Dead Luke – Record One 7″

Can you remember when we covered DEAD LUKE back in July? Probably not, but I do! It was his full-length LP “American Haircut”. This time around, we’re going to go back in time a little bit and check out some of his earlier 7″ singles that came out before “American Haircut” was probably even an idea. But what do I know? I do know that this was the first Dead Luke single to be put out on vinyl, and he had two other 7″ singles that came out later in 2008. So there’s three of them total. Two came from the Sacred Bones imprint, while the 3rd came from Sweet Rot records. There’s also some cassette tapes that were put out somewhere in the mix of things, but basically all of this material led up to the release of the “American Haircut” LP that was put out by Florida’s Dying earlier this year. So let’s talk about the music that led us to such a wonderful LP…

Kicking things off is a song called “I Want You”. Right away you’re face-to-face with some electronics that don’t exactly give any hints to where the song might be going. Then about ten seconds later some buzzing bass lines join in to help give the sound some direction and substance. Shortly after this our main man ‘Luke’ (who is definitely not dead) comes in with a creepy, zombie-like voice that certainly works wonders for the dark, sludgy sound. I wish I could figure out this dudes name, because I don’t think it’s Luke, but I can’t seem to find any other information. If you know, leave a comment or something. But moving on!

Wait for a short bit after the one minute mark, and ‘Luke’ fucking wails a blood curdling scream into the mic, and then some guitar reveals itself for a nicely done and unexpected short solo. This certainly helps create a fine balance between the electronics and the instrumentation of this song. Upon first listening, I definitely didn’t expect any guitar like that. The somewhat trippy sound effects continue on until the song ends, where you’ll hear more horrifying screams before it’s all actually said and done. Now it’s time for the B-side, which is a song called “Waste of Spaces”. Again this one starts with some inviting electronics – possibly with the intentions to make you get up and dance. ‘Luke’ comes in with a little more subtlety this time around, ditching the screaming for this song. But once again there is a great balance of guitar and electronics in this song, but the guitar is somewhat-less noticeable than it was from “I Want You”. Probably because it’s not a solo. But this stuff is awesome and you should definitely listen to it. If you like this shit, you should definitely check out the full-length too, because you’ll probably like that batch of songs even more.

I Want You –

Waste of Spaces –

My Rating: 7/10
Genre/ Tags: Electronic, Lo-Fi, Psychedelic, Slowcore
Record One 7″: Tracklist:
1.) I Want You
2.) Waste of Spaces

BUY the 7″ directly from Insound – $4.80 is a damn good price
Dead Luke’s “American Haircut” previously posted on the Drone
Dead Luke on Myspace
More info. on Record One at Sacred Bones

Tennis – South Carolina 7″

Sooo I have to be honest here. If it wasn’t for an awesome friend that I have looking out for me up in the North Jersey/ New York area, I probably wouldn’t be making this post about this 7″ right now. On top of that, I probably wouldn’t be sitting here with the actual record in my hands either. I speak of my friend Christen, who totally hooked me up with both of the SOLD OUT Tennis singles that have been driving people mad lately. She went to one of their shows and picked up both of the singles, and then sent them to me. How fucking cool is that? The best part is I had absolutely no idea it was coming, so when I first opened her package I was pretty psyched. Thanks again for that Christen, this stuff is AWESOME.

If you remember where we left off with the other Tennis 7″, then you probably already know what to expect. These songs pretty much fall in the same vein as the others, and it’s a great thing too, because I don’t think there’s enough of this lounge-around-on-a-Sunday-morning Tennis music that’s oh so delightful. These songs bring you to that place somewhere up in New England on a bright, sunny afternoon without a cloud in the sky. Both songs on the record evoke a nautical, seashore-bound feeling, while Alaina Moore continues to grace us with her gorgeous voice over both of these two awesome new Tennis songs. If you haven’t heard either of them yet, I have both of them right below for you to check out, so get on that!

South Carolina –

Sea Farer –

My Rating: 8/10
Genre/ Tags: Pop, Lo-Fi, Lounge
South Carolina 7″: Tracklist:
1.) South Carolina
2.) Sea Farer

Tennis on Myspace
Tennis on Bandcamp
Tennis – Baltimore 7″ previously posted on the Drone

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

Creepoid – Yellow Life Giver 7″

You always gotta show love for your local bands. They’re usually in need of all the support they can get, and they’ll be much more appreciative of your help than say, a big band name like Fall Out Boy, or something like that. I couldn’t really think of a good band example, but I think you’ll catch my drift. I say this because CREEPOID is still a fairly new band, coming straight out of the basements (literally) of Philadelphia, and they’ve just unleashed their debut 7″ to the world this past April. Now they’re hard at work trying to get their music out there and heard by people like you and I, and so far it seems like they’ve done a hell-of-a-job with this. I found this gem of a 7″ in the record store just yesterday, and I’m glad I came across it when I did. I remember when these guys played their record release show with Best Coast back in April, but for whatever reason I couldn’t make it. Now I’m wishing I could have been there. That’s okay though, because we’ve got the 7″ to share with you here today, and share it we shall.

So for starters, this 7″ comes with four brand new songs, with each song being equally as slow and as sad as the last. This stuff would go perfect while you’re looking out the window with your hand in your cheek on an exceptionally dreary day when the sky is gray with a light rain covering the ground around you. The coarse textures of their sound and the gloomy, moody howl of lead singer (name unknown, but it would go here) are the perfect match for each other, hereby proving that Philadelphia definitely has some noteworthy bands storming the lo-fi scene. If you were ever a fan of grunge music, or if you just like bands who spend their time recording obscure, spaced-out heroin-jams in their basement, then Creepoid is surely the band for you. Especially if you’re from Philadelphia, because you’ll be able to see them as many times as you need to. I bet you could find a shit-ton of drugs at one of their shows, too. Well, that goes for any show really. Except straight-edge shows and shit like that. That’s enough of my rambling – check out these songs below, and you can hear more from the 7″ on their Myspace.

Pink Tag Sale –

Magic Drum –

My Rating: 8/10
Genre/ Tags: Slowcore, Psychedelic, Dream Pop, Lo-Fi
Yellow Life Giver 7″: Tracklist:
1.) Rotten Tooth
2.) Pink Tag Sale
3.) See-Through
4.) Magic Drum

BUY the 7″ right here, it won’t be around forever.
Creepoid on Myspace !
Creepoid on Bandcamp
Creepoid on Blogspot
Check out another project from some Creepoid members – The G
and watch them play w/ the Japandroids in Philadelphia!

Useless Eaters – Hear/ See 7″

Useless Eaters is the moniker for 19-year-old Seth Sutton from Memphis, TN and he records these songs himself with a four-track cassette. This is his most recent release, coming from the Memphis label Shattered Records, which was originally put together and run by Jay Reatard back in 2004. Unfortunately Reatard is no longer with us, but his label continues to churn out some damn good tunes, as proved by this 7″ here. And wherever he is, I’m sure Jay would be smiling.

Three brand new Useless Eaters songs fill this fine new piece of wax, with each song getting its point across before the two minute mark. That being said, this thing rips through pretty quickly, but it rips pretty hard too. Noisy, spiny guitar-driven songs dominate as Sutton shouts in anger over the head spinning racket. You should check out these songs below, ripped directly from the 7″!

Hear/ See –

Just A Person –

Genre/ Tags: Punk, Lo-Fi
Hear/See 7″: Tracklist:
1.) Hear/See
2.) Smoke Alarm
3.) Just a Person

Useless Eaters on Myspace
Useless Eaters on Blogspot
BUY Useless Eaters records on Insound

Burning Yellows – Urinal Cakes 7″

If that post title doesn’t grab your attention, I don’t know what else will. I never really thought somebody would name their song “Urinal Cakes”, but once again I have been proven wrong. It definitely works as an interesting song title and an attention grabber, because I’d be lying if I said I didn’t check this stuff out just to hear what the song “Urinal Cakes” sounded like. Yeah, it’s true, that’s what got my attention, and I’m glad it did. These unsettling sounds are absolutely drenched in a thick, fuzzy layer of dream-world reverb while the lead singers (who is a female, but I can’t figure out her name) vocals echo off the walls as if she was singing in a tiny bathroom while the rest of her band was stuffed in there with her.

That bathroom would most likely be located somewhere in Portland, Oregon where this seemingly new-ish band comes from, but I can’t really figure out if these guys have any other releases out there. My guess is no (because I really can’t find anything), but often times I’m wrong like I was at the beginning of this post. This hazy 7″ comes from the Chicago label HoZac Records – a label most of you should already be familiar with if you keep up with the times here @ the Drone, not to mention if you’ve listened to any music you would call ‘good’ lately, because their catalog is like an MVP list of lo-fi indie bands who all tear shit up in their own unique and fresh ways. Don’t waste any more time though, I’ve uploaded both sides of the 7″ for ya today, so please enjoy it! And don’t forget to come back for more tomorrow!

Urinal Cakes –

Drought –

My Rating: 7/10
Genre/ Tags: Lo-Fi, Pop
Urinal Cakes 7″: Tracklist:
1.) Urinal Cakes
2.) Drought

BUY the 7″ directly from Insound
Burning Yellows on Myspace
Burning Yellows on Facebook

Tennis – Baltimore 7″

So there’s this band right, maybe you’ve heard of them. Their name is TENNIS, and they’ve been stirring up quite a bit of excitement recently – so much excitement that all of their releases sold out instantly, meaning there’s really no hope of getting your own at this point. Going by their Myspace these guys only have three official releases out there, and each one is completely sold out. Obviously this means that the husband-and-wife duo of Patrick Riley and Alaina Moore must be doing something right if their music is selling out this fast and they’re getting shouts from the New York Times. Speaking of which, you should definitely check out that article. It’s about how they sailed for 8 straight months along the East Coast with minimal sailing knowledge and limited funds. Definitely an intriguing story, especially since their music was completely influenced by the trip. If that doesn’t qualify as unique, then I don’t know what will. Just sit back and listen to this wonderful, blissed out “lounge-rock” while your worries waste away. Enjoy!

Cape Dory –

Marathon –

My Rating: 8/10
Genre/ Tags: Pop, Lo-Fi, Lounge
Baltimore 7″: Tracklist:
1.) Baltimore
2.) Cape Dory
3.) Marathon

Tennis on Myspace
Tennis on Bandcamp
I’d give you a link to buy, but that shit’s already sold out. Bummer, I know. I saw one on eBay for $30!!!

The Band in Heaven/ Weird Wives – Split Tape

Remember the BAND in HEAVEN? I posted their awesome demo tunes back at the very end of May, and since then those guys must have been hard at work. They’re now back on the scene with a brand new cassette tape, which may or may not be their first official release, and the tape is split with another band you may have already come across somewhere in your internet travels: WEIRD WIVES. But just in case you’re not familiar, I’ll give you a quick fill in. Weird Wives is 3/5 of the band Surfer Blood, who believe it or not were actually already a band before Surfer Blood came together. I’ve come to understand that Weird Wives have a couple 7″ records out there, but I can’t seem to find any information on them. The best I found were these two EP downloads – EP#1 and EP#2.

So if you remember the Band in Heaven or if you’ve already heard Weird Wives, then you may already know what to expect from this brand new cassette tape. Gritty, abrasive, in-yr-face punk rock that’s going to knock your ass to the ground and keep you down there for as long as you’re willing to accept the musical harassment that’s on this tape. The first song up – “Summer Bummer” – comes from the Band in Heaven, and it does just that. Not only is it noisy, but they’ve even managed to work some eerie, space-like sounding keyboards in the mix as well, giving this song a little of the best from both worlds. Next would come “Suicide Pact”, and they take a small step back on the intensity this time around, but nothing too drastic. Before I knew the tracklist of this tape I was PRAYING their song “High Low” was on it…no worries though. Maybe next time? Flip the tape over for some more face pounding noise-punk action, only this time we’re in Weird Wives territory. Drony vocals and lazy-but-heavy guitars dominate the songs, possibly influenced by smoking a bit of weed and playing some music? You tell me, I dunno. Check out the two songs from the tape below and see what you think. Please leave some comments too! People don’t do that enough around here! If you want to hear the rest of the songs from the tape, follow this link here.

Summer Bummer –

Head Bugs –

My Rating: 8/10
Genre/ Tags: Noise Rock, Lo-Fi, Shoegaze, Punk
Split Tape: Tracklist:
1.) The Band in Heaven – Summer Bummer
2.) The Band in Heaven – Suicide Pact
3.) Weird Wives – Head Bugs
4.) Weird Wives – Wet Blanket

Band in Heaven on Myspace
Band in Heaven previously posted on the Drone
Weird Wives on Myspace
More info. on the tape right here @ Bandcamp
Workerbee Records is releasing the tape, but I don’t see any info. on their site just yet

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

Christmas – Metal 7″

Yo, I’m posting from my brand new place today that currently has a spotty internet connection, so this post is probably going to be a bit short. In the meantime you can be sure I’ll work something out so I can get a better internet connection going here, but for now this will have to do. Remember Christmas from the other day? Of course you do!! Well I have their other 7″ called “Metal” here for you today. It’s just as uneasy and unsettling as the other 7″, complete with all those freak outs and spastic elements that made the other 7″ such an awesomely surprising listen. Emily Beanblossom howls away in both tracks, going from one extreme to the other with her voice in the matter of seconds, hereby proving that this girl (and this band) lay it all on the line when it comes to their music. And it certainly works out in their favor, just listen to the song “El Colorado” below. Head on over to their Bandcamp page to hear the rest of the 7″.

El Colorado –