Feast of Beast

Dirty Beaches - Night City

NewDirty Beaches, as well as Terror Bird, Jeans Wilder, & Wet Hair among other on a free beko/la station radar collaboration.  Its quite fantastic & I’m enjoying it  

You can download the whole 42min of blissfulness here.  

Also keep an eye out for the long awaited Debut LP from Dirty Beaches, Badlands out on Zoo Music 3/29.  Insound has been touting that they’re the only place in the states to pre-order the album, which may be true, but if you sign yourself up for the zoo music mailing list, you’ll get first dibs on ordering.  Shhh….

Puro Instinct - Lost at Sea

So the new Puro Instinct LP, Headbangers In Ecstasy will soon be out on Mexican Summer, yeah soon??  The page for the album is up on the label here, with a vague coming soon tag.  I find it interesting after one 12” as Pearl Harbor, one 12” as Puro Instinct, and another scarce Japanese Slivers of You 7” import that their debut contains so much previously recorded material.  Out of the 16 track LP, 5 are mere seconds of radio chatter; 5 out of the 11 left are new tracks.  Granted the rest are freshly recorded versions that are much cleaned up.  Yet I still can’t help but feel a little gyped, as it doesn’t show the boldest start to a debut full length.  Its a decent album if you weren’t expecting more new tracks.

Lost at Sea (or Lost@Sea as it was originally) was one of my favorite early Pearl Harbor mp3s to drift on to the intertubes back in February 10’, and it sounds so clean now as to be nearly unrecognizable to the original.  Not sure if I like the new version as much.  

Décima Víctima - Tan Lejos

Ever stop n think why some bands become famous and not others?  At times I feel like its almost pure luck and outside the realm of talent. 

Case and point: Décima Víctima

Think Joy Division, but Spanish…yea that about sums it up.  These guys freakin rock, and led a short-lived career between 1981 and 1984.  They released two LPs, a maxi-single, two EPs and three singles, and failed to ever achieve commercial success.  To my knowledge their music does not exists on cd or in mp3 format, short of some vinyl rips that exist on the intertubes.  It wasn’t even on what, I literally had to snatch some sketchy mediafire folder to grab their first s/t LP and its definitely a vinyl rip.

Wondrous news, introducing: Décima Víctima 3XLP Boxset, limited to 600 copies.  It contains all the music made by Décima Víctima, including two unreleased tracks, and is released almost 30 years after their first record.  For this edition, the sound of the original tape recordings has been cleaned and improved, including a 24 page LP size booklet in Spanish and English telling the band’s story in their own words and includes many unseen pictures, a full discography and complete lyrics.

At $80 for the box, its a bit steep, but considering its three records, the original vinyls are scarce & cost that much a piece, and this is pretty much your only chance to ever fully enjoy these guys outside of mediocre youtube rips, I’d say it justifies the price.

Grab the box set here from amazon. 

Visions of Trees - Sometimes It Kills

New Visions of Trees Sometimes it Kills 7” available from Moshi Moshi here.  This song just won’t stop playin in my head.  Love the vocals + simple scratchy synth beatss.

Memory Tapes - Today Is Our Life

Apparently beloved Memory Tapes (marriage of Weird Tapes & Memory Cassette) is releasing a new full length LP soon(??) with Today Is Our Life as our first peek.  The new track is everything I’ve been waiting for, and speaks well of the coming LP. 

The single is featured on the Something in Construction’s new LOVE SIC DISCO comp, which can be downloaded here.  It’s quite good indeed. 

Debut LP from Memory Tapes (now 2 years ago?!) Seek Magic, was without a doubt one of my top three albums of 09’. I was lucky enough to grab one of the 300 blue/white haze vinyls on the first run.  You too can enjoy Seek Magic on pretty white vinyl, a repress of 1000 is available fromAcéphale here.  It is so good, and two years later its still on constant spin.

The Barettas - Touche

There are no trust funds in Hamilton, so each of us has taken on a couple jobs, usually a combination of cleaning houses during the day, and tending bar at night. The reward, and real purpose for these jobs is that it lets us make music and blow off steam at every other possible opportunity.

A trio hailing from Hamilton, Ontario known as the The Barettas have released their brand of rough cut, sweet gems via their Band Camp here (free dl). Good to know that amidst all that deck scrubbing and bar wench drudgery the girls have found the time to record some high energy pop that wont rot your teeth. Reminds me a good deal of one the best bands to emerge last year, The Sandwitches (of course). Hopefully The Barettas will have a real 7” to share with us soon. Watch their video for Touche here, involving some jamming & fishing by an old shipwrecked boat. <3 me some shipwrecks. 

mmm professional two prong hooks…

The Babies -  Sunset

Vivian Girls side project, The Babies have their debut s/t LP coming out on 2/15 via Shrimper Records.  A year ago when the vgirls arrived on the scene I was intrigued and yet after many concerted efforts to get into their music, I finally let them go wayside and deleted them from my ol’ itunes library.  It wasn’t unlistenable, but every song just sounded exactly the same with more distortion than recognizable vocals.  They just weren’t my bad of tricks, but I am pleasantly surprised by The Babies.  More poppy, clear vocals, and some definite range across their quick 10 track, 26min LP.  Some garage pop that’s not afraid to shy away from the all too common over distortion effects.

Grab the The Babies s/t Lp here from insound.  They also have two 7”s available on insound as well if you’re really into them, and you can grab the Meet Me In The City b/w Somebody Else debut 7” directly from Make a Mess Records here.  I usually try n buy direct from labels when possible, especially if they’re small independent ones, plus you save a couple bucks.     

Best Coast - Sunny Adventure

New secret(?) 7” split featuring Best Coast & Jeff The Brotherhood.  Sources say on pretty clear pink vinyl.  Both tracks are stellar, and while I’m a die hard besty fan from their 1st 7”, Jeff The Brotherhood contributes a most excellent track as well.  You want? All you gotta do is sign up for Volcom’s 7” club, and $40 bones gets you this 7” plus 5 more guaranteed; 6 for $40, not too bad.  Get your Volcom 7” club membership and the Best Coast 7” here.  Certainly a hell of lot easier than snatching that Eskuche Best Coast 7”, you could only get with $70 headphones. 

<3<3<3     

A Classic Education - Night Owl

This song makes me just wanna curl up in my grizzly-bear chair and listen to the soft ballad sounds of A Classic Education.  This single is the latest Weathervane Music, Shaking Through release, and you can download it for free here.  For the full Shaking Through artist in studio experience, check out the video below for a beind the scenes look at these guys recording.  xo

Keep Shelly in Athens - Hauntin’ Me

Really gettin into this new deal from Keep Shelly in Athens.  Their debut OOP release came from good ol’ Forest Family Records, and tryin my best, I simply wasn’t impressed.  Yet this new track Hauntin’ Me, is speaking to my tastes and sounds a bit more…Memory House? if that means somethin to ya.  I’m happy to see that Transparent Blog is releasing a Hauntin’ Me b/w Song To Cheer You Up 7”.  As always with tb releases, you can pick up that physical copy on vinyl from pure groove here, ships 2/21.  All tb releases are limited to 300, and considering the fast sellout rate from the last 500 press, I’d act quick.  Also this is kinda an advance headsup, cause its not even listed on tb yet.