LIMITED MUTA MIST WAX EDITION!
YES!!!!!! The long wait is over, cuz Columbus' noise rockers Unholy Two are back with a vengeance and a new lp "Talk About Hardcore" out on 12XU. So let's follow the title's suggestion and hunker down for a lil conversation:
"The long-awaited follow-up to 2010’s ’Skum Of The Earth' (Columbus Discount/Negative Guest List) and the first new Unholy Two recordings since 2012's "Cut The Music (I'm The Nightstalker)”, 614 Mag's Kevin J. Elliot promises, "'Hardcore 'is sonic terrorism compared to the group’s few contemporaries," and we might have to get him on the phone to find out precisely who these contemporaries are. Tempting though it may be to say this band is at the top of their game, this isn't a game. Whether they're running roughshod over Dallas Cowboys fans in "Redskins" (note to Dan Snyder -- you'll find this song on Spotify over my dead body), chronicling the exploits of Timothy McVeigh, covering NON's "Total War" or paying homage to the oratory skills of Bionic Elbow originator Dusty Rhodes, Unholy Two combine a sound / worldview that isn't for everyone. The best records of all-time rarely are."
We couldn't agree more! There aren't many (any?) bands that turn their menace up to 11 and create a terrorizing / tense / manic swirl of guitar feedback and primal rhythm like Unholy Two does on "Talk About Hardcore." And a few RIYLs aren't gonna prepare you for this platter. You could imagine Drunk With Guns trying to destroy/cover Flipper or a back alley skirmish between Pussy Galore and Merzbow and that might come close to describing the experience. But maybe not. One thing is for sure, this is a real deal in-yer-face complete noise punk meltdown. Transcendent as anything on ESP Disk from back in the day. And as brutal as any feral hardcore band's name you can drop. And yeah more fear inducing than those so-called industrial acts of years past. So explosive Unholy Two might just be on the NSA / FBI watch list after "Talk About Hardcore" gets into circulation. But that's probably fine with them. Cuz one listen to this album, and you'll know this guys ain't afraid of gettin' bloody. SO YEAH IT'S HELLA RECOMMENED!!!! Especially for those who need some extreme wavelengths to get them through the week!!!!!!!
Richie Records is proud (or um more like way fuckin' stoked) to present to all of us RnR junkies Mordecai's third full length platter of destruction, entitled "Neil's Generator.":
"Why does everybody make such a big to-do about Mordecai’s Montana origins? Hell, it’s a place just like any other, just bigger than most. And it’s not like the (true) story of them recording in a YMCA bathroom really offers a proper “big sky” vibe, although it certainly had a more unique aroma than most studios.
But on Neil’s Generator, things really do open up in a way where the juxtaposition between huge space / not so huge amount of people really makes sense. If the previous LP College Rock formed a friendly union between noisy Swell Maps-ian clatter, post-garage Fall prickliness, and the all-American DIY basement joy of Mike Rep / Tommy Jay, Neil’s Generator embodies the same kind of loose, ragged glory perpetrated by the Meat Puppets, Rayne, Dead Moon, and the Velvets staring into a cracked and filthy mirror. The guitars—and make no mistake, this is a guitar record, and a damn fine one indeed!—retain a spiky waywardness, like if Robert Quine had recorded a Rough Trade single. But these songs have more space to breathe, and therefore function as a launching pad for some gleeful six-string abandon.
Who knows how many rodeos the Bodish brothers have witnessed, but for sure they understand the risky notion that sometimes you’re in control of a guitar, other times the guitar can get the best of you. If they’re not afraid to take the chance, you shouldn’t be either—so hop on board."
YES WE'RE ON BOARD!!! Not quite sure what it is about Mordecai that sucks us in, but their unhinged DIY RnR chaos has us hooked from the get go. Could be the shards of AMREP angst, the miscreant Aussie feel to their songs, or the geographical / spiritual closeness to the primitive rock n roll of the Pacific Northwest. But maybe it's how they smash snotty UK post punk with the sonic unraveling of those old Touch & Go bands that we still love. Or maybe it's cuz we get something more and different every spin. "Neil's Generator" is definitely a wild ride and one you need to take. Especially if you're fans of Watery Love, Flipper, Cuntz, Swell Maps, fEEDTIME, Pissed Jeans and other such like minded and likely to spit on you bands. HEAVILY RECOMMENDED!!!!!!!!!!
7in - Boeing Duveen And The Beautiful Soup - Jabberwock b/w Which Dreamed It - Import - $11.99 - BUY
- LISTEN 
- LISTEN
ORIGINALS TYPICALLY SELL FOR AROUND $250 - $300 ! ! !
Absolutely MAD late-Sixties psychedelic single by "Boeing Duveen & The Beautiful Soup" a.k.a. London scenester Sam Hutt (also known as "The Rock & Roll Doctor" a lysergical doctor who administered "meds" to the needy U.K. psychedelic counter-culture) reissued here by Captain High Records:
"Sam Hutt's legendary '68 psychedelic debut as "Boeing Duveen", now reissued the first time on 7 inch vinyl! Swirly sitar-sounds and British popsike meld into another colourful Magical Mystery Tour ... Be sure to have some incense near you! Fully licensed and limited to 500 copies with original A and B labels!"
The A-Side is a Lewis Carroll-inspired jaunty psychedelic mind-melter, & has appeared on a few notable psych compilatons (Rubble, the 'Perfumed Garden' series & more) BUT the real treat here is the B-Side "Which Dreamed It", a sitar-laced, freaky-folk popsike number that owes a heavy debt to Pink Floyd, The Beatles, or Tyrannosaurus Rex (the single was even produced by Tyrannosaurus Rex producer Tony Visconti). A killer double-dose of heady nugs - drop the needle on this one & be prepared to head down the rabbit hole! This is a fully-licensed & remastered version of the single, limited to 500 copies, so DO NOT SNOOZE if you like your tunes a tad more "paisley-tinted" - RECOMMENDED!
The French seem to have a lock on the "cold wave", "minimal synth" or "glue wave" - WHATEVER you wanna call it, they've got it down and apparently always have if this legendary 1980 LP by Charles De Goal is any indication. Originally released on New Rose, it's reissued now by Parisien label Danger Records, get dangerous!:
"Reissue of the debut LP (New Rose 1980) by ETIENNE LEBOURG, JEAN-PHILIPPE BROUANT, PATRICK BLAIN, and THIERRY LERAY, whose stylish and sublimely awkward synthesizer workouts rely on choppy guitar to keep their cold wave / minimal synth skittish and tense. Unpredictable beats, cyberpunk lyrics, a cover of Bowie's "Hang on to Yourself."
Springing forth from a fertile crescent of synth-laced punk before him, Patrick Blain's work as 'Charles De Goal" fits in nicely with his forbearers/contemporaries like Throbbing Gristle, Metal Urbain, Cabaret Voltaire, The Normal & Fad Gadget. Icy, pulsing synths throb & twitch under Blain's skittering & tinny guitar divebombs with his sometimes cool, detached vocals cooing over the top. This is ESSENTIAL stuff for fans of any of the aforementioned bands & the Minimal Wave / Medical Records fans out there - GRIP IT & DON'T LET GO! Recommended TIMES INFINITY.
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Any new Swans material is ultra-welcomed here at Camp P-Rex and this feature length 3xLP(!!!) "To Be Kind" is down right EPIC! Check out the rave review from the LA Times to get a taste of what's in store:
"Swans' grand new album, "To Be Kind," is a career-defining work that few could have expected from a 30-plus-year project considered by many to be well past its peak. At 122 minutes, it's as long as a movie and as densely heavy as a Richard Serra sculpture. Defying easy categorization, "To Be Kind" is a rock album, but it's not something to be taken lightly. Brash, polarizing, fearless and filled with a purity of vision that would make Col. Kurtz blanch, the work features mountains of guitars and beats made with boulders, brass, laser-gun noises, guest vocals from Annie Clark (a.k.a. St. Vincent) and a sprawling vision. At various times, founder Michael Gira squawks like Johnny Rotten, at others he pleads like Patti Smith. He conjures the spirit of Jim Morrison on "She Loves Us," loses himself on the marvelous opener "Screen Shot," a man lost amid fury and rhythm. On "Bring the Sun," Gira roars like he's feral.
Best, though, "To Be Kind" is fearless — unafraid to alienate, to kowtow, to expand beyond the constraints of the standard structure, to lean into the burn. At various times suggesting to the Doors' "The End," Velvet Underground's "Sister Ray" or the Stooges' "Funhouse," the album isn't so much music to hear as a headspace to descend into — a sound that you need to really make a decision on. Do you feel like total immersion? Can you endure such intensity? How much, really, do you want to rock? If it's only a little, or you're with your 10-year-old kid and you don't want him to have nightmares, go elsewhere. This will terrify. But if you want to get real, real gone, "To Be Kind" will guide you. Just be careful." - LA Times
Funded in part by a super limited (and now long gone) hand made 2xCD entitled "Not Here/Not Now" also on Swans' mastermind Michael Gira's Young God Records that consisted of live recordings from Swans 2012/2013 tour, "To Be Kind" is made up of mostly live set staples from the same tour. These tracks were further developed over several shows before being fine-tuned in the studio to make up this colossal triple LP of sonics only the mighty Swans could conjure. "To Be Kind" is yet another genre defying notch in the ever evolving Swans repertoire and we are sure this thing is gonna be on LOTS of year end lists. Anyhow, if you haven't gathered by now "To Be Kind" is most certainly Mega Recommended by yer friends at ol' Permanent Records.
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After a "blink-and-you-missed-it" 7-inch last year, London's GOOD THROB are back with a full-length that's set to blow our collective doors off! Released on White Denim Records, they've got their finger on the pulse of the Throb:
"In 2014, the best punk scene in the world is in London, England, and the best band out of that scene is GOOD THROB. KY ELLIE and the gang rage through eleven of the most acerbic punk rock cuts to be
conceived in modern time, brimming over with true-life vitriol and the means to carry it out. Imagine the murderous passion of The Feederz clenched in the fists of Kleenex with a scratched-up Erase Errata picture disc jammed in a Vomit Visions sleeve and you're close to Good Throb, although there is no way to hypothesize Good Throb without truly bearing witness. Following two stunning 7" EPs, Good Throb annihilate the LP format with more tunes about moronic men, systemic misery and the many ways in which they can both get fucked. Rather than be the one to say it, I'll go ahead and wait until you hear Fuck Off and consequently pronounce it the album of the year. Edition of 572 copies."
So YEAH - this record kind fucking rules, OK? Ragged and right punk done correctly - vocals are toasty, the guitars are LOUD and frayed, and the rhythm section seem to be operating off of a hive-mind! The band absolutely rages and laying down a perfectly venomous wall of noise for singer K.Y. Ellie to wail her caustic, vitriolic diatribes against society at large as well as smaller day-to-day issues with public transit, discos and jealousy (among other things). She's pretty fucking pissed and we're finding ourselves itching to listen again and again. This is a great fucking record and a contender for top o' the slop in the punk pile. RECOMMENDED WHOLE-HEARTEDLY, but act fast, before you're having to tell record-flippers to "Fuck Off"! Word has it that the initial pressing of 572 is already sold out at the source!
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After a killer cassette and two mind melting singles, Australia's blown out riffologist's Eastlink are dropping their proper full length debut via In The Red. And let's just say we've been waiting on this one for quite some time!
"“This self-titled debut album from rigid Melbourne, Australia, punks Eastlink is the best full-length to come from Down Under since… well, since the last really incredible release on Aarght!, RIP Society, Homeless or any of the other countless many fantastic new labels that have appeared from that country over the past few years. For those paying attention, it’s hard to not be blown away by the amount of amazing records coming out of Australia lately. This album is no exception and stands near the top of the heap.
“Eastlink features members from a variety of bands you already love like Total Control, UV Race, Repairs, Lakes and Straightjacket Nation, just to name a few. With four guitars, one drum and two vocalists, they splinter and drench two-note monotonic riffs the rest of us never noticed were right under our noses the whole time. These nine tracks range from harsh, crude, fuzzed-out one-note pounders to droning soundscapes.
“Like The Fall, Eastlink clearly digs repetition and aren’t afraid to use it as a weapon. For these Australian doper-scuzz minimalists, it’s all about the riff. Heavy, punishing, repetitive riffs where four guitars lock on to something intense and primal for four minutes. The band simply pummels tracks like ‘Overtime’ and ‘Spring St.’ into the ground, pausing only for an occasional frenzied guitar solo or blast of feedback and noise. Meanwhile, ‘Dinnerchat’ and ‘Thatcher’s Dead’ are weirdo space-rockers that wouldn’t sound terribly out of place on Brain Records in the ’70s.”
—Jay Hinman, Dynamite Hemorrhage" - In The Red
This is the part of our review where we totally fucking agree with Dynamite Hemorrhage's kind words, tell you that In The Red head honcho Larry Hardy might've just put out our favorite album of the year and start babbling once again about how fucking killer the Aussie music scene is and continues to be!!!!! So why haven't you clicked the shopping cart logo yet?
Just one look at the band lineup is sufficient to get us pulling out our credit cards, cuz we've been Total Control/UV Race junkies for years. But it doesn't stop there....they have four guitarists strangling and wringing their 6 stringers to create whole new wavelengths of spaced out, psych damaged primal noise. "Eastlink" is the sound of krautrock's motorik rhythm flipped inside out Mad Max style, ugly down under scuzz punk stretched to its cosmic limits, minimal chord post punk that the UK only dreamed about back in the early days, and a kind of art damaged post garage / post spacerock / post psych promise/hinter land where you won't find any extraneous musicians, studio flourishes, stupid genre gimmicks and PR exclamations. Here is where we could name drop bands they sound like, but that would be beside the point cuz this might just be the NOW SOUND. AND DEFINITELY A HIGHLY AND SUPREMELY RECOMMENED JAM THAT WILL SIT ON YER TURNTABLE AND REFUSE TO LEAVE. So yeah don't miss out, we tried to tell you so!
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Paint-peeling, scuzzy debut album from these Philly malcontents on their new home of In The Red Records! This one's already ripped our faces off a few times since we dropped it on our turntables, so hearken to ITR's "eye in the sky":
“Take it from me, orbitin’ the Earth over ’n’ over ain’t all it’s cracked up to be. When I was asked to hop on board a Soyuz headed to the International Space Station (Assignment: Critical Observation), I reckoned this’d be the trip of a lifetime. Space, the final frontier. And how ’bout that view? But now I feel like I’ve been here that long—a lifetime, that is. You know, the food ain’t much to speak of, plus I gotta constantly make sure I don’t make no crumbs, else they might fuck up our air breathin’ filters. Crumbs! The things one learns. Drinkin’ ain’t no fun neither, ’less you get your jollies sippin’ daquiris from a straw out a plastic bag, like some swishy, doe-eyed Deadhead. And don’t even get me started on hygiene issues! I believe I could take a life for a proper bubble bath right about now (I miss my ducky, too). Which is all just a lumberin’ yet apropos segue to the matter at hand: this debut LP by Watery Love.
“Now, any right-minded corncob south of the Van Allen Belt knows them three precedin’ 7-inches via Richie, Siltbreeze and Negative Guestlist smacked kernels hard, and that smolderin’ ferocity has naturally been carried over here. The glow ’n’ throb what’s got got is as much the byproduct of the eternal bioluminescence of Iron Cross or Third World War as an appreciation for the corroded, fractoluminescence exuded once upon a time by Chain Gang, Slow Death EP-era Leather Nun ’n’ The Gordons. Sure, their environment might seem cold and uncarin’—even downright sociopathic—but behind that facade of David Goodis-like grimness are four sodbusters chompin’ to have a good time. When singer Richie Charles hollers “I’m a skull!” who among the masses would not rush headlong to get a lick off that boney pate? It ain’t about Rofinol, people, it’s about the roof, and how far can Watery Love raise the fucker. Unlike you dickheads, I’m sittin’ pretty in the catbird seat (what part of me bein’ out to space did you miss?) so let me say, keep it comin’! Higher ’n’ higher, nose to the grindstone and all that. Don’t worry, I’ll stop ya when ya get here. And one more thing—don’t forget to bring a six pack. We’ll need it.” —Roland Seward Woodbe - International Space Station, Outer Space, Call Sign: Alphar"
Take it from us - you don't have to be in orbit to appreciate the sonic thuggery being perpetrated on this platter; 12 solid inches of punishing, sweat-soaked, unwashed nihilism. This debut long-player comes five years after the band's first single (the brain-busting "Debut 45" on Richie), and two years after their last release (the "Die With Dignity" 7" on Siltbreeze), so in a sense we have the re-introduction to Watery Love - only fitting it includes a re-recorded version of the band's anthemic "hit" "I'm A Skull" (which somehow remains just as vital 5 years later). For the uninitiated, there's really no deviation from the band's signature sound (i.e. noisy, cacophonous pig-fuckery so feral, we're shocked it ain't from Australia), but the real head-scratcher is how these dudes have somehow upped their game here, the hooks sink deeper and cut with a serrated edge, the vocals drawl like snarling dogs on Robutussin. These dudes are the best and they have nothing to prove to you. Another feather in Larry Hardy's ever-expanding cap (dude must have an Indian headdress at this point) - "Decorative Feeding" is destined for your 'Best of 2014' list ferreals, bruh. Don't forget to cop the additional new 45 (also on ITR and in our webstore) that features absolutely killah cover versions of Breakdown's "Sick People" and The Ramones "I Don't Care"! We've been fans from day one, so it's no surprise that this one comes ONE-HUNDRED PERCENT RECOMMENDED. Don't be a chump - Get this now and you can thank us later.
Trouble In Mind Records just keeps pumping out the hits these days and we are freaking out over their latest releases around here. Get the full story directly from the label here:
"After the one-two punch release of a head-turning limited 10-inch EP in 2013, followed by an equally mezmerizing 7-inch (the “Traumhaft” single, reissued by TiM in Feb of ‘14), Swiss duo Klaus Johann Grobe finally unveil their full-length offering, “Im Sinne der Zeit”. In their short existence, members Sevi Landolt (organ/synths/vocals) and Daniel Bachmann (drums/vocals) have concocted a unique sound that pulls equally from motorik krautrock, skittering post-punk, organic Brazilian grooves and glittering dancefloor strut that practically begs to MOVE you.
With the ability to conjure up the ghosts of Neu!, Bob James, Marcos Valle, Shuggie Otis & Stereolab in the span of a single tune. It’s an album that begs to be flipped over and over and over. “Im Sinne der Zeit” is a glorious creation, the kind of album that sounds and feels like it’s floating off the grooves, alternately swaying between the fluid, jazzy, & (yes) funky rhythms & cool, deliberate mechanized grooves that squeal & squiggle with the pulse of an electronic heart. Doubly strange is that although the duo sing exclusively in German, their tunes never seem anything less than warm & inviting, enveloping the listener in their welcoming embrace & come-hither wink of the dancefloor. From the opening throb of “Between the Buttons”, to the robotic two-step of “Koffer”, the duo never lessens the intensity. While they may cool it down a bit, the grooves stay warm to the touch, culminating in the albums’s final two tracks; the dizzyingly infectious & celebratory party-closer “Regan Raus” & the final tune, “Vergangenes” which eases the listener into that after-hours cab-ride home.
“Im Sinne der Zeit” comes pressed on 150gm vinyl, & is housed in a printed inner sleeve, with lyrics and includes a download code.
RIYL: Stereolab, Marcos Valle, Neu, ESG, Blank Realm, Moon Duo, Human League" -Trouble In Mind
Holy smokes is this record fucking infectious. We scored a stack of this killer LP and have been spinning it daily at the shop. And now we can all take home a copy of this ultra catchy otherworldly music. It's like Stereolab, ESG, Basement 5 and P.I.L. started a Tropicalia Soundsystem and tried to out funk each other. Motorik rhythms… check, slinky bass grooves… check, fuzzed out organ moaners… check and breathy vocals filling in the gaps make "Im Sinne der Zeit" a fun filled adventure that we're sure you'll be taking on repeated excursions. This is a total yearend lister fer sure buckaroos so cop one like yesterday. SOOOOO VEERRRYY RECOMMENDED!!!!
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YES! Hoo baby, we have been waiting for THIS one for a while now; the brand-new album from The Soundcarriers, this time on their new home; the ever-elusive and scarily consistent Ghost Box Records!!
"Entropicalia is the third full album from The Soundcarriers. New to the world of Ghost Box, their switched on sounds are filmic, fantastic and authentically psychedelic.
The rock solid rhythm and bass of songwriters, Adam Cann and Paul Isherwood provide a jazz inflected, motorik groove for Dorian Conway’s guitar and the whirling keys and sunshine voice of Leonore Wheatley. Jesse Chandler of Midlake guests on Hammond and flute on two tracks, and film actor Elijah Wood talks the listener through a mathematically guided trip on the extended wig-out This is Normal.
Sumptuous packaging for both CD and Vinyl is designed by Julian House with liner notes by Ben Graves (of the Toys and Techniques blog). Vinyl version includes free download code."
These cats blew our collective doors off with their 2012 "Boiling Point" EP on Great Pop Supplement - a dizzying update on the Lounge-cum-BBC Workshop sound launched by bands like Stereolab and Broadcast. "Entropicalia" is their third proper full-length (and their first since 2010's 'Celeste'), and finds the band picking up right where they left off; pulsing, head-bopping grooves evoking both the rhythmic and exploratory drive of Neu! with the dark, winsome tunefulness of Sixties acts like the Free Design or Perrey-Kingsley. Tunes like the album closer "This Is Normal" bring things full-circle into the present-day evoking modern hip-hop/beat-oriented acts like Dan The Automator or Heliocentrics who find new and interesting ways to weave a tasty groove into a more avant framework. This album is a corker and begs for repeated listens (which we are HAPPY to give)! We're vibing HARD on this one and "Entropicalia" seems destined for 'Top-Tenner' status - unequivocally RECOMMENDED. Grab this one while it's available - Ghost Box vinyl NEVER seems to stick around for too long!
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Jerusalem and the Starbaskets mosey on down from Columbia, Missouri along with their third album of tripped out, fuzzed out, heartfelt, psychedelic country blues rock on "DOST". The label behind "DOST", De Stijl, suggests the title roughly indicated the meaning of "friend", or perhaps it indicates something closer to the prounounciation of this phrase: "dosed". It probably has a little something to do with both, which pretty much sums up the warm spacey tenor running from start to finish on this long-player. All and all you'll find a moonshine concoction of Heater (of whom "Jerusalem" joins guitar as a guitarist) and Wooden Wand on this record, and we wouldn't be surprised if Jerusalem and the Starbaskets found themselves comfortably seated on Michael Gira's Young God label. RECOMMENDED for those warm nights with your friends and your "friends".
