UFO – UFO 2: Flying – One Hour Space Rock

Yo dudes. So I know this post might be going a bit out of the loop of where we’ve been lately, but I just can’t stop listening to this stuff in the car (oh yeah – I don’t think I’ve ever mentioned this here – if you haven’t noticed, I get most of my listening done while driving around town delivering pizza in my lovely car). This album is by a band called UFO from England, and they’re actually still active today. I think I first came across this stuff in my Facebook news feed one day when a guy from the Tequila Sunrise record store in Philadelphia was posting videos to their music. This looks like it was their second full-length album, and it came out back in 1971 (the same year as my favorite Pink Floyd album “Meddle”. Hopefully I get around to posting that up here some day). This just goes to show all the great psychedelic records that were coming out around that time period, and this album goes a hell of a long way to prove that statement.

This LP is five tracks long, with the final track “Flying” nearly reaching a half-hour in length. Altogether the album clocks in at just about an hours worth of time, as promised by the title. They also promise space rock, and they’re certainly not joking around. This album is psychedelic-space rock at it’s finest, coming from possibly the best time period for this style of music, so if you haven’t heard any of this stuff yet, stick around and listen to the songs at the end of the post. Unfortunately for us, there seems to be absolutely no chance of us snagging this LP for ourselves without spending a nice chunk of money, but hey, I’m sure it would be worth it. If I ever come across one you can be sure I’m going to buy it. I think it’s time you stop listening to me – check out these invigorating, electrified, guitar heavy jams right below. Try starting with “Silver Bird”. Shortly after you’ll fall in love.

Silver Bird –

Prince Kajuku –

My Rating: 9/10
Genre/ Tags: Psychedelic, Space Rock, Alternative
UFO 2: Flying – One Hour Space Rock: Tracklist:
1.) Silver Bird
2.) Star Storm
3.) Prince Kajuku
4.) The Coming of Prince Kajuku
5.) Flying

UFO on Wikipedia
Definitely can’t buy this one, long OOP – yr best bet is eBay
Find more info. on this record right here – I ❤ Discogs.

Unnatural Helpers – Sunshine/Pretty Girls 7″

UNNATURAL HELPERS are a four piece rock band hailing from Seattle, Washington. Dean Whitmore, Kimberly Morrison, Brian Standeford, and Charles Gebhardt make up the band, and together they play these quick, guitar-heavy tunes, almost always getting their point across before the three minute mark. This 7″ was their first release to come from the Hardly Art label, and it was released right at the end of March. A month later after the single came their full-length effort “Cracked Love & Other Drugs”, and since then I’m sure these guys have been touring relentlessly. Check out a song from both sides of the record right below, the self-depreciating lyrics of “Sunshine/Pretty Girls” or the heavy rockin’ in “Shakes”. Definitely some nice guitar work in there. Keep an eye out for their full-length too.

Sunshine/Pretty Girls –

Shakes –

My Rating: 7/10
Genre/ Tags: Punk, Alternative, Garage Rock
Sunshine/Pretty Girls 7″: Tracklist:
1.) Sunshine/Pretty Girls
2.) Did the Lawn Get Mowed?
3.) Shakes
4.) Waiting Such a Long Time

BUY the 7″ directly from Insound – Limited to 500!
You can also buy their full-length LP from Insound
Unnatural Helpers on Myspace
Unnatural Helpers on Last.fm

Silver Jews – American Water

Hey hey. So I think many of you guys are already going to be familiar with today’s album, but I think it’s more than worthy of having a spot here on the Styrofoam Drone. It’s the pivotal third album from David Berman and company, and it’s quite a milestone in the indie rock world. I probably wouldn’t be making this post if I didn’t find this gem chilling in the ‘used’ record bin the other day either. It was only $6.99! How am I supposed to walk away from that? Do I even need to mention that Stephen Malkmus is on this record? Should I just ask you guys questions from now until the end of the post? Nah seriously though, if you haven’t heard anything from this record, you should stop what you’re doing right now and check this stuff out.

Berman and Malkmus deliver these folky, twangin’ country tunes, and they do it all with a lazy, laid back approach that’s definitely noticeable on many of the songs from the record. My favorite example of “lazy” from this record would probably be the song “Federal Dust”. Just listen and you’ll know what I’m talking about a minute and a half through when the guitar solo starts. It’s actually funny sometimes. It seems like they didn’t care when recording this stuff, but I’m sure that’s far from being true.

I also want to take a quick second and mention the track “Night Society”.Talk about the biggest tease ever when it comes to music. What happens before and after this song!? They just fade out on both ends! Every time I listen it kills me – I just want it to keep playing (which reminds me of “J vs. S” at the end of Shady Lane by Pavement on “Brighten the Corners”). It’s like “What did this spawn from? Was it really just a short jam like that or was there a whole song that you’re not telling us about! Come on! Spill the beans!”. If you haven’t figured it out, yes, this really does bother me, and the worst part is we’ll probably never know. It’s also the only song on the album that doesn’t feature Berman’s unique mixture of a mundane singing voice and genius lyrics. “All my favorite singers couldn’t sing,” says Berman during “We Are Real”. I guess that’s his rebuttal. Another good track for lyrics would be “Blue Arrangements”, and I’ve got it for ya below. Unfortunately that’s all for today, it’s time to go to work, but check this stuff out.

My Rating: 9/10
Genre/ Tags: Country, Alternative, Folk
American Water: Tracklist:
1.) Random Rules
2.) Smith & Jones Forever
3.) Night Society
4.) Federal Dust
5.) People
6.) Blue Arrangements
7.) We Are Real
8.) Send in the Clouds
9.) Like Like the the the Death
10.) Buckingham Rabbit
11.) Honk If You’re Lonely
12.) The Wild Kindness

Buy the LP @ Insound!
Silver Jews – Official Website!
Silver Jews on Myspace

Forming – Forming 7″

Hey hey. Got something for you guys today, and I think you’re gonna like it. The name of the band is FORMING, and they’re from Long Beach, California, where they’re living the life and chillin’ …eternally. They’ve got two official releases out there for us – one of them being this 7″ we have here today and then a CD-EP called “Sleep Like a Dog” that were both put out by the same label.

Now I know this might be a stretch, but the singer in this band somewhat reminds me of Tim Kinsella from Cap’n Jazz, but certainly not in every way – just that raspy quality of his voice. I’m only saying this because I’ve been listening to a shit ton of Cap’n Jazz since that AWESOME show last Saturday, which you can still check out right here. But moving on…

This 7″ captures the bands raw energy quite nicely, with their heavy guitar driven jams and grieving lyrics about being drunk and unhappy and stuff. Perhaps the best example of raw energy comes about halfway through on the third track “BABCAB”, which is a fiery guitar solo that will certainly lighten the mood of the song, because chances are the lyrics aren’t going to do that. If you really want to talk about lyrics, skip ahead to the last track “Stay Home”. “Stay home tonight, turn out the lights…and cry for help” he screams about halfway through the track, only to have the song transfer over into this lazy stoner-jam until the final 30-seconds or so. They come back for a quick 30-second freak out at the end, which ultimately brings us to the end of the 7″. Listen to the two songs I just mentioned right below, and if that’s not enough for ya, head on over to their Myspace.

BABCAB –

Stay Home –

My Rating: 7/10
Genre/ Tags: Rock, Alternative, Emo
Forming 7″: Tracklist:
1.) Hate My Guts
2.) The Night Before
3.) BABCAB
4.) Stay Home

Forming on Myspace
BUY the 7″ directly from Vitirol Records
Check out their CP-EP too, although it’s sold out – You can download it here

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!

Mind Spiders – Mind Spiders 7″

Dude, what’s with Texas releasing all of this great music? Seriously, more and more bands keep pouring out of Texas from all sides, and there’s no end in sight. Hopefully there won’t be either, and then they can all keep gracing our eager ears with their mind blowing tunes. Speaking of minds, today’s band is called MIND SPIDERS, and yup, you guessed it, they’re from Fort Worth, Texas. And this appears to be their debut release of any sort, so let’s give it up for the Mind Spiders. I must warn you before we go any further though – this stuff here is extremely addicting. After listening to the 7″ countless times, it’s pretty clear that the Mind Spiders hook is in pretty deep. If it can happen to me, it can happen to you too. Be sure to keep reading, because honestly, I don’t think you guys want to miss out on this one.

Mind Spiders are led by a guy named Mark Ryan, and it turns out that they’re only a side project of his. When he’s not concentrating on Mind Spiders, he’s destroying faces with his other band The Marked Men. The Marked Men and Mind Spiders do share some qualities, but we’re focusing on just the Mind Spiders today.

Their brand new 7″ comes from the punk label Dirtnap Records. It’s four tracks long of highly energized, face-beating garage-punk, and it clocks in at just over 10 minutes. Each song from the 7″ is a highlight in it’s own way – whether it’s the scorching, fiery guitars of “Ripped”, the gigantic, progressively growing sound in “Time Sucker”, or the harmonic goodness of “Worlds Destroyed”, this band is bound to catch on. Be sure to give these songs a listen below, and check out their Myspace too for other songs from the 7″.

Time Sucker –

Dirty Secrets –

My Rating: 9/10
Genre/ Tags: Garage Rock, Punk, Alternative
Mind Spiders 7″: Tracklist:
1.) Worlds Destroyed
2.) Time Sucker
3.) Ripped
4.) Dirty Secrets

Mind Spiders on Myspace!
BUY the 7″ directly from Green Noise Records (Dirtnap Records)

Endless Wave – City Walls EP

To start things off today, I would like to apologize for not posting anything the past few days. I was visiting the beach for the weekend and didn’t really have the time to post anything (except for Monday), and finding a free internet signal proved to be quite difficult, so I figured it wouldn’t hurt to let a few days pass without a post. But don’t worry, I have something new for you guys today, and hopefully you’ll enjoy it. The name of the band is ENDLESS WAVE, and they’re a three-piece band coming from Boston, and they just released their debut EP called “City Walls” from a record label called Fort Point Recordings. Endless Wave take on that familiar atmospheric shoegaze sound, but they do it in their own special way in which the music gives you a feeling that you’re soaring through the sky. Hence the descriptive word “skygaze” I’ve been seeing when looking up some information on this band.

As I already said, these guys play a familiar sound, and I’m sure you can name bands from the past that these guys sound like. There music is full of heavenly, crystal clear guitars (Ocean Drive), fuzzy distorted bass lines (Last Phase), and sudden bursts of energy from start to finish that are bound to catch you off guard. Songs like “Triangular” and the epic seven-minute “Premeditated” include many of the things I just mentioned, but do you really want to hear it from me? Listen to the songs below yourself and see what you think!

Ocean Drive –

Triangular –

My Rating: 7/10
Genre/ Tags: Alternative, Pop, Shoegaze
City Walls EP: Tracklist:
1.) City Walls
2.) Last Phase
3.) Ocean Drive
4.) Triangular
5.) Premeditated

Endless Wave on Myspace
Endless Wave on Last.fm

Chain and the Gang – (I’ve Got) Privilege 7″

Last we heard from Ian Svenonius and his Chain Gang, it was over a year ago. Their first full length LP came out on K Records back in April of 2009, and since then they’ve been pretty silent. Now, Ian and his Chain Gang are back once more, and they’re offering up a fresh, funky, fun loving 7″ that features two brand new tracks from the band. These two songs are almost like a continuation of where they left off from their LP, “Down With Liberty, Up With Chains”, carrying over all the humorous attitude and sassiness that made their LP such an interesting and fun listen.

A-side “(I’ve Got) Privilege” definitely falls into the funky category, complete with female backup vocals and a jazzy bass line that’s bound to get your head bobbing along to the beat. Flipping over to the B-side, they change things up a little bit, and it’s almost immediately noticeable. They leave behind the funky rhythms this time, and instead they just rock out and teach you how to sound like a genuine Detroit rock band. I have the A-side for you to listen to below, and you can head on over to their Myspace page so you can listen to the B-side. I don’t know what you’re all going to think, but this little 7″ is quite an awesome one. The best part is, it came out of nowhere. I had no idea these guys were putting anything new out, so this one was definitely a nice surprise. I hope you guys enjoy it as much as I did! Now if only I could think of a band name as cool as theirs…

(I’ve Got) Privilege –

My Rating: 9/10
Genre/ Tags: Garage Rock, Alternative
(I’ve Got) Privilege 7″: Tracklist:
1.) (I’ve Got) Privilege
2.) Detroit Music

Chain and the Gang on Myspace!
BUY their records directly from K Records

Whirl – Distressor EP

WHIRL is literally a brand new band. They’ve been a member on Myspace since January, and they made their first post on their Tumblr account about three months ago. Since opening all of these accounts, Whirl has been hard at work releasing their earliest material to share with us. Up until this point they’ve released a demo tape (which you can snag for a dirt-cheap $2.00!), and then their first full-length EP, entitled “Distressor”. They posted a link to download “Distressor” on their Tumblr page about two weeks ago, so you should definitely look into that. It’s 25 minutes of heavy, spaced out shoegaze music that’s meant to be played no other way but at excessively high volumes. You’ll figure that out pretty quickly too, as the guitars are almost always coming at your full force, like in the song “Child”, or in the melodic goodness of the track “Meaningless”.

When it comes to listening to their new EP, it doesn’t really take that long for it to sink in before you’re listening to songs over and over again. Like everything else out there, once it sinks in, it’s not an easy task to escape it. Songs like “Leave”, “Blue”, and “Meaningless” will keep you coming back for second and third listens, not to mention the entire EP itself. The songs are arranged very carefully, some playing into each other as seamlessly as possible, making this all hang together almost too perfectly. I don’t necessarily like to tell you guys when you’re going to like music, but I think I have to this time. It’s just so deliciously awesome and fresh that it’s kind of hard to ignore. Although this is pretty much getting their foot into the door of the music universe, I think it’s a safe bet to say that these guys are going to be moving on to bigger and better things very soon. Very ambitious, and certainly promising. Enjoy the songs, because I know I did!

Leave –

Blue –

Meaningless –

My Rating: 8/10
Genre/ Tags: Shoegaze, Alternative, Punk
Distressor EP: Tracklist:
1.) Preface
2.) Leave
3.) Blue
4.) Ghost
5.) Meaningless
6.) Child
7.) Sandy

Whirl on Myspace
Whirl on Tumblr
Download the EP for free right here
Download the Demo Tape right here (you should buy it for $2.00, come on)

Free Energy – Stuck On Nothing

My Rating: 8/10
Genre/ Tags: Alternative, Indie Rock, Pop

Free Energy formed in the Fall of 2008. Most of the band had already known each other from playing in a previous band called “Hockey Night” together. Originally from Minnesota, Scott Wells, Evan Wells and Paul Sprangers moved to the wonderful city of Philadelphia. When in Philadelphia they met guitarist Geoff Bucknam and drummer Nick Shuminsky, and shortly afterword, the band Free Energy came into existence. Their time as a band has been relatively short thus far, but they already have an EP out, and their first full length album “Stuck On Nothing” is due out on May 4th by DFA Records. If you’ve read about Free Energy anywhere else on the web, then you already know this album was produced by LCD Soundsystem’s James Murphy.

Before getting into this record, I didn’t know what I should be expecting. The most I knew about these guys were that they were from my city, Philadelphia, which is probably the original reason I decided to listen to them. It’s always cooler when the band is from the same city you’re from. But moving on. “Stuck On Nothing” holds a lot of talent on both ends, musically and lyrically. With that being said, I’d like to say that “Stuck On Nothing” was an extremely refreshing listen the first time around. It’s great that a band still wants to make a record like this, reminding many listeners of the classic rock days and the classic rock radio stations that play all of your beloved bands from the past. Lead singer Paul Sprangers guides us through the album with his reassuring vocals, and that becomes clear shortly after the album begins.

According to Sprangers, the first track “Free Energy”, is “kind of a survey of everything that we’re about. That song has a lot of elements of what we’re trying to do. It’s got really driving choruses, big simple riffs, really melodic harmonies, and wild guitar solos.” (via the LAist). Take it from the band member himself, because he’s right on the money. If you have a moment, read the rest of that interview too; it’s quite entertaining and insightful. But you heard the man, and he’s not just pulling our leg either. The album really is chock-full of this stuff. The “wild guitar solos” are constantly popping up left and right, like in “Bang Pop”, “All I Know” and especially “Bad Stuff”. “Bad Stuff”, the second longest on the album, is kind of a song on its own. Sprangers sings “If you feel my heart, then we’re tied by fate,” shortly before the epic ending begins. It’s slower and still full of excellent guitar work, but it evokes a different feeling that you don’t quite get anywhere else on the album. If you haven’t already been able to tell, this album is certainly worth all 45 minutes that it carries. Just about every last song would qualify as a highlight, including “Dream City”, “Light Love”, “Hope Child”, and “Wild Winds”. Just wait until May 28th, when most of these highlights will come to life at the First Unitarian Church in Philadelphia. I think I speak for us all when I say that this show won’t come soon enough.

Bad Stuff –

Hope Child –

Free Energy Official Website
Free Energy on Myspace
BUY the Free Energy 7″ directly from the DFA Records webstore
Check out this awesome interview with Paul Sprangers by the LAist