KIDS ON A CRIME SPREE - Fall In Love Not In Line [LP](Slumberland/Redeye)
Like new bands Shadow Show, Death Valley Girls and L.A.Witch, Kids On A Crime Spree take a gritty look at the way songs used to be written. Fuzz-drenched buzzing Pop (think the Vaselines) bursts from your speakers with music in that classic verse/chorus/verse form. “When Can I See You Again?” at its heart is Ronettes-meeting-The Beach Boys with its title plea never getting tired. The reverb-drenched Spectorian snap of “All Things Fade” comes off as The Jesus and Mary Chain with more driving surf drums. That Surf aspect of Kids on A Crime Spree is what sets them apart from other excellent bands. These songs rumble and still are crisp like classic Pop. The Raveonettes-ish “Goods Get Got” finds their sinister biker edge and puts a shine on it. Twenty-five minutes you will visit again and again.
TIGERCATS - New Works EP [10”](FIKA)
The propulsive horn-driven wild rhythmic Indie Rock band may date back to the days of Nomo (the electrified kalimba) and Mi Ami (the feverish swells and near panicked drums.) “New Work” rumbles out of the gate with its doubled vocals and brass blasts. However, it is when they slow down a little for the Vampire Weekend-esque “The Picture” that you get the best glimpse of their compositional skill and how they dazzle live.
THEOREME - Les Artisans [LP](Maple Death UK/ITA)
RIZOMAGIC - Voltaje Raizal [LP](Disasters By Choice ITA)
Retrofuturism breaks off into a couple of new genetic combinations with this pair of enticing records. Theoreme is Maissa D. from Lyon, France. She has this idea that the low fidelity end of music leads a lot of sound on tape to filter together. “Les Artisans”winds up like Suicide playing Throbbing Gristle. It’s all very bracing true (“Les Artisans,”) in that simple synth/drum machine/voice way. However, it is more than minimal Post-Punk. “Les Gilles Du Parietal” flirts with a jazzy bass line, the serpentine “Tourterelle” sounds like spy movie music if scored by George A. Romero. Theoreme wants to bring back the pulsating hallucinations of On-U style music. However, Maissa trades the reggae beat for a strange hypnotic Pop (“Radionucleides”) that paints the future as bleak but still danceable.
From Colombia, the duo are out to create a mysterious, noisy yet totally propulsive Electrocumbia. They use that insistent rhythm to have loads of fun with interspersing both melodies and sounds. Their best parts are simply when they let the rhythm go and just carry you away for a minute. The return to noises (“Noconoco”) or samples (“Fandan’goni”) is further entrancing. Rizomagic’s songs still have parts even as they approach pastiche. “Voltaje Raizal” is a feast of sound and rhythm illustrating the future of “out-there” dance music.
HOT LUNCH [LP] (Heavy Psych Sounds ITA)
This Bay Area band bills themselves as “Punk N’Roll” but this 2013 burst of Proto-Metal makes them sound like the second coming of Blue Cheer or Dust. Their hand-me-down Psychedelic sound meets all the tenets of 1968 RAWK. “Lady of the Lake” dares to find that Psych-Prog gallop and do it in 3/4. Even more daring is a swingin’ Sabbath-esque tear through Emerson, Lake, and Palmer’s early “Knife Edge.” However, it is the opener “Handy Denny” that pulls out all the stops with its amphetamine Go-Go beat, searing switch between biker riffage and Bluesy barreling. Then, when you least expect it these badass rockers slide in a fuzz-bass solo that will have you looking for a lighter.
STACK WADDY [LP](Sundazed/Redeye)
The British Blues gave birth to Proto-Metal whether we like to acknowledge that or not. Bands like Edgar Broughton Band heard Cream adeptly and nimbly play the Blues and “play over” it as well and thought it lost its primal stomp. Stack Waddy of Manchester is a dangerous example of tapping into that raw energy and letting it grind away on their audience. Already a fierce live act (complete with pre-Punk bottle throwing and confrontation,) Stack Waddy went into the studio to drill their assault on music into wax. “Roadrunner” is a shambolic wonder that nearly separates it from its R&B roots. The Captain Beefheart cover of “Sure Nuff N’ Yes I Do” growls and takes a Bluesy turn. Their originals often quickly find their voodoo pulse (“Bring It To Jerome,” or just sound raw (“Kentucky.”) While they downplay their threatening edge, most of “Stack Waddy” still sounds threatening today. For their second album “Bugger Off,” things get heavier and the band records songs like The Pretty Things “Rosalyn” with steamroller attitude predating the pre-punk assault of groups of Hammersmith Gorillas.
ANXIOUS - Little Green House (Run For Cover)
After being inundated with the notices (and criticism) of the When We Were Young festival, this very Emo yet Punk/Power Pop band was a welcome find. Anxious hits all the necessary benchmarks to fit in with the festival bands, but they twirl their guitars in more interesting pattern creating a swirl of chords rather than the typical chug. “In April” should be their breakthrough. Given its “My Hero”-esque pull, Anxious pull it away with Jawbreaker-esque hits and single-note runs. The chorus contains all the necessary stops, but finds layered harmony to warm it up. “Little Green House” feels like a very Nineties record in that it is refined musically enough to cover any burst of raw emotion. Anxious is also very good at building toward their largest riffage. “Growing Up Song” sounds fairly simple, but they mostly sing it at a low boil over some huge changes - only rising for the stop/start bridge. While “Little Green House” is nothing you have not heard before (“Let Me,”) Anxious make it sound different and more welcoming.
ALEX DUNN - Southern Star [LP/CD](Color Red)
Alex Dunn has that low, grizzled voice that implies he is well travelled. His best songs are those that capture the conversation of an event - not necessarily even it’s time or place. When his “darling” is sick, he proudly asks “What do you want from the liquor store?” over a rockabilly tom beat with twang guitar, “Sorry You’re Sick” vaults from mere feelgoodery to a proclamation of love. When he is on the road, Dunn paints with small commonalities but takes the statement “I might be over the line” and turns it into a myriad of possibilities for all of us on similar travels. “Southern Star” is never heavy, often preferring to set it songs adrift and see where they take you.
LUCY GOOCH - Rushing EP [LP](Fire/Redeye)
Like her beautiful “Rain’s Break,” Lucy Gooch uses her voice to create oceanic textures that summon emotions. “Rushing” sees Gooch ascending to near-Eno esque heights of organ-led bliss (the gorgeous suite “Orthione”) and doubling her voice for harmonies and overtones (“Stalagmites & Helicitites,”) while turning a love song into the aural equivalent of one endless starry night (the Kate Bush-ian “My Lights Kiss Your Thoughts Every Moment.”)
CRAVEN FAULTS - Erratics and Unconformities [LP](Leaf UK)
This debut LP (following three solid EP’s) from the nameless unknown Yorkshire duo really carry you away in the same manner Electronic Music of olden days did. Like their 2020 beauty “Enclosures” (reviewed here 12.10.20) these six lengthy cuts often feel like you are in transport. The pulsating wonder of “Vacca Wall” with its sequencers on a slow crescendo almost overtake the “Enclosures” favorite “Doubler Stones” as their most amazing track ever. “Deipkler” a Klaus Schulze-ian organ loop is a surprise, while the Tangerine Dream-esque “Cupola Smelt Mill” almost randomly throws out the same notes at different time intervals. “Erratics” shows that even while experimenting, Craven Faults continues to make some of the most beautiful synth-based Electronic you hear today.
Well, another week, another list of several different styles and pursuits in music for you. Enjoy. Listen again. Share as you wish.
NEW RELEASES lovingly compiled for you from this very week!
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