Noise for Zeros

Raw Candle Vote / Antonin Artaud 7″
Radial Records, 1993

A number of factors may explain why this Athens postpunk outfit never got the respect they deserve. It was easy to confuse them with Jaks, another excellent band in the mid-nineties that mined similarly angular, bass-driven noise rock alá The Jesus Lizard. Their name could also be confused with Tim Kerr’s (Big Boys, Poison 13, Monkeywrench, Lord High Fixers, etc) mid-90s project Jack O’ Fire. Or perhaps all the accurate but dismissive fanzine reviews describing them as a Jesus Lizard with a female singer didn’t appeal to the unwashed, male-centric indie masses who were still dealing with the Riot Grrl backlash. Whatever the reason, it’s a damn pity because they definitely had a unique take on the tense, mangled-but-regimented sound that cropped up in the 1990s underground. The good news is that their two LPs are relatively easy to find, so if you dig this great single — which includes a solid Bauhaus cover — you can easily score some more Jack O Nuts.

DOWNLOAD

Jack O Nuts – “Raw Candle Vote”
Jack O Nuts – “Antonin Artaud” (Bauhaus)

LINKS

Jack O Nuts on Built on A Weak Spot
Jack O Nuts on Beyond Failure

1980–2010

It’s been a month since the Memphis garage maestro died and I’m still recalling all the raging records he left behind. I remember the first time I heard The Reatards, blown away by the intensity and freshness he brought to the safe, conventional confines of the garage punk scene. Jay really took it to the next level and influenced a whole generation of in-the-red ragers as a mere teenager. He continued to evolve and was never afraid to push into new territory, as demonstrated with the darkwave synthpunk of the Lost Sounds, or the jerky, angular postpunk of Nervous Patterns and Angry Angles. Even his last solo release, Watch Me Fail, the most polished and commercial album of his career, his masterful combination of KBD-style primitive punk and classic pop tweaked convention enough to make his music his own distinct beast. It’s ridiculous how many quality releases the guy had under his belt. It may have seemed like overkill at the time, but ya gotta be thankful for the massive back catalog he left behind without even reaching 30. Here are a few of my favorites…

DOWNLOAD:

The Reatards – “Blew My Mind”
The Reatards – “Sick When I See”
The Reatards – “Teenage Hate”

Final Solutions – “Eye Don’t Like You”

Nervous Patterns – “Beautiful Brutal”

Angry Angles – “Apparent-Transparent”

Lost Sounds – “Dark Shadows”
Lost Sounds – “You Don’t Know Remote Control”
Lost Sounds – “Black Flowers”

Finally — the second installment of the NFZ Best of 2009. January was a blur and there were a lot more singles and EP releases to sort through, so it took a bit longer to narrow ’em down to these ten…

1. Mayyors – Deads 12″ EP
After two hyper-hyped 7″ releases, it’s almost embarrassing to have this at the top of this list because it will no doubt go down as one of 2009’s most-hyped releases. But fuck, at first listen it’s clear what all the hype is about with this Sacramento noise punk crew. Taking a page from the intense short sharp shock style of no wave bands like Lake of Dracula and Curse of the Birthmark and channeling that noise into barely controlled bursts of melodic chaos, Deads is the best four songs this band has released so far. It’s scary to think about where they can go from here.

2. Gary War – Galactic Citizens 12″ EP (Captured Tracks)
I finally caught up with this bedroom psych master this year, absorbing last year’s excellent New Raytheonport LP, so 2009’s Horribles Parade on the Sacred Bones label and this killer 12″ EP were at the top of my must-have list. While oddball bedroom psych pop is all the rage these days, with “groups” like Pink Noise, Ariel Pink, Blank Dogs, Dead Luke, Pink Reason, and tons of others pumping out cassettes and limited vinyl releases of lo-fi weirdness, Gary War’s output piles on way more weirdness than the others, who often offer little more than slightly tweaked pop songs. With layers and layers of effects and warbling out-of-left-field sounds piled on solid pop song structures, Gary War’s records reveal surprises with every listen.

3. The Fresh & Onlys – Horrible Door / Laughter is Contagious 7″ (Trouble In Mind)
This fairly new Oakland group launched into indie stardom with a slew of releases and numerous interviews in 2009 and it was this 45 from Chicago’s awesome Trouble in Mind label that made me a believer. Sort of in the realm of the Thee Oh Sees‘ modern blow-fi take on ’60s punk psych, the Fresh & Onlys concoct an addictive sonic stew that gets better with every listen.

4. Statues – We’re Disparate 7″ (P. Trash/House Party Records)
This Ottowa Sudbury, Ontario trio specializes in tight, full-caliber pop punk, which only a handful of bands can do well. And they do it especially well, as evidenced on this tight 45. Angular enough to have a sneer, but tuneful and poppy enough to pair nicely with bands like The Futureheads, Jawbreaker, and the ultimate pop punk band, The Buzzcocks.

5. Crash Normal – Flying to NY 7″ (Plastic Idol)
This smoker earns a spot for the A-side alone, since the B-side is a spot-on cover of The Country Teasers‘ “Hairy Wine 2” that sounds more like the Teasers than the Teasers. “Flying to NY” shows this Parisian duo at their best, with a raw, scrappy garage punk tune that’s on par with the genius of The Intelligence.

6. Condominium – Barricade/Big Plans 7″ (Fashionable Idiots)
It’s taken 26 years, but finally the B-side to Black Flag‘s My War album has been adopted by hardcore kids. Not to sound like a bitter old fart, but I’ve been championing that record for fuckin’ decades to deaf ears who chose to focus only on early BF without realizing how groundbreaking and heavy that plodding monster from BF’s late period is. Thankfully, the kids these days with their internets or whatnot are taking in all this history and creating some pathologically intense, lumbering hardcore that has roots in the My War sound, as showcased in this perfectly brutal 45 and releases from their peers, Cult Ritual and Kim Phuc.

7. Sex Church – Dead End 7″ (Sweet Rot)
Even if I weren’t a sucker for repetitive trance garage psyche, this Vancouver band would be aces on account of the noisy and raw edge they bring to their dark-tinged music. There’s a crackling coldness to “Dead End” that’s instantly absorbing and perfect, like a Velvet Underground for the new millennium. Sounds cheesy, I know, but of the hundreds of bands going for this type of sound, Sex Church has absolutely wired their interesting take on that sound and it’s leagues better than the rest. The flipside “Let Down” is an epic downer that’s something akin to a raw version of The Dead Boys playing a funeral dirge in an echo chamber.

8. The Sess – Authentic Black Coke / Brain Ruster 7″ (Slovenly)
Righteously named, The Sess (pronounced “Sesh” as in “session”) pop off a fun pair of partypunk tunez that sound like they could’ve been one of the highlights from the 1983 Hell Comes to Your House Part II compilation that featured rollicking country punk ragers from classic bands like The Minutemen and Mau Maus, or maybe one of the more aggro songs from The Plugz discography. Both tracks clip along with support from a garagey bit of organ and enough loose ends to keep it raw, warm and fuzzy.

9. Kim Phuc – Weird Skies 7″ (Deer Skull)
The 3rd single by these Pittsburgh mutants further cements them as one of the most intense heavycore bands of the day. And by heavycore, I don’t mean that mallrat by-the-numbers chugga-chug pap that your retard cousin’s into. This is the real deal, tempered (or distempered) with late Black Flag blowout guitar bent into swirling riffs that hook you into their terrifying world.

10. Dark Ages – Vicious Lies 7″ EP (Cowabunga)
I’ll admit that I’m guiltily gobbling up all these classic thrash retread bands the kids are into these days. Deep down I want them to push their music out of the confines of established genre standards, but spinning this 33rpm rager from one of KC’s fiercest bands makes me forget all about higher aspirations and retro guilt. These kids are for real. With a sound that harkens back to the late ’80s glory days when thrashy hardcore 7″ EPs pushed the genre into vicious territory with heavy breakdowns and high-velocity, raw throated intensity, Dark Ages keeps the HC spirit alive with a strong dose of politically-charged hardcore.

BEST ALBUMS

1. The Intelligence – Fake Surfers (In The Red)
The number of bands that get better with each release are few. This Seattle mainstay is one of those few, making each album a notch or two better than the previous release. From scrappy-but-awesome beginnings to this well-crafted, thrilling LP of weirdo/garage/punk/whatever, The Intelligence continues to make some of the most interesting and inventive records with their endlessly cool, multi-layered sonic cut-and-paste aesthetic.

2. Hex Dispensers – Winchester Mystery House (Douchemaster)
This breathlessly addictive album showcases some of the tightest and solid punk rock out there. Sort of poppy with hooks and choruses galore, Winchester Mystery House avoids the usual pitfalls of the played-out pop punk genre with unforgettable crooning vocals (Danzig minus the cheese) and a horror aesthetic that plays out like a midnight matinee.

3. The Spits – s/t (IV) (Recess)
It’s hard to pin down the dumb genius (whuh?) of The Spits. Lots of bands’ records sound great the first few times you hear them, but gradually sound less and less interesting. The Spits’ records have the opposite effect. Even as a diehard fan, my first listen to their fourth self-titled album evoked the same response as my previous experiences with their records, which is me thinking, “that’s it?” There’s something about their puzzling, silly lyrics and rudimentary pogo punk that doesn’t set in until the 3rd or 4th listen, and by that time, they’re your favorite band again. Dumb genius!

4. Dan Melchior und das Menace – Thankyou Very Much (S-S)
It’s easy to overlook and dismiss the work of such a prodigious talent when there’s more releases put out in one year than most put out in five, but you gotta give Dan Melchior props because nearly all of his records are top notch Billy Childish-style garage punk blues. And when you have one of the best labels around putting out a double-album by the guy, you know that that’s gonna be essential listening.

5. A Place to Bury Strangers – Exploding Head (Mute)
Just before the release of this record I’d become a fan of their self-titled 2007 release and wasn’t expecting this record to bowl me over as much as it did. Usually, when the indie hype machine starts chortling out the heavy praise this record’s been getting, it means that the band has softened up and polished their sound enough to become marketable to the fickle indie/college rock crowd. But fuck, this is a monster full of shrieking, feedback shrapnel shot from a roaring wall of sound that’s as massive and raw as anything you’ll find in the noise cult underground.

6. TV Ghost – Cold Fish (In The Red)
It’s been a while since such a destroying record has hit my turntable. The Cramps comparisons this Indiana group have had thrown at them only slightly reflect the dangerous guitar twang that emanates from this heavy slab of noise pound. The Birthday Party hits a bit closer, but still doesn’t give enough credit for the sinister and twisted world these sounds come from. Echoey, evil, and way off kilter, this monster slays pretty much everything that attempts to cover this dark territory.


7. Ty Segall – Lemons (Goner)
Like Dan Melchior, Ty Segall seemed to have a new release coming out every other week throughout 2009 — not counting releases or reissues from his other bands The Traditional Fools or The Perverts —so you’d assume that there might be a few weak spots in his discography, but alas they all smoke and this LP is the perfect showcase of this garage punk wünderkind’s talents. Catchy hooks and an surly surf guitar sound frame his rollicking, reverb-drenched vocals and stomping beats, with the brilliantly tweaked pop sensibility that Kurt Cobain used to make grunge palletable for the masses.

8. Converge – Axe to Fall (Epitaph)
Metallic hardcore in this day and age is a played-out scene. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of horrid little groups that clumsily throw together a few of the extreme elements that Converge perfected many years ago, rendering this genre lifeless, boring, and worst of all, unimportant. If only they spent as much time on their songcraft as they do on their 3rd-rate ripoffs of Jacob Bannon’s iconic artwork and plastering their band logo on overstocked merch tables, they might just breathe some life back into an otherwise dull scene. In the meantime Converge has continued to hone and perfect their state-of-the-art metallic hardcore, pushing it in new directions, while maintaining the intensity and precision of their earlier releases. All their releases on Epitaph have been high water marks for that scene and this one’s no exception.

9. Mika Miko – We Are Xuxa (PPM)
This LA group that emerged from the energetic all-ages Smell scene has aged nicely into a seasoned band that can at once sound current and fresh while also capturing the rawness and daring of the early LA Dangerhouse scene. Songs like “Sex Jazz” and “Keep On Calling” which add some blaring sax blasts could be mistaken for X-Ray Specs or The Subtonix, while others connect Siouxsie & The Banshees to Bikini Kill with a streaks of carefree fun. An excellent cover of The Urinal‘s “Sex” also secures this LP a top spot among 2009’s releases.

10. AFCGT – AFCGT (Uzu Audio)
This and Factums’ Flowers LP were the two best headscratchers from 2009. Both skirt any sort of convention or predictability and both continue to sound great after repeated spins on the turntable. This cryptic LP from the hybird band made up of The A-Frames and Climax Golden Twins is nudging out the Factums record simply on account of it being released first and the fact that I’ve already said my piece about that great record here. Many have said that AFCGT sound like the amalgamation of those 2 groups, but I don’t see that at all. This is an entirely different animal, perhaps leaning more towards the sprawling compositions of CGT, but there’s really not much to connect either band to the sonic terrain covered on this record. It’s more aggressive and less jazzy than their 10″ release, all while keeping a certain modicum of sophistication, which make this record even more exciting and unique. I’m looking forward to their Sub Pop LP, coming out later this month.

BEST REISSUES

1. Loop – A Gilded Eternity 2xCD (Reactor)

2. The Units – History of The Units, The Early Years: 1977-1983 CD (Community Library)

3. Cheveu – Cheveau LP (Permanent Records)

4. 13th Chime – Discography CD (Sacred Bones)

5. Dog Faced Hermans – Hum of Life LP (Mississippi)

6. Deerhunter – Rainwater Cassette Exchange LP (Kranky)

7. The In’bred – Legacy of Fertility CD (Alternative Tentacles)

8. Jesus Lizard – Goat LP (Touch & Go)

9. Jesus Lizard – Liar LP (Touch & Go)

10. Jawbox – For Your Own Special Sweetheart LP (Dischord/DeSoto)

Jubilix / Nitro Burning Funny Cow 7″
Sympathy for the Record Industry, 1991

From where else but Iowa City, Iowa could such a burly ass sludge punk band named Iowa Beef Experience go ripping into early-nineties grunge obscurity? Actually, IBX did have a bit of clout in the pre-Teen Spirit world of grunge, with an interview in Maximum Rock ‘n Roll and an LP released on the London-based Vinyl Solution record label. In 1991 they may well have been the best-known punk band from Iowa, despite the fact that Iowa had, and has always had a pretty healthy little scene. Learn a more about it from previous posts here and here, or from The Secret History of the Cedar Valley wiki site here. Anyway, IBX had a fairly unique take on the pigfuck genre, namely with some of the gnarliest growling vocals you’ll ever hear, and a gut-rumbling guitar sound that can only gurgle up from the deepest depths of the rural midwest. This 45 is their best release, featuring forceful, antagonistic riffs and a floor-rumbling production that some of their other releases lack.

DOWNLOAD

Iowa Beef Experience – “Jubilix”
Iowa Beef Experience – “Nitro Burning Funny Cow”

Mr. Devil CD
Third Gear, 1998

Have a taste for dark, atmospheric, spaced-out trance rock? Then you need to aquaint yourself with the out-of-this-world tunes of Detroit’s Keir McDonald, aka Medusa Cylone. This relatively unheard classic from the late ’90s is essential listening, with a slight krautrock influence, warm analog electronics, and layers of ethereal effects-laden guitar. And where many similar-minded groups tend to get a bit monotonous from setting up a nice repetitive groove, Mr. Devil never gets boring as its songs are masterfully constructed to expand and contract and pull the listener in with an unending palette of pulsating exotic guitar, heavily-processed samples, and other sinister aural oddities. If your iPod is full of tracks from Loop, Hawkwind, Spacemen 3, F/i, Syd Barrett-era Pink Floyd, or even the sample-happy urban sonic decay of Illusion of Safety or tense clang of Sonic Youth’s quieter moments, chances are this album will be of interest to you.

DOWNLOAD:

Medusa Cyclone – “The Smith Can”
Medusa Cyclone – “Invisible World”

LINKS:

Medusa Cyclone on MySpace

Brazilian Post-Punk 1982-1988
Man Recordings, 2005

This excellent compilation came out a few years back when Brazilian rock was hot stuff in the indie world, as evidenced by the resurrection of legendary rockers Mercenarias and Os Mutantes, and top-notch collections from the Soul-Jazz label like Tropicalia: A Brazilian Revoluton in Sound and The Sexual Life of the Savages: Underground Post-Punk from Sao Paula Brasil. While the tracks on this CD definitely feel dated with synths galore and vocal styles clearly inspired by their UK counterparts (Joy Division, The Cure, Killing Joke, Public Image Limited, etc) you can also hear an era when the possibilities were wide open and passionate bands weren’t afraid to take new ideas a run with ’em. There’s a freshness and originality captured here that breathes new life into what your ideas of what “post-punk” and “new wave” sound like. There’s a real charm in these bands and period of time, where synthesizers are treated like something new to experiment with and not as an ironic, empty gesture. Check out the Killing Joke-style percussive drive in Musak’s “Ilha Urbana” or the hypercool atmosphere of Chance that’s something like Tangerine Dream covering Suicide, or the intensity of Vzyodaq Moe‘s Tragic Figures-era Savage Republic sound. It’s one of the best comps to come out in the last 5 years, and if you like what you find here, you can find more on the also great Soul-Jazz comp mentioned above, with plenty more choice cuts and only a couple duplicate songs.

DOWNLOAD:

Muzak – “Ilha Urbana”
Chance – “Samba Do Morro”
Vzydaq Moe – “Redencão”

LINKS:

More info at the Man Recordings website
Buy CD at Forced Exposure

The Warming / Your Spaceman 7″
Amphetamine Reptile, 1991

No self-respecting blog with the word “noise” in its title would lack at least some mention of one of the most mind-blowing noise-centric brainfry guitar gurus ever to drift across this mortal coil. Grandiose introductions aside, the contributions, or more accurately, distortions, to the rock music form that Helios Creed made starting from the late 1970s are nothing short of legendary. And while his radically inventive work in Chrome rightly overshadows his long and prolific solo career, the slew of releases he cranked out throughout the 1990s are worth taking a closer look at. Some of my favorites came out in the early part of the decade, after his first tinny and weaker solo records X-rated Fairy Tales and Superior Catholic Finger — both listenable, but synth-heavy and staid compared to the blown-out fuzz of his following records, starting with 1989’s The Last Laugh. This single, released between 1990’s Boxing the Clown and 1992’s Lactating Purple perfectly captures the best elements of the Helios Creed oeuvre: overblown effects-ridden guitar, synthetic alien vox, and swirling psychpunk riffs that practically ignite speaker cones.

DOWNLOAD:

Helios Creed – “The Warming”
Helios Creed – “Your Spaceman”

It’s corny, but about this time every year I feel the need to bust out The Misfits’ coffin box set and have a marathon Misfits session, which then leads into some Samhain and whatever else fits the mood. Thinking about it, I realized that there are tons of great bands and songs that nicely fit the horror punk theme. Something unspeakably great happens when you pair punk rock with a horror film aesthetic. It’s a match made in heaven… or hell, more likely. Leather jackets, skulls, and minor key punk pounders: what could be better on Halloween night?

In fact, there are so many great horror punk tunes that it’s challenging to narrow it down to a reasonably-sized 21-track list. Anything that lacked punk bite and snarl or leaned into goth territory was cut, as was anything that fit better amongst the horror-core of thrash or death metal. So even though Christian Death or The Accüsed would make nice additions to any Halloween podcast, these tracks don’t wallow in the gloom or blast into double bass drum rippers. We’ll save that list for next time, or maybe take a truly frightening foray into dark ambient monsters like Schloss Tegal and Lustmord. Until then, enjoy these creepy crawlers…

DOWNLOAD:

Horror Punk 101 (74.4mb Zip file)

TRACK LISTING:

1. The Misfits – “Horror Business” (1979)
Vintage Danzig-era Misfits. You can’t talk horror punk without an homage to the classic crooning wail of the original horror punks. Despite the clown Danzig has become and the huckster merch sideshow the remaining Misfits continue to flog, it’s amazing to consider how radical these duders from Jersey were back in 1977, and how well their mutant rock has held up over all these years.

2. The Blowtops – “Menacing Sinstress” (2000)
Pushing The Birthday Party‘s punk dirge into blow-fi, in-the-red overamped and unhinged levels, this long-running Buffalo, NY group has an extensive catalog that defies catagorization. This creeping track on the Estrus Records label is no exception.

3. The Cramps – “Human Fly” (1979)
R.I.P Lux Interior, 1946-2009. The original punk rock horror show. Gnarled, sick, and totally badass, this song just snakes into your psyche and never goes away.

4. The Hex Dispensers – “Brain in a Jar” (2009)
Since their second LP release, Winchester Mystery House, came out in July of this year, I’ve had a hard time getting it off my turntable. And iPod. Instantly catchy, tightly-played pop punk with slightly Misfits-esque vocals and horror-themed songs, this Austin band is part of the reason I’m doing this list, as they’ve continued the legacy of awesome horror punk to the modern day.

5. The Adverts – “Gary Gilmore’s Eyes” (1977)
The Adverts could hardly be considered a horror punk band, but there’s something fantastically unnerving about this song with lyrics about receiving eyes transplanted from a serial killer. This 1978 classic cut perfectly captures the unease of the era, when medical science made the Frankenstein-like possibility of such an operation a grim and lurid reality.

6. The Damned – “Nasty” (1987)
Here’s a favorite track from the late period Damned that’s got some of the spark of their essential early records. While most of their later work veered a little too far into theatrics for my taste, this B-side to their “Thanks for the Night” 45 is a kickass homage to “video nasties” — a British term for splatter flicks. Featured on an episode of The Young Ones, this song has always hit the spot when I’m in the mood for some punk rock and horror flicks.

7. Cold Crank – “Living Dead” (1995)
A relatively unknown, but awesome band that only put out a 7″ and CD EP (as far as I know), these Denver garage punks pumped a bit of overblown AmRep aggression into this primo bit of horror punk.

8. Hammerhead – “Ethereal Killer” (1993)
This AmRep powerhouse’s debut LP had a “killer” vibe, as evidenced from this riff-tastic title track. Their brand of horror is less B-movie and more Psycho: totally unsettled and 0% campy.

9. Ritual Device – “Grandma” (1991)
The archetypical midwestern noise rock group, this deranged band from Omaha, NE had an impressive live show gimmick that involved throwing rendering plant refuse into the audience. I’ll never forget the excited expression of a girl dropping after she realized that the thing she eagerly picked up from the floor was a sow’s ear.

10. Tractor Sex Fatality – “The Woodsman” (2005)
Unabashedly influenced by psychotic Texas legends Scratch Acid and the noisier elements of the AmRep catalog, this Seattle troupe cranked out a slew of rumbling 7″ releases and a couple LPs, all with a disturbing Texas Chainsaw Massacre vibe, like this track from their Peel and Eat LP.

11. 45 Grave – “Black Cross” (1981)
If you were a wired adolescent in the mid-80s, you might have caught some New Wave Theater on the USA Network’s Night Flight late Friday and Saturday. That’s where I was exposed to Dinah Cancer’s screeching, forceful, glaring vocals for this song over ripping, dizzying LA punk. Evil, frightening, and powerful, it’s the epitome of horror punk.

12. Subtonix – “Black Nails in My Coffin” (2002)
The early 2000s found a wave of dark synth punk coming from the Bay Area, including The Vanishing, The Phantom Limbs, and Subtonix. While most veered into synthetic goth territory, Subtonix held tightly to the aggressiveness of early synth punk pioneers The Screamers, whose “Vertigo” they cover on their sole album, Tarantism.

13. Phantom Limbs – “Hot Knifes and Hornets” (2001)
The finest of the wave of Bay Area dark synth punk, the Limbs had a fresh, carnival freakshow sound that was as entertaining as it was twisted, as evidenced by this track from their Applied Ignorance LP.

14. T.S.O.L – “Dance With Me” (1982)
Essential SoCal punk from the early lineup, before the band’s name got hijacked and drug through the hair metal muck. While a lot of their material was political and aimed to create controversy, the True Sounds of Liberty were one of many ’80s punkers with a dark streak that made their swirling minor key songs timeless classics.

15. The Birthday Party – “Release the Bats” (1981)
There’s campy trash horror, ala the Misfits. There’s unnerving, realistic serial killer horror ala Tractor Sex Fatality. And then there’s just dark, fucked up evil genius, like the incomparible punk dirges Nick Cave and The Birthday Party unleashed into the world thoughout the ’80s.

16. The Faction – “Tenebrae” (1985)
A classic skate punk band with horror-themed cover art and songs — and professional skateboarder Steve Caballero — The Faction’s songwriting skills grew from rag-tag amateurism to this interestingly conceived song that goes from a slowly building instrumental track that launches into lyrics that reflect the Dario Argento horror classic Tenebrae.

17. Tales of Terror – “Chambers of Horror” (1984)
While this Bay Area skate punk band was largely known for their chemically-influenced antics, they had an awesomely intense and dark streak that could be delivered in the form of a heavy, dual guitar aggro attack, or a slow, churning burner like this track from their sole eponymous LP.

18. The Necessary Evils – “Alone and Dead” (1996)
With members of garage punk greats The Beguiled and Fireworks, The Evils took the sinister, rough edges of their previous groups and turned up the evil. This track, from their first LP, Spider Fingers, is a great example of their ’60s-style garage punk gone way wrong, with warbling organ and an oppressive riff strummed into oblivian.

19. The Spook Lights – “Teenage Maniac” (2006)
The highlight of the Farm Fresh Sounds compilation put out by the University of Kansas’ KJHK radio station, this Lawrence, KS band is the ultimate horror punk band. With a clear lineage tracing back to the Cramps, their spot-on, demented trash culture tunes desperately need to be documented outside of this track and their MySpace page!

20. The Beguiled – “Nycoidia” (1994)
A perfect, snaking instrumental track from the reverb-soaked garage geniuses’ Crypt Records LP Blue Dirge.

21. Samhain – “Novembers Fire” (1986)
There’s something great about this band, which moved the Misfit’s ’50s rock core into something more unique and original. It’s not quite punk, but much more than straightforward rock, like Danzig’s overly basic and boring solo records. The murky guitar sound on November Coming Fire, Samhain’s last official album, creates an atmosphere unlike anything else on this list, or even Samhain’s earlier releases.

Flowers LP
Sacred Bones Records, 2009

Sprouting from the same Seattle weirdpunk nexus that bloomed The Intelligence, A-Frames, and AFCGT comes one of the most mysterious and puzzling bands currently rearranging the sonic DNA of noisenerd earholes worldwide. Pulling together sounds pioneered by early synthpunk groups like Chrome and The Units, and tweaking them with a dose of tranced-out Can and Faust-style krautrock, every element of Factums music is a couple steps removed from normal. I recently picked up the special edition version of their latest LP on the stellar Sacred Bones label, Flowers, and have been trying to decode it for the last week or so. Far more focused than the sputtering soundtrack of A Primitive Future and their early Spells & Charms LP, Flowers kicks out 22 tracks worth of weird jamz with hardly a lull. They didn’t eliminate the blippy experimentation and random cut and paste aesthetic found in their earlier releases, but with Flowers—constructed from recording sessions dating back to 2006 and 2007—they’ve trimmed these excursions just enough to keep the album flowing and interesting. Last year’s LP, The Sistrum, made the NFZ Best of 2008 list and this release at first take seems to be even more finely constructed and dazzling. It’s one of the better releases you’ll hear this year…

LINKS:

Factums on MySpace
Buy Flowers at Sacred Bones