This is what Best Coast should've been

It's pretty simple. Seapony are equal masters of the hazy surf rock vibes. What they do differently, however, is that they don't include the whole "without dick in my life, I am effin useless." vibe that Bethany Cosentino is all about.

Dreaming

Catholic Discipline

I recently watched Penelope Spheeris’ three part documentary ‘The Decline of Western Civilization’. I would strongly recommend it to anyone interested in music and youth culture. In the first part of the series there is a performance by Catholic Discipline which really struck me. Catholic Discipline was started by Claude Bessy aka Kickboy Face, co-founder/editor/writer for the renowned LA punk fanzine ‘Slash’. Claude wanted to be in a band but couldn’t play anything so he got friends from other bands to join him and play different instruments to the ones they played in their respective bands. They were only together for about a year, between 1979 and 1980, and never released any studio recordings. They did however release a collection of live recordings in 2004, five years after Bessy died.

The performance in ‘The Decline of Western Civilization’ is of their song ‘Underground Babylon’. It’s so rough and grimey, which admittedly is something I love in music, but there is also bucketfuls of melody and pop sensibilities to get the heart racing. There is just something about this song which I can’t explain, but I’m sure it’s the same thing that has caused it to become firmly embedded in my mind.

Get ‘Underground Babylon’ below. It’s the version from ‘The Decline...’ and has an excerpt from the interview with Claude Bessy. This version is far better than the one eventually released on the ‘Underground Babylon’ album. I’ve also included the video of this performance for good measure.

Catholic Discipline - Underground Babylon

and the video...

Sometimes the world is great.

whoo! @ntlers

I like these guys a lot, but I didn't listen to 2009's "Hosp1ce" too often because it depressed me to no end. So when I heard "Burst Ap@rt" I was happy, because it's another great album, but it's not centred around cancer. Only dying dogs. A step forward, I suppose.

Anyway, listen to it because it's rad, and the singer has a wonderful falsetto.

(Oh, the 320kbs version is on one of those sites that makes you wait for a minute. Patience)

Grab It

New Me@t Puppets

I haven’t really followed the Me@t Puppets to any extent. In fact, the only records of theirs I know are their self-titled debut, a beautiful and filthy piece of punk rock noise, and their sophomore effort Me@t Puppets II (The one with those songs they did with that shitty gutter punk bank for MTVs unplugged series). After surviving two break-ups, gunshot wounds, severe drug addictions and not seeing each other for more than 15 years, the Kirkwood brothers have returned with their thirteenth album as the Meat Puppets entitled ‘Lollipop’. The most striking feature of this record is how Curt and Cris Kirkwood, both now in their 50s after starting the MPs 31 years ago, are still able to produce music with such vitality. Apparently, much of their output between MPII and ‘Lollipop’ has been mostly free-form jams and drug induced sound exploration. This is certainly not the case on ‘Lollipop’. Instead, the MPs have stuck with twelve concise, traditionally structured rock songs. Even in their early days the MPs embraced their country/blues influences and this is still quite prominent in their sound. I was also very pleased to find that they continue to embrace their 90s rock n roll sensibilities. It’s also a really positive record without ever breaking over into cheesy and offensive positivity. All in all this is a really well written, solidly produced, pop rock record, brimming with catchy feel good tunes and rock n roll swagger. Here’s the opening song from ‘Lollipop’. Enjoy.

Me@t Puppets - Incomplete

Young Legionn@ire

I’ve been on a bit of a rock n roll binge since...well, since I was 13, but particularly so the past few days. Thanks goodness for this because it has brought Young Legionn@ire to my attention. I first heard them on a sampler CD and was struck by the instantly recognisable vocals of Paul Mullen, the ex front man of the sorely missed yourcodenameis:milo. Young Legionn@ire was started by Mullen and Gordon Moakes of Bloc Party after the two collaborated on the little piece of genius that was yourcodenameis:milos 2006 album 'Print Is Dead'. They exchanged ideas over the next three years until they finally got together in 2009 and began to write and record what would become their debut album ‘Crisis Works’. While the personality Mullen has brought to each of his previous bands is very much present, there are less obtuse structures and more ‘leg-on-your-monitor’ ballsy riffing along the lines of Terra Diablo or Colour Of Fire. Check out the first single from ‘Crisis Works’ below and pray that Young Legionn@ire will be around for a while.

 Young Legionn@ire - Ch@pter, Verse.

New Okeyvil Rivet!

While everything I post here is legal and legitimate, I could not help adding to the new bandname lexicon that SB seems to be building. Slowly, band by band, we will bring a new language to you all.

Meanwhile, one of my favourite rock n roll bands, Okeyvil Rivet are about to release "I Am Very Far", which should be out next week Tuesday. They're one of those bands that keeps releasing consistently good music. While it's never cool or trendy, it makes me happy. And there's nothing like walking in for a late morning class on a sunny day with "Singer Songwriter" playing through your headphones. Will Sheff is a wonderful lyricist, and while the last few albums have been drenched in AM radio sunshine, the new stuff however seems steel-lined instead. Good for them.

You can stream the new album here.
Stream It

Total W@rr!

Total W@rr are two cool Frenchmen who decided the next logical step after playing hardcore was to form a light hearted pop group. Their first EP ‘Cascades’ blended some folkish guitar playing with games-type electro pop topped off with some chillwave influences in the vocals and background noises. It was pretty special stuff. Their new song ‘Please Never’ is more direct electro pop and, although the guitar is still present, it’s much more simple and understated. This song is packed with super melodies, layered vocals, tons of cool percussive elements and quite a funny lyrical theme. Grab ‘Please Never’ and the ‘Cascades’ EP below and become a happier person.

Total W@rr - Cascades EP

Total W@rr - Please Never

New 'And So I Watch You From Afar'

How rock n roll is that! And that is what we've come to expect from And So I Watch You From Afar. After their totally kickass self-titled debut and last years 'Letters' EP comes their new full length 'Gangs'. The whole album was written and recorded in a matter of weeks after the band took a decision to scrap an entire album worth of material and start over. I have yet to hear the whole album but the song 'Search:Party:Animal', available free from their bandcamp (see below), indicates that this was certainly not a bad decision. While not a drastic departure in style from their earlier offerings, everything is tighter, more focused and generally has a greater sense of purpose. Clearly the product of a band who have spent a great deal of time on the road, gained heaps of confidence and formed a clear idea of what they want to achieve. The short writing and recording period has produced an effort bursting with energy and focus without sounding rushed or incomplete. It makes a lot of sense to me for instrumental rock to be created in this fashion. Anyway, this song is great and I look forward to hearing the whole album. Follow the link below to their bandcamp where 'Search:Party:Animal' is available for free download, and the whole album for a very reasonable price.

And So I Watch You From Afar - Gangs (Bandcamp)