Finding My Religion #11: 12 New Songs Curated By the Priest - 'Three Mixes in Seven Days, Part 3'
- 1 day ago
- 7 min read
Part 3 of our Summer Spectacular finds us back in the garage where we belong. We do not apologize for our love of all things raw and nasty and loud and frantic and reckless and unhinged. We embrace it.
SIDE A
Intro: "Attractive People" | Genre is Death
New York shits out buzz bands at a steady clip and here's another one. Genre is Death (not loving the name, really) is a noisy twosome with a distinct New Yawk sass that look and sound like one of those dark, mysterious underground bands that only the coolest people know. Which makes their song "Attractive People" seem even more on the nose. It sounds like an anthem for the people in the know who will soon abandon the band when they get popular, which could be sooner than later.
01 "Mr. Lion" | Jon Spencer
Even I raised an eyebrow when Jon Spencer titled his new record Songs of Personal Loss and Protest. Jon has not been my, or anyone else's for that matter, go-to source for political commentary over the years. It just reinforces how shitty things have gotten that he feels compelled to do so. "Mr. Lion" is one such 'protest' song, with a video that takes Animal Farm and runs it through a bootlegged Disney filter and comes out the other side with some kind of demented Jungle Book hybrid with a pretty obvious target. Never fear, his new album still has the requisite amount of hard groove mania thanks to the rhythm section of the Bobby Lees (Kendall on bass, Spider on drums), his new partners in crime, who have undoubtedly injected some new life into the indefatigable back-alley king of rock & roll.
02 "50 Ft" b/w "Red Hot" | The Bobby Lees
While on the subject of the Bobby Lees, they're finally back! During their prolonged time off (four years, to be exact) they have only managed to come up with a full 20-minutes of shit-hot content for their latest, New Self. Along the way, they've become bitter about the record business, which might be the reason for the long absence. There's the distinct feeling, especially around here, that they haven't received their just do, so I image they're feeling it, too. They've always had attitude to spare, particularly lead spewer Sam Quartin, but here they prove once again that they are a raw, primal force to be reckoned with. So much so, none other than Jason Mamoa (aka Aquaman) funded the record (as shown on S2E1 of his HBO show, On the Roam). His enthusuams was justified. Here, I give you an awesome cover of PJ Harvey's "50 Ft. Queenie" (with shortened title) backed with album closer "Red Hot" (4-minutes total) which more than lives up to its name. When you're in-and-out in 20, you'd better make use of every fucking second.
03 "I'm On Fire" | Jim Jones All Stars
Jim Jones is a garage lifer from London. He's been around since the 80s in one band or another and over the years he's lost none of his bite or live intensity. To this day, his 2011 single "Burning Your House Down" is one of my all-time favorite garage-rock tracks. Well, once a garage-dweller always a garage-dweller and his latest band, the generically titled Jim Jones All Stars, can still rip it up. I was kinda hoping this was going to be the always-hoped-for rave-up cover of Bruce Springsteen's "I'm On Fire" (I can hear it in my head right now, so why hasn't someone done it yet?), but it isn't. This one has a bit of a West Side Story feel at times, but it still has the requisite propulsion you'd expect from a guy who has made his name one seedy, beer-soaked club at a time.
04 "Animal Man" b/w "Quietly" | The Bevis Frond
Hopelessly behind on the prolific Nick Saloman and his band the Bevis Frond, I am, but I'm an old dog willing to learn new tricks. His new record, Horrorful Heights, is a hair under 90-minutes in length, which doesn't help with my backlog of anxiety, but what does help is his ability to absolutely shred on guitar throughout. The guy's a fucking maniac at times and I find myself delighting in one solo after the next even though his thin vocals are an acquired taste. "Animal Man" doesn't suffer from that issue however; it's a song that could be from a 1970's Kinks album—a convincing rocker with an indelible hook that's impossible to avoid. I've also added a ballad as a bonus track to demonstrate Nick's versatility and, even moreso, his self-deprecating sense of humor. "Quietly" is the ultimate record collector nerd "romance" with a record geek trying to impress a potential ladyfriend with details of some rare vinyl in his collection only to find she's quietly slipped out the back door while he's been regaling her. I quote an entire stanza below as this may be the greatest "record nerd" track of all-time and it deserves to be fully appreciated for its genius:
Come with me and let me play you vinyl from the east
I possessed the only copy till the re-release
Even so, the market price has steadily increased
But shе's already disappeared...quiеtly
05 "9PM Pornmag Planet" b/w "Long Tall Sally" | Guitar Wolf
These Japanese legends call their music "jet rock 'n' roll" and that'll make perfect sense on your first listen to their new record, More Jet, if you even dare to give it a try. This stuff is not for amateurs. It takes years, maybe decades, of listening to fringe noise-punk to get yourself ready for shit like this. Their songs are distorted, abrasive, and deafening, like standing directly in front of a jet engine that hasn't been oiled in about ten years. You've heard of playing "in the red"? Well, Guitar Wolf lives in the uncharted territory to the right of the red on the VU meter, where the needle fears to tread. It's not healthy, particularly for ears, but it's an undeniably exhilarating place to hang out now and then. Songs are short, of course, so we'll give you a twofer. The first "single" (laughable) is the nitro-fueled and gloriously-titled, "9PM Pornmag Planet" and we've tacked on their absolutely insane take on Little Richard's "Long Tall Sally" for kicks. Brace yourselves.
SIDE B
06 "Clatter Coats" | Wax Head
I do love a band where the drummer is the frontman, so I welcome Manchester's Wax Head into my life. It's not every day you get a great garage/noise band from the UK and these guys are pretty fucking amazing. They've got a distinct Castle Face Records vibe (John Dwyer, Osees, and friends) which means be prepared for anything at any time. "Clatter Coats" starts as if already in progress before arriving at full potency shortly thereafter only to offer up a false ending and a surging, frantic final minute. I love a song that fucks with expectations and this one does that without trying too hard. They operate with their fingers on the fast forward button for most of the record and a few tracks had me looking in my rearview mirror to see if the police were in hot pursuit. I like a record that makes me want to get into a car chase.
07 "Chance to Bleed" | Kurt Vile
Philly's laid-back, flannel-shirted mastermind is back with a full hometown tribute record and "Chance to Bleed" is an homage to his younger days on the fertile music scene there, where making music and releasing it anyhow, anyway, was the order of the day and playing live was the reward that will never, ever get old. I consider it the anchor track for his hour-long new record, Philadelphia's been good to me. The message? Don't take music for granted; embrace your chance to bleed for it.
08 "Jealous Lover" | The Rolling Stones
Every garage band in existence pulls from the Stones in some way, so why not jam in a song from the most successful garage band of all-time? The new record, Foreign Tongues, is better than it has to be and includes some great moments like "Jealous Lover" which benefits from a shockingly still viable falsetto from Mick. To me, it sounds like a classic Stones track that would now be a standard if released in the 1970s. It's not the only thing worthy on the record, but it is the song that proved to me that they were still capable of surprising me.
09 "Cheap Greed" | Smirk
A strong guitar-based record from Smirk, their third, driven by the songs of Nick Vicario. It's one of those where the music and vocals are mixed at the same level so each share equally in the blasting glory of a good old-fashioned guitar/bass/drums setup. It's still a viable way to make a living and I'll never tire of it. "Cheap Greed" is one of many gems on the record, but I like the way the song seemingly takes the wrong exit a little after the two-minute mark only to find its way back onto the highway shortly thereafter. Also check out any other track on the record if you like some 90s-styled guitar rock now and then like I do.
10 "Dog Groomer Stylist" | Memo PST
I've got a 45 around here somewhere by Memo PST that rips, but I can't find it. Good thing the band has a new record out. Full records are larger, hence easier to keep track of. They're from L.A. and "Dog Groomer Stylist" (a very L.A. title) pumps out the riffs from the first moments. They've got swagger, but not too much thankfully, which can often plague bands hatched in Hollywood. They got a gig with In the Red Records, so you know they're the real deal. The label usually doesn't fuck around with posers.
Outro: "Jesus Leash" | Suburban Speed
Brooklyn's Desert Island Recordings were behind Red Xerox, a recent compilation of great Chicago bands, and now they've landed in their own backyard with the redundantly titled Concrete Rock, which compiles some up and coming NY rock bands. As of now, it's not as good as the Chicago comp (of course!), but I'm not done with it yet. One song that immediately struck me, and I am at a complete loss as to why, is Suburban Speed's "Jesus Leash." Do you always have to know why you like something? Apparently not. All I know is I keep going back to it.
__________________________
That felt good. At least for me it did.
Cheers,
The Priest