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Yuck

Yuck
Glow and Behold
Fat Possum

yuck-glow-and-behold East Londoners Yuck are back with a brand new album called Glow and Behold this month, but this time around something’s changed.

The departure of frontman and lead vocalist Daniel Blumberg earlier this year left most with the feeling that it could have been the end of Yuck, as Blumberg’s vocal style and loosely strummed chords grabbed everyone by the balls back in 2011 and spearheaded a welcome resurgence of shoegaze and slacker rock into the British scene. If memory serves, it was only four months ago that Yuck announced their frontman’s departure. For a band to come to terms with the loss of such an important part of their signature sound, hunt for a worthy replacement and then record a whole album seemed like an impossible task, but Yuck have bounced back in style regardless of such changes and delivered a beautifully crafted follow up.

Glow and Behold opens in an unexpected nonexplosive way. Easing into the guitar-led groove of ‘Sunrise in Maple Shade’, the band set the tone for the next 45 minutes with a sea of laid back grunge and driving tracks that bring the summer back in to this Autumnal stage of the year. Never abrasive, but at the same time totally immersed in noise, Glow and Behold feels like a progression for Yuck and proves that despite the challenge, they have pulled off the inevitable..

The production is more interesting in contrast to their self-produced and home recorded 2011 debut. All the instruments sit in the mix together rather than a wave of over-driven guitar jumping out at you. There’s exciting instrumentation that you don’t expect to hear in a Yuck album too, like the horn section in ‘Middle Sea’ and ‘How Does it Feel’, or the organ that resonates underneath ‘Somewhere’ and ‘Nothing New’. It’s by no means a soft record though, Yuck still retain the aspect of ‘cool’ that you want from a guitar-led rock band, despite the change in their sound.

After a little help from Google it became apparent that new frontman, Max Bloom had been working on Glow and Behold well before Yuck’ s debut was released and I can totally hear that in the songs. They sound complete and well formed, in contrast to the more spontaneous sounding tracks of their debut but you will have to judge that for yourself.

Glow and Behold is made up of 11 strong tracks of guitar-led goodness. If you’re looking for a slice of true melodic grunge this is the album for you. Look out for it on September 30th via Fat Possum Records.

Dave Palmer

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Drones

Drones
‘Free Marked Kid’
Lockjaw Records

dronesFounded in 2010, Camberley punk rockers Drones have made quite an impact on the UK scene, playing anywhere and everywhere with a PA system. The band signed to Lockjaw records in 2011, to release their debut LP ‘Mutiny’. Their forthcoming EP ‘Free Marked Kid’ was released on September 9th via Lockjaw Records.

Drones are coming out with songs which are nothing unfamiliar in the progression of the hardcore scene. However by no means is that a bad thing. After listening to ‘Empty Words’ it’s clear that the band have honed their sound well. The vocal combination of harsh, raw screams folding into catchy upbeat choruses is backed by energetic riffage and pacey drums. Drones seem caught between the melodies of Rise Against and the sheer ginger brutality of pre-Wade Gallows.

Download ‘Empty Words’ for free here.

Henry Jackson

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BL’AST!

BL’AST!
Blood!
Southern Lord

blast_bloodSome olden day bands attain cult status and reverence, whilst others just disappear smack off the radar. Santa Cruz’s BL’AST! fall in to the former category and it’s not so surprising. These young dudes knelt dutifully at the Temple of Black Flag, and honed a sound sturdily built around the driving powerful Hardcore grooves, as laid out on “Damaged”.

On encountering BL’AST! Henry Rollins derisively noted in “Get in The Van” that “every song they play sounds like Thirsty and Miserable…the rest of The Flag are watching them and laughing when they aren’t looking”. Harsh words. History has taught us that Flag may have initially mocked BL’AST! but soon liked ‘em enough to sign them to their record label SST.

Now, the origins of this demo, unearthed recently by guitarist Mike Neider are scant, and the main point of interest is the songs (recorded pretty much live in the studio) capture a short lived line-up to feature a second guitarist William Duvall. He now fronts Alice in Chains, but, more interestingly, pre-BL’AST!, was in Neon Christ, whose self-titled ’84 EP is real decent slice of Thrash Attack. The session, as served up on “Blood!” is pretty much a replica to the 2nd BL’AST! album (‘87’s) “It’s In My Blood”, with “Look In To Myself” replaced by “Your Eyes”, that later appeared on Flipside of the “School’s Out” 7”. The whole recording has been tarted up by long-time fan Dave Grohl at his 606 Studios in L.A.

So, you are not gonna find anything new for your bucks here, but you do get an absolutely banging collection of stunningly executed primal Hardcore jams, drenched in molten guitars with fired up rabid vocals, and a battering ram rhythm section. If bands like (early) COC, Aggression, Uniform Choice and latterly Annihilation Time mean shit to you, then this will too. SST owner Greg Ginn has sat on much of his back catalogue refusing to re-issue it, so this release will go someway to exposing BL’AST! to a new generation. Killer Music. “Thirsty and Miserable” my arse!

Pete Craven

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Pond

Pond
Hobo Rocket
(Modular)

Pond_HoboRocket_albumPond share two members with Australian psych-masters Tame Impala but don’t for a second think this is some throw-away side-project there to keep the band amused in downtime. Far from it, Hobo Rocket is Pond’s fifth album and it’s a glorious rush of pop, noise psychedelia that out freaks anything Tame Impala have come up with. Opening song ‘Whatever Happened To The Million Head Collide’ sets the stall out for the album very quickly, no easing the listener in gently, it slides out of the starting block shimmering with a squelchy Flaming Lips psych-pop vibe, with a pure shot of Butthole Surfers noise running through its veins. This is modern psychedelic music at its best, breathing in fifty years of experimental sounds into their collective lungs and exhaling them all over 2013.

Pond, however, ignore the mistakes of the past and resist the temptation to become self-indulgent and drab, keeping their brand of psychedelia focused and direct. ‘Xanman’, for example, hits the freak out button hard but remains upbeat and melodic, despite the swirling cacophony of noise the envelopes the song. Next up, ‘O Dharma’ is a floating Spiritualized type ballad that twinkles like the Lips own ‘Waiting For Superman’ had it been penned in 1974 by Roger Waters. Then Pond lurch back into the evil lysergic doom of ‘Aloneaflameaflower’ that crackles with such a mischievous ‘I’m gonna fuck up your trip and freak you out’ grin, you can’t help but love it, before running away feeling a bit paranoid and scared.

This is a good time for psychedelic music. It’s good to see the freak flag still waving high.

James Sherry

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Night Birds

NIGHT BIRDS
‘Born To Die in Suburbia’
Grave Mistake Records

nightbirds_borntodieinsuburbiaSome great albums have dropped so far in 2013, and this new long-player from Night Birds is destined to be right up there in a lot of Year End Top 10’s. Read on folks, cuz it’s an absolute blinder.

Having cemented their reputation with a bunch of EP’s and 2011 album “Other Side of Darkness” they lost guitarist Mike Hunchback. The wheels might have come off the trucks, but luckily for us an able replacement was enlisted – PJ Russo. They got back to business, and the resulting songs are possibly their best yet. I’ve been playing this album to death, and it still sounds great on each and every listen; it’s a record that’s built to last.

What’s the magic? Well, for an old guy, who’s been listening to Punk Rock longer than you can imagine, this is music that captures the wild-ride of early 80s north American hardcore, but is delivered in a fresh and vibrant manner. They classically combine the tough sarcastic bite of East Coasters like The Left, Chronic Sick, and The Freeze, with the snotty SoCal beach belligerence and swagger of D.I. and Agent Orange. I’ll throw the DK’s and Damned in to the mix too, what more could you want?!

When some Hollywood upstart decides to remake “Suburbia” (ask your Dad) one of these days, cue Night Birds to play that hall where the brawl goes down. I suggest they play “Nazi Gold”, which is not only my favourite song on this album, but one of the BEST songs I’ve heard all year. And it’s one of 4 tracks here (inc. the Fat Wreck single “Maimed for The Masses”) that break the three minutes sound barrier to barreling effect. The rest of the songs mostly barely trouble the 120 seconds mark, and all shred good ‘n hard.

So, there you have it, killer album, and it might only be August, but this is already shaping up to be my Record of The Year.

Pete Craven

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The HELL

thehell_thisisthemotherfuckinghellTHE HELL
‘YOU’RE LISTENING TO THE HELL’
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The Hell sound just like that other band featuring that other dude who was in that other band that was good once and now isn’t. But they’re a far cry from Captain Dracula and the Receding Three. Yeah, there’s a bunch of other dudes from others bands in The Hell and it’s kinda Watford.

Some writers will probs call it a ‘brodown’. Some writers are noncey kiddie courting cunts. The Hell have put out a free album that will make you flip your computer off your office desk. It ain’t nice. It ain’t clever. Best of the year.

Masked Avenger

Stream and/or Download it for free below:

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Scott and Charlene’s Wedding

Scott and Charlene’s Wedding

Any Port in a Storm

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Scott & Charlene's Wedding_albumsleeveCraig Dermody is back with a second LP from his indie pop project Scott and Charlene’s Wedding. Any Port in a Storm is an autobiographical account of a rookie year in New York. Dropped straight from Melbourne into NYC, Dermody wears his heart on his sleeve, telling tales of adjusting to the jeopardies of the Big Apple, homesick for Oz.

His vocal warble sets the tone of this record perfectly in opener ‘Junk Shop’ sauntering into the slacker groove of this charmingly sluggish batch of tunes. Track by track you’re invited further into Dermody’s daily struggles, offering you to share his burden. ‘Fakin’ NYC’ sees him adjusting to a new expat life, finding a new job and feeling out of place, doing anything for coin.

Lyrically, this album feels personal and poignant, but thankfully humorous at times too. ‘Lesbian Wife’ is a humble story of loneliness. Caught up in the middle of freak storm, Dermody is reduced to cooking his tea on a camping stove, enduring the toils of Hurricane Sandy alone, pining for Australia.

Musically, Any Port in a Storm is a real ode to the lo-fi. A whiff of the 13th Floor Elevators lingers comfortably on tracks like ‘Downtown’ boasting a retro groove and guitars that jangle more than a wind chime in a hurricane. But while it’s safe to say that Dermody’s a garage man, it’s comforting to hear modern similarity too, the quick intricate riffing on ‘Charlie’s in the Gutter’ remind of fellow New Yorkers Beach Fossils.

Never hurried or rushed, Craig Dermody’s Any Port in a Storm is jammed full with 11 slack tracks, each laced with true garage swagger. This is a great summer album, so grab a copy and soak it up.

Any Port in a Storm is out now on Fire Records.

Dave Palmer

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True Widow

True Widow
‘Circumambulation’
Relapse Records

true_widow_CircumambulationIt doesn’t seem too long ago that True Widow graced us with a long player. I guess it has something to do with the fact that music this laid-back is so timeless. It captures life in slow motion, leaving a form of stoned paralysis so brutal that you instantly crave more once the fix is delivered.

These Texan stonegazers have seriously upped the dose on this new offering. The medicated tones that made up their last release “As High As the Highest Heavens and From the Center to the Circumference of the Earth” back in 2011 were strong, but this three piece have delivered another slow-burning classic that is guaranteed to poach the circumference of your inner ear.

Kicking off with a murder ballad masterpiece by the ever-moving ‘Creeper’ their new collection of haunted darkness slowly drives into ‘S:H:S’, a comfortably numbing track picked for their latest promo video packed with Dan Phillips’ dulcet tones and deep nodding riffs. ‘Four Teeth’ is the closest to pop that you will find on this album with Nicole Estill’s vocal mesmerizing as they drip over the track; its economics may be simple but it will lodge inside your system like a bad dream. This is followed by an administered injection of sleepy drone and fuzzy stoner bliss that makes ‘Numb Hand’ feel short ahead of the stomping metallic throb from the riffs of ‘Trollstigen’, the longest track on ‘Circumambulation’. It’s fairly easy to get lost in the seven minutes that pass by making it one of the weakest of the pack unfortunately.

The pace picks up for ‘I:M:O’, but only by a feather. The light soundscapes here roll without vocals before ‘HW:R’ see Phillips and Estill join forces on verse and chorus duties perfectly. “I’ve done so many things with my time, or so I think…” says Phillips nonchanlty. It’s a phrase that belongs to us all and lyrically DP is speaking for everyone growing up on this track. Blissful, melodic and smoking from top to tail – it’s a perfect example of the beauty that these Dallas stoners can produce. The album winds down to a staggering low pace with the final fix of sleepy drone and fuzzy stoner bliss on ‘Lungr’. It’s heroin in WAV form and it should be your soundtrack of the summer. Stream it here.

9/10

Zac

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The Men

The Men
‘New Moon’
(Sacred Bones)

TheMen_NewMoonSome bands are content to rest on their laurels. Too many bands are happy to make the same record over and over again, never really moving forward, never progressing for fear of alienating their audience, too scared to take risks, frightened what it might do to their career, their finances.

Then there are bands that are in it for creative rewards. Endlessly and fearlessly evolving and moving forward, never content to sit still and stagnate. Brooklyn heads The Men are one of these bands. The primal raging hardcore roar of their early records has gradually given way to a sprawling, face-melting psychedelic noise with a country twang. Vibes and vapours of Crazy Horse, Dinosaur Jr, Pavement and Ween ripple from each track; classic American skewed song-writing with tunes that stick in your head and a thrilling free-form approach to rocking. When The Men go full tilt on a song like ‘Electric’ they damn near take the roof off, elevating the floor, punching holes in the walls. Then there’s ‘Open The Door’, a tender, roaming country ballad that recalls Stephen Malkmus at his most inspired. And there is so much more besides.

Already a strong contender for album of the year. How do I know this? Because I’ve played it pretty much every day for a month straight and I just keep falling more and more in love with it. The songs take on new meanings, new layers, new melodies. The Men are a very special band. Watch them grow and journey with them.

James Sherry

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Run The Jewels

RUN THE JEWELS
www.foolsgoldrecs.com

run-the-jewels-artEl-P and Killer Mike is such an explosive combination, it’s almost too good to be true. We glimpsed it with El-P’s production skills on Killer Mike’s R.A.P. Music but their combined lyrical genius on Run The Jewels cements theirs as one of the most exciting collaborations in hip hop. Full stop. Each has a unique vocal quality and flow, yet they complement each other entirely and the crunching electronic production is so satisfying pumping through your speakers. Run The Jewels also walks the line between clever lyrical nuance, and out and out crass content expertly with some truly immense lines throughout.

Observe –

The company of women with opinions and fat asses
That’s my list of demands

There will be no respect for The Thrones
No master mastered these bones
Your idols all are my rivals
I rival all of your idols
I stand on towers like Eiffel, I rifle down all your idols
Niggas will perish in Paris, niggas is nothing but parrots

I move with the elegance of an African elephant
I presented the evidence eloquent as a president

‘Banana Clipper’ features a guest turn from Big Boi who slots cleverly into this dynamic and a skit-driven turn from Prince Paul adds yet another facet. But really, all you want to hear is Killer Mike and El-P bouncing off each other in glorious rap unity.

Kanye’s album is interesting but this is out and out bangers. Download now. For free.

Winegums