technicolor teeth - teenage pagans (2013)

keepin the momentum going today, on the menu right now: the debut lp from appleton wisconsin's technicolor teeth (featuring members of tenement). they play a heavy melodic blanket of sound that sounds like its literally oozing along....its really good, though you may want to break up this record into portions, cause its a long listen (at least for me it was) this isnt really like much that i've heard before. to my ears its fresh, weird and original sounding stuff.......of course i don't really have a backgound in the more psychadelic side of rock, so they could be just ripping off bands ive never heard, (but i dont think so) its a fine album, and i hope i get to see them live sometime soon. check it out.

technicolor teeth - teenage pagans

late bloomer - s/t (2013)

keeping on a steady roll with new stuff, heres another new lp from another great newish band......late bloomer are a band from north carolina whose demo i reviewed a year or so ago.....this record builds upon the early 90s indie sound displayed on the demo and adds to it.....dinosaur jr, treepeople, built to spill, all are heavy influences here, melodic disheveled rough edged rock with smartass lyrics......thats the nuts and bolts of late bloomer and they do it better than most.....this is something i could recommend wholeheartedly to everyone. listen to it on a nice drive through the country or on the way to a show......its a really great album.

late bloomer - s/t

dreamdecay - n v n v n v (2013)

another killer record finally works its way into my suddenly robust review cycle......what we have here is a brand new album from one of Seattle's best current outfits, dreamdecay, whos last offering, "fern" was an outstanding work in its own right.......they've evolved  in an even more moody weirdo direction in the noise rock realm and to me, this is a great thing, twisted chords, nimble rhythms giving way to tribal pounding, echoey distorted loudspeaker vocals, steady basslines, all comming together to make some amazing, even epic listening........songs that go from twisting moody crawls to towering bludgeoning........these are my impressions after one sitting with this album, im sure ill be able to find even more nuances as it sinks into my consciousness with subsequent listens.....one of the most original bands making music today....taking influences from everywhere and truly making them their own......easy top 10 record of the year so far for me and possibly top 5 with more listens......check it out.

dreamdecay - n v n v n v

swimsuit - s/t (2012)

another record that i completely ignored until recently........i knew fred thomas (lovesick and a billion other bands) was in this band, but i thought it would be something that i wouldn't like (IE:  i thought it would sound like saturday looks good to me) they even came up here and played sekoitus fest last year (they played on the second night when i didn't have any cash to come back cause i was saving up for michigan meltdown the next weekend) i still held off for another few months after that....then around the turn of the year i finally got the record and listened to it and i was immediately addicted ........catchy surf rock-pop with mostly sweet female vocals....fred sings here and there (a much different experience here than lovesick, at least to my ears) and the recording is top notch......i need to learn to not sleep on stuff cause it seems im missing out on alot of things.......anyways this shit is great and it probably would've made my top ten last year had i not slept on it...........now im just hoping i get another chance to see them in a live setting.........highly recommended........

swimsuit - s/t

Red Hare - nites of midnite (2013)

this came out last month and id have to say this is the current frontrunner for record of the year.......yea, the new cousins album and the latest offerings from cloud rat and gay kiss are all neck and neck at the top, but these guys are out ahead a little farther.......been listening to this  almost constantly since i got it a few weeks back.......ex swiz/dag nasty/buetip/garden variety and retsonic personnel here. sean brown (dag nasty/swiz/sweetbelly freakdown) still sounds the way he did 25 years ago, actually listening to this record is kind of a timewarp back to the early 90s,  very much on the swiz tip and without much of a "modern" influence at all.....the songs are all powerful and catchy and the lyrics are interesting, clear and outfront........the mix is great (as can be expected of j robbins) and the recording is nice and loud. i cant find a bad thing to say about this record (maybe the songs are too short? haha)  anyhow, IMO, this is the kind of hardcore more bands should be playing, anything to reduce the amount of lousy crust and 80s throwback "hardcore" bands that are currently overstaying their welcome.......this shit is golden.

red hare - nites of midnight

cousins - bathhouse (2013)

ok, so this record just came out over the weekend (on cassette, the band is still looking for someone to put out the vinyl) and its blown me away. seriously haven't stopped listening to this since i got it saturday.....shoegaze perfection, the only two words in the english language that aptly describe this record.........if you don't know, cousins are a band from milwaukee who play great shoegaze punk. their "axthoxy" ep (2011, reviewed here a year or so ago) was great, but this record is a full staircase above that release in quality, which is saying something, because these dudes were already talented.....just really great mellow wall of noise sounding jams that hit the sweet spot everytime.....some might say it gets monotonous, but i love the fuck out of this shit.......i still have yet to see them, which sucks cause i bet they translate really well live.........in any case im not sure i have enough words to praise this record with. its just that good. i can see this record ending up in alot of top ten lists at the end of the year for sure......you need to check this out.

physical copies can be had here:  http://www.bridgetownrecords.info

cousins - bathhouse