AU REVOIR AND ONE LAST SONG

Sorry to say, but with a new job and relocating, I'm going to have to put this blog on ice for a while - just not enough time to do everything. It's been a gas.

Here's one last track from a new English band in a electro/synthy/klaxons/nu-rave vein:

Late Of The Pier - Bathroom Gurgle

Ciao!

WHITE MICE 'BLASSSTPHLEGMEICE'

(Load, 2007)

01 blassstphlegmeice
02 dieabesstitty
03 caged mearachells
04 catasstasteatrophy
05 foetal castro
06 wrawblow
07 violence of the lamb
08 porn again
09 hole (sweet) hole
10 mousestassh ride
11 turban sprawl
12 rattarddead
13 sewercide

"Musically, there is no good reason why this terrifying trio should be held in any less regard than Air Conditioning, Sightings, Gang Wizard, or even Lightning Bolt. Their cacophonous combination of screeching oscillations, sickening, bowel spilling bass, and bludgeoning double kick drumming has never sounded better than it does on BLasssTPhlEgMEICE. For forty minutes straight the White Mice set your balls on fire and watch as your writhe in pain while they laugh and perform unnecessary surgery on the rest of your body: switching from grinding torture-porn doom grooves to mid-tempo black metal blender noise. The production of this record is a definite improvement over ASSPhiXXXEATATESHUN, a subtle shift I took notice of just before it violently grabbed me by the throat. Their sound is fuller, more pronounced, and every sound shines with an alarming clarity: the blinding flash of a knife's blade before it fatally plunges into your fat belly."

Yeah, I know they've got a new one out on Blossoming Noise soon (Excreamantraintraveinanus),
and I'll post that as soon as I find it.

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MONOTRACT 'TRUENO OSCURO'

(Load, 2007)

01 muddy thunder
02 under my arm
03 the ballad of lechon
04 big n
05 cafu y koka
06 red tide
07 mar rojo

"Trueno Oscuro (which means "Dark Thunder") also stitches rock and noise into one monstrous hybrid, but leans farther toward the rock side than any previous Monotract release: Nearly every song here has a big, bold beat, supplied by the mix-dominating pound of drummer Roger Rimada. On top of that huge pulse, Giffoni and bassist/vocalist Nancy Garcia spin thorny noise, sauntering bass, and rhythmic vocal chants. This spastic combination can produce oddly funky tunes-- a kind of skewed dance-noise akin to the fractured chug of RTX, the disco damage of Ciccone Youth, or even the hardcore crunch of Atari Teenage Riot.

There's also something sultry and even seductive about the way Monotract swings and sways here, especially during the songs sung by Garcia. On "Big N", her breathy half-spoken vocals cascade over Ramada's hip-hop beat like syrup over pancakes, while her urgent yelps at the close of "Muddy Thunder" bewitch like Lydia Lunch's best screams. On the only cut without drums, "Under My Arm", she tentatively whispers over whirring drone, her voice a siren as entrancing as Kim Gordon's on Sonic Youth's "Shadow of a Doubt"."

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HALF COUSIN ALBUMS

The Function Room (2004) - Download

Iodine (2007) - Download

CITAY 'LITTLE KINGDOM'

(Dead Oceans, 2007)

01 - First Fantasy
02 - Little Kingdom
03 - A Riot of Color
04 - On The Wings
05 - Last Days Last
06 - Eye On The Dollar
07 - Former Child
08 - Moonburn

“Citay really nail that rich acoustic-electric rolling tabla honey harmoney sound that all those heavy bands - Sabbath and Zeppelin, especially-used to do, back when all the best musicians were inspired by what the Incredible String Band were doing, and were still able (or willing) to express a feminine side to go with their preening barbarian or depressive wail aspects...This is an album without a sell-by date, with a song for every season...Monumental.” ---ARTHUR MAGAZINE

“Inspired by the acoustic sides of ‘70s rock behemoths Led Zeppelin, Heart and Black Sabbath, they've taken a detoour into lush, baroque folk and sun-kissed Laurel Canyon jams; blending those groups with more pastoral shades with the likes of John Fahey, Pentangle and CSN&Y to very fine effect.”---MOJO

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DAVID THOMAS BROUGHTON vs. 7 HERTZ

(Acuarela, 2007)

01 Weight of My Love
02 No Great Shakes
03 Jolly (Interlude)
04 Fisted Hand
05 River Outlet

Elusive-yet-prolific UK songwriter David Thomas Broughton will unleash his latest not-quite-full-length release via Spanish label Acuarela.

The five-track, hour-long mini-album is a collaboration with experimental Leeds band 7 Hertz. It is simply, fittingly titled David Thomas Broughton vs. 7 Hertz. It comes out in Spain on October 2, in the rest of Europe on October 22, and in the U.S. on October 23.

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TULLYCRAFT 'EVERY SCENE NEEDS A CENTER'

(Magic Marker Records, 2007)

1.The Punks Are Writing Love Songs
2.Fangs on Bats
3.Georgette Plays a Goth
4.Bored to Hear Your Heart Still Breaks
5.Clique At Night Vandals
6.Dracula Screams of Tiger Style (Parts 1&2)
7.The Lonely Life of The UFO Researcher
8.A Cursed Miss Maybellene
9.If You Take Away the Make-Up (Then the Vampires They Will Die)
10.Misgiving
11.The Neutron
12.One Essex Girl
13.The Secret History of Devil's Paw
14.We Know You're Cute, You Told Us

"Tullycraft are known for writing indiepop anthems. Over the years they've penned a handful of songs that practically define the twee movement in America. It would be a safe statement to say that their new album "Every Scene Needs A Center" picks up where their fourth album, "Disenchanted Hearts Unite" left off, but that would be selling Tullycraft short. Their new album, recorded entirely on analog tape, is not simply a collection of wonderfully snarky pop songs with one or two anthems thrown in, but rather an entire record of ultra-catchy, smart indiepop anthems, taking aim at vampires, the English class system, goth waitresses and so much more. This time around, Tullycraft may have actually crafted a twee masterpiece a "Twe-epic" if you will."

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