Monday 31 October 2011

Cutthroat Convention - Peeling The Sea (2011)



Band request from London.

Cutthroat Convention come a cross like the bastard
son of Faust and Can crossed with post-hardcore.

Songs verge on the chaotic with a fuzzed violin
taking the place of guitars.

Electronic noise is merged with drums and bass
giving a feel like the most demented Cardiacs track.

Spoken/shouted vocals are spat out but quite low in the mix.

Different and bizarre, these sonic bursts of noise are strangely
addictive with powerful riffs using metal/jazz/punk and
electronica to confound the senses but never for the sake
of being clever.

This is the sound of a band trying to break free from
conventional song structures - this is not for the casual
listener but do not take my word for it - Listen

Friday 28 October 2011

Poison Idea - Feel The Darkness (1990)



Been giving this a good blast today.

This is excellent punk/hardcore with a metal
egde mixed with some basic rock'n'roll grooviness
to give the tunes an infectious edge to them.

Vocals range from a snarl to tuneful shouting and
the sublime guitar playing reminds me of Social
Distortion "White Trash" era, with lead breaks
and thrashy riffs driving the songs.

Poison Idea never seemed to be as big as they should
of been but over the last 5 years they have been name
checked a lot more.

Great band, very good album.


Wednesday 26 October 2011

Daughters - Daughters (2010)



Daughters are a noise rock/mathcore band who play
a compelling mix of frenetic guitars, fast pounding
drums and a singer that sounds very David Yow-like.

The fast fretboard abuse is held together by a very
groove laden bass which is needed in this sonic
stew of abandonment - song structures are thrown
out the window but always manage to come together
before the chaos overwhelms.

This is fast, furious stuff with a whiff of experimentation -
these guys are making music that sounds like the sickness
I have in my mind. Don't take my word for it.

Friday 21 October 2011

Lou Reed & Metallica - Some Thoughts



Just played a web-rip of this album and feel strangely
compelled to put down my thoughts, safe in the knowledge
that because there is no actual album to download from
this post, only 3 people will actually bother to read this!

Reading all the gnashing of teeth and hair pulling over
this release, there appear to be three main points that are
coming up again and again:

1. Metallica have been shit since "Master of Puppets" came out.

I guess that is a matter of opinion but luckily for me this issue
has never caused me to lose any sleep. Hey, "Master" is pretty
good but in 1986 there were many more albums released that
seemed so much better or of more importance to me - and here
is my list:
Sonic Youth - EVOL
Scratch Acid - Just keep Eating
Big Black - Atomizer
Dead Kennedys - Bedtime for Democracy
The Scientists - Weird Love
Poison Idea - Kings of Punk
Butthole Surfers - Rembrant Pussy Horse
Husker Du - Candy Apple Grey

See what I mean?

2. Why are they doing this?

Dunno - take a guess? Bored, respect for each other,
need the cash, huge joke, trying something different?
Everyone will come to their own conclusion.

3. Lou Reed is just mumbling in a monotone voice!

Hah! - welcome to his vocal style of the last 15 years. This
seems to be a common complaint from rabid metal heads
who I can only suppose have never really followed Reed
closely ...... you did not think he would change just to please you?

On to the music itself - it spans 78 minutes which will really give
a casual listener a challenging time (which I am sure was their intention)!
It is what I expected really - Lou narrating over slabs of Metallica backing
music. There are no real solo wig-outs, just solid riffing and chord changes
but there are some suprising ambient passages with picked guitar and droned
strings.

If Lou Reed had released this, using a less famous backing band, he probably
would of been hailed as a "The Fearless Godfather of Punk - taking back heavy
rock'n'roll and giving it his own touch" - for make no mistake, this album is
very clearly a Lou Reed record - and his backing band happen to be Metallica.

If you are still hysterical that Metallica have not made the same album over and
over again for the last 25 years - you probably should not listen to it.

If you can accept that it is a collaboration and will not sound like either of
the participants normal body of work - think about giving it a go.

If you liked some of Reeds earlier works - "New York", the long tracks from
"Ecstacy", "The Raven" - give it a listen.

And so, dear reader, my story comes to its end and it is time for me to say
goodbye without giving my own opinion.

How annoying!

Thursday 20 October 2011

Glenn Branca- The Ascension (1981)



One of the pioneers of the New York art-rock
scene in the early eighties, this is Glenn Branca
using 4 guitar players, bass and drums to create
an album of drones, distorted soundscapes and
tracks that defy normal song structures but still
keep the listener engaged.

It is all very Sonic Youth and indeed, Lee Ronaldo
plays on this, and Thurston Moore had been drafted
in to perform live with Branca as well.

As with Sonic Youth, the songs seem to have their
own musical language that combine seemingly
random burst of noise with passages of beauty.


Wednesday 19 October 2011

Towers - The Fields (2011)



Band request from Portland, USA.

Towers play impressive Sludge/Stoner and everything
is LOUD! These 5 tracks were recorded live with no
overdubs and from the sound would be an awesome
band to see live.

Hearing the dense, heavy songs on display - if this is
the material they have having only formed last year,
I cannot wait for the next release.

The atmospherics and pacing of the songs are a
masterclass in how to create crushing heaviness
without retreading the genres cliches.

This reminds me of the Melvins at their most rifflicious
and savage best - give these guys a Listen

Below are links including free download from Bandcamp


Here is their press release:
We formed in 2010 in Portland Oregon, the band consists of Rick Duncan (Bass/Vocals) Max Rees (Guitar) Darryl Swan (Drums)
We just finished recording our first album "The Fields", our bassist owns Electro Motel (recording studio) in Portland Oregon. We recorded this live (no overdubs) all of it is analog on 1'' tape. Rick Duncan (our bassist/vocalist) recorded and mastered the entire album. We started playing live recently and have shows booked here in Portland in the coming months. We are on Reverbnation at http://www.reverbnation.com/towerspdx, facebook at www.facebook.com/towerspdx, and bandcamp at www.towerspdx.bandcamp.com

Monday 17 October 2011

Kösmonaut - Emanations (2011)



Band request from Texas.

Kösmonaut is a one man project and his bandcamp
tags read: Berlin, Drone, Ambient Dance, Dark
Electronic.

This is pretty different to what I would normally
post but I like it and so will review but be warned -
(Sorry Patrick!), I know next to nothing to this genre
and so, can only use out of date references!

Rhythm is the touchstone to these tracks. Heavy use
of arpeggiators and sequencers in the tones and drums
give a trance like feel to the repeated motifs.

Like early Kraftwerk, the beats latch in your brain and
when the treated drones and rich textures float across
the songs, I am reminded of a faster Tangerine Dream.

Many years ago I used to listen to "Goa Trance" - there
was some interesting stuff released and this is not a
million miles away from it.

If you want a change from down-tuned guitars, give
this a listen.

Download free tracks & buy other albums from Bandcamp

Thursday 13 October 2011

Le Scrimmie - Dromomania (2011)



Band request from Italy.

Below is their press release:

The Italian duo "Le Scimmie" was born in the colorful
spring of 2007 in Vasto, a seaside town in central Italy.

The ideas of the project are: guitar, drums, minimal
power, raw sound.

In the winter of 2007 they recorded their first ep
that gets excellent support from the Italian press
called "L'Origine Ep"

2008: the band reached the final at one of major
Italian music festival called "Italia Wave" and remains
on tour for about a year.

After a year of silence, in January 2011, Le Scimmie
released their first album entitled "Dromomania".

In April 2011 also published the first official video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-E3D_FMTnac

official myspace: www.myspace.com/lescimmie


I would class this as instrumental Stoner but pretty
much on the heavy side with some Doom overtones.

Plenty of down-tuned riffs with the guitar on full
blown distortion setting - those riffs just get powered
over and over bringing an almost unstoppable groove
to them.

There is some really good stuff here - I think their next
release will be even better.

Wednesday 12 October 2011

The Gun Club - Fire Of Love (1981)



Swamp Blues.

Voodoo Sex Beat.

Heroin Rock'n'Roll.

Link removed by Mediafire - thanks!

Monday 10 October 2011

Gaytheist - Pentagrams Are Super! (2011)



Band request from Portland, USA.

Gaytheist - good or bad band name? Hard for me
to judge as I used to be in Ruptured Dog but it made
me laugh and god knows that is hard these days!

The music far outweighs any preconceptions you
may have though.

There are rumbling bass lines that would not
sound out of place on a Jesus Lizard record,
adding depth to the abrasive guitar riffs that
put the rock into this heavy punk sound.

Tuneful but aggressive at the same time, the songs
are short sharp shocks that leave you wanting to
play them again.

The guitar playing dips in and out of math and noise rock
which meshes with the cleanish sarcastic vocals that are
perfect for the sardonic and slightly strange lyrics.

Going all old school for a second, some of the leads and
solos remind me of early Damned or Dead Kennedys -
which of course I love!

This is a highly recommended listen.

They are also good guys, the album and an EP
are available from Bandcamp for only $1.00 -Buy

Thursday 6 October 2011

Forks of Ivory - Forks of Ivory (2011)



A drummer and a guitar player - Black Keys meet
Lightning Bolt?

Not Forks of Ivory - this is a far different animal.

Powerful sludge mixed with post-metal on these
mainly instrumental tracks and the aggressively
distorted guitars veer into noise-rock volumes.

Taking the riffs of early Mastodon and the dense
sound of Neurosis, they mix up with awesome
results which bring to mind Generation of Vipers.

This is a very accomplished debut.

And being great guys, pay what you want from Bandcamp

Monday 3 October 2011

Mongoloid Village - Folly (2011)



Drawing from the Melvins brand of sludged out
riffs and heavy doomy stoner, Mongoloid Village
seems a scary place to spend the night.

With a crushing sonic tone, the songs are thick
and heavy and leave an ominous feeling hanging
in the air.

Add elements of noise rock to the mix and the results
never fail to please.

On my first play, I was quite impressed but soon realised
that I kept going back to play again. This is a grower and
well worth a listen.