Built on a Weak Spot

Not the blog, but I am however making a move. Updates may be a bit scarce until I get fully settled in and of course get the Internet all setup. Thanks to everyone out there for coming back to the blog over the years. I do hope to be back in action rather soon. Hang in there!

I’d been wanting to put together a post for the German noise-rock outfit Bhang Dextro for quite some time now, however I was missing a piece or two that I wanted to include but didn’t have. That mostly consisted of their final single on the Rex Rotary label, which had eluded me for however long. Thankfully member/bassist Ralf Schaarschmidt came to the rescue and was able to pass along the final single, along with a compilation that the band appeared on for the Reno, Nevada based label Satan’s Pimp which was also home to their first single in 1995 titled “Hedwig”. So many thanks for those! The band in total released just three singles to their credit, the first being the aforementioned “Hedwig” in 1995. The second also appeared in ’95 through the Common Cause label titled “Rebecca”. Their third and final single “Record No. 5” came in 1998 on Rex Rotary after a couple of lineup changes with guitarist Alex Schmidt leaving the band along with featuring a new drummer on the recording. The band dissolved soon after, however Ralf and fellow Bhang Dextro member/guitarist Udo Straub went on to form Are We Electric.

With that said, here are the three singles that the band put out during their time together. I’ve also included the track that appeared on the Satan’s Pimp compilation Accidental Death Through Misadventure and Mayhem. They had an appearance one other comp, but wasn’t able to be located.

Hedwig 7’’:
Bhang Dextro – Bogyman [MP3]
Bhang Dextro – Jackpot [MP3]
Bhang Dextro – Birdies [MP3]
Bhang Dextro – Crack [MP3]

Rebecca 7”:
Bhang Dextro – Only Ten Bucks [MP3]
Bhang Dextro – Sixty-Six [MP3]
Bhang Dextro – Quirky Puss [MP3]
Bhang Dextro – Rapeman [MP3]

Record No. 5 7’’:
Bhang Dextro – Trick [MP3]
Bhang Dextro – Swing [MP3]
Bhang Dextro – Dumb Ass [MP3]
Bhang Dextro – Winner [MP3]

VA – Accidental Death Through Misadventure and Mayhem 7’’:
Bhang Dextro – L.T.A.T.W. [MP3]

Back in September I mentioned Sun God and their single for “(S)pain”, which was definitely a favorite of mine last year. Quickly following up on that they’ve just recently put out the single for “Time Lord“, which is pretty much on par with what I heard the first time around…nothing wrong with that at all as the first helping was pretty high on the rock and this definitely continues forth with that bit of energy. The b-side “Black Bag” has found itself on repeat more than few times by now, and from about 2:20 onward is the sort of thing that I wish would just go on forever…pretty smoking. Anyway, this is definitely not the last time these guys are going to end up on the pages of this blog, as they have a split LP coming out very soon with This Moment in Black History on Smog Veil Records. So be on the lookout for that as well!

Sun God – Black Bag (stream)

Anyone interested in picking this up can do so by heading on over to Big Purple Records. Definitely recommended.

I’d wanted to hear this record from this group of Aussies for awhile now and finally got a chance to over the weekend thankfully. What I ended up hearing was some seriously killer swampy noise-rock that if you’re a fan of the countries fine noisy musical past with bands such as Lubricated Goat, Bird Blobs, and Feedtime then you certainly might want to give this a listen. This thing just gets the skin crawling a bit and the vocals are just downright nasty. It’s probably the only thing about Slug Guts that I could find myself needing a break from, but then again this wouldn’t rock nearly as much without them. I am sure they’ll get their fair amount of shit for not really forging any sort of new ground with this, but really if it’s done well there is no complaints on my end and this absolutely hits the spot.

Slug Guts – Backwater [MP3]

I know it’s a wee bit expensive for those of us in the US, but Stained Circles is the place to get these. However, you might try searching around for a cheaper alternative to avoid shipping costs. Oh well, either way grab this if you can, excellent stuff.

I just realized the other day that February will be no more after this Sunday, so I’ve putting the finishing touches on this past months mix tonight/this morning in order to get up here. Quite a bit of new stuff on here this time around, including probably my favorite track I’ve heard this year so far thanks to the excellent new record from Balaclaves. If you haven’t already picked up one of these from Dull Knife, you absolutely need to. Anyway, as usual the artist/band names are linked to a place of purchase where applicable. So if you enjoy what you hear please do click away and pick up some music. Also, for those that may be relatively new to the blog, the mixes that appear on this site are only up for one month, or at least until I get the next month’s mix up. As soon as newest mix goes up, the old one goes down. With that, enjoy!

01 – Balaclavas – True Believers
02 – Steakdaddy 6 – Bionic
03 – Gatechien – Cul de Sac
04 – Tanner – Blueprint
05 – Young Adults – Bummer Summer
06 – Woodgrain – Hitman
07 – Crash City Saints – Returner
08 – Coma in Algiers – Possess It
09 – The Wayward – Pinball
10 – Witch Hats – Sessa (Son of a Silo Salesman)
11 – Six Horse – Don’t Doubt Annie
12 – Whale of a Time – Yitzak
13 – Plasma Expander – Sananas
14 – The Radio Dept. – Heaven’s On Fire
15 – Kilgore Trout – Seventh Dog
16 – Old Growth – Bury My Body
17 – Failures’ Union – Comb
18 – The Gary – False Sunrise
19 – Jack O’Nuts – True Romance at the World’s Fair (Algebra Suicide)

Download (.zip file)

I can’t say I know a whole lot about mid-nineties Pittsburgh band Davenport. To my knowledge they released a couple singles through DaDa and Peas Kor along with their full-length album Big Ticket Plus also through Peas Kor in 1995. There might be another single, not really sure…but I am thinking this is it. If anyone out in the web universe knows more about them, feel free to fill me in via the comments or shoot me an e-mail. I have their records and enjoy them but I was kind of disappointed to see that there is virtually any sort of information or love out there for them, which is kind surprising in this age of personal blogs, etc. Anyway, I felt like some people might want to hear these tunes since they are pretty much long gone as far as being in print or available. Members of Davenport would later appear in the groups The Alpha Control Group (C), Parting Gift, and The Atom Panic however that’s about all I am aware of. There is probably much that I am missing. Anyway, in the meantime here is the singles for (Thank God For) Hurricanes and Quadruple Overtime, as well as the bands full-length Big Ticket Plus. All of the releases have been taken and converted at high quality from the records I have. Enjoy!

All the images below are linked to a larger scan.

Big Ticket Plus LP:
Download (.zip file)

(Thank God For) Hurricanes 7”:
Davenport – (Thank God For) Hurricanes [MP3]
Davenport – Real Blonde [MP3]

Quadruple Overtime 7”:
Davenport – S.I.C.K.Y. [MP3]
Davenport – Educating Girls Who Like to Draw Horses [MP3]
Davenport – Two Nails [MP3]
Davenport – Funny Hat [MP3]

The Olympia, WA based label Radio is Down has developed a trend of reaching overseas for their choices of release, which has been a pleasure thus far since most, if not all, of these releases wouldn’t have been as readily available here otherwise. So yeah, kudos to them for really going after what they want to put out. One of their latest discoveries happens to come via Jesi, Italy with Bhava and their album Double Jump Carpiato. Interestingly enough, this release actually has been altered with English lyrics for its release here, although I don’t know if the language would make much a difference when listening to this anyway. No matter, the band tosses out eight tracks of fairly volatile and break neck paced math/noise-rock here that draws from past genre staples like Dazzling Killmen and Arab on Radar. This seems to be about all over the place though, squeezing in whatever it can within the somewhat short run time.

Bhava – Look Sky Walker [MP3]

Anyone interested in picking this up can do so by heading on over to Radio is Down. If you like what you hear then definitely do so!

A band from Texas called Drug Mountain just seems all too natural when you take into account some of great and likely acid fueled noise that has come out of the state over the years. Judging by this incredibly brief yet highly satisfying one sided 12-inch from these guys, they appear to be more than just interested in staking their claim within the long list of notables. I say brief because this thing is literally 7 songs in just a touch over 10 minutes, but rather than being disappointed by that I am more so left really wanting to hear more. I suppose that’s not a bad thing, but damn that’s short. Anyway, don’t let me give you people the wrong idea, this is good stuff. Taking what sounds like a dual helping of saxophone and mucking it up with the hefty pound of bass and drums, this is pulling all the right strings. I’m typically not all that concerned about packaging/design, but I must admit this record looks pretty nice. On the flipside there is some interesting art screened on to it from graphic artist Nevada Hill.

Drug Mountain – Mind Your Fingers [MP3]

If you’re interested in picking up one of these then I suggest acting quick as there are only 100 of these available from Real Vinyl.

Here is a quick one before I depart for the weekend. Hope everyone else out there has a good one. Anyway, Fork was a band in the mid-nineties that I believe were from the Phoenix, Arizona area. I may be wrong about that however. They released a couple singles between 1994 and 1996 along with a split with The Johnson Strait Killers. This one here was released in 1996 through the notable Madison, WI Bovine label. Those familiar with the items found on that label probably already have a clue as to what Fork sounds like, sludgy ill-mannered noise-rock although “Balloon Boy” could possibly pass for grind. Anyway, eventually Fork would disintegrate and for the most part re-emerge as the Tomsk 7 who some may recognize from their split with Boris that was also on Bovine a year later. Anyway, check out their single for “Product” below!

Fork – Product [MP3]
Fork – Balloon Boy [MP3]
Fork – Finger Pointer [MP3]

And with that I’m out. Be back Monday! Enjoy!

I wasn’t even aware that Bully Pulpit was still a band until reader and frequent e-mailer Ralf alerted me to the fact that they were and directed me towards a new album in which they have for download titled Bylaws. I know, for most people that aren’t located in the Midwest, this probably doesn’t make much sense or mean all that much…however it’s kind of cool. Bully Pulpit has been around since the mid 90’s or so, functioning as more of a rotating cast of collective members wishing to collaborate despite long distances and work a little bit further outside the box while doing so. However, at its core the band has always had member Jim Valentin (Poster Children) along with members Tom Banks and Matt Hohmann joining up for much of the ride as well. Add in drummer Liz Bustamante and that’s where the band stands today, although they seem to be much more of a live band, playing in or around the Chicago area mostly, than they were in the earlier days. That also comes as welcome surprise.

Bully Pulpit – Abject Permanence [MP3]

As for their new album Bylaws, it’s a fantastic little gem of off the beaten path indie-rock. The best part about it is that you can get it for free from their Bandcamp page. However, if you’re willing to donate a couple dollars or so, I am sure they would be appreciative of whatever you choose to throw down for it.