Category: Buzz Chart

Stereo:Type always drops the best mixes for Halloween, 2013 is no different. Check out this beastly dancefloor mash up that he has unleashed with Krafty Kuts this time round. Magic stuff.

Play 4: Krafty Kuts & Stereo:Type's Trick or Beats Mix by Malibu Play on Mixcloud

Perfect Pussy
‘I Have Lost All Desire For Feeling’
Bandcamp
Ph:Brett Davis

Bandcamp is a pretty wonderful site. There’s definitely something more satisfying about transferring money directly to the band rather than giving your money to Apple and every so often you’ll stumble upon something truly exciting. One such discovery we made this week was the brilliantly named Perfect Pussy who hail from Syracuse, New York.

Bringing a tenacious hardcore energy to noise-pop, Perfect Pussy thrash out four distorted, fast-as-fuck, fuzzed out smashers in their EP I Have Lost All Desire For Feeling, which the band put out a few months ago. The four tracks are simply titled as I, II, III and (you guessed it), IIII and bring to mind the experimentalism of Melt Banana, the more ferocious moments of Trail Of Dead, but with pop hooks like our pals Joanna Gruesome. There’s even some shoegaze elements in there for good measure! I Have Lost All Desire For Feeling is exhilarating, intense, intoxicating and above all massively exciting.

Singer Meredith may snarl, but the lyrics are often confessional and introspective – not that you would know it due to the heavy distortion layered on. On ‘III’ she laments: “Every dog deserves forgiveness, no matter who he bit. I’m a real lost cause. I’m a real piece of shit” before “I’ve been lying to get attention, I’ve been lying and lying. I think I’ll just stay home forever this time” – often the simplest lyrics can be the most gut wrenching.

There’s not a hell of a lot about these guys online at the moment, in fact they don’t even have a Facebook page, but we’d love to think that you’ll be hearing more from them soon. From photo evidence, their shows look equally intense, so keep your fingers crossed for a UK tour sometime soon.

Give them some money for their EP and let them crash at your house if they do ever make it over here.

James the Fang and Serious Sam Barrett
‘The North Country Steed’
Ya Dig? Records

Last summer the UK was treated to a Skate Folk tour consisting of Serious Sam Barrett, the Pine Hill Haints and legendary skate rock pioneer Tim Kerr (of Big Boys fame). The shows that I caught were highlights of a fairly washed out slog of a summer. Skating in the day, then cracking a can and on to the show felt like the dream as it’s meant to be lived. Despite a slimmed down trip this time round – with no Tim and only Jamie from the Haints – the couple of weeks it hit the UK was still a whirlwind blast of skating, boozing and good tunes as their sound was bolstered by various crew members in different cities. The tour was in support of new record The North Country Steed, which sees the two put down 13 songs which pay homage to country, folk and rock n roll with a bite gained from identities forged in punk rock. Love, cowboys, skateboarding, whiskey and jailhouses are all fair game for subject matter and the record draws the listener in from the opening title track, with Jamie alternating vocals and fiddle over a mesmerising guitar lick.

‘RWTB’ is the natural sequel to Sam’s ‘Hennessey Nights’, perfectly encapsulating most given weekends in Leeds, while ‘I’m in so much Trouble’ is vintage rock n roll done acoustic replete with Ramones-esque harmonies. The album also includes ‘Silver Dagger’, released as a free mp3 last year with the Serious Sam Barrett/Pine Hill Haints split, and the first studio recording of ‘Mole in the Ground’, long a part of Sam’s live set and here complimented by some impassioned fiddle playing here. Closing proceedings is a cover of Dubliners’ song ‘The Nightingale’, the two taking on the monumental task of covering Luke Kelly in his prime and coming through with a touching version that does the folk legend justice.

Both these guys have been relentlessly touring, sleeping on floors and putting out music for years now and their mutual shows have already demonstrated how their styles complement each other, but it’s awesome to finally hear that put down in the studio. With the two taking turns at vocal duties over for the most part just a guitar and fiddle, the sound has a sharpness and clearness that isn’t always associated with strictly DIY operations but definitely shines through here.

As I have mentioned the record covers various themes, but at its core it is a dedication to music itself; playing, listening and generally immersing yourself in what you love. Stick it on the turntable, crack a can, make a brew or head out and slappy grind the curb on your back street; it’s bound to fuel the hype.

Jono Coote

Spring King
‘In All This Muck and Dirt’
(unsigned)

Spring King make raw, scuzzy garage pop with a twist. Their debut album, In All This Muck and Dirt is not just any old lo-fi jingle jangle, each track is radically different from the next. The Springsteen-esque motoring of ‘Better Man’ is a total contrast to the piano led, ballad like ‘Heat of The Summer’ but this totally works. The vocals of Tarek Musa keep this ship on course; his flow feels relaxed and natural, easing you into the pop magic, in the same way as Craig Dermody of Scott and Charlene’s Wedding does.

‘Drummer Girl’ is so shiny and summery you need to listen to it wearing sunglasses. And what follows is something quite unexpected. The 80’s organ warble on ‘My Sleeves’ comes with an unexpected trumpet solo creeping into the mix, having its own jazzy freak-out amidst the guitars. It’s not all Miles Davis though, single ‘V-V-V-Vampire!’ is a scruffy punk ditty full of guitar grit and thrashing drums.

Musa is the brains behind this operation, responsible for the recording and mixing of all the tracks on In All This Muck and Dirt as well as writing all the songs too. His talents are also spread across other bands, namely the indie vibes of Kankouran, another triumph for Musa, writing and recording all the songs himself.

With allegedly over 50 more tunes in the bank, Spring King are a well-oiled, garage pop producing machine. Surprisingly the five piece are still unsigned, recording and releasing everything they do themselves, online, with no visible help from any industry folk. Surely it’s only a matter of time before these guys cut a deal and get a record pressed. Watch this space.

Dave Palmer