The Odds Are Good But The Goods Are Odd.....Reviews Galore!

I FINALLY got the green light to vamoose from the hospital up to Maine. There was some lingerin business about an abscess on my cheek but they took a laser & cut the thing right out. The wonders of modern medicine.So here I am, fit as a fiddle. Nice folks what I've met too. I'd especially like to thank Doctor Lambsy for all the graftin & reconstructive surgery as well as for the amazin Lobster bisque he brought in on a daily basis. If I get the gout doc, I'll know who to blame! And a big heartfelt thanks to Nurse Maresy for her salacious bedside manner & for bringin in a copy of 'The Yankee Kama Sutra' so's WE could prove (that must've been some nursin program, wow!) it was simply a joke book. We sure had a time of it! Remember sweetie; just 'cause you do it 'doggy style' don't make you a dog. Ruff! Ruff!!
Of course what do I see when I get home? Just a table full've stuff for perusal is all. Tons of it.Some's will take longer than others, but here's gaggle what's needs gettin sorted out PRONTO;


Some cd from a band called The Bloggers come & stunk up the room. They seem to have a crush on Half Japanese 'cause they name check'em a few times in their widdle pwess wewease. I dunno, affected vocals,detuned guitars & "hapazard drums"....why does these bands always insist on blamin 1/2 Jap on account of the suck? I'll admit, the last couple things Jad & Co. released weren't all that, but spannin 30 yrs of releases, that's bound to happen. The Bloggers shit the bed right outta the gate! Like Colonel Kraut used to say; 'If this was Normandy they'd be dead on the beach." I think they's looking for a label too. Hey Darla, check out www.myspace.com/thebloggers I think these guys might be that quirky indie-rock band you've been lookin for.

Two cd's come over from the U.K. by an outfit called The Sundowners & I guess they is so cheap, I mean, CONFIDENT in their banality that they didn't bother to send nothin but the disc's! No artwork, press, zilch. If I didn't know better I'd have thought it was a new one from Black Angels which just goes to show you that like herpes or anal warts, thousands of cases of shameless, affected, run-of-the mill fashion releases go undetected every year. For an example, or just a good laugh, go here; www.myspace.com/sundownersound

Fonal's got a new untitled release by Kemialliset Ystavat on the market & I gotta say, this bunch just get's better 'n better. Pipmaster Jan Anderzen says the Finnish press ain't had much nice things to say about it but perhaps that's on account that this one sounds more "mature" than some of them earlier 4-track jobbies. I dunno, to my ears they seem to be enterin a realm that recalls Ptose or early Der Plan which is a GOOD PLACE on my brain-ranch. Available on 3 formats too; http://www.fonal.com/

Also from Finland, Avarus is got a new lp in tandum w/a current US tour that's makin it's way around the eastern US. 'Rasvaaja' is more of the patented lunar surface orgasmos-core that I have come to expect from these swilling shamen of earth 'n electricity. Live set I witnessed the other night was easily one of the highlights for my year thus far. Only 300 pressed & they's got'em on hand. Or try http://www.secreteye.org/
& see all there is to know.

Easily the most fun release of 2007 has been this self titled one from the Cherry Blossoms. Financed by six seperate labels, this Nashville duo (& friends) have been the de facto house band for all the H-factors we hold dear in the summer; highballs, hijinx & horseshoes. And let's not forget hammertime. Peggy Snow might be the closest singer what I've heard in a moon as devilish in delivery as Cuervo-era Peter Stampfel & while Cherry Blossoms indeed conjur up moments of Holy Modal & Bottlecaps hoot, I prefer to kick back & think about this lp bein a sotted Grand Ole Opry broadcast from the dark side of the moon(shine). It's both 100 proof & percent in it's goodness. And if you can find me another song (& title) as great as 'Glow, Jesus, Glow' I'll buy you anything you want. On your hotdog. Go to; http://www.s-srecords.com/ or email blackvelvet79@hotmail.com to see if it's still in print.

The new 7" from Hank IV 'Dirty Poncho'/Symptomatic' get's the pulse racin like I figured it would. The a-side find'em at their most aggressive yet, spinnin a yarn about a gal (I think) I know who has a thing for the 'Susan Atkins look'. She's lucky they didn't say nothin about that moustache. Right Sanchez? Ding! The flip chews & spits out more of the proto-skiffle tar 'n tuneage these guys have been excellin at since their inception. Not many made & some copies is even on colored vinyl. http://www.plasticidolrecords.com/ & http://www.s-srecords.com/

One of my favorite 7"ers thus far has been this debut from an Oz duo what's called Naked On The Vague. Utilizing mainly rickety keys,fuzz bass & percussive splat as a backdrop-not to mention the to 'n fro vocals- Lucy Cliche & Matthew Hopkins really excell at conjurin up a Wicked Witch Of The West version of Times New Viking. Or how about an Emerald City Cabaret Voltaire? 'Do The Mussolini' indeed! They's even took marker's to sleeve for authentic DIY enhancement. This one's been gettin alot've play. Find'em at; http://www.dualplover.com/ or contact the band via; nakedonthevague@yahoo.com

While there's been lot's of synth-punk action springin up from France as of late, the herbacious aggro emitted from the split lp of Death To Pigs/Gu Guai Xing Qiu can no ways be bundled in that garni. Both've these bands hit the ground running like drunk hellions what's been drinkin from the Ouzo vats abandoned by Villa 21 & Yello Yell once the Birthday Party poofed out. Throw'em on tour w/Clockcleaner & you got yourself a gruesome threesome for the ages. This one's a grower & how!
www.myspace.com/deathtopigs & http://www.s-srecords.com/

California Lightening & Sic Alps went & vommed out a split 7" what even if it sucked would've still been housed in the best homage sleeve YET conceptualized by any flatfoots trompin through the current fauna. CL I ain't heard of but they demand yr attention w/a jackhammer assault of Fem-crusted snarl much like Queen Cobra struck with during their short reign. Sic Alps continue to impress w/their inimitable take on the intricacies on Fuzz & Flowers. The Strapping Fieldhands similarities are "just" there (to me anyways) & this time they seemed mashed up w/either Damo-era Can or a langourous, unnamed b-side from a Swell Maps ep. Not that it makes any difference, by the time I get it figured out, these'll be history. No address on this, write sicalps@gmail.com to see where you might find a copy.

Pink Reason's got a new 7" on the prowl featurin 3 solid tracks what was staples from their tour's earlier this year. If anyone is capable of evokin the spirit of Ricky Williams nowadays, Kevin Debroux get's my nod. Nice to have these on record for posterity 'n all, I would imagine http://www.s-srecords.com/
ought to have this in stock soon & Pink Reason is gearin up for some more tour dates, check out www.myspace.com/secondculture
& see where they's to be.

Speakin of Sleepers, El Jesus De Magico's 'Abracadabra' ep is as great a take on Seventh World post-snort fuckery as yr likely to have ear-a-gated into the folds of your fat any time soon. I ain't heard none of them other newbies what was also just released on Columbus Discount, but if they's all as killer as this one, then the label is rackin up a formidable tally. http://www.columbusdiscountrecords.com/

Leather Apron is neither Leather Uppers, Leather Donut or (thankfully) Digital Leather. It is however the nom de plume of the fantastic David Mitchell whose taken time to release a 10" of his unique Melancholia Psychedelus that is a most welcome bookend to his Xpressway ep from years back. Nobody makes lonesome seem as unheartbreakable as this guy. And dig the Gun Club cover he's reconstructed. Nice! http://www.longlostmusic.org/

Three 1 sided records come courtesy of Family Pet (an lp + 2 7"ers) & it's about as zonked & lo-fi improvo la spazzathon as your likely to order by mail in the here & now. Hailin from Brunswick, Maine I can easily see this duo as bein the East Coast response to The Geeks, or at least havin ate a copy of that band's 'It's Not About Notes Anymore' lp. Lot's of LOUD keys, horns & percussion & vocalist A.M. Haines sounds like he might've jumped off the boat ramp at Sawyers Point about a hundred times too many. What's not to love? http://www.foreignfrequency.com/