Bastards - Monticello (1989)

Bastards were a noise rock band from Minneapolis.  They only put out this one LP and a couple of singles which were also included on the eventual CD version of Monticello.  They were one of the few bands on the overlooked Treehouse Records label.  Treehouse had a lot of great bands (Cows, Babes In Toyland, TVBC etc.) from Minneapolis that would eventually move on to other labels but released some really great singles in it's short existance.  Monticello being one of the few full lenght LP's that the label produced from what I recall.  For fans of Killdozer and Feedtime.

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Katastrophy Wife - Amusia (2001)

With Kat Bjelland of Babes In Toyland.  If you like Babes there's no reason you shouldn't like this.  I can't really tell the difference between the two.  Is it just me or does the song Git Go sound a lot like Billy Squire's Everybody Wants You?

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Davis Redford Triad - The Mystical Path of the Number Eighty Six (1997)

The Davis Redford Triad is the solo band for Faust guitar player Steven Wray Lobdell. This review that I'm stealing from ForcedExposure.com gives a much more colorful description than what I could ever come up with... "Mystical Path of the Number Eighty Six was hailed as 'a limber sonic attack that sounds like 1,000 chattering meth-soaked bats being chased through the caves of Sun Ra's Atlantis by a litter of ax-wielding Chihuahua vampire pups, who just need some lovin'."  Now if that doesn't pique your interest I don't know what will.

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Slug - The 3 Man Themes (1996)

Slug were sort of like the west coast version of Unsane back in the day.  In fact they even put out a split single with Unsane.  Although The 3 Man Themes, their last album, is a little bit of a departure from their previous releases.  It's a little more on the experimental side and really a lot of it isn't that noisy at all.  I give them a lot of credit for trying something different even though I'm sure a lot of fans might have been disappointed.  It's kind of hard to tell from one song to the next that it's even the same band sometimes.

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Blacktop - I've Got A Baaad Feelin' About This (1995)

Mick Collins, the self professed "Last Black Man of Rock and Roll," has had many bands over the years and Blacktop has always been my personal favorite.  Whether it's rockabilly (The Gories), punkbilly (The Screws) or just old fashion R&R (The Dirtbombs) his music has always had a fun groove to it.  Blacktop was his follow-up band to The Gories and it has a lot more of a darker tone to it.  When I say dark I don't mean in a Sunn O))) kind of way.  It's still just rock and roll but with a little edge to it.  The guitar sound is much thicker and full than the Gories.  Much of that is the result of second guitarist Darin Lin Wood (Fireworks, Black Snakes, Cat Fur).  Mick's vocals are a little more haggard than usual due to the fact that he apparently recorded the album while just getting over strep throat.  Which I actually thought kind of added to the tone of this record.  The band only produced this one full length LP and this reissue also includes everything else (EP's, outtakes etc.)  Blacktop fell apart pretty quickly mostly due to Darin's heroine addiction.  Which Darin rebutes on Blacktop's myspace page.  According to the liner notes on the CD sleeve, Mick claims that Darin sold their tour van to buy smack.  Don't know how true that is but it sure makes for a good "rock star excess" story. 

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Justin Broadrick

I've been listening to Justin Broadricks music ever since the 80's and has always been one of my favorite musicians.  He's most known for Godflesh and Jesu which are the bands which has produced the bulk of his best material.  I'm not going to be posting any of these records (for this particular post anyways) because I figured that anyone interested in his music is probably already familiar these bands.  Jesu links in particular seems to be on just about every music blog and forum out there it seems.  I'm posting some of his lesser known projects, although if anyone is looking for Jesu or Godflesh just let me know and I can fullfill the request.

Fall Of Because - Life Is Easy (1999)

Broadricks first band that would eventually evolve into Godflesh in a sense.  He sang and played drums in this band but would later start Godflesh with FOB's bass player G.C. Green.  They never actually released a album while they were still together but some demos and live material was compiled together and released in 1999 as Life Is Easy.  All of these where made sometime between 82' and 86.'

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Head Of David - Dustbowl (1988)

This was the very first Justin Broadrick record that I purchased back in 88' and it's still one of my favorites of his.  HOD is his band after a short stint as a guitar player with Napalm Death that recorded Scum with him at the tender age of 16.  Ok, so I just wanted to include "tender" and "Napalm Death" in the same sentence.  Ha!  Apparently he was kind obsessed with Swan's Filth and Cop at the time and it really shows in his primal drumming style.

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Sweet Tooth - Soft White Underbelly (1990)

This was a quick one record project that he did with Head Of David's Dave Cochrane.  Justin's playing guitar and singing back-up vocals on this one.  The trio also features some fantastic drumming from Slab's Scott Kiehl.

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God - The Anatomy Of Addiction (1994)

Justin teams up once again with Dave Cochrane on this one.  Since I'm on the subject of Broadrick/Cochrane collaborations I just wanted to mention that there's a new project they're doing with Aaron Turner called Grey Machine that's going to be releasing an album soon.  I'm really looking forward to this one.  So Anatomy Of Addiction is pretty much in the same vein as Godflesh's music at the time but with touches of jazz.  There's a little saxophone on here as well as some jazzy drumming in certain songs.

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Jon Spencer

I think most people would agree that Spencer's music has gone a little down hill in recent years.  The last couple of Blues Explosion records have been so-so and Heavy Trash doesn't really do much for me.  There was a time before every song started with a "Ladies and Gentleman..."  There was once a time when he performed songs with such classic titles as "Die Bitch" and "Cunt Tease."  Here are a couple of his older releases back when having a "Fuck You" attitude was more important than having perfectly sculpted hair.

Pussy Galore - Historia De La Musica Rock (1990)

This was Pussy Galore's last album and probably the most overlooked.  It's a stripped down line-up of just Spencer, Haggerty and Bert.  It's the one PG record that wasn't reissued by Matador Records and has been long out of print.  I wouldn't say this is their best album but I think it represents kind of a transition from the old Spencer to the new.  This one has got more of a laid-back rock & roll groove to it compared to their harsher early albums.  You can really see Blues Explosion and Royal Trux right around the corner after this one.

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Boss Hog - Action Box (1991)

Action Box was a double 7" that at one time was fetching $100+ for record collectors.  Although I think I saw it at Amoeba Music in Hollywood for more like $20 now if anyone wants to dig for it.  Action Box is Boss Hog in their prime in my opinion.  It's a little more focused with a much cleaner production than the previous album Cold Hands but still a little edgier and raunchy than later albums.  With Black Throat as an ode to Tracy Lords as a prime example, which also features guest vocals by J.G. Thrilwell (Foetus).  There is some good news for Boss Hog fans with the news that they are reuniting for the upcoming All Tomorrows Parties.  Not sure if this is a one time deal or not. 

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Honeymoon Killers - Hung Far Low (1991)

So Spencer was more of a day-player on this record.  It's always been Jerry Teel's band.  What's significant about Spencers stint with Honeymoon Killers is that the birth of Blues Explosion kind of developed out of it.  With Russell Simins on drums and Judah Bauer also being a contributor of the band.

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The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion - Jukebox Explosion Rockin' Mid-90s Punkers! (2007)

In The Red Records would periodically put out jukebox singles for JSBX back in the 90's.  They even had the little paper labels with the song titles that would be used in old fashioned jukeboxes included with the 7"s.  This is a compilation of them all.  I actually think it's better than most of their proper LP's.  These songs are a lot more raw and not so over produced.

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Bull - Gordon Zone (1993)

I first came across Bulls music because I bought their first 7" solely based on the fact that it had a sticker on it that said "with members of Big Black."  That member was Dave Riley and this was his first band after Big Black.  Unfortunately I don't have MP3's of this single but you can hear all the songs on a Myspace page that was basically dedicated to this single.  I do have their follow up EP without Riley called "The Gordon Zone."  It's sloppy guitar style is reminiscent of early Cows and it's just as heavy as the first single, it just no longer had the "Ex-Big Black" label attached to it.  You can learn more about Dave's kind of sad life by reading his blog.  I think this record's not bad when you consider the terrible review it got on the aforementioned Myspace page.  And this was coming from the drummer himself.

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Alasehir - Philosophy Of Living Fire (2007)

Alasehir is one of many Bardo Pond side projects.  They have their own studio called the "Lemur House" (which may be the actual house they live in but I'm not positive about this) and crank out limited CD-R's all the time.  The songs are long improvised jams that they could probably do in their sleep but I tend to prefer these to the more "official" Bardo Pond records.  Just great trippy zoning-out-to music.  It's like granola for noise-rock fans.

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Slinty Bands

Remember listening to Spiderland back in '91 for the first time?  I had never heard anything like it before.  I remember thinking it was so unique and different at the time.  Just the dynamics and the odd vocals where it seems as if he was talking his lyrics as opposed to singing them.  Washer in particular just seemed like such a strange song.  I couldn't tell if the vocals were brilliant or kind of embarrassing.  Since then there has been hundreds of bands that have taken elements of Slint's style and some pull it off better than others.  Here are a couple of the good ones...

Ativin - Pills Versus Planes (1996)

I read a Ativin interview a while back where the members said they sort of bonded over the fact that they all had a love for Spiderland back when they first met in college.  And the band just kind of took off from there.  This is their first release and also the most aggressive one.  Later releases would fall into the more typical instrumental post-rock as we know it today.

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Haberdasher - Songs On Love nos. 48602-48608 (1997)

Probably the most Slinty (I'll be using this as an adjective) of the records I'm posting.  Definitely the best example of the "talking as singing" on the rare instances when there are vocals.  The Baltimore band only released this one LP and I really have no idea what the story is with the album title and the song names.  Members went on to form Oxes and More Dogs.

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Engine Kid - Angel Wings (1995)

This is Engine Kids last record and probably the least Slinty of theirs.  Their most Slinty would be their first EP.  But I'm posting this one because I think it's their best.  They were heading more into metal territory that guitarist/singer Greg Anderson (Sunn O))), Goatsnake) is more known for by this time.  But songs like Jumper Cables and the overall dynamics of the album still have that Slinty appeal.

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Wino - S/T (1998) & Singles

Wino were a overlooked noise-rock band from Louisville.  Not to be confused with the metal dude Wino (Saint Vitus, Hidden Hand).  Wino seemed to get a little lost amongst their more artsy peers (The For Carnation, June of 44 etc) within the Louisville scene.  They have some really crushing noise-rock songs (Yam Hand), some just plain weird songs (Eon) and everything in between.  You never really know what you're going to get from one song to the next.  I've also included a couple of their singles which were super limited and are long out of print.

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Hammerhead - Evil Twin (1993) (By Request)

Great Hammerhead E.P. which also includes their Peep/UV 7" and a re-recorded version of Load King which was originally sold as a "tour only" single.  Which was a great idea because it's far superior to the first recording.  You know, I like Vaz and all but it's just really not the same as Hammerhead.  Thankfully Paul Sanders got back in the game with Heroine Shieks which seems like a match made in AmRep heaven...

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Regulator Watts - The Aesthetics Of No Drag (1997)

Regulator Watts was Alex Dunham of Hoover's follow up band.  Not really far off from the Hoover sound.  The band name is even taken from a Hoover song.  Maybe a little more aggressive.  It definitely fits into the whole DC/Discord scene from back in it's heyday, and was even released on Discords sister label Slowdime.  If this is something you like I would also recommend Dunham's other bands Abilene and Radio Flyer.  For fans of Fugazi.

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Vertigo - Nail Hole (1993) & Ventriloquist (1992) (By Request)

Vertigo were probably the closest thing to a pop band that Amphetamine Reptile Records had to offer.  I'm currently listening to this for the first time in years and I don't think it really holds up.  It seems a little dated to me.  It's not bad I guess, it just doesn't sound the same to me anymore.

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Threnody Ensemble - Timbre Hollow (2002)

This is a A Minor Forest follow up band that doesn't sound a thing like them.  AMF guitar player Erik Hoversten was a classically trained musician that studied music at U.C. Berkely and this band would better reflect that then the sometimes brutal sounds of AMF.  The band also features Dominique Davison on cello who would also play on the occasional AMF song.  It's all acoustic with a beautiful recording by Brian Paulson.  I guess you could describe it as being experimental chamber music.  I'm not sure if this really belongs on this blog or not.  But a man can't live on noise-rock alone, right?

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A Minor Forest - Inindependence (1998)

A Minor Forest was a math-rock band from San Francisco although they seemed to fit in more with the Chicago or Louisville scene back in the 90's.  This was their final and in my opinion best album.  For fans of Slint, Rodan and Don Caballero.

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P.W. Long

P.W. Long has got to be one of the most underrated musicians on the planet. Not that he's super obscure or anything, it's just that I really thought he would have reached a bigger audience after all of these years. There are even moments of mainstream appeal in some of his more recent work. Just moments that is. I was predicting he would be the next "Tom Waits" or at least the next "Jon Spencer." But once again I tend to get a little tunnel vision as far as my tastes go and I need to come to the realization that not everybody is hearing it the way I'm hearing it. Throughout his career his music has ranged from noise-rock, blues and even touches of country. He started in the Ann Arbor band Wig and I believe he was only on their first single. Which I still don't have so if anyone could hook me up it would be much appreciated. So I'll start with my first introduction to him which was with Detroit's Mule.

Mule - Wrung (1994)

This one is definitely the heaviest release of his career. Maybe it's just me but this record almost seems to have a bit of a AC/DC feel to it. Just more pissed-off and aggressive . Steve Albini, who would refer to Mule as "Hillbilly Punk," recorded this and I think it's some of the best work he's ever done. Just crank it up really loud and you'll see what I'm talking about. It's just a really tight production.

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P.W. Long's Reelfoot - Push Me Again (1998)

P.W. himself has called this album his favorite. It's got a little bit of everything in it. But mostly it's just a really good rock album. I believe this was also Mac McNielly's (The Jesus Lizard) last recorded material, although I could be wrong.

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Young James Long - You Ain't Know The Man (2007)

This is his most recent release with his new band he formed in Dallas. This band was originally intended on being a improv project for him before he realized they sucked at improvisation. With members of Polyphonic Spree and Tenderloin. Now this one will go by fast. These 5 short songs will be over before you even know it.

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Fly Republic - Plane Explodes En Route To Heaven (2001?)

This was one of Paul Sanders' post-Hammerhead bands after a super short lived band called moreRam which also featured Matt Entsminger of Janitor Joe.  They put out a 7" and if I ever take the effort to try and figure out how to rip vinyl to MP3's maybe I'll post it someday.  Anyways, so Fly Republic never actually had a proper release and the only reason I have this to post is because I wrote the bass player who sent me a CDR that she made.  It did come with a homemade sleeve which if anyone's really interested maybe I'll try to dig it out and scan at some point.  It's just a home recording and the quality is pretty awful.  So don't expect this to be on par with Into The Vortex by any means.  This is really for the die-hard Hammerhead fan so don't get your hopes up too much.  I am one of those die-hard fans and at one time I had another home recording of a side project called Spitcool (with Erickson and Morridian), a pre-Hammerhead band called Buttchuck with Erickson (on drums!), Mike Kunka of Godheadsilo and Paul Wenner of Fireballs Of Freedom.  That one goes way back to their Fargo days.   I may have to go dig in my parents basement to try and find those...  Sorry I'm getting sidetracked but I haven't thought of those tapes in years.  What I'll probably remember most about this record was that I received it in the mail on September 11, 2001.  Considering the title of the album it was just one hell of a creepy coincidence.  That's a true story.

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The Chrome Cranks - Dead Cool (1994)

The Chrome Cranks were a trashy garage rock band from NYC that put out a handful of records back in the 90's.  With a solid rhythm section featuring Jerry Teel (Honeymoon Killers, Boss Hog) and Bob Bert (Pussy Galore, Sonic Youth) and a  guitar player who was also one of GG Allin's "Murder Junkies."  For fans of The Stooges, The Cramps and The Birthday Party.

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Doo Rag - What We Do (1996)

Doo Rag was a two-piece delta blues band from Tuscon, AZ.  Delta blues in a raunchy punk rock kind of way.  Doo Rag features everyones favorite boob-loving one man band Bob Log III along with drummer Thermos Malling, who's drum kit would include buckets, trashcans, pots, pans and whatever else he could find in his garage.  It's ultra lo-fi recording really seems to compliment the songs in this case.

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