livids – your house or the courthouse ep

So with Crypt and Rip Off Records dead and gone, who’s gonna keep the garage punk spirit alive?  Well for sure more than a couple bands are trying, but way too many just fall flat on their faces (sorry, not everyone’s band is as killer as their PR people say they are).  So thank fucking god, SLOVENLY RECORDS released the LIVIDS‘ Your House or the Courthouse EP; it’s just the kind of blazing fast, in-yer-face shot of wild garage destroying punk fury that all of you need right now.

Comprised of former members of the legendary New Bomb Turks and the equally amazing Zodiac Killers (as well as a handful of other tried and true rock n roll bands, listing them all would take too long, so you’ll have to trust us on their veteran status), Livids are picking up where the Oblivians, Supercharger, and Teengenerate left off, cranking their amps up and concocting some full on loud, blown out rock n roll debauchery.  With three buzzsaw songs on one succinct 7 inch EP–two originals and one Iggy Pop cover–all done up no-fi, sneering and full of drunken late night swagger, the Livids are off with a bang.  Hopefully this is just the opening round in an onslaught of future releases from them because few bands manage to combine that 60s garage cave thump with the abrasive melody of early punk the way the Livids are right now.  I don’t even like buying 7 inches anymore and I wanna grab at least five copies of this EP.  Get ready to flip this one over and over again.

Listen to the title track off “Your House or the Courthouse” below and hit up Slovenly immediately afterwards.

action swingers - miserable life 7in

the newest single from TOTAL PUNK RECORDS is by none other than legendary dirge punk delinquents, ACTION SWINGERS.......the 7 inch MISERABLE LIFE B/W LOSING MY COOL is two trashy as fuck noise soaked garage punk stompers that are a more necessary addition to yer rowdy record collection......

formed in the same garbage crusted alleys in NYC as PUSSY GALORE, CHROME CRANKS, HONEYMOON KILLERS and SONIC YOUTH, ACTION SWINGERS slashed and burned rock n roll like no one else in the early 90s......

you might compare them to FLIPPER, CHEATER SLICKS, ROYAL TRUX and/or the BEGUILED, but the Action Swinger's shit storm of noisy garage is much more explosive, vitriolic, in yer face and fun than any of those aforementioned bands.....the mastermind/vocalist/guitarist behind Action Swingers, NED HAYDEN, was joined at times by members from bands like Pussy Galore, Sonic Youth, Unsane and A Bones to complete his unique, angsty vision of demented feedback jacked punk......lending them a sort of all star lineup of noise junkie guitar mangling rock n roll status.....which they certainly lived up to.....  

this 7 inch is from the early more off kilter version of the band which features Julia Cafritz, Johann Kugelberg and a one J Mascis on drums for the B side of this fucking thrashy unhinged raucous single. Action Swingers' gutter blues meets noise punk scrap heap ought to have cemented their reputation as cult rock heroes, but alas they've slithered back into obscurity until now........

but thanks to TOTAL PUNK, we have two lost songs from the Action Swingers resurrected from their short and mean existence...... both of these songs were released on the b-sides comp QUIT WHILE YOU'RE AHEAD in 1994, and never on vinyl.  so MISERABLE LIFE is cause for celebration...... and certainly since this is the only ACTION SWINGERS music that's still in print.......

this is so very very recommended, and i hope this isn't the first and last installment of reissue love for the ACTION SWINGERS, cuz this is CLASSIC AS FUCK NOISE PUNK.......

so crank the volume and listen to the single below.....
  and grab one quick from TOTAL PUNK.
     only 500 were pressed and they're sure to go quick.

MISERABLE LIFE (A SIDE)


LOSING MY COOL (B SIDE)

hank wood & the hammerheads - go home

watch out....cuz if you love yer garage punk mean, loud and fucking fierce, HANK WOOD AND THE HAMMERHEADS are gonna blow you away with their debut album GO HOME (released late last year on TOXIC STATE, purveyor of all things punk rock).......

blistering noise damaged garage punk sprinkled with grime and synth, HANK WOOD AND THE HAMMERHEADS are tilted full boar towards the back catalog of Crypt Records and man oh man if they aren't close to surpassing some of the classics..........
  
GO HOME has the vitriol of the Final Solutions, the house party spirit of The Spits, the drunken high speed chase of the Motards, the three chord budget punk of Supercharger and the angsty back alley fight of the Murder City Devils.... and that's just their jumping off point..... i haven't heard garage punk this riotous and hellbent on destruction since those first Pussy Galore, Cheater Slicks, Action Swingers and Chrome Cranks lps.....  

Those who like their punk Back From The Grave, scratched up with feedback and menacing as fuck need to introduce yourself to Hank Wood And The Hammerheads now.  i'm glad some young new yorkers are taking up their no wave / noise punk heritage and playing some of the best IN YER FACE FUCK YOU GARAGE PUNK SCREE AROUND.........

highly fucking recommended.  everyone who heard this lp when it came out, put GO HOME on the year end best of list......seriously it's that good.  just wish i was quicker on the uptake here cuz i'll be spinning HANK WOOD AND THE HAMMERHEADS OVER AND OVER AND OVER AGAIN AT FULL VOLUME........

listen to two tracks off GO HOME below.....
    and grab your copy from TOXIC STATE, HANK WOOD or PERMANENT RECORDS but the limited run is all gone......which it will be very very soon........




watch HANK WOOD & THE HAMMERHEADS live below......

dirtbombs - consistency is the enemy

It’s been almost two years since Detroit’s finest garage rockers the DIRTBOMBS have graced us with a new album– their last effort being 2011′s triple LP PARTY STORE on In The Red Records. There’s rumor of a new album all recorded and mastered just waiting to get shipped off to the pressing plant, but we don’t have to wait anymore for our next fix of Mick Collins and Co’s soulful brand of garage punk. CASS RECORDS has stepped in and pressed up our next dose of Dirtbombs, in the form of the singles comp CONSISTENCY IS THE ENEMY.

If you’re familiar with the Dirtbombs discography, or fanatical like me, you know that we’ve been waiting for this LP for quite some time. Consistency is the vinyl companion to their In The Red released career stretching singles, live and unreleased tracks collection If You Don’t Already Have A Look, released way way back in 2005. That double CD cataloged all those rare and expensive singles the Dirtbombs are known for releasing at such a high octane and prolific pace–last count they’ve released over thirty 7 inches! Sadly at the time, In The Red didn’t think a double or triple LP was financially worthwhile (or more than likely that all the rabid Dirtbombs fans had most of the singles already). But seeing that they’re one of the last bands standing from the initial garage rock explosion of the 90s/early00s, steadily releasing more albums and gaining new fans, these singles needed to be re-released into the world on vinyl.  I wish Consistency Is The Enemy was more than the mere 16 songs it is (the CD compilation contained 52 songs), but with such fiery garage hits as “Here Comes That Sound Again”, “(I’m Not Your) Scratchin Post”, and “They Hate Us In Scandinavia” as well as killer blown out covers of the Ohio Players and Yoko Ono, every song on the LP is a repeat listen.

Nobody can match the Dirtbombs’ raw power meets motown punk vibes, expect perhaps the Oblivians.  For the uninitiated, Ultraglide in Black is a better starting point, but Consistency Is The Enemy kind of works as a Best Of. And with more and more young bands jumping into the punk / garage scene, an album like this is sure to cement the Dirtbombs where they belong: along side the best garage punk outfits around.

LISTEN TO HERE COMES THAT SOUND AGAIN AND THE SHARPEST CLAWS
OFF CONSISTENCY IS THE ENEMY BELOW..........

shockwave riderz - s/t 12in

from the ashes of garage thumpers MODEY LEMON comes pittsburgh, pa's newest sensation SHOCKWAVE RIDERZ......... not some crazed cough syrup drunk hiphop act, though that's kinda what their name makes me think, SHOCKWAVE RIDERZ are a synth / effects laden psych rock trio of warped pop experimentalists....

on their brand new self titled and self released three song (and one sided) 12 inch, SHOCKWAVE RIDERZ concoct some hazy and mesmerizing krautrock inspired warped psych burners....... a little bit of THE OH SEES if they were more hopped up on cocaine and NEU! or kinda like ONEIDA or CAVE high as hell doing synth punk covers..........   not sure where to file this one in my collection, other than right next to my turntable cuz i'm gonna play the shit outta this 12 inch til the grooves melt.......

anyone who reads this blog more than occasionally will know that SHOCKWAVE RIDERZ hit the sweet spot for me cuz they mix in the motorik pulse of krautrock, the fierce stomp of proto punk, the lysergic solos of psych and a touch of the avant with yer layers of noisy stretched out jams......and i'm totally sold.

these three songs barely extend past ten minutes, but that my friend is the only short coming with this 12 inch - the brevity.  i need a full length from SHOCKWAVE RIDERZ now........

totally fucking recommended.   this is gonna seep into yer ears and make you hit repeat.......

LISTEN TO THE 12" BELOW...... 

WATCH SHOCKWAVE RIDERZ'S VIDEO FOR CRUISIN THE NIGHT BELOW........