Antique Pony - Museum of Blood (2012)

An eccentric album from a Glasgow-based group of self-professed art rockers. The songs shift in mood and style throughout the album, but altogether they've got a wonderful mosaic of neatly strange tracks. It reminds me of a mingling of various bands I' gonna rattle off knowing full well it'll makes sense to like 3 people on earth: Bunky, Bablicon and Pill Wonder. However, an easier comparison would be Deerhoof, you all know that, right? Regardless of similarities they're doing their own odd thing and doing it right. Really do make the effort to listen to the album fully in one sitting. I found that really rewarding, even if slightly exsperating of the unsettling moods created from my reading Knut Hamsun's Hunger simultaneously. You get what you ask for though.

To be had here:
Antique Pony - Museum of Blood

Car Seat Headrest - Monomania (2012)

A new album from one of my favorite bands to ever submit music to this ramshackle of a blog. Although he didn't send me an email about this one... whatever my feeling aren't hurt, my fault for being an absentee blogger. Whining aside, this guy is just too good not to talk up no matter how I can across it this time. The lo-fi sound that made Twin Fantasy so incredibly amazing is maintained wonderfully in Monomania, even the Julian Casablancas-style of vocal distortion (which I love for no reason beyond a warm feeling in my gut). Some tracks were instantly stuck in my head like "Overexposed (Enjoy)," "Maud Gone" and "Souls." This fella isn't skimping on the tunes either, he's letting us soak in tracks up to 14 minutes long. Epic lo-fi indie rock is something I'm down with. This isn't a free album, excepting of course the streaming that one may partake in via bandcamp, but its only a finely-priced $4.

To be had here:
Car Seat Headrest - Monomania

Truma Harness - The Way You Press On Harder... (2012)

A second tape has been sent to me by the friendly Ohioans that makes music under the name of Trauma Harness. I posted their previous cassette, Trauma Demolitional, shy of a year ago in case you missed it. The band is still a lo-fi menace that isn't afraid to deploy all manner of warping effects and distorted sounds in the quest to make exciting post-punk. It's got gloomy, touched-by-goths mood, but at the same time I think it is really easy to get worked up while strutting about with my busted up tape player hissing their songs. Although I am far from backing away from my recommendation of Trauma Demolitional, I must say this album is a dramatically superior release that goes to show Trauma Harness is only improving. Appears the cassette can be gotten at Dingle Records for $4 but the digital is name your own price.

To be had here:
Truma Harness - The Way You Press On Harder...

EP Grab Bag vol. 24

I really do need to pick up the pace on this shit and as usual I'd like to say I think it could happen soon as I have been cleared of the false charges with the telecommunications company and therefore can get internet as soon as I've got the money, which I unfortunately for the blog spent on a recent vacation. Oh well, snail-paced or rabbit-quick posting doesn't seem to stop the flow of EPs.

To be had here:

Fogo Amigo - Casa, Cordas E Alguns Geradores (2012)

Here's an offering of post-rock from Brazil. It is fairly quick and exciting stuff, but it did the wonderful post-rock trick of setting me blissful adrift for moments. The track "Sonhando" has a particularly endearing tune, with a great drum intro and all manner of interludes. "Queda Livre" and "Nós Contra o Mundo" get more fantastical yet with some psychedelic rock fused into them. A fine EP that I must've listened to 4 times over while reading books this week.

PLant Parenthood - EP (2012)

In case you forgot, I fucking love garage rock. If I could live on garage rock, tamales, coffee and beer I would have already. It's a lovely day when a garage rock EP comes in, so naturally PLant Parenthood was a welcome sight. Roughly done and simple for sure. The singing is a bit high pitch yet it sounds like a live recording from a basement because of it, which has a certain charm. "Jungle Cat" is a pretty solid anthem and makes me think I could stand to hear a full album from these kids.

Preludes - New York EP (2012)

A returning stalwart, Preludes has yet another EP to grace us with. This band is classy, remarkably so to a fella that wakes up and listens to "Your Ass (My Face)" by the Mummies a few times a week. They've got strings that are played with bows, you know, all fancy-like. I'm really not trying to be patronizing because the songs on Preludes EPs are often exceedingly more beautiful than any thing else I post in any given month.

Fins - Lawnmower EP (2012)

A four track 7" released by Obscure Me Records out in Connecticut. Specifically from New Milford, as if I knew wherever the fuck that is, the Fins are a noise-punk band that in huge contrast to the just mentioned Preludes are not about classiness so much as fuzzy energy and hollering. Jitters-inducing exciting of an unrefined sort, as if jitters can be induced in any other way, right?

Wolfgang strutz. - Wolfgang sings, Hymns. (2012)

This came in telling me nothing more than it was a redoing of church hymnals in a lo-fi freak folk style, which the submitter said reminded him of "the singing flowers in Disney's Alice in Wonderland!" Well, that is a mouthful to grasp on its own, it sent my mind spiraling off into all sorts of tangets. Most notable of them is my boss at the bookstore I'm now employed at in Detroit where I've a boss that's a self-described holy roller that doesn't preach. What she does do is walk about the shop humming gospels and saying the sole lyric "Jesus" every few seconds. Needless to say it is distractingly strange practice. Moreover, makes me wonder very much if she's ever learned any other words to the song. Now people do odd things, but I've a hard time imagining this is really kosher even in the conservative parts of the midwest, right? To each their own though.

So basically, this is everything that my boss's gospel performance isn't is the best way. It is charmingly warm and sweet while still maintain enough of the songs to be nostalgic. And holy shit is it right to bring up this crazy flowers from Alice's adventure, for it does seem like Disney's big dick would have been all up in these vocals, yet maybe not so in the finely done instrumentation. For real though, the reinterpretation of these songs is so fantastically done it has resulted in a solid half-dozen consecutive listenings on my part, esepcially loving the versions of "Nobody Know the Trouble I've Seen,""Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" and "Morning Has Broken." So I apologize for my vulgar manner of speaking, but I immediately told my old buddy Bebop, "put down your dick and look up to the sky, I got something to listen to."

To be had here:
Wolfgang strutz. - Wolfgang sings, Hymns.