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.

Download

Serenading Uffizi

Cute dog in a skull and cross bones sweater. In true punk rock fashion.

Honeymoon Killers- 'Til Death Do Us Part (1990)

So I just came across this fantastic blog tonight called "Frog 2000" due to a request from the blogger (which I wasn't able to fulfill unfortunately) and it's chocked full of incredibly hard to find garage rock gems like this album. Not only does the blog have every rare Honeymoon Killers album ever released but it also has just about every single impossible to find single from Pussy Galore, The Gories, Fireworks, 68 Comeback etc. and the list goes on. So I'm reposting this one mostly because I've never come across it anywhere and I've also converted it from the link's OGG files to a bit more universal MP3 format. Anyways, it's a great record from a great band, from a very cool blog.

Download

Ty Segall - It 7" (2008)

Ty Segall is my favorite of the recent lo-fi-garage-pop bands out there that are so popular with the kids these days. Well... popular in Southern California anyways. Ty's played with The Epsilons, The Traditional Fools and has also played drums with the Sic Alps. The song "It" was rerecorded as the opening track on his most recent LP titled Lemons which is one of the best records of the year so far. It's the stand-out song off the album that always seems to get stuck in my head all day after hearing it. This single is the early "one man band" version of the song that's much more raw than the Lemons version. Ty's music is a bit of a mix of what John Dwyer's been doing in recent years and the more surfy style of Wavves.

Download

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.

Download

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.

Download

TJL in LA

So I saw The Jesus Lizard play last night for the first time since '96. I don't care what people have to say about reunion tours. It was amazing. I think they have a few more good tours in them myself. That's wishful thinking I know but anything's possible. Fuckin incredible. I felt like a kid again.

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.

Download

Hoover - Hoover EP (1997)

Hoover has always been my favorite of the whole DC/Discord scene. This is a reunion record they did after their classic "The Lurid Traversal Of Route 7." Members went on to numerous great bands including Regulator Watts, Radio Flyer, Abeline, The Crown Hate Ruin and June Of 44. The stand out for me is Weeds which is a different version of a song off of Lurid which bass-line reminds me of a old Bauhaus song that I can't remember the name of. I'll take it over Fugazi myself.

Download

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.

Download

The Pope - Ascendo Tuum! (2006)

The Pope are a bass/drummer duo from Los Angeles that sound like Godheadsilo on meth.
Download

This Sucks...

It really does...

Goat Witch - Blind (2005), Naked (2006) & On Fire (2009)

Goat Witch are another collaboration band much like my previous post of the Moon Phantoms album. The Melbourne bands Spider Goat Canyon and Fire Witch got together and spent two days in a studio recording a improvised jam session that resulted in the trilogy of Blind, Naked and On Fire. This link is for all 3 albums. They sound surprisingly tight and together considering it's all just being made up on the spot. Me, not being a musician myself, am so amazed how two different bands can just get together one day and create music from absolutely nothing and make it sound like it's been written and rehearsed for weeks. It makes more sense when it's solo'ish guitar noodling with a basic repetitious rhythm section like the band "Earthless" or free-jazz etc. It's just when a band can really follow each other with different movements and time changes and make it seem so seamless without any prior rehearsals it's really impressive to me. But like I said I'm not a musician and can't really relate. Maybe it's just instinctual for some people I guess. Thanks to Sludge Swamp for these albums that were recently posted on their site. I just basically took it from them and put it together into one link.

Download

Moon Phantoms - S/T (2009)

Moon Phantoms is a collaboration between the bands Bardo Pond and Suishou No Fune from Japan. This record came about as most of these collaboration records do by two bands doing a tour together, hitting it off and deciding it would be fun to record a session together. Here's a review I'm stealing from Aquarius Records who always seem to sum up the mood of an album perfectly in just a few sentences:

"Deep in the forest ethno-drones, drenched in buzz and shimmer. Sitar, guitar, cumbas and all sorts of percussion create exquisite layers psych drone Nirvana that will transport you to another dimension. Strangely peaceful, the music we hear in our heads when we lay in grass at night staring at the stars."

This vinyl only release was limited to 500 copies.

Download

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.

Download

Pygmy Shrews - Big Time (2009)

Pygmy Shrews are a trio from Brooklyn with members of Drunkdriver and Zs. This is their self-released cassette but they have a album coming out soon on Wantage USA. Just sloppy chaotic noise rock for fans of early Cows and Pussy Galore.

Download

Sad Breakfast - Sad Breakfast (2009)

This band just posted their website on our message board and asked us to give them a plug for their new album. I'm more than happy to post it and not just for the sake of being polite but also because it's pretty damn good. I only listened to about half the album on my way in to work this morning but I like what I've heard so far. They're similar to Pelican or Tides in their heavier moments but also have a lighter side to some songs more along the lines of Tristeza or Unwed Sailor. So here's their website which has a link to their album. Good luck on the tour guys...

Lamps - Lamps (2007) (By Request)

So this one's a request from months back but I just picked it up recently and I think it was worth the wait. LA's Lamps have got to be the heaviest band on In The Red Records' roster. Their label is more known for bluesy garage bands and Lamps have a hint of that but it's mostly just thudding noise rock in the vein of Feedtime or Crust.

Download

Wreck - El Mundo de Los Ninos (1993) (By Request)

I know it's been a little quiet here at the blog lately, so I figured I post a couple of old requests. So this is Wreck's final album that they put out for CZ Records. Although I think it's probably their weakest release, they're still a great band that people should be more familiar with. I listened to it for the first time today in a really long time and it's not bad. Not great, but not bad. I think the production of it doesn't really do the songs justice. For first timers to the band I'd probably start with House Of Boris which I've already posted then give this one a try. I also have their first EP and LP on vinyl that I may get around to ripping at some point and will post it if anyone is interested.

Download

"Real" Detroit Garage Rock Returns...

The Gories & Oblivians Joint Reunion Tour 2009

06.19.09 - Memphis, TN - Hi-Tone
06.20.09 - Memphis, TN - Hi-Tone
06.27.09 - Detroit, MI - Majestic Theater
07.03.09 - Madrid, Spain - Sala El Sol
07.04.09 - Bilbao, Spain - Kafe Antzokia
07.05 09 - Barcelona, Spain - Sala BeCool
07.06.09 - Bordeaux, France - BT59
07.07.09 - Paris, France - Maroquineri
07.08.09 - Groningen, Netherlands - Vera
07.10.09 - Nottingham, England - Blast Off Festival
07.11.09 - Amsterdam, Netherlands - Paradiso
07.12.09 - Gierle, Belguim - Sjock
07.13.09 - Dikmuide, Belguim - 4AD
07.14.09 - Munster, Germany - Gleis 22
07.15.09 - Berlin, Germany - Festaal
07.16.09 - Munich, Germany - 59:1
07.17.09 - Ravenna, Italy - Hana-Bi
07.18.09 - Torino, Italy - Spaziale Festival

Brain Banger - Yellow Belly (2007)

OK... so I'll throw in one more Young Widows related band while I'm at it. This is Widow's bass player Nick Thieneman's side project. If you like Young Widows you'll like this.

Download

Breather Resist - Full Of Tongues (2005)

Breather Resist is the band that Young Widows formed out of after the singer left the band. Guitarist Evan Patterson and bass player Nick Thieneman took over on vocals which I thought was a good call because the vocals were always the weakest part of Breather Resist in my opinion. The early BR albums were a faster more grindcore/screamo kind of thing where as this (their last recording) took on more of a thudding noise-rock sound that Young Widows would become. In fact two of the songs on this EP would be reworked into songs on Young Widows debut album Settle Down City.

Download

Young Widows - Split Singles (2009)

So Young Widows are jumping on the increasingly popular "split single" bandwagon and brought Pelican, My Disco, Melt Banana and even Bonnie Prince Billy along for the ride. I guess it's a good way to introduce some of your friends bands to new people. In this case with maybe the exception of My Disco none of these bands are particularly obscure. So I guess maybe it could work the other way around and it could be used as a way to introduce Young Widows to new people. Either way I guess it works out to be a win/win situation. I've been singing the praises of Young Widows many times already on this blog and they are probably my favorite band at the moment. What I love about these songs is that they're just as good as anything they've put out on their LP's. They don't have that "studio outtake/cutting room floor" feel to them like a lot of split singles do. If you put the 4 songs together it would make for a great EP.

Download

Shiny Beast

So there was some interest shown in Shiny Beast in the comments from the Regraped post from a while back.  Like Regraped they are also from Raleigh, NC and share the same intensity.  This is a collection of just about everything they ever recorded.  Here's a brief history of the band that I've taken from their Myspace page: 

Shiny Beast started in Raleigh North Carolina in the summer of 1991 after the demise of a band that guitarist David Sullivan and myself were involved in for the previous year and a half, called Willard. I remember that David had come to my apartment one day to show me all of these cool ideas that could have saved Willard but alas it was too late. We found a bass player in the form of one Chicago area resident named Mike Meadows. Mike was a kickass drummer that recently re-located down here to play in his childhood friend Andy Freeburn’s band, Erectus Monotone. So we rehearsed a lot and settled on this name from an old Captain Beefheart record that David liked. Since none of us wanted to sing, we asked Mike Carden of the band Garbageman to sing a few songs, which he did. His caterwauling fit in nicely. After a few shows with Mike, we recorded the first demo. Five of these songs ended up coming out on Tom Flynn’s BONER RECORDS as a cd-5 and a single. It was too bad that SHINY BEAST never recorded anything that sounded anywhere as good as this stuff. This is why we never did a follow up with Tom. Afterwards, Mike had to leave our band due to his situation with Erectus Monotone, which is a story I don’t want to get into. Lets just say that even though Mike was an amazing musician, personality wise it never would have worked. Kim Walker ended up teaching herself how to play bass in literally a month, which was pretty amazing to behold. She joined the band and this is the lineup that most people saw if they ever in fact did see us, with the exception of Mike Carden leaving or us kicking him out, I don’t remember what happened. We never found anyone to replace him, so we just stayed instrumental out of laziness, probably. We recorded lots of demos and four tracks that no one ever heard because either they weren’t great or because we were lazy or because we didn’t bootlick the right people that could help us out. We tried, though. People seemed to like us around the Triangle area but it seemed to be more of a “musicians” band meaning that we had heard a lot of nice stuff from people in other bands in the area, big and small. We were also lumped in with the whole MATH ROCK thing, which was pretty accurate I guess. We liked stuff like the Melvins, anything Pen Rollings played on and a bunch of other stuff. Eventually towards the end of our existence, we were able to record some more music for a split album with us on one side and our friends Regraped on the other. Regraped were a mighty two bass driven power trio that we played with millions of times. The record came out on current Birds Of Avalon members Cheetie Kumar and Paul Siler’s label, BLAST O PLATTER records. Sure it sounded like shit, but that is no ones fault but the bands. We eventually called it a day and did a “last show” here in Raleigh that was captured on tape. Mike Carden even sang on a few songs. And that was all she wrote, kids. God bless and Amen.

Download

The Honeymoon Killers - Sing Sing 1984-1994 (1997)

Sing Sing is a collection of demos, rehearsal recordings, and outtakes from The Honeymoon Killers decade long career.  The Honeymoon Killers was founded by Jerry Teel and Lisa Wells and had various members over the years including Jon Spencer (Pussy Galore, Blues Explosion), Christina Martinez (Boss Hog), Judah Bauer (Blues Explosion), Russell Simins (also Blues Explosion), Marcellus Hall (Railroad Jerk) and many others.  Jerry has had an interesting career after Honeymoon Killers with bands like Boss Hog, The Chrome Cranks, Knoxville Girls, Little Porkchop, Jerry Teel & The Big City Stompers and now to his current band The Lonesome Jerry Teel & Queen Pauline Review.  His bands started out as being really swampy lo-fi garage rock and over the years went into more of a country/bluegrass direction with Knoxville Girls and The Big City Stompers.  I'd seen Chrome Cranks play many times years ago when I lived in Chicago and would always talk to Jerry about music and he always just came off as being this cool laid back guy.  In fact I remember one conversation about his plans on bringing The Honeymoon Killers back which it turns out never happened.  I'm just finding out now much to my surprise that The Chrome Cranks have reunited!  In fact it looks like they're playing a show in Brooklyn tonight so if any New Yorkers are reading this and are looking for something to do I'd highly recommend checking it out.

Download

New Header

Thanks, Lisa.  I have a friend that has great photoshopping skills that's working on a better one that will do your drawings justice.  Coming soon... 

Dig Dat Hole - Kneejerk (1987)

So I wrote about DDH a while back and posted an old demo of theirs and talked about their shelved debut album that never saw the light of day. I just found it myself and here it is. I think Tod and the guys were in their prime with the first few Cop Shoot Cop releases (Headkick Facsimile, Consumer Revolt, White Noise) and this was the record that preceded it and it's right up there with those albums. The only thing that hadn't quite reached the level of CSC is the lyrics. Some of the lyrics on Kneejerk are immature and sometimes just plain stupid. One of the things I really love about CSC was their clever insight about politics, religion, and whatever else was pissing them off at the time and Kneejerk just isn't really up to par lyrically with CSC in my opinion.

Download

Celan - Halo (2009)

Celan is a new band fronted by Chris Spencer of Unsane with Ari Benjamin Meyers (Einsturzende Neubauten), Niko Wenner (Oxbow) and a few guys from a German band called flu.ID which I've never heard of before.  Much like Spencer's last side-project The Cutthroats 9 it doesn't really go in any new direction from what Unsane's been doing for the last 20 years.  But hey, "If it ain't broke why fix it" right?  Although that may not be entirely true.  The album artwork has roses on it as opposed to bloody corpses.  The song "Washing Machine" is a simple gentle piano piece and the final track "Lunchbox" has a slower meditative build which won't be found elsewhere on this album.  The rest is the pissed-off pummeling that you'd expect from Spencer and he probably wouldn't have it any other way.

Download

Rema-Rema - Wheel In The Roses EP (1980)

This is the sole release by the short-lived Rema-Rema, which was just re-released by 4AD a few years ago. Featuring a side of studio and live recordings each, the music is very bass and feedback-heavy. You might know them from Big Black's excellent cover of their titular song "Rema-Rema."

Download

Egg Hunt - Me and You (1986)

During a visit to London in Spring 1986, Ian MacKaye and Jeff Nelson were invited by the Southern Records founder to do some recording. They recorded four songs, and to commemorate the great time they had, they issued this single. The music itself is surprisingly proggy - kinda like a cross between Embrace (Ian's Embrace, not the shitty one) and Rush.

Download

Scul Hazzards - Slaughtered Pigs (2009)

This is to tide you over until the upcoming LP Landlord comes out, which should be any day now.  Scul Hazzards are a band from Australia that fits perfectly with just about everything we write about on this blog.  Just good old fashioned noise rock.  In fact it even includes a cover of Big Black's Kerosene.  Speaking of Big Black, they happen to have just started a European tour with fellow Aussie's My Disco.  This would be a "guilt free" download that they've offered themselves for free on their Myspace page.  So try it out then buy the upcoming LP which I'm sure will be fantastic.

Download

Gear Jammer - Horsepower 2000 (1994) & Two Tons Of Chrome (1990) (By Request)

A quick side-project of Tom Hazelmeyer's (Halo Of Flies) with Bill Hobsen (Killdozer) and Frank Thorpe (Like Hell).  As good if not better than Halo Of Flies if you ask me.  Each had a pressing of 800 copies.  Since I'm on the subject of Hazelmeyer, I have a request myself.  Does anyone out there have the Pogo The Clown's Lederhosen single that could hook me up?  I've been looking for that damn record for years...

Download

Bob Log III - My Shit Is Perfect (2009)

This is the only music that makes me want to dance.  And this is coming from someone who loathes dancing.

Download

Steel Pole Bath Tub - Scars From Falling Down (1995) (By Request)

This was requested a while back and I've been pretty busy lately so sorry for the delay.  SPBT's major label debut isn't their best but it's not half bad either.  Maybe a little more produced than their other releases.  I hadn't listened to this one in a long while before today but I'm liking it more now than I remember.  The first track in particular is pretty catchy and has been stuck in my head all day.  Slash Records dropped the band after this one record and the fact that they hated it that much means it must have something going for it.

Download

Earth - 070796 Live (2001)

This is a live recording from the Vienna Hyperstrings Festival whose date compromises the album title.  This is the last material Earth was playing before Dylan Carlson took a long leave of absence and disappeared for a few years into drug rehab.  And by the sound of these song he was probably at the peak of his addiction.  I personally think this is some of their best work.  It's kind of like the link between the sound of the old Earth to the new.  It's really the last of the thick drone that Earth is most known for before returning years later to the cleaner sound that they are today.  This record had a bit of controversy behind it which you can read about here and is quite rare with a pressing of only 500 copies.

Download

Michael Gira - Drainland (1995)

Really overlooked Michael Gira solo album. The album is a lot more indicative of his work to come with the Angels of Light, with the highlights for me being a stunning reinterpretation of "Where Does A Body End?" entitled "Where Does Your Body Begin," the surprisingly uplifting "Your Naked Body" and "Blind" (which he later re-recorded for his album I Am Singing To You From My Room). The rest is of course really great too, and even includes some callbacks to the Children of God era.

Buy

Download

Butthole Surfers - Fast (Alternate Version)

This is an mp3 of the fantastic alternate version of the Butthole Surfers' Fast from the Bar-B-Que Movie. I'm not going to write a lot about it because this is such a small post, but to give the backstory, the Bar-B-Que Movie was a short Super 8 film by Alex Winter (the Bill & Ted guy), which starred the Butthole Surfers and ended with a staged live performance of Fast. Why wasn't this included on Humpty Dumpty LSD? It's definitely superior to the Hairway to Steven version.

Watch the Bar-B-Que Movie

Download

Dieselhed - Tales of a Brown Dragon (1995) & Shallow Water Blackout (1997) (By Request)

Another re-up from the old blog. Dieselhed were a San Franciscan supergroup on Amarillo Records, featuring members of Brent's TV, Mr. Bungle, Camper Van Beethoven and the backing band for Neil Hamburger's country record. For fans of Up on the Sun-era Meat Puppets.

Tales of a Brown Dragon (1995)

Their best. Eleven fully-developed and catchy songs, not a stinker in the bunch.

Download

Shallow Water Blackout (1997)

Not quite as solid as TOAB, but still a very enjoyable records. It's a lot less country, which is weird, as it was actually produced by Dwight Yoakam's engineer.

Download

Steel Pole Bath Tub - Auf Wiedersehen (1995)

So some of you may know that SPBT were once intending on covering The Cars first album in it's entirety (a couple of these songs did end up on Unlistenable) which never happened.  They also recorded a couple of covers of another beloved 80's band which was Cheap Trick.  They covered two of their big hits that everyone will recognize (even me and I was never really a fan) and they kept it as a pretty straight forward cover of the songs.  They don't seem to veer off much from the original songs which could be good or bad depending on who you ask I guess.  It's also got this great Communist propaganda style artwork by Frank Kozik and was released on Kozik's own Man's Ruin label. 

Download

Bull - Tinbox (1990)

So I posted an album by this band on the old blog and kept on referring back to this single in my review and said I'd post this once I got around to ripping vinyl.  So here it is.  I'm just going to steal the story of this recording from their Myspace page. 

bull was Dave Riley, ex-Big Black/ Mike Meadows, ex-Hedonists, ex-Shiny Beast/ Kevin Drumm ////// the three songs you are listening to were originally released in 1992 as TINBOX on the Philadelphia-based COMPULSIVE RECORDS. as the story goes, after a night of hard drinking and a $250 bar tab later, dave and i decided to hit the studio. dave's only stipulations were that i kept him well-supplied with booze, cigarettes and a place to sleep for a couple of nights. being that he was unemployed and homeless, i agreed. the results of that session was TINBOX. TINBOX was written, rehearsed and recorded in about three hours on a cold friday night in some basement shithole recording studio on Chicago's north side. bull played one show following the release of TINBOX at club DREAMERZ that ended abruptly when dave fell down face first stinking drunk during the beginning of the set. bull was never a band, barely even a recording project. there was one more release on Homestead Records and without dave, for obvious reasons. i still can't believe HOMESTEAD released that damn thing. in my opinion, and i'm sure i'm not alone here, that record was a total complete piece of shit; the only exceptions being the production and some of kevin's guitar work. the joke was on homestead and anybody who shelled out their hard-earned cash for it. the soon-to-be released re-issue of TINBOX marks the final chapter for bull... mike

Download

Lowercase - Two Songs (1994)

Lowercases first release and their most Unwoundish.

Download

The Austerity Program -Song 20 (The River)/Song 1 (2008)

I've recently started ripping my 7"s and was posting them on the old blog and most of them go back at least 10 or even 20 years.  This one is actually the most recent 7" I purchased at an Austerity Program show I saw last summer when I was on vacation in NYC.  They played the opening slot supporting Russian Circles and Daughters and in my opinion stole the show from them.  Just a fantastic band.  Anyways it's late, I'm kinda drunk and I don't have the energy or concentration to come up with a witty analysis for these songs.  All I can say is that if you're not familiar with this band give them a try and give them your support.  They could be the next Big Black.

Download

Foetus/Chrome Cranks - Vice Squad Dick (1994)

Vice Squad Dick is a split single by NYC's Foetus and Chrome Cranks.  They both do a cover of a song originally written and recorded by a guy called Dick Uranus.  Yep that's right "Dick Uranus."  Never heard of the guy but I googled him and was able to find the original version here.  The Foetus side is pretty typical sounding for the band but I like it.  The Chrome Cranks side, which I prefer, has a bit more of a raunchy vibe to it.

Download

Wreck - House Of Boris (1991)

I've always thought Wreck were kind of a overlooked band.  Their first album was pretty promising, their second album (this one) was the band at their peak then they followed it up with a pretty bland album and then that was it.  Not even leaving a blip on the map.  So now why didn't they become a household name?  My guess is that signing a poor choice of a record label kept them a little under the radar.  This album was released on Wax Trax Records which was more well known for their industrial acts and maybe Wreck got a little lost in the mix.  They seemed much more suited for other local labels like Touch And Go or maybe Skin Graft Records.  So if the Chicago noise rock scene of the 90's is your thing then give this band a try.  With the exception of a lame George Clinton cover (Atomic Dog) it's a pretty solid EP.  For Fans of The Jesus Lizard, Tar or anything Albini.

Download

Rare Cows Singles

I originally posted these on our old blog, but here it is again: my collection of Cows singles. If you don't know them, the Cows were one of the most original, talented and underrated bands of the 80s and 90s, and definitely my favorite on AmRep. You can read more in depth reviews of them along with their history here.

There's also the Woman Inside/Midnight Cowboy 7" that features alternate versions from the Cunning Stunts tracks and a split with Headcleaner on Pandemoneum records where the Cows contribute "Four Things" (I'm not sure if its different from the Whorn version, but its produced by Halo of Flies bassist and Whorn producer Tim Mac too according to the Discogs entry, so it probably is the same), but I don't have those.

Includes:

Chow 7" (1988)

Slap Back 7" (1990)

Plowed EP (1992)

Cow Island/Chicken Rhythm 7" (1994)

Porn 4 (Split with Boss Hog) (1995)

The Missing Letter Is You (1997)

Download

The Fall - Levitate (1997) & The Marshall Suite (1999)

Two extremely underrated Fall records (their 19th and 20th studio albums respectively), both of which are sadly out-of-print now. These two take my pick for the Fall's best of the 90s.

Levitate (1997)

Definitely in the top five of my favorite Fall records, this is probably their most inaccesible album. The songs are all very akin to Paintwork, Bonkers in Phoenix or Can Can Summer, in that they feel very sparse and skeletal. The emphasis is often put on "sound" rather than melody, although there certainly is no lack of any, but the songs are still very catchy. If you've heard the Peel sessions from the album, you can tell that these are all very normal songs, they've just been tweaked beyond recognition by MES' very peculiar production. Highly recommended.

Buy used

Download

The Marshall Suite (1999)

After a gig in NYC, Mark E. Smith beat up his girlfriend (then keyboardist Julia Nagle) in their hotel room, which led to him then being arrested and the entire band (except for Nagle) quitting. MES set out to find an entirely new band, and the result was this fantastic album.  The album is a rock opera suite about the sad life of a Marshall, and mostly features electronic, synth-based songs along with a couple of very fuzzy rockabillyish songs. It is a great starting point for someone new to the band, as it highlights some of the best examples of the Fall's newer sound.

Buy used

Download