ISSUE #8

Here's M ⊂ S I Q:

PICK OF THE WEEK: Annabelle Chairlegs - "Street Urchins"

WHERE: Austin, TX
FROM: TBD
OUT: TBD

The gritty slack-pop quartet Annabelle Chairlegs are still something of a mystery at this early point in their history - aside from a few demos on Soundcloud, scant details on Facebook, and this recent upload to YouTube, they have yet to see a proper release and some press under their belts. It stands to reason that this will change soon enough, the group having recently played the Gnar Tapes showcase at this year's SXSW and coupling "Street Urchins," their strongest single yet, with a memorably hallucinogenic video. Recorded around singer Lindsey Mackin's hometown of Kearny, NJ - "a really industrial, beautiful place" as she described in an e-mail - the clip follows a panda-masked woman traveling aimlessly while the band rocks out in drag through a trippy color filter. The accompanying song blossoms from a sweet, surfy whisper into a manic, droning scream, all in the compact span of a heavy two-minute pop song. Keep an eye out for a release and a tour this year!




WATCH: Wet Blankets - "Dieter Caught My Bus"

WHERE: Geelong, Australia
FROM: Dieter Caught My Bus 7" on Goodbye Boozy
OUT: Now

"Dieter Caught My Bus" is about as authentic as a punk tune can get these days - it doesn't just feel like a teenage riot because it actually is a teenage riot. Frontman Zane Gardner recently celebrated his 16th birthday and has already dropped a sold out 7" with his band - what have you been up to lately? In a simple, primal vein that brings Coachwhips to mind, the garage-punk power trio (featuring mems. of Ausmuteants & The Living Eyes) plays this driving, uptempo tune relatively straightfaced until a noisy breakdown at the one-minute mark threatens to dismantle the whole thing. The video finds the band miming "Dieter" on a suburban rooftop, intercut with brief shots of dumpster-diving and racing down a hill on a shopping cart. Sympathetic vomiters, proceed with caution.



LISTEN: Gentlemen - "Cholera"

WHERE: Melbourne, Australia
FROM: Gentlemen 7" on Jeth-Row
OUT: Now

Gentlemen have crawled out of the Melbourne sewers to release another batch of relentless noise-punk in following-up on their excellent 2012 LP Sex Tape - a record that has only recently been making the rounds at places like WFMU, Pitchfork, and Boston Hassle. As we were hearing on that last release, "Cholera" is another sickly mesh of towering, corrosive guitar noise, bashed rhythms, and a psychotic vocal snarl. It might be easy to dismiss the sound as male aggression incarnate, but there's something in that howling refrain of "CHOLLLERAAAA" that feels pained and horrified, like the sound of someone's mind grasping for air as the body meets a horrible death. Fans of Drunkdriver and Chat Logs should absolutely jump on this crazy train.



LISTEN: Institute - "Bureaucrat"

WHERE: Austin, TX
FROM: Institute EP on Deranged
OUT: 3/25/2014

OK, serious question: what Texas punk band doesn't have a member of Wiccans in it? Institute is now the fifth good band I've heard that falls under this category (see also: Video, Blotter, Parquet Courts, and Mind Spiders), and I'm sure there are at least a dozen more out there. "Bureaucrat" is my favorite track from this post-punk four-piece's demo, which will be seeing a proper release on Deranged Records in the next couple of weeks. Their sound reminds me a bit of Protomartyr and the Killed By Deathrock comp that Sacred Bones put out last year, but twice as drugged-up. Over gloomy guitars and busy drumming, the song drunkenly murmurs sweet nothings like, "Please have your papers ready as / You approach" with all the authority of a border guard on quaaludes. Dig it below.


LISTEN: Useless Eaters - "Integrated Circuit"

WHERE: San Francisco, CA
FROM: Mother Earth 7" on Jeffery Drag
OUT: Spring 2014

"Integrated Circuit" is not just a fitting title for this new Useless Eaters jam, but a proud announcement: "We have electronics now." While last year's Hypertension was an offering of cold-blooded garage-punk fit with rolling drums and tight, interlocking guitars, this new single suggests that frontman Seth Sutton has embraced the icier textures of synthesizers and drum machines. "Integrated Circuit" is all blown-out motorik beats and coldwave synth moans, holding on to some of their earlier sound with a steady guitar thrum and Sutton's vaguely-British speak-singing hovering at the center. While the sonics have shifted, this band's ability to write a total earworm remains the same. You'll probably keep finding the play button on this one if you're down with groups like NUN, Future Punx, and/or Disappears.

LISTEN: Life Chain - "Parasites"

WHERE: Halifax, Canada
FROM: No Laughter EP on Konton Crasher/Imminent Destruction
OUT: Spring 2014

Good ol' d-beat: always different, always the same. Life Chain get innovative enough with it on "Parasites," bookending their d-beat blitzkrieg with a crushing high-speed fuck that brings to mind some of their NYC contemporaries like La Misma and Warthog (perhaps fitting that they'll be playing New York's Alright next month, then). Amid the chaotic burn of the guitars and drums, staccato shouts pierce their way through the mix, sounding like Yasuko Onuki from Melt-Banana descending upon the earth and throwing lightning at us all. If you're feelin' the doom, try out the other track from the sampler while you're at it and keep it tuned for the 7" which should be out soon.


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ISSUE #7

Yo. Here's what's good this week:

PICK OF THE WEEK:  Blotter - "Gunboy Rover"

WHERE: Austin, TX
FROM: Under Armour '77 on Katorga Works
AVAILABLE: Spring 2014

I wonder what Blotter thinks of SXSW. Hardcore punk locals and invasive corporate sponsors must get along very well this time of year. I'm sure "Gunboy Rover" would go over particularly well at, like, a college radio mixer with non-alcoholic beer and indie muzak humming over the bar speakers. Honestly though, this is straight-up disruption that could wipe a conference room clean in its opening seconds. After a moment of square feedback, the group opens up into a confrontational, full-band seizure that sounds off like a series of disgruntled exclamation points. All the incessant grunt-raving and stop-start mayhem ends before you can really attempt to gather your bearings. Recommended for looping at a party filled with people you really, really hate.




LISTEN: Good Throb - "Acid House"

WHERE: London, UK
FROM: Fuck Off on White Denim/Sabremetric/Super-Fi
AVAILABLE: 4/2014

In the forthcoming edition of the first-ever VCPUNX zine, an anonymous scribble towards the back beckons: "LISTEN TO GOOD THROB." Start listening to that anonymous scribble now, because Good Throb rules and doesn't give a fuck about what you think of neither their "sloppy" playing, nor their shit-and-piss humor, nor their feminist thematics. Deal with it, cad. "Acid House" is one of three teaser tracks from their forthcoming LP - a sparse, furious blast that evokes the ghostly spirit of first-wave no-wave with its exceedingly simple and confrontational approach to punk. Check it below.

LISTEN: PyPy - "New York"

WHERE: Montreal
FROM: Pagan Day on Slovenly Recordings
AVAILABLE: Now

To give you a sense of what you're going to be reckoning with the track below, there's another song on this album called "Too Much Cocaine." Yup. "New York" is an oozing urban nightmare in the form of an out-of-control psych-punk jam. When the song isn't barreling forth at full-speed to ram into any unsuspecting East Villagers in its path, the band steps back to build tension with quiet calculation. Over thudding drums and creaking guitars, Annie-Claude Deschenes prowls and lolls her tongue over the proceedings with a Vanessa Briscoe-Hay (Pylon) or Katie Alice Greer (Priests) level of cool. Freak out the neighborhood with this.


LISTEN: After Argument - "Venice notes (world in his eyes)"

WHERE: Beijing
FROM: Furs of Time on Tenzenmen
AVAILABLE: Now

My first exposure to the contemporary Chinese underground happened a couple weeks ago when a friend of mine told me about the band Pairs. They released a split on Tenzenmen, which led me to this excellent post-punk duo After Argument. This is the first track from their most recent release, a tightly wound rocker with yelped vocals and wending guitar work that kinda smacks of early-era Fugazi. "Venice notes (world in his eyes)" feels like a response to that glorious strain of independent rock that spanned from like Spiderland, running through Today's Active Lifestyles, and ending around The Lonesome Crowded West - but these guys are creative in how they progress this opener, entirely avoiding the "rehash" label through some seriously telepathic interplay. Excited to see what their next move is (US tour would be v cool).



LISTEN: Odonis Odonis - "Angus Mountain"

WHERE: Toronto
FROM: Hard Boiled/Soft Boiled on Buzz Records
AVAILABLE: 4/15/2014

"She never loved you anyway," sighs the sad chorus at the center of this new piece from the post-everything Canadians of Odonis Odonis. I had these guys pinned as somewhat-aggro industrial/noise-rock up to now, but "Angus Mountain" throws a curveball into their oeuvre, here offering up a melancholic, dreamy soundscape that could almost pass as chillwave (chillpunk? kill me). A sunlight-decayed melody floats atop an acrobatic drum machine pattern held together by sixteenths rattling off on an icy high-hat. This one definitely errs on the side of Soft Boiled. Haven't been stoked for too many full-lengths this year, but HB/SB is set firmly on my radar.



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ISSUE #6

Lifeless in appearance,
Sluggish, dazed Spring approaches - WCW

Here's the rundown:

PICK OF THE WEEK: NUN - "Evoke The Sleep"

WHERE: Melbourne, Australia
FROM: Nun LP on Aarght/Avant!/No Patience Records
AVAILABLE: 4/11/2014

Normally I'm all about American exceptionalism, but I must admit that I've been enjoying Australia's 2014 underground offerings a lot more than the United States' - time to change that bald eagle statue on my desk to a kangaroo plush. Sigh. For proof positive of Australia's hot streak, take a nice, long look at this new cut from the haunted synth-punk fourpiece Nun. A hissing drum machine and sinister synthesizers underline Jenny Branagan's cyber-dictatorial speak-singing: "Carnivorous institution! / Kindly open up your front gate!" she calls to action. A beautiful whoosh of noise bursts through the door at the two-minute mark and briefly fucks with your head before the track re-enters into its laser sharp focus. Everything is set neatly in its place while raging very hard in that place. Try not to bob your head so vigorously, it's bad for your neck.



LISTEN: The Ukiah Drag - "Dirt Trip"

WHERE: Boston, MA
FROM: Dirt Trip 7" on Wharf Cat Records
AVAILABLE: 3/4/2014

For New England urban dwellers, psych-punk quartet The Ukiah Drag sure know a thing or two about sounding like they've been wandering across a desert with only their instruments for a few years. The A-side to their new 7", "Dirt Trip" is a driving, dusty track evocative of The Birthday Party's sickly drawl. Guitars that are equal parts woozy and country-fried weave into a pounding rhythm section, creating something that feels like a bumpy, narcotized ride across the American West. But really, the only place you're driving is straight to your grave: "Got a coffin / Just for you / Come on down / There's room for two," beckons the undertaker. Lines like that companioned with the group's slithering lurch make you feel as though your time might actually be up.



LISTEN: Tense Men - "RNRFON"

WHERE: London, UK
FROM: Where Dull Care Is Forgotten 12" on Faux Discx Records
AVAILABLE: 3/10/2014

I don't tend to geek out over a label's entire output too often, but Faux Discx had such a banner 2013 that I've been impatiently awaiting their first 2014 release. Here's their first offering - a new single from the aptly named London trio Tense Men. "RNRFON" is a building storm of a post-punk jam that is all about the rhythm section, revolving around a high-voltage drum and bass lockstep that stares ahead unblinkingly. Interfering guitar wankery intensifies the track's forward motion as a monotonous chant drones in and out of the mix. Tense Men have made a real nervewracking headrush of a track here - "RNRFON" probably isn't something that you should put on if you're running late to work. Be on the lookout for the new EP.



LISTEN: Technicolor Teeth - "Sage" 

WHERE: Appleton, WI
FROM: Can You Keep Me Out Of Hell CS on Accidental Guest
AVAILABLE: 3/2014

Yeah, the term "90s revivalism" is thrown around a lot these days, which kinda sucks if you ask me - I like to think that most bands these days are doing more than merely hearkening back to another era. That said, if we timetravelled back to '98 with this new tune from Technicolor Teeth, it would most definitely be bumping on everyone's alt-radio preset. Opening with a huge riff that brings to mind names like Yuck and Deerhunter, "Sage" is a hazy slice of slacker-pop heaven with a slight goth bent. Shoegazy textures and slack drumming mesh with lyrics that are set firmly in the perspective of a dude reminiscing on his teenage years. Matt Stranger remembers, "I would meet you after class / And we would smoke a bowl of hash / Take a walk down to the park / And get lost with you after dark." No, these lines don't require you to think too hard about much of anything, but therein lies the glory of music like this. Tune in and zone out.



LISTEN: Brain F≠ - "Headaches + Vomit / Dirty Realism"

WHERE: Charlotte, NC
FROM: Empty Set on Sorry State Records
AVAILABLE: Now

I hear that the name of this quartet is actually pronounced "Brain Flannel," which is... OK, sure! While the majority of their new record features off-kilter, sing-songy vox on top of speedy garage-punk, these two tracks that show up on the backhalf of the record find the band in straight-up hardcore mode, going right for the jugular. They both rule: "Headaches + Vomit" is a song about getting sick and appropriately crushes through its sections at a nauseatingly blinding pace, while "Dirty Realism" slows things down only a tiny bit to allow for manic musings like, "I can't turn left, I'll end up down! / I want it to be dark and I want it to be day!" Brain F≠ are here to fuck shit up - BREAK STUFF.



LISTEN: The Flag - "Bad Blood"

WHERE: Brooklyn, NY
FROM: Common Interests Were Not Enough to Keep Us Together Comp on GODMODE
AVAILABLE: Now

OK - so technically, one-man industrial band The Flag first dropped "Bad Blood" in 2012, albeit in a lower fidelity that didn't allow the track to stretch its muscles. Thankfully, he's put out a revamped rendition for GODMODE's new comp and we're now reckoning with a full-on banger that indeed sounds like "the night Timbaland discovered Suicide." While I wouldn't venture to call Ted McGrath our generation's Alan Vega, he has a presence that is similarly unstable and commanding. Those pounding drums that cascade in both channels are markedly meatier than the original, giving this song a heavy churn that is simultaneously mechanical and club-ready. Well worth your time if you're feeling something a little friendlier than Youth Code or Sewn Leather.

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[Interlude]

I'm having a paper-heavy couple of weeks, which is why there was no post this weekend. Finger is off the pulse for the moment. Bear with me - will have a post up this weekend once the dust has settled.

In the meantime, enjoy this half-hour:



xx,
Jay

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ISSUE #5

To celebrate one whole month in which I haven't totally messed this blog up, I just opened up an e-mail address for the site. If you're going to send me your demo, please take a look at what I write about before sending me dubstep remixes (which I'm sure you worked hard on, but c'mon):
newnoisenow@yahoo.com

Now, on to the rundown:

PICK OF THE WEEK:
Ghetto Ghouls - "Peepshow"

WHERE: Austin, TX
FROM: Ghetto Ghouls on Monofonus Press
AVAILABLE: 4/8/14

Before it vanished entirely from their bandcamp, I was fortunate enough to download 6666 from the garage-punk quartet Ghetto Ghouls back in November. While the production on that release was coarse around the edges, "Peepshow" suggests that the group is moving to even grittier, heavier pastures. No energy is wasted here on introductions or legible vocals. Instead, the group immediately starts burning down the barn with a cloud of distortion over catchy, quicktime drumbeats. Amid all the guitar thrashing and snare rolls, Ghetto Ghouls somehow find time in this two-minute window to break things down at around the 60-second mark, stretching out their legs for a moment before swelling the song up to an abbreviated climax. "Peepshow" is a promising first taste for what will probably be a fantastic album of blown-out, taut rock'n'roll, played with an economy so refined that The Minutemen would surely nod their heads in approval.



LISTEN:
Sewn Leather - "Unclear War"

WHERE: Los Angeles, CA
FROM: Freak On Hashish/Longboarding is a Crime on Hundebiss
AVAILABLE: Sometime in April

"I am not a graffiti artist, I am a graffiti bomber," proclaims Cap in the documentary Style Wars and in the intro to Sewn Leather (a/k/a Griffin Pyn, a/k/a Skull Katalog)'s new single. That line alone should give you a pretty good sense of what you're about to reckon with here - destructive punk shit, no filter. A distorted, industrial dance beat that repeatedly slams itself into a wall meets relentless sub-bass throb meets swaths of static, all cutting through Pyn's weird, cancerous snarl. "What's nuclear's worth fighting for / Unclear war," he chants and chants in a sewer-drenched vision of the apocalypse. The whole deal combines into something that could drive you to break windows and/or bust a move, pick your poison.



LISTEN:
Vulture Shit - "Sweat Lodge"

WHERE: Brooklyn, NY
FROM: The Joys of Employment on Money Fire
AVAILABLE: 2/20/14

Last year, Vulture Shit jumped onto my radar with their lurching noise-rock jam "Dinnertime," the B-side to their Adult Hits 7". What a bizarre track - while the bass and drums are imposing beasts, the first thing that Randy Vandal spews out of his mouth is, "Put your fork in the mashed potatoes / Put your spoon in the beans, UH-huh." That brand of absurd humor permeates Vulture Shit's aggressive bass-and-drum assault and puts this group in (more or less) a league of their own.

On this lead-off single from their new 7" due out in a few days, the group sticks to those guns that made "Dinnertime" such a strange and memorable listen, but here they kick the speed up a few notches and plow through three verses and refrains in 76 seconds. Here, the filthy, breakneck playing is as uncomfortably hot and claustrophobic as what Randy Vandal's howling about: "I can't stand it it's too hot in here! / It's like a sweat lodge, baby!" he shouts with all the unhingedness of a young David Yow. These guys are confirmed to be as good as Warthog in figuring out exactly what my anxiety problems sound like.



LISTEN:
Thee Oh Sees - "Penetrating Eye"

WHERE: San Francisco, CA
FROM: Drop on Castle Face
AVAILABLE: 4/19/2014

Once you're strapped in for the ride, trying to keep tabs on Thee Oh Sees is a head-spinning trip. The garage-rock collective first grabbed my attention with their 2011 opus Carrion Crawler/The Dream, left me a little bit cold with the lighter and fluffier Putrifiers II in 2012, renewed my faith with last year's heavy-as-fuck Floating Coffin, and may or may not have broken my heart when they hinted at an indefinite hiatus at the turn of 2014. Phew. Well, like clockwork, they're back again with a new ripper in advance of yet another new record. The cacophonous layers of synth all over "Penetrating Eye" hint at a new direction (perhaps informed by John Dwyer's new homemade-electronic side project Damaged Bug), although the mountainous riffage, pounding rhythms, and androgynous Dwyer/Dawson duet at the center of the proceedings signify that this is indeed the same Oh Sees I've come to know and love. Get your fix of pure electricity below.



LISTEN:
Downtown Boys - "Callate"

WHERE: Providence, RI
FROM: Downtown Boys 7" on Sister Polygon
AVAILABLE: Now

Last week, I wrote about a track from the newish EP by Malportado Kids, a blaring tropical-punk side-project from two members of Downtown Boys. The folks in this outfit must not sleep, because they've got a brand new 7" out on Sister Polygon (run by the excellent punk group Priests). Opener "Callate" is a fiery minute of hardcore ska-punk fit with a wailing horn section that buzzes in and out on a whim, battering drums, and Victoria Ruiz's trademark tantrum at the fore. This is just one of several great minutes on this 7" - do not hesitate to listen to the rest (and catch them live too, because it's a total dance party with plenty of political rants and cop-hate).


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ISSUE #4

WOODY ALLEN IS SCUM AND HERE'S THE RUNDOWN, YOU CRAZY NIGHTMARES:

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PICK OF THE WEEK:

"Priest In The Laboratory" by White Suns

WHERE: Brooklyn
FROM: Totem on The Flenser
AVAILABLE: 3/10/2014

When I saw White Suns a few months ago, their lineup had briefly reduced to a duo (after their drummer had mysteriously gone off the grid), looming behind an array of electronics that frothed out hellraising noise, effectively disturbing every single resident of Vassar's main building in the process. With their follow-up to 2012's Sinews on the way, the reformed trio have turned back to drums, guitars, and microphones to rip it up with a more traditional setup. The first taste from their album, "Priest In The Laboratory," finds the group barely holding it together amid their cathartic, postindustrial roar, freely oscillating between movements as frenzied rhythms sputter like a choir of broken engines. A nervous yell sounds off intermittently: "Melancholia: / Is! / Is! / A cancer! / That waxes and wanes!" Repeated listens will drive you to the brink. This track is a carnival made from a rusting scrapheap. 

LISTEN:
"Land of Nod" by Permanent Ruin

WHERE: San Jose, CA
FROM: San Jose EP on Not Normal Tapes
AVAILABLE: Now

At the bottom of Permanent Ruin's tumblr, there's someone wearing a shirt that reads "It's only going to get worse." As "Land of Nod" prepares to enter its half-speed second movement, Mariam Bastani (formerly of Condenada) maliciously growls, "It's a waaaastelaaaand." I sure hope you find solace in hopelessness. "Land Of Nod" is the closing standout from this group's most recent EP - a prime cut of hardcore played as noisily and heavily as possible. Rapidfire trash sounds give way to a slower-moving death knoll that announces the deadened American landscape.

LISTEN:
"Mi Concha" by Malportado Kids

WHERE: Providence, RI
FROM: The Mi Concha EP, self-released
AVAILABLE: Now

Malportado Kids is Victoria Ruiz and Joey Defrancesco of Downtown Boys, a rising political punk sextet based out of Providence, RI. Much like their main project, this duo attacks with a noisy, confrontational approach that entails blown-out production and a lot of bilingual shouting. "Mi Concha," the opening track from their new tape, is a battle cry against dudes who view only conventionally beautiful white women as viable partners. Ruiz, of course, words it more bluntly and eloquently: "Mi concha no es bastante blanca para ti (My c**t is not white enough for you)!" she chants above a four-and-the-floor thud and a tropical synth line that pinches your nerve endings. "Mi Concha" is an aggressively danceable celebration of sexual liberation for women of color that cannot, will not be ignored.

LISTEN:
"Boom Pow Awesome Wow" by The Traps

WHERE: Providence, RI
FROM: Boom Pow Awesome Wow on Castle Face
AVAILABLE: Now

John Dwyer says simply of The Traps, "COACHWHIPS PLAYED WITH THEM, THEN I CAME HOME AND TRIED TO RIP THEM OFF." For sure, in considering that The Traps disbanded about a decade ago, a listen through "Boom Pow Awesome Wow" leads one to realize that most garage-punk groups from the past ten years can only dream of making rock'n'roll as simple and pure as these guys did. This opener from the group's unearthed collection of rarities is a tonesetting lo-fi explosion that matches a surf sensibility with sludgy, barebones thrashing and hoarse, mostly incomprehensible shouts (aside from, y'know, "BOOM POW / AWESOME, WOW"). These dudes just don't seem like they ever learned how to give a fuck, and I admire 'em all the more for it.

LISTEN:
"Life of Leisure" by Failed States

WHERE: NYC
FROM: Demo 2014 CS
AVAILABLE: Now, maybe

Good luck finding anything about Failed States at this point in their history. I sure as hell couldn't, just a lot of unwanted hits about Propagandhi's last album. The only thing I've taken away from a lone event page is that the group features members of Nuclear Spring, who put out  a 12" that I heard once on a friend's record player and loved. The overall vibe on "Life of Leisure" leans towards an aggro-brand of post-punk, what with the tight, quasi-technical playing and those catchy, spiny guitar hooks. It's an in-and-out punch - bristling with energy, always shifting around in its seat, and with an awesome chorus that essentially demands that an audience sings along to it. I'm way into what this band's doing, I'm excited to see what they're up to next, I want to get my grubby hands on this demo of theirs, and you should totally give this track a listen. Fin.

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ISSUE #3

Superbowl. Football. Sports. Finger pressed firmly on the pulse of popular culture. Et cetera.

Below is a motley playlist for you to eat, composed of all the songs and clips I've been jamming on this week. As my mom would say, I made it up all nice and fresh for you:

WATCH:
Wolf Eyes play 285 Kent

Chances are that if you're reading this, you probably know what a 285 Kent is, you've probably heard about it closing, and you probably know what that closure means to many DIY musicians and music fans down over in Brooklyn. Sad days. To celebrate the end of it all, there was a massive procession of bands and artists who filled up the space for a two-weekend-long last hurrah. While most of these farewell shows were stacked with rising stars in indie rock and electronic music, the venue's final Saturday show saw noise and avant-garde acts taking the stage for much of the night, names like Alberich, MV Carbon and Wolf Eyes all sending off the venue with a bang and a clatter and a screech. Pitchfork captured some footage of Wolf Eyes powering through an unreleased track, "Enemy Ladder 1 & 2." Check the video below for eight minutes of Nate Young screaming his brains out, free-form stoner riffs, blown-out drum loops, and John Olson holding some sort of magic noise box whilst letting loose an intermittent fistpump. Chaos. I honestly can't wrap my mind around the fact that they've been at this since I was four.



WATCH:
The Soft Moon premieres video for "Hunger"

Following up on the release of a brand new 7", Luis Vasquez of The Soft Moon has posted both tracks from the record onto YouTube. While I dig A-side "Feel" just fine, what with its driving groove that transports one to the halcyon days of EBM and post-punk, I prefer the sinister synth-drone going on in the B-side, "Hunger." I wanted to post the video here because despite its static aesthetic, the clip enhances the claustrophobia of the track to an uncomfortable degree. Warped, copied, and pasted dozens of times across the screen, the title of the song flickers and wanes as a pitch-shifted voice mutters endlessly, "I want to be happy." Thoroughly spooky, and a prime video to project onto a wall during your next sparsely-attended Halloween party. Check it below.



PICK OF THE WEEK:
Timber Timbre - "Hot Dreams"

Where: Toronto & Montreal, Canada
From: Hot Dreams on Arts & Crafts
Available: 4/1/2014

Timber Timbre is a rarity in indie rock in that they've been crafting their sound around a character, effectively turning their most recent efforts into a bizarre yet engrossing narrative. While the group's first two efforts were steeped in blues and folk tradition, the quintet has since branched out with a tryptych of albums - the self-titled, Creep On Creepin' On, and forthcoming Hot Dreams - that feature foreboding, neo-noir arrangements with plinking piano, slinking basslines, and saxophone that can change its temper from velvety to horrifying skronk on a dime. At the center of this revised sound is Taylor Kirk's newfound croon, who changed his affect from a somber woodsman's sigh to a ghoulish baritone between the group's second and third albums. To match that shift, the lyrics darkened as well, transforming Kirk's persona into that of a preying, lusting villain, indie rock's most unsettling anti-hero.

"Hot Dreams" is the first taste from the new album, a neon-lit closing-time ballad that rises and falls in a manner that can only be described as sexy.  But there's something off here, as one might come to expect from Timber Timbre. Kirk (and I should really say 'Kirk's character') kicks off the song by flatly singing, "I want to dance with a black woman," an exoticizing problematic that leaves an awful taste in the mouth. Later, the antagonist's underlying violence slips subtly through the gauze, "I want to follow through / follow through / on all my promises and threats to you, babe." With Colin Stetson's sax work to round out the track with a smooth riff that crescendos into a quasi-dissonant blare in its final moments, the portrait becomes complete -- this is not a love song as much as it is a good reason for his muse to telephone the police. Unnerving as it is addictive, this is easily my favorite track of 2014 so far.



LISTEN:
Ruined Fortune - "Black And Red"

Where: Sydney, Australia
From: Forthcoming LP on Hozac
Available: TBA

I found myself first digging through the current Australian underground by way of Bed Wettin' Bad Boys, whose infectious slacker jam "Any Day Now" snuggled into my headphones on the regular this past spring. The bassist of BWBB and RIP Society labelhead Nic Warnock has teamed up with Angie Garrick of Circle Pit to form Ruined Fortune, a self-described "heavy freedom rock" group. "Black And Red" is a new taste from their soon-to-come debut LP, and it finds the duo singing in bleary-eyed unison amid a clouded wash of distorted guitars and punchy drums. This track toes the line between a fun, sunglasses-required punk tune and a major downer -- I can't conclusively figure out whether they'd want me to dance around or stare at my shoes during a show. Probably both.



LISTEN:
Glow God - "Outside My Mind"

Where: Oklahoma City, OK
From: House of Distractions on Play Pinball!
Available: now

I, for one, am pretty stoked that grunge aesthetics have been making a comeback in the underground, because now we can pretend that early 2000s post-grunge never happened -- a period which rained hellfire upon the earth and damaged the mind of poor, impressionable 10-year-old Jay as he would voraciously watch VH1. Rest assured, Glow God is here to revise history for the better. For proof positive, check "Outside My Mind," arguably the most killer cut from the four-piece's recently released LP. Swampy, bass-heavy guitars (evocative of "bunge"-minded contemporaries Roomrunner) and crashing drums bash up against one another over a lazy vocal pleading, "Help me / get outside my mind / Help me / Disappear from time." It's a simple, satisfying rocker -- if you've been growing your hair out for the sole purpose of looking awesome while headbanging, well, today's your lucky day.

Opening for Destruction Unit and getting a nice nod from WFMU, the Oklahoma boys behind this track have been doing well for themselves as of late. Keep your eyes out for 'em.



LISTEN:
Limbs Bin - "39 Songs"

Where: Western Massachusetts
From: Total Anguish on No Lights Tonight
Available: now

First, there was the minute-and-a-half long session recorded in a laundromat. Now, we have another 39 songs in 5.5 minutes. The madness speaks for itself. One-man noisecore wrecking ball Limbs Bin (who lives under the pseudonym Josh Landes) returns with another release that physically hurts to listen to. It's great. Songs start and stop within seconds; squelching synth tones and manic, distorted shouting pierce through programmed blast beats that never drop below "jackhammer." Over and over and over again. Until you feel sick. Although it all might sound silly in text, "39 Songs" is a beautiful exercise in extremes. You'll cherish those brief moments of silence before being thrown right back into the thick of it - 39 times over.



LISTEN:
Goosebumps - "Best Friend"

Where: NYC
From: Scared To See A Doctor on Katorga Works
Available: TBA

In a recent interview for Distort Jersey City on WFMU, NYC quartet Goosebumps discussed the ills of being in a hardcore band: "Being in a band is sick: getting paid 10 bucks... not being able to sit at home and be alone. Being around people you hate, that's like so great." Although it sounds like playing gigs isn't really to their taste, this new track from their forthcoming 7" suggests that they're more than happy to fuck shit up in the studio. Over the 53 seconds of "Best Friend," Goosebumps sear through two verses and an outro played hard and fast, with a wall of slack, drugged-out guitars and all the fury of a pissed off snake. Ray has a vitriolic scratch to his voice that calls to mind Hank Wood's lovable-uncle-chasing-you-around-with-a-kitchen-knife delivery. There's only so much to say about a hardcore track that charges in and out of the door in less than a minute, but I'll leave it at this - like the best NYHC, "Best Friend" will throw you for a loop. Look out for that upcoming 7" on Katorga Works, as well as an LP that they were teasing in the WFMU interview.




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