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Mumblr, Full of Snakes

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Mumblr, of Philadelphia, have recently released their first full-length effort. It is called Full of Snakes. The accuracy of that title will depend entirely on your personal feelings about snakes. (I have a certain wary appreciation, providing no venemous fangs are in evidence.) I have a good deal warmer feelings about the record; it’s brash and messy and weird and contains a love letter to Philadelphia which gets stuck in my head every time I listen to it:

But there are also tunes like Sober, which is distorted, fuzzy, primal shriek of anxiety:

And Greyhound Station which seething, roaring meditation on the strange combination of sweaty exhaustion, low-level terror, and rage that eventually settles on anyone required to spend any time in the titular location:

It can be a challenging listen, at times, but it is absolutely worth it. In conclusion: here is the video for I Think About You All The Time – also their first video ever – which contains a dude in green paint for no apparent reason and some nudity towards the end. Adjust your viewing plans accordingly.

ITAUATT (I Think About u All The Time) by Mumblr

You can listen to the rest of the record here on Soundcloud, at least for now. Alternatively you can visit their bandcamp.

They will be taking their show on the road starting in October; New York you have a couple shows, but probably should attend the one on Oct. 4 at Shea Stadium, for the complete Grotty Punk Rock Clubhouse Experience; Ohio, they’ll be stopping in Athens on October 10. Everyone else, check their listings and plan your road trips if you need to.

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A Good Read A Good Listen and a Good Drink: AF the Naysayer

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It’s a simple yet sublime pleasure, and just thinking about it can make you feel a little calmer, a little more content. Imagine: You bring out one of the good rocks glasses (or your favorite mug or a special occasion tea cup) and pour a couple fingers of amber liquid (or something dark and strong or just some whole milk). You drop the needle on the jazz platter (or pull up a blues album on your mp3 player or dig out that mixtape from college). Ensconcing yourself in the coziest seat in the house, you crack the spine on a classic (or find your place in that sci-fi paperback or pull up a biography on your e-book reader). And then, you go away for a while. Ah, bliss.

In this series, some of NTSIB’s friends share beloved albums, books and drinks to recommend or inspire.

AF the Naysayer (Amahl Abdul-Khaliq), founder of Dolo Jazz Suite, and co-founder of Self-Educated Vinyl, makes some groovy beats, and this is his debut music video:

AF THE NAYSAYER - SUNDAY (OFFICIAL VIDEO)

He’s currently out on tour with Prism House and Slomile Swift, and they are working their way around the country.

New York, your show is on Sept. 11 at Spike Hill, in Brooklyn; Ohio, yours are on Sept. 19 at Bourbon St. in Columbus and Sept. 23 at Chameleon in Cincinnati.

The last time he came through New York he sat down and did the very first live-action A Good Read, A Good Listen and a Good Drink, outside the aptly-named Trash Bar, also in Brooklyn. The following is a transcript of that conversation:

NTSIB: All right, let’s go, let’s hear about your favorite book, album and drink. Tell me all of your nerdy LBJ thoughts.

AF the Naysayer: Ok so I’m really not much of a fiction reader. I don’t know why, even though as a kid I did like comic books, I just was more interested in history. So the last book I read that I was really intrigued by that wasn’t music related was Flawed Giant, the biography of Lyndon Baines Johnson (LBJ) [by Robert Dallek]. It was strictly only on his Presidency, from Vice President to President. And it was really extensive, like over one thousand pages. It was like reading the New Testament and the Old Testament. It was about that long.

He was just such a mafioso president. He got the most bills passed during his time as president than any other president in history. He did the most underhanded things and got away with it, it was just insane. He was really a watch-dog president. He was an anomaly. He was just an interesting person. I was just so intrigued by it. It’s a really long book, not necessarily a good read for a lot of people. But I was very intrigued. That’s my recommendation for a book.

NTSIB: And for a record, to go with that book?

AF the Naysayer: Oh, I don’t know what record would go with that book. I’m just going to name one of my favorite records.

NTSIB: Okay, that’s good too!

AF the Naysayer: Gil Scott Heron, one of my favorite artists of all time, favorite singer/songwriter, his album Winter in America, it’s not one of his most popular album, due to I guess the record label, but it’s an amazing album, from track one to the end. One of my favorite albums of all time, so that’s why I’m going to nominate it.

Gil Scott Heron "Winter In America" (1974) HIGH QUALITY

And I don’t drink alcohol, so –

NTSIB: Well that’s all right, you can tell me about your favorite soda. Or hot chocolate.

AF the Naysayer: I love ginger beer. Ginger beer is amazing. So is a good root beer. But I guess since I’m at a show [in a bar]-lots of time they don’t have those. I’ll be lucky if they have ginger ale. Sometimes they do, for mixing drinks. So I guess my go to drink at a bar would be club soda with a squirt of lemon juice and a splash of cranberry juice. And if I want to get fancy with it I’ll get a crushed mint leaf.

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Video: frnkiero and the cellabrations, Weighted

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Frank Iero (My Chemical Romance) has started (yet another!) band, which he is calling frnkiero and the cellabrations. Their first record, Stomachaches, just emerged Monday; this is the video for Weighted, the first single, which emerged somewhat earlier but has taken me a while to absorb.

The parallels to certain pieces of My Chem iconography are inescapable; it’s impossible to watch the first minute and not think of the video for Helena, from Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge. And as Helena was a farewell, so, in a way, is this; it’s also a hello, and a warning: don’t try to raise the dead, lest you bring on a zombie apocalypse and the lead singer of your favorite band decides to eat your heart and play jump rope with your intestines.

For all that it is gross, and disturbing, and I didn’t even make it through twice – I had to hide the tab and listen to him sing – I have to agree with the sentiment. I miss My Chemical Romance; I like Conventional Weapons and feel vaguely bad about it because they don’t; I’m sad I’ll never hear a pit howl along to Boy Division; but the band is dead, they put it down clean, all things considered, and raising the dead is never, ever a good idea.

And for the record: I like this tune, as a tune, and I’m keen to dig into the rest of the record.

frnkiero and the cellabration - Weighted

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Blackwater Jukebox, Blackwater Jukebox

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Dearest readers, Blackwater Jukebox (Geordie McElroy and a legion of talented friends) has put out a new, self-titled record, and it is packed full of foot stomping, hip-shaking, grab-your-partner-and-swing-em-around tunes. Some are remixed versions of material from Sleaze of the Reaper and Banjos and Breakbeats; others are new. But they are all great, and worth your time.

To whet your appetite, here is Cleo May, a new tune which I like a lot:


And also the video for Eastside Girl, featuring Sadie D’Marquez and, you guys, I love it so much I wish I could teleport myself inside it, so I could dance along with the crowd.

Blackwater Jukebox - Eastside Girls feat. Sadie d'Marquez (official)

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Favorite Waitress, The Felice Brothers

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favoritewaitress

If Celebration, Florida (2011) was The Felice Brothers taking a hard left out of Americana into a dark, strange corner of indie rock, Favorite Waitress is them – to mix a metaphor somewhat – doubling down on that murky weirdness and swinging for the fences.

It begins with Bird on a Broken Wing, which I had to listen to a couple of times before I really started to like it. In many ways it extends a thread back to River Jordan, the last song on Celebration, Florida, and, as it happens, one of my favorite Felice Brothers songs. River Jordan is a slow burning geyser of hurt and rage; the last time I saw them perform it live was a transcendent experience, but also made me almost certain they were about ready to call it quits on being a band.

They didn’t, though, and Bird on a Broken Wing is the resolution, and, perhaps, ending, of that pain. The narrator has had a moment to breathe and reflect (and heal?) and also, perhaps, find some peace.

Continuing through the tracklist, some of the songs have country roots: Katie Cruel is a slow-burn country-blues stomper; Cherry Licorice contains echoes of a barroom sing along; Lion sounds like something The Band could have written if they had dropped a lot of acid.

But those songs are trifles; smokescreens, even, behind which more complex treasures are hiding.

The real meat of the record is songs like Alien, Meadow of a Dream, Saturday Night Alone, and Constituents, where the Felices slow down and stretch out as only they can, and tell stories full of longing, alien heartbreak and world-weary menace.

And the diamond – and perhaps harbinger of things to come? – is Silver in the Shadow, the last song, which is about surviving work to find love, and starts out slow and thoughtful before expanding into a majestic fuzzy roar.

Verdict: A++, and I look forward to more in this vein.

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The Sharrows, Days of Yore

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The Sharrows are: Matt Smith (guitar), Phil Sharrow (lead vocals, bass), Joe Hermanson (keyboards), Sylvia Janicki (cello) and Jacob Bicknase (drums). They are from Madison, Wisconsin. Days of Yore, their second release, was recorded at Zebra Ranch, the North Mississippi Allstars’ home studio.

It’s got a little bit of fuzz and a little bit of shimmy-shake; mostly it’s good company on a slow summer afternoon.

The first song, Yours and Mine, is a slice of solid country blues:

But my favorite is Echo, because it has a little more rock and roll in it, and also because I love the idea of heart echoes calling to one another:

And as an additional enticement, here they are with Sometimes, from their first record, Starting at the End:

http://youtu.be/sOkiN0igvpc

For more, check out their bandcamp page!

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A Good Read A Good Listen and a Good Drink, Robert Maisey, Terminal Gods

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It’s a simple yet sublime pleasure, and just thinking about it can make you feel a little calmer, a little more content. Imagine: You bring out one of the good rocks glasses (or your favorite mug or a special occasion tea cup) and pour a couple fingers of amber liquid (or something dark and strong or just some whole milk). You drop the needle on the jazz platter (or pull up a blues album on your mp3 player or dig out that mixtape from college). Ensconcing yourself in the coziest seat in the house, you crack the spine on a classic (or find your place in that sci-fi paperback or pull up a biography on your e-book reader). And then, you go away for a while. Ah, bliss.

In this series, some of NTSIB’s friends share beloved albums, books and drinks to recommend or inspire.

Terminal Gods are from London, and listening to their music is much like settling into a comfortable spot in my favorite dive bar. It’s loud, a little grimy, but at the same time, instantly comforting and familiar. It takes the weight of the world off your shoulders.

And for me, at least, it contains the echo of nights spent on the bus, straggling home from the club in ridiculous outfits with nonsense drawn on my face. It was often cold and awkward, but I was warmed by dancing with my people and I didn’t care. Listening to them I want to go out and get on the dance floor again, to stomp and swirl and sway, to get caught in the undertow of tulle and shiny boots. And then have a cheese toastie and some Irn Bru on the way home.

Anyway, this is Cold Life, their latest single, due to be turned loose upon the world this coming Monday, July 14. If you like it, drop by their Soundcloud and listen to the rest of their tunes. They’ll also be playing, with Dressmaker, in Glasgow (7/16, 13th Note), Edinburgh (7/17, Bannerman’s Gate), Leeds (7/18, Wharf Chambers), Wolverhampton (7/19, The Gifford Arms), and London (7/25, Buffalo Bar).

Terminal Gods - Cold Life (Official Music Video)

And now, I turn the floor over to Robert Maisey, lead guitar and drum machine programmer, who has graciously agreed to join us today to talk about one of his favorite books, records and drinks.

Robert Maisey, Terminal Gods

Robert Maisey, Terminal Gods

“It had better not be some lame fantasy book” – Robert Cowlin: Vocals, Terminal Gods.

A GOOD READ

You remember how Rob Fleming spends half of High Fidelity fretting about his top five albums/songs/artists of all time? Picking any one book or album (or even drink!) precludes a glorious host of other equally worthy candidates from taking the stage. Thus, in order to answer the question without tearing my own hair out, I’m going to look to the synopsis:

“…a simple yet sublime pleasure, and just thinking about it can make you feel a little calmer”.

What would I read when I really needed to take a time out? One reads a book for a lot of reasons: escapism (I’ve just embarked on my second time round with the A Song Of Ice And Fire saga), cultural reference (I recently finished Burrough’s Junkie, mainly to catch up with half a century of cultural reference points, although it was also a cracking read) or to get in touch with themselves (I reread the aforementioned High Fidelity every time I make a hash of my romantic life). But, if I were to pick one book that I can (and have) read cover to cover over and over again, it would be the marvelous The Day Of The Triffids by John Wyndham.

Please, please, please don’t be fooled by the many terrible film and television adaptations of this book. They’re all tripe. The book is full of character, intelligence and classic British charm that just isn’t conveyed in any of the ridiculous “creature feature” type page to screen translations. One of the reasons I love this book (and the author in general) is the many faceted nature of the story. It’s about man’s arrogance regarding his position at the top of the ecological ladder, it’s about the delicacy of the seemingly iron hard social structures we live by, it’s about the conflict between the feral and the noble in human nature and it’s also a love story. It subtly reflects the atmosphere of the early years of the Cold War, where the unimaginable was suddenly possible. Yet for all that, it retains all the classic readability and charm of authors like H.G. Wells and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

In fact, the only thing it isn’t really about is man-eating fucking plantosaurs.

A GOOD LISTEN

Since the synopsis specifies a record you would listen to at the very same time as opening your book, that narrows it down a bit. I’ve got a load of favourite albums I could bang on and on about, but not necessarily as many I’d choose to go with a cosy armchair and a juicy chunk of mid-20th-century apocalyptic science fiction. Ordinarily, my go-to inner peace LP is Songs Of Love And Hate by Leonard Cohen – Nothing reflects upon the dark night of the soul better than this utter masterpiece.

But, for the purposes of this evening’s listening, I’m going to set a different tone. Something otherworldly and distorted, to reflect the nightmarish landscape that Day Of The Triffids invokes. Equally, a record riddled with the seething paranoia of the Cold War world, a record that anticipates the decline and fall of society dreamt up the literature of the age. Also something immersive – a record that blocks out the real world from start to finish – one long coherent body of work. For this, I’d choose Funhouse by The Stooges.

As well as this, The Stooges are an important band for Terminal Gods, representing a musical eye opener for all us. They embody the shared history of all the various Goth, Punk, Garage and Glam records that each band member grew up with. If I was talking on behalf of TG’s music, I’d probably be more likely to reference Raw Power – which has been more heavily mined for inspiration than its predecessors – but when I’m taking a personal time out with my favourite drink, it’s Funhouse all the way.

http://youtu.be/JWcrDGvdgW0

A GOOD DRINK

I saw The Mission for the first time on the Lighting The Candles tour when I was 15 years old. Wayne Hussey chucked his bottle of “wine” into the audience and, as the youngest person in the vicinity, much of it got poured straight down my neck. It turned out the bottle had actually been filled with Vodka and Cranberry. It’s been my favourite drink on a night out ever since.

On the other hand, at home with a book it’s a cup of tea every time. We keep builders tea in the house as standard, but as a treat I sometimes like to buy in a box of posh Twining’s tea – usually Assam. My partner and I drink a lot of green tea as well. Japanese rice infused green tea leaves were a recent success story in that department.