Teeth - Jammers 2008-2009 (Milk)

I'm totally down with Teeth!!! I hope that with the arrival of their 1st 7" on Moshi Moshi they will get the chance to play to more people and have large crowds of indie/punk/rave kids dancing to their tunes. Coming out of the recent lo-fi explosion from the UK, but instead of the standard 3 piece power trio of guitar, bass and drums that is taking over, Teeth!!! have Veronica on vocals, Ximon on Laptop and Simon on drums, albeit a stripped back kit with an electronic kick. The first time i saw them they had an audience of Brighton/London punks dancing their socks off. Infectious and aggressive.

I came away thinking it was like the glory days of Troubleman and Dim Mak records when indie kids were experimenting with electronics but bringing their punk ideals and spirit forwards, like the Numbers and Erase Errata split record or the Tigerbeat 6 record label.

This is their debut tape which is all the early recordings, home demos and practice rehearsals which are still exciting to listen to, just a little more fractured and damaged than their new tracks. These 10 tracks are pretty psychedelic in the meltdown and punk in their delivery and if they are not making you dance around the bedroom, they will harshing your mellow in the best kind of way.

The only minor criticism i have is that the tape is just that, a tape. It had no artwork and was just a green tape in a clear case with the song titles written on the side in pen, which have already been rubbed off, hence the lack of song titles for everything below. It's a minor gripe for an awesome tape.

Buy from www.milkrecords.bigcartel.com/

Tracklist

1. If I Ever
2. Who's Afraid of Detroit
3. Detox Wigga
4. EarBlower
5. Hulk Dash
6. Dorks
7. Total ??? Lay
8. ??
9. Dead Boys
10. ???

Video of song for new 7" on moshi moshi

V/A - Crocodiles UK Tour Tape (Loud & Quiet)

If you live in a large city in the UK and regularly go to independent record shops, chance is you may have stumbled over Loud & Quiet magazine, a old print newspaper style music rag that actually covers some good bands from the UK as well as our foreign friends. This is the tape they made to promote the Crocodiles UK tour which has a new track as well as tracks from some of the UK bands that supported them on their trip around our little island.

Obviously i'll start with Crocodiles, a two piece band from San Diego that sound a lot like the Jesus ands Mary Chain and many of the bands around today. I have their album but don't normally get past the first side, all the songs have their merits but in a row they seem to meld into one and doesn't hold my attention. But this isn't a review of their LP, so i will say this song 'Hollow Hollow Eyes' is as good as their good songs with a nice organ thrown in the mix. Mazes step up next with my fave track of theirs so far. Seriously, if this was released on Matador in the mid 90's it would have been on MTV, 'Summer Hitz' does what it says on the can.

Next is Golden Grrrls who i love and am biased about as i released a tape for them and totally heart their self titled tape and live shows. Although this is buried under some lovely fuzz and cloud drones, you know there is a great pop tune waiting to come out, and live they are more of a full band affair that shows the great Scottish heritage, which is my way of saying they remind me of The Pastels (a good thing). Finishing off this side is Cheatahs, with a track from Nathans tape onParadise Vendors Inc. Blown out recordings again covering a good pop song that really changes when you see him live. Sweet vocals float over the top with one of the catchiest chorus on this tape that is part Guided By Voices and part The Bitters cave pop.

Side 2 kicks straight in with those sexy bastions for repetition from Brighton, Cold Pumas with a really early track that only hints at the potential these guys are now stepping up to. 'Day Monk/Night Monk' is noisy like most of their tracks but not as poppy as they became with 'Jela' and 'Beat Mystery'. Brighton / London is represented next in the shape of La La Vasquez who punch their way through 'Don't Rush Me' which flows like a Girls In the Garage track for the Captured Tracks generation. Mega catchy bass lines too!

Next is the power garage punk of The Hipshakes that is a punked up does of Nuggets sort of tune. Short, fast and Paisley maybe? I really like it and recommend getting their new tape album on Scotch tapes. The next band, Egyptian Hip Hop is my least favourite on here. Multiple vocals over keys and gtrs and drum machines which just seem to float about and not head in any defined direction. Pretty boring i thought in an inoffensive way.

Good tape made up of previously released tracks, but still worth getting for the unreleased gems on here. www.loudandquietcassettes.bigcartel.com
Side A

Crocodiles - Hollow Hollow Eyes
Mazes - Summer Hitz (Main Dyke)
Golden Grrls - Duane Denison
Cheatahs - Lycanthropy

Side B

Cold Pumas - Day Monk/Night Monk
La La Vasquez - Dont Rush Me
The Hipshakes - Not Like I've Had Before
Egyptian Hip Hop - Rad Pitt

Kommie Kilpatrick / Champions of Breakfast - Split tape ( self released)

Kommie Kilpatrick also sent me this tape when they sent me their self released 'Weird City' tape (reviewed below) which is on the KK side is all covers of Champions of Breakfast and vice-versa. I like it when bands kick out the odd cover with friends bands, but 9 tracks?

The KK covers of COB seems a little slower than their 'Weird City' releases, and with a change in songwriter comes a change of lyrics, so the old fare of young dumb scum punk is replaced with some real Swords N' Sorcery content with talk of dragons and spells and song titles like 'When Trolls Roam The Earth'! The 3rd track also drops in some nice keys action whilst the last track,'Nasty Bunz' reminds me more of their own tracks, a little faster and a little snottier.

Flipping over the tape i get Champions of Breakfast take on Kommie Kilpatrick which was not what i expected. Instead of Orc filled fantasy metal i get electro beats and processed vocals, a few glitches and some straight up dance rock. It's pretty funny hearing these beat inspired tracks with repeated 'Get Punched In the Face' over and over, but ultimately its only funny once and I'm probably gonna stick to side one and my ever growing fondness for Kommie Kilpatrick.

www.myspace.com/kommiekilpatrick
http://www.myspace.com/thechampionsofbreakfast

Kommie Kilpatrick - Weird City (self released)

I think everyone needs a few dumb punk records in their collection, maybe the 'Cretin Rock' of the Ramones or the majority of NoFX's back catalogue, a little Angry Samoans or some modern dude punk like Mean Jeans and Personal & The Pizza's. Either way I get cravings for a bunch of peeps not taking themselves too seriously, just kicking out some good, simple, short fast and loud punk/hardcore.

Kommie Kilpatrick from Detroit, Michigan sent me this tape which is full of song titles like 'Bad News Beers' and 'Skate, Die, Stink' which makes me smile as they stumble from tune to tune. The one thing that came to mind repeatedly was Red Kross 'Born Innocent' era with that angry youth attack.

This is not anything new, but that's not why i listen to this stuff. I listen to it as it makes me happy on that long walk to work and occasionally pushes me to give a little fist pump when i think no-one else is looking.

Tracklist:

Kommie Kilpatrick - Weird City

1. 2 Girls 2 Fuck
2. Amateur Cool
3. Crash Your Car
4. (I Don't Wanna) Get Stabbed Tonight
5. Friday Night
6. Bad News Beers
7. I Need Dinner
8. Outta Here
9. Runnin Wild!
10. Skate, Die, Stink
11. Creature of Habit

buy from www.myspace.com/kommiekilpatrick

Welcome Home 'Diggin' The Universe' A Woodsist Compilation -V/A (Woodsist)

A tape collection from the Woodsist label is either a must have purchase for you or just another standard of the recent lo-fi zeitgeist. I am personally in the former camp for the majority of this tape and having recently fallen in love with label owner Jeremy Earls own band Woods through 2009's semi-breakthrough Lp 'Songs of Shame', I am glad to have a new tune kick off this nice piece of black plastic. The high pitch Neil Young-esque vocals suck me in as do the warmth of the recordings, with great simple pop songs that glue themselves to my mind using stripped back acoustics and hand clapped percussion.

Run DMT play a warped and delicious psych pop that could be lifted from an unknown Olivia Tremor Control record. Elephant 6 revivalism already? The heaviness of White Fences sends shocks with some dirty organs and squalling guitar whilst the Fresh & Onlys effort maintains their pedigree whilst also chasing the Dan Melchiors,Thee Oh Sees & Ty Segall's for the title of amount of records released each year.

I'm new to The Mantles and Skygreen Leopards and enjoy them both, whilst Alex Bleeker goes alone without his Freaks or Real Estate to finish off this first side nicely.

The biggest surprise to this Woodsist Comp. tape for me is liking the Moon Duo song, loving even. I'm not a fan of Wooden Shjips and their psych-prog wig outs, but the bass led riff on the Moon Duo track is great, totally not what i expected at all from them.

City Center don't offend, but don't enthrall either, whilst Cause Co Motion take things up a notch wit their jaunty anglophile messy indie punk before rolling through into new boys Art Museums whose 80's synth and guitar brand of pop sounds like a Captured Tracks band with an affinity to emotionally sappy songs that fill each and every John Hughes teen classic.

Nodzzz Lp and 2 x 7" are always up high in my play lists so a new track is very welcome with 'Old Clothes' having a much rawer live recording sound, but song wise, it could have come from any of their releases. I don't expect grand departures with Nodzzz, and I'm sure disappointment would only follow an Animal Collective style change in direction, so the same great guitar pop songs keeps on pleasing.

Finishing up the tape is a Ducktails song that removes the swirling keyboard melodies and summer repetition we are used to and goes with an acoustic guitar piece that sounds more like Matt's other day job as guitarist for Real Estate, just minus band. I could really do with a lot more of this type of Ducktails songs, incredible.

I'm sure this tape will sell out in seconds as do most things on Fuck It Tapes/Woodsist but i know it will soon drop as a nice piece of vinyl, definitely an essential '2010 purchase.


Tracklist

Woods - I'm Not Gone
Run DMT - Richard
White Fences - The Love Between
The Fresh & Onlys - Heel Toe
The Mantles - Bad Movies
Skygreen Leopards - Catch
Alex Bleeker - Gettin By

Moon Duo - A Little Way Different
City Center - Box of Rain
Cause Co-Motion - Over U
Art Museums - Darling Are You Out Of Your League Again
Nodzzz - Old Clothes
Ducktails - Sun Out My Window

get from www.woodsist.com

Dum Dum Girls - Blissed Out (Art Fag)

I'm pretty sure that this sold out almost immediately on pre-orders, impressive for 300 copies of a so called dead format. It did help that these copies were only available from Art Fag Records (who have released Graffiti Island, Crocodiles, Pens and Ye Olde Maids etc) and special ltd tape colours were given to Sub Pop and Rough Trade records, good company by any standards.

This tape has not yet left my bag since i got it, heavy rotation will soon become worn out tape if I'm not careful. I fell for the DDG's like everyone else after her first 12" EP which stood out above the hoards of lo-fi releases that get online hype, with catchy as hell songs lying under a layer of fuzz and reverbed out vox. We have all those tunes on this tape, with songs from all her first releases, splits and comps and a few extras, including Delta 5 and Black Tambourine covers. In fact the only negative about this grey cassette, is that i thought it would have cover of G.G Allins 'Don't Talk To Me' on it, which is by far away the best G.G cover to grace my ears and is totally made her own. It's a small gripe, I'll get over it.

If you see this for sale, buy it before it becomes ebay gold, which it probably is already. If not, just tape it off a friend and photocopy the cover like we used to do.

Side A

Ship of Love
Hey Sis
Throw Aggi
Catholicked
Let It Be Me
Mercury Mary

Side B

Brite Futures
Put a Sock In It
M.Y.O.B
Longhair
Dream Away Life

get from www.artfagrecordings.blogspot.com or from Rough Trade (UK) or Sub Pop (US)