Music For Your Weekend

Blind Owl Wilson - Blind Owl Wilson

This interesting figure from American music of the 1960s has one of the most noticeable voices of that era. Most recognizably a singer for the LA-based blues rock group, Canned Heat, Alan "Blind Owl" Wilson gained accolades for his harmonica playing from other musicians of the era including living blues legends such as John Lee Hooker. 

This release by Mississippi Records compiles his most famous tracks from Canned Heat as well as lesser known tracks. Blind Owl's high register voice may most closely resemble that of crossroads blues guitarist Robert Johnson. Some who knew him suspected Wilson might have been autistic, though no formal diagnosis was given prior to his early death at the age of 27. 

OPSEC - Affordable Death

This is hardcore punk I can sink my teeth into. I can only judge punk bands by the quality of the singer's voice. I can recognize good musicianship but if the singer's voice isn't awesome, I will not be a repeat listener... just like Gang Starr made clear in 1994 when Guru said "If your voice ain't dope then you need to chill".

Signed to NYC's Label of Goods, OPSEC brings the aggression and voice that makes me want to keep this EP easy access when driving my beat up shit box around Newark. The singer's voice is similar to that of the Canadian hardcore punk band S.H.I.T., or maybe even the singer of The Peechees. If you need to work out some angst this weekend, may this be the soundtrack for your efforts.

Mamalarky - Pocket Fantasy

Brilliant and wonderful things often emerge from terrible occurrences... it's just the way things happen. It doesn't make those terrible things worth it by any means... it just speaks to the resilience and persistence of the human spirit.

Take Covid, for example. If Covid had never happened, Mamalarky's sophomore release Pocket Fantasy may never have been happened. They were already a band, playing around Austin and making waves. But then the pandemic happened and the band retreated to Atlanta to live in an old house and record what you have here: an inspired and inventive rock record with catchy songs that eschew pop conventions. It's experimental in song structure but recognizable in essence. Not sure what compares.

on4ward - In Rainbow Roads

Sometimes you need a conversation piece that not only piques one's interest but also pulls you in for the whole ride. Some individual out there in the world, going by on4ward, took Radiohead's 2007 In Rainbows and decided it needed to be redone through an Nintendo64 sound bank, "mostly sounds from Super Mario 64" as noted on the artists bandcamp page. 

It's interesting and this homage is one of detail and love. The hipster in me wishes slightly it was done in 8-bit sounds instead, but probably only because I never owned a Nintendo 64 so the sounds don't muster the nostalgia that one who DID own an N64 might get from this. Either way, it's pretty incredible and I look forward to what on4ward does next.

RITA'S REVENGE - S/T (2019)

Saturday morning cartoons were a tradition of mine growing up in the late 80s-early 90s. I remember certain shows more than others: I loved Bobby's World and Camp Candy, likely because I was already familiar with the works of John Candy (Uncle Buck) and Howie Mandel (Little Monsters). I also remember liking Captain Planet, but because that shit aired at 7:30am I decided it was a nice thing I wasn't going to enjoy. 

It's Saturday, I gotta sleep in a little. C'mon Captain. 

Toward the end of the line up, around 11-ish or so, The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers showed up in 1993. I was a cartoon purest so this Saved By The Bell meets Godzilla schtick really wasn't my bag. Everyone else thought it was the best thing since The Simpsons, but I was and remain dubious. 

Fast forward to 2019, a recording project out of Boston produces the best possible fruit from the Mighty Morphin vine: a noisy, drum machine punk concept album based on a villain from the aforementioned show: Rita Repulsa. These recordings offer static blasts from overblown guitars and profanity-laced Rita-inspired lyrics, resulting in an overall sonic soup of lo-fi distortion and feedback over mechanized drum beats. 

It's a quick listen, 4 songs clocking in around 4 minutes 30 second. A nice find that has made it onto my radio show multiple times over the past 2 years. 

RITA'S REVENGE - S/T

Last Words - S/T (2013)

There's something truly wonderful about female-fronted hardcore music. Or is this powerviolence? I have no idea, as I'm clearly not a scholar on the subject. But something we might all agree on is that many rock music scenes tend to be fairly homogenized in the gender and race department. And let's face it... there's no shortage of machismo in the world. So excuse me if my ears perk to the sound of Marina's amazing scream... a voice takes this Raleigh, North Carolina's band to a whole new level of ferociousness... which would be entirely lost with a male vocalist. Her voice is that of a large hawk or like tires screeching to a halt. The band is also super tight, packing a wallop in a short bursts of mechanized synchronicity(most of the songs being under 2 minutes).

Last Words, I've read, take their influence from the Boston hardcore scene. I'm not sure what that means... something to explore in future posts.

10 songs, name your price. Available on vinyl! For the utilitarian music listener, a great record for the workplace (granted you have the luxury of listening to music while working)... especially if you daydream about smacking them. Also good for exercising.

Last Words - S/T

Unqualified Nurse - Let Snarl (2015)

Low fidelity is my mistress. I always come back to her no matter how much I enjoy hearing any other sort of music. Yet I'm aware that at low fidelity's extremes it is certainly an acquired taste, one that I have been testing and indulging since I was a young teenager. No wave, noise rock, garage punk and post-hardcore music isn't ever gonna be pleasing to the masses of music listeners out there. Thankfully it doesn't need to be, we just need some dudes in England with some microphones and guitars to feel like spending some of their precious hours on this Earth creating a bit of pleasurable chaos. Enter Unqualified Nurse, our British guide into this intensely lo-fi wilderness.

Let Snarl is the full-length I've been waiting for from Unqualified Nurse since they sent in the EP Medicine Music, and let's not forget The Weird. The lo-fi recording technique takes center stage is all of these releases, and it's just as unrelenting in here. The vocals sound like if you were listening to a garage band that had all the doors and windows of said garage closed up while singing into an old mic hanging from a rafter. Very awesome and quite deliberate. The chaos is up front, scaring off those that aren't accustomed to the washed out, fuzzed to the Nth degree style. However, given a good listen the influential nugget of popular garage rock or surf songs from decades ago can be heard nestled deep in there. It's all about the love of what guitar-driven rock and an fine appreciation of the natural degeneration of low-budget audio recording. Unqualified Nurse has done a better just than most in capturing this primordial element of lo-fi rock, like a distilled yet cloudy version of what a garage punk fan knows they love about the genre. You know, lo-fi's je ne sais quoi.

To be had here:
Unqualified Nurse - Let Snarl

EP Grab Bag vol. 73

This is what I got from the inbox. From all over the place again, which is a good thing. Been busy, moving to Hamtramck and I have realized I have a huge amount of anxiety surrounding paperwork like leases and the official nature of such things. Puts me all out of sorts and I haven't had any working earbuds nor iPod for a week so I am basically a lunatic at this point. Hope you like what was the best few hours or respite I got this week.

To be had here:

Red Nectar - Red Nectar (2014)

Our friends over at Cheap Miami have a new EP from a new garage rock outfit. Red Nectar are loud, fuzzy rock with a dash of garage and a female vocalist fronting the group. The four well-done tracks are very endearing. Among the fast and loud songs that were all enjoyable I found the one track called "Hush" was very nicely crafted as a more subtle number. Overall, the songs do feel very much in the vein of lo-fi female rock that's post-riot grrrl. Nonetheless I'd say they're doing a wonderful job at and deserve a listen, and I cannot wait for another release already.

A Big Silent Elephant - Starlight 7" (2014)

The latest release from the Italian phenomenon known as Mauro Da Re. The dude behind a man and his broken piano that's I've shared previous on both in his album with Beyza and his two Demos and Demons EPs. He told me this release started as a part 3 of Demos and Demons but evolved into its own thing. It retains the lo-fi garage folk that was the hallmark of the prior EPs, this time more bent toward bizarre psych-pop. Just like everything else this dude touches I am completely enthralled by it.

Roadhouse Blues - BlueSnow (2014)

I found this loud blues rock when I was being a nerd and dropping in the hometowns of authors I bought into bandcamp, specifically Pietro Aretino lead me to Arezzo, Italy. Should you give this EP a listen you'll find it has some funky bass lines and a dude singing English with a very thick accent. It is an odd hodge-podge of 70s and 80s rock and roll vibes and foreign interpretations that makes it absolutely wild. Not sure I get it but I certainly dug it.



Godfrey Turner Overdrive - Visceral Light (2014)

Hardcore/post-rock that brings back many memories of my high school years and the sort of music that was predominate in my Midwestern town. These guys are from Orange, New South Wales and therefore basically on the other side of the planet from my experience with the hardcore scene. Time and geography have apparently been transcended, and it has improved on what I recall. A compelling and emotionally charged EP, definitely good way to have one's angst validated with awesome guitar playing.

Marc Neibauer - Summer (2014)

I keep thinking about bringing back the random singles posts that I used to do and then I recall I stopped because I can't listen to a single song that long to come up with any words to say about it. I need to hear an album, or at least throw into into a mix. There's gotta be a way, I am working on it folks. In the meantime here's the excellent song "Summer" by Philly musician Marc Neibauer. Shimmery indie rock that is a good ending to this summer, as today was the first cool autumn-esque day in Detroit.

Scenes Of A City, Vol 2: Vilnius, Lithuania

Vilnius is the largest city and capital of the eastern European country of Lithuania. Situated on the east side of the Baltic Sea, the city used to draw comparisons to Jerusalem for it's once strong Jewish population, since obliterated during WW2. Actually, it's suffered a near constant barrage of invasions for hundreds of years, from the Nazis to the Swedes. Despite this, many beautiful and historic buildings still exist there, making this a city I would love to visit some day. Plus, beet soup is a major staple there. And I fucking love beets.

In 1995, four years after finally securing independence, Vilnius raised the world's first bronze statue of Frank Zappa.

So this must be a crazy city full of crazy music, right?

The Sold Outs - Basement For Me
The Sold Outs are a recently defunct punk band out of Vilnius. Crazy good is the only kind of "crazy" this band delivers. They keep it old school, eschewing the Manic Panic-induced pop sentiment that just about killed punk dead in the mid '90s. Which isn't to say that The Sold Outs aren't melodic. I don't know the tiny sub-genres that the umbrella of punk covers: maybe this is "oi" or maybe this is "hardcore". I'm not so concerned with knowing these slight discrepancies. Instead, I'm concerned with getting "Basement For Me" onto my iPod pronto so I can blast my eardrums with this full throttle punk rock loudly and frequently.

Zageron - S/T
I'm not too familiar with the genre of death metal either. But I think the reason I find Zageron so appealing, is that they're almost a perfect combination of the two death metal bands I liked 20 years ago: Entombed and Obituary. I'm reminded of the former in the background band's delivery, and the latter in the vocals. But whereas the lead singer of Obituary sounded like a pissed-off jaguar, this guy sounds more like an evil Cookie Monster with a bad case of indigestion (too many cookies). The drummer is an absolute juggernaut, veering from full on assault to triplets and waltzes. That's right: death metal waltz.


Banda Dzeta - Short and Loudly

This band is pretty much exactly what I hope to find when searching for music from different countries: traditionalism fused with modern elements. Banda Dzeta do just that by layering Lithuanian folk music with beautiful and schizophrenic horn arrangements, over an incredibly heavy bass guitar. To my ears, it sounds a bit like Les Claypool playing with a John Zorn klezmer/polka group. Mostly instrumental, entirely crazy. Tuba solos!


Bruzgynai - Visur Visada Visaip
Here we have a most bizarre record, comprised entirely of strange digital noises. Track one, for example, sounds like R2D2 having pillow talk with an Atari. I'm happy to share the work of Bruzgynai because it's unique in it's noise-scape experimentalism. At times harsh, at other times quiet and eerie, you might put on "Visur Visada Visaip" while watching Lars von Trier's "Antichrist" and the craziness of both might temper each other, offering an almost pleasant viewing experience. Or you might just have found the ultimate fuel for countless nightmares.

Direwolves - Me From Myself to Banish (2012)

Not sure why, but it seems like I have posted a great deal of music from France as of late. The music you are about to hear sounds little like the tunes posted with that tag however. Direwolves sound nothing like a French cafe serving espresso and croissants, unless it is one for the dead in hell. This is hardcore at its loudest and darkest. I am reluctant to call it Black Metal, but it does carry some of the darkness that genre is known for. "Reach This Hand" is my favorite track on this LP, as it rocks with its cock out. This is throaty and destructive music, well recorded and composed, and released on the always reliable Throat Ruiner label located in Saint Brieuc. If there was ever to be a band on a label called "Throat Ruiner," it would be Direwolves. It is a good thing they have socialized medicine in France, because the vocalist is going to need medical help following each performance.

Get it for free here:
Direwolves - Me From Myself to Banish (2012)