Selfies-Bad Blood EP (2014)

Between his slew of releases as Sick Thoughts and his growing pile of collabo-efforts, Drew Owen's got a work ethic to put the Krauts to shame. While Frau Merkel & co. specialize in financial neo-colonialism in southern Europe, though, Owen settles for milder pursuits like recording trashed noise. On this one, he's teamed up with a partner in crime from the D to dish out more goods.

This EP consists of six tracks that wouldn't be out of place as an installment in the legendary Live at the Roxy 1977 series. Ditching the psychotic, Iggy-on-crank Reatards vibe of Sick Thoughts, Selfies has an undeniably British feel. That consists of plodding drums; desultory, mildly distorted guitar; and a vocalist who sounds like he popped some Klonopin and a sixer of Carlsberg before walking into the studio on a rainy day. Song topics include "Police Dogs" at your door and fear of going outside.

None of the tracks blew me away, but there's potential here. If Selfies records again, they could grow up in public like the Adverts: Half the reason to start a punk band is to throw everything at the wall and see what sticks.

Perfect for jerky, twitchy nights at the bar ogling your new crush while you impotently sip your over-priced beer and contemplate how many New Year's resolutions you've already broken.

Check out Selfies HERE.

Show review: Grass Widow, Pink Reason, The Raincoats (9.21)

Instead of musical piracy, I bring you a review of a show I'll be kicking myself years from now for not attending, which happened last week in the D, brought to you by the guy who does Monogamy (he took that blurry picture of Pink Reason, too):

There are very few shows that I can think of where, after describing the line-up, someone asks, "All in one show?" Certainly [this] is applicable to a bill consisting of Swimsuit, Grass Widow, Pink Reason, and THE Raincoats. Needless to say, any one of these bands could hold a show on their own merit.

First up was Swimsuit, who just recently released an LP of what they described as "ten perfect songs". That statement is correct. They played essentially the style of music you would expect from a band named Swimsuit, and it rules. Next up was Grass Widow. They were excellent. There's really not a lot to say about Grass Widow--in the best way. It's kind of like when you pick up an atlas. It says "atlas", you open it up, see some excellent/intricate/catchy maps, enjoy it, and head out on your way.

There is a paragraph break here for no real reason. Or maybe it's because Pink Reason were such a stark contrast to the bop of the prior two bands. This lineup was star-studded. Mr. Matt Horseshit on guitar, Rich Horseshit on drums, Someone I Didn't Recognize From Another Band But Had A Powerful Grasp Of The Concept Of "Grooving" on bass, and Kev Failure himself on guitar and vocals. Literally half of all Drug Punk posts are about Pink Reason, so you should know that this was enjoyable. They played 4/6 songs from Shit In The Garden, sprinkling in some old hits as well and even a free-form jam. They closed with "The Song With No Name". Good times.

Finally, the Raincoats took the stage. They are old now. We are all aware of this. They look like the people who migrate about this time of year to my tourist town and buy coffee without tipping. But, and this is where they depart from that mould, the wisdom of age has enhanced them. The together parts are far more together, the sloppy parts are even sloppier. There was some kind of noisemaking device used. Everything fell apart together at the same time then resumed at the same time and fell apart and resumed and then it was over and I walked out smiling.