5th March 2010

Audio with 17 plays with 3 notes

Googoosh - Talagh
Pomegranates (Finders Keepers)

Another excellent comp from Finders Keepers.  Pomegranates collects psychedelic music from ’60s and ’70s Iran, described by the label as including “voices and stories that may again prove relevant to a psychologically damaged and spiritually corrupt society, a society whose discontents recall the latter years of the Shah’s rule.”  Heavy stuff, if I could understand what they were saying.  But it’s great stuff, just the same.  And, as per usual with Finders Keepers releases, the liner notes are extensive and enlightening.

Drippy wah-pedals, droning organs, funkified basslines, and drummers that create tight-as-hell pockets, but most importantly, “Googoosh.”  I don’t know what that means, but I’ve never been more excited to type a word.  Googoosh.

Tagged: googoosh!googoosh!!!!

4th March 2010

Audio with 11 plays with 1 note

Double Dagger - Sleeping With the TV On
Masks (Thrill Jockey)

I guess it’s not realistic to expect anything on the level of Double Dagger’s previous record, More, which was definitely one of the best records of last year.  But I was hoping for more of a standout track on this EP, and I’m not sure I feel like we got one.  ”Sleeping With the TV On” might be the closest to rivaling More in great punk, with it’s accelerating tempo and blasts of energy.

This EP sounds like Double Dagger, which is good, but it sounds like them being lazy.  That’s the last thing I was expecting.  It’s definitely still worth some time, but on the heels of an excellent full-length, I was hoping for something more.

Eh, who am I kidding? This is still better than 99% of what’s out there. Go get it, I’m just being spoiled.

Tagged: eat it honkeyhipster trash

3rd March 2010

Audio with 10 plays with 2 notes

Splinters - Splintered Bridges
Kick (Double Negative)

Coming out of the Bay Area, The Splinters are making fun garage pop that sounds like the Coathangers, if they had better singers … and musicians…

Now, obviously, that’s part of the appeal of the Coathangers, but the Splinters manage to keep things fun without sloppiness, perhaps only because the music is so simple.  As far as garage stuff goes, this record is actually pretty cleanly played.  The guitars are jangling with just a bit of fuzz growing out of the riffs, the bass is overdriven but not overwhelming, and the gang vocals make the whole thing sound like a sing-a-long with your favorite group of friends.

The later cuts on the record are a bit more interesting, I think, starting from “Sorry,” a stripped down conversational tune that starts off quite simple, with light guitar, drums, and vocals, and as the cut goes on, more voices join in, along with another guitar, and some more percussion as well.  ”Electricity” rocks in a bit of a modal feel, using some awesome half-steps in the vocals to add some darker tone to the whole piece.  But I think my favorite cut is “Splintered Bridges,” ‘cause it hits the riff just right.  Check it out at the top of this piece.

Kick comes out March 9th on Double Negative Records.

Tagged: stuck in thee garage

2nd March 2010

Audio with 16 plays with 2 notes

NT - Not
DoNT (self-released)

The group recently sent me a rockin’ five-song demo, and in describing their sound, the words “heavy,” “funky,” and “post punk” were used, and that’s pretty right on.  Listening to the track “Not,” I think I’d be more likely to call it “sludgy stoner grooves,” but I definitely get what they’re going for with that description.  The bass has some of the best heavy fuzz tone I’ve heard in a long time.  You can download or stream the full demo on their MySpace.

I think their name has something to do with Windows.

Tagged: better living through chemistrystuck in thee garage

1st March 2010

Audio with 6 plays

Capsize 7 - Johnny Falcon
Horsefly (Pig Zen Space)

As I started listening to this record, I thought “This sounds like some lost great 90s alternative record.”  Well, apparently, it is.  Recorded in 1996 in Encinitas, California, Horsefly is Capsize 7’s second record ever, apparently, their first released in 1995, and it’s pretty awesome, especially for anyone yearning for the glory days of college radio when bands like Polvo and Jawbox were what shit was all about.

Angular guitars; simple, effective harmonies; and a great interplay between the bass and the drums that creates a sort of juggling effect, as focus bounces back and forth between each part, leading to a pretty gnarly whole.

The guitarist is now in Blag’ard, so I’d be surprised if anything else came out under the Capsize 7 moniker, but, hey, maybe there’s another lost record lying around somewhere.  There’s always hope, right?

Tagged: don't touch my mustachefalcon punch!

27th February 2010

Audio with 17 plays

Billy Green - Race
Stone Original Soundtrack (Finders Keepers)

Stone, a classic Ozploitation film in the biker genre, paved the way for movies like Mad Max, but the big deal with the movie is definitely the soundtrack.

I was pretty excited to find out “electronic swamp-funk” was a thing, and if the record had been entirely fitting of that description, I would still have been thrilled with it.  But you’ll find so many different styles of sound on this album, from hard psychedelic rock to experimental electronic compositions, and each of them are executed brilliantly.  The extensive liner notes - which I’ve noticed is something of a calling card of Finders Keepers releases - describe the music as “the kind of soundtrack that makes you wish you could see the film but it’ll probably never happen.”  I’d be willing to bet that’s right on, but the amount of information found in the booklet packaged with the CD might be more interesting than what you’d actually find on the film, so I wouldn’t worry too much about it.

The record opens with a dark noise experiment, “Eco Blue / Toadstrip,” an unlikely pairing of the Moog and the didgeridoo.  Following that is “Race,” retaining much of the strange noise of the previous cut, but throwing an acid-funk base underneath it, creating a sweet transitional pathway from the sound effects of the opening piece into the heavy psychedelic rock of the later parts of the record.

It’s not often that I can recommend fans of Raymond Scott and Soft Machine check out the same album, but this is it.  So do it already!

Stone Theatrical Trailer

Tagged: oo-de-lally!better living through chemistry