Blog Archives

August 7, 2012

The Daily Choice: Thee Oh Sees – Flood’s New Light

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I’ve gotten to a point with Thee Oh Sees where I make no assumptions about what their next album might sound like. I’m partial to the band’s more krautrock style – John Dwyer’s falsetto rising up and over the pummeling force of the guitar – but, as they’re like to do, Dwyer and his band of merry pranksters oft times veer away from the pummeling to dig in to something else, some sort of strange blend of their older quieter sound with a stew pot of flute and bizarreness. “Flood’s New Light”, the second single off the upcoming Putrifiers II album sounds, maybe, somewhere in the middle. There’s touches of a sort of fungal krautrock, overgrown and without the persistent rock, and Dwyer’s voice continues to lead the charge, but the strange noodling of Castlemania slips on the edges. Call it a combination of sound, or perhaps yet another new incarnation of the many-pronged machine that is Thee Oh Sees.

Putrifiers II is out September 11th on In The Red.

Thee Oh Sees – Flood’s New Light 

June 27, 2012

The Daily Choice: Thee Oh Sees – Lupine Dominus

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Anything new from Thee Oh Sees camp (which lucky for us is’t a rarity) is cause for rejoice around The Daily Choice parts. “Lupine Dominus” the first single off of the new album, Putrifiers II and it continues the band’s progression in to the world of persistent rhythm’s and psyched-out guitar solos. There’s a sinister edge to “Lupine Dominus” though as the song never breaks as so many other Oh See’s tracks do. Instead it lingers at a single, hushed volume, the vocals sinewy and seductive, the guitar the solos the songs psychedelic pulse.

Thee Oh Sees new album Putrifiers II will be out on 9/11 via In The Red.

Thee Oh Sees – Lupine Dominus

June 4, 2012

The Daily Choice: Ty Segall Band – I Bought My Eyes

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It isn’t that Ty Segall hasn’t put out heavy records before (see Melted and Reverse Shark Attack) but with the addition of a set band (featuring the likes of Gin Blossoms-esque troubadour Mikal Cronin) the sometimes leanly aggressive maestro has added a bit of heft to the proceedings. Where “I Bought My Eyes” isn’t the psych dirge that the first single “Wave Goodbye” was, it still rockets along with a thick-skulled muscle so far missing in Ty Segall’s repertoire. Don’t get me wrong, Ty Segall has always been a bucket full of steaming rock and roll, but with a Band tacked on to the end of his name, it sounds like he might be diving in to a whole new sandbox.

Ty Segall Band’s album Slaughterhouse comes out on In The Red on July 26th.

Ty Segall Band – I Bought My Eyes

May 1, 2012

The Daily Choice: Ty Segall Band – Wave Goodbye

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Ty Segall finally bids adieu all the pretenses of garage rock, adds a “band” to his name and throws down this ridiculous psych-rock burnout. It feels like destruction in a song. Burly guitar wail, electrically charged humidity, the nasal holler of Segall lacing it all together in to a screeching bit of burnt rubber.

Ty Segall Band releases Slaughterhouse on In The Red on June 26th.

Ty Segall plays with The Mallard and White Fences tonight at The Independent in San Francisco. Ty Segall plays Seattle on Friday at Chop Suey with White Fence, The Pharmacy and Tea Cozies.

Ty Segall Band – Wave Goodbye

April 26, 2012

The Daily Choice: Cheap Time – Another Time

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As much as I’m worried about the cyclical nature of music (ever faster these days) whipping us back in to the pop-punk/ska tragedy of the 90s, I’m more than excited to ride the train along the way. Cheap Time’s new album Wallpaper Music sounds like leather-clad punk of 1970s London – sharp to the touch, but somehow entirely listenable. You would imagine “Another Time” played in a tiny bar with a stage so close to the ceiling that the band ducks their head to scream in to the microphone. The crowd is dank and sweaty and bare skin rubs against slick leather. The lead singer might spit in to the crowd, the drum set might get broken, someone will probably, happily, get a black eye.

Wallpaper Music is out on In The Red now.

Cheap Time – Another Time

November 15, 2011

The Daily Choice: Wounded Lion – Roman Values

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Wounded Lion came to my attention early this year because of their cover of a few of my favorite Intelligence songs.  In the most delightfully meta of ways, Wounded Lion has now added Lars Finberg (the lead songer of The Intelligence as well as a new addition to Thee Oh Sees) to their sonic attack and with Finberg, Wounded Lion brings the noise.  ”Roman Values” is harsh bit of cold-edge guitar shoved even further in to your face by the atonal holler of lead singer Brad Eberhard.  It has the classic thrash of an early 80s punk song with a touch of metal throwing spittle in your face.

Wounded Lion’s IVXLCDM is out now on In The Red.

Wounded Lion – Roman Values

November 11, 2011

The Daily Choice: The Spits – My Mess

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I always want Seattle to be louder.  I know, I know, I live in San Francisco and aside from my contributions to this amazing site and my hand-me-downs from Abbey I don’t know that much about Seattle music.  But, really, I want Seattle’s music scene to be more crushingly loud. And then the real extent of my lack of Seattle-music knowledge rears it’s ugly head and I discover a band like The Spits who aren’t on their first album or their second album, but their fifth album and I start to thinking, “Maybe there’s a not-so secret enclave of thrashy noise existing below the superficial surface of my treasure hunt?”  And I’m thinking about that and The Spits “My Mess” is melting the wallpaper in the background and probably causing some sort of hearing loss and I think, “Yeah, their probably is.”

The Spits’ fifth album The Spits (5th Album) is out now on In The Red.

The Spits are playing tomorrow at The New Parish in Oakland with The Mouthbreathers and Dirty Cupcakes.  You can win free tickets right here.

The Spits – My Mess

September 19, 2011

The Daily Choice: Thee Oh Sees – Carrion Crawler

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I don’t know if there is any band currently performing that continues to not only elicit the kind of excitement Thee Oh Sees elicit for me, but also with each and every album live up to that nugget of electricity rattling about in my stomach.  Though Castlemania, with its crazy voices and impromptu flute solos, wasn’t everyones bag of prog-garage tea, I found it as brilliant as everything else John Dwyer and crew have put out over the last seven or so years and the announcement of a second LP to be released in November has me clambering up the crow’s nest in sight of land.  ”Carrion Crawler,” the first single off the album, dips back a little in to the more straight-up garage-bludgeoning of Thee Oh See’s past.  I’d heard rumors that Dwyer wanted this album to “pummel” people but “Carrion Crawler” almost seems like a studio session warming up for a good solid pummeling.  It’s loose and wild, with a poppy riff that snakes its way through the entire song, Dwyer’s nasally sneer holding everything together.  Chalk up another Thee Oh Sees release that I preemptively imagine will melt out our eyeballs.

Carrion Crawler/The Dream is out November 15th on In The Red.

Thee Oh Sees – Carrion Crawler

April 27, 2011

The Daily Choice: Thee Oh Sees – I Need Seed

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The ultra-prolific SF staple Thee Oh Sees have been, shockingly, quiet as of late, and it feels like they’ve just been cooped up in some dark cement chamber reloading the chambers.  Someone’s opened the doors though and their new release Castlemania is set to drop on June 14th, with this jaunty little single “I Need Seed” leading the way.  I was lucky enough to hear a large part of the new album months ago and can tell you that its a broad step away from the murky psych-garage-pop medley they’ve been touting for the last few albums.  Oh sure, it’s still John Dwyer and his merry cast of pranksters, but he’s tossed a few new ideas in to the mix, and it’s downright refreshing.  ”I Need Seed” sets the stage aptly as it incorporates a touch of their cadence-heavy guitar rhythms with a taste of weird in Dwyer’s gravel voiced monotone.

Thee Oh Sees, you do what you want though, I’ll follow you of the edge of an icy waterfall.

Castlemania is out on In The Red in July.

Thee Oh Sees – I Need Seed

February 17, 2011

The Daily Choice: Davila 666 – Esa Nena Nunca Regreso

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Davila 666, kings of Puerto Rican garage, are putting out a new full length on the always reliable In The Red. the title track “Esa Nena Nunca Regreso” is a shouty cloud of pop fuzz broken up by a friendly little romp down guitar solo lane.  I’ve got rings around the Davila 666 7″ I purchased long ago, thus the announcement sends shivers down my crooked spin.

In The Red will release Tan Bajo on February 22nd.

Davila 666 – Esa Nena Nunca Regreso