Don't You Leave Tyrannamen

Melbourne rock troglodytes Tyrannamen is one of those bands I have heard about so often I assume I have seen them. I haven't. I assumed they had a plethora of scuzzy albums littered around the backwaters. They don't. This self-titled record is their first. And it is great - a cantankerous brand of punk RnR soul that the older roughnuts (think Coloured Balls and the sharpies movement) to the newer generation (Royal Headache and Oblivians being the most immediate punk peers) should all get behind. It's rough around the edges but riddled with hooks, harmonies and heart. Tyrannamen may have been five years in the making, but the result is electric - five guys thrashing out and about, grins plastered, beer spattered, and ready to grab the world by the scruff of the neck. Will it be a kiss? Will it be a headbutt to the bridge of the nose? Either way, the visceral connection is timeless. You can get Tyrannamen through Cool Death Records here.

Double White Walls In Limbo

This year's Sonic Masala Fest was incredible, a real coup and a life achievement for me. So many things worked out right - the weather, the venue, the crowd, the bands. Although David Lynch's Q+A and the Oblivians shows took a few punters away, it was above all a killer day.

One of the best parts was hanging out with the three dudes from White Walls for the weekend. Their set was decidedly loud - as is their MO - yet I had forgotten just how smooth it all is, how easily it is to be cocooned within the intricacies inherent within the noise. Their self titled album has been a favourite of mine for some time now, and finally their follow up Afterthoughts In Limbo (which is mammoth as a double LP and is out on the band's brand spankin' new Pet Moth Records label) is just around the corner. Below are three tracks off it ('Crossing Roads' having been pushed into the ether last week as a biding time gesture while the vinyl orders take their time getting shipped), and their eloquent and devastating take on shoe gaze rock is as jaw dropping as ever. If you haven't put your order in to get a piece of Afterthoughts In Limbo, go here right now. And if you are in Melbourne May 30 and haven't got anything going - get to The Corner where White Walls and Hotel Wrecking City Traders support the gargantuan Japanese giants Boris.

Last Year's Men Had No Claws

Remember when all the best bands came from North Carolina? Chapel Hill in the early/mid Nineties? No? Hmm. Well, they did - Archers of Loaf, Superchunk, Polvo, Sex Police, Pipe, Squirrel Nut Zippers (*cough*). And Last Year's Men are doing their best to bring the mojo back to the region. They have an LP coming out soon (produced by Greg Cartwright of Reigning Sound/Oblivians, even more reason to get excited), and have this Clawless Paw 7" (out through the excellent Sophomore Lounge)to whet the whistle. Two tracks of garage rock that also deal in subterfuge - the titular track's intro is raucous yet contained, yet threatens to derail every second thereafter; whilst 'What I Can Get' shows us a shinier, happier side of the coin, before the facade crumbles and the rot sets in, full fledged coarse steel-wool glory. Its clear that these guys have something percolating here; that the garish cover only hints at the hypercolour madness within; that this incoming record could be napalm to the soul; and that a good spiritual hazing is something 2013 is begging for. Bring that shit ON.

Clawless Paw can be in your eager mitts now - get it here. The band have a May tour of the US lined up, but need YOUR help! Look below, and if you can help hit up their Facebook here.

may 20th - asheville, nc HELP

may 21st - nashville, tn w/ cheap time (need help with a place to play!)

may 22nd - louisville, ky at tba w/ mount carmel

may 23rd - chicago, il at tba

may 24th - detroit, mi at tba

may 25th - toronto, on at silver dollar w/ mystics

may 26th - hamilton, on at casbah w/ mystics

may 27th - montreal at tba w/ mystics

may 28th - new york, ny at shea stadium

may 29th - new jersey/dc/philly HELP PLEASE?

may 30th - richmond, va at tba w/ nervous ticks

Last Year's Men - Clawless Paw

Spider Bags Are Shitheads

The rad droogs at Sophomore Lounge have had some tasty treats out recently – Spider Bags’ Papa Was A Shithead 7” is one of them. Following on from their LP Shake My Head (out through Odessa Records here – I'm yet to hear it, would love to hear some comments), these two tracks are a definitive ball tearer. Led by Chapel Hill songwriter Dan McGee (of DC Snipers fame), Spider Bags have been serving up steaming hot piles of garage country swagger and sleaze for some time now, all sweat stained checked shirts, horned forearm tattoos and whisky showers. The titular A-side is more akin to straight up boozy punk of the spit-soaked persuasion however, (something not too far removed from an Oblivians staple) and is a jagged piece of rock that proves that yes, Papa was indeed a shithead, no doubt. Then we flip to ‘I Wish I Had Never Fed You’, a longer country waster that starts half way to an alcoholic stupor, and finishes with a caterwaul of distortion and disdain.

 

If you aren’t privy to Spider Bags, here’s a good place to start. You can grab it here – be quick cos it’s 300 copies only (on translucent purple vinyl to boot).

Spider Bags – Papa Was A Shithead
Spider Bags – I Wish I Had Never Fed You

Don't Go Search Engining Flesh Lights On A Whim...

This is a short post about a record you all need, just so's you can be blissfully unaware how many strangers you are pissing off as you listen to it. Its effectively a 2011 release, but I'm really digging Texan garage punks Flesh Lights' Muscle Pop (great title). These kids are all about movement - namely, tearing your shirt off and sweating profusely as you pump into every human being within a ten metre radius. Should be fun with peak hour public transport. Think The Oblivians with maybe a little less brain cells and a bit more swinging between the knees. It's bloody great.


Grab Muscle Pop (through Twistworthy Records) here.

Flesh Lights - I'm A Monk
Flesh Lights - I Am Romance
Flesh Lights - Diane