Crimes - Good Hope (2011)

Late May is the time where I start to think about summer. Technically still spring, there are a few summer-esque things that occur in the next few weeks before the solstice. Honeysuckle will explode in the next two weeks, and with it the dizzyingly sweet fragrance. At the end of the first week of June, lightning bugs (or fireflies) will fill the evening trees with miniature constellations. 

This is also the time I inevitably start looking for my summer music. I don't know why summertime is associated with music... maybe almost probably (definitely) it has something to do with capitalism. But, like a parasite, capitalism lives in me and it feels natural to seek the summer record.

Good Hope is a good contender. Crimes from Minnesota, a 4 piece sharing the same lead singer of the phenomenal Loud Sun, recorded their debut LP Good Hope in 2011. It is reverb-laden, shimmering psych pop with a melodic and stoned vocal delivery that just makes me relaxed. These songs, much like those of Loud Sun, are like the "couch-lock" of music. Put it on and forget it's there, you'll realize 30 minutes later that you just came up for air and that you have been swimming, drowning in thought. 

You'll wonder where the time went. Their second release was written up by our old friend Elvis Dracula in his EP Grab Bag Vol. 32. Also an excellent release. 

If you live in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area, Crimes are playing a reunion show on June 3rd at Palmer's Bar.

Crimes - Good Hope

 

Aborted Tortoise - Scale Model Subsistence Vendor (2020)

I've finally started work as an occupational therapist, and for reasons I'd rather not get into, I'm commuting 180 miles per day to do so. I wake up when it's dark, drive an hour and 40 minutes into Newark, NJ to hang out with autistic children, trying to engage them in play dough, pompoms, and pipe cleaner for 6 hours and then make the long drive home. 

These kids are great and I'm stoked to be apart of bringing their potential out, but holy shit does this commute fucking blow. Not to mention Newark has more potholes than the damn moon, which easily adds another 5-10 minutes to my drive. The drive out of Newark is a whole other hell and it's turned me into an aggressive driver much quicker than I ever thought possible, completely obliterating whatever low-key-whatever-dude facade I'd built the past 13 years living on the west coast. 

That said, my chosen soundtrack for the commute home has lately been high energy punk music and nothing does it for me like Australian punk. 

Aborted Tortoise out of Perth are a great band for my commute home. A little garage, plenty o' punk. It's uppity, fun and fast, just the kind of music to help numb your cares about flipping off the piss-shivering plops who seemingly have a highway death wish. (ps I'm alright everyone, I'm just tired.)

4 songs. 7" available.

Aborted Tortoise - Scale Model Subsistence Vendor

Loud Sun - Sea Grave (2017)

Loud Sun's Andrew Jansen and I have something in common: we both recently moved away from the west coast.

Making a new home for ourselves defines chapters in our lives. Death and birth. There are the big things we leave behind, like friends, which me mourn the loss of most immediately. And as time progresses, a deeper nostalgia for lost things awakens: yawning and stretching into fringe details, we begin missing the way the air felt in the morning, the sounds of a Baptist church choir practicing on Wednesday nights, the smells of nearby restaurants.

This melancholia can quickly become morose, especially if one allows the dust to settle.

Sea Grave is the second release from Jansen's Loud Sun project, and it feels like a love letter to the west coast in a lot of ways. Jansen is a keen student of mellow, sun-bleached, shimmering pop with wisps of psychedelia, though his bio suggests he may actually be a student of the natural sciences. Perhaps that's why he seems so adept at combining the feel of a place with his music.

From beginning to end, Sea Grave is a beautiful record, and you can purchase a cassette tape through his Bandcamp page. For myself, having moved from a more ideal scenario to a less ideal scenario, the music here feels penetrating and concise... an ode to a memory. The impeccable song "Teen Pyramids" has become my anthem of the autumn.



Link to Loud Sun Bandcamp page for Sea Grave, 10 songs:

Loud Sun - Sea Grave

The Wrong Numbers - More Cuddles With the Wrong Numbers (2016)

Soul music, to me, is the quintessential American music. I know that the blues, jazz, and hip hop are more important from a music history standpoint: those genres were catalysts for so much more. Soul is just my absolute favorite. It's danceable, it's about good times and bad times. It's also kind of a natural antidepressant for me. Just throw on some Irma Thomas or Syl Johnson and the world becomes a little brighter.

Seeing a resurgence with stuff like Sharon Jones and Leon Bridges is great. Hard to believe that soul music ever went out of style, quite honestly. But perhaps in Detroit, where The Wrong Numbers come from, soul never lost it's footing.

The Wrong Numbers play garage soul so well that Jack White would devolve into the primordial jelly from which he came just to sniff it. These peeps must all come from other bands, I'd guess... this shit is just too seasoned. "Bowel Sounds" is just 2 songs so far, but it's well worth your immediate attention if you're in the market for something frucking fantastic (edit: deciding to keep "frucking as is). Bummer that there's a $7 charge for just 2 songs(*), but I'm honestly considering it.

Look at the release date on this also: posted just 5 days ago. Hot off the frucking press... eh? EH? Ehhhhhhh... sorry. But for real, The Wrong Numbers have got it DIALED IN.

*Edit: Another song has been added! It's great! This is some 1960's Memphis soul, ala Wendy Rene. Amazing.

Sample:
Bandcamp page:
The Wrong Numbers - Bowel Sounds

Jorge Bernstein & The Pioupioufuckers - Meet The Real Bernstein (2007)

Often times when sifting through the mountainous amounts of music on bandcamp, there comes a release that really clicks for me. It takes a lot of time and a lot of sifting.... it makes me wonder: is this all because I've been adrift in an ocean of shit that I find this small dinky island, with one lousy jackfruit tree, that I think this is the most amazing piece of land to ever exist?

Maybe. But that feeling of discovery is invigorating enough to keep returning to the shitty sea, in hopes of finding more land, and to claim it for the nation of Spacerockmountain. However, with Jorge Bernstein and the PiouPioufuckers, I can't help but believe this music is truly fucking good, and that any reader with an ounce of the grey stuff between their ears is going to enjoy this.

"Let me introduce to you the best drummer in the world. First member of the Bernstein Corporation. President of the United States of rock'n'roll. Look at his yellow shirt!" So the band is a corporation headed by a mysterious Jorge Bernstein, who I guess is their drummer... whether or not that is his real name or a fictional character that he plays, we'll never know. Originally released in 2007, "Meet The Real Bernstein" may have been a smidgen ahead of the most recent garage revival. But this record could easily be released on Burger records tomorrow... because it's full of awesome, high energy garage punk with a bit of an old rock'n'roll feel to it... dare I say rockabilly? This may be more to do with the singers Elvis-meets-Jello Biafra sound.

Well worth a listen, and well worth checking out their other releases.

14 songs, pay what you want.

Jorge Bernstein & The Pioupioufuckers - Meet The Real Bernstein

Groms - Drowning (2015)

Here is another fine San Diego band to grind up and smoke in your pipe. Groms play fuzzy, lo-fi garage rock; the kind of stuff that we play extensively here and that requires little else in the way of description. What these kids do right is inject a fine dose of fun and playfulness into their set. Light and airy guitars with subtle synth lines and drunken, skuzzy vocals make this a winner.

They just put this out on cassette via Wiener Records and played a release show at the awesome M-Theory Records in San Diego. Bring this to the next Bill Cosby live appearance and blast it on your boom box.

Get it here:
Groms - Drowning (2015)

Elvis Dracula Dance Party - Part 1

Welcome to my humble abode! Drinks are in the back, and I will be spinning records all night. Avoid the basement,  unless you want to meet some of our compulsory "guests."

No Bodies - No Bodies (2013)

No better way to get a party started than some haunting, reverb drenched garage rock. These guys may have been around in the 1960s (did I see them in Watsonville at that drug den with some burnt out hippies?), or they may just be some lads with a love of that always classic retro sound. "Tell Me Who You Love" and "I've Waited Such a Long Time" have gotten the crowd loose and limber on the dance floor, and will likely be put on repeat on your audio player.

Plantains/ Os Noctambulos - Split (2014)

Once the scream rips through "Northern Blood," I know my guests are in for a treat. The lovely morsels down in the basement feel fright grip them in a way they have never known. I however, grab another scotch and join the ghouls on the dance-floor. This split is one of the best I have heard in some time, with two excellent psychedelic rock bands putting forth their best foot and shaking the bones from a few skeletons in my proximity. We flip the record, and cool down with the fuzzed out surf hooks of Os Noctambulos. Sweat is pouring off of those still with skin and a request is made to play the record again. I oblige.

Prettiest Eyes - Peep (2014)

A few of the guests take a break to enjoy some of the refreshments. A few of our compulsory guests are brought up to the party to serve their purpose, and I put on this EP from Los Angeles.  Repetitive but hypnotic, it builds to a frenzied level as the bass pushes my hips back and forth. The guests chatting in the kitchen can not help but to emulate this movement, and when "Honey Honey" explodes, not a single individual is left sitting.

Shape Breaker/ Fuck Mountain - Split (2014)

I love Shape Breaker. I put their most righteous last record on our best of 2013 list. Thankfully, the group is getting the respect they deserve these days, and Gary Records was smart enough to put together a transatlantic split release with the equally great Fuck Mountain. 7 inch records are not the best music medium at a party, but I don't know if my guests could have lived through a full length from either band. The amount of jumping and thumping that went on as these tracks were played caused the needle to skip like a cholo in Chula Vista riding an earthquake. I now need to buy another copy of this record.

 Evasive Backflip - Orange You Glad To See Orange You? (2013)

I can tell we need a change of pace to keep this party going. I pop in Evasive Backflip's newest cassette tape on Grandpa Bay Recordings and let the more experimental among my friends display their dance moves. Some of the witches really get into the title track. They mention that much like the jazzy post-rock this band possess, churning a cauldron incorporates similar movements. Who knew? The sing along ending of the track catches everyone off guard, and makes a fan of even the most jaded ghosts.

No Valley - Over Time Scattered (2014)

Time to eat! I could go for the fat one myself (non-bloodsuckers don't realize they have tastier insides). No Valley plays pretty garage pop that goes down well with a side of lung and brain. I don't  know Charlie or why he don't surf, but the have a great song about said topic. My beloved state burns in said song, but if we go out listening to this EP, that's not so bad.

Ambsace - BOREAL (2013)

Now that everyone is full on human flesh, we grab our wine and spirits and take a seat by the fire. Ambsace is up next, and this cassette puts everyone in that loving mood that only creatures of the night can know. This is pop music, but not like the type currently playing on the radio or hipster night-clubs. Ethereal vocals combined with funeral-dirge pop beats and surprisingly well layered background harmonies go over well with this group of the dead and haunted.

Ghost Dance - ST (2013)

What better way to end our party than with a band called "Ghost Dance?" Best yet, they create well composed psychedelic garage rock that always goes over well in my home. These lads were apparently pulled from the Missouri wilderness from a feral beast mother, and if this story checks out, they will make it onto my next round of invitations. If not, they will suffer dearly. "Howlin'" is a great song, if I do say so myself. 

Kristy and the Kraks - ST (2014)

These lovely ladies must be label-mates of mine, because their bread of minimalist Rock'n'Roll is so infectious, that I think it gave me a new disease: Rockatitous. This disease can cause constant foot thumping and headbanging until your body literally dies from aggravated movement. Thankfully, I am already dead and don't have to worry about passing. Those of you who are still with the living should consider playing this record as a potential death-wish.

Made up of only two women, they spend little time filling their tracks with unnecessary sound; only the bare minimum of sounds are crafted to give the listener the distinct feeling that they are sitting in on a live performance with the group. The songs are simple and loose enough that it feels natural and fitting without leaving you wanting. They do know their harmonies however, and when both members chime in with the harmonies, my garage rock heart begins to tingle. Awesome 7 inch record that should get a play at all parties and social events in your schedule.

Get it here:
Kristy and the Kraks - ST (2014)

Chiquita y Chatarra - Niagra Fallers (2013)

I take issue with our culture's current obsession with whimsy and cuteness. Wes Anderson making cute movies, girls wearing fake old-timey mustaches, selfies and band photos where eyes are up and to the side, hoodie's with fake animal ears sewed to them, kitten cams... and what's with the ukelele being everywhere all of a sudden? TV theme songs, radio advertisements, all-ukelele cover bands... It's like it's the 1980's but instead of synthesizers everywhere it's goddamn ukeleles. 

I'm just waiting for the turnaround, that inevitable revolt against the status quo where disco becomes post-punk; pop metal becomes grunge. I realize it's a process and it won't happen overnight, but my eyes and ears are feverishly hunting for examples where cute exists simultaneously with something a bit more dangerous. 

Enter Chiquita y Chatarra, a Spanish duo whose name one online translation interpreted as "Very Small and Scrap Metal", actually means (according to an NPR article about the band) "Tiny and Trashy".  So far so good. The band loves playing the kind of music I love: garage, psych, surf, punk. I know I know, been there done that. But what makes this band stand out for me, at least, is the voice of their lead singer. An alto with a barely restrained intensity, her voice reminds me at times of Jack White impersonating Charlie Day from It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia (though she is consistently more in key than both). Chiquita y Chatarra have the minimalism of Bratmobile and the 50's pop garage of Shannon and The Clams. But when they take it down a notch, as they do in the last song "All I want", one can almost hear the Pixies in there, too. 

I think this is a step in the right direction, people. Great stuff, pay what you want. If any are inclined to buy the bands vinyl, here's the link.

Chiquita y Chatarra - Niagra Fallers 

EP Grab Bag vol. 53

Well, I am hung over. All that post podcast celebrating resulted in a very inebriated state. Let’s hope some recent submissions will help me push through it. 

Dusty Mush – ST 12 Inch (2014)

Things are off to a good start, as nothing cures a fuzzy head like some fuzzy rock. These lads are from Paris, and while they have released versions of these tracks on a previous release, this is record sounds more realized. Old metal heads who never got used to the post-Slayer era would feel right at home with the Mods and burnouts in this band’s fan base. 

Sunlight Ascending – Momentum Wheel (2014)

I was a little worried when I heard the band’s name, but this is alright stuff. Twinkly, produced, instrumental post-rock that borrows from the well the Appleseed Cast dug on their Low Level Owl releases. I also have to give it to these kids: for living in Detroit, they come up with some very pretty music that surely sounds out of place in their neighborhood. 

Dan Svizeny – ST Tape (2013)

Where is my bloody coffee? How can I have so many things to get me drunk and nothing to help bring me out of it? You might hear Mr. Svizeny’s music at a coffee shop where tattooed cool-kids hang out. Minimal drum machines meet fuzzy guitars; eat cake, and lay back to take in the secluded vocals. No need to hurry, it is a rainy day and all. 

Twink – Happy Houses (2013)

I had a few assumptions come to mind when I received a release from a band called “Twink.” Little did I know that there was no probability I could prepare myself for what was actually in store. Toy instruments are used to create pretty little instrumental ditties. A children’s animated show could use some of this stuff, but to acid induced haze required to make such music likely wouldn’t go over well with the studio executives. 

Towns – Get By (2014)

I need to get myself out the door, so dwelling on a touring band may help get my feet moving. This British act is currently playing gigs throughout their homeland, and is preparing to drop a full length in the coming months. This single from said record (Young at Heart) is everything you liked about the early 90s English music scene, minus the Gallagher brothers. Highly recommended. 

Walrus – Glam Returns (2014)

This band is a lot like In-N-Out: they sell only 3 variations of their burger, but you don’t want more than that because they do it so well. I first came across this band when they put out a split tape back in September, but the 4 tracks on this EP have seen them get closer to a noisy, lo-fi aptness. Great vocal range and delivery from the front man, as the band knows just when to relax and let the lyrics stand on their own.  Keep it coming.

EP Grab Bag vol. 51

Fuck all that romantic love shit, how about love for some of the submissions sent to SpaceRockMountain that got lost in the shuffle? You see folks, we get a lot of submissions around these parts, and just giving 10 minutes per release can be a time consuming task. Sometimes great music goes unposted, and these are just a few I pulled from the depths of the email box.

Eddie Brnabic and the Cosmic Fellowship - Subtle Realms (2013)

These stoned out psychedelic jams should have gotten the proper spin they deserved when they were submitted. This stuff is like smoking a blunt and then riding a water slide into hell with Tony Lommi. I love me some sloppy lo-fi guitar work, but this is as far from that description as one can be. Highly competent and polished, in all good ways.

Chris Naish - Reasons to Run (2013)

Any song with the lyric "you make a rainbow of my grave" is worthy of a Valentine's Day post. Straightforward, fuzzy singer songwriter stuff with just enough piss and vinegar to add to your lonely french fries dinner.

Leaves Aflame - ST (2014)

I know people still say they hate it, but Prog rock still has a lot of room in my hallow heart. Building worlds is not an easy thing, whether it be literature, film, or music. When done right, a cast of characters interacts with a setting I am willing to travel to, and this Illinois group does that well.

Slenko and Hyde - Back Roads (2013)

I think we have written something about these chaps in the past; they sound awfully familiar. Creative anti-folk from Connecticut. What is with all the good music out of Connecticut these days?

Palermo - Still Life (2013)

What would be a EP Grab bag without a little experimental post-rock? These kids from Prague made one of the better vinyl releases I should have been enjoying for some time prior to this. "Monochrom" is my favorite track off this release.

Temples - Temples (2013)

By this point, you sad single bastards in the crowd are starting to well up thinking of some unrequited love. Well, grab another beer because Temples wont make you feel any better. Plodding post-rock from Middle America. Just be thankful you are not from Utah like these kids are, and then you will feel a bit better.

Harry Cloud - Our Love is Bad (2013)

There is no more fitting release to end our depressing Love Day special. This band mentioned in their submission that this was recorded under extreme duress. Stylistically, I would put these in the "folk music made alone in a dark room category" so maybe this kid really was at the end of the line. Although, he made a record after this one, so I guess everything worked out.

Passion Pusher - Your A Loser (2013)

Many folks have sat down, drank a liter of scotch, and rocked out lo-fi masterpieces over the ages. Some of my favorite recordings were made on an old shitty boombox that had a built in microphone. I would record over little skits I had taped as a wee demon. Passion Pusher is like a throwback to that era. These proper Edinburgh lads are likely less sauced than the average individual walking the city's streets, but they put their drunken state to good use and laid to tape some fuzzy goodness. Keep drinking my friends.



Get it here:

Passion Pusher - Your A Loser (2013)

Best of SpaceRockMountain 2013

2013 was a great year for independent music. I was exposed to a great number of acts while writing for this website, and these are just a few that continued to spin on my digital turntable well after they were posted.

Ubu Roi – Nice Dude EP (2013)

BlackBoxRed – Stripper (2013)

So Stressed – Attracted to Open Mouths (2013)

Thee Dang Dangs - For the People (2013)

The Future Primitives - Into The Primitive (2013)

The Sufis – Inventions (2013)

The Balcony Stars – She’s Going Down (2013)

Liam Singer – Arc Iris (2013)

Crown Larks - Catalytic Conversion (2013)

Shape Breaker - Eyes Wide (2013) 

EP Grab Bag vol. 40

Labor Day weekend is upon us here in the States, and I am having a BBQ with some of my favorite ghouls. Here are some of the records spun at our little get-together.

Walrus – Okay b/w Pale Blue Light (2013)

The sun sits at high-noon out at our desert palisade in SlabCity, California. When that suns starts to beat down on you, you need some cool beer and some good tunes to keep your mind from melting. Walrus out of Canada provide just that. These kids throw down well polished psychedelic pop music that is enjoyed by Mummy and Frankenstein alike (a difficult task, I assure you). Just one track (Walrus), and the other side of the tape being another group called Pale Blue Light. Walrus is the best of the two, with its ethereal vocals and splendid guitar work. 

The Balcony Stars – She’s Going Down (2013)

Chupacabra is requesting we put on something English and upbeat, so Liverpool’s Balcony Stars is put on the turntable. Big guitar riffs and just enough drums to keep you on task, and it gets everyone onto the dance floor. Then the guitar lead kicks in and pulls everyone’s hands into the air. She may be going down as the vocalist reiterates, but we are all pulled up by this 7 inch. 

Heatwarmer – Keep Shining Through (2013)

Witchy Rhonda is hoping to get closer to Kid Dracula and requests a sweeter tune in which to push his heart towards hers. Seattle’s Heatwarmer is just the act to do so. “Keep pushing me, and I’ll keep pushing you” says the front man as a keyboard solo trails in to compliment the Genesis-inspired synth pulses. Very polished pop music, and best of all, it got Witchy Rhonda a kiss. 

:3 – Mindless Eating (2013)

When this band submitted their new record, they said they played “lo-fi cat songs about death, anxiety, and death.” How could I not spin that at our desert shindig? This is experimental stuff that happened to clear the dancefloor, but Igor enjoyed the change of pace and willingness to distort the pop and rock rules while we worked the BBQ pit. “They Know” is the best track on the record in my opinion. Igor liked “Pea Soup Rapture Blues.”

Teen Brigade – August (2013)

Ok, time to pick things up a bit. Everyone has had more than a few beers and is looking for a way to shake out a few calories. I put on this Indiana groups well constructed collage pop and like a group of Sufi spiritualists, the group begins spinning in unison.  Tracks like “3 August 1888, Linz” demonstrate the group’s ability to create danceable tracks while staying true to their cult like admiration for the peculiar. 

The Antlers of the Midnight Sun – The Electric Nail Comes (2013)

The turntable is put aside for a bit as we bring in some of our fellow monsters to play live. My comrade Wolfman Dracula grabs his guitar to rock out with his psychedelic riff-rawkers and starts to peel the paint off the wall with his vibrato laced, full throated chords of rock prowess.  Apeman says he thought he saw the devil on stage with the band, but that guy has a real drinking problem. 

Little Legend – Bailout (2013)

As expected, Wolfman Dracula smashes his guitar into a thousand pieces (the reason I put him behind the drums in my band) and the set is cut short. In desperation, I grab the next record in the stack which just so happens to save our desert party from premature destruction. This Wisconsin act slams together some larger-than-life sing alongs that Bruce Springsteen could make if he wasn’t trying to be the next Pete Seeger. I don’t know if this is about the financial bailout, but that shit pisses me off, and this song gets me all hot in bothered in just the right places.