Los Angeles-based punk trio Flat Worms announce their third release, the Into the Iris EP, out on February 8th via Drag City imprint, GOD? Records.
Composed of bassist/vocalist Tim Hellman (Thee Oh Sees), drummer Justin Sullivan (Night Shop), and guitarist/ vocalist Will Ivy (Dream Boys), the band also shares lead single “Shouting At The Wall”, a tightly wound, buzzing hard hitter that “serves as a reminder to avoid temptations of self-indulgent anger and to stay focused.” The six-track EP, recorded by Ty Segall in his home, is a persistent, determined response to an apocalyptic era, one that sees deserted strip malls and surreal headlines. Into the Iris follows their self-titled album, released via Castle Face in 2017. Flat Worms play their record release show in Los Angeles on Fri. Feb. 8th at Zebulon.
Listen to “Shouting At The Wall” – https://youtu.be/6dEDRwJwT7U
Preorder Into the Iris – http://www.dragcity.com/products/into-the-iris
Into the Iris tracklist: 1. Surreal New year 2. Into The Iris 3. Plastic At Home 4. Shouting At The Wall 5. Scattered Palms 6. At The Citadel
Keep your mind open.
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Fat Possum Records is set to release four classic (and remastered) X albums starting next month. First up is Los Angeles (release date February 22nd), then Wild Gift a month later, and Under the Big Black Sun and More Fun in the New World on April 12th.
All four albums will be released in vinyl, CD, and digital formats. Formed in 1977, X quickly established themselves as one of the best bands in the first wave of LA’s flourishing punk scene; becoming legendary leaders of a punk generation. Featuring vocalist Exene Cervenka, vocalist/bassist John Doe, guitarist Billy Zoom, and drummer DJ Bonebrake, their debut 45 was released on the seminal Dangerhouse label in 1978, followed by seven studio albums released from 1980-1993. X’s first two studio albums, Los Angeles and Wild Gift are ranked by Rolling Stone among the top 500 greatest albums of all time. Over the years, the band has released several critically acclaimed albums, topped the musical charts with regularity and performed their iconic hits on top television shows such as Letterman and American Bandstand. In 2017, the band celebrated their 40th anniversary in music with a Grammy Museum exhibit opening, a Proclamation from the City of Los Angeles and being honored at a Los Angeles Dodgers game, where Exene threw out the first pitch and John Doe sang the National Anthem. The band continues to tour with the original line-up.
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Here we are at my top 10 albums of the year. Read on to see who made the cut.
#10: Khruangbin – Con Todo El Mundo– I was a bit late to the Khruangbin party, but I’m glad I showed up. This three-piece makes beautiful psychedelic jazz with few vocals. The tones they produce are so clear they’re almost like Tibetan mediation singing bells.
#9: Janelle Monae – Dirty Computer– Ms. Monae is a genius. She can blend hip-hop, R&B, electro, jazz, and rock with such ease that it sounds like she’s cloned herself at least five times and each of those clones studied a different genre to mastery. Knowing her love of androids and science fiction, this wouldn’t surprise me at all if it were true.
#8 – Cookin’ Soul and MF DOOM – DOOM XMAS– I don’t remember how I stumbled upon this album after Christmas Day, but I’m glad I did. It’s a wicked mix of lyrics by MF DOOM and Christmas-inspired beats by Cookin’ Soul. Any DOOM is good DOOM, and this collaboration is among his best.
#7: Throw Down Bones – Two – I stumbled upon this excellent electro / industrial / rave album on Bandcamp and it turned out to be the best electronic music record I heard all year. This will be booming in your favorite club soon if it isn’t already.
#6: Ron Gallo – Stardust Birthday Party– I’ve enjoyed Mr. Gallo’s garage punk music since I saw him open for Screaming Females in a dive bar a couple years ago. Now he’s put out a Zen-punk record that blew my mind and included my top single of the year – “Always Elsewhere.”
The top five will be revealed tomorrow!
Keep your mind open.
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#15: MIEN – (self-tited) – This psychedelic supergroup (featuring members of the Black Angels, Elephant Stone, the Earlies, and the Horrors) had a fine debut indeed with this record that dabbles in some of the darker sides of psychedelia.
#14: Slaves – Acts of Fear and Love– How can two lads make so much punk noise? Easy, they’re powered by anger, satire, ferocious beats, and shredding guitar. These cats are probably the Next Big Thing, but I doubt they give a damn about that.
#13: Hprizm – Magnetic Memory– This rap record has more layers than an onion, wicked beats, philosophy, and calls for the disenfranchised of all colors, sexes, and creeds to band together.
#12: D-Tension – The Violence of Zen– Fierce hip-hop. That’s the best way I can describe this solid record from Boston MC D-Tension. He’s one of the wittiest rhymers out there and deserves to be heard more across the world.
#11: Caroline Rose – Loner – This pop-punk record is full of witty lyrics, sex, and snark. Rose is like a ninja – jumping out of the shadows to wallop you and then retreating back into the rock and roll shadows to plan her next attack.
We’re into the top 10 next!
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#20: Diagonal – Tomorrow – My wife doesn’t really like shoegaze music. She just doesn’t get it. This record, however, made her say she might grow to like shoegaze. I can’t write a better recap than that.
#19: Blackwater Holylight (self-titled) – This debut from these dark psych rockers has sexy goth touches, doom riffs, and psychedelic flair that made it high on my list this year.
#18: Neko Case – Hell-On – Case’s latest is another beautiful record of masterful songwriting, sometimes heartbreaking lyrics, and plenty of folk, Americana, and outlaw touches.
#17: Shopping – The Official Body – This post-punk fun-fest is poppy, peppy, and punky. It’s fun from beginning to end.
#16: Terminal Mind – Recordings – Speaking of punk, this reissue of rare material from Austin, Texas punk legends Terminal Mind was a great time capsule from the Regan administration and full of anger, chugging riffs, and trashing of authority figures.
#25: Protomartyr – Consolation – This EP from these garage punks is solid and intriguing. Sporting two tracks with the Breeders’ Kim Deal as well, the record hits hard but knows when to be soft.
#24: Steve Hauschildt – Dissolvi – I hadn’t heard of Steve Hauschildt until this album somewhat fell into my lap. It’s intriguing electro that reveals more layers with each listen.
#23: Bev Rage and the Drinks – Cockeyed – Besides having the naughtiest album name on this list, Cockeyed is also one of the best punk records I’ve heard in a long while. Queercore punk is back in business, bitches!
#22: Public Practice – Distance Is a Mirror – This post-punk EP from prior members of WALL was a welcome addition to my collection of post-punk records. It’s full of razor sharp lyrics and equally sharp guitars, bass, and beats.
#21: All Them Witches – ATW – These Nashville psychedelic blues rockers upped the volume and fuzz and became a three-piece to get back to basics and melt faces.
#15: “Christmas Time Is Here” by Khruangbin – Seriously, their cover of the Vince Guaraldi Trio classic is a pure delight and a lovely oasis during the crazy Christmas season.
#14: “I Came Back to Bitch” by L7 – The exact opposite of the above track, this tune is a kick in the junk from these punk legends who have been simmering with aggression and fire for a few years now. It was a welcome comeback for them and a great example of what to expect on their upcoming album this year.
#13: “Black Habit” by MIEN – Possibly the creepiest track on my top 20 list. This song was the first single release by this psychedelic supergroup, and it instantly got under your skin and crawled around in there.
#12: “Fresh” by D-Tension – Full disclosure, D-Tension and I knew each other in middle school. He grew up to be a major player in the Boston hip-hop scene and on Boston radio and this year he put out one of the best hip-hop singles of 2018. My jaw dropped when I heard this.
#11: “The Hype” by Shopping – I knew this song by these British post-punks was going to be in my top singles list as soon as I heard it. The bass groove is wicked and the track feels and sounds like a good time.
Who makes the top 10? Come back tomorrow to find out, amigos.
Keep your mind open.
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British punk duo Slaves‘ third album, Acts of Fear and Love, is one of those albums that assures you guitar-driven records aren’t dead.
Getting right in your face from the outset, drummer / lead vocalist Isaac Holman asks, “What are you doing?” and claims, “Nobody is the shit.” on “The Lives They Wish They Had” – a sizzling diatribe against selfie culture, Facebook profiles, and “a desperate need for acceptance.” The second half of it might be the most punk thing you’ve heard this year. “Cut and Run” is one of Slaves’ catchiest tunes with guitarist Laurie Vincent putting down distorting, squealing riffs and Holman almost getting funky with his stand-up kit.
The punk fuzz is back with full force on “Bugs” (a song about two-faced politicians causing “another letdown generation”), as Vincent’s guitar chords crawl all over you and Holman’s beats are liable to induce a mosh pit wherever you may be while listening to it. “Magnolia” is about the gleam and sheen put on British suburbia while the country struggles with Brexit, xenophobia, and an uncertain economic future. “It’s gotta be perfect,” Holman sings again and again.
“Daddy” is a little, clever tune about men and their mid-life crises. “Chokehold,” a song about a break-up, has Vincent putting down angular post-punk riffs as Holman sings about drowning his sorrows and noticing the smell of his girlfriend’s hairspray on his pillow after she’s gone.
“Photo Opportunity” is a clever track about being famous as Holman tries to tell a fan that he means no disrespect for turning down a request for a photo with him, but he’s a busy guy…although he later has second thoughts as he goes out with his mates and realizes not much has changed in his life. The opening guitar roar on “Artificial Intelligence” will snap you awake better than a mug of coffee. Vincent’s guitar is fierce throughout the whole track, almost relentless in fact.
The title track closes the record. The title could be a reflection of the reasons behind Brexit, the day-to-day workings of any relationship, or how we make everyday decisions…or none of the above. Holman mentions a teacher who taught him hate doesn’t exist, just “acts of fear and love,” and a friend who would “do anything for anyone” whose decisions / acts of fear and love eventually led him to an eight-year prison sentence.
Acts of Fear and Love is a solid record. Guitar rock is not dead. Punk is not dead. Slaves, three records in, are just getting started.
I was 14 when Chicago punk legends Naked Raygun released their classic album All Rise. It would be another two years before I was able to drive a beat-up station wagon that formerly belonged to my Uncle Tony to a punk rock club about 45 minutes from my house and there become aware of Naked Raygun and their cult status.
It’s easy to figure out how they rose so fast in the mid-1980’s punk scene. All Rise‘s opener, “Home of the Brave,” is an instant anthem for the Reagan era. Pierre Kezdy‘s bass on “Dog at Large” is heavy enough for a metal band. “Knock Me Down” begins with a subtle start, but soon roars to life with frantic drums by Eric Spicer and Jeff Pezzati‘s snotty lyrics about a girl he can’t shake after she’s dumped him for good. One can’t help but wonder if “Mr. Gridlock” refers to President Regan, Chicago mayor Harold Washington, or someone else. The song has a deadly swagger to it, as if it’s looking for a fight. John Haggerty‘s guitar sounds like a tuned chainsaw on it. “The Strip” moves back and forth between chugging punks riffs and Husker Du-like jams as Naked Raygun pay homage to a seedy hotel-bar. “I Remember” has some of Spicer’s wildest drumming on the album.
Pezzati’s vocals on “Those Who Move” (about speaking truth to power and freedom of information, among other things) are urgent and still relevant in 2018. Kezdy’s bass on “The Envelope” certainly pushes the envelope of the studio amps because it nearly knocks you to the floor right out of the gate. Not to be outdone, Haggerty shreds on “Backlash Jack.” As soon as “Peacemaker” starts, you get the feeling that it’s not going to be all that peaceful. It isn’t. It’s heavy, squealing, and even a bit terrifying. The album ends with “New Dreams,” a punk anthem that sounds as fresh, raw, and vital today as it did in 1985.
All Rise is classic working class punk rock by four lads who deserve to be in the same conversations that bring up Fugazi, Bad Religion, DRI, the Dead Kennedys, and other legendary punk groups.
“A kind of collision between Hawkwind at its most hyped, the Butthole Surfers at their most acidic with little doses of Krautrock thrown in for good measure.” — PopMatters
Houston trio Darwin’s Finches share the first track from their forthcoming album today via PopMatters. Hear and share “HWY 787” HERE. (Direct Bandcamp HERE.)
With a name making reference to obscure minutia of Charles Darwin’s research regarding the adaptive evolution of birds’ beaks, one might expect a certain esoteric character to a band. And Darwin’s Finches is certainly an anomaly of its own. But that doesn’t mean that they’re not a brilliantly catchy band. In fact, Good Morning Creatures II, the trio’s third album is a tart and twangy, hook-filled 10-song batch of great rock songs that sound as if they’d evolved completely out of contact with the rest of the rock world.
The Galveston, TX based band of pranksters, formed around a biology class, who got their start crashing biker bars and playing shows that provoked fisticuffs, Darwin’s Finches aren’t a normal band.
The album’s music hearkens to late-80s weirdo indie-rock tinged with psychedelic Western vibes like Camper Van Beethoven, Butthole Surfers, Alice Donut, and the Pixies combined with the demented melodies of The Frogs. Guitarist/vocalist and bandleader Justin Clay sports a master crooner’s wail; sounding something akin to a young Paul Westerberg.
Darwin’s Finches was formed in 2006 by Justin as part band, part prank. Joined originally by friends in his Biology class, Clay and a rotating cast of players have played everything from pop-up shows at biker bars (to mixed reviews), art museums, random national parks, shows at clubs that ended with fruit fights and a culminating three-hour show at the legendary Balinese Room that ended with a guitar sacrificed to the Gulf of Mexico.
Justin took a break from music in 2012 for two years to enjoy his family and the birth of his son, Odin. When he returned to music in 2014, he reformed Darwin’s Finches with long-time music partners, Cody Honey on drums and Morgan Moody on bass.
Good Morning Creatures II will be available on LP and download on December 14th, 2018 via Artificial Head Record & Tapes (AHRT).
DARWIN’S FINCHES LIVE:
11/17 Houston, TX @ Bohemeo’s
12/21 Houston, TX @ Fitzgerald’s (Cowpunk X-mas Party & Farewell to Fitzgerald’s)
