EP Grab Bag vol. 25

So here's some of all those EPs that I've been sent which surely the musicians must've thought had disappeared into a black hole within my gmail account. All wonderful naturally and thanks very much for sending them in even if it takes me forever to get to them. Also even more thanks to Elvis Dracula for taking it upon himself to keep this blog more lively than I could manage alone. Do check out his awesome band the Drunken Draculas. Perfect for your desire to hear horror-themed garage rock on Halloween.

To be had here:

Unmade Beds - Unmade Beds EP (2012)

A group from Boston that makes some post-punk with elements of noise and goth. Don't be fooled by the trippy introduction on the first track, which is good but unrepresentative, as these guys do get pretty fast and loud. "Caipiras U.S.A." is an especially solid lo-fi song that immediately won me over.





Trashy - Power Shower EP (2012)

Even more noisy yet, Trashy is a New Orleans punk band that has some real fucking lo-fi production. I mean the lyrics are basically incomprehensible  but ain't nothing wrong with that. As rough and raw as you'd like from something with a heavily bound, half-naked person on the cover. The EP is quite short, but the gem is "Slut Song" if you want my opinion.

Autism - Falling Motion (2012)

An instrumental Lithuanian post-rock/post-metal band, so now you know that's a thing. A good thing at that, for these songs are hypnotic. Definitely a talented display that I recommend to all the post-metal-heads out there (is that what they're called?). Link goes to the bandcamp page but there's a link from there that'll let you get it for free on mediafire.

Shark Week - EP (2012)

This three song EP from Washington, D.C.-based Shark Week blew my goddamned man with it's finely done garage rock. Just enough surf and soul in there to really get me all kinds of worked up. Can't put my finger on it but the singer reminds me of someone else so incredibly intensely it is uncanny, but takes not a thing away from the brilliance of the tracks. Make sure you get this one, trust.

The Kramers - Self-titled (2012)

Continuing with monster-themed garage rock, we have The Kramers from Brisbane, Australia. The group is made up of two young lads who put together lo-fi garage rock that sounds timeless and yet engaging. While not as loud and merciless as my previous post, The Kramers do pull off a full sound on their 13 song self-titled release, while clearly recording on a basic 4-track setup. They even cover J Frank Wilson and the Cavaliers “Last Kiss,” which shows where this group’s musical heart rests.

Get it here:
The Kramers - ST (2012)

The Gory Details - Killer Waves (2012)

I have an incessant love for trashy garage rock that could theoretically be used as the soundtrack to a 1950s horror film. Record some upbeat, snarling jams to a 4-track, and I am almost surely going to enjoy it. Throw in a few ounces of monsters and grime and you have just assured my attention.  The Gory Details hail from Austin and released their first cassette (Killer Waves) last August. If you enjoy rancorous garage punk with a heavy dose of organ thrown in for good measure, these guys are likely up your alley. I am sure these guys were going for a Mummies vibe with this set, and they capture that quintessential act’s vigor flawlessly.  The download isn’t free, but for a measly 3 bucks, it is worth every cent. 

Get it here:

The Glory Details -  Killer Waves

Space Wolves - Space Wolves (2012)

This is a Buffalo-based band that makes jangle pop which they liken to Bleached or the Babies, but I have to say they sound like a speedier version of the Lucksmiths or the Mabels (I had a phase wherein I listened to much Australian indie pop) both in the musical content and the whimsical nature of the lyrics. The songs are sometimes wonderfully brief jingles that sing about something like Pizza or girls. In fact only a couple of tracks go over the two minute mark. All of them are damned cheerful sung and musically charming, even if the lyrics can have that Beulah-esque depressing content if you really pay attention to what he's saying. So while this did touch a soft spot for me as it summoned up memories of sitting alone in the afternoon listening to Australian music as a teenager, it is meritorious beyond that and I recommend anyone who's a jangle pop fan to give it a listen.

To be had here:

Space Wolves - Space Wolves

Zany Zongas - Intercession (2012)

This is a tape I was sent like, well, prolly two months ago. My bad for sitting on it so long, as I really do appreciate anyone taking the time to mail me a physical copy of their work. Apologies aside, this is the second time I'm writing up the Zany Zongas (those guys at Old Monster Records must be fond of me). Like North Park, this release is an experimental drone/psychedelic experience to which one is easily absorbed. The tracks are all rather lengthy at about 5 to 8 minutes a piece. Thusly even at only four songs it is as long as a regular album. Moreover, because of the length they get to really take the listener on a sonic journey in a very progressive rock sorta way. As usual I was reading something during my first listen, namely Kafka's diaries, and it really made me bug out a bit. Anyhow, Intercession is a fine follow-up to North Park and it is still available on tape if you're nerdy about that like me.

To be had here:

Zany Zongas - Intercession

Resuming Posting/Invitation for New Posters

As you've most likely noticed I took a hiatus from the blog from a month. It was beginning to feel for more like a chore than an enjoyable hobby after four years of writing essentially the same topic, especially now that it's so much harder for me to have the freedom to post most anything I fancied as the hosting sites have become cowed by federal legislation. Begin able to subject the readership to my esoteric and arbitrary tastes was a large part of the fun of writing Spacerockmountain. Now that the site is  de facto legit, as it everything for months has been submitted material or otherwise free by the artists' choice, I haven't the same content control any longer. However, I don't wish for the blog to disappear or lay dormant for long periods until I get an itch to write, so I've mulled over my options I have a possible plan.

I am gonna try a biweekly posting schedule. Basically I've got only Thursdays and Sundays off from work, and my schedule at work is a steady one with regular hours for the first time in my life so I should be able to plan around it accordingly. This is a blessing and a curse naturally, as it does mean I'll be able to allot time to listen to submitted albums, but not at the rate I did so when I was unemployed or working parttime while in college. Therefore I'll need to be more selective. So not everything will get posted up, but I am debating a way to throw up link on a list somewhere for those that want to consume everything or explore on their own.

Finally, I have had other people write on the blog in the past, to which I am thankful to each of them for taking time to add on to what's a no-pay passion project of mine. Naturally enough they haven't much reason to keep it up so they peter out sooner or later, yet the blog in infinitely superior with voices beyond my own. So a proposal, if you sitting on your ass trolling music blogs or if you're friends with a bunch of musicians you wanna shill, perhaps you might post here yourself? To put it simply, contact me if you want to write on the blog, if you got your own stuff you wanna write then just show me what you've jotted down and I'll most likely let you post it here. Otherwise, if you wanna try the crazy crapshoot method I use, I can sent you some submitted material you can try for reviewing. Doesn't pay shit but it can be exciting and you potentially get to promote something you really like, possibly that you'd never have heard of in any other route.

Antique Pony - Museum of Blood (2012)

An eccentric album from a Glasgow-based group of self-professed art rockers. The songs shift in mood and style throughout the album, but altogether they've got a wonderful mosaic of neatly strange tracks. It reminds me of a mingling of various bands I' gonna rattle off knowing full well it'll makes sense to like 3 people on earth: Bunky, Bablicon and Pill Wonder. However, an easier comparison would be Deerhoof, you all know that, right? Regardless of similarities they're doing their own odd thing and doing it right. Really do make the effort to listen to the album fully in one sitting. I found that really rewarding, even if slightly exsperating of the unsettling moods created from my reading Knut Hamsun's Hunger simultaneously. You get what you ask for though.

To be had here:
Antique Pony - Museum of Blood

Car Seat Headrest - Monomania (2012)

A new album from one of my favorite bands to ever submit music to this ramshackle of a blog. Although he didn't send me an email about this one... whatever my feeling aren't hurt, my fault for being an absentee blogger. Whining aside, this guy is just too good not to talk up no matter how I can across it this time. The lo-fi sound that made Twin Fantasy so incredibly amazing is maintained wonderfully in Monomania, even the Julian Casablancas-style of vocal distortion (which I love for no reason beyond a warm feeling in my gut). Some tracks were instantly stuck in my head like "Overexposed (Enjoy)," "Maud Gone" and "Souls." This fella isn't skimping on the tunes either, he's letting us soak in tracks up to 14 minutes long. Epic lo-fi indie rock is something I'm down with. This isn't a free album, excepting of course the streaming that one may partake in via bandcamp, but its only a finely-priced $4.

To be had here:
Car Seat Headrest - Monomania

Truma Harness - The Way You Press On Harder... (2012)

A second tape has been sent to me by the friendly Ohioans that makes music under the name of Trauma Harness. I posted their previous cassette, Trauma Demolitional, shy of a year ago in case you missed it. The band is still a lo-fi menace that isn't afraid to deploy all manner of warping effects and distorted sounds in the quest to make exciting post-punk. It's got gloomy, touched-by-goths mood, but at the same time I think it is really easy to get worked up while strutting about with my busted up tape player hissing their songs. Although I am far from backing away from my recommendation of Trauma Demolitional, I must say this album is a dramatically superior release that goes to show Trauma Harness is only improving. Appears the cassette can be gotten at Dingle Records for $4 but the digital is name your own price.

To be had here:
Truma Harness - The Way You Press On Harder...

EP Grab Bag vol. 24

I really do need to pick up the pace on this shit and as usual I'd like to say I think it could happen soon as I have been cleared of the false charges with the telecommunications company and therefore can get internet as soon as I've got the money, which I unfortunately for the blog spent on a recent vacation. Oh well, snail-paced or rabbit-quick posting doesn't seem to stop the flow of EPs.

To be had here:

Fogo Amigo - Casa, Cordas E Alguns Geradores (2012)

Here's an offering of post-rock from Brazil. It is fairly quick and exciting stuff, but it did the wonderful post-rock trick of setting me blissful adrift for moments. The track "Sonhando" has a particularly endearing tune, with a great drum intro and all manner of interludes. "Queda Livre" and "Nós Contra o Mundo" get more fantastical yet with some psychedelic rock fused into them. A fine EP that I must've listened to 4 times over while reading books this week.

PLant Parenthood - EP (2012)

In case you forgot, I fucking love garage rock. If I could live on garage rock, tamales, coffee and beer I would have already. It's a lovely day when a garage rock EP comes in, so naturally PLant Parenthood was a welcome sight. Roughly done and simple for sure. The singing is a bit high pitch yet it sounds like a live recording from a basement because of it, which has a certain charm. "Jungle Cat" is a pretty solid anthem and makes me think I could stand to hear a full album from these kids.

Preludes - New York EP (2012)

A returning stalwart, Preludes has yet another EP to grace us with. This band is classy, remarkably so to a fella that wakes up and listens to "Your Ass (My Face)" by the Mummies a few times a week. They've got strings that are played with bows, you know, all fancy-like. I'm really not trying to be patronizing because the songs on Preludes EPs are often exceedingly more beautiful than any thing else I post in any given month.

Fins - Lawnmower EP (2012)

A four track 7" released by Obscure Me Records out in Connecticut. Specifically from New Milford, as if I knew wherever the fuck that is, the Fins are a noise-punk band that in huge contrast to the just mentioned Preludes are not about classiness so much as fuzzy energy and hollering. Jitters-inducing exciting of an unrefined sort, as if jitters can be induced in any other way, right?