Category: Rewind Reviews

Rewind Review: Oh Sees – Mutilator Defeated at Last (2015)

I have no idea if that weird, prickly pear-headed humanoid holding what appears to be either a cruller or a tower of onion rings is the “Mutilator” mentioned in the title of Thee Oh Sees‘ 2015 album Mutilator Defeated at Last or the created that is about to defeated Mutilator on some sort of rope bridge or walkway with a slime-covered railing. I do know, however, that it rocks beginning to end and has some of their biggest hits.

The loopy bass of Tim Hellman (his first album with the band) gets things off to a great start on “Web” – the sticky, funky opener that includes wild drumming from Nick Murray (also his first foray with the band) and John Dwyer‘s usual guitar work that shifts from frenetic to psychedelic as fast as Barry Allen turning a corner. “Withered Hand” starts out with the sounds of wind rattling through a haunted house and Murray’s snare drum sounding like a hissing adder before Dwyer unloads his guitar riffs like a cauldron of hot oil shot from a trebuchet.

“Poor Queen” is one of Oh Sees‘ / O Sees‘ / OCS‘ tunes that’s almost a shoegaze track. Dwyer’s vocals have just enough reverb and the guitar and synths blend together like incense and tea. “Turned Out Light” has a great garage rock swing to it that is pure fun to hear and probably to play for Dwyer and his crew.

“Lupine Ossuary” is a wild ride that comes at you from so many angles that it’s like being in the middle of a mosh pit that has a live hornet’s nest being kicked around on the floor, but the hornets are as drunk, high, or geared up as everyone else. “Sticky Hulks” is almost seven minutes of psychedelia with Dwyer’s guitar sometimes sounding like sonar pings and his electric organ work sounding like church music. “Holy Smoke” is (Dare I say it?) a pretty song. Dwyer’s acoustic guitar picking and strumming mixes well with Murray’s simple beats, Hellman’s bass line walk, and Dwyer’s complimentary synths.

“Rogue Planet” rolls and tumbles like its namesake charging through space toward its destructive meeting with another celestial body. The closer, “Palace Doctor,” sends us out on a psychedelic note with Murray’s drums slinking in the background with Dwyer’s vocals as the guitar and bass come forward like inquisitive ghosts.

Perhaps Mutilator was defeated by this album and we all need to thank Thee Oh Sees for saving us from an extra-dimensional threat by the power of their rock. I wouldn’t be surprised if that were the case. Their stuff can shake walls and reality, and this album certainly proves this true.

Keep your mind open.

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Rewind Review: King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard – Float Along – Fill Your Lungs (2013)

It’s a bit difficult to believe that King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard‘s Float Along – Fill Your Lungs is seven years old as I write this because it sounds like they could’ve released it yesterday. It mixes psychedelia with bluesy grooves and does so without effort.

They’re also one of the few bands out there who would dare to make the opening track on an album almost sixteen minutes long, and one of the few who can pull off such a feat. That song is “Head On / Pill.” Lead singer Stuart Mackenzie‘s vocals are trippier than a lava lamp and the addition of panning sitar is outstanding. The song builds into a wild jam with vocal chants and guitar chords that swirl like a dust devil working its way up to becoming a full-blown dust storm.

“I Am Not a Man Unless I Have a Woman” is layered with a lot of cool reverb and echoed vocal effects to keep the mind melt going. “God Is Calling Me Back Home” puts acoustic guitars in the front and makes the vocals sound like they’re coming out of an old radio before it turns into a wild freakout.

“30 Past 7” brings back the sitar and it blends well with guitar riffs that sound like eagle calls echoing over an Australian desert. “Let Me Mend the Past” is a favorite at their live shows as Ambrose Kenny Smith takes over lead vocals with a passioned plea for an angry lover to forgive him. The sweaty, gritty guitars and beats and somewhat goth lyrics (i.e., “I hope I don’t wake up.”) of “Mystery Jack” are the kinds of things Anton Newcombe dreams about while strolling to a German coffee house and taking a drag on a clove cigarette. Smith sings lead on “Pop in My Step,” which is a poppy and snappy as you hope it will be. The title track ends the record on a meditative, trippy note.

It’s one of their best records, really. It blends psychedelic rock, blues, microtonal bits, and Eastern Indian music into a heady brew that leaves you feeling pretty cool after you’ve consumed it.

Keep your mind open.

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Rewind Review: Com Truise – Silicon Tare (2016)

Com Truise‘s 2016 EP Silicon Tare packs more synthwave goodness into its five tracks than most full-length synthwave albums from other artists.

“Sunspot” starts with a horror movie synth-stab and then the wicked beat drops in and you’re strolling down the 16-bit video game road much like the person depicted on the EP’s cover. “Forgive,” with its snappy beats, dance floor synths, and fuzzed bass, is Harold Faltermeyer‘s “Axel F” if “Axel F” was a champion kickboxer / ninja / international spy instead of a street-smart Detroit cop transplanted to Beverly Hills.

“Diffraction” bounces and blips and bumps like something in a futuristic disco. It’s a delight. Truise layers beats upon beats and also knows when to pull out some of those layers at the right times to keep your mind and hips moving without getting overloaded. The title track is music to bump from your Blade Runner Spinner as it cruises down a Chinatown street or over high-rise buildings full of people who might be more human than human. “du Zirconia” closes the album with electronic chops that could double as video game rifle fire sounds, synths that chirp like robotic birds, and bass that softly hums like a well-tuned speeder bike engine.

Silicon Tare is one of those EP’s that is over far too soon. You will want this to be a full album, even a double album, but Com Truise has plenty of material out there from before and after this (including a new record, In Decay, Too, coming out in December). Don’t hesitate to check out his catalogue.

Keep your mind open.

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Rewind Review: Sidiku Buari – Disco Soccer (2019 reissue)

What do you get when you have an African athletic hero studying music in New York who became obsessed with baseball and disco and with bringing his native music into dance clubs in 1979? You get Sidiku Buari‘s fun album Disco Soccer.

Mixing English and his native Ga language vocals along with West African rhythms and disco beats, Buari came to make everyone have fun in 1979. “Koko Si” is a song encouraging everyone to make love and get down when you’re feeling blue. The song is complete with women moaning in orgasm, lush strings, wah-wah’s guitar, and basically everything you want in a disco track. The funky bass on “I’m Ready” will be stuck in your head for days, and that’s not a bad thing. “I’m Ready” was the first song I heard by Buari and I knew right away that I had to track down this album after hearing this great jam about being open for anything.

“Let me feed your body, baby, with my natural thing,” Buari sings on “Feed My Body.” You can pretty much guess where the song is going from there, and the track speeds up to a horn section-heavy groove. “It’s What’s Happening” could easily have been a theme song to a cool 1970’s film. It’s the first track on the album in which Buari sings in his native language, and you can tell right away that he’s loving the chance to do it. “Hard Times” is the soundtrack of an (unfortunately) unmade Shaft film. Buari sings about poverty, world hunger, and suffering on both sides of the Atlantic as his drummer (Errol “Crusher” Bennett) goes wild on the track with some of his heftiest grooves that sound like he’s about to break his high-hat at any moment.

“Born with Music” slows things down a bit, but the African hand percussion beats are still prominent. Disco synths and piano take the forefront on “African Hustle.” “Kinyi Kawali” has bold brass and guitar licks that sound simple but are trickier than you think. It blends well with “Adesa A,” which flows well into “Minyo.” The three tracks make for a sweet mix of African disco (and the violin work on “Minyo” is sharp). The closer, “Games We Used to Play,” sends you out on a bit of a synthwave note.

It was great of the UK label BBE to reissue this gem because it deserves to be heard by a lot more people.

Keep your mind open.

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Rewind Review: Delta 5 – Singles & Sessions 1979 – 81 (2006)

Hailing from Leeds, United Kingdom, Delta 5 were, and still are, a highly influential post-punk band consisting of Ross Allen (bass and vocals), Kelvin Knight (drums), Bethan Peters (bass and vocals), Alan Riggs (guitar and vocals), and Julz Sale (vocals). They took the BBC airwaves a bit by storm after radio DJ legend John Peel was given a pre-release copy of their first single, “Mind Your Own Business,” and he asked them the next day to do a live session on air. You can’t ask for a much better start than that.

Singles & Sessions 1979-81 is a great collection of not only the band’s greatest hits, but also great live tracks and remixes. That first single is a post-punk masterpiece with groovy bass by Allen and Peters and Sale tag-teaming the vocals about people who can’t leave well enough alone (“Can I have a taste of your ice cream? Can I lick the crumbs from your table? Can I interfere in your crisis? No. Mind your own business.”). Knight’s drums have a slight disco touch to them, and Riggs’ guitar enters the song like a knife-wielding assassin. “Now That You’ve Gone” (the B-side to “Mind Your Own Business”) is a tale of longing (“Now that you’ve gone, I find it hard to go on.”) backed with guitars and bass that border on gothic surf.

Knight’s beats on “Anticipation” are top-notch, bringing early Devo and New Order tracks to mind. “You” was supposed to be the band’s first single, and it would not have been a bad choice. It’s peppy, fun, and snarky. “You don’t see what I see,” Sale sings on “Try” – a song that tries to get through the thick skulls of men to enlighten them as to what women go through every day in everything from work to just walking down the street. “Colour” is a short, sharp track, and the opening guitars of “Delta 5” are jagged yet cool.

“Make Up” is a damn fine track about superficiality with Riggs’ guitar wandering around the room like an angry cat and Allen’s bass keeping the song rooted. “There’s no need to worry, it’s not an affair,” Sale sings on “Triangle,” which seems to be a witty song about a threesome. Peters seems have a blast with the bass lick on it. Knight’s drum rolls fill up a lot of “Innocenti,” and there’s nothing wrong with that.

“Train Song” has rapid fire vocals and even faster drum fills and bass lines. “Why go out without protection?” Sale and Peters ask on “Final Scene.” They could be talking about firearms, condoms, or a good coat for all I know. I’m inclined to think they might refer to all three considering the dark edge of the track. “Singing the Praises” starts with more wicked riffs from Allan and Riggs and Sale’s vocals are a bit subdued to make them more mysterious.

Three live tracks follow – “Shadow,” “Circuit,” and “Journey.” All three are filled to the brim with a manic, sexy, dangerous energy. You can see the crowd shaking, jerking, pogoing, and shoving amid the darkness, cigarette smoke, and spilled pints. The collection ends with three remixes of “Mind Your Own Business” – a dub one by Man Ray, a reggae one featuring Monnei Lamar, and the third by Deerhoof that cranks up the fuzz and brings the vocals to the forefront. Of the three, Man Ray’s is the best.

All the tracks are good, really. It’s an essential collection for post-punk lovers.

Keep your mind open.

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Rewind Review: Warm Drag – self-titled (2018)

I couldn’t tell you where I first heard Warm Drag (Paul Quattrone and Vashti Windish), but I can tell you that I was immediately hooked by them when I did hear them. Two people making so much powerful psychedelic stuff couldn’t be ignored, and their self-titled debut is a top-notch record.

Opening track “The Wander” (not a cover of the 1950s classic) gets the album off a thudding beat you feel in your jugular veins and enough distortion to probably cause your houseplants to shrink back from the speakers for fear an earthquake is rumbling through your living room. “Cave Crawl” was the first track I heard from Warm Drag and the song that stopped me in my tracks. Windish’s vocals bounce off the wall behind you and creep up on you like a vampire while Quattrone’s beats sound like a spaghetti western soundtrack record that’s been left in the sun a bit too long.

Windish is looking for love on “Cruisin’ the Night,” which blends girl-group rock with David Lynch film beats. “End Times” pours out of your speakers like some kind of venom that saps your willpower and entices you to lie down and let it carry you away with its filtered reverb effects, industrial drumming, and psychological thriller film synths. “No Body” ripples with krautrock beats and Windish’s vocals are pure shoegaze beauty.

“Sleepover” could fit in a horror film, a romance film, a compelling drama, or a spaghetti western. Windish’s lullaby vocals are a perfect match for Quattrone’s haunted saloon synths. “Lost Time” continues the sensation of being in a dusty ghost town street while the long-dead residents of that town shamble out of the shanties to stare at you with hollow eyes.

Quattrone’s synths and beats on “Hurricane Eyes” buzz like a beehive and Windish is the queen commanding all of us drones with her breathy delivery. “Someplace” is like honey dripping from a spoon into yerba mate spiked with peyote. Quattrone takes his time with the beats on it, not rushing anything so as to let the guitar and Windish’s sorceress-style vocals stretch out like a pair of leopards on a hot rock. The album ends with nearly eight minutes of “Parasite Wreckage Dub.” I love a good dub track, and this one doesn’t disappoint. It mixes dub with krautrock, industrial, and synthwave. That’s not an easy task, but Warm Drag makes it sound like they can do it in their sleep – and it’s a great soundtrack for dreams.

The entire album is, really. These are songs from dreams, hallucinations, illusions, hauntings, and seductions. It’s an album you’ll never tire of hearing because you’ll find something new in it every time, and the feel of the album will change as you listen to it in different locations. I hope it’s not the one and only Warm Drag record.

Keep your mind open.

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Rewind Review: Exploded View – Summer Came Early (2017)

Mexico City’s Exploded View put out a four-song EP three years ago that’s perfect for this time of year when half of the world is approaching summer and the other half is approaching winter. Summer Came Early is the hope of everyone on the planet every year.

The opening title track drips like a lazy candle on a porch railing overlooking a warm beach. It sounds like a record being played in a distant apartment you can’t find, or something from a dream you had once with its smoky guitars, rattlesnake drums, and hypnotizing vocals from Anika Henderson.

“Forever Free” is like a story of a haunted house or at least the female ghost who lives there seeking to have a nice chat with anyone, or perhaps even take a living lover to bed. “Mirror of the Madman” has this cool 1960s swing beat to it while Henderson half-sings, half-tells the story of a mysterious figure she saw during a walk one day.

“You don’t say nothing at all,” Henderson sings / snarls on “You Got a Problem Son” as psychedelic guitar and garage rock drums swirl around her like the snakes on a caduceus symbol.

This EP can be a great way to start your summer days or one to escape the winter blues. It will alter your perception of what lies ahead and what is coiled around you.

Keep your mind open.

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Rewind Review: Screaming Females – What If Someone Is Watching Their T.V.? (2007)

I don’t know. What if they are?

That’s the question that arose when I began listening to Screaming Females‘ second album, What If Someone Is Watching Their T.V.? for the first time. Let’s see if a trip through this blistering, wailing, shredding, and sometimes tender album can provide an answer.

“Theme Song” starts the album with Marissa Paternoster‘s guitar sounding like something you’d hear blasting from the Mach-5 as it whizzes by you. The song goes from post-punk to pure punk power by the end, which makes one think the album is going to be full of this same energy if the opening track is, after all, the theme song of the album. Lyrics such as “You are always talking and you never stop.” and “I am a victim of the general public.” certainly fit in with the theme of death by television.

That thought turns out to be correct, because “The Real Mothers” doesn’t let up on Paternoster’s vocal fury ((“The cost of killing is free.”), and “Humanity Arranged” doesn’t let up on Mike Abbatte‘s funky bass riffs. Drummer Jarrett Dougherty puts down some of his best chops on “Starve the Beat” – a track (about good and bad memories of youth) that has the great low key / heavy thrash swerve that Screaming Females do like no other band I know. Paternoster’s solo on it is one of her best.

“Little Anne,” a lovely song about love, lets us catch our breath, and makes us wonder if perhaps the answer to the album title’s question is that many will miss out on love right in front of them if they’re too busy with distractions. “Fun” is a song about moving on from death (of a loved one, or our own) with Abbatte and Dougherty swinging a great groove for over three straight minutes.

“Limbs” is the only song to mention television in it, and the lyrics “When you keep a fight, I pass your room at night, pinned to the brain, birthed the insane, set your TV live.” bring to mind images of Paternoster looking for some kind of solace while someone else is zoned out watching trash TV. The song has a slightly creepy vibe to it that makes it a standout.

“I will tear the heads off this culture,” Paternoster proclaims on “Pedro.” A bold statement in 2007, and even bolder now as both sides of the political aisle claim to be, or at least desire, to be doing just that. Paternoster’s guitar deftly moves from garage to metal to psychedelic, making it sound easy.

“If mother knows best, then mother knows why,” Paternoster sings on “Mothership,” a fast track that includes handclaps among Dougherty’s sharp drumming. “My Earth’s gone flat and the sun burns sour.” All of this is happening while we’re scrolling through Netflix and Amazon watchlists we’ve created but never view. The closer, “Boyfriend,” is one of Screaming Females‘ greatest punk-as-fuck tracks as Paternoster sings / screams what could well be a real conversation she had at age nineteen about her sexuality and Abbatte and Dougherty go for broke as sets the damn studio on fire screaming “While you sit on the fence I will burn in hell.” over and over.

What is someone is watching their TV? My guess is that they run the risk of missing the present world around them, which includes passion and compassion. Screaming Females were warning us thirteen years ago that we were drifting away from each other and toward our screens. They were right, but this album can still shake you out of it. Turn off your TV. Listen to this album instead.

Keep your mind open.

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Rewind Review: Screaming Females – Castle Talk (2010)

Screaming Females’ (Mike Abbatte – bass, Jarrett Dougherty – drums, Marissa Paternoster – guitar and vocals) fourth album, Castle Talk, features a drawing (by Paternoster) of a horse on its cover. The horse’s tail seems to be made of fire. It’s a fitting image for an album that often charges straight at you like those horses from Krull that move so fast they leave behind trails of fire.

Opening track “Laura + Marty” opens with doom metal chords before it abruptly switches into almost power-pop riffs and post-punk bass grooves. “I Don’t Mind It” could and should be a big radio hit as Paternoster sings a peppy song about heartbreak. Dougherty’s “not as easy as they sound” beats are a highlight of “Boss.” His switches between hard rock beats and jazz timing are sharp.

The raucous energy of “Normal” gets your whole body shaking. “A New Kid” has this cool warped sound to it that I love (especially in Abbatte’s drunken circus clown bass), and, good heavens, Paternoster’s riffs on it blow you out of your boots. Her vocals on “Fall Asleep” are layered with fuzz, almost taking a back seat to her shredding – which is somehow smooth and buzzsaw-like at the same time.

“Wild” has soaring solos that contrast with Paternoster’s soft vocals about missing a lover. “I wanna be your late night crisis line. I wanna give you all a piece of my mind,” Paternoster sings on the snappy and snarky “Nothing at All.” “Sheep,” (a solid rocker about infidelity – “You’ll count sheep with anyone, and anyone will do.”) is a great example of what makes Screaming Females so good – their ability to make effortless turns from soft tones to face-melting riffs. “Deluxe” starts out with a left-in blooper before it drifts into a slightly psychedelic, echoed, acoustic track that lets you catch your breath for a moment. Castle Talk ends with “Ghost Solo” – a song that builds behind Dougherty’s rumbling floor toms and Abbatte’s almost-disco bass to Paternoster’s defiant vocals (“This is it, it’s the last time you set me up.”) and guitar riffs that sound like a delighted bird of prey.

It’s a good send-off to the record and a good addition to any fan’s collection of the band’s material. Few bands can make love songs that are both heart-tugging and head-exploding at the same time. Castle Talk is full of such tracks.

Keep your mind open.

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Rewind Review: Mars Red Sky – self-titled (2012)

Any album that is (apart from two songs) recorded in a Spanish national park is bound to be interesting. Any album recorded in a Spanish national park that is also as heavy as Mars Red Sky‘s self-titled debut album is stunning.

I mean, good heavens, the first lines of the first track, “Strong Reflection,” are “Dead stars are burning in the sky, their light reflecting in your eyes, and here the ravens don’t show. Where I’ve been, you don’t want to know.” That alone is metal AF, so the heavy bass that moves like a mastodon, the drums that hammer like its heart, and the guitar that wails like its trumpet blast is heavy enough to knock down your garage. “Curse” is a throwback to 1970’s stoner rock with its echoing lyrics, fuzzed-out guitars, and lyrics about acid rain and how “The greatest fun, it’s not fun at all.”

“Falls” is a wild instrumental blending guitar psychedelia with thunderstorm-like drumming and bass so gritty that you could probably sand lumber with it. “Way to Rome” is a tale of gladiators (or slaves, or both since they were often one and the same) preparing for death. You can’t go wrong with lyrics like “Ride the dark horse through the fire, through the storm, as we’re set to die in the heart of the sun.” Again, metal AF, and the song shifts like sand dunes back and forth between psychedelic rock, stoner metal, and even a bit of krautrock.

“Saddle Point” is another cool instrumental, and “Marble Sky” is a harrowing tale of burning entrails, crushed mountains, and beings emerging from holes in the sky. The vocals are covered in reverb through this track, bringing to mind Black Sabbath tracks. The guitar also takes on a bit of a blues flavor as well, which is a great touch. The closer, “Up the Stairs,” is a fuzz-heavy track about climbing what seems to be an endless stairwell into space and away from the “evil sound” of Earth. That was eight years ago. Where is this stairwell in 2020? I’d like to take a walk.

This was an auspicious debut in 2012. MRS are working on a new full-length album. Let’s hope it comes soon. The world needs heavy stuff like this to shake it awake.

Keep your mind open.

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