Special request from the bloggers over at
COD Music, who, thanks to Thee Expressway, had their minds blown by
The Hospitals'
Hairdryer Peace and just had to hear some of the earlier jams. Not much time to get into the gory details here, but these first two albums are almost entirely different beasts than the one encountered on
Hairdryer Peace.
Hairdryer Peace is some Year Zero shit for The Hospitals and see's the band veering away from their blown-out and assaultive garage rock and plunging deep into psychedelic dementia. There are a few moments on
Jocks and Jazz that hinted at things to come, but, for the most part,
Hairdryer Peace was a pleasant and shocking surprise. So anyone who's heard Hairdryer and doesn't know these first two albums, well, here's yr chance to catch up on one of the more exciting garage groups of the last 5 years.
Fun Fact:
John Dwyer (
Thee Oh Sees, Yikes!, Coachwhips and Pink and Brown) and Mike Donovan (drummer for
Sic Alps) both played on various sections of
I've Visited The Island Of Jocks and Jazz.
s/t on In The Red Records (2003)
DOWNLOAD S/T HEREI've Visited The Island Of Jocks and Jazz on Load Records (2005)
DOWNLOAD JOCKS AND JAZZ HEREAgain, big shout out to
COD Music, who have been relentlessy posting some hard to find albums almost everyday for two years. Make a stop by
DOWNLOAD S/T HERE
DOWNLOAD JOCKS AND JAZZ HERE
8 comments:
Not sure how I feel about record 3 yet. It may be my favourite thing they've done to date and I admire the assaultive squall they're perpetrating, but despite moments of greatness, it hasn't got me wanting to delve and no particular tracks have really stood out. It's a tough nut to crack, but I'd reckon they're the best noise band out there right now (tho' purists might scoff).
Surprised it hasn't got a legit release. It seems to be their breakthrough.
This indeed has been a tough nut to crack, but when it splits, man, watch the fuck out. You're also right when you say there no particular tracks that are worth visiting on their own, but I think that helps the record work as a whole and I think is the reason why it was only issued on vinyl. The listener is then pretty much forced to put this thing on the whole way through.
I think one of the things that amazed me most about the record was how unexpected it was. Maybe they hinted towards this in their recent live shows, but them having never been to Vancouver has made it hard to see them permutate to this degree. Those first two albums are really good, but there are and have been plenty of other bands doing very similar work (ie. Lamps, Hunches etc.). Hairdryer Peace stands completely on it's own. I am pretty stuck on a direct comparison for this album and it's sound, which is an amazing achievement on it's own and I think is the reason it has struck such a chord with critics and music fans across the globe.
Proof of the greatness...
The Wire just named it the number 3 album of the year; Midheaven/revolver staff all ranked it very high; it appeared on a few year end lists over at the Dusted site and on the WFMU blog. Pretty amazing for a self-released album where only 500 copies were pressed.
I do foresee this album being re-issued in the very near future. I got my copy already, so I'm laughing, but this really needs to be heard by more people...NOW!
Thank you so much. And thanks for plugging our little blog. I owe you one.
No sweat! Hope you enjoy
I think the reason why The Wire and the like have glommed on to this is that it's certainly "artier" than its predecessors. I've DL'ed the first two so well see what a retrospective re-listen will do to put the whole output in perspective.
Mark,
Long time no see. Was pretty surprised to see that thing in Wire. I really want to hear the album now. Can you post it for dl as a request.
don't know if you read my response to your comment on my blog but I've got a spare copy of that Ian Holloway cd-r if you are interested in a trade. Oh, and COD rules. Thanks for that too.
Let me know...
I did a show with these guys back in November and it was all based on HDP. The thing that was most amazing about them (even after listening to the lp) was how different they were live and how down to earth they seemed.... they seem like a group of really poor guys from san fran trying to make music the best that they can... when their merch runs out that's it until they get enough money or interest to move forward (or sideways).... this record speaks volumes about the state of music and how to approach it in the present (instead of the past)....
Thanks for the insight! I also think that The Hospitals self releasing their own album was the best thing for them, and is pretty much the model for DIY record production. Really wish I coulda' seen them in the last year or so. I can only imagine what it would be like...which is probably even better than on record. By the way, if you read this comment, what band did/do you play in?
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