Review: Jack of Heart - Only Seven Inches for Your Girlfriend?
For six years now, Jack of Heart have been releasing a slew of garage rock singles on indie labels such as Nasty Product, Rob’s House Records, and Slovenly. The downside of the 7” however, means that many of these tunes were only heard by the handful of people who could get a copy of the Parisians’ limited run releases. Thankfully, Teenage Menopause has remastered eleven of those tracks and put them together as the cleverly titled Only Seven Inches For Your Girlfriend? and given the whole package new life as a run of 500 vinyl records, an everlasting digital version, and a fantastically trippy (Inside-Out Boy inspired?) album cover. The production of the collection is some of the most immaculate in the genre, which helps to highlight the more lounge (“It’s You Baby”) and psychedelic (“Tell Me Lyres”) elements of Jack Of Heart’s brand of garage music. Even when the music goes lo-fi, the remastering shines through and showcases some of the cleanest fuzz you’re likely to hear.
Listen to the playful “Oscar Wilde” below and head over to the Teenage Menopause Bandcamp to get yourself a copy of Only Seven Inches.
Review: Jack of Heart - In Yer Mouth
By Paul Blawat
Let me start by saying that LP covers with giant eyeballs staring at slightly smaller eyeballs with centaur bodies are likely going to lead to one of two things: 1. psychedelic music and 2. extreme coolness. Jack of Heart’s latest LP In Yer Mouth satisfies both of these conditions.
Jack of Heart hail from Southern France in both real life and musical genealogy. Who writes songs about Oscar Wilde?* Jack of Heart have Serge Gainsbourg in their bloodline. French or non, there are few musical acts that choose to reimagine 60’s psych and soul, much less with the sonic studio experimentation found on In Yer Mouth.
The LP begins with a fuzzed out Farfisa wailer (seemingly recorded from the inside of a tin can). “Baby Bitch” even tosses out some Ventures twang solos. Finish off with some lowbrow Gregorian chants and zip, shabam, pow, plop, whiz, we have a sonic psych Mona Lisa (remember: psych music, extreme coolness). ”Rock Stones and Pebbles” is a fucked up early Stones-y country weird-up. “Lady Wilde” is Serge-esque; I don’t recall Gainsbourg ever using that level of reverb though (like Star Wars music bar alien voice reverb). ”JOH Jett III” is a Yardbirds/Beefheart rave-up. With a twist. Not like “The Twist”, but a twist—perhaps a little more shufflestrut™**. “In Yer Mouth”, “Howland Skies”, and “A Northern Pain in the Ass” are all 60’s beautiful rockin’ studio classics - written now. The LP’s last song, “Nowdays”, is drop dead killer. Blending many 60’s psych genres, soundtrack-y; think Impala with vocals.
In Yer Mouth is highly recommended. Watch the video for “Baby Bitch” above and get the record le here.
*A quick Internet search deems that many people have written songs about Oscar Wilde, but mostly dandies and foppish acts.
**shufflestrut CAN adj [shuffelstrut] 1. one who shuffles and struts simultaneously. 2. Keith Richards and Bo Diddley. 3. Captain Beefheart.
2011 Top 10: Foreign Albums
Starting with our Reader’s Poll, we’re looking back on 2011 with a series of top 10’s that will cover everything from album covers to music videos, from favorite 7“‘s to favorite LPs, so check back and see what our staff has to say as we make our way to the new year.
2011 has been a great year for all that is garage and punk rock. Renowned bands like Thee Oh Sees, Ty Segall and The Black Lips continued to dominate with new releases. Labels like In The Red, HoZac and Goner proved they still have the best output, but what about all the stuff that was going on outside of the U.S.? My list is dedicated to all the foreign bands out there that have pushed the envelope when it comes to what can be done with garage and punk rock. Just two rules for my list: the band has to derive from outside the U.S. and the album they released has to have been put out on a label based outside the U.S., so apologies to Davila 666, Total Control, IceAge and pretty much everything that was released on Slovenly this year.
1. Royal Headache - Royal Headache (R.I.P. Society)
Words can’t even begin to describe how much I absolutely adore this record. It’s not just my favorite foreign album of 2011, it’s also my favorite album in general. This is truly a pop gem that everyone should hear. When I listen to classic Australian albums like The Saints’ (I’m) Stranded and Radio Birdman’s Radios Appear, I always think how no bands today can touch these 40-year-old records. 40 years from now, people will be saying the same thing about Royal Headache.
2011 Top 10: Best Illustrated Album Covers
Starting with our Reader’s Poll, we’re looking back on 2011 with a series of top 10’s that will cover everything from album covers to music videos, from favorite 7“‘s to favorite LPs, so check back and see what our staff has to say as we make our way to the new year.
There are a lot of albums that came out this year that I can guarantee are amazing, but I just haven’t listened to them yet. So, for my best of 2011 list, I decided to not focus on the music but on the cover art. Specifically, illustrated cover art as it’s one of my favorite styles and it goes so well with punk and garage music, which is our bread and butter here at Get Bent! A small disclaimer: this ranking is solely based on the art, not the music (though I admit my number one may be biased by the fact that I think it’s the best album of the year). So, here are my Top 10 (+1) Illustrated Album Covers of 2011:
1. Panda Bear - Tomboy (Paw Tracks)
Like the album itself, this cover is beautifully understated.
Panda Bear - Last Night At The Jetty by bigasslens Panda Bear - Tomboy by In House Press
Track: Jack Of Heart - San Francisco
Teenage Menopause, the same label who brought us the ridiculously amazing Catholic Spray LP Amazon Hunt, just passed us along a few tracks of their latest release Only Seven Inches For Your Girlfriend? by my favorite Frenchman, Piero llov, otherwise known as Jack Of Heart. The LP serves as a collection of Jack of Heart 7”s (what a fitting title) from 2005-2010. “San Francisco”, a highlight from the collection, was originally released as 7” on Rob’s House back in 2008. If you’re finding yourself a few years late to the Jack Of Heart party, now’s the time to join with a collection of some of best psych-punk that’s been put out.
Only Seven Inches For Your Girlfriend? will be out soon through Teenage Menopause. Stream some select tracks from the LP here.
Guest Mix: Mongrel Zine
Take a romp through the archives of the Vancouver based Mongrel Zine, an old fashioned black and white zine that features interviews and reviews of the best in the underground. They also include a CD mix with every issue, so they’ve picked some of their favorites for this tasty little comp of the comps. Download it here. Listen to more mixes here.
All these songs have appeared on our Mongrel Zine comps. Mongrel Zine is a print zine and CD Comp edited, designed, photocopied, folded, and stapled by Janelle and Bob Scott. Get it at www.mongrelzine.ca.
