Super limited edition 7″ from those fine Italian folks at Goodbye Boozy. Like a more jagged Ty Segall/Moonhearts with a bit of a blues swagger and stomp. Definitely the Cali garage sound with heavy elements of trash rock n roll. Maybe a really small hint of surf? Not quite like Moonhearts, but straddling the same tree. It sounds like they (maybe?) had a bad experience with a vaporizer at some point since the A-Side is aptly titled “Vape Victim”. Been there, done that, and I know that you definitely can be a victim of the vape if not prepared. All head buzz. Anyways, this single is a head buzz. Chainsaw and completely trashed out but still has structure. Vocals with the right amount of distortion and slapback. Lots of a angular parts that start and stop just right, then you throw in some sprawling off the wall drums that are way front in the mix and you have an idea of how “Vape Victim” will be treating you on repeated listens. Sounds sorta like what the Forbidden Tigers/Brimstone Howl crew were/are doing. The second track “Indian Chief” is a poppier affair but still throbbing with lo-fi hiss and slapbacked vocals. It’s a quicker burn than the A-Side and not quite as strong, but still will ensure you that this 7″ was money well spent. A completely trashed out fun and sloppy version of “I Get Around” graces the B-Side uncredited. I like these Goodbye Boozy 7″s that have uncredited covers on the B-Side, really ups the value for the singles. Great shit!
This single is probably sold out, so you should have bought it when it came out (sorry for not pimping it sooner), but you can stream “Vape Victim” here:
Easily one of the best Hozac Records 7″s I’ve heard in quite some time. Radar Eyes are a Chicago shoegaze act led by Anthony Cozzi (who recorded the 7″ and the new Hozac LP from which this single comes). The A-Side, “Miracle” is delayed out garage-pop perfection. Catchy and chiming. Shoegaze that’s not entirely shoegaze. Judging from the bouncy feel of the track you get the feeling they aren’t just watching their shoelaces while they blast yr ears. They’re rhythmic and definitely moving. I like the repetition on such a simple but instantly classic guitar line. The background shifts are entirely key for the mood. The vocals are perfectly buried and perfectly layered/double tracked. This is really a great sounding A-Side, one of my favorites of the year thus far. It’s got enough pop charm for the Indiana bubblledumb fanatics and enough delay/guitar effects to keep really anyone interested…all while not sounding cheesy, muddy or foolish like most lesser bands would come across while layering textures like this. “Miracle” keeps coming back to the catchy guitar line and that’s what I love about it. It lets the guitar line shine as the hook. It lets it speak volumes about the pop sensibilities of this band. The B-Side is a more fuzzed out and layered jam with some 60′s moves ala milky thick reverbed vocals. Not as catchy as the A-side, but definitely a nice and varied flip. The fuzz tone on the guitar is perfect and it really leads the song. I’d really recommend spinning the A-Side over and over and over again. That’s what I’ve been doing for weeks now. This band slays live as well, so it’s really in yr interest to check em out if you can. They just dropped a seriously heavyweight LP on Hozac earlier this year as well!
If you’ve been hanging around Kind Turkey long enough you know of our love for The Midwest Beat, one of Madison/Milwaukee’s leading underground garage bands. With 2 LPs out on Dusty Medical, a handful of singles and a new cassette coming on Kind Turkey the band has been nothing short of prolific. Although I do agree the commonly used “Angry Bubblegum” is a genre that suits the band well, I think that “crazed 60′s garage pop with a dash of psych” is more along the lines of what they’re really shaking. This is their classic six song debut EP reissued in its Mono Mix version. Originally released as a CD EP and then ultimately reissued (twice) as a double 7″, it’s now time for the cassette fiends out there to get their hands on this timeless Midwestern classic. Taking hints from the Kinks, the Stones, CCR and countless other country leaning and/or psychedelic bands, The Midwest Beat have carved their niche as the premier garage pop explosion unit from Wisconsin. This is “power pop” that’s actually powerful…jangly yes, but not weak to say the least…and that’s not to say it doesn’t have a large emphasis on the pop end of the spectrum, it’s just a lot more powerful than yr average 60′s tinged country garage band. Classics like “J-Man’s Blues” and “Girl Gone West” sound just as great today as they did the first time I heard em years back on those initial releases. This is essential for anyone who hasn’t heard the debut EP. The band has definitely grown and morphed since then, but they are still completely comfortable harkening back to the days of the original debut that turned so many heads when it first popped up on CD.
AND! Just to get you cassette junkies more excited…keep an eye out for the new Midwest Beat cassette of unreleased and live recordings coming soon on Kind Turkey Records!
This is a 4 track EP from Kind Turkey bud, Adam Widener (AKA Adam Weird). Adam was a part of the Wisconsin scene (Plexi 3, The Zygoteens, Jet Set, The Mechanics of Romance, Magic Words…etc) for many years before uprooting and planting himself firmly in the Bay Area scene as the bass player for Bare Wires. Adam no longer plays with Bare Wires, but now he’s got his own thing going on! This is his first solo foray pressed onto vinyl and it’s a really quick burn of mod-pop madness (4 tracks spinning at 45 RPM). Power-Pop hinging mostly on the pop end of the spectrum. Some aspects of the Mod Punk scene, but pretty reserved stuff overall. A little bit of surf influence on the last track. The opener is the winner here. We know Adam’s got some mad skills as a bass player and he shows off his drumming and guitar skills on this record as well. Call him a ringer if you will! Layout by the great zine Plastique Pop (Run by who else but Adam!) featuring over 100 pictures of Adam’s mug, as well as lyrics. Pressed onto a nice clear coke bottle piece of vinyl. Includes a goofy insert with warranty information and a card to fill out. Note: The insert says to run this record at 33 RPM. Don’t do that. ha.
Pick it up from the Kind Turkey approved, Big Action Records!
Two song 7″ limited to 150 copies (The last record I got by this band was somehow even more limited!)….I didn’t know they let you press in quantities under 100. Ha. Thing is recorded really loud (and mastered properly over at Brooklyn Phono). Banging guitar way out front. Pretty gnarly opening. Turns into something a bit more lo-fi when the vocals pop in. They’re double tracked but in the most lo-fi way possible (compared to how produced the guitar tone is). Lots of competent guitar playing floating around this thing. Think classic rock meets some of the riffing of the Black Keys or Black Rebel Motorcycle Club (or maybe a slew of other bands with names that start with “Black”). The vocal melody is actually way more reminiscent of the 60′s than most of the 70′s guitar leads filling out the track would have you believe. The thing I like most about the A-Side is the weirdo noise part between the transitions. It gets all low end rumbling feedbacky but then sorta gets by the completely ridiculous Hendrixesque hammer-on guitar part. The drummer is as competent as the guitar player is. Completely competent music with plenty of soul and guitar switcheroos/transitions.
“Joanne” is the type of B-Side you’d expect from the A-Side. More Black Rebel worship and definitely hinging on the 60′s sound more so than the A-Side (apart from the melody of that track). At points the chorus is really similar to what Ty Segall is doing minus some of the scuzz and punk attitude. I guess maybe a more safe/produced version of Ty Segall or something. There’s nothing punk about this record, and that might put some people off. Doesn’t bother me. Nothing that hasn’t been done before, but at least these kids can play their instruments and have some of the proper influences down (most notably the 60′s references). 7″ is housed in a stapled full color sleeve unlike any sleeve I’ve seen before. DIY for sure. Includes a double sided insert with lyrics and some photos. Out on Magic Sleeeve Records.
More meandering Black Lips psych via Michigan’s People’s Temple. The new 7″ is out on the Italian label Goodbye Boozy. A-Side is really well done simple psych blues. Primitive and lo-fi, this 7″ is a testament to the band’s roots. Their LP on Chicago’s Hozac last year turned some heads, probably many more than this 7″ will…but Hey!…that’s what LPs are for, right? Super reverbed out vox over a simplechord pattern and lots of fuzz tone! BJM worship for sure, but they’re sorta doing their own thing at the same time. The uncredited B-Side (so no idea what the title is!) has a nice hand-written note from Mr Goodbye Boozy himself “Hey Play also this side!…Enjoy!”. And it fades out exactly as it should. The fade out is an important and often times misused production technique. They got it right on this record. Fits the song. You need it for a song that’s already been going on too long. It just feels right like that.
