Xaddax - Counterclockwork (2012)

Xaddax is the newest project of Nick Sakes' (Dazzling Killmen, Colossamite, Sicbay) with drummer Chrissy Rosettie (My Name Is Rar-Rar).  I personally think it's the best band Sake's has ever been involved with and it's also one of the best releases that has come out of Skin Graft Records in quite some time.  They're looking to tour Europe in July and if you want to help with expenses you can donate to their Kickstarter page found here.

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Beautiful Mother - Vanilla (2011)

Beautiful Mother are noise rock band from Chicago featuring members of Like Rats and Weekend Nachos. I honestly don't know anything about this band but I came across it recently and it has Sister Hell written all over it. This is a cassette only release with a pressing of 50 copies. If you liked my Grids post from a little while back you'll love this band.

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Cutter - Slang 7" +2 (2008)

Cutter was a short-lived NYC band that would go on to become Pygmy Shrews. You know... that band I'm constantly raving about on this blog? The one that I just now found out have recently broken up which totally sucks!! Cutter are much like Pygmy Shrews only more fucked up and chaotic. It's kind of hard for me to explain so just give it a listen to and you'll seen what I mean.

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Long Legged Woman - Nobody Knows This Is Nowhere (2009)

This for those of you who like a little noise in your garage rock. For fans of "The Hospitals" and "The Lamps." This was the now defunct band's only LP with a pressing of 300 copies.

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New Brutalism/Beton Brut/Villabrut/Soldat Brut - Brut Unison (2007)

Brut Unison is a compilation of New Brutalism and all of their off-shoot bands on one album. Now you ask why do they have these other bands that consist of the same members and sound exactly like New Brutalism? I have no idea. It all sounds like the same band to me. In this case it isn't a bad thing because New Brutalism fuckin rock so I could really care less as to why. Musically they sound similar to Shellac and the shouted vocals sound a lot like Alex Dunham (Hoover, Regulator Watts).

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Ladder Devils - Forget English (2010)

Ladder Devils are a noise rock band out of Philadelphia that sound a hell of a lot like Young Widows. In particular the Widows' songs that Nick Thieneman sings. In which case maybe an even better comparison would be the Thieneman led Brain Banger. Although the striking similarity may reflect a lack of originality, I can think of worse things than having a few more Young Widows'ish bands out there.

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Casus Belli - Tailgunnrangeles (1994)

Casus Belli was a solo project of ex-Bastards bass player Anthony Martin. The Minneapolis band was much more under the radar than Joe Breuer's (the other Bastard) Janitor Joe. If you like Janitor Joe there's no reason you wouldn't like this.

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Grids - Kansas (2010)

Kansas was the final LP for the now defunct band from Charlotte, NC. Just pounding pissed-off noise rock in the vein of Rusted Shut or Drunkdriver. This record was limited to a pressing of 100 copies. For more Grids downloads click here. I'd also highly recommend checking out the White Walls LP.

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Switchhitter - Fer de Lance (2003)

Switchhitter is David Uskovich's third band he formed in Austin after Distorted Pony and Sweet Pea. The CD's sleeve is made of hand-stitched felt and limited to 500 copies. A bit cleaner sounding that his previous bands and little more on the Math Rock side. I've been listening to a lot of David's music lately after having seen one of the Distorted Pony reunion shows here in LA a little over a month ago. It was such an amazing show and I'm really hoping they continue on and possibly record new material. I asked David himself at the the show and he said there's a possibility of new material in the future. I also have a request. Does anyone have any material from David's latest band "Rex X Red M?" They have an album called "Between Your Prayers And My Curses Our Kind May Triumph Yet." I've been looking everywhere for it and just can't seem to get my hands on a copy.
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Pussy Galore - Right Now! (1987)

I'm sure most of you are already familiar with this record. I'm listening to this for the first time in a while. They really make "not really knowing how to play" work so well. The quintessential "pigfuck" classic.

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Plows - I Hate My Car And I Want To Drive (2010)

I wrote about Plows excellent first album a while back to little fanfare with no comments and hardly a download. I'm telling you all to give this band a try! I'm really surprised at how unknown these guys are. So this is their follow-up album and it was originally recorded as a demo that they self recorded on Garageband and have been offering up as a free download on their Last FM page. I think the title is a play on words with Nirvana's song (and one time album title for which ultimately became In Utero) I Hate Myself And I Want To Die. I could be wrong on this but what the hell else is this title suppose to mean?

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Sea Scouts - Beacon Of Hope (1998)

Overlooked noise-rock band from Melbourne. If you like Unwound you should like this. Sorry it's been so dead here at Sister Hell lately. Thing's will pick up again soon.

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Pygmy Shrews - The Egyptian & Lord Got Busted 7" (2009)

The Egyptian is the first full length LP by Brooklyn's Pygmy Shrews. It's one of the more impressive debut albums I've heard in a long time and a personal favorites of 2009 for me. A link for this album was posted by the band's bass player Tia in our message board. This would be a guilt free download so please spread it around because a lot more people should be aware of this band. I've also included a single they put out last year as well which includes a great cover of Pussy Galore's Kill Yourself. So if you include my previous post of their Big Time EP this should be their entire discography so far. Unless there's more you'd like to share with us, Tia?

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H.O.F. - The Gay Witch Abortion Sessions (2009)

I uploaded this one for a friend and just figured I'd throw it up here while I'm at it. Tom Hazelmeyer's H.O.F. did a collaboration with fellow Minneapolis band Gay Witch Abortion and released this EP in conjunction with a art exhibit/concert called "NON Consensual POST Dada CONSTRUCTIVIST Cerebral WARTS." You can read about it here on the AmRep message board (which I frequent a lot and is unfortunately underused) or here. I have a friend who went to it and said it was a great time. The whole security camera thing seemed interesting and I would have loved to check out Haze perform live which is RARE event. I may be wrong on this but I bet it's been over a good decade since he's hit the stage. It's limited to 100 copies and were sold at the show for $70 which you can also buy here for those of you who have deep enough pockets to fork out $10 per song.

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Inappropriate Tough Guy Behavior - S/T (2009)

Inappropriate Tough Guy Behavior is a side project of Melbourne's Fire Witch (see below). Similar to Fire Witch but more upbeat, straightforward rock songs with vocals on some of the tracks. If you haven't already noticed I'm a bit obsessed with the "Fire Witch Family Tree" at the moment. I've already written about Goat Witch and the band Fangs Of A TV Evangelist also belong to that same family tree. All of it is great. This record had a pressing of only 200 copies.

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Fire Witch - Japan (2009)

I guess Fire Witch would be Australia's answer to The Melvins, just as Boris were Japan's answer to The Melvins. Not such a bad thing. Everyone is doing it these days anyways so why not just embrace it, right? The drumming in particular has Dale Crover written all over it. Released as a 10" on the always excellent Wantage USA label with a pressing of 355 copies.

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Bipolar Bear - Mountain Dewd (2008)

So I'm feeling a little lazy in terms trying to describe this band so I'm just going to steal the description from the record label themselves. It's a bit of a mix of the whole lo-fi/art/garage-pop scene that's been going on at Downtown LA's The Smell, and the usual 90's style of noise rock that we write about here all the time.

Structurally and melodically wayward, Bipolar Bear’s Mountain Dewd is an album that will deafen you with angular creativity. The album’s ingenuity is in its unyielding approach to defy the laws of music through renegade guitar and bass lines, with innovative rhythms that kick you in the brains in the best way possible, and vocals that are delivered staunchly. The tracks are about two minutes each in length which could keep the attention of a sugar-high six-year-old, and each song employs its own unique musicianship just in case you have no attention span whatsoever. This album is relentless in its desire to make you love this band, and regardless if you like it or not, you will require a new frontal lobe after this record gives you the best lobotomy anyone’s ever had.

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Katastrophy Wife - Heart-On EP (2007)

This is the most recent release of Kat Bjelland's (Babes In Toyland) Katastrophy Wife. The single was suppose to be off of an upcoming album called "Pregnant" but here it is a few years later and still no LP. The title song is as heavy as anything she's ever done showing that she hasn't mellowed with age. It could have easily been on Babe's Dust Cake Boy single's b-side and you would never know there's almost 20 years between the two songs. It also includes a couple of different remixes of the song which I usually hate but turned out kind of interesting in this case. There's also an Iron Maiden cover which I wouldn't have known because I never listened to that shit but the moment I heard it I knew there was something really 80's sounding about it.

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The Pope - Ascendo Tuum! (2006)

The Pope are a bass/drummer duo from Los Angeles that sound like Godheadsilo on meth.
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Arsenal - Manipulator (1988) & Factory Smog Is A Sign Of Progress (1990) (By Request)

Arsenal was Santiago Durango's brief follow-up project after Big Black. As far as I'm aware the band never performed live and it's quite possible that it wasn't really a full band at all. I think it was basically just Santagio playing all instruments and was strictly a studio project, although I may be wrong on this. It doesn't quite pack the same punch that Big Black did but you can definitely hear his contribution to the band in these records.

*[EDIT] So I was wrong about Durango recording these albums alone. He did have a bassplayer on both recordings. Thanks to someone leaving a comment I've been reading up on Malachai Ritscher who played bass on Manipulator. His life seemed very interesting but also very tragic. He was an extreme political activist that committed suicide as a sort of anti-war protest just like the monk protester from that famous Vietnam war photograph. This whole self-immolation thing just makes no sense to me. I can't seem to stop thinking about it since reading about this guy. I have a difficult enough time just trying to understand suicide in general but I just can't seem to understand how this could possibly benefit your cause. Really how does it change anything? Am I missing something here? Even if he managed to torch George Bush himself would it really change the outcome of this war? And if you feel like you had to do this couldn't you find a less painful way to do it than to set yourself on fire? Anyways this is old news that goes back a few years and if anyone is interested Pitchfork wrote an article on the guy here. I just can't help but notice the irony of his death considering he was in a band called Arsenal with the guy whose previous band's most well known song was titled Kerosene. I think most readers of this blog will probably already know what that song's about.

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