HIT BARGAIN is a four-piece punk band from Los Angeles. Their new full-length Potential Maximizer is being released by Buzz Records in Toronto, which coincides with an east coast tour for the band through June. They self-describe their hard-nosed sound as “queencore,” leaving it difficult to settle on any other descriptors once you’re exposed to their heavy sound paired with Nora Singh‘s thoughts.
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Category: LP
Full-lengths and 12-inchers
The 4th Movement – s/t
Is there life after Death? Well, I guess it depends who you ask. For fans of the lost and then found sounds of Detroit’s band called Death, then The 4th Movement might have some answers for you. Continue reading “The 4th Movement – s/t”
Connections – Foreign Affairs
Foreign Affairs is the latest album by Columbus, Ohio’s CONNECTIONS. It’s a record that basks in the warm fuzzy glow of 1990’s lo-fi indie rock. For men of a certain age, like myself, it’s an approach that creates a certain kind of nostalgic buzz. It’s a sound as reliable as the battered 8-track cassette recorder that the band probably tracked this album on.
Yuzo Iwata – Daylight Moon
Daylight Moon is largely an instrumental record by YUZO IWATA, focusing on textures and instrumental soundscapes. It’s more like a band trying to paint you a picture rather than tell you a story. Released by the Siltbreeze Records label based in Philadelphia, the record comes in just a short edition of 250 pieces and likely will not be around for long.
Crystal Drive – s/t LP
George Szegedy was the man behind the drum set in the People’s Temple. Now a defunct band, he has his own solo project under the name CRYSTAL DRIVE out of Lansing, Michigan. This self-titled LP is his first release of any sort (and a first from any member of his previous band), coming pressed in an edition of 300 pieces from Jett Plastic Recordings based in Detroit.
Sensation – s/t LP
The kind folks at Folk Evaluation have excavated another fine privately pressed gem in the form of SENSATION’s self-titled 1976 album. SENSATION was the collaboration between two University of Wisconsin students, Donald S. Fisher and Jeffrey S. Engel, and it’s one helluva fine slice of lost, pastoral sunshine folk rock with just the right dash of power pop. Continue reading “Sensation – s/t LP”
Guided by Voices – Space Gun
It’s a little odd after listening to the chronicles of the early years of Guided by Voices on Jeff Gomez’s “Self Inflicted Aura Nostalgia” podcast, to be dropping the needle on the groups’ latest effort Space Gun. For those not familiar, the podcast has been systematically dissecting every one of the group’s albums in chronological order.
In Retrospect: The Airing of Grievances, 10 Years Later
Ten years ago tomorrow, a band from Glen Rock, NJ dropped their debut album, The Airing of Grievances. It was initially released by Troubleman Unlimited in New Jersey, and then brought to Europe by Merok Records (and later reissued by XL Recordings in 2009). Before this, the band had little to their name aside from a couple of 7″ records and a handful of often inaudible live videos on YouTube.
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Shopping – The Official Body
With the quick count of a steel drum, The Official Body takes off, putting you in the passenger seat of wild, 31-minute ride through the nooks and crannies of the minds of SHOPPING. Falling somewhere between angular pop, post-punk and danceable alternative, their third album is a staggering accomplishment that does not let its guard down for a single moment. Continue reading “Shopping – The Official Body”
XYZ – Artificial Flavoring
XYZ is the trans-Atlantic collaboration between American Ian Svenonius and Frenchman Memphis Electronic. You might recognize Mr. Svenonius’ effort to free Arthur Lee with his former group, the Make-Up, or his more recent work with Chain & the Gang or Escape-ism, the same way you might recall Mr. Electronic’s time with NON!, the Dum Dum Boys or Die Idiots. Continue reading “XYZ – Artificial Flavoring”
Styrofoam Drone 