Shock Mountain

Hailing from Vancouver, another one of my favourite discoveries from 2009. It’s always nice when bands send you their music, and for that I think them.

To all new bands eager  to play perfect garage pop tunes, this must surely be the benchmark.

To be released on 14th of December on Bachelor, here’s two of the four songs.

Check their Myspace for west coast dates early next year, and stay tuned for a split with Fungi Girls.

Link

-Lewis

If you’ve seen the lineup for 2010’s ATP New York you were probably in the middle of cumming buckets at that lineup (Sleep?!?! Holy fucking shit yes!) when you said “what the fuck?” about The Scientists. The Scientists were an obscure, yet highly influential garage rock band coming from Australia in the late 70s. Hugely influential to grunge acts like Mudhoney (also playing ATP NY) and alternative rock groups like The Pixies, The Scientists were the Australian version of The Velvet Underground, with few people hearing them but those who did were majorly influenced. This is just some loud, raw rock and roll in the vein of Iggy & The Stooges (ALSO playing ATP NY!).

MySpace

Note: I could not find a link to buy, if anyone knows one, let me know! Thanks!

-Max

For those of you Clevelanders who were lucky enough to see Thee TV Oh Dees should be delighted to hear this tape from Neon Tongues, the new band from Adam Upp, the singer/guitarist/older brother. Rather than continuing down the jerky art-punk of Thee TV Oh Dees, Neon Tongues record ultra-catchy lo-fi garage pop jams. This ultra limited cassette (only 20 c0pies produced, 10 red, 10 yellow!) features two songs, both of which bring to mind the playful sound of NODZZZ, Japanther and Nobunny. Download this tape and sing along! If you’re in Cleveland, they play shows pretty often, including two shows next week at Now Thats Class!

MySpace

Buy

-Max

If you weren’t aware,  Black Lips are a group of crazy mother fuckers. Their on stage antics are well documented. In January, the guys were facing arrest and deportation from India due to their wild actions on stage, which included spitting on the audience, getting naked, fighting random people, and engaging in homosexual activity (kissing each other during performances). This behavior may be passible in certain underground rock communities across the US, but India was not to keen on the idea. The guys quickly got out of the country and flew to Berlin, where they met up with longtime friends King Khan and BBQ (aka Mark Sultan) to form The Almighty Defenders. The album was recorded during there stay in Germany and was released today by Vice Records.

Myspace

Buy

- James

Earlier this week, I was fortunate enough to see the movie Wild Zero, a Japanese rock ‘n roll zombie movie starring the band Guitar Wolf. Not only did I love the absolutely ridiculous movie, but I kept noticing how great the music was. The next morning, I downloaded this album, 43 minutes of Japanese garage rock, covered in so much distortion and feedback that it sounds almost like noise rock at times. Guitar Wolf really define rock ‘n roll here, in a leather jacket, motorcycle-riding fashion. Although they are known for their mindblowing live shows featuring flaming microphones, nonstop sets and wild stage antics, their studio work has an abundance of energy and a rock ‘n roll sneer that harkens back to my favorite rock phrase ever: “Kick out the jams, motherfucker!”

Wild Zero

MySpace

Buy

-Max

I guess you could say that The Monks suffer from what I call “Velvet Underground Syndrome” in that very few heard them during their time, but everyone who heard them was inspired to create similar music. This classic garage rock group has been said to be influential to everyone from The Fall (who covered several songs from this album) to the Beastie Boys. The only album from 4 American GI’s in Germany, Black Monk Time was one of the first great sonic freakouts in popular music, filled with absurdist lyrics, political protests and the first use of feedback for musical purposes, as claimed by singer Gary Burger (who later went on to become mayor of Turtle River, MN). Everything about this album seems to work together to create a classic: Gary Burger’s howl, the splashes of fuzzed-out guitar burstst, the proto-Krautrock rhythms, songs to get stuck in your head for days. Thank God this album is being reissued by Play Loud! Productions, this is something everyone should hear.

MySpace

Buy

-Max

The latest from Kid Congo Powers really does fit it’s title, calling to mind the dark, yet campy, vampire films of the 50s and 60s. Then again, what would you expect from Powers, who has been a member of Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds and The Cramps, both known for their dark, yet sexy sounds. This album finds Congo crafting a set of garage rock tunes sounding as if they could only come from a psychedelic jungle somewhere in Transylvania.  Jumping from wild Nuggets style garage rock to psychedelic voodoo-punk to acid-drenched biker funk, this album has something for everyone. Already one of my favorites of this year.

MySpace

Buy

-Max

“This is going to be the best live record of all time.”

- Cole Alexander

I’m seeing Black Lips tonight. If you listen to this album at 10 it will be like our psyche are connected.

Cole Alexander of The Black Lips sometimes likes to record under the pseudonym Old King Cole Younger. This is the case with his split with Deerhunter’s Bradford Cox, who records under the pseudonym Atlas Sound. Great Garage Rock but not as good as the other side of the split, in my opinion.

Myspace