Papier Tigre 7"

Hooking up with some tuneage outta France this time round, the newest release from Papier Tigre. At their website, aptly named PapierTigre.com, it is said of them that, "Their music is firmly entrenched in the tradition of inventive, challenging punk but combines elements of experimental pop compositions and aggressive math-rock. The band understands that a song being intelligent and complex need not exclude it from having a raw, danceable energy." They also have a Facebook, a Twitter and a Bandcamp, where you can do gobs of listening to some of their past work.  First impression was that they sounded a bit like Jane's Addiction, a band my friends have always raved about, but one I never got into.  Papier Tigre, on the other hand are right up my alley and take the more palatable traits of JA and make them tasty.  I put them in my "Jazz Punk" category, one of my favorites, although sadly lacking in posts.  There is this unpredictability to the band where you don't know exactly what's going on or where the songs are gonna take you from one moment to the next, but the ride is a blast.  "Complex" was a word that was used and maybe I would take it one step further and call it sophisticated.  A driven and wild kind of sophistication, not uptight and boring. These guys aren't just dabbling with their instruments, their playing like each song may be the last they ever play.  This is a split release between Sick Room Records Ltd and Africantape. Sick Room were the guys who hit me up to give this a gander, but interesetiingly I could not find this release on the site, so I'm thinking they'll be putting that up once this is released on April 1st. Just the one song for sampling off this 7", I'm assumoing there's probably just two, so you've got to buy it to get your digs on the second one (like it used to be when we went to the record store, unless one of your buddies bought it first and you got a preview). Here's that one tune from Bandcamp and as I said, go there to get a lot more of a taste of what their about... http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/v=2/album=392542261/size=venti/bgcol=FFFFFF/linkcol=4285BB/

Their best tune off their previous release, the "Recreation" LP... [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzML0gLKbjM&w=560&h=315]

Some live-ness... [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UAe-RvJotNI]

The Smunn / Logan 5 - LP

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Time for a real kick in the ass. Back in about July of last year, I had the great honor of reviewing some killer shit in the form of the band, Zebras (if you missed that, get your ass back there and give them a spin). Well Vincent, who plays in Zebras (and also Those Poor Bastards, a band I hope to feature here at some point), sent me a message the other day and told me that he had been involved in an industrial type band about 10 years ago and that they were starting to do some shit again. They go by the name The Smunn, aka Logan 5 (or is it Logan 5 aka The Smunn).  Here's what he had to say, "The First album was released on vinyl in 2001 but most of the original copies were destroyed. Since we are starting to do shows again this is available on vinyl again. Only 200 available and selling it for only $7.00.  The other download is for the other two EPs and a couple demos. Tracks 1, 2, 3, 10, 11 are from the 2002 EP "Only To Reptiles". Tracks 4-9 are from the 2004 EP "As We Become The Smunn". This was the last thing recorded before the project was abandoned. Tracks 12 & 13 are from the first demo tape "Germ Warfare" (2000) and Track 14 is a 1999 version of a song that was re-recorded for the self titled LP.  All of this stuff was recorded on an 8-track cassette recorder and went straight from the tape to the vinyl / cds."  They have a Bandcamp where you can listen to all their recorded stuff and pick up that LP, for, as Vincent said, a measly $7.  There's also a Facebook page where you can follow current events and chat with the band...I have been using that function.  In fact I was telling Vincent, that I had been listening to over 4 decades of Industrial music, in it's many forms/sub-genres, over the past two weeks worth of nights and weekends (my old lady works nights and weekends).  I wouldn't say I'm an expert, but I have impeccable taste and I would stack these guys up against any of those bands, putting them smack dab into those four decades.  They have a variety of sounds and while they are definitely industrial in general, they could also find themselves in several of the sub-genres.  There's that harsh angry kind of stuff you might find on SPK's "Auto Da Fe" and then there's that danceable almost techno kind of thing.  In my explorations, that danceable stuff is called EBM or Electronic Body Music. Regardless of what they're doing, it's done extremely well...these guys are no apprentices, they're masters... [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFnFEK7HP8k&w=790&h=593]

Pig Heart Transplant / Blue Sabbath Black Cheer split 7"

In 1993 after I graduated from college I was working for Casa de Que Pasa in the evenings and Lindquist Landscaping during the day (a lot of good my degrees in Religious Studies and Philosophy were doing me, right?).  One involved free beer and Mexican food, and the other hard labor, speed/weed and beer for the long drive home. I remember being very stoked when one of the other laborers showed me this little trick.  In being a laborer you have to earn right and privileges.   Man when I was young I was a real stud when it came to manual labor, it was nothing to kick a shovel and swing a pick all day long.  We'd have wheelbarrow races with loads of rock or concrete.  Tom Lindquist didn't have a skid loader back then and never rented that or a concrete pump so everything was done by wheel barrow.  He told me that the only two things you REALLY need in the landscape construction business is a wheel barrow and a round point shovel, you could marginally do everything with those two tools.  Of course now at 44 I have herniated and bulging discs, and constant back pain but what the hell, that's part of being invincible and young.  I didn't think much of burning all those brain cells when I was young either and now can barely remember what I did yesterday. My latest musical discovery comes in the form of the Free Music Archive. A septic ton of listening to be found there, in all genres, a guy could spend weeks listening to all the tunes they have. Still on an industrial tip, I ended up at FMA, by way of the band Drums Like Machine Guns. Still a little under-educated on the various sub-genres of industrial music, but I'd say they fit somewhere in there. Shirt but sweet craziness... Drums Like Machine Guns - Big Titties and Bellies Found myself in a Japanese mood there for a minute the other day and ended up listening to this little bit of punk rock sweetness.  From their 1980 Sakhalin Smile LP... The Stalin - ロマンチスト Some downright dark and dirty stuff for you here from roundabout 2008.  New discoveries for me going hand in hand with my recent explorations into the industrial realm.  I guess technically this is a sub-genre of industrial, called dark ambient.  Pretty perfect name for what it sounds like.  Payed a little too much for it, 3 bucks less than it's going for on Discogs, which isn't too bad, and besides it's a rarity, with only 300 copies being pressed.  When you say you enjoy something like this it sounds odd, because enjoyment sorta implies happiness and this is not happy or joyful music (is it even music?).  A serial killer enjoys killing.  Dark ambient right.  What it might sound like as your soul travels to hell.  Blue Sabbath Black Cheer and Pig Heart Transplant are very similar sounding, a grinding, gurgling feedback kind of thing, with some blood curdling screaming/growling.  Nothing real complex here, no hooks, no noodling, just  wall of sound but at the same time I have no idea how they're making the sounds that they do.  PHT has the guitarist of Iron Long doing something a little different here.  Ten minutes of your time to listen to these two tracks, which may intrigue or seem like an eternity, I'll leave that up to you... Pig Heart Transplant - Crawling Through Hell Blue Sabbath Black Cheer - Untitled EDIT:  You can get this at Discogs (for about 4 bucks at the moment)...

Lonesome Wyatt & the Holy Spooks - Ghost Ballads LP

Love these requests for reviews, especially when it comes to something that is seriously interesting, music that diddles my fiddle, so to speak. I found that, in the demented stylings of Lonesome Wyatt & The Holy Spooks.  Not much is known about the band, on their web page it says that, "Lonesome Wyatt and the Holy Spooks play strange and sad music from a time that never was."  They are on Tribulation Records, which I have a feeling is their own label and have been releasing records since 2001.  Their only label mates, with whom they share band members, Those Poor Bastards, have sort of a similar sound.  LWHS have a Facebook, a Last FM and a Myspace, so you're fully covered if you want to explore them on the net. Their newest release, Ghost Ballads is slated for release March 5th and is described as, "Ghost Ballads was covertly recorded at the deserted, decrepit and allegedly haunted Maribel Caves Hotel (otherwise known as Hotel Hell) in Maribel, WI. Lonesome Wyatt serves as the spiritual medium for these thirteen strange tales of death, longing and revenge from beyond the grave."  This stuff literally blew me away when I first heard it.  Haunting was the first word that came to mind, shortly followed by the word creepy.  The songs are simple yet complex in their simplicity, they're like sinister lullaby's.  Bad (in the best kind of way) dreams.  Reminds of a guy I used to work with, let's call him Frank.  I work with adults who have developmental disabilities and many of them are dual diagnosed, as in they have been diagnosed with mental retardation and mental health issues.  Frank used to tell me, "I had a bad dream Justin" and I'd ask him, "are you okay?"  He would say, "I like bad dreams, Justin."  God only knows what was going through his mind.  I love the bad dreams of Lonesome Wyatt.  These are really passive songs though, the aggression is implied, there is an impending doom and a persistent gloom.  The feeling is like that of a funeral dirge or the haunted house ride at a carnival.  This is a very unique band, I haven't heard anything that is exactly like it, but two acts that came to mind were Syd Barrett and Sparklehorse, the nightmare side of dope, like a heroin den or a bad acid trip.  All that and still very enjoyable.  It leaves me smiling but a devilish kind of smile.  This album would make a perfect soundtrack to an Edward Gorey book.  The songs tell griping stories and the lyrics flow like a ship on the river Styx.  The show American Horror Story would do well by having some this music to strengthen some of the scenes.  The packaging fits the band, far out graphics and you ge the lyrics, which like I said are worth following as you listen to the music.  You can get samples of this album at their website and actually samples of tunes on all their releases, along with lyrics and you can purchase most of their releases and those of Those Poor Bastards (whatever hasn't been sold out of course)...vinyl, CD, downloads, it's all there in it's darkened glory.   As is customary around here, I wanted to share one of my favorites. This one takes the form of a gruesome kind of pirate shanty..."the souls are trapped and they can not break free, doomed to walk the plank eternally"... Terror On The Ghost Ship

This here is their official (as in done by the band) video and it could not be more well done...the vibe is just fuckin perfect in every way! [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQ4ffgyir7M&w=560&h=315]

From the new album, some twisted shit... [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=naLrecSbp1E&w=560&h=315]

Death Sentence / Cthuwulf split 7"

The first Wrong Turn was a great horror flick, the 2nd one (this GIF is from that) was okay, but after that they got really stupid with all the short cuts that affected the quality.  I guess that sort of defines how horror enterprises progress.  Really that's how a lot of things are, the beauty of that initial inspiration and then it's all about to recreate that, without the spark, and it pales in comparison.  Rarely is the 2nd time around as good as the first. Anyway my buddy Josh does a podcast with a couple of his homies in the form of The Brood where they address horror movie topics.  These guys are a lot more sophisticated than I am, so much of it is over my head, but still very interesting. From the 403 Comp (Florida Fucking Hardcore), which makes it a sorta hard tune to come by, a band that is outta this world, one of a kind, often imitated, never duplicated (you can find more of their stuff around here if you look)... Assuck - Alabaster Had been after this one for quite a while, and then it came up on ebay for what I thought was dirt cheap.  Now there's a guy who seems to have a stack of them, that are starting out at $2 a piece.  I picked up a second copy because I liked it that much, to send to a buddy who had sent me a bunch of records.  That's how it's supposed to be among music lovers, we pass that shit on, it's almost as good as listening to it yourself.  I found out about this one because I followed the guitar player's (now dead) blog (Damaging Noise), it was really good, you missed out.  Among countless other treasures he (Sean) had posted the Cthuwulf discography.  Got myself a hard copy (CD) from Sean, but being a vinyl nut, especially 7"s, I had to get my greedy little hands one of these gems.  Sean had said that this thing was some of the best shit the band had recorded.  Anticipating this post, I shot Sean an email and asked him to give me a scoop, "it's not a bootleg. I've been in intermittent contact with singer Peter for over 10 years now. It was actually his idea to do the split as I was helping him get the official discography CD off the ground. The tracks were all taken from my collection as Peter had lost the masters in a fire. Of course i jumped at the chance to do a split with one of my fave bands. So I looked to my friend paul to release it and he immediately said yes. The Cthuwulf tracks were just a demo, but it's the only material we had at the time (and was several years old) as I believe the Gaishu Issyoku demo hand't been recorded or released yet. My old band Haisha recorded a cover of DS' song "Moral Majority". But yeah, it was our most painless release, came out fast too. Only problem were the labels where artwork was reversed for whatever reason. The girl on our side was my friend's crush, and he got a pic of her in his homemade larm hat. I thought that was too cool not to use."  Released in 2006, and while Cthuwulf is a band of the new millennium, Death Sentence has been around since the mid 80's.  Their tracks were taken from an unreleased mini-LP that was never released and another release from '86.  From top to bottom, left to right, side to side this thing is blistering hot.  The longest song on either side is 1:41, but both bands pack a lot of notes into each track and it's a 33 so you get as much tunage as you can pack onto 7"s.  Hardcore at it's best, without trying to be something they're not.  Cthuwulf leans heavy on Sean's guitar, that just seems to have just the perfect mix of effects/distortion.  I like too how the singers voice is kind of garbled and distorted as well.  There's almost a Japanese vibe to the sound, but I think these guys are big fans of Japcore.  Death Sentence are maybe just a tad bit faster, at least the drumming is at times (which doesn't make any difference), you're in for a rip roaring good time with them as well. Thrashcore, speedcore, hardcore?  ...both these bands deliver the goods.