Japanther. Japanther's Master of Pigeons record is fucking great. I'm not sure how to describe it, but it's something like power pop, but punkier; hardcore, but not always that fast and always singable. Whatever it is, it's fucking loud and catchy. You can sing along. You want to sing along. I jumped around a lot, and I am incapable of faking enthusiasm. I also rarely move.

Their microphones are two phone headset things. They covered "Boys Don't Cry". The Cure is a major point of reference for this band I think. At least on this record, I don't know what to say about "Leatherwings", "Throw the Body In Rikki Lake", or "Wolfenswan" or any of that stuff. Someone told me they're "an 'oi' punk band" but I didn't see that at all.

Master of Pigeons. I recommend it strongly. Pick it up.

http://japanther.com  ¶ 10:00 PM 0 comments

  So So Many White White Tigers! www.myspace.com/sosomanywhitewhitetigers

I just ordered this band's new picture disc on Weird Forest a few days ago. I am highly anticipating its arrival. You can download four spazztastic songs at the myspace.com page I posted above, garaunteed to cause involuntary twitching and bouncing. Futuristic noise that sounds like it would be coming from some sort of extraterrestrial bright lights of pure energy that love the punk rock. Other bands could learn a thing or two.


also: here

DIG IT.  ¶ 11:06 PM 0 comments

  what the kids want what the kids want

I like this band. They're kind of mall punk-y but I really like them. The singer's very good, the music is very catchy and VERY fun. They have a 7", a CD, and a split 7" with Dear Nora, in that order. I've heard three of the four songs on their website and plan on ordering their stuff when I get my shit together to make a trip to the post office.

You can find the MP3s here.

Enjoy.  ¶ 5:49 AM 0 comments

  PANTHERS Let's Get Serious EP

I think Panthers are my favorite new band now. I randomly purchased their Dim Mak follow up EP to their debut LP Are You Down?!? on the ineffable Troubleman Unlimited Records.

I must have more stuff. I only know they have two other full-lenths, Are You Down?!? and Things Are Strange on Vice Records. Not owning those, I can't tell you much about them, but I can tell you a bit about the EP.

There are five songs. They are all awesome. Great titles, too:

Thank Me With Your Hands
It's Not The Heat, It's The Humility
Post-Fascist Fantasies
Sexist Not Sexy
Don't Be a Dick

This is very much guitar rock, but there's really a lot going on. All the musicians are very talented and versatile, but there is not a moment on this record where I feel they went for technique over aesthetic. This music is loud and fast and aggressive like the best punk rock should be, but it's also thoughtful and composed. The lyrics are witty and well written.

The most important thing I think is the most subtle: the rhythm. This band's got their shit together, Each instrument is going somewhere and plays an important part to the sound as a whole, but I don't think you'd necessarilly think that listening to it. It's not thrust upon you. Unlike a lot of their Williamsburg uber-hip peers they don't force their rhythmic accents down your throat by starting and stopping constantly and lurching around, there's always something going on and all the instruments have something to do. This is the kind of band you could probably sit with and listen to the record four or five times just listening to each individual instrument trying to hear which way they're all going. This is the mark of a real band who knows what they're doing.

Listen to this band.


PANTHERS  ¶ 11:48 PM 0 comments

  S�dosteuropa Index S�dosteuropa Index

Mystery site!  ¶ 10:58 PM 0 comments

  Winter Vacation - Holland, 1980 Winter Vacation - Holland, 1980 (Asaurus Records)

Holland, 1980 is consistantly very nice and pleasant. One of those pop albums which is pretty much irresistable. Quiet and gentle mostly, with an almost Dylan-esque folk break. The music is impeccable, like a marble wall you can't find a nick in to disrupt the smooth appearance. The album is almost ambient at times. Winter Vacation lives up to its moniker with cool sounds throughout the record. You get whispy clean guitars, organs, pianos, and of course drums and bass, along with David Yourdon's (from Brooklyn's Pathways) wavering voice with a treble-y lo--fi four-track tone (though no tape hiss audible to these ears).

Beginning with "Sightseeing" the record takes on a carefree attitude, and we go through the little world illustrated so attractively by Yourdon song by song. Winter Vacation certainly has a sound with which it could be indentified by the listener, Yourdon does take some time to make use of other directions in his songs, especially on the noisy "Life Imitates Arthur," which seems to boast the bells and whistles of a busy port town, "Upstate Estate," which reminds me of Bob Dylan's more thoughtful, sweeter material on The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan, and the instrumental "Balloon Township," which features a droning organ and very nice melody. The albums ends with the almost meloncholy, reflective song, "The Alps," which I think best supports singing along on this album, and is a really great payoff for the rest of the record, even though the rest of the record wasn't any work anyway.  ¶ 7:45 PM 0 comments

  Heraclitus Sayz, Asaurus Records I'd like to take this moment to suggest everyone make a trip over to http://heraclitussayz.com and check out the interview with Asaurus Records head, Matthew Barringer.

Heraclitus Sayz is a little site covering lo-fi stuff. He can get pretty weird, I think, but it's still a very good site. He's very passionate about this stuff, at a time where we need more genuine passion.

Asaurus Records rocks, too. Little quirky label having fun with music. We need more of that, too.  ¶ 6:31 PM 0 comments