Hello and welcome back in 2011!!! WOODSMAN will release their sophomore effort from the Fire Talk Records label this January. Normally these dudes play long-form psych jams that last a lifetime, but this time around they trimmed things down and went with a more straightforward approach – now it’s time to see if the change worked out for them. Continue reading “Woodsman – Rare Forms”
Traps, PS hail from Los Angeles, California. This is their debut four song 7″ from Papermade Music, and it was recorded and mixed over three short days at the original Grain Studios. Last we heard from Papermade it was quite good, so let’s see what they have for us this time around. Continue reading “Traps, PS – Prove It to You 7″”
Starting things off this week in music, we’re going to look at the debut full length from New Haven-by-Brooklyn heavy-metal psych band MYTY KONKEROR. The debut was welcomed with quite a bang, so let’s see what all the fuss is about. Continue reading “MYTY KONKEROR – I miss the future.”
Got some interesting stuff for you guys today. It’s a 7″ from a band called EX-FAG COP. At one point their name was just Fag Cop, but they recently added the “Ex” part for whatever reason. This 7″ of theirs comes from the Bat Shit Records label, a label dealing with all things punk. Just check out some of the songs on the Myspace and you’ll understand what Bat Shit Records are about right away – gritty, no rules whatsoever, in-yr-face ripping punk action with unintelligible lyrics and the sure ability to induce headaches from beginning to end. Yeah.
Three-quarters of this 7″ are bound to give you that headache I just mentioned while that last part is strangely more catchy and listenable than the rest. Not that the first three songs aren’t listenable, they just went with a much more inviting sound on the last track – almost as if they weren’t trying to make your ears bleed from the very second the song begins. The first three come off so loud and angry that it might just prove to be too much for the listener. With that being said, I would probably stick to listening to this one with the volume lower or else you might destroy yr ears…and yr speakers. That wouldn’t be good. The third track “Matrixcide” is a ripping punk onslaught with enough caffeine to keep you up all night, while “Remembered Future…” is dominated by a scrappy guitar hook over top of completely indecipherable lyrics. Check this stuff out right below, and there’s more on their Myspace if yr curious.
Matrixcide –
Hardoncrime –
My Rating: 6/10
Genre/ Tags: Punk, Lo-Fi, Noise Rock, Shitgaze
Untitled Bat Shit 7″: Tracklist:
1.) Gimme Fag Agenda
2.) Remembered Future of a Dark Psychic History
3.) Matrixcide
4.) Hardoncrime
Ex-Fag Cop on Myspace
You can buy the 7″ here or here – only 300 pressed !
Bat Shit Records Myspace page
What’s up people. I thought this stuff here would be perfect for the Halloween weekend. It’s something I forgot about for awhile, but it’s still awesome and it still came out pretty recently. It’s a 7″ from Brooklyn’s own WOODS – a band I’m sure many of you have already familiarized yourself with many moons ago. This 7″ comes from the Woodsist label, and although it’s been out since Feburary, I’m pretty sure you can still buy this one in most places. But you should do it sooner than later, because they say they’re only doing a one-time pressing of 1,500 copies. You can still get it right here, here, and here.
The first track “Days Gone By” might leave you in a bit of a curious state. The song changes up significantly a few times throughout. It starts with some hair-raising electric guitars, and then quickly changes to a much more delicate acoustic section. Howling vocals, yelps and complex guitars then come through within the final two minutes of the song, building it up into a huge, mysterious wall of sound. Next up is “I Was Gone”, which is probably the most accessible track from this 7″. It’s definitely an eerie track, and it has an obscure dark mood weaved in through it’s breezy chords. Last up is “Hang On”, which definitely takes the cake for being the most inexplicable song on the 7″. It’s increasingly tribal like, almost as if you’re on a spiritual pilgrimage in
the dead of the night in a forest somewhere, and there’s nothing around but an open fire and the fear of uncertainly around every corner. Check out the three songs from the 7″ below, and have Happy Halloween!
Days Gone By/ Untitled/ Days Gone By –
I Was Gone –
Hang On –
My Rating: 6.8/10
Genre/ Tags: Noise Rock, Lo-Fi, Folk
I Was Gone 7″: Tracklist:
1.) Days Gone By/ Untitled/ Days Gone By (continued)
2.) I Was Gone
3.) Hang On
Woods on Myspace
BUY the 7″ directly from Midheaven Mailorder
So as most of you may already know, noise-rocking heavyweights NO AGE are in the process of putting the finishing touches on their next full-length album (which is due to be released on September 28th by none other than Sub Pop records). To get everyone ready for the LP, Sub Pop did us the favor of putting out two brand new releases by No Age (one is a 7″ – the other is a 12″), each featuring the album song “Glitter”, and then each containing their own unique non-album B-sides. The 12″ has the B-sides “In Rebound” and “Vision II”, while the 7″ includes one B-side called “Inflorescence”. Pretty cool, right?
By now, I’m sure you already know the deal here. No Age is a duo consisting of Dean Spunt and Randy Randall, and they tend to play these noisy, rambunctious, punk rock songs – sometimes with a bit of added ambiance or possibly with a pinch of infectious pop (and usually played best at loud volumes). You could honestly use any single one of those words to describe the music from the new 12″, because they really do cover every last sound mentioned – they just do it all with that familiar No Age sound. Which would most likely mean lots of unintelligible noises and clamorous textures.
“In Rebound” sort of falls a bit more towards the poppy side of things with the shredded guitars, while “Glitter” takes on a much more noisy, metallic sound dominated by wrenching guitar sounds that may or may not give the listener a slight headache if they listened for too long. Then last but not least we’ve got “Vision II”, which would more or less fall into the ambient side of things. Singer/ drummer Dean Spunt’s vocals get lost in the murky, intoxicating textures, and before long you hear some effects that actually reminded me of bubble wrap being popped relentlessly, or a bunch of fireworks going off nearby. I’ll let you decide. Check out the songs below.
PS – You can download the song “Glitter”, courtesy of Sub Pop (just right click, and hit ‘save link as’)
Glitter –
In Rebound –
Vision II –
My Rating: 7.5/10
Genre/ Tags: Noise Rock, Experimental, Punk, Ambient
Glitter 12″: Tracklist:
1.) Glitter
2.) In Rebound
3.) Vision II
BUY the 12″ directly from Insound
No Age on Myspace
No Age on Blogspot
More info. on their upcoming LP right here @ Sub Pop
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
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
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 –
My Rating: 8/10
Genre/ Tags: Noise Rock, Lo-Fi, Experimental
Metal 7″: Tracklist:
1.) Pies
2.) El Colorado
BUY this 7″ from their Bandcamp page
BUY their other 7″ directly from Insound
Christmas on Myspace
Christmas on Bandcamp
Going by Last.fm, there seems to be a lot of bands using the name CHRISTMAS. The topic of our interest today would be the Christmas straight outta Olympia, Washington. Before today I had only heard of these guys, so when I had an e-mail in my inbox today from their label Highfives and Handshakes, I didn’t waste any time getting familiar with Olympia’s own Christmas. “Scenic Beauty” is their first 7″ from H&H that came out this past June, and then they put out a second 7″ just this month (also from H&H). Before both of these they put out another 7″ that came from the Endless Latino label, and you can buy it right now over @ Insound (it’s only $4.40!).
So for starters, this 7″ is quite the limited release. Apparently there’s only 57 copies pressed out there, and they come on clear, hand cut, flexi 7″ records. It doesn’t really get more limited than that either, folks. Starting off this 7″ is a song called “The Whips of Love”, and if it’s your first time listening to these guys, you might want to hold on to your seat. You’re immediately launched into a sea of spiny guitars and sprawling, quirky freak-outs led by lead singer Emily Beanblossom – who is almost always heard screaming and carrying on over the tense, jangly mess. Flip over to the B-side and your met with a springy bass line complemented by spaced out, squawking guitars that suddenly turns into a frantic freak-out with Emily yelping all up in our grill. This is the perfect example of a “freak-out” if there ever was one. They’re coming at us with full power from beginning to end on this 7″, and that’s pretty clear considering they just plow through both of these songs with almost no breaks at all and without any remote acknowledgment of the destruction that just took place whatsoever. Please listen to “Punch In” right below for some added excitement to your day, and please stay tuned in the near future as I’m definitely going to have that other 7″ up here in due time.
Punch In –
My Rating: 8/10
Genre/ Tags: Noise Rock, Lo-Fi, Experimental
Scenic Beauty 7″: Tracklist:
1.) The Whips of Love
2.) Punch In
BUY the 7″ from their Bandcamp page
BUY their other 7″ (Endless Latino) directly from Insound!
Christmas on Myspace
Christmas on Bandcamp
Styrofoam Drone 