It's a snowy day and I'm just here investing in various altcoins. Life is long and weird and here's the round-up:
NEWS: Merchandise announce move to 4AD, releasing 12" (and probably an LP?)
Over the course of their somewhat brief history, the Tampa avant-punx of Merchandise have travelled far and wide, from the dark depths of Katorga Works to the questionable waters of Night People and now... 4AD. Considering the label's earlier, dreamier output, this move makes plenty of sense, but given the current roster, I'm a little bewildered. I can only hope for a new Merchandise/SpaceGhostPurrp 7" split - y'know, I wouldn't even be too surprised.
In celebrating the new partnership, Merchandise is releasing a spaced-out 14-minute jam entitled "Begging for Your Life / In The City Light" on February 21st. The pre-orders are already sold out, but you can hear an extremely edited down version below until that release date rolls around.
In other breaking news: Warner Bros has caught onto the current trend of signing punx to prominent labels and will allegedly sign Crazy Spirit by the end of the month, pending the band's consent.
NEWS: Merchandise announce move to 4AD, releasing 12" (and probably an LP?)
Over the course of their somewhat brief history, the Tampa avant-punx of Merchandise have travelled far and wide, from the dark depths of Katorga Works to the questionable waters of Night People and now... 4AD. Considering the label's earlier, dreamier output, this move makes plenty of sense, but given the current roster, I'm a little bewildered. I can only hope for a new Merchandise/SpaceGhostPurrp 7" split - y'know, I wouldn't even be too surprised.
In celebrating the new partnership, Merchandise is releasing a spaced-out 14-minute jam entitled "Begging for Your Life / In The City Light" on February 21st. The pre-orders are already sold out, but you can hear an extremely edited down version below until that release date rolls around.
In other breaking news: Warner Bros has caught onto the current trend of signing punx to prominent labels and will allegedly sign Crazy Spirit by the end of the month, pending the band's consent.
WATCH: BAMBARA premiere new video for "Nail Polish"
Those boys in BAMBARA sure do like their crazy colors and lights. When I caught them live last year, they bombarded the small DIY space with assorted bright lights that produced a total sensory overload when taken in combination with the band's deafening noise-punk. This dark, color-drenched new video for "Nail Polish" brings that performance to mind, except I don't recall any of their facial bits distorting in such subtly monstrous ways. Stereogum says the group's working on their next album, and as long as the production's markedly denser than the DREAMVIOLENCE LP, it'll most likely be excellent. Check it below.
PICK OF THE WEEK: "Distraction" by Wimps
Where: Seattle, WA
From: Party at the Wrong Time on Help Yourself Records
Available: 1/21/2014
After scrambling to order that fantastic new Childbirth tape that's been buzzing all over the Internet, I looked into their label a little more and stumbled across this other awesome band, Wimps. "Distraction," the first taste from the Seattle trio's forthcoming EP, is a quick and concise blast of whipsmart garage-punk that gets the job done in a little under two minutes. A pointy guitar line and busy drumbeat kick the song into immediate motion, followed by an inquiry -- are you feelin' stressed? Depressed? Is life a mess? Then you need a distraction. And I honestly can't imagine a better distraction than listening to some wimps like myself play some honest punk rock. Definitely recommended for fans of Parquet Courts & The Intelligence.
LISTEN: "Dropping Bad Boys" by The Lowest Form
Where: London, UK
From: Negative Ecstasy on Iron Lung Records
Available: 2/4/2014
I've had one eye fixed on Iron Lung ever since they dropped what is arguably the best noise-punk release of last year, dreamdecay's N V N V N V. Judging from their bandcamp, currently stocked with previews of upcoming releases, it's looking like another awesome year for the label. Possibly the most promising of these previews is "Dropping Bad Boys," a new track from noisy British hardcore act The Lowest Form. After opening with a squall of noise and hammering drums, the track bursts into a hardcore wall-of-sound complete with a pissed-off growl, guitars that have been distorted to shit, and breakneck tempo changes. Get your angry chaos here.
LISTEN: "Driver" by Perfect Pussy
Where: Syracuse, NY
From: Say Yes To Love on Captured Tracks
Available: 3/18/2014
Although they've slightly tidied their sound since signing to a major indie (just four months since I first witnessed them headlining a small gig at Vassar), listening to the manic, noise-drenched punk of Perfect Pussy still feels great -- not like getting beat over the head with a window or run over by a truck or any other hyperbolic metaphor you can try to force on it -- just great. After an anomalous few seconds of studio silence on "Driver," a one-chord riff falls in and then, as you probably expect, shit gets heavy. Not just musically, but lyrically as well; Captured Tracks did wrong to not post lyrics on the Soundcloud, but the bits and pieces that I can grasp showcase more of those brutal, cathartic honesty that Meredith Graves is more or less renowned for at this point: "You don't know shit about me," "I have a history of surrender," "...lies I told myself / Lies like 'I will be protected.'" Sounds like this album will have plenty more of that hard-hitting self-analysis that pierces through the din with lessons learned.
LISTEN: "Reuni Penjahat (ngeri)" by Mooseo
[Rough translation: "Criminal Reunion (Shudder)"]
Where: Bandung, Indonesia
From: Punk Percontohan on Ruangkecil Records
Available: Now
I found out about Indonesian punk label Ruangkecil after Wild Moth announced an EP reissue on it. After a good deal of digging around, translation, and inference, I've gathered that there is a top-notch scene going on over in yonder hemisphere. One of the forerunners of the Indonesia scene is Mooseo, which translates roughly from Indonesian to "chaos." This cut from their most recent release speaks out against the paramilitary factions and gangsters responsible for over a million deaths of alleged "Communists" in the 1960s, a genocide that was recently documented in the deeply unsettling film The Act Of Killing. Appropriately, "Reuni Penjahat (ngeri)" opens with a soundbyte from that movie, in which Anwar Congo animatedly describes how he distracted himself from his killing sprees with drugs and dancing. The track is a fierce slice of straight-up, no-frills hardcore with shouted group chants, chromatic guitar riffage, and kinetic drumming, as though the spirit of the early '80s never went away. Now I just need to figure out how to buy this tape.
LISTEN: "Taurus" by Bbigpigg
Where: Brooklyn, NYC
From: Designer/Bbigpigg Split on Bufu Records
Available: Now
Fun fact: some members of self-proclaimed "sewer rock" group Bbigpigg used to play with Admiral Grey, the frontwoman of no-wave deviants Cellular Chaos. That common thread is pretty evident if you play both acts side-by-side, as both bands fashion comparably terse and absurd noise-rock jams. Take "Taurus" as a prime example, wherein discombobulated skree melds with a meaty rhythm section and a strange half-rapped yawp. Think if the Jesus Lizard were to jam out with Sightings, and you're halfway there. The entirety of this split is well worth a listen, but "Taurus" is an easy highlight and a clutch playlist pick for your next pig-themed masquerade/orgy.
WILD CARD: "Clearly Seen" by Hungry Cloud Darkening
Where: Anacortes, WA
From: Glossy Recall on Holy Page Records
Available: Now
Back in 2009, Mount Eerie's Phil Elverum released a fantastic song called "Between Two Mysteries" that was inspired by Twin Peaks (and even borrowed its most iconic synth line). Elverum's fellow Anacortes, WA residents in Hungry Cloud Darkening make swooning drone-pop that also could have easily slotted into that cult TV show's soundtrack. "Clearly Seen" enters with a warm bass tone and the crack of an intermittent snare that sets the ballad's tempo at a crawl. The track opens up just barely from there, with the gradual addition of breathy vocals that gasp out esoteric nothings in your ear -- "I cannot remember this day / You came filled with clouds," Nicholas Wilbur murmurs, eyes probably closed. This is music best fit for a foggy night walk through the woods - there must be somethin' in that Anacortes water.
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