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New releases for Jan 2012!
White Laces / Arches split 7” (Worthless Junk)
White Laces write the kind of songs you imagine in your head when it’s dead quiet or when you’re just about to fall asleep. How they get them onto tape is a total mystery, one that I will throughly explore during our upcoming interview for Big Takeover. Info “here:http://www.worthless-junk.com/?wpsc-product=white-laces-arches-split-7
Teenage Cool Kids – Denton After Sunset LP (Dull Tools)
Lo-Fi power pop with great lyrics. Looking forward to hearing more from these guys.
Van Halen – Tattoo
First Van Halen song with DLR since 1984 came out last week, along with their 2012 tour itinerary. Not sure what people expect from VH, I mean, they’re well into their 50’s (3 of them at least), they still do the kind of non-stop tours that make Black Flag look slow, they’re still bangin’ moms and writing songs about it. So I don’t really understand what all the fuss is. Official video here
The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret
TV show filmed in England for IFC starring David Cross, Sharon Horgan, Blake Harrison, Will Arnett and Spike Jonze. First season is streaming on Netflix, second season is being filmed. But according to the Onion AV Club, Cross says he won’t do a third. :(
Bruce Haack and Ms. Nelson – Electronic Music Record for Children (Mississippi)
The first thing I heard from Bruce Haack was his Electric Lucifer LP from 1970, I was instantly hooked. This is a set of recordings from 1969, not quite as face melting as his synth work but still highly entertaining. Lots of crazy samples, sound effects and seizure-inducing drum loops.
Good Luck – Without Hesitation (No Idea)
The happiest record I’ve heard in years, so happy at times that it made me want to hurt the people around me. But this is put together very well. The band balance explosive emotions alongside subdued verses in a very unique way. I don’t have the booklet for this, but it sounds to me like they have two singers. One is bright and clear and sounds absolutely incredible…the other, not so much. The line between earnest and cheesy is incredibly thin, so much so that many bands won’t go near it. So I applaud the effort.
Radical Dads – Mega Rama (Loud Baby)
Noisy post-rock with wacked out vocals that you will either love or hate. Kinda chill-wave at times, some *Dinosaur Jr*ish textures thrown in for good measure. Perfect name for this type of sound.
Iron Maiden – The Final Frontier (Sony / EMI)
Ten song LP, I’m guessing by the lengths of these songs alone (the shortest is 4:29, the longest 11:02) that Steve Harris wrote most of this record. It’s pretty ambitious, like all recent Maiden LP’s it comes with a ton of artwork and a DVD. As singers age their range tends to becomes limited, so all of these songs are tuned down a step (or two or three). It works at times, but isn’t necessarily the way we want to hear them or remember them. Lots of bands employ this trick in a live setting – especially metal bands, but now that they are using it in the studio, we’ve entered uncharted territory. Had the same complaint about the Heaven & Hell record from last year: too slow, too sludgy. I need my Maiden to gallop like a wild stallion.
Alex Chilton – Free Again: The 1970 Sessions (Omnivore)
Previously unreleased demos from 69 and 70. I like Big Star and Chilton just fine (really), but prefer my early 70’s with more gasoline: Bowie, T-Rex and The Stooges. Or Sabbath, Amon Duul, Kraftwerk or MC5. Maybe that’s the problem. I’m just never in the mood for Chilton’s ho-hum attitude.
Sheer Terror – Drop Dead And Go To Hell (Dead City)
From 2004, so not exactly new. Live set from the New York hardcore band that won’t die. At the end of the disc it has 5 bonus tracks of stage banter from shows at CB’s, France, Germany and Brooklyn, and as you can probably guess – all of them are hilarious. There is no one in punk more deserving of a spoken word record than Paul Bearer.
