OBNIII's Vs The Walking Dead

The 21st century has really turned up the heat in TV land. I don;t watch TV per se - my television has been sitting in the back of my car for the past five weeks - but I DO watch TV series. Breaking Bad, Boardwalk Empire, Parks And Recreation, Community - these (and quite a few more) are my go to's, to the point where I lose large chunks of time and a film or book rarely suffices (the book mainly because I'm lazy, and the last book I attempted to read A Pretty Good Read, an unofficial "biography" of Modest Mouse - was the biggest piece of shit Ive ever attempted. Seriously, Alan Golsher should have disappeared up Isaac Brock's arsehole in the first five pages. There's a good story in there, if you could past all the blatant cock-sucking...). Currently, my poison of choice is The Walking Dead. I'm just finishing season 2 and beginning season 3. A lot of people had complaints about the elongated farm sequence of season 2, but to me there was something 'real' about that - the stalling and scrabbling for normalcy in a apocalyptic wasteland, the core human emotions still struggling for a place in such a dire landscape... But yeah, the prison can't come quick enough.

ANYway, so this week Ive been watching that, and listening predominantly to last year's self-titled record from Austin TX reprobates OBNIIIs. I actually chose to pull this one out again solely because of its tenuous connection - what with the black spectres in front of a blood-red background on the cover. But the straight up, balls to the wall rock and roll that tumbles out of the speakers is primal, vintage stuff - if the world turned to pot, with everything degenerating to the basest of terms where survival is key, this would be the perfect soundtrack. There are elements of Death right through to Fu Manchu in these rollicking tracks, with some blues and psych mingling at the edges. But the attitude that pervades this record - confidence to burn - is infectious and ridiculously true to form. Many bands attempt this - very few nail it in such a pure fashion. If the shit went down tomorrow, this would be in my sweaty palm as I fled for high ground. Get OBNIIIs through Tic Tac Totally here. Trust me, it's worth it - even if it is saved for a zombie infestation.

OBNIIIs - You Wanna Bitch 
OBNIIIs - Stick and Move
OBNIIIs - People Are Afraid

Getting Seizures From The Hussy's Weed

Wisconsin scuzzy trashbuckets The Hussy threw their sophomore baby Weed Seizure to the wolves back in March. We talked about their debut Cement Tomb Mind Control last year, which was a solid garage rock album in its own right, but Weed Seizure is much more cohesive. Don't for a minute think they have cleaned up their sound - The Hussy are still as scattershot and dissonant as always. Yet on tracks like 'Liar', 'Bad Speed' or 'Stab Me' (which reminds me a bit of Brisbane's own Cannon), regardless of whether the main impetus is distortion, warped bubblegum pop or thrashy angst, it all hangs together, sounding truly purposeful. The lo-fi recordings are always going to grind people's gears, irrespective of the genre, but the one thing I often find on the latest (massive) batch of garage releases is that they don't have enough "good" tracks to sustain an album. The Hussy have left filler by the wayside, offering Weed Seizure like four ground up cyanide pills masquerading as a line of coke/rolled spliff/stein of beer - a killer record nigh on impossible to resist...


Weed Seizure is out now through Tic Tac Totally.

The Hussy - Stab Me
The Hussy - Undefined

Backwards Looking Forwards 2011 - Hired Muscle, Charalambides, OBNIIIs

I'm almost done with the albums that I should have posted about last year but didn't. These three releases are deserved of more attention, so I'm gonna give it to them.


Hired Muscle are yet another band outta Leeds whose discordant nihilism elicits migraines and orgasms simultaneously. These crazy cats splurge on some balls-out mania on the tracks on their The Last Minute LP. Paul extolled these guys' virtues to me a couple months ago, and the proof is in the pudding. Pavement meets Action Beat. Delish bom bish.

Hired Muscle - Evil Genius


Exile is the new record from Charalambides. It is the only thing I've heard from the prolific spiritual conquistadors, and that is saying something, as they have releases a plethora of aural excursions since forming in Houston back in 1991. Their sound wavers in and out of sonic parameters, but their chakras are always aligned, ensuring that you never stray far from the ethereal pathway that the band has crafted for you. Its still ambitious, being a double LP and all, but when Kranky Records agrees to put it out, you know that the wealth within is worth mining.

Charalambides - Before You Go


This final album is related to one from two days ago, Bad Sports' Kings Of The Weekend, as Orville Neeley also plays in OBN IIIs (named after himself), whose The One And Only LP is razor sharp and energetic with gritty swagger and lecherous intent slathered all over it. Its verve and tenacity electrifies every song, never repelling the listener with overt aggression or obnoxiousness. These tracks are made for delighted repeat listens. One can only imagine how stellar these guys could be in the live arena... Grab their record here.

OBNIIIs - No Enemies