Noise for Zeros

blue thirteen C30
Blue Tapes, 2014

The UK’s Blue Tapes cassette microlabel (that now also serves vinyl, books, and film!) has steadily released noteworthy releases in small batches, each capturing wildly inventive takes on diverse genres. Acapella death metal, sound art, rock improv and whatever fits between, they’re always up to something interesting and always worth a listen, even if they end up being a bit of a novelty or one of those “challenging” listens you partake in when the mood is right. Their description of this mysterious Estonian duo links their expansive rock noise sound to the most focused LP from the long-running UK group Skullflower, IIIrd Gatekeeper, and holy fuck does it ever deliver on that promise. Starting from that sonic reference point, this 5-song (a solo track by each artist and 3 collaborations) tape stretches buzzed riffs into hypnotic, transcendent sounds that twist, turn, and drift for just over 30 minutes of blissed-out heavy psych. This link is not really a reference to Skullflower as much as a mark of quality on par with the greatness of that essential album, or the sublime quality of Skullflower’s 15-minute mind-melting “Diamond Bullet” from Obsidian Shaking Codex, a track so expansive that it could almost be its own genre. If you like your noise rock to push beyond the predictable and formulaic trappings of the form, prepare to meet this true form destroyer.

LINKS

Threes and Will + Huerequeque on Blue Tapes website

Watch “Sea Fourth Pt. II” by Threes and Will on Vimeo

Self-Titled 7″ EP
Puppet Combo, 2014

If The Fall were hardened by the pummeling misanthropy of the Brainbombs and fueled by Big Black’s dynamic of jarring guitar shards slashing across throbbing, propulsive bass lines, you’d find yourself on the receiving end of something like this Brooklyn trio’s excellent vinyl debut. The repetitive and tattered anti-songs on this seedy 4-track stumble through the gutters of Gotham, detached and rambling, barely coherent enough to wrangle enough tortured notes together to make any sense of the mess. In other words, brilliant.

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LINKS

Sex Scheme on Bandcamp

Sex Scheme on Tumbler

I’m Good to Drive LP
Permanent Records, 2013

There are a number of higher profile groups pulling from the AmRep handbook of knuckle-dragging pigfuck noise rock, but this Chicago unit (with members of Heavy Times, Loose Dudes, and Running) plows deeper and harder with a dose of dark humor that draws a line of influence from groups like Scratch Acid to Mudhoney to Tractor Sex Fatality. Featuring vocals that oscillate from David Yow-style mumbling lunacy to full-throttled Mark Arm wails, backed with the lowbrow gut-punch of Tractor Sex Fatality, Basic Cable delivers the goods in a manner that won’t get them pixel plastered throughout the blogosphere. Heartily recommended for those with refined tastes for the unrefined.

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LINKS

Basic Cable on Bandcamp
Permanent Records

Scratch ‘N Sniff LP
Safety Meeting Records, 2013

Despite an endless parade of doom metal bands crisscrossing the globe in mutilated Econoline vans reeking of weed and spilled PBR, there are only a few bands that can actually deliver the low-end punch in the gut that makes the genre worth your time. This gnarly two-piece from the wilds of Connecticut is one of the few bands that’s channeled enough generalized misanthropy into 7 slabs of steaming downtuned Doom to make it well worth the tinnitus Scratch ‘N Sniff dishes out by the pound. With the bile-infused rage of squealing feedback-ridden southern sludge like Eyehategod and Buzzov*en, fused with the epic inertia of riff riders Noothgrush and Damad, topped with a tinge of psychedelic stonerisms alá Bongzilla, Stone Titan deliver the goods and put themselves at the top of the doom metal heap.

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LINKS

Stone Titan on Bandcamp
Stone Titan on Facebook

Absence & Time CD
Self-Released

Last spring when this album was released it was easy to escape the pull of this haunting disc. Now, as the last leaves fall and the palette of midwestern life is reduced to lifeless grays and browns, the soothing ache of Absence & Time is nearly impossible to ignore. There’s a sparseness and detached cool to Lore City that’s really seductive, as well as the sustained atmospheric haze that weaves through the 8 tracks on this Chicago duo’s debut. But there’s also an edge to what Lore City does that keeps them interestingly intense where most bands would be content to reflexively play by heart without pushing the envelope in any real way. With a monolithic, plodding pace that swells with occasional wave of exhilaration, Lore City has found a sound that fits somewhere between the preciousness of Zola Jesus, the warmth of Low and the severity of Swans. While the shock of Laura Mariposa’s haunting voice escalating to shrieking visceral growls is a bit unnerving, the deliberate manner by which they’ve inserted this texture into their sound gives Absence & Time depth and an experimental bite that refuses to be ignored.

LINKS
Official Lore City website

Le Bal Du Rat Mort EP
Uproar for Veneration, 2012

It’s taken about a year for the five tracks on this deranged EP to saturate into my thick skull, and I’m grateful to finally make some sense of it. While this Belgian band’s own points of reference make sense (Dillinger Escape Plan, Jesus Lizard, Blood Brothers) their sound twists that source material into frenzied shards of raging hardcore served up in obsessively measured chunks that takes their sound into uncharted territory. Their balance of warbling, frayed-at-the-edges guitar and electronics to forcefully calculated, angular song structures make this record a beast sounding something like The Locust playing TFUL 282 covers of Coalesce songs. It’s a spastic, tendon-ripping good time that’s a few notches above the standard issue hardcore record. A new EP is in the works, so get acquainted with KGC before they unleash the next level of hardcore.

DOWNLOAD
Kabul Golf Club – “Demon Days” (3.9mb)

LINKS
Visit the Kabul Golf Club website
Buy Le Bal Du Rat Mort at iTunes

Sunburned Mind 7″
Magic Shadows, 2013

There’s no better place than Canada these days to find dense, shimmering punked out psychedelia. Like Vancouver’s Sex Church, Hamilton’s Magic Shadows deal in thick noisy layers of primitive minor chord stomp that reveals more texture and swagger with every listen. Magic Shadows’ brand of racket packs an excellent detached vibe on this debut single, blasting out Stoogian riffs through a tranced out Velvets haze. Pick up the vinyl edition of 300 soon and enjoy one of 2013’s best singles thus far…

LINKS

Magic Shadows on Bandcamp
Magic Shadows on Facebook

LISTEN

Magic Shadows - Sunburned Mind Play Now

Beloved Dean of Magic LP
Foolproof Projects

It’s difficult to pinpoint what makes some improvisational groups click while others fall flat. How can you describe that transcendent, sweaty, intense wave that sweeps you away as a song fires on all cylinders, keeping your undivided attention, moving beyond music into pure experience. This sprawling LP from Brighton UK’s Kellar, the first of 3 releases so far this year including March’s Smokescreen EP and the upcoming August release Cell Divides, is the definition of great improv noise rock. While the concept of improv noise rock is rightfully suspect — most groups of this ilk end up being little more than an exercise in endurance — Kellar demonstrates an uncanny knack for whipping up a magical racket with enough texture and volume to bloom new growth from the seeds planted by groups like Sonic Youth and Skullflower. The tracks on Beloved Dean of Magic are loose and free, unstructured enough to remain fresh after multiple spins, yet driven and forceful enough to demand your attention. It’s a deliriously stunning debut from one of 2012’s best new bands.

LINKS

Kellar on Bandcamp

Stream Kellar’s Beloved Dean of Magic

2012 Demos

With their latest demo track “White Knuckle Ride” posted just over a week ago, it’s official that the Kent duo known as Slaves will be stomping their way into the upper volumes of the garage punk lexicon. As proof, check out these two snarling rave ups served up Billy Childish-on-crank-style with a raw edge that pushes them well past the mundane. The spacious fidelity conjured up by the sparseness of their drum-guitar-voice setup is perfectly packed to deliver a forceful punch that hits as hard as any quartet of amplified dimwits. Check out these two tracks and be sure to keep tabs on them through their SoundCloud page.

DOWNLOAD

Slaves (UK) – “Cease Fire”
Slaves (UK) – “Wishing Well”

LINKS

Slaves (UK) on SoundCloud

Sanctuary 7″
Cool Summer Records, 2011

It’s been a while since a decent wave of goth-tinged punk has circulated, so this succulent swipe of darkwave punk from Santa Barbara was a welcome surprise. While cheesy, costumed goth groups are as common and dull as your local Hot Topic, it’s a rare treat to find groups or scenes that really do it well and avoid being a formulaic, melodramatic joke. The amazing stuff coming out of the Bay Area at the turn of the century comes to mind, exemplified by bands like the Phantom Limbs, The Vanishing, Sixteens, and Black Ice. They had theatrics, but it wasn’t their focus and there was an earnestness to what they did that made their music so compelling. Most of all, they never veered into the comicbook tones of horror punk, which certainly isn’t a bad thing — just not as rare or powerful. Crimson Scarlet’s music eschews the synthpunk of those scenes and pulls its inspiration from the deeper goth veins of Siouxsie & The Banshees and mixes it with punch of SoCal deathpunk like TSOL and 45 Grave, bringing a straightfaced and sincere take on this form into a contemporary setting. You can check out the two killer tracks on this 7″ on their Bandcamp page or pickup the beautifully packaged crimson scarlet-colored vinyl from Cool Summer Records.

LINKS:

Crimson Scarlet on Bandcamp
Buy Sanctuary at Cool Summer Records