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 came as surprise to me a month or so ago to learn that Mike Hard was fronting a new band called They Never Sleep comprised of fellow former God Bullies David Livingston and Adam Berg along with Karen Neal (aka: Queen Bee) whom played with Hard in Thrall and The Brain Saw. Although I can’t say I was too big on Thrall, I can certainly get behind many of those God Bullies records and that alone warrants checking the bands debut record Mother Nature Sings Her Lullaby out.

To no ones surprise the album is high on the sleaze factor, that’s a good thing. Although I wouldn’t say it touches the sort of terrifying levels that the Bullies’ Mamawombwomb achieved. If you’re reading this and haven’t heard that record then stop what you’re doing, find it, and listen to it. Mother Nature Sings Her Lullaby sounds every bit as inspired as one could hope however, and Hard certainly sounds like he is having as good of a time as ever trying to make anyone listening or near him uncomfortable. Along with the songs being pretty rockin’, it definitely makes me want to see them live as I guessing that’s where the real treat is. However, for a band that probably relies heavily on their stage so, the album definitely succeeds on its own merits in terms of songwriting and drudging up a nice filthy rock n’ roll affair.

They Never Sleep – Never Enough (stream)

For those interested in picking this up, it’s currently available from the band on CD in a limited run of 1000. Definitely put down the cash for it if you like what you hear or just have big craving for nostalgia.

This may end up being an all singles sort of week, whether it is new or old releases. This one happens to fall into the “old” category, however it’s a dandy. One of my favorite and generally overlooked bands of the 90’s is Pittsburgh’s Hurl. I wrote a bit lengthier description of their history a couple or so years ago on the blog, all the tunes have since vanished but the words are still there to read if anyone cares to brush up. Anyway, I got around to digitizing the Bessemer Process double 7 inch that they put out on the short lived but excellent Peas Kor label in 1995. It featured two tracks that were exclusive to the single and two more tracks that were recorded live in Pittsburgh radio station WRCT that also made appearances on the bands debut album A Place Called Today released in the same year. Anyway, this band was amazing and for a band that had such large and powerful sweeping sound it surprises me that they never developed a larger fan base within the Midwestern crowd at least. Anyway, check it out and enjoy.

Hurl – Poor Seamanship [MP3]
Hurl – Amateur Pornographer [MP3]
Hurl – Faceman [MP3]
Hurl – One Man, Buck [MP3]

Anyone interested in picking up material by this fine band can still do so by checking out Amazon for used copies of their first album and I am pretty sure My Pal God still has their follow up material still available for purchase so by all means hit that up if you enjoy what you hear.

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.

Chicago’s very own Wreck are an oft overlooked band these days and one might draw the conclusion that the reason was partly due to them being hidden amongst the Wax Trax!/PIAS label during the majority of their years together. Yes, they were on the also Chicago based and notable industrial/dance label Wax Trax! and no they had absolutely nothing to do with either of those styles. Wreck was just an oddity on their roster as they were simply a rock band that bared the markings of a lot of the similar abrasive rock to come out of the city during that period. To no ones surprise I am sure, Steve Albini produced practically all of their recordings. If Wax Trax!/PIAS was looking to hit one out the park and make a mark during the grunge explosion…well Wreck were, and thankfully, much too interesting/challenging to gain that sort of notoriety.

Some may already be quite familiar with Wreck since former Die Kreuzen bassist Keith Brammer was part of the lineup that also contained members Dean Schlabowske, Bart Flores, and Kurt Moore. Schlabowske would later join John Langford from the Mekons to form alt-country act Waco Brothers. During the bands time together they released two EP’s (Wreck, House of Boris) and two albums (Soul Train and El Mundo De Los Niños). Their final album that eventually appeared in 1994 El Mundo De Los Niños was actually their only release on a different label. It was picked up by C/Z Records after Wax Trax! decidedly shelved the album. It was later re-recorded for release on C/Z. If anyone out there has promo copies of the original Wax Trax! recorded version of the album…I would love to hear it.

Anyway, in the meantime check out some fine tunes from the group…

Wreck 12’’:
Wreck – Cut-Ups [MP3]

Soul Train:
Wreck – Bad Energy [MP3]
Wreck – Retail [MP3]

House of Boris 12’’:
Wreck – Newish [MP3]

El Mundo De Los Niños:
Wreck – Coffee [MP3]

Most of Wreck’s releases are still available used on Amazon (here and here), so if anything above catches your interest then by all means grab an album or EP…or both. Enjoy!

Two great bands featured here on this split brought to you by Toxic Shock as part of the Noise From Nowhere series they did. House of Large Sizes head up the A-side on this single with their track “Bankrupt in Hoven”, which would later appear on a rarities compilation titled Little HOLS on the Prairie. Pretty sure there are copies of that still available on Amazon for anyone interested. Anyway, House of Large Sizes were a power trio in every sense during the early 90’s up until the early 00’s where they eventually “broke up” in 2003, although they often reform and play out still. In fact they have a set of dates scheduled during June and July. Their sound, especially in their earlier days, was the sort of large and powerful rock that label giants tried to snap up years later. House of Large Sizes may have been victim to just that at some point, releasing one album (My Ass-Kicking Life) on Columbia in 1993. The band continued releasing albums up until 2002 with their self-titled release.

Treepeople are probably the more recognizable name here due to the bands ties with Built to Spill, having both featured member Doug Martsch. Nothing against BTS, but I’ve always found myself being a much larger fan of his work in Treepeople. Something about all that hazy dissonance wins me over every time and they were certainly pros at achieving that. The bands track here, “Neil’s Down”, would appear roughly two years later on the bands 1993 album Just Kidding re-recorded and with much better clarity than found here. Although, I still enjoy this version too as it is a pretty good track that’s worth it for the vocals/lyrics alone in my opinion. For more information and music from Treepeople I suggest checking out the past post over at the superb Wilfully Obscure.

House of Large Sizes – Bankrupt in Hoven [MP3]
Treepeople – Neil’s Down [MP3]

Records from both bands can still be found for used and new on Amazon (Treepeople / House of Large Sizes). Enjoy!

Nothing rare here by any means, however I doubt many have had a chance to listen to the couple songs that appeared here on this Hardvark single that didn’t make it on to their only full-length, Memory Barge in 1994. This 7-inch is for the song “Dress”, however it contains two more excellent cuts that were only found on this single from what I can tell. I picked this up and another one of their singles awhile back when I was alerted that Parasol practically gives them away for fifty cents, so I figured why the hell not…I like Memory Barge enough. The other single for “Safe to Say” I wasn’t too keen on, but this one is pretty solid. If anything you get to hear two more tracks that you probably haven’t heard before or in a very long time.

Hardvark – Dress [MP3]
Hardvark – Smear on the Race [MP3]
Hardvark – Speed Limit [MP3]

I imagine Parasol still has these and judging by how they basically don’t cost anything I am guessing they really want to get rid of them, so check that out if you’re interested. Used copies of the bands full-length are on Amazon in abundant amounts as well.

Primarily the trio of Christian Gibbs (vocals/guitar), Nicholas Palumbo (bass), and Kenny Savelson (drums), the NYC based Morning Glories existed for a good handful of years in the nineties releasing three under the radar albums on the Headhunter/Cargo label. It’s a little bit surprising as to how little there is out there these days about this band, not even an archived review from some zine or anything for that matter really. Kind of a shame as for three albums they released a solid mixture of trademark nineties jagged indie-rock, blues, and tiny smidge of alt-country worked in for good measure. Typically it seems to work the other way around, but if I had to suggest it I would work backwards through the bands discography starting with their final album in 1997 Let the Body Hang. From there is the bands second album Fully Loaded in ’95 and their Self-Titled debut in 1994.

Morning Glories:
Morning Glories – Pink Fog Assertion [MP3]

Fully Loaded:
Morning Glories – Elizabeth [MP3]
Morning Glories – Tire Iron Serenade [MP3]

Let the Body Hang:
Morning Glories – B.B. Gun [MP3]
Morning Glories – Hickory [MP3]

After breaking up, singer Christian Gibbs would move on to solo work and is currently a member of two different groups, Lucinda Black Bear and The Droves. The Droves also happen to feature former Morning Glories drummer Kenny Savelson as well. All three of the bands albums are still available through Amazon, both new and used. Definitely pick up and album or two if you dig what you hear.

It’s good to know there are still people out there that appreciate the likes of Botch and Deadguy. With the amount of wanky cheese metal crud that has quickly risen to popularity, it leads me to believe that that these types are becoming far outnumbered. However there are those out there that are still standing firm and Tigon is easily one of those as heard on their debut self-titled EP that they’ve recently self-released. This five song EP is a quick blast of jagged animosity filled rock that also draws a bit from the west coasts bountiful post-hardcore past as well.

It’s sort of refreshing to be able to still get into something like this still. Tigon do an excellent job at channeling some of the best aspects of their influences and managing to still make it sound fresh. Despite it being self-released, this isn’t some garage job by any means and obviously a lot of time and effort went into recording this and the results pretty much speak for themselves. I appreciate the fact that Tigon don’t try and simply over do it. It seems anymore it’s either about how fast and technical a band can possibly get or veering off into some sort of form of Maiden-esque metal. Tigon do neither and I can’t thank them enough for it.

Tigon – Suneater [MP3]

For those interested in picking this EP up, head on over to the bands MySpace to do so. It’s only five bucks and well worth it. Definitely give it a go if you’re digging the tune above.

Sleep Capsule was a Seattle based indie-rock band during the early to mid-nineties that released two full-lengths (Mousepuss and Pink Eye) on the Minnesota label Spanish Fly Records. They also had a couple other singles squeezed in there as well, one of which was on the indie giant Sub Pop. In a time now where so many things are archived on the internet there is surprisingly little information out there about the band these days, which is a shame because both of their records are worth some attention for those that like their indie-rock a bit noisier and messy. Their second full-length Pink Eye had some recording help from Tad Doyle if that says anything, but I wouldn’t necessarily throw them under the grunge label despite their location and associations. However, this is definitely distortion heavy material no matter how you look at it. Anyway, check out the tunes below and proceed as you wish.

Mousepuss:
Sleep Capsule – Eat it’s Tongue [MP3]
Sleep Capsule – Gray Cloud Theory [MP3]

Pink Eye:
Sleep Capsule – Hovel [MP3]

Both of their discs are still available on Amazon, however due to the differentiation of the spelling of their name it might be a bit hard to simply search for so here is the links to both, Mousepuss and Pink Eye. Definitely pick these up if you dig the tunes posted above.