Nyx Negativ

I've been swapping emails with my internet buddy, Bjorn of Unter Den Linden and Pilleemandjoonks, for a while now, we chat about life and bring to light music that we've separately got tucked away in our collective unconcious. I've heard a lot of music in my time, but by no means have I heard it all, there is so much old/new music just waiting to blow my mind.  Out of the blue, a while back, he mentioned a Swedish Band called Nyx Negativ, you can read about them at Swedish Punk and Kill From The Heart.  I thought I had never heard of them, but I must have, because their cassette is posted at Good Bad Music and I've read through everything there (but I'm a burnout and a mind is a terrible thing to waste).  That cassette is absolutely essential, and Erich's rips are top notch, so stop here, download it, listen, and if you'd like you can completely disregard everything else I have to say...or not.  Bjorn sent me these three tunes and I instantly had a hardcore hard on, 1983 at it's very fucking finest, it just doesn't get any better than this... idioterna jehovas vittnen trofull Of course never being satisfied (the virtual bug had been put in my ear), once I had found out they had tracks on various comps, I needed to hunt those down.  "Trofull" was also on the V.A.-Really-Fast-Vol.2-LP-85 (that is a direct link to the download, I could not find the original blog that it came from), but here it is again along with the other tune off that comp... Trofull Makten The next comp appearance brought me back to Erich's Good Bad Music, as he had kindly posted the Varning!! For Punk massive 3xCD comp (another of many, absolutely essential downloads from GBM). Here's the NN tracks off of that... Intro Trofull Idioterna Döda (Oss) Anti War They also found themselves on the Raped Ass comp (you can imagine the things that popped up doing a google search for that, hahaha. At the risk of further repeating tracks, that may or may not be different versions, here's those... silvia (short version) idioterna ny romantiker no thanks The only other comp that I could find that they were on, was the Vägra för helvete comp, I couldn't find that for the life of me but it's got the same tunes represented here, anyway.

Classic Ruins / Throwing Muses split flexi 7"

Not sure if I'm repeating myself, but fuck it if I am...nothing wrong with saying the same thing twice. Back in the 90's when Seinfeld was airing, fresh and new, I would watch it every week like clockwork, planning my night around it. My wife at the time encouraged it. There was 3 sometimes 4, of us blue collar guys who would get together on Thursday nights (I believe it was), to watch it.  Pretty much the same routine every week. We would arrive at one guys house early in the evening, have a couple of your finer type beers (Sierra Nevada was one) and get stoned, usually Mexican dirt weed. Then we'd go out to eat at any one of a number of restaurants/breweries in the Pacific Beach area of San Diego. A couple more beers and bellies full with some decent chow, we'd head back to my buddy's house. Another joint and some ice cream, we were ready for Seinfeld at 9. Everything's funnier when you're stoned, but that show was so well written that even in my later sober days, I still found it funnier than all get out. My current wife (and last, I'm done if this one doesn't work out), is a big fan of Seinfeld and I think the both of us have seen every episode many many times.  I just love how the story was woven together, never political, but always making a social statement.  A lot of people I know disagree, and that's okay.  The episode above was hilarious...wonder if Michael Richards will outlive his racist tirade. Looking backwards again, this time a little further, this record is solidly a part of my college experience.  I had a blast in college, maybe too much so, if I had to do it over again, I'd have partied less and studied more, oh well.  But... So wonderful being exposed to  and making lifelong friends with characters from all over the state and even the country.  Music was a huge part of that experience.  My Bro Sang, in particular, turned me onto all kinds of cool tunes.  The Throwing Muses "Fish" would be a prime example of one of his magnificent suggestions.  Just got this flexi, (paid way to much for it actually), which is the TMs first release according to the sources I checked.  It came with the Great Recipes for Hard Times #2, a Boston fanzine  from Oct. 1986.  It's a split, with the 1st band being Classic Ruins doing "How Do You Know?", a tune originally by a band called the Lyres (I know nothing about them), and I'll be damned if that isn't a pretty killer tune in itself.  Kind of a Johnny Cash-esque vibe.  The TMs tune, I already knew I loved, with it's dual vocal harmonies, poetic lyrics, treble-y guitar and military drum beat.  My prayers were answered though, when I listened to it, and it turns out it's different version from the one I was familiar with.

"Have a fish nailed To a cross On my apartment wall It sings to me with glassy eyes And quotes from Kafka It sings to me An eel is squirming on my couch He’s talking up a storm I’m laughing at his face He slithers down across the floor I’m laughing I Have a man It follows my hips with his hands Don’t worry (I’m laughing) Dance in the road (I have a man) And it explodes (It follows my lips with his melting eyes) Don’t worry Dance in the road Fellow turns a fishy eye from the counter I feel at his hand Stalking in the grey The girl behind the counter Sees a fin (school) An eel slithers to the chalkboard It writes 1 plus 1 plus 2 plus 3 plus 4 plus 5 plus 6 plus 6 plus 6 plus 6 plus 6 plus 6 Don’t worry Dance in the road And it explodes Don’t worry Dance in the road The house is reeling I’m kneeling by the tub Lonely is as lonely does Lonely is an eyesore The feeling describes itself I Have a man It follows my hips with his hands I’m laughing At a man It follows my lips with his melting eyes Don’t worry Dance in the road And it explodes Don’t worry Dance in the road Eye... I’m painting his eye in the middle of the floor Fish is frozen in my living room Stares out of a block of ice With one melting eye... eye... eye... (Whoo!) Aced it Sick"

One of the most beautiful songs ever written.  It's a flexi so not the best quality, but my rips aren't audiophile style anyway.  Give it a listen.  Good stuff Maynard...

Classic Ruins - How Do You Know? Throwing Muses - Fish The version of "Fish" that I had been listening to for all these years, was from the 4AD Records compilation called Lonely Is An Eyesore (the title of which is from a lyric in "Fish").  Not sure if it's still in print or not, well worth picking up as there is all kinds of great songs on it, but you can listen to it a place called Urban Aspirines. Here's that version... Fish Another equally good comp, Doctor Death's Volume 1, has yet another version of the song (this may actually be the same as the one on the flexi...you be the judge). Have a feeling this one is way out of print, so find yourself a used copy or give it a listen at a pretty killer blog called Systems of Romance. Let me know if you think it's the same version as on the flexi... Fish

Peopling - Live Session—Dandelion Radio

Looks like our Brooklyn buddy, Ronnie of Peopling is up to no good again. I've already investigated his Bulbout digital download and S/T CDep releases, but this time around he's gone live. I'll be damned if he doesn't pull it off like a heavy equipment operator moving mountains with finesse alone. It's a real test for an industrial band (a one man band at that) to pull off a live performance, but it's no problem for Mr. Gonzales (have a feeling he's got some back round in DJing too). A little bit of whacked out noise mixed with some melodic mayhem, which has become his calling card. You can do his Bandcamp, Facebook, or Twitter. Hands down my favorite is this little jingle called "Which Is Width"...

[audio mp3="http://mustard-relics.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/4.peopling-Which-Is-Width.mp3"][/audio]

Check em all out below and all his stuff is available for download at name your price...

https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=1358472510/size=medium/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/transparent=true/

S.P.K. - Despair (Digitally Extracted)

It's no secret round here how fond (such an understatement) I am of SPK (thanx to my old Brother Sang for putting that bug in my ear, quite literally...seems like a lifetime ago). Objectively speaking, they are one of the Godfathers of a whole genre of music that has splintered into so many others, their impact is huge.  As far as I'm concerned, they were the best industrial band (for a while anyway, then they evolved their sound in about 1984, but even then they were inspirational). Vinyl wise, their stuff isn't cheap now-a-days, those first 3 singles especially so. I've been after the Dokument III0 1979 - 1983 boxset for a while now but as far as I can tell it would take over $200 to get my greedy little hands it (may as well be $10,000). 6 LPs of live stuff and the deluxe set has another box with represses of the 1st three 7"s.  EDIT:  I did finally save up enough money on one of my maxed out credit cards to get those greedy little hands on one of them there boxes, in fact I have expanded my SPK collection to include most of their vinyl releases, two boxed sets and the Despair Video... Thanx to Scarebear you can check out this epic video/performance...

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRQXYYoYYXY?list=PL083AC939F40E6796]

Ed Cole - This Way

During the brief period I was playing in bands (1989-94), I had the pleasure of making music with some really cool characters who just happened to be very creative souls and the finest of musicians. One of the bestest of those characters is a man named Ed Cole. I first knew him has Dead Ed, one of the better DJs up at KHSU, then was fortunate enough to have been a co-conspirator in Garden Weasel for an all to brief of a period of time. In the 25 years I've called him a friend, I don't know if I've met a finer human being, he is truly a Mustard Relic. We've listened to his magic before, doing his part in a band called The Underlings, with their Operational Excellence CD, Edgy CD and Vice Squad 7". All excellent listening material. So today, though the blessing/curse that is Facebook, I found out that Mr. Cole, has this solo project in works. I feel like I should have been informed of this personally by Mr. Cole as I am his greatest fan and always knew he had all kinds of solo stuff up his sleeve, but I'll take what I can get. Not only is he an out of this world musician and incredible song writer, but he knows how to compose masterfully...you can't go wrong putting a mandolin and a cello in your tune. This is well worth a listen/viewing (he did the vid too) and to my understanding is a precursor to a full length...

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9Jpn6u6iOE]

The Underlings - Vice Squad 7"

EDIT: Had this tucked away in another post (back when I would make these gigantic ungainly rambling dinosaur posts) and decided to give it, it's proper place as a post of it's own...it's that fucking good...it is. Well my man, "Dead" Ed Cole outdid himself, yet again, and sent me the lastest output from his band The Underlings, their "Vice Squad" 7". No finer way to a music lover's heart than to send him vinyl, you guys who have done that for me know that (thanks again guys). Now I posted The Underlings a while back in the form of their, Operational Excellence cd and that is some pretty damn good stuff, but this 7" takes it to a whole other level. The cover art is on fucking fire, I stole that scan from the artist, Sean Aaberg, at his Flickr. Marbled purple wax, beautiful, with an insert. But the music, damn. What you get is one unbelievable catchy, slower one, with two kinda speedy punk things, borderering on hardcore. This is a must have for you guys and it was put out by another old Humboldt buddy, James "the Beast" Forbes (I made the Beast part up because he is such a stud), on his own Meth Bog Records. I think you can get it from that site or definitely directly from him, checks/money orders to J Forbes, $5.50 ppd at 515 Silva Ave., Eureka, Ca. 95503. I'll give you one tune, which was tough to pick just one, but I really want this thing to sell the fuck out. Check the catchy, slower one, The Underlings - Vice Squad http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=2095380033/size=medium/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/transparent=true/

Beef Supreme new album

Got word from my hard rockin' buddies in Beef Supreme that after releasing two digital EPs, they're looking to do a full length LP on vinyl. From the beginning they've been a DIY grassroots type of band and this time is no different. They're fixin' to get enough pre-orders to pay for the project. You can read more about it at Indiegogo... http://www.indiegogo.com/project/522101/widget

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cm-RgCRkPnc]

Mollusk - Colony of Machines CD

Haven't used the word brutal (a shamelessly overused word for describing bands) in a while, but that's what you get with the band Mollusk. Let's add words like ferocious, barbarous, merciless and inhuman. Cincinnati, another band from the northern mid-West, further serving to define this as mid-West blog.  It must be in the water up there, because the talent spans many genres...big or small these bands have it going on.  Neal on Guitar/Bass/Vocals (Chase on Drums/Vocals) did me (all of us) a favor by allowing this to see the light of day...and brand spanking new, just came out on the 24th of last month.  The album itself starts off with this minimalistic raw black metal vibe, like a Bone Awl, but it's a long song that develops and morphs into all kinds of shit, a precursor to the kind of sophistication these guys have to offer.  I don't normally like long songs (3 of the 4 tunes here fit that description), unless in rare cases the band can keep me interested and these guys deliver in the biggest of ways.  I also have strayed away from the gruffer type vocals, but this singer reminds me of Iron Lung's and that's a hell of a plus in my book...more tortured than growled. The music vaguely fits certain molds...vaguely. Self described as "metal ambient doom sludge space" in their bandcamp tags, what makes them an extremely digable and unique doom/sludge band, is that ambient/space-ness.  You get lost in the music, off on a trip to God knows where, getting pummeled all along the way.  It's a good pain though, accompanied by an endorphin rush, where in the end you feel satisfied.  They have it all going on, musicianship, heavy hitting, melodies, hooks, I'd be interested to know what they're singing about (dark and heavy like the music I imagine)...still trying to figure out what the image is on the cover, but dig it's abstract nature.  These guys have a Facebook and a Bandcamp, where you can listen/buy, they have two previous releases that are available too.  Check it... http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=253819890/size=medium/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/transparent=true/

Love the above album but wanted to share one of the tunes from their 2011 S/T cassette, the epitome of brutality... [audio mp3="http://mustard-relics.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/2.Mollusk-Endless-Mountains.mp3"][/audio]

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7PzabO9yFg]

Lonesome Wyatt And The Holy Spooks - Halloween Is Here 10" / CD

Around my house the Wife makes sure we are properly seasonal. Come mid-September, by the time of the autumnal equinox, the house is splashed with orange and browns, even before you see those colors outside. But when we hit October it's on like donkey kong...pumpkins, scarecrows, spiders, skeletons...Halloween is our holiday. So imagine me, a snickering jackal, when our old friend Lonesome, of Lonesome Wyatt And The Holy Spooks, told me they had released a Halloween album. I could pretty much say, "I was DEFINITELY not disappointed", and that would summarize everything else I have to say. Here's was my response, "damn Lonesome, I fucking love it. How the hell do you guys come up with this stuff, the creative juices must just ooze out of your pores. The wife and I are big time Halloween people, both spiritually and commercially, so this is right up my alley (gonna have to play it off and on for the rest of the month and then of course that night)." In their usual cryptic and enigmatic way, this was all they had to say, "Halloween Is Here" is a terrifying tribute to all those strange and obscure Halloween albums from the 1950s to the 1980s. It contains twelve spooky stories and monstrous sing-a-longs for your unholy holiday party at the local insane asylum." So here we have LW&HS rearing their ugly little heads again, with a theme that just fits perfectly into their creative aura. As their description says you get these stories reminiscent of those kids Halloween records that I used to listen to in the 70's, only these are much more descriptively gruesome, taking the theme to the next level. The sing-a-logs are like wise gruesome, but they are super catchy. You have these black metal bands that almost sound silly in their dramatic attempts to sound evil but LW&HS really are evil, tormenting you with smiles on their faces. They toy with you, playfully like a child pouring salt on a slug, a soundtrack to that same child pulling the wings off a fly. Behind it all you have just damn good music, created by a genius. On any given day Lonesome has more creativity in his pinky nail than most people have had in their entire miserable lives. I've tried to ween more information out of these guys, but they lurk in the shadows, someone did what I should have requested and did an interview. LW&HS have a Facebook, a Last FM, a Myspace, and of course their WEBSITE. Unfortunately the vinyl is sold the fuck out (would have really liked to have gotten my greedy little hands on one of those, put it on my "want list" on Discogs), but you can still get the CD or digital download HERE. Here's a monstrous sing-a-long... [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gdKJbDmKDFs&w=790&h=695]

Prayers - From Dog To God

My old San Diego bro Rafa (owner of one of my very favorite restaurants there in SD, Pokez, downtown, 5 minutes from where I lived...used to take all my lady friends there for wining and dining, and it never failed to impress) turned me onto some killer music he's involved with.  Old school New Wave with a modern twist...SD KILLWAVE..... Street Goth ....Cholo Goth, is what it says in the video description.  Dark, foreboding, anguished and minimal.  Dig it or don't...

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVvabsXFT7w]

Nonagon - The Last Hyrdronaut EP

It's time for some Nonagon again...visited with them March of last year with their People Live Everywhere EP. Back then I had this to say, "These guys don’t fuck around when it comes to their music and play their instruments like they go to sleep with them every night. The music is furious but it’s not angry at all." I stand by those statements and second them on this latest release, it seems like they've spent some time sharpening their blades. He's the blurb from their page, "Nonagon is a raucous, three-piece, music concern from Chicago that’s been playing together since the early-to-mid aughts. We play a collection of loud, short songs with varied time signatures and unconventional hooks." It goes on to say, "We occasionally find ourselves compared to the likes of Fugazi, Jawbox, Naked Raygun, Drive Like Jehu, The Jesus Lizard, etc… all of which is deeply flattering but makes some sense given our influences and vintage." I've never met John (Vox, Guitar), who has been my contact for the band these two times, but I have tremendous respect for him, the band and the label. He sent me a note in between albums talking about this new label that they and another band, The Austerity Program (whom I have yet to hear) had come up with, Controlled Burn Records, as the label they were, Hydra Head, on went kaput. Shouldering that burden to further your creative output is commendable. Speaking of commendable, this EP is a masterpiece, in everything except it's not long enough.  This is proof again that the Midwest (Chicago) is on fucking fire musically. Let's begin at my usual starting point, I'll be damned if we don't have another killer piece of art for a cover, at the hands of Robert (Bass, Vox).  It's almost as though it's telling you that the music is that of a doomed man.  The band though is not doomed, they are very much alive and kicking.  Kicking hard like Tony's (Drums) bass drum, that shit is all over the place.  I've had drummers tell me that when checking out other drummers, the first thing they do is see what their doing with their kick...Tony knows how to use his kick.  Robert's right there with him on the bass, noodling up and down those fat ass strings, making fat ass sound.  As far as John, I can't tell what I like better his guitar or his voice, lets just call it a toss up.  He knows the perfect times to either play a chord or pluck a sting and even though the music isn't hyper fast grindcore/power violence, he is playing a hell of a lot of notes.  I just love the vocals, like I said before, not angry, more pleading, like a man making his peace before getting eaten by sharks. You can catch these guys at their Web Site, their Facebook, or their Bandcamp. I believe the album is already available digitally, but you can pre-order, for a 10/22 release, at their label Controlled Burn Records. My absolute favorite tune, John really belts it out, is called "Elvis"... [audio mp3="http://mustard-relics.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Nonagon-The-Last-Hydronaut-04-Elvis.mp3"][/audio]

...a couple more via Soundcloud...

[soundcloud url="http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/110844842" params="" width="100%" height="166" iframe="true" /]

[soundcloud url="http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/112298375" params="" width="100%" height="166" iframe="true" /]