EP Grab Bag vol. 93

I've got a glut of EPs incoming lately. This is good news but also much time to be spent listening. Being the compulsive music fiend as usual I plowed through a bliss couple of evenings getting to know these six EPs and I don't think there's a single one to be scoffed at in the slightest way. In fact some of them are rather exceptionally brilliant. Mostly American with just a bit of Germany and the Down Under thrown in.

To be had here:
Caterwaulrus - Songs That Go Nowhere (2015)

It's been the better part of the year since Caterwaulrus appeared on the SRM, and now Austin-based musician has got a new EP out. In full disclosure, Larry wrote up his previous release, which I gave an all too cursory listen to but judging by the stunning quality of this new batch of tunes. No joke, these are stellar bedroom pop songs, quirky, psychedelic and charming as all get out. I am confindent enough to say fans of Nate Henricks, Tim Cohen, Slight Birching, Pill Wonder and so on will adore what Caterwaulrus is playing on Songs That Go Nowhere. I've already been texting the link to this album to my coworkers, which I'm sure they're jazzed about. But seriously, motherfucking listen to this EP.

Paar - Pure/She Brings the Rain (2015)

Paar is a band started by a member of German post-punk band, The Amount of Light We Give Off, that was featured exactly 30 Grab Bags ago. I'd say he kept with the post-punk that was so well displayed in that EP for these two new songs, adding more new wave as well. However they sound quite unique from the prior work as these are full of pumping, hypnotic bass and a most seductive singer. "Pure" is a striped down tune, as far as wall-of-sound songs go, and I really, truly fell in love with this band upon hearing the bleak yet sultry "She Brings the Rain." I gotta hear more of that sort of thing.

Little Star - The Romantic World of Little Star (2015)

A new band from a frequently mentioned city, it's Little Star of Portland, Oregon. Now, this band is called Little Star (they don't capitalize it but that shit drives me crazy to see while typing this out) and they've got a tag on their bandcamp for "Big Star." Doesn't take a rocket scientist to see where they're inspiration came from. Nonetheless, I approached this EP openly and found myself incredibly endeared to the sweet, often acoustic, power pop tunes. Without a doubt these are well composed and delightful tunes that lack that annoyance factor much pop music creates for me. Like Big Star, who'd have guessed that?

Evasive Backflip - Pussy Up (2015)

Noisy, experimental, mathy jazz punk? Chicago? Naturally. Evasive Backflip put out this new EP on the superb indie label, Grandpa Bay Recordings, whose releases are regular occurrences on SRM at this point. Usually their releases are of an experimental sort, something that Pussy Up continues valiantly. The songs sound improvisational, a bit chaotic at moments but held together the excellent jazzy horn playing and angular guitar swirling around. "Disentanglement Puzzle" is an interesting, unique and very engaging introduction to this band's sound.

Feng Shui Police - Thank You (2015)

As I listened to this EP I very soon felt I was hearing a college kids, yet as I kept on it seems that might be an artful feint. So while I cannot be sure that Providence, RI's Feng Shui Police has anyone in college among its members, it was "Recorded in Dash's basement, powered by coffee and Thai food." Basically that sentence summarizes all I can remember about college anyway. What they've done here is make an acoustic garage rock album, if your mind can handle that concept. But it totally is, the drums are lower to make the guitars audible, the singing is lyric-centered like a young man liberated by use of language ought to embrace. Clever, in an cool, funny way.

White Lodge - Split 7" [w/ The Gorlons] (2015)

I'm not sure how this split came to be, but I know I have written up both these most excellent garage rock outfits, one from the Australian state of Queensland and other from American state of Missouri. These two songs are just from Brisbane's White Lodge made the fuzzy and fast psychedelic garage tune "Backwater Rumble" and another tune called "Ancient Tides," which is perhaps the more theatrically grungy of the two songs but they're very equally matched in overall lo-fi quality. The Gorlons have yet to release their half, but I look froward to it eagerly. God bless electronic communication allowing such far-flung artists to combine for a joint release, especially two I like so much.

Scenes of a City, Vol. 6: São Paulo, Brazil

The Brazilian village that would become the city of São Paulo was founded exactly 426 years before I was born. This has absolutely nothing to do with anything. But since we're nearing January 25th, I suddenly feel a connection to Brazil's, and South America's, most populous city (currently nearing 12 million people. That's like combining the populations of New York City and Madrid. Whoa!) As is the case in all of Brazil's cities, the contrast between the richest and poorest residents is stark. Kidnapping of affluent citizens is a common occurrence, so much so that the rich travel via bulletproof cars and even helicopters. São Paulo actually has the world record for city with most helicopters. The city's also home to an annual pancake cooking competition, so, you know... it can't be all that bad. 

Leptospirose - Tatuagem de Coquiero 

This record is a maelstrom of thrash punk reminiscent of bands like M.O.D, early Suicidal Tendencies, and Nuclear Assault. The genre is mostly known as Crossover Thrash which is a surprising and unfortunately mundane name for music that is fueled by pure adrenaline. That said, I don't normally go for music like this because I have enough anxiety as it is, but I've been enjoying this record a lot over that last half year, or so. Also available on vinyl, in case there's room in your library(and heart) for some Brazilian thrash. And let's not kid ourselves, there's plenty of room in both.

TRATAK - Agora eu sou o silêncio

Here we have an impressive full length of a more traditional Brazilian sound. The guitar playing and vocal style is reminiscent of bossa nova, but TRATAK more resembles the genre that immediately succeeded bossa nova in the late 60's and early 70's, commonly called "musica popular brasileira", or MPB (Brazilian pop music). The instrumentation is more involved than bossa, incorporating rock with occasional dustings of psychedelia (unlike the wilder genre of tropicalia, which was born around the same time). TRATAK could sit easily on a playlist with artists of that genre such as Edu Lobo or the wonderful Chico Barque. A gem of a find, if I do say so myself, and those with an affinity for older Brazilian music in general will enjoy this quite a bit.

Sweet Fanny Adams - Fanny You're No Fun

This EP was a surprise to me in it's simultaneous resemblance to both modern US indie rock but also post-punk of the late 70s, a genre that consistently piques my interest. I'll do one of these annoying comparisons that people want to shoot me for: it's like Spoon fronted by the lead singer of Cake with a distant essence of Gang of Four. Angry? Well, too bad. I wish I knew more about the group, not even sure if they're from São Paulo. Just listen to these four songs and enjoy them for what they are, fucking great rock songs. 

Caverna Central - HOFFMAN'S DEATH: Tribute to Philip Seymour Hoffman

Here's a wildcard that was too strange to not include. What we have is basically 8 very short experimental rock songs where someone shouts "Hoffman's dead!" over and over. The music isn't terribly interesting, and honestly sounds like it was all written and recorded over the course of an afternoon. The bandcamp page was created in February of 2014 so it's possible that these songs were recorded on the very day that Philip Seymour Hoffman was found dead. At any rate, it's a tribute to a great actor who died way before his time, albeit a bizarre tribute.

Swimming in Bengal - Vol. 1 (2014)

The name of Swimming in Bengal and the album art adorning an elephant seemingly floating should be enough to suggest what sort of music is on this release. The band already summed it up nicely on their bandcamp and what I hope doesn't mark me as lazier than I am, I'll relate that: "Improvised out-jazz/art rock with a focus on Middle Eastern/South Asian melody, rhythms, and drones." 

That would have been more than enough to have gotten me to give this album a listen, but I didn't get this album sent in, not in a straightforward fashion at least. However, a couple of years ago I was sent in an EP called Drought Times by a group called San Kazakgascar, which proved to be an incredible listen and well-received by those few readers that give me feedback. In an unfocused review of past posts and I have curious to see what that group had released since only to find a new name but on the same bandcamp page, on the same tiny label, Lather Records. It seems San Kazakgascar took a break and the gourd guitarist (yeah, gourd guitar, people) formed a new group to make music inspired by the Indian Subcontinent and Middle East. Swimming in Bengal is this renewed effort's results, and if the naming Vol. 1 is a hint, hopefully just the beginning in a series of releases.

Now, this is improvisational music, a sort of free jazz with Eastern instruments. Therefore, it is something to be heard while chilling out and having something at least a touch mind altering, even if that's just a nice pipe of tobacco or a bottle of cheap wine. Or it could be Larry's weekly allowance for robotripping, however you manage it, the album is fucking great when you get into the right headspace. You'll know it when you get there. Or hear it sober, it is still great.

To be had here:
Swimming in Bengal - Vol. 1

The Drone Accelerator - The Drone Accelerator (2014)

As a preface to where I am as I listened to this album I'm gonna say I've been having less than ideal conditions concerning my health this week, as I seemingly reacted to something in the water that runs through the rusty old pipes of the bookstore and have had a fucked up tongue days. This means meals are hard to eat and slowly the pain is working its way to my left ear and it is making me have even more socialistic-tinged rants at my boss than I usually do. This has certainly made everyone involved grumpy, possibly me less so than the others around me if I'm honest. Yet the slow crawl toward full convalesce has made me something of a homebody as I eat soft things and take ineffective pills. So to make the best of it as I'm a bit too drowsy to read but too restless to sleep I've been playing video games, or really a video game as I only have a little laptop with enough space for one game. But fuck the music they come up with those, I'm lousy with submitted soundtracks for living out a digital fantasy to.

The Drone Accelerator was by far the very best of these makeshift soundtracks, so much so that I would forget that the video game didn't have improvisational psychedelic free jazz as background music, although the experience has made me question the wisdom of not having this be the case more often. This is seriously some very cool music, and I know this is hard to not make sound pretentious as it is has already involved the term 'free jazz' yet this might lead one to believe there isn't fucking awesome, meandering guitar for prolonged periods. Rest assured it has that shit in spades and it is beautiful thing. It so very much blends that ideas of Pink Floyd space rock with free form experimentation and unhinged jazz ethos that transitions along a spectrum like a crazy asshole on a slide whistle. All right, it is a bit pretentious, but in the most adorable and enjoyable way. I sincerely found this album to be really good, especially the guitar playing that reminded me of a slowed down version of the amazing sounds of Kanoi. Moreover, the whole album does what a good drone, noise or improv album is supposed to achieve, which to stop worrying so much about where all the time is going and sink into the sounds. By the time this album was over I wasn't so bitter about the fact that drinking water was a painful event (a little bitter, I am whining still) and was happy my aching ear could still hear.

This is the debut album by the band as I guess it was recorded in Peru, which is kinda cool and makes me very jealous if they went there to record and aren't there for another reason. It's released by the very solid Tucson, AZ label Sky Lantern Records, but be warned this label has an M.O. that's to sell the cassettes for a reasonable price ($6 in this case) with the digital download accompanying it, but if you want just the digital version it is marked up to the absurd price of $1000. So if you wanna own it I suggest you buy one while they got them, otherwise you'll need to visit the bandcamp page to get your fix.

To be had here:

The Drone Accelerator - The Drone Accelerator

La Piramide di Sangue - Tebe (2012)

Here's a belated treat. Belated because I missed it's submission in the pre-organization days where my inbox was truly the wild west, but a treat as in this avant-garde album is incredibly exciting no matter when you first get to hear it. As many could have guessed, La Piramide di Sangue is an Italian band, and they play a bizarre sort of psychedelia that combines a melody with dissonance to create a maze for the mind become increasingly lost in. It is jazzy, noisy and tribal somehow all at the same time. The album gets rather close to noise, as in the genre, but will loop back around with reframes to more melodic music. Overall it's trippy as hell and an album I regret not getting to sooner, but that'll be the case for everyone older I post on here I suppose.

To be had here:
La Piramide di Sangue - Tebe

Thollem/Chase – Dub Narcotic Session (2014)

I woke up this morning looking for some experimental music. Something off-kilter and disjointed to complement the poppy melodies discussed on the previous day’s podcast. While gazing at my awesome physique in the shower, I listened to the newest episode of the legendary Beats in Space podcast, and made it my goal to dig deep into the submission box for something weird and otherworldly. Thankfully New Atlantis Records was there to make my day.

Thollem/Chase are two mainstays of the experimental music scene in New York. Thollem McDonas is an established pianist, and Brian Chase is the drummer for the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. This set was recorded live for K Records Dub Narcotic Sessions, and is everything you want from both your jazz and your punk: intensity, uncertainty, and a willingness to buck any known trend to make something new and remarkable. This isn't music for a swinging dance party or a Mohawk gathering of crusty types. This is music to demolish even the most jaded and far-reaching music aficionado. Enter if you dare.

Get it here:
Thollem/Chase – Dub Narcotic Session (2014)

Coastal Sightings (2012)

I just completed a trip up to the North, stopping in Portland, Seattle, and then Vancouver along the way to check out some of America’s great record shops on the Pacific. I love the cold, mysterious nature of the Pacific Northwest, with its dense wooded areas covered in a thick layer of clouds and rain. That environment has surely helped breed the interesting music scene that the PNW has garnered over the last 30 years.

Across the street from the famous Bop Street in Seattle is a little shop called Sonic Boom Records which has a decent selection of new cassette tapes. I picked up a couple of things, but what stood out was a release from Cairo Records which is a collection of jams from the PNW. Better yet, it is a cassette collection made up of two separate compilations throwing together psychedelic experimentation from musicians I had not heard until this point. M.Women and Stickers were two of the best acts on the comp, and well worth the time if you dig dissonant jam music that would piss off Phish fans everywhere.

Get it here:
Coastal Sightings (2012)

Zloty Dawai - Torso Apart (2011)

As promised here is Germany's Zloty Dawai. Submitted by their drummer, who's solo project R3000 I posted in the last Grab Bag. There music is, like R3000, is rather far out. However, it's dissimilar in that instead of being electronic, Zloty Dawai is improvised, free jazz. Now, if you've been following the blog I've been trying to understand and enjoy jazz more lately, and this was like jumping into the deep end, in a good sorta way. It is wild, gloomy, and energizing in a manner that's unique as far as the fare on this blog goes. Moreover, they got play on the influential independent radio station WFMU. There is a previous album from 2006, Dada Work Chant, that is worth checking out as well.

To be had here:
Zloty Dawai - Torso Apart