35620
V/A
“Messthetics #104: D.I.Y. ’77-’81 South Wales I
Hyped2Death
Another collection of do it yourself bands just after the punk explosion in England. There are a lot of
styles on this one: punk, no wave, garage rock, and other post punk variations. The recording quality on a lot of
these tracks is terrible. There is some good stuff, though.
Picks: 1, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10+, 11, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18,
20, 21, 22, 23
Fucks: 2, 13
The Neutrinos
“One-Way Kiss”
Wetnurse Records
Garage rock/punk/modern rock. Female fronted angry rock band from Norwich, UK. Sounds a lot like early PJ Harvey and Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Tracks 4, 6 and 10 are sort of ‘power ballads’ and track 9 is very ‘pop’ like. The rest rock. The singer grew up on a pig farm.
Picks: 1,2,3,5,8,11
Fuck: 7
The Somnambulants
“Paper Trail”
Clairaudience Collective
Electro-Indie-Synth-Pop. The Somnambulants are Joseph White on bass, vocal, synth and programming, and Channing Sargent on synth and vocal. They were originally founded in New York City in 2000, but now they are based right here in San Francisco. This is their third album and it’s a little moody and, at times, a bit mainstream. You can hear a lot of the 1980s in their music, but also some modern style.
Picks: 2+, 4, 7+, 10
No fucks.
Ms. Manners
“Ms. Manners”
Super Great Recordings
Alternative/Pop. This is a 6 track EP of mostly upbeat pop music. Ms. Manners is a group from Knoxville Tennessee, but apparently their members come from all over the U.S. Nothing ground breaking here, but these are solid, well orchestrated tunes with good musicianship. I think there is some 80s influences, but I’m not sure. Track 5 is a slow, sad ballad.
Picks: 1, 2, 3+, 4+
No fucks.
Alexis Gideon
“Flight of the Liophant”
Sickroom
Homemade. This is lo-fi, home recording pop with elements of hip-hop, experimental and folk mixed in and, at times, together. It reminds me of early Ween or perhaps Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti. This guy is from Portland, Oregon and describes himself as a “…One man gospel-circus, cartoon-necessary schizo-rap New York hillbilly, aged and innocent provocateur.” This is interesting stuff, lots of styles and moods. Tracks 8 and 9 are instrumentals with background chanting/singing.
Picks: 1, 2, 3, 4+, 6, 8+, 9
Fuck: 7
Ruckus Roboticus
“Playing with Scratches”
Grease
Electronic/Turntablism. Ruckus Robiticus is a guy
from Dayton, Ohio. On this record he mixes children’s
music with Hip-hop and funk. This record is mostly
upbeat (12 & 13 are slow) and it’s fun. Track 15 is
just record “static” sounds, no music. The rest of the
music on the record sounds very 1960s (kind of like
Ursula 1000).
Picks: 2+,3,4,6+,8,9+,10+,11+,12+
No fucks.
Curia
“Curia”
Fire Museum Records
Experimental. Curia (Roman term for a tribe of people
started by Julius Caesar in 44 BC) is an underground
music group from Lisbon, Portugal. The
instrumentation consists of bowed and wah guitars,
hammond organ and percussion intertwined to create
soundscapes. The group consists of David Maranha,
Manuel Mota, Margarida Garcia, Alfonso Simoes and
guest Helena Espvall (on track e). The tracks are
long and moody - but interesting and good.
Picks: 1, 2+, 3
No fucks.
Mojack
Tweaky Jazz-Rock. Mojack is an instrumental rock band, formed by ex-Black Flag guitarist Greg Ginn, ex-member of Bazooka Tony Atherton on sax and clarinet, Steve Sharp on bass, Andy Batwinas on percussion, and Richie West on drums. This is their 3rd record. Tracks 9, 10 and 12 end abruptly. A lot of this sounds like a recorded jam session, but some of it is really cool.
Picks: 1+, 2, 5+, 7+, 9+, 10+, 11, 12, and 17
No fucks
Einsturzende Neubauten
“Alles Wieder Offen”
Potomak
Experimental. This is Einsturzende Neubauten’s 20th album in a career that has spanned 27 years. The title translates to “All open again” (which apparently means that the band has taken almost all matters related to the album into its own hands). Many of the bands previous albums were self-released to subscribers to the band’s website. This album is dark and intense and a good follow up to their last record Perpetuum Mobile. I think every song on this record is worthy of mention. That being said, I think that tracks 3, 5, 6, 8, and 10 are the real highlights. If you like Einsturzende Neubauten or Blixa Bargeld’s work with Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, I think you’ll enjoy this.
Picks: 1,2,3+,4,5+,6+,7,8+,9,10+
No fucks.
The Satelliters
“Where Do We Go?
Dionysus
60s Garage/psychedelic. These guys sound like the real deal from the mid-60s, and they’re German (but they sing in English). The album has 10 original songs plus 3 covers: the Birds “No Good Without You Baby” (14), “I’ll Make You Sorry” (11) by the Shadows of Knight and the Paragons “Abba” (2). Fans of 60s psychedelic with dig this. Most of the songs sound like 60s pop bands, 7 sounds like an acid trip, 8 was on their last record.
Picks: 2+, 3, 4++, 5+, 6+, 7+, 8++, 9+, 10, 11, 12+, 13
No fucks