NUDITY // Supernatty 7”
The quirky and eternally-ungoogleable Nashville duo NUDITY are back with a new 7” following last year’s quite good Heavy Petting EP. If you couldn’t already tell from the wibbly-wobbly artwork above, this 7” is seeing a release through AMDISCS. The label where apparently seapunk and vaporwave go to crossbreed.
On Heavy Petting, Duane and Michelle seemed most happy when they were hopping from style to style like a quick-change sideshow act. It initially came off as a bit manic to me, but once I tuned into the frequency I was all for it. Surprisingly the two tracks on the Supernatty 7” eschew that typical genre restlessness for something rather consistent. That being said the two tracks on this thing are the grungiest/sludgiest tracks that the band has released to date. And yet they are still poppy enough that you wanna chew them like bubblegum and, who knows, maybe even dance to them.
NUDITY hasn’t had a huge online presence yet, but if they continue to crank out quality music like they have been there is no reason why that shouldn’t change in the not-so-distant future. Their production is always good, they know their way around a hook, and they most certainly understand what it is to have a good time. Those who share a similar sentiment would do well to check them out.
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BANDCAMP | SOUNDCLOUD | TUMBLR | FACEBOOK | TWITTER
Gabriel White // “What v2.0 Do”
Today Amdiscs dropped a new compilation of 71 fresh and exclusive tracks from new and upcoming artists. Among those artists are a few Cactus-Mouth regulars like Honeydrum, NUDITY, DannielRadall, and Horse Head. There is also a new solo track from Gabriel White, who also happens to be the lead vocalist for Yung Life.
The track titled “What v2.0 Do” is a bit of change of pace for Gabriel’s solo work. His 2011 album Relay was based largely around guitars, minimal synth work, and Gabriel’s voice. This new track feels much more like a restrained dissection of something Yung Life might put out. It’s a 1980’s-leaning pop song with soothing synth tones and handclaps-a-plenty. It’s a bit close to home base, but that’s in no way a bad thing. Here’s to hoping he’s got more up his sleeve for 2013.
(PS - The compilation overall is a lot to digest and honestly much of it doesn’t really seem to be the kind of stuff I typically go for, but then again there are so gems worth digging for.)
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BANDCAMP | SOUNDCLOUD | FACEBOOK
Honeydrum // “Suddenly Heaven”
Check out this short vid from Cactus-Mouth regulars Honeydrum. It is probably as close to matching a visual aesthetic to their sound as you’re gonna get. For some reason it reminds me of some eerie, never-before-seen footage of Laura Palmer.
The track is a B-side off of the band’s first 7” Stranger Calls which is being released by (surprise, surprise) Amdiscs. Listening to the four tracks on the 7” it’s become apparent that the band continues to distill their sound down closer and closer to perfection, yet they still retain their painfully short track times and their signature muffled AM radio vibes. Over the course of their numerous releases the band has carved out their niche and now they are doing their best to furnish it.
Stranger Calls will be out later this month on Amdiscs, so make sure you pre-order one from their site. Also the band just made many of the releases on their bandcamp available for free so go nuts.
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BANDCAMP | TUMBLR | FACEBOOK | TWITTER
Horse Head // Jewelry
My own personal Tan Dollar boom isn’t completely over yet, so frontman Chris Thorne unwittingly capitalized on that by shooting over the latest EP from his other project Horse Head. He sent me the EP a few days ago and I’ve had chance to really dig into what he’s doing here.
As far as style goes, the EP is a cool switch from Tan Dollar that sees much of the thick guitar work being dropped to make room for synths and drum machines. This is much more of a experimental pop release and Chris makes sure to really take advantage of the ‘experiment’ part by tinkering with whatever sounds and resources he has at his disposal. The EP opens up with a track called “Jump In” that features guest vocals from Chris’ girlfriend Nima. After listening to some of her skeletal astro-pop I’m envisioning that maybe her craft had some influence on her significant other. Just a thought.
Anyways the EP dropped today on the always prolific Amdiscs label (their 95th release! holy cow!), so you can either grab it from them or download it for free on Horse Head’s bandcamp page.
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BANDCAMP | SOUNDCLOUD | TUMBLR | FACEBOOK
Video Thrills // Video Thrills
Featuring three of the four members of Honeydrum, this new side project Video Thrills is the most recent outing by these crazy New Brunswick dudes. If you’re familiar with the pitch-perfect retro pop of Honeydrum then listening to Video Thrills self-titled album should not be too much of a mental stretch. They are definitely riffing off of the same era, albeit in a fundamentally different way.
Just going off of the name, the song titles, and the artwork should give you a clue as to what to expect here. But let me tell you that these guys are into more than just resurrecting and looping tired VHS soundscapes. What they do here is somehow manage to corral what sounds like lost 1980’s commercial transmissions that have been seemingly bouncing around in space for 25 years. Abandoning pop sensibilities for vibrant droning ambient pieces, Video Thrills has created something that feels simultaneously vintage yet wholly new. Fitting in alongside acts James Ferraro, Punks On Mars, and Rangers; the sounds of Video Thrills will thrill for sure.
Stream the album in its entirety on the Amdiscs soundcloud and then pick it up on either cassette (via Animal Image Search) or CD-R (via Inyrdisk).
Title: Skin City
Artist: Honeydrum
90 plays
Honeydrum // Pleasures of the Sun
The righteous bros in Honeydrum truly love making music. For the last seven months they’ve released solid cassette after solid cassette with Amdiscs (and one single with Crash Symbols). Once I discovered how great their music was, their bandcamp site quickly became like a treasure trove to me. With a boyish, Goonies-meets-One-Eyed-Willy glee I downloaded as much as could as fast as I could and never once did I look back. Little did I know back then that the crowning jewel was yet to come.
And then a few months back I got a chance to listen to the demos for this cassette and I was almost beside myself with excitement for the finished product. Well, the time is almost here and let me just tell you that the EP is every bit as good as I had hoped it would be. On July 15th the cassette will debut (again on Amdiscs) and everyone will get a chance to soak their heads in Honeydrum’s quirky pop music. There is a bouncy quality to this music that wouldn’t be entirely out of place in a 1980’s shopping mall. Everything here is sorta sunbleached and dried out with warped tape vibes and scratched production. But it is also sweet enough for immediate consumption. So get yourselves psyched up for Pleasures of the Sun and if you haven’t treated yourself to their previous releases then hit up their bandcamp and go nuts.
Check ‘em out: BANDCAMP | TUMBLR | TWITTER
mediafired // “sein und zeit” & “pixies”
I love receiving mysterious music in my inbox. It sort of forces you to listen to the music and analyze it on its own terms. Forget any preconceived notions that you might have otherwise had just listen to the music. Well, that was the case with mediafired. I received an email with links to these two songs which I hastily downloaded. As soon as I heard them I knew that I wanted to share them with you.
If you are a fan of the BEKO Digital Singles Label like me, then you probably saw that they partnered with Amdiscs to release a double compilation album awhile back. On the second disc of that comp was the song “cinderella’s big score” by mediafired. The song consisted primarily of a single sample that was chopped, looped, layered, slowed up and sped down on top of itself. The result was a surprisingly engaging listen. Well the two songs that he emailed me follow the same basic pattern: just the masterful manipulation of a sample. You’ll no doubt recognize the sample from “sein und zeit” as Wham!’s “Careless Whisper”, but believe me, you’ve never heard it like this before. So keep mediafired on the radar because he plans on recording a few more jams for release in the near future.
Oh, and an interesting factoid is that he is the same dude behind Spinning Beach Ball of Death. If you haven’t heard his album VIVA§, then you are definitely missing out. You can snag it for free from either his bandcamp or Amdiscs.
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gimme more: “sein und zeit” // “pixies”
I†† - Preliminary Invocations
**Ok, just to clear things up. Yes, this is another witch house post. I know I’ve been doing them alot lately, but it’s just the way that things have fallen into my lap. Just chock it up to the Halloween season. Cactus-Mouth is not (I repeat) NOT a witch house blog. Now back to your regularly scheduled program.**
Amdiscs just today announced the release of I††’s debut album Preliminary Invocations. Now let it be known that this stuff is dark, even as far as witch house is concerned. The vocals and samples used here sound like some sort of collection of EVP’s that make the music all the more nightmarish. The beats thunder and crackle and there is a thick fog of loud, grating noise that permeates the entire album. Picture yourself in a musty, old mausoleum during a seance on Halloween night with an oppressive thunderstorm raging outside. This is just GREAT stuff.
The whole thing is so dense and heavy that listening to the it all the way through is an exhausting experience. I don’t mean that in a bad way, you will be left with some sort of feeling of accomplishment.
Buy or free-download it at Amdiscs.
mp3: “vvi†ch †ø live”
For fans of King Khan, Black Lips and Harlem comes The Maine Coons. Their self-titled album is chock full of short and fast garage numbers that will knock you over flat. When you come to, you won’t know where you are or how you got there, but you will have a big, stupid grin on your face.
The album takes very obvious cues from 1960’s rock, including some melodies that would make Phil Spector smile. If that sounds like your cup of tea, you can download the whole thing for free on the unstoppably awesome Amdiscs.
Sorry for my quasi-absence last week. No, I don’t want to talk about it. It is behind me now. All things point to the future, so let the good times roll.
MICKEY MICKEY ROURKE is really just a powerhouse of music, churning out material at a breakneck pace. With that in mind, check out this brand-spanking new song from MICKEY BROWN (his hazy psych side project with the wonderful Lester Brown) called “ZORDON”. The song will be featured on the duo’s next release, Soul Glo (so keep your eyes peeled for that), and is everything you’d expect from the dudes, just hopped up on sugar. There is a creepy childlike playfulness to the song, like a bad trip on Sesame Street. If “ZORDON” is any indication of how Soul Glo is going to play out, it is going to be a wild ride.
Also, the duo shot out a debut release on Amdiscs back in August (just in time for summer’s last hoorah). That album, Vision Quest, was a freaked-out journey to a psychedelic version of the tropics (complete with stray cats). In case you haven’t heard it, you can snag it for free on the label’s site.
mp3: “ZORDON”
Teasing us with tracks under the names BRANDON BIONDO and BRANDON WALSH, the COOLRUNNINGS member gave me some of my absolute favorite songs this summer.
Well, here is an official debut EP from the man under the name WALSH called Smoke Weed About It. You gots to download this EP, you just gots to. It even features an appearance from Coma Cinema’s Mat Cothran. So just download it. After you listen to (and fall in love with) it, go to Amdiscs and buy it, it’s totally worth it.
Is it apparent that I’m geeking out?
I usually try to stay on top of the stuff that Amdiscs puts out. They release some pretty quality stuff, so if they have something new available for download, I always give it a whirl.
One of their most recent releases is Generic Product by Monroe Music Center. I don’t know who is behind this mysterious release. The artist has no myspace and their last.fm offers no information either. So all I can do is tell you what the music sounds like.
This release kinda spreads itself out over a couple genres. For the most part it has a groovy 1980’s sci-fi feel (just look at the cover). It doesn’t stay there though, it also contains some fuzzy samples and loops and it’s all very weird (and I mean that in a good way). They are giving it away as a free download, so give it a listen and see what you think. If you love what you hear, buy this bad boy.
I wrote a blurb about Spinning Beach Ball of Death awhile back. I really like this guys tunes, because he doesn’t make them easy to pin down genre-wise. He has a few things for download on his bandcamp, but he just released his debut cassette VIVA§ on Amdiscs (man, I love that label). Anyways, you can head to the label’s site for a free download. And if you guys like his tunes as much as I do, then order VIVA§ off the site while you’re at it.
PS - I’m back in PA, suckaaaas
Did you guys download the new Summit Demos by Teenage Reverb yet? It’s out for free on Amdiscs and is well worth your time. If you listened to their cassette Isolation Tape Night then you probably know what kind of music to expect. You can snag it from the label’s site, the band’s myspace, or their bandcamp. As usual, if you really dig it, buy it.
I’m gonna go get back to Shark Week. Cheers.
“Chillwave” has become such an all-encompassing term for alot of music that has been released lately. When you can’t quite think of any other way to describe the music, it seems easy to just blurt out “chillwave!” I know that I too am guilty of hastily slapping the term on some artists.
Amdiscs recently put out a new EP by DannielRadall called La femme. When I started listening to the music, I tried to think of what genre it would fall under. This is when the dreaded word popped into my head: chillwave. Resisting the urge to paste that label onto the music, my eyes drifted over to the genre column of my iTunes. Aztec Vault Disco. That is what it said. Screw chillwave, this is Aztec Vault Disco!
Stuck somewhere between Com Truise and Washed Out, DannielRadall crafts some pretty nostalgia-heavy music. Not content to sit in one era, he draws on music from the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s to create a pretty diverse release. The EP is a trip and is currently available for free download on Amdiscs.
mp3: “Alone Again”
