Scrambled Limbs; Earth Mother Fucker; In.Bloom

Scrambled Limbs from Leeds has his first new batch of songs in two years due out soon, called The Late Hour. The single, "Something Stiff," is available on Bandcamp. Very cool bedroom rock:

Killer live noise rock album from Earth Mother Fucker, a five piece from the UK:

In.Bloom is post-hc/screamo from Lithuania. New single is called "There's Room for Hatred," cool stuff:

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:

Will Feral (Texas); David Wallraf (Germany); Lars Haur (Oklahoma); The Usurpers (Salt Lake City); Night of Rage (Russia); Captain Average (Hungary); K. Board & The Skreens (Italy); The Conspiracy (U.K.)

One of my favorite sub-genres of noise/experimental/ambient/electronic music is the "score for non-existent film scores for film" category. Back in college in the late 90s I took a poetry class and I remember being very proud of a particular poem I wrote called "Invisible Movies." I don't have it handy but it began with something like

"This is the soundtrack for a movie that does not exist"

Maybe it's not as cool as all that, but for years, before and after I wrote that poem, I did make soundtracks for movies that didn't exist (i.e., mixtapes on cassette and then later on burned CDs). And then when I began my Will Feral electronic project, the goal was to make scores for films that, of course, don't exist. My most recent cyber-punk themed attempt was "Hellweb," which is out on Metal Postcard Records:

At any rate in recent years I've seen several other people use the same terminology about making non-existent film scores, and I think that's pretty neat. I'm not saying I invented it, of course. It's not a difficult concept to think up (especially if you're, to quote Jon Stewart, "on weed," or maybe you're just a sober yet creative individual, whatever); but it's fun and interesting to be contributing to a micro-genre mini-zeitgeist.

David Wallraf is a noise artist and researcher out of Hamburg, Germany, and his latest release, Subsongs, is also "supposed to function like the soundtrack to a nonexistent film," a non-existent film about birds, according to a pdf he supplied about the release. It's availble on cassette, and limited to 30 copies, from German experimental label Econore. 10 tracks of fascinating noise textures, complete with field recordings of birds. Very impressive and inspiring. Here's the second track from the album, called "Parliment of Birds," which, according to the PDF linear notes for the album, "refers to both a fictional secret language in William Gibson’s 2014 novel The Peripheral and the ancient Persian poem ر الط منطق ("The Conference of the Birds") by Sufi poet Farid ud-Din Attar." Too cool:

Over on Wallraf's own Bandcamp page, he has a number of releases, both digital and physical cassettes, and the most recent, released back in December, is a 20 minute, two track release that is panic inducing at its heights and highly recommended for noise freaks:

Lars Haur is an experimental artist from Oklahoma, and his latest release is a 4 song EP called Valences :2​:​2​:​2​:​2:. It releases Jan. 31, but you can hear the first two tracks already on Bandcamp. Of the EP, the artist says it is an "uncomfortable ambient EP created through a combination of typical writing and heavy use of semi-random generation of melodies. These semi-random melodies were then processed through a long chain of varied FX that were combined in a likewise semi-random fashion. The name of the EP derives from the characteristic of elements that dictates what other elements they may combine with."

Pivoting from noise to more straightforward hardcore punk, The Usurpers are out of Salt Lake City and have a split with Russian band Night of Rage, a cassette is due out this month but the Bandcamp page doesn't mention it. Fans of DIY hardcore should enjoy:

Captain Average is a 3 piece fronted by László Sallai, who I'm told is "one of the most active member of the Budapest underground," playing in various underground bands and running a cassette label and DIY booking agency. Captain Average "mixes post-punk with krautrock vibes and the lyrics are reflecting on Eastern Europe’s political issues." Their first album is an 11 song digital release called Heaven Capitulates. The single, "In The Post-Future," is a fun listen:

And, finally, it wouldn't be a CNQ post without new releases from the aforementioned Metal Postcard Records. K. Board & The Skreens Langue - EP is the debut album from the Italian group with only one member, and MP describes it as "bedroom electronic 8-bit chip music and add the magic of Italo." Sounds right to me. Super-tight:

The Conspiracy I assume are British. MP says: "Old songs re-recorded and released on Metal Postcard Records...It's like listening to the missing link between Squeeze & The Clean and World Party. They also have the uncanny knack of creating choruses that conjure up echoes of Steve Harley & The Cockney Rebel." Highly listenable:

4:44; Yammerer; Salem Trials; Metal Postcard Records; Legless Trials; The Legless Crabs; The Bordellos; Alien Nosejob; Ausmuteants; Thalmus

4:44 is a singer-songwriter one man recording project based out of New Jersey. I feature new 4:44 from time to time, always good stuff. The last post with a 4:44 track was in September (where I erroneously said he was from Philidelphia), but the track I featured has been taken down by the artist on his Bandcamp page. So here's another track from his most recent 21 track Bandcamp digital release, Orchid, released back in September:

Thalmus is also a singer-songwriter solo project, based out of Atlanta, who makes "weird country music," and I love that description. Midnight Country is a digital Bandcamp release "featuring a few originals mixed in with country covers of Sonic Youth, Thundercat, Anita Baker, and Rae Sremmurd." Check out their cover of SY's "Schizophrenia," it's super-cool:

This was submitted back in June and I missed it. Just stumbled on it tonight while ironically trying to figure out how best not to miss stuff like this. Yammerer is from Liverpool. I was 3 seconds in and hooked on this track, "Tell Me What The Ancient Astronauts Believe," and stayed hooked for the full 3 minutes of the song. Killer, urgent post-punk, and what a great song title:

New Salem Trials is bitchin' as always. Post-punk rock duo from Leeds about as prolific as Bob Pollard or Zappa:

I was honored to get to work with Andy from Salem Trials under the moniker Legless Trials, and we're very lucky to have Metal Postcards to promote them for us. Our most recent Metal Postcard release is an EP called Hotwire an Ambulance. The lead track, "Hotwire an Ambulance," has been played on no less than three terrestrial radio stations, and as far as I know, maybe more. Maybe ALL THE STATIONS. That's me on vox, Andy on everything else:

I just looked over at the Metal Postcard Records Bandcamp page and betcha by golly, Salem Trials has another release on it. I told you they were prolific. Synthetic Animals and Other Plastics is an 8 song concept album, here's "Halo of Flies:"

And speaking of prolific Metal Postcard artists, both the Bordellos and the Legless Crabs (who may or may not be my noisy, off key solo project) both have new releases. The Bordellos have a new 2 song double A-side, "Dancing To The Hits/Slow Motion Fade Out," and the Crabs have a new 11 song, 20 minute long album called Tender Karaoke, and I gotta say, it's not the worst thing, if you're into noisy, off key solo projects. The Bordellos release is genius as all fuck tho:

The Bordellos also have a 4 song digital release on their own Bandcamp page, Rock N Roll Is Dead EP. The Bordellos are that band where you tell people how rad they are, and they don't listen, and then some time later they say to you, "hey, have you ever heard of the Bordellos?" And you want to strangle them, despite their well-meaning attempt to turn you on to cool new music. I do that to my wife all the time and it's a wonder she hasn't strangled me to death yet:

Alien Nosejob has new vinyl out, I'll pay for that without having to hear it first because you know it's gonna be rad. But luckily I do get to hear it first on Bandcamp before I inevitably order it. Alien Nosejob is the bedroom project of Jake Robertson from Ausmuteants. Ausmuteants has not put out anything since 2019, but these Alien Nosejob albums have been super cool. I've got the first two on vinyl, will be ordering this as well:

...Present The World In Handcuffs was the last Ausmuteants album, released in the Before Times of 2019. The Bandcamp page still has vinyl available:

All that got us up to is mid-November with new releases and submissions. More later and soon maybe, ya know. I dunno. Go forth and listen to the above! And drink lots of water. I want to play some Skyrim, or maybe Tropico, or some Sims. If I could play all three at once, I still wouldn't be satisfied.

And another thing...

Just to keep myself having fun, here's some quick takes from new releases on Bandcamp:

Rad lo-fi bedroom punk from a woman in Chicago:

When you think about rock'n'roll calcifying, when I hear stuff like this, I think we got a few years left. This will be played at weddings in 2057:

Santa Sprees: Fanfare For Tonsils

I've been thinking all day of the joy I experienced last night, listening to married duo Santa Sprees' tenth and latest album, Fanfare For Tonsils. I wrote this relatively long for CNQ screed while I listened, and was blown away by the 34 track album, which I think is around an hour long, give or take.

Experimental psych and noise with a dedication to a pop sensibility and lyrics that are top form surreal poetry that move from warm and fun to distant and sardonic, and points in between, delivered with a laid back, honest and heartbreaking warble. If you're a fan of the old Elephant Six stuff, or psych-pop in general, you'll want to check this out.

A limited to 100 copies CD edition of Fanfare For Tonsils is available on Santa Sprees' Bandcamp page. Each disc comes in a jewel case with a full colour 8-page booklet written and illustrated by one half of the band, Anthony Dolphin.

I won't post that essay I wrote last night, nobody wants to read me bloviate. Instead I'll shut up so you can listen:

Brian Bordello and The Bordellos; bigflower; Bordello and Clark; Vukovar, and Beauty Stab (UK)

The Bordellos have announced their 4th and penultimate double A-side of the year. I've had the golden opportunity to preview the two tracks. The first song, "All Psychiatrists Are Bastards", is a playful ditty written by the younger Bordello Dan, the velvet-voiced frontman also of Vukovar and Beauty Stab. The song's a hoot, usually you don't hear Dan this playful in his songs. The second A-side, "Will I Ever Be A Man," was written by Dan's pop, Brian, with the Everly Brothers in mind, shortly before Don passed away.

Y'all know I think Brian's a genius of a songsmith, and if "Will I Ever Be a Man" doesn't prove it to you, then you and I just aren't on the same page with it. And that's fine -- but you're wrong. With my own recording projects I always ask myself, "What would Brian Bordello do?" And the answer is always the same: he would make it fucking rad.

All Psychiatrists Are Bastards/Will I Ever Be A Man will be released for download/streaming on Metal Postcard Records August 28th.

Brian has been as busy as ever. Here's another recent release from him and Ivor Perry, who has an amusing story about the time he replaced Johnny Marr in the Smiths. Perry's current project is bigflower, and that's what this release is filed under. It's the first track recorded by Brian, 30 years ago, dug out, dusted off and revisted. A great song:

The long awaited Atlantic Corssing is finally due out September 24, from Think Like A Key Music. Brian and American guitarist Ted Clark have teamed up for a 12 song album that you can pre-order from Think Like A Key's Bandcamp page. I can't wait.

And for the road, some Brian Bordello genius level material you may wanna rub your ears against. First, probably my favorite Bordellos song ever. I think that's Dan singing:

And a killer track from Brian off a recent Dream Society Records comp:

Of course you should check out Vukovar and Beauty Stab if you haven't already:

And here's a boss Ivor Perry bigflower song, "Criminal," released back in June. Recorded on a phone with an acoustic. 100% cool:

I conclude: if you aren't listening to any of the above, then it's like man, you just don't even know what's happening.

O yeh and don't sleep on the Metal Postcard EP Brian and I did together, Heart to Heart. The song "Pig Fucker," and this is really odd but true, is the best song ever recorded:

New from Metal Postcard Records and Syf Records

A desire to scratch a symbol on a cave wall, or beat a drum, or ululate, or tell a story.

Imagine that.

Imagine being present at the beginning of our history, and then, hundreds of thousands of years later, being present for the end of it. Like you lived all that time. I bet you'd be glad to finally see shit wrap up.

Loyal CNQ readers will know Sean Hocking's Metal Postcard Records is bad-ass and indispensible if you want to stay hep af in our modern age.

Halfway through 2021. Scratches on a cave wall.

"Love is a Healing Force" is a taster single from a new act called The Kessler Cascasde. 7 minutes of off-beat bedroom blue-eyed soul with a positive message. I am inspired:

Also from Metal Postcard, Graham Domain has a new 9 song album out. A lot of the songs on it are also long. Here's a shorter one though. Graham's a serious talent:

Speaking of 7 minute long tracks from Metal Postcard, and the opposite of real talent, I'd be remiss to not feature "Abandon All Dope," the last track off Occult Character's new Metal Postcard release, The Song Remains The Stain. Around an hour of lo-fi histrionics, courtesy yours truly:

I did an interview with Syf Records a while back and they've been steadily releasing stuff since -- now they've got their first cassette release, which is exciting. It's all their KILØFF EPs in one place:

This first cassette released earlier this month was quickly followed by two more cassette releases!

Thanks and The Bordellos (UK), Shakali (Finland), and Jay Royale (Baltimore): Noise, Lo-Fi, Ambient Psych and Hip-Hop

Thanks is noise rock from Leeds. "Thankology" is a compilation of everything they've released up to this point. Digitital download, CDs, and cassettes are still available. It is so awesome, I can't stop listening it.

I listened to all of this 9 and a half minute long ambient psych piece today on my drive back to work from lunch. Killer diller:

New hip-hop from Baltimore's Jay Royale. Absolutely:

The Bordellos' "Be My Maybe/David Bowie" double A-side courtesy Metal Postcard Records is now available. Prepare to melt:

Rad Stuff from the Netherlands: Mone, Fleur, Les Robots; Lo-Fi Rock'n'Roll from Portland (Girlsville); and CNQ fave Boys Age (Japan)

I've been having fun posting, so here's another one.

Mone is a Dutch alt-pop artist. "Rat" is from an upcoming album "Crocodile Kisses," to be released on Famous Gold Watch Records. Cool stuff:

Les Robots are a Dutch instrumental rock duo who teamed up with Dutch singer Floor Elman aka "Fleur" to make a really amazing neo-ye-ye album. Back in June 2020, Spanish label Bickerton released this, and now Richmond, Virginia's 6131 Records has a stateside pressing available for pre-sale, featuring updated artwork and insert, with a newly added b-side, previously only available on a 7" single. It's great, check it out:

Les Robots' last release on Bandcamp was August 2020, Project World Control. Just absolutely rad instrumental rock'n'roll -- vinyl tapes, and CDs still available:

Portland's Girlsville has a great new release called Spoiled Legacy you should check out if you're into lo-fi alt-rock. They say it's a domestic U.S. release of a Germ House tape that came out on German label Detriti Records in 2020, and the Girlsville version adds 7 compilation rarities to the b-side. You can pre-order the cassette, but I just got the second to last one, so good luck:

I also just picked up a digital download of the new Boys Age. He's got CDs limited to 25, with only 9 remaining of this writing. Boys Age is always such a pleasure:

UK Night: The Bordellos, Vukovar, Salem Trials, BOYA

On April 20, The Bordellos' second double A-side of the year will be released via the always amazing Metal Postcard Records. I've been lucky enough to receive a sneak listen to the two tracks, The Daisy Master Race and Cultural Euthanasia. Long-time fans of The Bordellos and Brian Bordello's solo work will not be disappointed. The Daisy Master Race is a delightful acoustic pop ditty about a shit-head "real life beautiful talented songwriter who writes beautiful songs but is a real-life right wing, fascist, homophobic, sexist, race hating bastard," sung and strummed by Brian, and Cultural Euthanasia, sung by Dan Bordello, is a mean little psych-out. If you haven't heard the Bordellos, or worse, are not a fan, then I encourage you to think about your life choices up to this point, and get hep. Here is that first double-A side, released back in early March:

Speaking of Dan Bordello, his other band, the gothic post-punk Vukovar, has announced their follow-up to last year's excellent The Colossalist. Called THE GREAT IMMUREMENT, it will be released on CD by the Russian label Other Voices Records, to be shipped May 25. I got the Colossalist on CD and the packaging is really slick, they did a good job. Here's the video for the single When Rome Falls:

Speaking of post-punk from the UK, Salem Trials has a super-bitchin' new single called Children of The CRASH you gotta check out. Andy's noisy guitar and chuga-chuga rhythms always pair well with Russ' sprechgesang vox:

Salem Trials are extremely prolific, so they've also got a new full length release on their Bandcamp page called Refuse To Die, "a collection of songs recorded during various sessions between October and December 2020, and vocals and additional instrumentation added March 2021." Here's the first track off that album, We're Not The People:

And don't forget to check out their double February full-length releases over on Metal Postcard Records, No Waving and File Under Concrete. Here's a track off each release:

And finally, speaking of Metal Postcard Records, and I do so very often, you gotta check out BOYA's Momentary Moments, released back in February. This low-key, ambient 5 song digital EP mixes electronic and acoustic sounds for maximum mesmerizing effect:

Punk, Alt and Indie from Argentina, Switzerland, Japan, Italy, the UK and Australia

Like, at this point, what is the difference between "alt" and "indie" rock? Was there ever a difference? I typically just go with however the band or artist describe themselves. It doesn't matter really. Rock'n'roll is finite, and will only last as long as its youngest fan -- so enjoy it while it lasts, aficionado!

Here's Argentina's Desborde with a steller new punk single and a b/w, featuring one of the guys from Emboscada, whose demos I've featured on CNQ a couple of times. This go-round there's some synth and it's just totally rockin', a must-listen:

Voodoo Rhythm Records is from Bern, Switzerland. Active since 1993, they specialize in garage punk, surf, trash rock, and one-man bands. Here's a smattering of what they have to offer. Cool stuff:

Alien Nosejob is the solo project of Australia's Jake Robertson, the guitarist from Ausmuteants. Ausmuteants we haven't heard from in a while, but Robertson has been busy with Alien Nosejob. I got Suddenly Everything Is Twice As Loud on vinyl last year, after it's January 2020 release, and it is super solid. HC45-2 is his third Alien Nosejob release since, and I haven't listened to any of these, so I need to do a little catch-up. Robertson is a talent -- HC45-2 is noisy punk with elements of thrashin' metal guitar shredding, not like the Devo-esqueness of Ausmuteants at all, but equally as enjoyable. It's interesting, on the Alien Nosejob Bandcamp page, it makes no mention of Robertson being with Ausmuteants, which I feel like got big enough underground-wise he would want to make the connection/remind folks? Who knows. At any rate, you owe it to yourself to listen to this six song, eight minute EP. Totally rockin':

If I like or think an artist or band is half-way promising I'll follow and subscribe to their Bandcamp updates. So since I've been doing this since 2012, I get a ton of Bandcamp updates daily. But I'm very bad at following up on these new releases from bands I've tracked, preferring instead to dig around the Bandcamp new releases, just because that's fun to me. Lately I've been on a tear with CNQ, so I'll try to do some upkeep with these Bandcamp new releases I get, in addition to my preferred method of digging through the new releases. Here's a couple from Don't Worry, a band from Essex. My touchstone for this sound is Los Campensinos and '80s UK alt-rock. Enjoyable indie-rock:

You can also order a promotional poster for these two tracks. The art is cool, check it out.

New Stuff for Bandcamp Friday: Lo-Fi, Underground Hip-Hop and Rock'n'Roll from Houston, Chicago, California, Chile and Argentina.

Gearing up for Bandcamp Friday, which if you click that link you'll find out it's April 2nd. Let's check out some new sounds:

Valentine Snow is from Houston. "Basket Case" is a short and sweet 3 song EP of keyboard-heavy, bedroom-produced, indie hip-pop:

Wheards is also from Houston. RTS & CULTR is a 12 song digital album, these three songs they've made available from the album are righteous:

VIBRASOUNDS by Olaf-O from Chile. 4 tracks of fun beats and turntablism:

Here's a cool older split available on Dupage County Hardcore, "created to preserve and make available (for free) the wealth of punk, metal and hip-hop related music released in suburban Chicago in the '80s, '90s and early '00s." The only notes on the release say Bleeding Kansas was from California, so one assumes La Mantra De Fhiqria was from Chicagoland. No idea what year this is from, my guess is early oughts:

From Argentina comes the inscruitably named ♏, they have a new single which is ok, but check out their May 2020 release, ✉, which is 10 tracks of excellent alt-rock:

This two song EP also from the same band, or label, maybe, I'm not sure, since they use icons instead of words, released in May, 2020. Whatever they're called, I'm into it, great sound in an alt-rock vein:

Andrew Anderson & 14 Friends: "Be My Guest"

CNQ fave Andrew Anderson has a new release out today called "Be My Guest." It's a collaboration project featuring the Manchester musician and 14 of his friends. Each track is written and recorded by just Anderson and another individual friend.

I'm hard pressed not to enjoy an Anderson release, whether it's a solo release (late 2019's excellent Clean Yrself, and the quaratine-inspired Music Album Idea), or one of the bands he's a member of (Freak Genes, Hipshakes, Proto Idiot), and this album is no different. Anderson is a powerful talent. If you don't go and immedietly listen to this, followed by the other links presented below, you're only doing yourself a disservice.

"Be My Guest" is freewheeling, super-fun, experimental lo-fi bedroom pop. I'm reminded of Television Personalities, The Kinks, and occassionaly Swell Maps listening to it. So good.

The 14 track album is available on Bandcamp for 5 Euros, and all proceeds go to Booth Centre, Manchester, which supports people coping with homelessness in Manchester; and Black Lives Matter UK, a coalition of black activists and organisers across the UK.

Great music for a good cause? Grip this now.

After you're done with "Be My Guest," check out Anderson's other two solo albums and these other bands he is involved in:

And then here are some releases from the artists Andrew teamed up with for "Be My Guest:"

CNQ Picks for Bandcamp's No Fee Friday

Brand new hip-hop single from Austin's Kydd Jones:

Released May 22, this is pretty singular. A full-length from D.C.'s Damu The Fudgemunk -- jazz/hip-hop fusion featuring jazz great Archie Shepp and vocalist Raw Poetic: 
Lumpy and the Dumpers have released a 12 song album called "Collection," collecting a lot of their slime-punk hits 'n' slips from a few years ago. All proceeds from today's sales on their bandcamp page go to Arch City Defenders, a non-profit that provides legal services to exploited people of color in St. Louis.
Sweden's Dog. Paper. Submarine.'s final album is finally out, quality, catchy indie psych-pop: 
Speaking of psych-pop, Scrambled Limbs from Leeds has a great new single out:
And finally, I got around to listening to the classic rock vibes of the latest The Men album, "Mercy," and really enjoyed it: 

CNQ Recommendations for Bandcamp Fee Waiver Friday

Here's what I picked up from Bandcamp today, what with them being nice enough to forgo their vig and all:

BIB is the nuttiest noise outta Omaha, and this is their latest full length. You can get it on vinyl via Pop Wig Records, but it's not on Bandcamp so I figured I should give my money directly to the band here. The first time I heard BIB, I thought I had drifted ten years into the future:

Here's a rockin' comp from Paris' super-cool Buddy Records:

Another label comp, this from the UK's Specialist Subject Records. It's called "FURLOUGH YOUR DREAMS," and is only available today, Friday 5/1. 100% of the proceeds will be split between the bands involved, they say, which is nice. There's also a t-shirt you can pre-order that looks pretty cool. The Specialist Subject page calls "Furlough Your Dreams" "a brilliant selection of brand new, unreleased, acoustic, demo, lo-fi, rarities & alternative tracks by a bunch of the wonderful bands we work with!" Rock:

CNQ noise punk faves Thin Skin from Denton Texas put out a live album recently, a recording of a show they did down in Austin:

One of the women from Thin Skin has a solo project of electro-weirdo goodness called Candy and the Suckers. I caught up on the discography today but here's the latest release:

You know I love Japan's Boys Age! The freakiest, dreamiest pop. This guy oughta be a star. Here's his latest album:

The excellent ARSE put out a split 7" last October on the EU's always cool Erste Theke Tontraeger Records. Savage hc from Sydney:

London's Sauna Youth, purveyors of quality post-punk, released this today, "a collection of 7" & cassette tracks, old recordings, a live session, unreleased stuff & demos. Re-contextualised here as an album "In Flux"."

I also finally picked up their 2018 full length, "Deaths":

...and finally, Baltimore's noise rock outfit Dope Body, who announced their dissolution a few years back, have been teasing new releases for a while on Facebook, and they finally released a lot of stuff today, including this, 13 new tracks that I am super-excited about. The single, Johnny Bag of Smoke, is the only one I've listened to so far and it's like, the most, man:

New Bandcamp Punk from Detroit, Barcelona, Weimar, and Naga City.

With Bandcamp waiving its vig again this Friday, there's my usual roster of cool bands and artists I have lined up to throw some chump change their way. But I thought, here on this Wednesday evening, it would be fun to do one of my old "What's New On Bandcamp?" posts, wherein I dig thru some Bandcamp new releases, and see what kind of noise I uncover. These all seem like good candidates for your chump change. Lo-fi, bedroom recordings from around the world, plus some hardcore from the Philippines, to wit:

From Detroit, a three song EP by a band called Weed Nap. Yo La Tengo-ish:

Two song EP, lo-fi bedroom pop type stuff from Barcelona called Los Tarzanillos. Dig that neat echo-y effect they use in both songs:

Three song EP from Weimar, Germany's JD & EU. Another lo-fi bedroom recording, this appears to be their first release.

From Struggle Records, out of Naga City, Philippines. Struggle Records says they're focusing on local punk and indie bands from the Bicol Region. This is a three song hardcore EP:

New From Bandcamp: Two New Instrumental Albums -- Martin Månsson Sjöstrand Trio from Sweden and Boys Age from Japan; and a new psych-pop single from Nomadic Homes from Nova Scotia

A few years back Kale Ogle of Doctor Nod fame was nice enough to design some sweet ass headers and icons for CNQ, really cool collage stuff that Kale is good at. His designs have been the face of CNQ on Facebook and e-mails for a few years now, but a while back I opted for a change on the CNQ blog header with some found public domain art. Tonight I did a full overhaul, channeling 14 year old Matt for some notebook drawings that's in keeping with Kale's back to basics approach with his hand-cut montages, but by me because I'm a creative type and like change but also lazy and hand drawn on notebook paper felt right. I think what I came up with is funny. Who gives a shit one way or the other tho -- let's rock:

CNQ fave Martin Månsson Sjöstrand of Dog Paper Submarine and This Heel is back with the Martin Månsson Sjöstrand Trio, and a nine song digital album called "Universum Faller." My dad taught me there's something special about a three man band. Excellent instrumental prog-surf, the Swedish trio's first album in six years is available for pay-what-thou-wilt on Bandcamp, and absolutely worth paying for (as is anything and everything Martin Månsson Sjöstrand is part of, he's a real talent). And speaking of montages, check out the cover art for "Universum Faller," too cool:

Dedicated CNQ-ers know I'm also a big fan of Boys Age from Japan. Here's another new instrumental album, 6 songs, $2.50 for a digital download. Speaking of cover art, I always love Boys Age cover art. I wonder if he does it himself.

Groovy new psych-pop single from Nova Scotia's Nomadic Homes, $1 CAN:

Some Recent Bandcamp Purchases - Apples In Stereo Re-Issue; Boys Age Cassette; plus Digital Releases from Tara Andrea & Maboud and Graham Domain

And so, to try and get myself into the habit of posting regularly again, here's another post.

I bought Age of Decadence on Steam a while ago and it's a great (and slightly depressing) top-down RPG. It's deal is that combat is really tough, so with that in mind I've played mostly non-combat characters (drifter, grifter, loremaster), since it kind of seems you have to talk your way out of just about everything. But each one of those wound up in the body heap, so I tried a merc last night and she also wound up dead with a relative quickness. Still super-fun, I played a little more tonight with a drifter. It has a neat post-apocalyptic after the fall of Rome-like setting. There doesn't seem to be any magic involved except as backstory, I dunno if that changes since I haven't gotten past the first few quests in the game without dying. Recommended if you're into isometric RPGs like Baldur's Gate, Pillars of Eternity, Shadowrun, etc. Those types of games are my favorite, aside from Civ, Fallout 4 and Skyrim.

I flipped over to Bandcamp and on the Bandcamp Daily it's "The Best Punk on Bandcamp, September 2019," and the byline reads "queercore, righteous feminist anger, and Finnish hardcore," which is basically what I've been sharing here on CNQ since 2012. So once again I'm like, if they're doing this now, then what the heck purpose do I serve?

I took down my Sony record player that hooked into my computer to share obscure vinyl, but have been thinking of hooking it back up. I just need a little extra space is all for the turntable, as I've moved my desk around and have various knick-knacks up on the desk that I like and don't want to move now.

Anyway, yes, all so fascinating. Blog identity-crisis and not enough space on desk for a Fallout 4 Pip Boy statue and a turntable.

Let's rock a few recent purchases from Bandcamp.

From Chunklet Industries, "a painstakingly recreated re-issue" of the first Apples in Stereo 7" from 1993. The songs are great, the re-issue looks boss, the yellow vinyl is limited to 100 copies, you get some stickers and a poster, it's a win:

Through Midwest Collective, I got this Boys Age cassette, Initiate - Very Best of Boys Age Vol​.​2 (Bonus Edition), limited to 100 copies as well. Boys Age is from Japan and just such a treasure. I'm still not sure what language he's singing in, and it doesn't matter because his bedroom mash of lo-fi shoegaze pop absolutely transcends and becomes a pure joy.

I've thought about doing interviews for the blog and I would love to do an interview with Boys Age.

I purchased this digital release back in May, and have been enjoying it ever since. Devotional music from Santa Fe. From the Bandcamp page, this is what they have to say about this track:

"Here we harmonize with the potential reality that we are satiated with the vast bounty of Creation. There is an inexhaustible and mysterious quality of abundance here that can fill us, inspire us and overflow from our being into the world. We feel into the incredible unlimited outpouring of the cornucopia of Nature, of the Cosmos and know we are a part of this, that it is our birth right as manifested beings of Creation."

Super-groovy. Most of the songs on Prisms of Wholeness are around 10 minutes, give or take. It's a pleasant journey of an album and certainly worth a listen.

Finally, from Metal Postcard Records, a 5 song digital release by Graham Domain, from Manchester. After that Mike Patton/Jean-Claude Vannier release (Corpse Flower) I've been interested in Leonard Cohen and Serge Gainsbourg type stuff. This is certainly in that wheelhouse and I dig it:

R.I.P. Big Jay McNeely; plus New Music Videos from Dot Dash (DC), White Petals (Lynchburg), and Trauma Harness (St. Louis)

Tenor saxophonist and rock'n'roll forerunner Big Jay McNeely passed away today in Watts, from cancer. He was 91. Here's the LA Weekly's obit for the man. CNQ sends condolences to McNeely's friends and family. From the 80s, here's live video of McNeely playing his 1953 blast of a song, "3-D," with Detroit Gary Wiggins:

I need to get started on a new podcast. Next one should have lots of new acquisitions from the much hallowed CNQ vinyl vault, but in the meantime, how about some new videos?

DC's Dot Dash has a new full length, "Proto Retro," it's fresh sounding jangle pop, their first since 2016 and sixth album total. You can get the CD from Ottowa's The Beautiful Music. Here's the new video for the uber-catchy single, Unfair Weather, which has been stuck in my head for a few weeks. They're giving away the single for free on bandcamp, so grip that here.

Next up, from Lynchburg, Virginia, new to me is White Petals. Here's a video from a three song EP coming out next month. The artist says the EP will be about his struggle with dissociation and cyclical bouts of anxiety. I can relate. A little nu-gazey, slightly ambient/electro, gloomy bedroom pop. I like his vox and this is a neat looking video:

From St. Louis, out on Lumpy Records, a fun video and cool synth-pop:

I'll start working on that new show...maybe first I'll play some Pillars of Eternity. Hashtag priorities.