Built on a Weak Spot

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 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]

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.

By now most have probably realized that I’ve switched over to Wordpress, which is considerably better for this blog. The only downside of the move is that everyone that was subscribed to the blog via a feed will probably need to re-subscribe if you’re looking to still receive updates. Apologies for the inconvenience, I do hope everyone makes the jump and thanks to everyone out there for sticking with me!

It seems Averkiou aren’t the only ones immersing themselves in the sweet sounds of noise-pop/shoegaze in Gainesville, Florida. I recently picked up a copy of Needs Medicines from Nervous Systems and was met with a catchy offering of fuzzy pop songs that captures a lot of the charm that made a lot of similar bands during the 90’s endearing due to some of their imperfections in combination with their enthusiasm. Not exactly sure where it fits in, but there definitely hints of Guided by Voices, Henry’s Dress, etc. to be found here. Those who enjoy quick and to the point noise-pop should definitely give this a try.

Nervous Systems – Sound Effect for Deafening Silence [MP3]

For those interested, Needs Medicines can be obtained through Obscurist Press or Tonevendor. Also SNCL has some copies for those in the UK. Do pick it up if you like what you hear.

I’ve had plenty of time to listen to this album from Boston’s Life Partners; however I still don’t really know what I’m hearing. I can say without much question that I do like it. In fact, it contains what ended up being one of my favorite songs from the past year with the track “Planet of the AIDS”. It almost seems like I should feel some sort of shame here by singing along to vocalist Dave Dougan’s string of obscenities, however that itself might be an elaborate joke that the band is playing on us all anyway. If so, they’ve definitely gotten me. However, despite the superficially lowbrow nature in which Men Are Talking presents itself, the songs themselves stand as far more than just an attempt to shock and be the hit of the party. The melding of guitar, synth, and even a trumpet conspire to create a sickeningly catchy set of songs at times. I say “sickeningly” because it’s at its most appropriate here when thinking about the contrast of music and lyrics for a song such as “Rapist Get’s Off”. It’s almost enough to get me feeling uneasy, which is no easy task. That said, Life Partners are most definitely operating in their own realm of weird and Men Are Talking is a pretty fantastic cut of insanity due to it.

Life Partners – Planet of the AIDS [MP3]

For those interested in picking up Men Are Talking, then be sure to hit up Ride the Snake Records for a copy.

I’m not really sure if Mudlark is supposed to bum me out or not. I mean, yeah…the songs are definitely somewhere in the vicinity of stirring up a roots rock/grungy sort of vibe, just kind of being lazy while dealing with shitty weather and money problems. However, one look at the cover is enough for me, as I could step out of my house and walk down the street a ways and snap a picture of something that would probably be quite similar to that of what appears here. Then I realize, damn…I’m still living here. And that folks is Mudlark.

As the description from the label says, it does touch upon some early Dino Jr. and Meat Puppets, which is definitely not a bad thing. However, they don’t really stick to either and that’s probably a plus too in the end. Has a nice warm sort of muddy production that in a lot of ways kind of fits what they are doing, which I suppose is being down and out…so why not just drink? The singer occasionally sounds as if he might have been doing just that, but that comes tied along nicely to the bit of plodding rock that they’ve latched on to here. Good stuff.

Mudlark – Mountain [MP3]

For those interested in picking this up, hit up Fun With Smack. If you like the tune above, certainly get this.

You often hear about projects in which one person composes all the music and plays all the instruments on a recording, however most of the time that requires a full band to perform live. Not often do you see what Nathanial Rappole does under the moniker of Gull, a literal representation of the one man band. I’ll admit I was skeptical when I first learned about it. It seemed like it could just end up being a gimmicky item, but after having the pleasure of viewing some videos on Youtube of Gull performing I was sold on the idea and the music Mr. Rappole creates.

Some may recognize Rappole as a member of Ultra Dolphins and Snack Truck. If you’re a resident of Richmond, VA then it’s likely you’re already quite aware of Rappole and more specifically his project Gull as he said to often be spotted playing live throughout the area. You’ll notice that a few of the videos on the internet are him doing just that. The music for the most part is an interesting combination of mathy rhythms that often venture into some spacey psych territory during the four songs contained on this debut single. Naturally, the music has a bit more staying power when seeing the performance behind it all…but the songs simply standing alone do enough to recognize this as something more than just a guy making a bunch of noise. There is a legitimate showing of talent here.

Gull – Chain Saw it Coming [MP3]

For anyone interested in picking this up, it’s still available through Molsook Records. Definitely pick up and be sure to check out some more videos of Gull in action on MySpace or by browsing around on Youtube. Very cool.

Apologies for the string of inactivity around here the past week. Needless to say this month hasn’t exactly kicked off 2010 the way I would have liked it to and really am going to be quite happy when this month is over. Enough with that though…

For the past week I’ve been driving to and from work in an almost surreal sort of fog that finally lifted over the past couple or so days. Just the sort of gray and bleak conditions that if I had the choice I would have probably stayed inside the whole week. And even with it now gone, I still think I’ve only seen the sun maybe once or twice in the past two weeks. Of course, right at the beginning of this whole crap filled span of weather I would receive the debut EP 4 from John Sharkey’s new post-Clockcleaner project Puerto Rico Flowers. Those that have been reading for awhile probably know that I am definitely a fan of Clockcleaner, especially their last album Babylon Rules. Obviously the excitement to hear this new project and sound was at a pretty high level. Getting back to what I was saying though, this arrived probably right at the most opportunistic moment because what better time to listen to such a bleak offering of tunes than when the surrounding landscape is at its ugliest. It’s perfect, and probably the only thing that kept my sanity for these past few days, allowing me to sort of wallow in Sharkey’s minimalist approach of death-doom-gloom inspired rock. Nothing but bass, drums, and Sharkey’s immediately recognizable vocals grace the four songs on this EP, uncompromisingly plodding and dragging the listener down with it. Call it gothic, coldwave, whatever…the slow resurgence of this sort of thing will be welcomed with open arms by me. There are still qualities that I think fans of Clockcleaner and other past projects will appreciate, however the subject matter is certainly a change of pace.

Puerto Rico Flowers – Let’s Make Friends [MP3]

I happen to have a spare copy of this fine EP, so what better thing to do than give it away to someone out there. Surprisingly, I’ve never held a contest of any kind on the blog over the three or so years it’s been online. I wouldn’t really consider this much of a contest though as the only thing you need to do have a chance at winning is shoot me an e-mail with “Puerto Rico Flowers Giveaway” as the subject head or something along those lines. Basically just let me know you want to be entered. I’ll keep track and choose someone at random (method to be determined) on the 30th of this month. So yeah, my e-mail is up near the top right of the page. Get on it.

For those that don’t like to gamble, it was just made available through Fan Death Records a few days ago, so be sure to pick this up if you’re enjoying the tune above. It comes with a nice high quality MP3 download as well.

I was a bit less productive this week than I had planned. More snow here in KCMO, a rather long week of work, and the Royals continue to sign shitty worthless players like Scott Podsednik and Jason Kendall. Enough of that though, you’re not here to listen to me whine.

Got this split cassette awhile back, featuring two bands from the east coast in Michael Jordan (Brooklyn, NY) and Rainbow Party (Allentown, PA). Not hearing either of these prior to this release, I was initially intrigued by some samples I’d heard of Michael Jordan and led me to pick this up I’d say on start up tape label Nervous Attack. Michael Jordan contributes three songs to their side of the tape, and all have a satisfying unhinged emo/hardcore sort of sound and feel to them that I find myself liking more and more upon each listen. They have another cassette out as well, which I am beginning to think I should hear.

I kind of don’t know what to make of Rainbow Party. They make for a bit of an odd pairing here with their minimalist indie/post-punk that doesn’t take itself too seriously it would appear. I mean they do have a CD called Butt Jamz after all. Rainbow Party has four songs on their side, three of which are from a radio session live set. I suppose this isn’t my cup of tea, but if you’re looking for something a bit fun then you could probably do a whole lot worse.

Michael Jordan – I Don’t Want to Write This Song (stream)
Rainbow Party – F.P.S. (stream)

This is still available it appears through Nervous Attack, so if you’re enjoying it then definitely throw down the five dollars for it.

After reading the bands fake bio, I actually kind of want to hear the band that is portrayed in it. Who wouldn’t want to hear a band of two divorced women and a drum machine making noise loosely based off of the Michael Douglas & Demi Moore flick Disclosure?

As interesting as that sounds, it would probably be more humorous than actually listenable on a musical quality. So what we do have in Ex Wives are three guys from Glasgow that seem to get overly enthusiastic about the same sort of indie/noise that makes appearances here on the blog on a continual basis. So naturally the four songs on Fucking Dutch, their second release and first for Radio is Down, are heavily inspired by the familiar sounds of 90’s indie. It’s pretty easy to tag these guys as similar to Shellac, but really I think if it wasn’t for the singer’s voice that wouldn’t be so much the case. Yeah, Ex Wives also employ a liberal amount of the same razor sharp guitar sound that also makes it way back to Albini. This kind of remains hidden though as the band veers off into a heftier and chunkier melodic style than rather the oppressive monotonous nature of say Shellac. But really though, aside from these four songs on Fucking Dutch (which are all pretty solid by the way) and the two from their CD-R release, that’s all there is to go on for now and they are plenty good enough to get me interested in what these guys have lined up for the future.

Ex Wives – Otters [MP3]

Fucking Dutch is available now through Radio is Down for those interested. The bands 3” CD-R single is also available for download from the band by simply visiting their MySpace page.