G. Green Can Get (Brain)Fucked

What's with the foulmouthed headings this week? I don't know anymore...the youth these days...rabble rabble rabble...

G. Green won't care. Their latest song is called 'Brain Fuck' so, you know, peer pressure and all. But the Sacramento four-piece don't just dish out vitriol and swears, for the track is more about flailing limbs and destroying spaces with a euphoric yet glazed expression on your face. And these guys certainly have tightened things riiiiiiight up since last record Crap Culture. Not that people getting more proficient is always beneficial, but here it lends a supreme urgency that the band didn't own before, and means that they can literally lead us anywhere. Including down an alleyway of our mind from some sordid cross-wrist action.

'Brain Fuck' will be out on Area Codes, their new LP on Mt.St.Mtn. Records. 

Driven Mad By The Male Gaze

Get a load of the abrasive catharsis of the male gaze when held in thrall by the band Male Gaze, the pastiche golem plied together out of clay, piss and shit by past members of Mayyors and Blasted Canyons (these guys are still a band though, right? RIGHT?) Standing astride the summit of Mt St Mtn, glaring into the abyss that lies beyond the 'Cliffs Of Madness' whilst slurring/bellowing from behind rusted instruments that squall and splutter. It's a auspicious 7" opening stand AKA loud, scuzzy and bristling with blood-drenched hooks - grab it here. The band will stretch things out into a full length, fittingly on SF nutbags Castle Face Records in the upcoming months.

Playing Plateaus, Wasting Time

San Diego's purveyors of playful perversions Plateaus have brought out a one-sided 10" EP through Mt St Mtn Records. I've had this debate before (IE Why press ten-inch records?). Yes, it sounds amazing. Yes, it's that annoying length. Yes, it's the least likely normal format to make your money back on. Actually you can disagree with any/all of these points. The thing is, if it's as good as Wasting Time, who cares what form it takes? Four tracks of lackadaisical squall, a tempered trawl through the backalleys of grimy garage before dusting off the remnants of the era, buffing it up and dragging it front and centre into the warm sunlight. Boys doin their thang how they want to, when they want to. They don't sit still - they have short attention spans - but the aesthetic is the same - streamlined ploys for slacker noise. If you aren't on board - that's a shame. More for us then.

You can purchase Wasting Time in excellent clear with rainbow spatter vinyl here.

Cooling Down For A Cruel Summer

Cruel Summer could be a reference to the "excellent" Ace of Base album of the same name, or indeed a reference to the Kanye mixtape album he put out last year. And there is indeed something rather clique-ish about this San Francisco quartet - that of the wistful, morose, yet nevertheless airy kind, the beautiful yet aloof kind. Still, this self-titled EP (out next month on 12" vinyl through Mt St Mtn) is abundant in pendulous emotions, swaying from hot and cold and back again, keep you on edge at all times (see the first of the two sample tracks 'Carquinez' to catch this shadowy drift). Its a nice inversion of the summer jangle pop "gems" that tend to burst forth like seasonal weeds this time of year, and is worthy of further attention. These kids aren't cruel, they just have depth.

Whining, Straying Birds Get Shot In Head

This 7" is a great lo-fi glimpse at a ramshackle trio that mold shamolic rock into a lovable artform, The Whines. Shootinhead is well thought out, using two songs that completely encapsulates the Portland band's repertoire whilst hinting at so much more. The titular track warbles along, gloomily soaking up the aural space before a sweat-soaked breakdown takes hold, the fat bass line the only constant and clear notion that you're not going insane. Then on the flipside you have 'Straybird', which I think picks up the ante - a rumbler country twang with psych and booze drenched outer edges, this song flies the pop flag even as it irreverently dips it in Zippo fluid and hovers a match. And that wavering harmonica? Genius stroke there guys. The best thing about such a track? Its so easy - easy to listen to, easy to make... If it was any more laconic it would fall into a coma. True slacker quality. Fuck that - just quality.

Shootinhead is out through Mt St Mtn Records - get it here! They have an album out too, Hell To Play - expect to jear about that soon...



The Whines - Shootinhead
The Whines - Straybird