Black Ladies – Naked Caveman 7″ EP

My Rating: 7/10
Genre/ Tags: Experimental, Instrumental, Punk

Today’s band is a bit more on the obscure side of the fence. I’m not exactly sure how somebody is supposed to find out about a band like this, but I did through their record label. Stationary (Heart) Records put out one of the few releases that the band has ever seen back in 2008, and up until their break-up in 2009, the band hadn’t released much else. I went to Stationary (Heart) to order a copy of Double Daggers “Ragged Rubble” and in the process is when I initially came across the Black Ladies. I had some extra money that day so instead of just buying the Double Dagger LP, I also bought the Black Ladies EP. It’s quite a unique record too. The sleeves were hand-screened and hand-cut by Drug Factory Press, and each record comes pressed on a different color vinyl. On top of that, they’ve limited the release to 500 copies, so if you’re interested in buying this, it’s probably a good idea to get it sooner than later. The EP features three original Black Ladies tracks, two of which I have here for you to listen! I don’t mean to take right from the Stationary (Heart) records description of the band, but they’ve said it quite perfectly…

“Chicago’s Black Ladies make no mistake about what they set out to do. With their brutal attack, stripped down to the point of primitive, these two noiseniks bang out some of the most ferociously raw anthems to ever resonate throughout the basements of the midwest.”

…Raw anthems! Hardcore breakdowns! Drums and bass! It’s all true! Listen for yourself and see what you think! Thanks for reading and check back soon!!!

Taken by the Viking

The Real Jurassic Park

Naked Caveman EP: Tracklist
1.) Naked Caveman
2.) Taken by the Viking
3.) The Real Jurassic Park

Black Ladies on Myspace
Naked Caveman EP – BUY!
More stuff with music by Black Ladies – BUY!

dd/mm/yyyy – Black Square

My Rating: 9/10
Genre/ Tags: Post Punk, Experimental, Canadian

dd/mm/yyyy may or may not be a band you have already familiarized yourself with. If you already have discovered them up to this point, then good job. If not, well then I suggest you stick around and read this post, and then perhaps you’ll be interested enough to check out the band.

Most importantly about the band, their name is pronounced “day month year”. Their first release came out back in 2004, but the members of the band had been practicing together for a year already, beginning the band 2003. dd/mm/yyyy hail from the second biggest continent in the world, Canada, coming specifically out of the largest city in Canada, Toronto. Currently, the band has 5 members, and they are all currently on tour in the UK before they come over to the US for the SXSW shows that are happening in the Texas area.

Depending on who you talk to, you could say that dd/mm/yyyy’s most recent release is their most defined to date, but with the way the band is constantly changing things up, it’s difficult to pin down an accurate statement. Once you have an idea, their music is changing so fast that you’re not too sure if you want to speak it aloud anymore. Some things that can easily and most definitely be said about the band is that the music is usually fast, with frantic guitar licks and urgent vocals – possibly even arguably mysterious or creepy at times with a song like “They” or “My Glasses”. Other songs like the first track “Bronzage” and the final track “Digital Haircut” feature these more rabid and spazzed out guitar licks mentioned above. This really goes to show how the band can go directly from one sound to the next, and this is definitely not something every band is known for doing. Other tracks from the album such as “No Life”, “Birdtown”, and “I’m Still in the Walls” are more or less dominated by the electronic keyboards that sound like they come right from an old school Nintendo or Sega Genesis. Other tracks like “Lismer”, “$50,000 Guitar Gear”, and “Sirius B” might as well leave you saying (or thinking) “Wow”. If you disagree with anything I just said, one thing that I hope we could agree on is that this band surely has it’s own unique sound. Before listening to dd/mm/yyyy, I had never heard music quite like this. The most accurate and short description I came across about the band was found on their Wikipedia page, and it reads “The nature of dd/mm/yyyy’s music is explained as a mess of spastic, specially challenged art rock with jagged, diamondback guitars, ’80s video game synthesizers, and drums that roll with all the punches of the discordant dreamy vocals”. Yeah. Enjoy.

Tracklist: Black Square
1. Bronzage
2. No Life
3. They
4. Infinity Skull Cube
5. My Glasses
6. Birdtown
7. Sirius B
8. lismer
9. Real Eyes
10. $50,000 Guitar Gear
11. I’m Still In The Walls
12. Digital Haircut

dd/mm/yyyy – Official Website
dd/mm/yyyy on the MyyySpaaace
Black Square/ all dd/mm/yyyy releases – BUY!!!

White Denim – Workout Holiday

My Rating: 10/10
Genre/ Tags: Blues Rock, Garage Rock, Indie Rock

Back when it was still 2009, which now seems like it was forever ago, I was just beginning to discover the magic that is White Denim. After starting off with their most recent effort, titled “Fits”, I was totally hooked on White Denim. It was unusual if I didn’t hear multiple songs by them in a single day, and they would be all the same tracks, considering I only had their latest album. Over some time I figured the only way too hear more music like White Denim was to seek out other White Denim releases, so, of course, I couldn’t just sit back and deprive myself – I went out in search of other White Denim albums. To my surprise, none of the records stores in Philadelphia had anything, so I was forced to turn to the internet. After searching the web, I had located just one other White Denim record, and it was in Osaka, Japan in a record store called Panda Panda Records. Not a problem. I purchased it online, and just under 2 weeks later I had a brand new, still sealed White Denim record at my front door. It didn’t stay sealed for long either.

After getting a whole new dose of White Denim songs, I was once again floored. How do they do that!? In the beginning I would have preferred listening to Fits up until getting Workout Holiday. Now when someone mentions White Denim all I can think about are tracks like “All You Really Have To Do”, “I Can Tell You”, “Mess Your Hair Up”, “Hearts from Us All” and “Don’t Look That Way at It”. The song “All You Really Have To Do” features some wild guitar and bass work, with parts of the song almost being like the two instruments are having a conversation with each other. “Mess Your Hair Up”, the longest track from the album, deserves a lot of attention as well. I am especially fond of when lead singer James Petralli sings “In the backseat, my heart attacks me, when you ask me…” and they go into this hazy, almost ambient like part of the song that a first listener would have never ever even thought was coming up. At this point it’s almost like the guitar is having another conversation with itself – they pause things for a moment and say “ahhh-oohhhhh”, only to begin the madness once again with a fuzzy bass line. I have a video that I came across on YouTube one day, and it features the trio playing these two wonderfully amazing tracks, one right into the other. It wouldn’t be White Denim if they took a break between the songs. The energy is ridiculous – these guys really know how to deliver. Just look at how much they’re sweating by the time the songs end. Seeing this band perform live is at the highest position on my list of thing to do. When they do go on tour, I plan on seeing them in multiple cities.

Workout Holiday: Tracklist
1. “Let’s Talk About It” – 3:53
2. “Shake Shake Shake” – 2:37
3. “Sitting” – 2:16
4. “I Can Tell You” – 1:57
5. “Mess Your Hair Up” – 4:48
6. “Heart From Us All” – 3:10
7. “All You Really Have To Do” – 2:48
8. “Look That Way At It” – 3:25
9. “Darksided Computer Mouth” – 2:15
10. “WDA” – 3:03
11. “Don’t Look That Way At It” – 4:03
12. “IEIEI” – 3:13

White Denim’s Official Website
White Denim on Myspace
Workout Holiday: BUY

Pains of Being Pure at Heart/ The Parallelograms 7″

My Rating: 9/10
Genre/ Tags: Dream Pop, Pop, Shoegaze

Considering that 67% of the nation was covered with snow at some point this week (more info. here), I’m going to assume you also had tons and tons of snow to deal with. Along with the massive amounts of snow, I wouldn’t be surprised if you were also plagued with power outages, being snowed in, and having to dig your car out, not to mention crappy cable companies claiming that the internet and cable for “your area” have been “totally knocked out” for days (When we talked to our neighbors from “our area”, their cable and internet worked fine). The first day was excusable, because it’s totally possible that the snow could knock the cable and power out, but as the days go by and nothing changes, that is when people start to get a little fed up. The internet and cable have now been down since Wednesday of last week, and this would be the main reason I have not made any new posts here on the blog. You could thank the wonderful folks over at COMCAST for that. But the funniest part is, my house still doesn’t have access to cable and internet. I’m doing this post elsewhere, but apparently COMCAST is sending out someone to fix the problem “right away”, and by “right away” they meant next Tuesday.

Alright, let’s forget those bastards over at COMCAST for a few minutes and remember the real reason why we all come to this part of the internet: MUSIC!!! Okay, so, today I have a 7″ single for you guys with two different bands. One you may already be familiar with, and they’re known as The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, and they split their 7″ with another band known as The Parallelograms. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart hail from (yet again) New York City, while The Parallelograms come from across the Atlantic from a place known as Sheffield in the United Kingdom. This split 7″ came out back in March of 2008 on the Atomic Beat Records label which is based in the UK. The 7″ features three songs; two from The Parallelograms, and one from The Pains of Being Pure at Heart. The two tracks from The Parallelograms are short, almost perfect pop songs in their own right. They’re fast, catchy, they have a female singing, and I’d be lying if I said they didn’t put a smile on my face. Especially the undeniably catchy track “Pop the Bubbles”, which I can’t help but bob my head along with the rhythm. It’s seriously too catchy. The third track is by The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, and compared to The Parallelograms songs, The Pains change the flow by adding a male singer and slowing things down a bit, but not too much. If you’re feeling a bit down on the dumps for whatever reason, this little 7″ might be able to change your mood for the better. So please enjoy it. Hopefully I’ll be posting again shortly. In the meantime while I figure out a way to not pay for the cable/internet bill, I think I speak for all of us when I say, “COMCAST, go fuck yourself.”

Split 7″: Tracklist
1.) The Parallelograms – 1, 2, 3, Go!
2.) The Parallelograms – Pop the Bubbles
3.) The Pains of Being Pure at Heart – Kurt Cobain’s Cardigan

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart on Myspace
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart – Official Website
The Parallelograms on Myspace
The Parallelograms Official Website

Parts & Labor – Mapmaker

My Rating: 9/10
Genre/ Tags: Noise Rock, Experimental

Why does it seem like the best bands always come from New York City? What do they got goin’ on over there that the rest of us don’t have access to? Probably nothing, but it’s still kind of fun to think of it that way. So if you haven’t already guessed, today’s band hails from the Big Apple, otherwise known as the wonderful New York City. They have been known to go by the name Parts & Labor, and yes, you need to use the ampersand. They don’t take too kindly to the word “and”.

Parts & Labor have been an active band since the palindromic year of 2002, and since then they have released a few full lengths on Jagjaguwar Records and a few 7″ records, one of which they split with another band by the name of Big A Little A. More of that here. Their latest effort, entitled “Receivers”, was released in 2008 and it brought in some positive reviews for the band. Now all we have to do is wait around for another release, but my guess is that it’s going to be pretty soon considering their last was in 2008. Whether it’s sooner or later, people are still going to be ecstatic to hear more from this energetic noise rock band. After hearing a song like “Fractured Skies” or “The Gold We’re Digging” (I have “Fractured Skies” uploaded for you below this post), how could you not want to dig further and listen to more from this band? Just about every last song on this album has that constant, in your face speed that just forces you to tap your feet along to the beat. If “Fractured Skies” doesn’t do anything for you (wtf?), or leaves you begging for more, then I suggest you check out songs like “Brighter Days”, “Vision of Repair”, “Fake Rain”, “Unexplosions”, “New Crimes”, and “Knives and Pencils”. Thanks for reading, and always be sure to check back for more! Yesterday was the busiest day here at the Styrofoam Drone since it’s beginning, so let’s look to beat that record again today! Woo!

Parts & Labor – Fractured Skies

Mapmaker: Tracklist
1. Fractured Skies
2. Brighter Days
3. Vision of Repair
4. The Gold We’re Digging
5. New Crimes
6. Long Way Down
7. Ghosts Will Burn
8. Unexplosions
9. Camera Shy
10. King of the Hill (Minutemen cover)
11. Fake Rain
12. Knives and Pencils

Parts & Labor Official Website
Parts & Labor on Myspace
Mapmaker: BUY

Library of Congress – Selected Writings on the Human Condition

The Library of Congress are no longer a band anymore, but they once hailed from the wonderful town of Glen Rock, New Jersey. Before bands like Titus Andronicus, Real Estate, and Ducktails (all from NJ), the Library of Congress had formed while all the band members of those bands were still enjoying their days in high school together. The line-up for the Library of Congress consisted of Andrew Cedermark on guitar and lead vocals, Kyle Cedermark on drums, Martin Courtney IV on bass guitar and vocals, Patrick Stickles on guitar and vocals, Sarim Al-Rawi on guitar, and Matt Miller on keyboards. Some of these names might be strikingly familiar to you, mainly because they’re the members of the bands that have been getting all the attention lately. Martin Courtney IV is now the lead singer and guitarist of Real Estate, while Patrick Stickles is the lead singer and guitarist of Titus Andronicus. Andrew Cedermark also spent some time playing in Titus Andronicus, and he also releases solo material on the Underwater Peoples label, check him out here.

As far as this release from the Library of Congress goes, I don’t really have any information on it. ~~I’m not even sure if the name of the album is “Pure White Love”, I’m just using that for blog-writing purposes.~~ [ EDIT: I have been informed that the name of this album is “Selected Writings on the Human Condition”. Thought you might like to know that. ] The most I can tell you is that their name was once “Seizing Elian”, and throughout their time as a band, Andrew Cedermark was the lead singer. I don’t know what year the album was released, what label put it out, or where you can buy it, but I can tell you that it is worth your time, especially if you’re even the slightest fan of any of those bands I listed earlier. It gives you insight to their earlier days of music before they’re bigger, more popular bands emerged, and it shows you how each band went in their own, unique direction. Real Estate took the more polished poppy psychedelic route while Titus Andronicus took the rugged dirt path to ramshackle punk rock. If there is anything worth telling you readers, it’s the fact that there is a song on this album called “Albert Camus” which is an earlier version of Titus Andronicus’ album closer from “The Airing of Grievances”. Exciting!

My Rating: 9/10
Genre/ Tags: Indie Rock, Alternative, Rock
Selected Writings on the Human Condition: Tracklist
1.) Pure White Love
2.) Internal Citations
3.) Doctor Faustus
4.) Fire Extinguisher
5.) Lustful Monk
6.) Second Quarter Transcript
7.) Snow
8.) Albert Camus
9.) Latin for All Occasions, Pt. 1
10.) Have a Nice Summer

The Library of Congress on Myspace
Selected Writings on the Human Condition: TRY (download link)
A compilation album featuring a song from the Library of Congress: BUY
Stuff by Andrew Cedermark and Underwater Peoples: BUY

Volcano Suns – The Bright Orange Years

My Rating: 9/10
Genre/ Tags: Post-Punk, Alternative, Rock

The 1980’s were a fun time, with musical outfits such as U2, R.E.M., David Bowie, Michael Jackson, and Madonna dominating the scene. Alongside of that, the 1980’s were also heavily influenced with the emergence of synthpop and electronic music, with songs like this one right here. This was one of the best selling songs at the time, and it played a huge role in the constantly growing genre of electronic music during the 80’s. Now while all of this was going on, three dudes from Boston, Massachusetts decided to completely ditch the synthesizers and go with a style of music that was certainly not as popular as all the emerging synthpop, and I must commend them for this.

The Volcano Suns initially formed in 1984 after the break up of Mission of Burma in their already mentioned hometown of Boston, Massachusetts. For most of their early years, the band was a three piece consisting of Peter Prescott on drums, Jeff Weigand on bass guitar, and Jon Williams on guitar, with Prescott being the only member to remain in the band until it’s break up in 1991. This original three piece line-up would play together for the first two releases of the Volcano Suns discography – their debut in 1985, “The Bright Orange Years”, and 1986’s “All Night Lotus Party”.

Today I have their debut LP for you to listen and love, and love it you shall. The album is bursting with raw energy, with just about every song forcing you to somehow tap along and keep the beat, and at times while listening, I actually recall similarities to the band White Denim. The recording quality of the music also does wonders for their sound; that being said, I don’t think I would favor them as much if it was overproduced. If you have never heard these guys, please do yourself a favor and HEAR THEM. I was going to go through and name which songs stand out before the rest, but then I noticed I was just listing the tracklist from the album. Be sure to be on the lookout for more Volcano Suns in the near future.

The Bright Orange Years: Tracklist
1.) Jak
2.) Descent into Hell
3.) Truth is Stranger than Fishing
4.) Balancing Act
5.) Promise Me
6.) (I’m Gonna) Make You Mine
7.) Cover
8.) The Mouth that Roared
9.) Cornfield
10.) Animals
11.) It’s Stewtime
12.) Silvertone

Volcano Suns on Myspace
The Bright Orange Years (and more): BUY

Vermillion Sands – Miss My Gun EP

My Rating: 8/10
Genre/ Tags: Garage Rock, Folk Rock, Italian

Last Friday night I had some down time, so some friends and I decided to go out. We made one of our stops at AKA Music, along with a few others. Before going into the store I hadn’t necessarily planned to buy anything, but sure enough, like always, AKA had something I had previously been seeking out. After discovering the band Vermillion Sands and posting one of their other releases here on the blog (Vermillion Sands – Mary 7″), I couldn’t help but get all giddy when I came across another one of their records. This time it was their latest effort, the “Miss My Gun” EP which was released in December of 2009 by Sacred Bones Records. The EP features five new tracks from the band, along with a cover song. The cover, “I’m a Little Mixed Up”, was originally performed by a woman named Betty James from back in 1961. More information on Betty James right here. As far as the rest of the music goes, the band stays within the confines of their infectious folky-garage rock that’s dusted with a thin layer of country. Infectious is the appropriate word, because songs like “Where Was He From”, “Miss My Gun”, and “I’m a Little Mixed Up” will probably get stuck in your head and keep you coming back for second, third, and fourth listens. Dare I say fifth? While the EP downloads, be sure to listen to “Miss My Gun”, which you can hear below. Please keep in mind that the band is fronted by a female singer, Anna Barattin. Also, a full length is due out on Fat Possum Records in the near future! Please come soon!

Vermillion Sands – Miss My Gun

Miss My Gun EP: Tracklist
1.) Where Was He From
2.) Miss My Gun
3.) I Need No One
4.) I’m a Little Mixed Up
5.) Disappear Chanell

Vermillion Sands on Myspace/Facebook
Miss My Gun EP: BUY
Mary 7″ previously posted on the Styrofoam Drone

Ganglians – Captured Tracks 7″

My Rating: 9/10
Genre/ Tags: Psychedelic, Pop

California’s Ganglians are a band you may have already heard of. Last year was a good one for the band, seeing that they released two full length albums, one being a self-titled 12″, and the other album “Monster Head Room”, which was a step up from the original self-titled. If you haven’t heard either of those albums yet, you shouldn’t waste any more time. Follow the links and get listening.

If you haven’t heard Ganglians at all up until this point, then today is your lucky day. Basically I just linked you to their entire discography (as far as I know). If you end up listening to everything, you might notice how the band begins to solidify their sound by the time you listen to “Monster Head Room”. When they finally are comfortable with their sound, that is when they can really start to deliver their contagious blend of psychedelic-pop music. This becomes noticeable on their most recent release, which is what I have here for you today. It’s two songs that were released on 7″ vinyl only, and the Captured Tracks website description doesn’t beat around the bush. These are by far the best songs we have heard from Ganglians up til this point. Let’s hope they keep following this pattern in the future.

Captured Tracks 7″: Tracklist
1.) Blood on the Sand
2.) Make It Up

Ganglians on Myspace
Captured Tracks 7″: BUY

My Bloody Valentine – Loom (Live in Vancouver)

My Rating: 9/10
Genre/ Tags: Live, Shoegaze, Alternative

The other day on the discussion board in our Last.fm group, a user who goes by the name of “perturbantecoi” suggested that some material from the catalog of My Bloody Valentine be put up on the blog. With much consideration, I came across quite a tremendous live recording of My Bloody Valentine from back in their days after releasing the LP we all know and cherish, “Loveless”. This recording took place on July 4th, 1992 in the city of Vancouver in British Columbia, Canada. I think I speak for us all when I say “Damn, I wish I was there.” This recording is phenomenal, and it’s loaded with tracks from various releases by the band, but most notably their already mentioned album “Loveless”. Three tracks from their first LP “Isn’t Anything” are included in the show, as well as a few tracks from their extensive collection of EP’s. Whether you’re the most avid My Bloody Valentine fan (which probably means you already have this), or you’re just looking for some new MBV material, look no further. The final track of the show, “You Made Me Realise”, would be worth downloading all on it’s own. It’s over 17 minutes long, and it starts as you would expect, but about two minutes in they stop everything and let the instruments feedback for over 10 minutes, before suddenly coming back to life to finish off the remaining two minutes of the song. Oh. So. Super.

It’s a long download, but you’ll be glad you waited. You should head on over to the Last.fm group and join up in the meantime, and maybe do some chatting! You could even put up another suggestion for posting here on the blog, because that’s what today’s entry was. A suggestion! So please, suggest away! Thanks!

Loom (Live in Vancouver) Tracklist:
1.) When You Sleep
2.) I Only Said
3.) Only Shallow
4.) Slow
5.) Nothing Much to Lose
6.) [noise]
7.) You Never Should
8.) Feed Me With Your Kiss
9.) Soon
10.) To Here Knows When
11.) Honey Power
12.) You Made Me Realise

Loom (Live in Vancouver): TRY
MBV on Myspace
MBV Official Website (Who the hell is pretending to be Bilinda Butcher?)