Hot Guts / Pop. 1280
Hot Guts / Pop. 1280
This pairing joins New York City creepers Pop. 1280 and Philadelphia misanthropes Hot Guts. Two bands, that hold great things in the years to come, bring two sides of dark, brooding post-punk with wire tight rhythm sections. Almost industrial, with enough pop-driven momentum to make you wanna move. Songs you will remember after you've walked away from the turntable. A refreshing sentiment indeed, given the current climate of “boss & toss“ 7-inches being released by the truck load. (more…)
Peligro!
Peligro!
Debut LP from this Spanish band. This one is a total ripper that avoids sticking to one particular style… some of the riffs are kind of rocked-out, some are straight up hardcore bangers, and some songs sound a little crusty. Over top of the whole thing is a real Bad Brains vibe to the vocals and lead guitar… the vocals are spit out at 1000mph a la HR, and the little guitar fills and leads definitely recall Dr. Know’s style. This is definitely not your typical Spanish punk record, but it's ripping and really unique.
— Sorry State Records
Crimen
Nada Importa
Second release on vinyl from Mexico's Crimen. Following their debut LP perfectly, they come with 4 new songs a little more mid-tempo and complex but with the same anger and rawness. Real punk hymns that you can’t get out of your head and won̵t let you go. Art by Yecal (Inservibles). Includes lyrics in Spanish and English with explanations.
— Discos Enfermos Records
Prudence Teacup
Where all the Little Songs Go When They Die
Prudence Teacup writes lullabies for heroes and sinners. She has been called a “reluctant chanteuse” as she often avoids the stage, preferring the quiet hermitage of a cramped room. Her music weaves antique melodies within electronic soundscapes. Fall and redemption, venom and balm, myth and truth all collide in the hiss of her homespun recordings. —All Hands Electric
The Jameses
The Jameses
Lo and behold, it, like everywhere else, has plenty of varied strains of underground digging up towards the sun simultaneously and if the ones who’ve shown up with their bathing suits and sun screen are a sign, then let’s jump the gun and call this the summer of Florida, even though their seasonal variations are ambiguous at best. So far, we’ve gone out on a limb for Jacuzzi Boys and Lil Daggers and Matrix Infinity, and now we’d like to throw another branch out for the breezy garage pop of The Jameses. If this is the sound of West Palm Beach, I’m ready to retire. —Impose
Prudence Teacup
Where all the Little Songs Go When They Die
Prudence Teacup writes lullabies for heroes and sinners. She has been called a “reluctant chanteuse” as she often avoids the stage, preferring the quiet hermitage of a cramped room. Her music weaves antique melodies within electronic soundscapes. Fall and redemption, venom and balm, myth and truth all collide in the hiss of her homespun recordings. —All Hands Electric
Little Gold
On the Knife
Christian DeRoeck spent most of the past decade writing, touring & recording with the Brooklyn indie/punk band Meneguar. In late 2006, He and bandmate Jeremy Earl decided to combine their bedroom recordings and release them together, as Woods. They recorded two albums together and toured the US and Europe. In early 2008, for several reasons, Christian left both bands. He spent the summer of 2008 working as a carpenter in eastern Long Island. Inhabiting a tiny basement room, he began working on the songs that shape On the Knife. In the fall he moved back to Brooklyn and teamed up with his old friend, multi-instrumentalist Dylan Edrich (Chain and the Gang), and Little Gold was born. Recorded to tape at Emandee Studio in Brooklyn, On the Knife is a deeply personal take on love and loss, and was very much shaped by Christian’s departure from his previous bands. Like his earlier work with Woods, the songwriting is earnest, and of course there are a few indulgent headphone tracks as well.
Hanna Hirsch
Tala Suart
Stockholm five-piece Hanna Hirsch makes revved-up power pop that’s nonetheless melancholy. Tempos stay at the outer edge of toe-tapablity, and there are enough minor chords here to suggest it’s not all teenage glee. But like their psychedelic compatriots Dungen, Hanna Hirsch sing in Swedish, so I have no idea what they’re saying. It’s quite the departure (or lack there of) for a contemporary Scandinavian pop group, which generally tend go in all the way and sing in English. (Dusted)
Primitive Hands
Split Mind
Debut 45 from Brian Hildebrand’s (Demons Claws) Primitive Hands! Completely unaware of itself in the best way, it has pounds of grit squeezed from a light-weight guitar and snare aesthetic. No tricks, no smoke, no mirrors, well…smoke, but just minimalist blues-based rock n roll for the most discerning primitive pallette! —TTT
Fergus & Geronimo
Blind Muslim Girl
Denton white-man-soul/pop duo featuring Jason Kelly (Wax Museums) and Andrew Savage (Teenage Cool Kids). In Fergus & Geronimo, the WM lo-fi recording aesthetic is alive and well to be sure, but don’t expect any songs about “jack off rats” here. Just Blind Muslim Girls! A casual project, but the band cites a serious well of inspiration including southern soul, ’60s pop, psychedelic and Motown influences as the kick behind Fergus & Geronimo’s sound. Good stuff. Uh, yeah. Get it! —TTT
German Measles
Wild
Out of control, drugged up, fucked up madness from Brooklyn’s premiere party freaks. Almost the polar opposite of this spring’s cassette release—these songs are confident, insane and beautifully recorded by Gary Olson. Some sort of funky mix of The Soup Dragons, Black Randy, Protex and The Fall had they recorded for Bhudda. All the subtlety of Sonny Bono trying to barge his way into a restaurant while wearing a fur vest. Features 2/4ths of the legendary Cause Co-Motion!
Pumice
Persevere
Following a mammoth tour of Europe, Japan & the US in 2007-2008, Stefan Geoffrey Neville took a sabbatical from Pumice. After a silence of several months, Stefan slowly began to re-emerge in New Zealand, playing (the drums) with a few bands in Auckland. Slowly, a few proper Pumice gigs were played & soon thereafter, in January 2009, Neville started work on a new batch of recordings. One of those found a home on the split single with Grouper, while the others, appear on Persevere; a befitting title for Neville’s first new grip of songs following his hiatus. Three songs comprise Persevere: “The Dawn Chorus of Kina,” an ode to (alleged) singing sea urchin, and covers from two vision-sharing kindred spirits: The Axemen (“Pacific Ocean”) and Michael Hurley (“Open Up”). Persevere is released in an edition of 500 copies, housed in textured paper sleeves adorned with Neville’s signature dog drawings. (Soft Abuse)
Zachary Cale
Walking Papers
Long-delayed second album by Olympia-to-NYC singer-songwriter Zachary Cale, recorded in pro fashion at Bearsville Studios in 2005; the late date of release and the album’s title might give the story away. Playing solo and with full band accompaniment, this loner/Leonard Cohen acolyte plays an accomplished guitar and writes serious lyrics with poetic depth. He’s able to pull it off extraordinarily well, too, at times recalling the Mark Fry LP none of us had heard until recently. The graveness of some of this music might hold Cale back from greater acceptance, but it’s not necessarily the lightest of us that’s going to be remembered on down the line. Cold, chilly folk for dark times.
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Upcoming Releases
January 21, 2014
- SBR-3013 Vex Sanctuary: The Complete Discography LP
- SBR-3014 Various Artists Killed by Deathrock LP/CD
February 4, 2014
- SBR-103 Marissa Nadler JulyLP/CD
- SBR-111 Prolife Overheated b/w Gold Leaves7"
March 4, 2014
- SBR-107 The Men Tomorrow’s HitsLP/CD