sweet talk - pickup lines

the texas rock scene continues on their roll with the catchy as fuck debut lp from SWEET TALK, the newest supergroup of sorts from the interconnected web of killer punk bands exploding outta austin, denton and the surrounding areas.... their just released album PICKUP LINES on 12XU is a melodic party-all-night-long, foot tapping, wall-of-guitar rockin' fun...... seriously this new lp is one of the most addicting repeat listens i've stumbled across lately.....

comprised of members from the MIND SPIDERS, UPTOWN BUMS, WICCANS, VIDEO, BRAIN ATTACK and CHURCH SHOES to name a few, SWEET TALK is aiming to make a name for themselves apart from their former associations...(and i think they do quite a good job with their first long player)........their sound somehow incorporates some of the my rock n roll favorites with that brash high octane texas punk rock attitude you know i can't get enough of..... you can hear elements of FLAMIN GROOVIES, REDD KROSS, CHEAP TRICK, GAUNT, MAKERS, PAVEMENT and THE REPLACEMENTS in PICKUP LINES and than my friend is quite the good thing...... 

PICKUP LINES is some ready to be blasted out your car windows, super infectious guitar rock, hands down.... fans of BAD SPORTS, OBN IIIS, BEAT BEAT BEAT, CARBONAS, BUSY SIGNALS and MARKED MEN need SWEET TALK's debut now.....  i always want a melodic rocker of an album to get me ready for a night out or erase a bad day at work, and PICKUP LINES is just what i needed.........   can't wait to hear more from SWEET TALK down the road.....

these jams are definitely RECOMMENDED !!!!!!

Listen to two tracks off PICKUP LINES below.....
   and grab yer copy from 12XU now....




and watch the video for LAST DANCE off the new lp below....


rock n roll with SWEET TALK live below.....

the funs - s/t tape

THE FUNS are just one of the many killer bands emerging outta chicago's vibrant basement / house show / dive bar scene (see also MAGIC MILK, UH BONES, RUNNING, THE BINGERS, HEAVY TIMES, SLUSHY to name a few others).....but perhaps one of the most addicting...... and now that they've released their s/t debut album on tape via MANIC STATIC, you can experience a little of that under-appreciated noise loving chicago art punk scene anytime you want.....

THE FUNS play what might be most aptly called feedback punk (or maybe fuse breaking basement art pop), but their no-fi, blown out two-piece guitar rock is more catchy than that tag would seem to imply.......their s/t tape is overflowing with melodic yet noise caked anthems that you'll play over and over again til the tape fucking breaks apart...... THE FUNS definitely worked these songs out live until they seemed razor sharp enough to cut them to tape the old fashioned four track way and then unleashed them the way this music needs to be heard.....on CASSETTE...(trying to get that sweaty loud feel of a loft show onto yer album is most easily accomplished the simple low tech analog way, too many bands are wasting their time with protools if you ask me)......

so fuck the youtube sensations, p4k darlings and mp3 vomiting bands that get all that undue blog-o-sphere hype....THE FUNS ARE UNPRETENTIOUS ROCK N ROLL AT ITS MOST RAMBUCTIOUS, TRASHY AND WELL OF COURSE FUN........ their treble pop bangers break through the in-the-red production enough to get you stomping yer feet if not pogoing around the room......that's the magic of the stripped down cavestomp duo that just knows how to play it right.......

THE FUNS are most certainly suggested for those whose tastes can be triangulated by the following bands - BLOOD ON THE WALL, CHARLES ALBRIGHT, TY SEGALL, NAOMI PUNK, SIC ALPS, BROKEN WATER, THE HUSSY and/or CIRCLE PIT........ 

this is super recommended, as is anything on MANIC STATIC RECORDS, one of my new go-to tape labels......

LISTEN TO THE SELF TITLED TAPE 
FROM THE FUNS BELOW....
and grab a copy from MANIC STATIC here....
(NOW AVAILABLE ON VINYL AS WELL!!!!!!!!!!)


WATCH THE FUNS LIVE BELOW......

spray paint - s/t lp

after stealthily releasing two noisy singles, austin, texas' SPRAY PAINT is gonna wallop you with their self-titled debut album on SS RECORDS......their two guitar / drummer power trio attack burns through some of the best angular post punk ear splitting you'll hear all year long......

reminiscent of the fall, swell maps, mx-80 sound, wire, 100 flowers, scratch acid, arab on radar and/or saccharine trust, SPRAY PAINT absolutely tear through a propulsive no wave inspired set of ten bangers on their first long player and not in quite some time have i heard such a rhythmic and jagged bunch of guitar thrashing songs......maybe not since the early liars albums or the last hurrah of the a-frames.....

in a world where everyone seems intent on fashioning themselves as a "garage" or "psych" band, it's refreshing that SPRAY PAINT is mining the feedback saturated, warped world of eighties post punk aggression....and without just mimicking either.  they're created a unhinged clamorous and blistering noise that resembles punk, no wave, art rock and even elements of surf and hardcore, yet is totally their own unique concoction......

AND SPRAY PAINT IS NOT FUCKING AROUND MAKING SOME BORING PRETENTIOUS ART ROCK FOR THE HIPSTER SET, THIS IS SWEATY IN YR FACE ROCK N ROLL THAT YOU JUST GOTTA HEAR TO BELIEVE.......FUCK ANY SORT OF ASSESSMENT OF WHERE THEY FIT IN GENRE AND SUBGENRE-WISE, CAUSE WE ALL NEED TO GET ROCKED LIKE THIS....... only perhaps the blind shake, running and rank/zerox seem to be on the same war path of angular destruction as spray paint these days.....

that's why you need this album now...... so very very recommended.

LISTEN TO TWO SONGS OFF THE NEW S/T LP BELOW,

YAWN FACTORY


DRIPPING THE RAILS


AND WATCH SPRAY PAINT LIVE BELOW.....

le chomage - s/t lp

LE CHOMAGE is a new noise-mongering punk super group out of France that you need to check out now....... featuring members of AH KRAKEN, FEELING OF LOVE, THE DREAMS and countless other acts that spew forth form the mighty La Grand Triple Alliance Internationale De L'est collective (a mysterious group that seems hellbent on making some of the most destructive and interesting music around...possibly centered around the french town of metz), LE CHOMAGE concocts some of the most chaotic, delirious and loud post punk thrashing being played anywhere in the world right now....... their self titled debut lp is one of the wildest most psychotic spins yer turntable will get all year, that much i can promise..... 

here with a few more words on LE CHOMAGE is PERMANENT RECORDS which imported this special blend of french psych noise madness for us to get drunk on - 

A quick jump over to Google Translate tells us that Le Chômage morphed into English means "The Unemployment" which seems a fitting moniker to this sweaty, foul-mouthed glue wave super group.  Le Chômage manages to squash together the sounds of their collective other bands while birthing something wholly original; an aggro chortle punk sound that marries together the anxiety chants of The Anals, the blistering mutant fuzz stomp of Thee Oh Sees and the clattering art damaged burnt hair nostril stuffing "go fuck yerself" blase' of The Fall.

This self titled debut provides a sound that is brash and unforgiving, but one that still pumps out some seriously killer jams that'll have you spinnin' this caustic platter for all your pals.  These 10 cuts were put to wax and released into the wild by the collective efforts of the lable Briquie, Pouet! Schallplatten, Animal Biscuit, and 24h Sur Jamais labels respectively.  If you've been privy to any of our previous rants about The Dreams, Feeling Of Love, Ah Kraken, Funk Police, The Anals, Cheveu or any other of the myriad acts coming out of France in the last decade then do not snooze cuz this boy born bad is next level shit fer sure.

yes those into any of those aforementioned bands (especially FEELING OF LOVE and CHEVEU) as well as their french cohorts JC SATAN, CATHOLIC SPRAY, MAGNETIX, JACK OF HEART and CRASH NORMAL will need this aggro psychedelic blown out rock n roll pummeling that is the s/t lp from LE CHOMAGE....... 

so dark, sinister, reverbed and full throttle, i've spun this record so many times looking for an accurate way to describe it and keep coming up short ........ all i know is LE CHOMAGE is what happens when the french garage punks have a bad acid trip while getting pumped up to overthrow the government..... wholly anarchic and psychedelic at the same time......   and very fucking recommended......   sadly you won't hear many american bands jump off the edge of a cliff with such reckless abandon as LE CHOMAGE..... 

now someone stateside just needs to press this lp up domestically, so it's not so hard to grab....

LISTEN TO THE S/T LP BELOW......



AND WATCH LE CHOMAGE MELT SOME FACES LIVE BELOW....

punk rock classics - the saints

THE SAINTS were one of the best punk bands to explode outta australia in the late 70s..... often looked over in the rock n roll history books because of the narrow focus on the rock n roll scenes in america and england, they deserve a rightful place next to the ramones and the damned as one of the legendary early punk bands......

the saints put out two of punk's greatest lps, I'M STRANDED and ETERNALLY YOURS back to back.....and if you've never heard them, now's the time to introduce yerself to THE SAINTS........

this is classic as it gets.......
rock n roll below......

I'M STRANDED (1977)


ETERNALLY YOURS (1978)

purling hiss - water on mars

PURLING HISS has been a staple around TINY GROOVES HQ for quite some time....ever since PERMANENT reissued their s/t lp in 2009, i've been cranking up their blown-out psych-melting guitar-mangling rock n roll explosions til my speakers crackle..... their back catalog is full of must-own lo-fi psych rock adventures, from HISSTERIA on RICHIE to PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT on WOODSIST and their self released tapes PAISLEY MONTAGE and DIZZY POLIZZY, PURLING HISS has been on a fucking killer tear......

so how stoked am i about the latest album, WATER ON MARS, to be released on DRAG CITY march 19th....?  holy shit i can't wait......!!!!!  surely one of the most highly anticipated releases of 2013!!!  PURLING HISS has laid low in the past year or so....only releasing a live at WFMU tape on FAN DEATH and before that 2011's RSD split with PUFFY AREOLAS and the LOUNGE LIZARDS EP on MEXICAN SUMMER.......  but that extra time hiding away has given PURLING HISS the solitude needed to concoct this fiery new lp WATER ON MARS, and now there's no looking back......

DRAG CITY has to be over-joyed for what i'm assuming is going to be the first of many PURLING HISS lps they'll release cuz WATER ON MARS is some full throttle rock n roll pyrotechnics..... taking aim to unseat J MASCIS or even THURSTON MOORE at the top of the underground guitar hero mountain, PURLING HISS unleashes nine tracks of absolutely balls-out psych rocking ferocity on the new long player.... 

a little more mid-fi than previous releases, WATER ON MARS is better off without the muddy production--all the guitar solos are right out front ready to sear your face.... and the songwriting is even more catchy than in the past.... it's a rare lp chock full of songs worth repeat listens.....

and if you thought neil young's ZUMA, dinosaur jr's BUG or built to spill's PERFECT FROM NOW ON were the last great statements of guitar shredding honest to god underground rock goodness, yr mind is gonna change after hearing this new one from PURLING HISS.... seriously.  very fucking recommended.   

below you can get teased, or
click here to pre-order WATER ON MARS.... 

listen to a live version of LOLITA off the new album here......


watch PURLING HISS play RAT RACE off WATER ON MARS live here...


and watch the commercial for WATER ON MARS below....

new jams - the oh sees - minotaur

it's been uncharacteristically long since we've heard rumor of the next THE OH SEES release, but worry no longer, details have emerged about the next album !!!!!  SF psych rockers are set to release their newest album FLOATING COFFIN on CASTLE FACE RECORDS april 16th (right in time for record store day.....)

i'll admit to being a junkie for anything oh sees related, but if this new and just leaked track MINOTAUR is any indication of the new album, it's going to be more experimental, stranger, more psych and an even more tripped out studio masterpiece than PUTRIFIERS II was.....  in other words, i can't wait to get my hands on FLOATING COFFIN.......

so let's just cut to the chase,
LISTEN TO MINOTAUR OFF "FLOATING COFFIN" BELOW...

kid congo & the pink monkey birds - conjure man 7 inch

KID CONGO AND THE PINK MONKEY BIRDS are back with a killer new single, CONJURE MAN on IN THE RED......

following the excellent DRACULA BOOTS and GORILLA ROSE lps, this hot-off-the-presses 7 inch continues in that same swampy dark garage vein we all know and love from KID CONGO.....

and if these two songs are any indication of his upcoming album, HAUNTED HEAD, KID CONGO is gonna shoot to the top of my year end list for sure.......

recommended for everyone who needs a shot of garage rock in their life...... and especially for those into the REIGNING SOUND, 68 COMEBACK, JOHN SPENCER BLUES EXPLOSION, THE FLESHTONES and COMPULSIVE GAMBLERS......as well KID CONGO's previous bands -- the CRAMPS, GUN CLUB and NICK CAVE AND THE BAD SEEDS......yep that resume ought to catch yer attention.......

kid congo plays rock n roll like it was meant to be played -- sweaty, loud, raw, sexy and rambunctious..... and of course drunk and raring to go all night long.....  this is not some copy of a copy of a copy garage rock revival junk........ KID CONGO AND THE PINK MONKEY BIRDS ARE THE REAL DEAL.......

SO DO YRSELF A FAVOR AND 
LISTEN TO THE NEW SINGLE BELOW....

A SIDE - CONJURE MAN


B SIDE - LOOSE YOUR MIND (SEEDS COVER)


and watch KID CONGO AND THE PINK MONKEY BIRDS LIVE BELOW -

the readymades - i'm a man, i'm a flower

THE READYMADES are a lost chapter in the unruly punk history of sacramento, california......but thanks to MT ST MTN that doesn't have to be the case anymore.....they've recently issued I'M A MAN, I'M A FLOWER, the forever shelved album from THE READYMADES recorded way back in 2001......  super limited and rowdy, this is one lp you ought to rush out to the record store to grab now.........

nofi garage punk doesn't get any better than I'M A MAN, I'M A FLOWER..... hopped up on black flag, the sonics, the stooges, the kinks and the gories, THE READYMADES rocket through some of the best unhinged distorto punk madness you'll come across ....... this is of course to be expected if you know anything about rich haley, charles albright and/or chris woodhouse, whose other projects bear a close resemblance to the READYMADES.......

band history is sparse (no internet presence at all), 
so here's the details direct from the source.....
according to MT ST MTN -

13 tracks of blown-out, lo-fi garage punk blast that walks a tight-rope between intentional organized chaos and a car careening off a bridge. Recorded over a decade ago in the legendary Loft space by Chris Woodhouse (Mayyors, Karate Party), this record got shelved as the band imploded and members went on to more stable projects - Rich Haley forming the Duchess Of Saigon (S-S Records) and Charles Albright forming and unforming a million projects since then, including his highly regarded recent solo output (S-S Records, Permanent Records). Greg Ginn joins the early Kinks and borrows Henry's Dress' equipment to do covers off the first Redd Kross record. Howling cave-stomp punk with film of chattering white noise and the best of the Woodhouse treatment. Get yourself a hat and hold on to it.

pretty much the exactly what i wanna listen to all the time........ TRASHY LOUD BUDGET ROCK GOODNESS, BLOWN OUT AND FUCKED UP.....A ROCK N ROLL HOUSE SHOW WAITING TO HAPPEN EVERY TIME YOU THROW THE READYMADES ON THE TURNTABLE....

very recommended to those into the RIP OFFS, MAYYORS, G GREEN, MUMMIES, THE WHINES, KARATE PARTY, LOS HUEVOS and THE MOONHEARTS.......

listen to some songs of I'M A MAN, I'M A FLOWER below.....
   click here to grab a copy, but don't sleep on it, only a 100 were pressed.......

obnox - smoke woody haze ep

hot on the heels of last year's excellent PERMANENT lp ROJO and his recent A RAGIN' IN THE SUN single on ANYWAY, OBNOX has dropped a killer new ep on 12XU entitled SMOKE WOODY HAZE....
and hell fucking yeah i'm i excited..... any new release from Lamont "Bim" Thomas is a cause for celebration.....whether it be in the Bassholes, This Moment In Black History, Puffy Areolas, Unholy Two or as Obnox.....  

and as solo act, Bim has been on a fucking tear -- beginning with his Purple Reign and Masonic Reducer singles which are both monster slabs of blown out rock goodness...and continuing with his noise mongering debut lp I'M BLEEDING NOW (SMOG VEIL / 12XU)......  all of them highly recommended (ROJO made top ten in my year end list, and RAGIN IN THE SUN will definitely hit 2013's single list).......  

can OBNOX keep up this high octane turbo charged burst of creativity?  why YES! and SMOKE WOODY HAZE shows Bim has no desire to slow down one bit or get complacent or less experimental for that matter..... this ep might just be his most OUT-THERE release yet.......  so get ready for yer mind to melt and yer speakers to blow.......

SMOKE WOODY HAZE is OBNOX's beats oriented noise rock deconstruction of popular music, heady yet raw and loud just as you'd expect from Bim......12XU seemed worried that the high concept of this new ep might be lost on some of his long time fans, so they sent a little note along with the promo..... i don't think the back story is necessary at all -- the music says it all --but you might wanna read on anyway -

The only thing I hate more than 12" EP's are 10" EP's. Or failing that, someone calling it a "maxi-single". Why not just put my cock in a vice?

HOWEVER, the 8-song extended player in question, 'Smoke Woody Haze' (a salute of sorts from one Ohio icon to another) is not only a musical left turn of sorts for Bim Thomas, but was also, apparently, commissioned by another label that due to circumstances beyond our control (well, mine, at least --- I can't speak for Bim) is no longer involved in the project. Trust me, this soap opera shit is way less interesting than the musical contents. Not counting the 'I'm Bleeding Now' reissue, this makes 5 amazing Obnox records in 2012, and as such, Bim would be a prime candidate for Time's "Man Of The Year" if the award hadn't already been locked up by whoever invented The Chip Clip (condolences to whoever invented the clothespin ---I think you were totally screwed).

Bim says the next one's gonna be a double LP. Bob Pollard's on the phone --- something about Bim being "too prolific".

you might say OBNOX has chewed up hip hop and spit out something so unique and mesmerizing it doesn't even fall into a genre any more. Kinda like Madlib mashing jazz and hip hop on those "Yesterday's New Quintet" LPs, those outsider wonky ANTICON records lps, Mick Collins taking on techno and soul via the garage rock filter of the Dirtbombs or Puffy Areola's hardcore renditions of acid fried psych, OBNOX's 12 inch is a noise rock reinterpretation of rap and the soul music it samples all through his warped vision of blown out rock n roll fun.  

Absolutely one of the most interesting records you'll come across all year long.  And just the kind of distorted avant rule breaking we  all expect from Bim.....  so get ready to wear the grooves out.

Fans of his previous work, noise rock in general and anything genre busting, 
need to grab a copy of SMOKE WOODY HAZE now.......  
in a perfect world, these songs would all be club bangers and top 40 hits......

HHHHHHHIIIGGGGHHHHLLLLLYYYYY RECOMENDED.....


but don't take my opinion,
listen for yerself below to three tracks off the new 12 inch single -

SMOKE WOODY HAZE......


DEEP IN THE DUSK.......


CASH WEED GREEN.......

watch OBNOX live below.....


and as an added bonus listen to a live OBNOX set here......

new jams - mikal cronin's "shout it out"

MIKAL CRONIN is set to release his second solo lp on MERGE RECORDS, titled simply MCII on may 7th......

following his year end list topping s/t debut from TROUBLE IN MIND in 2011, MIKAL CRONIN is bringing you more addicting sunshiny psych pop gems with this new long player.....  

preview SHOUT IT OUT below, and if this first single is any indication, MCII is gonna be on non-stop play all summer long at TINY GROOVES HQ......

if you don't know MIKAL CRONIN yet, now is the time to introduce yrself.... (he's more than just a member of ty segall's backing band and former member of the epsilons and moonhearts....) 

click here to stream his first lp...... 
and here to grab yr very own copy....
and jam out to the new track below.......



and watch MIKAL CRONIN playing GET ALONG 
off his first lp LIVE here.....

feeling of love - la peur est une illusion

france's FEELING OF LOVE are a difficult band to pin down.....calling it deconstructed garage punk might be the closest you'll get to a genre, seeing that the owe huge debts to the noisy antics of pussy galore, the swampy post blues of the chrome cranks and scientists and a huge love for the crypt / sympathy records back catalog....though all that being said, there's something uniquely art bent, glue wave and french going on with FEELING OF LOVE's post modern cave stomp...... you can imagine them huddled around a bottle of whiskey next to some broken synths with like minded cohorts CHEVEU, JC SATAN, THE ANALS, LE CHOMAGE, SONIC CHICKEN 4 and AH KRAKEN......(btw, all super riotous french bands you need to check out)......

....i'm not sure what's going on in the dive clubs across the sea, but fuck if these french kids aren't warping american garage / punk in the most interesting and subversive ways......

following superb lps on KILL SHAMAN and BORN BAD, as well as a split single with TY SEGALL on PERMANENT, FEELING OF LOVE is back with another full platter of blown out spastic garage burning punk jams, this time via CAPTCHA RECORDS......the new album entitled LE PEUR EST UNE ILLUSION is a collection of their early singles from 2006-2008, when the band was morphing from a one man bedroom pyrotechnics show into a full on hellbent punk riot......  though not a best of, LE PEUR EST UNE ILLUSION acts as a good starting point for those not initiated into the dark feedback obsessed world of FEELING OF LOVE........

and like most comps of this nature, it would be cost prohibitive and time consuming to track all these singles down, since their 7 inches on SWEET ROT, FLORIDA'S DYING, SQUOODGE, AVANT and others were super limited and long gone.......  and CAPTCHA lovingly added to the album are a few unreleased tracks as icing to the cake for those who might have a few of those 7 inches....

FEELING OF LOVE might be overlooked by many non-europeans since there's quite a garage explosion happening here, but hopefully with this new album CAPTCHA can change that.......

this is a repeat and mind bending listen......
very recommended.
grab your copy here......

and LISTEN TO LE PEUR EST ILLUSION below......



watch 'em live below......