Hopefully, the mix will be worth the wait and I certainly think it is, I love all of these tracks and heartily recommend each band. Hopefully there's plenty that you're currently unfamiliar with and can head off on some musical journies of wondrous discovery. That's the plan anyway.
Cheers,
Luke
x
The Dowling Poole - Keeping The Stupid Stupid
Phil X & The Drills - Middle Finger
Gaytheist - hashbrownsblessed
Lady Beast - Sacrifice To The Unseen
Hub City Stompers - Leave Me The Fuck Alone
Scarlxrd - Rip$aw
These Four Walls - Fire Away
Shower Of Teeth - Slow Gurner
Bone Church - Bone Church Blues
Fool's Ghost - Fugue
Those Fucking Snowflakes - Meat Is Murder But Morrissey's A Dickhead
Killus - The End Of The Vatican
1000mods - So Many Days
Smiling Assassin - With All Due Respect
Steve Buscemi's Dreamy Eyes - For Ezra
Wexler's Prime - Insectarian
Ceres - Viv In The Front Seat
Final Round - Shooting Stars
Throttlerod - Where's Josh?
Dandelion Charm - Afraid of The Silence
You can listen to the mix on Spotify* HERE
If you'd rather the MP3'ss then they're HERE
*The Phil X & The Drills track MIddle Finger isn't on Spotify for some reason so I've replaced it with Live On The Moon
As always, my aimless, meandering waffle is below.
The Dowling Poole - Keeping The Stupid Stupid
Taken from the 2020 album See You See Me
The third album by talented multi-instrumentalists Willie Dowling and Jon Poole is maybe a little less accessible and a bit weirder than their previous releases, it definitely took me a couple of listens to fully appreciate, but it's worth putting the effort in. It's a psychedelic, trippy, peculiar but ultimately joyful collection of a Power Pop songs. Both Willie and Jon are fine lyricists and songwriters and there's not a ropey moment to be found.
Keeping The Stupid Stupid is one of the more upbeat, instant tracks on there, it's a chirpy, jaunty, slice of piano-led 70s Rock with intricate infectious vocal melodies and fantastic harmonies. The lyrics aren't as jolly, however, detailing a corrupt Government, the continuing rise of the Far-Right and subjugation of the masses.
Phil X & The Drills - Middle Finger
Taken from the 2009 Mini-album Kick Your Ass In 17 Minutes
Phil X is probably best known as Riche Sambora's replacement in Bon Jovi but he's also a prolific session guitarist, working with everyone from Rob Zombie to Kelly Clarkson. With The Drills, he's collected some fellow session musicians to blow off some steam and blast out some spiky, light-hearted Rock music of his own. Middle Finger is a snotty, petulant breakup song, presumably from the viewpoint of the dumpee not the dumper.
Gaytheist - hashbrownsblessed
Taken from the 2020 album How Long Have I Been On Fire?
This trio from Oregan were unknown to me until the release of this, their fifth album, but their mix of riff-heavy Stoner mix with Grunge, Prog, Hardcore with catchy hooks and irreverent sense of humor is exactly the sort of thing I love. Their short punchy songs, fuzzy riffs and vocal style quite often remind of the band, Torche. The enjoyably-titled hashbrownsblessed is a perfect example of what they're about and is all over in less than a minute and a half.
Lady Beast - Sacrifice To The Unseen
Taken from the 2020 album The Vulture's Amulet
The fourth album by this quintet from Pittsburgh is a quality collection of old school Heavy Metal anthems with galloping riffs and strong, smoky vocals from Deborah Levine. Sacrifice To The Unseen is probably my favourite song on the album, it's slower than the majority of the other tracks on the album but it's slower in the way that Dead Skin Mask was on Seasons In The Abyss, it's still heavy and had a big chugging riff, just lets the band breathe a little, Deborah, in particular, sounds great on it and there's a real sense of menace in the chorus. Cool song.
Hub City Stompers - Leave Me The Fuck Alone
Taken from the 2006 album Dirty Jersey
There are several cities in the US nicknamed Hub City but the one that this Ska band stomp about in is New Brunswick in New Jersey. As aggressive and obstructionary the title might seem, Leave Me The Fuck Alone is just a fairly cheery song about being happy stuck at home, chilling by yourself and enjoying your own company. I guess it's pretty topical for anyone that's actually enjoying lockdown at the moment!
Though this song is almost fifteen years old now, the band do have more current releases, with their latest album, Hater's Dozen, being released in 2018 which is worth checking out too.
Scarlxrd - Rip$aw
Taken from the 2020 album Scarhxurs
This UK rapper's music is apparently described as Trap Metal but my old ears don't hear much Metal on his latest album, Scarhxurs, at all. What they do hear is some of the most twisted, fucked up and menacing Hip Hop I've heard in a long time. You can hear the Metal influence in his vocal delivery once he really starts to let rip and spew up his lungs in this bile-filled rant that's had me mumbling "Go in hard motherfucker, go in hard" to myself for a while now.
Scarlxrd is incredibly prolific and has released twelve albums in five years. I'm fairly new to his music but I've been working my way through his back catalogue and I'm finding a lot to enjoy.
These Four Walls - Fire Away
Taken from the 2020 album This Is Not A Future
These Four Walls are a modern Alternative Hard Rock band based in the Gold Coast of Australia but, I think, originally from New Zealand. This Is Not A Future is their third album and it's a slick, well-written album full of quality songs, like this one. Fire Away was released as single last year and it's one of the highlights of the albums for me; it's a catchy song about a last ditch plan to save the world from Armageddon, although it could be a metaphor for a smaller more personal struggle and just be about taking risks and chances? Well whatever, it's a good song.
Shower Of Teeth - Slow Gurner
Taken from the 2020 mini-album Oranjedoom
Shower Of Teeth are a relatively new band from Newcastle-Upon-Tyne in the North East of England, formed from the ashes of promising local stars The NX. Taking that sound of The NXand expanding on it, Shower Of Teeth spew out a furious, twisted amalgamation of Hardcore, Punk, Stoner and Metalcore that both threatens and thrills. Slow Gurner is one of a couple of sub-two minute tracks on Oranjedoom and is anything but slow. It flies along at a chaotic pace with Kye throwing out some frenetic riffery and a brilliantly maniacal vocal from Warby.
Shower Of Teeth are a vibrant and exciting new band that everyone into the heavy stuff needs to check out.
Bone Church - Bone Church Blues
Taken from the 2020 album Acid Communion
When I stumbled across this quintet from Connecticut I judged them purely on their cover art and band logo and thusly assumed they'd be some kind of Death Metal. They aren't. Make no mistake, Acid Communion is heavy but it's a sludgy, Bluesy Stoner Metal kind of heavy. The thick riffs are overladen with Jack Rune's drawing howl and underpinned by a solid rhythm section.
Bone Church Blues is, as you might be able to work out if the Bluesiest track on the album, with slow, pounding guitars and almost acapella verses give this tale of a dubious church luring in the vulnerable for reasons nefarious and deep sense of menace and foreboding. About two thirds through it picks up the pace and sounds fantastic, then it drops down into another slow groove that sounds even better.
Fool's Ghost - Fugue
Taken from the 2020 album Dark Woven Light
Those Fucking Snowflakes - Meat Is Murder But Morrissey's A Dickhead
Taken from the 2020 EP Straight Wealthy White Male Suffrage
I stumbled across this band last Oct/Nov via their single Stop Being Dickheads To Each Other (featured on the blog at the time) which I loved and bought the EP it's from, U OK Hun? They released this, their second EP last week and it's an excellent collection of spiky Art Punk/Alternative Rock with humourous political lyrics that, as you can probably guess, are very much Left-wing.
Meat Is Murder But Morrissey's A Dickhead doesn't really need much of an explanation really but it's about being vegan and hating your knob of a figurehead. It's a short, speedy diatribe that sums up how every Morrissey/The Smiths fan I know, myself included, feel about him with the single line "Your music's great but you've ruined it all"
Killus - The End Of The Vatican
Taken from the 2020 album Devilish Deeds
This Spanish band have apparently been around since the mid-nineties but only came to my attention with this album. I can't speak for their earlier output but Devilish deeds is an accomplished and enjoyable collection of bright and brashy Industrial Metal and this track is one of my favourites. Obviously, regarding the hypocrisy of religion and the exploitation of faith, the verses are as aggressive and thumping as you'd expect but the chorus is much softer and actually quite emotive. The juxtaposition works fantastically well.
1000mods - So Many Days
Taken from the 2020 album Youth Of Dissent
So Many Days is one of their slower, more introspective tracks, with lyrics that seem to be about dealing with depression. There's a cool, fuzzy bassline and their Desert Rock influences are plainly visible in the riffs and the wafting strains of psychedelia.
Smiling Assassin - With All Due Respect
Taken from the 2020 album Plight Of The Millennial
I bought the debut (signed, get me) album by this hefty Punk band from the North of England last month on a whim, though I don't know if it actually counts as an album as it's running time is less then sixteen minutes long! This track, With All Due Respect, is the longest track on the album at a whopping 02:44. It's a scathing Hardcore Punk rant about the state of modern society with a bruising closing breakdown and a particularly furious vocal from George Garnett.
Steve Buscemi's Dreamy Eyes - For Ezra
Taken from the 2020 album Sweetie
A bit of a change of pace now with a soothing slice of Indiepop from a Swedish band with a very silly name. This style of music isn't usually my sort of thing but I thought I'd at least give a band with a name like that a cursory listen if nothing else. It turns out that I quite like them and For Ezra is one of the standout tracks for me. there's a nice jangly guitar melody, an '80s style Post Punk bassline and, while several band members rotate lead vocals, this song is helmed by keyboardist Siri Sjöberg and her wafting, shoegazey vocals.
Wexler's Prime - Insectarian
Taken from the 2020 album Fossil Constellation
Insectarium is over nine minutes long but one of the heavier songs on the album and surprisingly pacy for such a long song. It's a cavalcade of impressive, weighty riffs and much headbangery, the vocals alternate between Hardcore shouting and Death Metal growls and lyrically it's about a politician who becomes so corrupted by the hateful rhetoric they're spouting that they begin to physically mutate.
Ceres - Viv In The Front Seat
Taken from the 2019 album We Are A Team
Viv In The Front Seat was the first single from this Aussie band's third album and followed a period of writer's block for frontman Tom Lanyon. He must have unclogged whatever blockage there was as Viv In he Front Seat is, as is the album it came from, fantastic. It's an Emo/Power Pop-influenced Indie Rock song about Tom's girlfriend who lost her parents. Her Dad, Viv, was an artist and the title refers to some of his artwork of his that Tom was taking to her, strapped in the passenger seat for safekeeping. On the journey, he realises that he wants to spend the rest of his life with her and starts imagining their future.
I love the way the song gradually builds in intensity throughout the song, starting with just a lone guitar and gentle drums with the band gradually joining in until the song's crashing finale.
Final Round - Shooting Stars
Taken from the 2019 album Final Round
Shooting Stars is another love song, though this time it seems to be of the unrequited kind. As far as I can gather it's about a guy in love with a female friend, he watches her go through a long line of one night stands and partners, too afraid to say how he feels so just waits until the day she realises he's the one she's meant to be with. It's a flawed plan but also one I've been depressingly familiar with in the past.
Final Round are a band I discovered through Jamendo, a Creative Commons site where bands can upload their music for people to download free of charge. This self-titled was their third proper album and it's a strong collection of Pop Punk/Post Hardcore type stuff, well-written and listenable. All of their albums (and EP's) are well worth checking out if you like this song.
Throttlerod - Where's Josh?
Taken from the 2009 album Pig Charmer
I discovered Throttleord while searching for more Stoner Rock last year, they're signed to the renowned Stoner label, Small Stone Recordings whose roster I was working my way through. Where's Josh? is taken from their fourth album and is over ten years old now. It's a chugging, clattering beast of a song with a lurching riff and a massive, rumbling bass. There's also elements of Grunge and Noise Rock to its fuzzy groove and an anger in the distorted vocals, They aren't the most prolific band with their last and fifth album, Turncoat, released in 2016 but there's word of new stuff on the way so hopefully, that'll be out soon.
Dandelion Charm - Afraid Of The Silence
Taken from the 2019 album Maybe Dreamers
I started the mix off with some Proggy Power Pop so I may as well end it with some too. Dandelion Charm have more of a '70s Folk influence than The Dowling Poole do but there;'s still a few similarities songwise. The main band members are Claire and John Fowler, based in the South of England but they do expend into a full blown band from time to time too.
Afraid Of The Silence is about how the decisions we make, the risks we take (or don't) and the way we treat people affect our lives and our future. The gently swinging verses see John and Claire trading line before coming together for the massive chorus and its perfectly meshed harmonies. I love this song but the rest of the album is quality too.
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