Pink Mexico - Pnik Mxeico (Self Release, 2013)

This first album of Pink Mexico is Garage Grunge a bit more minimalist than it's usual in Grunge and with vocals that have some 60's or 70s Pop colors. As most often in post Nirvana Grunge there's some riffs and bits of vocals or instruments melodies that evoke some Nirvana tracks, but it's variations, there's an important style shift, and that's not on all tracks.

The deliberate echoes are a part of the pleasure to listen this album, but the key is the style which is very successful and unusual for Grunge influenced musics. The vocals quite top with a lot of nuances and they are certainly the major element of the album. The instruments are quite more Rock to match the Grunge style, they are less sophisticated than the vocals and they have an approach a bit minimalist. But the instruments details and uses are polished, and they are a major element to build the tracks by giving an excellent counter point to the vocals, and the whole is very catchy. It's great stuff rather uncommon despite the mainstream influences through Grunge and Pop.

To listen: Band's  bandcamp page. Or 115k vbr v6 preview.
To support the artists: Buy the digital.

Where all of this is going if nobody buy the music? Be fair, buy the music you like dig.

Big French - Downtown Runnin (Wharf Cat, 2013)

I didn't noticed this album at its release, but thankfully the band released in September through ORS Tapes the Would Not Try EP on cassette and digital. That new release allowed me noticed this album. For the anecdote there's some links with Blanche Blanche Blanche for which I put some comment on their album Wooden Ball released at beginning of the year. Zach Phillips plays keyboards and the album is released by the same label that will release on 5th November the new Blanche Blanche Blanche album, Breaking Mirrors. The two bands also share clear musical ambitions and albums with many short tracks. But the music is totally different.

The singer use many different type of voices and all are rather strange if not weird. If you consider the voice as another instrument this bizarre approach is just an interesting and fascinating musical exploration of vocals. That's how I listen this album and if the first listening was a bit disconcerting, I quickly found this quite appealing. It's a major element of this album so if you can't go over this you'll get blocked at the door entrance of this album. Eventually to discover the band you could try first the Would Not Try EP. It's a smart selection of two tracks of the album and demo version of two tracks of the album. It's still quite bizarre but it doesn't produce the same weirdness chock that could produce the first listening of the album.

The vocals are quite diverse and they do an exploration around Pop weirdness and dissonance, but if you enter in it it's strangely very appealing and easy to listen. The instruments build a layer more aggressive and more Rock. Both use strange or uncommon sounds and dissonances but the vocals much more than the instruments. The dissonance games are most often light but are also often merged with weirdness or strangeness. That produces a strange feeling of not identifying clearly when it's real dissonance or when it's more strangeness but not dissonances. The whole is very dynamic, between Pop and Rock, a little bizarre but very catchy. That doesn't evoke at all the color of 60's Psychedelic, but the approach definitely evokes it from the point of view or merging weirdness and strangeness into music. It's a great impressive album, time could even makes it a classic (or not), but clearly it's not stuff for all ears.

To listen: Streaming sites like Deezer, Rdio or Spotify. Or 115k vbr v6 preview.To support the artists: Buy the vinyl. Or the digital on the various standard places.

Where all of this is going if nobody buy the music? Be fair, buy the music you like dig.

Eets Feats - Trash From Our Lips (Aye Aye Aye, 2013)

It seems their production choice and material used pushed them to record at a very low level, but that sort of music can only be listen LOUD. So to be able to enjoy you'll need increase quite a lot the sound volume to listen this album.

That second album of the band is quite different than the first, it is much more focused on speed, energy and a compact orchestration on most tracks. The dense aspect and the constant pressure throughout the album reminded me the Ex-Cult first album that I commented in the blog. But it's also quite different, the vocals are more abrupt and crude, it's faster, and it's not at all the same sound. Unlike the Ex-Cult album this album doesn't use noise or fuzz, there's only a bit of saturation on vocals and not on all tracks.

Even if the instruments are rather clear and could be heard distinctly, the massive orchestration produce a sort of noise feeling, or at least it makes noise. :-) This feeling is increased by the speed as most tracks are quite fast. The bass also contributes to this massive feeling through a noteworthy role on many tracks by being almost in front and sometimes by doubling a guitar.

It's a brutal album because of its speed, the rude vocals, and the compact orchestration. The strange choice to avoid use noise or fuzz gives it a distinct color for that sort of album. For sure it could have benefit of a bit more subtlety including in the vocals. But with some listening care you can capture the variations between the tracks, and also like the Ex-Cult first album, when you listen more the album the differences between the tracks become more obvious. Anyway the main point is it's a fun blitz assault with no piety, no prisoner, and that makes it great.

To listen: Band's bandcamp page. Or 130k vbr preview.
To support the artists: Buy the cassette at Aye Aye Aye. or the digital at Band's bandcamp page.

Where all of this is going if nobody buy the music? Be fair, buy the music you like dig.

Formica Man - Formica Man (Self Release, 2011)

This is the first EP of the group. It's been released in 2011 and I haven't found any other releases. I'm not sure if the band is still up or not. In March 2013 they posted a comment in their Facebook page to mention there will be perhaps a tour in Europe the next year. So it's a bit strange to post about this EP now,  but I'm just in love with this EP and I "discovered" it only in 2013.

It's a special Pop using abrupt vocals and a lot of breaks and brutal ruptures. The result is both a little strange and quite catchy if you enjoy like me abruptness and breaks in music. Despite a systematic use of abruptness and breaks, the band succeed brilliantly to make each track very distinct and the vocals use many different approaches. It could be tagged as a sort of Art Rock but despite the abrupt vocals most tracks have a sort of Pop color, it's vaguely in the idea of the first album of the Pretenders which is a Pop album with very abrupt vocals, something weird for Pop but rather great, alas The Pretenders never reproduced it nor developed it. That Formica Man EP is much less into Pop than this first The Pretenders album, but still a bit, it could be tagged Art Pop, anyway it's a great EP.

To listen: Free download at Band's bandcamp page.
To support the artists: Buy the vinyl.

Where all of this is going if nobody buy the music? Be fair, buy the music you like dig.

Benkes - 2012 EP Collection (Unofficial Release, 2013)

Benkes released four EP in 2012, but I discovered them only at beginning of 2013, firstly the two released through bandcamp ie Amazon Tape and Benkes EP, and few after two other that was available as free download through last.fm ie Limão Session and Home Alone.

I listened them mostly only as a whole in their release order. It's been a musical shock and I'm still totally amazed by this collection of tracks. I asked Benkes if he could released them as an album, he was agree but wanted re edit them but he was busy in another musical adventure he had started, Boogarins, I posted in the blog some comments on their first album. I finally gave up wait and didn't want disturb his focus on his new adventure, so I made myself this collection. Clearly it's very unofficial stuff but those four EP are available for free download, two on Benkes bancamp page, and two on Benkes last.fm page. For the collection I didn't used one track from Limão Session, I tried equalize approximatively their sound level recording so they fit well together, and I choose an order for the tracks. But it's basically the tracks of those four 2012 EP.

It doesn't matter that it's material from four different EP nor that it was four different recording and producing sessions, they merge very well together. It could be a lost tape from the 60's and from a group that recorded under acid multiples sound tracks and few days after took the material and crafted it to produce an alien psychedelic pop album with a large dose of Garage spirit and good amount of smiles. It's clearly music made with a lot smiles, humor transposed in music, even if in the end it's a deadly serious music... with a lot of winks and smiles. Most tracks are insanely catchy if you can bear the weirdness and the humor. This music benefits of a careful listening, and a headphone is certainly the best choice to enjoy all the work on the details. Anyway, it's (now) an amazing (unofficial) album of modern Psychedelic made with the spirit of the most ambitious 60's Psychedelic.

To listen: It's unofficial stuff, so try this 130k vbr preview.
To support the artists: Buy the Boogarins album in vinyl, CD, or digital at Other Music, or at Fat Possum. And the cassette at Burger.

Where all of this is going if nobody buy the music? Be fair, buy the music you like dig.