I Got PNKSLM'd

Luke over at Stockholm label PNKSLM Records has been keeping quite busy this year. Besides his own outlet Lucern Raze, he has a bunch of cool releases that are prepped and/or out there, diseasing the ears of all who deign to listen. And now I intend to continue that infection...

Let's kick off fullest and latest, with Melt, a four track EP by Stockholm trio Magic Potion that came out on Monday. It's the kind of wonky guitar pop that Unknown Mortal Orchestra kicked off with, with heady elements of Mac DeMarco, Ariel Pink and the more bucolic moments of Thee Oh Sees. The weird rounded vocal delivery adds to the bubblegum acid, and some liquid guitar in 'Booored' and jangled instrumentation in 'Deep Web' ensures that there is a lot more than quirky novelty here. They have an album on the way this year too...

Over to Russia now and Angelic Milk, a slightly grizzled indie band with a serious degree of hook addiction. Or should I say girl - Sarah is a 17 year old who recorded 'IDK How' in her St Petersburg bedroom. It strikes a ebullient chord, somewhere between Colleen Green, Speedy Ortiz and Best Coast. She now has a band behind her - the world is her oyster, not that she cares.



The Castillians are from Birmingham and have been kicking about for close to five years. PNKSLM is priming to release their second album You & Me later in the year, but are just as keen to get people dipping into the jumped-up retro party anthems from their debut LP Show Your Teeth. This is much more throwback garage rock than many of their contemporaries - it sounds more like a time capsule relic from the 60s than a barely-heard CD-r from 2011 - therefore is bound to have a longer shelf life. Go on, smile - show your teeth.

And lastly (for now) we have Holy, who I mentioned back in January. They released Stabs earlier in the year, and it is again a pastiche of pastoral psych pop and the modern garage rock movement encapsulated by San Francisco, with some warped warmth all of its own. These songs are ones that linger and lick at the ears, wanting lengthy gratification, begging for repeat performances

A Holy Razing

Things are cookin' away nicely over at the Swedish stronghold that is garage psych label PNKSLM. Two heady LPs are on their way.

Firstly there is the one from label honcho Luke Reilly (formerly of the excellent Sex Beet)'s own outfit, Lucern Raze. Stockholm One promises to be a blasted bastard in the vein of Ty Segall, especially if you take the yin and yang that this garage beast promises 'Someone Like You'. The song is a cruiser, ready to take the hiiiiiiigh road, taking things, and girls, as they come. However if you heard the carnage of 'Sunshine Blues' back when, you know that this is the lethargic calm before the cathartic storm. Grab the record here (which is also out on Burger Records next month).

Then there is Stabs, the new album from Swedish hazed psych dwellers HOLY. The crackle and pop inherent in 'Demon's Hand' gives the sense of the five-piece playing in their basement, bedroom or (indeed) garage, light filtering wanly through the small, grimy window, weaving pastoral magic over a landscape bereft of such charms. In other words, they create their own world. I'm extremely intrigued to hear the rest of the record. Grab it here.

Stealing The Black Mekon

General all-round good guy Luke over at London/Stockholm label PNKSLM Records (Al Lover, Charles Howl) has another killer release on his hands, this time the new LP from Birmingham's doyens of debauched debonairness Black Mekon. The third PNKSLM release in existence, Stolen Bible 2 is a chugging sleazeball of garage blues. Drinking liberally from the poisoned chalice of Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, snorting the chronic crassness of Supersuckers, biting the hand of the Misfits that feeds them, Stolen Bible 2 is riddled with that much debasement and wanton gleeful destruction that your ears will need to be immediately quarantined. That said, what's been heard cannot be unheard - you're caught in Black Mekon's clutches forevermore. Ah well - total corruption does look like a hell of a lot of fun...

You can buy Stolen Bible 2 now (here for the last two copies of the ltd edition marble vinyl, and here for the standrad (misspelling intended) black).




And try this out for size - a Halloween track with theremin! These guys are great.

Al(l) Loving That White Punk Slime

It isn't often that Sonic Masala has a self-professed "producer" in its midst, but San Francisco-based record scrubber Al Lover is an intriguing exception. As entrenched in psych and garage rock as he is in samples and beats, Lover takes on a wide variety of artists (mostly rock-oriented, from Grinderman and Davila 666 to SF alums Ty Segall and Thee Oh Sees) and smudges them right up by smearing white noise and attitude into the mix, often infusing the tracks with even more bluster and awe than was thought possible (and these artists aren't known for their restraint as it is). He believes that psych music is the future of sampling, so he aims to be ahead of the curve. That said, he has original material on its way, most evident in his latest endeavour  Vondun Moon/Snake Hands, a 7" put out by PNKSLM (pronounced "Punk Slime" - a label run by London musicians that went from a blog to a clubnight to a label over three years). 'Snake Hands' is an incestuous love in with White Fence's Tim Presley, who wigs out on guitar and vocals, and it is a heady, hypnotropic mind melt of a track, the beats relentless and feverish, the needle in the red, in the vein, in the third eye. What always excites about Lover's productions is the energy and excitement that emanates from his work - not only is there creativity and flair evident in his musicianship, there is a holy reverence for his base material too.

You can pre-order Vondun Moon/Snake Hands here. Only 250 copies were canned, so expect these to fly out the door - GET ON IT.

Dripping Colours Provide The Haze

All the way back in January 2010, just before Sonic Masala threw down its first entry into the blue yonder, I went to a show in London at The Lexington. The headliner - Real Estate. As many people may know by now, I found that set so fucking boring that I refused to watch it all, walked downstairs to drink whisky on my own. Support #1 - Yuck. Before the self-titled album and shedloads of acclaim. Again, I thought they were boring. Support #2 - Colours. Now THESE guys push my buttons in the right way. They nailed the 90s slacker/80s Pixies amalgam that night, something that Yuck would warm to in later months and Real Estate - well, they are Real Estate, they do what they do, perfect for a mid afternoon snooze.

Since then they have put a track out through Art Is Hard Records, but I kinda lost touch with what they were up to. Then a little while ago they founded Marshall Teller Records and put out a four way split that included Gross Magic and Echo Lake that was pretty sweet (sorry that i didn't post about that guys!! It was worthy though). They have also had a hand in bring to our ears the fairly great Total Slacker (who we do really like, and their 'Psychic Mesa' track made out hot singles of last year), Warm Brains, Weird Dreams and Dignan Porch.

Recorded by Warm Brains' Rory Attwell, Colours have a new 7" out. Its fucking sweet! Even sweeter is the launch at the Shacklewell Arms on March 2nd alongside SM faves Sex Beet as well as Dignan Porch and Yrrs.

Pre-order the Drip Haze 7" here.

Colours - Drip Haze

VIDEO VACUUM - Secret Birds, Fucked Up, Sex Beet, Sunken Seas

I don't know about you, but this week is hurting. Real bad. SO rather than knuckle down and get through the massive load of work I have, I'm gonna hunker down for some movie-watching. You in?

First up is Brissie aural alchemists Secret Birds, who have just completed this beauty for their track 'Part II'. I need to zone out for a while and this will do the trick...

Secret Birds - Part II from Sonoptik on Vimeo.

I do love me some Fucked Up in the morning. Here is a decidedly more lo-fi approach to a David Comes To Life video than the past, and its a lot of fun (as filmed by band member Sally Miranda). I wish I was hanging out with Fucked Up right now...

Fucked Up "Running on Nothing" from Sandy Miranda on Vimeo.

We haven't heard much from London rabble-rousers Sex Beet of late. And although it may be a while before the new recordings see the light of day, we have this video to sate us just that little bit. Sure, it's an old song, but the video is a fresh one, so it all feels new once more...



Now I don't know much about NZ noisemongers Sunken Seas, but I'm a fan of the moody atmospherics inherent here on 'High Rise'. They have new recordings on the way, so expect to hear more from this band in the near future...



NOW GET BACK TO WORK!

Human Eye In The Sky

Sacred Bones have been at the zenith of labels that in the past two years create a oft deserved fervour for every release they produce. Alongside labels such as Thrill Jockey, In The Red and Hydra Head, SB are passionate about their music, creating beautifully packaged physical copies (all with a common format so that it is like collecting an entire collection, rather than buying disparate albums) whilst also refusing to break the budget.

The latest release to grace my presence from the Sacred Bones stable is from Detroit's Human Eye, whose split single with Sex Beet we thoroughly enjoyed. They Came From The Sky continues the warped, loud as hell fuzzfest that they alluded to there, but with more volume, zaniness and, bizarrely, more accessible. This loud, Comets On Fire-esque proto-punk with sci-fi allusions works really well here - an aural equivalent of a 50s B-movie double bill at the local drive in. At times utterly insane, it is this balls to the wall, devil may care attitude to the tropes of punk that make this album all the more exciting. And despite the lyrics erring on the side of absurdity, Human Eye prove that you can lead the old punk horse to water, lace it with stupidly addictive hallucinogenics and make the fucker drink it.


You can get They Came From The Sky here - but be warned, it will fry your brain.

Human Eye - Junkyard Heart
Human Eye - They Came From The Sky

Ill Get Me On That Sex Beet - Someday...

After the shenanigans that the world had in store for London miscreants Sex Beet at the end of last year, I was unsure how they would bounce back. But I should never have feared, for they are just as loud, shambolic and reprehensible as ever! They are prepping a single, are finally getting around to recording their debut LP (with the inimitable King Khan, no less!) and The garage trio have a demo out, 'Someday', that is pretty damn solid for a "work in progress" I must say. Plus they will ba all over the joint come summertime, including that 1234 Festival. Last year's version was pretty ace, even if I got stupid drunk, hated on the Dum Dum Girls and left before Fucked Up...

PLUS if you are in London tomorrow they will be playing in Shoreditch in El Paso's, the Mex restaurant there. I really suggest you get yourself some quesadillas, some tequila and a good earful of Sex Beet - it'll be well worth your time.

Sex Beet - Someday (demo)

Sex Beet Cleans Up, Gets Dirty With Spaced Out Human Eye

Scion A/V Garage keep putting out ace 7" splits (check out the Jacuzzi Boys/Nobunny no-brainer here!), and this time off the turntable its a good lil friend of ours - Sex Beet! On the split with Detroit's Human Eye, Sex Beet's 'Alone' is incredibly cleaned up compared to their previous efforts - you can hear the vocals! you can feel the squalling organ! you can smell the blood and spunk! - yet is still as stupidly infectious as ever. Of course Human Eye dont go down in flames either, their 'Martian Queen' takes a skewed Misfits approach to their punk, a nebulous journey that has brought something back with it...

Human Eye - Martian Queen
Sex Beet - Alone

Friday Cover Up - Sex Beet get their boots dirty

This week seems to have been filled with news of awesome LPs on the horizon and this weeks Friday Cover-up is no different. Luke from Sex Beet has been in touch with Brendan with news of their debut LP that the London trio are currently in the process of (or at least planning on)recording, with Henry from Lovvers.


So to wet our appetites Luke sent us "a pretty fucked up cover" of Sonic Youth's 'Dirty Boots' from Goo. It's a Sonic Youth cover from one of SM's favourite bands with Henry from Lovvers taking a turn on bass, how could we resist?

Sex Beet - Dirty Boots (Sonic Youth cover)

Photo by Sandy Kim

Top Ten Things of 2010...by Sex Beet

This list almost didnt come out. London upstarts Sex Beet, currently touring around Europe, were in Sweden when their driver was arrested for undisclosed reasons, thus had them cooling their heels restlessly in Copenhagen. Sounds like a damned fine way to spend Christmas to me - but then again, Im not there. Anyway, they managed to rush off this list to highlight their meteoric 2010 via slightly frozen carrier pigeon - here it is...

SEX BEET's TOP TEN BITS OF 2010 (written by Luke)

1) 4 LOCO

We were lucky enough to record in NYC before they made 4 Loco illegal. It's basically a really disgusting energy drink, that's also highly alcoholic. Some kids died from it or something, then CNN called it "liquid cocaine," so I think it's been banned now which is a shame.

2) COLDRICE HALLOWEEN PARTY

In Birmingham there's a really great record label/promoter called ColdRice. We played at their halloween party in their warehouse space this year, and it was fucking awesome. Everyone was wasted, the dress code was based on the Warriors movie, and it ended at around 8AM, with about 174 people dressed as 70's gang members sharing one bed.

3) A WIDE RANGE OF BURRITOS

2010 has been the year of the burrito. We've travelled around quite a bit this year, supposedly to play music, but we've been more focused on hunting down the best mexican food. So far the winner is the chicken burrito from the Taco Truck Endless Summer in Brooklyn. Ask for the hot sauce though while Matie's making it.

4) BLACKBERRY BOLD 9700s.

Me and Tom love nothing more than "taking care of business," and that's never been easier since we upgraded to this hot little number. Fuck your iPhone.

5) SWIMMING WITH HUNX & HIS PUNX

We played Garage Fest in Kansas, back in September. The whole weekend was a beautiful mess, but one of the definite highlights was trying to resist Hunx's sexual advances in the hotel swimming pool.

6) TOURING WITH JERRY TROPICANO

We've done bits of touring throughout the year with bands like The Strange Boys and Best Coast, which is pretty awesome, but nothing can beat being on the road with our BFF, Jerry Tropicano. He drives us when we're in Europe, and he's just started his own musical project. According to the NME, he's gonna be HUGE in April 2011, keep your eyes peeled.

7) SWEDISH HOMOS

We played a small festival thing in Stockholm this summer. On our first day we were walking around the city, trying to work out why the fuck there were so many leather-clad men doing poppers in the street. It turned out it was Gay Pride day. We all dig chicks, but still had a great day, and got some cool photos of the "Scandinavian Leather Men" bus. Another bonus was getting to hear SO many remixes of "YMCA."

8) PARIS A FEW NIGHTS AGO

We're on tour right now in Europe. Our first show was last Saturday, at a place called Le Buzz. It was our first headline show for a couple of months, so it was really cool to see people going FUCKING INSANE while we played, rather than turning to their boring girlfriend of 7 years, being all like "what is this dreadful racket, lets go get sushi before Best Coast go on."

9) MADE UP SEXUAL POSITIONS

"Reverse Dutch-Steamboat." - ????????

"Alien vs. Predator" - You get to be Michael Jackson fucking E.T.

"The Rick James" - SLAP, The milk's gone BAD.

10) BEETS & BABIES

The best show we've been to this year was in Williamsburg, a few weeks ago. Two of our favourite bands played, The Beets and The Babies. The whiskey was super cheap and it was packed full of the hottest girls, which is a great combination. I'm not a huge Vivian Girls fan, but The Babies are fucking AWESOME. They're on tour early 2011, everybody should go see them.

Some hot tips there to be sure! And this is another exciting post as Sex Beet are the recipients of one of our best hit posts - see here - well done guys! Well, as long as you get back on the road and home in one piece...

Sex Beet - Sugar Water

Hank Haint Beat Thee

Way back a couple of weeks ago I was fortunate enough to attend another Upset the Rhythm gig, Thee Oh Sees, supported by SM faves Sex Beet and new to my ears Hank Haint, down Brixton way at Plan B.

Now I could wax lyrical about how good Thee Oh Sees were, live they really are in a different league, John Dwyer had every eye locked on him during the four piece's raucous set. Dwyer snarling and gnawing his mic the whole way through with the kind of venom and joy that inspired crowd surfing and mosh pits on a cold Monday night. I could tell you how Sex Beet started proceedings with the brash confidence of a much more experienced band, laying down a perfectly timed set that demanded attention and held it. But no, I want to tell you about the one man garage blues explosion whose set was blighted by a faulty amp. A man despite his kit letting the side down pushed on regardless and in doing so rounded out another perfect line up for Upset The Rhythm - Hank Haint.

Now when any band has technical problems you've got to feel for them, but when you're on guitar, harmonica, bass drum, hi-hat and vocals, all on your own, in front of a crowd hungry for Thee Oh Sees, well you've got really feel for the guy. It was even more of a let down as if Hank Haint had been able to let rip one track of his noise-soaked blues before disaster struck, it would have been a proper taste that, given a couple more tracks, the crowd's attention would have surely been rooted, mine was after just one. Hank Haint did try and solider on, blasting out a couple more jams. And full marks for keeping going 'cos his walls of brash blues punk really did hit the spot. More garage and DIY than any other band on that night (he's got a mic made out of a tin can!) Hank Haint is a classic case of a man who wants to make music and nothing will stop him, not even a crap kit or lack of a backing band. You've got to admire that and the damn fine results too. I can't wait to see a full set.

Hank Haint - Problomatic

Sex My Beet Up (Sort of Exclusive!)

Sex Beet is a London-via-Leicester three piece that have been making waves for a little while now (Ive been on them since their great track 'I'm In Love With You (So Shut The Fuck Up)'). They offer up the brand of fuzzed out garage rock that Im a massive fan of, and as the year has progressed so has their confidence, and their popularity. They have their beach pop rock leanings (esp with The Shadows echoing their 'She Don't Surf' track), but Sex Beet have sleazed it up tenfold, oozing the kind of lairy nonchalance that three drunk London 20-somethings invariably ooze. They may not have had a major LP out yet, but are about to end 2010 with a bang, snavvling the support slots of both Wavves in November and Best Coast in December. As both of those acts are hipster cred personified, expect Sex Beet's name to catch a corner of the spotlight by year's end.

Oh, and before all that, if you have nothing better to do tonight (or even if you do), head down to the Old Blue Last. Its a free Halloween rockathon, with Sex Beet smashing things up along with Cold Pumas, Prize Pets and Weird Dreams - its almost a Sonic Masala London showcase! And its FREE.

Oh again. The below track is a sparkling newie, so this is a sorta exclusive - Boo!

Sex Beet - Sugar Water