Better Late To The Miasma Of Bevis Frond Than Never

I had heard a lot about London psych folk stalwarts The Bevis Frond yet knew nothing about them - a band to have escaped my battered ears. But it wasn't until I spent a night beating the flu out of me with booze at The Mucky Pup here in London that I actually got to hear them (which makes sense - leader Nick Saloman used to do the excellent pub quiz here). Their first album Miasma is on their excellent jukebox, and it blew me away. Was it the cold? Was it the eighth jar of Guinness? There is a warm crossover of Smiths wash, Erickson wow and Pollard panache for me to want to launch myself headlong into their back catalogue. Fire Records have made it much easier for me too, re-releasing Miasma and Inner Marshland on Record Store Day in aqua and purple vinyl respectively. The guys are playing a one-off-for-the-year show in London at Birthdays July 10 - Ill be there, front row.

The Roar Of The Golden Geordie

You can never keep a good Geordie down. Especially when talking about Brisbane’s Geordie Stafford. The guy has been fully entrenched in Brisbane’s hardcore and punk scene for many years, and his work with Dick Nasty and Teargas in particular have left indelible marks on the sonic landscape.

He is never not busy though. Over the course of the last few years he has been constantly churning out solo stuff under the moniker Golden Bats. He is up to his sixth EP – released back on Record Store Day on CD-R (as have all his EPs, and the very small run booklet containing them all sold out by 11am on the day). Admittedly it’s been a year or so since V came out – and VI is in the same vein, all snarling doom metal clamour, a one man maelstrom that draws from, plays with, bows down to and turns his back on all the basic tropes of metal. That drum machine (except for on opener ‘Mountain Eyes’) holds its own over much of the drumming you hear in other, more profile-laden acts – whether that’s an indictment, a technological miracle, or just plain cool, is up to you. But Stafford loves roaring with delay, gnashing with dirge-dripping delirium; slaying riff after riff. Golden Bats is his excuse to live in his perfect netherworld – and we should be thankful that he lets us in.

You can grab all six EPs for free download here. There are 15 copies of VI as CD-R left too – expect them to fly out the door.

Some Days are Hard ons ya, Some are Heaps Better

There is a huge amount of "garage" music around at the moment. A. Huge. Amount. And simply by the sheer amount of it, you'd think it is easy to do; get a few friends together, punch out a few chords, hope someone can hold a beat. That part, maybe, is easy. Creating something that is a marker in time, something that will stand up to nearly thirty years of kids picking up guitars, something that will make you smile 'til your eyes crease - even when it's probably the five-hundredth time you've listened to it - that's hard.

And that's what the Hard-Ons did with 'Girl in the Sweater'. You know the feelings, you know the naivety, you've felt it all (just like it says in the song). If this was released today, I would be heading straight to wherever these snot-nosed punks were playing to shake their hands. And for Record Store Day, thanks to Tym Guitars, I'll be doing exactly that. AND I'll be picking up a limited edition repressed seven-inch copy of the single (in a paper bag, just like it was originally thanks to the Deep North's obscenity laws). 

Woah, woah, woah, wo-oh-wo-oh!

Some days are just heaps better than others.

Vinyl Orgasm, 2013 Style

HAPPY INTERNATIONAL RECORD STORE DAY!

There isn't much I can tell you, other than if you aren't out and about celebrating this at your local record store, I don't know why we are friends. So many exclusive releases, it's incredible! Here is a massive list of some of the things on offer. There is a lot of local gear too, so keep your peepers gleaned!

Here are four I'm pretty excited about:

Baltimore's Dan Deacon is a cuddly maelstrom of gummi-bear electronica, a sugar rush of giddy proportions, yet on last year's America produced a sliver of gravitas that further accentuated his relevance in the 21st century. He has a 500-press only 7" through Domino Records that utilises four - count 'em, four - drummers, two for each cut on the wax. The two tracks, 'Konomo Ripoff No 1' (essentially ripping off the Congolese Konomo No 1 - naturally), features ex-Ponytail skinsman Jeremy Hyman and percussionist Kevin O'Meara on one cut whilst the other sees ex-Double Dagger drummer/current Roomrunner frontman (and regular Dan Deacon Ensemble participant) Denny Bowen and regular Deacon cohort Dave Jacober take control. It's vintage Dan Deacon - therefore, vintage excellente.

Then there is this beautiful absurdity. Indianapolis label Joyful Noise have somehow managed to collate some serious shit under a 7" serious they are naming Cause & Effect, with the premise being an influential, historically-significant solo musician on Side A, and the modern result of that musical influence on Side B. And they ain't fucking around - the first cabs off the rank include Thurston Moore coupled with Talk Normal, Lou Barlow synced with Dumb Numbers, and David Yow vomiting arm-in-arm with Child Bite. The special, limited edition run that is available only to VIP Joyful Noise members is pressed on silver/clear split colour vinyl, while the regular edition for all the other people, is printed on black/clear colour vinyl. Amazing? Fuck yes. You can actually order too - try that here - and try some of the results here and here.

And as I mentioned last week, there is the new (posthumous) Double Dagger record 333 - only 1000, so they will sell like the proverbial. You'd be insane if you had the opportunity to pick this up and didn't - DD are definitely one of the unsung bands of the past ten years, full stop.

Double Dagger - Heretic's Hymn

Finally, for some local flavour, the excellent Tym's Guitar started a record label late last year in the form of a 7" record club (which I am a part of), and it's drawing some pretty special exclusives (including an amazing Earthless one-off). This is another pretty rad one - Californian nutjob guitar rippers The Shrines. If you don't know what they are all about, think Fu Manchu, in your teens, on waaaaaaay too many Red Bull-tainted bowls. Sweet, I know.


So get there. It doesn't even matter if you buy anything. I love going to Tyms, or Title, or Rockinghorse, or Jet Black Cat, or Woolly Bully (RIP), as much to listen and to chat as I do to buy. Many friends have been made in such a place. If these places die out, so will an integral part of why music is the amazing thing that it is. And to remind you, Brisbane is having some pretty cool parties at its stores. Head to any one of the below, and trust me, it will prove to be an outstanding day - it may even change your life.

TYMS - opens at 10am. Second wave of new stock rolls out at 1pm. Bands start at 12pm, including The Nation Blue (most likely their only show in Queensland for 2013 - an absolute must-see!), Bruce!, Midnight Wolf, Emperors, Roku Music and Cannon.

Rockinghorse - opens at 9am. Bands start at 12.30 and include Per Purpose, Living Eyes, Brainbeau and Half Spoken.

Jet Black Cat Records - opens at 9am. Bands start at 12 with We All Want To, with Thelma Plum at 4 and Morning Harvey at 6.30, with a mystery band thrown in for shits and giggles.

SEE YOU THERE!!!

Sun(ny) Day Cover Up - Crystal Tickets Make Beatles Cry

It's been three years since Philadelphia’s psych surgeons Bardo Pond gave us something new – not that we need anything new necessarily, because their back catalogue is pretty exemplary. I've always thought the five-piece has been one of the most underrated bands of its ilk in the past decade. Fire Records can only bolster that claim, by lovingly reissuing 2006’s Ticket Crystals in a LP-only edition. Double vinyl and adorned with Joy Feasley’s new artwork, the album typifies the calculated yet fluid doom template that unrelentingly drives their sound, yet also showcased the pastel undercarriage that lightens the load enough for it to become immensely immersive rather than bludgeoning.

I realise this is a Sunday, but seeing as this is a stellar reissue I thought I’d give a special edition of “Friday Cover Up” to include the cover of the Beatles’ ‘Cry Baby Cry.’ Originally recorded for and broadcast by the BBC as part of their commemorations of the 25th anniversary of John Lennon’s death, it exemplifies the whole point I crafted the Cover Up segment in the first place. Taking great music and imbuing it with their own personality to craft a unique vision, this is Lennon in an iron lung filled with cryogenic fluid and absinthe.

Bardo Pond – Cry Baby Cry (Beatles cover)

And here is another Ticket Crystals classic…

Bardo Pond – Destroying Angel

 

Pre-order Ticket Crystals here. The band aim to release a new record in the latter stages of 2013, whilst also planning to release an exclusive 12” covers record for Record Store Day, so we haven’t heard the last of this stellar band.

Wavving Away That Trash Talk

What a strange match up. First we have Trash Talk, the bristling Sacramento hardcore band that blew all and sundry away in Australia earlier this year. Then we have Wavves, the perennially stoned Californian noise popsters. The guys from Trash Talk are rad, but I always thought that one cock-eyed comment from Nathan Williams would have them raining down vengeance on his doped-up ass. And yet here they are, splitting this 7" (first made available on Record Store Day). Wavves had already digitally released this track, 'TV Luv Song', but tis good to hear its shambolically rambunctious charms with the crackle and hiss of vinyl. And TT, well its just good to hear them full stop. So if you like either, or both of these dudes, you can try to snap up a pressing, although they are pretty low on the ground. Best just to get em below...

Trash Talk - Thorns
Wavves - TV Luv Song

Lowering The (Deer) Knives

Im not sure what this is saying about me - but Ive up until the past fortnight never really fully embraced Lower Dens. Maybe its the insistence of the fraternity that loves this Baltimore quartet to call them "pretty". Blurgh. I do like "pretty" things, but I dont call them "pretty". Fuck that (and so on and so forth, as I assert my fleeting masculinity...)

Released on Record Store Day through Sub Pop is their latest single, Deer Knives. i have been frantically snavvling up a lot of Record Store Day stuff, as quite a few RSD posts this past month can attest, so I had to delve into this to see what the haze rockers had thrown at us. First of all, the fact that neither of these songs have been released before this vinyl is beautiful - I hate getting releases on RSD if the tracks can be garnered elsewhere, something The Strange Boys did and pissed me right off. And whilst these tracks aren't "pretty", they sure are damned wonderful. The title track is an offering of beautiful, feel-good distorted shimmers, with Jana Hunter's unhurried, gently soaring vocals swirling around the track in an unhurried fashion that inadvertently draws a smile from me. Then the sunshine is magnified to an unsettling, intense finish that bores into the soul - but in a way that makes you want to bear the brunt of the sound over and again. But for me the B-side, 'Tangiers', is what makes this release and has me hankering for a full length from these guys. It jangles along at an even more sedate than its predecessor, burbling along with Hunter's distinct vocals resting on top of the aural surface, buoyed by the hushed guitar and subtle basslines. It never ebbs or flows, there are no peaks or troughs - this is one constant hazy number, one that not many bands can pull off with such aplomb. At under ten minutes it shouldnt hold you attention as well as it does - but it more than exceeds expectations. Lower Dens, Im putting away the knives before they are even suitably sharpened... (NB - it must be said that since this release guitarist Will Adams has left the band due to exhaustion, and Lower Dens have canceled some shows. Rest assured though, they will endeavour to continue in some format!)


Lower Dens - Deer Knives
Lower Dens - Tangiers

Record Store Day Residue - Toro Y Moi/Cloud Nothings,Beach Fossils/Wild Nothing

Here are two more nice packages (both splits) that were brought out over Record Store Day last month...

First up is Gruesome Flowers: A Tribute To The Wake (out through Captured Tracks), the split 7" by likeminded lo-fi troubadours Beach Fossils and Wild Nothing. These tracks, following on from their team up on track 'Out In The Way', are beautiful examples of what these kids are capable of, with Beach Fossils' 'Plastic Flowers' offering a nice slice of sunny pop whilst 'Gruesome Castle' is more akin to the melancholy shimmers that is indicative of Jack Tatum's signature sound. Even if you haven't heard of The Wake, after hearing these two covers you will be scrambling for the reissues of this Scottish forgotten indie band.

Beach Fossils - Plastic Flowers
Wild Nothing - Gruesome Castle

This second 7" split release (courtesy of Carpark Records) is in a similar vein, as you'd expect from Chaz Bundick and Dylan Baldi AKA Toro Y Moi and Cloud Nothings. The two tracks, again, are what you'd expect from these participants - 'For No Reason' is Cloud Nothings at their infectious best (seriously, I shouldn't like these guys, but they are proving to be a major vice of mine!) whilst Toro Y Moi furthers the slinky smooth synth sounds displayed on this year's album Underneath The Pine on the track 'I Will Talk To You'.

Toro Y Moi - I Will Talk To You
Cloud Nothings - For No Reason

Record Label Day Residue - Black Mountain, Puffy Areolas/Purling Hiss, Wild Nothing/Beach Fossils, Sacred Bones Sampler,

There was a lot to be gleaned from this year's Record Store Day, with lots of delectable goodies made for the occasion. Ive already mentioned the cool Black Angels EP - here are a couple others...

Ah, Sacred Bones, how I love thee! This Sacred Bones Records compilation, entitled Todo Muere Volume 1, marks the second Record Store Day exclusive we’re covering. It features plenty of bands (Moon Duo, Zola Jesus, Trust, Cult of Youth) who have recently graced our headlines, so in terms of compilations it doesn’t get much better than this. It was released in an edition of 900, and trust me, if you bought this just for one band, the rest would not disappoint. Seeing as this is from the Sacred Bones roster though, the line up is spectacular and the way its all been put together is as always sublime.

Track list:
1.) Moon Duo – Flowers
2.) Gary War – On Its Head
3.) Trust – Not a Waste of Sky
4.) Pop. 1280 – Step Into the Grid
5.) Cult of Youth – Eihwaz
6.) Amen Dunes – Murder Dull Mind
7.) Case Studies – The Eagle or the Serpent
8.) Zola Jesus – Run Me Out (Acoustic Part Time Punks Radio Session)

Next we have a 7" single put out by Black Mountain, Rollercoaster, from their album of last year Wilderness Heart. Even though I still maintain that this album isnt anywhere near as good as their first two, a rare Black Mountain track I couldn't miss, called 'In The Drones'. It was a mighty pick up...

Black Mountain - Rollercoaster

Finally (and this is easily my favourite of the day, although there are many great offerings that I will talk about over the upcoming week) we have the split between the two freakshows that put out two of my favourite albums of last year - Puffy Areolas and Purling Hiss. 'My Hell' is vintage PA, abrasive, shambolic, loud as hell, hedonistic and oh so orgasmic.

Then Purling Hiss hit us on the flipside with 'Walking Down The Street', which is just as toxic yet a little more contained. Which is a little sad in my opinion - on another release this song would have killed. but after following the unbridled mayhem the previous track unleashes, it merely seriously maims. Which is still killer, to be honest, and makes this possibly the best RSD release ever made.

Puffy Areolas - My Hell
Purling Hiss - Walking Down The Street

Hearting records isnt gay, its sensual.

David's Fucked Up Town

For a supposed hardcore act, Fucked Up are radical in their sense of sonic adventure. The brilliant Canadian band are dropping their keenly anticipated new album David Comes To Life through Matador Records in June, which has been touted as being a full blown rock opera set in the fictional British town of Byrdesdale Spa in the year 1977. The band are stupidly prolific, yet this will be only their third album proper, and it promises to be something insanely special - one of Sonic Masala's most hotly anticipated albums of 2011 for sure. Don't believe me? Try the two below tracks and deny your body from spontaneously combusting, then we can talk...

Fucked Up - The Other Shoe
Fucked Up - A Little Death
Fucked Up - Ship Of Fools

But this is not all. In preparation for the album release, Fucked Up released a compendium of tracks on Record Store Day called David's Town, claiming to capture the essence of the town and times of the 1977 of their rock opera. These eleven tracks are played by eleven forgotten bands of the era - or are they? In fact they are all played by Fucked Up themselves, trying on their late-70s musical genre impressions and various British accents. Its a fun concept album to put alongside all the other concept stuff these guys do - fuck they are awesome...

Animal Man - Do You Feed? (The Curry Song)
Porcelain On Porcelain - Byrdesdale Spa FC

Black Angels Wake With The Phosgene Sweats

Texan psych rockers The Black Angels are busy busy busy! If touring the world in the wake of 3rd album Phosphene Dream and curating and playing in the 4th Austin Psych Fest this weekend isnt enough, a couple of weeks ago they dropped a limited edition 10”vinyl B-Sides collection titled Phosgene Nightmare on Blue Horizon Records in support of Record Store Day. Only 5000 copies of the record were made available. As it is a sneaky way of adding an epilogue to Phosphene Dream, its more than just a curio or a collectible, as the 6 tracks are pretty damn sweet. Supposedly these songs focus on the more poisonous side to life, yet I think it melds perfectly with everything the Black Angels have done in the past, and augers well for the future (especially the ephemeral swagger of dark swampy 70s stalker 'Ronettes'...)

The Black Angels - Ronettes

Happy International Record Store Day!

Just a quick post to wish you happy hunting today. If you are in Brisbane, there is a lot happening including cool instore gigs at both Rockinghorse Records and at Tym's Guitars, plus great deals all over the shop. If you are in London, expect plenty of exclusive records put out just for the day including new or rare releases by the likes of Bad Brains, Built To Spill, Deftones, Flaming Lips, Husker Du, Mastodon, plus umpteen others - its Christmas come early peeps! And just for that Im giving you another rad present - this Moon Duo track off their latest Mazes, 'In The Sun', as remixed by Purling Hiss! Holy fucking shit, right? Right! Now get out there and get buying!!!

Moon Duo - In The Sun (Purling Hiss remix)

I Hate Everything About The Bar, Except The Music, The Smoke And The Booze...Siam Reap Style

Cambodia isnt usually where you'd seek out sleek psych-tinged garage rock, but its about time you did so.

OK so Dengue Fever arent technically from Cambodia - they hail from LA, and only lead singer Chhom Nimol is from the Asian nation - but it is clear how much Eastern influences have been infused into every aspect of this bizarre concoction. 'Cement Slippers' has some great girl/boy vocal dynamics and free-form jazz horns, exotic erotica and a beautiful chorus that really hit me like a New Pornographers cast off - its great.

Dengue Fever are releasing Cannibal Courtship on Fantasy Records. Its their 4th record, and heightens the surf swamp soul that they have made their bread and butter. Whats beautiful about this track is just how much fun it is, and that is the exact intended purpose.

Another cool aside - for the upcoming Record Store Day, they are releasing rare vinyl versions of the album, and hidden within five of these will be a special handmade golden ticket that offers access to any show headlined by the band this year! Nice...

And they featured on the soundtrack for Jim Jarmusch's Broken Flowers - nuff said.

Dengue Fever - Cement Slippers

The Destruction Is In The Periphery

Texan post rock legends This Will Destroy You have been busy of late. They released 1o" Moving On The Edges Of Things, in accordance with Record Store Day, have also dropped a three-track single, Communal Blood, and have given the word that snd LP Tunnel Blanket has finally finished being recorded. They will grace our presence at Underworld on 30th September (almost exactly a year on from their stellar gig at the same venue), but before hand they are playing all over the US supporting two bands of vastly differing influence, Autolux (nice!) and Deftones (random as fuck...but so so sweet!!), before laying waste to the vast majority of Europe in early Autumn. I have to say that the 10" was much darker, brooding, and curling-around-the-esophegus-evil than anything they have previously put out by a long shot, whilst 'Communal Blood' seems a real amlagam of the the 10" and 2008's self titled monster LP - sounding almost Mono in its scope... The September release of Tunnel Blanket, and that Underworld, gig, are racing up the totem pole of hotly anticipated events of the year, guaranteed.

TWDY - Communal Blood

TWDY - Rituals
TWDY - Woven Tears

City Centre slickness

Record Store Day is a great initiative. Although its the worst day ever when you have no conceivable way of celebrating it, then afterwards your 'mates' who could go shove their brilliant purchases in your face. One of the few things the volcanic cloud fiasco has afforded me is a delayed reaction to my pain and anguish, as Paul awaits with bated breath to show me HIS purchases. But Im not totally averse from it, as the above pic shows. My friend Dan picked up a few things, including this uber sexy piece of vinyl by NYC's City Centre. Mmm - tasty.

Here's a clip of their track Cops Don't Care, recorded only last week! Radtastic!

Fool's day indeed

Right - this might get me into trouble, but what the hell. You may recall that some band called Blur was putting out their first recording, Fool's Day, since 2003 as a very limited 7" in aid of Record Store Day. Needless to say it was the hottest piece of wax in town and those that got their mucky little mits on the coveted brit pop shaped piece of vinyl had to get down there very early indeed (or in the case of the first punters queuing outside Sister Ray, not go to bed at all - the crazy sods camped out at the store all night!). I'm afraid I am too fond of bed for such shenanigans and turned up at Sister Ray at 9.15, still 45mins before the store opened its doors, but late enough to be 96th in the queue. As you can guess, I didn't get my own copy of the Blur 7" - but I found a man who did! So below is the mp3 of said record for you to enjoy. Just promise me that if, and its a very big if, Blur do put out a new album, you'll part with your well earned dosh. I'll sleep better for it.

Oh and by the way, its worth the hype!
Blur - Fool's Day

Spin me right round like a record

Awwrrrrgh, so that was Record Store Day and my head still hurts. From the civilised order that was Sister Ray, to the passionate chaos that was Rough Trade East, the house party atmosphere of Pure Groove, to the inevitable jar (to many) down the pub after, it was a hectic day. We didn't get to see that many bands, spending much more time in queues than expected (but was more than necessary), but what we did see of Caribou at Rough Trade East was great and Silver Columns were a revelation, and lovely chaps to boot. Silver Columns deserve their own post so more about them at a later date. Enough of Caribou was witnessed to get me salivating - the new material from Swim is even better live! I can't wait to see Mr Snaith's gang role out a full set in June.

I'll hopefully post some of the rare tracks from my overindulgent haul of vinyl as soon as I get the wax to digital machine fired up - but for now enjoy some Jimi Hendrix with Valleys of Neptune, taken from the limited 7" pressing, number 457 of 1000, especially released for the day.

Jimi Hendrix - Valleys of Neptune

Record store geek day

Saturday is going to be a very busy day as its the, by now, annual Record Store Day! Yep its that time of year where vinyl crazy indie kids all over the globe got nuts over a plethora of super limited pressings of random one off vinyl treats from alternative music's great and good. And you can bet your bottom dollar I'll be one of them. Its an awesome idea and great way to support the independent record store in your life.

A taste of the many record shaped delights of this year's releases can be found below (that should translate as 'ones Paul wants') but it seems that the Blur 7" Fool's Day is the release that's got everyone in a right sweat. But others include...

•ATP 10" featuring Built To Spill, Sleepy Sun, Apse and Fursaxa AND the chance to win a 4 person chalet at ATP.
•The Flaming Lips re-recording of Pink Floyd’s classic album The Dark Side Of The Moon.
•Reissue of Deerhoof's 2003 release Apple O on blue vinyl.
•Reissue of The Beatles Paperback Writer 7" with Rain on the flip.
•Reissue of Electric Eels (I'm so) Agitated / Cyclotron on red vinyl.
•A four track EP, Doe Deer, form Crystal Castles.
•Fucked Up, The Daytrotter Sessions, 7" .
•Dum Dum Girls and Male Bonding split 7".
•Reissue of the Valleys of Neptune EP by Jimi Hendrix, coloured vinyl etc .
•Hot Chip (featuring Bonnie Prince Billy), I Feel Bonnie, 7" (as featured earlier on Sonic Masala!! - BT)
•Mogwai and Fuck Buttons split tour 7"
•The Rolling Stones Plundered My Soul limited 7" - previously unreleased track from the Exile period.
•Sonic Youth, Hits Are for Squares compilation album, including exclusive new recording Slow Revolution.
•Factory Records Communications 1978-1992 featuring Joy Division, New Order, The Durutti Column and the Happy Mondays.

And millions of others, including this by Beach House, taken form limited Record Store Day Zebra EP... at last a mp3!

Beach House - Zebra (UK Radio edit)

Naturally record stores are putting on lots of live shenanigans as well. Rough Trade and Pure Groove have some of the best line-ups, so photos, tracks and reviews (of a sort) to follow! Maybe we'll see there - but hands off that Blur 7"...