best of 2011.....

this was another great year for music..... so many good garage, punk, psych, noise and indie rock albums to choose from...... 


i usually do a top 30 of the year and i always think i could post a list of at least hundred lps you need to buy......but thirty seems to a nice number.....these lps never travelled very far from my turntable all year.......


i highly suggest you buy every album on this list...




TINY GROOVES' Best ALBUMS of xx11

1-    Night Beats - s/t (trouble in mind)
2-    Blind Shake - seriousness (learning curve)

3-    Heavy Times - jacker (hozac)
4-    Video - leather leather  (play pinball)

5-    Blasted Canyons - s/t  (castle face)
6-    GG King  - esoteric love (robs house)

7-    Mikal Cronin  - s/t (trouble in mind)

8-    Bad Sports - kings of the weekend (dirtnap)

9-    OBN IIIs - one and only (tic tac totally)

10-  Black Lips  - arabia mountain (vice)


11-  Apache Dropout - s/t (family vineyard)

12-  Cosmonauts - s/t (permanent)
13-  Xray Eyeballs - not nothing (kanine)

14-  The Oh Sees - carrion drawler / the dream (in the red)
15-  Total Control - henge beat  (iron lung)

16-  Nothing People - smells like metal (captcha)

17-  Purling Hiss - lounge lizards (mexican summer)

18-  Ty Segall - goodbye bread (drag city)

19-  Dirtbombs - party store (in the red)

20-  Royal headache - s/t (rip society)


21-  Kid Congo & the Pink Monkey Birds - gorilla rose (in the red)

22-  Useless Eaters - daily commute (tic tac totally)

23-  Mind Spiders - s/t (dirtnap)
24-  Disappears - guider (kranky)
25-  Peoples Temple - sons of stone (hozac)
26-  Bass Drum of Death - gb city (fat possum / inflated)
27-  Moon Duo - mazes (sacred bones)

28-  Obits - moody standard and poor (sub pop)

29-  Wooden Shjips - west (thrill jockey)

30-  Cave - neverendless (drag city)




and here's some other highlights from 2011....  

best singles / b-sides collection


the oh sees - singles vol. 1-2


best cover album


ty segall - ty rex


best split ep


the oh sees/total control
 tied
puffy areolas/purling hiss


best reissue


the reatards - teenage hate


best shows of 2011 (too many fun ones to narrow it down)


black lips / night beats @ empty bottle
the oh sees / total control @ empty bottle
bad sports / wax museums @ cals
ty segall / mikal cronin / human eye / heavy times
  @ treasure town
double dagger @ treasure town
dirtbombs / white mystery @ subterranean 
   and last but not least.....
HOZAC BLACKOUT FEST @ velvet perineum 


best 7 inch


x-ray eyeballs - crystal


best cassette only release


cosmonauts - new psychic denim
 tied
purling hiss - dizzy polizzy


best chicago band


heavy times


best collaborative lp


michael yonkers and the blind shake - period


best live album


jesus lizard - club
 tied 
ty segall - live at aisle five

jesus lizard - club

CHUNKLET doesn't release many records, but when they do, you need to grab them......  


so when i heard they were releasing a live album of one of the JESUS LIZARD reunion shows i was beyond thrilled........ 


i saw JESUS LIZARD at pitchfork a couple of years ago and nearly died of excitement (and well the frantic moshing from the crowd)...... 


JESUS LIZARD are one of those bands that nobody else quite measures up to..... no band plays raw, loud, in yer face post punk noise like they do.......  


and their new lp, CLUB, is a proof of that, sounding nearly as good as a studio album.....  think of it as the Jesus LIzard best of comp that you'll never see released....cause great bands are bands that dont need greatest hit collections....every JESUS LIZARD lp is essential......  and CLUB is no different.....


permanent records has this to say of the new live lp, out this week.......

 In 2009 our lucky little lives were blessed with the second coming of the one true savior.  No not Him, the Jesus…Lizard!  That's right folks, the mighty Jesus Lizard took another swing at it after being defunct for many years with a string of shows that made believers of all who bore witness and restrengthened the faith of those who knelt at their altar in the early days.  And wouldn't you know it, our chums over at Chunklet (long time true believers) took it upon themselves to license the rights from the live DVD that was filmed and release a ONE TIME ONLY PRESSING 2xLP of the show.  This show took place at The Exit/In in Nashville, TN on July 14th of 2009 and the set list is a monster collection of 22 heavy hitters from the Jesus Lizard back catalog, including their genius Chrome medley and their Dicks cover!  The sound quality is amazing, the musical chops mind blowing and the energy pouring out of these grooves proves this was an unforgettable concert.  Don't sleep on this one cuz this is it, grab this gate fold double LP now and own a stunning document of the breath taking ability of one of the greatest bands in a live environment.  This is most certainly an essential double live album just in time for Christmas, we mean Lizmas.  Do you think you'd like that? Do ya, mouthbreather? Do we even need to say this comes with our holy-ist of recommendations?

click here to grab CLUB..... 
the vinyl is limited to 500 copies,
so this might be the only way 
to get ahold of this awesome live album...........


watch below...

flying nun records - heavenly pop documentary

check out this awesome documentary of NEW ZEALAND's most important record label,
FLYING NUN.......
featuring the CLEAN, THE CHILLS, THE VERLAINES and others that brought the jangle of kiwi pop to the world and changed indie rock forever.........

missing monuments - painted white

THE MISSING MONUMENTS is the new project from KING LOUIE...... you might not know his name, but he's been in some awesome garage, punk and power pop bands over the years......  


he started out in THE PERSUADERS....was a founding member of THE EXPLODING HEARTS..... played in BAD TIMES with JAY REATARD and ERIC OBLIVIAN.......recently he's played as KING LOUIE'S ONE MAN BAND....... 


and now KING LOUIE has his band THE MISSING MONUMENTS........jangly, power pop influenced garage punk.......  this is some fun rock n roll that'll make you bounce around and sing the lyrics.....  the missing monuments have a new record out....PAINTED WHITE, and you ought to get yer hands on it now........very recommended.......


click here to grab PAINTED WHITE....out now on DOUCHEMASTER RECORDS........

and watch the MISSING MONUMENTS set 
from the empty bottle in chicago last weekend........

young governor - where it's quiet

ben cook has his hands in many awesome bands, fucked up, the bitters, the marvelous darlings, but its his project YOUNG GOVERNOR that i like the most.......catchy power pop influenced punk rock........

and YOUNG GOVERNOR just released a new 10 inch ep, WHERE ITS QUIET, on 12xU RECORDS....... just in time for christmas......

very recommended........  especially since ben cook now has a full backing band with the help of THE SCUZZ..... YOUNG GUV could be the next REPLACEMENTS........

listen/watch below.......




  Young Governor - Where It's Quiet by 12XUAustin

drunk pixels - rocket from the tombs

ROCKET FROM THE TOMBS was THE punk band from OHIO in the mid seventies.......members of the band went on to form THE DEAD BOYS and PERE UBU, which in their own right are classic punk bands.......

the band decided to reform more than 25 years after their demise, with the addition of richard lloyd from television to do a couple of tours......and to re-record their demos that never got a proper release during the bands first incarnation.......released as ROCKET REDUX in 2004...

ROCKET FROM THE TOMBS gigs occasionally and if you have the chance you gotta see them live..... this is no old fart reunion show....  RFTT is just as loud and raw as i imagine they sounded in the 70s......

part stooges and maybe the sonics and shit well they might just have invented what early american punk sounded like, so there's no point in comparing them to bands that were influenced by them........

ROCKET just played the empty bottle this week in chicago, and in case you missed it, you can watch below.......  and if you don't have their ROCKET REDUX lp, click here to grab it.....  pretty much essential.........

pretend you were there.......

THE DIRTBOMBS play chicago and nyc FOR FREE

this is the best xmas gift a garage punk rocker like me could ask for.........


THE DIRTBOMBS are playing two shows this month for free...one right here in chicago... and the other in nyc for the east coast kids.....


and both with chicago's very own brother/sister garage rock duo, WHITE MYSTERY......


all you gotta do is RSVP via this link........


and i'll see you december 16th at the subterranean for probably my favorite show of the year..........

if you don't know how awesome the dirtbombs are.......watch below.......

eddy current suppression ring - so many things

out of all the australian bands that've been mentioned in tiny grooves, eddy current suppression ring has to be one of my favorites.......

and there's quite the stiff competition for that title....

all their albums are worth picking up.......if you like yer garage punk, ramshackle loud and angular....

and they've just released a new b-sides collection, SO MANY THINGS, for us to listen to under that punk rock xmas tree of ours.......

here's what revolver had to say.......

EDDY CURRENT SUPPRESION RING have drawn comparisons to Wire, Can, The Fall, Fugazi and The Stooges. They have a singer who wears black gloves to overcome stage fright. They won the $30,000 Australian Music Prize for their 2008 album Primary Colours-then recorded the next one themselves in a few hours in their practice space and spent the dough on a photo shoot for the album cover. They do not care about you and your expectations. You could call them "fiercely independent" but they don't seem fierce at all. Quietly, and definitely on their own terms, EDDY CURRENT SUPPRESSION RING has become a force in underground music. Now, after three albums, it's time for a compilation of singles tracks, demos and other stuff they had lying round. Turns out there was lots to choose from-and even after trimming, they ended up with a double album. Goner Records is happy to provide So Many Things......  

GONER might not be releasing many new album this year, but they're doing a stellar job in the reissue department......... you need to pick up this comp, as well as the reatards reissue and the ty segall singles collection now...........


so click here to download the new double lp compilation...SO MANY THINGS..... and go buy it on vinyl now.......


watch below........

apache dropout - radiation 7 inch

APACHE DROPOUT might win the BEST NEW ARTIST award, if TINY GROOVES was the GRAMMYS......

APACHE DROPOUT is one of my favorite bands of the year......i can't get enough of their s/t debut or their seven inch on TROUBLE IN MIND....... so i was stoked to hear that APACHE DROPOUT was going to give us two new garage/psych jams before the year was out........

their new single RADIATION may never leave my turntable......its that good.......  if you love garage rock, you need to check APACHE DROPOUT now....

MEXICAN SUMMER RECORDS, who just released their new single, had this to say about them.......

2011 was the year that Apache Dropout cracked your dome. Remember it – now you can move buildings and wreak havoc like Richard Burton in The Medusa Touch. But will you? Nah, use your powers for good. Lift the tonearm in your mind and drop the needle on the new single by Indiana’s finest rock & roll trio, and quite possibly one of the best active garage bands in America right now. Born from the wreckage of the bands Lord Fyre and John Wilkes Booze, the ‘Drop rattles the chains of acid’s hallowed hallways (Roky and the Elevators are a certain clue to their approach) once more with three new offerings. “Radiation” bemoans the state of isotopes in our own bodies to the groovin’ garage dance party of our own demise. “School Girl” keeps tabs on our nation’s youth in similar fashion, and the EP closes out with “Born to Die,” a sensitive, forlorn ballad that’s the first song of its kind from said outfit. Follows previous releases on Family Vineyard, Trouble in Mind, and their own Magnetic South imprint, and stands toe-to-toe with each of them, as well as just about any other “new” “music” you could throw at ‘em.

so click here to grab their RADIATION 7 inch.......  and look out, the rumor has it that they have another amazing album headed our way in 2012...........

watch APACHE DROPOUT play the EMPTY BOTTLE in CHICAGO below......

cop warmth - die slow 7 inch

i will always buy a record that IN THE RED puts out.......and so i was curious when i heard that they putting out a new seven inch by a little known texas band, COP WARMTH......

cop warmth is noise punk to the extreme.....or garage punk gone totally awry....

with quite heavy debt to no wave and hardcore, cop warmth skronks their way though short fast songs you wanna hear over and over again......if their new single DIE SLOW doesn't destroy yer speakers first......

reminiscent of ARAB ON RADAR,  TV GHOST,  SCRATCH ACID, HUMAN EYE, HOMOSTUPIDS and/or PUFFY AREOLAS........  COP WARMTH is recommended to anyone who likes their music crazy and loud........ they might be my new favorite noise mongers....... 

listen below via bandcamp...... and order the DIE SLOW single from IN THE RED here......




and watch COP WARMTH live below.......

flesh lights - muscle pop

THE FLESH LIGHTS are another great band from the texas punk rawk scene that brought us the bad sports and the marked men.......  their new lp MUSCLE POP is a garage stomp / scuzz punk thrasher that'll make you wanna turn up the volume, pogo around and kill a six pack........

the flesh lights follow in that great tradition of fuzzed out fast riotous punk propagated by bands like the RIP OFFS and OBLIVIANS........  and if i can compare the FLESH LIGHTS to those two bands, that means i like them quite a bit......  their lp is a dark horse contender for one of the best of the year.........

read what permanent records has to say about the new FLESH LIGHTS lp.......

Pop INDEED! This Austin, TX trio crank out the garage-punk in a MAJOR way! We picked up a few of these LPs from the band when they came thru town on tour and were sure glad we did - this is some serious ear candy for the auditory sweet tooth! On their debut LP (after a couple of singles & an inclusion on Matador's Casual Victim Pile comp), The Flesh Lights grind out hi-energy rock that's kinda garage-y & kinda punky, but laced with some serious pop-hooks - imagine the Oblivians jamming with the Exploding Hearts and you'll start to get the idea – muscle pop is an apropos title, for sure. Many of the tunes are R&B based, with swaggering bass lines running all over your face, with a penchant for smarmy lyrical wordplay that probably wouldn't fly if these guys weren't so young, enthusiastic, and full of piss & vinegar. There are some seriously irresistible hooks in these grooves & these youngsters knack for a catchy tune is what elevates this album above the ever-growing stack of garagepunk or garage/punk releases coming out these days. We caught 'em at SXSW in 2011 and they were super tight! Great record - snag it & bag it! RECOMMENDED!

so if yr convinced you need it, 
click here for the FLESH LIGHTS lp MUSCLE POP

AND GO BUY THE LP 
FROM TWISTWORTHY RECORD HERE......

and watch below.......

drunk pixels - total control

TOTAL CONTROL blew my mind when they played chicago the day before thanksgiving......

their unique mix of krautrock, garage and post punk is ever better live than on their highly recommended lp, HENGE BEAT.....which is definitely on my list of best albums of the year.......

TOTAL CONTROL even came close to upstaging THE OH SEES, but let's just say this was one of my favorite shows of the year........  i hope all of you got the chance to see the total control / oh sees tour, or at least bought their split tour ep........

but if not, you can watch TOTAL CONTROL play the HI-TONE in MEMPHIS below.....

thanks to april novak for the live footage.....apparently everyone in chicago had to much fun dancing around to film the show........

pretend you were there......

the bats - free all the monsters

The jangle pop of NEW ZEALAND's indie rock scene has a subtle yet very strong influence on the underground rock scene here in the states....

many music fans may not know THE CLEAN, TALL DWARFS, THE VERLAINES, THE CHILLS or THE BATS....but all yr favorite bands probably do.......and everyone from the ELEPHANT SIX bands to JAY REATARD owe a bit to the kiwi pop sound........and the label that brought those bands to the world's attention, FLYING NUN......

so i was real excited to learn the bats were returning with another album on flying nun this year, entitled FREE ALL THE MONSTERS...... more jangle post-velvet underground dreamy indie rock to hum along with.......the bats' woozy slightly psychedelic melodies are second to none....  this is what pop music ought to sound like.....
 
fans of elf power, robyn hitchcock, brian jonestown massacre or pavement will dig the bats.......the new lp sounds timeless in the sense it could've been recorded in the mid 80s when they started out or last night....... at any rate, i really don't want to stop listening to this album.......

and you can keep the new lp on repeat too, 
just click here to preview FREE ALL THE MONSTERS......

watch below....

quilt - s/t lp (mexican summer)

QUILT are a psychedelic folk band from BOSTON.... they've just released their debut album on MEXICAN SUMMER earlier this month and i can't get enough of it...

...totally entrancing mantra like melodies and extended hallucinogenic folk strumming that takes you almost out of this world......

it reminds me of the quieter songs of KURT VILE or the psych pop back porch jamming of WOODS....... but probably more to the point, QUILT channel PENTANGLE, THE INCREDIBLE STRING BAND, CLEAR LIGHT and IT'S A BEAUTIFUL DAY as well as that whole hippie west coast folk pop scene of the acid fried 60s........

QUILT isn't what you'd usually hear me listening to, but it's some well crafted indie rock that happens to take more from the GRATEFUL DEAD than JESUS AND MARY CHAIN and there is not a thing wrong with that...... there are already plenty of bands with all the same influences....

and it's refreshing to hear QUILT's psych folk pop so well executed and recorded, fans of psych music like me will definitely enjoy their new lp........

so click here to sample their new lp on MEXICAN SUMMER records...... and listen to the whole record below......

  Quilt - Quilt by Mexican Summer

and oh yeah, pretend yr watching them on tour below.......

barreracudas - nocturnal missions lp

i love me some power pop influenced punk rock on a rainy cold november night.......and the BARRERACUDAS are here to deliver just that with their debut lp, NOCTURNAL MISSIONS...... released on DOUCHEMASTER records this fall......

this is an album you need to own if you fell in love with MICKEY or THE BARE WIRES lps this year......  or if you remember how good the EXPLODING HEARTS were before tragedy struck..... put the BARRERACUDAS in the same venue as GENTLEMAN JESSE and/or THE BAD SPORTS and my mind might just explode from all the catchy melodies......

and i love that the kids are taking glam and power pop and mixing it up with the good ol garage punk formula.......  i mean i don't wanna be the only one who still loves THE NEW YORK DOLLS, T REX and CHEAP TRICK........

so click here to preview the NOCTURNAL MISSIONS lp    
highly recommended......!

watch below.....

digital leather - sponge

DIGITAL LEATHER is set to release their fifth lp, SPONGE, on fat possum records very very soon.....

synth punk filtered through lo-fi garage..... catchy melancholy songs that fit right in with the useless eaters and jay reatard......


digital leather is breaking past that simple synth fueled punk chaos....writing songs that seem influenced by the flying nun bands, synth/power pop and 80s indie rock....think GUIDED BY VOICES or BEAT HAPPENING......   

earlier albums on EMPTY, FDH and GONER were more straight ahead rock n roll affairs.....but the last two lps on FAT POSSUM seems headed to insular world where you can express you emotions with fuzzed out guitars and analog synths.....a place where the music is raw, unpolished and unconcerned about the lines draw in the sands by genres and critics......

i kinda forgot about DIGITAL LEATHER until i got my hands on this last release......its quite good.......you'd be doing yrself a favorite to grab all their releases.........

click here to preview the new lp SPONGE 


watch "hurts so bad" from their previous lp below....

STEVE ADAMYK BAND - forever won't wait

who doesn't need to some punk rock every now again....?  and catchy, rowdy punk at that? STEVE ADAMYK BAND is here to meet that little need for some LOUD rock we need to get through the week....

....even though they have a band name that'll fool yer dad into thinking you've found some lost 70s blues rock group he could be into, this is all scuzzy lo-fi punk rock......  and since you probably won't put a patch on yr backpack or jacket now anyway, you can't let a silly name keep you from such a good rock n roll lp.......

the steve adamyk band play ramones, adverts influenced punk rock with a heavy dose of power pop bounce... the kind of punk rock i can never get enough of.....if only the warped tour hadn't given punk a bad name, all the kids would be singing along to songs by bands like these guys.....   

after a string of european singles, P TRASH released their s/t lp last year....... and now dirtnap records was kind enough to release their second album, FOREVER WON'T WAIT, for the world to enjoy this week........  and if yr a fan of BRIEFS, WHITE WIRES, NEW BOMB TURKS, MARKED MEN or RIVERBOAT GAMBLERS...this is an LP YOU NEED TO OWN NOW..........

revolver writes.....

**THE STEVE ADAMYK BAND are a bunch of obnoxious, rowdy, "kids" from Ottawa, Ontario. While the name would automatically draw comparison to a blues, jazz or rock band given the layout, make no mistake; the Steve Adamyk Band are a punk band. The SAB play trash-pop inspired by seventies punk, the skinny tie bands of the eighties, and nineties garage rock. From the ashes of MILLION DOLLAR MARXISTS (Gearhead Records) and SEDATIVES (Deranged Records), the group was born out of necessity-a whack load of orphan songs with no band to call home. Frustrated playing in bands that would eventually call it quits, Adamyk formed a band that could have an endless timeline, even if the name is outside of the standard band name zone. Releasing two European singles before their first live performance, the SAB would go on to unload 4 seven inch singles and an LP in 2010. The self-titled LP in question sold out its initial pressing in three months and received rave reviews. The following year, the SAB toured Europe, performed at SXSW and recorded their sophomore LP Forever Won't Wait. More touring and releases are currently in the works for 2012, as it doesn't appear to be slowing down anytime soon.

go buy their new lp from DIRTNAP....where the first 200 copies are on limited clear vinyl....

or you can click here to grab 
THE STEVE ADAMYK BAND's S/T LP on P TRASH here.......

and listen to a track off the new lp here......


and watch below.......

rank/xerox - s/t lp

RANK / XEROX is some good angular post punk from the ever fertile SAN FRAN scene....... they're a fairly new band with only a single and one lp under their belt, but i hope we hear lots more from them......

they remind me of WIRE, LIARS, GANG OF FOUR, SONIC YOUTH and the MINUTEMEN....... the kind of fun spiky guitars and driving beat i crave all the time......

and the more i listen to RANK/XEROX the more i'm hooked on the s/t album.....  

if you see their debut in yer local record store, grab it......it's limited and hard to find.....ROS RECORDS put it out earlier this year and i'm not sure if they get too much distribution outside of the west coast.........

click here to preview the s/t lp

and watch/listen below.....


  Rank/Xerox - S/T LP - A1 - Sterile Regions by ROS RECORDS
  Rank/Xerox - S/T LP - A3 - Nausea by ROS RECORDS
  Rank/Xerox - S/T LP - B3 - You Might Follow by ROS RECORDS

useless eaters - zulu

USELESS EATERS are back with another album chock full of early punk influenced jams.......   ZULU was released on GOLD TAPES earlier this year.........and is now pressed on vinyl via P TRASH RECORDS.......

if you liked the USELESS EATERS' DAILY COMMUTE lp out this last may on TIC TAC TOTALLY.... or if yr into KILLED BY DEATH influenced punk rock, the memphis/nashville rock n roll scene or anything on goner records, ZULU is something you need to pick up right away.......  

i believe the tape is sold out and the vinyl pressing is just 500 copies...... so run out to yr local record store now.....but you can also click here to preview the new USELESS EATERS lp

watch them play in NASHVILLE for their DAILY COMMUTE lp release party....
(thanks april novak).......

nothing people - smells like metal

NOTHING PEOPLE return with their 4th lp on CAPTCHA RECORDS...... another dark noisy psych/post punk/garage record.......much like their previous two lps, soft crash and late night.....

nothing people seem informed by the scientists, birthday party, suicide, thirteenth floor elevators and a whole lotta obscure late 70s prog and punk bands.....which makes for some of the most interesting music you might hear all year long.......

below is an interview with NOTHING PEOPLE conducted by tim scott of THE THOUSANDS, a weekly magazine out of Brisbane, Australia...(the nothing people were on tour there earlier in the year)....

With today’s expectation of instant access to music and information there’s something refreshing about Nothing People‘s mysterious anonymity. Google wise they are true nothing people – a search reveals little more than some reviews of their three brilliant punk albums. Before this interview the only press they’d done was for a a small bedroom zine. But holed up in their home studio in Orland, California – far from the hyped scenes of San Francisco or LA – the four piece produce music that draws upon elements of garage psych and heavy synth that captures just the right balance of ambience and power.Ironically, despite their relative online obscurity it was the internet that led them to their first shows outside the US after Adelaide’s Mondo Phase Band tracked them down and invited them to tour Australia.On the eve of their first international tour I catch up with √òD from the band to talk about their new album Smells Like Metal, The Scientists and dead celebrities.

Tim Scott: I just watched the YouTube clip of your new song ‘Cathode Ray Tube‘ five times in a row. The old school almost surreal/paranoid vibe of the Felix the Cat cartoon works well with the song’s fuzz.

√òD: Cool, some of those Felix cartoons are very odd and interesting to us and few felt that they would work well with what we do.

TS: You are from smallish city of Orland, CA, what’s it like playing in a smaller scene compared to LA or SF?

√òD: There is no scene in Orland! That’s why we live here. It’s all farmers and commuters to some of the bigger towns in the area. The kids in the area are into modern country or influenced by MTV or whatever is popular at the present time. It’s like we don’t exist here, which is just fine with us. “The strange folks that make the racket out by Brentwood Dairy.” SF and LA are completely different worlds, even compared to each other. The difference out here is we are on our own. When living in a place like LA or SF it’s easier to get a support group. Even if you are doing something a bit different from your peers, at least you have some like minded thinkers to relate to, and share with.

TS: You record your own records in your home studio. Have you recorded other bands?

√òD: No, but I always thought I could do a cool job with Las Llamerada. We have been asked about recording others but we never followed up. I don’t think it would have the same heart unless it was a project I was way into.

TS: How did you hook up with the Mondo Phase Band ? You are releasing a split tour seven with them?

√òD: They contacted us and asked if we would be interested in coming out to Australia to accompany them on a smallish tour which is huge for us. We were able to work it out. At the same time Nothing People were working with Chicago label CAPTCHA on new releases. Mondo Phase Band have a cool thing going so we offered up a split 7″ to CAPTCHA and they liked the idea.

TS: So this upcoming Australian tour is your first outside the US? Have you done much touring within the States?

√òD: Yes it’s our first time out of the US as a band. We have done a lot of shows on the west coast of the US. San Diego to Seattle, and a trip to SXSW in Texas a couple of years back. We have careers that keep us close to home. Long trips across the US would be hard for us, but we want to, and have been asked a bunch of times so I’m sure it will happen sooner than later. People have asked why we are touring overseas, but haven’t been to the east coast of the USA yet. The simple answer is, we were offered a chance of a lifetime trip and there was no way we could let it get past us.

TS: Compared to other bands there is very little online information on you. Have you deliberately kept this air of mystery about? I don’t even know your names!

√òD: We keep to ourselves unless we are releasing something or we have been asked to play somewhere. We have only agreed to one other interview before this one. It was for a small homespun mag. That’s the kind of thing that will encourage us. The guy in his bedroom who is writing about what he loves and not jumping on the latest hipster band that are passing through town and have been hyped by Vice. HA!

TS: Speaking of hype. Soft Crash made many critics ‘Best of the Year’ lists. Do you care if some blogger thinks you released a good record or are you hoping that your music has more legacy/relevance?

√òD: It’s strange reading press about the band. We really appreciate people liking what we do. It’s cool when they get the influences right – which is rare. The positive comments have been beneficial to the band I think. It’s great to be appreciated by people you appreciate.

TS: Comparisons have been made between you and Chrome, the legendary San Francisco band who were considered godfathers of industrial music. It the new album title Smell Like Metal in relation to this?

√òD: Ha, yeah that is brought up a lot. I even tried to contact Chrome to see if we could take advantage of that press and get a show with them. Smells Like Metal is actually a reference to nuclear fallout. The album is loosely based on the idea of a post apocalypse day-to-day life. Even though the life you new the day before is completely gone, you still have to take care of the day-to-day chores of living. A lot of it is written from what we were seeing going on in Japan after the earthquake.

TS: My favourite song from Soft Crash is ‘Marilyn’s Grave‘ It’s about Marilyn Monroe right?

√òD: Yes, a reference to Marilyn Monroe’s resting place and all of the cemeteries in Southern California that claim stars as their residents. I’m from Anaheim and there is a lot of myth and fantasy and tragedy in that area just because of the nature of Hollywood and the promise of stardom and fame. My friends and I used to explore places where those fantasies or tragedies occurred. But instead of looking for where Gone With The Wind was filmed or where Bob Hope lived we would check out where Robot Monster was filmed or where Ed Wood lived in downtown LA when he died. The song is a combination of these nights and the many dates that fell flat on their face by the end of them in my big black Oldsmobile.

TS: Soft Crash had a slight directional change from previous records. Is this also the case with your new record Smells Like Metal?

√òD: I always felt that Soft Crash was a perfect medium between our first and second albums but we’ve been told it had a different sound. It was recorded in the same studio with the same people. It might be a bit angrier but that’s just another personality to the band. We experiment with new equipment and ideas and never go back and listen to what we have done before.
The use of different equipment that is new to us will also contribute to the different feel of the record. The equipment we use is a huge part of our sound. We like how different effects color what we are used to hearing. We take advantage of that and write around what we discover. It is just a natural progression that can’t be avoided, unless you want to repeat yourself. Which can be very boring both to listen to and create. Smells Like Metal has a bit of all three albums. I hope it is different.

TS: Most of your music sounds like it was influenced by the raw sounds of the ’60s and ’70s early punk and new wave, especially Australian bands like the Scientists. How have they been an influence on you. Have you seen them play?

√òD: Yeah very much so. Raw, but controlled raw. The Scientists are really high in our idea of influences. Australian bands have been a definite influence on us and just by chance we have been able to play with a number of Aussie bands while on they have been on tour out here including Radio Birdman, feedtime and Beaches. We also pull from obscure American bands, and British punk bands, Motown, dirty blues and experimental synth. We have never seen the Scientists of course, but that would be a highlight in our lives if that was possible.

PREVIEW THE SMELLS LIKE METAL LP BELOW....
it's out on vinyl later this month......


Nothing People /// Commit /// Smells Like Metal from Benjamin Funke on Vimeo.


ØØØØ /// SMELLS LIKE METAL /// NOTHING PEOPLE from Benjamin Funke on Vimeo.

purling hiss - dizzy polizzy (tape)

i love PURLING HISS, so i was disappointed they skipped over chicago on this fall's tour...... especially since purling hiss was carting around with them two tour only cassettes....DIZZY POLIZZY, a more song oriented lo-fi psych outing and PAISLEY MONTAGE, heavier on the drone / experiemental side....

both tapes were limited to 100 and self released.....


and if you know anything about their mix of psych, garage and lo-fi indie, you know why i want these tapes in my collection.......  luckily someone posted one of the tapes to the good ol' interweb......so click here to grab DIZZY POLIZZY 

and watch PURLING HISS play HOODOO off their LOUNGE LIZARDS lp below....

the fall - ersatz gb

THE FALL are one of those seminal indie / post punk bands that we'd be lost without.....they've influenced so many bands that don't even realize how much of the fall's sound they steal.....

starting in 78 with LIVE AT THE WITCH TRIALS and continuing til today with ERSATZ GB, the fall have been turning ears with their noisy acerbic angular post punk....... i guess i don't really have to say much about MARK E SMITH and his various cohorts that have comprised THE FALL for over thirty years, other than that you need to listen up.....

the fall have for quite sometime been one of my favorite bands, and i wish i had everyone of their lps in my collection...... and the new album is another moody smash hit in their long run of great music........

click here for the lp ERSATZ GB

watch a half hour long documentary on THE FALL below......

and some live footage........

ty segall - singles/rarities comp !

if you didn't have enough obsession or money to collect every TY SEGALL 7 inch in the past couple of years, don't worry GONER RECORDS has come to the rescue......they're releasing a singles, rarities and b-sides compilation november 22nd......

the comp is twenty five songs full of fuzzed out rock n roll fun........a must own for all of us garage punk kids.....

and if you can't wait for the double vinyl collection to hit the shelves at yer local record stores, click here to grab SINGLES 2007 - 2010
(LINK FIXED!!!!!!)

WATCH TY SEGALL perform THE DRAG.....

LISTEN TO WHERE WE GO from the double lp below......
  Ty Segall - where we go by Audiopleasures

wounded lion - IVXLCDM

WOUNDED LION play choppy off kilter garage pop in the vein of the MODERN LOVERS, THE CLEAN, HUSKER DU and THE SOFT BOYS.......  parts jangle, parts noisy garage and a whole lotta of boisterous punked out three chord rock........

preview the new WOUNDED LION lp via some lo-fi campy youtube videos the band made below.....

or grab the lp IVXLCDM here.....

also check out WOUNDED LION's S/T lp on IN THE RED if you like what you hear.