Kale Ogle and the Light (Arkansas); Armstrong (Wales)

Clean Nice Quiet is going on it's tenth year. Ain't that somethin'. I can't imagine too many readers see the webpage version of the blog anymore, but if you do, you may notice I did some tidying up on the sidebars. Specifically the submissions guidelines, the Noisy Neighbors blogroll, and the Other Cool Sites sidebar. I split the Other Cool Sites up into 3 smaller lists: radio shows, labels and distros, and then misc. cool stuff.

I used to be stupidly proud of the enormous blog roll I had created on the Noisy Neighbors blogroll. I daydreamed it was the biggest collection of amateur music blogs on the web, and hell, maybe at some point it was. And I wanted to use it for my own ends, to keep up with other blogs, comment on them, and maybe build a sense of community with these other folks doing both similar and different versions of what I'm doing here. Doing that was actually how I started CNQ; I enjoyed a number of music blogs at the time and wanted in on the fun. Over the last decade blogs have come and gone, of course. And I've trimmed Noisy Neighbors down previously, removing links to blogs that stopped posting or simply ceased to be. This time I went a step further and took out blogs that either I wasn't very intersted in, or were just sharing download links without context, a few that rudely didn't have CNQ in their own blogrolls (out of spite), etc. So it's still an unwieldy thing but it's trimmed down enough now that I've told myself once again I should use it for my own purposes -- to read other people's blogs, listen and engage more. We'll see.

I did leave a few up in memorium (Crud Crud, The Sunday Experience); and a couple in hopes they come back one day (Movie Ink, Killed By Death Records).

For the Other Cool Sites sidebar, mostly those were sites that didn't have an RSS feed for the blogroll when I first linked to them. A lot of them do have RSS feeds now and are active, so I moved them over to Noisy Neighbors. The radio shows in the new Radio, Radio sidebar are all aces, so you should check them out, and same goes for the labels under Record Labels and Distros.

So yeh, ten years. First post was Sunday June 3, 2012. Nothing special planned for the anniversary, just hope to keep chugging along and doing what I do here. Occassionally I do think about getting back into sharing obscure vinyl on here, but it's not something I'd say you should expect any time soon.

And of course I left up the ever present Doctor Nod Top Tips cassette listen and purchase link. I still have a few of those cassettes left, so go ahead and order one. That album rules and you're missing out if you haven't heard it yet.

Here's a couple of things I found while doing all this housecleaning today. Somehow I completely missed Kale Ogle (of the aforementioned Doctor Nod fame, and whose website can be found over in the also aforementioned Other Cool Sites sidebar) released this 9 song digital album in November 2019, with a backing band. Kale Ogle & The Light:

Armstrong is the solo project of Welsh musician Julian Pitt. His latest 20 track album, Under Blue Skies also came out in 2019, and is available on CD from The Beautiful Music in US and Canada and Country Mile Records in the UK. Pretty, pretty, pretty indie power pop:

Hans Condor (Nashville); Ab Ex (Dallas); Pink Milk (Sweden); Los Microbios (Vermont); Oceanography (Oakland); Women of the Night (Brooklyn); The Gents (Hamburg); Carbon Fields (UK); Naqoy (Budapest)

Nashville's Hans Condor is that now sound, man. I got a sneak peak at their new full length, Breaking and Entering, which you can pre-order ahead of it's November 16th release on their Bandcamp page, and it's a total ripper. Here's the single, "Breaking and Entering," it's a blister-fest:

Ab Ex is the new electronic solo project from Dallas-based musician Jason Hensel. Lost When Waking is 11 instrumental tracks of giallo-inspired darkwave, good stuff, check it out:

Speaking of darkwave, Swedish occult punk outfit Pink Milk have a new track available called "Here Comes The Pain." Atmospheric to the max! Music to lose your virginity by:

Los Microbios is the home-recorded project of Lance Jones, of Vermont. The 15 track Cognitive Thinning is a real lo-fi wonder, with covers of "Child of the Moon" and "Oh Yoko" to boot:

Brooklyn's Women of the Night have a new album available on Bandcamp, Sub Rosa, 14 tracks of bluesy, gritty, Stones 'n' Springsteen inspired rock that genre hops between proto punk, dream pop and psych, and Americana/indie/alt rock. I like story songs and songs about dirt bags, so enjoyed these:

Oceanography is another solo project, this one from Oakland musician Brian Kelly. Thirteen Songs About Driving Nowhere in Alphabetical Order is the album, also in an Americana/indie/alt rock vein, but much poppier than Women of the Night:

The Gents, from Hamburg, have released Multiple Attack on Bandcamp, a 4 track garage punk effort. Fun stuff:

Carbon Fields is another solo instrumentalist, I believe from the UK, and their new 3 song EP/mini-album is called Petrichor. Each song is around 7 minutes, and, per the artist, "combines field recordings with strings, down-tempo beats and an experimental instrument called a bow chime."

Pretty cool -- you can listen and download on the Hiru Recordings Bandcamp page. Hiru's Bandcamp About says: "Hiru Recordings is home to a collective of experimental musicians, noise makers and field recordists. We release new and archival sonic explorations in the fields of electronica and drone music." And as such, Carbon Fields does not disappoint:

Naqoy is a two piece electro-noise-rock outfit from Budapest. Their new Bandcamp release is called Four, and it's four noisey tracks that blend electronics, noise rock, post-punk and drone. The final track, "Fabric," is mesmerizing, and the artwork for the release is cool too:

Corntuth (Brooklyn); Little Beards (Dallas); WSZY (Poland); and Kingfisher (Sweden)

Back in late July I posted a good review of Brooklyn-based ambient producer and musician Corntuth's latest album The Desert Is Paper Thin, and since then it's been a feature on Bandcamp Daily, which is always nice when I get to scoop them. (Bandcamp Daily I used to think was uncool, but I have since come around and now I think they're doing a good job). The vinyl for The Desert Is Paper Thin is now 80% funded. Meditative "Ambient Americana" is a good way to describe it, take a listen, and if you like it, you should head over to Corntuth's Bandcamp page to contribute so the album gets funded. I did, it's great stuff and should sound rad on the hi-fi:

You know Syf Records has been cranking out the jams, as that's what they do. Here's some of the newest stuff from the lo-fi, high powered Polish micro-label, and not what you'd expect, either. Instead of the raw, noisey rock y electro that Syf typically trucks in, WSZY's debut EP, .GNIDY is post-rock -- or maybe, heavy jazz, man, yeh -- Polish heavy jazz. I think you would dig it the most. Like a lo-fi cross between Morphine and Tortoise, the 3 song instrumental EP is certainly a lot more intentionally musical than previous Syf releases, the ones I've heard anyway. Syf cranks out a lot of material, which is a good thing, but I'm not able to keep up with the expanding catalog like I'd like to. At any rate, you can order WSZY's .GNIDY on cassette via the Syf Records Bandcamp page, and you should, this is exceptional stuff, a ton of fun:

That Little Beards single, "What's The Point (It's Funny)", from their forthcoming album The Legend of Spectacular Living, is now streaming, and you can pre-order the album on Bandcamp. Smartwave gothy post-punk from Dallas, check it out:

Kingfisher is a rock duo from Sweden and their new single, "Lover to Discover," is available on Bandcamp. They describe themselves as a combination of '90s MTV Rock and 00s British indie, which I think sums up this single nicely:

Corntuth (New York), Starflyer 59 (California), Rick Treffers (Netherlands), and Desborde (Argentina)

Corntuth is an ambient music producer based in Brooklyn. Their new release The Desert Is Paper Thin is 11 instrumentals, over 40 minutes of tunes. I keep meaning to put it on when I'm driving and listen to the whole thing, as it was conceived as a record documenting an imaginary day and night drive through the desert. I've enjoyed the tracks I have listened to -- ambient meets Americana, synth pads and steel pedal. Pretty stuff, and I did order the shirt because the graphic is cool:

There's a Youtube video to accompany the album as well:

A post or two ago I mentioned a label called Velvet Blue Music. This new Starflyer 59 video is a short film for the song, "Life in Bed." Per Velvet Blue Music's PR, "elements of the song are woven into an elongated soundtrack, with the actual album version of the song not entering until the 6:45 mark." The video is pretty haunting, and the song, also haunting, kicks ass. Starflyer 59 has been around since the 1990s, and I'd like to say I knew about them periphially, but I'm not 100% sure that's true. At any rate, here's the longform video for "Life in Bed," written and directed by Hunter Christy, who did the videos for GBV's "Space Gun" and "See My Field," among others:

Here's another righteous Starflyer 59 track, you can get it and "Life in Bed" on separate flexi-discs via the band's Bandcamp page. Fans of Mogwai and Arab Strap will appreciate this. I'm a little embarrassed I'm not familiar with the band, love this and "Life in Bed":

Rick Treffers has a new video for his new single "After I'm Gone," from the recently released album Looking For A Place To Stay. Cool adult-oriented indie-pop from the Netherlands. I love it:

This Desborde demo is raw bad ass power. Argentinian punk to the max. A must listen:

CNQ Top 20 Sunday Countdown

20. Proto Idiot: “Difficult Questions” (Fub, Rigmarole Records, 2020) 19. Shanique Marie: “Freak” (2020) 18. Máscaras: “Braidwaves” (El Morán, 2017) 17. This Heel: “Cave Crickets” (Cave Crickets, 2020) 16. Salem Trials: “Head On Rong” (Metal Postcard Records, 2020) 15. Tall Black Guy Productions: “Gimme Mine feat. 80s Babies” (Restless As We Are, 2020) 14. Harmonica Lewinski: “Poison Pill” (Human BBQ, 2020) 13. Coffin Club: “Rain” (Nowhere Nowhere, 2020) 12. You Will Flood The River: “Evil Frank Is Dead” (Metal Postcard Records, 2020) 11. Damu the Fudgemunk, Archie Shepp and Raw Poetic: “Learning To Breathe (Album Version)” (Ocean Bridges, Redefinition Records, 2020) 10. Sparkle Division: “Oh Henry!” (To Feel Embraced, Temporary Residence Ltd., 2020) 09. Science Man: “That Shadow” (Match Game, Swimming Faith Records, 2020) 08. Liiek: “Waterfall” (s/t, Adagio830, 2020) 07. Big $ilky: “Baby Shower” (Big $ilky Vol. 1, 2020) 06. The Men: “Cool Water” (Mercy, Sacred Bones Records, 2020) 05. Yuvees: “Yr Not Invited” (Human Dance, 2020) 04. Santa Sprees: “Getting Married All The Time” (Sum Total of Insolent Blank, 2020) 03. Brian Bordello: “So Sad” (King of No-Fi, Metal Postcard Records, 2020) 02. Brandy: “(Wish You Was) Madball Baby” (The Gift of Repetition, Total Punk Records, 2020) 01. Night Shop: “Waiting” (The Fountain, Salinas Records, 2020)

Punk from Argentina, Miami, and Boston; Acoustic Folk from Rwanda.

CNQ has an interview with Sean from Metal Postcard coming up, that'll be cool. I recently got on MeWe, which is touted as a next-gen social media site, but I know Google Plus when I sees it.

Got back on Fallout 4 with a new character, Red Blackhead, and a random start DLC, which takes away the burden of being the Chosen One or whatever. Such a burden. Still finding new things in that game. Never had an NPC talk about Halloween in the game when it's actually Halloween in the game! And met a guy who wouldn't sell me his dog. What a great game.

This Talactus S/T was released back in July. 13 or so minutes long, 15 song Argentinian punk album that is enjoyable all the way thru:

SHOVEIT is a three-piece punk band from Miami, FLA. Their debut EP "EFF U" is a tight 4 song, 9 minute effort that draws on 90s and early oughts pop-punk. That's usually not my bag, but this EP is highly listenable. I got it on repeat. Click the link to EFF U and it takes you to a site called Songwhip, which then directs you to the streaming service of your choice to listen to EFF U, which is neat.

Saw Palehound from Boston open up for Big Thief at Trees earlier in the week. Amazing vox + rockin' Americana, this is off a 13 track album that you should definitely listen to and certainly see the band if you get a chance:

The Good Ones, RWANDA, you should be loved. I love this 12 song album, which clocks in around 40 minutes. I can't think of a reason why you wouldn't love this, it's beautiful:

35 Denton Festival 2016: Friday Evening

Denton 35 is focusing more on local music this year, with a lot of bands playing around the square (that's the downtown area to you and me) of that Texas college town this Friday-Sunday. Here's some bands you might check out Friday night.

Pearl Earl plays fuzzy garage psych, they're from Denton:

Tacocat from Seattle you know about already, assuming you're hep. They've got a new album due out in April, here's a couple of tracks from it:

Experimental punk from Denton:

Odd indie-pop from Denton:

I'm excited to finally get to see Dallas' synth-punkers, seres, who sing in Spanish:

Singer-songwriter duo from Denton:

Alt-Country from Denton:

More Americana/singer-songwriter stuff, from Dallas:

Rock duo from Denton:

More rock, also from Denton:

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

The Tom Waits song Cold Water has been a holiday fave of mine for a few years now. Weirdly, I couldn't find a live version of it on Youtube:

A great new Christmas song:

We Are The West (2014)

LA based duo Brett Hool [voice/guitar] and John Kibler [bass/voice], who operate as We Are The West, were featured last May on CNQ. Yesterday they released the third recording of what the band says will be a four-part album. Recorded live in the New Mexico desert, We Are The West III features arrangements by a crew that's grown up around this monthly underground parking garage concert series that We Are The West has goin' on. Super-cool:

We Are The West

We Are The West are a Los Angeles-based duo that play really pretty, laid back acoustic folk jams. They just released their second recording, EP II.

Here's what WATW's website has to say about them:

"We Are The West uses sound and space to create an experience that is welcoming and honest. The Los Angeles-based duo has recorded in storm drains and shipping containers, performed on sheep farms and in abandoned convents, and now hosts a concert series in the underground parking garage of an office building in Santa Monica the Saturday night before each full moon. This spring they release the second in a four-part album of recordings, this installment handcrafted with love and care in a barn in Western New York during the summer months. Next month they release the second in a four part album of recordings."

The wife and I recently went to see James McCartney (Sir Paul's son), who is doing a tour with just himself and whom we assume is his man-servant. McCartney played folk guitar and piano ballads and, while technically proficient, his songs really lacked melody and, just as important, conviction -- most of them featuring vague lyrics about butterflies, rainbows, or butterflies and rainbows. We felt it was particularly bad, but others in the crowd seemed into it.

The three tracks on We Are The West's EP II, while operating in the same folk mileu, are the exact opposite of what Son-of-Paul was doing the other night. The sound is melodic, wide open, and haunting, and the singer has a sincere, distinctive voice. While McCartney may have been sincere (although at one point he freely admitted his songs weren't really about anything), the only thing distinctive about his voice was that it was often pitchy.

I don't mean to rant about James McCartney, we just really didn't care for it. We Are The West, on the other hand, is cool stuff, so give it a listen!