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 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...
A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the Go Farther In Lightness 2LP by Gang Of Youths. For the nearly half-century since the genre’s inception now, one of the few steadfast foundations upon which punk rock has stood has been nihilism. Consistently, the spirit of punk has been one of “Fuck it all – strip the music down to the barest essentials and get emotionally dark and bleak – at least that way we’ll all beat the world at...
Xetas The Tower How does one begin to describe Xetas? “Powerful,” that’s how. But also sinister, relentless, and exciting. Xetas came to my attention by pure chance. A chance I love to take with 12XU records. More and more they are becoming my primary source for new music exposure. That goes for you as well, dear reader. Listening to the Tower it’s evident that Xetas are not interested in wasting anyone’s time. Yours or their, for that matter. Legend has...
Howlin’ Wolf Best of the Sun Records Sessions Are you serious about music? We are. So much so that we consider it homework. It’s not enough to enjoy the music, but also to understand where it came from: to trace it and pinpoint references. Forget what people say about appropriation: good art is all about combining influences and making something new; it’s all about bottom-up expression. This is why it’s important to go back and understand the sources....
A deeper look at the grooves pressed into Vamos’ 1, 2, 3 LP. The problem with every great music revival is that, as energizing and exciting as it might be, there’s a certain safety and security in knowing that the ideas involved have worked before and can work again in a walk – if enough people believe in it. Such thought processes have worked well several times over in the last twenty-five years, and it would be easy to figure...
A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the This American Blues LP by Ford Madox Ford. Remember a couple of decades ago when, against some fairly long odds, The Blasters managed to cross-wire punk rock and Americana/roots music? The results were pretty cool – the group actually did manage to break onto the popular radar for a minute (with some help from Quentin Tarantino and the soundtrack from From Dusk Til Dawn), but basically remained pretty niche because punk...
A deeper look at the grooves pressed into No Joy / Sonic Boom’s self-titled 12” EP. Ever had one of those moments when you heard or read about a new musical project being entered by a couple of established musicians, got excited as your imagination began to run wild with the possibilities of what may come from the endeavor and then learned that you couldn’t have been more right when you got a taste of the music? It’s gratifying, isn’t...