Unpleasantries via the UK with this cassette from Workin’ Man Noise Unit. The type of cassette that you already have a pretty clear understanding as to what actually lies on that tape inside of it. As such, I didn’t need to read much of the letter that came with it. In fact, I could have just flipped it over and saw the drawing of construction worker standing atop a mountain of skulls while holding a beer and pissing all over them and drawn the same conclusion in a matter of seconds. That’s really better than some bio anyway. Needless to say, if you haven’t gotten the idea that Workin’ Man Noise Unit is in fact a noisy rock band in the spirit of Drunks With Guns, Killdozer, or really just about anything AmRep related in the earlier days…then…well they are. Six songs in total here that lays on looping feedback for pretty much every track that gives it the feel of a psych-rock record gone terribly terribly awry. Their crowning achievement on it has to be the eight minute long “Sweat it Out”. A track that just snowballs its way into a pretty satisfying and disgusting mess by the end of things. I would suggest that these guys get out of Reading…but if it’s going to spawn this type of greasy sleazeball shit…then I just can’t.
Workin’ Man Noise Unit – Sweat it Out [MP3]
Currently the tape is available for purchase through Doubledotdash Records or if anyone wants to just give it a test run, it’s available through their Bandcamp for a set your own price rate.
Up until this point Berlin’s mOck has only had brief appearances on some split 7-inches, which is where I initially heard them. In particular their track on the split they did with the now defunct Rapid Cities. At the time it didn’t seem clear as to what the and were attempting with a five minute sprawling song that jumped between a more standard type of post-hardcore and the smooth jazzy influenced math-rock that they seemed to turn on at the press of a button. Confusing? A bit. Interesting? Somewhat. Thankfully they have this debut full-length to kind of clear things up and allow me to dig into them a bit more.
It’s obvious from the first listen of this LP that the track I heard on that aforementioned split wasn’t necessarily the best representation of the band. Likely an attempt to get the most out of a full side of a split. Can’t really blame them for that. This record, being handled by Coraille overseas and I Love to Hate Records here in the states, is a much more refined and focused attempt at what I believe this band ultimately is trying to capture. It’s apparent from just taking a look at the associations that mOck have as to just what that is. Having toured with the likes of Joan of Arc and even going so far as to do a split with Victor Villareal. Then you take a look as to who mixed the record and it happens to be John McEntire of Tortoise & Sea and Cake. That right there gives a pretty fair picture as to what mOck are kind of about. A nice melding of sounds that drift along in an ultra pleasant way, to the point where you hardly even notice the interjections of the equally smooth and dulcet vocals. It’s a familiar sound, but one that kind of edges itself away from the mathy and overly feel good twinkle of many many current and insufferable “emo” revivalists. And more power to them for doing so, as mOck seem to lock down a sound that is equal parts throw back indie-rock as it is some of the 90’s heyday of post-rock before it became the bombastic mess that it is now. The interludes between some of the actual songs are a nice touch on here as well, breaking up the crystal clear clarity with some snippets that sound more like practice space outtakes and some random noodling. Good record from these guys, and probably a bit more than I was actually expecting.
Mock – An Hour From Now (stream)
For those interested in picking up the debut from these guys, it’s available through I Love to Hate Records here in the US and for pretty much everywhere else Coraille has you covered.
Originally turned on to Ferocious Fucking Teeth with last years EP Hounds, it didn’t take them along to follow that up with this here debut full-length on Safety Meeting Records. Although, it HAS taken me far too long to write about it. Bummer. Never mind that though, this record is pretty damn good. Definitely a bit different than what I originally heard from them on their EP, less straightforward rock/noise stuff being done here and A LOT more riffage going on. Good call, as it gets some pretty good mileage out of the two drummer set up they have going, which by the way is very well done here. It seems on record things can become a mess quick with this type of set up, but these guys have a pretty good understanding of what they are doing and the recording help of Steve Albini probably doesn’t hurt either. With that said, the bands self-titled debut sounds enormous, but in a way that doesn’t seem immediate. It’s slow burner of a record that lets the heaping riffs kind of crackle away in almost a drone fashion, letting the heaviness seep in slowly rather then overpowering quick punches to the gut. It doesn’t forget to rock though, there is a nice balance of both on the record. Reminds me a bit of Bullhead/Houdini era Melvins at times or maybe the less excruciatingly slow moments of Harvey Milk. Cool record, give it a listen.
Ferocious Fucking Teeth – Fuck on a Weeknight (stream)
For those interested in picking up the record, it’s available through Safety Meeting. It comes with a CD as well, for those without turntables.
Debut cassette EP from this Syracuse bunch. SSWAMPZZ are driving dead set into lo-fi aesthetics to tag along with plenty of other sloppy shit going on that at times get kind of sludgy. Tinny sounding guitars and crashing cymbals pushed to the front, but that’s really all overpowered here by bass, giving these tunes something meatier to listen to rather than just ear piercing feedback and hiss. I’m a bit perplexed by this EP as the noisier side of the band is fine and all, but then they bust out something a bit more impressive with “Pools” that ties together the bands overall anti-fidelity tendencies into a rather nice catchy tune. Would have absolutely loved to heard an EP focused more towards what they are doing on that tune. Still some good bits to be found here though, if in small bursts, and certainly and set of songs that lays out some promise. They certainly have the chops to craft a song that brings together the best of their elements.
Sswampzz – Pools [MP3]
For those interested in picking this up, it’s available on the groups Bandcamp page on cassette or it’s available digitally at a “name your own price” rate.
As indicated by the title, Forkboy formed in 1993 and had a run of things in Finland for a handful of years before fading from obscurity into further obscurity. I say that since the band never really had an official release to their name, rather they had a series of 3 demos and an unreleased session towards the end of their time together. Now Finnish label Kaos Kontrol in conjunction with Arkisto Rekords has taken it upon themselves to collect all of this material into one nice tidy CD, all lovingly remastered. Granted, I can’t imagine their being a huge audience for this type of release, but like the Shiny Beast anthology that was put out not all that long ago, I find it rather endearing that small labels (profit be damned) take the time to dig up this type of archival material. Not all of it is certainly worth releasing, but if you’re being comprehensive then screw it. You’re releasing it anyway right? Done up in 300 copies, I think they are going about this the right way.
As to be expected, not all of this is grade-a material. But Forkboy, despite wallowing in relative obscurity, laid some fairly shining moments to tape before splitting up. Seeing as how I’ve written about current Finnish noise-rock/sludge purveyors Throat multiple times in the past, it’s interesting to hear a band like Forkboy who were doing a very similar type of sound roughly 15 years prior. Not that either were/are necessarily reinventing the wheel, but it’s a testament to how far and wide the AmRep influence reached. Hell, it even mentions it in the liner notes. The early tracks clearly show a band that were operating within that raw and charmingly flawed area of noise, no fancy stuff…just distortion masking some riffs. As they moved forward though the band clearly pushed towards a further straight forward heavy rock approach, employing the type of meaty riffs that would have resembled Helmet at the time, but with a noticeably heavier focus on 70’s riff/radio rock. At times that can be a bit too much, but otherwise they managed to keep it in check more often than not. Not a bad disc, and definitely a band that could have found an audience if things would have broke right for them. Kudos to Kaos Kontrol and Arkisto for unearthing these tracks.
Forkboy – Charity, My Dear (stream)
Forkboy – Television (stream)
For those interested in grabbing a copy of this, it can be had through Kaos Kontrol.
Italy has never been short on bands that represent the mechanical, nuanced, and sharp edged type of math-rock, giving us such notables like Uzeda and Three Second Kiss over the years. A sound that has probably become more synonymous with all things Steve Albini, more specifically Shellac. Admittedly it’s not always the most easy of listens and can fall victim of drowning in dullness far too easily if not given the proper attention. KASH happen to fall under the umbrella of bands from Italy trying to produce a similar sound, if not exactly.
The group wasn’t exactly the most productive bunch throughout the aughts, releasing just two EP’s between that time to which was later released on one disc through Sickroom Records here in the states. They are just now releasing what would be considered their first proper album titled Full Of, which is being handled here in the US once again through Sickroom. Containing eight tracks, it’s a bit of a mixed bag for these fellas. Surprisingly (or maybe not) there is very little giddy-up throughout the album, focusing far more on refined arrangements. They do however free up every so often to work in some bit of groove and make good use of nuanced elevations in volume to probably give the illusion that there is bit more of an apex to these tunes than what there actually is. What shouldn’t be a shock to anyone is that Albini recorded this and that it sounds pretty gosh darn good. As a record though, it’s split pretty closely down the middle. Maybe one that will appeal more so to those of the Touch & Go/Quarterstick crowd and bands like June of 44, Rachel’s, and maybe even Bedhead rather than some of their Italian peers that live for that razor-like aluminum sound.
KASH – Eagle (stream)
Those looking to purchase Full Of can do so by simply hitting up Sickroom Records. The record comes with a CD as well. Or if digital is your preferred route, then it’s available through Bandcamp.
I’m still not quite over the fact that Shoppers have since called it a day, but helping me move on some is this debut single from California X that features former Shoppers drummer Josh Smith pounding it out to a bit of a different tune here. Containing two tracks, the a-side of “Sucker” is a nearly seven minute rocker in the area of Dinosaur Jr.. I doubt that’s any coincidence considering that both are from Amherst, MA. The tune motors along through some fairly nice riffs backed along a constant churn of melodic humming fuzz that brings to mind Boston vets The Beatings at times and who are certainly no strangers to six minute plus anthem rockers. On the backside is the tune “Mummy”, which doesn’t necessarily get the ball rolling quite as soon as its companion, but eventually hits it stride about mid way through and bubbling up all those nice thoughts of great power trios in the 90’s. Nice debut for these folks. Hope they keep it coming…
California X – Sucker (stream)
Right now the single is available through Feeble Minds for those interested in picking it up.
Just in time for the summer is this infectiously catchy new one from Florida’s Merchandise. Their previous album (Strange Songs) in the Dark was an eye opener or sure, with a wonderful mixture of darker post-punk, shoegaze, and touches of their former hardcore related projects. However, with Children of Desire the group has tossed a lot of that out of the window and are certainly going for broke on creating a pop masterpiece here. By all accounts they are coming about as close as to anything I’ve heard for years with this record. Wonderfully blended once again, keeping around enough of the fuzz and scraping metallic distortion from the gazier aspects of their sound to surround the Moz like crooning of singer Carson Cox. It also helps that this has a deliciously 80’s throwback indie/pop vibe throughout it, right down to the production values and the echoed drum effects. Perfect. Did I already mention that this thing is catchy? Oh right, I did. Well it is worth mentioning again because the effects of listening to these tracks are the cause for countless days of humming riffs to myself while walking around work. I wasn’t really aware that Merchandise had this sort of potential in them, even after hearing their excellent debut record, but Children of Desire is the type of album that is going to stick around for awhile. No doubt. Get ready to see this championed throughout the summer folks. It’s good, real good.
Merchandise – Become What You Are [MP3]
The album is currently available through Katorga Works. However, if you’re just looking to give it a test run before pulling the trigger, it’s also available for free download through the same link. If you like what you hear though, please by all means pick it up.
For the past couple of years Boston’s Grass is Green has been a band that has always seemed to have the potential to put it all together. Listening to their first album Yeddo presented numerous glimpses into great ideas, but a level of inconsistency always remained. That carried over some into their EP from last year Chibimoon as well, leaving me with a couple of really great songs and the rest being the sort of songs suitable for EP filler. Yet, there was plenty of intrigue here and always has been, with that chance of delivering a track that could blow me away. I’m not sure I ever really expected them to make the jump, but damn did I wish.
This past March saw the release of Grass is Green’s second full-length Ronson, self-released and made on a limited run of CD’s for their tour. The band has always been one to draw heavily from 90’s post-hardcore/punk or the more left of the dial indie/alt waves of the time. With Ronson it’s absolutely no different, featuring a sound that brings together some of the artier and angular Dischord bands from that time period like Smart Went Crazy, Jawbox, and Lungfish and then injects it with a grungier/alt leaning with nice big chunky riffs throughout. For example the track “Life of Mike” has a small guitar part that sounds eerily similar to a Failure tune that I can’t place right now. The big key here though is that Grass is Green have dramatically made strides with songwriting. Finally discovering and harnessing the magic that made some of those moments on past material so damn interesting. From top to bottom on the album is tactfully placed hooks and changes to keep the listener reeling and constantly guessing. The track “Jesse’s Fashion Show” is on my list of one of the cooler songs I’ve heard so far this year, complete with the type of unpredictable nature and hook-line-sinker twists that this band had hinted at all along. The integration of influences may not be hidden from plain sight, but the palette they’ve decided to work with is a wide one. Really good stuff.
Grass is Green – Jesse’s Fashion Show (stream)
Anyone looking to acquire the whole album can do so by heading over to their Bandcamp page where they have it available digitally and I think as of this writing there is like one CD-R copy left. Not sure if there will be more. No matter, get it whichever way you can.
