Jonesin' - For a Good Time (self released)

This tape fell into my hands after meeting Matt & Jen from Jonesin' whilst both our bands were playing a festival in sunny Sardinia. The sun had been out, the drinks had been flowing and we all shared a similar language which resulted in alot of mutual put downs and high fives at unfunny jokes, but hey, we were on holiday! If memory serves, i didn't pay for this and drunkenly demanded it after telling him how good my tape blog was? Sorry Matt, i hope this review makes up for it!

This tape is the second album from this soon to be married duo, who when playing live, sing and dance over a breaking down boom box kicking out their happy and carefree indie pop. Mostly it reminds me of this girl/boy indie band from a while back called Joy Zipper, who also had this sun stained California vibe with a few elements of the lo-fi twee thing that alot of bands in London do, like Internet Forever and Pens. It's also pretty cool to see a couple doing this together, sharing the love with synchronised dance moves!

This tape has made me smile whilst walking to work in the rain since returning from Sardinia and i will have it on standby as my motivator to make it to that early train on time!

For all things Jonesin' go here

Jonesin' - For A Good Time

1. Been There Done That
2. Paint
3. Aliens 2
4. 3D Glasses
5. Wouldn't It Be Wonderful
6. I Wanna Pass Out
7. Bring me The Head Of Carlos Santana
8. Vampires At The House Party
9. WWZD
10. Wizard Robes
11. Look Don't Touch
12. Skippin' Class
13. Sunglasses At Breakfast

Weird Dreams - 4 Song EP (Sleepy King Cassettes)

Weird Dreams self titled tape is the first release for Sleep All Day Records little brother tape label Sleepy King Cassettes which has kicked off in good style with these four  garage punk / doo-wop/ glam tracks that are all pretty catchy, but with a romantic heart on sleeve kick to them, kinda like a late era slowed down Jay Retard playing doo wop, with a little hint of T-Rex.

There is also a definate mid 90's indie feel in the guitars but with really sweet vocals, especially on 'Birthday Blues'. After seeing their first gig, it became apparent that they only recorded these 4 songs as this is all they have written so far, and it was all they played in their 10-15 minute set. But it is always better when i'm left wanting more than beeing bored by 45 min wig outs by bands who no one knows or cares about yet. I'm looking forward for more Weird Dreams soon.

Only 50 copies from SAD or Rough Trade

Weird Dreams - EP (Sleepy King)

1. Hurt So Bad
2. Where'd I Go Wrong
3. Birthday Blues
4. Little Girl

  Where'd I Go Wrong? by Weird Dreams


  Weird Dreams - Hurt So Bad by Brattwell Recordings

Mazes - Mixtape

I have to start by giving the IBB blurb which describes this tape as:

'In the tradition of Sebadohs 'The Freed Weed' and the series of Fucked Up mixtapes, Italian Beach Babes will be releasing a 30 track mixtape of covers, acoustic versions, alternative takes, samples and ideas from the band Mazes.'

And this tape does exactly what it says on the can, with loads of tracks culled from loads of different sessions and ideas. Kicking straight off is 'Huffing NV' which is basically just Jack with his guitar plugged in which then quickly moves into 'Church Street' with its distorto keyboard refrain and fuzzy backing vox that barely lasts a full minute. All these 30 tracks keeping on going like this, a non stop mix of full band studio takes,  bedroom 1 man takes and over fuzzed home recordings.

There is definately two great albums worth of ideas on here and i'm really glad these recordings are coming out now, like a pre-emptive 'Suitcase' for the UK's answer to Robert Pollard. The are definate Guided By Voices-isms on here, but not in an American lo-fi way, more so in the way that the tape flows with everything thrown in for the listener to wade through, letting your favourites climb out of the speakers themselves. Also, the version of 'Bowie Knives' on here is my favourite, what can i say, less is sometimes more!

Buy from Italian Beach Babes, only 50 copies on lilac cassette.

Mazes - Mixtape (Italian Beach Babes)


1. Huffing NV
2. Church Street
3. Urgh
4. I Don't Wanna Know
5. Bowie Knife One
6. Shuffle Board
7. A Metric Tower
8. Athens Song
9. What D'Ya Reckon
10. I Don't Know What's Wrong
11. I'm A Smoker
12. No Way
13. Iz It?
14. Checkers
15. Jarin & Jay Don't Like This
16. Sand On Your Neck
17. Munchkins
18. Temperton Tecker
19. Jump
20. Illegitimate Love
21. Urgh x 100
22. Shit Priest
23. Don't Worry Baby
24. Dire Strait's Brothers In Arms
25. Vampire Jive 1
26. Fingers
27. Amelie
28. Eva
29. Till I'm Dead
30. Danny Elfman
Don't Worry Baby - Mazes by Suffering Jukebox

Clorox Girls - Demos, Rarities and Early 7"s (Burger)

I love this band. Watching them live is so fun with obligatory crowd surfing, Black Flag covers and fun time mayhems, whilst their 'This Dimension' LP was top my 2006/7 jams. This tape collects together songs from 7"s, alt versions of songs you may already know and love and some stuff i have never heard.

If you are new to the Clorox Girls then this tape is for you, with a perfect of mix Ramones punk, the snotty-ness of early Red Kross and the Germs with the power pop of the Exploding Hearts. Its a killer mix, with most of their songs making great hook filled A-sides. The one constant in the band is Justin who has also moonlighted in a hundred great punk bands whilst travelling the world, and on here he has taken his experiences and  recorded one of the tracks in three different languages, German, Spanish and Italian (i think?). The acoustic demos at the end are well recorded and not throw away in the least, whilst the alternative take of 'Hitman' is a fuzzed out and less clear version, but still super fun.

I have always loved the Clorox Girls and always thought it was shame they were not as appreciated as i thought they should be, but for any fan, this tape will be a great collection addition, and for any newcomers it's a great start. Well done Burger for keeping up the quality!


Tracklisting

1. Baby
2. Get Away
3. Hitman
4. Trashy Daydream
5. This Dimension
6. Animal Eyes
7. Eva Braun
8. In My Mouth
9. Walk The Streets
10. Novacaine
11. Trashy Daydream 2
12. Nicht Miene Stadt
13. Mi Cuidad Natal
14. Minha Cidade Natal
15. Genocide (demo)
16. Bad Girls (demo)
17. Marina's Vampire

King Tuff - Was Dead (Burger Records)

I had this tape on my walkman for a good week before i realised that Mr. King Tuff himself, was also the singer in Witch (who happen to have a certain J Mascis on drums) and the brains behind new SubPop power pop signings Happy Birthday, whose 'Girls FM' song was glued to my brain for a good month.

Does this knowledge change the tape? Not really. King Tuff sways a little more to the glam side of punk, but with his foot still in the garage door? It is all pretty sunny too, regardless of the lyrics and album title, with those melodies that float around in a happy way. Almost like if J Mascis had jumped in on a Jay Reatard session, good time rock n roll jams all the way. I was a little sad to think this tape was the nail in the King Tuff coffin since Happy Birthday have started to make waves, but the King Tuff myspace says that new songs are coming soon. I'm holding on for the next stage in KT's resurrection, and i am sure it will be as much fun.

Side A

Dancing on You
Connection
Sun Medallion
Lazerbeam
Lady
A Pretty Dress
Ruthie

Side B

Just Strut
Kind of Guy
Freak When I'm Dead
Animal
Stone Fox
So Desperate




also posted on Ghost Panda Digital

Ty Segall - S/T & Lemons (Burger Records)

Picture courtesy of  Panda Digital

If you have read any of my tape reviews for Tapelove or pieces for Ghost Panda before, then you may have worked out that I have a lot of love for Burger Records. It is by far and away my favourite label, for tapes or otherwise, and with this new tape they have surpassed themselves by re-issuing the first two Ty Segall albums that they had previously released as a nice 2-albums-on-one tape package, for the same low cost of one tape! They have also extended the same 2-for-1 love to both of the excellent No Bunny albums ('Love Visions' & 'Raw Romance') they had released and promptly sold out of.

So, we have the 'Self Titled' debut by Ty Segall kicking off on side A. For the newcomers to Ty Segall, he is up there with the best of them for recorded output. Off the top of my head I can think of his input to The Traditional Fools, Epsilons, Sic Alps, Party Fowl, The Perverts and the Ty Segall/Mikal Cronin collaborations, each band with a nice back catalogue of their own, and he still looks like he is in his early 20's! All of the bands he has played in have traversed a variety of styles all stemming from garage punk, with elements of surf, noise, psych and punk thrown in. His solo stuff strips it back a notch with this first album mainly consisting of one guitar, vox and simple drums which he plays with his feet live, the original one-man-band set up. This doesn't stop him from kickin' out the jams though, with a continued ferocity to match his full bands output. In fact, these songs are his most concise with party bangers like 'You Should Have Never Opened That Door' and 'Pretty Baby (You're So Ugly)' and slow burners like 'The Drag' and 'You're Not Me' making an incredibly rounded first solo full length.

Flipping over to side B we get the whole of 'Lemons', his second record (not including 'Horn The Unicorn', the collection of singles and early material) which sounds more like a band effort, reflected in his three-piece band line-up to tour this record. Starting off with 'It #1' a mid-paced fuzzy stomper with a dirty repetitive riff below some scratchy single note solos, kept constant by some sharp snare hits. The pace is picked up through the record, but it still feels purposely refrained, giving all the songs room to breathe rather than speeding through them for the sake of it, with the drums keeping the songs together as much as the guitars, which seems understandable as he drummed in any many bands as he has played guitar. There is also a lot more in the way of harmonies and backing vocals with this album too, which really elevates them and adds another layer to the usual ultra-reverbed out vocals


The two albums sit nicely next to each other on repeated plays and the differences are only ones of production and recording. I keep on expecting Ty Segall and his fellow cohorts in Thee Oh Sees, Fresh & Onlys, Dan Melchior to release a dud record as they seem to kick out an unlimited amount of albums, E.P's, 7"s and comp. appearances as well as constant touring, but the ball is rarely dropped. Quality and quantity? If this was the heyday of delta blues I’m sure there would be rumours of soul selling to the man downstairs, but hey, if it’s good, just keep the records coming.

This tape is essential, and probably the best starting point to Mr Segall's huge discography, but like a gateway drug, it will lead to more purchases and a slimmer bank balance. You've been warned.

Side A = Self Titled

Side B = Lemons

Posted simultaneously on Panda Digital 

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