See Thee Oh Floating Coffin

It feel perfunctory telling you how good SF garage leviathans Thee Oh Sees' latest record Floating Coffin is. But then again, I probably should tell you that out of all of Dwyer and co's albums, this has been by far and large the most addictive album from start to finish for me - it's been locked in my car stereo since before Easter, and isn't likely to budge anytime soon. Below is a paraphrased version of the review I wrote for theMusic.com.au - check that one out here.

Five seconds into opening track 'I Come From The Mountain'  and it’s clear that the band, rather than diluting their style from overexposure the quartet are at supernova levels of intensity, ferocity and excellence. Like kindred spirit Ty Segall, Dwyer is a magnetic force, a feverish maelstrom of energy with an endless supply of riffs, melodies and yelps at his disposal. And like Segall, who took his garage rock DNA and fused it with Seventies era hard rock on 2012’s Slaughterhouse, Floating Coffin (out through Freeform Patterns and Fuse in Australia, Castle Face elsewhere) is a ramped up affair, perfectly augmenting last year’s great Putrifiers II in almost every conceivable facet.

'No Spell' wafts along like a sonorous Californian pop number, Brigid Dawson’s vocals deliberately flirting with the saccharine before being cut in half by a killer riff and Dwyer’s ecstatic bark; the feverish growl of ingenuously-named 'Strawberries 1 + 2' is a face-melter in the purest sense, before entering a intense motorik swirl into psych country; 'Night Crawler' takes a left-turn into spaced-out phasers and languid turns, before 'Sweet Helicopter' lifts off, and back into the stratosphere we go. 'Toe Cutter/Thumb Buster' best exemplifies the two extremes in the band’s blueprint, and is one of their best tracks because of it.

Not that other sonic artillery was necessary, but Dwyer ropes in the likes of luminaries Kelley Stoltz and Lars Finberg (A-Frames, The Intelligence, whose presence is truly felt on penultimate killer 'Tunnel Time' - which I might also add, is the closest I've ever heard a TOS song actually sound like local acolytes Tiny Migrants - kudos guys!), and the overall final product is addictive, breath-taking brilliance. 

Grab Floating Coffin here - garage excellence par none.

Thee Oh Sees - I Come From The Mountain

Thee Oh Sees - Toe Cutter/Thumb Buster

Morgan Doesn't Smudge The Lyrics On Orange Syringe

 

I got to see Smudge play last year when the band supported Sebadoh at the Hi Fi. Man, those guys still know how to play – but what I loved the most was hearing Tom Morgan utter those killer lyrics so many years on and they still resonate. Morgan is such a smart, literate songwriter that you cannot help but smile, even laugh out loud, at his seemingly throwaway turn-of-phrases that are nevertheless impeccably timed, a true ringleader (even if hidden behind the scruffy exterior and the warbled slacker hooks the band are throwing out).

Morgan is releasing Orange Syringe, a collection of solo material, and although he has moved on from those years (insert Lemonheads reference here…if you must), hardening his worldview just that little bit, these songs are as embracing as ever. Despite some of the subject matter being decidedly darker (or maybe just mature), the melodies are never discarded, nor is Morgan a skeletal troubadour, most of these tracks beefed up by a backing band. It may not be the kind of record that will go on and sell a squillion records – hell, how many people are going to even become new converts? – but it’s the kind of record that should. His fans, or even people seeing Morgan as a curio due to his Evan Dando affiliations, will be heartened to realise that he has not lost any of his lyrical prowess or that ear for a solid gold melody (especially on 'Virtuouso') – in fact, they might fall in love with him all over again.

 

 

Orange Syringe is available now (through Fire Records and Fuse), grab it here.

Tom Morgan – One True Love
Tom Morgan – Taste For Blood

New Eddy Doesn't Suppress

Amazing stuff, this. Not only is Aussie garage punk monsters Eddy Current Suppression Ring bringing out an album of rarities called So Many Things on October 21 (via Fuse Records), but coinciding with it is this 7" through Captcha. The A-side is "Walking In Unison', a ten minute undulating menace that marches along like a diseased creature, thirsty for your blood, sweat and tears. And it's fucking ace.

Eddy Current Suppression Ring - Walking In Unison

Friday Cover Up - Go Go Eddy Current!

Its been a while since a good cover has graced these Friday pages, but I have an all-out goodun to reignite the passions. Australian Music Prize winning Melbourne four piece (and one of the best bands on the planet) Eddy Current Suppression Ring are bringing out So Many Things on October 21 through Fuse Records - which is not so much the anticipated follow up to their incredibly well-received 2010 effort Rush To Relax, as it is a 22-track collection of ECSR's out-of-print singles and a few other rarities. That is in itself some of the best news we have heard all year. Amongst these offcuts are a few covers, including versions of Aussie punk legends the Chosen Few’s "There’s A Lot Of It Going Around" and The Go-Gos’ "We Got The Beat". So to finish off the week, before I blow my eardrums out with Akron/Faimly and Moon Duo, I want you all to crank the below Go-go's cover right up - it is incredibly unhinged, somewhat childish, and altogether ace! Go on then - get the beat!

Eddy Current Suppression Ring - We Got The Beat by Fuse Group Australia