Spacey and reverb-drenched dream pop from Canada. Downloaded this EP from 2011 on a whim a few weeks ago and was pleasantly surprised. The band consists of two musicians, Denise Nouvion who does all the singing and Evan Abeele who plays all the instruments and handles production. They released an LP last year for Sub Pop called “The Slideshow Effect” which is also quite good.

Collection of recordings from 2007 and 2008 from this extremely lo-fi home recording project from Jason Boyer who previously played in Poison The Well. Basically this LP packages up the demos from before 2008’s “Bars” EP and two songs from the “Hell” cassette tape. Can’t get enough of this band. If you make it past the dense wall of lo-fi noise you will find that this dude is an incredible songwriter, guitarist and singer. Please put out some more records. His sound and technique are inspired by psych rock and Syd Barrett, but he manages to turn that concept on its head, making something totally new. Check out “Living Wage” and “Holy Ghosts”.

Synth Pop from New York, the latest 7” in the You Can’t Hide Your Love Forever series from the Atlanta-based indie label Geographic North. The vinyl series previously issued records by Windy & Carl, Landing and Tarentel. Test House is James Elliott (ex-*Bear In Heaven*, School of Seven Bells with Peter Schuette (ex-*Silk Flowers* and Psychobuildings. Great stuff here, kinda reminds me of Depeche Mode or Linear Movement circa 1984.

Yes.

Soundboard recording of Quicksand taped on August 25th at The Bowery Ballroom. This tape from the second night has been making the rounds online for the last few months. Incredible setlist that opens with “Omission” and segues into “Unfulfilled”. The show is about an hour and a half and includes their Smiths cover as well as an eight minute encore of “Landmine Spring”. Not sure where this came from, so I’m just listing it as a bootleg.

Latest and greatest from APHG. Still retains some of that lo-fi charm that Mr. Pink perfected with his early cassette releases, which to me, is what makes his work so unique and charming. “Only In My Dreams” and “Live It Up” are both excellent work. “Farewell American Primitive” is probably my other favorite, kinda reminds me of a 60’s pop song. Expertly recorded and committed to tape, each one of their releases they seem to make these huge strides in recording techniques. The lyrics are still irreverent and kinda off the wall in the way that only AP can write. For example, “Kinski Assassin” is as much about suicide dumplings and she-males on meth than it is a love story about angels and ass fondling your friends in a Jacuzzi while playing Battleship.

Lo-Fi experimental psych rock. Surprisingly sober and refreshing synth tones and rhythms on this one.

Reissue of this west coast punk classic, limited run of 500 copies. Supposedly the band recorded all of the cymbals of this record on their own separate tracks after some kind of studio recording accident. Now that I think about it, there are some weird things happening in terms of the recording. Some of the vocals are hushed, some of the guitars are high. But we should all remember that this LP is like the original blueprint for American punk. Whatever difficulty arose in trying to make this record was eventually overcome, even if you think it doesn’t show. Originally released on Posh Boy in 1981, this record is desperate and hopeless but that’s what makes it so fresh and beautiful to me. It also carries a certain wisdom in its negative outlook. While many of their peers were writing about Ronald Reagan and nuclear war, Agent Orange was busy trying to put their personal lives into perspective, screaming, “We’re all too young to die”. Agent Orange made pointed observations about their own failures and shortcomings on songs like “A Cry For Help In A World Gone Mad”, saying “I can’t help myself by feeling sorry because I gave up every chance I had”. The genius of this record is the overarching theme, which to me isn’t “boo-hoo, life sucks” but, be true to yourself. Fight for what you want. Learn from your mistakes. Know when to walk away. Essential. Indispensable.

Earlier this year somebody reissued the Get High demo tape on vinyl. Apparently it was limited to 289 copies, I haven’t had much luck trying to track one down, much less figure out who released it. So Get High was from Boston, ex-members of Dive and Opposition. Their sound was shaped by hardcore punk but branched off into uncharted territory. People compare them to Swiz, which I guess is appropriate. I joke around a lot about Boston bands, but I assure you Get High is no laughing matter. If I could make a list of unsung or underrated bands from the 1990’s, these guys would undoubtedly be near the top of the list. This tape is just unstoppable, it’s still one of the best demos from that era if for no other reason than it’s unlike anything ever recorded before it. Probably saw these guys 15 or 20 times, even followed them out of state once. So let the record show that there is a band from Boston that I love. Unfortunately, the band decided to call it quits in late 1998 or early 1999. Their recorded output is scant, but if you can find it, still impressive and highly original. Any information on this is appreciated! Features Alex Garcia-Rivera, who later joined Piebald and Give Up The Ghost as well as singer Kevin Rheault who recently recorded an EP for Bampf! records. Ideally what I’d like to see is a triple LP discography with a DVD. Somebody should make that happen.

Reissue of their 2nd LP originally released in 2001 on Lengua Armada Discos Records.