Triple Bardo Pond Record Store Re-Treat

Record Store Day Trilogy is the new offering from Bardo Pond, an amalgam of their last three RSD EPs (2013's Rise Above It All, 2014's Looking For Another Place, and this year's Is There A Heaven?) that Fire Records is collating for us all. Rise Above It All was a two-hander, featuring covers of Funkadelic's 'Maggot Brain' and Pharaoh Sanders' 'The Creator Has A Master Plan.' Apart from loving Bardo Pond for years, and their set a couple years ago in Brisbane blowing my psych-addled mind, this EP is monumental for me for finally making me indulge in Sanders' work. An article in The Wire on him not long after this had me delving into the free jazz genius' back catalogue, and I've been lost ever since. And the version of 'Maggot Brain' sees the band drift off into the stratosphere for 22 glorious minutes. Looking For Another Place saw the Philly five-piece turn their attention to Eno (a harsh squall rendition of 'Here Come The Warm Jets' that with Isobel Sollenberger's vocals plays out like a dream pop song stretched to sixteen minutes) and Velvet Underground ('Ride Into The Sun', which is wonderfully messed up). And then the triptych was completed back in April when Is There A Heaven? - and for me their best cover yet, Bryan Ferry's 'In Every Dream Home A Heartache'. I am a closet Roxy Music fan already, but the devastating 14-and-a-half version here slays me with its slowburn menace - it's almost unhinged but not quite (one thing about this band - they let go but are always in control). The other offering is Albert Ayler's 'Music Is The Healing Force Of The Universe' which is even further in the bottom end of the psych doom spectrum.

If you haven't heard these songs, you must. Check out 'In Every Dream Home A Heartache' below, and pre-order Record Store Day Trilogy here.

Cursing The September Girls

I’ve been watching the progress of Ireland’s lost pop noir rockers September Girls for some time, ever since they dropped their Green Eyed/Danny Wood 7” through Soft Power Records back in 2012. The girls have built up a steady oeuvre of reverbed and honeyed harmonies with a buoyant instrumentation laced with something more sinister since then, and now they arrive with their debut album Cursing The Sea (coming out on Fortuna Pop).

 That undercurrent of darkness has bubbled closer to the surface over time; the quintet busy in the shadows over the twelve track on display here and is never more haunted and suggestive than on ‘Left Behind.’ It’s clear the 60s garage pop resurgence that continues to reverberate some years onward have left its indelible mark on the band – listen to the opening moments of ‘Heartbeats’ and you can hear a sneering Mamas & Papas, pastoral pop dressed in leather – but there are moments that echo further outwards into the early Gothic dourness of The Jesus & Mary Chain, as the broiling post-punk of ‘Ships’ attests. The slight shifts in nuance comes from the fact that four out of five members are songwriters, an evident source of inspirations that allows Cursing The Sea to shy away from the more predictable mores of the genre. September Girls still reminds me of Brisbane band Feathers, which makes me sad, because they were a great band that were really starting to flex their creativity. But Cursing The Sea makes me happy too, as September Girls are here to pick up the slack and run with it. The end result is a dark, seductive whisper from behind you – wind on your cheek, promising danger and desire in (un)equal measure.

Pre-order Cursing The Sea here.

Ringo Deathstarr Go Terra Mauve-a

 

Keeping with the weak headings... Another pun on the band album title! WIN.

Seeing as I have never spoken to the Texan trio known as shoegaze upstarts Ringo Deathstarr, I don’t know what their thoughts are on the name. Naming a band something as tongue in cheek as Ringo Deathstarr can come back to bite a band (see Test Icicles, a name that founder Dev Hynes has forever since regretted, despite the band having been defunct for quite a few years now). Nevertheless these guys continue to make the “wall of noise, fringe in eyes, eyes on floor” aesthetic fun with latest release Mauve.

Mauve is a great follow on from their 2011 debut Colour Trip, and it sees the band consolidating their sound whilst continuing to inject it with cheeky nous and charm. It is lazy, perfunctory, and easy to continually draw comparisons to the 90s bands from across the pond that highlighted such a musical approach and delivery (The Guardian once wrote that “There is a direct line between My Bloody Valentine, the Jesus and Mary Chain and Ringo Deathstarr. And it stops at Slowdive Central” – vom…) – and it can be difficult to avoid such reflections and analyses based on a sound that so wholeheartedly indebted to their idols – but Mauve succeeds in offering a Ringo Deathstarr sound, even if it is a nuanced variation of a common sonic theme. As guitarist/vocalist Elliott Frazier has stated in the past, they write pop songs buried under a mountain of noise, but when songs like 'Rip' come into focus, you can see the melodies are far more transparent to the point of being at the forefront of the wall of distorted effects. Furthermore, 'Slack' actually punches a huge hole in the loudest, brawniest tracks in Colour Trip, albeit with its pants around its ankles and a dumb grin on its face; whilst 'Please Don't Kill Yourself' is a great pop song.

I think that whilst there are many shoegaze bands out here – and many of them are pretty damn good – there aren’t many that can infuse their own young, carefree personas into the squalling morass of noise like these guys can, and that is definitely a plus. A great album.

 

Mauve is out on Club AC30 - get it here.

Ringo Deathstarr – Please Don't Kill Yourself
Ringo Deathstarr - Rip

The Briefest Candles Burn Brightest

Another little known band, another great release! This time Im talking about Milwaukee band Brief Candles, whose Fractured Days LP (out on Guilt Ridden Pop) is nothing short of spectacular. Marrying the shoegaze sonics of My Bloody Valentine with the finesse and whimsy of the Swirlies with some sort of Superchunk sugar rush in there too? At first description many of you will think "So Fucking What? Every band and his two-legged companion is doing that!" Well, that isnt that true, but when done well you nod and applaud. When done really well, like what is on offer on Fractured Days, then the lathered sweat is warranted.


Its so loud and guitar driven, yet the vocals and lyrics are incredibly affecting - look no further than the brilliant tete a tete on single 'Small Streets' ("In 1983, when we first heard ‘Come On Eileen,’ / I knew that you could see and you could understand. / We knew the same small streets, the same small towns, the same small creeps, / and we knew that we would leave or die by our own hands.") Those words are closer to my teenagehood than Id like to admit.

Which is interesting, as Fractured Days is so 90s indie that it has me tearing up at how affected it all was, and how much posing goes on today. When I look at a lot of the utter pandering "look at me! Ill pretend to be disdainful but really relish any attention, positive or otherwise!" bullshit bands that get lauded over, it makes me physically ill. So thank you Brief Candles, for reminding me that whilst guys like you are still around, everything just might turn out OK...

Brief Candles - 10 Weeks
Brief Candles - Small Streets

Mesozoic Laurels

Photo courtesy of Sangye Christianson

A few months ago, Texan psych legends The Black Angels toured Australia. I went to the Brisbane show at the Hi Fi Bar. It was the third time I had seen them, and the show was notable for three reasons - The Angels' killer set (as per usual), Brian Jonestown Massacre's Joel Gion's abysmal DJ "set", and the incredibly loud shoegaze proffered by Sydney act The Laurels.

The quartet have a six-track EP out called Mesozoic that isn't overly new in terms of its shoegaze aesthetics, but what it does it does bloody well. Jesus & Mary Chain, Spacemen 3, My Bloody Valentine, even newer exponents such as Beaches and A Place To Bury Strangers (both of which they have toured with) - it's all there in spades. Shit, Swervedriver's architect Adam Franklin is a devotee! But not only is it good, it such an awesome punch, a miasma of visceral noise that permeates the tracks that excites. This is how shoegaze ought to be played.

The Laurels were just in Brisbane, supporting Seekae, but you won't have to wait long for a return tour de force. They will be here as part of next week's live music and conference extravaganza Big Sound (Sept 7-9).

The Laurels - Black Cathedral

White Noise Sound Head For Space - And The Windmill

Im always filled with trepidation whenever a new band is given glowing accolades by the likes of Q magazine and Artrocker. These once-biblical musical tomes are now often behind the times, showcasing acts that fail to be anything more than pale imitations of greater bands of yore. Or are just plain shit. So Im happy to say that White Noise Sound live up to the hype, which I should have guessed seeing as their debut self titled album was produced by Sonic Boom from Spacemen 3 and Cian from Super Furry Animals. The sound is so steeped in My Bloody Valentine/Jesus and Mary Chain/Spacemen 3 musical tropes that its hard not to think of those bands' seminal masterpieces, especially Spacemen 3's output. (NB - its eerie to think that only a week ago I was listening to Play With Fire with renewed vigour, just for this release to come across my desk). White Noise Sound are very accomplished at tiptoeing along the tightrope of aggressive distorted white noise and ethereal dreamlike psychedelics, therefore marking themselves at the forefront of the true shoegaze acolytes.

You can check them out yourselves tonight at the Brixton Windmill, before they head off to spend February touring France and Belgium. And as White Noise Sound have honed their live stage chops supporting the likes of Spectrum, The Warlocks and Super Furry Animals of recent times, this is a prime opportunity to see what will in all probability be an awe-inspiring set up as close as possible - dont miss out.

White Noise Sound - Sunset

White Noise Sound - Fires In The Still Sea

Surf City

Auckland's Surf City have two obstacles to overcome before they even strike a chord -firstly, the past year's penchant for beach pop has unnecessarily placed them in that genre due to their moniker, and secondly because they are from New Zealand. The Flying Nun label, the Clean, the name - they are automatically coming with baggage. However, if they had been able to hold on to their original title, rather than cutting the 'Kill' from the front due to an existing UK band, it would give a truer sense of their influences - Jesus and Mary Chain opens the door to the Zombies, Sonic Youth and current quirky noiseniks Animal Collective. They have been ruffling global feathers for a couple of years since their self titled EP. Now these boys are stepping up again with their debut LP Kudos coming out on Fire Records next month. The title track sums it all up nicely – circular drone, guitar jangle, off-kilter melody, and a ray of sunshine pushing relentlessly through the clouds. I expect big things from this release - cant wait.

Surf City - Kudos

Scandinavian Foliage?

Sorry about the lame heading as wordplay, but anyway...

Cloudland Canyon are releasing their 1st LP Fin Leaves this week on Holy Mountain Records (home of the likes of Wooden Shjips, Voice of the Seven Thunders and International Hello). Ive been lucky enough to listen to it in its entirety, and it is a very fine piece of work.

Starting with the 1 and a half minute title track, Cloudland Canyon make their point known from the outset - and it isnt an easy one to make. This is ambience from both the dark and the light end of the spectrum, all intermingled so as to become indistinguishable. We've already posted one track, 'Mothlight Pt. 2', and it is fairly indicative of what to expect here. Nevertheless it might be said that that track is the most accessible stand alone track on Fin Eaves, and that there is no way to listen to this album other than from start to finish, on repeat, for hours, as the sun wanes in the west until it rises again in the east. Its a truly mesmeric record of shimmering propulsion. Remember that Justin Beiber track by Shamantis from last week? The one that fucking kills like no other? This to me is a true kinsman - I could lay them side by side and watch them have a million babies and flood the world with their ethereal gorgeousness and drown in their relentless cymbals, echoed vocals and riptides of reverb and Id die a happy man. No need for a Noah's Ark - the end of the world never looked so blissful.

So what do you call this band? Id coin chillgaze (if it hasnt been coined already) - taking the best of chillwave and fucking it whilst listening to cassettes of MBV and JMC. Excellente.

Cloudland Canyon - No One Else Around

Foxy Doll parts

Italy's Kitsunetsuki are set to drop their debut single 'Doll To Doll' in September. Ive been reading as much about these guys as I can, but all I get on various blogs are their press release - which is goddamn lazy. So Ill give you a quick link to the track (below), and just say what I think - that they are quite good, that their name (which roughly stands for a human taking on the possessed state of a fox) is brilliant, and their influences - from Sonic Youth to My Bloody Valentine to Jesus & Mary Chain - are evident and welcomed. Furthermore, Marco Kitsune's Robert Smith-lite looks add some panache to their general 'look' - whether that's a good thing or not remains to be seen, although he can at least lay claim to hailing back to a younger, fresh-faced Smith rather than the Smith we've become accustomed to of late. They are planning some UK shows to support this, so that's exciting too. Check em out.


Doll To Doll - Kitsunetsuki by Sainted PR

When a hater becomes a fan

You might notice that Paul put up a post near the inception of Sonic Masala about Woven Bones, the Austin, Texas trio/duo (they are yet to settle on a steady drummer) that thrash out garage psych in all its inherent ugly beauty.  And I wasn’t impressed. Which surprised Paul, seeing as proper growling psych rock is a mainstay on my musical palette.  However, the track ‘If You're Gold, I'm Gone’ just didn’t turn me on.  It sounded like so many other bands that were raping the scuzzed out lo-fi/no-fi sound. So I quickly discarded them.

Fast forward to May, a few months has gone by, and I am a convert.  You see, that track was not indicative of what Woven Bones are capable of. Their music is lean, grizzled, flea bitten and more than a little pissed off.  There are sonic meanderings that emulate Spacemen 3, Jesus and Mary Chain and their ilk – but for the most part we are talking precise slabs of wails, squalls, snarls and drones, all cobbled together to make a dirty quasi pop song.

Don’t believe me? Fine. I'm not trying to tell you what to do. I haven’t had my forearm twisted in a vicious Chinese burn by the band’s manager, or been given the waterboard treatment by Paul. I just chanced upon their debut album In and Out and Back Again. It is a taut record of dirty, distorted bliss. It is so concise that it pulls up at just on half an hour, and there was no way I was leaving the room until I had another listen. And another. It was that good.

There is nothing better than being born again; to see the light; to be a fully fledged convert. Onward Woven Bones soldiers!

And whilst there aren’t any registered dates for Woven

Bones to appear here in the UK, Id warrant that a visit will be a high priority before the year is out – and I for one will be in the front row. Listen to single If It Feels Alright and belter Creepy Bone, buy the album, and join the brigade.

Woven Bones - If It Feels Alright
Woven Bones - Creepy Bone