Wednesday 30 June 2010

The Ramones - It's Alive (1979)


















Hey ho, let's go!

One of the top 5 live rock albums of
all time, this finds the Brudders at the
top of their game.

Playing a set list that draws on the
first 3 albums, they speed through 28
tracks in 54 minutes - it's powerful,
infectious stuff, machine gun playing
that rocks like a bastard but still keeps
the sing-a-long groove that they specialised
in.

A fitting tribute to all the dead members -

Tuesday 29 June 2010

Jarboe - Mahakali (2008)





















This is one intense album.

Jarboe - earth goddess, ex-Swans, shamen, preacher,
mystic - an all round scary lady.

To listen to this is to descend into the depths of her
brain - thunderous tracks, shrieking vocals going to
a whisper, acoustic guitar, pianos, post-metal and
sludge - think heavy Swans, this is the nearest you
will have to a bad acid trip without actually ingesting
anything!

Fuck knows what genre to call this - you might not
like it but there is not much stuff that will sound
like this......... well, there probably is in the doom/
sludge world but I wouldn't really know.

LINK REMOVED BY REQUEST.

There is a fantastic review of this album and what
it all means + a history of Jarboe at the Re-Gen review

Monday 28 June 2010

Hoodoo Gurus - Stoneage Romeos (1984)


















Some Australian summer sounds.

The Hoodoo Gurus play a mixture of
1960's power pop, garage punk, hard
rock and funky psychedelic wimsy.

Nothing ground breaking but every
now and then I like to give my ears
a rest and listen to tuneful stuff.

Friday 25 June 2010

Twilight - Monument to Time End


















Black Metal.

2 words to strike fear into my heart.
I've tried, God knows I have tried with
various albums but after 2 or 3 tracks,
the unrelenting barrage of sonic onslaught
turns my brain to jelly and I might as well
be listening to white noise.

But.....

I have read so many reviews of this album
- all that say that Twilight have created
something that goes outside the black metal
genre, I had to give it a go.

Of course, the vocals sound like a zombie
pig trying to shout without the use of
human vocal chords but no worse than
the heavier passages from General Lee,
Generation of Vipers, Mouth of the
Architect etc. In fact huge chunks are
like Post-Metal - the heavy bits!

There are synth parts of ambient
drone, clean choir like backing vocals
and slow, cleanish guitar lines that
could fit in on Pelican or Explosions
in the Sky albums - some very palatable
post-rock soundscapes.

Not for the faint hearted but if you
have ever dabbled in ear bleeding
post-metal, give this a Listen

Thursday 24 June 2010

Refused - Best record review ever?

Had to post this.

Classic album from Refused - The Shape
of Punk to Come always gets name checked
by hardcore bands as essential listening.

Saw this review on holyfuckingshit40000
and had to share.



SAW THIS IN A SHOP WITH "THIS FUCKING ROCKS" STICKER ON IT SO TOOK IT TO COUNTER AND SLAMMED IT DOWN AND SHOUTED AT DUDE WORKING THERE "HOW MUCH?" WHEN HE ANSWERED I SAID "NOT THE PRICE DILLWEED, HOW MUCH DOES IT ROCK?" DILWEED'S ANSWER IS LIKE SHRUG, "I dunno, a lot?" WHICH WINDS ME UP 'COS HE'S BEING A PUSSY ABOUT IT AND I SAY "I WANT IT TO ROCK MY SOCKS CLEAN OFF MY FEET, IS IT GONNA DO THAT?" AND HE'S ALL LIKE, "Yeah it will." SO I'M LIKE, "YEAH I'LL TAKE IT."

GET IT HOME AND PUT IT ON, TURNING IT UP AND SOME GUY STARTS TALKING TO HIS 'BABY' ABOUT FASHION AND I START THINKING 'WHAT KIND OF NANCY BULLSHIT HAVE I GOT INTO HERE?' BUT THEN SOME NOISE STARTS HUMMING AND I START THINKING 'WHAT KIND OF NOISE RUBBISH HAVE I GOT MYSELF INTO HERE?' AND THEN AFTER A MINUTE OF GETTING ANGRY COS I GOT BURNED INTO BUYING SOME ARTSY RUBBISH THE BAND KICK IN ALL JABBING RIFFS AND YELLING TIL THEY'RE HORSE AND I GO WILD, SMASHING UP THE ROOM WITH PART ANGER AND PART HXXXXX JOY. MAN, THERE'S LIKE A PIT GOING IN MY LIVING ROOM AND IT'S JUST ME AND I'M TEARING INTO SHIT AND THE CURTAINS ARE FALLING DOWN AND MOM'S YELLING FROM HER BED BUT I PRETEND LIKE I DON'T HEAR HER CRIES COS I'M GOING APE SHIT ROCKING OUT AND BEING ALL HXXXXXXCORE AND SHIT.

BUT SOON I'M GETTING ANGRY AGAIN COS, YEAH, THEY KNOW HOW TO ROCK OUT THESE BOYS DO, SO WHAT I WANNA KNOW IS WHY THEY GOTTA KEEP INTERRUPTING MY SLAM DANCING WITH SOME TECHNO BULLSHIT OR SOME QUIET BITS AND EVEN, GET THIS, A VIOLIN!! I MEAN, I'M THERE ROCKING OUT LIKE I KNOW HOW AND THEN THERE'S THIS FUCKING VIOLIN, AND YEAH, IT'S PLAYING A QUALITY BIT OF A TUNE, BUT WHAT WOULD HAVE HAPPENED IF SOME OF MY CREW WALKED IN AT THAT MOMENT AND SAW ME ALL SWEATY AND BLEEDING AND LISTENING TO A FUCKING VIOLIN??? I'D HAVE TO KILL MYSELF OR ALL OF THEM AS THE SHAME OF IT ALL WOULD BE TOO MUCH.

SO IT WAS TOO STOP STARTY AND ONE MINUTE I WAS SLAMMIN' ROUND THE LIVING ROOM WITH MOMMA HOLLERING AT ME TO TURN IT OFF AND BRING HER HER MEDICATION AND THE NEXT MINUTE THEY'RE SINGING WITH NO DISTORTION ON THE GUITARS OR DOING SOME JAZZ OR SOME SHIT, SO I MARCHED BACK TO THE SHOP AND SLAM THE CD DOWN IN FRONT OF THAT SAME WUSSY MOFO AND SAY "MY SOCKS ARE LIKE STILL ON DUDE!" AND HE SIGHS AND TAKES IT FROM ME WITH NO QUESTIONS AND SAYS, "you wanna swap it for something else or do you want cash?" SO I WAS ALL LIKE, "CASH OF COURSE, I AIN'T BUYING FROM A SHOP THAT HAS STICKERS SAYING 'THIS ROCKS' ON STUFF THAT DOESN'T."

SO HE SAYS, "you didn't like it too much then, I didn't think you would." AND I SAID "WHAT THE FUCK'S THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN? I LIKE SOME OF IT, THEY JUST NEED TO KEEP IT INTENSE ALL THE WAY THROUGH NOT JUST WHEN IT SUITS THEM." AND HE SAYS, ALL COCKY LIKE "well, Refused made this album to move the hardcore scene on as they thought that it was stagnating and lacking ideas and made for people like you who were all about an image and a particular lifestyle rather than open mindedness and expression. They did it, I think, but sadly there will always be people like you who were left behind. I mean, does it get much better than when they come back in after the jazz section on "Deadly Rhythm"? That bit sounds like a brutal attack, it's insane! Or, or the violin intro to "Tannhäuser"? When those drums come in it's epic, really groundbreaking for a hardcore record. But, if you didn't like it....."

I BARELY GIVE THE GUY TIME TO OPEN THE TILL BEFORE I LIFT IT RIGHT UP FROM THE COUNTER PULLING ALL THE WIRES OUT WITH IT AND CRACK IT OVER HIS HEAD THE PRICK. THEN I PUT IT THROUGH THE WINDOW AND KNOCK OVER A COUPLE OF SHELVES WORTH OF CD'S BEFORE STAMPING ON THE GUY'S HEAD AND LEGGING IT. AS I LEFT I HEARD HIM SHOUT "Philistine!" I'M GONNA GO HOME AND LOOK THAT FUCKING WORD UP TO WORK OUT WHETHER THAT LITTLE QUEER HAS GOT ANOTHER VISIT COMING OR NOT.

Wednesday 23 June 2010

Comets on Fire - Bong Voyage (2003)













Limited to a 800 limited pressing,
this early Comets on Fire album
show them playing at full noise
rock jam mode.

A live recording, this is sonically
intense music that pays no attention
to categorizations .... guitar freak outs,
wailing vocals, electronic squalls and I
think there is a saxaphone in the mix.

More chaotic than Avatar or Blue Cathedral,
this will clear your ears - Listen
I posted the wrong link, this has now been fixed.

Tuesday 22 June 2010

The Folk Devils - Goodnight Irony (1987)



















The Folk Devils came from the swamp lands
of West London. They played wired, spikey
amphetamine rock'n'roll laced with a healthy
dose of punk.

Songs like the feedback drenched "Evil Eye"
had pounding riffs but also took cues
from the guitar work of PIL and other neu-wave
innovators.

They had - to my ears - a very English sound.
Suppressed anger with the government of the
day - (Thatcher) + a sense of impotence at
the lives they lead came pouring out into
the music but taking an ice cold fury rather
than yobbish punk.

Short lived but left a great album - Listen

Monday 21 June 2010

The Ocean - Heliocentric (2010)


















Heliocentric is the first of two companion
albums to be issued in 2010. Anthropocentric
will be released at the end of the year.

This is wildly ambitious post-metal.

Enormous distorted guitar which goes
from Meshuggah-like math attack to
melodic prog metal fading away to
economical use of strings, horns and even
some piano.

Vocals go from a roar to clean and the
songs stand out with shifting dynamics and
melodic sequences combined with bowel
shifting heaviness.

Friday 18 June 2010

Red Dwarf - Stand Still (2009)













I cannot remember where this
came from! I cannot find any
band info anywhere but I think
it was a download from their
site that no longer can be found!

Red Dwarf are either Spanish
or from Portugal - where ever
they come from, this album
is a brooding slab of instrumental
stoner / post-rock heaviness which
reminds me of early Kyuss.

It's only 30 mins long but a great
play - Listen

Thursday 17 June 2010

Pigslab - The Jazz Disco Atrocity























From a CD-R, the sunny weather has made me dig this
out.

Ambient dub for people who do not normally like this
sort of thing, Pigslab play a mixture of The Orb with
elements of early Sabresonic.

Using much heavier drums than normally heard and
sticking to trad rock verse and chorus - Play

Wednesday 16 June 2010

At the Soundawn -Shifting 2010























Hard album to describe but I will do my best.

Italian Post-Rock that ebbs and flows but mostly
on the heavy side with hardcoreish vocals interspersed
with cleaner ones.

What makes this stand out is a sparsely used trumpet
that never overpowers - it only adds to the layers
of sound.

Very atmospheric - very good - best to listen all
the way through without any interuptions.

Tuesday 15 June 2010

Vaya - At the Drive In 2000


















After seeing so many Omar Rodriguez Lopez
albums on Veins Dried Out I had to give this
a spin.

This EP came out just before At the Drive In
released "Relationship of Command" and
has remained (in my opinion anyway), the
high point of their career.

Despite only 7 tracks lasting just under
25 minutes, each track embodies the frantic
punk/prog spirit they have become famous for.

Every song has its own personality -blah, blah,
blah ...... just Listen

Monday 14 June 2010

Dark - The Jam 1975























Also known as The Basement Tapes,
this is a single 24 minute track of live
guitar jamming, starting from soft picking
and ending in fuzzed out underground, full
on psych freak out.

While nothing can ever touch the Earthless
guys for this sort of thing, 35 years ago this
is the sort of thing that would influence lots
of later day bands.

Dark are a band with hardly any info at all -
but I am sure there are people who know -
their record label (Kissing Spell) seem vague
about details ..... anyone care to share?

Of course not - what am I thinking of !

Give it a Listen

Friday 11 June 2010

Sam Gopal - Escalator 1968


















Yep, that handsome brute on the far left
is Lemmy. Pre "Rocking Vicars" and
Hawkwind, Sam Gopal - song writer
and bongo player, gathered a band to
play his music.

Mr Lemmy was drafted in to sing and play
lead guitar. This album is a fine example of
psych rock and hippy lyrics that hold together
really well + Lemmy is playing some shit hot
leads. It's just a shame that there was no
drummer pounding away behind the songs.

There is also a song "The Dark Lord" that
would later turn up in Hawkwind and
Motorhead as "The Watcher".

Thursday 10 June 2010

Head of David - LP 1986













A heavy sounding band with Justin Broadrick
in before he went on to form Godflesh and
Jesu, Head of David were signed to Blast First
and are described as Industrial Rock/Stoner.

I can also spot bits of Killing Joke/Sabbath/
Sonic Youth.

Using a drum machine as a noise weapon, murderous
bass and uber heavy guitar, riff after riff pound
away in a thrilling mixture of power and scuzz.
Go on, give it a Listen

Tuesday 8 June 2010

Mouth Of The Architect - The Violence Beneath 2010


















Fantastic EP from the post-metal masters.

2 studio tracks, a live one + a cover version
of a Peter Gabriel song - In Your Eyes.

You either love this band or hate them -
kinda like a Marmite deal here - you know
the score by know. A fantastic stop gap until
the next album comes out - Crush me!

Monday 7 June 2010

Be Bop Deluxe - Axe Victim 1974





















I brought this album when it came out purely because
of the cover ..... a skull guitar! My 14 year old self was
severely impressed with that.

Luckily the music was good as well. I always played this
along side "Ziggy Stardust". A hybrid of Glam/Rock/Pop,
Bill Nelson could match Mick Ronson riff for riff and his
solo playing was a soaring celebration of effortless, tuneful
expression.

The songs could not all match the tracks from Ziggy - in fact
little else would ever come close to the Bowie masterpiece but
the fact remained that Be Bop Deluxe had an album that was
in my mind anyway, almost as good as anything that came out
in '74 but somehow got overlooked.

Oh yeah, my CD version has 3 extra live tracks on it. Listen

Friday 4 June 2010

Vee Dee - Further 2004


















Not sure where this CD came from - the band
appear to be named after a S.T.D. - and
any band with a dubious name will always
be found in Doug's collection.

On the other hand, they are from Chicago and
any punky band within a hundred mile radius
of that city will be owned by Cindy.

Thanks to one of them..... Vee Dee play melodic
punk, kinda in the same vein as Social Distortion
or Naked Raygun but I can also hear 60's
nuggets psych, bits of the Misfits and some
great lead guitar which almost spill over into
Dead Kennedys area.

Wednesday 2 June 2010

Monolith - Eclipse 2008















Hey, I like Post-rock ..... mostly instrumental
passages, slowly building up to a crescendo
of noise and power.

Hey, I like Post-metal ..... mostly instrumental
passages, quickly building up to a crescendo
of noise and power and then a beardy, scary man
starts to shout his bollocks off.

Monolith somehow combine the best of both
worlds, long intros that lull you into a blissed
out state, almost "Mono" like and then before
you know it, thundering "Rosetta/Mouth of the
Architect" type head explosions of power.

Go on, give it a Listen