JEFF the Brotherhood – Mellow Out 7″

YO. I hate when this happens, man. I’m late to the game once again on another awesome band, and this time I really feel like I’ve been missing out. After listening to this 7″ all I could think about was what their full-length “Heavy Days” sounds like. And by now you’ve probably already figured out that today’s band is JEFF THE BROTHERHOOD. But if “Heavy Days” is anything like this 7″, then I’m gonna be alllllll over that stuff as soon as I get my hands on it.

So this 7″ was put out by Suicide Squeeze Records in a hand-numbered edition of 750, and if it’s anything like other JEFF releases, this thing is bound to sell out. The coolest part is that 250 of them were pressed on glow in the dark vinyl, just in case you’re ever in the mood to spin your records in the dark…but moving on.

This gem features two JEFF songs, one of them being brand new and the other coming from their LP “Heavy Days”. The new song is called “Mellow Out”, and it’s absolutely fantastic. Jake Orrall sings about keeping his records on a shelf because he cares about his health, but I can’t seem to find a connection between records on shelves and the well-being of a person. Either way this song is going to reel you in pretty quickly with it’s invigorating, electrified guitar psych-outs that pop up in the little breaks and the careful, frantic drumming of brother Jamin Orrall. The two complement each other almost perfectly in the music, playing together at the right speeds and switching things up at the proper moments. That brotherly chemistry is definitely noticeable in their sound, as these guys both know how to hit that mark. Check out “Mellow Out” right below – you’ll be glad you did.

Mellow Out –

My Rating: 9/10
Genre/ Tags: Psychedelic, Grunge, Punk
Mellow Out 7″: Tracklist:
1.) Mellow Out
2.) Heavy Days

BUY the 7″ @ Insound! – It’s only $4.40!
JEFF the Brotherhood on Myspace

Monotonix – Fun Fun Fun 7″

This is definitely the first band from Israel that we’re covering here on the Styrofoam Drone. Come to think of it, I can’t think of many bands at all that come from Israel, but I’m sure there’s a ton out there.

The band is known as MONOTONIX, and they’ve toured around the world countless times playing hundreds of shows ranging from extremes like SXSW to shows in the basements of churches. Speaking of the basements of churches, the first time I came across Monotonix was when they opened for the Silver Jews back on their final tour, and the band was NUTS! They played anywhere in the room but the actual stage, and it was just straight-up madness. This 7″ looks like it’s the latest release from Monotonix, coming from the Drag City imprint, and I’m sure it won’t be their last.

It might seem a bit cliché to call this 7″ fun, but that’s basically what it all comes down to. These jams would go perfectly in the background of your typical raging party, with people from wall to wall guzzling down beer, playing flip-cup, and yelling as loud as they possibly can. The two songs included are staggeringly heavy with grungy guitars and a raspy Ami Shalev who basically freaks out the entire time while he forces his words right down our throat – and he doesn’t see a damn thing wrong with it either! Especially in a live setting. That being said, I think seeing Monotonix live is probably the best way to experience their music and the band themselves. If they ever make it to your town, you should definitely make a point to go and check them out. Good times all around for sure.

Fun Fun Fun –

My Rating: 7/10
Genre/ Tags: Garage Rock, Alternative, Israel
Fun Fun Fun 7″: Tracklist:
1.) Fun Fun Fun
2.) Try Try Try

Buy the 7″ @ Insound!
Monotonix on Myspace
Monotonix – Official Website!

No Joy – No Summer 7″

I was having a difficult time finding any solid information on this band, but then I found this, which gives us a little more insight than we had before. According to Best Coast it’s two hot blonde girls just shredding away, and it sounds pretty accurate going by the music – the only problem is we don’t know who the girls are. But what we do know is that this is their first 7″ record, and it’s unexpectedly awesome.

The 7″ begins on a song called “No Summer”, and if you ask me that’s quite a depressing name for a song, because everybody deserves a summer. Heavy, atmospheric guitars rule the mix as one of the “hot blondes” sings amongst the swirling, moody haze, and they’re led by an energetic drummer who changes up the beat to keep things moving right along. Flipping over to the B-side gets you into another mess of heavy guitar and crashing drums. It’s called “No Joy”, and the scuzzy guitars that introduce it continue to grow and grow, giving this song a huge, ever-growing sound that doesn’t stop until the song finally comes to an end. The drums follow along in the madness and destroy everything in their path while anybody who is watching is sure to have their jaw drop. The song changes pace about halfway through, but they don’t lose that momentum for a second.

That’s all the music from the 7″, and unfortunately for us I don’t know of any other No Joy songs besides these two. But either way, lets hope that these shreddin’ hot blondes continue to serve up their raw, high-energy, face-melting psych rock until we can’t handle it any longer – although I don’t think that’s going to happen. They’ve got some shows coming up in Brooklyn according to their Myspace, and I’m telling you this because they seem like one of those bands you have to experience in a live setting.

No Joy –

My Rating: 8/10
Genre/ Tags: Psychedelic, Post-Punk, Dream Pop, Ethereal
No Summer 7″: Tracklist:
1.) No Summer
2.) No Joy

You can buy the 7″ @ Insound! – It’s only $4.77!
No Joy on Myspace
Listen to the 7″ on the No Joy Bandcamp page

Cap’n Jazz Live in Philadelphia (7/24/10)

Who?: Cap’n Jazz w/ Gauge
Where?: Starlight Ballroom, Philadelphia, PA
When?: July 24th, 2010

Yo. Last night Cap’n Jazz played in Philadelphia. Where were you when it happened? I wouldn’t be surprised if this was the best night of many show-goers lives last night, because it definitely seemed that way. People were going ape-shit in the 100+ degree Starlight Ballroom, and I think I speak for everyone when I say that Cap’n Jazz put on a hell of a show. I’ve brought my evidence along with me – just check out these videos below!

In the Clear – This was their first song of the night. Watch everybody dash right towards the stage immediately after they start. Everybody also chants along perfectly with Kinsella during the pause.

We Are Scientists! – I especially like the use of the french horn in this one.

Basil’s Kite – I was really hoping they played this one last night. Sure enough, they did. WHEN I FLYYYYYYYY!!!!

Little League – The sprawling first track to their timeless album. Everybody is singin’ along as best as they can with so much dedication.

Oh Messy Life – Oh sweaty ballroom. This song definitely put a lot of smiles on faces last night, although I’m sure people were smiling the entire time anyway. It’s not every day, or even every year, that Cap’n Jazz comes to play a show in your town.

Take on Me – So I must apologize for this one. I didn’t have my camera handy when they started playing the song, so I missed a good chunk of it, but I still figured people would love to see it. I’m pretty sure Kinsella is reading the lyrics right off of that paper in his hands.

That’s all the video I had from the show. That’s for all you silly people who didn’t come out and try to get in last night! I hope I brought the experience right to your computer screen. In case you’re new to Cap’n Jazz though, you can check out this song “Basil’s Kite” right below – it’s damn good.

Basil’s Kite –

Get the insight on Cap’n Jazz right here @ Jade Tree
Cap’n Jazz on Myspace

Son of Rams – Untitled LP

A little over a month ago a brand new band began making waves and hitting everybody’s inbox with words about their debut 7″. You might remember them as Family Trees.

There’s a dude who makes up 1/3 of Family Trees, and his name is Joseph Pruitt. Believe it or not, Mr. Pruitt has a solo-project when he’s not concentrating on Family Trees, and the name of the band is SON OF RAMS. He’s pretty much the only member of the band, taking the position on just about every instrument you can hear in the music. And if you’re expecting this to be somewhere in the same vein as Family Trees, then you’re sadly mistaken! He ditches that lazy, summery sound you hear in Family Trees and goes with his own blend of intoxicating guitar-driven weirdo-psych-rock that’s just fantastic. Each song features Pruitt shrieking and carrying on at excessive volumes, along side of some nasty lead-guitar work. No exaggeration either – just about every last song has a bad ass lead guitar hook (In Kind, This Wisdom, No Concept/No Logic, Spanish Mansions, The Veteran: James Page, Flying Tigers) or some crazy ass chicken-scratch solo (A Second Season, Ancients), and that’s about all it takes to get you to play the songs over and over again.

Since you guys have the ability to stream each song from the album (you can even download it all at once), I’m not going to go too in depth with any descriptions. Instead I’ll just say that the sooner you guys get into this stuff, the quicker you’ll be becoming addicted to all the unpredictable guitar madness that’s waiting for you around every corner of the album. If you don’t want to waste time downloading anything, just check out the few songs I’ve uploaded below. I’d recommend starting with “In Kind”. It’s a welcoming start to the album, as it almost comes off as a type of anthem when the lead guitar comes in during the second half.

In Kind –

No Concept/ No Logic –

Ancients –

Flying Tigers –

My Rating: 8/10
Genre/ Tags: Lo-Fi, Psychedelic, Rock, Experimental
Untitled LP: Tracklist:
1.) In Kind
2.) This Wisdom
3.) No Concept/ No Logic
4.) A Second Season
5.) Ancients
6.) Spanish Mansions
7.) 7th Wonder
8.) The Veteran: James Page
9.) Flying Tigers
10.) Masters
11.) Claude Monet

DOWNLOAD the Untitled LP for FREE!!!
Stream/Download each song from the LP right here!
Son of Rams on Last.fm

Mazes – Cenetaph 7″

Yo! So originally I didn’t have anything to post today, so instead of going post-less, I searched around for a bit and found something nice.

It’s yet another 7″, and it’s by a band called MAZES from Manchester in the United Kingdom. I tracked down this little gem from this blog right here called BE BOP KIDS! There’s some other cool stuff on that blog, you should check it out while you’re at it. You can even download the Mazes 7″ while you’re there.

This band Mazes has got a handful of releases that have came out already, and you can see them all at their Myspace. This is their most recent release though, and it came out on Suffering Jukebox Records (which may or may not be a tribute to a Silver Jews song). It’s got two new songs from the band, and they’re both these fast paced numbers ruled by crunchy, spiky guitars and it’s all done with an honest folk-pop-goodness that’s pretty difficult to deny. These guys are good, and I’m going to look into their other material for future posts down the road. Until then, you can listen to the song below and then check out the others on their Myspace – one of them is also the B-side of this 7″ called “Go-Betweens”. Check it out.

Cenetaph –

My Rating: 8/10
Genre/ Tags: Garage Rock, Folk Rock, Pop
Cenetaph 7″: Tracklist:
1.) Cenetaph
2.) Go-Betweens

Mazes – Official Website
Mazes on Myspace!
BUY the 7″ directly from Suffering Jukebox Records

First Base – She’s Boy Crazy 7″ EP

If you’ve been having trouble smiling lately, First Base might be able to fix that for you. Their most recent release from Play Pinball! Records is about as poppy as they come these days, and there’s just no way you can wear a frown when listening to this stuff. They play these picture perfect pop songs, and if you’re not usually into this sort of thing, then chances are it will drive you crazy from their relentless pop approach. Each song is a rockin’ good time complete with boy-girl lyrics about relationships and things of that sort, and the band takes a minimalist approach to the music. The songs don’t last any more than three minutes, as each one starts just as quickly as it ends, and although it’s still not that long, this is the longest First Base release to date.

The EP features four songs, and they’re all just as shiny and glistening as the last First Base 7″ we covered. Only this time the 7″ takes on a much fuller sound than the previous one. Each song has it’s climax at some point, and it’s usually marked by a short but sweet guitar lick. One perfect example would be the song “You’re a Waste of My Time”. It’s nearly two minutes of in-yr-face pop action, and during the final minute comes some delicious guitar work that’s enough to make you spin the track again. This band probably doesn’t seem like much at first listen, but pay attention to the quick songs and you’re bound to fall in love. Beyond addicting.

You’re a Waste of My Time –

My Rating: 7/10
Genre/ Tags: Rock, Pop, Minimalist, Lo-Fi
She’s Boy Crazy 7″ EP: Tracklist:
1.) She’s Boy Crazy
2.) I’ll Be Your Hangover
3.) You’re a Waste of My Time
4.) Back to Japan

First Base on Myspace!
BUY the 7″ from Play Pinball! Records – just waiting for the repress!
Check out the other First Base single “I’ve Got a Girl”

Pure Ecstasy/ Sleep ∞ Over – Split 7″

By now I feel like most of you guys are already familiar with PURE ECSTASY. We’ve covered a handful of their 7″ records, and I’ve got another one here for you guys today. The only difference from the other two would be that this one is split with another band called SLEEP ∞ OVER. Sleep Over is a fairly new band led by Stefanie Franciotti, and some of you are probably already familiar with her. She’s the singer in her other band called the Silver Pines, and now she’s got a new band to share with the world. This appears to be the first Sleep Over release to be put out on vinyl, so if you’re interested you can buy a copy of it from Light Lodge.

The 7″ features one brand new song from each band, with one song on each side of the record. It’s starts off on the A-side with a track called “Dream Over” from Pure Ecstasy, and if you’ve already listened to Pure Ecstasy before this, then you’re going to be pretty psyched. Immediately from the start you’re thrown in the middle of familiar Pure Ecstasy territory, and Nate Grace is right there to greet us with his breezy vocals. He howls and woo’s over the grainy guitars throughout the song while lazy drums and buzzy bass lines hold down the slow rhythm – the perfect formula for a Pure Ecstasy song.

Now it’s time to flip over to the B-side, which is a song called “Your World is Night” by Sleep Over, and it’s a bit different from what we just heard. For the entire length of the song, these trippy, head spinning sound effects dominate everything, giving this song the feeling that you’re stuck in an endless dreamy-daze. Lots of echoing and obscure sounds, but I definitely think this stuff takes some getting used too. Chances are this song will have to grow on you a bit before you decide if you like it or not. With that being said, this stuff is also a bit far off from the Silver Pines, but that doesn’t mean you won’t like it!

My Rating: 7/10
Genre/ Tags: Lo-Fi, Dream Pop, Psychedelic, Witch House
Split 7″: Tracklist:
1.) Dream Over
2.) Your World is Night

Dream Over –

Your World is Night –

BUY the 7″ directly from Light Lodge
You can buy the sold out Voices 7″ too – Get it at insound!
Pure Ecstasy on Myspace
Sleep ∞ Over on Myspace
Check out other stuff from Pure Ecstasy – Easy 7″ – Voices 7″
Check out the Silver Pines while you’re at it too

Panda Bear – Tomboy 7″

Hey hey. Here’s something for you guys today that I’m pretty sure most of you are already aware of. And if not, then where the hell have you been?

It’s a brand new 7″ from the PANDA BEAR man himself, and it’s one of many 7″ records that are going to be released in the coming weeks/months. With each new 7″ release from Panda Bear, we will be getting closer and closer to the full-length release of “Tomboy”, which is due to drop sometime during the Fall of 2010. Until then these 7″ singles should hold us over, but it will only be a matter of time before people start going ape-shit for the full-length. While nobody can guarantee anything about the upcoming LP, one thing is for sure: the labels who release these 7″ records are guaranteed some hefty income. I was lucky enough to snag my copy of the 7″ from Paw Tracks, and when I checked back the following day the record was already sold out. Can you say bank?

So it’s kind of a short post for today, but I’ll have another nice gem for you guys tomorrow! In the meantime you can check out the A-side from the 7″ right below, but that’s not all! Head on over to The Yellow Stereo where you can check out the glitchy, dubstep B-side track “Slow Motion”.

Tomboy –

My Rating: 8/10
Genre/ Tags: Electronic, Dub, Pop
Tomboy 7″: Tracklist:
1.) Tomboy
2.) Slow Motion

You can buy it at insound!
Panda Bear on Myspace!
Panda Bear on Last.fm

Banned Books – Man Maker EP

Just two days ago I had an e-mail in my inbox from the wonderful spaz-rock trio BANNED BOOKS. They’re making the rounds on the internet and sending out their brand new EP “Man Maker” to the masses, and it’s already proving to pay off for these guys. If you can remember back to last time, the album of interest was the fantastic “Mission Creep” mini-LP, and now they’re back once again with another batch of ridiculously strained and rigid songs, which includes even less time to breathe than we had on “Mission Creep”! Seriously! These guys are relentless, and it fucking rules!

So this time around the Banned Books sound is slightly different from the last, but you would still know it’s Banned Books. One of the biggest contrasts I noticed from “Mission Creep” is that they take a step back on the quiet parts on this EP – instead of changing things up from madness to silence like they did on “Mission Creep”, this time they just ditch the quiet and give you the full-throttle surprise, all the time (well, most of the time).

The EP features five brand new, unheard songs from the band, and they’re about as tense and frantic as they come. Each track is a well organized mess of guitars, drums, and bass, and you can tell that the band puts a shit-ton of time and effort into their music, and it definitely shows. The guitars are staggeringly heavy and screeching at just about every possible chance, while lead singer Zane Kanevsky acts as our tour guide through the EP. His soft, delicate vocals can go from one extreme to the other in a matter of seconds, and they go hand-in-hand with their relentless style of music. One of the quietest moments on the EP comes during the title-track “Man Maker”, but it doesn’t stay this way for long before it all goes to shit during the final minute. Screeching, spiny guitars then take over the mix, and the poor listeners (us!) are left wondering what the hell just happened! You’ll probably need to rewind the song a bit just to make sure you didn’t miss anything.

Perhaps one of the most jaw-dropping moments comes towards the end of the EP, and it’s called “The Meat that Eats Itself” (Kind of a horrifying name, don’t you think? Just picture that in your head). Right from the get-go this song is already sprawling in all directions, and it doesn’t loosen it’s grasp for all two minutes and eighteen seconds. Kanevsky howls over the mix while it sounds like everybody else in the band just beats the piss out of their instruments – and the face-destroying madness is good enough to force you to put the track on for another spin. I’ve uploaded this track for you guys below, so please don’t miss this one. You guys really need to hear this and see what you think, because I’m sure you’ll all have different opinions. One thing I am sure about though is this: Banned Books love to surprise us, and that’s just what they did here with this EP. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t looking forward to their next release…

PS – You can download their new EP entirely for FREE!!!

Man Maker –

The Meat that Eats Itself –

My Rating: 9/10
Genre/ Tags: Experimental, Noise Rock, Post Punk
Man Maker EP: Tracklist:
1.) Intergalactic Singalong
2.) Man Maker
3.) Human Head
4.) The Meat that Eats Itself
5.) The Dress

Banned Books on Myspace!
DOWNLOAD their entire EP completely for free – courtesy of Banned Books!
Check out “Mission Creep” by Banned Books that was previously posted on the Styrofoam Drone