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.
---
END
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.
---
END
No comments:
Post a Comment