PERMANENT RECORDS' 43RD LABEL RELEASE!
Leather Slave are from LA and sound a lot like Brainbombs. Here are some review excerpts from Julian Cope's Head Heritage site:
"I've never heard any band...match what [Leather Slave] did. Period. From what I heard the band is still going strong, although I dunno if it's still the same lineup... Of course one of the enigmatic things about this band is that they don't list credits or any information about themselves...But the thing that really sets this band apart is not only that the musicianship is brilliant, but that they have no redeeming value whatsoever(!) It's rock 'n roll at it's most primal and destructive -- what your parents feared in such music. Think Rolling Stones circa Exile on Main Street crossed with an even more stripped-down Raw Power by the Stooges, along with the more anarchic moments from the Swans, topped off by the writings of De Sade and Peter Sotos and yr halfway there... It's "Horror-Punk" except inspired by "Last House on Dead End Street" rather than "Teenage Frankenstein" or whatever...
Their...album starts off deceptively innocuous...but gets shattered by a devastating discordant riff, with what could be a manifesto of some sort. "If you have the fucking power, then use it to kill them all!"
Again the amazing thing about the band is the musicianship, although the songs are not songs as much as they could be called loops in a way -- mostly a series of tight grooves that threaten to fall apart and often do. The drummer has a particularly nimble touch here, but can kick out the jams just as John Bonham can... The guitars manage to sound incredibly sick and brutal, pretty much adding to the theme, but even when they restrain it a little the effect is still quite disturbing. As for the vocals, it's not singing as much as speaking...but somehow it still works in the overall musical fabric, so to speak...
But the playing's extremely good -- they seemed to have studied rock 'n roll right down to its blues/country roots.
Of course the album closes with a totally repellent track that's a noisy, discordant mess, although that drummer still manages to keep it together which is (again) amazing... Probably this band isn't for everyone's taste, but if you like good rock 'n roll and at the same time appreciate what Whitehouse does, then this is for you."
This review is technically of Brainbombs "Obey", but since Leather Slave have so much in common with Brainbombs, we imagine Mr. Cope would have exactly the same thing to say about Leather Slave. Genius and Brutality. Taste and Power. For days.
RIYL: Brainbombs, Francis Harold & the Holograms, Rectal Hygienics, Fang, AmRep
LP - Ty Segall - Manipulator (2xLP - RANDOMLY INSERTED RED VINYL - ONE PER CUSTOMER) - $21.99 - BUY
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- LISTEN Our good buddy Ty Segall is BACK IN ACTION in a solo capacity, unleashing his (by our count) NINTH proper solo record since 2008, the EPIC double album "Manipulator"! Released once again by local yokels Drag City, so listen up:
"The Segall has landed. And it’s fully loaded, with everything that TY SEGALL are gonna need in the world to come. Sticking his hand deeper into the machines all around him, Ty is reaching ever further to the outer limits of inner space orbited throughout Twins and Sleeper. And now more than ever, the chunks of the world that came before are like asteroids formed in his image. Still fighting the power with all the energy that a determined mind-patriot can conjure, Ty’s a fighter who loves, a surfer, a spaceman, and yeah, a casualty—like you, he’ll never be free. But unlike you, he knows it—and when he goes down and his head cracks in two, out pour the multi-colored manias that make up Manipulator. Sour-sweet declarations featuring freaks and creeps alike: “The Singer,” “The Faker,” “Mister Main,” “Susie Thumb,” the “Connection Man,” and “The Crawler,” to name but a mutant fistful. To see these peeps, to realize their dreams and visions, Ty kept working, kept writing, laying down more tracks than ever. New musical expressions pop and surprise relentlessly throughout all the knockout tunes of Manipulator with many sounds in the mix — but most of all, SO many guitars! There’s so little time, and a LOT to say. In order to ensure that he got it all out, Ty called a few friends to fill in special parts on certain songs. He got great touches from CHRIS WOODHOUSE (piano, synth & percussion), SEAN PAUL PRESLEY (vocals), BRIT LAUREN MANOR (vocals), STEVE NUTTING (drums), IRENE SALZER (violin), JESSICA IVRY (cello), MATTHIAS MCENTIRE (viola) and the TY SEGALL BAND (MIKAL CRONIN, CHARLES MOOTHEART, EMILY ROSE EPSTEIN). Plus, Mikal arranged the strings—and everyone played awesomely."
Man, it seems like an eternity since we've held a new Ty Segall album in our grubby mitts, and while only a year has passed SO MUCH seems to have happened sonically in Ty's world. The squalling waves of feedback and shedding that marked "Slaughterhouse" and his other project Fuzz are all here, alongside the acoustic pop-smarts of "Sleeper" and the weird pop sensibilities that peppered "Twins" but whittled down to their core essence. There's a comfortable assurance to "Manipulator" showing us that Ty's really seems to have a handle on EXACTLY what he wants to do and how to do it. Dude took a year to write and record it, and from what we know about Ty that must have seemed like an eternity! The two tunes from the teaser "Feel" single are here (albeit in somewhat different versions), but the rest of the album is all-new. This one has all the elements to FINALLY break our boy into some well deserved mass appeal, the hooks are sharper and the production is better than ever (but still not "too good") so who knows? Are stadium tours next? Probably not, but if he wasn't already in the pole position, "Manipulator" has him poised for stardom. Regardless, the album is TREMENDOUS and (dare we say) the best one yet. Worthy of the hype? You 'betcha. RECOMMENDED - heck we already had a spot reserved in our Top Tennner list for 2014, so GRAB THIS ONE ASAP!
The mighty Drag City Records has the nitty gritties on Permanent Records' fave Bitchin Bajas latest:
"BITCHIN BAJAS have been around the world in five years; chasing sonics through space and time and coming up with a lot of conclusions along their discographical path. Always, they push forward, recklessly consuming processes in order to realize their own works—but the sound and the music regularly emerges with tranquil essence, bringing them and their listeners into a shared experience. Bitchin Bajas’ output has been remarkably diverse in search of this singular goal, which makes for great listening across multiple albums etc.—and with the release of this new double-LP, they have mapped and traversed their own ecosystem as they journey in search of the aural epiphany, the true unknowing. With plenty of room stretched over four sides, Bitchin Bajas use their many methods to attain PERFECT FLOW throughout the 76 minutes of this self-titled record. Self-titled because this is who they are at their core; these are the flares and oscillations of their soul. They will be other things again, horizons will continue to rise and fade away in their path as they continue forward and upward—but this self-titled record is a pure vision at the heart of Bitchin Bajas." - Drag City
We can certainly get behind those kind words and we've been supporters of the good ship BB since the very beginning so you all know this comes with our highest of Recommendations! This one is sure to make many a year end list, so cop one now and tell yer friends for pete's sake!
Debut long-player from Los Angeles band Wand, the project of ex-Pangea/Mikal Cronin band guitarist and shredder extraordinaire Cory Hanson, after teasing us with some sides on split singles with Mikal Cronin, Inutili & The Meatbodies! Released on Ty Segall's label God? Records, heed the WORD OF GOD:
"With the release of WAND’s Ganglion Reef , GOD? continues to highlight the expansive sounds of new music currently altering minds from east of west to west of east. Recently, Jack Name, David Novick and White Fence were called upon for long players to travel into the heart of the flaming orb of un-/non/(ultimate)-realities (they’re out there)...and now, from GOD?’s hand-lips to your head-hand, Wand! The fluctuating gravity of their sound achieves total Wand-hood by jamming senses, sounds and vibes through the circuits—and like magic: plays of light and dark (and heavy!) for today’s (and tomorrow’s) mind-ears. From beneath the glassine surface dost emerge: Ganglion Reef ."
We're not gonna lie to ya - there's unmistakable whiffs of the sunbaked psych-garage that Msrs. Segall and Cronin are layin' down in "Ganglion Reef", but there are some undeniably great and unique moments that set Wand apart from those two duders. The band aren't afraid of some dreamy pop hooks and some genuinely beautiful melodies - the guitars may be blasting on one track, but are heart-breakingly beautiful on the next, seamlessly arranged by Hanson and Co. Hanson also moonlights as experimental electronic artist W-H-I-T-E, and his avant-leaning affectations shine through on a number of "Ganglion Reef"s tunes, mutating them into something akin to "progressive psych". Fans of stuff like Tame Impala, Jacco Gardner, Temples and the like (as well as Segall/Cronin and co.) should pick this up ASAP. Apparently there's already another album (recorded by Segall) ready to go for In The Red too - keep your eyes on these dudes, we're expecting BIG things. RECOMMENDED!
Trouble In Mind is owning all with their latest batch! They've had the good fortune to give "Seraphastra" the vinyl treatment and here's the info TiM is providing:
“Bewitching” is the only word we could come up with to describe “Seraphastra” when we first heard it in 2013. Originally released on an extremely limited cassette by the Digitalis label, the album makes a welcome debut to the vinyl format. Matchess is the solo project of Whitney Johnson, singer & keyboardist for Chicago band Verma, whose banshee-like wail & synth squall can be heard over the band’s more recent Trouble In Mind releases “Coltan” & “Sunrunner ” but Johnson’s work as Matchess is a different beast all together. Foregoing her band’s skyward arching krautrock jams for a more subtle, ‘Radiophonic’ approach, “Seraphastra”s alien drones & rhythmic pulse are grounded in the mystic & cosmic efflivium of modern spiritual synth music.
The tone is immediately set from the first track “The Need of the Greatest Wealth”; it ‘s somber mantric drone, envelops the listener in it ’s simple, comforting embrace before ending in a deafening scree of amplified viola feedback. Other tracks like the entrancing “Letters of Blood & Fire” & “Utterly Delightful Cry of Outrage” are simultaneously exotic as they are familiar, operating just outside the realm of traditional song structure, dipping a toe in here & there. Johnson’s minimalist sensibility owes as much to the Berlin school as it does to early industrial & minimal synth pioneers like Throbbing Gristle & Cabaret Voltaire. Light is finally being shed on the pioneering work of women in electronic music & composition like Delia Derbyshire, Laurie Speigel, and specifically Ruth White (whose spiritual & organic approach to electronic music eschewed it ’s chaotic roots for a more thoughtful & meditative path, with startlingly unsettling results) and Matchess places Johnson in league with counterparts like Zola Jesus and Liz Harris (Grouper), carrying the torch of female experimental & electronic musicians in the 21st century.
"Seraphastra” is re-released on the vinyl format in an edition of 500 copies with all-new artwork by artist Heather Gebel & includes a download code."
RIYL: Grouper, Zola Jesus, Suicide, Brian Eno, Ruth White, Dead C, Craig Leon" - Trouble In Mind
Originally released as a cassette from the fine folks at Digitalis, Chicago artist Matchess' "Seraphastra" got lots of time on the P-Rex tape deck. And now Trouble In Mind has pressed up a vinyl edition with updated artwork and now this lovely platter finds a new home on our turntable for many future spins. Grab this one pronto friends as it is sure fly outta here! Supremely Recommended.
Trouble In Mind does it again! This time releasing the infectious debut lp from New Mexico's Germ House! Hey you know it's about time you introduce yerself-
"Since relocating to Las Cruces, New Mexico from his long-time stomping grounds of Boston, Justin Hubbard has divided his time between raising a family with his wife (and band-mate, both former and current) Tara McManus (of Mr. Airplane Man & Turpentine Brothers) and seeding the local music scene with his two bands, Far Corners and this band right here - Germ House. “Showing Symptoms” is his debut recording under said moniker.
“Showing Symptoms” was mainly recorded by Hubbard himself at home in his ‘Three Fours’ studio and partially recorded by Resonars main-man Matt Rendon at his ‘Midtown Island ’ studio in Tucson, Arizona, with McManus on drums. The area‘s arid climate has undeniably left it’s sunbaked imprint on the album’s ten tunes. Hubbard’s already skewed sonic sensibilty; a deranged amalgam of candidly direct & distinctive melodies drizzled atop ragged, lo-fi punk testimonials. One can practically hear the speaker wires fraying loose as Hubbard wails thru spit-caked, vitrolic tunes like the burning
“ I Can’t Stand Neon” and “Over-Under ” or murmurs amid the taut, restless melodies of mellower tunes “Cold & Uptight ” and the future-anthem “40 to Stay ”; whose casual deliver y is upset by an ear-piercing guitar solo. Herein lies the uncomfortable duality of Germ House’s album - a fascinating suite of tunes that are balancing with equal measure both the melodic and discordant.
“Showing Symptoms” is pressed in an edition of 500 copies and includes a download code. RIYL: Wire, Guided By Voices, Thomas Jefferson Slave Apartments, Obnox" - Trouble In Mind
We here at the shop have been BIG fans of Justin Hubbard and Tara McManus's bands Far Corners and Turpentine Brothers as well as Tara's previous garage outfit Mr Airplane Man, so we are more than stoked that our pals at Trouble In Mind are handling the release of their new band Germ House. Damaged, lo-fi punk tunes that both sear their melodies deep into yer skull as well as charming you with their off kilter post punk edges and kiwi pop jangle. Yep we definitely see the Wire / GBV love, but also a strong dose of Simply Saucer, Wipers, X (Australia), Swell Maps, and the Verlaines too (not bad company to keep!). So if yer a fan of any of the aforementioned bands and/or you need yer next go-to record, look no farther that "Showing Symptoms." SUPER CONTAGIOUS AND RECOMMENDED!!!!!!!!!
Trouble In Mind does it again! This time releasing the unruly debut single from Chicago's very own Negative Scanner! Hey you know it's about time you introduce yerself-
"When Negative Scanner members Rebecca Flores & Tom Cassling’s other band, Tyler Jon Tyler disbanded in 2012, it seemed like the blink of an eye that their new project sprung forth fully-formed. Wasting no time, the two members recruited bassist Nick Beaudoin & guitarist Matt Revers to flesh out the lineup & Negative Scanner was born. Honing their live chops on Chicago’s robust DIY scene, the quartet hunkered down & recorded the songs that would make up their TiM debut.
“Ambitious People” launches off the A-Side, wasting no time rocketing to the anthemic chorus reminiscent of savage, early Mekons carousing with The Feelies. “Evening News” closes out the first side, without losing any steam, gripping the listener in a stranglehold, pummeling them with raging guitar strum and yearning, desperate melodic palette not unlike U.K. post-punk bands like The Sound or Alternative TV. The B-side cools things down (if only ever-so-slightly), letting the dueling guitars ebb & flow rather than bludgeon, bringing to mind the effortless, slash & burn tension exuded by Northwest punk originators The Wipers by way of modern-day DIY heroes like Tyvek or Eddy Current Supression Ring. Letting the hooks sink in only when necessary. Look out for their full-length album on Trouble In Mind in 2015!
The first edition of the “Ambitious People” single comes housed in the Trouble In Mind factory sleeve, is pressed on randomly mixed vinyl, includes a download code & is limited to 500 copies! RIYL: The Wipers, Stranglers, Tyvek, The Fall, Eddy Current Supression Ring, The Sound" - Trouble In Mind
We were sad when Tyler John Tyler broke up but Negative Scanner more than fills that hole in our hearts and ears. A fierce mix of dark angular UK DIY / post punk attitude with good ol' blistering art damaged American punk rock, Negative Scanner's debut will have you wondering just what hit you. And of course flipping the record over and over again til Trouble in Mind releases their full length. "Ambitious People," "Evening News" and "R.I.P." are just the triple shot of in-yer-face guitar ragers that we all need, especially if yer into Video, Tyvek, Avengers, Pere Ubu, Au Pairs, the Fall and the like (AKA GOOD MUSIC). SO GET IN ON THE GROUND FLOOR CUZ THIS SINGLE'S MEGA RECOMMENED!!!!!!!
LP - Jimmi Reitzler - Looking Thru Bobby's Diary - Original Sealed 1988 Stock - $39.99 - BUY - LISTEN
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MORE QUALITY PRIVATE PRESS LPs!!!
We nabbed a batch of Jimmi Reitzler's Looking Thru Bobby's Diary LP directly from the New Jersey tunesmith himself. This album is 8 tracks of private press homespun outsider r'n'r that is completely self produced, that's right, Mr. Reitzler wrote, played and produced every single sound here. These are original sealed copies from 1988 and we have but a few to go around so act fast and grab yerself a little piece of history. We'll let Jimmi Reitzler fill you in on the whole story here:
"OK I started out as Jimmi Reitzler played in a lot of bands in South New Jersey on both the Black Horse Pike and the White Horse Pike sides.I learned how to play guitar in the summer before High School (Got the money for my first guitar from working as a catty at a local golf course).I would work in mornings then hitch hike to Atlantic City, New Jersey to see Big Name Bands playing on the Steel Pier.I saw the Allman Brothers with both Duane and Barry,Badfinger with all members,Jerry Lee Lewis and Chuck Berry.I also met a guy named Mitch who helped me learn how to write songs.We both played guitar and sang.A year later we put a band together and added Carl Schultz on drums.We played back yard bar-b-q's and birthday party's.Then Carl went into the army and Mitch decided his calling was Acting.I went on to join a band named Tarot that wanted to do all originals we put out a 45 rpm record for Ripe records with one song (Play it again-that I sang and co-wrote and another song Jamaican Vacation that I wrote and sang) we were also played on the radio and we got a picture in a New York Magazine called Rock Scene.This band fell apart but Carl and I started another band called 57th Street that put out our own 45 record (Rock&Roll can save the world that was picked up by midnight records.Then we changed the bands name to NO BRAKES and put out both a 3 song EP(Tessa and Myra) and an LP (SHATTERED DREAMS) and we played all over South Jersey.Then I went solo and put out The(Looking THRU Bobby's Diary Lp and the Save the 7-Inch EP).Played a Few clubs and at CBGB's in New York city(The LP got a lot of press all over the world).Next I changed my name to Jimmi RITZ Reitzler and put out a Tape called ADDITIONAL PARKING then stopped for a few years.Then I put out a compilation CD with songs from some of the above (plus 4 new songs) called RITZ and then released a download only of the ADDITIONAL PARKING tape.Both the RITZ CD and the download only are both on cdbaby.The Looking Thru Bobby's Diary Lp shows up on ebay every so offen for $70.00 to $80.00.I'm working on a Book and some new songs and would like to play out again in the next year."
Looking Thru Bobby's Diary is yet another killer album of private press rockers unearthed from the P-Rex archivists. And be sure to check out Jimmi Reitzler's website to see what he's up to these days!
http://www.jimmiritzreitzler.com/index/
https://twitter.com/mrritz
https://www.facebook.com/jimmi.reitzler
Jimmi Reitzler supplied us with a very small stack of this 1980 single from his band Tarot. Reitzler co-wrote A-side "Play It Again", a searing cut of 80's radio rock and he penned the flip side cut "Jamaican Vacation" all his own. Funfact: "Jamaican Vacation" also appears on Jimmi Reitzler's self released solo debut, 1988's Looking Thru Bobby's Diary.
We have very limited quantities of this single so snatch one while you can!
Proof positive that The Midwest can be all right, APACHE DROPOUT are back with a new long-player of the highest order, "Heavy Window" this time released on their own Magnetic South imprint. We'll let Magnetic South crack a window and let some air in:
"After three LPs and a clutch of 45s, Southern Indiana’s Apache Dropout have loosened an adherence to the divine mono sound and forged a scaly stereo technique for Heavy Window. This is a deeper, blown out swagger of peer-less rock ‘n’ roll filtered through a lush three-dimensional spectrum.
These 11 songs hoist Sonny Blood as one of today’s finest guitarist/writers stewed in the melodic tonic of Sir Winston & The Commons and his own fug’ed ‘n’ frenzied, black-out solos. Overdubbed and bounced between tracks until saturation set in, Sonny’s fuzz drenches the caveman rhythms into a timeless sound poetry smacking onto our suffering, circumstance and flesh. Yet this trio’s songs about conspiracies, revolutionaries and paranoia remain maverick, compact pop songs tethered to a chorus and groove.
Just as their self-titled debut snapped heads back, Apache Dropout has proven again they can rescore the garage rock aesthetic and remain undisputed purveyors of true lysergic North American boogie.
Formed in 2008, Apache Dropout have toured the sub-U.S. underground insistently while chaste to their uncompromising, out-of-step vision. After previous full-lengths on Trouble In Mind and Family Vineyard, Apache Dropout return to Magnetic South, the imprint of their debut single and the publishing arm of their analogue studio, for this LP/CD release. John Dawson recorded this album at the Bloomington, Indiana studio during fall 2013."
We're done testifyin' about this band - we've been true believers since the first album dropped on our unsuspecting headz in 2011! These guys have an elemental connection to the wigged-out, psych'd out tunes from the Sixties, but musically devoid of any retro pastiche. "Heavy Window" is definitely the band's best album to date, with the album's eleven tunes flying by before the listener can catch their breath - not to say that the tunes are short necessarily, but delivered with such urgency that the album seems to be over just as it begins. Leave 'em wanting more, we always say! Songwriter/guitarist/vocalist "Sonny Blood" has a unique melodic palette, gobbling up acid-fried garage hoodoo, butt-shaking bubblegum pop, and dark, folky burners and spitting them out into something truly the band's own. The rhythm section is the band's secret weapon; drummer "Lord Fyre" and bassist "Anu Nath" have a dazzling synergy, loose but together, like a fraying electrical wire. Recorded in (egads!) STEREO at the band's own "Magnetic South" studios by John Dawson for maximum mid-fidelity! "Heavy Window"s got the goods folks - grab this one QUICK-LIKE.
EDITION OF 200
Verlag System released this stunning album of modern kosmische by MKM and here's what they have to say about it:
"In 2011, MKM was born as a machine spurting out analogue sounds. Long gone are the days of MKM´s former projects like Fooz, Bëiruth and Traummaschine. Now, their sound has evolved, shying away from the improvisation and chaos of their early days closely linked to netlabelism, into a unique mastering of a sound they could claim their own.
In the course of the last two years, MKM has been working on the composition of their last album Ad Astra Per Aspera, which recording spanned over the course of the winter months in 2013-14. The secluded space of Fora Fora studios, located in the montains down in the region of la Vall d’Albaida, provided the perfect backdrop for a detailed-oriented outcome. This great record bears the fruit of such a daunting task.
The final outcome of their job features the cosmic dreamlike sounds of the 70s and early 80s, and pays a heartfelt tribute to Stars of the Lid in the LP title (Ad Astra Per Aspera), not to mention the Richard Pinhas (Heldon) cover of “Perspective III (Baader-Meinhof Blues), which the french musician personally supervised.
The incessant stream of sounds of guitars and synthesizers elicit in the listener memories of the glorious musical journeys that marked the Kosmische Musik and Kraut Rock era, and also the ambient sounds of Roedelius and Moebius (Cluster and Harmonia), Manuel Goettsching (Ash Ra Tempel), Brian Eno or the aforementioned Richard Pinhas. A mishmash of sounds and influences that developed a singularity, which reach its climax with the 23-minute multi-layered drone, coupled with a mesmerizing guitar solo, featured on “El Triangle d’Estiu”. " - Verlag System
Ad Astra Per Aspera is a sprawling jaw dropper of drone-y kosmiche in the vein of the above-mentioned Cluster, Harmonia and Ash Ra Tempel not to mention the modern sounds of Anthroprophh, Corum and Koen Holtkamp. And we have been spinning it constantly as of late cuz these spacey sounds are down right infectious albeit amazingly subtle and soothing. Super Recommended.
AVAILABLE AGAIN!
Fans of proto-industrial / darkwave / minimal synth take note! Another obscure cassette tape has been unearthed and preserved to vinyl, over 20 years after it's initial release. Burka For Everybody Records' re-reissued it this time and they describe "Way Down" quite eloquently here:
"Originally released as a small run cassette in 1987, only to fall into tape label obscurity, Robert Turman’s industrial genre-bending masterpiece album “Way Down” finally has been excavated for a proper vinyl reissue after 23 years in the shadows. This album solidifies Turman as a cut above the rest with respect to his talent and his natural ear for experimental composition. Turman first came onto the industrial scene in the late 70’s as the ominous “other half” of legendary noise outfit NON, alongside Boyd Rice, together releasing the now classic first NON single, Mode of Infection / Knife Ladder 7″ in 1977. After parting ways, Turman went on a excursion of self-released cassettes to which he fused every possible influence at his disposal, culling together past habits of experimental know-how and going forward into uncharted terrain. After his previous experimental efforts included on his Flux release in 1981, and even later in the prolific Chapter Eleven boxset, Turman turned the tables with the creation of Way Down, using synthesizer arrangements & drum machines along side guitar solos, piano chords, tape loops and primitive sampling to create a whole new concoction of dance-like minimal synth blended together his industrial darkwave noise he was mostly known for. After almost vanishing from the music scene, Turman resurfaced in 2005, teaming up with seminal noise musician Aaron Dilloway to not only reissue previous recordings, but to record and perform once again with new releases out on Hanson & Medusa. This vinyl reissue of Way Dawn serves as the blueprint of what Turman sought to render as a very accessible minimal synth/industrial album, yet keeping it just obtuse enough to make it one of the most brilliant and engaging albums to be ushered into the canon of 80’s experimental culture."
We are way down with "Way Down". We recommend getting down to it, way down.
LP - US Christmas - Eat The Low Dogs - Hand Numbered Edition of 100 - Maroon/Blue Marble Vinyl 2xLP - $21.99 - BUY - LISTEN
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AVAILABLE AGAIN!!!
Chicago based I'm Better Than Everyone Records has issued the vinyl version of U.S. Christmas' 2008 release originally on Neurot Records as a CD. Here's the band's background from Neurot Recordings:
"Originally formed in the summer of 2002, U.S. Christmas has steadily evolved into a full-blown psychedelic assault. The music cannot be ignored. It hurts people, physically and mentally. It stirs intense feelings of pain, frustration, loss, fear, and--occasionally--euphoria. The band always plays at deafening volumes, and guitarist Nate Hall frequently uses multiple amp setups for a thick, layered sound. Rhythm section Tim Greene and John Presnell hit the low-end, and Matt Johnson often mans guitar and theremin simultaneously. Chad Davis is able to handle any musical duties at any time. Shows are chaotic and unpredictable, riddled with sythesizer and theremin spasms. Images are projected onto the stage, the ceiling, or performers themselves. Many a drunken bystander has been drawn to the theremin's magic antennae. Their first recording, Prayer Meeting, authentically captured the sound of the band at the time, and the same can be said for Bad Heart Bull, Salt The Wound, and U.S. Christmas's latest full-length, Eat The Low Dogs. All four albums were recorded live, by the band, either in stifling heat or nut-shriveling cold. Snare drums rattle, amps hum and pop, dogs bark in the background. But that's the way it always sounds, and the band doesn't see any point in changing a method that works."
And here's what we had to say the first time around:
You know how Lemmy went from the greatest space-rock band of all time (Hawkwind) to the best metal band of all time (Motorhead)? Well, this North Carolina crew straddles the same divide, and quite successfully at that. It's some of thee heaviest stoner fare you're likely to hear, but doesn't dumb itself down for one single chord. If you dig Hawkwind, Motorhead, Neil Young and Crazy Horse or any of the latest heavy psych acts then grab this immediately! Full on sonic attack! Act fast cuz these are sure to jet outta here! Limted and way, way recommended.
