The Hydromedusa That Could

It's a case of the hairy monster Adelaide band that could - many-headed rockers Hydromedusa brought out their self-titled album through Tyms Records, and the fucker keeps selling out! It first came online back in April of last year, and word of mouth spat fire on its brilliance, but every time I rustled the cash for it, it was gone. Now into its third pressing, with behemoths Tee Pee Records pushing its wares around the US, Hydromedusa is only going to get bigger, more gargantuan, more debauched, more raw power. Now in split black/purple vinyl, the record is sexier as well! I won't miss out on their pumped-up 70s metal extravaganza (with Sleep injections, just to keep you on your toes) this time - and neither should you.

Metallic Acronyms

Everyone loves an acronym. Well, most people do. I think. Melbourne idiosyncratic bruisers TTTDC are one living enigmatic acronym. Id like to think that not even they know what T, T, T, D and C stands for – or that they change its inherent meaning from set to set. This is probably not the case – but the band knows how to latch onto the confusion the moniker brings, naming their new record Acronym.

Describing the trio’s band is a tough one – and it is a sound that I struggle with at times also (although seeing that band members are also in Wicked City, there is some signifiers already laid in place here). It’s a prog-heavy sunblasted sojourn through the desert during the day, and the psychotropic devil drive through the night. Songs like 'Biblio Magistrate' reminded me of Alice In Chains if Jerry Cantrell was more interested in Hawkwind tangents and warped licks. The two downtuned guitars give a heavy blast that is always a focal point for the band, transforming these tentacular songs of sinuous psych and pomp into heavy hitting riff beasts (they have supported a few Tee Pee Records roster including The Atomic Bitchwax – that pretty much lays it out for you). The brilliance of Acronym is the pure energy exuding from this gargantuan exercise in rocking out – there is no audience greater than the three in the control seat. The album has been recorded live too, so the brutality of a track like ‘La Chubacapra’ is the real deal.

Acronym is out through We Empty Rooms now – go order this with its gold sparkle ink on the knuckle-duster, looking both gauche and devastating – TTTDC in a nutshell. They launch the album at The Tote this Saturday with excellent support from Zeahorse and Spermaids.

Beyond The Earthless Ages

If you have never seen San Diego trio Earthless, you haven't lived. Admittedly, when I try to explain what Earthless is I get a lot of despondent, disdainful, and in one case pissed off response. That's because they are essentially an instrumental jam band with massive guitar solos... But I don't know one person, regardless of their taste in music, that has come away from an Earthless show and not been irrevocably converted. No one plays like these fuckers do. But when you have one of the best guitarists ever in Isaiah Mitchell and one of the best drummers ever in Mario Rubalcaba, the calibre of shredding and thumping going on here is mind melting. Mike Eginton has the unenviable position of anchoring everything here, but really, the dude merely adds adamantium to these killer skeletons.

They are about to unless a new record, From The Ages, on Tee Pee Records, and my chin is still smarting from the giant slice I took out of it when it hit the floor. This is uncategorisable stuff, as in that this rocks so hard and remains hypnotic throughout when anyone - ANYONE - else would fuck this up in the first fifteen minutes - just strap yourself in for an hour of WTF mind expansion.

You can pre-order From The Ages here. Do it now - it'll be like GTA V for your ears.

A Killer Hot Lunch Makes Me Smile

 

San Francisco’s Hot Lunch blew me away with their visceral slice of riff-heavy rock on their Killer Smile 7” last year. They are back with a self-titled debut (out through German label Who Can You Trust?, and have just aligned themselves with Tee Pee Records) and it lives up to that release’s promise.

Self-proclaimed punk-n-rollers, the four-piece stampede through nine tracks of unadulterated retro-rock. Eric Shea is a throwback to the 70s era rock frontmen, all swagger, psych lyricism and throat-shedding howls. Aaron Nudelman takes these songs into the stratosphere with his thick-as-fuck guitar lines, whilst Tim Green’s production truly transplants these tracks some forty years in the past. As I stated with Games’ new record, looking back at past influences only works if its authentic and/or original, and Hot Lunch clearly embrace the heathen rhythms of the rock gods of yesteryear.

 

You can grab Hot Lunch here. Tasty.

Hot Lunch – Killer Smile

Kidman's Whirl Turns Into A Whirr

Last year there was a little EP called Distressor that really blew us away here on Planet Masala (read my excited review here - and the notorious cover art of Nicole Kidman a la Eyes Wide Shut is above in multiple form...). The band responsible for the loud and fast shoegaze magic was called Whirl out of California. They had put the record out themselves (with help from Bridgetown Records), and its blend of modern grunge with the English shoegaze of yore was a breath of fresh air, even for this obvious MBV acolyte.

Fast forward 12 months and a lot has changed for the band. They are now called Whirr (as most cases stand, due to some legal issues), have signed with Tee Pee Records, and have an exclusive 7" (250 copies only!) in coca cola bottle green vinyl - sexy! The 7" is a gift to tide us over whilst they step into the studio to record their debut LP. 'Junebouvier' is a slight departure in that the aggression and suspense have been toned down a little, but due to its adherence to the woozy nature of its predecessors Id say it's still a hell of a lot to get excited about.


Buy the 7" here - this limited edition piece of wax will fly out of the Tee Pee, so do it now!

Whirr - Junebouvier

Toss The Elks Into The Sun

Heavy hitters Tee Pee Records have a couple of releases this month that Im really looking forward to. The first one is by Brooklyn belters Elks, releasing their debut LP Destined For The Sun. It supposedly features an abstract conceptual theme chronicling "the history of a tribe of nomadic Space Vikings", telling the story of "peaceful inhabitants of a planet colonized by an expanding empire," incorporating a myriad of strange sci-fi ephemera including a "super computer" at the end of the universe dubbed "The Wizard." Ok...all I know is that it sounds pretty amazing, a sludge punk effort that remains true to their lean, sinewy form, clocking at at under half an hour. Try these two slabs of fury below.

Elks - Destined For The Sun

White Fang Learns To Hate by Bill Goodman

Digging For Fire = Paradise Found

I'm not gonna beat around the bush. We focus on a lot of psych bands here of all ilks and persuasions. We've had some good psych bands bring out some good straight up psych albums - Secret Colours, and Black Angels immediately comes to mind. And then there is Toronto's Quest For Fire. I'm not sure yet - I have to listen some more, its been in and out of the playlist this past week - but the more I take it in, the more I think Lights From Paradise could be the best straight up psychedelic rock album of 2010.

Massive call, right? Well, it has all the hallmarks of a classic psychedelic rock album - the ritualistic stillness of opener 'The Greatest Hits By God', to the 70s rawk-ness of 'Set Out Alone' and the trapped in amber stoned warble of 'In The Place Of A Storm'. Each song sets out with a purpose and sticks it out to its fiery end, not displaying the schizophrenic sonic shifts in tracks that some of their modern equivalents are prone to. And that isn't meant as a particular negative - many bands thrive in the altered time signature changes and shifts in tempo and velocity, but it is also somewhat refreshing to have a band show their different shadings spread out over an entire album rather than on a single song.

Quest For Fire didn't get enough praise for the brazen sun-kissed blasts of distorted waves they cut on last year's self-titled debut, but fingers crossed that Lights From Paradise does them justice, as it is awesome. And if you doubted the Toronto band's pedigree, two of them tour as the backing band for Black Mountain side-project Pink Mountaintops, whilst they are now supporting Black Mountain in a series of dates. Oh, and A Silver Mt Zion's Sophie Trudeau makes a guest appearance on the record. So yeah...buy it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (NB Hold yr horses - its not out until November 8 through Tee Pee Records - I'm just lucky enough to promo it! Still, get the debut, pre-order the newie, and drop out in glory).

Quest For Fire - Set Out Alone
Quest For Fire - Strange Vacation