Neon Kittens; Salem Trials; Occult Character; Cindytalk; Draudiga; Soup Activists; Abi Ooze; CML; The Wirms; The Legendary Ten Seconds; Fir Cone Children; Night Shop

New real deal, killer diller stuff (of course) from Metal Postcard Records -- new EPs from Neon Kittens and Salem Trials, plus a new full length from Occult Character:

Glasgow's Cindytalk has a new four song CD release you can pre-order on Bandcamp, Subterminal, coming out late this year on label False Walls. The available single, "Where Everything Sparkles and Shines," is 7 and a half minutes of that shit I do like. Atmospheric, eerie instrumental, and happens to be perfect for this time of year, but every day is Halloween for me, so:

Portland, Maine's Draudiga has a new 11 song release out on Bandcamp called Persephone. They call it "Americana Noir" and I dig it:

Great new stuff from Lumpy-related St. Louis acts:

From Memphis, The Wirms are a three piece punk act with a new live release, Live at Lamplighter Lounge, via What's For Breakfast Records. Very up my alley:

The Legendary Ten Seconds, who recently released that killer single "The Torqauy Sandyman," have a new folk rock album release with Jules Jones, here's the single, "They Kept on Marching." Love it:

Fir Cone Children is the project of Alexander Leonard Donat, and the new album, Today There's No Tomorrow, out on Berlin-based label Blackjack Illuminist Records, is a ripper, front to back. Fuzzy noisey psychy dreamy weirdo-pop that vocally, sonically, and spiritually reminds me of Andy Anderson's work in Proto Idiot/Freak Genes, which is high praise indeed because I think Anderson hangs the moon when it comes to who's doing what, rock'n'roll-wise. Here's "Quite Okay with Mondays":

And finally, my man Night Shop has a new track out called "Universal City." As far as I'm concerned, this guy Justin Sullivan can do no wrong. He continues to prove me correct with "Universal City":

Three Singles from The Legless Crabs

Ya know I completely forgot to mention, The Legless Crabs have a new video for their smash no-hit, "(I Wanna Be A) Cult Musician," from the recent Metal Postcard release, Always Your Boy. Cult Musician will also be released as a single soon on MP, with a b-side that I think is pretty rad, but honestly I don't even remember what it was I sent to Sean for the flip. Meanwhile here's the video for Cult Muso, directed by Son of El Borko, the Crabs' shadowy, bizarre front man and main lyricist:

The erstwhile three to four piece also have a couple of new tracks available for pay what thou wilt over on their Bandcamp page, "I Know What Yr Dad Is Sayin' (And He's Wrong)," and "Anti-Christian Scientists." Appreciation of naive noise rock and a degenerate sense of humor may be required to fully enjoy, but give it a listen anyway:

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.

This Heel (Sweden); Lappen (Germany); Meph Luciano & CK (Dallas)

Martin Månsson Sjöstrand's This Heel has a new EP called Invisible Space, due out October 16 on Bandcamp. I got to listen to the 6 track EP today and it is This Heel at its lo-fi psych-pop rock'n'roll finest. Sjöstrand keeps getting better and better at what he does. "Cave Boy (Blow The Flower A Kiss)" is from the new album, give it a listen:

Also, all true Sjöstrand fanatics should check out volumes 2 and 3 of his Arkivkollage series. I featured #1 in the series a while back, and since then there's been two more -- each 20 minutes or so of songs from Martin's archives, collaged together into a must listen for purveyors of weirdo lo-fi psych-pop extended freak-outs:

Deutschpunk from Leipzeig:

Hip-hop from Dallas:

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:

Little Beards, Mirrorboxx, and Nervous Curtains (Dallas)

I got to listen to the new Little Beards full length, The Legend of Spectacular Living, and it's great -- the married duo from Dallas exploring dark, apocalyptic synth-pop. It's due out mid-September and you can pre-order the digital album on their Bandcamp page. I think they're doing a single release soon so I'll be sure to share that once it's released.

Sean Kirkpatrick, one half of Little Beards, is also in the equally rad dark synth outfit Nervous Curtains, and his solo instrumental synth project, Mirrorboxx, has a recent release from June, Vision Quest of the Technocrat, available on Bandcamp. Sean's a smart guy and his music reflects that. A lot of ruminating on our current (and probably forseeable future) sorry police state of post-capitalist society, and the detrimental effects thereof on people living within it. It's heavy stuff, but that doesn't make for a dry listen.

To wit, released just last week, a new single called "Human Futures Trader (Steve More Remix)." I'm certain in 20 years Little Beards, Nervous Curtains, and Mirrorboxx will be on lists of the best underground synth, electro, and darkwave of the early 21st century. If we survive that long!

But, like the man sez, "hey you, don't watch that -- watch this!"

The 2018 Mirrorboxx EP, Minimal Compliance, still remains in rotation on my turntable. I see there's still vinyl of it available, you should order it, it's boss:

Soma Crew (York), The Poppermost (Glasgow), Uhylak (Wroclaw, Poland), Bethan (Dallas), The False Positives (Rochester, NY), and Pink Milk (Gotland)

Soma Crew is based out of York and has a new "twin" vinyl release, Out of Darkness/Into Light courtesy Vinyl Eddie Records. The 12 songs are all around 5 minutes, give or take. I haven't listened to the whole thing, but the four or five tracks I listened to are rad. Psych in a Brian Jonestown Massacre vein.

Here's a video for their single, "Mighty Forces:"

Uchylak is from Wroclaw, Poland. Going back to 2019, he has eight albums and eight EPs on Bandcamp, and I love an artist who is so prolific that his friends tell him "I can't keep up with your output." I can relate.

Super-cool instrumental electronic music, the artist says it's "a mix of techno-industrial, ambient, drone and lo fi." This song has a Ministry vibe I love:

The Poppermost is a one-man band from Glasgow with a new album due out on the 30th called Hits To Spare, which will be made available on vinyl and CD in the US courtesy Think Like A Key Music. A Beatles/Bands Influenced By The Beatles-influenced project, "Up Against It" is the B-Side of the first single:

Velvet Blue Music is a label out of Huntington Beach, California, I'm interested in digging into their catalog a little more. There's a number of bands on their Bandcamp page from the DFW and Texas. I love this track from Dallas artist Bethan, whom I've never heard of. An eerie jazz vocal:

I look forward to listening to more of the Velvet Blue Music catalog soon.

Here in the Year of our Lorb 2021, there are so many people making so much music. What a time to be alive. And you'll never listen to it all. It's a wild scene, man.

The False Positives are out of Rochester, NY, and I have been there twice. They've got a really cool record store called The Record Archive that has a bar in it.

This is The False Positive's eighth digital single release since December 2018. Fun lo-fi power pop:

Swedish duo Pink Milk have got to be going places. Gothy shoegaze, reverb to the max -- and what a fun video:

That's half a month's worth of quality submissions right there. I'll try for the other half of July submissions here soon.

Lou Gainer: You're The Oil Slick Of My Heart (1981)

This is the B-side to "Lash LaRue," which is a pretty awesome story-song that features some truly bitchin' whip cracks. Unfortunetly, the A-side is scratched and skips in a couple of different places, otherwise I would certainly feature it. Still, "You're The Oil Slick of My Heart" has its country-ballad moments.

"Lou Gainer" was the pseduonym of Carl Gaines, a Dallas native who billed himself as a "writer-peformer crack-whip artist." A Google search of "Lou Gainer Carl Gaines" will bring you to a list of treatments he copyrighted back in the 70s, one of which was about the Monkees. Pretty cool, man!

This was put out on "The Whip Records," which I'm assuming was Gaines' own label, since he was a crack-whip artist and the address provided for Whip Records & Spur-Buckle Pub. Co. -- 3426 Sheldon Ave. in Dallas -- is somebody's house. This 45" was written and produced by Gaines as Gainer and recorded at Huddleston's in Dallas, in 1981. Looks like Johnny Mathis recorded at Huddleston's back in the late 70s. I really wish I could play y'all Lash LaRue, because those whip-cracks in the song are boss. I borrowed this gem from my in-laws' collection.

Download: You're The Oil Slick of My Heart