Natural Child-1971 LP (2011)

I should start this review by remarking that, from everything I've read, the early '70s were a remarkably awful period for pop music. There were gems, sure, but I don't really think fetishizing the era of Yes and EMerson, Lake and Palmer makes much sense. Punk happened for a reason, people.

But whatever. This LP is one of my favorite rock albums of the year. Spanning the full spectrum of Stones worship from ballsy swagger ("Hard Workin' Man") to pseudo-tender ballads ("Let it Bleed"), Natural Child is a perfect soundtrack to a nice evening spent reflecting on the deeper mysteries of Wittgenstein's Tractatus while knocking off that bottle of Rebel Yell you've been avoiding for so long.

White boy, this is what I gotta say.... Check out Natural Child's blog  or dis heer to pick up the LP and for tour info.

*By the by-"natural child" was the polite term for "bastard" back in dee day. Are these Natural Children implying they're Keith Richards' unacknowledged progeny?*

Some Velvet Sidewalk-Pumpkin Patch 7" (1991)

Like most people who know of them, I first heard Some Velvet Sidewalk in that grunge documentary, Hype!. Generally I'm not a fan of twee or the whole K Records thing, but SVS burped out some pretty sweet lo-fi slop back in the early '90s. These songs all indulge in some of that infamous K Records cutesiness, but the last one, "The Real World," has one of the most wicked guitar lines I've heard recently.
This is a pretty good accompaniment to a cold, gray fall day (which is what almost every day is like up in Olympia....).

How I wanted to have some fun.... All of SVS's work is out of print, as far as I know, unfortunately.

Opus Null-Dagasztott semmi demo (2011)

Yes, the cover is incredibly retarded, even more so that whatcha usually see here on Drug Punk. Moving past that, this ain't too shabby at all. I know very little about Opus Null; this turned up in my inbox a few weeks ago.
These ten tracks are standard lo-fi punk fare: basic drums, fuzztone guitarlines, chanted lyrics in Magyar. Starting with "Vasutas," they throw in some wicked synth riffing that fleshes out the thrashing quite nicely.
Opus Null isn't the most original band I've ever heard, but so fucking what? I'd listen to this over Youth Attack! mysteriousguycore any day 'o' the week.

Magyar misery. For more info on Opus Null, go here.

The lyrics and song titles are in Magyar, but someone (thank you!) very kindly translated 'em for me-here they are in English, for those who care:

1. Fucking Thomas Joseph

2. ( roughly: someone who participates in public life / something that is a part of the public life )

3. Railroad worker

4. Dear Rousseau

5.Antiage

6.Hello Furkó dot

7. Youngster

8. Fucking Fat ( geci means "cum," but in slang Hungarian uses it as "fucking" is used in English )

9. Szijjas (Proper noun? Roughly it means: someone who has a belt or something that has a belt )

10. Angular momentum

The Band in Heaven-Seven Minutes in Heaven EP (2011)

This is some of the raddest garage psych I've heard all year. "Sleazy Dreams" is a rampaging, precisely honed piece of howling fuzz that grabs attention with a killer guitar line and never lets go.
"If you only knew" jerks you around in another direction altogether; swirling, whirling psychedelica that verges into Brianjonestownmassacre territory...that's how fucking good The Band in Heaven is on this release.

Feels like heaven.... I think this is still available on Norse Korea. You should buy it. Now.

Shoppers-Goodbye to All That. CS (2011)

This is all over the internet, but there's a good chance non-Stateside peeps haven't heard 'em yet, so there ya go. Rochester, New York's Shoppers are one of my top 5 "bands I started listening to this year." Noise punk has been making a a big revival lately, and this tape does have a consistently abrasive tone. But underneath the throbbing itch are melodies and intensely emotional lyrics....no realities of war or free speech for the dumb, here, rather songs about ugly situations and problems with no solution.
In fact, I'll go out on a limb and say that Shoppers sound like Rites of Spring, if RoS weren't pseudo-profound mopes, and instead had even an ounce of subtlety.

Hit me harder. I think this cassette is still available from the band, you can contact them here. While you're at it, pick up their debut LP, Silver Year. Majestically trashed, emotional punk (yeah, fuck you, I just used that phrase on Drug Punk!).

TV Girl-S/T EP (2010)

 I'm too hungover and tired to bother review something new today, y'dig?

These are songs about boring hedonism and not givin' a fuck. Best throwaway line: "I smoke a pack of Reds and drink a six pack every day/I wanna stay sane and there ain't no better way...."

When I was younger I used to listen to big important bands like Aus-Rotten and think I identified with their songs. These days, my horizons are a bit narrower...you will love this EP if you've ever woken up dazed and confused on a Sunday morning, with someone you don't recognize next to you in bed....the sex was shit, but it's better'n'nothing, right?

Hahaha. Check out TV Girl's other rad shit at Band camp. Due to possible legal troubles, this one may not be around long, so grab it1

Horrible Houses-Songs for Halloween EP (2011)

ESL [English Second Language] teachers are always told that Scandinavians speak better English than most Americans. Apparently this talent for absorbing things I thought to be essentially Anglophone extends to Americana, too.

The dood who does Horrible Houses is Swedish, but these songs sound like ? and the Mysterians if, instead of hailing from Chicago, they were a bunch of downed-out druggies playing in a Missisippi lounge band ca. 1971. No, not southern rock, but monotonous, droning garage interspersed with shimmery guitar notes, old-timey fiddles, hurdy-gurdys, and found sounds. No context, no flash, just relentless fidelity to the groove.

This is the second Horrible Houses recording I've reviewed for DP, and the project still doesn't make any fucking sense to me. Ironic wink-wink, nudge-nudge? Anarchonistic avant-garde? Uniquely Swedish take on Cpt. Beefheart's ramblings?
You be the judge. Amble on over to dude's band page for contact info, and maybe to find physical copies of his stuff.

Alone & Forsaken III: "God Says 'Fuck You.'"

"All alone. No one to talk to. Come over here so I can talk to you."-Lou Reed, introduction to Please Kill Me

Yup, it's another installment in the chartbusting, record-setting "Alone & Forsaken" series over here at Drug Punk Aitch Kew. This one rides a steady wave of brooding misanthropy until culminating in the gurgling bloody mess that is Billy Bao and Brain Bombs. Electric Eels are almost civilized in comparison!

Get stupid.

The Ramones-Now I wanna sniff some Glue
Negative Approach-Negative Approach
Sex/Vid-Authority of Scripture
Cult Ritual-Hunger Pains
Coughs-Life of Acne
Cold Sweat-Dead End Decision
Flipper-Ever
Blight-Be Stupid
Billy Bao-My Life is Shit
Brain Bombs-Slutmaster
Filth-Today's Lesson
Pigeon Religion-Huge Bummer
Electric Eels-Sewercide
Running-Klassic Rok/Classic 'Ron
Scratch Acid-She Said
Absum-side A of Discography CS

Royal Headache-s/t LP (2011)

"I was a teenage zombie..." pt. 2

...later on that same winter, there was a party at the Black Hole, a filthy apartment in one of Chicago's low-rent districts, with piss-stained couches, empty beer cans everywhere, and massive Confederate flags on display.

I spent much of this party in the corner guzzling Milwaukee's Beast with the anarchapunk girl mentioned in the last post. Shit was goin' good. We talked about Fleas & Lice and vegan recipes for like an hour....ah, youth, eh?

At some point, we adjourned to the beach, because it was obviously a great idea to hang out on the lake at 3 AM in the dead of winter. While the rest of our friends tried to get a joint going in defiance of the wind, I made a move. Total repulsion. "Whoah, what the fuck are you doing?" "Uh...I dunno..." "I can't do this." "Why not?" "Because I have to go on the swing set." And then she sat on the swing for awhile. I think I finished off the night slamming the rest of the Beast while blasting "Realities of War."

I wish that this LP was out then, so I coulda drunk myself into oblivion to it insteada Discharge. Royal Headache wouldn't have made that situation any less retarded, but certainly they'd be a better soundtrack to teenage humiliation. The singer's wistful moan really sticks in your mind after the needle lifts, and the bouncy riffs offset the melancholy under the surface, especially on "Honey Joy," my favest baddest assest track eva.

This is really happening. BUY THE FUCKER! RH is best Aussie band I've heard since Eddy Current Suppression Ring.

*EDIT, 9.7.12: I reupped the file. You can get it HERE. Please keep checking GOner for a re-press, as thing is one of the best rock LPs of recent years, easily,*

*EDIT, 5.31.13: Re'up'd the file. AGAIN. Do Royal Headache the courtesy of buying the LP, which you can do HERE or HERE. You can download the LP, for previewing purposes, HERE.

Das Nembutals-Like a Raging Lebensborn EP (2011)

"I was a teenage zombie..." pt. 1

I spent much of the years 2003-04 drinking bad beer and getting into trouble with a punk crew I shall refer to as the Kids of the Black Hole. Mid-way through the winter, I fell in like with one of the anarchapunks in the crew. She had everything! Silly-colored hair, a bad attitude, and serious drug problems!

The first time we hung out was at a bad loft party somewhere on Chicago's north side. Halfway through a terrible Screeching Weasel cover band, she dragged me into the bathroom. Assuming we were gonna makeout, I was happy as a heroin addict with a fix. That's when she sprinkled some crushed Valium on a bowl fulla weed and started smoking, then handed it to me. After a few minutes of this madness, my head started spinning. As we emerged from the smoke-filled bathroom, we fell over each other and arose to find the cops busting up the party.

My head felt like this EP when I climbed out from under said anarchapunk gal, blitzed on bad weed, worse beer, and crushed downers, to be confronted with some of Chicago's finest: fucked up and painful in a way that made perfect sense. It's a side project from the fine folks who do Piresian Beach.


LISTEN TO IT HERE, fux.

Chrome Jesus-Anti-Aquarian CS (2009)

I've been reading about land disputes in medieval Tuscany all day, so I have about as much energy as a medieval peasant. So I'll cut the shit and just give you whatcha want, music-
Digging potatoes.

This is a 200-copy tape Wes Eisold, Cold Cave boywonder, put out a few years ago. Noisy, cluttered, clanging electronic noise with beats buried underneath. It's a lot closer to the Prurient end of things than the direction Cold Cave's gone in since. Hospital Productions released it...good luck finding it for less than $50 or so, these days.

*Edit, 8.3.12: I re-upped the file, you can now download it here *
*Edit, 10.18.13: And again, get it here *

Catholic Spray/Piresian Beach LIVE, Budapest, 14.10.11

This is easily the dumbest-coolest show flyer I've ever seen. I wanna send it to my anarchist friends back in Chicago to finish burning my bridges with the political punk scene.

More important, however, is the event it advertises-
Catholic Spray is playing with Piresian Beach in Budapest tomorrow (October 14th) night. It's by far the coolest thing going on in the Danube River valley, I assure you. If I was in Hungary, I'd start my booze binge now so as to be ready for this thing.

Info for those who can't read the poster:
Trafik Klub
Mikszath ter 2.
1000 HUF

See RNR666 or foldalatti.eu [both in Magyar] for more info.

GO!

Catholic Spray-Fruits of the Moon LP (2010)

     Most of the current crop of garage-beachpop contingent here in the States can't get over or past trying to sound like they're a long-lost Phil Spector side project. Across the pond, however, a lot of the better Euro garage groups skipped that junk 'n' headed straight for the Nuggets collection.

   Mining the Nuggets vein for all it's worth, Paris' Catholic Spray dropped this 7-song collection of snarling, snotty blues punk last year. The lead guitarist gets off some sweet licks, and I love the singer's voice: the lyrics are unintelligible, but he gets over with the pure force of his howling. The trashed dual-harmony vocals on "The Only One" make it my flimflamfaveotune.

Frogfuck killjoy! Check out the CS webpage for tour dates and more albums....

Layne L'Heureux/Blood Noize split CS (2011)

First of all, I apologize to these guys for taking so long to post this.

After several listening sessions, each of which left me more conflicted than the last one, I have decided that I like this recording. But it's a weird sorta liking, lemme tell ya....:
Layne L'Heureux's three tunes sound like they could have been recorded in a Seattle/Portland/Olympia basement ca. 1993. "Disease" is almost as good as the Dinosaur, Jr. song I think he ripped off. I will be listening to these for a long time.

-Blood Noize is a different beast altogether. The first two songs sound like each band member is playing a different song at the same time. It's hard to listen to music that's going in three directions at the same time. They almost pull together a real song on "Water Visions," and finally get it together for Billy Bao-esque noise slop on "The Eagle Strikes at Dawn." In fact, the singer gives Mattin a run for his money: he sounds like a goblin being kicked in the ass by a swamp witch while mucking out her privy.

 The entire Blood Noize side sounds like each band member came into the studio with a different idea of what each song sounds like, refused to listen to the others, and resolutely insisted on playing their own version, until they all lost interest and stopped playing. It's the most amusing piece of dumbness I've heard in a long time.

Dive in and swim. Check out Blood Noize's inspired stupidity here. Layne L'Heureux's rex live here.

Rational Animals-Perception becomes reality 7" EP (2009)

There's not much to say about this band that ya don't already know. Heavy, drug-addled hardcore from the theoretical physics thinktank otherwise known as Rochester, New York. Their debut EP is a lot rawer and direct than this year's Bock Rock Parade LP. One of the better east coast HC bands right now, f'sho'.

Get wicked, bro! After getting wicked, buy the 7" over at Feral Kid Records.



These guys totally woulda loved Rational Animals, if only they could tour the Stone Age:

Alone and Forsaken II: Lost Highway

Back from a crisis-induced hiatus, I bring you the second installment in the Alone & Forsaken mixtape series, which will no doubt fizzle out after this mix.

Rza, Pink Reason, Gil Scott-Heron and the Mekons all on one mix? I can hear you thinking it:  Sheer hubris, utter stupidity! Maybe, but I've been listening to this one nonstop for the past week and the songs have all woven themselves together in my brain. Love it or hate it, fuckers.

...all alone and lonely....

1. Rza-Dead Birds theme
2. Pink Reason-Dead Friend
3. The Scrotum Poles-Why don't you come out tonight?
4. My Bloody Valentine-Sometimes
5. Beach House-Turtle Island
6. Glass Cake-Foster City
7. cldscp-Sade
8. The Magnificent Arrows-If I had a little love (rehearsal take)
9. Joe Strummer-No Reason (from the Rude Boy soundtrack)

10. Α. Κωστής-Αδυνάτισα Ο Καημένος

11. Gil Scott-Heron-I'm New Here

12. Elliott Smith-2:45 am

13. The Mekons-Lost Highway

Triptides-Tropical Dreams LP (2011)

There's virtually nothing I can say about this band that the album cover doesn't say for me. Triptides is probably the most talented band yet in this beach-garage-nostalgia wave we're still going through.

All seven of these songs are mindblowingly pleasant. I hate the beach, personally, but then again, this band's from Bloomington, Indiana: "landlocked sandrock." The hooks are catchy, the vocals dissolve in a coastal shimmer, and this thing really makes me just wanna surf. Even though I don't skateboard, let alone surf. Whatever. I think this is the sort of stuff everyone in California was listening to circa 1965.

SANDROCK! Check out the band's website, and buy their albums! YES!

Genia Tous Xaous-s/t LP (1986)

"you have to deal with it/it is the currency...."-The Clash, "Hate and War"

The first thing I read on Al-Jazeera today was coverage of another chapter in the murder of the Greek working class, so I figured I'd post the first LP by Γενιά Τους Χάους (lit. "Generation of Chaos").

The fellas in Γενιά bring us 11 well-constructed, mid-tempo goth-punk anthems addressing...well, my modern Greek dictionary is failing me on most of these song titles. They sound pretty pissed off, though, and I'd imagine early-'80s Greece could only seem like a good place in comparison with the current situation there. My guess is a song titled "Μαύρο, το χρώμα της στέρησης" ("Black, the color of deprivation"[?]) is even more relevant in 2011 than in 1986. The music's consistently good, with solid production and atmospheric guitar.

kατεβάζω/download! This is long out of print...and if you're in Athens, you should probably be smashing windows, not record-shopping, anyway.

Busy Signals-S/T LP (2007)

There are two kinds of people in this world: Those who drink to hide from their problems, and those who drink to enhance whatever good times they're already having. Usually I fall in the former group, but this LP makes me wanna be part of the latter.

Sweet as that Bazooka Joe you're chewin', the Busy Signals were one of my fave live acts when I lived in Chicago. Monster-size guitar leads, a perfectly arranged rhythm section, and dual vox: the Signals have (had?) everything you ever wanted in a garage band. They weren't the most original group I've ever seen, but this is a blog called "Drug Punk," after all.

I think I love you.... The LP is still available, buy it!