Polaris - Polaris...

The Leeds group of Polaris has been together for quite sometime now, around 13 years or so. However this year they released only their second record together. This makes groups that take 3 years in between releases look like workaholics. Regardless, as many of us come to realize after awhile, quality is sometimes better than quantity. Polaris is a band that must firmly believe in that, or I at least give them the benefit of the doubt that they do.

On their self-titled release, which was put out on Gringo Records, the band kick around somewhere in between post-rock and general indie rock. What got me initially listening to this record was the track “Kissing”, which is a captivating piece and one of the more beautifully written songs that I’ve heard all year. There is a certain emotional quality that is caught within that song that is often hard to obtain and for practically all 6 minutes it puts a smile on my face. For the most part the album as a whole is a soft and brooding piece of work that plays off the whole “soft to loud (vice versa)” slant fairly well. While the album plays out like a rollercoaster, being completely upbeat and with a lackadaisical sense of happiness, it does plummet into more moody and darker territory at times, which are probably my least favorite portions of the album. Polaris do a damn fine job of making incredibly catchy lazy sunny day music that it would suit me fine if the whole album was just nothing but that. However, that’s just my little deal I have with it and really can’t hold that as any sort of complaint because this album is great from start to end regardless of the mood.

Polaris – Kissing [MP3]
Polaris – Conquering Small Spaces [MP3]

You can grab this over at Gringo Records or off the bands MySpace, whichever you prefer. Anyway, enjoy as always.

Green Milk From the Planet Orange - City Calls Revolution...

I send apologies for the lack of a Tuesday playlist on BoaWs yesterday. I honestly sat here for a long time trying to think up something to use for it, but my brain just wouldn’t cooperate. I should seriously start compiling these a little sooner. If anyone has suggestions for a playlist, shoot me an e-mail or something. It would actually be a lot more fun to do that way. So yeah, do that because it would be really cool.


Anyway, while looking for some other stuff this past week I ran across a band called Green Milk from the Planet Orange. On just the band name alone I gave their latest record City Calls Revolution a shot, which was released last year. Knowing nothing about them prior to hearing this, it didn’t take long afterwards to convince me to go scouring the Internet for whatever information I could find on them. Thankfully, that wasn’t a difficult task in part to their insanely peculiar name.

The Japanese trio apparently comes from a background in the grindcore scene, however you’ll find little to none of that in Green Milk from the Planet Orange. The band reiterates on their website and myspace that “progressive rock is not dead”. While it may seem that way since the 70’s ended, it’s still a genre that commonly sneaks its influence into a ton of other bands. While immediately associating their selves with prog, the band also declares that they are the “new wave of progressive rock”, which after listening is probably a statement they can easily back up. The band combines and plays just about every style of music that would display their musical proficiency. The music is the combination of acid jazz freak outs, frenzied garage rock, psychedelia, and so much more. Squeezing it all in is no problem with songs that range all the way up until the 40 minute mark. However, not once did I find myself disinterested in it. It’s just so remarkably well done.

Green Milk from the Planet Orange – OMGS [MP3]
Green Milk from the Planet Orange – Demagog [MP3]

Apparently the band has put out a number of other releases; however the majority of them are out of print due to the incredibly limited runs of them. Regardless, you can still pick up City Calls Revolution and everything else that is still in print over at Beta-Lactam Ring Records. Also, you can find more MP3 samples on their site from some of their older releases as well, so check that out.

Todd - Comes to Your House...

Since it is Monday, I think it might be a good idea to start the week off with a record that will undoubtedly beat your ass every which way and get all of you moving. That’s where Todd comes in, no Todd is not a friend or even a person for that matter, it’s the band that was started by Craig Clouse after Hammerhead disbanded. Comes to Your House is the second record from the band and was released in April on Southern Records.

With Clouse’s involvement, it’s probably already assumed by most that this is going to be something that falls in the “loud and noisy” category. Well, that assumption would be correct. However, this is no Hammerhead or AmRep retread, the beast that calls itself Todd is a completely new affair. After the odd and slightly creepy intro of “Salty Old Queen”, the squeals and blasts of distortion begin their assault and from that point it basically doesn’t let up. That’s hardly the selling point of this album though. Todd does do a hell of a job in making this record incredibly difficult to pin down. There is a good portion of the sound on Comes to Your House that does share itself a bit with other industrial noise makers like Big Black, Slug, and Cop Shoot Cop. However, Todd takes it up a notch and pushes it up to level that gives it a much more violent and psychotic sound. Unsurprisingly the one track that probably best fits that description is "The Knife Whisperer", which features guest vocals from Oxbow’s Eugene Robinson. It also ends up being one of the highlights for me off the album.

Todd – A Killer Grows [MP3]
Todd – The Knife Whisperer (feat. Eugene Robinson) [MP3]
Todd – Comes to Your House [MP3]

This was released way back in April, so I am a bit late on this. However, you can pick this up, along with any of their other releases too, through Southern.

...And Then I Realized My Shoes Were Untied

I've been putting this together little by little for the past couple months or so. Although it is probably nowhere near definitive by any means, I would like to think it compiles some of the more notable shoegaze acts from the late 80's to the mid 90's. For newcomers, I hope it can maybe serve as a nice starting point. Some might notice there is a "vol. 1" attached to the folder name. That is because in time I hope to expand on this and possibly create mixes for the current bands and all the wonderful Japanese bands as well. So in total, I hope to have this be 3 volumes down the line.

Anyway, for Friday I present to you ...And Then I Realized My Shoes Were Untied (A Shoegaze Compilation). It's 2 discs/folders, however you want to look at it. Enjoy!

Disc 1:
01 - My Bloody Valentine - Loomer
02 - Swirlies - Pancake
03 - Alison's Halo - Melt
04 - Lush - Superblast
05 - Bethany Curve - Spacirelei
06 - The Verve - The Sun, The Sea
07 - Ride - Furthest Sense
08 - Blind Mr. Jones - Dolores
09 - Bleach - Push
10 - Bailter Space - No. 2
11 - Swervedriver - Deep Seat
12 - Chapterhouse - Autosleeper
13 - Revolver - Heaven Sent an Angel
14 - Moose - Jack

Disc 2:
01 - Catherine Wheel - A Flower to Hide
02 - Curve - Clipped
03 - Slowdive - Catch the Breeze
04 - Ecstasy of Saint Theresa - Ice Cream Star
05 - Starflyer 59 - Hazel Would
06 - The Boo Radleys - Does This Hurt
07 - Cocteau Twins - Carolyn's Fingers
08 - Kitchens of Distinction - Mad as Snow
09 - Adorable - A to Fade In
10 - The Telescopes - Splashdown
11 - Medicine - 5ive
12 - Pale Saints - True Coming Dream
13 - The Naked Souls - Winter Kills Me
14 - Lilys - Tone Bender

Download (.zip file)

Flying Saucer Attack - Futher...

While sitting at my desk last night basically wasting my time on the Internet I found myself listening to the Flying Saucer Attack album, Further. Sometimes I just flat out don’t listen to some albums enough, and this would be one of them. It’s terrible too because this is quite honestly of the most beautiful albums ever made and I consistently neglect to put it in my CD player.

Further when compared to the majority of the Flying Saucer Attack’s other output is the middle ground of sorts. The distortion isn’t over whelming while absolutely laying waste to your ears and it isn’t minimal to the point of losing interest. On Further, David Pearce managed to take his ambient experiment and find the perfect balance between all of that. The resulting effect is beautiful melodies that are eventually melted down with white noise that seemingly creeps out of nowhere. Combine that with the subtle hints of acoustic guitars, distant tribal drumming, rain falling, and soft male/female vocals and it becomes something completely trance inducing and mind altering. Wherever this takes or puts you, it will in all likelihood be good.

Whether it be dawn, dusk, raining, or snowing this album pretty much fits it all. Pearce may or may not have known it at the time, but when making Further he definitely hit on something that is practically perfection and hasn’t been touched upon in quite sometime by a lot of different artists or groups that have undoubtedly tried.

Flying Saucer Attack – For Silence [MP3]
Flying Saucer Attack – Here Am I [MP3]

For anyone that might be interested you can pick this up over at Insound or basically anywhere else that you like to buy music online or even maybe offline. Either way, pick this up if possible.

Young Widows - Settle Down City...

I was told to listen to Young Widows sometime earlier this month and I wasn’t necessarily quick to do so. Seeing as how the band is basically Breather Resist minus one member, I pretty much expected Young Widows to be the same thing. I was fairly wrong on that assumption to say the least. This is a completely new band, with a completely different sound. So for anyone else that might be making the same mistake as I did, get that through your heads right now.

Basically from the opening moments of their debut Settle Down City it’s obvious that the band has a very high level of respect and appreciation for The Jesus Lizard. This becomes even more apparent once you reach the song “Glad He Ate Her”, which from the song title and the song itself most should be able to put two and two together there. When it comes to having influences, you probably can’t do a whole lot better than The Jesus Lizard.

Although this probably isn’t anything new to a lot of people’s ears, you got to like the fact that this sounds about as authentic as you’ll get these days. The music is every bit as raw and completely unhinged as some of the best noise rock you heard throughout the 90’s. It’s ugly, dirty, and completely in your face for the whole 35 and a half minutes that it runs.

Young Widows – Mirrorfucker [MP3]
Young Widows – The Charmers [MP3]

Settle Down City is a nice little surprise considering what I originally had this pegged as. Goes to show that group members past bands sometimes don’t mean a damn thing and that is most certainly the case here. You can pick this album up by heading over to Jade Tree. It is definitely well worth the purchase price.

Tuesday Playlist: Summers Gone...

A little late with an update today. I had made plans to go out and purchase a printer earlier in the day, however as soon as I got in my car I realized that I wouldn't be going anywhere with a flat tire. That delayed my printer purchasing until sometime later in the day, thus pushing this back with it.

Anyway, it's getting cooler outside and for the first time all summer I had to finally close my window due to it being to cold. Bummer, I was really enjoying being able to just live the windows open without having to run any air conditioning. So, for me that pretty much signals the end of the nearing of the end of summer. For this Tuesdays playlist it's nothing to extroadinarily brilliant, or clever even, but it's just seven songs addressing my ending of the summer. Enjoy.

01 - The Avalanches - Stay Another Season [MP3]
02 - Spore - Crazy Summer [MP3]
03 - Bethany Curve - Summer Left Me [MP3]
04 - Rob Crow - Over the Summer [MP3]
05 - The Kronos Quartet - Summer Overture (Requiem Score) [MP3]
06 - Magnet - Last Day of Summer [MP3]
07 - Coaltar of the Deepers - The End of Summer [MP3]

Across Tundras - Dark Songs of the Prairie...

In a time now where many are going out and saying to hell with making frenetically paced screamo/hardcore music and taking up producing music of epic post-rock proportions, it is ridiculously hard to weed through all of these bands. Where everyone wants to sound like the next Isis or Pelican, it just makes it all that much harder for those that do take an innovative and different approach to this genre to get noticed. I’ll honestly admit that when I see a RIYL on some page that lists any of the main post metal/rock staples, I am reluctant to give it a shot or a fair listen. I know that’s terrible of me, send me hate mail or whatever, but really it’s the same for me as for others maybe seeing music being compared to Coldplay or something else as ridiculously boring. Anyway, that’s my tiny rant about the genre in general. Over saturation people, it sucks a fat one.

Now comes the part where I make mention of a band that goes against all of the odds and completely destroys any of the imitators around them. Across Tundras does pretty much that. On their debut album Dark Songs of the Prairie it doesn’t just sound barren and absolutely desolate, it feels like it too. It’s not surprising however as member Tanner Olson (Examination of The…, Spirit of Versailles) is from Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Living somewhere like that, or anywhere in the Midwest for that matter, will undoubtedly wriggle itself deep into your brain and influence the way do things creatively. Thus, the cold, atmospheric, and timeless qualities this album possesses. It really does set it apart from any direct comparisons, which is quite nice. Often times slow and sludgy sounding, it doesn’t harbor itself too deeply within that. The sound throughout has a very fuzzy 70’s soaked sound to it, even sort of borderline psych here and there.

Across Tundras – Ramblin’ in the Shadows [MP3]
Across Tundras – Cosmic Retribution [MP3]

This is a real nice change of pace for those looking for something with a bit of a different slant, or something that has a very prominent Americana and country feel to it. To pick up Dark Songs of the Prairie head on over to the Crucial Blast website, highly recommended.

Indian Jewelry - Invasive Exotics...

I doubt there is any real way to describe a group like Indian Jewelry, whom has undoubtedly set out to push any and all musical boundaries by completely ignoring any idea of traditional song structure on Invasive Exotics. Really, songs are nothing more than a loose guideline for the group. The band consists of key members Tex Kerschen, Erika Thrasher, and Rodney Rodriguez however it is expanded by possibly four or five times that amount throughout the duration of a tour. The songs from there are then altered and expanded upon as well as the different group members come and go. The songs you hear on record may be the only way you ever hear that song played, as it most likely won’t be duplicated in any way when performing live.

Indian Jewelry’s sound is a constant dissonant droning that is the culmination of synthesizers, a heavy dose of percussion, guitars, and whatever else the band can get its hands on. It’s either the soundtrack for the insane or the type of music that you would be greeted with upon your arrival to hell. Although it may be quite noisy at first, there is something strangely hypnotic about it that after awhile you don’t even realize that you’ve spent the past five or six minutes trying to figure out what’s going on. Actually, I just spent the past 45 minutes doing that and I plan on doing it again.

Indian Jewelry – PowWow [MP3]
Indian Jewelry – Come Closer [MP3]

You can pick up their latest album Invasive Exotics over at Monitor Records. You can also check out more from the band at their MySpace. Enjoy!

The Brother Kite's Time is Right...

It’s always a big risk for a band to greatly alter their sound from one record to the next. For some it can be quite rewarding for both the band and the listener, but however there are also those times when it can result in a bad case of crashing and burning. I say this because in 2004, The Brother Kite released their self-titled debut album through the Sacramento based Clairecords, whom have done a wonderful job putting out some fine dream-pop/shoegaze releases over the past few years. The album was fairly standard, big walls of colorful sound and at times ear piercing feedback. Despite keeping itself within the box, so to speak, it was still a fairly solid album. However, the band has returned in ’06 with their second album Waiting for the Time to be Right, again through Clairecords. This is where that risk I was talking about comes into play.

Reading a bit about this album before I had a chance to hear it may or may not have been a good idea. I haven’t quite figured that one out yet. I saw plenty of mention on how the band had moved in a different direction, distancing them a bit from being an all out shoegaze act. Considering I liked their debut, I was bit concerned as to how this might turn out. I will admit it even lowered my expectations a bit for this release. However, upon first listen of Waiting for the Time to be Right, any questions or concerns I had were put to rest. The group set out to do something different than their last album and they definitely succeeded in that. The best part of it though is that it worked. They didn’t crash and burn. I only wonder now what I would have thought about the album had I listened to it with no prior knowledge of what it might sound like. Either way, I am pretty confident I would have liked it either way.

Instead of the great big wall of sound approach that is pretty much the norm for a lot of shoegaze acts, and was for The Brother Kite’s last album, they’ve moved toward a much more sun baked 60’s rock vibe. Mostly everything I’ve read or heard has mentioned that it has a very evident Beach Boys influence to it, which after listening; this is a pretty valid statement. Although, a lot of times throughout the album, I am vaguely reminded of Superdrag and that sort of blend of 60’s fuzz rock meets current times.

The Brother Kite – I’m Not the Only One [MP3]
The Brother Kite – Hold Me Down [MP3]

This is a surprisingly good album from a band that has really stepped up and made some large strides from their debut to their follow up. Check this out if you get a chance. It can be purchased over at Tonevendor along with their self-titled debut as well.

Volplane Retrospective (1997-1999)

Awhile back, around when this blog first started, I did a post on the band Bright Channel. In the post I made reference to Volplane, which BC members Jeff Suthers and Shannon Stein both played in alongside drummer Dicky Bosse. Sadly, the group was only around for a short period of time and during that time they recorded two albums that never saw the light of day. For the longest time, their self run label of Flight Approved only contained small snippets of Real Audio samples of a couple of songs. If you’re anything like me, Real Audio just isn’t an option these days, let alone to even have it on a computer at all. Thankfully though, after a bit of time seeing it briefly mentioned on the website, there has been a nice big 17 track retrospective of the band released through the label.

Released on July 25th, the retrospective contains many of the tracks that were originally on the two unreleased albums Merlot and Volplane. It really is nice to finally get to hear all of these tracks rather then having to settle for the 5 or 6 songs you could pull off of Soulseek if you looked hard enough. Even those were barely above a listenable quality though. A big thanks to Suthers and Stein for putting this out, it’s most definitely worth it to those that have been listening to Bright Channel and the various other projects they have been involved with.

With this retrospective you can easily see where the sound for Bright Channel came about. Volplane, in very much the same way, carried that sort of dark mysterious vibe that I really like about Bright Channel. It’s really great to sort of see this progression of sorts from band to band. Volplane, while not as glaringly loud upon first listen, was I think much more of a traditional shoegaze act in that they have many more fragile sounding moments in the music and that classic shimmering guitar feedback.

Volplane – Black [MP3]
Volplane – Two Worlds [MP3]

For the shoegaze lovers out there, I can’t stress enough to go to the Flight Approved site and pick this up. It’s a great collection of material that had been pretty much nonexistent up until this point. Had this been properly released in some way during its time, it would have no doubt been right up there with the best of them. Also, don’t forget to check out all of the other Flight Approved projects like Moonspeed, Pteranodon, and of course Bright Channel.

Noxagt...

Not fully back yet, but I will do a slight update regardless. I didn’t have much trouble removing and replacing my old computer. This new computer really has shown me how far behind I was technologically with my old computer. It’s amazing really; I didn’t think it was THAT bad. Regardless, I am still importing music and such, which is taking more time than I would have liked. It will be nice to have a lot more on here than I was able to keep on the old computer.

I am just going to brief on an album I just recently encountered the past few days, that being the new album from the instrumental Norway trio of Noxagt. The group has a new album out on Load which is self-titled. I haven’t listened too much of them in the past, but I did read that this one was produced by Billy Anderson, who has worked with the Melvins and the Swans in the past to just name a couple. Anyway, if you can recall the slow weighty heaviness that Anderson produced with those bands then you can fully expect to hear more of the same on the new Noxagt record. It’s thick, noisy, and slow. The music is a bit different than a lot of the material on Load, aside from the noisy aspect; there isn’t as much quirkiness to this. A slightly altered form of sludge possibly, regardless of what it is, it’s fucking heavy and it's pretty good too.

Noxagt – Ninety Parallels Ago [MP3]
Noxagt – Walls End [MP3]

As always, if you dig the tunes go pick this up over at Load, and while you’re at it snag the new USA is a Monster…it’s pretty nifty sounding as well.

Monthly Mix Time!

Like I promised at the end of last week, here is the monthly mix for November. As like any other time, artist names link directly to place of purchase...if applicable. Enjoy!

01 - The Drones - Jezebel
02 - Tornavalanche - Man, I Love the Beatles
03 - Brainbombs - No Guilt
04 - Sprites - George Romero
05 - The Breeders - Iris
06 - The Gersch - Taekr
07 - Live Skull - 5-D
08 - Helmet - Thick
09 - Leaf - Intelligent Design
10 - Sightings - ICH-IC
11 - Bivouac - Big Question Mark
12 - Floor - Bombs to Abbadon
13 - Mahogany - Domino Ladder Beta
14 - Table - Unwind
15 - The 90 Day Men - When Your Luck Runs Out
16 - Saltillo - Backyard Pond
17 - Hurl - Four Feet to Infinity
18 - Cougars - Who's Got the Sniff?
19 - Grey Daturas - Golden Gate Blues

Download (.zip file)

Harvey Milk Returns With Special Wishes...

It’s been a wonderful year for music. It took a bit to get the ball rolling, but now here in September I can look back and confidently say that there have been some amazing releases this year. Even better, there is still about 3 and a half months left! Awesome.

All this was put into perspective for me as I was listening to the new record from Harvey Milk titled Special Wishes. I was extremely excited to see last year that the band had regrouped after initially disbanding back in ’98. I honestly didn’t think I would ever actually hear new material from these guys, but this year being full of surprises, here they are with a new record out on Troubleman Unlimited.

For their first two records, My Love is Higher Than Your Assessment of What My Love Could Be and Courtesy and Good Will Toward Men, they produced some of the most mind numbingly slow and crushingly heavy music to ever be put on record. Adding to the uneasiness of the music was Creston Spiers’ vocals which were every bit as trying and tormenting as the music itself. The complete package was so honest and painful that by the end of a record it had most likely exhausted you. Their second album is the paramount of just that, epic and absolutely heart crushing. For their third album, The Pleaser, they changed things up taking in a bit of a classic rock influence and creating a much more straightforward hard rock sound.

On Special Wishes the band returns in stunning form, not missing a beat. The album is kind of mixture of everything found in their past discography. Featuring their trademark sloth like pace at times while working in some fairly mid paced riffs here and there. Themes again range from heartache to that of our nation.

Harvey Milk – I’ve Got a Love [MP3]
Harvey Milk – Instrumental [MP3]

Please, please, please go pick this up though Troubleman Unlimited as this album was the work of many years that thankfully have come to fruition in the form of this fine release. Also, you can now also pick up the reissue of the amazing Courtesy and Good Will Towards Men through Troubleman as well. Well worth it folks.

Henry's Dress...

Henry’s Dress was a short lived noise-pop group that came together in the early 90’s to release a few seven inches, the Henry’s Dress EP, and their only full-length Bust ‘Em Green. They were both interesting for their music and the fact that members Amy Linton and Matt Hartman often switched between doing vocals/guitar and drums on their records, which proved to work quite well. Hayyim Sanchez remained on bass. In their earlier stages, the group was almost completely overblown with noise, as can be heard on their self-titled EP, which is drenched in feedback to the point of relegating the vocals to the background at times. However, I always kind of preferred this sound to what they would later do on Bust ‘Em Green. For their full-length they scaled back the feedback to some extent, but even so, they remained one of the nosier bands on Slumberland Records. Their overall sound was something, even at that time, built on a sense of nostalgia. The most obvious is probably the garage rock feel and sound in practically every song. However, the melodies and cheerful/poppy vocals from both Hartman and Linton were almost twee like, which wasn’t too far fetched considering the record label they were on. Even furthering this, before they broke up they released a tour split 7 inch with Rocketship, who could very easily be, and often were, considered twee. As it could be guessed, their album is much more catchy and poppy then their EP. However, both releases are great in their own respective rights.

Henry’s Dress EP:
Henry’s Dress – Definitely Nothing [MP3]
Henry’s Dress – (You’re My) Radio One [MP3]

Bust ‘Em Green:
Henry’s Dress – Target Practice [MP3]
Henry’s Dress – Jimmy [MP3]

As mentioned before, Henry’s Dress weren’t around for long. They broke up in 1997 after touring in support for Bust ‘Em Green. Amy Linton would soon form The Aisler’s Set after their break-up. I am pretty sure both of these releases are long out of print, so much that Bust ‘Em Green can be kind of pricey to obtain. Regardless, check eBay and the likes for either of these.

Bonus MP3 (Rocketship Tour 7 Inch):
Henry’s Dress – Over 21 [MP3]

Blunderbuss!

UPDATE: A big thank you to Ben Matthews for providing a link to purchase this album. To do so, just head on over to his personal website!

This has to be the ultimate surprise for me this year thus far. No, not in the “wow, this is good” kind of surprise, but more like “wow, when did these guys release another album” surprise. For those that might remember, Blunderbuss was a noise rock outfit that released a few singles and one full-length album (Conspiracy) through Homestead in the early to mid nineties. However, the band was pretty much elusive through that time and drifted off into complete obscurity. That’s the reason I was completely floored when I ran across this album, which is a completely new offering from the band. I honestly couldn’t believe it until I listened to it and indeed this is Blunderbuss and it is them playing in peak form. This is some of the best melodic noise rock I’ve heard all year or for maybe quite some time actually. Even better is that this isn’t some patched together semi reunited bullshit; this is all the original members plus the addition of another guitar player, Jeff Ellsworth (Don Caballero, Creta Bourzia).

Apparently, from what little information I have been able to gather, there was only about 200-300 of these suckers made and it comes in nothing but a black slipcase with a little insert only revealing the members names and song titles, nothing else. There is no contact information, label, or any of that jazz. So, for anyone else and myself…good luck getting one of these. I don’t want to settle for some digital copy, but unfortunately that looks as if that might be the only way to go as there isn’t crap about this on the Internet and when I do a search all I get is results to war related stuff and some English band by the same name.

Blunderbuss – Worn Windowsills [MP3]
Blunderbuss – I am a Prayer [MP3]

Anyway, this record is amazing, especially for a group that hasn’t done anything since 1995 as far as I know. To come together and lay down something this solid and it being self-released is quite a statement as to how great these guys are. Maybe we’ll get lucky and they’ll pop out of obscurity once again sometime down the road and release something else.

Goslings - Grandeur of Hair...

I’ll come clean; I wasn’t totally sold on the Goslings at first when I listened to them sometime last year. I thought their music was intriguing, however I never spent enough time with it. Now, here in 2006 I’ve finally opened my ears up to their newest release Grandeur of Hair which has been put out through the amazing label aRCHIVE.

Much like last year when I heard the Boris/Merzbow collaboration of 04092001, Grandeur of Hair hit me like a fucking freight train. Immediately on the first track “Own a Car”, they lay into you with an obscene amount of fuzz and distortion that is poured on thick. It’s some of the heaviest and most overblown crunching guitar abuse I’ve ever had a chance to hear. Sure, there might be something out there that out does this, but for now this has my full attention. Underneath all that distortion and noise is where the Goslings do some of their most impressive work. They pull off the difficult task of making something so incredibly abrasive to start with and mold it into a giant warbling ball of beautiful blissful noise. I know, it sounds absolutely absurd, but it’s true. Listen and don’t just do it for a few seconds.

Interestingly enough all of this comes from just a husband and wife duo from Florida, whom after a few hard to obtain CD-R releases have seen the majority of their output re-released this year, which is great. I highly suggest picking those up, as I know I will be going back and trying to get anything I can by these two. They are simply amazing.

Goslings – Own a Car [MP3]
Goslings – Golden Stair [MP3]

For anyone looking to purchase Grandeur of Hair or basically any other of their releases that are still available, head on over to Aquarius Records.

Montly Mix: August

Yeah, in rare form I am updating on a Sunday. This is because I failed to do so on Friday. From about Wednesday night until sometime late Friday night I was trying to relieve my computer of some cruddy virus that it somehow obtained while I took a nap Wednesday evening. Anyway, I woke up later that evening to find IE crashing every few minutes and my computer sporadically shutting off by itself . Good news is that I was able to run some virus scans and it took care of it. However, it proved to be difficult finishing a virus scan as the computer would shut off before it ended a couple times. How frustrating is that? Anyway, I eventually completed one and it got rid of all that crap. Friday was spent defragging the computer, which took all freaking day. So, after all that...we are back in good shape and I can bring you the monthly mix for August, albeit a few days late. Enjoy!

01 - Blunderbuss - Surrounded
02 - Lightning Bolt - 30,000 Monkies
03 - The 101 - Last Chance
04 - Owen - Bags of Bones
05 - Chokebore - Van McCoy
06 - Big'n - Chinese Jet Pilot
07 - Seam - Bunch
08 - Instrumental Quarter - Lost at My Desk
09 - Lower Forty-Eight - The Distance of Light
10 - Daisy Chainsaw - Hope All Your Dreams Come True
11 - Alcian Blue - Turn Away
12 - Hose.Got.Cable - Chevy Chase, Motherfucker
13 - Spore - Power Behind
14 - Air Formation - Ghosts
15 - Iscariote - Ad Nauseam Aeternam
16 - Moonspeed - Angel Song
17 - Stina Nordenstam - Viewed From the Spire
18 - Yikes - Pink Cigars
19 - Eluvium - Under the Water it Glowed

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