Tyvek's Origin In The Red

There is a moment every six months or so that I remember how much I fucking love Tyvek. It's a weird one - Ill hear a chord, a droned deadpan drawl, some cathartic clatter, and the lightning bolt hits - "Shit, Tyvek do this so much better. Now, where are my records?" And I am not the only one - both Parquet Courts and Protomartyr have recently stated the Detroit trio as being one of the most unheralded bands in the US (calling them "the Michigan Talking Heads", no less). Hell Ill meet you and raise - in the world. Brisbane was incredibly lucky to have Tyvek play at Greenslopes Bowls Club a few years back, after they had brought out last LP On Triple Beams - a true live highlight.

Now after four years, and Kevin Boyer having moved to Philly and formed The Intended (who have also recently released an album), you might think Tyvek have hung up their spurs. But no - they are prepping to release Origin of What through In The Red Records, and the songs off it so far have been great. 'Girl On A Bicycle' is a 90 second blast of about as close to pop as these guys are likely to get that isn't breakneck, despite its brevity. The title track is a lurking in the gutter dirge, something darker and desultory, Boyer's lyrics both a fear of the changing of the world and his beloved Detroit for the betterment of the 1%ers, and a clarion call to identify where we come from, if from anywhere at all - the more recognisable Tyvek then. Grab Origin of What here.

Pink, Naked Nihilism

Hobart off-kilter punks Naked have crafted an oddly mesmeric record (on Tenth Court Records) in Pink Quartz, a hard-edged suburban gnashing of teeth. It goes from the impassioned growls and howls of 'Boys In Blue (All Ye Faithful)' to the bristling sparse early Bluebottle Kiss rock of 'Critical Half-Arsed' and the brooding maelstrom 'This Charming Man'. There is a wiry brutalism at work here, at times cathartic, at others bottomless, never content or still yet never offputting - Pink Quartz exists perfectly in its own atonal, shuddering world. The lyrics swing from angry to wry, sometimes moaned, sometimes strangled out (with lashes of humour throughout - the closer 'Paul Walker Overture' in its entirety, like Tyvek playing at being Hank Williams before slipping into Sleep doom). The perfect example of the wonderful weirdness is 'Sprinters Of The World Unite', a day in the life of a delinquent, starting with a dead dog and containing hurled bricks, stolen pizzas, beach arrests, birds catching worms and low-security prison. The vocals is a monotone singsong, punctured at one stage with imploding violin by Sewers' Josh Watson. It's its own thing - go with it.

What do you do with something as unwieldy as Pink Quartz? Chew it up, swallow it down, and through bloodstained lips ask for seconds. Grab this excellent record here.

Digging Shovels

I lied - here's ANOTHER post for the day. Melbourne ex-pat in San Fran Michael Beach has landed in the land of Oz for Sound Summit, and is playing a bunch of solo shows as well as a great number with his newish band Shovels. I feel it would be remiss of me, seeing as I'm hosting his solo show in Brisbane on Thursday November 14 (supported by Tape/Off, Tiny Migrants and Soda Eaves), to not list his other shows. And Shovels themselves? Have a listen below. Ill leave it at this - they played at Maggot Mess at Northcote Social Club today alongside Sewers, Gentlemen, Terrible Truths - and Cuntz. And you know by now how much we love Cuntz. If you're from Brisbane - this is like old Turnpike, if they were a little more in check with their flailing feelings, and a little more about deliberately bludgeoning you to death. So yeah - fucking awesome then.

NEWCASTLE – NOVEMBER 7 – WHITE’S RECORDS

SYDNEY – NOVEMBER 10 – SOUND SUMMIT 

BRISBANE – NOVEMBER 15 – GREENSLOPES BOWLS CLUB w/ TYVEK (USA) + BLANK REALM + THE REAL NUMBERS + HYDROMEDUSA + GERALD KEANEY & THE GERALD KEANEYS + EGGVEIN + DAG + THE ADULTS (put on by 4ZZZ A Guilt Retreat - this is going to be fucking amazing...)

HOBART – NOVEMBER 23 – GRAND POOBAH w/ NATIVE CATS + MESS O REDS

Gardens Of Feral Youth

Detroit four piece Gardens are releasing their debut self titled album through Alive Records (in green vinyl - oh how I love coloured wax!). They may not be fully formed as of yet - I have only heard a few tracks off the album - but they do have something original to shine a fresh light on the Detroit scene, thats for sure. Having shared stages with the likes of Thee Oh Sees, Akron Family and Tyvek has helped to hone their disparate styles into a blues garage pop sound that will only grow with further inspirations. Raised on a diet of Terrence McKenna,The Beatles, Syd Barrett, Nirvana, and Turkish psychedelic music, Gardens is part of the new sound of Detroit.

Gardens - Maze Time

Jack White Lets Tyvek Out Of Their Cage

Whilst it may be sad for some (well, most) music lovers that the White Stripes hung up their red outfits, it has meant that main man Jack White can focus on his many other musical endeavours. The self confessed music addict has been throwing himself into his Third Man Records in Nashville, coming up with ingenious ways to further the resurgent love of vinyl and make purchasing music an exciting prospect again. The added bonus of this avid love of the game is the Live At Third Man series, whereby different artists and bands do instore performances with Jack White producing the results in a simple yet cool black sleeve. Past recipients have included Nobunny, The 5 6 7 8's, Reggie Watt and Conan O'Brien (yes, THAT Conan). But my personal fave has to be Tyvek's performance recorded on the 27th of September last year. The performance perfectly captures the intensity of their live reputation. Its 17 tracks of balls to the wall fast paced punk fury, full of vitriol, vigour and more than a little fun, and helps to highlight just how underrated last year's Nothing Fits really was. Sure, the comparisons to Black Flag and their ilk are obvious, but the truth is that Tyvek create short sharp stabs at the jugular with an alarming rate of success. These songs are addictive, Tyvek are amazing, and White is a cracked genius.

You can purchase the live 12" here.

Tyvek - Frustration Rock (live at Third Man)
Tyvek - 4312 (live at Third Man)

Tyvek Tour Will Make It Fit

One of the things about Tyvek is that they punk it up like nobody's business, but dont really give a shit if they are punk, garage, or fucking classical rap. They do what they do and go home. On strangely overlooked album of last year Nothing Fits, it is clearly evident that they have better production values, but then go about thrashing themselves stupid for thirty odd minutes before taking their bat and ball and going home, mission well and truly accomplished. It copped a bit of flak for being too much like their forebears (The Stooges, New York Dolls, Stiff Little Fingers et al), but Tyvek dont hold any high falutin aspirations other than to fuck shit up. Preferably all over your face. We stated before the album broke in November that it would be messy, breakneck and addictive as hell - and Im standing by that notion.

Dont believe me? Well, we stated back on October that Tyvek would be on tour this year - plenty of warning. Get your arse to their Upset The Rhythm show at the Grosvenor on March 15th then, where they will be more than ably supported by UK's The Pheromoans. If you cant make that, then you have all of February and March to catch them playing in some corner of Europe, so there's no excuse really.

Tyvek - 4312

Paul Masala's Top Ten LPs of 2010

God this is hard. This being the first year of Sonic Masala this is the first time we've had to compile the end of year lists, yeah sure we've done them before, just for the chat down the pub, but committing them to the blog is so much more final, so much more nailed down. So like Brendan mention we sat down with beers in hand last weekend and nailed down our Sonic Masala top ten, we could of done a top 20 or even 40 long players, but we didn't have a week to sit in the pub debating them, much to our annoyance, it took three hour just to get ten! So like Brendan here are my top ten that didn't make that final SM list, plus a few other honourable mentions...

1. Ensemble Econmique - Psychical

I'm sure all end of year lists seem to have a LPs that sneak in at in the last few months and Ensemble Econmique fills that role in mine. A dark slab of future fucked utopia. When I first posted about Psychical I compared it a dark, more twisted, Vangelis inspired ,soundtrack for Blade Runner 2. Its moved on a bit from that lazy comparison to reach new dense haunted depths. Doom drone I've lapped up in the final few months of a fucked up year.

2. Ma Ami - Steal Your Face

Mi Ami's previous long playing outing Water Sports was massive favourite of mine last year so I came to Steal Your Face with big expections, and the Californian trio delivered in a riot of fast passed snaring fury, funk and tribal rhythms. Delicate and savage at the same an album that can shock and humble in equal measure, and I finally got to see Mi Ami live this year too, winner.

3. Cloudland Canyon - Fin Eaves

Falling for for this playful wash of noise was inevitable. I've been a keen follower of Cloudland Canyon ever since Silver Tongue Sisyphus, but with this years LP the band showed a lightness of touch to their drone and noise asthetic, shimmering depth and weight that seems to float just like a cloud. I'm sure it's been massively over looked for the touch bliss it really is.

4. People Of The North - Deep Tissue

People Of The North is the side project of Oneida members KidMillions, Fat Bobby and Showtime. I've always had thing for Oneida and their relentless throbbing rhythms, sure Deep Tissue isn't as expansive and conceptually bold as Oneida's releases (what is?) but the similarities are there. Deep Tissue covers familiar ground, its a step into indulgent unfinished business, an personal experiment shown to the world in all its raw, untouched beauty, same themes but left naked and stark.

5. Sun Araw - On Patrol

I really couldn't make my mind up between Sun Araw's On Patrol and Magic Lantens Platoon but On Patrol had to take it. Where else can you hear this level of stoned-out face melting tribal noise slur. A unique record that consumes you rather than just grow on you. 

6. Thee Oh Sees - Warm Slime

You got to love the Thee Oh Sees, well ok you don't but spend 30 seconds in the company of John Dwyer and friends cranking it out live and you will. Some LPs sick because the impact the band makes live. I might be guilty of that with Warm Slime but I think its the closest Thee Oh Sees have come to capturing their live energy on wax, and for that its a near perfect slice of garage punk swagger and bravado.

7. Caribou - Swim

If one album has popped up a lot on end of year lists then it's Caribou's Swim, a record I believe was on the cards ever since the track Brahminy Kite from The Milk of Human Kindness, a track that seemed, to me at least, to shape Andorra and naturally evolve to the pop perfection that is Swim. And that's what Daniel Snaith has created in Swim, a perfect pop album that will surly catapult Caribou into the mainstream. For me its the tracks like Leave House and Found Out that show the true quality of this album that and the fact that Carbiou still present a formidable and mesmerising live unit. I just hope it says that way.

8. Pocahaunted - Make It Real 

This might of been the west coast psych-dub outfits last LP outing, it might of even been a touch less edgy than previous efforts but it was one of Pocahaunted's best, more straight punk-funk & psych garage inspired than before, the duo went out with a swagger to their ghostly tribalisms, a parting voodoo party.

9. Grass Widow - Past Time

Of all the girl fronted, doo-wop influence, vocal harmony soaked, all girl groups that graced us with LP this year Grass Widow's debut was the best. Better wonky harmonising, better cheeky time changes all left refreshingly garage fuzz free.

10. Titus Andronicus - The Monitor

When I first heard the rumours of Titus Andronicus' plans for their new LP, an album written from the perspective of union solider in the American civil war I was worried, it sounded like it could be a terrible idea, but no this album has more venom and spite than most rock bands managed in a life time, the world is fucked and they're not happy.

Other honourable mentions...

Tame Impala - Inner Speaker

Magic Lantern - Platoon

Tyvek - Nothing Fits

Sex Worker - Waving Goodbye

Autolux - Transit Transit

...I could go on forever but I have to draw the line somewhere. Next up the final all conquering Sonic Masala top ten albums of 2010...

*Exclusive* - Tyvek to hit Euro shores Feb 2011!!

Yep, you heard right, the Detroit garage punk toerags flying the Siltbreeze flag, Tyvek, will be touring our fine land come February 2011. How does Sonic Masala know this? Well, pretty much from the horse's mouth. One of the members of Tyvek is in the touring band of Demons, Wolf Eyes' Nate Young's visual arts mindfuck menagerie, who are currently playing Supersonic in Birmingham. One of my friends got talking to him based on the coincidence of wearing a Tyvek shirt that he himself had made, and he then dropped the bomb. He also gave my friend a Tyvek demo cassette - a brilliant run-in if Ive ever heard one! (AND our first exclusive...)

And why are they touring? Well, just in time to promote their new LP of course! Nothing Fits, out on In The Red, comes out in November 9, promising to be as breakneck, messy, and addictive as their self titled effort of last year. Here's a new taster of what to expect...

Tyvek - 4312

What The Beets Did Next

I posted some time ago about my nonplussed attitude towards Black Lips, and yet how one track was able to turn me 180 degrees into the garage punkers' sweat-drenched corner. Its the way of the musical beast - many bands can surprise you through exposure, hard work and tightening of the screws, or a complete change of tack (The Horrors last year - who the fuck saw THAT coming?) I feel a few bands might surprise in their releases in the latter half of 2010 (more of that soon...), and in a minor way The Beets have done this to me too.

I say minor because The Beets havent really scorched across my radar like a Bruce Willis-riding asteroid trying wretchedly to bring down Armageddon on my arse (sorry - first Disclosure, then this - its been a guilty as sin pleasure watching bad 90s films this past week). However, they have been lighting up in enough circles to warrant some sort of attention.

So I listened to their Daytrotter session. I understand the brilliance of this institution, and how its for special intimate reproductions of bands' current songs/influences - but I was rather deflated by the whininess of The Beets' effort (feel free to disagree - you can listen/download here).

But then I had the pleasure of being introduced to 'What Did I Do', from last year's LP Spit In The Face Of People Who Dont Want To Be Cool (a title Im not sure is too awesome, or kinda shit...). Its a rollicking number that injects enough of the hip garage swagger with punk snot that such a genre deserves. Again, one track can be enough to give a band another try - and although Im coming late, this track is good enough to give The Beets that second chance.

Although I do agree that there is such a thing as good use of piccolo - just ask Tyvek - but Beets, be wary of overkill... Either way, its a nice way to start Neck Yourself Tuesday (so much worse than Death March Monday) - so get boppin to this, and your day will start swingin in the best kind of way!

The Beets - What Did I Do

Tyvek are a bunch of Silts...

Tyvek are just one of many posts I mean to make of Siltbreeze acts (having already covered Naked On The Vague and Eat Skull). I had only heard of this band, and have Si to thank for force feeding it to me - 'eat it - go on, EAT IT!'... It really was that vicious. Si is a vicious guy.

ANYway, back to Tyvek. Been listening to last year's self-titled LP. Si handed me a host of stuff to listen to, and thus far I havent made it past these guys (although Venom P Stinger and Puffy Areolas have also been clogging my speakers, but that's nothing necessarily new...) Now fleshed out with the guitarist from Puffy Areolas, Tyvek are tightening their pop/punk gristle into murky morsels of chewy grits. One of the many Siltbreeze advocates to fall under the 'shitgaze' banner, Tyvek mash so many late 70s/early 80s US punk influences with some serious lashings of Velvet Underground - listening to 'Building Burning' followed by 'Building Burning (Re-Edit)' makes that an obvious delineation...

Try and chase down the myriad 7"s and other bits and pieces they have released over the past few years too - especially Fast Metabolism - its all pretty stellar. And a band that puts only one review on their Myspace page, absolutely slating them, is all good in my book.

Tyvek - Air Conditioner
Tyvek - Building Burning (Re-Edit)