This is not a Drill Album Review of New Berlin’s “Basic Function”

New Berlin – Basic Function (Super Secret)

(Originally posted here)

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The perks of living above a bar/live music venue is that, more times than not, the shows are free. It also serves as an antidote to the days when you don’t want to be alone but you also don’t want to venture too far from the safety of home.

A few nights ago the bar was hosting the record release party of a local band. It was a four band bill. I didn’t really care about the record release, and I didn’t know any of the bands playing. But I wanted to be out, and I wanted to listen to something, anything, live. I didn’t stay for the headliner. That’s because New Berlin, a punk band out of Austin, by way of McAllen, Texas, got all my attention and my money as I grabbed their LP. Before the third band took the stage, I was back upstairs headphones on, and the hi-fi turned way, way up.

When Greil Marcus first saw Gang of Four, he called them “the most interesting band [he’d] seen since the Sex Pistols—and the most exciting.” I’m not saying New Berlin is Gang of Four, but I am saying this: New Berlin is a band you should pay attention to.

Three unassuming young men: Michael Flanagan, Gustavo Martinez, and Andrew Richardson. Guitar, bass, and drums—straight forward, energetic, and full of attitude. New Berlin aren’t trying to melt anyone’s face with noise. Their album, Basic Function, is stripped down to the skeleton; it’s 24 minutes of perfect punk. Deceptive in its simplicity, it’s a record filled with wry, catchy lyrics, forceful guitars, chunky bass lines, and hyperactive drumming.

This is like late ‘70s UK punk. New Berlin would be right at home sharing a bill with the Desperate Bicycles, the Buzzcocks, and Honey Bane. That would be a show. I think what I’m trying to say is that New Berlin bring a number of punk sub-genres together under the umbrella of Basic Function. And it works.

‘Hardcore Punk’ lays out the band’s intentions—a kind of ethos— “I am a hardcore punk // dance with my arms outstretched / fist clenched bang chest / I am better than all the rest.” Which pairs well with ‘Service Bell,’ when Michael Flanagan sings “too cool for mom / too cool for dad / too cool for school / too cool too bad.” 

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But it’s not just manifestos and sneering disaffected cool. They show their laid back side with a down-tempo cover of Daniel Johnston’s ‘Mountain Top.’ And at their live show, they played a surf-punk version of The Rivieras’ ‘California Sun’—they did this with a kind of straight faced irony—showing their versatility and willingness to interpret classics of different genres.

I’m aware that I didn’t catch the boys at their best—technical difficulties plagued their set. But even at less than optimal, their set had me sat upright focused on the stage. What a surprise on a night when all I wanted was some sound to block out the silence. We all find out about our new favorite band in different ways, but, damn, there’s nothing quite like the thrill of being wowed for the first time during a live performance.

9 / 10

Pick up Basic Function here.

Album Review: Suspirians – Ti Bon Ange

Suspirians

Ti Bon Ange (Super Secret)

(Originally posted here) 

Texas Platters

Flaunting a propulsive sonic mystery, Suspirians stake a sweet spot between Great Britain’s post-punk and neo-psychedelic scenes of the Eighties. On sophomore uptick Ti Bon Ange, a vodun term for one-half of the soul, point track “Fortune Spider” lays down the local threesome’s overarching aesthetic: Bassist Stephanie Demopulos and ST 37 drummer Lisa Cameron’s determinedly repetitive rhythms propel frontwoman Marisa Pool’s shimmering minor chords and cloud of bees vocals. To say the LP merely varies that formula sounds dismissive, but the band keeps each track fresh with minor sonic tweaks and an energy level set to stun. Soaked in droning organ and whooshing riffs, “Scarlett Sleeps” keeps the tempo dreamy until placid becomes stormy. Aggressively anthemic, “Black Holes” and “Moonwave” drop acid with dragons, blazing through the ether like an unholy cross between Siouxsie & the Banshees, the Black Angels, and Savages. Infused with wild spirits and bristling with bad vibes, Ti Bon Ange invokes the ghosts of prior trips as timelessly as its musical ancestors. (LP release: Electric Church, Fri., June 9)

***.5

Quin Galavis “The Battery Line” Album Review From Beehive Candy

(Originally posted here)

Quin Galavis — Question.

Background – Quin Galavis has been an active participant in the Austin music scene for the last fifteen years. A founding member of critically acclaimed bands The Dead Space, and False Idol, Quin also performs under his own name.

His sophomore solo album, 2016’s immersive, ambitious double-LP, My Life in Steel and Concrete, appeared on multiple end-of-year top ten lists and was spotlighted in an Austin Chronicle feature story.

The record’s soundscape is as varied and challenging as the themes it explores, and it features a host of Austin’s diverse musical elite: Thor As viagra sildenafil canada these tablets are quite potent, the dosage required is reduced, minimizing the likelihood of potential side effects. Weak and poor signals do not allow men getting healthier erection to make intercourse pleasing viagra order canada sexual activity. As described, one should locate Muira Puama as an example affected by ordering cialis online angina pectoris, also known or known as as chest pain, 1 from the prescribed medicines is nitrates. Shilajit, mainly used get viagra in canada davidfraymusic.com for the preparation of ayurvedic medicines is found in the highland of Altai, Hiamlaya and Caucasus mountains in central Asia. Harris (Swans/Shearwater), Sabrina Ellis (Sweet Spirit/A Giant Dog), Graham Low (A Giant Dog), and Ian Rundell (Ghetto Ghouls), to name a few.

June 16th he’ll release his third LP, The Battery Line, (Super Secret Records) which will be supported with local shows, and an album tour. Bandcamp here.

One of ten tracks on ‘The Battery Line’ album and ‘Question’ is a good example of what to expect with this new collection of material. A constant flow of alt or indie rock songs where delivery is tight and paced, the expertise is there in abundance, as are some finely penned songs.

Review: Suspirians – Ti Bon Ange

REVIEW: SUSPIRIANS – TI BON ANGE

(Originally posted here)

Danny RayMay 16, 2017

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There must be something in the water in Austin, Texas. Female three-piece Suspirians are here to dispel the theory that the lone star state is all about ranches, cook outs, and good ol’ style Southern rock and boogie. Rather, the band appear to be oblivious to their surroundings, instead swimming in the same murky, future fearing waters as the cream of the early 1980s post punk crop.

 Following their 2014 self-titled debut, and having slimmed down from a four-piece along the way, Suspirians’ new streamlined 2017 model consists of Marissa Pool (guitar/vocals), Stephanie Demopulos (bass/keyboards), and Lisa Cameron (drums). In the interim between releases, the band has pretty much torn up their own rule book for latest album Ti Bon Ange. The relative clarity of the debut has been replaced by a foreboding insularity only previously hinted at. The leap has produced spectacular results, suggesting that their personality has come to fruition at only the second time of asking.

If seven tracks across forty minutes seems daunting, then rest assured it’s not a taxing experience: there is no fat on the bone here, what you get are several random sized chunks torn from the same slab of steak. The lengthier songs don’t outstay their welcome, and the shorter ones serve to offer brief respite. Although a cohesive body of work, reference points are varied: from Hawkwind to Joy Division, via the impenetrable sonics of My Bloody Valentine – all give a clue to what Suspirians are striving for with Ti Bon Ange.

Opener “Fortune Spider” sets their stall out early. A sour and haunting platform is laid out for Marissa to employ probably the clearest vocal delivery of the album, a luring effect that reaps dividends later on. Next track, “Nocturne”, is the most accessible thing here, it’s the come on that invites you to the couch before ravishing you with the epic “Moonwave.” Coming on like a dour, modern era Fall wrestling with Savages, this is real space age stuff. The swirl of echoing vocals and fuzz plant you back firmly in the ’80s, with just enough of a whiff of the ’90s grunge scene to keep the package edgy.

The aptly titled “Black Hole” is the point at which the album turns. No longer spectating, you are now dragged onto the playing field, dizzy, as Stephanie and Lisa create the storm within which the melee of guitars and whipping, unsettling vocals are thrown around. It’s pure unsettling joy, which doesn’t let up with following track “Clean Evil” (don’t let the great titles pass you by). Guitars escape further still from the taut hypnotic rhythmic template now established. Indeed, “Clean Evil”’s  wonderfully wiry six string collages bring to mind the free-form scrawl of the Velvet Underground’s “European Son”, with vocals dissipating further into almost incomprehensible and barely legible yowls.

After the assault of the previous three tracks, “Scarlett Sleeps”, in contrast, is all sunny and haze inducing, a chance to catch your breath and unbutton your coat. Initially, anyway, because just as you’re relaxing the song turns on a dime, and twists itself into an uneasy drama that you will not want to close your eyes on. What started innocently ends in a relentless, jarring fashion.

The closing track, “Divine Spark”, is the final spiteful kiss. Its thirty-six screeching seconds prove that the album is no fluke, they’ve cut the rope from the lifeboat and let you drift away from safety. It’s an almost flippant way to bring proceedings to an end, but damn if it doesn’t make you want to shake yourself, have five minutes’ break, and start it over. After the rather more unfocused debut Ti Bon Ange is a bold leap forward that effortlessly places Suspirians in a class of their own.

Ti Bon Ange is released on June 9th.

Suspirians: official | facebook | twitter | instagrambandcamp

New Berlin “Basic Function” Album Review

Review from Immersion in a 90mph World

 

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New review of James Chance & The Contortions album “The Flesh is Weak”

New review of the James Chance and The Contortions album “The Flesh is Weak” via Glacially Musical which we will be co-releasing with True Groove Records on April 14:

Vinyl Review: “The Flesh Is Weak” by James Chance and the Contortions

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The Flesh Is Weak

Here’s something about me that many folks who read these pages may not realize…

I’m a big fan of etymology.
After having seen about what seems like a hundred broadway shows now, there’s a phrase that always tends to stick out in my head, all that jazz.
(This might seem like it’s totally random, but get inside my head, read the thoughts and then come back out and tell me if it’s scatterbrained or totally ordered and logical.)
(HINT: It’s totally number two.)
Jazz…that’s something that was rebellious about 70 years before the Rolling Stones were rebellious about 50 years ago right? Well, rebellious music that’s been out rebelled normally doesn’t really resonate with me and both the Stones and Jazz seem like my grandfather’s music at this point.
James Chance

So, it’s difficult for me to really consider jazz as a current art form, much less an enjoyable one. Hopefully you don’t think too ill of me after having heard what I think about these two things.

James Chance and The Contortions remind me a bit of both the Rolling Stones and Glenn Miller. (I’m going with Glenn Miller because…well I have no idea why.)
As someone whose tastes include extraordinarily minimalist groups like The Black Diamond Heavies, EARLY Black Keys, etc, it’s hard to wrap my head around a band with about seventeen members.
Just from a logistical standpoint, the idea of a guitar/drummer combo seems lovely, because it’s just two guys you gotta get in the same room at one time, but how do you get all these people in a room at one time to rehearse, let alone compose?

No idea.

Somehow though, James Chance and The Contortions have seemed to make this sister wives band work. It’s still a little confusing how this project has ever gotten off of the ground, much less had their vinyl in my hands.
Logistics are hard, man.
Now, let’s give credit where credit is due, James Chance is not your typical (Name) and the (Blanks) frontman here. In this cacophony of sound, he not only leads the choir in voice, but also leads the band via public saxophone.
No really, not like what Jimi said about hearing public saxophones blowing, but speaking of guitars…

Tomas Doncker spits out some very nice Shaft style chord progressions. You know that chicka chicka wow wow sound that’s also used in those movies I’ve never watched….you know the type.

Throughout both sides of this record, there are about 4 really wonderful guitar solos featuring that most devilish of all effects pedals, the wah wah. In fact it would be hard to find any of the guitar work without the sexy, up and down movement of the crybaby.
Now,  that’s not to say the rest of the solos weren’t memorable, when in fact they were. Chance himself took a goodly number of saxophone solos. He makes Lisa Simpson look like an 8 year old girl when he gets his mojo workin’.
Robert Aaron reminds us all of what we really love about the Hammond Organ. Mac Gallehon’s trumpet and trombones up the sound as if Blue Lou himself were leading the horns.
Eric Klaastad’s funky baselines keep this whole ship a float, because every body else is off making hay besides him and drummer Richard Dworkin. The rhythm section is sturdy enough to build a house on.
Pure Drama
This album is what happens when the Blues Brothers host a reality TV show where they’re trying to decide between marrying The Rolling Stones, Glenn Miller, or Buster Poindexter. Pretty soon, I believe they’ll be handing out their next rose….
This is our third album under the Super Secret Records imprint that we’ve reviewed and every time the quality of the LP itself has been TOP NOTCH. This one isn’t 100% flat, there’s a tiny amount of warp, but you’ll only notice it with a level on the stylus.
Unlike the first two, this one isn’t a double album, so no gatefold. It’s a standard slipcover jacket. Like his brothers in this box, there was absolutely zero splitting. These records were packed down tight. Really, it would be hard to say enough nice things about the mailer here.

In 2016, True Groove Records released this one on CD and in 2017, Super Secret Records is giving it back to us on vinyl.

It’s hard to love this album, unless you’ve actually listened to it. The quality of the music is top notch along with the actual disc and jacket.

The Flesh Is Weak is a strange record, but it’s oh so satisfying. As for those of us who aren’t big fans of this genre of music, just get past the first track, and it’s all going to fall into place.

The first one…it’s really punk rock jazz which is a hard one to wrap your head around, but press on!

Release: 4/14/17
Genre: Punk Rock Jazz, but only after said Punk has aged out of punk proper.
Label: Super Secret Records/True Groove
Formats: LP/CD/Digital