M.F. DOOM Mm..Food (Vinyl Me Please edition) You have to respect DOOM, OK? You just have to. I only needed a few listens of his latest album Born Like This to realize the man was doing something different. Something interesting. Something worthwhile. Working my way through his catalog, I spent my sweet time with Mm..Food and I can honestly say it was time well spent. After having properly digested the album, you’ve got to give it to the man for...
A deeper look at the grooves pressed into The Flaming Lips’ Greatest Hits Volume 1 LP. As a general rule, I must confess that Best-Of compilations seldom thrill me. While the odd set does prove to be the rule’s exception (like Nirvana’s black album, the set that Morphine released several years ago, ChangesoneBowie, Hot Rocks and All For Nothing/Nothing For All turned out to all be great sets) and which does present the band in question at its best, most...
The funny thing about punk and hardcore bands has always seemed to be that, no matter how caustic they may have sounded when listeners first began paying attention, the desire to get louder/harder/more aggressive as soon as MORE people begin listening to them is nearly immediate. A perfect example of this tradition can be found in the recorded output of Vancouver’s rising stars NEEDS; upon first appearing with their self-titled album in 2015, the band shattered expectations by delivering a...
A deeper look at the grooves pressed into Booze & Glory’s 12” die-cut “London Skinhead Crew” single. Rare is the single which features the better of two tracks on its B-side, but such is undeniably the case when it comes to Booze & Glory’s “London Skinhead Crew” 12” single. This time out, the London-based punk band unlaces its collective boots a bit and presents a reggae-infused impression of their excellent call-to-arms anthem, “London Skinhead Crew” before going ahead and presenting...
A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the 12” picture-disc reissue of Old Firm Casuals’ self-titled debut EP. By the time Lars Frederiksen unveiled Old Firm Casuals in 2010, the singer/guitarist was already very well exposed in the punk rock community. He had already cut his teeth with U.K. Subs in 1991, gained pop (and pop-punk) stardom with Rancid beginning in 1993 and “gone solo” with The Bastards in addition to taking a seat in the producer’s chair at...
Thee Oh Sees An Odd Entrances There comes a point when we just have to draw a line in the sand and say, “This is too much!” I used to think John Dwyer’s Thee Oh Sees was such a prolific band that they’re not giving their audience enough time to properly digest their musical output. I have my favorites in the catalog, of course, like Floating Coffin and Castlemania, but that’s only because those were some of my first tastes...
OCS Memory of a Cut Off Head Let’s talk about Thee Oh Sees… sorry I mean Oh Sees… sorry I mean OCS. If you haven’t heard of them, you should. Not just because they’re scary prolific, but because they’re also responsible for some damn fine music. Not hurting things also is their DIY approach to their craft: all albums are recorded by and put out on frontman John Dwyer’s Castle Face records. And not that it matters, but Dwyer himself...
A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the You’re Not Alone 2LP by Andrew W.K. An epiphany: since first appearing on the pop music radar in 2001 with the release of his debut album, I Get Wet, Andrew Wilkes-Krier has chased the idea and image of a perfect party as well as producing a genuinely kinetic soundtrack for such an event with little thematic deviation (obvious exception being the piano-focused, instrumental album which appeared in 2009, 55 Cadillac) –...
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard With Mild High Club Sketches Of Brunswick East photo: turntablelab.com In some ways, Sketches of Brunswick East is an album that left me more impressed with King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard than Murder of the Universe. The latter album is what made me fall in love with the band and solidified what the name “King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard” is supposed to represent musically. But, this band doesn’t adhere by any standards:...
El Topo Soundtrack Alejandro Jodorowksy photo: turntablelab.com El Topo is the kind of movie that should be seen by everyone simply due to its historical significance. It’s one of those movies that has nothing to lose. Some will love it and become interested in its creator Alejandro Jodorowsky and all his movies, others will like it, others will appreciate it for just how unique and strange it is, others will consider this movie homework and something a film buff ought...