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Thursday 27 December 2012

Best Music of 2012

In no particular order, here's my favourite music of 2012. Yes, it is rather a long list but 2012 has been seriously good for new music.

PALLBEARER - SORROW AND EXTINCTION
My review - Bandcamp
Definitely the best album of 2012. Total doom rock. If you like any guitar music spawned by Black Sabbath then you need this in your life.

FORWARD STRATEGY GROUP - LABOUR DIVISION
My review - Bandcamp
Bleak techno stuff with a dash of UK industrial/post-punk (Throbbing Gristle/Cabaret Voltaire/Coil etc)

KRALLICE - YEARS PAST MATTER
My review - Bandcamp
Best Krallice album yet. Bizarre, complex 'black metal' shredding.

GODSTOPPER - WHAT MATTERS
My review - Bandcamp - Milgram Records bandcamp
So fucking good I decided to bung a significant amount of my own money into putting this out on vinyl. Up for order soon at Milgram Records.
A friend described them as a cross between Today Is The Day and Weezer. It's in that weird world of Harvey Milk and Mare and Torche where doom meets pop. However, Godstopper are slightly more on the sick and twisted side of the riffage and also quite super tuneful. Oh yeah, chuck in some Melvins as well.

BOSSE DE NAGE - III
My review - Bandcamp
Profound Lore must be the best metal label out there at the moment. This sounds like Slint gone black metal. Consistently had this one on repeat.

BEACH HOUSE - BLOOM
Boomkat - Youtube
Really nice dream pop stuff on Sub Pop.

TWIN SHADOW - CONFESS
Boomkat - Youtube
Prince and other 80s hyper-polished synth pop stuff is what's going on here. Youtube link above is definitely one of my favourite songs of the year.

DIRTY PROJECTORS - SWING LO MAGELLAN
Boomkat - Youtube
Totally pretentious art-pop stuff. Bjork/Talking Heads etc.

PUSRAD - AKTA DIG & SMARTTRAMS 7"S
My review - Bandcamp
Condense Nomeansno/Pissed Happy Children/Minutemen into 15 second bizarre thrashing blasts.

SLUG GUTS - PLAYING IN TIME WITH THE DEADBEATS
Boomkat - Youtube
Reverb-drenched surf-y post punk stuff from Australia. This lot really need to come to the UK.

MERCHANDISE - CHILDREN OF DESIRE
Boomkat - youtube
Shoegaze indie type stuff. One of those things that sounds alright on first listen but slowly gets right into your head.

UNSANE - WRECK
Not available on FLAC :-( youtube
Unsane sounding like Unsane. What the hell else do you want?

ACTRESS - RIP
Boomkat - youtube
Fantastic electronic album. Kind of techno but also quite synthy/ambient. I don't know, it's good.

DEATHSPELL OMEGA - DROUGHT
Bandcamp
continue taking their weird black metal riffage into a Botch/Hydrahead direction. great stuff.

PYE CORNER AUDIO - SLEEP GAMES
My review - youtube
A synth soundtrack to a memory of 60s & 70s concrete Britain.Somewhere between the BBC Radiophonic Workshop and John Carpenter. John Carpenter at his most restrained though. Not in a bad way, just it's not bombastic soundtrack stuff. More like if John Carpenter wore tweed and did a soundtrack for Kes.

BELBURY POLY - BELBURY TALES
Boomkat - youtube
hauntological synth action abotu the creation of the ploughman's lunch.

JULIA HOLTER - EKSTASIS
bandcamp
avant garde electronics but with strange pop hooks.

ART OF BURNING WATER - LOVE YOU DEAD
bandcamp
Riff-tastic noise rock stuff with an occasional cheeky mosh riff thrown in.

TORCHE - HARMONICRAFT
not available as FLAC :-( youtube
Sludge-pop. This is even poppier than their other stuff and I reckon it's better for it.

XADDAX - S/T
not available on FLAC - youtube
It's the guitarist from Dazzling Killmen & Sicbay. All you need to know.

DEAD IN THE WOODS - THE SIGN OF THE SON OF MAN
My review - bandcamp
His Hero Is Gone vs Hawkwind

UZALA - S/T
My review - Bandcamp
Great doom metal stuff with little bits of black metal and punk

MORITZ VON OSWALD TRIO - FETCH
Boomkat - youtube
Fusion of improv jazz and techno. Super well produced and played. Genuinely new music.

THE DAUNTLESS ELITE - MORE BLOODY BAD NEWS
Bandcamp
Punk rock. Leatherface/Brocolli etc UK punk rock.

HOLLY HERNDON - MOVEMENT
Bandcamp
Out-there avant garde electronics. Weird stuff.

MARK FELL - SENTIELLE OBJECTIF ACTUALIT
Boomkat - youtube
Half of SND doing house.

WOLFBAIT - S/T
My review - Bandcamp
Swans. MITB. "Kraut-violence". Pulverising dirge.

LA SERA - SEES THE LIGHT
Boomkat - youtube
Indie pop stuff.

SITHU AYE - INVENT THE UNIVERSE
Bandcamp
Instrumental technical metal widdly stuff made by a physics student. Bonkers.

COLUMN OF HEAVEN - MISSION FROM GOD
My review - Bandcamp
Genuine power violence.

MOON WIRING CLUB - TODAY BREAD, TOMORROW SECRETS
no FLAC available yet. youtube
more idiosyncratic hauntological synth stuff. truly off in their own little invented world.

JEFF MILLS - THE MESSENGER
No FLAC available. youtube
Jeff Mills being Jeff Mills. Techno, obviously.

SCOTT WALKER - BISH BOSCH
Boomkat - youtube
Haven't got my head round this album yet. Doubt I ever will. Sheer insanity.

FLYING LOTUS - UNTIL THE QUIET COMES
Boomkat - Youtube
Is electronica allowed to be fun? Because this just sounds like fun.

LAUREL HALO - QUARANTINE
Boomkat - Youtube
More out there electronics. Not sure if I even like it. Awesome she served up something this weird as her first album though.

GOLDEN VOID - S/T
Boomkat - youtube
70s rock with a dash of psych. So, so good.

EMERALDS - JUST TO FEEL ANYTHING
Boomkat - Youtube
New age synth jams. I prefer them now they've got a really polished studio sound.

ANDY STOTT - LUXURY PROBLEMS
Boomkat - Youtube
Weird but slightly poppy electronic stuff

RAIME - QUARTER TURNS OVER A LIVING LINE
Boomkat - Youtube
Bleak, savage, almost empty techno

TORD GUSTAVSEN QUARTET - THE WELL
no FLAC. Youtube
modern jazz stuff. Scandanavian and on ECM. perfect.

SERPENTINE PATH - S/T
My review - Bandcamp
Ex-Unearthly Trance and Electric Wizard. Fucking heavy.

VILIPEND - INAMORATA
My review - Bandcamp
You like Botch/Coalesce/Deadguy/Kiss It Goodbye?

OLD APPARATUS - ALL 3 EPS
Boomkat - Youtube
More weird electronics.

PILE - DRIPPING
Bandcamp
If you like any kind of 90s 'alt' music then you'll love this. Silkworm/Harvey Milk/Pavement/Polvo/Arcwelder etc.

KOWLOON WALLED CITY - CONTAINER SHIPS
Bandcamp
Total sludgey noise rock band that now have a bit of melody chucked in as well.

STRATUS - AS THE CROW FLIES
My review - Bandcamp
Belbury Poly gone Stereolab?

ASPHYX - DEATHHAMMER
no FLAC. Youtube
"This is real death metal you bastards" is the first line on the album. True. Classic 90s Dutch band on top form

Monday 17 December 2012

Pye Corner Audio - Sleep Games (Ghost Box)





FLAC available from Boomkat for £6.99

A synth soundtrack to a memory of 60s & 70s concrete Britain.Somewhere between the BBC Radiophonic Workshop and John Carpenter. John Carpenter at his most restrained though. Not in a bad way, just it's not bombastic soundtrack stuff. More like if John Carpenter wore tweed and did a soundtrack for Kes.

It's on Ghost Box so you know full well it's going to be high quality. It fits quite nicely into the whole hauntological Ghost Box thing besides Belbury Poly and The Advisory Circle. The artwork is typically top notch. Maintains that 60s/70s Open University look. Also has some great liner notes. I always like an album with liner notes. Feels like there's a bit more thought gone into it.

The liner notes are all about "parapsychological disturbances" are public buildings made of concrete. There's JG Ballard quotes and something about "inorganic demons" infiltrating people by Reza Negarestani from something called Cyclonopedia: Complicity With Anonymous Materials. All very odd but all a very perfect fit the music and the artwork.

It's a step up from the Black Mill Tapes double LP we reviewed earlier this year - http://spoonfuloftar.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/pye-corner-audio.html. The music on those was fantastic but this feels more complete as a conceptual whole. Music is still fantastic though.

Definitely on my "best albums of the year" list.

FLAC available from Boomkat for £6.99

And here's their blurb which should entice you even more (oh, and it also made The Wire's Top 50 of the year as well):-

Pye Corner Audio's darkling synthetic transmissions had been hovering under the radar for a couple of years before 2012's Black Mill Tapes collection on Type brought them to a wider and grateful audience. Now, Martin Jenkins finds himself equally lauded by the likes of Sandwell District's Juan Mendez and Minimal Wave's Veronica Vasicka as by the UK hauntological set - a testament to the scope and adaptability of his stygian productions. Nonetheless, this album release feels right at home on Ghost Box, and it follows Jenkins' contribution to the label's 7" Study Series last year. If The Black Mill Tapes focussed on the unheimlich but decidedly driving meta-techno side of the Pye sound, Sleep Games gives as much time to exploring its more abstract and oneiric peripheries. Nonetheless, rhythm is foregrounded throughout: from the woozy, tape-warped Boards of Canada-ism of 'Sleep Games', via the Xander Harris/Umberto-esque giallo-disco chug of 'The Black Mill Video Tape' through to the distant, dubby pulse of 'Palais Spectres' and the rolling toms of 'Underneath The Dancefloor'. Eschewing the tweeness which has arguably softened the impact of recent Ghost Box releases, Sleep Games is refreshingly drug-hazed and zonked-out yet shark-eyed, minimalist and full of post-apocalyptic, cold-wave menace: you can more easily imagine this stuff soundtracking a car ride through the deserted industrial zones of coastal America than a ramble round the Belbury parish and its bucolic environs. At the same time, this feels like a Ghost Box release through and through: 'Print Through' is a radiophonic seance right from the grimoire of Eric Zann, 'Deep End' has the school textbook sci-fi sigh of classic Belbury Poly and 'Yesterday's Enemy' the occult public service broadcasting vibe of early Advisory Circle.

Friday 14 December 2012

Botanist - III: Doom in Bloom / Allies

I bought this on the strength of listening to the first two tracks, it really is that good! Very creepy, eerie yet warm and organic Black Metal/Doom. Drums and Dulcimer is all the instrumentation you're getting and it works brilliantly! Some guy who likes botany and lives in San Fransisco, apparently. Track two sounds as beautifully sorrowful as Hvis era Burzum, but, with a Dulcimer!

Another victory for the new bandcamp user profile pages too as I discovered this while browsing music bought by other folk who've bought some of the records I've been buying. I fucking love Bandcamp!!

Thursday 13 December 2012

Headless Kross - Demises





Dooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooom.

Fuzzed out psychedelic sludgey doom from Glasgow. You been to Glasgow? They're not faking the grimness.

It's on the mid-paced end of the doom spectrum - Electric Wizard, Goatsnake. In other words, it'll have your head banging. Ex-The Process and Atomgevitter.

Great stuff.

Ocrilim - Rememinent Observance





Yesterday, Ocrilim released this album dedicated to 12/12/12.

It sounds like Ocrilim. Yet more idiosyncratic solo guitar stuff. Maybe a bit rougher round the edges as it sounds more like a home studio recording but that's no bad thing.

Personally I can't get enough Mick Barr stuff so was happy to shell out some cash on it.

Update: forgot to mention Yucuod. As Kevin pointed out in the comments, it sounds like some kind of weird Japanese acoustic folk guitar music. Something a bit different.

Saturday 8 December 2012

Career Suicide - Attempted Suicide (Deranged)





Quite possibly the best hardcore punk album of the noughties. Actual songwriting with tons of hooks. Fast but not into thrashing or bleurgh territory. Slight 'rocking' edge to the guitar but keeping it simple.

They shared members with Fucked Up but, to my mind, Career Suicide are the vastly superior band. Love the 'concept' ideas Fucked Up come up with but, quite honestly, they're just not good enough musicians to back it all up. Career Suicide are far more straight forward, almost dull, lyrically. However, they've got the musical chops and frankly that's all that really matters.

It's all very much early 80s hardcore worship but the slightly more tuneful end. Probably sacrilege to say it but I reckon Career Suicide stand up perfectly well with 'the classics'. Not just a decent modern copycat band.

Basically, if you like hardcore punk stuff and don't check this album out then you're a fool.

P.S. The FLAC sounds vastly superior to the mp3 rip that's sat on my hard drive for years. Worth every penny to buy it.

Thursday 6 December 2012

xSAXONx - In The Night





Roddy from Atomgevitter returns with a straight edge band. It veers between Uniform Choice/Minor Threat type stuff and more What Happens Next style thrashing. There's occasional flashes of Turbonegro as well.

Plenty of gang choruses, mosh parts, bass breakdowns, pick slides and all the rest of it.

Tuesday 4 December 2012

Keep Sheila On Acid - You Will Be The Same Tomorrow As You Were Yesterday





The lovely little experimental tape label Rano has produced their second release. Here's what we said about the previous one - http://spoonfuloftar.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/synek-paradiba-ep.html

Worth repeating their manifesto as well:-

RANO

◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇
Producing limited edition recordings of unique music from around the world. Our goal is to be sought after, not saturated. The items we create will never be mass produced.
◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇

Good things come in small quantities!


And they're definitely dedicated to quality control because it's taken them quite a while to get this new release out.

Soundwise it's well produced experimental electronic stuff. Dabbles next to ambient, noise and drone. Lots of broken machine type sounds and what might have once been cut up tape loops.

Friday 30 November 2012

Bandcamp Fan Pages

http://bandcamp.com/fans

Somehow Bandcamp have come up with another great idea for the site. It's a thing called Bandcamp Fan Page. It's just in private beta at the moment but I reckon it's really good. Really hope it takes off when it's fully available.

It adds a dash of 'social networking'. Basically, it shows the things you've bought on bandcamp. You can follow your friends and see what they've been getting. Plus you can follow artists and labels you're interested in so you know when they've released something new.

It's not pretending to be Facebook or Twitter and become you're default social networking site. Or Myspace for that matter (apparently they're trying to relaunch - good luck with that......). No, it just adds a small dash of social networking stuff. A bit like last.fm or IMDB or even Discogs.

One nice feature is a thing called a Wishlist. Handy for easily bookmarking things you might like to get. How many times have you listened to a previously unheard band on bandcamp, thought it was good but then kind of just forgot about them? Well, personally, not often enough that I'd lose sleep over it but enough that I appreciate the option is there to kind of bookmark stuff.

I think one really good thing is that it subtly encourages you to pay for music. Peer-to-peer pressure as a friend quipped. If you can see your friends buying music you feel compelled to join in. I know that sounds like I just read Nudge by R Thaler but, well, I did.

If you want to have a look at it then here's my page and here's Kevin's

Monday 26 November 2012

Lee Gamble - Diversions 1994-1996 LP (Pan)



Lee Gamble 'Diversions 1994-1996' (PAN 33) from PAN on Vimeo.



Buy here - http://boomkat.com/downloads/593097-lee-gamble-diversions-1994-1996

It's on Pan so you know you're in for some top notch experimental electronic music. It's had rave reviews everywhere and I'm not going to dissent here. It's definitely one of the most interesting things I've heard in a while. Both the idea and the execution are spot on.

Basically, it's a cut up mix of the ambient bits on old jungle mixtapes. As a teenager this guy collected them (presumably between 1994 and 1996). He takes the bits where the million mile an hour drums stopped. The calm in the middle of the storm bits. And turns them into something new.

Musically it stands up without needing to know the concept as well. All woozey and hazy.

Give the video above a spin. If you like that you'll like the whole thing. Bought the vinyl as Pan's record packaging is always spot on but Boomkat are selling the FLAC for a quite reasonable £4.99 - http://boomkat.com/downloads/593097-lee-gamble-diversions-1994-1996

Sunday 25 November 2012

Save Us From The Archon - How Terrible, the Undergrowth's Jaws That Tangle





Instrumental tech metal. Progtastic and widdle as fuck. Bit like Behold The Arctopus crossed with Dream Theater. Maybe The Fucking Champs with added synths.

Friday 23 November 2012

Peachfuzz - We Are Solid State





A few years back a bunch of Leeds/Bradford punk types launched the first DIY Stadium Rock Band, Threads. Full on 70s rock with no pretensions of 'making it'. Happily turning up to play with shouty crust bands in the backrooms of pubs. Just doing the usual DIY punk band thing but playing 70s rock.

Peachfuzz seem to come from a similar place. They're on Bombed Out who are stalwarts of the Yorkshire DIY punk scene. Bombed Out's 15 years of plugging away doing the DIY thing is certainly a big 'up yours' to all the dullard crust punks that bemoaned the 90s post greenday/fat-wreck generation.

Peachfuzz are more of a pop rock thing than Threads though. I swear to god i just heard a riff that plain ripped of Cheap Trick. If you don't like Cheap Trick then you and me are going to have to have serious discussions about your taste in music.

The blurb mentions stuff like Soul Asylum and Sugar and all that 90s jazz. Pretty much bang on.

It's definitely reminiscent of that lost sound without being pointless retro fetishists. Think it kind of comes from that punks that like Bruce Springsteen thing that seems to have been fairly popular recently. I'm going to come out with one of the most controversial things I've written on the internet. I don't really like Bruce Springsteen. Possibly more controversial in some punk circles than my opinion that The Clash only have a couple of good songs. Maybe the Bruce Springsteen thing comes from the occasional bits of harmonica. I'd mention Bob Dylan but I'd only start ranting again.

This is really good though. Peachfuzz have a total grip on writing actual songs with proper hooks and choruses and all the rest. It's a neat little blend of 70s power pop stuff, pop rock and the bands that came from post-major label Husker Du.

Here's the label blurb which is a fair assessment of Peachfuzz's sound:-

Determined not to simply re-trace their steps and release Everything Takes Forever Part 2, Peachfuzz have instead turned everything up to 11 and thrown caution to the wind with 10 tracks that somehow manage to bridge the gap between balls-to-the-wall rock and roll and their softer, more measured power-pop sensibilities.

This is all neatly illustrated by the opening track, a Social Distortion styled punk rock anthem that straight away sets the stage for what's to come.

Only it doesn't. Not really... "Like I Do" comes across like Screaming Trees at their best (Adam even goes a little Mark Lanegan as he repeats the song's title at the end), "If It Makes It Easier" harks back to the Teenage Fanclub influences that have been a part of the Peachfuzz DNA since day one and Nowhere Calling gives definite nods to Neil Young. The album ends with the epic Oh Cordeliah! - the longest track ever to appear on a Bombed Out release which ends things in style with a coda the aforementioned Fannies would have been proud of back in their Bandwagonesque days. Oh, and we've not even mentioned the solos! Dear God... The solos!

Yep, make no mistake - Adam Jones and the lads have gone and done good. We seem to be going through a 90s alt-rock resurgence and 2012 has already blessed us with a great Soul Asylum album and Bob Mould returning to his Sugar-y best so perhaps it's fitting that Peachfuzz have chosen so confidently to push onwards and upwards with We Are Solid State. To put it bluntly, it's a fucking beast.

Monday 12 November 2012

Wolfbait - s/t tape (Art For Blind)





This is sick.

Horrid, slow, relentless, pulverising dirge.

Swans.

Describe themselves as "kraut violence". Imagine Man Is The Bastard covering a Neu song. But a Neu song written by Chrome at their bad acid addled worst.

Like being tarred and feathered and thrown into a cesspit.

Not sure how I can recommend them much more!

The #1s - s/t 7" (Art For Blind)





2 euros for 2 songs of killer punk/power pop stuff. Been eating stuff like this up recently. Exploding Hearts, Marked Men and older stuff like the Poptopia compilations and Pointed Sticks. Proper memorable pop songs played by punk types that aren't trying to pretend to sound shit. Kind of ramshackle and lo-fi but still trying to be pop if you see what I mean. Been listening to these songs repeatedly and even found myself humming them at work. Great stuff. I'll be surprised if Maximum Rock n Roll and Terminal Boredom don't love em. Get on it now.

Sunday 11 November 2012

Godspeed You Black Emperor - Allelelujah! Don't Bend! Ascend!





http://boomkat.com/downloads/585516-godspeed-you-black-emperor-allelujah-don-t-bend-ascend

OK, I'll admit that I was Mr Sneering Cynical Music Snob when I heard that Godspeed were another album. Y'know, "ooh, another load of the same old endless arpeggios". I guess it's not their fault that their sound has launched umpteen thousand dull post rock imitators.

Friends were giving it good reports though so I checked out a youtube video or two. Sounded great. Totally remembered why I liked the band in the first place.

Been listening to it loads recently and it keeps throwing up new things. Oh, and it's a million miles away from generic post-rock blandness. Definitely worth getting, especially as Boomkat are charging just £3.95.

Thursday 8 November 2012

British Murder Boys - Where Pail Limbs Lie





Buy here - http://boomkat.com/downloads/590693-bmb-british-murder-boys-where-pail-limbs-lie

British Murder Boys are back. If you're unaware it's a techno duo of Regis and Surgeon. And it's as good as that sounds.

Boomkat are selling the FLAC for a mere £2.50 Here's a bit of their blurb on it:-

Following a successful live reunion at the maiden Blackest Ever Black night in October 2011, Birmingham's infamous sons have re-entered the studio together, resulting in 'Where Pail Limbs Lie' for Mute's Liberation Technologies. They've practically picked up where they left in 2006, dealing in first class darkside techno. 'Dead Sun' works out their demons on a coercive, roiling rhythm - equal parts Surgeon shunt and the sort of body-gratifying rollige of Regis' Cub or upcoming Ugandan Methods material - mixed with howling synths and garotting strings leading to a superb outro. 'Another Country' is more reserved, introspective, built around hydraulic dub bass and steppin' drums with fibrillating synthlines and icy metallic drones for hypnotic effect. A welcome return. massively Recommended.

Sunday 4 November 2012

Nacht Und Nebel - 466 Days





A new tape of blackened industrial drone made with treated cello and Togotronic electronics.



The tapes are a mere £2 but you can also get a pay-what-you-want download of it.

Nacht Und Nebel have been at this for several years now and it's top tier noise stuff (ie not just any old random sounds). Real powerful stuff.

Wednesday 31 October 2012

V/A - The Coven & Neophytes Vol 2 (Witch Hunter Records)



http://witchhunterrecords.bandcamp.com/album/the-coven-neophytes-vol-2

Witch Hunter Records have been kicking around the UK underground sludge/doom scene for several years now. They dabble in a bit of metallic hardcore stuff too. This is a cross section of what they've got going on at the moment. Recognised the names of a few bands like Iron Witch, Tree Of Sores and Black Mass that I've been meaning to check out for a while.

Sunday 28 October 2012

Thisclose - s/t





Discharge. Possibly the most copied punk band of all time inspiring an entire genre called d-beat. Two monstrous nuclear stockpiles worth of bands called Dis-something. Endless 7"s with black and white sleeves and covers depicting the horrors of war.

Why?

Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why?

Because a d-beat is like a banging donk to a crusty. The punks just love it.

They like to pretend the late 80s didn't happen though. Discharge have reformed and are back playing their greatest hits. Nothing from the late 80s though.

Glam metal!!

Discharge didn't just go a bit metal. They weren't full tilt over the top into hair metal territory



Grave New World was the album they all try to forget. However, a few people secretly love this album.

Unlike every other d-beat band out there Thisclose are inspired by the Grave New World era of Discharge. Metallic riffs and screeching vocals.

They do it pretty damn well too.

Serpentine Path - s/t





Well the single was bloody excellent - http://spoonfuloftar.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/serpentine-path-erebusdepravity-7.html

The whole album is even better. This is going to take several months to sink in fully but I think it's going to join Pallbearer and Krallice as the best metal albums of the year. There's a ton of stuff going on under the surface that'll take a while to reveal itself.

Straight away it sounds great. Continuing the doom-y riffs that Unearthly Trance had including the uniqueness. Fantastic grasp of structure and dynamics etc that separate them completely and utterly from the generic sludge crowd.

Wednesday 24 October 2012

Doommantia Vol 1 benefit compilation





This compilation was put together to raise money to benefit Ed Barnard of Doommantia.com. He suffered a heart attack and due to huge medical bills, he is now homeless. 39 bands from all around the world have contributed over 4 hours of music. Killer artwork was donated by Coby Ellison. A $7 donation gets you these tracks but you can donate more if you have the means to do so. Lets help get Ed back on his feet and keep Doommantia alive!

Doommantia is a proper underground music blog. Full length reviews and in depth interviews. Definitely something worth supporting. Also recognise a fair few of the bands as being decent so well worth your time.

Absolutely blows my mind any time I hear about the US healthcare system. Utterly fucked.

Friday 19 October 2012

Skullflower - IIIrd Gatekeeper





Possibly Skullflower's finest moment. From 1992 and it still holds up. Not that I heard it back then. I was listening to Guns N Roses. I did hear it in the early noughties though. Back in the days before soulseek and mediafire when someone had to tape you things.

I'll happily stamp on them rose tinted glasses though. I reckon it's much better now that people can get access to underground music.

First heard Mr Bower's stuff when I ordered a split tape his Total project did with Merzbow after a reading a review in Terrorizer. Back when Terrorizer was worth buying and wasn't just about shit euro goth-metal. Blah blah blah moan moan moan.

Anyway, Skullflower and this album. Skullflower have churned out tons of stuff and their side projects release ridiculous amounts of stuff. No way of keeping it up with it all and no point either. If you're releasing tons of CDrs a year there's diminishing returns.

Nope, you can happily live with just this album. Total far out noise rock. Endless feedback. Churning proto-Earth/Sunn stuff with a no-audience UK underground stamp on it.

Cryptopsy - None So Vile





Well, now this is a good idea - bands putting their old albums up on their own bandcamp page. All money straight to them rather than a label.

I love this album. I love it even though the singer thought it was a good idea to call himself Lord Worm.

It's death metal that rides the line between being really tech (which I like but does have it's place) and things that approach actual tunes.

No idea what Cryptopsy are up to nowadays but this is a great slice of 90s death metal.

The Royal Arch Blaspheme - II


This is as filthy, necro, satanic, ugly, thrashy and metal as fuck of a release as you could ever dream of hearing.
After polluting minds and corrupting souls with their self-titled debut album, THE ROYAL ARCH BLASPHEME return to wage war on the holy with the cryptic “II.” Once again the vision of PROFANATICA guitarist/songwriter John Gelso and KRIEG mastermind N. Imperial but now expanded into a full lineup, THE ROYAL ARCH BLASPHEME's highly anticipated "II" expands upon ideas from their original template: the primitivism is cruder, the sludge more volcanic, the blasphemy more vile, the production fuller and more devastating. What results is sickened (and sickening) miasma of black metal filth that only THE ROYAL ARCH BLASPHEME can create... bow down in obeisance.
Pay Homage and Worship!
 

Thursday 18 October 2012

Thawed Out -s/t LP





Do you like later Black Flag when they bunged in some deranged solos and slowed down? You bloody well should. My War Side Two is clearly better than First Four Years.

Thawed Out aren't quite into MWS2 territory just yet. There's some Void and United Mutation going on in there as well. For modern bands think Mob Rules and some of that Katorga Works Records stuff.

You can buy the LP from Shogun Records. They've been putting some stuff like Nasa Space Universe so you know they've got taste.

Slightly awkwardly to download the whole LP you have to go to two different place. The link above has Side A of the LP with 4 new songs. Side 2 is the Thawed Out demo which can be downloaded here - http://eatabookrecords.bandcamp.com/album/thawed-out-demo-cassette

Saturday 13 October 2012

Sinking Suns - demo





Nice little slice of noise rock.

The excellent folk over at Shiny Grey Monotone mentioned Killdozer, Steel Pole Bath Tub, Scratch Acid, Tar, Crucifucks, Big'N, Sicbay and Distorted Pony in their review.

I bet you didn't manage to get half way through reading that list of bands before pressing play.

Only given it one listen through so far but it's going to get a lot more plays. This is a rare gem of a demo. Oh, and it's a million miles away from your generic local band Shellac/Jesus Lizard rip-off.

Friday 12 October 2012

Serpentine Path - Erebus/Depravity 7"





Essentially this is Unearthly Trance reborn. Someone from Ramasses/Electric Wizard is involved as well.

Stupidly Unearthly Trance kind of passed me by at the time. I was under the impression they were just an identikit doom band. Cursing myself for not finding out sooner that they were in fact pretty damn unique with a bunch of other influences.

This seems to carry on quite well from Unearthly Trance. Doom that crawls along at a snail's pace but unusual in structure.

$2 for a 7" worth of music is also very reasonable.

Wednesday 10 October 2012

Losing The Battle - Live At The 1in12





Quick post before I do some more reviews later in the week. Here's something from my new bandcamp page of old UK DIY demos and things. It's an old band of mine called Losing The Battle (or Motley Crudos or Monkey Tennis). In our heads it was like a cross between Botch and His Hero Is Gone. Members have played in a bunch of other bands like Gruel, My Name Is Satan, Orrin De Forest, Doom, Jobbykrust, Health Hazard, The Devils, Servo. More than can be mentioned really. We played some gigs over a couple of years and it was fun (especially The Bacon Factory in London). This was a live set recorded at the 1in12 in Bradford. It was recorded via the studio so you can actually hear what's going on.

Thursday 4 October 2012

Battle Of Wolf 359 - demo





Just started to upload a load of old UK DIY demos onto a bandcamp. Here's Battle Of Wolf 359 who have recently called it a day. Lazy description is 'screamo' but that term doesn't mean too much anymore. Well, it means lots of different things to lots of different people so it's useless as a description. If you like stuff like Systral and Shikari then you'll be more than happy listening to this.

Tuesday 2 October 2012

Inquisition - Ominous Doctrines Of The Perpetual Mystical Macrocosm


Everything about this release rules! The artwork rules, the riffs rule, the titles rule, and, my favourite of all, the vocals utterly rule! This is Thrash/Black Metal supremacy right here. This was probably my favourite metal release of last year so go listen. Also check out the other great stuff Hells Headbangers have on their Bandcamp as it's dripping with leather-clad thrash-metal goodness.
INQUISITION, possessors of one of the most distinctive black metal sounds around, returns after a ominious, three-year slumber in the stygian depths with their highly anticipated fifth album, "Ominous Doctrines of the Perpetual Mystical Macrososm." Revolving, as always, around the core duo of vocalist/guitarist Dagon and drummer Incubus, INQUISITION create fog-thick, utterly mesmerizing blackness with only two instruments and voice. "Ominous Doctrines of the Perpetual Mystical Macrocosm," amongst a discography already lined with classics, evokes blackest magick and esoteric mysticism, inducing trance-like states in even the sturdiest constitution - hail the "Ominous Doctrines of the Perpetual Mystical Macrocosm"! Recommended for worshippers of INQUISITION, because no one else sounds like INQUISITION.

Monday 1 October 2012

Godstopper - What Matters





No, not Godstomper. Godstopper. And no, it's not grindcore. It's....it's....it's....I dunno. It's not a 'genre' band. It's fucking awesome that's for sure.

A friend described them as a cross between Today Is The Day and Weezer. It's in that weird world of Harvey Milk and Mare and Torche where doom meets pop. However, Godstopper are slightly more on the sick and twisted side of the riffage and also quite super tuneful. Oh yeah, chuck in some Melvins as well.

It totally works as well. And I can't get my head around how the horrible riffs turn into poppy melodies without the slightest kind of obvious jarring.

Thursday 27 September 2012

Orgone Accumulators EPs on Grindcore Karaoke





This is the best piece of music ever produced. Better than anything else in the world ever. Download immediately.

Shameless sock puppetry aside, give it a listen.

Also, check out the other stuff on Grindcore Karaoke. It's a net label that J Randall of Agoraphobic Nosebleed runs. Tons of releases available and all for free. Oh, and all available in FLAC. Definitely an interesting use of bandcamp.

Wednesday 26 September 2012

Listening Center - Example One





The fantastic GHOST BOX records put a new blog post up about some new releases they're doing - http://jimjupp.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/listening-centre.html

One of them is going to be a 7" by Listening Centre (including a remix by Pye Corner Audio!.

Never heard of them before but have given this album of theirs a few listens today and they fit right in with the whole Ghost Box thing (even though they are from New York).

Just look at this picture from their facebook page:-



Says everything! If you don't quite get it yet here's their bio:-

Researching imaginary pasts and lost utopias.

Listening Center is the alias of drummer and electronic musician, David Mason. Drawing primarily from influences such as the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, lost film/TV soundtracks, and Kosmische Musik, Listening Center presents a patchwork of imagined pasts/futures, in which the listener can make his or her way through an undergrowth of dream-like melodies and electronic sound palettes which have the effect of being now reassuring, now unsettling. Having grown up in Ireland in the 1980s, David evidently internalized similar effects of synth-based incidental music from sci-fi and schools programs which found their way from the BBC to the TV set in his parents' living room. His formal musical education began at the Cologne Music Conservatory in 1995, and he completed his studies at the New School in New York in 2000. During this time he studied jazz drumming with highly-esteemed players such as Keith Copeland, Billy Hart and Joe Chambers, and thereafter embarked on a career accompanying artists as diverse as Art Farmer, James Hunter, and Natalie Walker. Since then, he has also collaborated with the novelist/musician Michael Idov and filmmaker Miranda July, and since 2010 has held the electronic drum chair in multi-instrumentalist Mikkel Hess's project, Hess is More.


Abul Mogard - s/t





This is some pretty interesting stuff. It's kind of experimental noise/synth stuff. However, it's all done by a retired Serbian factory worker with synths he's made himself.

The Outer Church have an interview with him here - http://theoriginalouterchurch.tumblr.com/post/30388556632/abul-mogard-was-born-in-belgrade-an-ex-factory that is well worth a read.

The album is available as pay-what-you-like digital download but also in a really elaborate wooden/plexiglass handmade edition.

Here's the blurb:-

Abul Mogard approached music in old age. He was born in Belgrad and spent most of his life working in a Serbian factory.

When he retired, he felt that his accustomed environment with all the acoustic noises he had been listening to during his working years, was gone.

Music was a way to somehow recreate these surroundings, and not having a formal musical education he realized that using electronic musical instruments would make this possible.

These machines could also make similar sounds to the ones he remembered. He started working with synthesizers and other devices, some of which he has built himself over the past few years.


Tuesday 25 September 2012

Jodis - Black Curtain (Hydrahead)





Only given it one listen through but I am definitely buying this come payday at the end of the week.

Jodis feature one Mr James Plotkin who was in OLD (aka Old Lady Drivers). They were one of the weirdest bands on Earache back in the 90s.

I remember riding my bike doing my paper round listening to stuff like Marzuraan by OLD and liking it, but not quite getting it.



Years later I finally heard their final album, Formula, which was more trippy and almost like the Cocteau Twins or something.



Then, of course, came Khanate with the Southern Lord/Sunn folk. They were great too. Anyway, Jodis was the band Plotkin formed after the demise of Khanate. Was another bloke from Khanate (i think) and Aaron Turner from Hydrahead/Isis. For some reason I only briefly checked out their first album they did a few years back. I remember it being pretty harsh. And that's harsh compared with Khanate!

This is kind of more trippy. The reason for all the OLD stuff I posted at the beginning was that it kind of reminded me of Formula era OLD. It doesn't sound anything much like it. More the fact that it's kind of nicer sounding and vaguely musical but also still odd.

Onto the second listen now and it's definitely sounding like it's a keeper.

Oh, if you haven't heard, Hydrahead is going to be calling it a day. Read all the reasons here - http://hydraheadlines.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/the-imminent-demise-of-hydra-head.html. Shame as they were a great label. Definitely make sure you support them by buying their releases. They've got a ton of releases up on Bandcamp as well so get on it - http://hydrahead.bandcamp.com/

Monday 24 September 2012

Slomatics - A Hocht





Was checking this out a while back but at that point you couldn't do a paid download. Now you can, so I'm telling you now to get it. I'll be getting it at the end of the week when I get paid.

This lot are from Belfast and play some stellar doom/stoner rock stuff. The folk behind Roadburn Festival put this out so you know it's going to be be top notch stuff

They've been plugging away for years and are grand lads. Saw them years ago in Leeds with Like A Kind Of Matador and then a few years later in Belfast with Gruel. Banging both times.

Definitely the real deal.

Mean Jeans - On Mars





Most of the stuff I post about is either skulls/death/brutality hardcore or chin-stroking electronic stuff.

Mean Jeans are the total polar opposite. Beer, pizza and Ramones.

Dead simple pop punk is surprisingly hard to do. Or I guess sit must be as there's a billion shitty 7"s littering sale boxes in record shops and free boxes in distros. Mean Jeans seem to have that little bit extra that makes it work.



Friday 21 September 2012

Protestant - Reclamation (Halo Of Flies)





I approve of the name Halo Of Flies. A great song and a great band that named themselves after the song.

Protestant are kind of modern metallic d-beat hardcore stuff. Tragedy and all that kind of thing. Or Lounge Crust as some people I know call it.

Truss - Ganymede 12" (Perc)





The splendid PERC have a new release on their label. Given it a quick listen and it's sounding good. PERC have very high standards. Here's the blurb:-

Support from Surgeon, Objekt, Chris Liebing, Tommy Four Seven, Dave Clarke, Oliver Ho, Drumcell, Adam X, Xhin, Shifted, Motor, Sawf, Derek Plaslaiko, Chymera, Speedy J, Bas Mooy, Truncate and a shitload more.

Perc Trax’s Welsh born, London based acid wizard Truss returns after the success of his recent releases on Sigha’s Our Circula Sound imprint and his remix (in collaboration with Sigha) of Perc’s own ‘You Saw Me’.

‘Ganymede is Truss’ first Perc Trax outing since ‘Osbasten’ back in summer 2010 and from the outset demonstrates how far his sound has progressed. Fusing the attitude of classic early R&S with modern techno, he layers razor sharp hoover stabs over a heavily swung, bass-laden groove.

Remixes come from fast-rising Semantica/Horizontal Ground producer Skirt and label boss Perc. The former deepens the track, adding more atmospherics over the original’s broken beat kick, whilst Perc sharpens up the hoover stabs even more and adds layer upon layer of his trademark crushing metallic percussion.

Rounding off the EP is ‘Hackney’, a 4/4 jackin’ acid stomper, with a sound that is at the forefront of the current UK renaissance in stripped down, in-yer-face techno.

Monday 17 September 2012

Army Of Flying Robots - Discography





Essential.

Saturday 15 September 2012

Last Shop Standing



Last Shop Standing is a documentary film to be released on September 10th 2012.

Last Shop Standing inspired by the book of the same name by Graham Jones takes you behind the counter to discover why nearly 2000 record shops have already disappeared across the UK. The film charts the rapid rise of record shops in the 1960's, 70's and 80's, the influence of the chart, the underhand deals, the demise of vinyl and rise of the CD as well as new technologies. Where did it all go wrong? Why were 3 shops a week closing? Will we be left with no record shops with the continuing rise of downloading? Hear from over 20 record shop owners and music industry leaders as well as musicians including Paul Weller, Johnny Marr, Norman Cook, Billy Bragg, Nerina Pallot, Richard Hawley and Clint Boon as they all tell us how the shops became and still are a part of their own musical education, a place to cherish and discover new bands and new music.


http://www.lastshopstanding.com/

Got the book for Christmas the other year and it's a great, if very depressing, read.

I love record shops. Scary to think just how much money I've spent in them. I've got shelves and shelves and boxes and boxes of records to show for it though.

And, as the trailer states, record shops are great for finding out about new stuff, getting recommendations, chatting and all the rest of it. It'd suck if you couldn't turn up in town you've never been to and check the record shop out.

I reckon it'd genuinely be disastrous if record shops died.

Which is why I can't understand why record shops don't sell downloads. Already touched on the idea in this post about Rough Trade but it's worth repeating.

A record shop is somewhere where you go and buy music. In ye olden days before records you'd have bought sheet music. Then it would have been 78s and then onwards to vinyl, 8 tracks, reel to reel, cassette tapes, CDs and whatever else you could stick music on.

So why is the thought of selling a piece of card with a download code printed on it so inconceivable?

New 7"s in shops are now between £4 and £7 which is quite a lot. Wouldn't it be great if you could get several singles for a tenner? Well you could with download cards. For a couple of quid people are more likely to take a punt on something they haven't heard before.

I can't think of one single idea why it would be a bad thing.

You only need to look at the itunes store wikipedia page to see the ridiculous amount of money they're making. Biggest music store in the world now, apparently.

Blows apart any argument about people not being willing to pay for digital stuff.

Could you imagine a music shop in the 60s and 70s that refused to sell vinyl or one in the 90s that refused to sell CDs?

Friday 14 September 2012

Vilipend - Inamorata (A389)





First heard this because the folk over at Elementary Revolt compared them to Deadguy, Kiss It Goodbye and Botch. It's definitely in that ball park sonically. Obviously they're not quite as good as those bands. Honestly, if you managed to combine those bands and make even better music then you'd probably instantly become my favourite band of all time. It's unfair to judge any band by that standard.

Repeated listens have changed my opinion on them though. First listen I thought it was alright, not too bad. Slowly but surely repeated listens have made me think that actually this is some pretty killer stuff.

It's definitely more Botch than KIG/Deadguy. I could well imagine this having come out on Hydrahead.

I mean, these guys can really play their instruments. They don't wank off into a noodlefest but it's subtly there. Just occasional tasteful flourishes. More importantly, it's really well structured. It moves and shifts and does stuff.

The more I think about it the more I think of Botch. The tone of the guitars, the tempo shifts and the kind of discordant riffs used.

At this point their still students of Botch. But they're students that have got an A* in their exams. It's definitely something you should check out. The more I listen to it, the more I enjoy it. And definitely keep an eye out for them in the future. There's the seeds of a band may well truly smash their way into the level of the aforementioned trio of bands. Here's in hoping.

Pick Your Side - Let Me Show You How Democracy Works (A389)





When I first heard this my immediate thought was that it sounded a hell of a lot like Haymaker. Turns out it's ex-Haymaker. Also ex a bunch of those other Canadian bands like Left For Dead and Chokehold.

Like Haymaker, it's some weird mid-point between 80s hardcore stuff and moronic mosh metal but somehow turning out awesome.

It will make you want to kill people.

It won't show you how democracy works though. Like Haymaker before them the lyrics are pretty stupid and childish. But, y'know, it's a punk record. Who cares.

And yeah, the artwork is fucking shit.

The music, though. The music is good.

Mark Fell - Sentielle Objectif Actualite (Editions Mego)





Bought this from Boomkat this morning. Go get it here - http://boomkat.com/downloads/550998-mark-fell-sentielle-objectif-actualit

This is Mark Fell who is one half of SND who've put plenty of stuff out on Mille Plateux and Raster Noton. We're talking super chin scratchy abstract electronic stuff. With this project he's gone a bit more house.

According to Resident Advisor:- The package centres on remixes of the three 12-inch singles so far (3.333... should drop shortly) on Sensate Focus, the Editions Mego sub-label set-up at the start of 2012 to house off-kilter house explorations from the Snd member. While traditional genre tropes were fully utilized on the recordings, Fell tampered heavily with house's rhythmic structure to evoke "slightly unusual beats," sounded out by Roland drum machines and the like.

And yes, even by underground house standards this is "unusual".

It has a really nice effect though. You get the clinical, cerebral Raster Noton thing but with nice washes of sound and hints of an actual tune. Definitely something for repeated listens.

Cynarae - s/t





This lot get compared to Systral, Unruh, Morser, The Swarm and Left For Dead. And that's a pretty fair comparison too. There'll be a handful of people who see that (like me) whose interest is piqued.

For everyone else we're talking blistering metallic hardcore punk stuff. Recent comparisons might be the more straight ahead Drainland stuff or that new Torch Runner album.

Definitely a cut above that post-Cursed thing where everything sounds dead samey.

10 Reasons Why Itunes Is Crap

10 Reasons I Don't Buy From Itunes

1. They don't sell FLAC.
Kevin points out the many reasons why FLAC is vastly superior to mp3 in this post - http://spoonfuloftar.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/why-flac-format.html

2. Because I'm buying independent or DIY music.
I buy my vinyl from someone with a box of records at a punk gig in the back room of a pub. Either that or a proper independent record shop. I'd steadfastly refuse to go to somewhere like HMV. Why would I want to buy my digital records from the equivalent of Tescos.

3. Apple are a bunch of tax dodging bastards.
They use every dirty trick in the book to pay only a peppercorn tax rate in any country they operate in. You might argue that it's 'legal'. It's not. The methods are just not explicitly illegal. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/29/business/apples-tax-strategy-aims-at-low-tax-states-and-nations.html

4. I'm just not a fan of Apple products.
Shiny and overexpensive and just frustrating to use. I just don't like the walled garden appraoch. Also, the itunes program has given me nothing but grief.

5. Bands and labels have to pay for their stuff to go on itunes.
Could you imagine a shop demanding to be paid to stock your records? That's up front by the way. Not just taking a cut of each sale (which is fine). No, you actually have to pay to be put on itunes in the first place.

6. DRM
Yeah, I know they don't do DRM anymore but they used to. And the stench remains. They're very much not on the side of the music fan. Which brings me on to the next point.

7. You don't own the music you buy
This one is almost incomprehensible. You don't actually own the music you buy from itunes.

"Part of the problem is that with digital content, one doesn’t have the same rights as with print books and CDs. Customers own a license to use the digital files — but they don’t actually own them.

Apple (US:AAPL) and Amazon.com (US:AMZN) grant “nontransferable” rights to use content, so if you buy the complete works of the Beatles on iTunes, you cannot give the “White Album” to your son and “Abbey Road” to your daughter.

According to Amazon’s terms of use, “You do not acquire any ownership rights in the software or music content.” Apple limits the use of digital files to Apple devices used by the account holder."


Read more about that here - http://articles.marketwatch.com/2012-08-23/finance/33336852_1_digital-content-digital-files-apple-and-amazon

8. They almost have a monopoly
It almost seems like people don't realise there's other options. OK, it doesn't help that loads of independent labels use it as they're default option for selling digital. But, the fact is, there are far better options such as Bandcamp or Boomkat or whatever.

9. It's expensive
You want me to pay the same price as a CD for a digital version that's worse quality? Erm, no.

10. Fuck itunes
Just fuck it. Everything about it. Just fuck it. Itunes is just pure unadulterated bullshit. I've tried to focus on specific things but the fact is that there isn't a single good thing about itunes. Not one. Itunes stinks to high heaven. It's the very antithesis of independent music.


And yes, I know these ten points have ended with just irrational ranting but that's irrelevant. What labels and bands should understand is that I will never, ever, ever, ever in a million trillion years buy anything through itunes. And I know that goes for lots of other people too.

There are independent options so use them. Obviously I'd like to see more independent options become available but for the moment any option is better than itunes.

Old Apparatus - Realise





AVAILABLE FROM BOOMKAT HERE - http://boomkat.com/downloads/564011-old-apparatus-realise-ep

Creepy and dusty electronic music. Maybe a bit like Burial. Definitely not d*b s**p though. All a bit odd.

The Boomkat write up explains it reasonably well:-

The second EP salvo on the Old Apparatus collective's recently minted Sullen Tone label, and it's quality all the way, this time credited as the solo work (more or less) of LTO . 'Chicago' ain't no acid house jam, rather it's a grave little number propelled by maudlin piano arpeggios and chopped-up steppers' drums - if you've been digging Four Tet and Burial's recent gear, you'll dig this, it has a similar balance of melodic drama and dancefloor fire. 'Found' and the more subdued 'Realise' nod to second generation IDM and Warp Records, numerous acoustic and electronic elements woven into expansive, beautifully textured tapestries, at once contributing to and buffeted by compellingly abstract, unpredictable rhythms. The scuttling, crepuscular electro of 'Holding' provides the highlight for us: it has a truly sinister edge to it, with hints of the more low-slung among AFX's Analord productions, and even some well-turned noir-jazz flourishes a la Photek.

More than worth the £2.95 it costs to buy the FLAC.

Monday 10 September 2012

Night Birds - The Other Side Of Darkness





Night Birds were probably the best punk band I saw last year. Completely off the hook. Singer crawling through the crowd's legs. Guitar and bass players running around everywhere. Actually, yeah, it was the guitarist going through people's legs now I think of it. His rather fetching white Gluey Porch Treatments t shirt ended up a a brown, soggy, torn mess.

Of course, if someone likes the Melvins you can generally trust them musically.

And punk bands that aren't completely and utterly myopic musically are also a good bet.

Night Birds hit the spot musically as well. Surf punk is the best description. Surf-y guitar lines mixed up with some of that post-Observers snotty tuneful punk rock. Some super catchy tunes. And they sound like they're going a million miles an hour and about to fall apart at any second (but actually being mid-paced and far from being an all blur - they just have that feel if you see what I mean).

Before State Icons got asked to play the Brighton date on their tour I'd never heard of them. Found an illicit download and ended up playing it on repeat for a few weeks. Still gets plenty of spins. I might even go so far as to say they might be the best current punk band. Obviously, my opinion on that position changes frequently but they're always up there. Honestly, highest possible recommendation to check them out.

That brings me to the nit-picky bit of this review. You can buy the whole album digitally. And that's great. That's kind of the whole point of this blog. Making stuff available to buy digitally in a DIY manner is awesome.

However, you can only stream two songs. You can't even stream the song I reckon is the best one. The total headshot tune that'd instantly make you fall in love with the band. That'd be Neon Gray if you're interested. Doesn't seem to be on youtube either. Guess you'll have to find a dodgy mediafire link or fire up soulseek. I'd definitely recommend it. And fuck it, no-one has got the LP for sale in the UK anymore. I want repeat my rant about the stupidity of the limited nature of vinyl records. Especially as they've got it up for sale digitally. But it's a bit daft that I'm sat here screaming at you to check them out because you'll definitely love them but for some reason you can't listen to it properly. I can understand why people do it because someone might rip the stream and bung it up elsewhere on the internet for free. But that's already happened. It's already out there. And I'm telling people to go out and find those dodgy rips so they can listen to it. Instead, they could listen to it easily and they'd be a great big button saying BUY in their browser.

Plus, virtually no one buys music on spec anymore. They only buy stuff they've already heard. I know I do. Bought enough crap records in my time that I really don't feel the need to buy records I haven't already heard anymore. To the labels that complain about that because no one buys your records I'll paraphrase Dead Kennedys (who Night Birds get compared to quite often), maybe you put out one too many lousy records.

Night Birds is far from being a lousy record. Genuinely a fucking great record. Night Birds need to damn well make another record and come back over here and tour again.

UPDATE: Grave Mistake records mentioned in the comments that they've got the whole thing up to stream on their bandcamp here - Grave Mistake records bandcamp



There's the whole album to stream so now you can listen to Neon Gray and fall in love straight away.

Put Grave Mistake up in the recommended labels in the sidebar as they've got all their stuff up for streaming and download. Genuine DIY punk labels are well worth supporting so get on it.

Nick Frater - Throw Money





Some people might look at that name and think I'm engaging in shameless nepotism. You'd be right.

It is very good though. Well produced progressive 70s powerpop sounds. Steely Dan, The Raspberries, Todd Rundgren and all that jazz. Ben Folds Five isn't too far off either. Intricate piano melodies & harmonies to full on bombastic pomposity, fuzzy guitar solos, bits of synth. All good stuff.

Bosse De Nage - III





This is another album I've been playing the shit out of for a couple of months with a naughty internet copy. Glad Profound Lore have put it up on bandcamp as the FLAC version sounds so much better.

Bosse De Nage often get described as something like Slint gone black metal. And that's a fair description. If that means nothing to you and you've never heard a record called Spiderland then you probably need to get your priorities sorted. You need to hear it.

If you like Slint and black metal, though, you're probably turning your nose up at the idea. Perhaps the image of Vice-reading schmucks with ironic moustaches and no socks has entered your mind. Don't worry, this isn't false. This contains a member of Slough Feg and they're very much old, grizzly proper metal.

It's possibly not 'black metal' in the strictest sense but who cares about that? Not me.

I'm honestly struggling to describe it accurately. Every phrase I come up with just makes it sound like one of those bloody awful Isis clones.

It's bloody brilliant though and that's all I can say.

Sunday 9 September 2012

Oblivionation - demo





If you liked hardcore punk then you'll know the name OUT COLD. You'll know that they were one of the best of the 90s/noughties. Straight, no frills hardcore punk. Great stuff.

Some of them are back together and have formed a new band called Oblivionation. It pretty much sounds exactly like you want it to.