I love Scotland!!

Besides the many great things that have come from there, nobody can drink like em’ and nobody can understand em’ – the scottish just ooze cool, to me at least…. well for the longest time I thought that the JOGGERS were from there… but they’re not.

They are actually from Portland, Oregon aka the City Of Bdriges…aka “Math-Rock Mecca”

Joggers have been around since around 2000 and are label-mates with one of my personal favourites French Kicks . Joggers are one part jangly math rock and two parts harmony driven indie-groove-soul-funk-folk rock… take a listen and if you like them, hit up their myspace and tell them so… or drive down to Portland to see the mystical Joggers and tell ‘em bluegrassish sent ya!

the band who bathes together stays together

Wicked Light Sleeper – Joggers

Best Lyric(s) –
…speak, speak in pitch,
wicked light sleep, no magic trick! no burning bridge!
no rabbit kit could build these
graves, in the sky,
burning bright bliss on the skin of your
eye, little priss, right church wrong pew if your selling
your favorite understanding…

Night Of The Horsepills – Joggers

Best Lyric(s) –
…i’ll play the listening doctor, righted by the rube,
you play the unkempt nurse, where lighting’s confused
they tangle antlers over all you said you think you could do
which tangled up mine too, but i’ll be back next year,
with a cape and a cane, and my frail restraints
first the actors, then brokers, last the ad-men lose disdain
you got off early, from where ever you’d been
one single flaw, and we’re back at the beginning…

Back To The Future – Joggers

-japan11

Opening your album with a 14 minute song that takes up the entire first side of a 12″ vinyl seems quite ballsy, but if there’s balls in Orange County, Thee Oh See’s have got ‘em. The first track Warm Slime is far beyond what I could have expected, fuzzed out almost past audio recognition building a repetitive chorus of “I believe in the summer time…” which probably takes up 3/4 of the song. Declining and building again in an almost post-rock fashion. But hold fast avid reader, by no means does this every get boring or tedious. More so it feels like your brain is bursting from the inside out. The entire album, as short as it is, is a constant blitz of insanely catchy psych-thrash. Incredibly noisy in a way that makes the geese under your skin stand up, dance and die.  Driving, like a Camero barreling down Hi-way 66. Enchanting like some fucked up voodoo you cant quite grasp. Dig these mp3′s below but do yourself a favor and pick up the clear and orange marbled vinyl, it’s super cheap and needs to heard in that format.

Thee Oh Sees – I Was Denied

Thee Oh Sees – MT Work

-lionsteeth

Brock used to play in a small band called The Cosmetics in early 2005, I remember fondly. Those where the days of my heavy fructose consumption. The streets ran red with fruit punch. A greasy teenager does a darkslide down a gnarly rail. At a underground venue called The Grid in tiny Courtney B.C I would assume many people where on shrooms. A standout moment may have been The Cosmetics playing a cover of Kaos’s “Crab Bucket”. Brock then played in the Victoria death metal band ,Colourbook for a few years. During this time I imagine Almonds, Cohen was formed out of a need to sometimes, play something a little more rag time. He tell’s me that his band of Baker Street boys could be playing shows in toronto in the near future. Maybe with some favourite like Slam Dunk, or maybe some sort of kissing vhs tape. All in all Almonds, Cohen is best served with a mug of steaming chamomile and some Roozbeh for good measure.

Almonds, Cohen – Backgammon

Almonds, Cohen -Diggin for Clams (loud)

-lionsteeth

A four piece from the United States, originally a two piece from Puerto Rico. Sometimes real instruments, sometimes invented sounds. Sometimes drone, sometimes poppy dance music, but even through a thick chorus of electronic haze, a beautiful melody is always waiting to take it’s turn on the centre stage, sometimes you won’t even notice the cast change.

All their songs are worth a listen through, there is usually a fantastic prize at the end.
Balún – While Sleeping
Balún – Minumina
Balún – Con Los Pies

-iceonthetrail

Well, you better take them to the vet. While you’re in the reception area waiting for the prognosis you should listen to this band called Dr. Dog.

No no no, it’s just coincidence that you have sickly puppies and are listening to a band called Dr.Dog. Purely coincidence.

Anyway, it’ll be ok. It’s really nice music, a bit like the beatles, but with some weird noise parts and a little more modern sounding. It will make you feel good, just trust me. And you’re puppies will be fine, why do you worry so much? They were just drunk from all the fireball you let them drink last night.

Today – Dr. Dog

Shadow People – Dr. Dog

-slobby

Modern music owes a rather large debt of gratitude to the early blues and country artists who recorded music in the 20′s and 30′s, often for nothing more than a few penies. The Blues especially provided a solid foundation for basically any rock and roll ever made. So I ask you: Does it get anymore ‘Blues’ than learning to play the harmonica while growing up on a farm in Gainesville, Alabama?

Burl C. “Jaybird” Coleman did. He, in fact, got quite good at it.

Jaybird toured the southern US in the early 20′s as a part of the Birmingham Jug Band before going on to make a limited number of recordings between 1927 and 1930. Afterwards he performed on street corners across Alabama before his death from cancer in 1950. I ask you, what is more “rock and Roll” than that?

I’m Gonna Cross The River Of Jordan, Some O’ These Day – Jaybird Coleman

-slobby

My love for Post-Rock has once again been renewed, so in celebration of delay and instrumental songs, let me introduce you to the catalyst of my Post-Rock revival: LAVA OX SEA, a band coming out of Hefei, China.   If you are a Post-Rock fan already, you will notice the usual, a distinct lack of vocals, guitar drenched in delay, and slow crescendos rising into dramatic climaxes, but you will also hear something different, from their Myspace:

we want to blend all what we like into our songs.and though they may sounds familliar to most people at the beginning,our trip in the weird evolving road will never stop.[sic]

Well put.  At first listen, nothing jumped out at me, “this is just Explosions in the Sky” I said, but after a few more listens it really started to grow on me.  First, the lo-fi quality of their recordings adds something very special to them, a human element that makes the emotion and intensity of their music really come forward.  Secondly, they have diversity.  While a portion of their songs are standard Post-Rock anthems, they have some more groovy numbers that you can also dance to. An intriguing listen to say the least.

LAVA OX SEA – Regnarts! Yeh

-iceonthetrail

Maps & Atlases are a band I’ve been following for a long time now. I remember first hearing their debut album and not believing it. In my taste they are almost a perfect band. Skipping joyously in between an unruly technicality cyclone and  tasty soul/folk/pop. Over the past few years, and with each new release Maps & Atlases have slowly started to loose the overwhelming time signatures and double hand guitar tapping harmonies to lean more on their songwriting strengths. It’s very easy to get pigeon-holed as a “math” or “experimental” band and these guys sure figured out how to fight off the labels to create something fresh and new. Where many have failed Maps & Atlases once again prove to one and all that they are an untamable shape shifting entity. Solid Ground sounds part sweet lullaby part art film beach sunset outro part classic Map & Atlases riffing. Singer Dave Davison (haha) has not only grown a gigantic beared, he’s locked down his signature singing style with more soul than ever before. (more…)

OXES are an instrumental band, coming from Baltimore, Maryland who play loud, frantic, tasty riffs.  Some people call them Post Punk but I think this description falls a bit flat.  Imagine The Melvins decided to take themselves a little less seriously, showed up to your party, got a 26 of whiskey in, hit on your sister, and then jumped on the kitchen table and woo-ed all the ladies by busting out sweet metal riffs, you could describe their sound like that, but thats only one half of the puzzle. OXES are renowned for their silly and usually insane live show, from having their guitarists tower over the audience by standing on large, black boxes to incorporating a one-act play into their live set, OXES are probably a band you wanna check out.

OXES – Boss Kitty
OXES – Kaz Hayashi ‘oi

Getting a few words in with  ”J.J” Dunk and Galloping Caity from the lover’s rock band Slam Dunk on a brisk Victoria night seconds before they disappear into the U.S. on tour:

Slam…?: dunk dunk slippy slam dunk slippy slam dunk in yo trunk
Where is your band going? hopefully to sleep in a tour van
true you have a record? 7 inches of it! its not much but it works with a vinyl machine!
party trick? devil sticks on rollerblades at burning man parties
worst tip: bring your best friends on tour
the sweet caress of…: relish and mayonnaise on burgers, and if your body smells like that then you probably have the best smelling self of all time
five times a year: 5 years
80s hit: The Magnificent SEVEEEEN! RING RING!
hot lunch being: TV dinner tattooed to your thighs
the oft overlooked art of…: just regular art!
the body of…: water is too large and i cant afford to take this thing on a ferry and i dont wanna catch the bus so lets stay home?
life after death? would be very disappointing
who plays what? Caity: bass and singy! Dunky:guitar and shouty Jordan:guitar and shouty Luke:toms, snares, kick and cymbals
who really holds the gun? Slam Dunk has 7 chickens between all of us. We also just made 150 beers and about 60 tshirts with our name on em. We dont have a CDR but we have an idea for our next CDR.
what is happening to you? shut up
your ‘first time’: jewish
the dawn of a new…: interview format

toor
Feb 13 – Bike Co-op Garage – Isla Vista, CA
Feb 14 – 215 Storey St with Green Flash and Christmas – Santa Cruz, CA
Feb 15 – Boo Boo Records – San Luis Obispo, CA
Feb 16 – Kimos with Sexworker, Murkins, Summer Blonde – San Fran, CA
Feb 17 – The Stork Club with Hobocop and Uzirash – Oakland, CA
Feb 18 – Polohaus with Lasco Stroud – Portland, OR
Feb 19 – The Know with White Fang and Leather Tom – Portland, OR
Feb 20 – New Brandizzz with Listening Party and Eek! – Vancouver, BC
Feb 26 – Banana Stand with friends – Victoria, BC

http://www.myspace.com/slamdunkband
http://www.fanclubmusicclub.com/SLAM_DUNK.html