EP Grab Bag vol. 103

Clearing the inbox once again, this time with a very appealing selection of European EPs (save for one from a re-occurring Californian). Tends towards the lo-fi side of music yet it reaches many permutations within that vast field.

To be had here:

Baston - Gesture (2015)

A fresh release from the amazing Parisian label, Howlin Banana Records. Baston is a French band, though they do sing in English as per the usual in the world of rock and roll. Whatever they'd choose to sing in I am confident I'd enjoy it equally, because they're playing is awesome. There is really outstanding garage pop on this EP that's sure to impress most any fan of lo-fi rock. Shimmery and slightly psychedelic, I highly recommend giving it a listen, most especially the Beach Boys-esque song, "Honda."

How Scandinavian - The Kinch Service EP (2015)

The first release from How Scandinavian since the "Drowning In Myself" single. Five new mid-fi songs of wandering slowcore art-rock yet they've gone at added an unusual amount of uptempo indie rock for this outfit into some of the songs. This is most apparent in the tracks "Monday" and "The Flensed." The Kinch Service might be a turn for the louder and quicker but it is still grounded in solid songwriting. A fine listen for anyone wanted some angsty tunes in there life, which I find to be a understandable impulse.

Dustbombers - Public Beta (2015)

From the city of Arnhem in the Netherlands comes a darkly noisy rock EP. Sorta a mix between new wave and Sabbath-esque metal, these four songs are bear full-sounding guitar and vocals that at times reach into the elaborately strange. Very good for getting that heavy post-metal fix and really does show off some amazing guitar work. I should like to see what happens if this is expanded in scope, to make longer and more epic songs.

bm79 - Who Loves Control / Scream (2015)

The fella behind bm97 is from the Moofs, a Greek psychedelic band that I continue to get projects related to on a routine basis (keep them coming). A couple of songs this time from a lo-fi psych-garage outfit. When you begin listen you might notice how familiar the songs seems, and that is purposefully done as the track "Who Loves Control" is a take-off on VU's "Who Loves the Sun." The other is a noisy, psych exploration. A neat introduction, be sure to look at the other tracks on bandcamp as well.

Guruzsmás - Az Élő Csizmaszár \ The Living Bootleg (2015)

The return of the Hungarian experimental progressive folk band, Guruzsmás. Now I know that seems like a bunch of shit to wrap your mind around, but you'll really have to trust me that it isn't something to shake off. Dive in and be surprised by how utterly compelling these three tracks are. The title isn't just clever, the songs were recorded live, something the recording will show and well as the audience being audible in the final song. There's a punch to theses instrumental numbers you might not expect.

EP Grab Bag vol. 87

So, after a prolonged period of of LPs there, it is finally time for me to come back to these EPs that have been burning a hole in my metaphorical pocket. I haven't much to say as a preliminary except that I am so happy that these tunes keep pouring and are so fucking good.

To be had here:

LOVEBYRD - LOVEBYRD (2015)

Ongakubaka Records, the blog turned indie label, has another EP out that is, of course, impeccable. LOVEBYRD is a German band that makes psychedelic music. It's hard to tell whether the near-hallucinogenic instrumentation or the amazing vocalist are more mesmerizing. She can really sing, the guitars are damned trippy and it all comes together for five otherwordly tracks. Fits in a fine middle ground of modern psych, incorporating enough retro and eastern sound but not so much as to be a rehash. It's a wonderful EP, and I told you before that Ongakubaka knows what the fuck is up. If they were printing money instead of issuing records it'd be as good as gold.

H. Grimace - Material EP (2015)

These songs mingle somewhere between garage rock and dream pop, sort of a space usually occupied by shoegaze in my mind, but I wouldn't necessarily categorize H. Grimace as such. It isn't about tags, as much as I like to throw them around. What matter is that the songs are good, and this is definitely the case on their Material EP. This is EP is put out by the United Kingdom's Soft Power Records, a label I should like to provide more attention to in the days to come. Looks like they've got a good catalog to pick over.

The Clearwings - The Outskirts EP (2014)

The Denver-based folk duo the Clearwings make some fine duets. That's right, they sing together and it is quite impressive how well the female and male voices meld and play off one another in these short songs. The call themselves alt-folk, but who knows what that means, what I can say is that they do mix in some blues and pop elements in, depending on which track you pick. Being quite partial to the blues myself, I found the songs "Long Way Down" and "Armies" to be my favorites on the EP. However, there isn't a dud among them, and it is a highly enjoyable release.

Dhruva Krishna - The Great Skedaddle (2013)

More folk, of a far more stripped down variety. Just a man playing his guitar, or sometimes tapping on a piano, and making you think about shit. Upbeat and bluegrass-infused folk makes up most of the songs, yet in the middle of it "Crazy" is a bare-bones piano piece that really resonated with me. Only the last track, a cover of the Beatles classic "Yesterday," has any vocals at all.  If the quality of the folk coming in keeps up with Clearwings and what Mr. Krishna have sent in, I welcome much more.

Sväva - We Have Just The Life We Want (2014)

Another Dutch band from the city of Leeuwarden. Sväva makes melodic, ethereal music with strong female vocals. The songs aren't very complex, but they needed be as Sväva seems to be aiming for a more emotional reaction to their music. I spent quite a bit of time listening to this EP as I tried to plow my way into a novel I decided to begin the other day. I kept putting down the book, not because I didn't like it, but because I kept check which track I was hearing. Turns out I am really digging the final song of this release, "Blue Moon." It's totally worth a whirl.

EP Grab Bag vol. 85

Finally a day off and no family obligations. Perfect time to spend an afternoon checking out all manner of musics sent in from all over. Not even two of these six EPs hail from the same country, nor to many of them really fit into the same genres, though I guess they often get close to it. Hope you enjoy them.

To be had here:

The Spectres - What Will It Be (2014)

A two-piece garage rock outfit from Pittsburgh. They're lo-fi, jangley and got more than a touch of the surf rock in their sound. The EP is eleven songs, but still only makes it to twenty minutes playtime, so you can just imagine that these are some short, sweet rock ditties. They get a pretty full sound by the drummer pulling double duty with a partial kit he plays with his feet as his wields a guitar, a real Mark Sultan move. Impressive for a new band, only been around from half a year from what they tell me. So hopefully there'll be more to come.

Swinging Balls - EP (2014)

Loud, howling, low-fidelity metal/punk from Coventry, UK. The noise they make is nearly as crass as balls on the album art are large. There's not so much as singing in the songs as something between a moan and a shout. In addition to this chaos they've thrown very sludgy guitar playing that provides a firm doom metal overtone to the whole effort. The influence Black Sabbath is obvious, so clearly that they labeled the second track "Sabbath," and it seems to be more akin to the early career of the heavy metal icons. You know, the real sweet stuff, and Swinging Balls does do a good job at making a homage without seeming redundant.

BlackboxRed - Beak to Beak (2014)

A duo from the city of Leeuwarden in the Netherlands who openly affiliates with a grunge sound. As I am still not sure what made a band "grunge," the post-grunge concept has eluded me as a genre I can recognize, let alone the "ghost grunge" they tagged this with. This isn't to say I don't like anything labeled as such, for quite the opposite as I think BackboxRed makes some compelling tunes. Beak to Beak in a powerhouse of an EP. Intense, fast and full of sounds that are simultaneously bleak and exciting. The songs are rocking and the singing is epic, she can really belt out some lyrics.

VidaGuerrilla - El Kreepo (2014)

Spain's VidaGuerrlia has been prolific lately, putting out four releases, all of EP length, since October. El Kreepo is the second one they've got out in December alone. What they play it is extremely fuzzy, to the point of nearly popping. The washed out songs lay between hardcore punk and garage rock in an way that's hard to describe be immediately recognizable when heard. Finally, I know they sent me a link to their album from July, but somehow I must've failed to post it because I can't find any evidence I did so.... Strange as I do recall hearing it and thinking it was mighty swell.

Glaze of Cathexis - Imaginary Beings EP

It is very rare for SRM to get submissions from Asia. I believe many can imagine why that might be the case, and in the exceptions to this it is mostly Westerners dwelling in Japan or Korea. This is the case for Glaze of Cathexis, a band headed by American ex-pat Matt Comegys and Australian native Scot Atkinson in Ueda, Japan. Imaginary Beings is a psychedelic EP with folk and electronic elements mingled within and is only one of a butt load of releases the outfit has put out and have available on bandcamp. Quite retro and at times far out, and very much worth checking out.

SARAJEVO - The double tailed devil (2014)

Named for the capital of Bosnia, residing in the capital of France. SARAJEVO appears to be a new affair, at least as far as their bandcamp presence is concerned. This two song release is just a mere sample of what I am sure they're capable of as it a well produced and excellent sounding as these couple of tracks are. Each are psychedelic songs with nicely washed out vocals and a well practiced retro style that manages to not be tired. Despite the vocals being blown out, it is clear they're in English, but I guess that is what often happens when you wanna make rock and roll. Wish these guys the best of luck and hope to get to hear more.

Yuko Yuko - Cultlove (2014)

Once again, I find myself braving the rental market of Portland after 5 blissful years living within the city's large Forest Park. It's a demoralizing process, especially for an introvert, because for any one potential prospect you are met by a sea of home-hungry go-getters. Add a 65 lb chow-mix into the picture, and you'll be lucky if they even run your application.

Facing such a situation makes one long for the simpler times of childhood, when a phrase like "security deposit" was from a language more foreign than Spanish, in which you could at least count to 5 and say a couple swear words.... a time where one's biggest concerns included getting up early enough on a Saturday morning to watch Camp Candy.

Yuko Yuko's music harkens back to this age of simplicity. The solo project of a young Netherlander named Elias, who interestingly enough is signed to a Mexico-based label called Bad Pop. One of many releases, "Cultlove" has that early 1980's synthpop vibe...  when the genre was still a bit weird and not too dance-oriented. Think Soft Cell recording a demo in their bedroom, or the obscure new wave synthpop band, Trees. I'm really loving the track "Angel Jane", definitely a nice track for hot and hazy summer evenings where sleep encroaches slowly. 

8 tracks.

Yuko Yuko - Cultlove 

The Four - LOFI (2014)

I've become envious of Amazing Larry's method of finding music to write-up, which is sometimes as simple as trolling around on bandcamp and following the rabbit-holes of odd tags. While I strongly encourage submissions, although some fall through the cracks and others aren't tickling our fancy, and I'd like to say the majority of them get written up sooner or later. Still, there's something to finding a thing and not waiting for it to come your way every now and then, and isn't that why you're reading an obscure music blog full of independent musicians? At least some of you should like something I dig up, I'd hope.

Preamble out of the way, what I've found is a Dutch band, specifically from the port city of Rotterdam. I haven't got much information on them as such a vaguely named band and album don't yield shit in a google search, however I got a nice fella on soulseek, which full of Dutch folk, to tell me what the little there was on this album's page. Basically, they were all recorded on a single microphone, at what can reasonably be assumed as live performance, with the exception of blues rock number "Hey Little Girl" which has a noticeably higher fidelity. Yet it is that lo-fi sound that they's chosen so aptly to name this album for is exactly what provoked my interest, and seeing how excellently they delivered it I couldn't help me talk it up. Now, it is obvious that the microphone situation is not ideal for a fully rounded out sound, the drums are weak compared to the vocals and the guitar and bess aren't helped by the speakers that surely aren't positioned in the singer's mouth. Nonetheless, this is how they achieved such a charming lo-fi album that causes me anxiety just thinking of how awesome it would have been to have seen it live. This is only made more intense by the fantastic album art, that I seriously wish is the band in actuality, but a group of four clean-cut, suit-wearing Dutchmen that look like gangsters or young Beatles deplaning to shock America's teenage girls makes me infinitely happy. If the Netherlands has more of this sort of thing I'd like to find out.

To be had here:
The Four - LOFI

EP Grab Bag vol. 39

fydhws – 9 (2013)

Macedonia is about as far away from the rock epicenter as you can get, which explains this great piece of music. There is little rock here, much more of a film score using very creepy atmospheric tones and sounds. I played this while I was reading the morning paper and it provided perfect accompaniment to the horrors presented in those pages. 

RAAF – KRA! (2013)

This band’s name perfectly sums up their sound. Not sure how, but it does. This group form the Netherlands put together a short little single that takes equally from Shoegaze and foot-stomping rock anthems.  It is big, scary, and rocking. The group is playing a bunch of shows around Dutch speaking lands, and will hopefully drop a full EP on us soon. 

Velttenz – Live or Die (2013)

Jumping down to Brazil we get a fist full of garage dynamite from these lovely lads. Everything you want and nothing you don’t from your punk infused garage rock. It gets to the point, kicks in your eardrums, and tries to fuck your girlfriend. You might have to punch one of the group’s members during their set, but that’s half their charm. 

Remedies – Inanimate EP (2013)

After getting my ass kicked in, I need to take things down a notch and nurse my sore bum. I pop in Remedies and it does the trick. Chill electronic jams that could still scare your local yoga instructor away from using them as meditation tools. When the reverb soaked vocals come in to Dyybuk (the strongest track on this EP), it just about pushes everything else out of my mind. Sure, they are from Alabama, but I won’t hold that against them. If they are playing music like this in bedrooms across the state, I will have to fly in sometime.