Tons of great new music this week, including an out-of-nowhere surprise by a new band from Olympia called
Broken Water. They had one under-the-radar self-released seven inch to their name, so this new LP on
Night People is sure to garner them more attention. The band consists of two ex-members of
Sisters and a member from
Congratulations, both of which now seem to be defunct. This three piece continue the current trend of late80s/early 90s revivalism, with easy comparisons to
Sonic Youth,
Unwound,
Eric's Trip, and
Dinosaur Jr. Much like their forbearers, they manage to flit easily between the grinding noisy end of guitar rock and the woozier, atmospheric side. The comparisons to SY and Dino will probably follow these guys for some time because Jon Hanna's vocals are tapped into the laid back drawl of
J. Mascis and the snotty cool of
Thurston Moore. I don't really want to spend too much time dissecting the record-- the proof is in the puddin'. This one's a contender for favorite of the year so far. Seek it out asap!
After two years of teasing us with seven inches, NYC's
Nice Face finally release their debut LP. Thirteen tracks of noisy and electro-damaged synth punk that's sure to whet the appetite of fans of bands like
Feeling Of Love,
Amber Alerts,
Dead Luke, and
Blank Dogs first year, though the singer has a distinct sneering vocal style that helps separate them from the rest of the pack.
Immer Etwas, unlike the quick stabs of the seven inches, flip the switch on and off between the alarmist synth punk we've come to know and anthemic fuzzy punk rock that would've fit in well with the late 70s punk heard in NYC. Essential listening for '10.
Italy's
Avant! Records caught my attention about a year back with the release of a seven inch by Mexico's
Los Llamarada, which, alongside their excellent LP on
S-S, received a ton of play at the homestead. Avant! has recently released a brand new from one of Metz's finest,
Feeling Of Love, who already had a packed few months with a single on
Sweet Rot and an LP on
Kill Shaman. This single's A side is "Waiting for the cheerleaders to get drunk" and contains some real creepo lyrics about lurking under bleachers waiting for, well, you get the idea. A hypnotic strum 'n' bleep that is easily the most restrained and cleaned up I've heard the band. On the flip they take some classic
Zombies lyrics and give 'em the FOL treatment. Avant! has just recently snatched up another winner from France and released an LP by
Cccandy. Look out for the in a future episode...
Excellent new batch from Olde English Spelling Bee, who have been on a bit of hypnagogic roll the last few months. OESB has a keen ear for releasing vinyl for groups that would normally disappear into the cassette underground. In fact, Rangers and Forest Sword both had their start releasing limited cassettes. Rangers traverse the same territory as their previous Not Not Fun tape, which has been dubbed as "mirroball funknagogic pop". Basically it's a much more upbeat version of the cheese-infused soundtracks created by Skaters, Lamborghini Crystal etc.
Forest Swords has two previous cassette releases on
Woven Tones and
Leftist Nautical Antiques, and
Dagger Paths features revamped tracks from both, so if you missed those tapes, now's yr chance. Stuck in the middle of northern England, Forest Swords creates hallucinatory dubscapes by apparently using the coastline as inspiration (
interview on that here). Languid guitar lines on repeat alongside dubbed 'n' screwed bass with the occasional vocal sample slipped in, riding somewhere between the warmth of
Burial and the shamanic simplicity of
Pocahaunted. Highly recommended and limited to 500...
Speaking of Pocahaunted, the band's mainstay,
Amanda Brown, has ventured into solo territory with her new
L.A. Vampires moniker. Having released a track on the outstanding crimson wave comp
My Estrogeneration, and a recent self released cassingle (grab that from the
NNF site), L.A. Vampires drop a side of wax, splitting it with the like-minded
Psychic Reality. Brown drops some hip-hop inspired Robitussum beats and adds flourishes of horns, flutes, a shit ton of EFX, and then douses every track with layers of her trademark Siren vocals, making for one of the strangest and hardest-to-define releases of the year.
Psychic Reality takes over the flip of this record and manages to outweird L.A. Vampires with her hall of mirrors vocal shrieks and decayed disco and dancehall beats. There's also a middle eastern feel to the whole side, too, making this incredibly hard to pin down, requiring several listens to soak up. Limited release on this one, too...
Zola Jesus "I Can't Stand It"
Stridulum EP 12" (
Sacred Bones) 2010
Nice Face "I Want Your Damage"
Immer Etwas LP (Sacred Bones) 2010
Feeling Of Love "What's Your Name Who's Your Daddy?"
s/t 7" (
Avant!) 2009
Lamps "Niels Bohr Was An Excellent Ping Pong Player"
s/t 7" (
Dull Knife) 2010
Yves/Son/Ace "Bitter Pill"
Parade Of Thoughts/Can't Sleep LP (Night People) 2010
Dead Luke "People Are Freaky Then You Die"
Cosmic Meltdown CS (Night People) 2010
Teepee "D.R.O.N.E.S."
s/t CS (Night People) 2010
LA Vampires "Acid We"
split w/Psychic Reality 12" (Not Not Fun) 2010
Rangers "Bear Creek"
Suburban Tours LP (Olde English Spelling Bee) 2010
**sorry, having some issues with this week`s podcast. Check back in a few days...
Passing along some upcoming local shows, including a rare appearance by Mecca Normal at Fake Jazz on the 14th...
SUNDAY APRIL 4th:
BLEEDER, FORCED LAUGHTER, STAMINA MANTIS
ALF HAUS
WED APRIL 7th:
BLEEDER + FUCK NO! tour kickoff show with HARI LEGS and PHONECALLS
THE ASTORIA
5 BUCKS
10PM
FRIDAY APRIL 9th:
STONED EYES, AHNA, NOMAD (Victoria)
PAT'S PUB
7 BUCKS
10PM
(night of doom/sludge/drone - Victoria band NOMAD play FIRST, right at 10:15 SHARP)
WEDNESDAY APRIL 14th:
MECCA NORMAL, TWIN CRYSTALS, AHNA
LICK (Fake Jazz)
5 BUCKS
10PM
