DEERHUNTER - "Halcyon Digest" LP/CD (4AD)

 
  After what seems like two years of straight touring in support of their "Microcastle" album, and the "Rainwater Cassette Exchange" ep,(which both owned my player for months) Atlanta's most celebrated dream-pop act found time to write and record another fantastic studio full length, entitled Halcyon Digest.Back when I was really digging on 2008's Microcastle LP, I considered it to be one of the most cohesive, pop-inspired sound collages I'd heard in quite some time.That record attacked the senses in so many different ways and from so many angles, that it's hard to believe they could make another record that would even come close to it.Especially after the release of "Weird Era Continued",a great b-side collection, wrapping up the entire Microcastle studio sessions.Hardly an unlistenable track,considering a lot of them were just hazy guitar and synth loops.
  At first glance, "Halcyon Digest" may sound like a polished extension of the aforementioned, but when you travel deeper into this new long player, you will realize that this is a completely new and somewhat uncharted landscape for this band.Even the first two minutes of the album show some newly added elements of down-tempo electronics to the mix."Earthquake" is a slow creeping and swelling dirge, equipped with crackling drum machines, ultra-soft synth strides and somber echoed voices.The song gradually introduces new colors to it's grayish palette as things progress, and the slow-as-molasses hi-hat holds everything together quite nicely.A warm and lengthy swell, that sets up the rest of the record's surprises quite handsomely.
  The album continues to grip your attention span by slightly upping the ante with each song, giving off a vast array of good vibes and some exceptionally tuneful misery(ie: Helicopter's "no one cares for me" line..) by the truckload.The insanely unexpected saxophone run about a minute into the joyful shuffle that is "Coronado" will have you grinning from ear to ear,right on to the end of the song.There are more than a few awesome turns and epic moments here, and this thing is filled to the brim with those infectious guitar and vocal hooks.Bradford Cox does a good job of somehow keeping things light and airy,despite the downer vibe of most of these tunes,and it is obvious that these boys didn't cut any corners here.The songs a fuller and richer than ever,and the clever addition of some rather deep synthesizer instrumentation to the majority of Halcyon Digest, pays off big time.
  Overall a intense and refreshing listen indeed.One that twists your guts up into pretzels(in the best way possible),and definitely had me going back to the beginning of most tracks,as soon as they ended.The last minute and a half of the record made the hairs of my arm stand up straight.If you aren't a fan of this group, it's because you are deaf, or you just haven't bothered to check them out.6 out of 5.Ignore the hype.This album rules.

WOODEN SHJIPS - "Vol.2" CD/LP (Sick Thirst)

 
  
WOODEN SHJIPS 'VOL.2'..Is this review even necessary?This San Fransisco group's output has been so incredibly vast and mandatory, I feel like this information should be available on at least a hundred sites by now.But for those who are new to their magjic, I will continue to rant..
  A few years back, Wooden Shjips: Vol.1 was given to us.It covered the band's handful of 45's and singles,etc..A really nice introduction to this amazing band's broad range of styles.Dubbed "best psych-rock band in the US" by many publications and fans alike, it's not far from the truth in my book either.They possess a certain level of power on and off stage, that very few bands have in the current psychedelic underground.It seems like there's a new act trying to pull this kind of thing off almost daily.And don't get me wrong, there are some good ones out there, but Wooden Shjips ave been at the top of their game since their debut self-titled long player.
  Their second LP "Dos" only justified all of the hype revolving around them, and even took their live show to new sonic heights, somehow.The songs were focused but jammy, and gave props to new wave and synthesizer-based music of the early 70's.It reminds me of the earlier (and more experimental) half of the Brain Records catalog, and doused heavily in Amon Duul II's influential juices.Yes, krautrock is alive and well..A future classic indeed.
  In March they unleashed Vol.2 on this world, and it's every bit as good as anything I've come across with their hands in it.It's got a KILLER cover of Serge Gainsbourg's "Contact", which send my brain in circles every time I hear it.And when you can actually bring yourself to stop restarting that one, you will find that "Vampire Blues" is probably the best thing since Suicide and Cluster did that collab..er, wait..Just pick this up and make some time to get to know it well.Fingers crossed for Vol.3.
MJO

Critter Love: BEKO DIGITAL SINGLES LABEL

   Allow us a moment to tell you about one of our very favorite labels going right now,BEKO.
They are a digital only online singles label from France, and they are just wonderful.They add a new single every Monday,and they are totally free to download!There is quite an eclectic range of awesome sounds buried within their vast catalog,and their minimal,cohesive cover art is fantastic as well.Releasing everything from French pop to ambient noise, to cold wave, no wave and lo-fi bedroom projects.And that's just the beginning.Beko definitely has something for everyone,and no one.They just released two killer box sets called Beko Box 1 and 2.I suggest you head over to their site and get them ASAP.Then download everything else they have to offer.Long live Beko.
MJO

HOT GUTS - "The Ballad of Jon Simon" 7 inch (Badmaster)

                        
  
  Hot Guts are a dark,heavy as bricks band from Philly.Apparently they've got kind of a bad rep. there,but who gives a shit anyway?These 3 songs are some of the more refreshing and inventive I've heard in a while.Each track is pretty much a completely different landscape,and the styles here are a bit varied,but in a really cohesive way that lets you know they are definitely Hot Guts.The title track is a thick and powerful tune,with dense guitars and pounding drums fighting to push their deep,goth-tinged vocals into the foreground.It's a catchy and moody banger,and though it never really changes too much,it's killer heaviness and brash drive keep you from straying.The vocals are deep and harmonized,and sound like they are coming from a very straight faced bunch of dudes.Older Nick Cave is sorta of there,and there's a definite Swans fan somewhere in the group.The lyrics are good and never get in the way,or compromise their awesome songwriting ability.It all fits together almost too well,really.I will proudly admit that I was totally involved in this by the 30 second mark,and it only get better.
 
  By the time I got to the second track,I knew there was no turning back."Abandon At Leisure" is a glitched-out,more daring number than the first.With layers of guitar skronk and borderline drum n' bass approach to their downer rock jams.Things take a turn when their scratchy and possessed sounding shouts come into play,live drums move things forward for a bit before this weirdo free-jam seems to end rather abruptly.A pretty decent "middle song" for this kind of thing I guess.And in a live setting might segue into the next song pretty well.

  The last,and personal favorite track is an ethereal creep-fest called "Did You Not Go To The Dance Alone?".A 6 minute + ride into a dark world of tribal drums and eerie vocal passages.The murky voices remind me of Drum's Not Dead era Liars,even the instrumentation is similar to their more hypnotic moments.A good thing if you ask me.About half way through,a noodling guitar echoes in the back and introduces a very straight forward and driving rock n' roll finish.An early 90's indie rock fuzz closes this thing out,and then you wished that there were then more to follow.All you need to know is that this killer 3 song gem holds MUCH bigger contents than it's little paper sleeve would seem to allow.To sleep on this one would be a grave mistake,especially when their LP comes out and blows us all away later this year,and you regret not knowing about this already.Look for a split with Pop.1280 who also rule the school,out now on Badmaster.Their full length is in the works..More on that later.
MJO

DAILY VOID - "THE ECLIPSE OF 1453" 12"EP (Sacred Bones)

 
Hot damn!Definitely one of the better Sacred Bones releases I've heard this year.This thing rips and shreds at from front to back.The Eclipse of 1453 is a bit more polished and put together than their previous output on labels like Hozac and Florida's Dying,but not enough to tarnish their awesomely grainy,noisy charm.These songs much more eerie and unsettling on this record.A definite plus,in my opinion.
 
Finally,mid 80's death-punk is making it's way back into record stores.This stuff is starting to pop up all over the place,and it's about time!I love this record.Six tracks of dark and viciously catchy punk anthems about death,dying and things that go bump in the night.The loose,cave-dwelling rhythms and rumbling bass lines propel their rather uneasy,venomous vocal barrage through a tattered echo-chamber.This shit is the real deal.Short and fast and "get the fuck outta the way" written all over it.Specimen, 45 Grave, Screamers, Christian Death, Black Flag, and Flux of Pink Indians might come to mind,and that is definitely a good thing.I hope we get to hear more from these guys,STAT.
MJO

BROKEN WATER - "Whet" Cassette tape (Night People)

 

  Olympia's Broken Water consists of former members of the short-lived Sisters and also Congradulations.Their newest album,Whet is a deep and affectionate batch of songs,that seem to be influenced as much by Seattle's musical history as they are it's damp,mountain air charm.Fuzzy guitars swirl around like a dense wind,washing away into thick distorted riffs.There's some nice boy/girl vocal pairing happening at times,and their breathy,heartfelt harmonies fit into this stuff pretty well.There are more than a few different elements here,and not one of them seems to be forced or contrived.This definitely has an early 90's jangly indie-pop feel to it,and even a bit more of dare i say,a killer grunge quality?Only in the sense that the music goes from somber acoustic calmness to sonic psychedelic heaviness quite often.I hear a bit of Unwound,Versus,and Sonic Youth tactics every so often.A nice little tape from a hopeful young band.Into it.

DIRTY BEACHES - "Night City" Cassette Tape (Night People)

  
   Alex Zhang Hungtai is the man behind Dirty Beaches.He lists things like breakfast,Alan Vega,Martin Rev,and Willem Dafoe as his influences.After hearing this a few times,I'd say that they are all pretty obvious indeed.Although I didn't really hear much breakfast or Willem Dafoe off the bat,I did however hear a ton of Rev and Vega nods.He's got that minimal percussive-looping down nicely,along with some dense cavernous guitar-drone that glides along his breathy,hushed vocal style.It is what it is,and this strategy actually works out quite well for Hungtai.But,this is far from just another Suicide knock off.That's just the breakfast.This is the part where the W.Dafoe element comes into play..proving that Dirty Beaches can take on just about any role they are presented with,and do it with finesse and confidence.Their music is all over the map,mysterious and inventive, goes anywhere from minimal cold waver bumps(Night City Theme)to free-folk campfire songs(True Blue) in no time.He covers lots of ground in little time,yet remains cohesive and focused.A charming quality that some other genre benders have a hard time mastering.Much of their charm comes from with the grainy,lo-fi fuzziness of the songs.Nothing is too blown out or incoherent,and somewhere amongst the treble-soaked echoes and washes,there is a fair amount of melodic songwriting to be heard.A nice batch of songs for a cassette release.Killer artwork to boot.Looking forward to the upcoming LP.
 
  Dirty Beaches has a shit-ton of releases coming out in the near future on a handful of labels.Here's just a few of them to watch out for..
 *Fake tape series (B-sides) 3" CDR - La Station Radar (France)
*Omon Ra II / Dirty Beaches Split Tape - Campaign for Infinity
*Golden Desert Sun 7" - Italian Beach Babes (UK) (OUT NOW)
*U.S. Girls Split 7" - Sibling Sex

FUCKED UP,TORCHE,TRASH TALK,FORGETTERS PLAY SKATE PARK'S 17th ANNIVERSARY PRO PARTY-SHOW

March 12,2010 @ The Ritz (Ybor City)
The Skate Park of Tampa (SPOT) is having their annual bro-down.It's sure to be full of drunk-as-shit skaters,stoners,hipsters,total pussies,has beens,and local dinosaurs.If this thing doesn't result in 25 brawls over who's sporting the doper pair of Dunks,or who's got the raddest kick flip or whatever,then it should be pretty awesome.They usually have a ton of free kegs for your liquid courage,but I'm not sure about that this year,seeing as it's not at the actual park.
Canadian hardcore punk dudes/lady- FUCKED UP are headlining,and are sure to stir things up.Circle pits x 9.They are absolute sweethearts.Say hello to them.
TORCHE are bringing the weed and Sunn amps,in case you are "dry".This band is amazing live.Buy all of their records.FORGETTERS is Blake Schwappenzeitch from your ex-favorite bands Jawbreaker,Jets To Brazil,Thorns of Life,and has members of Gainesville's Against Me! and Bitchin'.I have never heard them,but they are getting a ton of hype in the jaded-old-dude scene.The kids are eating them up big time,too.I'm kind of stoked to see them.
Last but not least TRASH TALK,is also a hardcore-punk band,but I don't know much about them.Sorry for half-assing this.I'm in a hurry.
12 bucks in advance,15 day of show.
Starts @ 8pm.

back in rotation - CERBERUS SHOAL - self titled LP (1995)

Cerberus Shoal - s/t LP


One of my first 'hardcore' vinyl purchases/shows.This band was amazing.They had a friend painting a giant mural while they thrashed on stage.It was so new to me..a real epiphany.Dark and pretty,simple and textured.They might have pioneered that quiet spoken/shouting vocal style that was so popular back then.Really solid songwriting for it's time.Fits right in somewhere between your Portraits of Past,Frail,Still Life,and Crownhate Ruin lp's.This changed me for sure.Everntually,they hopped on the neo-folk wagon,and are still playing 25 minute hipster-hippie epics.I'm not way into it.This cd version was reissued in 2004,so it should still be available.Try Northeast Indie,Insound, or Very Distro,etc.
(I'm pretty sure I scored a used copy of the Harriet The Spy "Unfuckwithable" lp at this show..but that is another story.)

COSMETICS - "Black Leather Gloves" mp3 (Captured Tracks)

Cosmetics are a duo from Vancouver.They are a couple.They have an LP coming out on Blank Dogs' run -CAPTURED TRACKS label.They will also be doing some touring with Blank Dogs sooner than later.Black Leather Glove is a nice little introduction to this young band.The synth lines are not unlike Chromatics or newer Glass Candy records,but as polished and crisp.It sounds like they are playing vintage analog synths, opposed to Micro-Korgs and digital Midi programs.There is a nice little arpeggio(nerd alert!) that is pretty uplifting,and keeps this tune from drifting into total doom and gloom.

The 808 drum tone gives it a vintage,early 80's dark-wave feel without shoving it's nostalgia down your throat.There are no overbearing house/dance beats here what-so-ever,which is killing this Nu-dance craze for me personally.Vocally,Cosmetics breathe some pleasantly hushed words that are nicely out of key and off kilter.They sound a bit treated and de-tuned,but none of that over the top auto-tuning bullshit.Overall,Cosmetics don't seem to be a total downer,but it's hard to say from hearing only one track.Whatever you want to call this,I can't wait to see where they take it from here.

∆ COSMETICS ∆

MOON DUO -'Escape' LP [Woodsist]

Moon Duo are Eric "Ripley" Johnson(of Wooden Shjips fame)and Sanae Yamada.
Escape is their first full length record,with only four tracks in all,the length of these songs make this a proper long player.If you are familiar with these guys,you know exactly what I'm talking about.Moon Duo could easily pass for a rare late 70's Brain Records reissue,or UFO side-project.They are making some seriously great spaced out,droning kraut-rock jams.
At first,I thought this might be a one time Wooden Shjips side-project kind of thing.But they've been putting out records pretty consistently since they formed in 2008.
Taking cue from such classics lie Neu!, Moolah, Ash Ra Temple and UFO.but not so much a carbon copy or crappy tribute act.Moon Duo like to bury deep in the fuzz of layered guitars and synth lines,and this is a good place for them to hide.The songs on Escape are quite lengthy,lots of open space provides room for some nice guitar looping on Johnson's part.The synth bends and twists throughout the fuzz and barely ever sounds flat or stale.Nicely floating atop krauty drum patterns.
Johnson's vocals are hazy and reverb-drenched whispers.They are much clearer here than their previous recordings.More of a clean approach opposed to the dirty echoes on Killing Time.Overall,Escape isn't a drastic departure from their kraut-ish sound.A bit more polished and accessible to new listeners,but still a charming piece of tasteful Art-Rock nostalgia.I'm a fan.