Slackers - не буду этого помнить (2016)

I am gonna make a stab at posting again. Had the worst insomnia as of late, for over a month really. Making my mind feel like swiss cheese and all I have been able to keep up on is work, and not without feeling like a forgetful dope even then. Almost seems like a different era that I sat down so often to hear knew music. Something I'd like to do again.

So here is a treat, a Russian garage rock band. Assuming from the tags on the bandcamp page these are some young dudes in Moscow making lo-fi songs, perhaps partially out of necessity but also I'd wager they are fans of many awesome garage rockers we all enjoy. In fact this is made explicit when they cover Mr. Airplane Man's "Don't Know Why," something they share with the Brazilian band Hierofante Púrpura (it is very neat to hear the two versions back-to-back, and the Slackers translated it to Russian to boot). The songs are not too heavy, being a bit more garage pop or even college rock sort of fuzzy, weird tunes. Yet most fundamentally they are really great to hear, well composed and the Russian lyrics are smoother and more pleasant that I can say for most any other albums I've posted in that language or collect for myself. Perhaps I imagined this, but the second half of songs seemed more psychedelic as well.

не буду этого помнить, meaning "won't remember it" has been released by Dopefish Family. This is not the first album by the Slackers and is only of dozens the label as put out. I urge you to look more into them each.

To be had here:
Slackers - не буду этого помнить 

EP Grab Bag vol. 110

I actually wrote this about months ago and left it 90% finished and forgot to post it. So here are some belated EPs.

To be had here:

Shortbus 1999 - Motorcycle Boy Reigns EP (2016)

A new EP from the Russia lo-fi dream/garage pop band Shortbus 1999, who've had a couple of previous EPs featured on Spacerockmountain. Being acquainted with their earlier songs, I was excited to hear this fresh batch. These five high-energy tracks did not disappoint and brought all the fuzzy, fast rock that I recall fondly from the earlier work. The thing I noticed that changed the most are the more prominent vocals, with two different singers appearing and both singing loudly in Russian, which is pretty dope.

Lloyd Braun - New Age Hooey (2016)

A band from the westside of my home state, more exactly they reside in our second largest city, Grand Rapids. They play grungy garage rock that clearly betrays their roots as growing up in the Midwest in the 90s. Nothing wrong with that whatsoever, just that especially in the vocals you may notice the emotional delivery that has been so popular here for ever so long. Reminds me of many of the better concerts I've attended around the state, though notably better musicianship than much of them. I can easily get behind what these guys are up to.

Unholy Sights - Esoteric Domine (2016)

Fuzzy, lo-fi garage rock with a healthy touch of horror punk vibes thrown in. The Unholy Sights are from Annapolis, Maryland and are a new band, not even a year into it yet. They seems very much like some dudes I would get along with a chat about Gories and Mummies tunes with. Their songs dip a bit more heavy than those artists though, but never for very long, as the fuzzy guitars and bashing cymbals are still the nice garagey core of this EP.

Pulco - Solid Geometry EP (2016)

A new EP from a colorful home recording artist from Bangor, Wales. This must be the fourth time I've written up a release from Pulco, and they never strike me as being terribly similar except in being unusual creations of experimentation exacted upon pop music. However, this EP might be the eeriest of them to date, as it has a dark, futuristic and surreal mood. They lyrics get creepy, but in a fascinating way opposed to unsettling. He keeps surprising me, but I guess I should expect that by now.

Moon Loves Honey - Apart (2016)

So long as we're considering dreamy music, let's look at a Danish band who has made so beautifully fleshed out dream pop songs. The songs are very well structured and incorporate a range of instrumentation and stylized vocals to create softy emotional songs. Spacey, dreamy but still shocking quick and upbeat. A very interesting and engaging EP of pop tunes.

The Pathetic and Elegant - Slow Motives (2016)

Been checked out for a minute. Was in New York City drinking wines and came back to a broken down caprice classic that poisoned me with a serious exhaust leak. Left me feeling really fucking awful for the better part of a week. However, nothing like coming back to a slew of submissions from artists I've written up before and I am excited to hear new music from. Not least among these is The Pathetic and Elegant who've released a new album just last month.

The Pathetic and Elegant is a moniker for Baltimore bedroom pop artist, Luke Fisher. Hopefully you've gotten a chance to hear 2014's I Am In Love, as it still holds up as an outstanding feat of lo-fi pop music. This new release, Slow Motives, has not strayed very far from the basic sound that made the earlier album so delightful. Warmly effected vocals and computer-generated beats make up the core of the songs. Of course the charming lyrics add much to the songs, being about love and losing oneself in the city. The songs are lovely and incredibly pleasant to hear,  and in fact as it is a short album it lends itself well to repeated plays. Excellent stuff, and like the first album this has been released by those Maryland-based label and podcasting concern Spellabee Space.

To be had here:
The Pathetic and Elegant - Slow Motives

Steady Lean - FLAT JAMBS (2015)

I found this album not through the usual submissions but looking to a label that had released a previously submitted album, I believe by the South Korea-based American Timothy Cushing. The label itself is called Laughable Recordings, who've listed themselves as being from Kennebunk. Because this is not a submission I've got even less info that usual (though my favorite submission email had nothing other than a link and that he worked a Toys R' Us in California). So not having shit to go on about who made this I am just gonna say what I thought of the songs.

Basically, I was way into these tunes. It's a trippy and weird album full of noisy and incredibly washed out folk rock loaded with unexpected yet surprisingly smooth transitions. I gotta say I love the song "Completely Terrified" because it hits all the notes of odd and pleasant so perfectly well. I mean there's whistling, and not the annoying kind your co-worker does that causes unimaginable rage but the classy Western soundtrack kind. All layered with guitars, drums and humming vocals that drip of low fidelity. This isn't to diminish any of the other tracks, in fact the opening song "Clouds Bled The Rain" is what captivated me initially. A damn fine album all around.

To be had here:
Steady Lean - FLAT JAMBS

EP Grab Bag vol. 108

Another Grab Bag, I told you I had a lot of submissions to get through. Here is a pretty stellar collection of mostly returning bands. Always good to check in and hear the new stuff.

To be had here:

Unqualified Nurse - Put It On The Line (2015)

A new EP from Derby's intensely low fidelity rockers, Unqualified Nurse. The tracks are extremely short, something I've come to expect from them having shared their prior EPs and their full-length, Let Snarl. Likewise the highly blown out reverb and break-neck pace of the hollering vocals remain. Whenever I start listening to Unqualified Nurse I imagine having bitten off more lo-fi than I can chew, but it takes but one song for me to be fully hypnotized by the noisy bliss.

Ed Feels - Toast (2015)

A melancholic Virginian making fuzzy, lo-fi bedroom recordings that have qualities of emo, folk and indie pop. The songs have an unpolished, lo-fi charm that is endearing yet also unsettling in the haunting eeriness it captures. Beautifully done, I don't think I would have tried to shine it up either, great as it is. Very much recommended for those that enjoyed Joplin Rice, Tim Cushing, C. M. Slenko or the myriad of other folksy bedroom artists featured lately. This EP was released by the small NYC-based label, House Pet Records.

Goivinho - Segundo Nome (2016)

A returning Brazilian musician, formerly released music under the moniker Fogo Amigo, but now going by Giovinho. Whatever name he wants to go by is fine by me, just so long as he keeps making top notch compositions. Moreover, Segundo Nome is one of those rare time I get to write about space rock on Spacerockmoutain. All instrumental and full of bizarre electronic effects and beats these tracks live up to the otherwordliness of the genre.

Les Princes du Rock - La Tendresse (2015)

About a year ago I posted an album by the French garage rockers, the aptly named Les Princes du Rock. They're back with a fresh EP of psychedelic garage. No point is beating around the bush, I thought this was is a remarkable feat of rock and roll. Exactly the sort of fast, loud and righteous garage I've come to anticipate from France. I believe some of the very best of the genre I've heard in the last several years come from that country, and this is EP re-affirms that notion.

Eddie Golden III - Elevator (2015)

There's nothing better than getting around to hearing a new album just when the mood strikes you for the particular sort of tunes it's supplying. I've been a half-awake zombie in a hungover daze all day and of all the remedies I'd resorted to nothing is working as well as Eddie Golden III's psychedelic pop stylings.

You might have already heard Eddie Golden III before, when we was a member of the band called the Guru, whose album I wrote up a while back. Here he's ventured off into solo work, and seems to have gotten himself good and lost in the hazy world of psych-pop. It is like he blended a fantastic array of influences from Beach Boys vocals and whimsical lyrics to the oddities of 90s E6 to reverberated and warped 80s dance. Basically bedroom pop at its best: mildly confusing, engagingly non-linear and incredibly adorable. I can't really explain it too well, but every part of this albums seems familiar, yet none of it seems to fit into a pattern I recognize. Sorta like seeing a flag with all the colors you know but none of the correct shapes. A completely refreshing shuffling of pop cliches and catchy melodies.

To be had here:
Eddie Golden III -  Elevator

EP Grab Bag vol. 107

So the new computer is doing as well as I'd hoped it might. I already have to take it in for maintenance. This has made writing the blog harder, as well as just listening to music more difficult. Trying my damnest at it though. So the super full in inbox yielded these, and if your band isn't in there don't worry, I got enough for five Grab Bags. I will dole it out as I can.

To be had here:

This Heel - This Heel III (2015)

As then title of this EP indicates this is the third in a series of EPs from the Swedish outfit called This Heel, headed by one Martin M Sjöstrand. The tone of each of these EPs have varied, with the first having a garagey lo-fi feel, the second loungey pop, and finally we've arrived at psych-pop. Upbeat and quick, the third This Heel is the one that will seem the most immediately familiar to the listen of 90s indie pop. There's some truly awesome use of lyrics and building psychedelic progression, especially in songs like "Problem on Earth" and "Dragon Hiss."

indoor/indoor - one of these days (2015)

A Virginian band that makes bedroom-style indie pop. Lo-fi and not overly complex, yet markedly evocative in its upbeat expression of melancholy. They pull of that pleasant and meaningful juxtaposition of happy songs with sad meanings. The title track, "One of these Days," does stand out to me as the most exceptional of the three songs on this EP. That said, the there's not a moment I wasn't enjoying while listening to it. I hope they do make the full-length they hint on the the bandcamp page.

Engine Summer - BUZZ DRAINED (2015)

From Chicago, a band making psychedelic punk, or something they've tagged as 'groovegaze.' I gotta give them points for being the first time I've seen that genre tag used. To my hears it is somewhere between new wave, 90s noise rock, psych-pop and a touch of post-rock. I find that a compelling combination, but even if you don't just imagine a more irreverent Gang of Four. Who doesn't want to check that out? The songs are well-structured and very entertaining. These guys may be worth paying attention to.

Incesto Andar -Deusverno (2015)

A Brazilian band from the city of Sorocaba in the state of São Paulo. Not a very long affair, with only a couple of tracks. They do patch a punch however, being intense lo-fi grunge-hardcore rock, yet somehow devoid of the screaming lyrics that I would expect of a North American band playing such music. Not that they haven't got lyrics, it is just that they sing they notably well and calmer than I imagined. Both songs are stellar, worth the 10 minutes for sure. The EP was put out by the Rio de Janeiro label, Bichano Records.

Here Come the Fuzz - Cut Loose (2015)

I am in the midst of a recovery brought on the excesses of New Years celebrations followed immediately by the wedding of one of my oldest friends, along with my brother's birthday and Christmas right before those events. Got so bad I developed tinnitus for three days, something I do not recommend whatsoever. Still experiencing the world in a bit of a delirious haze and sleeping an inordinately large portion of the day away. Yet somehow I knew if I looked around in the inbox I'd find some restorative low fidelity music to soothe my healing ears and brain.

Cincinnati's Here Come the Fuzz filled my self-prescription for lo-fi superbly. Stripped down Midwestern style garage rock through and through, they've managed to do what all fine garage rockers aim for: reinventing by way of revival. Or I suppose you could say making something familiar but different. The songs are short, as you may expect from fuzzy garage, however they vary between the quite bluesy and the spacey psychedelic extremes allowed within the genre. Gives the album addition texture and a sort of arc to listen for during repeat listens.

Also, it seems one half of Here Come the Fuzz, a fellow called Chris Karnes, has been featured in on the blog before albeit with his previous band known as Northwest Ordinance. I had nearly forgotten about that album but I'm quite happy to have gotten a chance to rediscover it.

To be had here:
Here Come the Fuzz - Cut Loose

C. M. Slenko - Royal Blue Days (2015)

The newest album from the folk/anti-folk musician C.M. Slenko, also called Charlie Slenko. Last year Slenko had a double release in September, issuing both a full length Rented Rooms and an EP Moonlight Veneration. The former being a wonderful example of melancholy contemporary folk music and the latter being a far noisier and psychedelic experimentation. These two modes he was simultaneously exploring then have now found a near equal expression in Royal Blue Days. Tracks such as "Pale Moon," "Short Circuit, Long Night...," and "Kings" are charming, emotional folk songs while others like "Somnambulant | Still" and "Clarion, Carillon / Carrion" are examples of droning anti-folk. Perhaps even more compelling are the songs that blend these two forms, having beautiful lyric and folksy guitar with noise erupting or droning seamlessly along side. Check "Not Just Angels" or "Shallow" to hear what I mean by this. A entertaining and lovely display of the power musical juxtaposition. Absolutely the sort of album that is most rewarding to hear from beginning to end with devoted attention. 

Royal Blue Days has been released by Slenko's own Sioux Trails label, which has issued some really notable music including previously featured albums by Galápagos Finches and Glass Men. There is a bunch more on there I've been meaning to get to as well that look super promising and I believe they're all free to download.

To be had here:
C. M. Slenko - Royal Blue Days

EX UAJ ZED - 4 (2015)

The last post was of a Hungarian band and in said post I took the time to wax on a bit on my fixation on Eastern European culture. After looking around a bit more thoroughly in the submissions I have noticed bit of an increase in bands from this region and so I suppose I will take this opportunity to share some of the highlights I’ve founds amongst them. So today is EX UAJ ZED of Poland.

I don’t know if anyone is calling their music garage metal, but if that’s not a traded term I should like to suggest it as an ample descriptor of EX UAJ ZED. Undoubtedly lo-fi with all its fuzz and striped down instrumentation it seems like a garage rock album, which is indeed what they billed themselves as. Yet there is no confusion in the use of overly powerful cords and intensity that this album largely expresses the angst and rage of the very best post-metal albums. Mainly an instrumental affair, with lyrics ever so scarcely entering the picture and even then they’re in what I assume to be Polish, so I can’t elaborate on their content. The real emotion of this album comes via the guitar playing, it takes center stage in every track, to such a degree that the drumming in delaying in introducing itself in several tracks. The drumming does serve as a wonderful guideline throughout, making what would otherwise be a guitar drone into a fleshed out composition, albeit of a minimalistic nature. Now, this might or mightn’t seem like your thing, but if you trust me insofar as lo-fi music goes I will say it is pretty good and I think they’re capable of producing a phenomenal album, and I need to spend time hearing the prior releases still. In the meantime I will really be heavily digging this one.

To be had here:
EX UAJ ZED - 4

Häxxan - Häxxan (2014)

At times there is nothing better one can do than wake up, drink a pot of very black coffee and listen to garage rock. Really sets a tone of excited invulnerability for the day to follow. Honestly, this is as close as I get to eating breakfast. Of course, not all garage rock is equally suited for this task. In particular the fuzzier, faster and more psychedelically hazy the better it is when I'm in this state of mind. Found just the thing in the submissions, a group called Häxxan, billed as a "mega-huge garage band" by their label. Gotta hear that, right?

Though they hail from the Israeli city of Tel Aviv, Häxxan could have fooled me into believing their where among the Capetown garage rockers or one of the numerous awesome Spanish or French lo-fi outfits. The reason I bring all these other places up is to make a sloppy reference to how I think Häxxan is as good as any of the garage rock I've recently posted like the Fizz Pops, Baston or Bicycle Day. Their sound could be described as between the Stooges and the Ganglians, sharing heavy, distorted rock elements of the former and the charmingly surreal vocals and composition of the latter. Songs that really display the psych-garage fusing best are "Never See Me Again," "Ben Zona" and the utterly brilliant "Hail C-La-C." The whole damn album is awesome really.

The vinyl was issued Munich, Germany based label, Heroic Leisure, although there are very few left at the time of this post being published. Good news though, a Dutch label called Geertruida is issuing it as a cassette and those only came out earlier this month. Hopefully there's plenty still be available.

To be had here:
Häxxan - Häxxan

EP Grab Bag vol. 105

Been meaning to get this one up for a while. Got lazy or forgetful or whatever, who cares really? It's here now. Anyhow, I am late in the sense that all the album art seems very well geared for Halloween, which I missed by a week. Oh well, better luck next year.

To be had here:

Peixefante - Lorde Pacal EP (2015)

Another EP I was sent from my Brazilian friend Barbara. Her impeccable is apparent in this awesome psychedelic indie/electronic pop outfit from Goiânia, Brazil. The songs possess a wonderful ethereal quality, just a touch spacey, but at their core they are wonderful modern psych tunes. They remind me of my favorite modern Brazilian psych-rockers, Supercordas, yet bent more toward pop music. An incredibly alluring EP, not to be missed.

Seamus O'Muineachain - Blood Apple (2015)

The songs of an Irish songwriter. Minimal in composition, ambient in tone, and folksy in style they are lovely instrumental songs. Done largely on guitar and piano they songs are a finely interwoven tapestry of those instruments, though a healthy level of percussion is used as necessary. It's as if that sort of acoustic music you've doubtlessly heard played in a coffeehouse could carry many times it's weight by utilizing more musical avenues than the bare guitar playing. So much so it is more sedimental than many lyrically based compositions.

Waylon Thornton and the Heavy Hands - Black Pudding (2015)

This Floridian outfit has routinely sent me music over the years, though I have failed to always post it. I am sloppy like that. However, I did take the time to hear this seven-track release and found myself enjoying even more than I already imagined I might. The songs are short garage rock jaunts. And I mean short, not any of them top the two minute mark. All upbeat lo-fi with howling singing reverb in the vocals and great distorted guitars. Check them out and look into their admirable catalog while you're at it.

The Dyna Jets - The Calling (2015)

Recently I posted the Fizz Pops, a garage pop band from Capetown, South Africa. Well, two members, Johnny Tex and Warren Fisher, of that band also have another project called the Dyna Jets. So here is the EP they put out this summer and I somehow missed until a couple of weeks ago. Two-piece garage rock as it should be, markedly fuzzy and playful, has a very surfy tone in the guitar playing. Four brief songs that left me eager for more. I Hope there will be more, under whatever name the choose to use next time.

Enema Noise - manual pouco prático do desapego (2014)

Back to Brazil, this time to the capital city of Brasilia. Lo-fi rock for sure, though of a more intense sort than the prior two EPs of this Grab Bag. Post-hardcore, which is a genre that is hit or miss for me overall, but there's not a doubt in my mind that Enema Noise is anything other than a hit. This release is absolutely exciting. The speed, intensity and excellent musicianship engaged me from the very start. I would love to hear them play in a dirty basement for sure.

Paradise Brut - Violet Violence (2015)

So people are compelled to make music, well, many people are compelled. Not all of them are terribly good at it, not that that's a reason not to keep making it (unless there's gonna be the new Billy Joel or something equally ultra-horrific). However, it is even less common for someone to be awesome at two genres of music, and then to be a bedroom recording artist at that. Nonetheless, our friend Dani in Madrid has managed this feat.

A couple of times I've posted on a very noisy, messy garage rocker that uses the moniker King Cayman. You might recall how those albums are best heard loudly and with a beer in your system. Well, he has translated that notion into electronic rock with this release. It holds much of the same spirit as his garage punk music, but grinds it down to a sparser core that is only thereafter elaborated with electronic affectations. Few vocals are heard, though when they rarely do show up they are with his customarily spooky effects. Yet this is not where your focus should be. It is in the fundamental breakdown of lo-fi rock that he's offering up. I mean this in the same since that when you crush an orange it yield delicious juice, he's managed to mush up garage rock into core elements and giving them a wholly new texture. He's taken the components of most good lo-fi rock; angst, excitement, confusion and irreverence, and made them into bare sounds. It is like imagining your own irregular heartbeat and somehow knowing it has universal currency. I adore it.

To be had here:
PARADISE BRUT - VIOLET VIOLENCE

Swet Jafari Meck Mett - Error de continuidad (2015)

Gonna really make an effort to knock out some submitted albums. Finding I am in the mood for the tunes and holy fuck do I ever have a backlog of them. Sorta gonna randomly cherry-pick the submissions as there is more than I have time to handle. I suppose it is time to find some help again....

Here is what I stumbled on for tonight, a Chilean musician now residing in Palma De Mallorca, Spain. Living the dream of moving to a Mediterranean island and making noisy bedroom post-punk, like that is totally something I could only imagine. The music is damn fine as well. Very experimental, taking cues from all sorts of post-punk influences like Half Japanese, Sonic Youth and many others this guy likely knows that I haven't even heard of, it has a 80s vibe with a repetitive beats, guitars freaking out and highly distorted singing. Yet at times he steers more Nico & the Velvet Underground-esque with droney sounds and those elongated vocals Nico excelled at delivering. The album is broken up with gentle instrumental interludes, or "instancia" as he calls them. These make the cacophonous sounds of the rest of Error de continuidad really burst forth more powerfully. Finally, I'd be lying if I didn't say that was some of my favorite album art I've seen in months. Good packaging is always a plus.

To be had here:

Swet Jafari Meck Mett - Error de continuidad

Fancy Man - Fancy Man (2015)

A new project involving that Korea-bound American singer-songwriter, Tim Cushing. You might recall his solo album from a couple years ago or perhaps the collaborative effort known as the Red Rogue. If you do then you might have an idea of what to expect from Cushing's particular approach to folk music which indeed carries over into this new band, Fancy Man.

A trans-Pacific undertaking, recorded in both South Korea and Los Angles, Fancy Man shows off what can be done by pulling in more instrumentalists to work with Cushing's quirky, whimsical lyrics and unique vocal delivery. As far as musical genre the tracks fall into an experimental ground between folk, lo-fi indie pop and even honky tonk country. It all feels intensely familiar from the very first listen. Perhaps it is just in the space created in the competency of musicianship and the lighthearted approach to the songwriting throughout the album. Whatever is the case it is hard to not desire hearing it again and again.

To be had here:
Fancy Man - Fancy Man

EP Grab Bag vol. 104

I have been working on this post for a long, long minute. Sorry it took so long but I can't keep up with this shit very well anymore. It is like have bills to pay or some shit. Anyhow, this were some cool fucking EPs. I hope you like.

To be had here:

Hierofante Púrpura - Boas Bestas EP (2015)

Pilgrims, I love this band. I get they're strange, at bit hard to dig straightaway because they're conforming to much popular music conventions. It is a bit like they're scaring us away at first but if you listen further its like something of a Jad Fair and Lou Reed fusion in Portuguese. Experimental psychedelia at it's goddamned best. Also, this isn't the first time I'm posting this outfit from Mogi Das Cruzes, Brazil. Their album from last year, Sutil Arte de Esculhambar Música Alheia, is great and did not get nearly enough attention.

Exploding Clouds - Exploding Clouds EP (2015)

An incredibly well-made electronic project from a fellow based in Greenville, South Carolina. It doesn't fit a genre cleanly, like many of my favorite electronic releases. Rather is combines snyth-pop, ambient and shoegaze together in various combinations to form something unique and markedly engaging. Manages to be both retro and futuristic, like watching a sci-fi film from the 80s. Truly worth checking out by everyone, even those disinclined to listen to snyth-heavy songs, this could be the one to sway you otherwise.

Baswoon - Baswoon EP (2015)

A rather stripped down post-rock release from an Portuguese musician. Baswoon's songs are surprisingly cinematic and evocative without requiring constant shimmering guitars and methodical drums. Get me straight, I don't feel post-rock is mostly these things, but they can be over done, and yet Baswoon has an incredibly understated approach. The final track, "Embrace me, float with me" is perhaps my favorite and the most outstanding example of this understated style.

Copneconic - Never Knows Best (2014)

A new EP from the Copneconic, who hail from the "Fenton area" of Michigan. I like how they called it that, I always have to say the "Port Huron area" when I refer to where I raised (as few know where Marysville is). Anyhow, I posted a prior EP called Bein Sweet, and it sounds like they have advanced markedly in their composition and technique since. All this will having recorded the EP for a mere $100 is very impressive. Fuzzy Midwestern garage pop that's charming as fuck.

Unqualified Nurse/Azzurro Peaks - Split Single: Whatever Happened to Syd? / Dickheads Anonymous

A bit of a rare thing on this site, a split single. Two British bands, one I one for a goddamned fact I post and the other I feel like I recall listening to but I can't find evidence of posted. The first track is from the latter, an electronic rock outfit called Azzurro Peaks that is very catchy. The song bears repeated enjoyable listenings. The former made the second track, a band that specializes in being especially low-fidelity, Unqualified Nurse. Naturally I am a fan though the songs hasn't too much to it, but who said a song need much? Also hear his other stuff while your at it.

The Fizz Pops - The Fizz Pops (2015)

While I always look forward to hearing more music from bands I post on Spacerockmountain and wish I had vast amounts of time free to listen to it all, there are some artists I will go outta my way to hear. I just know they're gonna be a real treat, something worth pausing all the busy, dumb shit I gotta do. These lads from Capetown, South Africa are a perfect example.

The Fizz Pops is the latest in a series of bands to emerge from Capetown features several of the same members. Singer/guitarist Johnny Tex and drummer Warren Fisher were in the Future Primitives, a band those split also lead to another South African Favorite of mine, the Gumbo Ya-Ya's. I feel like I re-explain this each time any of these guys puts something out, but guys it is important. This shit is all golden and should be sought after with vigor.

The name of the band could not be more straightforward. They're making fizzy sounding garage pop that as catchy and lovable as sugary soda. And here's the thing, they've got a cover of Thee Milkshakes' "Can't Seem To Love That Girl" on this album, a song that is a personal favorite. This isn't where the connection to Billy Childish ends as far as I am concerned, as the sound of their songs bear a heavily influence from the British garage rocker. Johnny Tex has a noticeably more British affectation to vocals than in the Future Primitives albums and the guitar playing shares Thee Milkshakes' mixture of quick, flashy pop and touches of surfy reverb. I get it, that music was fucking amazing and making anything akin to it is laudable. That said, these songs sound incredibly fresh and current, like it is exactly what I was looking forward to. Not a single dud in the tracklist, yet certain highlights include "Alright," "Tell You Something," and "Feel It In Time." Furthermore, I really gotta give huge kudos to the drumming and bass playing on this album, they carried me through each song like a tidal wave. Really neat stuff, folks.

To be had here:
The Fizz Pops - The Fizz Pops

Panthatone - Stay Easy (2015)

Jumping into these submissions seems daunting considering how long it's piled up. Nevertheless, one must make a stab it it somewhere. So why not the familiar territory provided by a lo-fi two-piece?

Panthatone are from Chicago and they make the loud, rhythmic style of rock and roll that's become synonymous with Midwestern garage rockers. While there's naturally a wide swath of variation even within this smaller definition, I believe the seasoned listen of lo-fi rock will understand what I'm angling at. The charm lies in the subtle reinvention of the form, just like eating the best plate of pasta you've had in months contains 90% the same ingredients as all other pastas you've had. In this paradigm Panthatone is a wildly successful. I can't summon a band they seems to sound exactly like but they are incredibly familiar and readily accessible for fans for garage or fuzzy rock. Guitar and drums, played quickly and with very flashy, catchy beats and riffs. I'll no sooner tire of hearing music of this sort than I will of drinking a good beer or sitting on a comfortable chair and I hope the keep the songs coming.

To be had here:
Panthatone - Stay Easy

Novampb - Too Cool For Words (2015)

Another new artists to Spacerockmountain sent in by a returning label. This time it is the Recife, Brazil-based label, Transtorninho Records. You know, the dudes that released Lindberg Hotel, Amandinho and 151515. So you gotta bet this'll be good too.

Novampb is an electronic artist from the Brazilian coastal city of Maceió. The songs he makes are lo-fi IDM or glitch, composed with an excellent sense of dramatic timing. They come of as incredibly cinematic works on the base and then through a deft use of sampling spoken word audio he's added a feeling of disembodied otherworldliness. I'm told he's putted these clips from youtube, and sounds like a kindred soul spending too many hours listening to sounds pour out of a computer. It takes me back to when I first became familiar with lo-fi electronic music from the artists like Ocelote Rojo, Turning Torso and LAY BAC. Of course all of these have their own flavors and while it can be hard to put Novampb's style into words your ears won't have any issue identifying its unique charms. I recommend giving all of Too Cool For Words for word a listen and don't stop before the end, as the final two tracks are my favorites.

To be had here:
Novampb - Too Cool For Words

Gui Gui Sui Sui - Write Me A Death Letter (2015)

Trying to get discipline back, gonna write stuff up. Or I am just joshing you all and I'll stay lazy and quiet, not sure yet. Did manage to get this done...

Another far flung submission from Hong Kong's Metal Postcard Records (you might recall them from a Grab Bag a whole ago, the band Napolleon). This time we've got an outfit from Beijing known by the assonance-heavy name, Gui Gui Sui Sui. The album does a good job at avoiding any genres for a prolonged time, causing it to sound like an erratic exploration. This is something I totally approve of, by the way. Perhaps the most immediately noticeable quality of Gui Gui Sui Sui is how they sound like a bluesy noise rock outfit from Memphis or Texas rather than hailing from the Chinese capital. These musicians have studied up on their delta blues and 90s garage rock revival for sure. Even neater yet, they've thrown in some 8-bit sounds and bizarre electronic squeals and hums, making everything all the more beautifully muddled and hard to place.

To be had here:
Gui Gui Sui Sui - Write Me A Death Letter