I've been a music fan since my parents gave me a record player for Christmas when I was still in grade school. The first record I remember owning was "Sesame Street Disco." I've been a professional writer since 2004, but writing long before that. My first published work was in a middle school literary magazine and was a story about a zoo in which the animals could talk.
If you find yourself near Concourse C at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and need some time to kill, what better place to do it than the Sub Pop Records store?
The place has a little bit of everything, and all of it is related to Sub Pop artists. The book collection is impressive, and I love how it contained stuff for young readers, too.
I was surprised to see the large number of cassettes they had for sale, it seemed to be larger than the number of CDs.
The cassettes wrap around three sides of this pillar.Whereas the CDs were on seven shelves.
As you can tell, there’s plenty of vinyl, and they had “travel friendly” 7″ vinyl, too.
They have a lot of “Loser edition” records here, which are limited edition colored vinyl versions of these albums. They also have cool stuff like this in some bins at the bottom of shelves.
Well, I need this in my life…Not to mention that Sleater-Kinney album.
There’s plenty of Sub Pop gear to buy as well. You can even buy a replica of Kurt Cobain’s famous flannel shirt.
Located at 1524 Frankford Avenue, Philadelphia Record Exchange is a crate-diggers dream and a great place for music lovers. I knew I was in the right place when I overheard the owner and a customer having a fun discussion about a rare Taco record.
My friend, Jessica, and I walked in and immediately saw this on the left…
…and this on the right.
Once you get back the initial barrage of sights upon entering the place, you see the back 2/3 of the store has so much vinyl that you could spend days digging through it and not see it all.
These boxes reminded me of being in a comic book store full of back issues. Those are full of 45s. See that white crate on top of the middle stack? This was the record at the front of it…
The place is a gold mine for stuff like this. Need more rarities? How about…?
That was on a wall in the back of the store, which looks like this…
Jessica and I spent close to an hour here and barely touched a handful of things when you consider how much they have. I mean, they even have cool Indian mediation music.
And boxes like this you can’t resist…
They also have two of the best clocks I’ve seen in a while.
I’m not sure if I need that one more in my life, or this one…
Then again, I might need this album in my life more than either of those clocks…
I didn’t walk out with that piece of vinyl, but I did score three cool CDs.
I don’t know how I haven’t owned physical copies of those debut albums by The Damned and The Psychedelic Furs before now, but that copy of the Sitting Target score was a great find and a steal at that price. There are many great bargains here, so bring your wallet.
Cold Cave returns with a new single of dark poetry and high energy any-wave for the spiritually lustful, titled “She Reigns Down.” This single drop marks their first new recorded material since 2021 and is an exemplary addition to their impressive oeuvre.
Since their inception in 2007, Cold Cave have released a number of singles, LP’s, EP’s, and compilations, and have become synonymous with the modern-day resurgence of darkwave and synth-pop. Last year, the band reissued their landmark releases Cremations, Love Comes Close, Cherish The Light Years, Full Cold Moon, and Fate In Seven Lessons on 180gram vinyl on Heartworm Press. Their continuous output solidifies Cold Cave’s past while catapulting them into the future.
Cold Cave spent the majority of 2023 on the road with the likes of Depeche Mode, The Cult, as headliners and more. The group, which features underground luminary Wes Eisold and multi-instrumentalist Amy Lee, continues to carry the torch for modern post-punk.
Back when goths and the gothic lifestyle was barely a thing and post-punk was yet to exist, five ladies in Hamburg, Germany (Anja Huwe – vocals, Caro May – drums, Manuela Rickers – guitar, Fiona Sangster – keyboards, and Rita Simon – bass) with little to no musical experience started a band, shocked their hair, and the world with their intensity, drive, and sound. They toured the world, opened for Cocteau Twins, played for legendary DJ John Peel, and released four albums before splitting up.
Now, Sacred Bones Records has released Xmal Deutschland’s Early Singles 1981-1982 collection to remind us of how influential they were. I mean, how much more of an influence on goth rock do you need than opening track “Schwarze Welt” (“Black World”)? It’s hard to pick out if Rickers’ guitar growls or Huwe’s snarling vocals is the darkest element of it. “Die Wolken” (“The Clouds”) is short and almost a poem of an instrumental, whereas “Großstadtindianer” (“City Indians”) is an angry proto-punk ripper with Sangster’s keyboards sounding like they’re stuffed full of angry bees.
May’s simple drums on “Kälbermarsch” (“Calf March”) build into a rhythm that almost induces panic. By the time we get to one of their biggest hits, “Incubus Succubus,” they’re really in the groove, and Simon’s bass has grown from being subtle in the background to a menacing shadowy figure at the forefront. May’s drumming on “Zu Jung Zu Alt” (“Too Young Told Old”) reaches near Alan Myers levels.
The title of “Blust Ist Liebe” (“Blood Is Love”) is already cool enough, but the way Huwe’s vocals move around the track (and Sangster’s keyboards) is even cooler. Closing the compilation with a live version of “Allein” (“Alone”) is a great touch, as it’s a powerhouse of a track with everyone in perfect synch. Rickers, Simon, Simon, and May are on fire throughout it, and Huwe absolutely commands the microphone. It’s a stunner.
It’s great that Xmal Deutschland are finding new fans and old fans are enjoying their revival. This collection is a great start to their catalogue. Don’t miss it.
Released via Little Cloud Records digitally and on 7″ vinyl and mixed by the iconic Jagz Kooner (Massive Attack, Primal Scream, Oasis, Garbage), this single is the first taste of the band’s sophomore album (out ths summer). The accompanying video, produced by Bradley Tuazon, follows ghosts on a velvety caper through an endless maze through streets and a 113,000+ square foot state-of-the-art concert venue, the band members appearing like rare birds in the roles of madcap non-conformist odd fellows living outside of the lines.
Sun Atoms is made up of bassist Peter G. Holmström (The Dandy Warhols, Pete International Airport), vocalist Jsun Atoms (The Upsidedown, Daydream Machine), multi-instrumentalist June Kang, Mars de Ponte (LoveBomb Go-Go), L.A. drummer Eric Rubalcava and Boise native Derek Spencer Longoria-Gomez(Hi Hazel).
2021 brought the band’s debut album‘Let There Be Light’, also produced by Holmström and mixed by the iconic Stephen Street (Blur, The Smiths, The Cranberries), involving performances by the likes of The Vandelles’ Jasno Swarez, The Black Angels’ Alex Maas and Gregg Williams (Sheryl Crow, Blitzen Trapper).
“When I was a child, I saw a being made of light climb through my bedroom window, they stood at the foot of my bed and reached out to touch my foot,” explains Jsun Atoms. “Mesmerizing and haunting, much like the new Sun Atoms single ‘Ceiling Tiles’, which reveals a story of characters living under a faux sky being manipulated to make it appear that the stars are aligning, when in fact, above this tiled Truman Show, the stars are doing just that. The characters in the song go about their day-to-day dance while the globe they are spinning on becomes an eye.”
Sun Atoms kicked off 2024 by playing three sold-out shows at Portland’s historic Revolution Hall, opening for Dinosaur Jr., which presented the perfect chance to shoot their new video. With its long stairways and iconic brick facade as the ideal backdrop for this monochromatic video, here unfolds a mysterious tale of characters living between worlds and connected by Jean Cocteau’s famously mirrored portal.
Sun Atoms has also played shows with Modest Mouse, Fishbone, Besnard Lakes, The Veldt and New Candys, as well as performing at Seattle’s Freakout Fest and Portland’s Lose Yr Mind Fest with Allah Las, Broncho and Night Beats.
The ‘Ceiling Tiles’ single is available on beautiful 7″ vinyland from fine digital platforms, including Apple Music, SpotifyandBandcamp. Sun Atoms are touring the West Coast in March-April, kicking off with Treefort Festival, where they join Ty Segall, A Place To Bury Strangers, Neko Case and Built To Spill. Tickets for this tour are now available to order.
TOUR DATES March 23 BOISE, ID – Treefort Festival, In-store at Record Exchange March 24 BOISE, ID – Treefort Festival, Shrine Social Club March 25 SACRAMENTO, CA – Old Ironsides March 27 LAS VEGAS, NV – The Usual Place March 28 LOS ANGELES, CA – The Moroccan Lounge March 29 PIONEERTOWN, CA – Red Dog Saloon March 30 SAN FRANSCISCO, CA – Kilowatt April 5 PORTLAND, Oregon – Star Theater April 6 – SEATTLE, WA – Seagaze Festival, Tractor Tavern Seattle
Located at 506 South Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Repo Records is a hip place with a ton of hip stuff for you to peruse and discover. I mean, the front door and windows alone display posters for The National, Danny Brown, Mannequin Pussy, Joy Division, and Led Zeppelin, so you know they’ll have something for you.
They have plenty of music, of course, but the first thing that grabbed my eyes when I walked in were two big bookcases of books, zines, and other freaky publications.
And yes, there’s plenty of music for you to gawk over and buy. This is just a small section of the vinyl available here. Here’s the back of the store…
Check that out. The Monkees, The Allman Brothers, De La Soul, and Gang Green all on the same wall.
A whole crate of 80s – 90s goth, post-punk, and industrial stuff. I could’ve dropped a lot of money here, and I almost snagged this MF DOOM record.
I opted for seven CDs and a couple patches instead…
Yes, that’s seven CDs because that Jesus and Mary Chain set is all five of their original albums. I already own a digital copy of Candy, but buying all five at that price was a steal. I’d wanted to pick up Viagra Boys‘ Welfare Jazz for a little while, and that Green Velvet disc was a surprise find. Also, the patches were too fun to pass up – especially the MF DOOM one since I didn’t snag the record.
Be sure to swing by Repo Records if you’re in town, but be warned…
Back in the early 1980s, Anja Huwe was the lead singer (although not originally by choice) of German post-punk pioneers Xmal Deutschland. The band tore across the world, inspiring many and becoming somewhat secret legends before they split up for other ventures. Huwe became a fashion model and visual artist, but music was still in her blood. Now, almost out of nowhere, she’s returned with a new album, Codes, and is exploring what it’s like to live in extremes – be it extreme environments, relationships, or beliefs.
Beginning with gothic, lonely guitar chords by fellow Xmal Deutschland bandmate Manuela Rickers, “Skuggornas” has Huwe confessing, “I don’t regret anything I’ve done. I have lived, and I have sinned.” Most of us can’t admit half of that, and here Huwe is doing it with elegance. “Rabenschwarz” (“Black Raven”) hits with powerful industrial crunch and themes of rebirth.
“I changed myself into myself,” Huwe sings on “Pariah.” The drum beats on it start at a slow boil and are soon cooking a luxurious brew. “Exit” moves around you like a cat that might be an android in disguise. Rickers’ guitar sounds like its being played in an abandoned factory a half-mile away (to produce a cool effect, mind you). “O Wald” (“Oh Forest”) could easily fit into a science fiction movie or the soundtrack to season five of Stranger Things with its computer-generated 16-bit-like synth beats.
“Zwischenwelt” (“Intermediate World”) would also fit on that soundtrack with both its theme of being between worlds and also its misty synths and Huwe’s beautiful vocals on it. “Sleep with One Eye Open” reminds me a bit of early Peter Gabriel tracks with its neat bass line, slightly weird percussion, and Huwe’s delivery. “How shall we face the cold?” Huwe asks on the somewhat stark, yet aggressive “Living in the Forest” – inspired by diary entries of a boy, Moshe Shnitzki, who left his home in 1942 to live in the White Russian Forest. “The woods are lovely, dark and deep,” she sings on the following, closing track, “Hideaway,” leaving us with hope that more music from Huwe (and Xmal Deutschland?) will come.
Released, and still available, for free on their Bandcamp page, King Buffalo‘s Live at Burning Manis a great capture of them doing what they do best – melting minds and faces, and what better place to do it than the Burning Man Festival during their first trip there?
Starting with a scorching version of “Silverfish,” the trio immediately hook the crowd – many of whom might not have known who they were. It was the first time they’d played the festival, after all. The guitar solo on “Grifter” sounds like a test car racing across a salt flat. People are already shouting, “Love you guys!” by the third song (“Shadows”).
“Longing to Be the Mountain” is their ten-minute-plus psychedelic take on a classic Zen story. “Repeater” is probably on rotation in a Zen retreat on a mountaintop somewhere, as it seems to make you levitate. “Orion,” one of their best-known tracks, absolutely rips here. You can tell that King Buffalo and the Burning Man crowd were feeling it by this point, and everyone knew they were experiencing something special.
“Red Star 1 & 2” is a massive double dose of mind-altering sounds (nearly fifteen minutes in length). “Loam” is trippy and heavy at the same time. The set ends with the epic “Cerberus,” sending the Burning Man crowd back into the desert with visions of things on the horizon they hadn’t noticed before the show began.
King Buffalo are, despite their frequent touring, still a bit of a secret. This live album gives us all another reason to learn their secrets, the number of which seem to increase with each listen and performance.
Imagine this: It’s barely post-pandemic. Your brain is still foggy. You’re not sure whom to hug or trust. You’re sick of Netflix. You’re sick of your house. You’re sick of being sick. You need something, anything, to shake you out of it.
Then along comes Welfare Jazz by Swedish post-punk rockers / goofballs Viagra Boys to slap you across the back of the head and remind you to get back to partying and laughing.
I mean, don’t we all know somebody like the lead character in the opening track, “Ain’t Nice”? Lead singer Sebastian Murphy warns a potential lover about his bad temper (“Trust me, honey, you don’t want me. I’ll start screamin’ if you look at me funny.”) and habits (“I’ll borrow your stuff and never put it back. I’m kinda hungry, could you give me a snack?”). There’s some much good stuff here that it’s difficult to tell who shines the most. Is it Henrik Höckert‘s bass? Elias Jungqvist‘s quirky synth bleeps? Oscar Carls‘ saxophone honks?
“Toad” is a story of a man who can’t settle down with someone who’s perfect for him. “I don’t need no woman tellin’ me when to go to bed and to brush my teeth,” Murphy sings as the rest of the band creates some kind of wild blues chaos behind him that swirls around like a menacing pack of hyenas. On “Into the Sun,” Murphy laments his actions and tries to repair the damage he’s done, but it’s too late. Benjamin Vallé‘s guitar notes are simple and sorrowful. It’s a blues tune hidden in a post-rock cut.
The bouncing synth-bass of “Creatures” is outstanding, and Murphy’s lyrics are a shout-out to those us not controlling the majority of the world’s wealth. “Shooter” is a wild psychedelic jazz instrumental and Tor Sjödén‘s drums on it are as tight as stuff heard on early Devo records. “Secret Canine Agent” is a song about, well, a spy dog.
“Jesus Christ, I feel alive! Just last week I thought that I was gonna die!” Murphy sings on “I Feel Alive,” summing up pretty much everyone’s post-pandemic attitude. The band’s slow juke-joint blues stomp of the song (and Murphy’s vocal delivery), however, reveals our true feelings: exhaustion, confusion, and indecision.
“Girls & Boys” has Murphy (and the rest of the band) in a panic as he tries to figure out what’s going to bring him happiness in a post-pandemic world? Girls? “They always try to tie me down.” Boys? “They stay out all night, don’t go home.” Drugs? “They make me feel I’m all alone.” Love? “Somethin’ that I know nothin’ about.” Shrimp? “Bu-bu-bu-blah-blah-blah-blah.” Dogs? “The only real friends that I got.” So, it’s either dogs or “One day I’m gonna burn it down.”
The album ends with two love songs: “To the Country” and “In Spite of Ourselves.” The first reflects a common desire during the pandemic: Let’s get out of the city and away from everyone where “it would all work out” and “it would be easier.” Or so we think. The instrumentation on it reminds us that you can’t run away from yourself. The second song, featuring Amy Taylor of Amyl and The Sniffers on guest vocals, is about a dysfunctional couple who realize they’re perfect for each other.
Welfare Jazz and all of Viagra Boys’ discography, really, is more clever than you realize at first blush. They write songs that poke fun at toxic masculinity, rich elitists, annoying party girls, drug addicts, and sex freaks, but also make them relatable. You know at least one person described on any given album by them, and Welfare Jazz is full of such characters. It’s like listening to conversations in an all-night diner at 3am, where they’re serving a fried shrimp special, and the diner is in the same block as a bodega, a strip club, and a Radio Shack that is somehow still in business.
The last time I saw Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs in Chicago, it was their first time there, let alone their first U.S. tour. It was at Chicago’s Sleeping Village, and there were maybe eighty people there. They flattened that place.
Now they were playing Chicago’s Lincoln Hall and the size of their audience had tripled. There were a small number of us who’d been at the Sleeping Village show, and it seemed only a couple dozen more who knew much about them. I envied their innocence. They had no idea what was about to unleashed on them.
First up, however, were Chicago’s own Edging – a wild post-punk band that my friend described as “They look like a bunch of people who all answered the same ‘looking for a roommate’ ad and then decided to start a band.” It’s accurate, and it somehow works. We only got to see the last three songs of their set, but it was wild and fun, and their saxophone player (around whom the band seems to rotate) plays a crazy horn.
The porcine quintet were next and they started out with a psychedelic version of “GNT” that grew into a menacing beast. They barely let up for a moment, with heavy-hitters like “Rubbernecker” and “Big Rig” flooring those people who didn’t know what to expect.
Some mosh pits started a couple times, but they were short-lived and not well attended. I think this is because people were too amazed at the sheer amount of weight they were dropping on the place to even think of moshing. I, too, noticed how much heavier they were from the first time I’d seen them. Songs like “Mr. Medicine” and “Terror’s Pillow” practically laid on you like a weighted blanket…thrown on you from a fourth-floor balcony.
“Sludgy” was a word I heard multiple times as my friend and I walked out of the venue. People who hadn’t experienced a live Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs show were marveling at the thick, almost viscous sound they’d been pummeled with for a little over an hour (and no encore, as the band said they decided at the start that “Encores are for bullshitters.”)
Don’t miss them. They’re touring the U.S. a lot through the spring. You need this fae-melting stuff in your life to sandblast you out of your doldrums.
