Built on a Weak Spot

I think at some point after I posted the other Crown Roast single someone asked about this one via e-mail or something. So to if that person is still out there, here is the Three Course Meal single. Much like the George 7-inch (you can still grab that one here), this one is quite the ripper as well. The a-side treats you to two pretty solid blasts of noise-punk. However, in my opinion the b-side is the clear reason to hear or own this single thanks to the largely destructive and ugly tune “L-Pill” that consume most of this side of the wax. As many of you probably already know, former Crown Roast member Craig Clouse does similar noise making in the behemoth that is TODD. You can also find him doing even further bizarre things Shit & Shine, whom are incredibly good as well. In the meantime though, take a step back in time to listen to this precursor. It’s mighty enjoyable.

Crown Roast – Three Course Meal [MP3]
Crown Roast – Vertravlich [MP3]
Crown Roast – Codebook [MP3]
Crown Roast – L-Pill [MP3]

You can actually still pick this single up at Little Deputy it appears. If you enjoy it, well throw down the little cash that they are asking for copies of this. Enjoy!

Every so often I’ll skim through the CD Baby new arrivals for items that intrigue me and every so often I’ll run across one or two albums that come up worth hearing. And most of the time it’s relatively cheap, so it’s almost always a win. This past month I came across Gangland Buries its Own and their recently released full-length The City Loves You to Death. The samples led me to believe that it would be a nice blast to the past dosage of post-hardcore, DC style. You’d think people would grow tired of it, but when done right it’s still mighty effective and Gangland Buries its Own are definitely riding the high points of the genre. They succeed in avoiding the trappings of falling into a stale retread sound that so many bands often do, and this is even with a handful of songs that extend into five minute territory and never once FEEL like they are five minutes. They’ve put some time in putting together these songs and it shows. The alternating male/female vocals are a nice touch as well, giving the record a bit more variety than it normally would. It probably won’t shock anyone that this was recorded by J. Robbins of Jawbox/Burning Airlines/Channels fame. To say there are similarities to Jawbox here is pretty much stating the obvious, but as I’m sure many remember, Jawbox were mighty good. Gangland Buries its Own aren’t up to that level, but what they are doing is pretty damn good and if anything there is promise for bigger and better things. In a year where I’ve heard very little music of this style that is of worth, this album comes as pleasant surprise. Definitely give the track below a listen…

Gangland Buries its Own – Dark Corner [MP3]

For those interested in picking up The City Loves You to Death, then head on over to CD Baby where they have it available on CD or digital download. Good stuff, definitely throw down some cash if you like what you hear. Enjoy!

Early last year the Brooklyn based Pregnant came on to my radar via their fairly ripping 7-inch on Don Giovanni, featuring an interesting mixture of garage that was also paying a bit of respect to nineties era indie/alt. They were said to be working on a full-length that would be out sometime not very long after the release of the single. However, as most things commonly go, there were delays in the process of getting the record out and about a year or so later their debut full-length has just been made available through Burn Books. I believe this is the labels first release and if that’s the case they certainly are kicking things off in a rather positive way.

Pregnant front man Kevin Manion described the bands sound as “American rock n roll”. I think for this record in particular that’s about as well as anyone could really put it and he should know as well as anybody right? I say that because most of the new material found on the record tends to be further stripped down for a rawer garage-rock centric sound. And really, as much as I enjoyed the 7-inch, I think this is the right way to go. It’s definitely a step up. Granted, a couple of the songs that were featured on that single are tacked on to the end of the album here, but I am really more so focusing on the newer material featured that is primarily on the a-side of the album. It’s a rather simple approach, but the band fills up this record with plenty of hooks and delivers all of it in a believable no bullshit manner that is pretty irresistible. The way tracks “Do You Feel It” and “You Think” run into each other is rather cool, and fits into exactly the way Pregnant want you to enjoy this record I believe. It makes me wish the entire record could have been recorded in this way. It really feeds into what the band is doing; in the end though it’s pretty trivial since the record is completely solid one way or the other. Rock n’ Roll indeed.

Pregnant – Safe & Sound [MP3]

For those interested in picking up Pregnant’s self-titled debut, it’s currently available for order through Burn Books. Definitely don’t miss out on it if you’re enjoying the tune above. There is much more where that came from. Enjoy!

I’m getting a jump on putting the mix up for this month, by a whopping five days. I figured it was ready to go so why not do something on time for once. Thanks to an overwhelming helping of awesome new tunes to come my way this past month, this one came together quite quickly. There are some excellent new tracks from The Bitters, White Boss, Broken Water, and more. As is always the case with the mixes, this one will stay up until the next one is posted. Also, all of the artist/band names have been linked to a place of purchase where applicable. If you’re enjoying anything you hear on the mixes then definitely pick up the real deal. With that, download and enjoy!

01 – Flight – Molly, Don’t Fade
02 – White Boss – Darkness/Lightness
03 – Automaton Adventure Series – Intermission
04 – G.I. Joe – Negro
05 – Flower – Spiral
06 – The Bitters – By Her Own Hand
07 – USSSY – Ocean Investigation
08 – Broken Water – Normal Never Happened
09 – Weakness – Find a Way
10 – Candy Machine – R-Retreats
11 – Gay Witch Abortion – Third World Limo
12 – Pylon – Working is No Problem
13 – Quiet Lights – No More Canyons
14 – Serotonin – Alias
15 – When Chimps Attack – Whippet
16 – This Heart Electric – Polar
17 – Ravine – Never Again
18 – Sex Church – Ghost
19 – Wild Nothing – Drifter

Download (.zip file)

Had I known this record was coming out I probably would have been a bit excited for it. Back in 2007 or so the Dunedin, NZ trio Die! Die! Die! released their second record Promises, Promises, that I enjoyed to a pretty high degree. But as with most things in my life, maybe more so with music, things get lost in the shuffle and I kind of lost track as to what these guys were up to (I’m sorry guys, please don’t hold it against me). Apparently they’ve been at work on their third album titled Form, which was just released in their homeland through the amazing Flying Nun. Wasn’t really sure what to expect with Form, as the jump from their self-titled debut to Promises, Promises was a bit of a change of pace even then for the band. Seeing them go from their rougher cut and jab style of post-punk to a bit of a cleaned up approach but keeping the bounce and remaining every bit as challenging. So I had to go into Form thinking that this was in fact a possibility once again.

Pretty much from the opening track “Caseman” I realized that this was indeed going to be another step in the bands continuing evolution, being different already in a lot of ways to their previous material. However, as soon as Form moves into the next couple tracks “Lil Ships” and the fantastically catchy “Howye” it’s even more apparent what Die! Die! Die! are aiming for here and where Form is likely heading. Much of the discordant beginnings and nature of the band are gone on the record in favor of a much more melodically focused sound that often finds it tapping into some shoegazey moments of humming distortion. Combined with their post-punk background, their sound has flourished into something much larger and immediate on Form. It still contains enough bite here and there that it doesn’t feel like the band has turned a new leaf; the record still has a darker underlying vibe to it despite the shift in sound here. It seems almost as if they’ve followed a progression that is similar to that of Love of Diagrams and their record last year, which I absolutely loved. I don’t know if that’s fair or that accurate really, but when I listen to Form and relate it to their previous material…it seems similar in both where the bands began and where they are now musically. No matter though, Form has vaulted itself up there as far as favorite records from this year go. It’s undeniably catchy from start to finish thanks to fantastic writing.

Die! Die! Die! – Howye (stream)

I know this record is rather expensive for those of us in the states to obtain right now…however that will change come late October when it should see a USA release, but if you can’t wait and wish to pick it up on either CD or LP it’s available through Flying Nun. If you’re more so interested in digital files, well they have you covered too for a bit cheaper of a price. In the meantime, enjoy!

It would appear Menfolk are a band that I should have been privy to a bit sooner than I was. Up until a couple or so weeks ago, I had no idea who these guys are. It probably has something to do with them being based out of Denmark and that being a bit far from here. However, that hasn’t really hindered me in unearthing stuff before, so it’s kind of a mystery to me how these guys slipped under my radar this entire time. They’ve been together since 1999 by the way. However, they’ve only released on other album during that span in ‘05’s Colossus. Thanks to the French site Nextclues though for bringing these guys to my attention though. After learning about their recently released second album Beast One/Man Nil out on Play/Rec, I quickly tried tracking it down for purchase only to unsurprisingly learn that getting the vinyl shipped to me in the states would be a rather costly endeavor. Thankfully though the label has a digital outlet as well and I didn’t hesitate to thrown down the 8 or so dollars for the album in nice high quality MP3’s. If there is one thing to be said for this whole digital thing, it’s sure made hearing releases that in most cases would be too expensive to buy much more affordable and easier to hear.

Menfolk appear to have heard a few Shellac records during their time, as evidenced through the bands razor sharp guitar sound. However, Menfolk don’t let it do all the talking on this record, as they have two bassists that enjoy creating quite a racket of their own leaving them with a sound that is certainly less rigid and methodical than a Shellac, but maybe closer in relation to Rapeman. Either way, it’s a noisy mess that I am fully behind. I imagine if you’re a fan of 80’s/90’s Chicago inspired noise-rock, then you’ll be too. Check out a tune below…

Menfolk – Matador (stream)

If you’re interested in getting copy of Beast One/Man Nil then head on over to Play/Rec where it’s available on LP or digitally.

Australia’s Ides of Space never got their due in my opinion. Their wonderful blend of vaguely shoegaze and nineties leaning indie-rock was pretty powerful stuff. While I realize that the same description could be said for a billion other bands over the past few years, believe me, Ides of Space were on to something a bit different. Or at the very least, they were far better song writers than many of those around the same time. Fast forward to the present and you have Line Drawings, which is made up of some members from Ides of Space. The band already has an EP to their credit that was released last year and appeared here on the blog. If you haven’t had a chance to hear it, I suggest you do so. However, more up to date is their recently released debut full-length titled Take/Over, released on Australian label Other Tongues.

Take/Over picks up pretty much where their EP left off giving us ten more songs of infectiously catchy indie-rock. However, this time around everything seems a bit fleshed out with a notable advance in production quality, which can be attributed some to Wayne Connolly and Bob Weston. The songs on Take/Over just have a significantly increased depth to them it seems and the added touches really add to these already solidly written tracks. I don’t know if I mentioned in my previous write up of Line Drawings, but it would be hard to not see fans of Ides of Space enjoying this. Although the focus is probably more rock driven and more in the style of 90’s alternative/indie-rock than what was found on those records, the vocals still have a bit of the same languid (and I mean that in a good way) delivery and the songs a lot of the time hint at a fuzzier airy quality that gives the record a dreamier vibe. It’s been a hell of a year for releases coming out of Australia, and it doesn’t seem to be stopping anytime soon with the inclusion of Take/Over.

Line Drawings – Sleeplines (stream)

For those interested in picking Take/Over up, It’s currently only available on CD in Australia & New Zealand but for those that would still like to listen it’s also up for purchase on iTunes. Enjoy!

I honestly can’t remember the last time I was in Columbia, MO. Probably the very last time would have been just driving through en route to St. Louis. Judging by the musical output coming out of the town these days, my lack of visiting may very well have to be altered. One of these bands enticing me to make that 2 hour trip is Heater, which is comprised of already notable Columbia bands Jerusalem and the Starbaskets and CAVE. Both have released material that have been more than welcome to these ears. But anyway, back on topic, Heater are Columbia super group of sorts going in a pretty different direction, however maintaining their pretty strict DIY approach. Their record God and Hair was just recently pressed onto vinyl and released courtesy of the great Chicago based Permanent Records. They’ve also been responsible for records from CAVE and Sneakers (whom also are represented in Heater). With God and Hair, the members have adopted a bit of a lo-fi indie-rock/pop sound that would have probably fit pretty nicely somewhere in the middle of Homesteads catalog in the mid to late 80′s. Plenty of stuff here that reminds of the brighter moments of Sebadoh or the earlier years of Big Dipper. It’s just an upbeat and pleasant album to listen to, while still keeping it rough and vaguely punk at times that keeps it from getting a bit too mushy and being just another summery feel good record. There is no reason this shouldn’t be on turntables year round.

Heater – Beside Me [MP3]

If you’re interested in picking up a copy of God and Hair, then hit up Permanent Records and get one. Pressing of 500 and the label is saying a second pressing is unlikely. So don’t miss out. Enjoy!

Some time last year St. Elias got a hold of me and let me listen to their debut album Believe It, which the band self-released. I am pretty sure a song from it popped up on a mix at some point or another. While the album was obviously a capture of a band getting things together, it was still a rather intriguing listen, especially for someone such as me that has a soft spot for all things Midwestern rock. The band comes from Denver, Colorado and has a range of influences that pretty much include just about every band of the genre that has been featured here on the blog in the past. Up until a few days ago I had little knowledge that the band had already prepared a new EP titled Altered Beast and just had it released not too long ago actually. Again, it’s a self-released job with some rather cool artwork done by local artist Adam Reker to go along with it.

Not really sure what the behind the scenes differences are here with Altered Beast, but the production for this EP definitely serves them better than their previous material. Here St. Elias sounds much like what a Midwestern influenced rock band should, with a large/expansive sound that is in no way lacking in melody. With Altered Beast we get to experience that for six songs and it’s evident that the band has taken a rather large step forward, even adding a significantly spacier element to their sound in the area of possibly Hum and/or Fantastic Planet era Failure. Certainly check this out if you’re a fan of this type of thing, well worth it.

St. Elias – Six is Good [MP3]

Good news for anyone that is interested in hearing the rest of the album, it is available through the bands Bandcamp site for free. So if you enjoying what you hear above, then by all means head on over there and download the entire Altered Beast EP and their debut full-length record Believe It.

I guess it’s probably a good idea that I go ahead and say that Republic of Sadness is the first album from Gate in over ten years. It’s an interesting record to get to talk about just for that reason alone really, as it’s been awhile since I’ve busted out a Gate record. Since it’s been some time between records, this may very well be the first Gate record some hear. So to get some background information out of the way, Gate is in fact the alias/side project for Dead C member Michael Morley. On older Gate records it was a bit safe to assume you were going to get some similar Dead C style noise improvisations but with Republic of Sadness things apparently change over ten plus years.

From the start Republic of Sadness presents itself to be a much heavier electronic based album than ever before. The white noise effect of guitar drone/distortion is almost nonexistent or completely gone for that matter in favor big electronic beats and trance like ambient flavorings. The first two tracks “Forever” and “All” are very much in this style and do a rather nice job building upon the given loops. The rather jolting element to these songs though are Morley’s vocals, which to some may either take you out of the trance-like state at which these songs seem to be driving the listener towards or his voice simply becomes part of the rather unique textures of sound at play here. Granted, Morley’s vocals work on variations of abrasiveness, occasionally making them almost the complete focal point of the song. Other times it sounds as if he’s trying to talk into a mic that’s submerged in the bottom of a fish tank. It’s easy to become a bit out of sync with what is going on within the songs when Morley’s vocals kick in, depending on exactly how much of them are going to be heard. What I enjoy about it though is that it does create a sound to a degree that seems out of motion. As if everything in the world is surrounding Morley in a manner that is much quicker than his reaction…not phased but resigned to the rush of it all. It’s an interesting characteristic of the songs throughout the album. However, things change a bit about midway through the record with “Desert”, at least in terms to the more electronic textures. Suddenly things become a bit “dance” oriented with a looping beat that maybe encapsulates exactly what I mentioned previously. Again, it’s an approach that very well could divide listeners and long time fans. The second half of the album sort of trends towards some of the harsher elements that past Gate records are more commonly known for, however it’s the forceful manipulation of electronics here on a track like “Freak” rather than rumbling distortion.

After ten years, Morley has released something that I doubt could have been foreseen by many of his followers. It’s not necessarily drastically different, however it certainly is a change of pace for what has been come to be known of Gate. Is it Gate’s pop record? Possibly, but it’s a pop record that only Michael Morley would put together and that should be enough for people to check this out. If that’s not enough, well…you’re missing out on a rather good album.

Gate – Forever (stream)

For those wishing to pick up Republic of Sadness you can do so by heading over to Ba Da Bing! Records. Enjoy!