Built on a Weak Spot

Following the balls to the wall rock show I saw Wednesday, it left me craving more the next few days. That’s where the now defunct NYC based trio of Kung Pao stepped in and helped satisfy a bit of that remaining need for filthy grimy sounding rock. The band delivers plenty of it, that’s for sure.

Formed around 1999, the trio released a split single with Tucker through –ismist records before putting out two full-lengths through the Minneapolis based Maduro Records titled Bogota (2000) and Sheboygan (2002).
Don’t know exactly what happened to the guys after that, but it appears that they have since called it a day. Regardless, those two albums are full of straight up dirty bar brawling noise-rock with a major emphasis on low end, just the way I like it. The band definitely gives a few nods to the likes of Killdozer, early Tad, etc with their brand of riff heavy ultra down tuned sludge. If anything, check out their second and last album Sheboygan, as I prefer it a touch over their debut. Although, you can’t go wrong with either if this is your sort of thing.

Bogota:
Kung Pao – Iron Lung [MP3]

Sheboygan:
Kung Pao – Hotpockets [MP3]
Kung Pao – Truckstop [MP3]

It appears that Sheboygan is still available from Maduro Records. For anyone looking to pick up Bogota as well, then there are plenty of copies of it floating around currently on Amazon. Well worth the price, and definitely recommended.

Apologies for the lack of updates this week. I haven’t been around much due to work and last night on my night off I attended the Boris, Torche, and Lair of the Minotaur concert at The Granada in Lawrence, Kansas. The show was fantastic really, from start to finish. I felt absolutely exhausted by the time Boris ended their set at a little before two in the morning. My ears and my body felt completely beaten afterwards. I am actually surprised I feel as good as I do today. One of the highlights of the show had to be Torche closing their set with a deafening rendition of “Meanderthal”. Boris was absolutely fantastic and I can’t say enough good things about their live show. If any of you out there get a chance to see them, definitely do it. Sadly I wasn’t able to get many good photos of the show. I’ll post a few below just for shits and giggles I guess. Anyway, I’ll be back next week with regular updates and all that jazz. Everyone have a good rest of the week and weekend.

Steve Rathbone & Chris Wozniak of Lair of the Minotaur

Steve Brooks of Torche

Steve Brooks & Jonathan Nuñez of Torche

Rick Smith of Torche

Wata of Boris

Takeshi of Boris

Atsuo, Takeshi, & Michio Kurihara

Wata

Svelt was one of many projects for the brothers Chris and Nate Slusarenko, who have made a name for themselves among the Portland, OR music scene and more for the past couple decades or so. Svelt might even look like a blip on the radar these days, during their brief period together the band released a full-length album titled Souvenir through Schizophonic Records in 1996 along with an EP that same year called The Shetland Sessions also through Schizophonic. The band also contributed a track to the It’s Finally Christmas compilation, which I sadly don’t have.

Svelt was formed after the brothers previous band Sprinkler disbanded, who are also worth checking out as well. Their one and only album Souvenir is a fine slab of rock that sort of had a carry over sound from their days on Sub Pop while with Sprinkler. The music on Souvenir in particular contained a larger sound that was partly due to the constant wallop of N. Slusarenko’s drumming. The band also didn’t shy away from poppy melodies, in fact both Souvenir and their EP Shetland Sessions are full of them, but the band worked in a few interesting twists and turns that often times couldn’t be found in the more mainstream alt-rock bands of the time.

Souvenir:
Svelt – Very Real [MP3]
Svelt – Shrunken Head [MP3]

Shetland Sessions:
Svelt – Ditty [MP3]

Nate Slusarenko played in a number of bands with his brother Chris along the way and has done artwork and design for various things over the years. Chris Slusarenko formed his own record label called Off Records. Chris played bass with Guided by Voices from 2003-2004 and is one half of the duo The Takeovers with Robert Pollard. Chris was recently named as part of Pollard’s newly announced band Boston Spaceships as well, which plan on having an album out sometime later this year.

For those interested in picking up material by Svelt, both the album and the EP are still available through CD Baby, so head on over there to pick those up. Highly recommended.

I was very excited to see the new Sophisticated Urban Living 7 inch in my mailbox a few days ago from one of Baltimore’s finest trios Double Dagger. Just released this month through Terra Firma Records, the single features a scorching re-recorded version of “Luxury Condos for the Poor” along with two new songs. For those that missed out on their excellent second album Ragged Rubble that was put out last year through Stationary (Heart), I highly suggest checking it out.

Double Dagger only makes use of vocals, bass, and drums to create their noisy post-punk inspired tunes. It’s surprising sometimes when listening to the band at just how forceful it can be. On their newly released single, one of the ideas was to create the energy, force, and sound of their live show. While I’ve sadly never had a chance to see the band in a live setting, the single is undoubtedly a rawer recording than anything featured on their previous full-length. The version of “Luxury Condos for the Poor” featured on the single creates a larger wall of sound than any other recording and it also contains and extended instrumental ending that very much backs up the bands claim that this is indeed the definitive version of the song.

Sophisticated Urban Living 7’’:
Double Dagger – No Allies [MP3]

Ragged Rubble:
Double Dagger – The Psychic [MP3]

Also, be on the look out for another new single from the band currently out on Toxic Pop Records that features a remixed version of “I Was So Bored I Wanted to Hang Myself on the Dancefloor”. For those interested in picking up Sophisticated Urban Living then definitely hit up Terra Firma to pick up the single and for past DD releases head on over to their website and/or Stationary (Heart).

It’s all too rare anymore whenever I check out a band that has some hype building around them that they actually live up to the amount of praise that is being heaped upon them. Sometimes not listening to what my gut feeling tells me to do is a good idea and despite it telling me over and over again not to buy into the things being said about Crystal Antlers, I did anyway. And boy am I glad I did as the band falls into one of those rare cases of actually being really damn good…just like everyone else was making them out to be in the first place. Stupid me, right? Obviously, yeah.

The Long Beach based Crystal Antlers are riding high off the growing success of their recently self-released EP simply dubbed as “EP”. Rightfully so though, as EP absolutely smokes through six songs that somehow blend elements of blues, psych, post-punk, prog, and god only knows what else into this finely crafted 25 minute package. Typically I don’t get too into what comes off as strictly derivative psych, so it’s incredibly refreshing to hear a band like this take it to a completely different level to the point where I don’t even really know what I am listening to at times. Crystal Antlers seem like a band that could go anywhere with their sound, and I think that’s what ultimately makes them the exciting listen that they are. Who knows what their next record could sound like; it’s pretty much a wild card after listening to EP.

Crystal Antlers – A Thousand Eyes [MP3]

For those interested in picking up a copy of the Crystal Antlers EP then just head on over to their MySpace.

The Self-Titled debut from Germany’s Tiger Shower Caps is the latest release from the Radio is Down label. Formed in 2006, the band is made up of formers members from Are We Electric?, Sabet, Bhang Dextro, and Motorambo. While their name alone was almost interesting enough to get me to listen to the record, I was glad to find out that the album also contains a number of good tunes on it as well. Sometimes artist bios aren’t necessarily the most accurate thing whenever I get a chance to read them, but with Tiger Shower Caps I think they were pretty close on theirs. The band does in fact sound like a mixture of 80’s post-punk and the burgeoning 90’s indie-rock set, although I would say more so the Chicago scene more than anything else as the guitars are full of that razor thin and trebly goodness that you would expect. The vocals fit the bill especially, with the singer’s frantic yelps that nicely off set the bands casual hooks and infectious melodies, not allowing the listener to get too comfortable with the record. With a name like Tiger Shower Caps, it’s obvious the band has a bit of a sense of humor as well, that works its way into the record too here and there.

Tiger Shower Caps – Low Budget King [MP3]

For those interested in picking up the debut from Tiger Shower Caps, then head on over to Radio is Down to do so.

Formed in 1989 was the Raleigh, North Carolina set of noise makers Picasso Trigger. It’s kind of surprising to see how little they are brought up whenever there is a mention of Chapel Hill. I guess it could somewhat be in part of them being a love ‘em or hate ‘em type of deal, as they certainly weren’t a band that was for making catchy easy on the ear indie-rock and/or endearing themselves to anyone with their roughly played anger fueled noise.

The band for the most part was vocalist Kathy Poindexter, guitarist Lisa Cooper, and bassist/vocalist Samuel Mintu. They went through more drummers than I care to name. After forming in the late eighties the band had a good six or so year run where they released a handful of singles, an EP titled T’ain’t (1994, Alias), and two full-length albums in ¡Fire in the Hole! (1994, Alias) and Bipolar Cowboy (1995, Alias) before calling it quits sometime around 1995.

Their EP T’ain’t does a fairly good job at capturing the band in a bit more of a rawer light than what their initial full-length ¡Fire in the Hole! did. The guitars are definitely a bit nastier and amped up on it, although it seems Poindexter’s vocals were sacrificed a bit in the mix in the process, but hearing Mintu’s raspy shrieks alongside her more than balance it out. It seems to be considered their best release, however I still think their final full-length Bipolar Cowboy was tops. The album is pretty much a wonderful red hot scorching mess from start to finish. It’s definitely worth anyone’s time that cares to drop the couple dollars or so for the dollar bin price on Amazon Marketplace.

¡Fire in the Hole!:
Picasso Trigger – Bean Pole [MP3]
Picasso Trigger – Queenie [MP3]

T’ain’t:
Picasso Trigger – Red Headed Retard [MP3]

Bipolar Cowboy:
Picasso Trigger – Serve This [MP3]
Picasso Trigger – City Slut Slander [MP3]

For anyone looking to pick up albums by Picasso Trigger, they are all still available on Amazon both used and new. I definitely suggest picking up an album or two if you like what you hear above. In the meantime, enjoy and have a great weekend!

What we have here is the new EP from Australia’s power post-rock collective Laura. The EP titled Yes Maybe No has just been released on Elevation Records at the beginning of this month. The EP follows up their second album Radio Swan is Down that was released last year, which may be one of the best post-rock related albums I’ve managed to and willingly hear over the past few years. And you have to remember that I am generally not the largest fan of said genre. However the power and beauty contained within Laura’s music is something that not even I can deny or just casually brush off. They pack a fairly large and often menacing punch that comes off as rather genuine, which is something that I think is often missing from a lot of the music that finds itself underneath the same umbrella.

Yes Maybe No is a bit of step in a different direction however for Laura. Not as dark as their previous album, but still supplying the same shoegazey wall of sound whenever they so choose. The EP is filled by three different ambient styled tracks to sort of segue into more traditional structured songs. The final track “Another One for the Humans” seems to be the largest departure for the band as it’s a rather lengthy dive into the more moody subdued post-rock territories until about the six and half minute mark where it takes a rather interesting turn towards a noisier jamming session that fills out the rest of the track and is definitely best heard with the stereo turned up. All in all though it would appear Yes Maybe No is a rather concise display of what Laura brings to the table and in the process gives us the listeners a bit of a look into what the future might hold for this rather talented group of musicians.

Laura – Cardboard Cut Out Robot Victim Hero Children [MP3]

For those interested in picking up a copy of Yes Maybe No then definitely head on over to Elevation Records. I strongly suggest doing it ASAP as this EP has been limited to just 2000 copies and will be gone for good after that. Enjoy!

Since I’ve highlighted both Slughog and Barbaro in the past on the blog, I figured it makes sense to go ahead to give a full post to the next step for Andrew Schneider and his band Placer. While time together was brief, the band did release one full-length through Dopamine Records titled Summer and after a couple lineup changes the band eventually disappeared.

Formed not long after calling Barbaro quits, Schneider rounded up fellow musicians Kate McGlaughlin and Pat Gleason to form Placer, whom partly appear on Summer. However, the lineup was quickly shifted to that of Tom Korkidis (Alienist Outfit, On Fire), Michael Ushinski (Barbaro, Stricken for Catherine), and Jeff Turlik (Stompbox, Milligram). To me Placer always sounded like a continuation of Barbaro in a lot of ways, except maybe a bit more drawn out and with a few more odd rhythmic changes that reminded me a bit of Shiner especially when combined with the bands unabashed love for low end. Their album Summer I thought was pretty good, albeit maybe a bit repetitive and slow churning for it’s own good. However, for those that enjoyed Barbaro I don’t think there is much to dislike about it.

The band was around for a little while after the release of Summer, making the move to New York sometime during that period. While in the process the lineup for the band was completely overhauled and scaled back to a trio. Ethan Dussault (Garrison) and J.R. Conners (Cave-In) filled in on bass and drums respectively, but as mentioned before they drifted into obscurity after that. Both Schneider and Dussault do recording work these days for the most part it seems like.

Placer – The Drag [MP3]
Placer – Fly [MP3]

The bands album Summer is still available through Dopamine Records for as little as five bucks, so I recommend anyone that digs what they here to definitely go over there and pick it up. Enjoy!

The Leeds, UK based band Bilge Pump have been going at it for just over ten years now while developing a strong influence and following amongst the UK underground music scene during that time. Their offerings of abrasive, yet oddly tuneful noise-rock/post-punk have made the band one of the genres best kept secrets. Despite being together for over a decade the band has only recently released their second album. Upon formation, the band released some seven inches here and there and also found themselves on a number of compilations before releasing their debut album Let Me Breathe in 2002 through UK based label Gringo Records. Now after another handful of years of waiting the band has unleashed their second full-length Rupert the Sky just this past March, once again through Gringo.

Rupert the Sky should almost certainly please those already fans of the band, as the album reveals itself to be an even more concise and obtuse offering than their previous effort in Let Me Breathe. Yet, the band keeps in line with what has made them so endearing to listeners in the first place, and that is miraculously underneath all the jazzy drum meltdowns and odd time signatures is the playfulness and ear for melody. As a band that features such driving bass lines, it’s often easy to completely abandon any sort of tunefulness in favor of something more monotonous and blatantly powerful. However, Bilge Pump has no troubles keeping it interesting…even after being together for as long as they have. Rupert the Sky is just solid any way you choose to look at it, from instrumentation to songwriting. The band leaves nothing to be desired.

Bilge Pump – Brown Ale for Sister Sarah [MP3]

For those interested in purchasing Rupert the Sky or any other releases by Bilge Pump the head on over to Gringo Records to do so.