Grapefruit Record Club opens up pre-orders for their Year 3 2013 subscription series and they secured some great artists including Faust!!!
Tony Carey- Explorer & Yellow Power reissues (Medical Records)
buy here:
http://medical-records.org/index.html
Tony Carey has had quite the illustrious career as a keyboardist from 75-77 for the British hard rockers Rainbow featuring Ritchie Blackmore and Ronnie James Dio. Carey is not British he is a California native and met the Rainbow fellas in a studio where Blackmore asked him to audition and got the job and eventually a few years down the road after disagreements with Blackmore he parted ways to go solo. Carey had a hand full of hits in the early 80’s and found some success with starting the prog style Planet P. Now for me these are all groups I have avoided like the plague all of my life and have been completely clueless to the existence of Tony Carey. This is where Medical Records comes in and finds jewels hidden with the mundane. Somehow Carey managed to put together a few albums in the early 80’s that veer away from conventional rock or from any label politicking. From the sounds of the interview with Carey in the liner notes he was just screwing around learning his way around the studio and these records are just a blip on his radar that really hold no significant meaning to him, he is glad people like them and that’s about as far is it goes for him. Basically “Explorer” and “Yellow Power” from 1982 are mostly an anomaly in a fairly straightforward career. Medical Records has chosen to package them together as “Explorer” is said to be basically demos for “Yellow Power.” That being said the albums stand magnificently on their own “Explorer” being a raw stripped back instrumental album while “Yellow Power” is a very full sounding produced record. Every kind of genre tag has been dropped on these records from proto-techno to Italo disco and back again but I just prefer the genre of damn good. If you like Kraftwerk or Yellow Magic Orchestra but have never gone beyond that Tony Carey will take you on some next level type trips and if you never ventured past say Devo start with “Yellow Power” and make your way to the minimalism of “Explorer.” The packaging is once again incredible with a gatefold and colored wax limited to 1000 copies hand numbered. I’m equally impressed in the restraint from making “Yellow Power” on yellow wax instead it is pressed into a beautiful baby blue. One thing you can take to the bank with Medical Records is they always sell out fast as they put out only the finest of hidden gems so jump on this fast and make sure to check out Medical Records back catalog now available digitally.
Fumaca Preta 45- Music With Soul
buy it here:
http://musicwithsoulrecords.com/
When the needle hit the groove on this 45 I was not prepared for the sounds contained within. A wildly discordant organ drone introduces “Vou-me Libertar” before an incredibly funky drum beat kicks things into overdrive. The madness that ensues is hard to describe. Joel Stone lays it bare shouting like a crazed lunatic over an insanely chaotic mix of funk and psych. Drum breaks and a wild organ end things in high style. The flip “Eu Era Um Cao” is another monster groove with thick fuzzy eastern style guitar leads more wild vocal antics and echoed feedback galore. Erkin Koray eat your heart out….This 45 is a seriously heavy trip and it’s was all incredibly written and recorded the same day. The wild abandon with which these songs ooze is intoxicating. This is a record not to be missed…
Brute Heart- Wildfire 7” (Water Wing Records)
buy it here:
http://waterwingrecords.com/htmls/bruteHeart.html
The snap of a snare drum announces “Wildfire” the new 7” single by the Minneapolis trio Brute Heart on Water Wing Records. Brute Heart is not your conventional power trio, instead they consist of an all female cast playing bass, drums and a heavily effected viola that takes the place of the traditional guitar. The outcome is nothing short of stunning. “Wildfire” has a fresh sound that blends avant-classical with funky bass and drums all while maintaining the gorgeous glow of indie pop. The heavy dose of reverb on the bass player Crystal Myslajek and viola player Jackie Beckey’s vocals make for a haunting and alluring contrast to the dub inflected grooves. The psychedelic, echo laced, distorted viola break is not to be missed. The flip side is a remix that doesn’t stray to far from the original but does take the sounds to even more majestic hallucinatory heights. Jason Powers who recorded a few albums for the amazing band Grails has his hands in on the remix reconstructing and creating a version that is every bit as good as the original. Brute Heart has managed to create a sound that is unique in an era of increasingly homogenized sounds on “Wildfire” their latest 7” on black vinyl for Water Wing Records. The record also includes a digital download code for maximum portability.
Myty Konkeror-I Miss the Future (Twin Lake Records)
buy it here: http://www.twinlakesrecords.com/mk-store/
Originally released in 2011 Myty Konkeror’s album I Miss the Future was received with acclaim and quickly sold out of the first run of lathe cut lps to wax heads all over the globe. To appease the masses Twin Lakes Records have issued a limited repress of 200 copies on white vinyl. It’s easy to see how the always fashionable WFMU gave airplay to tracks such as “Vasatare” and “Whitewash” with their psychedelic freakouts and feedback drenched shoegazer tendencies. I Miss the Future is adrenaline filled amps to eleven for a large majority of the record. Vocals are sparse, weaved throughout the hard hitting drums and the buzzing guitar workouts that are the true stars of the show. This is a record for those still clinging to My Bloody Valentine and for those who wished the Black Angels had a real drummer.
The Awful Truth-Birthright
buy it here: http://theawfultruth.bandcamp.com/album/birthright
I admire bands out there living their musical dreams apart from the system of labels. Grinding it out by booking their own shows and scrounging up their own press for an album they paid for all themselves and pressed to wax. I like bands like this even more when they are good. The Awful Truth is that band writing and recording excellent songs that are heart-felt and honest. The wear your heart on your sleeve songwriting tactics are well worn territory that most bands fall drastically short of succeeding at but throughout the album “Birthright” the songs remain solid. They lyrics are smart and the melodies let you fall right into them. If you love the Red House Painters or Damian Jurado give a group that you may never have heard of like the Awful Truth a chance to win you over.
New Releases from Medical Records
Cristof Glowalla-Erde 80 ten inch
Disco Volante- No Motion seven inch
Buy it here: http://medical-records.org/index.html
Medical Records is a fun label to watch evolve over time. The beginning stages being straight reissues with beefed up liner notes on beautiful colored 180g vinyl, then maintaining all the quality of the previous releases they jumped into issuing never before heard tracks by ultra obscure acts like Gay Cat Park. The new evolution sees Medical Records moving into the 10” and 7” format the 10” being my favorite format of all. The mustard yellow 10” of early 80’s West Berlin artist Cristof Glowalla is a fantastic entry into this new territory featuring a long out of print 7” and a smattering of other tracks from 1981. Glowalla’s tracks ooze early 80’s analog magic with pulsating drum machines and layers of synthesizers and the presence of an acoustic guitar helps create an incredible new dimension to the dark synthpop.
Disco Volante’s 1984 single “No Motion” is Medical Records first dip into the 7” realm and sadly a pressing plant error occurred leaving all the vinyl in classic black rather than the intended transparent green. Black is fine by me and no harm was done to the music in the grooves. I also love that the double a side 7” has a side that plays at 45rpms and another at 33rpms. “No Motion” is catchy, quirky diy. new wave at its best. Both Disco Volante and Christof Glowalla are probably entirely unknown to most of the population excluding some hardcore genre collectors, which is why the reissues Medical Records do are so special. They are introducing acts that flew under the radar. While groups like Kraftwerk and Devo ruled the airways these groups passionately made their art in utter obscurity but these sounds are fresh today and ready to be unearthed by a new generation of listeners. Medical Records have the tendency to sell out rather quickly due to the expertly designed packaging and limited nature of the releases oh and by the way because the music is amazing. If you have to pick one go for the Glowalla 10” but be prepared to live a life of regret for leaving behind the Disco Volante 7”
David Novick- (Sun Sneeze Records)
Buy it Here: http://sunsneezerecords.blogspot.com/
I remember reviewing David Novick’s other band San Francisco Water Cooler awhile back and thinking they were a decent band but I had no idea how much I would dig Novick’s first solo effort. Novick channels some major psych folk energies all tracked on four and eight track machines. The outcome is lo-fi bedroom ramblings that settle nicely between modern groups like Woods and psych folksters of days gone by. Sparse minimalism, fuzzy guitar buried in reverb and a few washed out vocal moments add a ghoulish presence to the 7 tracks. The acoustic guitar work reminds me of an outsider version of John Fahey and the whole album has the purity of the private press lps long lost in cult artists basements from the 1970’s and forever sought after by collectors. This lp may join those ranks some day as it is limited to 100 copies and has a handmade cover. Don’t miss a chance to get the lp the first time around.
Drinking Electricity- Overload + Singles
Buy it here: http://medical-records.org/shop/index.html
I have been racking my brains for something to say about the new Medical Records double lp by the early 80s UK group Drinking Electricity. The obvious is they are an art damaged synthpop group living on the peripheral of new wave and post-punk. The short story is Anne-Marie Heighway and David Rome meet while working at a law firm, go on to start a musical legacy forming Drinking Electricity and Survival Records. 30 years or so pass and a release of their original material is put out by an actual Doctor who by night runs one of the more interesting reissue labels around. Lawyers Doctors and synths oh my. The humor of this scenario is not lost on me and thankfully the music is not lost either. The drum machines, angular guitars and synth melodies are not groundbreaking and by no means does this music sound like it was made yesterday. The sounds are dated and the grooves are well worn territory but nevertheless the songs infectiously worm their way into your heart. “Good Times” has apparently been popularized by Crystal Castles but to me it sounds like a cosmic reinvention of the melodies from “The Locomotion.” Throughout the double lp Drinking Electricity keeps things minimal and and hypnotic. The incessant pounding of the drum machine keeps your foot tapping and your head in the clouds. Guitars jaggedly enter and exit the mix along with sound effects galore. The vocals never take center stage for longer than necessary. It’s like entering the fog of the musicians brains after a long day of white collar stress as they try and make sense of life with sound. This lp is a journey worth taking. As always the packaging is stellar with a gatefold double lp limited to 650 hand-numbered copies. The vinyl itself matches the striking lightening bolt cover, one lp is red and the other lp is a lime green/yellow. Whatever the specific color is who really cares other than it looks incredible and of course is on 180g vinyl for maximum audio pleasure.
The Walkabouts- soul thief 7” (Fin Records)
buy it here: http://finrecords.com/store-t417/the-walkabouts/soul-thief-7-vinyl.aspx
The Walkabouts new 7” on Fin Records marks their second in a slated trio of releases. The Walkabouts are back from a tour of Europe that saw them selling out shows. Soul Thief finds the band at their most polished with a trembling guitar laying the groundwork for soulful rock r’ roll. Gravely road-worn vocals propel the track forward as organs drone and female vocals swell up in choral support. It’s a frantic pace with organ breaks and a great fuzzy guitar outro. The flip offers a remix with a minimal and spacious arrangement that adds a nice contrast to the radio ready A side. As always Fin gives the utmost of care to the packaging of their limited edition releases and the white vinyl is stellar.
