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
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
Velvet Davenport is the moniker of the one-man band led by Parker Sprout, who hails from Minneapolis, Minnesota. He has other people fill in certain positions when it comes to recording, but it’s still all about Sprout. I am to understand this cassette came out sometime during 2009, and since then Velvet Davenport has gone on to release some other material. There’s a 7″ single from the awesome Shdwply Records called “Get Out”, and then there’s a full-length CD called “Happy Ending” that was also put out by Shdwply, which I’m having difficulty finding any solid information on.
This cassette tape doesn’t last very long (it’s pretty short – only about 13 minutes), but it’s packed with these trippy, hazy, sun-shining jams that bring to mind the likes of Syd Barrett and his solo efforts, or even his early work from Pink Floyd. There’s a song called “Lemon” on the cassette, and it’s a gorgeous mix of heavenly guitars and shimmering sound effects, and Sprout howls over the mix in a somewhat monotone fashion – probably the most defining moment when it comes to comparing to Barrett. But whether you think that or not, these sunny songs are bound to put a smile on your face. Listen to the tracks below, and then check out the other tracks they have for you up on Myspace.
Lemon –
Drop –
My Rating: 7/10 Genre/ Tags: Psychedelic, Acoustic, Pop Lemon Drop Square Box: Tracklist:
1.) One
2.) Lemon
3.) Drop
4.) Two
5.) Square
6.) Box
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)
Hey guys, listen up. You should really do yourself a favor today and check out this band called WEED HOUNDS. Earlier this week they released their debut 7″ record “Beach Bummed” from Iron Pier Records, and it’s proving to be quite an awesome 7″.
Their music is like heavy, atmospheric psychedelic rock with a tinge of the lo-fi pop/punk goodness mixed in (don’t forget shoegaze!), and lead singer Laura Catalano uses her gorgeous voice to sway over the mix, and it’s equally healing and haunting at different parts in the songs. These guys sound like they’re going to have even more awesome stuff for us down the road, so you might want to snag their debut 7″ before it’s too late. I say this because according to the Iron Pier website, there’s only 300 copies of the 7″ to go around, so yeah, get on that quick. If the songs below aren’t enough to keep you going, you should head on over to their Myspace page, because they have a handful of other tracks for your listening pleasure.
Beach Bummed –
Skating Away from the Cops –
My Rating: 8/10 Genre/ Tags: Psychedelic, Punk, Shoegaze Beach Bummed 7″: Tracklist:
1.) Beach Bummed
2.) Skating Away from the Cops
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
Here is something a bit out of the ordinary. The name of the band is Monster Rally, and they certainly have their own sound going for them. Instead of playing songs like everybody is used to hearing, Monster Rally create these abstract, hazy environments that could most easily be described as being background music for scenarios of all sorts. Whether it’s a busy, hot flea market mobbed with people from shoulder to shoulder, a lazy beach side Jamaican jam out, or just a breezy jazzy tune you can tap your foot along to, Monster Rally play a different form of music.
Probably the easiest way to describe their sound would be the “Soundtrack to your summer”, because that’s exactly what it is. Pretend you’re listening to the spaced-out, intergalactic journey of Flying Lotus’ “Los Angeles”, only this time you’re doing it on a tropical island somewhere, and it’s hot, sunny, and there’s not a chance in hell that summer is ever going to end. At least, as long as this EP is around. You shouldn’t wait any longer – head on over to their Bandcamp page to download this mysteriously awesome EP (for FREE!), so you too can be a part of the hazy, endlessly looping madness that is bound to play a role in your summer.
Shangri La –
Honey Moon –
Suns Hula –
My Rating: 7/10 Genre/ Tags: Pop, Abstract, Psychedelic Monster Rally EP: Tracklist:
1.) The Wolf
2.) Maori Mai
3.) Shangri La
4.) Honey Moon
5.) Pearly
6.) Suns Hula
Download the Monster Rally EP from their Bandcamp page
Monster Rally on Last.fm
Here is the first release to be put out by the band WOUNDED LION. They released another 7″ record as well, and you can check that one out right here. Sadly, both of those 7-inchers are now out of print, but the good news is that Wounded Lion recently released their first full-length record from In the Red Records, and it came out back on April 27th. The LP is a fantastic debut release for the band, and it sets them on the right path for things to come down the road. They tackle the garage rock sound with flying colors, and they do it with their own little sense of humor that I found to be just fantastic. Parts of the album get noisy (Carol Cloud, Silver People), other parts get goofy, and they manage to stick to their own formula throughout the entire record (various crafty guitar hooks and riffs). They don’t hesitate to throw in their knowledge of obscure Star Wars references either! How awesome! That’s certainly not something you see everyday in music; a Star Wars reference. Touche, Wounded Lion!
The record kicks off on the first track “Hungry?”, and I’m not quite sure what they’re curious about in this one, but a playful and friendly opening track nonetheless. This one sort of sets the tone for the rest of the songs to come. Following up would be one of their 7-inch songs, “Creatures in the Cave”, and it’s a nice little gem packed with some chicken-scratch guitar work towards the middle, and they ride it out all the way until the song comes to an end. The scratchy, distorted guitars you hear in this one dominate the rest of the record, especially this track. Next up comes the hilarious track “Dagobah System”, which is definitely an obscure Star Wars reference. The planet Dagobah is where the master Jedi Yoda resides, and Luke Skywalker is sent there to complete his training as a Jedi. In the movies, you see all sorts of crazy aliens and creatures in the swampy mudlands of Dagobah, and Wounded Lion don’t waste any time referencing these crazy creatures. Lead singer Brad warns us to look out for “crazy shit” and “people with asses for faces”. They don’t hesitate to be a bit silly in this song, and certainly throughout the entire album.
Skipping ahead to “Carol Cloud”, this song is yet again full of crafty guitar hooks that dominate the album from beginning to end, and chances are these hooks are what’s going to keep you coming back for more. This one gets a bit noisy towards the middle as the relentless guitars crunch and scratch their way through to the end. Skipping ahead to the track “Pony People”, they whip out the keyboards for this one, and they certainly don’t forget to bring along their humorous attitude, talking about centaurs and the asses of horses. Skipping ahead to the track “Silver People”, they tend to get a bit noisy again in this one. Once again dominated by catchy guitar hooks, a bit past the middle of the song they tear shit up with more scratchy guitar work, as they continue to reference Coors Light throughout the entire song. This song seamlessly moves into the next track “Omar Walk”, and while we don’t know exactly what an “Omar Walk” is, they still continue to rock out and bring forth the noise. This one gets crazy at the end.
Last but certainly not least on the album is the track “Crunchy Stars”, and it’s a great title for a track based on the sounds of this record. A heavenly lead guitar guides us through on this one, with a nice little guitar solo being introduced by lead singer Brad as he yelps out “guitar!” Shortly after the song comes to an end, it leaves you wondering where this band might go next. Definitely a solid, valiant effort from our friends Wounded Lion, and hopefully we can look forward to something bigger and better from them down the road. While humor is almost always a good thing, sometimes it can be a bit overbearing (and that’s probably why some people won’t like this record), so we’ll see where LP #2 takes us. Did I mention these guys remind me of Camursi? Thanks for coming by, and have a fantastic day.
Creatures in the Cave –
Dagobah System –
Carol Cloud –
Crunchy Stars –
My Rating: 7/10 Genre/ Tags: Garage Rock, Pop, Psychedelic Wounded Lion: Tracklist:
1.) Hungry?
2.) Creatures in the Cave
3.) Dagobah System
4.) Hunan Province
5.) Carol Cloud
6.) Hangin in Ancient Circles
7.) Belt of Orion
8.) Pony People
9.) Black Socks
10.) Silver People
11.) Omar Walk
12.) Crunchy Stars
Wounded Lion on Myspace
Wounded Lion on In the Red Records BUY the Wounded Lion LP/CD directly from Midheaven Mailorder BUY the Friendly 7″ directly from Midheaven Mailorder
Hey! So I’ve had this one sitting around for a few days, and I just kind of forgot to listen to it. For whatever reason I remembered I had it just yesterday and decided to give it a spin for the first time. Not too long ago the good people over at Matador Records were nice enough to set the brand new EP free and give everybody a chance to download it “for the next 24 hours, or so.” Sadly, it’s way past that “24 hours or so” limit, but I’m going to share a few of the brand new, hazy Kurt Vile tunes with you here today, so you shouldn’t get too upset. If you’ve been looking to buy the EP, you can head on over to their store and buy it at this very moment! And I know this comes up here a lot on the blog, and it even says it on the Matador page, but these 7 new tracks are perfect summery jams and they came out just in time for summer.
Opening track “Ocean City” starts off with just Kurt and his lovely sounding acoustic guitar, as he sings about not being too sure about a new “best friend”, suggesting that “If it stinks it makes you think, maybe baby, I love you more.” The song continues on while Vile strums away on his guitar, and during the final minute some shape-shifting sound effects come into play, and then the songs fades out. Next up is the track that had been floating around on the web before the EP came out, and it’s called “Invisibility: Nonexistent”. It’s a psyched-out 7 minute jam as Kurt plays his trusty acoustic guitar over top of some grimy sound effects. You can easily get lost in a long, drawn out song such as this one, and at some point you may ask yourself when it’s going to end, but the song fades out and next comes “Losing Momentum”.
Unlike the others we’ve heard so far, this one is a bit more on the soundscape side of things, as it kind of forces you to paint a picture in your head to go along with the music, similar to the track “The Finder” found later on the EP. Following up would be the track “I Wanted Everything”. This is a perfect example of a breezy summer jam if there ever was one from this EP. Kurt continues to “strum away” for us on the EP as he says in the track “I Know I Got Religion”, and it all comes to a close on the lazy sounding final track “Hey, Now I’m Moving”. Kurt whips out the harmonica at the end of this one, and it works great for the song. A fantastic way to bring the EP to an end. Check out the songs below to hear for yourself! Thanks for coming by, and LET’S GO FLYERS. We’re just two wins away from becoming NHL Champions. Too much excitement!
Invisibility: Nonexistent –
I Wanted Everything –
I Know I Got Religion –
My Rating: 7/10 Genre/ Tags: Acoustic, Psychedelic, Lo-Fi Square Shells EP: Tracklist:
1.) Ocean City
2.) Invisibility: Nonexistent
3.) Losing Momentum (for Jim Jarmusch)
4.) I Wanted Everything
5.) I Know I Got Religion
6.) The Finder
7.) Hey, Now I’m Moving
Just the other day I got a brand new 7″ record in the mail from Acéphale Records, which I believe it based out of somewhere in New York. The 7″ features just under 8 minutes of brand new material from the hazed out beach rockers in Pure Ecstasy. Pure Ecstasy hail from Austin, Texas, and their music always finds a way to crawl under your skin. Going by their last 7″ we covered, they didn’t change too much for this 7″, but that’s totally okay with me. As far as I’m concerned, we haven’t gotten enough material from this band yet, which is why it’s 100% okay that they keep putting out these quick little 7″ gems. On their Myspace it says “LP coming soon”, so hopefully they won’t keep us waiting too long for that. Until then, maybe we can continue to see new singles released here and there.
This new 7″ features two brand new songs – one on the A-side and one on the B-side. The A-side is a track called “Voices”, and Nate Grace is there right away to greet us with “I know, I know, I know.” At times in these Pure Ecstasy songs, instead of an intense guitar solo, it seems like the guitar is being used to create a sort of texture before anything else. A bit past the 1 minute mark of this song and you’ll know what I’m talking about. Instead of coming off as a solo, it comes off more as a hazy wall of sound that gives the song a bit more depth. Flipping over to the B-side now, this track is called “Alexandria”. Right away you’re face to face with a ground shaking bass line, and it continues on this way for the entire song. It’s songs like these that are responsible for being stuck in your head for days at a time. Graces guitar is once again swirling away in the mix, creating textures and evoking hot summer days. Grace howls away towards the middle, giving this track that sense of longing that can be heard in most of these Pure Ecstasy songs.
While the music on this single is one thing, the vinyl itself is a completely different story. Acéphale puts the utmost care into their vinyl, and it shows with this release. The single is limited to 500 copies with no repress; the first 150 come pressed on a swirled maroon/beige vinyl with the remainder being maroon/black; and to top it all off they give the record sleeve a matté finish, which certainly gives it professional look and feel. Just take a look at this picture.
Be sure to listen to “Alexandria” below, and you can listen to the A-side “Voices” over on the Pure Ecstasy Myspace. Enjoy!
Styrofoam Drone 