Month: December 2021

The Sleights – It’s Not That Easy

Click here to listen to It’s Not That Easy

This band includes members of the Nobodys, who are most famous for out-Guttermouthing Guttermouth as the shittiest, most mysogynistic punk band of the 90s. With song titles like “She Can’t Say No”, “Kielbasa Queen”, and “Just Another Cunt”, it was surprising to me even then that they were embraced to the extent they were. Here’s a lyrical sample from a 2001 album, “I like young girls. I like the way they smell. I like their pretty curls. Their parents can go to hell”.

Look, I don’t know if any of the chief songwriters are in The Sleights, but why the fuck would you even put it in your bio? Aren’t you embarrassed now? You should be. I’m not even a super PC dude when it comes to my punk rock, I love The Dwarves and Cosmic Psychos, but there is a big difference between those bands and the Nobodys. In an effort to be fair, there is also a dude from The Lillingtons in here, who as far as I know are NOT sexual predators. Also to be fair, this band is factually not The Nobodys.

They are The Sleights and sound like mid-tempo Good Riddance with Samiam-style vocals. Subject matter seems to focus on the vague interpersonal negative feelings of 40-something-year-old bearded white dudes in black band T-shirts, and also on alcohol. I am, regrettably, the target demographic. I have to say though, I like this more each time I listen to it.

The song “Fucked Up” in particular, even though it clocks in at nearly four and half minutes, has some Wrath of Khan strength ear worms and does not seem overly long. I went a few days between listens, and the song had burrowed its way into my brain enough that it was echoing around in there. Lots of echoing in there. Mostly of other mid-tempo punk rock and stupid things I regret saying between the years 1989-present.

In conclusion, The Sleights are sort of good. It’s better than I could do. Maybe when they hangout together and get deep enough into the night, they speak in hushed tones to one another about how fucking dumb The Nobodys were and how they’re better people now. Maybe the guilt of having been in The Nobodys is what echoes around in their brains.

–Zach Akenson

Tracks:
1. It’s Not That Easy
2. I Don’t Give a Damn
3. Skin and Bone
4. Fucked Up
5. Faded
6. The Morgue

Special Duties – 7 Days A Week

So I had a chance to check out the new album 7 Days a Week by English punk band Special Duties. If you’re in the mood for an old-school Oi! sound that’s been polished up and produced in a much more modern way, then look no further, 7 Days a Week is exactly that. 

This album is chock full songs about social issues, addiction, and class struggle, as well as some songs that feel like you should be singing along to while tipping back pints in an English pub. And that is exactly what you’d expect from these guys.

At first pass the album kinda falls flat and seems like the lyrics were put together in a hasty, hap-hazard fashion. Subsequent listening will have you singing along to the better constructed tunes like the albums namesake 7 Days a Week and Punks and Bootboys. The songs Fight Back, Rebel and Time Bomb show a more aggressive side of the band and are my personal favourites from this release. 

At times the high quality of the recording feels like it takes away from the expected “punkness”. If that’s a thing… but this is just wishful thinking on my part I suppose. It’s not like we can expect modern engineers to deliberately make a band sound like shit… can we? 

All in all it’s a passable album, and if you grew up listening to the older British punk of the early 80s you should definitely at the very least, give this a try. I won’t be running out to get the first pressing or anything, but it might be fun to catch the live show at some point.

–Jëffy

Milquetoast – Caterwaul

I can’t pretend like I’m ever terribly excited to hear a band that has descriptors like “doom”, “stoner”, and “sludge”. This is mostly because modern bands who fall into these categories often take themselves too seriously, and frankly I just don’t understand why you’re so goddamn negative and serious if you’re blazing up all the time. Thankfully, Milquetoast does not fall into this genre trapping.

They have instead crafted a modern day album of AmRep-style bangers that sometimes even veers into old school hardcore goofiness, a la Flag of Democracy. Before grunge was called grunge and ruined by shit bands like Alice In Chains, it kind of sounded like this. There is definitely some excellent Mark Arm howling going on. I’m also hearing Cows, particularly in the way Milquetoast throws instrumental curve balls at you to keep things interesting.

I’m listening to this via a YouTube link, so it’s difficult to refer to specific tracks, but there’s enough variety on here to make the whole thing worth your time. This is a quality I’ve found lacking in other “doom” and “sludge” bands. Unless your band is exclusively marijuana referencing in the name, I don’t get the “stoner” part either.

Historically, AmRep, Mudhoney, and proto-grunge bands like Cosmic Psychos (who invented that blown out sound) have been way more famous for beer consumption. To me, this is drunk music more than stoner rock, and that’s a good thing. Whatever you like to do to your brain when you pretend like the world isn’t ending, do it while blasting Milquetoast. This is a super fun record that I wish I had a hard copy of. Highly (or drunkenly) recommended.

–Zach Akenson

Tracks:
Intro
Dead Inside
Recognize
Matapacos
Stoner Safari
Step Off
Space Force
Fake News Blues
Wall
Forgotten Death

Bio:
When Milquetoast (milk-ˌtōst) is used as an adjective, it means timid, meek, or unassertive. But you only need a single distorted power chord or unhinged howl from the Indiana trio’s punked-up party sludge to get sucker-punched by the band name’s irony. Milquetoast will kick 2022’s front door off its hinges with their debut LP mastered by Chris Fielding of the mighty Conan, appropriately named Caterwaul.

Formed in 2018 by vocalist/guitarist Ty Winslow, Milquetoast was devised as an expression of weirdo punk fury. In fact, it was Winslow’s penchant for loud riffs and cheeky vibes that initially lured vocalist/bassist Andy Bowerman as a collaborator.

“In a church 2.5 hours in the middle of nowhere,” Bowerman recalls, “I was looking out into the melee [of a mosh pit] and seeing crossdressing members of [Winslow’s then-band] Battersea riding each other around like jousting mounts. So the friendship came easy—and came often.”

After recruiting drumming dynamo Nick James, the band’s unique impish energy took shape. Gather the mops that soaked up sweat and blood from stages in the ’80s west coast punk and Seattle grunge scenes. Squeeze the fluids into a shot glass…

MILQUETOAST IS:
Ty – guitar and vocals
Andy – bass, vocals, and synth
Nick – drums

Video Premiere – Is It You? – The Witch and The Burro

An eerie tale of time travel and (possible) mistaken identity, “is it you” is a duet by The Witch and The Burro. The duo – comprised of Vic Ruggiero and lauren napier – filmed the spooky scenes in a haunted house in Baker City, OR. In between tour dates and plague pauses, they search for ghost towns amongst desert landscapes. “Is It You?” captures that feeling in both spirit and narrative.

So join the fortune teller and the wolf man, the witch and the burro…. They will embark on a tour – yet to be formally announced – in the new year, so keep an eye out. Lauren has just released The Mourning Moon Hangs Quietly – an intimate live recording offered on cassette by This and That Tapes. Vic is on the road with his band, The Slackers, (possibly) coming to a town near you.

HILLBILLY MOON EXPLOSION Reissue 3rd Album & Release Special 7” Vinyl!


Zürich Rockabilly Icons THE HILLBILLY MOON EXPLOSION Reissue 3rd Album & Release Special 7” Vinyl!

Los Angeles, CA – When last we heard from Swiss rockabilly phenoms The Hillbilly Moon Explosion, they had just inked a deal with U.S.-based label Cleopatra Records to reissue their first two albums, the incredible 2002 debut album, fittingly entitled Introducing The Hillbilly Moon Explosion, as well as the sophomore effort, Bourgeois Baby. Now comes the third album, the exquisite All Grown Up, which is being released on both CD in a slick digipak as well as on a limited-edition PURPLE SPLATTER vinyl in gatefold jacket. Originally released in 2007, All Grown Up, as the title suggests, shows the band maturing in both their songwriting and arranging talents, offering a diverse palette of blues, ska, jazz and early rock stylings.

Order the CD/LP:https://cleorecs.com/store/?s=hillbilly+moon+explosion+all+grown+up&post_type=product

Stream/download All Grown Up:https://orcd.co/o0vkq1a

And for an extra special holiday treat, the band has prepped a rockin’ RED & WHITE splatter 7″ featuring the lead-off track “Chick Habit” from their debut album backed with a gorgeous ballad “Many Tears Ago” from Bourgeois Baby. Makes for a perfect stocking stuffer!

Order the 7”:https://cleorecs.com/store/shop/the-hillbilly-moon-explosion-chick-habit-limited-edition-7-splatter-vinyl/

All Grown Up Tracklist:
1. Walk Italian
2. Need You to Stay
3. Live the Life
4. The Long Way Down
5. Putty in Your Hands
6. Brown Eyed Boy
7. Tornado
8. House of Bamboo
9. Somebody Changed the Lock
10. All Grown Up
11. Oh Oh Mojo
12. Little Lil
13. Midnight Track
14. Moonshine Song

The Linda Lindas Share New Track “Nino”

THE LINDA LINDAS
SHARE NEW TRACK “NINO”

ARTWORK

Los Angeles-based, all-female punk band The Linda Lindas have released the riff-laden power punk single “Nino.” The track, written for vocalist and guitarist Bela’s cat, is taken from the band’s forthcoming 2022 studio release. 

On the band’s 2020 self-titled EP, Bela wrote a song about her siamese cat “Monica.” However, her cat Nino wouldn’t leave her alone until he got a song too. It is finally Nino’s time to shine. According to the band, “if you listen carefully there is a real-life, remarkably talented cat named Lil Dude playing piano on it. (We have the footage!) Enjoy!”

CHECK OUT “NINO” NOW

“Nino” follows the viral smash hit “Racist, Sexist Boy,” and  “Oh!” which was featured in the trailer for the Netflix series “The Chair” starring Golden Globe winning actress, Sandra Oh.

ABOUT THE LINDA LINDAS
Formed in 2018, The Linda Lindas first played together when former Dum Dum Girls frontwoman Kristin Kontrol invited them to take the stage to play covers for Girlschool LA (a music and ideas festival focused on connecting and empowering women-identified artists, leaders, and voices). After forming their own band and playing DIY gigs around Los Angeles, they were asked to open for punk icon Alice Bag and for seminal riot grrrl band Bikini Kill at one of their 2019 reunion shows at the Hollywood Palladium. In time, the band began writing their own material, including a song featured in the 2020 Netflix documentary The Claudia Kishi Club.

The Linda Lindas released their self-titled, self-released debut EP in 2020 showcasing their high-energy and heartfelt brand of punk, naming Jawbreaker, The Go-Go’s, and The Alley Cats among their inspirations. Months later, they appeared in a key scene of Amy Poehler’s Moxie!

In May 2021, The Linda Lindas’ set at the Cypress Park branch of the L.A. Public Library was streamed as an AAPI Heritage Month event (the band members are Asian American, Latinx, or both). The bands blistering performance of “Racist, Sexist Boy,” amassed over four million views on Instagram, and earned major praise from the likes of Hayley Williams, Questlove, Flea, and members of Rage Against the Machine and Sonic Youth.

The Linda Lindas are Eloise (vocals, bass), Mila (vocals, drums), Bela (vocals, guitar), and Lucia (vocals, guitar).

PHOTO CREDIT: SANDY KIM

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE LINDA LINDAS, VISIT:
WEBSITE | FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM