Built on a Weak Spot

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!

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!

This cassette from The Only Ghost in Town was originally something that I decided to throw in on a whim when making a purchase for the Dude Japan Simple Living CD-R that recently came out on Rok Lok. Label owner Mike Andriani wrote a bunch of glowing things about it on the Rok Lok site, which is not surprising since it is his label releasing it and all, but it was certainly passionate enough to get me to throw it in for five bucks. Why not ya know? Anyway, it probably didn’t hurt that Only Ghost in Town main man Dan Saraceni (By Surprise) has a rather high appreciation for early/mid 90’s lo-fi rockers Further…enough that one of the songs on this cassette is in fact a Further cover. A great band to draw influence from and one that is highly recognizable here on The Summer Was Over Before it Began. The entire thing sort of dances back and forth between solidly crafted lo-fi pop to fairly fuzzed out shoegaze, however all keeping a sort of awkward warbling that gives it a bit of a special charm in the end. It’s certainly a nice and welcome sound to these ears for something that was picked up on a flier.

The Only Ghost in Town – Like Candy [MP3]

Anyone interested in picking this up can do so by heading over to Rok Lok. Definitely worth the five dollars PPD, so give it a shot if you enjoy what you hear.

It’s been such a nice day here that I really don’t think this is the sort of album that I should be capping my night off with here. In fact, I probably should have thrown this on sometime late Saturday night after a good round of drinking and I sat laying in the living room on the futon as my night progressively began to slow down into a muddy blur. I think this would have tagged along nicely.

Anyway, Broken Water has graced these pages before as some may remember with their excellent demo/7-inch that they self-released sometime last year. It apparently was enough to get the attention of a few people that led to their debut album Whet being put out, which somehow manages to greatly topple the demo by a significant amount. The heart of 90’s indie-rock continues to pump heavily within the band for their debut, which has just been released on LP through Night People and on CD through Radio is Down. If you heard the 7-incher then you kind of already have an idea as to what the album is going to throw at you, and that is some heavily distorted and slowed down rock that drifts off into some more shoegazey moments at times. However, this kind of destroys any of the sap that may come along with the aforementioned tag and dirties it up plenty with druggy atmospherics and vocals that nearly lull me into a slumber. Although as tired as I am right now, I doubt that would be tough to do. Whet shoots right up there for one of the better albums I’ve heard this year and gets even more excited to hear future releases. I really didn’t even know this album was already on the way, so hopefully the next to come is an equally short wait.

Broken Water – Dead Light [MP3]

For those interested in picking up the LP version of Whet, then head on over to Night People where they have copies still up for sale. Anyone wishing to got the CD route, Radio is Down has you covered and has them up on their site. Do grab this while they are still available, excellent material.

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.

Back in 2005 Lostmusic Recordings released this seven song EP titled Smoking at Gas Stations from the one man band project The Crack Babies based out of Sweden. During its initial run of very limited copies it sold out and was then offered as a free download, which amassed quite a few of those. However with the aforementioned label now gone and nowhere to download, Odd Box Records has risen to the demand after persistent requests to do another limited run of the album on CD for anyone that missed out the first time. If you’re a big fan of 80’s noise-pop, lo-fi, or just JAMC worship in general then by all means don’t miss out on it again.

The Crack Babies are very much what you think they are, incredibly blown out shoegazy noise. However, on this EP the decibels are driven even further upward landing them in the same area as fellow past limit pushers Skywave. Whether the aesthetics of the record were intentional or not (it was recorded with an extremely low budget), the results greatly work to its advantage. At times the vocals hit a high blown out yet muffled pitch that often reminds me of Scott Cortez’s work under the Astrobrite moniker. Anyway, check out the tune below.

The Crack Babies – Shine [MP3]

For anyone interested in pre-ordering a copy of this re-issued limited run of this EP, then head on over to Odd Box Records to get in on that. I definitely recommend it for anyone that considers themselves a fan of noise-pop or any of the other mentioned artists in this piece. Enjoy!

Just picked this up a couple or so weeks ago and have been enjoying the tunes included within courtesy of the Olympia, WA based band Sisters. Despite coming out through the Parts Unknown label late last year I haven’t seen a whole about this record, I guess maybe it’s a bit too much of a throwback for some? Who knows? Either way, I am digging it and anything that manages to successfully channel the likes of Yo La Tengo, Sonic Youth, and My Bloody Valentine to create this sort of raucous lo-fi mess is absolutely fine by me. The band effortlessly mixes up tempos quite nice with tunes that range from garage punk intensity and bite to the wonderful psych inspired slow burn featured on the albums final track “Caspian Term”. All of which are continually wrapped in a fair amount of needle tapping distortion. Give it a listen if you will.

Sisters – Fire Escape [MP3]

For those interested in picking up the self-titled record from Sisters, then it can be had over at Parts Unknown. It’s worth it.