Noise for Zeros

I saw this Canadian trio a few weeks ago and thought they were okay, but at the time I was more smitten with Statues, my other new favorite band from Ontario. It took a little research and a thorough background check before I could totally get on board with White Wires because my suds-soaked noggin dismissed them as being too conventional for ears. Fortunately I’ve come to appreciate their laid back, stripped-down, fuzzy garage pop, which falls somewhere between the axis of The Velvet Underground, Testors, and Chuck Berry.  With small nods to classic R&B and an unbridled enthusiasm for what they do — and the good sense to cover The Wipers’ “Messenger” — they’ve completely won me over. Be sure to check ’em out at Goner Fest if you’re lucky enough to be in Memphis later this month…

LINKS:

The White Wires on MySpace
The White Wires “Girly Girly Girly” video
The White Wires “Messenger” (The Wipers) video

Rent A Rocket 7″
Art Monk Construction, 1996

It’s shocking how little attention I pay to singing. Most people hear a song and seem to only hear the words, but I only catch fragments of verse and I usually hear ’em wrong anyway. Truth is, I’d just as soon have the vocals buried deep in the mix since there are bands I can’t listen to because I can’t get past an annoying vocalist or insipid lyrics. And more often than not, these overmixed crappy vocal tracks diminish the power of the music. The Trans Megetti’s Mark Tesi, however, has some of the best sing-shout punk vocals you’ll hear anywhere. They’re forceful but not overbearing, and they perfectly fit the band’s razor sharp power punk. Mix Hot Snakes’ punchy guitar work with Gray Matter vocalist Geoff Turner’s unwavering wail, and you’ll get a sense of where this New Jersey powerhouse is coming from. They released a couple solid albums after this 7″ on the Art Monk and Gern Blandsten labels, but this raging debut record is easily my favorite.

DOWNLOAD:

The Trans Megetti – “Rent A Rocket”
The Trans Megetti – “Mercitron”
The Trans Megetti – “Yes, I Can Read”

Bully My Pushy double 7″
Allied Records, 1991

Twilight Pink / Hog Bottom 7″
Allied Records, 1992

Spent some time in Toronto recently, and that got me thinking about this classic, often overlooked T-dot postpunk group. Inspired by the dubby, danceable punk of the late ’80s DC scene, Phleg Camp’s early releases felt like a gruff version of Soulside — a sort of mutated funk rife with impassioned vocals and guitar supported by a bouncy rhythm section. Their first release and the Bully My Pushy double 7″ really highlighted this sound, but by their first and final album, Ya’red Fair Scratch on the Cargo label in 1993, their tone became much less dancey and more in line with the angular, tension-filled of the day, like The Jesus Lizard, Circus Lupus, and Jack O Nuts. It’s a fantastic album, so be sure to give it a spin HERE. The Twilight Pink 7″ is interesting as it has a transitional sound, as the guitar sound became more textural and the basslines more serpetine, but not quite to the degree of the downbeat Ya’red Fair Scratch. Check it out. And as an extra bonus, I’ve also got a rare track from a 7″ flexi compilation a buddy of mine put out.

DOWNLOAD:

Phleg Camp – “Bully My Pushy” double 7″ (21.3 MB zip)

Phleg Camp – “Twilight Pink”
Phleg Camp – “Hog Bottom”

Phleg Camp – “On The Map”
from the It’s All About… 4 Bands I Like compilation flexi 7″, Familyman Records, 1992

LINKS:

Phleg Camp’s Ya’red Fair Scratch on the Rocket Science blog
Phleg Camp on YouTube