Spider Bags – Take It Easy Tonite 7″

Was anybody else aware that a new Spider Bags 7″ was upon us? I certainly had no idea until I received an e-mail yesterday about their brand new 7″ from Churchkey Records. It’s still not due out for a good chunk of time – until about midway through October on the 19th – but that doesn’t mean we can’t talk about it! This is their first release since their second full-length effort, “Goodbye Cruel World, Hello Crueler World”, and as the e-mail claims (and rightfully so!), “Take It Easy Tonite continues the quality output.” Two awesomely produced and new ramshackle punk-rock-country throw downs (just like the Spider Bags you know and love) put out on beautiful blue and violet swirled vinyl in a limited edition of 100, and then some on the traditional black vinyl. Now you just gotta wait til October 19th…

According to this e-mail, the song on the A-side (“Take It Easy Tonite”) is about the Spider Bag’s undying love for partying while they’re on tour. Normally when the band pulls in late to their next stop on tour, they claim that they’re gonna “take it easy” for the night. Unfortunately for the Bags, it never seems to work out this way. You might be able to figure that out by their music, too, because once you get to the bar, it’s kind of difficult to just “take it easy”. Lead singer and guitarist Dan McGee had this to say about the nature of the song, “It sounded kind of fun to write a hard-rocking pop song around the idea of ‘taking it easy.'” So as you can see, they just basically took this idea and ran with it. The result? This wonderful track “Take It Easy Tonite”, which was carefully mixed for over an entire month. You can hear it in the recording too – epic, eyebrow-searing guitars, echoing drums, and an attitude that’s sure to make you want smash everything in sight – check it out below!

Then the B-side, “Shaunda (What’s My Sign?)”, kind of goes off in a not-so-similar direction. They slow things down for a dirge-like feel, and as it’s said perfectly in this e-mail, “it’s a singeing breath of strung-out fire that’s sure to leave a mark – a late-night rock ‘n’ roll slow-burner.” Normally I’d come up with my own description, but whoever wrote this shit totally nailed it. Props! They even went as far as including overdubs of backwards drumming, which if you’re paying attention close enough, you can certainly hear it. Now I’m curious why they would want to do that. And I almost completely forgot to mention that this B-side features the singing of Bryan Schmitz – a dude you might remember from The Golden Boys. The Bags take control of the instruments while Mr. Schmitz sings away. Normally I’d stream this track for ya as well, but it’s out of my hands this time. October 19th isn’t that far away!

PS – Titus Andronicus and Free Energy tonight @ the Church

Take It Easy Tonite –

My Rating: 9/10
Genre/ Tags: Country, Punk, Garage Rock
Take It Easy Tonite 7″: Tracklist:
1.) Take It Easy Tonite
2.) Shaunda (What’s My Sign?)

THE BAGS on Myspace
A nice little write-up about the Spider Bags on the Churchkey website
No links to buy this 7″ just yet – just wait a bit closer til Oct. 19th
Check out this awesomely insightful interview w/ Dan McGee @ The Chronicle
Spider Bags – A Celebration of Hunger previously posted on the Drone
Spider Bags – Hey Delinquents 7″ also previously posted on the Drone

Fungi Girls/ Indian Wars – Split 7″

Hey there, how are we today? I hope all is well. If not, hopefully that will change after you check out what I’ve got lined up for you guys today. It’s the brand new split 7″ between your favorite scuzzy lo-fi act outta Texas called FUNGI GIRLS, and then another band called INDIAN WARS who hail straight outta Vancouver in British Columbia, Canada. We’ve covered a good bit of the Fungi Girls discography here at the Drone, but this is the first time we’re talking about Indian Wars. This looks to be the second 7″ from these rowdy Canadian rockers, and I’m sure it won’t be their last. They also appear to be friends with another Drone favorite, the Dead Ghosts, considering that both acts hail from Vancouver. At first glance you may wonder why these two bands are splitting a 7″ together, but those questions are put to rest immediately after the first listen.

So. We start off on the A-side (duh), which is a gritty new track from the Fungi Girls called “Sun Blues”. Bouncy, elastic bass lines and a headache-inducing guitar scratch dominate this song from beginning to end, complete with that all-too-familiar Fungi Girls howl that you (and I myself) have become extremely fond of. They even managed to work a surfy sounding transition into the song, which definitely causes you to double-listen. Kind of like a double-take when you turn yr head, but this time you’re turning to your music player to rewind the song a bit to hear that awesome shit again. DOUBLE-LISTEN!!! Then after a quick face-melting guitar in the last minute (otherwise known as an authentic Fungi Girls psychedelic freak-out), it’s time to flip that shit over to the B-side for some Indian Wars action.

This is the first I’ve ever heard of these bros, but it won’t stay that way for long after hearing this song. Oh no! The first 30 seconds kind of start off on a different level, which I guess acts as an intro for the song. Then a galloping drum beat takes control of everything and there’s no turning back. After this the song has a mixed feel between a rowdy county-punk song and a bluesy guitar shuffle – it’s almost impossible to pick just one, because they both work so well. The lead singer (name unknown? is it Brad Felotick?) sounds like he’s got some mighty burdens to unload before this song comes to an end. Wait for the final 40 seconds and you’ll be in the middle of a nasty, twangy guitar solo that sums up the raw energy of this song quite perfectly. There’s almost a Black Lips feel to this song now that I’m thinking about it.

This 7″ absolutely rips, and I highly suggest you go buy it from Rough Trade, because I think that just might be THEE last place to get it. I’m probably wrong though – get in touch with the dudes at Psychic Lunch or CMRTYZ to find out for yourself. Either way you decide to go, it’s limited to 300 and pressed on some nice white vinyl, so you’re going to be happy no matter what. Just get it before that other scumbag does! Hurry!

Sun Blues –

Pick You Up –

My Rating: 9/10
Genre/ Tags: Lo-Fi, Garage Rock, Psychedelic, Punk
Split 7″: Tracklist:
1.) Fungi Girls – Sun Blues
2.) Indian Wars – Pick You Up

Fungi Girls on Myspace
Indian Wars on Myspace
The 7″ is still available from Rough Trade! Get it quick because this thing is SOLD OUT everywhere else!
Fungi Girls – Turquoise Hotel 7″ previously posted on the Drone
Fungi Girls – Seafaring Pyramids previously posted on the Drone

The Eeries – Feel Right Cassette

Yo! Here’s something today that I don’t think many of you bros are going to be familiar with. That would mainly be due to the fact that these guys are a local Philly band. I had the pleasure of seeing them open for DOOMSTAR! the other night while I was at the Millcreek Tavern. By the time the night was over, one of the dudes from The Eeries was still hanging around, and I ended up talking to him for a bit. The result? He hooked me up with a couple of brand new Eeries cassette tapes, and we left it at “Yeah man, we’ll be talking through e-mails soon enough,” or something like that. I don’t know if I’m getting around to this sooner than he thought, but The Eeries definitely deserve to be heard. So let’s hear them!

For starters, I’m pretty sure these guys do all of their recording themselves. Not exactly sure how they go about it, but this Blogspot post may help shed some light on that. I know it’s not the same EP we’re talking about here, but it gives us some insight, right? “Instruments live in the basement, vocals in the bathroom, dishes in the sink.” He actually gave me that cassette too, but we’ll talk about that one some other day in the near future. Now onto the music – I kind of had a slight idea of where there sound was going after seeing them live, but I didn’t want to jump to any conclusions too quickly before listening.

A ridiculously twangy guitar dominates all of the songs, sometimes with a more poppy flare (Walk You Home), and then other times with a moody blues-rock feel (Feel Right, In Your Head). The guitars have an extremely concentrated sound, and they’re always backed by constantly rolling drums and lazy, punchy bass lines. For the last song of the cassette, they kind of bring all of these elements together in one single song, called “Pocket”. Honest lyrics like “Somewhere in your pocket I found love” complement the twangin’, country-esque feel of the song, and once the final minute rolls around they slow it all down for a true blues vibe. They even do some nice howling over the mix for good measure. You can check out all of the songs from the cassette tape below, and then the Eeries were cool enough to set these tracks free for anybody to download, which you can do RIGHT HERE. Go through their Blogspot page for even more downloads, too!

My Rating: 8/10
Genre/ Tags: Lo-Fi, Blues Rock, Garage Rock
Feel Right Cassette: Tracklist:
1.) Feel Right
2.) In Your Head
3.) Walk You Home
4.) Pocket

DOWNLOAD the cassette completely for free !!!
The Eeries on Blogspot – Plenty more free downloads here
The Eeries on Last.fm

Univox – Lying Fuck 7″

I’m loving all of these new Philly bands that have been popping up lately. Most recently coming into my radar would be Philadelphia’s own UNIVOX, and these guys definitely fit in quite nicely with the ever-growing band scene in Philadelphia. They certainly don’t waste any time, and they’re certainly not afraid to rock yr face off and send yr ass right to the damn floor. They quickly prove that statement with the song “Pi” as well. Right off the bat these guys already sound like they’re going ape-shit on their instruments, and then we have the singer shoving his words down our throat almost immediately. I don’t exactly know who is singing in “Pi”, but I have come to understand that all four of the dudes in the band take vocal duties, so I guess it wouldn’t really make a difference. Right after the electrified rock out that is “Pi”, they start up from a different level with the song “I’m a Lying Fuck”. A nasally acoustic guitar starts things off, and you’ll probably notice that it’s definitely a different guy singing. Or maybe not. But it definitely sounds that way.

It doesn’t stay that way for long though. Things change up right before the one minute mark when the singer counts off, and then the shit hits the fan. You may also notice the vocal harmonies, and there’s a shit-ton of them. They definitely use this feat to their advantage, too. I guess that’s the perks of having multiple singers in yr band. Stick around til the final minute of the song for some awesome guitar work as well. Next up would be “Cannonball”, the longest song included on the 7″. The singer sings deeply about being a carpet, a cow, a pyramid, and probably even a few other things that I missed. Then at the two minute mark things take a drastic turn. From here on out, a galloping drum beat and a small sprinkle of a country-music tinge take over the song, and you’re probably lying if you say you saw this part coming. That’s all I got for you today, but check out the songs below. If you’re from Philadelphia, you’ll feel pretty psyched after listening knowing that you come from the same city as the music.

Pi –

Cannonball –

My Rating: 8/10
Genre/ Tags: Punk, Alternative, Garage Rock
Lying Fuck 7″: Tracklist:
1.) Pi
2.) I’m a Lying Fuck
3.) Cannonball

BUY the 7″ from Insound!
BUY their full-length while yr at it too. Why not??
Univox on Myspace !

The Boom Bang – Bummer Camp 7″

Yo yo. Got something real nice for you guys here today. Not sure if you remember what I said from a few days ago about having stuff lined up already for everyday this week, but I’ve already gotten a bit off task from my original plans. You could thank THE BOOM BANG for this, because they sent me an e-mail with some information about their forthcoming 7″ EP from Guestroom Records out of Norman, Oklahoma, and I’m glad they got in touch. The release date for this brand new 7″ of theirs would be September 17th (also my birthday), but the band was nice enough to hook you guys up with a download of the 7″. Not sure how long it will be available, so you should probably snag it now while you can.

First things first: There guys play LOUD. I can only imagine what one of their shows might have in store. That being said – let’s hope these guys make it out to Philadelphia sooner or later. I’m sure it would be a ballin’ time. This way we could witness the madness that is The Boom Bang right before our eyes, but moving on. These guys play absolutely head splitting, heavy guitar driven garage-punk songs with an extremely staggering guitar sound. The gritty guitars may actually make you cringe – kind of like when somebody scratches their nails against a chalk board – but not in a bad way. The cringe would be out of sheer happiness and love for this band and their lethal sound. And call me crazy, but parts of James Smiths vocals in the song “Swamp City” actually remind me of Glenn Mercer from the Feelies. But you guys should definitely check out these songs below, because I think yr gonna like these guys. Don’t forget you can download this stuff too. You should check this out too – they’ve got a music video for the song “Tokyo Roll”.

Tokyo Roll –

Swamp City –

My Rating: 8/10
Genre/ Tags: Garage Rock, Lo-Fi, Punk
Bummer Camp 7″: Tracklist:
1.) Tokyo Roll
2.) We Skeletons
3.) Run Way Away
4.) Swamp City

You download the 7″ completely for FREE right here – now say thanks to the band!
The Boom Bang on Myspace
The Boom Bang on Facebook

Two Bit Dezperados – Macumba para Exù 7″

Anybody remember the label Shit Music for Shit People from awhile back? They’re a small label based out of Italy and Portugal, and now they’re back on the scene with a brand new 7″ from the TWO BIT DEZPERADOS. Last time we heard from these guys was back in May when they released the excellent Satàn 7″, and as you can see, these guys haven’t stopped working since then. This new 7″ is bound to turn heads, as it brings the unique blend of Two Bit Dezperados folksy-garage songs to the ears of the world!

Now while the label is based out of Italy/Portugal, Two Bit Dezperados come from a completely different location – in case you didn’t guess it, they’re from Brazil. At least that’s what I’ve come to understand. But this new 7″ from SMFSP is quite the ambitious release, clocking in at just under 10 minutes with four brand new, highly caffeinated, folksy-garage anthems from these bold, Western sounding outlaws. Opening track “Devil in Me” kicks things off with squealing, twangin’ guitars, played over a galloping bass and drum beat that helps keep the song moving forward. Up next would be the song “Pretty Girl”, which I’ve uploaded for you bros and gals to check out below, so don’t forget it. The keyboards and vocals make for a hella-good time – not to mention that this is quite a catchy song. Next comes “Eu digo não”, which takes a bit of a turn from where the other songs were. They take a step back on the speed and get a bit slower with this more laid back, acoustic song. They also don’t forget to bring their keyboard along for some nice harmonies played over top of some squawking vocals insisting that “you don’t know”. I don’t know what that titles means, but my guess is “You Don’t Know”…or “I Don’t Know”. Check out the two songs below, and you can hear the rest of the 7″ on their Myspace page. Dig it!

Pretty Girl –

O-Yes –

My Rating: 7/10
Genre/ Tags: Garage Rock, Folk Rock, Country
Macumba para Exù 7″: Tracklist:
1.) Devil in Me
2.) Pretty Girl
3.) Eu digo não
4.) O-Yes

BUY the 7″ directly from SMFSP
Two Bit Dezperados on Myspace
Shit Music for Shit People on Blogspot

DOOMSTAR! – Rainbow Bloodsucker EP

Yo dudes. I’m SUPER stoked on this band we have here today. I hope most of you are unaware of these guys, because when you give it your first listen, chances are your ass will be sent straight to the floor. If only I could see your reactions upon first hearing. Too bad that’s not going to happen. All I know is that I was totally into this stuff right from the start. My first intentions were to buy absolutely everything they had for sale, which only turns out to be a brand new cassette tape single, but that’s enough, right???. If these guys keep doing what they’re doing, I’m sure they’ll have PLENTY of more releases for us somewhere down the road. Of course, I am speaking of Cambridge, Massachusetts own DOOMSTAR! (capitalization and exclamation necessary).

It would seem as though DOOMSTAR! has been hard at work for the year of 2010. Their EP that we have here today came out just this past February, and they just put out this cassette tape in July. So with this EP, you’ll probably figure out pretty quickly that this band is far from shy. They don’t beat around the bush or anything like that. Nothing too pretty or too fancy, no glam, no chillwave – just straight up IN YR FACE gritty guitar-driven psych-rock jam outs with a bit of the moody, punk flare mixed in for good measure. But they’re not always pummeling you full-throttle – parts of the song “Sharon Mitchel” get a bit quieter than the rest, but certainly not for too long before they’re back to destroy you some more. Other songs like “Gimmee Some” and “Handsome Man” tend to lean a little more to the pop side of things, but they still don’t forget to bring along that staggering guitar sound for the ride. Then there’s songs like “Rainbow Bloodsucker” and “You Can Hide”, which serve no other purpose than to make your jaw drop straight to the floor. For a good portion of the song (Rainbow Bloodsucker), the same two guitar chords go through a hell of a beat down, getting absolutely crushed by epic guitar solos and relentless, crashing drums. This was the first song I heard from the EP, and it was a HELL of a way to be introduced to this band.

Do you understand why I’m so stoked on these guys now? Hopefully you do. If not, listen to these songs below to help add a little excitement to your day. Let’s help spread the DOOMSTAR! name, because these guys deserve to be heard.

Handsome Man –

Rainbow Bloodsucker –

You Can Hide –

My Rating: 8.5/10
Genre/ Tags: Garage Rock, Psychedelic, Punk
Rainbow Bloodsucker EP: Tracklist:
1.) Handsome Man
2.) Kitty Kitty
3.) Lily Face
4.) Rainbow Bloodsucker
5.) Sharon Mitchel
6.) Gimmee Some
7.) Ronald Ray-Gun
8.) You Can Hide

BUY DOOMSTAR! releases directly from their Bandcamp page
DOOMSTAR! on Myspace
DOOMSTAR! on Muxtape

Golden Triangle/ The Fresh & Onlys – Split 7″

Remember when I said I’ve been giving Hardly Art quite a lot of love lately? Well here’s why – this is the third single from the label that I am posting in under a week, with the first two being from Woven Bones and Unnatural Helpers. This just goes to show that this label is churning out some hella-good tunes, and hopefully they will continue to do so! While we wait for their next release (whatever it may be), hopefully these 7-inchers and everything else they got over in their catalog can keep us satisfied until something new comes out.

So on this 7″ we’ve got four songs. Two of them come from the Golden Triangle camp, while the two on the B-side come from the San Francisco psych-poppers the Fresh & Onlys. Before listening, I was already familiar with the Fresh & Onlys, so Golden Triangle was the only mystery with this single. I wasn’t really sure what to expect, but that doesn’t matter anyway. What matters is that these guys passed the test with flying colors. “Cold Bones” has dominated my listening for the past 24 hours or so, while the other song “Jungle Jim” goes a long way to give you the feeling that you’re actually in the middle of a jungle. Parts of the song get extremely swampy and murky, and they even work some monkey shrieks into the jungle-y sounding parts. Certainly makes for a unique listen. To top it all off, the guitar leads over those parts with a mysterious, airy sounding lick that is just perfect. Flip on over to the B-side to find yourself in Fresh & Only territory – fast paced, high energy, psychedelic-garage-pop with high pitched, jangly guitars. I’m uploading one song from each band below before I leave for work, so check’em out.

Cold Bones –

Head of Steam –

My Rating: 7.5/10
Genre/ Tags: Lo-Fi, Garage Rock, Psychedelic, Pop
Split 7″: Tracklist:
1.) Golden Triangle – Cold Bones
2.) Golden Triangle – Jungle Jim
3.) The Fresh & Onlys – Head of Steam
4.) The Fresh & Onlys – I’m Not Myself Today

BUY the 7″ directly from Insound
Golden Triangle on Myspace
The Fresh & Onlys on Myspace

Woven Bones – I’ve Gotta Get 7″

Got something today that I feel like some of you may already be familiar with. Their name would be WOVEN BONES, hailing from the seemingly endless population of bands coming from Austin, Texas, and I’ve got their brand new 7″ from Hardly Art to share today.

But hold on, if you haven’t heard of Woven Bones just yet, let me give you a quick fill-in. Since their inception (not sure when that was, sometime in 2007?) these guys have had quite a nice handful of different releases from different labels, even splitting their debut 7″ record with our friends the Jacuzzi Boys. Alongside of that one they’ve had another single from Needle Recs, two other 7-inchers from HoZac and Sweet Rot, an EP from Zoo Music, and last but certainly not least would be their full-length LP, also coming from the HoZac imprint. So hopefully you’re all caught up now on Woven Bones. I also didn’t realize that these guys already had a full-length out there…this sounds like it’s a MUST have. Will check it out.

Now that you’re up to speed on the Woven Bones, let’s talk about their new 7″. It comes from the Hardly Art label (who I have been giving quite a lot of love lately…stay tuned on that) and it comes pressed in an edition of 1,000 copies, with 500 on translucent red wax and the remaining 500 on black wax. In the description on the band’s Hardly Art page, they give us some exciting news that they will be releasing a full-length LP with Hardly Art sometime in 2011. Definitely would be lying if I said I wasn’t psyched for that one. It’ll come soon enough, and hopefully it’s jam-packed with these raunchy, murky sounding tracks that this 7″ has to offer.

A-side “I’ve Gotta Get” features an infectious, ground-shaking guitar riff that’s bound to wrench your soul, and if this one doesn’t keep you coming back for multiple listens, maybe you’re checking the wrong blog. These guys do the whole garage/noise/psych rock thing quite well, and it shows with this song. Flip on over to the B-side for a more poppy sounding track that’s still buried under layers and layers of dirt and trash that you gotta find your way through before it all makes sense. There’s a nasty guitar solo worked into the noisy-psych-pop mix about halfway through the song, so please check out the two songs from the 7″ below. Trust me when I say you’ll be reeeeally glad you did.

PS – Don’t forget to follow me on my new Twitter and Tumblr accounts!!

I’ve Gotta Get –

Hey Kid –

My Rating: 8/10
Genre/ Tags: Lo-Fi, Garage Rock, Noise, Psychedelic
I’ve Gotta Get 7″: Tracklist:
1.) I’ve Gotta Get
2.) Hey Kid

BUY the 7″ from Insound – Only 1,000 pressed!
BUY all other Woven Bones releases that Insound has to offer!
Woven Bones – Official Website
Woven Bones on Myspace
Woven Bones on Facebook

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