Video: Magnetix - Spider in the Corner
The latest video from freaky French duo Magnetix is a mindfuck—one that should probably be avoided if you have a serious case of arachnophobia. Fine, I’m a big baby and yes, spiders freak me out… but the video is still pretty cool. Has this type of garage fuzz ever been for the faint of heart anyway? The Magnetix will probably reply, “NON!”
“Spider in the Corner” can be found on the band’s recent Drogue Electrique 7” via Shit in Can Records or their Drogue Electrique LP (Born Bad/Slovenly) from last year.
Staff Mix: Year One Stories - Getting to GET BENT
In addition to our birthday shows, we’re celebrating our one year anniversary by looking back over our favorite news, reviews, features, and mixes, as Joseph, Kristen, Mariana, and Sonam make their picks for Best of Year One. And to show how far we’ve come, we’re also switching back to our original look for the week. It’s been an amazing twelve months, and we look forward to what the next twelve will bring. Thanks for reading.
For this month’s staff mix, we’ve decided to choose songs to tell our own stories of how we got here and why we love it. What’s the song that changed your life? Tell us your story in the comments below!
Best Of Year One: Reviews
In addition to our birthday shows, we’re celebrating our one year anniversary by looking back over our favorite news, reviews, features, and mixes, as Joseph, Kristen, Mariana, and Sonam make their picks for Best of Year One. And to show how far we’ve come, we’re also switching back to our original look for the week. It’s been an amazing twelve months, and we look forward to what the next twelve will bring. Thanks for reading.
We’ve generally tried to stick with concise, as-objective-as-possible reviews, more as a way of going “hey, check out this record!”, rather than drawn-out novellas with too many irrelevant factoids and a much-loathed rating system. We set out to write about and promote the music we dig. Most of us don’t really have much in the way of previous writing experience, but there has been some definite improvement over the past year, especially with the continual addition of knowledgeable music-obsessed folks from all over the place. In celebration of GET BENT’s birthday, the staff selected their favorite, most memorable reviews to date. Without further ado, here’s a recap. - Kristen Berry, Reviews Editor
Review: Christian Bland and the Revelators - Pig Boat Blues
Pig Boat Blues is the sophomore album from Black Angels guitarist/UFO Club member Christian Bland and his band the Revelators. It’s a colorful collage of vintage sounds, recalling innovators like Syd Barrett and the more sprawling sonic textures of the 13th Floor Elevators, but in a modern atmosphere.
Album opener “Say Hello” is a short clip that gravitates over a tried-and-true blues progression, with the distant, reverb-laden vocals adding to the trip factor. The manner in which it abruptly ends is slightly unsettling and, thus, only feels half-realized. The Revelators have a tendency to do this to the listener. Standout compositions like “Black Crayon” and “LARA” contain that beautifully reverberating, hypnotic drone that Bland brings to that aspect of the Black Angels’ sound, and are among the best tracks. They’re repetitious in a compelling way and easy to get lost in, evoking images of the western American lanscape with the blazing sun beating down in the arid desert. Those songs come off distinctly American in spirit, hinting at a ruggedly bluesy, soul-soothing interior, while others, like the acoustic, trippy, 60s pop-oriented “Candy Land”, feel more evocative of British psychedelia (see Acid Drops, Spacedust & Flying Saucers: Psychedelic Confectionery From the UK Underground 1965-69). Several go for the best of both worlds; “Shadow Child”, in particular, combines harmonica with a Byrdsian guitar jangle and a Syd Barrett-like whimsical melody. The instrumental “CIA” is like a buzzy classic era Electric Prunes track gone surfing. Some, like the wavy “13 Cent Killer”, could easily play on for an eternity rather than the mere few minutes they’re allotted. The seven-minute “Shark Attack” seems to; it has three movements and is ultimately the most somber and cinematic of anything on the record. To sum up, Pig Boat Blues is like an audio equivalent of a sketchbook full of color experiments. Not everything stands out, but it sounds damn fine.
Listen tothe album via Soundcloud and get the album from the Reverb Appreciation Society. Check out the video for “Black Crayon” below.
Video: Plateaus - Do It for You
The latest video from San Diego quartet Plateaus contains the first high speed chase scene I’ve seen where I was simply driven to say, “Aww, how cute!” (Driven! Ha, get it?) The whole claymation style doesn’t usually make me think of batshit, explode-y action flicks, but I can definitely get behind this combo and it stars one badass little clay dude. The cheap VHS style of the video is incredibly nostalgia-inducing, if not well-coordinated with the band’s cassette-recorded pop-fuzzed rock ‘n’ roll.
Plateaus’ new 7’’ (featuring “Do It for You”) will be available at the end of May on Hozac. Check here for their spring tour dates.
Track: The Future Primitives - Try On Something That’s Really You
The Future Primitives are a sun and surf-drenched rock ‘n’ roll trio from Cape Town, South Africa. Vocalist/guitarist Johnny Tex and bassist Heino Retief formerly played in Cape Town’s Relevators. Presently with the Primitives, they sound exactly like what you’d expect three noise-loving individuals who recorded in a garage to sound like—playing for the sheer joy of it, conjuring up a few of your favorite rockabilly heroes, Johnny Tex wrecking the guitar like a madman. Goes hand-in-hand with the summer heat.
Check out their EP/demo on Bandcamp and listen to or download the whole thing for free. Watch a few videos here.
Review: The Dictaphone - Let’s Not
A hypnotic, serial killer-y vibe prevails yet again on the Dictaphone’s Let’s Not. It ain’t glamorous and it ain’t for Gran and Gramps (unless they’re hip badasses). Even when it gets to “Punchcard Sex”, which is significantly more upbeat than the first two tracks, there’s still an underlying disturbance deep within whatever dank French cave these guys recorded in. “Broken Grooves” comes as advertised, and so does “Staring at Weird Scum”. “Membrane” envelopes the listener in its psychedelic groove. “Fake Dancing”, with its crunchy, metronomic beat, is dance music for zombies. The first minute or so of “Safe Substitute” is perhaps them at their most cinematic. It’s like slipping into a strange, post-apocalyptic world. Drones, echoes, murky recording quality—you know, that innocent, family-friendly stuff that you find at the core of the world of freaky, hallucinogen-induced synth-punk.
Listen to all sorts of intriguing stuff from the Dictaphone on Bandcamp (and while you’re at it, check out the Jagwar Pirates if you haven’t already). Record’s out on the banana-appreciating Cocktail Pueblo Records.
Guide: Staff Record Store Picks
GET BENT is proud to have on staff a slew of talented and knowledgable writers in a bunch of cities across the USA. In honor of Record Store Day, we’re pooling our collective knowledge to let you, our awesome readers, in on our favorite hometown record shops that are still standing strong, slinging wax, corrupting the youth, and keeping the dream alive from sea to shining sea. But this is by no means a complete list, so tell us about your favorite local record shop in the comments!
Review: Ghost Bikini - Ghost Bikini EP
Atlanta’s Ghost Bikini are keen on the 1960s garage era, laying down three reverberating lo-fi rock ‘n’ roll tracks on wax. The semi-spooky organ sounds make them a shoo-in for a haunted house-themed dance party, especially if you’re one of those lovable weirdos who’d jump at the chance for a Halloween celebration any time of the year. Side A’s grim “Spooks” and the short, but catchy “Rage in the Cage” definitely exemplify that aspect. On the other hand, the band present a different style on the B-side with “Summer Heat”, a bluesy, southern-fried, harmonica-laden rocker with call-and-response style vocals. They’ve studied their rock ‘n’ roll history books well—think of your favorite 60s garage stompers and maybe they’ll name five more that you’ve probably never heard, but would most assuredly dig. In that respect, the quartet sound familiar and welcoming, a band who are into playing music like their heroes just for the sheer joy of it.
Listen to all three tracks on Bandcamp. You can pick up a physical copy at one of their shows or through Dead Beat’s mailorder.
Review: Sonic Death - Gothic Session EP
Sonic Death, a duo comprised of Arsenij Morozov and Nikita Krikunov from St. Petersburg, Russia, specialize in gloomy psych-inflected garage pop on their Gothic Session EP. Okay, so I’m not a speaker of the language, but that hasn’t deterred me from its compelling vibe. It sounds like a dingy recording from a bedroom on the basement level, with the dark side of 60s garage/psych being viewed through a modern lens. (Listen to it next to the Arf! Arf! Records compilation No No No: 28 Moody, Somber and Tragic ’60s Garage Rock Sagas and you’ll see what I mean.)
The opener, “Наслаждение (Pleasure)”, serves well to pull you into its slightly apocalyptic world with a few chords under the tape hiss. The third track, the decidedly creepy “Марципан (Marzipan)”, is shrouded in a swaying, muddled beat, accented by tambourine and acoustic guitar strums. The acoustic vs. distortion-addled “Улицы (Streets)” is where the Sonic Youth (and a little JAMC) influence I’d expected from the band’s name seems to show through, and “Ко Мне (To Me)” is jangly vs. fuzzy 60s garage. The final track ends up coming off a little more optimistic, sunny even, than its rainy day predecessors. Yet, as it says on their Bandcamp: “We are two horrible motherfuckers with problems.”
You can listen to Gothic Session in its entirety on Bandcamp. A limited CD costs $5 or a download will run you $2 from Aphonia Recordings. Additionally, check out their noisy self-titled EP from December ‘11.
