Everyone's favorite Boston garage scuzzbuckets Girlfriends got a new 7" headed your way in the form of "Gov't Seizure" which was previously only available as a live track on a couple blog comps (like the evercool White Guys). It's a post-dark blast of fun that dials down into a real lowlife. And the B-side, "Creep Stuff," is just as filthy and lovable. They're headed out on tour very soon, so make sure to catch 'em before they're headlining the big joints. And if you're here in Boston, make sure to join them at Great Scott on July 1 for the 7" release party with Doomstar!
Nope, this ain't new at all. But goddamn is it good. Destroy It (now Tiger Islands) does chipper chiptunes for the dance floor in the raddest way possible. Talk To Animals is some crazy fuckin girl doing SUPER AWESOME hardcore Crystal Castles/Zola Jesus/Kap Bambino type 8-bit noise that's lush and kinda droney but still definitely the stuff you wanna crank real loud at your balloon party. They do a couple of collab tracks on this, too. And it's totally free. Everybody wins.
5 dudes from the Netherlands call themselves Nikoo and made a free 6 song EP of '60s psych pop/rock, shoegaze, punk, and whatever else. Most of the stuff is really fuckin good but OMG "Marquee" is like the catchiest song ever. Kinda blissful, gets in a solid groove, climaxes, and all in just over 2 minutes. Plus, I work at a sweet movie theater so I'm always having more fun at the marquee.
I've been listening to Nikoo pretty much non-stop for the past week. It's getting harder and harder for me to pull myself away from it and listen to something else. If you need more convincing, check the track "You've Got A Strange Effect On You" on their Myspace and then fuckin download the EP already.
I hope you remember Ava Luna. Their synth punk gospel doo wop is not a sound you could easily forget. And if you did forget, you clearly weren't paying enough attention in the first place. Anyway, after shaking things up a little bit on the blogs and stuff, they're back with another sweetly handmade CD-R, the Services EP.
I have good news on all fronts about this one you guys. Most importantly, their number fetish is still going strong, with a song called "Eight Nine (Won't You Be Mine?)." And they still don't sound like anything else you've heard (unless you got their debut 3rd Avenue Island). They've taken their patented synth soul punk and smoothed it out. The girl harmonies are silkier than ever, the drums are doing more than just keeping time, and the gritty DIY sound has a thin glaze of cleanliness. And they threw in some violins to keep this shit classy.
In my review of their debut, I said they sounded like if "Todd Lewis of Toadies had some old fashioned glee club girls join him in his church of synth punk to sing hymns" and that's still very much the case. Ava Luna are fucking refreshing. And catchy. And goddamnit they're just making some of the coolest and original shit out there right now. GET ON THIS.
You know what I love about Sweden's MFMB? Their name. I'm normally against the letters-for-a-name thing (The XX is the stupidest name ever) but for these guys I'm making an exception. Notably because it starts out with MF, which everyone knows stands for motherfucker/motherfuckin. And since I'm pretty sure MFMB haven't come out and said what their name stands for, I get to make up all sorts of crazy shit and make their name as awesome as I want. So far, Motherfuckin Moon Boots is making rank.
You know what else I love about Motherfuckin Magical Beasts? Their music! It's the best. It's like a perfect hybrid of disco shoegaze punk. Or something. It's epic and dancey and rockin in all the right ways. And their self titled EP is full of the kind of tunes that I could play in the presence of both my younger and older sisters and all 3 of us would like it. They'd all be like, "Oooh, it's dark and moody" and I'd be like, "Whatever. I'm gonna dance." So if both my sisters and I can get into it, my guess is you can too.
I listen to as much crazy shit as possible. Most of the time it borders on the music/not-music line. I would say I'm used to weirdness found in music. But I most certainly never, ever thought I would hear anything like Ava Luna. This bunch is totally unlike anything I've ever heard before.
3 guys and 3 gals, some drums, and a synth. That's it. What comes out of 3rd Avenue Island is rhythm heavy synth gospel punk. Recorded in a church, no less.
The synth reminds me a lot of the flash-in-a-pan DFA79, although nothing on 3rd Ave ever gets quite as spastic and amped up as them. The drums are pretty straightforward, nothing too adventurous. They're either there to keep time, add the occasional flair, or go completely fuckin nutty when shit gets crazy. What makes Ava Luna so different, though, are the vocals. There's a male lead and 3 female backups. All of their voices are so smooth and soulful, and their harmonies are something straight out of a '50s doo-wop group. Maybe imagine if Todd Lewis of Toadies had some old fashioned glee club girls join him in his church of synth punk to sing hymns. That's Ava Luna.
The moment you put on 3rd Avenue Island, it's instantly recognizable as some truly unique shit. And I'm pretty sure it's gonna be a "love it or hate it" record. For me, it's obvious. I can't get enough of this. I hesitated for a split second on that first track but I made up my mind pretty quickly. Ava Luna is fuckin boss. And I can only imagine what sort of insanity goes on at their live shows.
If I told you I went to a yard sale this weekend and found this tape stuck way back in the drawer of an old desk, and then I hypothesized that it came from a band named Quilt, some lost folk punk gem from the '60s, you wouldn't have any real reason to disbelieve me. Especially after playing that audio sample. But I'm never lucky enough to find cool shit like that at yard sales. I usually just come home with another wicker basket for my bunnies to eat.
But this Boston trio's debut release totally sounds like that. Like a bunch of friends using shitty equipment to record songs in the big echoey shower in their basement. And it sounds fantastic. It's music that you know was a fucking blast to make.
Nothing on here ever gets too much into a certain genre for you to nail down. It's folky, yeah, and it can rock out at times, but there's also plenty of drone elements. Lots of bang-clanking and jingle-jangling, monotonous drumming, banjos, xylophones, harmonicas, and all sorts of fun shit. But I think one of the key ingredients here are the vocals. All 3 share the microphone and there's hardly a single moment of harmony throughout the whole tape. They frequently sing together, but sometimes it's so dissonant, in the intentional and almost pleasant way. I mean, sometimes they're nice and melodious but when they're not, it's suuuper eerie. And it perfectly matches the occasionally unsettling guitars.
For a debut, this bunch really could have fared a lot worse. Like, a lot. Quilt is a thoroughly solid tape that fits rights in with the weirdo lo-fi experimental folk scene here in Boston. Totally worth picking up for a mere $4 at Spooky Town.
During the usual meandering around the internet labyrinth, I stumbled upon Rose For Bohdan, a band I didn't know existed (even though they appeared on a compilation I have from GSL). Sadly, I discovered them a bit too late as their last show ever was in 2007. However you can still hear some new material on their last album ever which they just put out called There It Is, The Creeping Moral Decay Of The Past Thousand Years (download for free on Deathbomb Arc). "Pocahontas' Boyfriend" is the choice track and it starts the album off with some intense spazzy noise punk riffage. Pretty sweet stuff, especially the female screecher. I really dig it. Even though I'm not that into the rest of the album, this song is totally boss.
Late Young are a San Franciscan trio consisting of two dudes I know nothing about (Olivier and Gaiser) and one dude who I kinda sorta would like to maybe marry a little bit. That would be Andrew from super awesome, totally blown out, one man metal pop machine The Mausoleums. He's the recently acquired drummer for Late Young and that absolutely ensures I will listen to their records at the very least until he's no longer a member.
Late Young definitely don't fit into any one specific sound style, they have something all their own. Nativity sounds like an indie rock, industrial, psychedelic, punk, black metal band made it. The guitars buzz like some of the best BM records and it's dark, haunting, melancholic, and pretty darn scary. But then there's some stuff that throws you off, like the drumming. Sometimes it kind of sounds like what you'd hear on an Animal Collective album. And do I sense some New Wave? Yeah, I think I do. The vocals are far away and tired, but intensely passionate. Throw it all together and you have yourself one killer fucking record.
Nativity is pretty rad. It receives my praise with the only criticism being that it's too goddamn short. 4 songs? Really? And not even like 4 long songs. No, we're talking shit that doesn't even total 15 minutes. But it's all they got for now, so I'll take it. You can download the entirety of Nativity at Late Young's website. I still recommend buying it, though, because the packaging is boss and it's wicked cheap. So you don't really have an excuse.
Update (1-11-09): Somehow the song that was originally posted with this was not Daniel Striped Tiger. I don't even know who it was. It might have been Melt Banana or something. My apologies. The stream and mp3 link are now correctly "Slalom" by DST.
It's not very often I write a post about something as vague as "a band." Usually it's an individual record or a song or a concert or pretty much anything more specific than just a band. But I'll make an exception today because... just because. I don't need to justify myself to you.
The last time I tried to see Daniel Striped Tiger play a show, it got shut down by the cops. And for no reason, either. They had permission to play and it was total bullshit that the cops came at all. And that was like a year ago. But last night I got to see them play at Front Street, a local coffee shop. It's a place that doesn't exactly fit a lot of people, nor does it allow for easy maneuverability but it was pretty packed for some dinky place in Salem. I'd guess about 80+ people showed up to a place that is maybe slightly larger than your average cafe. It just goes to show you how eagerly kids north of Boston crave good shows.
DST are technically a local band but similar to Big Bear and Neptune, they're actually making a name for themselves outside of Boston. And with good reason. They have a unique sound that, at the risk of sounding dorky, is really contemporary. What I mean is they have a sound that is really new and fresh but isn't so different as to turn you off. It's kinda mathy, with a lot of stop-start drumming, and the singer doesn't sing so much as talk loudly and monotonously (in a good way), and they have some catchy as shit riffs. Not necessarily the most unique description of a band but their sound is totally their own.
I know you hear about a lot of bands and just kind of glaze over them unless they really catch your attention for whatever reason. And it's difficult to make DST stand out without giving them a listen so I guess I'm saying you just gotta trust me on this one. They have two full lengths out, one of which (Condition) I would consider a Staple, and a bunch of various splits and 7"s and such. They're playing some shows in the area within the next few days and are in the process of planning an Australian tour. See them and buy shit from them.
Inspired by The Decibel Tolls and his review of the new Animal Collective in real time, I thought I'd give that a whirl with the recently acquired Pink And BrownShame Fantasy II LP. Basically, the idea is to do a live commentary on a record you've never listened to before. If this goes well, I might do it again in the future.
I have the vinyl version of Shame Fantasy II, which means it's only 5 songs. They were recorded after Pink And Brown officially broke up. The CD version contains every track they've ever put out (including these 5 new ones) but the vinyl is just the newest. OK... hitting play... now....
This isn't exactly what I was expecting from Pink And Brown. This is on Load Records, home of the Lightning Bolt monsters, and I'd heard P&B get lumped in with LB a lot. I guess I was expecting a little more LBness. The vocals are definitely in line with Chippendale's, ie low in the mix, garbled, and totally indecipherable. The music, however, is much more garage punk than noise punk.
It's high energy but not completely spastic. And, at least compared to the other kinds of music I listen to, this isn't very noisey. It's comparable to a psych rock band freakout jam, where they just go nuts for 10 minutes before returning the the chorus. Think more White Hills and less Wolf Eyes.
Side B starts out with "Puddles Of Acid Part 1 & 2" and the riff is just fucking nasty. I love it. It's like something from Melt Banana if they made a psych record (which is not totally out of the question, you know).
I like it when I get taken aback like this. I expected this to be something that I would never be able to listen to in the company of Elise but I'm pretty sure this would be (at the very least) tolerable to her. It's not as off the wall as I'd hoped it would be but it still a tight, albeit short, record. Makes me kinda want the CD version...
Sticking with the metal theme for now ('cause it's been so long since I posted any before that Turisas record), I found this little gem by a guy/band named Yussuf Jerusalem on the infinitely wonderful Champagne and it kills.
A Heart Full Of Sorrow starts out filthy and balls to the wall. It's crazy intense right from the start but only lasts for the first song. Then it turns into some folky bedroom stuff. It's really lo-fi, driven by a drum machine and grainy guitars. Was this guy really just screeching like a demon? Now he's sounds like a regular dude.
It's got hints of old fashioned punk ("Greetings From Novi Sad") and pop ("We Ain't Coming Back") as well as the folk, but somehow it all fits together. It's all pretty lo-fi and dirty, but the only straight up metal track is that first one. It's actually pretty confusing to me because I get totally lost when listening to Sorrow. For some reason, I inevitably end up spacing out/paying attention to something else and I forget that I first put on a black metal record.
If it wasn't for the first song, I would never guess that Yussuf Jerusalem makes black metal. But I feel like they put that song on Sorrow first to set the mood and make sure everyone knew that they're a black metal band. That's kind of cheating, I know, especially because the rest of the record sounds nothing even remotely like metal. But at the same time, I think black metal is really breaking all boundaries lately and can take on any form it wants. I'm pretty sure I don't care if Yussuf Jerusalem are the "real deal" or not. Their music kicks ass and that's enough.
Oakland's Hawnay Troof kick out some 8-bit electro jams chock full of crunchy punky synth. And maybe I'm just a sucker for the delicious 8-bit bleeps but I am definitely digging this song. The video has that foggy '60s look to it, even though you can clearly see a plastic knife wrapped in more plastic and you know those didn't get invented until like 1998 or something. But hey, I won't argue with Troof 'cause apparently they got no rules.
It's a pretty simple premise. Charles Bronson played Paul Kersey in the movie Death Wish. Then some guy who can do a mostly terrible impression of Bronson as Paul Kersey decides to make a record. As Paul Kersey. The confusing part to me is that the "band" is Bronson, the actor, but everything on Waste Creeps is clearly about Kersey in Death Wish.
Waste Creeps is easily one of the weirdest records I own. Not only is the concept strange but the music itself is fucking off the wall. It's some kinda punk but intentionally played poorly. And Bronson doesn't sing. It's more like spoken word. About creeps. And wasting them. It's filled with lyrics like "There's only so much I can do. I can't kill every creep. Though I'd like to." and song titles like "Punk Rock Creeps," "What Do You Do When Your Son Is A Creep," and "Beaurocratic Rat Fuck."
I'm not quite sure if I'd label this as a novelty record or not. I mean, sometimes it's hilarious and fucking awful (musically) but then a song like "Rocket Launcher" comes on and it's all dirgey and rocking and I think to myself, maybe this is really good stuff. But I can never decide. Maybe I'm over-thinking it. Just take it at face value.
I Want To Review Your Music If you make music and you want it reviewed on my blog, just send me an e-mail. I would love to hear what you're making and give you a little more exposure in the process.
Disclaimer All of the music on this site is for promotional and sampling purposes only. If you enjoy it, please consider buying the record or going to see the band live. They will appreciate it, I promise. If you own the rights to a song on this site and you would like it removed, please contact me and I will do so as quickly as my tiny paws allow.
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