Built on a Weak Spot

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 must give a nod to One Base on an Overthrow for originally sending this EP from Melbourne, Australia’s Electric Jellyfish my way. Oddly enough the band would later pop up in my inbox slinging the very same EP that’s recently been made available by Twin Lakes Records. So I am guessing I was going to hear this somehow someway eventually, which is fine by me because it turns out its pretty gosh darn good. I kind of knew I was going to like this when the first track “Image of Power, Poolside” started rolling along in a nice repetitive fashion of stripped down guitar and a big walloping drum sound. It’s then gradually muddied up by an increasing amount of distortion throughout giving it an effect of something similar to a building thunder storm. Electric Jellyfish turn in a couple bluesy/downer numbers thereafter that I think really sort draws and resembles a lot of the more downtrodden bluesy sort of noise that Australia has produced over the years. The EP ends on a one two punch of a more rocking number called “The Glitch” that rolls right over you and the final track “Dog Head Pipe” that shows, yet again, another side of the band that likes to experiment a bit. All of this nearly 9 minute track is consumed by building rumbles of feedback and noise accompanied by the tribal like pound of drums. I am thinking a full-length from these fellas could be quite a rollercoaster ride. This certainly gets my hopes up.

Electric Jellyfish – Image of Power, Poolside [MP3]

For anyone interested in picking this up, it’s available through Twin Lakes right now digitally for a mere $4.95. I would certainly suggest grabbing it if you enjoy what you hear.

As you can see I finally got a scanner so you won’t have to see crappy photos of albums lying on my nasty floor. Well, at least the ones that fit that is. At the very least all the nifty inserts that I couldn’t properly capture in photo before will now be able to be seen. But moving on…

All My Blues for Sale is one of many singles that LA based Jackknife put out over the time they were together. This one being one of the last items the band released. They were fairly prolific however, releasing a handful of singles on a various number of labels and a couple EP’s along with a full-length album that appeared on Sympathy for the Record Industry in 1994 titled Drugstar ’69. The album doesn’t necessarily hold up as well to their material that is scattered about on singles, which seemed to feature the band at their rawest and amped up. As far as trashy garage rock goes, these folks cut a few gems and you could do far worse in deciding to go back and scour their discography. Good stuff.

Jackknife – All My Blues for Sale [MP3]
Jackknife – I Heard You Knock [MP3]

I am fairly certain this isn’t too hard to obtain through the usual methods of eBay, etc. That probably goes for the majority of their material. At the very least their full-length is on Amazon for super cheap.

This record continually has me guessing, which I think is probably a good thing. I just don’t know what to say about it really other than I dig what these two guys from Portland are banging out. The Ax come armed with three things apparently…guitar, drums, and big riffs. At times they lay down a heavy low end guitar tone that briefly touches upon Floor or Karp sludge territory, however I’d say the band are channeling more of a straight up rock n’ roll sort of thing more along the lines of Red Fang or a heavier Bad Wizard. They are kind of a vacuum cleaner of all things that could be considered big guitar rock and the The Ax certainly emphasize the “big”. Their sound is massive in fact, to which I can only envision a towering set up behind them with patrons shirts rippling from the blast it omits. While the band tiptoes around a number of different ideas here on Our Queen of Dirt, they never cease to let up with the distortion as if they figured maybe everything sounds better this way…and I think I am beginning to agree with that sentiment. I don’t know if there are still too many people out there presently that are looking for a record like this, but I am certainly hoping so.

The Ax – Mouth to Feed [MP3]

For anyone wishing to pick up Our Queen of Dirt, then it’s available in both vinyl and CD formats over at Whoa! Boat. If you’re digging the posted tune above then I would recommend checking out the whole record. Well worth it.

I think the recent surge of heat around here has gotten me a bit down. To the point where I have just found myself indifferent to doing just about anything I’ve been meaning to do, including updating the blog. I can’t say listening to this new LP from Francis Harold & The Holograms has lifted my spirits any, but I don’t think it’s a record that was intended to. With that said, Who Said These Were Happy Times was just recently released through Going Underground and comes right around the same time as a new single on Hozac that rips just about as much this record. I may not be in the best of moods lately due to being confined by this awful heat, but Francis Harold & The Holograms have assured me with this fantastic LP that being confrontational and downright nasty is perfectly a-ok. However, despite there being quite the downer vibe going on here (along with plenty of feedback/noise) the band very obviously is having a good time being angry. Does that make any sense? I doubt it, but of all the records that I’ve come across in the past few years this is one that certainly revels in all of its disgusting glory. The band members are wrapped in a bit of mystery, apparently sporting hooded masks in all public performances. However, after following along with the lyric sheet included…they are probably wise to hide their identities. The full blown out noise the band creates is more than plenty to get the average person uneasy, however dig further and it’s bound to creep out far more than just that.

Francis Harold & The Holograms – Glitter Girls [MP3]

For anyone wanting to pick up Who Said These Were Happy Times then hit up Going Underground or take a look for it in your preferred distro. Either way, don’t miss out on this.

I’ll just get this out of the way and say it right now, this record rocks really hard. I had a strong feeling after getting a chance to hear “When I Was Asleep” from San Fran’s Long Legged Woman that I could be in store for something special. It didn’t take me long thereafter to make the decision to throw some cash their way for their recently released LP on Pollen Season titled Nobody Knows This is Nowhere. Apparently it was originally recorded well over a year ago when the band was still a four piece and also residing in the Athens, GA area. The band self-released a few copies of it along the way before Pollen Season gave it the proper release that it most definitely deserves.

There haven’t been many times where distortion/fuzz sounds as good as it does here. Long Legged Woman is a band that sets out to suffocate the listener with it or make them go deaf, whichever comes first. While they most certainly wouldn’t be the first band to set up their equipment and turn it all the way up to create a floor rattling amount of noise, they manage to mine the depths of trashy/scuzz rock with fine detail hashing out the best it has to offer. The band further impresses by their ability to tread a perfect line of tunefulness that makes what they’re doing hit that much harder. Most of the songs keep it short; however the final track on the A-side “Psych Jam” is a seven minute plus track that gives plenty of nods to their Southern origins along the way as it slowly builds into a frenzy of guitar and drums. This is no frills rock that is absolutely nailed…loud and consistently leaning towards being out of control. Probably one of my favorite albums I’ve had the pleasure to hear this year. Give it a listen.

Long Legged Woman – When I Was Asleep [MP3]

To pick up Nobody Knows This is Nowhere just head on over to Pollen Season. I can’t recommend it enough if you’re digging the posted tune above.

Maybe better known in the USA as 50 Tons of Black Terror thanks to a legal run in with Penthouse magazine, the London based band was formed in the mid-nineties by members Charlie Finke (vocals), John Free (guitars), Graham Flynn (bass), and Tim Cedar (drums). Although their moniker elsewhere is much shorter, I much prefer that name over the longer one that reminds me of something that a cheesy metal band would go by. Names aside though, Penthouse was an extremely overlooked bluesy noise-rock band during their time together, never getting much attention over here as to be expected despite being on a fairly large label at the time for US release.

Their first album Gutter Erotica appeared originally 1997 through World Domination, which wastes no time establishing the core of the bands sound with a startling blast of screeching guitar and the blare of a harmonica to go along with Finke’s maniacal vocals. The album was re-issued a year later both in the UK and USA through Beggars Banquet, with the USA release under the 50 Tons name and along with it a name change for the album as well to Demeter. The USA re-issue however features a four song remix EP, which for me doesn’t do much but might be interesting for some out there. I’m never really into remixes as a whole. Anyway, the band followed that up with their second full-length My Idle Hands in 1999 released through Beggars Banquet in both the UK and USA. At this point they swapped out bassists, losing Flynn and replacing him with Esme MacDonald. Following that, their third and final album would appear in 2002 titled UNT (Unprecedented National Tragedy) through their own Vanity label in the UK and through Space Baby here in the USA. The album would see the band diving further into their sludgey garage inspired sound resulting in what may be their best effort. All three albums are pretty solid though in my opinion, full of twisted guitar and crushing low end.

These days almost all of the members can be found doing other projects. The band broke up not long after the release of UNT. Charlie Finke can be found playing in The Cesarians and Blood Safari. Graham Flynn does a solo thing simply called Flynn. Tim Cedar went on to form the wonderfully noise ridden Part Chimp. John Free can be found in Gin Palace.

Gutter Erotica:
Penthouse – Voyeur’s Blues [MP3]
Penthouse – Road Rash [MP3]

My Idle Hands:
Penthouse – Detunabilly [MP3]
Penthouse – Giant Haystacks [MP3]

UNT:
Penthouse – Creatures vs. People [MP3]
Penthouse – Baby Must Die [MP3]

For those that don’t already own these and are looking to pick up an album or two, practically everything that Penthouse/50 Tons of Black Terror put out can be had by heading over here. I suggest doing it if you like what you hear posted above, much more where that came from.

I’m squeezing in an update today before some post-season baseball gets started. I can’t be missing any of that.

Today I bring you what I assume is the debut from the NYC based Five Dollar Priest out on Bang! Records. I think one of the easiest ways to give an idea as to what this band/album sounds like is to just let everyone know who makes up this group because it’s quite a collective of musicians and guests. You’ll either know if you want to proceed or not after reading it. This is the way the label approached it, so I see no reason to divert from that. Anyway, Five Dollar Priest is Ron Ward (Speedball Baby) on vocals/harp/percussion, Norman Westberg (Swans, Sulfur, Heroine Sheiks) on guitar, George Porfiris (Heroine Sheiks) on bass, Patrick Holmes on clarinet, and Bob Bert (Sonic Youth, Chrome Cranks, Knoxville Girls, Pussy Galore, Bewitched) on drums. So yeah, expect plenty of bluesy garage rock smashed together with a hint of early NYC no-wave and you kinda sorta got an idea. No matter what it may be, this record is pretty excellent if this is your cup of tea. The right amount of noise, the uneasy vocals from Ward, and a clarinet thrown in for good measure. Sign me up. And like I previously mentioned it features a number of guests also, like Jon Spencer, Cristina Martinez, Matt Verta-Ray, and James Chance all adding to this delicious mess. Check out the tune below for more.

Five Dollar Priest – Fingered [MP3]

For those interested in picking up the self-titled album from Five Dollar Priest, then head on over to Bang! Records to do so. Well worth it.

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.

I did some brief CD shopping yesterday, and managed to pick up a couple of the releases on my 2006 list that I hadn’t been able to track down yet. Also, to my delight, I ran across a copy of the new Coachwhips CD/DVD release Double Death. So today, in a rare Saturday update since I was fairly hit or miss all week, I will talk a bit about this fine release from Narnack Records.

Double Death is the compilation release from the Coachwhips which collects various rarities, B-sides, and a DVD chock full of concert footage. I am typically not a fan of anything resembling to throwback garage rock or anything of the sort. However, the Coachwhips were a band that were so careless in their approach and playing that it actually made it more appealing. Releasing 4 albums worth of distorted and downright dirty rock ‘n roll in just as many years. This isn’t your garage rock for The Strokes set, this is something almost completely inaudible at times and noisy that it’s actually in my opinion much more true to those acts of the late 60’s. Not being focused on any sort of production qualities, John Dwyer’s vocals are just as equally loud and distorted in the mix of noise.

Coachwhips – Hands On [MP3]
Coachwhips – Brains Out [MP3]
Coachwhips – Guess I’m Fallin’ in Love (The Velvet Underground)[MP3]

The second portion of this CD is great too as it features a bunch of covers from the band doing songs from which undoubtedly led them to this abrasive sound. Featuring covers from The Kinks, The Sonics, and a few more. The DVD portion of the release shouldn’t be missed either as it contains some good live footage of the band. The footage itself is a great resemblance of the bands style and sound, as it does a pretty damn good job at capturing the gritty feel of their live shows and complete insanity that ensued. This is a must for anyone that is a Coachwhips fan. Even if you’re not and you see this floating around in your local record shop, grab it anyway; it’s completely worth it. If that’s not possible, pick it up directly over at Narnack.