V/A - Hello Sir

Label: Hello Sir

Year: 2004

One day Mr. Double Jimmy James Joyce will no doubt give this release a proper write-up over on his Beyond Failure blog, as it features the work of three Athens (kinda Atlanta), Georgia bands who were active in the recent past.

Until that day, you are stuck with this write-up, which could end up containing fart jokes. You never know.

The label Hello Sir has a stranglehold on Athens based math rock/moody indie/angular post-punk of the Aughties, so it should come as no surprise to anyone familiar with these bands that they would be showcased via this label. The bands I am alluding to are, Maserati, Cinemechanica, and We Versus The Shark. You may have never heard of these dudes (and one dude with a vag), or maybe you heard of Maserati in relation to the unfortunate passing of their drummer Jerry Fuchs, but you should have heard of them. If you are a reader of this blog, you should have downloaded the Atlanta "New Noise" compilations that I made and posted awhile back, because two of these bands were on there. But, maybe you missed that, and maybe you need to know what you're potentially getting into here.

Alright, I'll tell you.

Maserati play the most layered and subtle of the three bands. Their songs are big languid droning pretty pieces that float along on shimmering guitars, propelled by a driving rhythm section that keeps shit moving. It's never boring, in fact it's compelling, which is kind of a weird way to describe music. As in, what is it "compelling" me to do? Listen longer? Hmmm, I need to work on my music journalism.

Cinemechanica play more "mathy" math rock. It sounds like it could have been belched out of some Louisville bar circa 1990, and that's a compliment. Start/stops, wiry guitar lines, and off-tempos, you know what I mean, right? There are some shouty vocals thrown in to switch things up.

We Versus The Shark are the heaviest of the three bands, and their music should appeal to most readers of this page. It hits all the right notes, and it's a shame they haven't made more of a stink outside of Athens, because they rule pretty hard at what they do, and what they do rules pretty hard.

So there you have it, a nice little compilation of under-appreciated rock bands. Not too many of those out there huh? I hope you enjoy it.

Oh, and here's that fart joke I promised:

What did the maxi-pad say to the fart?

You are the wind beneath my wings.

Hey-oh!

DL

Shellac - Peel Session - Maida Vale - 12-02-04

Label: Bootleg

Year: 2004

"We are Shellac of North America..." and so begins it. A tour through their discography of wiry guitar twitches and precision rhythms spanning the first 7" up to "Excellent Italian Greyhound" and everything in between. As to be expected, the sound quality is superb, and the performance does not fail to exhilarate.

That's sorta it I guess. What more should I need to say?

DL

Cows - Plowed

Label: Amphetamine Reptile

Year: 1992

My favorite Cows song, "Plowed", on my favorite format...the maxi-single! Now you get two extra songs not on the original 7"! What a deal!

During the dawn of the maxi-single, the format was used to promote the "single" from an album, then it had a b-side, and usually two dance or remixes for the single. Easy enough to understand. But, now imagine if Amphetamine Reptile decided to utilize the maxi-single in the same way, you would be privy to the Rotterdam House Mix of Cows' jam "In The Mouth". Talk about "getting the party started"!

It's a real disappointment that never existed.

DL

The Dead Weather and Devo Coachella 2010 (Videos)

The Dead Weather set really blew me away. I have the album and I really liked it, but this band live is a whole other story. I thought it was cool that they decided to shoot their set in B&W. I think that adds just another level to their perfomance.
DL - The Dead Weather, Coachella 2010

DEVO -  they still fucking rock. Nuff said.
DL - Devo, Coachella 2010

McLusky - Demo

Label: was it ever released?

Year: good question

I present this artifact to you, the general public (or representative sub-section thereof who frequent the sketchier neighborhoods of the internet) for two distinct reasons:

a) I really love the band McLusky, and think that if you have stuck around this blog long enough, there's a good chance you love them too.

b) I have no information about this particular piece of McLusky lore. I came across it, all alone, scared, and without any form of identification. Just a rough and tumble little ole demo that needed a bath and a saucer of warm milk. Now she's all cleaned up, fed, and laying across my lap purring. What a sweetpea.

Problem is, I don't know anything about her, where she came from, who she belongs to...nothing. Is anyone out there missing a cute little demo? Can you help me find out any information about her?

I can't offer any reward, but I would certainly appreciate some background. Thanks in advance.

DL

FAITH NO MORE - LIVE @ COACHELLA (Video)

Download Here

This is for Ipecac, enjoy.
Great sound and video.

Slug - The 3 Man Themes

After seeing the recent post of Slug singles I noticed that there wasn't much else Slug material posted on this blog. Since I can't stand by and let this atrocity happen, here's their album "The 3 Man Themes". It's a shame that Slug is kind of an overlooked band from their era as they've released a lot of insane material. This album is really experimental and interesting and offers up a pretty good groove as it plows along, and overall I have to say that this is just some greasy, dirty noise rock the way Satan intended it to be.... messy and un-apologetically loud!

DL: "The 3 Man Themes"

GUAPO - TOWERS OPEN FIRE

Released 1997
Label - Power Tool Records

One for the noisemongers amongst you. Like Vaz I thought they had wound up there operation but I'm even more wrong in this case. Pretty dense compositions with some heavy doses of electronics mixed in. Needless to say there are a couple of experimental tracks on the album but on the whole you have a dark, festering and brooding album for their initial release.

DL

AMREP 25th ANNIVERSARY BASH

dear god, get a load of this lineup! This will also include an art show of AmRep related works.

....so who's up for a little trip back in time?

Hey Colossus - Project Death

Label: Shifty / Jonson Family / Under Hill / Rimbaud

Year: 2007

More Hey Colossus, more deafening sludge noise, more mammoth riffing, more, more, more. Not to mention the meat cleaver on the cover, that's got to be good for something, right? You can't have a meat cleaver drenched in blood on your record if you don't mean business can you? Unless your actual "business" is butchery. Hmmm. That throws a real wrinkle into my perception of this album. Could Hey Colossus actually be garde manger chefs, responsible for the charcuterie of their respective kitchens? Is this music intended to emulsify their venison with fat, rendering it a smooth, spiced forcemeat?

That would explain a lot.

DL