SMUT/RIGHT NOW BAND split CS (Friends & Relatives Records)

Bloomington represent, this is a real jolly outing, to be sure! It’s always nice to see bros bro down, and this short tape of live actions from bands comprised of members from freak-improv groups like (D)(B)(H) is as fucked as it is fun.

Right Now Band plays as a trio (apparently) with a guest guitarist, but the way it’s recorded, there’s really no way of knowing just how many guitars you’re getting anyways, so it’s not worth fretting over. There are some major Beefheart stylistics taking place here, psychdelic poetry lyrics, strangled unaffected guitars, and clanking, rhythmic, “blues” drums keeping it all together. Somehow, it all seems to blend together into one mish-mash by the time the side is over, you can barely tell which instrument is which, real cool de-scendo. Into it.

Watch this video for some kind of perspective:


“Play that trash, and you play that trash; I’m not joining the band.”

On that same note, Smut is the trash-rock duo (soundwise, not actual trash, re: da video) of childhood friends Justin Rhody and Keith Wright, almost literally executing ten songs (one being a cover, I think?), and probably their instruments alongside that. Super blown-out distortion and audience heckling, raw dogs hot-doggin’ it. Not much else to say on that end, loud reigns proud.

Limited edition of 50, nice Predator picture on cover.

http://www.friendsandrelativesrecords.com
http://www.myspace.com/therightnowband

PARADE: “s/t” c29 (Leftist Nautical Antiques)

Incredibly frustrating nomenclature aside (nearly impossible for me to figure out how to type even, reminds me of (hed)p.e., which sucks), this is a pretty cool tape. Apparently, it’s the pronunciation key for the word “parade”, so I’ll leave it at that. This Spokane, Washington trio definitely has the “we were really into Incubus in high school, but now we’re into Vampire Weekend” vibe, but hey, most of us were there at some point in our lives, right? Despite blasé titles (e.g. “Neural Circus”, “Drug Fun(d)”, ugh...), the somewhat angular, pause-heavy guitar-playing and strained bassy vocals remind me pretty heavily of the post-hardcore sound of acts like Braid and Owls, but with enough of the newer experimental troppo sound to fit in amongst the ranks of a Meneguar or Real Estate. If the functioning on weed and “have you heard about noise tapes?” aesthetic is up your alley, then you can download a free track from the label website and make your mind up from there. Seems like something with “big time” potential to me, so it may not be for everybody.

Comes in an edition of 100 with real classy looking color j-card.

http://www.leftistnauticalantiques.com
http://www.myspace.com/gaydatheband

SON OF EARTH / BARN OWL"Bootleg Split" C60 (Gilded Throne)

This tape here is why I love Western Massachusetts, as much for the circumstances surrounding it's creation as for the music contained on it. Son of Earth and Barn Owl, two Pioneer Valley trios just played a show at Byron Coley's Ecstatic Yod space a few weeks ago to celebrate their tenth anniversaries as bands and that is where I got this split tape. The best part though is that it is a "bootleg" of two live recordings from 2007 created specifically for and distributed (for free I might add) at said show by Mike Barrett. All of the band members were as surprised as I was to get this wonderful gift. Feel the love.

Son of Earth is made up of Matt Krefting, Aaron Rosenblum and John Shaw and they have a couple of LPs to their name. Their side sounds like people moving furniture around a room, in the best way possible. Utilizing contact mics, record and tape players, minimal organ, etc... these boys create heaviness in the quietest way possible and the infrequency of their performances and recordings only adds to their specialness. Pick up their new release on Amish/Required Wreckers, it's great!

Barn Owl (not the SF band) is made up of Chris Cooper, Andy Crespo and Matt Weston. Comparatively, they are sonically denser, using a guitar, kettle drum and electric bass to create squirmy free improv. Cooper is an immensely inventive guitarist, playing his axe on the floor with metal files and cutlery and using household electronic devices to activate wonderful interference sounds on it's pickups. He plays surrounded by effects pedals, all of which he knows exactly what to do with and uses for merely seconds at a time. Weston provides what might be considered the "lead voice", making his timpani sing, transcending the percussive. Crespo fills in all the holes, playing cross-legged on the floor, hands powdered for maximum agility. This band has only released one 3" cd to my knowledge which is a real surprise considering their prodigious talent and the member's pedigree.

The tape comes in a silver spray-painted plastic case, with a b/w insert detailing the recording dates. Maybe you can find a copy by writing to Barrett at belltonesuicide@gmail.com or at the Guilded Throne myspace (myspace.com/gildedthronerecordings).

JUSTIN RHODY & MATT HIMES "s/t" (Green Tape) c15

Yowza, two sides of air raid madness. Sounds like Justin and Matt got hold of some bullhorns and got into it with the national guard. Borderline feedback of sometimes barely recognizable vocals that sound like they're being used more like weapons to contain a civilian riot.

Not totally clear what's happening, if it's two people, a group or just the voice being pushed to the very edge of white noise. Maybe it's an exorcism since you can hear occasional talking and it definitely feels like something is being purged. I think this would sound brutal and awesome performed super loud, especially if there were projectile vomit and lots of heads spinning around.

Super simple cover art of a swollen lip being pulled down to reveal a gold tooth on what looks like a normal looking mom. who knows?!

Still available from the very nice dudes over at the label:
Green Tape

BIRD COSTUMES "Freedom and Weep" (Karamazov Recordings) c15

A weird, weird tape.

Arpeggio loops that are maybe guitars pitched up or keyboards? Sounds like its going to be a typical loop pedal party of 'loop a' over 'loop b' so and so on until it's 'intense' and maybe feels 'new age' or something, but instead these remain some sort of song, with the first track sounding like some sort of new romantic / college rock thing complete with misanthropic / apocalyptic lyrics all accompanied by tight drumming.

I imagine this being performed with 'lighting' and maybe even smoke and the singer / guitarist looking at the crowd a lot and never changing their facial expression while they play these dark and brooding guitar lines / loops. In a perfect world the loops would be taken care of by two keyboardists with pale skin, maybe one of them is androgynous.

The second side takes a little bit of a turn (unfortunate for me because i was having so much fun imagining their 1983 stage show). The structural use of the looping is traded in for minimal piano and reverbed out vocals that chase the melody played on the keyboard and, along with the melancholy, has traces of some consonance. The next track fulfills my dreams of darkness, dropping a textural metallic steam bath that morphs into a loose poetry like sing songy bit that feels like it was recorded three inches off the ground making everything wobbly and a little out of focus.

I would really like to see what this is like live!
Makes me feel WEIRD.
Still available from the site:
Karamazov Recordings

D/S/MILLER / HUNTED CREATURES (Dynamo Sound Collective) Split c20

A well matched pair! The difficulty of finding the perfect compliment is not lost on me; trying to figure out if the pairs should be opposing and strike a balance in their difference, or is it better to find birds of a feather and put complimentary beings side by side. It may help that these two are both from Pittsburgh, PA.

In this case the two sides are good rowing partners, each working at about the same pace with similar, though not redundant, palettes. Both sides are atmospheric and textural but make an effort to build as the pieces move along.

The Hunted Creatures side is one 10 minute piece that has a distant sounding start (maybe actual dripping noises?) that feels like you're in some long defunct work place turned teenage drug sanctuary, though a bit more ominous. The established space recedes as a pulsing bass synth sound emerges and trades places with a more air driven organ tone, each leaning to the foreground like, sort of like someone rocking back and forth before they puke, or race horses trading off leading. The two eventually meet and mate, intertwining in an wormy, pulsing marriage and it seems that's their goal as the piece comes to end.

The DS Miller side is a lot more loop oriented with hisses and clicks coming round and round like some shit storm of a tape deck carousel, each rotation bringing about sweeping soft distortion and minor adjustments to the loops. The second piece feels a bit less constructed around loops has a pleasant discord combining vague casio bloops, digital interference and any number of slight buzzes and fuzzes.

Nice tape though all the pieces are pretty straight forward without a lot of abrupt changes or disturbances to the ideas that are introduced which is consistent with the art; the cover showing a beardy dude praying it up and the insert has some shadowy figures examining some sort of cave crypt, each suggesting a certain quiet and contemplative moment.

Released by Dynamo Sound Collective in an Edition of 50
Sound clips on the website:
http://dynamosound.brainisgod.com/

BUDWEISER SPRITE "Muculent Passage" C60 (OMS-B)FORM A LOG "Air Circus" C30 (I Just Live Here)

A C60 of straight noise does not always make me jump for joy, but what we have here is actually quite good. Budweiser Sprite is the one man band of Dan Rizer and he creates a massive sound. Not too massive, however, to take time for dynamic shifts and moments of (relative) peace. This tape is rather epic and has a real nice arc to it. There is some really great mixer greasing going on here, along with a sizable amount of four track crunching, a dash of knob twiddling and a heavy dose of psychedelic doom. It's been said that writing about music is like dancing about architecture and this tape makes me dance about a dungeon ... a really fun dungeon that you will want to listen to again and again.


Form A Log is a Philadelphia super group (related projects: God Willing, Social Junk, New Flesh) and "Air Circus" is their third tape. The first one found them thrashing amiably and amateurishly on guitar/bass/drums. This is an entirely different beast. Each of the three members operates a four track tape player and little else, an instrumentation that seems so obvious in this day and age, but when I saw these guys a fortnight ago at the Montague Phantom Brain Exchange in Turners Falls MA, it was the first time I'd ever seen a band with that particular make up. The live set and the tape are remarkably similar so my impressions of the two blend together. Perhaps even more so than the Budweiser Sprite outing, this tape is very dynamic and displays a variety of forms of sonic trickery. The four track's ability to be used as a mixer or playback device, along with it's variable speed control give the musicians almost limitless freedom. Thing about it: three dudes = twelve tracks of insanity. Like all of I Just Live Here's releases, this looks very nice: a great screen print and a black and white insert with a poem by Alex Hampshire. The label's website (operated by Ren - God Willing) says there are only five copies left, so scoop this up soon!

oms-b.org
ijustlivehere.org

MATTRESS "WFMU" (Eggy Records)SELDA BAGCAN "'71" (Eggy Records)

Sam already reviewed the Majic Eyes tape on Eggy, which is fine and all, but I think these two releases are absolutely the best of the best, signaling the label as a really great new place to pick up something different.


Mattress is the project of Portland, OR resident Rex Marshall. This set was recorded live on the radio and Rex's voice and keyboards are accompanied by a live drummer. What we have here is incredibly low and sexy crooning over instantly memorable bass lines and synth riffs. Possible points of reference: Alan Vega doing his best Elvis impersonation, dare I say a touch of New Order. Anyway, this thing has barely left my car's tape deck in the last month (everything I review is spun at least once without distraction on the Hi-Fi at home, in addition to any car play). I still can't tell if there is downwards pitch-shifting on the vox, but if there is I imagine it is only used slightly. This man sings LOW! All of these songs are fully realized and I imagine Mattress is going places (if they're not there already). I've been singing these songs in the shower.


The Selda Bagcan release is a bootleg reissue of the Turkish psych legend's early singles from the early 70s. These recordings are more traditional and acoustic than the one's found on on the Love, Peace and Poetry: Turkey compilation or her Selda album that was reissued by Finders Keepers. The music on this release comes from a CD released only in Turkey, so these tracks will most likely be new to fans. All ten of the tracks are outstanding and very moody. If you've never been exposed to Selda's mesmerizing music, at four dollars, this ain't a bad place to start.

eggyrecords.blogspot.com
mattressmusic.com
progressive.homestead.com/SELDA.html

JACK CALLAHAN "Klangfarben" C30 (daddytapes)

Jack Callahan is a young percussionist currently residing in Amherst Massachusetts. Seeing a recent set of his brought me back to the time when I first saw a dude bow/scrape/squeal on a single drum (in Callahan's case: the snare) with a variety of mismatched equipment. That sense of wonder and excitement for the power of acoustic percussion had returned to this listener's ears. In other words: the kid is fresh! He produces richly rewarding harmonics with the edge of a cymbal on the skin of his drum that veer from calming to terrifying. He also makes wonderful use of the natural vibrations of the snare springs. The success of a recording of this kind depends so much on the little details (volume, clarity, tape hiss) and I'm happy to say this is a very clean recording with incredible dynamic range. The loud parts are speaker-vibrating and the quiet parts nearly made me think the tape was over. Expect to be hearing more from Mr. Callahan as his playing develops and he finds others who are tuned to the same wave-length.

Look Jack up and get one of the last few copies of the tape (the first on his imprint) by contacting him directly at tetembe@gmail.com

http://jack-callahan.blogspot.com

TARAS BULBA: “Light Painter / Death Stalker” double a-side c45 (Scumbag Relations)

I usually get really frustrated when a musician creates countless guises for themselves and their various stylized sounds, it gets so damned confusing, and I worry that I'll miss something that I'll really like because I won't recognize where it's coming from. However, I’m starting to realize that as long as the parties involved are doing great work, it doesn’t matter what the hell they call themselves, we’re gonna figure out what’s going on eventually anyways. Rasmus Svensson is quickly becoming a big deal, not just in his native Sweden either, and not just as a musician, but also as a zine maker, a graphic/installation artist, and all while running his own label, Push the Button Multimedia. Normally working with his other bands Smycken, PWR, and Night Piano, this is the first I’ve heard from Taras Bulba (I’m assuming that the change of title was in service of the noisier, grittier sound) and it certainly didn’t disappoint. As the title dictates, there’s a definite progression between the songs from a place of safety to seriously dubious surroundings. Starting out with heavy flute echoes, adding organic percussion, followed by ominous electronics, and finally concluding in a serious guitar-psych run through the jungle. I find it interesting that he chose to break it up into songs over one long composition, but it in no way detracts, it almost listens like a math equation, it’s the science of interesting transition. A really great listen and the same program on both sides works in its favor too (no rewinding, heavy replay).

One-color silkscreen covers (either copper or blue), black tapes with brown spatter paint.

http://www.scumbagrelations.net/

MAJIC EYES: s/t c20? (Eggy Records)

Okay, first, I have to talk about this label. Where the hell did it come from? We received three tapes in the mail from them, all good, all with killer design, colorful, and with a palatable universal composition (something I typically really like, a label “theme”). Turns out, they’re based in Portland, Oregon and have even started distributing tapes by mail order from other labels across the country as well. You get a distinct feeling that whoever is in charge is really enjoying the process involved in this, there’s serious love coming from this establishment even though it might just be getting it’s first legs.

The other tapes available are worth checking out, but I found this one to be the easiest to write about (which isn’t saying much, the general information on all this stuff is somewhat limited, either that or I’m just stupid). Basically, it’s a fella named Danny living in San Francisco making, as the label writes, “hazy pop of prime Elephant 6”. That’s definitely the quickest identifier of this music, simple chord progressions, ultra bright bass sounds, sometimes blown-out yet subtle recording, it’s like he heard the Neutral Milk Hotel records and said, “well, I don’t have a whole bunch of people who know how to play exotic horns or anything that can help me out with this, so I guess I’ll just do it myself”. And that he did, a really impressive and vivid album was made in this guy’s bedroom, for the first seven tracks, that is. The last is an extra long rambler outdoors (aptly titled “a midafternoon walk on prince to broadway in summer”), a real pleasant way to close this short introduction to something you can probably expect to hear a lot more about in the future. If this is your bag, definitely climb in.

Silkscreen covers, opaqe orange tapes with b&w labels

http://eggyrecords.blogspot.com/

JAMISON WILLIAMS: “Onassis Project” c24 (Closet Sorcery)

This is another one that hit me out of left field, really had no idea what I was getting into. Williams seems to generally to stick to solo alto sax improvisation on most of his releases, which he’s more than proficient at alone, but on “Onassis Project”, we find him taking up the role of “sound manipulations” (as he’s credited), a seamless rapid-fire, cut-up blend of his sax, vocal howls, harsh electronics, and the occasional found sound sample. I’m really used to a “wacky” sound when it comes to this genre, but Williams barely scrapes the surface of that adjective (maybe once with a Hawaiian record) but, on the whole, this shit is TIGHT. It’s divided into five songs, but that seems like kind of a vain action since the composition is pretty universal throughout and, since it’s a tape, there’s no real way to tell the difference between them, but hey, it’s his right as the artist. All of the titles are seemingly related to Jackie O and her legacy in some way and the inserts feature pictures of political dignitaries or something that were assumedly important in her life. So I guess there’s your answer, it’s probably all really significant, and it’s just wasted on an uneducated nincompoop like me. Regardless, it’s a perfect length tape for what it’s worth, but good luck finding a copy out there in the ether, your best bet is to get ahold of the creator himself via his normal outlet:

http://www.vantagebulletin.com/

ROM B: “Incomplete Disco” c74 (self-released)

ROM B is the dark techno identity of Virginian Billy Brett, here bringing together three of his albums, “My Kind of Country”, “Business As Usual”, and “ROM B” into an incomplete discography (hence the title) on one really long tape. With pounding bass beats, synth stabs, and generally violent lyrics sung in a weird post-industrial nasal style somewhere between Swans and Aphex Twin, you can tell there’s a cool sense of sadism behind the knobs, a serious microphone mangler. These 36 tracks (all recorded within the last year and a half) definitely give you a full idea of what this music is about, almost to the point of beating you over the head with it, like a double-length greatest hits. The electronics are pretty active and powerful, my favorite being an extra long instrumental song on side two, but the singing can be difficult to attach to throughout, the “scary” sometimes ranging on silly due to the production (or lack thereof as it winds down). It’s most effective when smothered with heavy delay, giving it less of a “I’m talking right at you” feel and allowing the brevity of the lyrics a little more breathing room. I think if this tape were cut in half I would enjoy it a lot more, it’s currently suffering from what I call “Thanksgiving syndrome”, or putting out every song all of the time, considering them as having universal quality instead of, as they say, “killing your babies”. Still, there’s always something to be said for prolificacy and boldness, and there’s definitely plenty of that within.

Edition of 25 on opaque, orange tapes with color copy insert.

http://www.myspace.com/rombsounds

CHARLIE McALISTER "Turn of the Century Photograph"(Unread Records) C30

UPDATE: 3/10/10 - I am pleased to announce that a handful of songs from this cassette will be coming out on Charlie's first release for Feeding Tube Records: "Country Creamed/Victorian Fog" LP.

I first heard Charlie McAlister on a mix tape. "What is this demented rockabilly jam with all that fucked up banjo"? Sounded straight out of a "God knows when" time vortex. "A Hasil Adkins outake"? "Oh this was made last year"? Cool! The next encounter was the song "Sleep Walking" from an obscure 7" from the once published Whump Magazine that also featured Caroliner and a bunch of other great 90's stuff. Even cooler! Pop music with absolutely crucial organ sound and reedy vocals. Thus began the search to aquire more of the records and tapes McAlister has made throughout the years, and continues to make to this day. Many of these remain in print.

I'm choosing to review the decade old "Turn of the Century Photograph" tape because it offers a solid introduction to the McAlister catalog. It doesn't go as far out as some of his more collage-based recordings, but it has some really amazing skewed-pop gems. "Bog Man" has a mummy coming back to life to terrorize a small village, "Girls in the Big Parade 1917" has a wonderful WWI feel, and "Plantation of Pain" is just pure postbellum magic. If you haven't figured it out yet, McAlister creates true American folk music. It is the way he twists old stories and symbols into nearly incomprehensible new versions that has made him a legend of underground music for the last couple decades. The tape also has a very long and bizarre play about fried sandwiches at the end of the B side.

When I finally met the man, outside of his "Fire Ant Mound" in Charleston, SC, he took me 45 minutes down some railroad tracks and then told me and my compadre that he was going to cut our heads off. C. McAlister has a thirst for blood and it shows in his desperate recordings and works of art, which all come highly recommended.


"Turn of the Century Photograph" available from
http://www.unread-records.com (catalog #12)

You can get much more of Charlie's work at his website:
http://www.zen-grafix.com/charliemcalister/

AMBERGRIS "Sherlock Holmes and the Large Door" (Potlatch, I Gather) C20

Ambergris is the solo project of comic artist Matthew Thurber, the saxophonist in the now- defunct new age jazz band, Soiled Mattress and the Springs. This tape is the follow up to the amazing (and sadly out of print) "Anti Matter Alma Mater". Like the previous album it has a "book on tape" feel, with soundtrack and sound effects.

The A side is the title piece; a surreal story from the unreleased Sherlock Holmes archives. The detective, who we find is prone to walking about "on all fours like a mastiff", attempts to enter a sealed door lined with speared onions. It is refreshing to find a young artist working with actual ideas in this world of visceral and, sometime questionable, entertainments. Although this tale lacks the narrative scope of "Alma Mater" (it is about 1/4 as long), it is something I've returned to again and again whenever I'm sick of music.

The B side is a pair of Thinking Fellers Union Local 282 covers. It's cool to hear someone doing Fellers music faithfully and accurately in this day and age. If by some chance this is your first time encountering this seminal 90's SF band, please do not hesitate to check out some of their stellar albums, which are still available in various formats.

check it all out at http://www.ambergriscomics.com
and be sure to pick up the new issue of "1-800 Mice" as well.

COUCHIE POOCHIE (Feeding Tube Records) C10

The opening of this live acoustic set taped on a couch in Easthampton, MA is one of my favorite recordings in recent memory. That's not surprising seeing as Couchie Pouchie (a band with an ever-shifting moniker -- see Creepy Pee Pee, Crappie Pappie, Drippy Hippy) is comprised of D.B. Russell (The Frothy Shakes) and Tim Sheldon (Fat Worm of Error, Rack Rash - see review of the excellent "National Felt" in these pages) and the song is the Phil Phillips penned "Sea of Love". This much covered song is delivered completely straight and it's a soulful and heartfelt version, if maybe a tad creepy.

The rest of the tape veers into diffuse improv with Russell's high pitched and mongoloid singing/intoning accompanied by Sheldon's acoustic guitar and the singer's abstruse Casio sounds. The third piece is also a real winner; an ad lib with the lyrics "I wanna live in America, where the sun shines every day. Here in this real hell". A national anthem for these times if there ever was one.

Overall, a very deranged, yet surprisingly melodic tape of retarded half-songs. A reel winner! First edition of thirty or so still kicking, and I believe this will be reprinted by the label too.

the tape is available from feedingtuberecords.com

This is the band that later developed into Western Mass. super group Egg, Eggs - Ed.

MED.HAMMER "Shedding Life" (Existential Cloth) C60 Ed. of 20

Death drone. That's what this is. Simple, dark, heavy. I got my copy of this tape from Existential CEO Matt, himself on a recent trip up to Portland, ME. I listened to this driving done I-95 in the rain. I'm surprised I didn't drive myself through the guard rails into oblivion.

Shedding Life is just two thirty-ish minute live sets from their 2007 tour. Matt kept talking about what a blast that trip was. I would think these guys were dosing out on codeine the whole time, not partying. Goes to show you what I know. Maybe that is their kind of party. I wasn't there. I only know the end result, and its soul crushing.

So, to be clear, this ain't no Line-6 loop station mic and a singing bowl form of hippy drone. Shedding Life is one hell of a dark Thanatonic meditation aid. Next time I smoke salvia, I hope I remember to put this on. Hell or high water, it'll be a journey to remember.

Existential Cloth on Myspace.
Med Hammer on Myspace.

KID WIZARD "To The Stars By Hard Ways" (Hidden Fortress Tapes) C30, Ed. of 30

Space music for the lo-fi set. If there are two things in the world that I love, its DIY synths and tapes hiss on analog synth music. Both those are here in spades. Another tape that had a nice career in my car over the summer. Good for you, I haven't waited too long and copies are still available (at time of writing). But enough sales-hype, let me tell you about To The Stars By Hard Ways.

As notes warble on a home made mellotron (for real?), a filmless score is made, then bumped out of the way almost immediately by some juicy electro groove. That's the flow of this tape. Kid Wizard is a master of the medium. Only in the Bay Area would someone posses both the skill at electronics to build his own entire Synthsizer studio, and also have the musical genius to groove house parties like Kubric would have in the '70's.

If I were doing A&R for either Rephlex or Satamile, I'd be tossing this guy a cash advance. Some one, some one PLEASE put this on wax. It deserves it more than anything else I've heard this year.

Hidden Fortress Tapes.
Kid Wizard on Myspace.

THE MENTHOLS "Stereoisomer" C58 (Amateur Depression) Ed. of 100.

Who gave these kids the cough syrup? Garage punk that rides the line between total banality and total brilliance. Nine songs here that throb, swagger and pummel my brain and nether regions. Sympathy For The Record Industry dons it's Lufthansa cap, dusts off it's dog collar and bull whip and road-trips out to PA for an extended erotic, psychedlics-fulled one-on-one party with Siltbreeze. Extended interludes that are actually funny. I might be over-hyping this tape (could anything ever be that good), but even so this is some tight rock 'n roll. And, Jesus, just look at that cover art! Punk as fuck!

This tape sat way too long in my car stereo this summer to finally get a review, so I gotta tell you things fast and furious. Anyone reading this: jump on this band ASAP. If these dudes were from Brooklyn, they'd be internet famous already. Once an LP hits, I reckon The Menthols will be deemed CLASSIC.

Menthols on Myspace.
Amateur Depression on Tumblr.
Amateur Depression on Myspace.
Cut to the chase and mailorder.

TINY MUSIC: s/t c37 (Nihilist Records) & “F.W.S.S.” c76 (self-released)

This clanking collective of Chicagoans really know how to make an interesting din out of household objects. Using explicitly acoustic instruments, they can really clock out a cassette and give dudes with tables full of effects pedals a serious run for their money. Any electricity they do use is only to power their homemade gadgets, spinning chimes and slatted metal to scrape against. The actual list of items they use (included in the liner notes) is staggering, everything from drinking straws to window weights.

The music is always instrumental and generally dissonant, but the contraptions aren’t the whole of the music, there’s also a heavy use of various flutes and bowed instruments that, when the music does come together and become rhythmic, invoke an elven maypole dance, the family minstrel band doing some real medieval truckin’. I was a little disappointed that “F.W.S.S.” (which stands for "Fall, Winter, Sping, Summer”) didn’t really apply it’s seasonal motif more comprehensively; it seemed like each song, though possessing individual idiosyncracies, sounded largely the same structurally, with no difference in mood. Still, I think the potential of this group, both auditorily and in formation, is limitless, and look forward to future releases.

Both tapes come with xerox inserts, but “F.W.S.S.” has varied pieces of flora glued to the front and watercolored labels.

http://www.myspace.com/tinymusicband

FLEABAG: s/t EP (ok records)

I LOVE THIS BAND. And that’s what I told them when I saw them live...after every song. I was in rare form, fully psyched before they even started, at one point even yelling, “fuck everyone I knew in high school for not being here!” That’s right, I was that guy that night, and I am NEVER that guy.

I hate to say it, but I can’t lie, I think a lot of why I like this Oakland trio (besides their just being really good), former members of Punkin Pie, is due to nostalgia. Hearing their melodic, pop-punk riffs and vocals that barely edge over normal talking volume floods me with the same excitement I had of bringing home a new Epitaph comp. CD once upon a time. Truly, this is the kind of music Epitaph would be putting out nowadays if they didn’t have their heads so far up their asses. Seriously, that shit is embarrassing.

Singer and lyricist, Marilyn, has an adorable voice and simple, concise words that stick to the roof of your mouth, my favorite being a line from the song “Coals”: “you know how that goes, we can laugh, but we’re never happy”. Songs about youth, relationships, and social awkwardness without an ounce of unpleasant sappiness. I really wish I had this available to me a long time ago...

This is a 5-song EP, same program both sides, on pro-dubbed tapes with xerox insert. No website (I think), but you can write to them!

1935 Linden St.
Oakland, CA
94607

NATE GRACE: “Sevn Daze” c30 (Sonora Records)

There’s a lot to be said about genre fads, both good and bad, considering the negative connotation that the word “fad” comes with. Without turning this into some sort of college thesis about it, I want to state the fact that we all know that Ducktails has basically instilled a new craze for lo-fi beach-pop. It’s true, and if you need more proof, check out the Underwater Peoples Summertime Showcase comp., it’s all there. The good news is that, so far, it’s all been pretty darn good.

Enter Nate Grace and his Austinian cohorts, Jesse Jenkins and Austin Youngblood. Together, they play the golden trio of instruments (guitar, bass, drums) across five songs of tremolo bliss (it’s actually only 15 min., same program on both sides). Never mind the proficient quality of the original songs, their cover of “Pressure Drop” is worth the purchase alone. With clear writing structure, more CCR than they are Yo La Tengo, this really was a pleasant surprise and, on the second listen, these tunes already felt like old favorites. The quality is a little rougher than it probably could be, a little extra recording static, but that’s pretty much my only complaint. It’s a great EP and, sure, I would definitely recommend it to anyone who digs this sound (which is most of us), but I want to make it clear that the work is well-informed and that this dude’s not just another hayseed jumping on the bandwagon.

Comes with two handmade inserts in a stitched pouch wrapped in brown paper.

http://www.myspace.com/gracenate

SAM MARTIN: “Death?” c60 (Im Drinkin This Tapes)

A whole hell of a lot of songs (nearly thirty of them) by a seemingly earnest dude from a confusing record label. Martin, also of the band Capgun Coup, makes a simple recording playing acoustic guitar and singing in an “anti-folk” style reminiscent of Kimya Dawson and Jeffrey Lewis with lyrics that are sometimes painfully immature, with “cat sat on the mat” rhyme schemes about love, sex, booze, and yes, even the aforementioned cats. However, it’s surprisingly what makes this hour of poptunes somewhat endearing. The individual song styles are varietous and the guitar playing is tight. The tape hiss adds the perfect amount of flavor and, despite the content, Martin’s voice is that of a grown-ass man, both aurally and spirtually, ain’t no prepubescent uncertainty around this guy (thus my claim of his earnesty). This isn’t going to be for everyone, but I’m assuming he’s fitting right in with the singer-songwriter community of Omaha.

http://www.main.imdrinkinthis.railsplayground.net/artists/10