Pop. 1280 brings some Synth-Doom to this summer.

the new Pop. 1280 record, Imps of Perversion is a solid follow up to last year’s The Horror and another excellent release by Sacred Bones Records. it’s difficult to classify Pop. 1280 as these are modern times and they shove everything from No Wave, Noise Rock, Goth, Synth & Post-Punk into a meat grinder and come out with a sound that would be best described as: Fucking Dark. a little bit of Swans, a little bit of Killing Joke, a heavy dose of late 90s post-hardcore legends The VSS…this is music for black leather jackets and blood soaked floors. this is music that wants to pummel you with it’s fist. if they still have a music scene left in Escape From New York, this is probably the shit they were making. love songs for the post-apocalypse. recommended.

The Men say goodbye to noise.

The Men have followed up last year's breakout Open Your Heart (one of my personal favorite records of 2012) with New Moon.

The Men are now a 100 million miles from their early droney noise records Immaculada and Leave Home ....BUT even compared to a record they just released less than a year ago, they sound like almost an entirely different band. on Open Your Heart they were still worshipping at the alter of 90s shoegaze and noise rock creating something to make all of our J. Mascis loving hearts proud. with New Moon it seems like the dudes in The Men have tossed out their Loop and Dinosaur Jr records and gotten really really really into early Wilco and Uncle Tupelo. Hey man, it happens. one day you just get burnt out on Shellac.

Not to say all is lost, some of the heavy spaced out Krautrock jams and layers of feedback still exist (especially on the psych-rock closer "Supermoon") but largely they have been phased out in favor of a more roots rockin' Americana sound. there's some obvious Neil Young & Crazy horse aping going on too, but if you are gonna steal then you might as well steal from the best. i'd almost call this album a let down if i was a whiny asshole who didn't allow bands to do different things but the songs are still so damn good that I ain't got too much worth complaining about.

if Open Your Heart was an A- 21st century rock n roll album, then New Moon is a solid B+. just don't be surprised when your Neil Young loving dad starts listening to these guys or they end up being the frat boy that goes to Bonnaroo every year's favorite new band. all in all it's another solid album from one of better current bands going. 

MY FAVORITE RECORDS OF 2012 (that i've heard)

it's the end of the year...so that means time to make useless lists of your favorite crap from 2012 to share with the world so they can be torn apart and mocked.

I don't even pretend to follow new music anymore. It isn't because I don't think people aren't still making music worth paying attention to or I am stuck in my ways or any of that other shit....ok maybe it's some of that, but honestly it's just that i have become really fucking lazy in my old age. also trying to decipher what the average record review is actually saying about the record it is reviewing is like trying to explicate a poem and i just have no time for that....BUT through the power of osmosis and from the recommendations of trusted allies I occasionally stumble upon new music that i enjoy.

Here are MY FAVORITE ALBUMS OF 2012 in no particular order.

Every goddamned album Ty Segall put out this year. 

Ty Segall and White Fence- Hair

Ty Segall Band- Slaughterhouse

Ty Segall- Twins.

Ty Segall is one prolific motherfucker. Dude puts out a new album like every couple of months.  i am convinced that it is because he believes the world actually IS ending in 2012 and he wants to make sure every kickass song he ever wrote gets heard before an asteroid smashes into the planet and robs of the chance of hearing anymore quality jams from the bastard son of Nirvana's Bleach and Marc Bolan's psychedelic glam stomp. Ty Segall is running this psychedelic garage rock shit right now and i am good with that. if the world doesn't end i hope he's got another half dozen more records in 2013.

Slug Guts- Playin' In Time With The Deadbeat 

Slug Guts are an Australian band carrying on the proud traditions of their grandfathers The Birthday Party and Pussy Galore with an unholy amount of post-punk noise and deathrock rattle. i always just assume the Mad Max movies are documentaries of everyday Australian life…it’s the only way to explain why they do fucked up rock n roll better than everyone else.

The Walkmen- Heaven

my relationship with the Walkmen is turning into a sort of old married couple. the passion of the Bows & Arrow days might be gone and we don't fight and cry much anymore...but i know i can still count on them in the end. they are dependable as fuck. no bullshit. just great songs that you can lay around in bed and listen to. they put out an album, i buy it, i enjoy it, they put out another one and so on and so forth until the end of time.

Vincas- Blood Bleeds 

Athens, GA's best band put out probably my most listened to album of year. a gumbo mix of The Scientists' swamp rock boogie, Suicide's drone, and Scratch Acid's weirdness. rock music the way it should be. Dirty, Sleazy, and Noisy as fuck.

The Men- Open Your Heart 

the most straight up ROCK record of 2012 is all fucking balls and no fucking bullshit.

Maserati- VII

the post-rock scene doesn't have to be all emotional Explosions In the Sky Friday Night Ligths episodes... it can also be a dance-y instrumental space rock party that doubles as a soundtrack for Blade Runner 2: Blade Runnerest.

Crocodiles- Endless Flowers

Crocodiles are still pretty much a Jesus and Mary Chain cover band...but it's not like i am complaining. originality is fucking overrated. i love this glossy overblown shoegazey noise pop shit. this was my Summer soundtrack.

Wild Nothing- Nocturne

DIIV- Oshin 

my need for 4AD-ish shoegazey dreampop was fulfilled in 2012.

State Champion- Deep Shit 

this album actually came out at the end of 2011...but fuck it! i didn't hear it until 2012 and so i am gonna put it my list anyways. This is pure hillbilly garage rock n roll that's drunk as hell and has a lot of shit it wants to get off it's chest. these are some Kentucky boys that just wanna play you some sad ole' country songs but they can't help it if their amps are stuck on Dinosaur Jr. it reminds me of a time when Americana didn't automatically equal boring as fuck indie rock with some slide guitar added in for effect. if you are a fan of Uncle Tupelo, Whiskeytown, Steve Earle, The Replacements, and good honest American Rock n Roll then this is a record for you.

Sic Alps- Sic Alps 

White Fence- Family Perfume vol 1&2

the best psychedelic garage rock records that Ty Segall didn't make. good job dudes, i love Syd Barrett and the Olivia Tremor Control too.

Pop. 1280- The Horror

goth, No Wave, noise rock, 3 guys 1 hammer, film noir, PiL records, and songs about dogs.

Moon Duo- Circles

droney psych and krautrock influenced shit that sounds like Spacemen 3 covering a Silver Apples record.

Spiritualized- Sweet Heart Sweet Light

i like Spiritualized, so as long as J. Spaceman can not die of cancer or drug addiction he is always gonna get a spot on a year end list.

Terry Malts Killing Time

kick ass catchy ass fuck power pop with the fuzz pedal cranked in the red. 

Ex-Cult- Ex-Cult

Psychedelic garage rock with a healthy mix of Wire's Pink Flag

Cold Showers Love and Regret
a gloomy post punk record that sounds like it was made by  kids who are just now discovering music by The Sound & The Chameleons or who think it's been enough years since Interpol was relevant that now was as good a time as any to steal their schtick. but as i say around here all the time, originality is overrated....which is good cuz ain't nothing original about this album. that's just fine with me, Cold Showers understand how to write a catchy gothy little pop song. check it out if you are into that sorta thing.

Sex Church Somnambulist 7 inch
another band mining the 80s post-punk era for inspiration. droney/noisey garage rock trying it's hardest to sound like Swell Maps and The Wipers. killer. one of my favorite discoveries of the year.

TEEN In Limbo
produced by former Spacemen 3 member Sonic Boom (aka Peter Kember), which makes a lot of sense because this sounds like a Spectrum album with a member of the Shangri-La's singing over it. In Limbo is an interesting combination of new wave keyboards, atmospheric dreampop, and the 60s girl group sound. it's just a wonderful mix of styles and influences i can get behind. other than having a band and record name combo that would probably get you some sketchy ass google search results, this is an excellent album.

overall 2012 was a pretty good year for new shit, beat the hell out of 2011.

Slug Guts Are My Favorite New Band. They Should Be Yours Too.

I've been listening to Slug Guts constantly the past few weeks. Playin' In Time With The Deadbeat might just be my favorite album of 2012. 

Slug Guts are an Australian band carrying on the proud traditions of their grandfathers The Birthday Party and Pussy Galore with an unholy amount of post-punk noise and deathrock rattle. i always just assume the Mad Max movies are documentaries of everyday Australian life…it’s the only way to explain why they do fucked up rock n roll better than everyone else.

like Slug Guts' previous records Deadbeat mines the same Australian post-punk and American noise rock territority. fuck originality...that shit doesn't help anyone....i want a goddamn homage to all my favorite records and if you want/need that too then this record has got all the goddamned sleazy art damaged worshipping rock n roll that your lil' ole' heart can handle. ain’t nothin’ original about Slug Guts. they steal from the best. The Birthday Party, Beasts Of Bourbon, Scratch Acid, The Gun Club, Christian Death, and about every other band obsessed with apocalyptic sleaze that you wanna namecheck. this is good shit. that’s all you need to know.

this is the perfect soundtrack for burying someone in a shallow grave or just sittin' around in a leather jacket tryin' to look cool. plus they do a killer cover of Public Image Ltd's "Order Of Death". 

you'd do worse than finding this record and giving it a few spins. highly recommended.

new-ish music worth checking out: State Champion's album Deep Shit

State Champion's album Deep Shit just dropped onto my radar and goddamn if it ain't a hell of a good record. it's pure hillbilly garage rock n roll that's drunk as hell and has a lot of shit it wants to get off it's chest. these are some Kentucky boys that just wanna play you some sad ole' country songs but they can't help it if their amps are stuck on Dinosaur Jr. Deep Shit reminds me of a time when Americana didn't automatically equal boring as fuck indie rock with some slide guitar added in for effect. if you are a fan of Uncle Tupelo, Whiskeytown, Steve Earle, The Replacements, and good honest American Rock n Roll then this is a record for you.