Coming all the way from Italy, Rijapov Records have been releasing some of the best garage records I have heard in 2008. With shipping so high these days, check around for North American distros, who have been carrying these records more or less sporadically.
Vermillion Sands – Mary 7″
a: Mary
b1: Wake Me When I Die
b2: Would You Kindly Direct Me To Hell
The Vermillian Sands 7″ has been a favourite around 7/10/12 HQ for the last few weeks, and I’ve been trying (unsuccessfully) to articulate what I like about it, other than the fact that it sounds exactly like the kind of record I like, and exactly the kind of record that you might like as well. Both of the songs on the b-side make me salivate over the kind of alternate-universe, “what-if” scenerio of country music taking the path of stripped down garage shakers instead of the slick, pandering road it took. The A-Side “Mary” is easily one of my favourite songs of the year, a song that is so palatable and fun that I can’t help but leave it on repeat. Like this to the point that I went through the effort to do my own vinyl rip. Essential 7″ here, and I predict it being on a bunch of year end “best-of 2008” lists.
The Pumpers – Don’t Hafta Go 7″
a: Don’t Hafta Go
a2: On the Record
b: No Right
Just as I am getting psyched on the new Wax Museums LP, this 7″ finds its way to me and puts me into full WM fanboy mode. See, the Pumpers, which I didn’t realize until recently (you can’t know everything about everything as my grandfather always used to say), feature some Wax Museums members doing more straight-forward lo-fi garage punk stompers, and the quality of the songs are at least on par with the best Wax Museums songs. This has been out since March or something, but you can still find this around, so do what you can to get and love this.
The Feeling of Love / Movie Star Junkies Split 10″
The last thing I want to hear is someone playing the blues. That’s just all there is to it. But The Feeling of Love keep things interesting, and his songs are more JSBX than “the blues” – its blues on attack mode. I’ve almost rounded up all of The Feeling of Love releases thus far, and though I think I don’t love everything, this side of the split 10″ is among his best – you get a little bit of the experimental/noise stuff with some of his more classic slide/blues stuff that will remind you of Pussy Galore or John Spencer. The Movie Star Junkies are not too far removed from The Feeling of Love – and I am always compelle to listen to the MSJ side after I listen to the FOL side, which isn’t always the case with splits, as you know. This is the next band I’m planning to to a search and recovery of, for what that is worth.
Alderman Swindell – Loved Me Back 7″
a: Loved Me Back
b1: Restraining Order
b2: She Don’t Mind
Londoner Alderman Swindell has a sweet innocence to his songs, which evoke every movie about high-schoolers in the 1950’s that were made in the 1980’s. You know the scene in those movies where all the teenagers are in the gym doing “the swim” and “the twist”, and everything seems so “in place”? That is this 7″, filled with nice singing, simple melodies and that “everything in its right place” quality. Instantly likable.
The Annotated Everything 