Flyblown Mutton

I got to see the diseased maelstrom that is Mutton in May last year when they supported Gazar Strips (during their Sparkling EP launch) and Scul Hazzards in the Grace Darling basement. The band were a force of nature, yet somehow vomiting vitriol in a controlled vein - it reminded me more of a latter-day Pissed Jeans show, or of Brisbane contemporaries Clever (hurry up and put something out guys!) I hope I have the opportunity to push these guys as a Sonic Masala band sometime in the future, as their brutish debut self-titled EP is closely followed up by 7” Flyblown. I say closely - I've had digitals of this for a long time, but vinyl delays (don't you love em?) have held off the fury until now. Aurally we step away from the pigfuck mantras a little - the anarchic dirge of 'Awkward' plays into the bloodstained embrace of Tom Waits and David Yow bareknuckling it in a carnival knockout in Hell - but then songs like 'Cocoon' are chaotic blasts of diseased glee. The band maintain a calibrated desiccation, a mid-pace march into the maw of carnage, laughing at the futility of it all. It all hinges on the maniacal howls and presence of Max Ducker, who looks like he has just shirked the butcher's apron but is still smeared in livestock viscera, brandishing a verbal cleaver, the corner of his mouth and whites of his eyes twitching in unison. Melbourne is strangely adept at carving out damaged noise punk that hits like blunt trauma and leaves you addicted to the aggression. Add this Mutton grist to your mill.

(NB - this is a painful reminder that I haven't got tickets to Pissed Jeans here in London tonight. Sigh. But I have scored a ticket to see Sunn O))) as part of Meltdown as curated by David Byrne. I am mightily tempted to go and watch while listening to this on the headphones. Fuck em all).

Buy Flyblown (in oxblood red, of course) here.

Rancid Mutton

I somehow missed commenting on this brutal bile-fuelled band at the beginning of the year, then again when they supported Sonic Masala Records' own Gazar Strips on their Sparkling EP tour in May. Well I'm sure these guys don't need much of an introduction if you are into gutter noise punk rock outta Melbourne. To the rest of you - introducing Mutton.

I first heard 'In Between The Dirt', the last track off their self-titled EP, and thought of fellow trash Batpiss (one of my favourite breakout bands of last year). But this is even more indebted to Yow and his acolytes than most of the pricks running around Brunswick, and that alone makes them an exciting proposition. you can't state that this is particularly "new" - but what's original when you are flailing on the floor trying to gouge your eyes out with a broken pool cue? Plus they have a band T-shirt of Sam Kekovich being torn apart by rabid sheep - an in-joke for the Aussie AFL/lamb-eating crowd, sure, but that imagery alone buys them miles of shit-stained cred.

Mutton are already aligning themselves with some of the gold-flecked detritus of the Australian underground, playing shows with the likes of Sewers, Cuntz, White Walls, Scul Hazzards, Worm Crown, Bone and the excellent DEAD - but these guys are flaying themselves to the front of the pack. Join in on the flagellation.

These Mayors Bring People Together...

Here's a funny story.

Back in December 2009, my sister arrived in London. I had been living there for almost eighteen months at that stage. In her first week there I took her to ATP (My Bloody Valentine Nightmare Before Christmas - where this very blog was conceived!) as well as a Shit & Shine show at Madame JoJos. Now, that Shit & Shine show was by far the worst show Ive seen of them, but it is memorable as Sara got shitfaced and proceeded to kiss a "stranger". A couple weeks later we saw some bands play at the Constitution in Camden. We were there for Cumrag, a one off show for Steven Smith (Scul Hazzards). Another was Mayors Of Miyazaki. In amidst the mayhem, Sara again got drunk and proceeded to kiss someone. The same someone from the Shit & Shine show. The same someone that, over two years later, is her husband.

Crazy, right?

Now, I hadn't thought much at all about Mayors Of Miyazaki for some time, then the London math spazz rockers sent me this, their first piece of new recorded material in what seems like forever. It's more of the same in some respects, but it is also somewhat tempered, holding off on some of their more frenetic tangents. Which actually is a good thing. I feel they maybe onto something here. And not just a dirty pash... 'Mortise and Tenon' is preceding their second album (four years in the making), so we might see the rising of these Mayors to the type of power they so rightly deserve.

Mayors Of Miyazaki - Mortise & Tenon

Upcoming Shows:
16th March - Cowley Club, Brighton w/ Ragweed
17th March - Cavern, Exeter w/ Warm Blooded Mammals
18th March - Purple Turtle, Camden

11th April - Unicorn, Camden
12th April - The Junction, Plymouth
13th April - Buffalo Bar, Cardiff

Frankly, I Do Give A Damn!

Just as the media ruckus that was BigSound dies down, a festival rears its beautifully deformed head. It's here, the Frankly! Its a Pop Festival. Starting at 5pm, expect to see some avante garde pop rock in the form of LA Vampires (Not Not Fun Records' Amanda Brown, who co-curated this boutique festival), Wet Hair (Shawn Reed of Night People Records' band, pictured), The Twerps, Pikelet, Angel Eyes, Blank Realm, Miko, Ytamo and so much more! It all at the Brisbane Powerhouse - you can still grab tickets! Support a truly unique festival, right here on our doorstep.

Wet Hair : Echo Lady by destijlrecs