Singles of the Week (03//23)

1) Brain Cave / Knub - split

 

 
News from US noise-rock / hardcore-punk bands... 

This is the next edition in the ongoing Hex Records split 12” series pairing bands not necessarily directly part of the label, but that we find awesome nonetheless, and releasing it short-notice in exciting and creative packaging. First was the Great Falls/ Great Sabatini split that contained letterpressed cover artwork and a laser-etched B-side (designed and executed by the bands as well). And then came the wild split between Child Bite and Multicult containing some of the most intense screenprinting work we’ve ever seen care of the Child Bite fellas. And now we got two of the most exciting new bands to emerge- Brain Cave and Knub- laying down gigantic slabs of rock housed in a screenprinted jacket with an Obi strip to keep it all together and fancy looking. Brain Cave- hailing from Cleveland- have been exceptionally prolific in their relatively brief time together, releasing several singles as well as a killer full length. This continues their fierce pace of releases and more post-hardcore heaviness that shifts between melody and fuzzy riffs played as loud as possible with shouted vocals keeping them rooted in basements packed with sweaty kids and questionable odors. The trio blur the line between all-out aggression and a dedication to songcraft, melody, and riffs. Knub are old heads in a new band currently sinking the city of Baltimore into the Chesapeake Bay as a result of the seismic riffs they’re creating. They dropped a demo last year and I’m still recovering from it. They completely nail those enormous Helmet riffs worthy of “Meantime” and then polish them with the seasoned production and catchy songwriting of “Aftertaste”. Yes, a perfect world can exist. Add to that a singer with a set of pipes potentially lifted from a church organ and you get the huge sounds of Knub that makes you full-body headbang to the riffs and then curse them for how stupid catchy it all is. How can this dichotomy exist? Search beneath the flooding streets of Baltimore and you’ll find out.  

credits releases January 20, 2023

 

 
(split 12" vinyl - Hex)

2) Meena - Newspapers

 

 

 News from Manchester, UK shoegaze / indie-rock band...

Self recorded /produced in Manchester - collaberating on vocals with Amelia in NYC over the period of 7 months, A blend of reverb laden vocals, strange guitar tunings, wild distortion, cavernous snyth tied together with hip/hop drums and a deep rumbling bass 

credits released January 20, 2023 

Vocals: Amelia Bushell William Crook 

Guitars: William Crook Matthew Bailey 

Bass: CJ Wood Synth: David Foulger 

Album Artwork: CJ Wood Photography: Evangeline Ford Mixed by Mario Borgatta 

 

(EP - Meena)

3) Panda Bear & Sonic Boom - Gettin’ to the Point

 

 

 New video from the album 'Reset' released August 12, 2022 

 

(video - Domino)

4) Polinski - Distant Friend, I Love You!

 

 

 New single from Berlin, Germany electronic Paul Wolinski... 

Paul is one quarter of 65daysofstatic. He occasionally makes music by himself too. It tends to be full of noise, scruffy pianos and minor chords. Distant Friend, I Love You! is the lead track from Telex From MIDI City, the new album from Polinski. A manifesto for friendship sculpted from scattershot beats and technicolour hyper melodies. An eruption of desperate utopia and pixel romance. A massive blast of expectation and ambition. Telex from MIDI City is an assemblage of deft, angular laser beats from the 90s IDM scenes, low fidelity VHS tape hiss dragged from the endless nostalgia of YouTube synthwave channels, and soaring melodies and occasional slabs of noise honed by Wolinski over the course his 20-year career. Arriving into the world soon via Data Airlines, purveyors of only the finest computer noise. Youth before Oblivion!! 

credits released January 17, 2023 

 

(digital, video - Polinski, Data Airlines)

5) Softcult - Dress

 

 

 New single from Canada indie-rock / shoegaze duo... 

Director: Mercedes Arn-Horn DOP: Iced Out Visuals & Mercedes Arn-Horn Starring: Sam Bielanski (PONY), Jamie Hiltstone, Alyssa Wippel, Byron Patterson, Jad Hammoud, Leena Rodriguez, Pascale Padilla, Phil Hurst, Phoenix Arn-Horn Editor: Mercedes Arn-Horn Producer: Phoenix Arn-Horn Mixed by: Chris Perry 

 

(digital. video - Easy Life)
 

vinyl:
EPs:
Vincent Christ - Galore /EP/
Mother's Son - Silence Starved /EP/
SÝN - Recuerdo Rudio /EP/
In A Quiet Room - No rain​ / ​No flower /EP/
digi single, video:
EVNTYD - Quotidian
Stay Lunar - i Like it When you're Around
Tourist Activities - Wrong Side / Oh For One
Ozurie - To The Moon / Bend
Orchid Mantis - Time and Space
Korine - Forevermore
Flyying Colours - Goodbye to Music
The Goa Express - Portrait
Dream Room - Skin
Sparkler - Acid Casualty
Bedridden - Clara's Mouth
Heartworms - Retributions Of An Awful Life
No Spill Blood - Eye Of Night
The Van Pelt - Punk House
Motorama - Another Chance
Airhockey - Close
The Day - Hide
Radium Jaw - Mender
Filibuster - Can't Unfriend Yourself
Deerhoof - Sit Down, Let Me Tell You a Story
Thus Love - Put On Dog
PRA DA - Daddy Issues
Ladytron - Faces
royâ - In My Dream (ft. Oren Barzilay & Petite Meller)
Death Of Heather - Pretty Things (Bdrmm Remix)
Moře dní - Kino Passa
Cameron Castan - Two Point Oh
New Pagans - There We Are John
Mandy. Indiana - Injury Detail
Slow Magic - Human Nature
Tiny Ruins - The Crab / Waterbaby