Mica Levi & Oliver Coates - Remain Calm (2016)

Unsubscribing from junk e-mails has imparted an unnerving quiet.

I believed this would be a step towards freedom, mornings now unburdened by the periodic vibration of incoming mail. But now... now I suspect I've metamorphosed from creature to zombie of habit. Last night, awoken by a familiar glow, I became terrified to find my thumb controlled by movements of a memory. Unlock phone; check email application; turn phone off; open and unlock; check email; turn off... over and over and over. My undead thumb bends only at the hip like a forgotten grandparent who shuffles to the mailbox every afternoon only to find the same vacant shadow. My thumb, now a feedback loop, like an alcoholic that searches the recycling again and again for one drop, a neglected swig of whiskey, only to confirm the emptiness it already knows exists.



A series of empty dawns have emerged. Gone are the days of those quivering little jolts insisting I pause my life to check and delete, check and delete. Newlsetters, updates, notifications, advertisements... all those small reminders of my past. Clothing stores relentlessly reminding me of each approaching season and a hoodie I bought for some autumn, lost several years ago. Gone. Zillow emails that satisfied the curiosities of an armchair voyeur, taking me into homes I'd never afford, around towns I'd never live. Gone. Charities and political organizations I helped once, before I understood my economic situation as anything but dire.

Gone. I've shoo-ed them all away. The tactile buzzes, the audible chirps. No more little red numbers to offer hope of a hello from a long lost friend. No potential for restless declarations from smoldering hearts of past lovers. Those little red numbers could've meant literally anything - a wedding invitation, the birth of a new family member, a class action settlement worth hundreds. But in the end, the numbers always meant the same thing: "this much junk".

I have won the war. And now? Now, I am unburdened. Now my time is uninhibited. Ready to live each day uninterrupted. A new dawn of awesome unpopular potential. Still -  the thumb checks. Just to fill an emptiness. Everything's always empty. Just maybe, tomorrow something. Always maybe tomorrow.

Mica Levi & Oliver Coates - Remain Calm

Good Throb - Fuck Off (2014)

One of the most annoying things a person can do is belabor the definition of "punk", or really throw the word around in any nonmusical context. "That hummus is fuckin punk rock" or "You've been punked you stupid idiot" or "it's so punk rock outside today" whatever people say these days. Just stop it. It's music... played by people who don't care about being virtuosic with their instruments and they're indignantly ok with that. Probably the least punk rock thing a person can do is talk about what "punk" is and isn't. Just like what I'm doing now. Fuck.

Whatever "punk" is, Good Throb is great at it. Fuck off is their lone full length, available for free on their bandcamp, and it's full of simple, unpretentious attitude. They've almost got more of a posy-punk thing here, with their use of dissonant melody, prominent bass lines, and mid-up tempo beats. This isn't mosh music, but the kind of dancing that teenagers smoking cigarettes in moldy UK basements know how to do. Vocalist KY Ellie has got as great, sneering voice perfect for this kind of music... raspy, spitting viciousness.

Great lo-fi recording. Great song titles such as "Mummy I'm Ugly" and "You're Shit".  Fuck Off  is the most inviting listen I've heard in months.

11 songs.

Good Throb - Fuck Off

EP Grab Bag vol. 109

For like the hundredth time I am way overdue at posting these EPs. I can't really keep a regular schedule at all and I won't make any promises are to how often I'll post anything. Keeping it consistent for months on end was a more tolling experience than I care to continue, and I have already slacked heavily as you might've noticed. So here on out, you get what you get when I feel like getting to it. More than likely it'll be bursts of posts that'll try to hype on the twitter feed as I get time.

To be had here:

Domiciles - Domiciles EP (2015)

A Scottish band from the town of Fife. They play well-polished psychedelic garage rock, by which I mean it all sounds remarkably clean with any lo-fi elements be intentionally preserved. Nothing at all wrong with good production, and the songwriting is stellar. I could imagine this band become very popular if they got the right breaks. Hits a happy middle ground between retro and modern psych-rock, not ignoring the Eastern influence from the earlier decades of the genre. Excellent stuff.

The Raw Nerves - Serious Beef (2016)

A new EP from New Zealanders, the Raw Nerves. This is a band that Amazing Larry wrote up, specifically their self-titled album from 2012. I unfortunately didn't spend much time listening to, yet I am glad to have been reminded to by way of these new songs. Short, loud and fast these tracks will be enjoyed by most any garage punk fan. Making me feel like I have been spending too much time listen to obscure 70s albums and not nearly enough brash, noisy rock from the inbox.

nemanja - nemanja (2015)

From Croatia comes dreamy, psychedelic pop sounds. Listening to this EP reminded me of a bunch of great bands from the former Yugoslavia I've posted and enjoyed for the years, however it in particular reminds me of Pridjevi, who're one of my personal favorites. While not identical, it shares the same Eastern-Western combination with ethereal singing and stunning instrumentation. An amazing example of contemporary dream pop that I most dearly cherish.

Chen Firsel - Sugarush EP (2015)

An Israeli musician who makes home recordings of psychedelic folk-pop. The songs are light and spacey overall, but have an sweet impact. I found the very easy to drift off into a pleasant headspace during, all the while enjoying his melodic guitar playing and nicely atmospheric backgrounds. Additionally, his vocals both in the highly effected and less altered states heard are remarkable. Still somewhat lo-fi throughout but really engaging.

VAPORIZED! - VAPORIZED! (2015)

Heavy grunge rock from Sydney, Australia. The album has a lot in the way of howling vocals and power cords, and it is on the edge of metal, yet I would say they do an amazing job at skirting that line without truly crossing it. Rather these are what the radio would call 'hard rock' songs, but I think grunge is just as a fine term for them (it's what they've tagged themselves as after all). Regardless of what genre you'd put them in, the songs are unpolished and quick, possessing many finer qualities of a good lo-fi show.

Hollow Hand - Ancestral Lands (2015)

In a rambling sort of fashion I found myself reading wikipedia links from one page to another, something I'm sure we've all experienced. Today I found myself looking into illegal radio operations in the North Sea. You know, the type that they installed into wartime facilities miles afar into the ocean waters that British government had abandoned. This was even done by the respectable lunatic, Screaming Lord Scutch. All this got me nostalgic British music of the 60s. However, as a good anarchist will tell you nostalgia is not a terribly productive emotion, so we're gonna hear something new that just rings of 60s England.

Hollow Hand are indeed from England, from the capital of London at that. They've managed to hook up with the illustrious blog-turned-label Ongakubaka Records and put out an album on cassette on the 8th of this month. I am, as always, reliably tardy in delivering the news. Yet the tunes sound as good as ever despite my lack of punctuality. As I hinted at before, the album has a retro 60s psychedelic style, veering heavily into the harmonizing folksy kind, and not without a healthy share of Eastern instrumentation to be heard. Like much subtle and non-bombastic albums, it is rewarding to give it a few listens. Upon hearing all the nuances of the music and the exacting nature of the vocals it really begins to take on a life of its own within the listener's imagination. As usual for picks from Ongakubaka it is undoubtedly an album worthy of spending time with.

Finally, that album art is right up my alley. Hardly gets better than early modern religious paintings or iconography. After all, the background of this blog as been our boy Hieronymus Bosch for years.

To be had here:
Hollow Hand - Ancestral Lands

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.

EP Grab Bag vol. 102

So I actually wrote this post a while ago and in a series of events causing me to leave town and find myself incredibly drunk and immobilized while floating down a river in a small raft I forgot to publish it. Moral is I am an awful friend to bring on a trip involving alcohol but very good at not drowning after off a raft while fucked up. I recall liking these songs too...

To be had here:

Pulco - Rodeo EP (2015)

A new EP from the Welsh musician called Pulco. Maybe you've gotten a chance hear his Innovation In The Trade full-length which I still strongly recommend. Either way, this new release has continued the fuzzy bedroom recording spirit of the prior album, including a liberal use of spoken word samples, but added more upbeat and catchy pop elements.

Turning Torso - Baal EP (2015)

I was listening to music from older posts, spurred by hearing the lo-fi electronic songs of Novampb. This lead me back to Mexico's Turning Torso, who I last wrote up in 2011. Despite my lack of mentioning it, it seems the project has been active ever since, releasing singles and EPs. Here is the latest of those, a two song EP of experimental electronica. Heavy on percussive beats and eerie organ-like effects. Reminds me why I got into this band to begin with.

My Cruel Goro - My Cruel Goro EP (2015)

A fast, messy set of lo-fi rock songs from an outfit based in Iceland. Heavily bent toward a grungey version of post-punk the songs. They make good use of a snyth in the tracks and that plays off the very clearly sung lyrics, making it sound very much like the product of the 90s in a way that's hard to put words to exactly. Good stuff in any event, a good introduction to what these dudes are capable of.

Hallowed Bells - Violet Hands (2015)

This band from Philadelphia makes an unusual sort music. Broadly speaking they're electronic/ambient experimentations employing the many interesting effects of a synthesizer. The songs are eerie and serpentine sounding. While they're not chiptune or 8-bit, they evoked the same feeling as the videogame themes the play any time Mario enters a castle. They put it better themselves, "Songs-without-words and aural colorscapes." I can't pretend to have a better summation, and I highly recommend hearing it.

EP Grab Bag vol. 101

Back to basics with 101. One of the main things I've enjoyed about writing this blog over the years is the combination of new and returning artists that I get to experience. Hearing evolution and new beginnings all the time. So with that in mind here are a few new artists to the blog and a couple of returning favorites.

To be had here:

Lindberg Hotel - Cotton Chains (2015)

The second entry from this lo-fi band out of Curitiba, Brazil.  Do check out their prior work, but I can't imagine a better introduction to the band than this EP. Has three new songs and two covers, including an exceptionally good cover of the Velvet Underground's "I'll Be Your Mirror." Now, the first three tracks with you having them pegged as a power pop outfit that can do a fine cover, but listen to the final two to hear how warped and experimental they can be. A fine juxtaposition and some really really good musicianship.

Cities - Manning Alaska EP (2015)

A stunningly done post-rock experience from a Welsh band. The EP is remarkably accessible, even for the those who don't often listen to post-rock. This is because the songs are quick while being equally spacey and jazzy. The technically precision is akin to my buddy Frankacles's band Jura. I don't say this lightly, as Jura really had their ducks in a row. Not an album to be missed by most anyone, but certainly a must-hear for the post-rock fans.

Nevski - Nevski (2015)

French pop music is some of the damned best stuff ever. I always make sure there's a heathy supply of it playing at any place I work and any party where I can chose music at. That said, Nevski is not making a knock off of yé-yé from the 1960s, rather is a charming display of modern indie pop that happens to be sung in lovely French lyrics. The songs are all impeccable with some light, air musicianship and soft, sweet vocals. Really the sort of music that sells itself, just give it a listen.

Bicycle Day - City Streets (2015)

Here's a special treat, a new EP from Oakland's Bicycle Day. Some of you might recall their full-length, I Had A Place To Be, which came out July of 2014. A wonderful example of hazy garage rock causing me to eagerly look forward to hearing this new release. These four songs do nothing to disappoint, being fuzzy gems of post-punk-ish, droning rock. The track "Self-Help" has been my jam all day, and I doubt it'll stop being so quickly.

YONI YUM - Clam Glam (2015)

The second time I'm writing of this band as well. YONI YUM still very much strike me as an art rock project, albeit of an incredible self-aware and irreverent variety. The songs are catchy and the singer is remarkably talented at belting out all sorts of entertaining vocal flourishes. I listening to it while reading the Russian Futurist writings of Daniil Kharms and it was amazing how well these two different version of eccentric artistic expression gelled.

Debris Slide - Araido (2015)

Not getting enough sleep lately. It's hot and humid here. For all I dislike about wintertime, it is easy to get to sleep in a cold, dry room on a December evening when the sunset at 5:30 in the afternoon. Basically, I hate this temperate climate altogether and I'm blaming it for why my mind feels so off lately. Muggy weather makes for a fuzzy mind. So in a kinda 'like cures like' method of self-healing my solution to fuzzy thinking is fuzzy music.

Debris Slide are a group from Nottingham, England who've embraced a very fuzzed out way of making songs indeed. They're shoegazers, taking hints from many previous wall-of-sound deploying outfits we're all familiar with. Moreover, they've kept it minimalistic, as far as shoegaze goes in that direction. What I mean is that nothing in these songs aren't capable of feeling complex in the board, constant fuzzy sound. I can't understand the singing (which remember is often fine by me) and the most outstanding instrumentation is some shimmery guitar and drum beats rhythmically emerging and fading quickly back into the noise. All it adds up to a drone-like effect that caused the blissful state of mind good noise/drone music should. Though they'll wake you up with some loud, crazy reverb in there as well. A well composed album, but you'll really have to have a fondness for very lo-fi music to get the most out of it. Thankful I am quite fond of that stuff.

To be had here:

Debris Slide - Araido

Brother Low Elephant Grass - Alien Anarchy (2015)

I've been thinking about places lately. Places I'd like to live, places my friends tell me they're planning to move to, places I'll only get to see via photography. As I'm pondering all these locations there's a large oversight. I'm only looking at Earth, and if it is all fantasy in the end why not throw in outer space to the pondering? At least, this is what Brother Low Elephant Grass inserted into my mind as I heard their very weird music.

Alien Anarchy isn't simply a creative title. Rather it particularly describes the sound of the album. It truly contains an incredibly far out avant-garde sound, full of prog-like guitar, an massive amount of effects and a very competent composition of all these multifaceted parts into enjoyable songs. The experimental nature of this album is what prodded my brain out of considering various exotic locales and straight into the limits of what science fiction has to offer. In a quite brief time period at that. What I'm trying to say is, this album is transportive. It'll take you to some legit cosmonaut nightmares if you want. That said, the tracks "Monk" and "Reality Clashes With The Content Of My Mind" are some spectacular lo-fi tunes that I'm ever so eager for everyone to hear.

To be had here:

Brother Low Elephant Grass - Alien Anarchy

Sex Hands - Pleh (2014)

I still download music illegally. And so it was surprising when I looked into this band, Sex Hands, after previewing their music on Spotify to see if I wanted to download it from my special source, that they actually offer this excellent album, Pleh, as a "name your price" on their Bandcamp page.

Well then, time to funnel it on over to Spacerockmountain.

This album has it all. It's like Joey Santiago and John Dwyer trading licks over a Rob Pollard side project. Can I get anymore lame with my comparisons? Yes! Just you wait.

Anyway, without digging a grave for my credibility and/or this fantastic Manchester, UK band, just do yourself a favor and grab it.

Their music is a smear across the lofi-indie-punk-garage spectrum. There's little reason to get into it any further. It's better than most shit that does the same, that's about all you need to hear before you hop over and check them out for yourself. Also available on 180 gram vinyl.

13 songs.

Sex Hands - Pleh

Black Fruit/Factotum SPLIT (2015)

What we have here is a split album, something you might have pieced together from the title of the post. You might not have guessed that they're garage rock bands from Michigan and another from United Kingdom. Nonetheless this is very much the case.

Black Fruit are from Grand Rapids, Michigan, a city on the other side of the state from yours truly and one I fail to understand fully but has produced its fair share of excellent bands. Black Fruit is a particularly awesome example of this. Moreover, they put out the majority of the tracks for the split (7 of 12 songs) allowing for you to soak of all the lo-fi bliss their belting out. Fuzzy guitars, loud and steady drum beats and almost totally incomprehensible singing. The songs are infused with a healthy degree of both surf rock and mild nihilism. It's funny how those blend so well.

Factotum is a British outfit, who while certainly being garage rock are of a different sort. The sound is more grungy and filled out with a psychedelic style. Additionally the singing is more abrasive and akin to post-hardcore garage punk. The songs are intense and rumbling, so while the songs are the minority of the split they haven't any trouble holding up their end of the bargain. Overall the split is indeed an interesting contrast in the varieties of garage rock that are existent, but I would be hesitant to say they show any UK-US rift in the style (this is how the email pitched it to me). Especially because I remember Whirlwind Heat, a Grand Rapids based garage rock band from a bit over ten years back that was more like Factotum than their fellow Grand Rapidians Black Fruit.

Finally, the album is due out physically as a colored vinyl, I believe in March, by Stolen Body Records. So if you liked what you heard and want it on wax, look out for that.

To be had here:
Black Fruit/Factotum SPLIT

Pulco - Innovation In The Trade (2015)

Pulco has touched many soft spots of mine. Firstly, he's from Wales, and like many folks I have a endearment to the underdog, even in a rivalry between nations and cultures, which makes Wales a romantic place in my mind. Secondly, the album art is a simple abstract piece that reminds me fondly of Wassily Kandinsky. And finally the music is bizarre, artsy and utilizes spoken word like a British twee pop band I've greatly admired for years, Death By Chocolate (they were circa 2001, for if you google that name you'll first find some newer outfit I'm unfamiliar with). Basically, this Welshman had a lot going for him right away and he was anything but a let down.

That Pulco's music is technically impressive while being lo-fi and so well-composed for experimental tunes makes sense considering the man behind the project, Ash Cooke, has been an accomplished musician for a bit now. He was a member of the group Derrero, who've got several albums out, have toured some some great bands including a favorite of mine, Super Furry Animals, and even got to sit down with John Peel. However, I am not acquainted with that band, not yet at least, but I can very much vouch for Pulco's Innovation In The Trade. As I referenced earlier the album bears a likeness to the spoken word-laden indie pop I recall from over a decade ago, this is particularly apparent in whimsically enjoyable tracks like "The Blazing Hat Pt.2," "Graham" and "Stan & The Bike" were the 'lyrics' are more of recited poetry or storytelling. On the other hand "A Ferry To Your Own Life," "Prank" and "A Man Shouts" show how incredible of a writer of pop songs Mr. Cooke is capable of being. Or there's ones where it just gets weird such as "Fan Heater" and "Pabell." It's a multifaceted effort that's very coherently woven together. If you want more of this, you're in luck as he's got quite the catalog on to browse through on bandcamp.

To be had here:
Pulco - Innovation In The Trade

Full Crumb - Maelstrom Protocol (2014)

Full Crumb are from the United Kingdom, not sure where exactly, as I wasn't told. Yet through an unknown series of events is being issued on cassette and digitally by the Athens, GA-based label Fall Break Records. However, after listening to Full Crumb's output, I can understand why they'd be eager to release it.

Maelstrom Protocol is a particularly tricky albums to describe. It really is the sort of thing that is best experienced without too much preface and pondered about by the listener for days afterwards during the likely sessions of re-listening. Truly a whole range of genres are applicable to the Maelstrom Protocol, being in near equal measure krautrock, British new wave, psychedelic, experimental pop and shitgaze. Perhaps the only caught-all term that works is art rock, but as we all know that doesn't tell you much about the songs really sounds. Let's put it this way, there's something of Orange Juice or the Fire Engines sort of Scottish late-80s thing, strange audio clips serving as intros, dreamy pop numbers, and an overall feeling perverted reverence throughout. Go on, have a listen.

To be had here:
Full Crumb - Maelstrom Protocol