Taking Comfort In A CS35

Here is the first in what will be a few posts looking at fellow small independent Aussie labels (albeit mostly focusing on cassettes as the mode of tactile output). Comfort 35 is a small label in Melbourne that have put out the likes of SM faves Franco Cozzo and Inches (who incidentally include the Franco Cozzo guys - keeping it in the family I guess...). Further afield in the releases front is Gorsha, a Darwin collective that lurk in the lo-fi noise barrens, waiting to drag you into the subterranean depths; NZ's Sweater who delve into the mathematical metrics of Polvo palpitations, but with more of the black lung; the synth punk nihilism of Brunswick East's own swirling dervish Yakks; the warped hip-hop instrumental jammers of Baba-x; the trans-dimensional meanderings of Orchestra Lax and Leagues; the contemplative synth sworl of Domestic Worker... The idea for the label is to dub all releases onto C35 tapes, which are then assembled by hand and are limited to 35 editions each. It's an eclectic roster, one that is close to my heart, and one that I wish all of you to get into - either to disappear down the rabbit hole, or to tear it asunder. You can get any/all of these releases, and more, here.

Rancid Mutton

I somehow missed commenting on this brutal bile-fuelled band at the beginning of the year, then again when they supported Sonic Masala Records' own Gazar Strips on their Sparkling EP tour in May. Well I'm sure these guys don't need much of an introduction if you are into gutter noise punk rock outta Melbourne. To the rest of you - introducing Mutton.

I first heard 'In Between The Dirt', the last track off their self-titled EP, and thought of fellow trash Batpiss (one of my favourite breakout bands of last year). But this is even more indebted to Yow and his acolytes than most of the pricks running around Brunswick, and that alone makes them an exciting proposition. you can't state that this is particularly "new" - but what's original when you are flailing on the floor trying to gouge your eyes out with a broken pool cue? Plus they have a band T-shirt of Sam Kekovich being torn apart by rabid sheep - an in-joke for the Aussie AFL/lamb-eating crowd, sure, but that imagery alone buys them miles of shit-stained cred.

Mutton are already aligning themselves with some of the gold-flecked detritus of the Australian underground, playing shows with the likes of Sewers, Cuntz, White Walls, Scul Hazzards, Worm Crown, Bone and the excellent DEAD - but these guys are flaying themselves to the front of the pack. Join in on the flagellation.