Dead Luke – American Haircut

Hey guys. So as some of you may know, last week was definitely a Jacuzzi Boys kind of week. When it was all said and done, I went over to Florida’s Dying to pick up their wonderful “No Seasons” LP. In doing so, I came across something else that they have that I thought I’d like to give a listen. The name of the band is DEAD LUKE, and the release I’m speaking of is called “American Haircut”. They have the LP for a ridiculously cheap price of $10 over at Florida’s Dying, and I think what sealed the deal for me was the awesome little description of the record – “No sun in these parts, just dead vegetation and an iced over ground where a ghostly voice repeats over and over ‘You know you’re bringing me down.'” After reading a description like that, I was beyond curious what Dead Luke was all about, so here I am today.

“American Haircut” definitely isn’t your normal batch of songs, but that’s probably why you went out of your way to check this dude out, right? Most of the time on the record, you’ll find yourself immersed in these dark, ambient tracks with endless layers of reverb, and at times it almost feels like you’re listening to the music from an underwater point-of-view (or in this case, point-of-listening), and at times it can be quite haunting – for example, the song “Sunrise”. But don’t get me wrong, not every song is creepy or haunting like that. There’s a bunch of other songs from the record with a much more inviting sound, such as “God Bless the Midwest, God Roast the East”, or “Lil’ Red Riding Hood”, which could probably be the most accessible song from the album. Except for “Trapped in Lust”, “Lil’ Red Riding Hood” might be the only track with a noticeable acoustic guitar right from the get-go. And it’s also got a broken keyboard solo throughout the song that’s pretty sweet.

One highlight from “American Haircut” would have to be track two, titled “Dreaming Pt. 3”. The song starts out with these dizzying sound effects, and then moments later everything else joins in. The simple, buzzy bass line guides you through the song and keeps everything running smoothly while all sorts of crazy shit takes place – howling vocals, heavy guitars, pretty much anything you think you hear. As you listen you’ll notice the song gets extremely intense as it builds up into more and more with every passing second – just hang in there. Up next would be track three, “Luke is Not Dead”, and it’s immediately different from the last song. This one gets its point across much quicker as the song starts up right away, and then all the sudden things change up during the second minute, and you’re left with just a woozy sounding acoustic guitar. Definitely didn’t see that coming. Another track from the record that’s certainly worth your time is the final track, “The Best Drug I’ve Ever Done.” And what a perfect name for a song that sounds like it does! This is yet another ridiculously drowned out tune, but it’s got a somewhat inviting sound once you get into it. Little bursts of reverb come out throughout the song, and it’s just a deliciously awesome mess of darkness and noise that’s bound to make your head spin. I think that’s all for today guys, but please check out these few songs below – you won’t be sorry!

Dreaming Pt. 3 –

Lil’ Red Riding Hood –

The Best Drug I’ve Ever Done –

My Rating: 7.5/10
Genre/ Tags: Lo-Fi, Slowcore, Psychedelic, Noise Rock
American Haircut: Tracklist:
1.) Trapped in Lust
2.) Dreaming Pt. 3
3.) Luke is Not Dead
4.) Sunrise
5.) You’re Bringing Me Down
6.) God Bless the Midwest, God Roast the East
7.) Acid Forest
8.) Lil’ Red Riding Hood
9.) The Best Drug I’ve Ever Done

Dead Luke on Myspace – Not much to see…
BUY “American Haircut” directly from Florida’s Dying
BUY all available Dead Luke releases here at Insound
Dead Luke discography list from Discogs.com

Fungi Girls – Seafaring Pyramids

Hey guys. I hope you all weren’t too worried about me yesterday considering there wasn’t a new post. If you were, it’s okay now, because I’m back with something that I wish I had known about much, much sooner. Kind of like those Jacuzzi Boys we’ve been seeing here recently on the SD.

If it wasn’t for their most recent 7″, I don’t know if I ever would have came across these guys. After hearing what they had to offer from “Turquoise Hotel”, I couldn’t just sit around and wonder what else these guys had up their sleeve. I tracked down their full-length, and I am EXTREMELY glad I did. Upon first listen, I got an immediate feeling that this stuff was going to put me on my ass, and sure enough, it did. Which makes me go on to say that nothing can compare to the first listen of any song, but that’s a different story. Unfortunately for me, I have to go to work this morning, so I can’t get too in-depth with the music description this time around, but I’ll leave you guys with a few mp3’s so you can see what they’re all about. But before you listen, I’ll have you know that the crunchy, lo-fi qualities are definitely part of the Fungi Girls sound, and they do it all with their own unique, swingin’ blend of heavy garage rock, which includes psychedelic freak outs of all sorts. Just please listen for yourself, and hopefully the result will be your face looking like the one from their album cover – wide eyes, jaw dropped.

Pacifica Nostalgia –

Colour the Floor –

Crystal Roads –

My Rating: 8/10
Genre/ Tags: Lo-Fi, Garage Rock, Noise Rock, Psychedelic
Seafaring Pyramids: Tracklist:
1.) Pacifica Nostalgia
2.) Into the Cosmos
3.) Dystopic Vision
4.) Dream of Oz
5.) Colour the Floor
6.) Kowloon Walled City
7.) Clouds
8.) Crystal Roads

Fungi Girls – Official Website!
Fungi Girls on Myspace!
BUY the Fungi Girls full-length from Play Pinball! Records
Check out the Fungi Girls “Turquoise Hotel” 7″ that was recently posted.

Fungi Girls – Turquoise Hotel 7″

Back in May, this little gem of a 7″ was released on HoZac Records. The name of the band is FUNGI GIRLS, and this one looks like it’s their debut 7″ record. Neither of the songs from this single were featured on their full-length, so these tracks from the 7″ are about as new as it gets when it comes to Fungi Girls. This 7″ is also about as dynamic as they come, because each side sounds like a different band playing completely different styles of music, but they still manage to do it all with their own unique sound.

The 7″ starts off with a song called “Turquoise Hotel”, and it’s a spastic mess of gritty sounding guitars, constantly rolling drums, and bouncy bass lines. They have a bit of the surf rock sound mixed in as well, but it’s not entirely noticeable at first; you gotta listen a couple of times. If you’re curious, check out their Myspace – it’s the first song they have up there. Now if that song wasn’t enough to catch you off guard, flipping over to the B-side will hopefully do the trick. It’s called “Doldrums”, and it’s completely different from “Turquoise Hotel”. Right away it starts off with a bluesy guitar shuffle, and then the drums join in on the fun. This track is certainly a groovy one, as it brings to mind types of music like swing and jazz. This one was definitely put on here to get you up and outta your seat and dancing along to the beat. Towards the end of the track some jazzy sounding ~~piano~~ (I’ve been informed that it’s a Jaguar guitar being played through a Fender amp) comes into the mix, and shortly after they wrap it all up. You can check out “Doldrums” right below.

Doldrums –

My Rating: 9/10
Genre/ Tags: Lo-Fi, Psychedelic, Experimental Rock
Turquoise Hotel 7″: Tracklist:
1.) Turquoise Hotel
2.) Doldrums

Fungi Girls – Official Website!
Fungi Girls on Myspace!
BUY the 7″ directly from HoZac Records
BUY the Fungi Girls full-length from Play Pinball! Records

Jacuzzi Boys – No Seasons

Hey guys. So I know the last Jacuzzi Boys post wasn’t that long ago, but you gotta blame the Jacuzzi Boys. There music is just so damn addicting. Before this week I had never really listened to them; I had only seen their name in various spots across the interweb. Now I’m going out of my way to find all of their 7″ records, and I just purchased their full-length “No Seasons” last night from Florida’s Dying. My efforts in finding all of their records probably won’t pay off, because I’m pretty sure a few of them have been out of print for awhile now, but hey, it never hurts to try. The full-length came out sometime during 2009 after the success of all of their earliest 7″ singles. For that, you gotta commend them, because not every band gets that far.

The LP starts off on a great note with the hectic song “Blow Out Your Lights”, as it sets the tone for the rest of the party-time madness that’s about to unfold. Next up comes the oddly titled “Smells Dead”, and I don’t think somebody would make a song about something smelling unless it really bothered them. I think that’s the case for this song too; lead singer Gabriel tried everything to make the smell go away too – he lit candles, he opened windows, but it still smells. Coming up next would be the third track called “Fruits”. Like most of their songs, this one is dominated by a crafty guitar hook that is sure to sink in and keep you coming back for third and fourth listens. Drummer Deigo goes a step further in the song by adding in his cowbell and it works great for the song.

Up next comes “Island Ave.”, which I’m sure you’ve already heard if you know the Jacuzzi Boys. This was the featured song on one of their 7″ that came from HoZac Records back in 2008. They re-recorded the song for the full-length, and it sounds fantastic. The second half of the song is when the fun really starts, as guitarist Gabriel makes his guitar squeal over the buzzy, ground shaking bass of bandmate Danny. Quickly following up “Island Ave.” comes the album-titled song “No Seasons”, and surprisingly enough it’s the shortest song on the LP. The bass lazily guides you through the song as lead singer Gabriel let’s us know that he “Ain’t got no seasons at all”, and suddenly the song is over. But it plays seamlessly into the next song “Komi Caricoles”, which was a B-side song from their earliest 7″ record “Ghost Ghost”. This one kind of sounds like a lazy island jam, and about 3/4 of the way through the song suddenly picks up speed out of nowhere and forces you to tap along to the beat.

“Komi Caricoles” marks the midway point of the album, which means there’s about six more tracks to listen to. This entire half of the album is certainly worth your time, but some tracks stand out more before the rest. For example, the fun lyrics of “Planet of the Dreamers” when Gabriel repeats “Cosmo grass, pig made out of glass” (??). Although I’m not entirely sure that’s what he’s saying, it makes for a fun sing-along. Another one worth hearing from this side would be the guitar-driven “Dock”, which is another garage rock great with an addicting guitar hook, or the final track “The Park (Dig It), which gives you the feeling you’re on a spinning, never-ending merry-go-round. I think that’s all for today guys, but you should really check out these songs below if you’ve never listened to the Jacuzzi Boys before. Thanks for coming by, and enjoy your day.

Island Ave. –

Komi Caricoles –

Planet of the Dreamers –

My Rating: 9/10
Genre/ Tags: Garage Rock, Psychedelic, Lo-Fi
No Seasons: Tracklist:
1.) Blow Out Your Lights
2.) Smells Dead
3.) Fruits
4.) Island Ave.
5.) No Seasons
6.) Komi Caricoles
7.) Throwing Stones
8.) Planet of the Dreamers
9.) Dock
10.) I Saw It All
11.) Burn It Down
12.) The Park (Dig It)

Jacuzzi Boys on Myspace
BUY their LP directly from Florida’s Dying Records
Check out their most recent 7″ “Bricks or Coconuts” right here.

Jacuzzi Boys – Bricks or Coconuts 7″

So these Jacuzzi Boys have been around for a couple of years now, but only about a week ago did I first listen to them. Yeah, you could say I was a bit late to the Jacuzzi Boys game, but it really doesn’t make a difference. The only thing I won’t have much luck in is picking up all of their early 7″ records, but those are the prices you pay when you’re late to the game on good, new bands these days.

Since their formation as a band, the Jacuzzi Boys have released at least five 7″ singles, and then they have one full-length LP that you can get more information on right here. The most recent of their singles comes from the Mexican Summer imprint, and it was just released sometime during May or June. The 7″ features three brand new songs, none of which can be found on any other release from the band. If you’ve heard any of their full-length or any of their other 7″ records, then you already know what to expect from the Jacuzzi Boys – fun loving, head spinning garage rock with scuzzy, shredded guitars and the feeling of a rocking good time. If you haven’t listened to these guys yet (like me about 5 days ago), then I highly suggest you check out these songs. Finding their physical releases proves to be a difficult task now, but I’ve started you off on the mission by finding the “Bricks or Coconuts” 7″ from Midheaven Mailorder and then the “Island Ave.” 7″ from HoZac Records. Good luck with the rest!

Bricks or Coconuts –

Freakazoids –

My Rating: 8/10
Genre/ Tags: Garage Rock, Lo-Fi, Punk
Bricks or Coconuts 7″: Tracklist:
1.) Bricks or Coconuts
2.) Freakazoids
3.) Sing Along

Jacuzzi Boys on Myspace
You can still by the “Bricks or Coconuts” 7″ from Midheaven Mailorder
BUY the mp3s directly from Mexican Summer – Sorry folks, this one’s sold out.
BUY the Jacuzzi Boys full-length LP “No Seasons” from Insound
BUY the Island Ave. 7″ from HoZac Records

Naked on the Vague – Heaps of Nothing

Back in April, Siltbreeze Records released a brand new LP from Australian goth-rockers NAKED ON THE VAGUE. It’s their second full-length LP to date, and I happened to pick this one up the other day while I was at the record store as well. It’s quite an interesting and mysterious listen, as most of the songs sound about as creepy and haunting as music can get. Pretty much all of the songs are dominated by thick, grimy guitars, and then sometimes we get these headache-inducing sound effects that may or may not at times be a bit too unbearable. But either way, the music can still be thoroughly enjoyed by any listener as some tracks tend to get a bit more intense than others.

The LP kicks off on the hauntingly titled “Mysterious Oven”, and right off the bat you’ll see what these guys are going for and where I’m coming from as the listener. The thick, heavy guitars don’t take long to introduce themselves in the music, along with lead singer Lucy Cliche, while her moody, drony vocals come up pretty often. The second track on the album is called “Wrong Room”, and it’s a bit different than the first. They relax a bit in this song, and that becomes noticeable pretty quickly considering that this song sounds much more lazy and strung out than the previous. It might be a bit of a stretch, but one good word to describe the music might be ‘miserable’. I’m not referring to the band members themselves as being miserable – just referring to the way everything sounds. Towards the end of the song there is a sliding guitar solo that gets totally drowned out by everything else in the mix. Heavy stuff right here.

Moving on to maybe the most accessible song on the LP, this one is called “Treading Water”. You can check this one out below as I’ve uploaded it for your listening pleasure! This one definitely starts off with a slightly more welcoming sound than we’ve heard up until this point. Lucy Cliche frighteningly howls over the mix in this one, complete with some sweet keyboard/piano melodies that go a long way for holding the song together. Next up comes the longest song from the album, and it’s called “Sacred Youth”. It’s chock-full of all the noisy effects you’ve grown to love at this point, and it’s got a primitive, tribal sound to it that sticks around for more-or-less of the entire song. That endless dirge is probably due to the use of the tom-toms and the slow, strung-out nature of the song. Before the song comes to an end there’s a fantastic guitar solo that kind of sums everything up. These guys have such a staggering sound that it’s probably going to take a good listen or two before it really sinks in, but you should definitely give it a chance. The rest of the album follows a similar path – there’s obnoxiously screeching and crunchy guitars. Lazy, moody sounding vocals, and there is even an instrumental track (Black Lettuce). Don’t shy away, give these guys a chance. Listen to the two tracks below!

These Days –

Treading Water –

My Rating: 7/10
Genre/ Tags: Noise Rock, Lo-Fi, Psychedelic, Gothic
Heaps of Nothing: Tracklist:
1.) Mysterious Oven
2.) Wrong Room
3.) Treading Water
4.) Sacred Youth
5.) These Days
6.) The Joke
7.) Black Lettuce
8.) Blank Minds

Naked on the Vague on Myspace
Naked on the Vague – Official Website!
BUY the album directly from Midheaven Mailorder or Siltbreeze Records

Smith Westerns/ Magic Kids – Spilt 7″

Today we have something else that I picked up on my most recent trip to the record store. As you already know, I spent a good chunk of time without making a trip to the store, so when I finally made it back I couldn’t just keep things simple; I had to buy multiple items. Along with the Radical Sons LP that I snagged up, I also walked out of the store that day with this gem of a 7″…not to mention a few other things…but we’ll see how long it is before I’m making a trip back. I’m really glad I picked up this little 7″ too, because it turned out to be quite a fun listen. It’s a split 7″ record with our already-familiar friends the SMITH WESTERNS on the A-side, and you flip it over to the B-side to hear a track from a band called MAGIC KIDS. We already know the Smith Westerns are from Chicago, and something new we learned is that the Magic Kids are from Memphis, Tennessee. And if any single music-describing word comes to mind when listening to this 7″, chances are it’s this one: pop.

The 7″ starts off on the A-side with the Smith Westerns, and the name of the song is “Imagine, Pt. 3”. While I’m not entirely sure if there’s a part 1 and 2, I can tell you that part 3 is a fun a lovable track, straight up. The Smith Westerns just rock out an any given opportunity, complete with squealing guitars, mushy vocals about love, and they do it all with enough promise to give me great hopes for their forthcoming LP due out on Fat Possum Records sometime in the near future. Hopefully they won’t keep us waiting too long for this one. Now we flip over to the B-side, and we’re face to face with the Magic Kids. This side is just about as poppy as the other side, but this time the song is more piano or keyboard-driven. Whatever you want to call it – I’m cool with either. This song is much shorter than the A-side, but it’s still two and a half minutes of picture-perfect pop glistening with all sorts of sound effects and peppy vocals about superballs: “Bounce bounce bounce!” Why waste any more of your precious time? Check out these two songs for yourself right below.

Imagine, Pt. 3 –

Superball –

My Rating: 8/10
Genre/ Tags: Pop, Garage Rock, Lo-Fi
Split 7″: Tracklist:
1.) Smith Westerns – Imagine, Pt. 3
2.) Magic Kids – Superball

Smith Westerns on Myspace
Magic Kids on Myspace
BUY the 7″ directly from Fat Possum Records
More info. on this release right here

Family Trees – Dream Talkin 7″

When it comes to brand new bands, it doesn’t really get any fresher than this.

On June 29th, the brand new lazy beach rockers FAMILY TREES will release their debut 7″ from the San Francisco label Father/Daughter Records. Believe it or not, it also happens to be the first release for Father/Daughter Records too, so like I said, it really doesn’t get any fresher than this people. For their first release, they’ve only pressed 400 copies of the Dream Talkin’ 7″, and they come pressed on a voluptuous slab of crystal-clear vinyl that I’m sure everybody will go crazy for in just a matter of time.

The 7″ features three original songs from the Brooklyn band, and it clocks in at just about 7 minutes. These are the first three songs from Family Trees that are officially out there right now, but I’m sure these guys have more up their sleeves for us. Sure enough, I just checked their Myspace and they have plenty more to share with us. You can listen to the first song from their beachy, dazed out 7″ right below, and then you can head on over to the Myspace page and hear even more. If you like what you hear, you should definitely make your way over to the Father/Daughter Record store, because this breezy 7″ won’t be around forever, and you should snag one up before it’s too late. Thanks for coming by again today guys, and stay tuned for more!

Dream Talkin’ –

My Rating: 7/10
Genre/ Tags: Surf Rock, Lo-Fi, New Wave
Dream Talkin’ 7″: Tracklist:
1.) Dream Talkin’
2.) Baby Come Back
3.) No One Will Ever Know

Family Trees on Myspace
BUY the brand new 7″ directly from Father/Daughter Records
Family Trees Blogspot
Listen to some more tracks on the Family Trees Soundcloud Page

Brilliant Colors – Never Mine 7″

Hey there. Not sure if you’ve heard of these guys before, but their debut LP from 2009 called “Introducing” was quite a good one. It’s a ridiculously crunchy guitar album clocking in at no more than 23 minutes, making it a VERY short LP. It’s equally parts pop and punk, and it’s bound to put a smile on your face. Lead singer Jess guides us through the album with her dreamy, peppy vocals, and never once do they leave you wishing for more. Now the trio is back in 2010 with a brand new 7″, and it just came out this past April. It features two brand new songs, one of which I have for you below. Just head on over to Slumberland Records and you can snag your own copy before it’s gone. Sorry for the short, unorganized post today guys. Lots going on…

Never Mine –

My Rating: 7/10
Genre/ Tags: Pop, Lo-Fi
Never Mine 7″: Tracklist:
1.) Never Mine
2.) Kissing’s Easy

Brilliant Colors on Myspace
BUY the new 7″ directly from Slumberland Records!

Ghost Mall – Goons EP

Just yesterday I got an e-mail in my inbox from a band called GHOST MALL. They kept it very short, straight, and to the point. Here’s what they said: “We are Ghost Mall, a garage-y ramshackle pop/ethereal punk band from New Paltz, NY. This is our debut EP entitled ‘Goons’. It was produced by DJ Teenwolf of Ninjasonik.” Also included was a link to Mediafire where you could download the EP in it’s entirety. So I listened to the EP today for the first time, and I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed it. Not only was it awesome, but they definitely used an accurate description to describe their sound in the e-mail, and I think that’s what originally grabbed my attention. Bravo Ghost Mall!

They definitely have the ramshackle-y gunky rock/punk thing down, but I think they also add a bit of an electronic element to their music that takes it to a whole different level, with the best example from their EP being the song “Senile Felines”. They also forgot to mention in their description that they seamlessly, (and quite unexpectedly) add a reference to the Biz Markie song “Just a Friend” in their song “Balloon Ideas”. I think I speak for everybody when I say that I didn’t see that coming when I first listened. But going back to “Senile Felines”. This was the first song on the EP that definitely caught my attention. It’s a long one, and it continues to grow and get more and more complex as time moves on. Hopefully you can agree with my statement about the electronic elements in their sound after listening to this song. About halfway through they start to chanting short yelps of “woo!” which definitely makes for a fun listen. For about the last minute and a half of the song, they break things down as they all chant “Patience is a virtue baby,” and then we’re at the end.

Next comes the fast paced, keyboard dominated song “Balloon Ideas”, which features that reference to Biz Markie that I mentioned up above. This also happens to be the shortest song on the EP. Following up that song comes the track “Young Lairs”, which I thought stood out the most on the EP. It starts off with some careful, intricate drumming, and then the rest of the band joins in to take part in the approaching destruction. This one definitely fits their description of the music, as it’s equally part pop and punk, and it doesn’t shy away from the word “ramshackle” one bit. Finishing up the EP is the track “Johnny Appleseed”, which starts off a bit slower than the last few songs we heard. The lead singer is sort of talking to us in the beginning, and he is definitely unhappy with somebody as he calls them out and says “You fucked up.” The song goes on from here, and it stays at the same pace for the remainder, never quite hitting those break-neck speeds we heard earlier, but you always gotta have time to catch up.

Senile Felines –

Balloon Ideas –

Young Liars –

My Rating: 7/10
Genre/ Tags: Punk, Pop, Lo-Fi
Goons EP: Tracklist
1.) 40 Nugs
2.) Senile Felines
3.) Balloon Ideas
4.) Young Liars
5.) Johnny Appleseed

Ghost Mall on Myspace!
Download their EP for FREE! You really should.
Friendly Neighborhood Records
Rally the Robots?