COCONUTS -"s/t" LP (No Quarter)

   
New York by way of Australia act Coconuts are making quite a name for themselves since their arrival.Their live shows are said to be too loud,too long,and drenched in so many effects,they are barely coherent.Sound fucking awesome to you too?Thought so.Their new long player for No Quarter proudly glorifies these allegations,just as a more portable medium.Their sound is brave and inventive,as dense and heavy as it is light and airy.Hypnotizing tribal drums are thudding off in the distance,while walls of harsh,yet calculated feedback crumble away as quickly as they are erected.Treated guitar psychedelics whir and crack,sometimes sounding more like steel cables whipping against an oil drum than they do modern instruments.Cave-dwellers are chanting around a fire as a mysterious howl echoes just beneath their hymns.Time and space are of no concern,as they've just created a world to their own liking.Wide open spaces are the key,and Coconuts know how to make use of things that don't exist.Some of this brings the weirder Drum's Not Dead -era Liars repetition to mind,but this is much more damaged and detached from any real structure.Songwriting has no place in their world.They rely solely on instinct,and influence doesn't seem to play any part in their work.This is primitive music that dances on the brain.Make some time for this one,it's worth every minute.Wow.

NAKED ON THE VAGUE - Blood Pressure Sessions [Dual Plover/Siltbreeze]

Naked On The Vague - Blood Pressure Sessions


"This two-piece Australian act, consisting of Lucy Cliche and Matt Hopkins, apparently popped into being simply from finding old, broken instruments. Now, if all the kids coming across battered organs (not mine, thanks) sounded this good, we'd be in business! And make no mistake, these kids are the business. 'Old Leader' is our introduction, as oscillating waves of synth warp across the duo's shared vocals, punctuated by distorted cymbal crashes. It's Gloom, alright, but Cureheads will get nothing out of this. This is distilled nihilism, filtered through the brain of a Scissor Girls groupie on downers. 'All Aboard' is the closest we get to a dance track, which is fine by me! "All aboard, the ship is sinking! Jump on the tracks, the train is coming!" Lucy spits, while a hypnotic keyboard line keeps pace with a simple drum machine beat. 'Mother's Footsteps' trots out the noise guitar and stuttering vocals, punctuated by shrieks, and 'The Horse, He's Sick' is psychedelic minimal with clanks and drones stumbling over themselves. 'Brown Sun/Sydney Lane Roads' is not quite an homage to the ol' hometown, unless they spend a good part of their time there with their mind a-reeling on drugs and liquor (and who's to say they don't?) 'Lonely Boys' has creepy warbling, with the duo turning themselves into human didgeridoos. Very Swans influenced, with a touch of that early Coil mind-jism. The jangly 'God Nor Devil', supported by teeter-totter guitars, snare the listener with steel cords. Mysterious and echoing, 'Blood Pressure' brings to mind barren, flat wastelands, echoing with thuds and wooden clatters. 'The Beach 2' transforms foghorns into synth lines, as the guitar trickles down into a mush of sound, becoming static and oscillating waves once more. This excellent little dark'n'nasty is one of two debut releases. Can't wait for the other!" - D.D.M.