Personal Best - The Lovin' EP

90s indie rock/tuneful punk stuff. Kind of that Superchunk/Wrens thing. Been listening to this loads since i saw them a few months back. Really good stuff. Finally available digitally. Well worth your cash.

Pile - Special Snowflakes

Previously I've gone on about how good that Pile album was. Thankfully they've finally got a new thing coming out. Just a 7" but judging by this song it's going to be a corker.

Big Jesus - One

a friend recommended this to me describing them as "Deftones/Quicksand/Torche and a smidge of Smashing Pumpkins". Sums it up perfectly.

Life Leone - Comes Crashing In

somewhere between Ty Segall and QOTSA? maybe if an indie band borrowed Fu Manchu's backline?

Flesh World - s/t (La Vida Es Un Mus)

La Vida Es Un Mus now have a bandcamp page.. Expect DIY punk related things.

No back catalogue stuff yet but this new Flesh World mini LP is good. Kind of fuzzy, melodic post punk that's kind of tuneful. Here's the blurb:-

On their debut MLP, San Francisco, CA’s Flesh World plays ice-soaked punk rock led by dark and infectious guitar flourishes and a just-under-the-surface pop sensibility that makes each song an immediate stand out track. Featuring band members who are all veterans of the DIY punk scene — from bands including Limp Wrist, Brilliant Colors, Needles, and more — Flesh World brings influences from a host of punk sub-genres together, calling to mind the tense moodiness of classic British post punk, the sneer of the 1977 school, and just a hint of C86 flourish and feedback. Most importantly, this MLP includes six hopelessly catchy songs that will work their way into your skull like an infection without a cure.

Connections - Body Language

Bit of a Guided By Voices thing going on. Just great, slightly rough indie tuneage. I'd recommend trying Late Shift as a taster. Had that on repeat a few times.

For some reason there's no option to buy it. In the unlikely event of any of the vinyl making it's way to the UK I'd probably buy the LP. However, not going to bother getting crappy mp3s from amazon/itunes. Oh well.

Makthaverskan - II

80s synth pop and Cocteau Twins style indie pop stuff from Sweden. Dead nice.

Orgone Accumulators - august 2013 demo

THE GREATEST MUSIC YOU WILL EVER HEAR IN YOUR LIFE!!!!!

Yeah, I'm a bit biased cos I made it but it is worth a listen. Started as an attempt to make an electronica version of Man Or Astroman? Ended up as some kind of synth-y lo-fi indie thing?

Flaum Adger - s/t (ex-Jesus Lizard)

Folk from Jesus Lizard and Dis- get together to make a record of classic Chicago style underground rock.

Relatively tuneful which gives it a bit of a Tar feel in places.

Trumans Water/Birdbath split

Well bugger me, Trumans Water are still going. Great news as they're a total 90s underground classic. Like a bastard punk rock Sonic Youth or something.

Was just watching this recently unearthed live footage of Trumans Water from 1993 and thought I'd check out what they're doing now.



Birdbath are alright too. Kind of math-y noisey indie rock stuff. You could imagine them playing with Bilge Pump.

Ovlov - AM (shoegaze/indie)

Great shoegaze/indie stuff from the same label that put out Pile

Kind of flits between Dinosaur Jr and woozy effects laden MBV type stuff.

They've got tunes to back it all up with. Ones that'll totally get stuck in your head. You could imagine it fitting on Captured Tracks if it wasn't quite so dirty.

Kirin J Callinan - W II W/Thighs 7"

An Australian guy that's come up with some creepy Foetus style music. Jittery drums overlayed with goth-tinged weirdness. Bizarre industrial pop.

And that's just the first song. The flipside is minimal guitar stuff with drawling vocals. Think Tom Waits or Scott Walker.

Really struggling to describe this accurately. Which is a good thing.

This guy is a total freak off in his own little sound world.

some brilliant recent albums......

.....that aren't available on FLAC.

I'd be more than happy to pay cash money for FLAC versions of these recordings. I'm sat here with my wallet open ready to give the bands & labels money.

Anyway, these bands come highly recommended:-

CALIFORNIA X - s/t (Don Giovanni Records)



I think this is my most played album this year. Fucking amazing. Best bits of Dinosaur Jr but with a slightly rougher punk sound. Sounded good on first listen and since then these songs have become embedded in my head.

You know when several bits on an album make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up? That!! Also, when you involuntarily start air guitaring in the street when you've got your headphones on. That too.

I can absolutely guarantee that if you're into an old American indie rock stuff like Dinosaur Jr, Husker Du, Superchunk, Pixies, Wipers, Replacements, Smashing Pumpkins and all the rest of it then you will fall in love with this album.

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DEAD LORD - GOODBYE REPENTANCE (High Roller Records)



Thin fucking Lizzy! Everyone loves Thin Lizzy.

Plenty of great 70s rock revival bands in recent years. However, most go with the heavier end like Black Sabbath or for the more obscure heavy end (you need to check out Kadavar and their Sir Lord Baltimore worship!). Rise Above are putting out loads of the good ones.

Dead Lord go in for Thin Lizzy worship and damn it's good. They totally get that killer twin guitar sound. Great tunes as well.

Video above is from the 7" that came out last year. Great song with an amazing video.

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ENFORCER - DEATH BY FIRE (Nuclear Blast)



Ripping NWOBHM style heavy metal from Sweden with a bit of thrash/speed metal going on as well.

Iron Fist magazine gave it album of the issue and those folk have got impeccable taste in metal.

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EIEFITS - s/t 7" (Mangrove Records)



Raging punk from Japan. Ex-Lipcream and Forward. Kind of mixes up the raw metal guitar solo Burning Spirits sound with a 77 punk female vocal sound.

Japanese lyrics (foreign lyrics always a plus for punk bands in my book). So yeah, kind of sounds like one of those awesome 80s Japanese hardcore bands covering old 77 punk tunes.

Chelsea Light Moving - s/t (Matador)

http://boomkat.com/downloads/663793-chelsea-light-moving-chelsea-light-moving

This is as good as 80s Sonic Youth.

Just thought I'd mention that first in case you were liable to skip over this review due to the phrase "Thurston Moore's new band".

I nearly gave Chelsea Light Moving a miss because of this but I'm glad I didn't. Definitely worth taking a leap of faith to get over that gut feeling it's just going to be average at best.

It's got a slightly more punk feel to it than Sonic Youth and I'm not just saying that due to it finishing with Communist Eyes. It strips out the slightly nicer pro-sound and becomes a lot more jarring and heavy without descending into just some self indulgent guitar noise noodling.

There's some really great bits where it almost reaches Caspar Brotzmann Massaker or High Rise levels of glorious, horrible atonal guitar riffing. At other points there's actual chug riffs.

And, of course, there's plenty of bits that don't sound a million miles away from 80s Sonic Youth.

Beach Fossils - Clash The Truth

http://boomkat.com/downloads/640015-beach-fossils-clash-the-truth

More great indie rock stuff from Captured Tracks.

Kicks off with a cheeky Sex Pistols riff but quickly settles into the 80s British indie sound. Reverby guitar harmonies, busy drums and persistent basslines.

After a few days I've already got some of these tunes stuck in my head. Just perfect for this kind of stuff.

Spectral Park - s/t

http://boomkat.com/downloads/641169-spectral-park-spectral-park

This is like some kind of hyperactive crystal-meth version of chopped & screwed but done with 60s psych instead of hip hop. It's almost like a bunch of 7"s have been smashed up and randomly glued back together.

It's all really tuneful though. The organ and voice keep the melodies going while chaotic collage of sound swirls around.

The organ is a definite highlight. Can't beat a good organ tone.

Maybe a bit like MGMT done as old school cut and paste collages with glue and old newspaper magazines. it's really well done though.

Guess it'd be a good one to place next to that Retromania book. All the themes and sounds are kind of retro but they're all formed into a different style.

The song in the first youtube video has been on repeat on my commute. Really interesting way the melodies, harmonies and backing music fit together.

They've also got an 'official' video. First song on the album. Which is also good.

Pile - Dripping

If you like any form of 90s indie/alt rock stuff then I guarantee you will love this. Cross my heart & and hope to die, scout's honour I swear you will fucking love this. For the past month or so I've played it at least once a day.

Totally one of those records I've been grabbing my friends by the lapels and screaming in their face to get them to check it out.

The excellent Kowloon Walled City posted the Pile bandcamp on their facebook doo-dah. They compared Pile to Harvey Milk, Polvo and Silkworm and mentioned how amazing the guitars are.

The guitars!! Oh my god, the guitars. You know how people like J Mascis in Dinosaur Jr and Bob Mould in Husker Du/Sugar and so on can really, really play the guitar? It's like that. Majestic. Still weird indie rock but done incredibly well.

Apart from the aforementioned bands I'll add things like Arcwelder, Meat Puppets and Pavement. Possibly even some slightly more mainstream sounds as well.

The absolute stand out tune is Bump A Grape. I remember doing my christmas shopping and just repeating it again and again as I stomped up and down Oxford Street. It builds and fades and builds and breaks just perfectly. It should be on a Sub Pop 7". A 7" that somehow gets picked and goes massive.

Have I made it clear enough yet that I think this record is fucking awesome?

Sauna Youth - False Jesii Pt.2 / Oh Joel 7"

I know exactly what's going through your head right now. You're wondering why in the name of fuck a band has done a Pissed Jeans cover. And a recent Pissed Jeans song as well. Weak as fuck right?

You'll be surprised. I was. Sauna Youth have turned that Pissed Jeans banger into a shambolic mid-80s indie pop song. And it works. Pleasantly surprised. Always a good thing when a band totally puts their own stamp on a cover version. Honestly, who needs another d-beat band covering Discharge or other bands doing similar pointless covers.

The other song is more rough tuneful indie pop stuff. The label likens them to the Fizzbombs, The Flatmates or The Rosehips but I've never heard of any of them. Sounds a bit like Kenickie or Helen Love to me but my knowledge of this stuff is pretty much limited to whatever Peel would play in the late 90s.

Definitely reckon Peel would have played this release though. That's as good a recommendation as any.

Mrs Magician - Strange Heaven

Totally catchy garage pop stuff. Bits are almost like a lo-fi Beach Boys. It's on Swami Records (run by John Reis of Rocket From The Crypt/Hot Snakes/Drive Like Jehu).

Discovered them via the end of year list put up by Aquarius Records.

Pretty much been on repeat all week and I absolutely guarantee you'll love them if you like any kind of poppy garage/indie stuff. There Is No God and Dead 80s are the two real stand out tracks.

Solid gold stuff. UK tour please.

V/A - Frustration Incorporated (Anthony Nolan charity benefit)

Bombed Out records who put out the Wooderson album recently mentioned this benefit compilation on that twitter today. Wooderson are on it as well as a bunch of other punk/indie type things. Bird Calls do that 'proper' emo thing. I recognise the names Onelinedrawing and Jeff Caudil.

The digital version is just a quid so worth it.