This one comes loaded with excitement for RSTB. If you've been a reader for any length of time you'd know there are few bands that we've followed with as much intense interest as Kyle Thomas' King Tuff. So when Thomas abandoned the project to pursue Happy Birthday we were bummed but rewarded with a delightfully off-kilter pop record that seemed to ease the pain. Having all but resigned ourselves to never seeing the Tuff live, the wounds had just begun to heal when Thomas and crew began to play a few shows this year and they absolutely killed here in NYC. Now the band is releasing a track for Scion's superb garage 7" series and it's another killer from the King's mouth. For those only familiar with the band's Was Dead album, this will be the first time "Hands" hits your ears, but the track originally appeared on the sorely limited Mindblow CD-r. It's been completely reworked and rerecorded, though, and it's been supercharged into a hot piece of glam rock candy the way only King Tuff can. Check it out below and keep those fingers crossed for a new album!
King Tuff and RSTB have come a long way over the years. Way back in the Myspace days we posted a piece called “Who Is King Tuff?” and it all tumbled from there. Following Kyle Thomas from formation to a too soon demise, through a foray into Happy Birthday and watching the Tuff rise again from the ashes to Sup Pop prominence. His previous self-titled album was a welcome return, an awkward cousin to Was Dead, all grown up but still pummeling though the sweet spot axis where punk and power pop meet to get weird. Like a Twinkeyz album hopped up on nitrous with a Cheap Trick budget, Black Moon Spell pushes the Tuff legend to excess, amplifying his stereoscopic image fifty feet high and climbing. Everything here is bigger, shines brighter, bedazzled, triple stacked and running on eight cylinders.
And perhaps that's the one real criticism that can be made of the album, mid-piece "I Love You Ugly" suddenly drops fidelity and Thomas does his best Nobunny impression on a scrappy, off-kilter love ballad that never seems to fit with the rest of BMS' outsized personality. Elsewhere though, the amplified barrage of color and plasticine pop are a perfect next step in the Tuff pantheon, with Thomas even answering an RSTB wish with the inclusion of a new version of "Staircase of Diamonds". The Mindblow track was always one that got left in the rubble, but here it gets its own glossy remake and extended breakdown that's equally enticing as the Lou Reed-esque swagger of the original. If ever there was a figurehead of the Burger-boppin' denim set, its Tuff, paper crowned and leading the charge of headbang afternoons and record store educations. He's created a whole world etched in cheap tattoo and built from Happy Meal toys. We've just got to navigate it and hold on for the ride.
King Tuff – Wild Desire 7"
Yet another triumphant piece of the King Tuff 2012 domination, this single for the Suicide Squeeze singles series picks up two non-album tracks that precede his excellent eponymous album scheduled for May. The title track is as buoyant as we've ever
heard him, with the gum ball crunch of guitars, a hook large enough to bag a humpback whale and plenty of trademark King Tuff Technicolor pop accoutrements. The b-side cools things slightly with a mid-tempo strummer that plays it swift and breezy. One of the year's best for sure and more proof that the crew over at the Squeeze have been reading our dream journal for 7" inspiration again. Pick it up where you can.
Well we'd be remiss to tell you we weren't excited for the release of this upcoming King Tuff record. Over the course of RSTB, there have been fewer bands that we've been more excited about, sadder to see dissolve and still more excited to see rise up again. After a brief detour into Happy Birthday territory, Kyle Thomas is back at the reigns of Tuff again and he's brought that ripped denim swagger back to the fold. The album's bursting with the power pop slide that made Mindblow and Was Dead such giddily fun records but its apparent that Thomas' time in Happy Birthday wasn't merely a diversion; and he brings some of that project's candy-coated whimsy to the slower songs here, even nodding ever so slightly into Elephant 6-ish psych territory. At its core, though, he's retained the Tuff sound and it explodes in your ears like Pop Rocks and Jolt. Tuff has always been about exploring your weird side, waving whatever flag you're comfortable under as high and hard as possible and then dancing it down the hallways like no one's watching. The real windfall here is that Tuff returns to the stage. After a brief shot in NYC last April, which was met with the kind of exuberant full one crowd hysterics that he deserved, he'd picking things back up in SXSW this year and hopefully spreading the word to the world shortly afterward. If you're down there, you'll find us face pressed against speakers and loving every minute of it.
Perennial RSTB fave King Tuff has finally released a proper record. The debut Was Dead was released via the small Vegetable Records. Much of the record is comprised of reworked and fuller versions of the scrappy, power packed demos we previewed here earlier last year. Was Dead retains Tuff's same esthetic of cathartic dance inducing youth anthems heavily laden with perfect 70's power pop inflections. If you didn't know better you'd swear this was a lost classic that slipped through the floorboards. The sound has been fleshed out quite nicely and a couple of new tunes even touch on a bit of jangly 70's pop. Sadly missing though is a reworked version of RSTB fave "Staircase of Diamonds." Maybe if we beg, the band will cut a new version of that one too. You can purchase the new record through the band's site. Put this record on as loud as possible and in the words of the band themselves, "dance 'til you fuckin' die!"
Earthless are about as much an example of a sprawling space rock band as there could ever be and as such the album format often does them little in the way of justice. Their debut for Tee Pee was two lengthy originals and a scalding cover of The Groundhogs, while their previous EP was equally steeped in lengthy jams. So with the band's penchant for excess in mind, the fact that their recent performance at Roadburn (a Dutch festival with a bias towards huge amplifier stacks and bigger riffs) was captured to tape, leaving a two hour live document of the band fully unencumbered by restraint, seems to have come as an unexpected bit of fortune for the band and fans alike. The performance is nothing short of a sacrifice to the gods of electric sweat; 4 songs stretched over 2 hours of physical endurance and inspired sonics. It's a very close run between this and Endless Boogie for guitar record of the year, but both records ought to inspire every sixteen year old alive to find a way to make six strings ring like this. Live at Roadburn is the definitive Earthless record, a band at their peak, among their people and completely absorbed into the joy of sound.
Now since we here at RSTB love to see our unsung favorites finally make good, I have to include one other Tee Pee related note. The label's subsidiary Colonel has just recently reissued one of last year's great overlooked records, King Tuff'sWas Dead, and on vinyl no less. The
record was out on CD last year from Vegetable Records and seemed to fall on nothing but deaf ears so here's hoping that a wider release will clue a few more into their pitch perfect 70's power pop. The band is a side project of Kyle from Witch and Feathers so this may explain how it landed in the realm of Tee Pee's dark recesses. Here's hoping the band kick out a new record as well, courtesy of their new home at Colonel.
All in all a pretty good year for the short format as well. A couple of standouts from King Tuff (no surprise there) and one of our favorites from Veronica Falls, who were quiet on all fronts otherwise.
Check out the full list of singles picks after the jump below.
I'm not sure exactly what the connection is, but judging from their Myspace profile, King Tuff is some relation to RSTB favorites Feathers and Witch. Again, I really know nothing about these guys; if they're planning an album, if there already is one? Judging by the music which is jangly early '70s punk pop (sort of) it could all just be for fun, but there is no denying these are great songs and extremely catchy. I've got my ear to the ground for any more developments.
UPDATE: Caleb, KT's drummer was kind enough to fill me in on the details of the band. King Tuff is in fact Kyle's (of Feathers and Witch fame) solo music project. These songs are old but Kyle is at the moment rerecording and writing new music and plans to put out a new CD, which they will be promoting on a tour later this year.
King Tuff - Screaming Skull 7"
Oh 2012, so much King Tuff to give, eh? After one of his best singles yet ("Wild Desire") and an album to match, the power pop strutter kicks out another two shot of solid pop confection in the form of "Screaming Skull". The a-side, like "Wild Desire"
is an upbeat corker, this time with a rapid flutter of drumbeats pushing it like a turbine and plenty of Tuff charm in its lovesick/cathartic lyrics. Its the kind of untethered rock that's criminally left to be discovered on blogs rather than blasted from every radio in the country but ah well, more KT for us I suppose. The flip thickens things up with a meaty riff and epic swagger meant for the biggest speakers you own. Kick the two of these up and just repeat them until the needle wears down.
Six years after first appearing on CD-r, King Tuff's "Sun Medallion gets a video and as expected the crowd favorite still packs a punch. Excellently rendered Tuff gonzoisms offset the upbeat strums of the track, making it one of the best visual representations associated with KT since that Goreburger episode. Killer as usual!
It was a good year here at Raven. It was difficult to make the list as short as it is, and impossible to pick a number one. So, in no particular order, here are our favorite albums of 2006.
Vetiver - To Find Me Gone
Andy Cabic takes his sweet country folk stylings on a trip through the best touches of 70's am radio. Dark Brooding folk songs with the kind of delicate production that made records become classics. Sweet tinges of lap steel poke through the haze, laying the record back and bringing some sweetness to counter balance the moments that seethe with cinder and smoke. Cabic turns out an honest record full of musty bars and sunlit streets; gentle riverbeds and endless stretches of lonesome highway. [MP3] Vetiver - I Know No Pardon
Beach House - Beach House
The Beach House debut is an album that gets better with every listen. It’s haunting and mesmerizing, drugged out and eloquently striking; an invitation to the warm heart of the home where tales are spun in swirls of smoke and lilting breaths of crisp air; the songs so subtle they don’t sink in on first listen but you'll be aching for more once they hit the bloodstream. Beach House mystify and manage to glorify ennui, giving warmth to the most languorous spirit. If this were on vinyl I’d have worn through my third copy by now. [MP3] Beach House - Master Of None
Shearwater - Palo Santo
Jonathan Meiburg finally brings his Okkervil "side project" into its own. His songs clamber from a cold darkness to bask in the frayed ends of emotional frailty. Every word he whispers, sings and strains to yell rings with such incredible conviction that you can't help listening for fear he'll collapse otherwise. Each song is a torrent that rips your heart to shreds and then slowly sews it back together. [MP3] Shearwater - Hail Mary
Wooden wand & The Skyhigh Band - Second Attention
James Jackson Toth teams up on this one with members of The Skygreen Leopards and some from the Vanishing Voice to flesh out his loner country anthems into full revival swingers. This album is a dusted country ramble through salt of the earth folk and back porch sing-a-longs; full of muggy backroad dirges sung by roadside troubadours cleaned up so that they can sit at the dinner table. Quite possibly Toth's best work to date, which considering his catalog is saying something. [MP3] Wooden Wand & The Skyhigh Band - The Bleeder
The Skygreen Leopards - Disciples Of California
One of our all time favorite bands with their best release to date. Expanding their overall sound, evoking swells of California sunshine. This is an album you can daydream to year round. [MP3] The Skygreen Leopards - Disciples of California
Woods - How to Survive in/ In The Woods
Jeremy and Christian from Meneguar quietly dropped this release on Dutch label, Release the Bats. Shying away from their 90's rock leanings they instead create an indie folk classic. The scratch and stutter of home tapes create an intimate feeling of a thrift shop demo tape find. Underneath this gritty exterior the two have written nothing short of a pure pop gem; effortless and unpolished in the best ways. [MP3] Woods - Holes
Flying canyon - Flying Canyon
Self described as California Doom Folk, that description's not that far off. Flying Canyon is basically the best synthesis of Neil Young's subtle craft into a modern setting. Cayce Lindner has to be one of the best unknown songwriters of the past ten years. His songs writhe against their own humanity, both lamenting the ravages of life and content to bask in the sunlight at the same time. The weary voice California incarnate. [MP3] Flying Canyon - Crossing By Your Star
Horse Feathers - Words Are Dead
This Portland duo’s album is a ’06 essential. Full to brim with banjo, mandolin, cello, guitars, a little saw, and haunting vocals; Horse Feathers craft one of the most well worn, poignant and love-stained albums we've heard. [MP3] Horse Feathers - Blood On Snow
Kahoots - Fourteen Ghost
This Martha's Vineyard band wrote one of the best indie rock records you probably didn't hear this year. The band crafts world weary blue collar songs that carry a collective heart on its sleeve. The band rarely travels outside of their hometown but managed to get such luminaries as Bob Weston and Chris Brokaw involved with the recording process. Their tight catchy songs are the kind people look back on as classics in hindsight. [MP3] Kahoots - Your Blood
Benoit Pioulard - Precis
Precis was a pleasant surprise at the end of the year. Benoit Pioulard crafts some of the most delightfully disjointed chamber pop I’ve heard this year. At times, recalling greats like Elliott Smith and Mark Linkous, Pioulard combines the creativity and abstract nature of noise, tape loops, and fuzz with the practicality and timelessness of simple folk and rock progressions. A truly beautiful record. [MP3] Benoit Pioulard - Palimend
Nina Nastasia - On Leaving
Nina Nastasia's voice is completely disarming; equally able to stop you in your tracks and make you walk lighter. Try as you like but after a few minutes of listening to her bittersweet proclamations you feel as if you've known her for years. Her lyrics capture the taste of melancholy that comes with growing older but they don't get trapped in it completely. She finds the happiness in every day's small moments while at the same time thinking about the inevitable loss of what you've grown accustomed to. [MP3] Nina Nastasia - Our Day Trip
Howlin' Rain - Howlin' Rain
Ethan Miller lets his classic rock ties hang full out on his Comets side project. Letting his voice ring free of the Echoplex, he comes across as one part Terry Reid and one part Faces era Rod Stewart backed by the best amalgamation of back country roots rock since Fogerty left Creedence. Sweet country rock with the occasional bombast of fire that's not afraid to torture your speakers. [MP3] Howlin' Rain - Death Prayer In Heavens Orchard
King Tuff - Mindblow
Early recordings from King Tuff recorded a few years ago but finally released as a taster to the band's full length that's just now seeing light. These songs are the essence of power pop; bursting with energy, a huge sense of fun and enough swagger to set your feet dancing. It's hard to believe this band has kept this quiet, this long. This record could have easily stormed a few scenes if it had been released in a run of more than 100. [MP3] King Tuff - Staircase of Diamonds
The Mountain Goats - Get Lonely
John Darnielle may well have made the greatest break-up record of all time. A perfect mix of melancholy, utter loneliness and bittersweet redemption, 'Get Lonely' is a personal testament to his lyrical talents. The album synthesizes the complete comforting suffocation and paralyzing freedom of the dissolution of two people's intertwined lives. [MP3] The Mountain Goats - Woke Up New
Tim Hecker - Harmony in Ultra Violet
Harmony in Ultra Violet was another surprise favorite on the closing of the year. Veteran soundescapist creates his most stunning album to date. An intense adventure of intently crafted and emotive strings and fuzz. Down darkened sloping hills, through the creaking mansions of a lost time in Hollywood, and back into the warming neon of a strange and beautiful city, we follow Hecker on a diffident journey which gains momentum and poise with each track. The quietest and most self assured explosion you’ll hear this year. [MP3] Tim Hecker - Chimeras
Sinoia Caves - The Enchanter Persuaded
Jeremy Schmidt is most well known for his involvement with Black Mountain but his side project leaves their tense acid washed rock sounding like a watered down trip. Schmidt leaves all physicality behind creating the kind of music that you can get lost in for hours discovering the aural colors inherent in his drones folded in layers of echo. [MP3] Sinoia Caves - Naro Way
The Black Angels - Passover
Droning psych rock from Austin, Texas. The Black Angels are making some of the best revival music out there. Deeply distoring influences like The Velvet Underground, Black Sabbath, The Thirteenth Floor Elevators, and even a little Grace Slick and the Great Society, the Black Angels are definately one of the best under the radar rock bands out there. [MP3] The Black Angels - Bloodhounds on my Trail
Band of Horses - Everything All The Time
Band of Horse's debut album is an unassuming, easy going album without a drop of pretention. A pleasant surprise coming from an indie major. Former members of Carissa's Wierd, these guys recapture a simpler time in modern rock music, sealing images of muddy chucks, frisbee in the park, and back yard partying. Without a dull moment, this album truly captures the sensations of joy an purpose, meloncholy and elation. [MP3] Band of Horses - St. Augustine
Indian Jewelry - Invasive Exotics
A noisy, narcotic journey into the depths of the darkest rock and roll sounds. Opening track “Lesser Snake” is one of my favorite songs of the year. At times these guys remind of the noisier side or Black Mountain, but they've really got their own thing going. The rythmns are deep and sludgy punching relentlessly to the beat of some fogotten drum. [MP3] Indian Jewelry - Lesser Snake
M. Ward - Post War
Matt Ward has been a favorite for a long time. From Rodriguez to Duet for Guitars, this guys voice and skilled songcraft will wilt any worry or saddness into oblivion. His latest release, Post War, only further secures his "current classic" status. [MP3] M. Ward - To Go Home
Well far be it from me to pass up an opportunity to post some live King Tuff. Signal Kitchen has a session up of the band playing "Anthem" from one of RSTB's favorite records of the year. Soak it up.
Well the end of 2012 is drawing to a close and we've run down the albums that got the most play around RSTB this year. To avoid the list just being a mass of Ty Segall albums, Twins (a personal fave of the bunch) takes the place on the list but the other two would have just as easily made the list, especially the collab with White Fence which got plenty of play around here as well. Some really great releases this year and a banner year for both Drag City and Sacred Bones with some heavy inclusions in our list. Here are our picks for the best albums of 2012. Feel free to shout out your favorites in the comments. Check out the full list after the jump below.
King Tuff's recent album Black Moon Spell is a glammed shot of power pop straight out of '78 and to match the vibes the band's got a great sendup of dance countdowns ala Soul Train and Top of the Pops. A fitting accompaniment to a song about love at first brush through someone's record collection. If you haven't made the move to pick up BMS yet, there's still time, one of RSTB's favorites of 2014.
Hey RSTB-ers (is that a thing, who knows) I'm gonna be out of town this week but will return soon, in the meantime check out the great new video from King Tuff above and Raven will return before you know it.
[MP3] King Tuff - Staircase of Diamonds We really love King Tuff here at RSTB, and we finally got a hold of the entire album, Mindblow thanks to Fusetron here in Brooklyn. It's amazing; a pop rock treasure that feels as special as a locket in your pocket and oozes smiles and jumpkicks. "Staircase Of Diamonds" is the albums most reserved track, laying in lazy summer strums, watching with jealousy, the city you both love and hate, move unfazed without you, "Love's just a word that I can't explain, so I say I need you; Sometime's I feel like the only thing real is the city." Lou Reed would be so proud.
[MP3] Elton John - Time Has Told Me A cover of Nick Drake's classic by Elton John. I'm not sure it could get much better. It's a jazzier piano driven (obviously) take on the original. Sir Elton John has an entire session of Nick Drake songs out there, I'm still trying to get my hands on it. The quality isn't that great, but the song makes up for it.
[MP3] Nick Drake - Blues Run The Game A cover of Jackson C. Frank’s timeless track, "Blues Run The Game" performed by Nick Drake. It’s pretty comparable to the original but it's another chance to hear Drake display his everlasting talent. He has the power to speak to many people in a singular and personal way, and this still stands true through Frank’s words and music.
King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard - Oddments /
I'm In Your Mind Fuzz (BUY)
Ty Segall - Manipulator (BUY)
Together Pangea - Badillac (BUY)
Warm Soda - Young Reckless Hearts (BUY)
Woods - With Light and With Love (BUY)
The Skygreen Leopards - Family Crimes (BUY)
The Fresh & Onlys - House of Spirits (BUY)
Total Control - Typical System (BUY)
The Advisory Circle - From Out Here (BUY)
Paco Sala - Put Your Hands On Me (BUY)
King Tuff - Black Moon Spell (BUY)
New Bums - Voices In a Rented Room (BUY)
Wand - Ganglion Reef (BUY)
Kevin Morby - Still Life (BUY)
Natural Child - Dancin' With Wolves(BUY)
Grouper - Ruins (BUY)
White Fence - For The Recently Found Innocent (BUY)
Black To Comm - Black To Comm (BUY)
Cool Ghouls - A Swirling Fire Burning Through The Rye (BUY)
Wildest Dreams - Wildest Dreams (BUY)
Well this one took a minute to get around to and I have no idea how or why. Led by Magic Jake, the bassist from King Tuff along with Bobby Harlow of The Go, this is a body shock of Deeetroit rock that kicks, cuts and crumples to the floor in a heap of exhaustion. Jake's got the magic touch to be sure but takes a less melodic approach to the records than would betray his day job with Tuff. The album has a dirty garage groove that's more swagger than pop hook. With denim jackets dirt caked and guitars loud enough to shake the last support beam from any venue, the band is a throwback to the legion of 2000's rock cutters that burst out of their hometown with a fury a few years back (hell Harlow oughta know he was one of them). There's something to be said about a record that feels like the crunch of discarded cigarettes and the distinctive snap of your shoes sticking to the old beer mottled to the floor of last night's escapades. This is that kind of record; no regrets and barrelin' like a '77 Dodge with its brakes cut. Fuck it. Turn this up.
Clap - Have You Reached Yet? A definite lost gem amongst the pebbles of the 70's garage rock scene, Clap blends a gritty Exile-era stones flair with the sneer that so many of their garage-punk contemporaries brought to the table. Originally released in '73, Sing Sing
Records has dug up this classic proto-punk record and pressed it back to its native format. There are hints of NYC pre-punk moves here but since the band was based in Southern California, the sea and sunshine mellow things out with a heavy dose of smoke and an easy strum. It makes for a unique balance of calm rebellion that should have gotten the band much more attention than they received at the time. Plus, with that mix of pop and sneer the album should appeal to fans of current RSTB faves like King Tuff and The People's Temple. Highly recommended that you pick one up!