Thursday, September 26, 2013

WPOM? RECORDS: Son of a Gun S/T EP cassette RELEASE DATE IS THIS SATURDAY!!!!! (9/28/13)

Holy Crap!!!  Our suburban homies, Son Of A Gun, just recorded five of the slamminest garage punk tunes we've heard in a while.  And guess what?...WPOM is releasing them on a limited edition cassette EP.  I'm not even joking...every single one of these tracks is a screamer!!!!

Come out to the Alpha Delta Phi (University of Chicago) fraternity house on Saturday (9/28) and be one of the first to get your hands on this most righteous artifact.  Here's the facebook event------> https://www.facebook.com/events/706739816009051/?ref=22

They'll be joined by Real Numbers and Teenage Moods all the way from Minneapolis as well as their home-town friends Uh Bones.  This show is 100% guaranteed to get your rock n' roll boner up!

Brought to you by your good friends at Why Pick On Me?...Seeya there, punks!!




REVIEW: Forests - Ego Bender / The Fall single (Gary Records)

Damn! Taiwan's got game.  If I didn't know Forests was from Taipei I'd have thought they were from the Bay Area or something.  Catchy hooks, cool production value and butt-shaking rhythms are the hallmarks of this killer new garage pop outfit from across the [big] pond.  And we have Gary Records- a brand new Chicago label founded by Robyn Chang and Kelley Scott- to thank for importing this fantastic music to The Second City.


Wednesday, September 25, 2013

REVIEW: NE-HI - Public House single (self-released)

Like you're garage pop extra jangly?  Chicago's NE-HI's got ya covered.  12-string-esque pickin' abounds on this impressive debut that takes a fresh approach to the classic Byrdsian formula.  The songs are simple and dreamy, suspended in an modern echoy atmosphere. Deceptively catchy guitar hooks weave in and out of suspended harmonic structures gently hypnotizing the listener with bitter sweet introspection.  Fans of Smith Westerns and Twin Peaks are gonna love this shit. Just lay back and let NE-HI's sonic ennui wash over you.  Get it here.


Tuesday, September 10, 2013

REVIEW: The Sufis - Inventions LP (Burger, Ample Play)

The Sufis faithfully recreate 60s psych-pop laced with hooks, interesting arrangements, far-out breaks and solid musicianship.  Their latest LP, Inventions, is out now on Burger Records (and Ample Play Records in the UK) and the few tunes I've been able to hear off of it are quite pleasing to my aural cavities.  Plus they've got good looks t'boot (the dude on the right sorta looks like me).  Get it here.


NEW VIDEO: Crystal Stilts - Star Crawl (Sacred Bones)

4-chord psychedelia + colorized scenes of middle America.  Its not some art film starring The Monkees...its the new video for Crystal Stilts's "Star Crawl"- a track off their forthcoming Nature Noir LP available a week from today on Sacred Bones.  The vocals are processed and out-front over tremolo-ed guitar, Paul McCartney bass tone and herky-jerky drums.  The song has a raw-yet-well-produced sound.  The video is tasteful yet acidy.  Get the LP on 9/17 here.


REVIEW: Silkies - Never Tell A Lie EP (self-released)

Silkies combine surf and 60s r&b in a way that is, by now, quite common in the modern garage rock genre, but for me this band still stands apart.  Their music is hummable/hip-shakable and at the same time sort of dissonant/noisy/out of tune.  The juxtaposition really works to their advantage.  Also, the lead vocalist's style is straight-forward, cheerful, innocent and feminine- the same sort of formula that worked for all those girl groups and French ye-ye singers back in the early sixties (they actually do a great cover of Mary Jo's "Take A Word" on this release).  If you are a fan of Cincinnati's Tweens  or if you just like garage rock you can sing along too you'll probably dig Austin's Silkies.  Get it here.


Tuesday, September 3, 2013

REVIEW: Night Beats - Sonic Bloom LP (The Reverberation Appreciation Society)

On September 24th, 2013 you'll have your first opportunity to get your filthy mits on a copy of Night Beats's new LP, Sonic Bloom.  Those already familiar with this band know they throw down somethin' fierce.  In a relatively short time they've managed to carve out their own unique brand of reductionist blues-psych-garage music...a decidedly difficult thing to do amongst the thousands of other bands trying to occupy this niche.  While I've only heard one track from the new LP so far it sounds like its gonna be another scorcher.  Get it here.


REVIEW: Jeffery Drag Records - Summer Sampler 2013

Here's a tasty treat to make the end of your summer that much better.  Included on this short compilation are tracks from The People's Temple, Useless Eaters, Natural Child, etc...from one of our favorite labels around...Jeffery Drag!


REVIEW: New Swears - Funny Isn't Real LP (Bruised Tongue, Dirt Cult, Bachelor)

Taking more than a few aesthetic queues from The Black Lips, Ottawa's New Swears play fun, eclectic, garage pop that's brims over with youthful, fuck-off-I'm-tryin-to-party attitude.  Lots of group singing/shouting over these unashamedly hummable melodies and hooks.  Not bad, ay?  Get it here.


Monday, September 2, 2013

REVIEW: Pink Mexico - Pnik Mxeico LP (self-released)

Take some Cobain chords, a dash of echo, a sprinkle of shoegaze and heaping spoonful of high-pitched male vocals and bam!  You've just made Pink Mexico.  And while they are borrowing heavily from the old Seattle sound this band is very tasteful in their application it's harmonic and tonal devices and update it just a bit for the young garage punks of today.  Let your hair fall over your face, give former president George H.W. Bush the middle finger and turn on this record.  Get it here.


REVIEW: Earring - Nunn Ones cassette (Manic Static)

Chicago's Earring know how to chill the fuck out.  Y'know...'cause sometimes punk rockers have to take a break from their own recklessness from time to time...like when their stuck in the "k" hole or going to bed at 10 in the morning or nursing a hangover while they're serving brunch at a vegan cafe.  If you're looking for something that's hypnotic yet fuzzy, slow yet trashy, ambient yet grungey, sad yet pissed...Earring's Nunn Ones is just what the rock n' roll doctor ordered.  Get it here.