Friday, March 25, 2011

The Speculators are Busy Boys

D/Wolves have a lot of friends in San Diego. I've gotten a few e-mails this week from bands that they know. Here's a new single that I just have to mention.
  • The Speculators - "Covvvves" single (self-released) [Bandcamp]
  • "Covvvves" - Stream it here
    • Fun, energetic, angular, noisy art punk by a quartet from San Diego and Portland.
    • Sounds like it was recorded at homeextremely well.
    • Very creative, a breath of fresh air. And I'm not just saying that because I know they'll see this post.
    • Seems to be a digital-only release with just one track. I'm not sure if it's available for purchase or download, but you can stream it here.
    • They have a 2 ½-month-old EP called Grow Old that is available for a free download. It's going on my Dell DJ this afternoon. Really good stuff. There's a guest female vocal on one track.
    • There's also a free Halloween/Christmas-themed two-track release from December called Holidays, featuring their renditions of "Monster Mash" and "Blue Christmas". These fellas have been busy.
    • Get this stuff now. My kinda rock-'n'-roll.
Here's the new single.

The Speculators - "Covvvves" (single; 3/20/2011)



Have a nice weekend.

Monday, March 21, 2011

Spring 2011 Mix Tape

Unless you're in northern New England today, spring has arrived! Here's my spring 2011 mix tape, courtesy of 8tracks.com.


This time it's all noise punk, a bit zanier than my previous mixes. Enjoy.




Stream it here if the widget gives you problems.


Tracklist: (links lead to downloads)


Intelligence - Bulbs (2008)
Little Girls
Little Girls - Growing (2009)
The Vandelles - Lovely Weather (2009)
Thee Oh Sees - Rainbow (2009)
Meth Teeth - False Summer (2009)
Broken Water - Spore (2010)
Cloud Mouth - Waves (2010)
Ty Segall - My Sunshine (2010)
Nightmare Waterfall - Sleep Waterfall (2010)
The Beets - Flaxing Seed (2011)
Sic Alps - May Ltd (2011)
The Babies - Sunset (2011)

Great Aussie Garage Noise From The Twerps

  • The Twerps - "Black Eyes" 7" (Underwater Peoples) [MySpace]
  • "Black Eyes" 7" - Order here
    • Jangly noise with cool garage-punk vocals by a quartet from Melbourne.
    • I love these guys (and girl).
    • A vinyl-only release. Hear two of the three tracks on their Bandcamp.

"Self Assured" rocks. They claim it was recorded in the rain. Nice way to start the week.

The Twerps - "Self Assured" ("Black Eyes" 7"; 3/18/2011)

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Unique Psych Pop on D/Wolves' Free Album

  • D/Wolves - Freak of Nature (self-released) [MySpace]
  • Freak of Nature - Free download
    • An interesting amalgamation of candy noise, found sounds and psychedelia fused into short, experimental pop songs sung and played with vigor by this San Diego four-piece.
    • It's hard to tell in the first couple of minutes, but once you get into this half-hour album, it's really cool and sort of unique. Not heavy, but not exactly mellow, either. More light-hearted than dark. Sort of like the Flaming Lips before fame made them a little ridiculous.
    • They call their music "freakpop", "gypsy-gaze", "mud bath" and "post-spooky". Makes sense.
    • They're giving this album away for free at their Bandcamp. Very worth the price!

Here's a new, massively revamped version of a song they released on an EP a year ago (also free). It starts quiet and builds slowly into a monster of a song. Give it time!

D/Wolves - "Pretty Wolves" (Freak of Nature; 3/11/2011)

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

New Dignan Porch EP Sounds Great

Now I get to play catch-up for a little while...so much music this month!
  • Dignan Porch - Deluded (Captured Tracks) [MySpace]
  • Deluded
    Deluded - Download here
    • Finally, something new from Captured Tracks that doesn't sound like New Order. This is just good, laid-back, lo-fi rock with distorted vocals. Sounds really nice.
    • This is a four-piece band from South London.
    • This release, which came out a week ago, is billed as an 8-track 12" EP, as all the tracks are fairly short. The whole thing is streaming for free right here.
    • They're playing around England right now and will be touring there with Times New Viking in late April.

Here's a nice track from this EP. It's the longest at four minutes.

Dignan Porch - "Stream" (Deluded; 3/8/2011)

Ringo Deathstarr Demonstrate Pure Rock Brilliance

I almost missed this one, and it's one of my favorite bands!
  • Ringo Deathstarr - Colour Trip (Club AC30/Sonic Unyon) [Facebook]
  • Colour Trip
    Colour Trip - Download here
    • Not many bands are doing shoegaze as genuinely and as interestingly as Texas's Ringo Deathstarr. The spirit of the Swirlies' Blonder Tongue Audio Baton lives on in this band.
    • This is shoegaze without being so dream-pop as bands like The Pains of Being Pure At Heart. It's actually rock music. It's noisy and melodic and kickin' all at once. I'm sure kickin' myself for not knowing about this before I recorded yesterday's show!
    • Both male and female vocals, though the male vocals predominate.
    • Reviews I'm reading keep talking about nostalgia and imitation and lack of creativity, but man, I know this genre, and those reviews are off-base. They just don't get it. This album is an advance, not just in shoegaze but in creative rock music as a whole. Maybe one day the world will look back and understand that.
    • There's not a lot more I can say that wouldn't just take away from what this trio from Beaumont have done here in their first full album (finally!). I was a fan before, but this is now one of my favorite bands ever. I'm a Ringo Deathstarr supporter to the end.
    • Apparently Club AC30 released this in the UK on Valentine's Day, and then Sonic Unyon released it here in North America last week. So it's not super fresh, but I just had to rave about it for a minute.
It's very hard to pick just one track to share from this amazing album, but here's one of my favorites. It's like a metal version of Loveless from outer space.

Ringo Deathstarr - "Chloe" (Colour Trip; 2/14/2011)

Monday, March 14, 2011

8-Tracks Fierce: March Broadcast

This month is cracklin' with energy. As always, you can stream the show below or in the sidebar, and you can download it using this link.


8-Tracks Fierce: March Episode



Tracklist


The Death Set - "Can You Seen Straight?" (from the album Michel Poiccard, out tomorrow on Counter)


Badlands
Dirty Beaches - Badlands -
Download here
Parts & Labor - "Bright White" (from the album Constant Future, out 3/8 on Jagjaguwar)


Belong - "Perfect Life" (from the album Common Era, out 3/21 on Kranky)


Dirty Beaches - "Sweet 17" (from the album Badlands, out 3/29 on Zoo Music)


Peter Bjorn and John - "(Don't Let Them) Cool Off" (from the album Gimme Some, out 3/29 on StarTime International)


Screws Get Loose
Those Darlins -
Screws Get Loose -
Download here
Those Darlins - "Fatty Needs a Fix" (from the album Screws Get Loose, out 3/29 on Oh Wow Dang)


The Pains of Being Pure At Heart - "Girls of 1000 Dreams" (from the album Belong, out 3/29 on Slumberland)


Vivian Girls - "Lake House" (from the album Share the Joy, out 4/12 on Polyvinyl)




Hope you enjoy! I'm going to see Sic Alps at Carabar in Columbus tonight...yyyeah, boyyyy...

Friday, March 11, 2011

Episode 8 Dropping on Monday

Ah, *stretch*, I needed that break. Our trip down south wasn't exactly a relaxing vacation, but it's always nice to get away for a bit.


Sorry if anyone's been missing their regular dose of new noise here, but I've been saving up a few things to play on a very special episode of 8-Tracks Fierce, coming next Monday, the 14th.


Why so special? Because it's episode 8. Of 8-Tracks Fierce. Just seems significant somehow. Not sure how I should celebrate, but we will definitely be hearing some great new noise, fresh out the box.


Belong
I haven't finalized the track list just yet, but I think we can expect to hear from Dirty Beaches, Sweden's Peter Bjorn and John, and noisy N'awlins shoegazers Belong on this episode. 


We'll also hear from a fairly big noise-pop release that leaked very earlyshhh, don't tell the RIAA. Actually, let's not mention my show to them at all, just in case...


Look for all that and more on a brand new episode right here on Monday!

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Short Break and a Blast From the Past

Psychedelic States: New York in the '60s, Vol. 1
Psychedelic States:
New York in the 60s
, Vol. 1
Too busy for a real post today, and I'm taking off for the Deep South early in the morning. My wife's extended family will finally get to meet our four-month-old twins this weekend. So I'll be taking a break until next week.


In the meantime, check out this incredible Blast From the Past by the Mark IV, a quartet from Poughkeepsie on the tiny Giant Star label. This B-side was recorded way back in 1965, but it's just as noise-punk as anything coming out today.


The Mark IV - "Don't Want Your Lovin'" ("Would You Believe Me" single; 1965)




See you next week!

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Beko Releases a No-Wave Split Single

  • Thickly Painted Walls/Chineselightbulb - Split single (Beko) [Blogspot] [Myspace]
  • Beko 76 - Download here
    • Underground and excellent. Psychedelic garage fuzz punk  that'll bend y'r head. Could be considered no wave. I needed this.
    • Three tracks released yesterday. Two of them are over seven minutes long, so this is nearly 18 minutes of great noise for free.
    • Thickly Painted Walls is Stefan Walz from Park Ridge, NJ. He's put out a few albums, including two in 2010. One is called Wichsen Vixen, and you can download it free here. The other is called Butterknife, and you can get it here.
    • Chineselightbulb is from Berlin. She has an album available here.
    • This isn't the first time these two have worked together. Check out this video from last summer.
    • I love it when musicians are too rock-'n'-roll to care what anyone thinks. 8-Tracks Fierce is a tribute to such artists.
I think this is a picture of both musicians.
Here's the first track on this new single, the shortest one and my favorite. It has something resembling melody and song structure, which is why I felt justified posting it on this blog. This tune could definitely be considered noise punk.

Thickly Painted Walls - "Stoner Boner" (split single with Chineselightbulb; 2/28/2011)