Victim of Time

BREAKING SOUNDS: Sex Church 7"

Todd Killings

Sweet Rot Records just keeps the hits coming, and delivers another brain-frying debut from Vancouver's blackest and stickiest Sex Church, a neutering and throbbing blob of a mess that's got it's tentacles all up in my business. Featuring a few familiar faces from Vapid and the Defektors, along with Levon from Ladies Night and Nick G. from Master Apes (and Milwaukee's own Catholic Boys) hiding inside of an ugly shell of tar, grease and grisly intestines, and for a first single, they really nail down their own sound perfectly. On the A-side's "Dead End", an ominously undulating bass pattern rises and repeats, and the sense of real fear in the frantic drum beat alone is enough to make me check to be sure the doors are all locked. Almost Krautrockish at times, but still holding the gory edge of early 80s deathpunk in its grip, Sex Church keep it locked into an impenetrable groove that's as urgent as it is hypnotic. The B-Side's "Let Down" takes the pace down a bit, but delightfully drudges your mind through a slime-laden pit of Rocket From The Tombs-cum Alice Cooper residue that just can't be washed off without industrial-strength equipment. Some of the hooks even bring to mind The Hunches' drearier moments, but for this moment, Sex Church have the floor and you won't have an easy time picking yourself up off of it once you let these songs take root in your skull.

With a follow-up single coming soon on Convulsive Records, Sex Church are quickly rising like the filthy foam of penance, and waiting for their next chance to drain your worthless spine and drink that disgustingly powerful stuff inside while you lie there limp. Pick up their debut 7" from Sweet Rot (along with new singles from Jeffrey Novak and The Dictaphone), right HERE or from Goner HERE and blow your mind the right way tonight.

Check out a live clip of Sex Church performing in June at Music Waste in Vancouver. BC, courtesy of lianimator, right here:

Sacred Bones Showcase Tonight with Wooden Shjips & Vivian Girls

Brett Cross

There's always plenty to do on Halloween. Across the country, virtually every city has more than a handful of shows that are pretty hard to skip, and it seems the holiday boasts the sort of atmosphere made for an excellent rock'n'roll show. Maybe it's just the mysteriously fun chance for people to shed their everyday costumes to tog themselves in get-ups that more closely reflect their inner goblins, all the while drinking themselves silly and rocking out to their favorite tunage. Saturday at 171 Lombardy in Brooklyn, New York, Sacred Bones Records is hosting a party to bring awareness to Halloween arson packed with four great bands.

The San Fransisco act, Wooden Shjips headline the event tonight, closing their first tour on Americans East Coast. With the release of their second album on Holy Mountain Records early this year, the band continues their perfect stride of drone-dug hypnotic psychedelia. Their songs come off as a mind-altering exercise set to wipe your consciousness clean, leaving the shell of your body to rhythmically bob as their music takes you over like some kinda of Frisco voodoo. You can pick up their latest LP on Holy Mountain, Dos , along with an LP collection of their highly coveted early material here. And be sure to check out the new Wooden Shjips side-project, Moon Duo as well, with a new 12" released on Sacred Bones this month.

The Vivian Girls are a Brooklyn girl group that caused quite a raucous last year with their sugary, yet poisonous sound that landed them a deal with In The Red. Sounding off with songs that incur a production level of Phil Spector being smothered under a pillowcase, this 3-piece culminates a perfect blend of modern pop and a sub-fidelity sound that blissfully mummers spell-spinning songs. You can pick up their newly released sophomore LP, Everything Goes Wrong on In The Red here and their newest single released this past summer on Rough Trade.

Somehow, Crystal Stilts fall sonically between the headliners, Wooden Shjips and the Vivian Girls, with a sound that pulls as much from late 80s psyche as it does from early 80s post-punk. For example, check out their follow-up single, Love is a Wave, to their excellent debut last year on Slumberland Records, this past spring. Crystal Stilts mire in the wonderfully cloudy-headed ethos, cock-eyed drone musing and successfully ram Velvet Underground timing into a modern wall of subterranean twang with hollow self-assured vocals that ricochet around in your innards. You can pick up both their repackaged debut 12", their follow-up single and their LP on Woodsist compiling their earlier work all right here.

Opening the show are Religious Knives, who just came out with a 6-song LP on Ecstatic Peace this month, and already have one in the works with Sacred Bones. Delving out even-handed, modern psychedelic tunes, these dudes and dudette are the perfect band to get this show going right. Don't fuss too much over your costume, it's not as funny as you think anyway, and get there early so you don't miss these guys.

Check out a video of Religious Knives performing live at Museo de Chiado, courtesy of catpowder, right here:

Black Time Sinks California

Brett Cross

Black Time crashed upon the shores of the Western United States this past week for a short tour through the end of October. They are playing this weekend in the geographically doomed state of California. Tonight, they play the Fuzzplex in Oakland with The Mantles, Shannon and the Clams, Larry & The Angriest Generation and Glitter Wizard, and then play Sunday in Davis on the KDVS Radio Show live, on Art For Spastics with the Slippery Slopes.

Black Time, the English gaggle of miscreants known for their fuzz-scuffed waltzes of gutter hyperbole, unleashed their coagulation of post-punk angular yowl with an underlining root of 60s garbage rock with their debut album Blackout in 2004 on Concrete Life and then again repressed in CD format on In In The Red Records. Now with three albums on In The Red, the latest, Double Negative embeds them deeper in the soil of the modern landscape of underground music, and does so with songs that clamor around in your mind like a pill-induced tornado.

As their recordings indicate, these guys and gal rip it up live with a committed intensity that will force you to over-drink in a confusing state of combined terror and bliss. Often pummeling through tune after tune without coming up for oxygen, Black Time put on a mesmerizing set that cannot be missed and one that's pretty hard to follow. Thankfully tonight they headline, but get to the Fuzzplex early, as the support bands shouldn't be missed as well.

Next week they will be playing at Budget Rock 8 Fest in San Fransisco and they'll be back in Oakland for a Halloween Party with Nobunny at the Stork Club, don't miss them!

Check Out Black Time on tour:

Oct 17 2009 at Fuzzplex in Oakland, California w/ Shannon & The Clams + Larry & The Angriest Generation + The Mantles + Glitter Wizard
Oct 19 2009 Live on Art for Spastics, KDVS in Davis, California w/ Slippery Slopes
Oct 21 2009 at the Funhouse in Seattle w/ Prison + Mosquito Bandito
Oct 22 2009 at Slabtown in Portland, Oregon w/ The Bugs + Cafeteria Dance Fever + The Manbones
Oct 23 2009 at Budget Rock 8! in San Francisco w/ Necessary Evils + Golden Boys + Primitivas + Wounded Lion
Oct 24 2009 Live on KFJC Los Altos, California
Oct 26 2009 at Munoz Gym in Bakersfield, California w/ Contaminators + Neon Maniacs
Oct 27 2009 at Unity Church Long Beach, California w/ Audacity + Neon Maniacs + Cat Party + That’s Incredible
Oct 28 2009 at Burro Rayado in Tijuana, Baja California w/ San Pedro El Cortez + Los Sweepers + El Monstro
Oct 29 2009 at The Kensington Club in San Diego
Oct 30 2009 at Five Star Bar in Los Angeles w/ Cheap Time + Le Face + Audacity
Oct 31 2009 Halloween Party at the Stork Club in Oakland w/ Nobunny + Shannon & the Clams + East Bay Grease + Tuetonics

Wizzard Sleeve Tour Kicks Off in Chicago with Static Static and Mickey

Todd Killings

This Friday night in Chicago don't miss the kickoff of the Wizzard Sleeve Fall tour as it launches at the Mortville loft, and obliterates the southwest side with the soiled ashes of Chrome, Crime, and Creedence or, the sound of Peter Murphy sucking on a tailpipe, as both descriptions are gut-wrenchingly appropriate. Also with their October tour brings the debut of the anxiously awaited Wizzard Sleeve LP, Make The World Go Away, out this week on HoZac officially, and available direct from the band at all of their upcoming shows. If you've been brave enough to stick your face in the flames of November's Coming Fire, then it's time to man up to yourself and break your head right through the window of your mind, as this sickening album has enough black ooze and crawling vermin running around in its grooves that it's gonna be impossible to ever really wash the filth off. It's clearly a deathpunk masterpiece, dripping with cold, black power and drug juice running down it's spine, and as the witching hour grows near, it's the perfect audio accompaniment for the bone-chilling depravity lying within the darkest corners of your mind. If you've already been soaking in it, you'll need no convincing, but to the curious and uninitiated, listening to Wizzard Sleeve is a long dark trip down the wrong end of everything, and its bewitching ugliness fits these bleak times like a glove.

As birds of a feather always flock en masse to the nearest bloody carcass to feast upon, Static Static from Los Angeles join up with Wizzard Sleeve Friday as well, bringing their drilling and neurotic noise to Chicago's dirtiest and most perilous part of town. Writhing guitars clash into frayed synth circuits with metronomic precision, all the while Static Static's killer deadpan vocals cut right through the tension and create incredibly danceable destructo rock, all wrapped in dirty razorblades. And live, they're even better. If you haven't already, do check out the many stellar Static Static 7" releases, and don't forget to pick up their debut LP on Tic Tac Totally as well.

But just when you thought it was too passe to be in a dangerous band in Chicago, along comes the perfectly sloppy and unrealistically addictive bubblegum-barf of Mickey, one of the most dazzling concoctions to grace the stage locally as of late. How this strange mix of weirdos ever came together is odd enough, but the music Mickey delivers is refreshingly perfect, trashy glam/powerpop, a la early GG Allin & the Jabbers and the Berlin Brats, played by guys that all seem to be in their own worlds, but come together like nothing you've ever witnessed. Featuring the seethingly salacious Mac Blackout as the teeny-boppin' "Juke Box Babe"-era Alan Vega figurehead, along with his zany gang of glitterous glammaries from bands such as Tentacle Lizardo, Incredible Nigga Band, and Trash & Heat, this is one bumping train of all-around punk heaven you cannot miss. Look for the debut Mickey 7" coming this winter on HoZac, so don't be late to the Mortville loft and miss 'em, and bringing more beer than necessary is always a good idea.

Catch Wizzard Sleeve LIVE if you dare, in a town near you, and grab a copy of their LP before it literally grabs you.

OCT.
2- Chicago IL (Mortville)
3- Cleveland OH (Now That's Class)
4- Columbus OH (Summit) w/THOMAS FUNCTION
5- Detroit MI (Lager House) w/THOMAS FUNCTION
6- Athens OH (The Union)w/TV GHOST
7- Pittsburgh PA (The Rickety House) w/TV GHOST
8- Brooklyn NY (Shea Stadium) W/TV Ghost & FNU RONNIES
9- Brooklyn NY (Market Hotel) w/TV GHOST & FNU RONNIES
10-Philadelphia PA (Pi Lam House) w/TV GHOST & FNU RONNIES
11- DC (Velvet Lounge) w/TV GHOST
12- Durham NC (The Pinhook) w/TV GHOST
13- Athens GA (Tasty World) w/TV GHOST
14- Atlanta GA (The Earl) w/THE OH SEES & TV GHOST
15- Memphis TN (The Hi-Tone) w/TV GHOST & STATIC STATIC
16- New Orleans LA (Saturn Bar) w/THE OH SEES & STATIC STATIC

Check out a video clip of Wizzard Sleeve earlier this year, performing "Alabama's Doomed" from the LP, courtesy of reddrankzz

Hex Dispensers 2nd LP

Todd Killings

It sure seems like it's about time for another wallop from Austin, TX's domineering pop perfectionists, the Hex Dispensers. This week's BREAKING SOUNDS entry spotlights their sophomore LP offering as they nail it all down with a tightness and righteousness that's hard to beat, and always easy to enjoy. Forming out of the collaborative thunder of Alex Cuervo, Dave Bessenhoffer, Tom Kodiak, and Alyse Mervosh's insidious restlessness, Hex Dispensers blasted forth just over two years ago and knocked the socks off anyone who got to witness their bombastic powerpop firsthand, and delivered a crushingly great debut LP on Alien Snatch which left us panting for more. On their latest LP, Winchester Mystery House released last month on Douchemaster, we find the Hex Dispensers honing their craft to a fine edge, locking in grooves that shake your inner monkey back and forth mercilessly and delivering a walloping punch to their already decimating and deadly pop formula.

As expectations are set high for most second albums, Hex Dispensers definitely don't disappoint as they bust out vigorous, infectiously-driven high-speed pop jams that stick to your soul and drive you wild with wanton exuberance. The earthshaking drums, slashing guitars, and those irresistible vocal hooks may even evoke the finest moments of contemporaries the Marked Men, and man o' man is that ever a slice of heaven, but Hex Dispensers easy one-up their contemporaries with nary a broken sweat. They even cover one of my all-time favorite DEVO songs, "Gates of Steel" and crush it's particles into a death ray of uninhibited power, as they don't just cover it like they did with Tubeway Army on their debut, they make it their own. Everything from the immaculate sleeve design to the beautiful splattered platter exudes eye-catching brilliance, so do the pop-side of your mind a real favor and grab this LP before your chest caves in from the inevitable lack of blood pumping that results from not having this incredible Hex Dispensers LP at hand. Pick it up direct from Douchemaster right HERE.

check out a video clip of Hex Dispensers performing their killer "MY Love Is A Bat" live at Emo's in Austin last year, courtesy of DavidRayDog, right here:

The Intelligence Touch Down At Market Hotel Friday

Todd Killings

Friday night in Brooklyn at the Market Hotel, don't miss the spectacle of sonic absurdity known as The Intelligence, as they again descend on New York's seedy underbelly with the unassuming finesse and unwavering sound pioneering, they're known for the world over. Originally a shard of the illustriously stark noise of the A-Frames, and manned by multi-instrumentalist / drummer extraordinaire, Lars Finberg, it was only a matter of time before The Intelligence commandeered that inimitable beat with those impeccable vocals to push this once-unknown side project into an unstoppable modern punk machine that never seems to run out of steam. As one of the most active recording acts on In The Red's roster, this year has already seen the release of a string of incredible singles on labels such as Raw Deluxe, Plastic Idol, and the Fake Surfers LP on ITR, along with another full LP released just weeks after on France's Born Bad Records, you could say that's a pretty good run for the first chunk of 2009.

With a murky yet brilliant style that engulfs your cloudy brain within seconds, The Intelligence readily prove that they're here to help deconstruct the years of indifference toward progressively minimal pop music, surgically implanting hooks where there used to be legs or eyeballs, and nonchalantly forging the template of modern noise-pop perfection, all in the process. Their live shows are getting even more intense as time passes, and the psycho-angular, other-worldly erratic rhythms that Lars ignites with that ungodly deadpan ferocity are as infectious as it gets, especially at the minimal end of the spectrum they've mastered so well. If you're still breathing, be sure to pick up copies of the latest LPs, Fake Surfers, and Crepuscule With Pacman and any other singles you can find with their name on it, as rest assured it's all top-notch quality, regardless of the endless quantity of releases.

Supporting The Intelligence are Brooklyn heathens Golden Triangle, who fall somewhere between experimental indie pop and primal garage-grunt goodness. Featuring Viva L'American Death Ray's Nick Diablo in the ranks, as well as Atlanta's Alix Brown (who's done time in Angry Angles and The Lids), it's got a clever randomness going on under the surface that's turning quite a few ears, and they've landed a deal with Hardly Art for their debut LP, slated to come out this Fall. Check out the 7" on Rob's House for a chunk of their best material, and keep your eyes on Golden Triangle to go somewhere big. Don't miss locals Wild Yaks and Olde Tyme Relijun's Arrington De Dionyso opening the show at the Market Hotel, as well.

check out a video of The Intelligence live in Bordeaux, France last year, courtesy of remite, right here:

Crash Normal Finger Shower EP

Brett Cross

The Parisian outfit, Crash Normal recently released a blitz of material worthy of your scattered attention. A split single with their aural cronies The Intelligence on Compost Modern Art and another, the Unrealistic Tracks single on the same label, their Flying to NY single on Plastic Idol Records and a 10" titled Finger Shower on the Italian label, Rijapov Records. On their Finger Shower EP, Crash Normal lays out their metronomic, mechanical rhythms in a six song bender that reveals their strong motif of grim, futuristic, yet primitive songs that seem to be an amalgamation of their past work, as they delved brilliantly in both the electronic landscapes and their more straightforward rock'n'roll.

As a band who, throughout the past decade, seemed to dodge any familiar description by taking their music to broader pastures and simultaneously reinventing the idea of a modern DIY sound, they incorporated synth-driven material along side traditional instrumentation not only from release to release, but often within the same album, most notably on their Heavy Music LP from a few years back. By showing us (much like the early No-Wave, and Post punk bands of the late 70s did) that the tools of the DIY form sprout upward as technology treks onward, Crash Normal were early adopters of melding the old and the new in such a fresh way. So much so that the very idea of coagulating both electro-tinged musings and shaking the fruit far enough from the proverbial Chuck Berry tree, that it's barely recognizable, and any goof lazy enough to dub these French cats "garage," is just not paying attention.

On the A-side, Crash Normal start off the title track with a building and falling beat that's reminiscent of the late-90s roboto-doom contingent of the early A-Frames and The Intelligence material, but throw in their own cog by spinning in their own mark. Then, by adopting a talking-styled vocal, as the next track "Bikinis Invaders" comes in and serves as the perfect bridge to their cover of The County Teasers' "Hair Wine 2," where they ape Ben Wallers' British inflections, but pull back without landing too close to the original.

The B-side starts off with the song "Chrome Cranks" that, whether or not it's a nod to the murky blues monkeys of the mid-90s by the same name, it carries the same slow and swampy poke at the post-modern blues formula with out losing their footing. By the time "Bad Way to Get Fun" rolls around, Crash Normal are back fully on their space wagon, kicking out a tune that fully celebrates their unique take where modern underground recording styles have taken us over the past 30 plus years, and shows they're not too cool to integrate more computer-driven synth into their sounds.

Don't lose out and pick up the Finger Shower EP directly from Rijapov Records here, or you can get it domestically at Goner Records here.

SMMR BMMR Hits Portland Like An Earthquake

Todd Killings

This weekend in Portland, Zach's Books' annual SMMR BMMR blowout will take hold and shake the freaks from the trees across the Pacific Northwest with three days of tumultuous avant garde underground vibrations that echo unhinged into the richly forested darkness. With an incredible lineup of the cream-of-the-crop of mostly Portland, Seattle and San Franciscan bands all convening in one area for one weekend, this year's show represents a bright moment in modern music and should provide a vividly hazy glimpse at the West Coast's reigning troop of talent. Starting off Friday at Rotture, Nebraska pop maniacs Box Elders cultivate a rambunctious yet playful set of songs that jangle and harmonize with effervescent lucidity, and kick off the SMMR BMMR fest with such a raw realness that can't be easily shaken from your skull, despite numerous spins of their debut LP Alice And Friends on Goner Records lately. If you haven't already latched onto these guys, get your hands on the Box Elders debut single along with the LP and just try to keep still, as it's most likely not gonna happen. Next up are the curiously mellow Ganglians from the Sacramento area, who play a hushed form of contemporary post punk, yet deliver their songs with a feathery feyness that's becoming more irresistible with each passing encounter. Check out the Ganglians split 7" with Eat Skull if you can still find it, or the 12" records on Weird Forest and Woodsist for further proof of their interesting softness. Slyly entering next are Portland's The Whines, who unleashed a monster debut 7" this year that bowled us over pretty well, and established their minimalist take on bedroom dream pop as one of the area's best. Most likely still floating around, it's one of this year's essential punk singles so hit up Just For The Hell of it Records to scrape yourself up a copy, and wait to see what comes next.

Following the brain-clouding, uncategorizible sounds of MOM, Ty Segall rips up to the front and unleashes his uptempo slash-and-burn guitar style that's been castrating friends and enemies alike for a few years now. If you've been locked in the monastery for awhile and need some undiluted distorto-punk that grabs you from all angles, by all means check out Ty Segall and his many side projects, and grab his new LPs on Goner and HBSP-2X Records for a lethal dose of the new and old. And after that certain whip lashing, Ty gets to stay onstage as Sic Alps start their mesmerizing slow burn, and who also happen to include Segall in their ranks. If you were slow on the draw and missed Sic Alps' elusive Description of the Harbor 12" EP released in 2007 on Awesome Vistas, you're in luck as Drag City has reissued the EP along with a slew of 7" tracks and unreleased demos on a handy 2LP format for a great low price. Also, keep your eyes peeled for the new Sic Alps 7" coming out next week on Slumberland Records featuring a Donovan cover on the B-side, and commemorating the first appearance of Ty Segall on a Sic Alps release, should be killer. Next up are the brill-blasting vibrations of Thee Oh Sees, who are becoming quite accomplished these days with a new LP Help on In The Red, and another full-length coming soon for Captured Tracks, and singles basically coming out the whazoo. If you're not already familiar with them, you're sorely behind in your underground studies and with 8+ LPs worth of material, Thee Oh Sees shouldn't be hard to come across, so get familiarized.

And if this first night of SMMR BMMR couldn't get spectacular enough, Sacramento's neanderthal public officials, Mayyors rise to the occasion and take over, desecrating all held sacred and shattering the evening into uncountable shards of razor-raw excitement. With no official "web presence" and no serious interest in cover "art" for their vinyl releases, Mayyors have cut through it all and opened the wounds of time and dumped salt in deep, reiterating the fact that their music indeed does all the talking for them. Pick up both singles if you can find them, and their new 12" EP if you're genuinely interested in what's dictating municipal reality in the gutters of Sacto's darkest corners. Following the Mayyors isn't exactly an easy feat, but local messy throbbers Meth Teeth have the incredibly creative muscle to whip up their own style of cranial compositions that leave most of their audience bewildered and distraught, but always enthralled. Look for their follow up to last year's Sweet Rot debut 7" EP coming this year as a debut LP on Woodsist, no doubt it's gonna be a great one. Wrapping up the haze and blaze of the first night of submission, Portland's finest smashers Eat Skull convene once again, and reestablish their sonic aptitude to the utmost degree. With two amazing albums on Siltbreeze completely contrasting each other, yet both essential, Eat Skull aren't just the best-named band in show business, they're also some of the best songwriters working today, as we anxiously await what they'll do next.

After Friday's insanely epic lineup, Saturday might seem slightly underwhelming at first glance, but there's still plenty of wholesome goodness to fill up that emptiness inside. The day show at BC's Saloon features sloptastic sets by Rats of New York, Ape City, Cuntifiers, Pity Fucks and Mad Macka, so don't sleep in and miss 'em. Later Saturday night back at Rotture, Denton, TX's Teenage Cool Kids start things up and feature Andrew Savage, half of the Fergus & Geronimo contingent, and utilize dreamy pop tunes to their full advantage. Vancouver's shit-fi ravagers Timecopz make themselves known next, and with their intensely virile recordings backing them up, they should be just the face-melting shredders to liquefy your night in the most appropriate manner. Following them, are Ebonics and Gestapo Khazi (who share a new split 7" together), both starting the blood boiling for a rousing appearance by SF's Wild Thing. Yeah, the name sounds like some faceless "garage punk" combo who just stepped out of the womb armed with nothing more than a few podcast stains on their shirts and bowl haircuts, but no. Wild Thing are a San Francisco problem that just keeps growing, kinda like unnecessary dreadlocks on white folks, and those fancy earring-plugs, but in a refreshing straight-PUNK style that's been sorely missed amongst the Budget Rock landscape of the area. Without a gimmick in sight, Wild Thing are dead set on stripping it all down and throwing it all up later when nobody's looking, and that's one of the best agendas going today. Wrapping up the second night are locals White Fang with their dual drum attack, and Fergus & Geronimo, whose homespun Brian Wilson-tinged pop explosion has catalyzed with a debut 7" out now on Woodsist, and another single due out any second on Tic Tac Totally, as well. Pure Country Gold brings it all home to anyone left standing, as they commandeer the ass-shaking protocol into full effect, as soon evident on their breakout release on Big Legal Mess Records.

As if the first two days of SMMR BMMR weren't exhausting enough, Sunday rolls around and of course, the lineup is unrelenting and motivating enough to shock you back to life. The afternoon showcase starts with the brutal hardcore of Organized Sports, followed by Reptilian Civilian, Therapists and The Outdoorsmen, the latter of which channel the perfect scumbag-slanted garage simplicity, yet pull it off almost too well. Sunday night's revelry back at Rotture starts with Thee Manipulators, the goofy pizza-faced pop punk of Mean Jeans, and Seattle's multi-faceted supergroup the Unnatural Helpers. After that, The Intelligence and Christmas Island deliver their superbly monotonous punk scrawlings, both of which have In The Red written all over them, and come highly recommended. If you haven't picked up The Intelligence's Fake Surfers LP yet, you might have to be held back a year in your studies, and Christmas Island's impeding debut on that same imprint isn't far behind either. Speaking of islands, from the British Isles, Graffiti Island are an interesting twist on the Beat Happening style of primitive pop simplicity, and their knack for incredibly catchy songwriting should rear its head like crazy as they travel down the West Coast on their first partial US tour with Crocodiles and Pens the rest of this month. The rest of the night might just turn into a mozzarella blur as Personal and the Pizzas take it upon themselves to smash their pie-eyed philosophy of life into the mindset of rock'n'rollers inevitably craving loads of melted cheese after three days of blaring punk, and it won't soon be forgotten. And it would surely take a few legends to cap off such an incredibly exciting weekend in Portland, so don't be surprised when HEAD and Pierced Arrows bring it all home and seal the deal on another monumental festival curated with the best of taste and intentions, SMMR BMMR!

check out a video clip of Graffiti Island performing "Wolf Guy," courtesy of iamconan666 right here:

check out a video clip of Meth Teeth courtesy of koalacanth, right here:

Columbus Discount Records Celebrates Six Years of Depravity

Brett Cross

Columbus Discount Records Year VI Party gets rolling tonight at the Summit Bar in Columbus, Ohio. The two-night shindig will celebrate the the success of record store turned record label over the past six years, and features a mind-boggling line up worthy of any amount of gas money it may take to get there. Over the past six years, CDR has turned heads, and callused the spongy ears of the collective underground's music lunatics into bony protuberances foaming at the mouth, waiting for what they will release next. Responsible for putting out such essential mind-blowers as the bedroom fuzz cult darlings, Times New Viking and Psychedelic Horseshit, to the modern day folk/blues punk savant tune smith, Dan Melchior, the label has etched it's own cozy nook in the underground ether, touching on as many artists as genres, in their consistent swatting at what is musically relevant these days.

Tonight gets underway with an excellent line-up starting with the mysterious Columbus outfit Sandwitch. Fronted by none other than Ron House, their songs carry the same muted, rolling inner turmoil that made his Thomas Jefferson Slave Apartments such a force during the early 90s, and carries the same aesthetic that CDR and Siltbreeze fanatics drool over. Then, TV Ghost, who are on their way back home from the tour in support of their debut full length LP Cold Fish on In The Red Records, hits the stage and will certainly wipe the slate clean with their no-wave hum and jagged creepy surges of string-stretching noise. But being followed by the Columbus golden boys Cheater Slicks, that same slate they cleared will be left soiled by the thuggish and sluggish melancholy songs that can go from zero to a hundred in a matter of chords, leaving the audience as wrapped up in their toil as they portray though their songs. After an appearance by Deathly Fighter, long time Columbus darlings, Bassholes take that stage to reaffirm the fact that 2-piece bands are still cool, and after banging the tunes away off and on over 17 years, their gift for melding the classic 60s sounds with modern nuances will remind the crowd just how weird and simple great rock'n'roll can be.

Saturday night's line-up takes a little change of scenery and will go down at Cara Bar on Parson Ave. Starting out with the brutality of the the Pittsburgh foursome Rot Shit, who are known for their aggressive stage manner, and saw-toothed songs that rip through melodies like a ravenous pack of underachievers. Next up another Ohio band that's been making the rounds though the Midwest and carving their brilliantly stupid name in the skulls in everyone within earshot, Puffy Areolas. Featuring Teets from Tyvek on lead guitar, they come from the same aural corner as the former, but blast their songs forth often with a galloping madness that can only equate to the necessary episodes of beer spraying and apathetic dancing that causes as much harm as it does fun. After a set by the local 3-piece, The Unholy Two, another gang of modern weirdo shit, Guinea Worms take the stage to cool things off a bit. Playing often downtrodden tunes that carry melodies like sacks of rocks over their pasty shoulders, these guys fit in well with the like of CDR's ilk, and play the perfectly tempoed songs that it takes to keep comfortable in the stagnant dredges of everyday life. The fest headliner, the undisputed king of song-crafting, Dan Melchior hits the stage to remind everyone, that brave choices in facial hair are only for those with the music catalog to back it up. Just releasing a double album on SS Records this spring along with another album on Toppers Records, Melchior's got more songs in him than any of those fancy ipods, and he spits them out like the gospel truth every time. Missing anything this guys does his a huge mistake, so don't miss this weekend in Columbus, no matter what.

check out a video clip of Dan Melchior performing "Post Office Line" off his Columbus Discount Records singles' club release from this spring, right here, courtesy of villejavat.

Ty Segall Lemons LP

Todd Killings

If there's one major emerging force pushing the limits of energy dissemination this year, you have got to hand it to SF bay-area wunderkind Ty Segall who has managed to chuck forth no less than three LPs and six singles worth of sheer raw excitement within a time frame that normally would get the most ambitious folks ready for their first practice. Staggering out of the fog last year with two brain-frying singles on Goodbye Boozy and Chocolate Covered Records, Ty Segall emerged from behind the drum seat of his previous bands, Traditional Fools (along with Perverts, Party Fowl and Epsilons) with a snarling innocence that demanded your attention, gurgling with great noisy soul-stirrers that stung your eyes and aurally blindsided you on impact. Still just barely out of his teens, Seagall has managed to not only explode on the underground in record time, but also secured his spot in the illustrious atmospheric psychedelic trenches of the Sic Alps this past winter, as well. If you're already well-worn on Segall's debut Lp on Castleface last summer, this follow-up LP Lemons on Goner Records will suck you in even farther, so brace yourselves as keeping up with Ty's neverending stream of releases and side-projects is almost a superhuman feat in itself.

The Lemons LP starts off with a crashing, woozy slurring that conjures up the scenario of a behemoth waking up in a room full of glass figurines, careening and belligerently clearing a space for the grooves to take hold. Although the songs on Lemons have a consistently controlled feel to them versus the debut Lp's orgone explosivity, a strong songwriting value takes hold showing quick metabolic progress and excitement that just doesn't let up across the length of the whole album. Never really venturing far off from his primordial Troggs-style stomp, Segall proves here with his follow-up LP that 2009 is the year he "arrives," and offers an indirect invitation to his rapidly evolving world where somehow quantity and quality come together symmetrically. Coming up in the neo-Budget Rock hotbed of San Francisco, Segall pulls some of the best nuances from his less-local surroundings. Melding the oblivious sneer of Dan Melchior's deadpan vocal delivery with the robotically astute manic rhythms of The Intelligence at times, it's not hard to see that Segall has worked hard at doing what comes naturally. He's been stewing in those juices for the better part of the last five years, and on tracks like "Rusted Dust" and "Like You," the Sic Alps influence shines brightly as well, and on his version of Captain Beefheart's heart-pounding classic "Dropout Boogie," you won't have a drop of resistance left in your withered body. Pick up the stunning Lemons LP on Goner Records right HERE, right now.

Once the Ty Segall sickness takes hold (and yes it will), you won't be left without records to fill the emptiness, that's for sure. Also this month, HBSP-2X Records has released the Horn The Unicorn LP, a tidy compilation of singles, demos and cassette-only tracks from last year's early releases that fills in even more of the gaps and should sate your soul until you can manage to track down the impressive list of singles and side-projects Segall is already famous for. Pick up a copy of the Horn The Unicorn LP (along with all the other Segall albums) right HERE, along with Lemons album on Goner, and your last month of Summer might not turn out to be a bummer after all.

Check out a promo video for the new Goner 7" single, "Cents" right here: