Lil Daggers Leave Peace For Pizza

Florida surprises many with the type of sordid swamp rats that come out of in utero clutching an instrument and energy to burn, and Lil Daggers continues to make the incisions. One of the first bands that Sonic Masala like to say we "discovered", the band had fallen off the radar release-wise for a while - but have been far from idle, supporting Swans, The Growlers, Merchandise and Royal Baths in recent months. Now they are filled with devilish intent, having cooked up a new EP to force-feed us. No Pizza No Peace (soooooooo true...) is an EP that promises to continue the expansions that Lil Daggers have taken since starting out as scrappy fighters back in the back end of first decade of the 21st century - my, how quick they grow up...*sniff* 'After The Flood' broods, morosely seethes, echoes and languidly flails - a creepy gem.

No Pizza No Peace will be out on Beyond Beyond Is Beyond Records - you can pre-order it here.

Merchandise For Disgruntled Dads

I have been intending to write about Totale Nite, the second official LP from Tampa brooding weirdniks Merchandise, since it came out a few months ago. It's been interesting (and at times frustrating) seeing this band develop over time - the band members having come from some nihilistic hardcore bands of the region (especially Cult Ritual and Neon Blud), some were perplexed and angered by Merchandise's first release, the EP (Strange Songs) In The Dark (we thought differently, and it made it onto my 2010 best of list). That said, their jerky shifts from release to release has irked also (and unfortunately I fall under this umbrella), as Children of Desire stripped things bare  yet stole the vulnerability that made Strange Songs such an entrancing concept, eschewing everything to smash into a punkier realm, adding adamantium to those skeletal remains which seemed to defy the successes of their beginnings. Totale Nite is yet another transmogrification, but here they continue to float farther from the genesis with more direction and purpose. These songs stretch well beyond breaking point, and the post-punk/free-jazz mash provides many intriguing, exciting (even sensual) delights - this is Smiths/Joy Division adulation times 100. You can't help but wonder if Merchandise have been, and continue to, take the piss - difficult to gauge if this is a true harbinger of musical greatness in evolution, or a social experiment. Which has me liking Totale Nite even more - and more willing to embrace those efforts I found wanting. Still - Strange Songs rules hard. Night-People are responsible for putting Totale Nite out - grab it here.

Now I wouldn't have written all that if it wasn't for Dads. Not your dad (although he is alright), but the new Tampa band that features Merchandise' Carson Cox and Patrick Brady. This is a more abrasive endeavour, harking closer to those burgeoning roots of the likes of the plethora of Dischord Records acolytes than Merchandise will ever traverse. They are still a relatively obscure concept, forgoing much in the way of backstory or media connection (as is Merchandise, which is valiant but does bug me a bit - unfortunately I too must see myself as part of the "written scourge"). Yet Dads is a much more hammer-and-tongs visceral experience, another act to dip their wicks in the waters of 90s rock angularity, and the Invisible Blouse 7" (out through Wharf Cat Records) is a shotgun-blast gem. Whilst their self-released and recorded LP Brown On Brown (recorded in their garage) will get a reissue also, that will seem like a prologue, as Invisible Blouse is leaps ahead in fidelity and kinetics. Whilst Merchandise is an exercise in exploring pop rigour through interesting compositions and genre melds, Dads is all about the purge - and I couldn't be happier. You can get Invisible Blouse here.

Night Kraken's Not-So-Happy Birthday

It's been a while since I've partaken in something from Shawn Reed's Night People label, yet in Kraken, the  EP from Germany's unhappybirthday, I have fallen in love. Night People have brought out some excellent things of recent times, most notably Dylan Ettinger's Crucify My Love and Merchandise's "return to form" record Totale Nite, yet on Kraken I can't remember ever having heard something so 80s indebted and yet so simple and warm. It helps that Daniel Ja's vocals are both German and have the husky, distant timbre that evokes Vaseline-lensed cameras and lily-gilded windowsills, black overcoats and gondola rides in narrow canals through an urban jungle on an overcast day. I mean, the title track could be an amalgam of Adelaide's now defunct band Bit By Bats' 'Dance The Dance' and The Cure's 'Lovesong'! Albeit in German. Nevertheless, the plink-plonk simplicity of the keys and guitar lines, the drum machine so clean and yet so basic - it reminds me that music this good doesn't have to be intricate, drawn out or segmented. The band describes itself as "raincoat pop" - it makes a quirky kind of sense. From the first strains of 'Fargo', Kraken has struck a chord and I haven't been able to stray from its New Romantic clutches. Coldwave be damned (coldwave...urgh), long live raincoat pop!

Grab Kraken here - seriously great stuff.

unhappypeople - Fargo
unhappypeople - Kraken

Bringing Back The Love

Wowee Zowee peeps! Sorry about the downlay in musical mayhem here at Planet Masala - its been quiet here due to the ridiculousness in the "real world" (AKA I accidentally maxed out the home Internet fund - sorry Luke and Sal...) Plus searching for work, getting work, getting more work, getting heaps of work, and uni has meant that I was on the cusp of believing I had too many fingers in too many pies. But if there's anything that those cinematic genuises behind American Pie taught me anything - and they taught me a LOT - its that you can NEVER have too many fingers into too many pies - you just combine it all in an orgiastic piefest (I think - maybe if I had caught the fourth and fifth sequels Id understand more...)

SO I am rorting the university by using their sizable Internet access to keep the SM dream alive. And as this has been some time in coming, here are a few tracks for you to sink your teeth into.

First up there is The Raveonettes, whose Sharin Foo is still hands down the hottest woman in rock. It helps that their first EP Whip It On is one of my all time favourite releases EVER. Really. Anyway, their fifth album Raven In The Grave comes out next month on Vice, and if this is anything to go by its going to be another hit, especially after hearing what other member of the due Sune Rose Wagner thought of its genesis:

"I think we have finally hit on something quite important and different for this album. This is the first Raveonettes album we've done which doesn't feature the signature Raveonettes surf drumbeat. None of the tunes have any real sunshine to them. It's all very un-Rave. It has a mood of ethereal defiance. It's dark but not bleak, like the single minded determination caused by crisis that is not quite hope but just as powerful. It's the perfect winter soundtrack just in time for spring."

The Raveonettes - Forget That You're Young

White Denim are another band with a hotly anticipated album in the wings. Gorilla Vs Bear have named them the best band at SXSW for the fourth consecutive year - a bit of love there mayhaps??? We've already sampled 'Drug' from D here - now try "Anvil Everything"!

White Denim - Anvil Everything

One of my favourite finds of last year was Tampa nutjobs Merchandise, whose dark distorted pop has entranced me for some time (check out my thoughts on last year's (Strange Songs) In The Dark LP here). They have just released a 7" on Katorga Records, Schoolyard b/w Graveyard, showcasing an amazing remix of the A-Side which has me even more sweat-lathered. These guys know how to weave a warped rhythm, and with the beats interlaid here they have a bona fide club hit - from the guys responsible for Cult Ritual? Anything's possible...

Merchandise - Schoolyard (Club Mix)

A band doing amazing things this side of the Equator is The Middle East. The Townsville, Queensland quintet have a cultivated, lush ambient folk sound with the slightest tinge of darkness, and its been going down a treat globally. They are releasing I Want That You Are Always Happy on Spunk Records April 8th, and "Black Death 1349" is off it. (Can you tell this was recorded at Midlake's Denton, Texas studios? Nah, me neither...)

The Middle East - Black Death 1349

Darlings are a NYC garage pop band whose song "Spit It Out" off EP Warma (out now on Famous Class Records) has been on incessant replay since the SM downtime, so was pretty much a sure thing to be on this lil playlist. Its decidedly heads in the cloud whimsy crossed with Pixies nerd punk, which has helped get me across the line on a few days this past fortnight.

Darlings - Spit It Out

"Zeppole Ben" is off Hello, Nice Evening. We Are The Everymen, an EP by The Everymen (weirdly enough). Its two and a bit minutes that reminded me of why Rocket From The Crypt were great. The rest of the 7" is radness - lots of different genres (with help from Kurt Vile no less!) all infused with cigarettes, sweat and more than a few regrets, readily forgotten...but I like it most when Sarin McHugh is shredding his vocals to next to nothing Buy it here.

The Everymen - Zeppole Ben

Last on the comeback playlist is a band that many have been biting their nails to the quick in anticipation for, Crystal Stilts. Their Alight Of Night was at the very crest of the lo-fi, scuzzy as fuck euphoria of DIY noise pop shenanigans. Now we get to see if the lightning can strike twice, as In Love With Oblivion comes down out of the sky April 12th. Its a Slumberland release, so that will tell you a lot with what to expect... Also, here is the admittedly perfunctory video to accompany the song "Through The Floor"... (Also the Brooklyn band are playing Cargo in London March 30th - although it appears to be sold out!)

Crystal Stilts - Through The Floor

Crystal Stilts "Through The Floor" from Slumberland Records on Vimeo

Welcome back...welcome back, welcome back, welcome back...

Brendan Masala's Top Ten Albums of 2010!

This was ridiculously hard to do for a year where there were a lot of really good albums but not many great ones. Still, when I had done a lot of cross examinations and listened til my ears bled, I was left with some twenty albums that were still floating my boat. As Paul and I found common ground there, as a collective Paul and I have come up with a definitive top ten for tomorrow (with the only exception being our final entry - wont say much until tomorrow), so I'm showcasing a couple that may have slipped through the cracks. And from the above pic I guess you know where we are starting...

1. Mark McGuire, Living With Yourself

I only heard this a month ago, but have not been able to put it to bed. This is guitar collage by a consummate professional (1/3 of the inimitable Emeralds), but with an inherent personal narrative that is more emotive than almost anything you'll come across. Mindblowing.

2. Ceremony - Rohnert Park

This album upset a lot of the hardcore purists that had been swept up by the bloodlust that was Ceremony's initial propulsive drive. Yet its the melodic change of gear and emphasis on early twenties ennui that underpins this album - Ceremony may be in 'The Doldrums', exhibiting lo-fi stargazing with the best of em, but unlike the likes of Beach Fossils et al (many of which are great), these guys will still tear you a new arsehole.

3. Puffy Areolas - In The Army 1981

Puerile, nihilistic trash, screaming and buzzsawing their way through an obnoxious forty minutes that you can never get back, Puffy Areolas are unabashedly bashing their head repeatedly against a wall, whilst holding you in a headlock. And it may take a while, but rest assured you'll have a bloodied grin smeared across your face. A lot of bands (some even from the same Siltbreeze stable) tried for reckless wanton abandon, but none did it like Puffy Areolas.

4. Male Bonding - Nothing Hurts

This album is still up there for me even though it was on relentless rotation early in the year, and was an almost there contender for Sonic Masala's definitive top ten. In some ways I could alternate this album with Harlem's Hippies - both exuded that bright, snotty, scuzzy garage punk with pop sensibilities emblazoned across their chests. But I came to the Dalston trio's brand of sound first, therefore it wins the kudos here. Still incredibly addictive - pretty much my 2010 dance album, albeit drunken and inevitably staining the carpet with red wine and cigarette burns.

5. Thee Silver Mt Zion Memorial Orchestra - Kollaps Tradixionales

We all need a guilty pleasure... I know a lot of people hate Efrin Menuck's voice, and the G!YBE reunion certainly has overshadowed things, but Kollaps Tradixionales is here, not just because it is an impressive, audacious, sprawling, memsmeric listen, but because of their amazing live show in February at Electric Ballroom, and for the epic opening track 'There Is A Light'. And I like Ramirez's voice, so fuck you.

6. Heirs - Fowl

I wanted to put Helms Alee's Night Terror here, but seeing as it is a 2009 release, that cant be done. Instead I bring you Heirs, a hard post-metal outfit from Melbourne that managed on Fowl to squeeze every iota of emotion out of the blackest riffs this side of death metal without resorting to guttural growls, yelps and the gnashing of teeth - which is why I love this genre. Furthermore, it has balls. Big, big balls. They played the tiniest of venues in Camden this year and I saw a man spontaneously combust. FACT. (NB - facts may not be factual).

7. Eddy Current Suppression Ring - Rush To Relax

Another Aussie outfit, but one you might be more familiar with - ECSR's 3rd LP has been largely overlooked almost everywhere, which is a travesty. I know that the release of the first two albums (Eddy Current Suppression Ring and Primary Colours) only came here last year, but its a shame that this garage juggernaut missed the target. They are terse yet fun, brooding yet energetic, manic yet throwaway - and their simple chugging sonics coupled with lead Brendan Suppression's iconic Aussie bark/drawl makes for a unique and amazing sound. They have toured with Pissed Jeans of recent times - expect for more bite next time around.

8. Merchandise - (Strange Songs) In The Dark

Another band I only came to last month - the exact same day as Mark McGuire - this Florida act have put out an amazing EP and a bunch of demos and such (Gone Are The Silk Gardens Of Youth), but the album is something so much more. The loudest, most feedback riddled, brooding pop songs ever. One of the most breathtaking albums of 2010 in my opinion - underneath all that white noise and dissonance is abject beauty.

9. Sex Church - 6 Songs By...

These guys were all the rage in the middle months of 2010, then the hype seemed to die away. Shame really, cos Sex Church (not to be confused with another amazing band, Megachurch, who just miss the cut here) are producing some of the most exciting garage rock right now. When bands such as Tyvek and Sic Alps are all jostling each other for obvious reasons, Sex Church came along and quietly drank everyone under the table and slept with all their girlfriends. And they are from British Columbia. Shit.

10. Tjutjana - Tjutjana

The biggest surprise of the year I reckon, as this is actually a release sent to me by the band themselves. Hailing from Denver Colorado, Tjutjana are relentless in their pursuit of the Dark Side of psych rock. And whilst there were some great psych records out this year, Tjutjana brought forth a fresh, albeit disturbing, take, and blew away the competition.

I feel I've left out some other stellar releases too, so here's a few others that have gotten serious airplay this year.

Honourable mentions

The Austerity Program - Backsliders and Apostates Will Burn (my fave EP of year)
Forest Swords - Dagger Paths
The Black Angels - Phosphene Dream
Weekend - Sports
Besnard Lakes - ...Are The Roaring Night

PVT - Church With No Magic

And I better stop there before I get carried away!

Grab Some Merchandise

I heard Merchandise, a Tampa Florida 'supergroup' made up of members of Cult Ritual, Divisions and Nazi Dust - a few weeks ago over at a mate's place, and immediately fell in love with them. They released a sweet EP a little while back, but their recent LP (Strange Songs) In The Dark (Drugged Conscience/Katorga Works) is amazing, 7 songs of non stop awesomeness. I dont know how to describe it without it sounding redundant - lets just say this could be the best underground pop album of the year. There are gargantuan amounts of white noise and distortion on here that will appeal to shoegaze altruists, but overall its the languid rhythms topped by the withering vocals that set it above and beyond most releases Ive listened to in the past six months. Its endearing, which isnt something you can say about most albums that dish out this kind of dissonance. Its downbeat for sure, but give me something that rivals its murky beauty and we'll call potato potarto, ok? It really is that great.

Merchandise have also just released Gone Are The Silk Gardens Of Youth, a cassette produced through Cult Maternal. Its much more demo-ish, but 'Schoolyard' comes from that. Download the tape here.

But seriously folks, dont sell yourself short there - get this LP!!!!!!!!

Merchandise - Loss

Merchandise - I Locked The Door

Merchandise - Schoolyard