The Fuses - Eastern Cities

This is a repost, by request, that was originally posted on Shotgun Solution, 12/18/10. New rip
    Eastern Cities is the third, and I believe final full length from Baltimore Maryland's, The Fuses. In all they released three full lengths as well as a number of singles, and a EP or two. Unfortunately, (in my opinion..) The Fuses were a criminally overlooked band.






Line Up -

Brendan Bartow - Guitars, Vocals
Kevin Trowel - Guitars, Vocals
Pete Ross - Bass
Lee Ashlin - Drums

Shit Sandwich Records 2005

►►►Wild Mass Transit Dreams◄◄◄

Defektors - The Bottom Of The City

The Defektors are a three piece out of Vancouver, BC that formed in 2006. I like just about everything I've heard from these guys so far. They have a dark in your face sound that at times, reminds me of early Wipers. There's also an attacking, nervous, punk groove to them, that makes The Defektors one of the more unique bands I've heard in a while. Their recorded output thus far has been Two singles, This full length, a self released cassette in 2009 and A new cassette only full length on Shake Records called Black Dreams. I've included a few of my favorite tracks from Bottom Of The City and Secret Trials, (which is still my favorite song of theirs)  as a bonus. Here's The Defektors Facebook and Bandcamp pages, go check them out.

Line Up -

Ben Fillups - Guitar, Vocals
Jeremy Haywood - Bass, Vocals
Evan Bruar - Drums

Nominal Records / Grotesque Modern

►►►The Dead Sell Pity◄◄◄

The Higher Elevations - The Protestant Work Ethic

Unfortunately, I never really got this blog going the way I'd hoped to. I can't think of a better band to get back on track with than this great four piece out of Sweden, called The Higher Elevations. This Lp became an instant favorite from the moment I heard it. If your into bands like The Wedding Present and The Go - Betweens, your going to love these guys. This is their second full length and definitely my favorite of the two. They also have a number of Ep's and singles to their credit. I included six tunes for you to check out. I'm hoping, one of these days I'll get a chance to see these guys live. If you want to hear more, (and I recommend you do) Check out the links below.


Line Up -

Niklas Gustafsson - Lead Vocals, Guitar and Synthesizers
Henric Stromberg - Drums, Vocals,
Thomas Rosevall - Bass, Vocals
Martin Ostlund - Lead Guitar

Links

Higher Elevations.com, Myspace 

Time For Action Records 2008

►►►It's Saturday Night Again◄◄◄

The Decibels - G.I Productions EP

Here's a great and (I believe) the first record from Sacramento California's, The Decibels. These guys were one of my favorite bands in the 90's. You can't go wrong with any of their records, they're all must owns. I think in all, they released Two full lengths, this EP, A best of their early recordings of sorts, (including this EP) called The Bart Thurber Sessions, and various comp tracks, some of which are also included. I'm not sure, the date this record was released because it's not listed but I think it was 1996. It looks like The Decibels may reform every now and then, but appear to be inactive at the moment.



Line Up -

Joe Pach - Guitar, Vocals
Dean Seavers - Guitar, Vocals
Brent Seavers - Bass, Vocals
Kevin Williams - Drums, Vocals

G.I. Productions 1996 ?

1. Radio
2. Jackie
3. Kiss Me Carolynne
4. Windy

►►►... I Don't Wanna Fight...◄◄◄

The Sweet Faces (Douchemaster Records EP)

Here's a re-post, by request, originally posted on Shotgun Solution, 5/12/2009. Douchemaster Records has released many must own records and this ones no exception. The Sweet Faces are a three piece side project of Brian Hermosillo (Guitar/Vocals) of The Fevers, The Donnie Denim Band and Loli And The Chones; along with Michel Van Der Woude (Drums) from The Pooh Sticks and Leslie Hoffman, (Bass/Vocals) whom I couldn't find any info on.

 

Douchemaster Records 2008

 

1. On Top Of That Girl

2. Here Come The Nice Boys

3. Leslie Is A Noise Band

4. Cool Kids (Don't Wanna Listen)

 

►►►She'll Never Break My Heart Again◄◄◄

Title Tracks - Every Little Bit Hurts Single

Title Tracks is the brain child of Washington D.C. based musician John Davis; formerly of Q and Not U, and Georgie James. This was Title Tracks first release; there's since been Two full lengths. I really like the flip "Found Out" of this single; it's a great tune. If you want to read more, Here's a good place to start.

Line Up -

John Davis - Guitar, Vocals
Michael Cotterman - Bass
Merideth Munoz - Farfisa, Vocals, Percussion
Andrew Black - Drums

Dischord Records 2009

1. Every Bit Hurts
2. Found Out

►►►...Just Found Out Today...◄◄◄

The Flagpolers

The Flagpolers are a four piece from Vancouver, Canada who are on the verge of a couple of split releases. One will be with The Abolitionist, from Portland; the other with Jerkstore from Vancouver. After listening to their four song Demo, I would say it has a Poppy Street Punk sound. However, "Sketch The Barber", (which I gravitated towards the most) has a darker feel. In all, promising stuff, I hope to hear more in the future. Here's a few links, if you would like to check them out.

Bandcamp
Facebook

Line Up

Gary Byrne - Guitar and Vocals
Mick McCann - Bass and Vocals
Shane McCann - Guitar
James McLaughlin - Drums

►►►4 song Demo◄◄◄

 

The Rondelles - The Rondelles

Somehow this band got by me; I've only just recently found out about The Rondelles. They have a primitive, Pop Punk, Indie vibe; but at times, have a harder, darker edge. Top that off with a great female vocalist, playing guitar tuned to Drop D, a guy playing Drums, and Key's at the same time while standing up, and you have something totally cool, and unique. It's a shame, I wish I had gotten a chance to see them live. If you look on YouTube there's various live footage you can check out.
  The Rondelles were a three piece, (Although much of their live footage has a fourth member??) originally from Albuquerque New Mexico that formed around 1995 while still in High School. The band eventually move to Washington, D.C., until they disbanded in 2001. During that span, they released two full lengths, a number of singles, E.P's, comp tracks, and a couple of collection type releases as well. If you would like to read more about the band, here's a couple of places to start.
   Singer Juliet Swango Started another band called The Foxx, and Oakley Munson went on to form The Witnesses, Puddin' Tang, and is currently playing in Old Testament.

Line Up -

Juliet Swango - Vocals, Guitar
Yukiko Moynihan - Bass, Vocals
Oakley Munson - Drums, Keyboards

Teenbeat Records 1998

1. Safety In Numbers
2. Six o Clock
3. Shimmy Becker
4. Strike Out

►►►Phone Rings, No Answer◄◄◄

Dead Professional - Downtown At Sundown

  

Founded in 2013, Dead Professional is the musical brainchild of VA based songwriter John Harouff. Previous groups John played with include: The union of Man and a Woman and The Cinnamon Band.
  Downtown At Sundown has a clean, stripped down, minimalist, Poppy, Rock-n-Roll vibe to it. A few artists that come to mind are: Eddie Cochran, Marshall Crenshaw, Nick Lowe, Eddie Rabbitt, Springsteen, you get the idea. If you like what you hear, check out these sites for more tunes and info. Dead Professional, SoundCloud, and Facebook

The Vagabonds - Laugh Or Cry Single

The Vagabonds were a Connecticut three piece that were around from the mid 80's into the early 90's. I'm pretty sure their recorded output consisted of this record and a self released earlier single titled "Too Much Tension". It's a shame they didn't continue since, (In My Opinion) Laugh Or Cry is as good a Pop/Punk song as you will hear from that time period.





Line Up -

Walt Silva - Vocals, Guitar
Johnny Condon - Bass, Vocals
Lawrence Walter - Drums, Vocals

Animal Five Records 1991

1. Laugh Or Cry
2. I've Heard It All Before

►►►Do You Cross The Line◄◄◄

The Barreracudas - Nocturnal Missions

The Barreracudas are a Atlanta Georgia five piece, comprised of former members of The Hiss, Beat Beat Beat and Gentleman Jesse. I picked a couple of tunes for you to sample from their first full length, they also have a couple of singles to their credit. Musicaly, if your a fan of other Douchemaster releases, I'm guessing you'll be into this as well. It definitely has that Low-Fi, Pop/Punk sound the label's become known for. There's a number of catchy songs here including a cover of Cheap Tricks "Come On, Come On"; but for my taste, the real gem here is "Girl". If you like what you hear you can buy this LP from Douchemaster Here. Here's a couple of band links: Facebook, Myspace


Line Up -

Adrian Barrera - Vocals and Guitar
Warren Bailey - Guitar
Milton Chapman - Keyboards
George Reese - Bass
Todd Galpin - Drums

Douchemaster Records 2011

►►►A Moment Of Weakness◄◄◄

The Kwyet Kings - Talking On The Phone Single

  If I were putting together a list of my favorite Powerpop records from the 90's; this one would have to be pretty close to the top, both tunes are great.
  The Kwyet Kings were a Norwegian five piece that released half a dozen singles and three full lengths in the 90's that are all cool records worth owning. The band consisted of past and future members of The Cosmic Dropouts, The Lust-O-Rama, Gluecifer, The Yum Yums, Turbonegro, and others. If interested, you can check them out HERE.




The Band -

Arne Thelin - Vocals
Knut Schreiner - Guitar
Pal Andreassen - Guitar
Stig Amundsen - Bass
Otto Gamst - Drums

Sneakers Records 1996

1. Talking On The Phone
2. Ticket To Germany

►►►It's Now Or Never◄◄◄

Dean Dirg - Raus

  Here's the first of (what I hope) many posts on Neoteric Melodies. I originally posted this record on Shotgun Solution, 9/6/2008. I recently got a request for a re-up of it and thought it would be a good record to start things off with. Eventually, I plan on transferring all of the post 1990 records from Shotgun Solution to this site.
  Dean Dirg are a German four piece that formed in 1998; their first gig was in a graveyard the following year. In my previous post of this record, I described Dean Dirg's Sound as, Really red with some of the Quirkiness of the Hives; I think I'm still feeling the same about them now. If you want to look into these guys some more, here's a few places to start.

Myspace Facebook Dean Dirg.Net

Line Up (on this record) -

Doph - Vocals
Clauss - Guitar
Torsten - Bass
Borge - Drums

Prügelprinz Records 2007

►►►Raus◄◄◄