STAMMERING CHILDISH CANTICLES

Mystery act sharing a homemade cassette with EXPLODING BUDGIES (stay tuned), STAMMERING CHILDISH CANTICLES play free form psych along the lines of OZRIC TENTACLES or (some) HAWKWIND. Mostly instrumental tracks with a clean jangling guitar up front while the fuzzed freakout guitar seems content in the background...the whole tape mostly sits in the background, but commands attention on the airy interlude "Fanaticism Shark" near the end of the journey. Serious question.....how many thousands of tapes are there like this just floating in the ether (and lurking in charity bins)? And how many hundreds of them that actually have merit will remain undiscovered?

STAMMERING CHILDISH CANTICLES

JEDINO BUBAŠVABE PREŽIVLJAVAJU ČERNOBIL

A pure ripper comp from 1988 Yugoslavia. Oi!, punk, proto-goth, and some essential doses of searing hardcore from the likes of: QUOD MASSACRE, DVA MINUTA MRZNJE, IDIOTI, NADE IZ INKUBATORA, MASAKER, SKÖL and a host of others. 28 tracks in total, clocking in just under 55 minutes. Time to go to school. 

JEDINO BUBAŠVABE PREŽIVLJAVAJU ČERNOBIL

REBEL ARMY

An appearance on a Bullshit Detector comp and a five song unreleased demo....that's all I was able to scrape up from REBAL ARMY when I first posted this tape back in 2009. Ramshackle UK anarcho played with that midpaced lurch that I think only comes from a marginal ability to play instruments "properly," but a determination to do so with gusto (e.g. drum fills in "Falling Down"). Then comes the synths in "Insane" and you wonder what might have happened if there had been more...

REBEL ARMY

TABLOID

Patients yield while patience yields...and volume speaks volumes. 

Please. 

ACCESS CH. 1

ATAQUE DE RABIA

How many times have I said that you can't fukkn fake intensity? I could feed you the ingredients on this demo - they are simple and readily available - and there's no way you could shit out something as pure and real as South Valley Punks ATAQUE DE RABIA. 1/2/1/2 pogo drums, single tracked buzzsaw guitars, a no frills bass bouncing underneath the textbook punk riffs and female vocals shouted with a primal desperation...you've heard all of these things before and you've even heard them in the same band....but oof when the eponymous "Ataque De Rabia" kicks in after the Punk 101 intro? If you aren't raging then you might want to opt for a FLEETWOOD MAC record or something. Maybe punk just isn't for you. 

ATAQUE DE RABIA

THE BLUES

Fre(ak)e music for fre(e)ak people, THE BLUES use one saxophone and one guitar to create a soundtrack to a modern metropolitan dystopia. I don't want to read too much into this, since it's really just an improvisational upchuck that most (boring) listeners will find utterly unpalatable....but THE BLUES are making something that is more than just a racket. It's a racket, to be sure...but it's the right racket for a wrong time. There is more. 

THE BLUES SINGS THE BLUES: VOL. I

EYES OF FIRE

Brutally heavy stoner/doom is not what I typically think of when DIY Pinoy Punk comes to mind....but that just shows how narrow my mind can actually be. EYES OF FIRE are equally versed in the BRAINOIL school of groove (a noteworthy comparison in the vocal department as well), but when they downshift and focus on pure tonnage the result is astounding. Vocals creak over classic chugs with a weight that defies description. The recording here is raw, but it adds to the ambiance and takes nothing away from the power...the 12+ minute "Last Toke" is like a fukkn clinic. BONGZILLA level riffs with Sore-era BUZZOV•EN caliber darkness. Highest recommendation. 

EYES OF FIRE

TECHNICAL ECSTASY

Hard driving and intentionally shitty sounding demento-punk from the hills of upstate New York, TECHNICAL ECSTASY nail the outside punk vibe so well that I (almost) wonder if it's a vibe or a lifestyle. Snotty, bratty, peaked, over reverbed vocals front plodding, swerving adolescent stomps and by the time "Losing Frequencies" is half done I'm through caring if this is real or if I'm just on the(ir) hook. Freaky is as freaky does. 

TECH X - XXII

SABÁ: "Conexão RAKTA"

A compilation of Brasilian artists that RAKTA put together before their US/Canada/Japan tour last summer. Pieces from FLORES FEIAS, GRUTA, MARCELA LUCATELLI, POST, RAQUEL KRÜGEL, DIBUK and others, including solo contributions from two of the three members (CARLA BOREGAS and ACAVERNUS). It would be a waste of my time and yours for me to discuss each track, but this hour contains chaos, harsh sonic realities, calming sounds, and so much beauty. You deserve this. 

CONEXÃO RAKTA

Physical Copies: SABA

CRIMEN

A few months ago there was a fest thing in Oakland called Manic Relapse and a bunch of good bands played. I don't like to pick favorites, and seeing PISSCHRIST in a dirt floor basement at 3am is hard to top....but fukk me is Mexico's CRIMEN wasn't the single best set I saw all weekend (then again...TOZCOS in the backyard....why should I have to choose?!). By defying conventional '00s crucial mores and writing the tracks they want to write, this trio takes simple and makes it perfect by making it their own. "Traicíon" is the best song that you will hear today. Period. 

EL PROBLEMA ERES TÚ

FUAD RAMSEY

Read yesterday's 23 MORE MINUTES post and think about the whole "no rules" thing that I implied was a great wonder of thee DIY '90s. Now listen to Pleasanton, California's FUAD RAMSEY for a darker take on that same phenomenon. It's like MINUTEMEN gone PRIMUS and it doesn't have any business existing anywhere, much less on this blog...but I include it here in the same spirit that I have shared many things. Bad things. Things that make you feel better about yourself. Because I like to help. Try it. It feels good. 

HISS-SCHMISS

23 MORE MINUTES

It was a different time, and your punk rules about how things were supposed to be? They didn't matter in general, and they certainly didn't matter in Glorieta, New Mexico. Most people probably know them from the split LP with LOGICAL NONSENSE (essential listening for fans of early US DIY punk, and fans of good music in general), but this 1990 demo is a fukkn timeless artifact...vocals are gruff and tuneful, songs have hooks but they are filthy and determined in a way that predates weirdly objectionable "region" rock by at least a decade. Also, three song titles start with the word "things" and nine of the twelve songs here start with Keith's bass. For context, this is what US punks were doing just a few years after MINOR THREAT called it quits....in other words: they were doing whatever they wanted. And it was awesome. 

30 GOLDEN YEARS OF COUNTRY

MYNX

Enjoy this three track Synth/Punk/Noise/Freakshow released in 2012 by MYNX, a California outfit seemingly bent on pushing boundaries and breaking rules. Maximum volume yields, and the yields here are stellar. And weird. Are you prepared?

MYNX

(also: bass at the start of "Cavity" is fukkn deadly)

IS/IS aka CANDACE

I've visited these ladies previously, but every time I come back I feel fulfilled once more...and I hope the same for you. Like gazing into a sunset with the wind in your face, Portland trio CANDACE (formerly IS/IS, named changed for relatively obvious reasons) capture COCTEAU vibes but still make me feel like I wanna start riding vintage motorcycles. How do you describe that in the context of sound? I don't know, man, but these songs just get me....and I keep coming back to them. 

SHADOW DAYS

REIZ

Very much from the OBSERVERS and NEON PISS school of hopelessly infectious punk and sinks into your very soul and turns you into a freak for sing along punk before you even realize that you are wearing a D-CLONE shirt and singing along is not cool. I dunno, man....this stuff just rules me. 

REIZ