Hunchbacks – Werse Sounds 7″

a: Werse Sounds
b: Beautiful (Christina Aguilera cover)
Purchase from Sacred Bones

Hot damn – picked this up, not knowing what to expect other than it was on Sacred Bones and I am loose with my money. Accidentally put this on the b-side first, to discover a Christina Aguilera cover, with Michael Gerald (the Killdozer guy) trading vocals with a child. At first, I was kind of annoyed (I have a hate on for ironic covers), but this was actually pretty funny. It is hard to hate on little kids, right?  The A-Side, “Werse Sounds” is pretty fucking rad, perfect for this years Halloween party.

Keep your eyes peeled to the Sacred Bones MySpace page, as there is a note there today that hints at a special pre-order scenario-type-deal-thingy for the new Pink Noise and Factum’s full lenghts (looking like a free-seven inch). Nice!

Jacuzzi Boys – Ghost Ghost 7″

a1: Ghost Ghost 220
a2: Age of the Giant Jellyfish
b: Komi Caricoles
Purchase from Floridas Dying
Listen at MySpace

This single perfectly catches the essence of a singular state of mind: that point when you are so inebriated that you are about to pass out, but, for some reason you keep holding on to consciousness. That consciousness, however, is extremely precarious and everything around you slows down for a bit. Imagine being in a dive bar that only has the Rolling Stones on it, and hearing the Rolling Stones in that particular frame of mind is what The Jacuzzi Boys sounds like. Altered.

These songs are very good. I expect to hear good good things from them in the future.  Don’t fuck around and get one for your next opium party.

The Coathangers – S/T 7″

a1: Never Wanted You
a2: Spider Hands
b1: Tripod Machine
b2: Don’t Touch My Shit
Purchase from Die Slaughterhaus

Continuing on with my “Seven Inches that I Overlooked in 2007” list (they are still slowly making their way to me) comes this great record that made the year end list over at Seven Inches (Everyday).

Each of these songs provoke a unique reaction, though I am not sure what. Each of the songs are simple in structure, but delivered with such ferocity that you can’t help but get sucked in to the mess. Favourite song is the last one “Don’t Touch My Shit” – which has some amazing lyrics and a melody driven by the “telephone”setting on some shitty synth, and devolves into some cookie monster vocals – “Oh hey Jessica… FUUUUCK YOOOOUUU.” So good.

They have a single coming out on Suicide Squeeze on March 18th, which I am going to be anticipating.

Pink Reason – Seven Inches

By a Thread – Trick Knee Productions (Try Bistro-Distro)
a: By A Thread
b1: The Devil Always Wins
b2: Down on Me

Self Titled – Criminal IQ (purchase here)
a: Throw it Away
b1: Slate Train
b2: New Violence

This is an attempt to make up for that last Pink Reason post I did back in December. I kind of got caught up in a “holy shit I love this band” and didn’t really pay much attention to anything else.

The one good thing that came out of it was the dude from Trick-Knee leaving the following comment:

“By a Thread” was a 500 press and sold out. The first one was 300 (Kevin) and then several represses through CIQ (I think it eventually sold around 1,000 total). These 2 45s and the debut LP are all from the same “source tapes” or time period. The upcoming Siltbreeze LP is all newer stuff, and is as good or better (to me) than the old stuff. Lots of stuffs.

So there you have it.

The two singles here are both as good as it gets, best-case-scenario basement recordings.  It makes a lot of sense that they come from the same source tapes, as they do sound very similar (actually, the CIQ one sounds a little “darker” in its recording style, so maybe they are coming from a similar period instead of the same source tape.)

The By a Thread single is my favourite of the two – possibly because the recording is slightly less muddy, and possibly because the songs are a little more immediate. Going from “By A Thread” – a brooding (yet melodic) turn through the American underbelly. “The Devil Always Wins” is a surprising southern-gothic stomper, and “Down on Me” takes it back to the areas “By A Thread” was exploring. Really good music here, highly listenable.

The S/T release is a little more… challenging. “Throw it Away” returns to the stuff that you find on the By a Thread single, but the b-sides – “Slate Train” and “New Violence” are pretty far out of left field, in that they are a hell of a lot noisier and grating (especially the terrifiyng. “New Violence”)

In sum, track down this shit. Also, check out this interview he did with Smashin’ Transistors. Dude is HC, and goes off about being in Prison, living in Russia and becoming a meth addict.

Lost Sounds – Motorcycle Leather Boy 7″

a: Motorcycle Leather Boy
b: Love Killed My Brain
Available from Tic Tac Totally

In what may be the first amazing 7″ to be released in 2008, Tic Tac Totally! drops this posthumous release from Lost Sounds, aka Jay Reatard and Alicja Trout’s old band that broke up back in 2005. Pioneers of the “Black Wave” sound that combined Metal and New Wave, this seven finds Lost Sounds knee deep in their own brand of shit – abrasive and noisy as ever, but also providing a extremely enjoyable listen.

Did I mention that both of these are Oblivions covers? Jay tackles “Motorcycle Leather Boy” and knocks it out of the park with a spiked baseball bat, while Alicja kicks “Love Killed My Brain” in the ass. This makes me want to listen to their old stuff all day on full volume (to compete with my neighbor, who is currently listening to “Foolish Games” by Jewel – AGAIN! – in what seems to be her morning AND evening routine while contemplating suicide).

Another fine release by what is quickly becoming my favourite micro-label.

Maintenance

If you look to the side, you will see that I have started expanding the links section to “Labels of Note” and “Mailorder” – I am trying to come up with as many active Labels and Distros (smaller the better), and will try and maintain it on a quarterly basis (to cull dead labels), while adding to it whenever I come across something new. If you are looking for some new records, this is a good place to start.

If you see anything that is obviously missing, please leave a comment here and I will add it to the list.

Thanks!

Oh – one other thing – I was reading more about the Blank Dogs guy, and apparently he is doing something crazy with re-directing his mail to make sure his identity is hidden at all costs. Not even the labels he is working with know his real name (etc). Crazy. Blank Dogs = listenable Jandek?

Mannequin Men – s/t 7″

a: Private School
b: Sewers
Available from Criminal IQ

This came with a huge order I did with Criminal IQ a while back (Vee Dee, Canadian Rifle, Pink Reasons and this), but for some reason it got lost in the pile and ended up getting filed away before I even listened to it once.  Shit, after those three other records did me so right, maybe I thought I would be jinxing it or something. Yet, with new records being so sparse this month (seriously), I decided to throw this on.

What a nice surprise – especially the first side, Private School – which sounds like the Strokes if they listened to Nirvana instead of Television. Maybe that is a lazy comparison, but Private School sounds so great that I am meaning it in a totally complementary way (I picked up a copy of Nirvana Unplugged on LP at the local vinyl store last week, and forgot how much I used to love Nirvana when I was a kid). This song has some swing, and makes me realize that, in comparison, most of the music I have been listening to lately is so buttoned up, so regimented etc. I think that if you gave this to some kid in middle school, this would totally become their new favourite band.

Blank Dogs – 2007 Releases

1. “First Two Weeks” 12″ EP-Freedom School Records-Sold Out. Repress soon.

2. 7″-Hozac Records-1st Press Sold Out, 2nd Press still available (try Tic Tac Totally Mailorder)

3. 7″-Sweet Rot Records-1st Press Sold Out, 2nd Press soon available. (Try Black Mountain Distro)

4. “Diana (The Herald)” 12″ EP-Sacred Bones Records-Sold Out. Repress soon (Try Tic Tac Totally Mailorder)

5. 7″ EP-Florida’s Dying Records-Sold Out (Try Bistro-Distro)

.

So there is this guy working under the name of Blank Dogs that was uber prolific last year, and I had managed to avoid hearing anything from him, or reading any thing about him, until he started popping up on all of these year end best-of lists. And by “all these” I am referring to one or two, though one top ten of 2007 included four of these releases. So by the time I catch the scent – it is too late, and all of these are sold out. This causes great concern for me (I’m slipping!), but I managed to track down all of these via various distro’s (linked where still available). It just takes a long time.

What someone who knows how to code or whatnot needs to do is set up some kind of Amazon-style website of “If you liked this, try this!”, but with links to all of these various boutique labels. Kind of like a dumping ground of links to various small scale labels (as opposed to another Insound or something). Or not. I’ve just spent so much time searching google for short run seven inches and the like, and keep thinking that there has to be a better way.

For example, this came to my attention today – HoZac records just released a new Blank Dogs 7″ (ltd to 200 green), which you can get that right from their MySpace page. Crazy, I am eager to hear this one (though it says US only, so maybe I am going to have to ask someone in the US to order it for me).

If you like Blank Dogs, keep your eyes peeled in 2008 as they are putting out 12 – yes 12 (!!) releases this year…

1. 7″ EP-Daggerman Records-Coming Soon

2. “Mirror Lights” Cassette-Coming Soon

3. Blank Box (all 2007 Releases+inserts+1&2 from 2008, SOLD OUT, Coming Soon)*

4. “On Two Sides” LP-Troubleman Records (February?), cassette version on Fuck it Tapes-Coming Soon

5. Ltd. 7″ on Troubleman

6. 7″ on 4:2:2 Records (Denmark)

7. Untitled LP/CD-In The Red Records

8. Singles Anthology Cassette on Heavy Tapes-Coming Soon

9. Singles Anthology CD on Sacred Bones-March(?)

10. 7″ on Woodsist

11. Cassette on Bum Tapes

12. 7″ on Slowboy (Germany)

Marvelous Darlings – I Don’t Wanna Go to the Party

a: I Don’t Wanna Go to the Party
b: Careerist
Stream on CBC Radio 3
Purchase direct from Deranged

Part of me really loves this – really tight, glam-rock inspired rock, hooks falling all over themselves. Both songs are winners here, but the title track clearly stands tall. Another part of me is pushing back – at one point I thought to myself “this kind of sounds like Poison”- and now I can’t get past that.  Can we live with Poison mets The Ramones? I don’t know if we can.

Too Pure Singles Club

As someone dedicated to collecting 7″ singles, you can get no better bang for your buck than by joining a singles club. Yet, one of the things I like about this hobby is that it is generally really cheap – four bucks here, six there. So when you have these clubs come up, it kind of takes its toll on the ‘ol pocketbook. The Too Pure series which I only found out about today via Pitchfork will set you back around $60… yikes. Still recovering from Christmas and the Bored Fortress subscription I got this month, so I’ll sit this one out.

Here’s P-Forks rundown:

The January face of the Too Pure Singles Club is chamber popper Anni Rossi, while February brings a split offering between French-born Frànçois (a sometime member of Camera Obscura’s live band) and Ray Rumours, aka Electrelane’s Ros Murray. (If the Rossi and Rumours singles sound familiar, they were previously mentioned here.) Finally, for now at least, March heralds the arrival of an entry from Austin’s the Octopus Project, the crew’s first release outside of North America.

As usual, these singles contain two exclusive, previously unreleased tracks and are limited to an international run of 500 copies. Apart from a few select record stores, the only way to get your hands on one of them is through an annual subscription obtained here.

The Road

So, everyone in 2007 (well, not everyone, but Oprah for sure) was going on about this book called “The Road” by Cormac McCarthy. It’s this book about this man and his son (eight years old-ish?) trying to survive in a post-apocalyptic world.

So, I read said book (can’t remember exactly when, maybe in August?), reading in two sittings, and it still hasn’t left me. I think about this book all the time. There are things in my head now that The Road placed there, and they won’t leave me. I dream about this book all the time (such as last night, and one other night this week), and these dreams are terrible dreams. I am haunted by The Road.

I am not going to give anything else away. I didn’t know much going into this book, and I was glad that I didn’t know. There are a few sections that I had to read a dozen times just to piece together what was happening, to fill in as much of the puzzle in my head as possible. You should read The Road to see for yourself.

I am three books deep into my book a week project for 2008. Reading a book called “The World Without Us” which is about what would happen to the world if humans dissapeared. I am scheduled for my candidacy for May, so I need to start reading for that asap.

The Mantles – Burder +3 7″

a1:Burden
a2:Walk with Me
b1:The Garden
b2:Trouble In the Streets
Stream at MySpace
Purchase from Dulc-I-Tone Records

I’ve been searching for more bands like The Ostrich (which I have been going off about for far too long)- quirky, psychedelic drone-pop… and I think I have been satisfied with this Mantles single. I like this music to have a sinister quality that is just so often lacking, otherwise it is just another generic garage band.

The Mantles are very good at what they do. This single sounds like it existed thirty or fourty years ago. They capture the essence of another time in a way that few other bands are able to pull off. At the same time, it sounds like it is coming out an alternate future where the world where Smashmouth’s “Walking on the Sun” became such a phenomenon that everybody in the world only listens to that kind of music (also, in said alternate reality, Smashmouth is killed in a tragic Van accident and can never unleash “All Star” on the world).  Long about way of saying that I am stoked on this single, and recommend that you check it out.

Limited to 300 copies that come in beautiful silk-screened covers.

Frail – Various 7″

Buy here
Listen here

Back in the mid-90’s, I used to be a practicing hardcore kid, collecting a lot of shitty hardcore 7″ records. I had hundreds of them, and over the years as my “taste matured” (aka, I got bored of them), I ended up giving most of them away to friends or whatnot (“hey, want a stack of shitty grindcore 7-inches?”)?

There were only two bands from that era that I have really held onto, and listen on a somewhat frequent basis – Disembodied and Frail. Frail are this unique band that still manages to warm my heard. Sure, they hit all of the major hardcore touchstones that have since become cliche, but they did it with such style and passion that they manage to stand out from the pack. I can listen to this band without ever getting sick of it.

I was trolling eBay this afternoon, and came across this lot. I have all of these already, but I figured someone out there might be interested, especially because they are probably fairly obscure (their only CD release, to my knowledge, was an anthology that collected all of their vinyl singles). Check it out – for a couple of bucks, you really can’t lose.

Constantines – Hard Feelings / Easy Money 7″

a: Hard Feelings
b: Easy Money
Stream on Myspace
Purchase from Arts and Crafts

Growing up in the Canadian prairies, I feel like I have been surrounded by this kind of music my entire life. Gruff, no-bullshit, straight up “rawk.” Yet, the bands that Prairie boys and girls dig the most are generally very, erm… Canadian. For example, The Tragically Hip – gruff, no-bullshit, but with tonnes of heart and some decent lyrics.

For whatever reason, this Constantines record is making me feel very patriotic, very Canadian. Don’t ask me why. Maybe it is the weather here today (very Canadian), or perhaps it is something else all together. Either way, this is kicking my ass. This single is finding the Constantines in a bad mood (giant chip and all that), with some amazing, face-melting soloing. I actually like the B-side better on this one, “Easy Money” (I’ve made some), so many great lyrics…

Anyway, chalk this one up for the win.

Rites of Spring – All Through a Life 7″

a1. All Through A Life
a2. Hidden Wheel
b1. In Silence/Words Away
b2. Patience
Purchase directly from Dischord

I don’t have to tell you how awesome it is that Dischord is re-pressing a whole bunch of back catalogue.   This is in the latest round, they decided to reissue this Rites of Spring 7″ and the LP, which you should already have anyway, but if you don’t, here’s your opportunity.

I am also pretty happy to see this come back into print – The Four Old Seven Inches LP, first released in 1984, compiled four early Dischord EPs (by then already out of print) from Teen Idles, SOA, Government Issue and Youth Brigade (DC). Fuck yes.

Lasse Marhaug – If The Revolution Could Start Right Now 7″

a: If The Revolution Could Start Right Now

Purchase from Ketchup Cavern
Listen to a sample

You want obscure? How about a one sided 7″ from Scandinavian noise artist Lasse Marhaug.  Limited at 248 copies (which, coincidentally,  was a number that I thought was impossibly large as a kid), but aside from that, there isn’t much to say about it. If you listen to the sample, you know if this is for you or not.

As a genre, I find noise fascinating. I love that there are a community of fans and musicians pushing boundaries and releasing one-sided seven inches in small quantities. I have a fairly decent collection of noise albums and singles, though I have to say that I have to be in a VERY specific mood to listen to it, and lately I have been coming back to it less and less.  Yet, I love getting something new like this, and so I’m torn. Do I keep collecting it, or is it time to admit defeat?

Bored Fortress 7″ Singles Club

I just saw over at Seven Inches (Everyday) that the Bored Fortress 7″ club is now available from Not Not Fun. If you are a Yank, it is gonna set you back $38 bones, or $50 if you are unfortunate enough to live elsewhere. Limited number of spots in the club, so don’t sleep on this. You get two split 7″ records every other month, starting in Feb, and ending in July. 

This year’s lineup looks pretty amazicon:

CHARALAMBIDES
SLITHER
VAMPIRE BELT
SKULLFLOWER
SHEPHERDS
INCA ORE
MAGIK MARKERS
SECRET ABUSE
POCAHAUNTED
AXOLOTL
THURSTON MOORE
IGNATZ

Devon Williams – A Truce | Elevator 7″

a: A Truce
b: Elevator
Purchase from LA Record
Stream on MySpace

Oh man, I’m kind of freaking out over this.

I ordered it based on the fact that one of the guys from No Age put it in his 2007 top ten – I like No Age, hadn’t heard of this Devon Williams character. Magic. Since then, I’ve seen it on a few more top ten lists, including SevenTenTwelve favourite Dan Bejar (did I mention here how I FINALLY won a copy of Streethawk: A Seduction on vinyl? This thing has been my White Whale for a few years now, and I even managed to get it for a pretty sweet price – $120, which makes it the single highest dollar amount that I have ever paid for vinyl). So yeah, Dan Bejar likes it, Randy from No Age likes it – but, the Mp3 blogger’s remain silent? Isn’t this your job, Mp3 bloggers, to find the good shit and put it under people’s noses?

Oh well.

Generally, I only write about records that I dig (you dig?) – I have a pretty sizable collection, growing every week, and there is lots there that I could be writing about, but don’t – because, as I see it, just because I hate something doesn’t mean that it isn’t good (and vice versa). Too many factors to account for with taste. Plus, the last thing struggling musicians need is another asshole blogger saying that they suck. Which may be the case, but what’s the point? I’ve been in bands long enough to know how much it can feel like banging your head against the wall (my new band, Light Years, is gonna be different though – we’re gonna light it up!).

Which is a really long-winded way for me to emphasize the following – this 7″ is REALLY fucking good. I know I say that lots (there is, after all, a lot of really fucking good 7″ records out there), but this 7″ would be the one I would pick if my house was burning down. Fuck the rest of them. Since the No Age singles arrived at my doorstep, I can’t think of any other 7″ that I have just played over and over and over and over again. Like now – I just got up and played it again. What more can I say to hype this out of proportion?

Prediction time – I am going to say about Devon Williams (which I think I also said about Abe Vigoda a few months ago): this guy is going to blow up. Big time. I’ll eat my hat if he doesn’t. From these two songs, I know it in my heart. This music is just too transcending, too universal not to catch on. When he gets around to releasing a full length, Pitchfork is gonna give it a 10.0 (at which point the backlash will start, so now is the time to get on board). Even if these are the two best songs this guy ever writes, he will have made his mark on the world.

Think a more accessible Magnetic Fields, the best Belle and Sebastian song, the pop-sensibilities of Elliott Smith (Figure 8 era), Morrissey with a cold, a less annoying Jens Leckman, the 70’s quirk of Harry Nilsson… on and on I go. Hyperbole aside, this is why I do this. Fuck me.

Canadian Rifle – S/T 7″

a1: Cinder Block
a2: Creep
b1: Loved by Weaklings
b2: Hug my Blood
Purchase from Criminal IQ.
Stream on MySpace

I’ve listened to this 7″ at least a dozen times in an attempt to sort out my feelings about it. At first, I wasn’t sure if I liked what I was hearing, and then gradually, I get sucked into whatever seedy underbelly Canadian Rifle are trying to hold their own in.

These are four punk-as-fuck songs, each with its own special brand of hook power. What makes these hooks work so well is that they are pressed up against definite non-hooks, or parts that are a little more chunky or grinding. Does that even make sense? Either way, this is good shit.

The Pharmacy – Abdominable 7″

a: Tropical Yeti Song
b: Plastic Bugs
Available at Tic Tac Totally
Streaming at MySpace

Still catching on the 7″ records that slipped through my hands in ’07, finding weird end of year lists that mention 45’s, etc. etc. Yesterday it was Bat For Lashes, whom I didn’t check out because I figured I would hate it (I don’t); today it is The Pharmacy, whom entirely flew under my radar, even though I spent some time on Tic Tac Totally’s website (I even reviewed the Hipshakes/Cococoma split – which is one of their nine releases).

I got this today, and I am loving it to pieces – quirky-pop meltdowns, with great vocal hooks and melodies to spare. Think They Might Be Giants meets The Unicorns (R.I.P.), and add some youthful exuberance that will get your ass moving. Looking forward to the full length coming out in Feb. Highly recommended.