a ticket here. 

Moore Heavy Light Moving From Chelsea

Much of the excitement over Chelsea Light Moving, Thurston Moore's new project (or at least one of many) has already died down some. Thurston played here late last year, the same time I was throwing a Sonic Masala night (Go Violets, Do The Robot, Tiny Migrants - great lineup) so I didn't see the confusion of many as Thurston, who was booked as a solo show, came on stage and proceeded to play predominantly new tracks off Chelsea Light Moving. Not that most people should have complained that hard - he is one of modern rock's geniuses, and the new record isn't all that far removed from latter Sonic Youth meanderings anyway. It cannot be avoided - the guitar, the dissonance, the laconic drawl. Shit, the man still looks the same he did in the late 80s! And it's a call to arms - a fuck you to the direction that most "edgy" rock acts take in the 21st century. And there are moments when it is clear that this quartet has the potential to become a fully formed band, such as when 'Empires Of Time' collapses heavily into a morass of chugging sludge - the sense of communal abandon feel real, and is something that has been missing in much of SY's latter releases, for better or worse...

That said, BECAUSE it's a Thurston Moore project, Chelsea Light Moving comes slightly as a letdown. The production values are a little too slick, taking away the punch from some of these tracks. That said, if it was another band you would find gravel deeply embedded in the skin underneath your jaw. Maybe it'd be the same last year, if the debut self-titled album from Metz actually had Ian Mackaye in it - sure it's good, but we've heard better from the original well-spring...

Nevertheless, Chelsea Light Moving has its moments, and it's great to see Thurston freaking out more. This band will get tighter, dirtier, louder - and then we could have an atonal masterpiece. Grab it here through Matador Records.

Chelsea Light Moving - Alighted
Chelsea Light Moving - Empires Of Time

And to prove how great this can be...

Glowing Wake For A Wild Moth

 

I’m finishing off today with a 7” that came out a few months ago but is getting some serious replay value around these parts. San Francisco post-punk subverters Wild Moth have crafted four tracks of angular angst on Mourning Glow, glossed over with some effervescent melodies. Whilst much further afield from Fugazi, there is something inherent in Wild Moth’s harmonies and warm sonics that evokes the titular band in the title track, whilst ‘Patience’ wouldn’t be amiss on a mid-2000s Trail of Dead record. The connection to Conrad Keely et al is also evident on the B-sides, which are just as delectable, especially in the screeched backing vocals on ‘Prison’*. Overall though, this is such a quality 7” that it feels much more substantial – you can see why they are opening for the likes of A Place To Bury Strangers – and the new album cannot come quick enough.

 

Mourning Glow is out through Asian Man Records - get it here.

Wild Moth – Mourning Glow
Wild Moth – Patience



*Sorry about the lazy reference points (although in my weary mind they do exist) – I'm finished work after a stupidly long week and I can only focus on booze and the cricket, and this 7” on the record player, followed by Murder City Devils’ back catalogue. You can understand why I'm rushing this through to get to that point, no? Have a good weekend kids!

Taking Artistic Control

Two Sound of Science releases in two days? Well, I never! Wisconsin instrumental math rockers Control put out this tasty cassette Schulte A little while back, that is now out on all formats (vinyl, digital and CD). The trio have been doing EPs with artists doing screenprints, a great collaborative interest that at $15 each is a deal and a half. I was originally turned on by their influences - Fugazi and The Minutemen, how can you go past that? - and the music fulfils my taking a chance. The music is tight, athletic, energising and a lot of fun. They are worth checking out, and you can get their stuff in any format you want (three guesses which one Ill be championing...) right about here.

Salo Bring The Discordant Pestilence

Glasgow has never been found wanting when it's come to intricate, loud and weird rock, and so it remains with the introduction to the debut self-titled EP by Salò. Its incredibly discordant, somewhat similar in tonality and darkness to Manchester's Kong (although not as good in my opinion). On Overlook Records, Salò’s sound stems from a shared love of the discordant end of 80s and 90s post-hardcore, such as Fugazi, Shudder To Think, The Jesus Lizard and Polvo, while also bringing in a range of more left field influences, from Swans to Beefheart. It shows.

In the immediate future, Salò will be playing as many shows as possible in support of the EP, and will be releasing a limited edition 7″ with Struggletown Records before starting work on new material. Looking forward to it, boys. Check out their song 'Valis' amongst this Overlook Records compilation, which isn't bad in itself.

Will Hanson

Seems to be the week to reference Mogwai...

Ive been intending to spruik liberally about this young guy for quite a while. Will Hanson just released his album Moving A Body, a weird and wonderful LP that showcases Hanson's penchant for sharp lyrics, evocative instrumentation and arrangements, and unexpected aggression and noise. Its eclectic but very approachable - touchstones to Reed ('The Bats) and Waits ('Deathbed Conversion') are suitably huge boots to emulate, yet the comparisons are uniformly apt. But it is one track in particular that I haven't been able to escape, and that's 'The Ungodly Hour.' 'The Ungodly Hour' is the only real reference I would label with a Mogwai similarity, if you state that the first half is a contemporary of Fugazi's 'I'm So Tired'. And I do state this. Which is what makes this song fucking awesome - FACT.

The UnGodly Hour by Will Hanson

Friday Cover Up - Suuning With Fugazi

Fugazi is a bit of a cover reference point here on Planet Fugazi...ahem, Masala, what with last week's their mash up with Wu Tang and now Suuns. The Canadian four-piece give 'Long Division' a go, adding some glitches to their fairly faithful rendition, and thankfully remember to carry the one.

Suuns - Long Division (Fugazi cover)

Sleep Rules Everything Around Wugazi

I had a few different posts in mind to kick off the week - first week of the new financial year, Fourth of July, Monday Death March...yet when I heard this track yesterday, thoughts about anything other than discussing mashups seemed superfluous. Wugazi is from Minneapolis, and he has - you guessed it - mashed together Fugazi and the Wu Tang Clan. Well, only one track exists at this present time, but it fucking kills. Called 'Sleep Rules Everything Around Me', (or 'SREAM'), the song segues the beautifully plaintive piano lines from Fugazi's 'I'm So Tired' into some of the Wu's 'C.R.E.A.M' - and its great. Crazy great. Remember when you first heard The Grey Album, Danger Mouse's mashup album of the Beatles' White Album with Jay-Z's Black Album? I never thought I would feel excitement for mashups again anywhere near as much as I did for the album - I cant listen to the original 99 Problems anymore... Well, Wugazi might be bringing that back. And I for one am creaming my pants for more.

Wugazi - Sleep Rules Everything Around Me

One In, All In...Side A Horse...

Brighton continue to pump out worthy yet quirky rock acts, don't they? Must be all the cockles... Everyone To The Anderson are the new band Im referring to, releasing their debut album The Man Born From Inside Of A Horse today via Unlabel. You can tell they like their dissonant, irreverent, verbose acts, from the lengthy album title to the lyrics held within these sinewy tracks. The instrumentation itself is a mixture of Antidotes-era Foals, 90s Dischord (think a lighter shade of Fugazi) as well as some of the more angular mid 90s Sub Pop acts. With a bit of Blood Red Shoes, Pulled Apart By Horses and Future Of The Left for good measure. Can too many influences spoil the broth? Au contraire, mon frere! The funniest thing is that whilst Everyone To The Anderson is never as good at the particular style that each of these aforementioned artists are cornerstones of, but by utilising each technique create something else entirely, a sound that is equal parts exciting and refreshing. They can brood - see 'Danzig High Flyer' - but are best when they are being bizarrely obtuse whilst pulling lefts and rights with wily precision. Check punchy 'Computermen' for their delicately built countenance to implode spectacularly, whilst opener 'High Brow, Low Brow, No Eyebrow' is the sum of all their parts. This is an assured debut - expect them to climb the UK live ladder this summer...

Everyone To The Anderson - Let's Take This To Smithereens

Kong & The Bronx Deliver Us To Nine

Manchester's Kong are one of Sonic Masala's absolute favourite live acts - not just in the UK, but the world. This three-piece are dark, stark, and raving mad, merging Fugazi and The Jesus Lizard in a Shellac sandwich that seems so hellishly perverse that your first instinct is to turn away - until you blink and find yourself in orgiastic hedonism...

The Bronx have been destroying speakers, stages and the sound barrier since their bone rattling self titled debut back in 2003 (and have since released 2 killer albums, both self-titled also). Ive loved these Los Angeles heathens since seeing Matt Caughthran down a bottle of red during a sweltering afternoon set in Brisbane, Australia back in 2007, whilst tearing the place apart with their hardcore rock alchemy.

So it is our absolute heaving pleasure to bring to you 'Count To Nine', a track that Kong recorded with Bronx lead Caughthran on guest vocals. This came about last year after the two bands played an unbelievably blistering set at ULU after Breeders ATP, and which was a B side on the now sold out Kong 7" of 'Leather Penny' from their evil debut LP Snake Magnet. Brew Records are putting it out for free on Kong's new Bandcamp site here. It is pure Kong, with some Caughthran bile-spitting vocal shredding. Brilliant.

Kong (feat Matt Caughthran of The Bronx) - Count To Nine

Also brilliant news is that Kong will be touring in November in support of 65daysofstatic. They'll be playing the CAMP Basement on 26th November. If you havent caught Kong yet, then do so here - they are electric. They will also be showcasing new material after preparing a 10" with That Fucking Tank!, Castrovalva and Shield Your Eyes, all courtesy of Brew Records. This sounds like an amazing release, one that SM will be snapping up for sure!

Kong - Sport

No More Sitting In The Waiting Room

A three-peat of old-school bands that fucking rock - and here, Sara and I are in total agreement.

Nothing has to be said about Fugazi, the DC quartet that are one of THE best bands ever to walk this earth. The post is here because the guys have just announced that they are about to immerse the world's collective ear with gazillions of recorded live performances over their entire career. Dischord will update us all when its ready to be unleashed onto the world - which will be a matter of months. This is even bigger news than Wire (actually, much much MUCH bigger)... but make sure you take part in the live series that already can be partaken... Brilliant. Brilliant.

Fin.

Fugazi - Waiting Room
Fugazi - Cashout

FINALLY Introducing...Kong

I know that any post I put up here isn't going to do justice. So here goes.

Kong are close to, if not THE best live act in the UK right now. FACT.

I have seen them play every time they have been in London since they did A Fistful of Fandango last year. FACT.

On that bill were headliners Future Of The Left, another of my favourite UK acts (in fact vying with That Fucking Tank! and Kong for that title), and currently Kong (and Oceansize, but we wont mention too much about that) bassist Steve Hodson is playing with them. FACT.

Kong are scary, drunken, and above all fun. Its like watching the Jesus Lizard, Fugazi and Shellac in a whiskey-fuelled three-way - not that that would necessarily be fun... FACT.

Nothing more shall be said for the time being. Just watch the below clips, then get to the Old Blue Last on Aug 18. If you dont, then fuck off. FACT.

KONG from armance gailloud on Vimeo.

Kong - Leather Penny from Roach Productions on Vimeo.