that Hair (2016)

bandcamp / -o-

Fever (2016)

Michael Morley doing disco tapes didn't surprise me, but it did worry me- with Fear of Music he aped rock riffs so as to belittle and destroy their 'power' and I hoped to god he was not going to try and give disco the same treatment. As it transpires I should stop being defensive and second-guessing people because there is nothing but affection for disco here and any way Morley at this stage in his career samples rather than mimics- it's soaring strings and repetitive grooves (the latter will not surprise, the former might) processed into 4 x ~10 minute songs where as is customary with Gate the sounds become a single oppressive texture, the songs deteriorate, the voice and guitars are exhausted from the start and either dissolve into the fabric of the song, or collapse along with it. What the uplifting/catchy structures do is reconfigure the guitars as an assault when that is necessary, which is exciting on its own, but I am more driven to the moments where the samples win out- the final stretch of Licker for example sends the heart soaring as the body disintegrates. as weary as it is hopeful

mie / -o- / juno

Megafauna

Whiiirrrr bllllmmmmmm reeeee thck thck whirrrrr (repeat)

Um

The last time I heard something this silly I was sitting at work listening to a grown man w/ hammered dulcimer singing about how the plants were gonna eat me. I tried buying the t-shirt but the thing broke on the website and I have this (thing) where I blame myself and not the website when that happens and I always think it's a sign or something, that sign being evidence of the Scrooge McDuck that looks over me but doesn't give enough of a shit to stop me spending money on food, that sign telling me it's just not worth it and to give up and just go eat something. He (SMD) draws the line at grown men w/ hammered dulcimers singing about how the plants are gonna eat me, but is okay with regular pie+sushi+sandwich lunches. Enough of those and I'll never be able to buy the damn t-shirt! He knows it, and I know he knows it. If he knows I know he knows then he's not just looking over me, and the thought of SMD being anywhere other than strictly above me (e.g. in my brain or in possession of a family member) is far more frightening than anything found on Megafauna. It's scarier than Goblin's Suspiria too, but not quite as pretty. And because Megafauna sits somewhere between grown man w/ hammered dulcimer (...plants...eat me) metal and Goblin's Suspiria, it's sillier but also prettier than all of that.

Crucially though the Goblin connection goes deeper than the similarity of sounds. Unlike other black metal weirdos that shoot for atmosphere over impact, Megafauna sounds like Yoga scoring the kind of suffering that aforementioned weirdos think atmosphere evokes. I don't want to call it a parody or anything, but it's like Megafauna is the soundtrack to the act of listening to black metal and feeling something (sadness, affirmation of nihilism/misanthropy/whatever). Detached yet curious, knowingly silly, admittedly moody, and importantly, very pretty.

try
buy

Wreck Small Speakers on Expensive Stereos - River Falling Love (1987)

It's all very young and hopeful- Morley'd go on to destroy rock with The Dead C and examine the leftovers with Gate- but man is it ever depressing 'cause the thing just sounds like a damn haunting. He's singing to nobody at all and the 'experimental' elements just tease and distract, all broken and falling apart.

here

JESUS (1997)

BARGAIN BIN CD BUY #1

Darcy Clay is like a cult nz legend and I didn't know who he was until two weeks ago. I went to a friend's house to watch Gravity Falls and drink Pure Blonde and there was a shitty 90s anthem playlist thing on TV and Clay's Jesus I Was Evil came on and I was like holy shit the lo-fi-ness and retarded bassline this is the best thing and my friends were like you're stupid how have you not heard this his version of Jolene is the best version of Jolene. Jesus I Was Evil is an EP of bizarro musical characters and styles. What About It is like the character from Beck's I Get Lonesome (or actually any song on Mellow Gold) came to life and made a song. Jolene is a pseudo disco genderfuck masterpiece. I don't know what's going on with In the Middle but it has a good feeling and I like it. The title track is obviously the best. The live stuff on the second half of the CD is confusing and really good. Opening for Blur, his English Rose is a self-aware mess and although things sort of come together afterwards, they also totally don't. His raw vocals offer a more physically real angle to the glorious bedroom recordings of the EP. Any distinctions between beauty and retardation and self-awareness and sincerity are all ignored by Clay, and his songs effectively transcend any one feeling or conclusion that the listener might feel/make from them.

Jesus I Was Evil is fun and happy and self-conscious opposition rock and it's so fucking painful that it can and should bring a tear to your eye. RIP.

Came with an 'interactive CD-ROM' I've made into an iso if anyone's interested

A

v0 / flac / buy

can you drive a honda/a fuckin escort (2007/11)

Garagey spasto-punk I thought I'd want because I saw it in one of those HEY LOOK WHAT I BOUGHTs on Ruban Nielson's instagram (teehee). Makes sense for a song as a *yawn* 000s Fall-but-not (Le Shok or Strange House) and then promptly justifies itself and all of a sudden I'm like what the fuck give him back his air conditioner and also I hope Mary Ellen is okay and re Hondas, no, I don't think so

B+

try / buy

oh the chains! (2009)

When it jangles loose and naturally quiet-loud it threatens to go somewhere the K record ironists couldn't possibly have it go, hence the frustrating tug-of-war of I don't know, taste (?), that takes place over these 10 messy tracks. I mean, we could pretend to be in on it. You could or can if you want but I'm off to do something else

C-

yo / buy

II (2013)

Ya know, it was always The White Album. It wasn't just the percussion, though the percussion mattered then and still does now, it was the pop, the smog, the subversive experimentation (or was it subversive pop?), the sounds sounding different every time and then disappearing into the haze. I didn't realize then, though it's clear now, that the self-titled record's songs retained a sense of physicality in spite of this, and for all its proficiency in the field of awesome/kooky/indie lo-fi psych revivalism, it was an experiment. A good one, but an experiment nonetheless.

II's all there 'cause Nielson doesn't sound like he's all there. That was the magic of The White Album- the mix of sleepy nostalgia and discomfort in its haze. I don't know if I missed it back then, but every time I listen to II, I begin to worry about dude. Like good lo-fi and downer pop bros, his songs are all half a minute too long where it counts, and his album's about 10 too vague where it matters. It's all fleeting enough to drift by, but it's repetitious enough to control attention. Disembodied, his sounds float around like a dream while his words contrarily evoke sleepless nights worrying about death and loneliness (it's not the Stones, it's Yer Blues). [warning] Well done, but surely that's not the reason people got excited about a followup in the first place [warning]. Contrary, dizzy, non-physical (that is, not real), and relatably so. Whether he knows it or not, the music keeps telling us, and the music's right, I think: it's all in your head.

A

flac / buy / stream

The Garbage and the Flowers - Stoned Rehearsal

Thanks person who suggested this when I posted Silvery Branches! Legit fuckups and conversations (broken strings (it's a rehearsal after all, and a stoned one too)), loose lo-fi, with something I'm not used to in NZ noisy indie lo-fi, though it's all undercut by that d.i.y./don't-give-a-fuck attitude, and that's happy sounding chords, happy enough sounding songs, and tangible melodies/appeal. So often records of its kind contain a familiar overarching narrative of (geographical, cultural, historical, personal) isolation and existential dread, but with Stoned Rehearsal the don't-give-a-fuck attitude extends to such angst, producing a profound indifference to anything other than spontaneity, rehearsing stoned with one's dogs (weird), broken strings and all. Awesome

A-

sample

then buy it here or here (can't remember which one I got it from, the first one, I think)

Pussy Galore - Groovy Hate Fuck (1986)

You think you can handle the lo-fi, motherfucker? Uhm, huh. Both genders have their... uh. Hipster angst more provocative than, hmmm. Is that a chord? You look like a Jew? Is more than, the, amateur, provoc-

URRGHHHHHH HNNNNNGGGGGGGGG ALRIGHT

A

here

Gate - The Dew Line (1993)

Harsh 70s Reality was punk rock in the wake of rock's destruction (no idea who managed to destroy it but they seem to believe it happened!), Gate's The Dew Line is folk in the same spirit. Either detached or more introspective than we're used to, I choose the second 'cause it sounds like he's trying to tell us something however impenetrable his songs may be. Lo-fi end of the world/hermit vibes bum me out like not many other albums/artists, I count The Dew Line as almost a companion piece to On the Beach with shared aimless alienation/desolation/staring-at-the-sea-when-the-world's-dead-concepts, just a warning though: Morley's rendition is almost entirely abstract

B+

vinyl
here

Pussy Galore - Right Now! (1987)

Similar to Harry Pussy and it's not just 'cause both their names mention pussy which is arguably the reason both bands exist- hipper than thou deconstructionist rock for (uh) hipsters and sexually frustrated losers. But where Harry Pussy began to understand their noise and use it to express something genuine, Pussy Galore collapse in a heap of postmodern rock n roll mockery and excess. To channel the Stones' drug-ness and blues-ness but have your tongue in cheek in order to mock the Stones' drug-ness and blues-ness regardless of your own drug problems and blues riffs

Dumb but thrilling. Fuck You, Man is him screaming Fuck you, man! White Noise is white trash!

A+

sample

J.T. IV - Cosmic Lightning (2008)

Bizarro 70s-80s outsider punk rock accidentally marrying Stooges/VU worship, mindfuck sections, and folkish-lo-fi vulnerability

Yeah, it's that good

A

story
buy (when they stock up)

Royal Trux - Cats and Dogs (1993)

Where our favourite junkie couple almost sounded like the rock bands they were either mocking or imitating. Whereas Dinosaur Jr could kinda channel Neil Young when they needed to, Royal Trux would write half a Stones riff then maybe accidentally fall into Trout Mask Replica worship or something more minimal. Maybe it's the amateurism that stops them at that point and has me thinking about Half Japanese and other lo-fi weirdos, but Cats and Dogs very nearly rocks hard. Their duets sound like they're about to lose it, and the songs themselves very nearly collapse before they stop or go on a Thurston Moore-like tangent in which cases the band rock weirdly and they do it exceptionally well. The sneers are there and so is the sleaze, it's avant-garde junkie blues punk at its best

A

buy

Beck - One Foot in the Grave (1994)

Beck's follow up to Mellow Gold's anti-commercial pop/junk soundscape, One Foot in the Grave. An acoustic anti-pop/junk soundscape recorded at Calvin Johnson's, effectively Peel-Session-ing his songs, or stripping them down and exposing them. I like it because there's no room for Beck's eclectic dada trickery, only his eclectic dada songwriting. Unlike the other eccentric indie pop hipsters he surrounds himself with, he's jaded enough to call the world a Holiday (the cigarette, it transpires), bro enough to drink beer and talk about Satan (sorry Wrens, he makes you sound like emascu-rock), and humble enough to admit that he'll walk around the house loudly when he's lonely so as to break the silence. The arrangements might remind me too much of those he's mimicking in places, but he betters them overall if only because of that admirable mix of post-beat hipster mockery, bro-ish bluntness and relatability, and Jonathan Richman-like sincerity and loserishness. I call it his second best.

A+

buy
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Modest Mouse - Everywhere and His Nasty Parlour Tricks (2001)

WELL I THINK IT'S NICE! Inevitably living in the shadow of the band's MASTERPIECE The Moon & Antarctica, this EP is plain good. The seven minute Night on the Sun is the best and most important song on here, but also a polarizing one- the listener's opinion on it will determine how much he/she enjoys the EP overall. I like Modest Mouse gone post-rock more than Modest Mouse gone bland or dangerous so I'm a fan!

The three minute opener Wilful Suspension of Disbelief sets the tone for the EP with heaps of ideas crammed in so that they (and the downer vibe) can be worked out and stretched out in the fantastic extension piece- Night on the Sun. It's all the more fun when Brock's quiet voice affectingly erupts into yells about getting filled up on blood and stabbing blood and all sorts of things about blood, and the band boldly throw a simple solo into the middle of the song so that for the remaining time the listener's stuck witnessing all the weird layers and ideas coming crumbling down. None of the layers or ideas should work any way, so it's exciting hearing the band build something so beautiful and moving out of them, and then sorta destroy it all just as we begin to connect or relate to it

After that the band go quirky and upbeat and Wilco and spacey and Butthole Surfers and Beck and so on for the remaining tracks, and to be honest I could do without a few of them, but I keep listening any way because the band's gloomy avant-garde post-rock workout looms over all that shit and makes it appealingly twisted even when the band don't want it to be that way

B+

spotify
buy

The Chills - Kaleidoscope World (1986)

For all that I love The Chills' REM BUT NOT releases (Submarine Bells), I get bored like I do with other similar albums (Ocean Rain) about half way through, probably 'cause those heavenly/melancholy soundscapes eventually sound the same- not bad, but the same

And that's where I start loving collections like Kaleidoscope World- at almost twice the length of one of those REM BUT NOT albums (don't worry, I know who came first!), my attention is maintained (typing this as I start playing AC/DC 9 tracks in) because there's no focus on SCOPE, just writing the perfect 1-4 minute pop song. Pulled together from b-sides, EPs, and odd compilations, Kaleidoscope World is 18 tracks of perfect 1-4 minute pop songs. There's no continuity- every song is its own little story/idea/melody/lyric, and in my opinion a band like The Chills benefit from writing songs in such a way 'cause MAN I find the album-albums boring. They were obviously really going for their own thing 'cause not much sounds like them, so lazy music writers will say SYD BARRETT and the band probably dig Syd 'cause they're weird and also in love with pop (can't say that enough)

I recommend getting the whole thing (and also buying it (FLYING NUN)), even if the only reason you're here is Pink Frost- a rare 1-4 minute moment in pop music where a song so successfully chills (HA!) the listener to the bone (also Suffer Little Children, obviously)

B+

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Sebadoh - Smash Your Head on the Punk Rock (1992)

1. Cry Sis 2:52

2. Brand New Love 4:04

3. Notsur Dnuora Selcric 3:04

4. Vampire 2:43

5. Good Things 1:26

6. Cecilia Chime in Melee 4:19

7. Everybody’s Been Burned 3:15

8. Junk Bonds 1:53

9. New Worship 2:21

10. Mean Distance 3:11

11. Pink Moon 2:02

12. Mind Meld 7:10

Compilation featuring tracks from two import only releases (Rocking the Forest and Sebadoh vs Helmet)

All the goodness of your golden era Sebadoh record as well as all the consciously uneven shite (it's lo-fi don't ya know), but it all just seems so much more manageable at only 12 tracks. Helping things along is Brand New Love, a song which manages to show the band at their full potential because they're trying their hardest to write a straightforward rock song which rocks hard as well as emotionally and they do that with loud-quiet dynamics, sweet melodies, and a shit-load of distortion

B

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Dinosaur Jr. - You're Living All Over Me (1987)

Not that I need to sell this album or anything- everybody's been through or will go through a Dinosaur Jr. phase because they just make so much sense sometimes

Important in the history of US alternative music- Dinosaur Jr. loved melody and appreciated musicianship and were the non-shit side of Neil Young worship 'cause their solos were just as weird and their riffs were almost as heavy. On top of that, J. Mascis sounded like he tried even harder to hit the notes that his voice wouldn't let him than Stephen Malkmus (maybe). Springsteen worship got The Replacements where they needed to go and Neil Young seemed to be working for Husker Du, Pixies, and Dinosaur Jr. before Pearl Jam came along and made anything and everything sound bland and unbearable, but whatever, things got interesting when punks got sick of reactionary alternativism and embraced the good parts of the mainstream 'cause here we have Neil Young's riffs mutilated by lazy stoned dudes in a blender of punk, metal, and other weird shit (cheers Lou)

A

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Beck - Mellow Gold (1994)

Beck's best album- Mellow Gold encapsulates the period from its dumb ass cover, to his lyrics, to the music ("a slacker version of the Pretentious Asshole)- it's as close as folk is gonna get to punk rock 'cause young Beck is playing folk in such a punk way and on top of that the folkish punk is thrown in with a ridiculous anything goes pop/junk soundscape recalling a gen x white kid's version of 3 Feet High before shit gets heavy and downer again because he wants to remind us that either he doesn't care or maybe that he does, I can't really tell

Highlights:

give the finger to the rock 'n' roll singer
as he's dancing upon your paycheck
the sales climb high through the garbage-pail sky
like a giant dildo crushing the sun 

that's why
I pay no mind
sleep in slime
I just got signed

He said, "Too bad, better bite the bullet hard, son."
I didn't have no teeth, so I stole his gun
And I crawled out the window with my shadow on the spoon
Dancing on the roof, shooting holes in the moon

Acid casualty with a repossessed car
Vietnam vet playing air guitar
It's just the shitkickin' speedtakin'
Truckdrivin' neighbors downstairs
Yeah

Whiskey-stained bucktoothed backwoods creep
Grizzly bear motherfucker never goes to sleep
It's just the shitkickin' speedtakin'
Truckdrivin' neighbors downstairs
Yeah

Belly-floppin' naked in a pool of yellow sweat
Screaming jack-ass with a wet cigarette
It's just the shitkickin' speedtakin'
Truckdrivin' neighbors downstairs
Oh my goodness

When she drags you from the hill
Daddy's gonna burn down there still
We can watch it from the rooftop

Lay into the frying pan
Now she kisses her own hand
With a fiddle on the fire

When you want to be with me then we will see who's fucking with my head
Hey hey hey no no no fuckin' with my head
Make me feel like an asshole
I ain't got no soul! I ain't got no soul!

Total paranoia tryin' to annoy ya
Everything I do is to try and fuck you up
Screwdriver drillin' and I was such a spasm
Drop yourself on the situation, dude
Everyone's out to get you, motherfucker
Everyone's out to get you, motherfucker
Everyone's out to get you, motherfucker
Everyone's out to get you, motherfucker

A

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