*GENTLEMAN JESSE - Leaving Atlanta (Douchemaster)
Despite the catchy(!) power pop jangle of Gentleman Jesse's follow-up effort, there's an underlying sorrow and a very personal aspect to much of Leaving Atlanta. An interesting, though not necessarily unique dichotomy for a style of music that's sole purpose is to be infectious as hell. Frustrations with hum-drum life in a town that's getting you down, the age-old tales of love gone wrong and fucking up; they're there and poignant. I think that's what makes this record so damn good though—a style of music (and I mean the sound of it purely—the band's influences & all) that's generally somewhat inherently shallow on the surface; it's deceptive, but an incredible depth is added by Gentleman Jesse/the band's sheer presence, the passion in the lyrics, heart & soul. I won't go into much detail, suffice to say it's worth your time. Good band + a good record that is increasingly compelling = basically all I need.
Listen to "Eat Me Alive" here.
*PAINT FUMES - Egyptian Rats 7'' EP (Slovenly)
Bitchin' noise from Charlotte, North Carolina's trashiest paint-huffers. That really about sums these three tracks up, but "Waste of Time" is definitely my jam. What's the future gonna hold?
Listen here.
*GUANTANAMO BAYWATCH - Chest Crawl (Dirtnap)
Lots of goofy, raunchy, slightly tacky fun from Portland's surf/rock 'n' roll kings & queen for your summer parties. Thank fuck for global warming, so listening to it in March is apparently (at least in Minnesota) now the equivalent of listening to it in July. Includes a deluxe piña colada (well, not literally) and a bonus dash of Hasil Adkins swagger. Releases in May.
Listen to their music on Bandcamp.
*TEENANGER - Frights (Telephone Explosion)
A nice, fiery little garage punk record from this Toronto band that I'm just getting into. It reminds me a little of the Adolescents and old-school punk bands of that caliber, only with less snotty vocals. Also, I really like the album artwork.
Listen to a couple songs here.
*TERRY MALTS - Killing Time (Slumberland)
Lots of Ramones-influenced fuzz-pop bombs. Pop hooks and guitar buzz outta the Golden State, Killing Time has a bit more bite than a lot of the fair on Slumberland Records. Their song "Where Is the Weekend" came out at time when I was just entering back into the painfully dull 9-5 workforce after a long period of unemployment. Relieved at first to be receiving a consistent paycheck, it then lulled into the typical, boring, uninspired chore that I was afraid it would—needless to say, the song just feels especially important to me at the moment as I'm waiting for better things. The volume is cranked up from the singles they issued in 2011, and I'll unabashedly admit to loving as-loud-as-possible pop bands. Terry Malts deliver. (Also, the initial vinyl release was in an awesome coke bottle green. I'm not sure if they're still available, but if so, I'd recommend to those who like a package of sweet art & design with the tunes.)
Listen to "Something About You" here.
*SONIC DEATH - Gothic Session
I know virtually nothing about this band, other than they're a duo from St. Petersburg, Russia. Gothic Session has been making its way around a few of the blogs I follow, which piqued curiosity and has become an intriguing recent discovery. What we have here is gloomy psych-inflected garage pop, reminiscent of the dark side of the 60s. Maybe it's because I'd listened to them around the same time, but I liken these songs to those found on the No No No: 28 Moody, Somber and Tragic '60s Garage Rock Sagas compilation on Arf! Arf! Records. It has a compelling, mysterious atmosphere even if you don't speak the language, and it sounds far less Sonic Youth-y than I initially thought it would.
Listen to it here.
*PAMELA - Desert 7'' (Southpaw)
Three amped-up punk tracks from two members of the Splinters and former Wax Idols, icy cool vocals intact. It's the kind of music I enjoy listening to a semi-long car ride with the windows down in the summer. There's a little nostalgia factor at play as well, as it reminds me a little of the Breeders and 90s rawk. I've been holding out for a full-length since this & their tape on Whoa Whoa last year.
Listen to "Desert" here.
*THE HUSSY - Weed Seizure (Tic Tac Totally)
Quite a bit different from last year's sugary, peppy Cement Tomb Mind Control. Bobby and Heather Hussy, of Madison, Wisconsin, are still all about short, catchy jams that rock though.
Listen to a few of the songs here. If you're in the U.S., they'll probably be playing a town near you at some point this year. Some tour dates for Midwest/East Coast are here.
*JAGWAR PIRATES - Full Total Complete Bronzage (Cocktail Pueblo)
Just when I thought France was all about yé-yé, Jean-Luc Godard, and hip, sultry Parisians with their fancy cigarettes, they go and unleash an onslaught of loud rock ‘n’ roll bands on us, like Cheveu, Regal, Jack of Heart, and Catholic Spray. Enter the Jagwar Pirates from Tours. Now, they don’t play your typical surf rock ditties. Instead, they opt for a muscular take on classic surf, devil horns included, that’s sort of like Steve Albini-produced Man or Astro-Man?, yet even more hard-edged and cavernous (and minus the vintage sci-fi audio). Forget about the cute kid and smooshy-wooshy puppy dog on the cover; they were killed and eaten by a surf monster wearing a beret.
“Rocket Surf” takes off, the volume already cranked to eleven. This is straight-up loud, distorted stuff, borrowing the skeleton of surf music, but without any serene, ocean wave-imitating reverb on the guitar. “Respect to the Structure” is a great one; it goes nuts, picks up the tempo, and takes off in its last seconds. “Home Made Pesto” is a minute and a half of dark-toned guitar buzz, and, funny enough, it sounds as though someone’s clanging around in the kitchen in the background… actually making home made pesto? Vocals don’t come into play until “Planet Claire”, which is a totally manic B-52’s cover, and that’s the only time they do. The Pirates head out to Death Valley on the last one (“Death Valley 37”), a depraved, sprawling semi-nightmare, though it’s not really as hellish as Sonic Youth’s “Death Valley ‘69”. Heavy surf style, indeed.
— originally posted on GET BENT.
Listen to it here and/or download it at Ongakubaka.
*THE FUTURE PRIMITIVES - This Here's the Future Primitives EP/Demo
Another band that's mostly mysterious to me, but the members are clearly veterans, having played in at least one other garage rock band. Anyway, they hail from Cape Town, South Africa, and it's not every day that you hear a loud garage rock band from that area. There's a surf influence that comes into play, mostly on the "Instro" at the beginning of the EP, and a little psych-rock too.
Listen to it here.
*WOOLLEN KITS - Woollen Kits (R.I.P. Society)
Australian band with Kiwi influences with their debut album on the somewhat elusive R.I.P. Society label. The record's not quite as consistent as I wanted it to be, but like many of their Australian contemporaries (Total Control, Eddy Current Suppression Ring, etc.), I appreciate the honesty that comes across in their music and also that they don't come off pretentious or contrived. It's all about "Out of Whack".
Listen to a few Woollen Kits songs, as well as some other R.I.P. Society artists here.
*Also: Hugely anticipating the release of HEAVY CREAM's new record (spoiler alert: it fucking rocks in a way that I wish all Runaways songs would) and I still haven't heard A GIANT DOG's Fight in its entirety, but they're a band to keep an eye on. I'm just getting into Pig Boat Blues, which plays kind of like a long-lost 60s psych oddity, the new record from CHRISTIAN BLAND (guitarist of the Black Angels) & THE REVELATORS, which will be released soon on Reverb Appreciation Society. More to come! ...
