Tag Archives: chat logs

Stream: Fleeting Youth Records + r/cassetteculture – “Blooming”

I mean, how could you even go wrong? Fleeting Youth Records, one of our favorites and based out of Austin, Texas, has put together a compilation of 33 bands that clocks in at over 90+ minutes. Every single song is a noisy, feedback and fuzz soaked garage-rock stomper ready and waiting to be loaded up onto your tape deck and blared until the speakers add yet another layer of distortion.

It’s hard to tell even where to begin. Covering such a substantial paean to garage rock is not something that can be taken down track for track. A (relatively) random sampling is going to have to suffice.

First off, true to it’s name this compilation truly is “fuzz-fucked.” Every track seems to be following the same production standard of no production standards. Appropriately, the opening track, “Vent” by the band Weak Nerves, comes screaming out of the gate with a few squeals of feedback before introducing some super crunchy and fuzzed out riff-rock. There is a mix of garage-rock noise with groundswells of shoegaze awe. Somehow Weak Nerves are able to float between these two worlds, creating a really interesting and expansive sound that adds significant depth beyond just fuzzed out noise.

I’m also happy to see Chat Logs getting some space here. They had a pretty exciting release on Already Dead tapes a while ago that I still enjoy. Their jittery, aggressive approach with Earth-shaking low end violently contrasted by screeching guitars fits perfectly amongst the garage-rockers and punks that fill out the rest of the album.

There really isn’t a bad track across this collection. It’s all just perfectly amped up rock. Post-Child’s “Stop What You’re Doing to Me” cuts the noise with pop hooks and bouncy synth sounds, while Goners intone their teenage depression before cutting into an extended guitar solo; and toward the end of the album The Void bring us back to the mid-90’s with the fuzzed out, Smashing Pumpkins-esque bliss of “Summer.”

I could probably just go on all day, moving through each track one at a time, but instead I’ll leave you to it. Start with these tracks and just keep listening from there. While you’re at it, grab a copy. Limited run blue cassette with full-color 3-panel j-card featuring amazing hand drawn art from Valentino Tettamanti.  Head over to the Fleeting Youth bandcamp to pick one up, and to listen to the compilation in its entirety.

Stream: Animal Lover – “Guilt”

Here we go. Raw and abrasive, Animal Lover is sounding more and more like the 2nd coming of Big Black the more that I listen. The squealing guitar’s harsh cut and ringing harmonics sound the part of Albini, but the rest of the band fleshes out the low end significantly better. What’s the same, though, is the passion, vitriol and energy with which they seem to attack their instruments, and the style of distancing the vocal toward the back of the mix. It sounds as if the singer is maybe being recorded live, sans-effects for the most part across much of the release.

After the screaming cloud of angular guitar noise that is “Plasme,” the opening track, we come to “Lucky Pastures” that immediately recalls the rhythm section from Liars’ first offering that aligned them to the dance-punk bands of the early 2000’s. That slightly crunchy, but still round, bass sound in combination with a punchy drum kit most definitely ties their sounds together. The spaciousness of “Lucky Pastures” provides enough of a contrast to the opening track to show a bit of their range. That toned-down (only a bit) idea is expanded on the album closer “Neighbors” that manages to only barely contain the previous barrage momentarily with a jazz backbeat, clean(er) guitar tone and delicate vocals before showing signs of wanting to blow everything to bits again.

By and large though this is quite a noisy offering. Visceral noise and feedback permeate a good portion of “Guilt” but there are moments, such as in the title track, where the bass and drums are left out in the open to lay down a thin sounding groove, only to explode back into the spiked assault from whence it came. As I keep listening I am hearing a bit of a likeness to Chat Logs, whom I wrote about a few months ago, which is worth a listen if you missed out the first time.

This one is going to be spinning here for a while. Get in on it. The 12″ 45 was just released and is currently available from Learning Curve Records. You can also catch Animal Lover live on the last few of their tour dates if you happen to be in the proximity of the Midwest. Check those dates below and check out the album above.

5-27 Washington, D.C. @ Union Arts DC
5-28 Columbus, OH @ Carabar
5-29 Louisville, KY tba
5-30 St Louis, MO @ MELT
5-31 Carbondale, IL @ Ski House
6-01 Milwaukee, WI @ Quarters

New Release: Britches – “Demolition”

Some pretty dark sounds are emitting from this tape. I know that I probably use the word “sinister” a bit too much in my reviews, but I need to use it again today because the music contained on Britches’ “Demolition” can’t be better described with any other adjective. If you read my post a while back about Chat Logs, then you know where I’m coming from here.

Primal drumming behind guitars that are just sludgy as hell and broken up by screeching noise all through the opening tracks “Nice Ending” (heard above) and “Go Out.” That sinister darkness is captured within the realm of this barrage of guitars and a distorted, mostly cryptic vocal.

The opening of “Forever Now” begins beautifully, creeping out of the echoed darkness into a warm ambience that swells into view. Soon the atmosphere is enveloped in sound, though the background sounds of approaching sharp and high pitched sounds soon takes the sound from calming and contemplative to fearful. Obscured, heavily affected vocals slowly come into focus sounding like a buzzier “Fitter, Happier,” but with the noise of Women’s harshly bowed guitars on “Can’t You See.”

The latter part of the tape brings back the noise with “Antonyms,” maybe summoning the sound of Scott Walker if he was influenced by No Wave; and finishing out the tape is the 9 minute ambient slow burn of “Take it for Granted.” Probably don’t listen to this one in the dark. Definitely listen to it loud.

“Demolition” is currently available and limited to an edition of 100.

Week in Review: February 17th-21st, 2014

Here’s what went up on the blog this past week, in case you missed it:

Monday: The 13th part of my continuing trip down Sonic Youth memory lane. This week’s post focused on “Sonic Nurse.” Only a few more to go.

In Memoriam Sonic Youth XIII: “Sonic Nurse”

Tuesday:  More music from the endlessly prolific Ty Segall. This tune coming from his latest project, Fuzz. The 7″ single also features a track by CCR Headcleaner with all proceeds from digital download sales going to help music education programs in schools.

Stream: Fuzz/CCR Headcleaner 7″

Wednesday: Purling Hiss is re-releasing their debut album on a very limited number of LPs and cassettes. Grab ’em while you can:

Stream: Purling Hiss s/t 2009 limited edition re-release

Thursday: Stream latest from Chat Logs. Their EP “Am I Right, or Am I Right?” was released on Already Dead Tapes and is definitely worth a listen.

Stream: Chat Logs – “Am I Right, or Am I Right?”

Friday: Squarepusher writes music and has it performed by robots for some reason.  Check out the video.

Video: Squarepusher w/Z-Machines – “Music For Robots”

Stream: Chat Logs – “Am I Right, or Am I Right?”


I know that I have mentioned before of my recent conversion over to the cult of the cassette tape. This has lead to some great discoveries, of course forcing me to ask the question, “What have I been keeping myself from for the past couple of years?”

It was through another tape purchase that I discovered the band Chat Logs. Maybe part of my love for this batch of songs is partly because of the element of surprise. I wasn’t planning on buying this album, didn’t even know that it existed, and now I have it here with me

What I got was an aggressive bass assault with grinding guitars and menacing vocals. The perpetual, circular bass-line of “Eat Your Heart Out” is intermittently interrupted by a heavily echoed, distorted and pitch shifted guitar that’s doing it’s best interpretation of a blues break, but is run through a experimental noise-rock filter. And many of the songs take on a similar structure, with persistent bass holding everything together while the guitars and vocals buzz, screech and echo all around it.

“Am I Right, Or Am I Right?” clocks in at just over 19 minutes with its 4 tracks, the perfect EP length. Personal favorite “Mooks” is mostly instrumental (or at least has a lengthy instrumental break in the middle) with a great winding lead guitar line that sounds like a more unrestrained Constantines track.

The album is available now through Already Dead Records and Tapes, a limited run, specialty press label run out of Chicago that is absolutely worth checking out for fans of sometimes obscure, experimental, electronic, hard-edged garage and all other genres in between.