Thursday, August 28, 2014

PHOTOS: Victim Of Time presents...Chicago Label Showcase & Record Fair 2014 (Victim of Time, Hozac)

VoT Fest 2014 featured a tremendous line-up of sweaty-ass Chicago rock n roll bands that culminated with a wild reunion set by local-legends Mickey.  The two-day event saw enough drinking, dancing, fighting, apparent drug-use and general merriment to be labeled a "success".  Thanks again to Victim of Time, Hozac Records and Bottom Lounge for putting it on.  Peep the pics [by Joe Montanaro] below...

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Tuesday, August 19, 2014

REVIEW: New York - 20 Minutes From Here digital EP (Dead Broke Rekerds)

Damn.  This is so far up my alley I can taste it.  It's power pop, its punk, its lo-fi, its ballsy, it gives no fucks...New York, true to their name, have got the early-proto punk sound...I'm hearing the influence of The Nerves, The Real Kids, The Ramones, etc.  Also sort of true to their name they're from Long Island.  The cover is incredible as well.  I don't have anything clever to say right now...this band just fucking rules.  Out on Dead Broke Rekerds.  Get it here.

REVIEW: Modernos - #1 digital EP (self-released)

Part power-pop, part shoe-gaze, part indie rock, part cali-summer-fun-music...Modernos out of Lisbon, Portugal have a sound that is sometimes sensitive, sometimes tough, undeniably catchy and usually pretty fun.  The sparse three-piece arrangements lurch forward and then suddenly burst forth from their sonic wave curls and coast all the way to Rock-a-way Beach.  While the overall approach is different their melodic/harmonic sensibility sometimes reminds me of Dungen.  Tre gnar, boys.  Get it here.

REVIEW: NEWBORNS - Party-Rock Boys digital EP (self-relesed)

Fuck LMFAO! THIS is the kind of party-rockin' I want.  Ya know...the sort that will burn you alive with canister full of gasoline and a lit cigarette?  NEWBORNS out of Savannah, GA play a brand of rock n' roll that's Jon-Spencer-Blues-Explosion-meets-The-Cramps only with more scuzz.  They're two-piece setup produces wailing blues riffs, howling group vocals, surfy echo and troglodyte rhythms.  Its basically a rock n' roll beer can chucked straight at your forehead...you better duck when they show up!  Get it here.

Friday, August 8, 2014

REVIEW: Twin Peaks - "Flavor" music video (self-released)

"Flavor", the latest single/video from local basement-party-rockers Twin Peaks, hardly needs the WPOM? bump (no...that isn't a real thing) as it was debuted on Vice Magazine's online music channel Noisey, but these dudes are DIY Chicago boys through and through so I gotta say something about it (plus this song rules).  As the imagery in the video would suggest this is a song-of-the-summer-romper-of-a-track.  T.P. seem to have a knack for delivering recordings that are slick yet still retain an edgy youthfulness.  Which makes sense cuz I don't think anyone in the band is 21 yet (sorry if I'm wrong on that fact, boys).  That's also probably why they command such a loyal fan base of teenagers/post-teens that are more than willing to literally bloody themselves every time these dudes play (I actually had to patch up a young lady at their last appearance at Animal Kingdom after she slipped and fell on a broken beer bottle).  Okay, okay...enough of my babbling...go ahead and dive right in.  Get T.P.'s Wild Onion LP here.

REVIEW: Nancy Acid - Psychopomp digital single (self-released)

Amsterdam's Nancy Acid have just released a seriously killer track on their bandcamp.  Its a driving psych-garage track layered with acoustic instruments, tribal drums, echoing guitars and lackadaisical vocals.  Think Thee Oh Sees if they recorded in a shack in the mountains and invited post-metal-breakdown Syd Barrett to join them.  Its a ramshackle, mind-altering mess of a track...that just plain kicks ass.  The cover art rules too!  Get it here.