Man, this track kills. 'Nails' is the new song from veritable rock god supergroup Soldiers Of Fortune, whose album Early Risers comes out on Mexican Summer in November. Featuring slayer Kid Millions (Oneida, Man Forever et al) on the drums, and Oneida buddies Barry London and Papa Crazee, Jesper Eklow (Endless Boogie), Matt Sweeney (Chavez), Mike Bones and Brad Truax, Soldiers Of Fortune are built to kill all speakers and pretenders. But that isn't enough for these heavy lifters, asking for the aid of the likes of Dan Melchior, Cass McCombs, and goddamn STEPHEN MALKMUS. Yep, this is a blasted rock testament. You thought you knew your rock and roll? Soldiers of Fortune just put the final nail in its coffin, set it on fire and watched it rise like the phoenix, reborn. I haven't heard anything so unadulterated yet so good in a long, long, LONG time. Pre-order this bad boy here - do it NOW.
I am a massive fan of Austin reprobates The Young’s Voyagers Of Legend LP, which tore my face off in 2010 (it was one of our top albums of that year). That album was surprisingly on Mexican Summer - not a label that keeps tabs on this kind of viscerality - and was also their last one on there. Then my knowledge of their existence pretty much stopped right there. The quartet apparently brought out a follow-up album called Dub Egg, which I somehow missed. I'm scurrying around looking for it now...
But onward and upward. The Texans have a new album on Matador Records, and it's a balltearer. Chrome Cactus is sharper; harsher; leaner; sinister. There is a dropped-down drive that underscores this songs, which are then superseded by fuzzed out guitar solos a la Fu Manchu’s Scott Hill albeit with some deliberate restraint, and other abrasive effects like the squalling feedback stab on ‘Metal Flake’ or the the soaring synth that accompanies the “ballad” ‘Apache Throat’. The excellently-named Hans Zimmerman takes front and centre with his vocals this time around, and it lends an interesting counterpoint that is often overlooked in 21st century rock production – his voice is uninhibited by pedals, effects and nonsense distortion and delay, and as such stands somewhere between the monotone snarl of Girls Against Boys’ Eli Janney and the growl of Young Widows’ Evan Patterson. It helps the the sound has been tweaked by Tim Green (Nation of Ulysses/The Fucking Champs) in the blasted surrounds of the Sierra Nevada – definitely perfect environs for what transpires here - but you get a sense that Chrome Cactus may have landed at his feet fully formed. ‘Chrome Jamb’ has a narcoleptic undertone to its dry crawl, bent strings belying a Morricone hangover before bringing the doom; ‘Moondog First Quarter’ maintains the vitriol that has been missing from Black Mountain for some time. I still miss the darkness sewn into the Pixies-lite that littered their debut, but when the raucous drown-out that is the aptly-titled ‘Slow Death’ kicks in, closely followed by the feedback squall of closer ‘Blow The Scum Away’, the new Young is all that matters.
You can grab Chrome Cactushere. The Young play in NY tonight alongside SM faves Degreaser - get along.
Out-of-control shredders Zig Zags have certainly done some shit in their two years as a band. Having released a few 7"s (one on Mexican Summer, believe it or not), a split with grinders The Shrine, a cassette on Burger Records and a collaboration with Iggy Pop, the LA trio show no signs on letting up the squalling fury. They have released their two sold-out singles 'Scavenger' and the most excellent 'Monster Wizard' on excellent German label Who Can You Trust?, and it's a stone cold slayer. Black Sabbath, the Stooges (obviously), Fu Manchu - the touchstones are loud, spun out and are set to kill.
We meet once again, Mikey Young. Seriously, do you not have a home to go to? Always loitering with ne-er do wells. Making any old racket, as long as it is loud and interesting. Sure, you pal around with your buddies (in this case, Dave West (he of the excellent Rank/Xerox) and Total Control alum James Vinciguerra). Sure, you've parted your hair and brushed the dandruff from your shoulder pads, washed the gunk out of your eyes and brushed your teeth. You even mince around with a genteel presence like Lace Curtain. But we know you, Mikey. You and your brethren are responsible for garage sweat, punk desperation, the itch of abandon. No veneer of hypnotic trance will hide the fact that rock is fused to your soul...
That said, Lace Curtain is enough of an about-turn to irk your purist acolytes, turning from you and your new persona as a personal affront, whilst garnering a fresh set of feverish do-gooders to your cause. Your junkie-centric need to create music is truly something, and with Falling/Running, Lace Curtain's new 12" coming out through Mexican Summer, you and your cronies have chiseled out something that embellishes the kraut rhythmics whilst submerging into glistening pools of synth. Free may you roam, kemo sabe.
Coming out today on Beyond Beyond Is Beyond Records is New Hampshire Freaks, the split 10" EP from two groups of psych wanderers, Quilt and MMOSS. The A-side consists of the two bands contributing a song each, and it's easy to see why these guys have gravitated towards each other, as 'Nothing Left' and 'Open Eyes' complementing cornucopias of pastoral psych in the sun swept wheat fields, all gaily flailing limbs, slightly slack jaws and free love in the loins (with some excellent bright wigout at the end of Quilt's 'Open Eyes' evoking the likes of Woodsman at their most bucolically wasted). Of course the B-Side sees them join forces, and 'Sandy' is a fourteen minute Ouija board into the souls of astral adventurers of extinct parallel worlds. The flatline in the middle creates a weightlessness that heightens the return of the ephemeral squall that bookends the track.
You can order New Hampshire Freakshere - the first 300 orders will be pressed on olive-and-bone coloured wax, whilst there are 100 extremely limited (IE never to be repeated) cassette tapes.
Just a quick note about the latest release from Mexican Summer which came out today. I cannot say I was particularly hanging out for US-via-NZ stargazer Tamaryn’s sophomore LP Tender New Signs to come out. Sure, I was a fan of her 2010 The Waves release, but it kind of slipped my mind. So sure enough, Mexican Summer come along and remind me why she is, at her height, a dream-pop diva of the highest order. This is a great album that is the perfect twilight/balmy evening soundtrack to disappear into. Listen to the whole thing streaming over at Gorilla vs Bear here!
You can get Tender New Signs (it comes out next week on clear vinyl!) right here.
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.
"All the leaves are brown (the leaves are brown)/And the Quilt is grey (and the Quilt is greeeeeeeEEEEEEEY!)"
I know that this came out last year, and my friend Si sent it over back then, but I have only gotten it now. The pastoral, shimmering psych that is steeped in boy/girl acid harmonies, Mamas/Papas regions that Massachusetts band Quilt proffers is something I didn't like at first (I think I was heavily intoxicated on The Men and Total Control at that stage), but this self titled LP on Mexican Summer is killing me today. It also has some of that Woodsman style of warped, languid psych, like a bubbling brook of crystal-clear LSD. These are actual songs, with actual singing too, so to take me into the astral tundra with my buffalo totem pole there is only one album I would take on my spiritual awakening...
Combining with Mount Carmel, it would appear that I would love to be in the late 60s/early 70s of America right about now. And incredibly fucking high. I really need to get out of the office...
This isn't a 2012 album, but who cares? Get Quilts right now. RIGHT. NOW. It's amazing.
This one has been played incessantly for months, and sitting around for me to post about it so long that another release has already come and gone also! So it is with Apache Dropout, whose self-titled LP made my top albums list for last year. The Indiana three-piece hit on angular garage punk with some mainlined psych fuzz and some Jagerbombs to boot - these guys are the gas. It really is a rip-roaring release, and 'Teenager' just plainly kills...
Then along comes Radiation a three song taster that is just as good albeit much shorter in length. Put out through Mexican Summer, it heightens the psych motorik preamble, yet somehow remains coherent and concise. A lovely surprise of the smokiest order.
But they aren't slacking off. Trouble In Mind are releasing a 4-way split 7" that the band did with the excellent Mikal Cronin (another I missed out on posting about last year - his album is just as rad), The Paperhead and Liminanas for the upcoming Record Store Day. Keep up the mind-melting work, lads.
We have had quite a few collaborations this year that have left a lot to be desired. One such concoction in my opinion was Ford & Lopatin's Channel Pressure, an album that despite some interesting production and a couple incredible songs, was rather lacklustre and in the end throwaway. It was a major disappointment for me as I'm a fan of one half of the act, Daniel Lopatin, especially under the moniker Oneohtrix Point Never. It took me a while to "get into" him, but Returnal of last year was ridiculously incredible. And the remix he did of the title track with Antony Hegarty? The kid's a genius.
Now we are on the cusp of his next release, Replica, out next week on Mexican Summer (the 8th, same day as Electric Flower's EP actually). And holy shit if he doesn't bring it all back on track once more. There is that elliptical eloquence that wafts in and out of this futuro-Gothic numbers, an effect wholly Lopatin's - all smoke, mirrors and gaudy, glow-in-the-dark skeletons in the closet. Why this isn't the score for every horror remake I don't know - you could just imagine that the music would morph the story into a soft-lens nightmare of sensuously horrific proportions...
An incredible, otherworldly album, pre-order Replicahere.
My mate Andy sent me this clip of LA/Montreal ladies No Joy for their song 'Hawaii', which you can find on their stellar Mexican Summer release Ghost Blonde. We always meant to cover that album here - we've been fans of their earlier stuff, and Paul called dibs on this album in fact - but for whatever reason it fell by the wayside. So, watch this great (and slightly NSFW) video, and hunt down that album - it is great, really great. They have a busy touring schedule lined up too - spending the best part of this month touring Stateside and Canada as part of the Best Coast/Wavves entourage, before doing a couple of solo shows in London (including a White Heat @ Madame Jojo's show on March 1st - thats 5 quid! Get your tix now!!!), before becoming the support slot for Surfer Blood as they do the UK. Thats about 4 different shows in London, people. Get on it.
One of my favourite, most underrated Aussie albums from the last decade was Melbourne band Love Of Diagrams' debut effort, The Target Is You - ten tightly honed slabs of electric instrumentals that didnt outstay its welcome yet latched onto you like a tick, seeping its poison into the very marrow of your being until you had it on repeat for three weeks and forgot your own name. They went on to add vocals and produce some great indie rock, but I felt that the immediacy of those initial tracks were never eclipsed.
But this isn't about Love Of Diagrams, but about Beaches, whose new EP Eternal Sphere is coming out on Mexican Summer. Beaches are Antonia Sellbach (Love of Diagrams) on guitar and vocals, Alison Bolger (Panel of Judges) on guitar and vocals, Ali McCann on guitar and vocals, Gill Tucker (Spider Vomit) on bass and vocals and Karla Way on drums and vocals. The sound they evoke covers everything from psychedelic rock to kraut motorik and shoegaze, all very loud, yet its the layered sonic harmonics that impresses. Opening track "In A While" is laden with thick piles of reverb and rippling keys that envelop the vocals, which gasp for air until a knife sharp swath of guitar cuts the whole thing in two. Exhilarating stuff indeed...and not one Bette Midler reference in sight.
Yeah, here is another loud, fuzzy band that I have been meaning to share for a while. Not to be confused with equally rad Baltimore band Weekends (see, they are plural people, PLURAL!) who put out a fantastic cassette they put out through Impose - chek out here if you missed that one - Weekend are just about to release debut LP Sports on Slumberland Records (having released a 10" previously on Mexican Summer - they are keeping the right company) - and it is very, very good. Opening with noisy jammer 'Coma Summer', these young San Fransiscans lurch and speed through ten tracks of varying levels of feedback-drenched noise, sculpted into columns of infectious pop in the effortless manner that ol' Ed Scissorhands mangles a block of H2O into something majestic and arresting. Weekend have had a extremely fast ride since forming last year (maybe up a 70 degree incline? Thats a pretty fast rise, yeah?), and Sports shows that it was not all hype at all.
If you are in the US, chances are you will be catching Weekend play as they do extensive slots with The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart, after which they'll tour with Young Prisms - lucky beggars!
I know there are albums that are deemed as 'growers'. Ones that take their time getting their hooks into you, so surreptitious are their charms that you are addicted before you have had time to think about what's been placed in front of you. But rarely could you say that an album was a 'creeper' - where each song oozes its way over you and enters you through every pore and orifice, like the black oil from The X Files.
The Young's Voyagers of Legend is definitely a creeper.
I heard this Austin Texas band first over at Raven Sings The Blues via the track 'Phoebis Cluster', which is also featured below. I was immediately intrigued - the song has that eerie vibe that the Pixies' 'Gouge Away' has, that Lynchian noir nightmare that slinks along in the shadows before jumping all over you. I delved into the band a little more, and there isnt much to be gleaned, other than they are signed to the great Mexican Summer, which helped put out the LP. So I scoured the WWW to find the album, and whilst the player I found on a nondescript site (which no longer seems to work) wasn't altogether functioning properly, it was enough to get me a couple listens to it.
Voyagers of Legend is definitely a time capsule album, taking me back to the early 90s. But instead of focusing on high school slacker ennui a la Japandroids, this is delving more into the flannel shirts of the grunge generation with more than a pinch of the aforementioned Pixies (a commonly held belief that they were the genesis of grunge as it were). 'Bird In The Bush' to me is the single track on this album that comes across as proper single material, and yet it is the weakest, whilst tracks like 'Smiling God' and Sunburst' rollick along like a burnished black steam train with roadkill in its grill.
Good luck find much on the Web about The Young - just do yourself a favour, head over to Mexican Summer and get the album. Ive got the itch to hear it again - its crept inside me and it will not let go.
Way back in the barmy warmish days of May when summer was looming like a fuzzy giant on a distant soft horizon, we dropped the debut single from the LA/Montreal shoegaze pop spinners No Joy. Now the duo have a long player, Ghost Blonde, due out in November on Mexican Summer. Below is a new taste from said album, 'Heedless', and just to prove that these kids really do move with the seasons 'Heedless' sports a subtle harder edge to their sound, a blissful din like a cold snap biting at your sleeve reminding that the September nights are drawing in. Pre-order it here.
As summer packs its bags and makes a hasty retreat, intent on disappearing and not paying the tab, leaving the other seasons in its wake in an incredibly irritable mood, we Londoners have to grab every lick of sun we can and make the most of it. Hence on Sunday I went to a balcony barbecue, where me and some friends have a lovely boozy time being all sun-loving, carnivorous and a wee bit drunken. 100 tea lights and various alcoholic beverages later, Will put on some Dungen which immediately became an interesting source of conversation. I guess Ive never sat down with anyone and chatted about Dungen's virtues, but in the sepia tones of the waning sunset and drunken waves from having eaten too much and still trying to drink more than our share, it made for an interesting palaver.
Which in hindsight seems prevalent, as Dungen returned to the studio earlier this year to create Skit i allt, their sixth album, which is out today on Mexican Summer and Subliminal Sounds. The album title roughly translates to 'fuck it all', which in many ways is an apt description of how the Swedes go about making their music. There is a certain amount of mischievous wherewithal to the dynamics that is created, an aural clusterfuck that has no right to make any sense but audaciously re-enters the stratosphere as a higher being. Each song dares to be more than just one entity - never settling for a gleaming pop gem, a desert-scorching psychedelic jam, an instrumental tapestry, most songs in Dungen's oeuvre strive to be all things at once - and generally succeeds.
It is still an acquired taste for some, and doesnt always pay off. I saw them in Sydney many years ago, just on the cusp of their unveiling of their watershed album (in my opinion at least, where the alchemy finally clicks) Ta Det Lugnt, and they were fantastic - whilst my friends on Sunday who saw them a couple years later labelled them boring. And hence the dangers of alchemy - it generally comes down to chance. When wielding this much Scandinavian magic, sometimes the result will be a puff of smoke - but more often than not, it will be unique and breathtaking.
As for the below song? Imagine Elliott Smith if he played in the Beatles and that's halfway there...
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