Big Crux - Big crux is a big funk (7") #2011

Hear this: effectively fusing funk and punk rock is an almost alchemical musical feat. Sure, the BIG BOYS and the MINUTEMEN fucking nailed it, but the number of others who got anywhere near close (BEEFEATER, ANGRY RED PLANET, GIANT HAYSTACKS...) without sounding like a beyond-shitty RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS offcut are pretty few and far between. Big Crux can now be added to that scanty list of those who got it right, offering up three big, loose numbers that twang and bounce funkily along whilst somehow managing to not sound like a shedload of shite. The influences are plain as the nose on your face (sound aside they have Tim Kerr artwork, ferfuckssake...) but it's fun, done with heart and just sounds bloody good, the mostly-in-Spanish No stars the pick of the bunch while Big funk and Boys to men round it all off nicely. Way cool, and I can't wait to hear the 12"...

via Collective Zine

Big Crux - Boys to men


Tracklist:

a1. Big funk
a2. Boys to men

b1. No stars

Iron Lung records
-------------------------------------
Bandcamp
Download here

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Cale/Conrad/MacLise/Young/Zazeela - Inside the Dream Syndicate-Volume I: Day of Niagara (1965) #2000

In the early '60s, John Cale, Tony Conrad, La Monte Young, Angus MacLise, and Marian Zazeela were all a part of New York's underground music and emergent minimalist scenes. In a variety of formations, usually involving Cale, Conrad, and Young, they played together billed alternately as the THEATER OF ETERNAL MUSIC or as the DREAM SYNDICATE. Together they were articulating what were to become the central tenets of American minimalism. They disbanded around 1965, and since then all involved have staked, depending on the day and weather, various claims to the group's musical and philosophical ideas and - more importantly in this case - unreleased recordings. This album, a remastered copy of a tape from one of the Dream Syndicate's sessions recorded in Young's Church Street apartment, was released without anyone's expressed written consent and occasioned a ten-page statement from Young and his lawyer contesting the label's legal authority to put out this "unauthorized bootleg". The record makes these issues of intellectual property all the more critical, as the few obscure albums from the Dream Syndicate are long out of print and notoriously difficult to find. For anyone who cares about the history of American music, however, the album is an exceptional piece of musical history. All of the early precepts of minimalism are present - incremental variation, drone, sustained pitch - as well as the emphasis on group creation through improvisation. Unfortunately, the mix is not overwhelming in quality, and the effects of the interplay among instruments is lessened. Nonetheless, the album is sonically beatific, formally profound, and an incomparable look inside the Syndicate. Table of the Elements should be praised for letting the chips fall where they may in the interest of a more complete understanding of music history, especially since history is still too near to clearly substantiate anyone's claims.

via AllMusic

Tracklist:

01. Inside The Dream Syndicate - Volume I: Day Of Niagara (1965)

Table Of The Elements
---------------------------------------
Download here

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Throbbing Gristle - Discipline (ep) #1981

Track A recorded live at the SO 36 Club, Berlin, 7th November 1980. Digital recording.
Track B recorded live at Illuminated 666 Club, Manchester, 4th December 1980. Binaural recording.

Tracklist:

a1. Discipline (live)

b1. Discipline (live)

Fetish records
-----------------------------------
Official website

Download here

*****

Sedatives - Sedatives (7") #2008

One more time the Trashcue Team at P.Trash records strikes and provides the small garage-punk world with an already-gone gemstone that was originally released in Canada on the band's own Going Gaga records in an edition of 300 copies that went flying.
These four canadian gentlemen may be held responsibles for having written one of the best songs in ages with Slip away, a STATUES/PEGBOY-like earwig which, just like the other four companions on this record, has a dark and wavy WIPERS-edge and a grinding organ backing the cool and catchy melodies in smashers like Cannot calm down or Dead to the discourse. No mistake about it: this ain't no shitty sounding downer, this is some high-class upper that will make you wiggle and keep you wide awake all night long! You wanna be sedated by the Sedatives! Go grab it now, it's limited to 300 copies on clear vinyl and has a reworked and fancied-up artwork done by Matt at Doublenaut!

via P. Trash records

Sedatives - Same mistakes


Tracklist:

a1. Cannot calm down
a2. Same mistakes

b1. Slip away
b2. Superstitious minds
b3. Dead to the discourse

P. Trash records
--------------------------------------
Myspace
Download here

*****

The Pheromoans - Open for business (7") #2009

Killer ep by Britain's best new band. DIY shamble avant-garage at its finest in the tradition of THE KEGGS, SWELL MAPS, and CHROME. B-side includes 2 wierder post-punk numbers that sound like Hasil Adkins trying to cover THE SLITS....trust me, it works. One of the best bands on the planet at the moment and definately a band to keep an eye on.

via Dead Beat records

The Pheromoans - I'm through with wedgie cubist


Tracklist:

a1. Sister of the sap
a2. Radical courrier

b1. I'm through with wedgie cubist
b2. Big chief letting agent

Yakisakana records
---------------------------------------
Download here

*****

Contrasto - Dentro le mura (7") #1997

Per strada le voci odore di colla non vedo nessuno
Mi fermo da solo istanti di vita...e tutto si muove
Ho scelto la fuga da questi valori
Ho scelto di restare fuori...parole soltanto parole
Ho scelto la fuga da questi valori
Ho scelto di restare fuori
Ancora domani seduto a guardare...
Lontano nel grigio vuoti ricordi le vostre vittorie
Amaro sorriso nessuna risposta...e tutto si muove
Lasciami andare...via

Contrasto - Fuori


Tracklist:

a1. Canemacchina
a2. Fradicio di vita
a3. Fuori

b1. Contropotere
b2. Colpito alla schiena

MVDS autoproduzioni
------------------------------------
Official website
Download here

*****

S.O.B. - Osaka mon amour (7" bootleg) #1988

S.O.B. (sometimes also known as SxOxBx, which is an acronym for Sabotage Organised Barbarian, sometimes also known as Sounds/Symphonies of Brutality) formed in 1983 in Osaka, Japan. S.O.B. are highly regarded as one of the leading pioneers of grindcore music and pushing the style onward. Originally S.O.B. started as a hardcore punk band whom later played grindcore style music. Their music would soon evolve with the influence of metal music and they would evolve into a thrashing unit with many experimental tendencies.
What S.O.B. did along with the fathers of grindcore, NAPALM DEATH, was further innovate the genre and influence other bands that would mimic their style or just have an impact on their own bands music. Both bands were known as the leading pioneers of the mass grindcore movement during the late 80's. Unlike Napalm Death, S.O.B. has (and still) remain underrated and this is typically because they've never expanded their music out of Japan.
S.O.B. were so much of an influence on many bands today, some obviously influenced by S.O.B.'s sound like BRUTAL TRUTH, CARCASS and other grindcore units. One of the bands S.O.B. influenced isn't the most obvious band to be influenced by them but were tremendously swayed by their sound.

via Encyclopaedia Metallum

Side A recorded in 1986
Side B recorded in 1988

S.O.B. - Mental attitude


Tracklist:

a1. Revival
a2. I'm a dreamer
a3. Last real fight
a4. Soft spoken
a5. Mental attitude
a6. Humanity of stupids

b1. Nightmare
b2. Trap
b3. Sacrifice of devour bones
b4. No control
b5. Blitzkrieg bop (RAMONES cover)
b6. Slap in the face

Unofficial
--------------------------------------
Myspace
Download here

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Rosemary's Baby - Andrew Woodhouse #1986

Fin dal principio del suo operato, RSB dichiarò di porre il TOPY come punto di partenza e non necessariamente di arrivo.
Questo sottintendeva il fatto di mettere in preventivo che il frutto della sua ricerca poteva essere di qualsiasi tipo e non necessariamente da una parte o dall’altra per stupida presa di posizione.
Con la realizzazione del presente progetto Andrew Woodhouse è definitivamente ed immediatamente conclusa l’attività di Ricerche Studi Babalon e la sua opera in qualità di TOPY italiano; altresì viene a cessare l’esistenza di Rosemary’s Baby, filiazione musicale del più complesso progetto RSB: Babalon venne ricercata e studiata e, al momento attuale venne riconosciuta.
Qui di seguito pubblichiamo i risultati.

RSB – luglio 1986

dal booklet

Rosemary's Baby - The end


Tracklist:

a1. The end (THE DOORS cover)

b1. Êni
b2. La ilahe illalah
b3. Swayambhunath

Self-released
-----------------------------------
Download here

*****

Insidia - Echi lontani di rivoluzione (tape) #1989

Una delle poche testimonianze sonore della Sardegna-punx anni '80: non entrerà nell'olimpo punk/hardcore del belpaese ma si fa comunque apprezzare per la varietà delle influenze (dal punk stradaiolo al classico hc vecchia scuola, con qualche primitivo accenno thrash), come dimostra anche l'azzeccato tris di cover.

Insidia - Rabbia


Tracklist:

a1. Mai più
a2. Catene cerebrali
a3. Sturm und drang
a4. Ribelle per una sera
a5. War (D.O.A. cover)
a6. Schizophrenia

b1. Noi, fiori del male
b2. Rabbia
b3. Uniti
b4. Torture
b5. Blind acceptance (ACTIVE MINDS cover)/Rumori (PEGGIO PUNX cover)
b6. Echi lontani di rivoluzione

Self-released
--------------------------------------
Download here

*****

The Triffids - Son of Dungeon Tape (tape) #1988

Australian folk-pop band The Triffids was formed in Perth in 1980 by singer/songwriter David McComb, his guitarist/violinist brother Robert, and drummer Alsy MacDonald. Although chiefly influenced by the VELVET UNDERGROUND, McComb's songs also drew heavily on the stark desolation of his rural upbringing, incorporating elements of country and blues to paint haunting portraits of isolation and longing.
Various members passed through the lineup during the Triffids' early years, although the core trio remained intact throughout. Shortly after the additions of Martyn Casey and keyboardist Jill Birt, the band recorded their 1983 debut, Treeless plain, for the Hot label, followed a year later by the ep Raining pleasure. Heralding the arrival of steel guitarist Evil Graham Lee, 1986's Born Sandy Devotional was the Triffids' creative breakthrough, and after recording the low-budget follow-up, In the pines, in a wool-shearing shed in the Australian outback, the group signed to major label Island to issue their 1987 masterpiece Calenture, their first recording with guitarist Adam Peters. Unfortunately, commercial expectations for 1989's Stephen Street-produced The black swan weren't met, and the Triffids disbanded soon after.

via AllMusic
 

An anthology of songs by The Triffids, 1979-1983.

The Triffids - Nothing good


Tracklist:

a1. Red Pony
a2. Plaything
a3. My Baby Thinks She's A Train
a4. M.G.M.
a5. Too Hot To Move, Too Hot To Think
a6. Nothing Good Is Going To Come Of This
a7. Family Name
a8. Madeline

b1. Twisted Brain
b2. I Can't Wait To See Your Gun
b3. Hours At A Time
b4. Man Who Can
b5. Son of Reverie
b6. Son of Stand Up
b7. Branded
b8. Nothing Can Take Your Place

Self-released
----------------------------------------
Official website
Download here

*****

Ritmo Tribale - Kriminale #1990

La storia dei Ritmo Tribale è lunga. Si comincia con il primo disco, Bocca chiusa (Radio Base 81 records, 1988), prima tappa di un percorso cominciato imparando a suonare insieme: un disco in cui è Scaglia a rivestire il ruolo di cantante. Bocca chiusa è cantato in italiano (cosa all’epoca assolutamente controcorrente). Poi, a cavallo tra l’89 e il ’90 esce Kriminale (Vox Pop), con alla voce S.R. Edda: disco fondamentale che impone il nome Ritmo Tribale come uno dei più importanti gruppi del panorama musicale italiano. Un disco che permette anche al gruppo di suonare moltissimo: New York (New Music Seminar, la maggiore rassegna musicale di musica indipendente, insieme a gruppi come MANO NEGRA, LES NEGRESSES VERTES, URBAN DANCE SQUAD, WARRIOR SOUL e moltissimi altri), Germania, Francia, Svizzera, Algeria, Jugoslavia, oltre a un gran numero di concerti in tutta Italia.
Kriminale viene recensito benissimo anche da "Maximum Rock'n'Roll", vera e propria "bibbia" della musica americana indipendente.

via Rock and Rodes

Ritmo Tribale - Vorrei & non vorrei


Tracklist:

a1. Kriminale
a2. Vorrei & non vorrei
a3. Kosì dolce
a4. La città
a5. Angelo
a6. Warhead

b1. Anarkya
b2. Huomini
b3. Guilty
b4. Frisco
b5. Skiavo di niente
b6. Julian

Vox Pop
-------------------------------------
Download here

*****

Dead Elephant - Thanatology #2011

Introducing Dead Elephant who are: Enrico Tauraso (electric guitar, voice, power electronics, samples), Fulvio Grosso (electric bass, voice) and Omar Tomaino (drums).
Hailing from Cuneo in Italy, Dead Elephant formed in 2002 and previously released Sing the separation (2005) followed by the critically acclaimed Lowest shared descent (2008). This year, they finally close the four year gap with a brand new and beastly album Thanatology, due for release in July.
Thanatology aims to investigate the process of acceptance of loss, a concept particularly timely in these transitional times in which we live. In order to understand precisely where the band are coming from with this concept, here is a deeper explanation:
“In this order of things life can sometimes be cruel. Sometimes we feel caught in a strange trap. The events appear to us as a dark spiral and our destiny is lost in it. Within this dark spiral, it is very difficult understand what is right and what is wrong. There, something must burn and you must accept to lose it. From the consciousness that some things must die in order to for change to be born”.
Dead Elephant's powerful sonic assault has a wide range of influences from the heaviness of bands like CHERUBS, JESUS LIZARD, COLOSSAMITE, MELVINS, BLACK SABBATH, CELCTIC FROST to the psychedelic attitudes of ASH RA TEMPEL, CLUSTER, NEUROSIS and Badalamenti soundtracks, all prevalent throughout this latest record.
On Thanatology, Dead Elephant attack the listener with their claustrophobic and visceral sonic forces and fuse these brutally heavy sounds with moments of genuine haunting beauty, which are actual samples of the funeral marches of Southern Italy. The effects of these galvanizing forces are that of ultimate catharsis that not only challenge the listener, but also force one to question preconceptions of heavy music.

via Spin

Dead Elephant - Destrudo


Tracklist:

01. Bardo Thodol
02. On the stem
03. Destrudo
04. A teardrop on your grave/Dawnfall of Xibalba

Riot Season
-----------------------------------
Official website
Download here

*****

Growing Concern - Disconnection plus #1993

Su richiesta, ecco a voi uno dei primi capitoli della storia dell'hardcore positivo italiano. Nati a Roma nel 1989 nonché animatori della prolifica youth crew capitolina, i Growing Concern raccolgono qui i primi due episodi della loro discografia (il 7" What we say e l'lp Disconnection, con l'aggiunta di due bonus tracks): un concentrato di anthems e stop'n'go a cavallo tra la vecchia/nuova scuola newyorkese (GB) e l'hardcore degli IGNITE, con testi prevedibilmente incompromissori. Consigliato a grandi e piccini.

Growing Concern - Hood crew


*tracks 01-10 from Disconnection #1992
*tracks 11-17 from What we say (7") #1991
*tracks 18-19 previously unreleased

Tracklist:

01. Misconceptions of pride
02. Hit an easy target
03. Disconnection
04. Nations
05. Eyes of lust
06. The big cheat
07. F.a.k.e.
08. Race rage
09. Bighead
10. Strength in yourself
11. All the same
12. Awake and concerned
13. People who care
14. Beyond the black
15. Hood crew
16. Different attitudes
17. What you say
18. The elder
19. Aiuta la tua scena (HIGH CIRCLE cover)

Banda Bonnot records
------------------------------------------------
Download here

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Plastic Bertrand - Tout petite la planete (7") #1979

Plastic Bertrand was the alias of new wave prankster Roger Jouret, a native of Belgium who appropriated the sound and style of the new wave movement in order to give it a gently satirical poke in the ribs, while scoring several European hits in the process. Jouret began his musical career as a drummer for the belgian punk trio HUBBLE BUBBLE, which recorded one unsuccessful album. When Jouret met producer/songwriter Lou Deprijck, the two struck up a recording partnership; Jouret emphasized his pretty-boy looks and punkish fashion sense. Their first effort, Ça plane pour moi (This life's for me), is widely regarded as a new wave classic for its gleefully deranged stupidity, with Jouret singing french nonsense lyrics in a cartoonish voice over basic three-chord rock & roll complete with saxophones and a falsetto vocal hook straight out of the BEACH BOYS or FOUR SEASONS. The song was a smash in Europe and became a cult favorite in America; Plastic Bertrand continued to release records in Europe, including a U.K. hit remake of the SMALL FACES' Sha-la-la-la-lee. Bertrand experimented with seemingly every new wave fashion, including spacy electronics, disco, bubblegum pop, reggae, and spoken word raps, all with the same naggingly entertaining stupidity.

via AllMusic

Plastic Bertrand - Tout petit la planete


Tracklist:

a1. Tout petit la planete

b1. J'te fais un plain

Durium
--------------------------------------
Official website
Download here

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Cristio - Adult taste #2010

Un duo che invita molti amici nella mischia sonica, i Cristio. Tanto che a questo loro debutto alla fine hanno partecipato altri otto musicisti, tra cui è d'uopo segnalare il buon Fabio Magistrali che si alterna tra microfoni e tastiera. I responsabili di questa riunione sediziosa sono Cristiano Alberici, vocalist degli X-MARY, e Michele Napoli, batterista dei PEAWEES.
Un bel giorno di primavera del 2009 decisero di scozzare le idee e un anno più tardi è uscita questa congettura math-funk contagiata neo-psych con qualche colpo di testa hardcore-pop che non ci sta affatto male. Sentiteli come fanno fibrillare estro PRIMUS tra bailamme MINUTEMEN e - giuro! - indolenze catchy BELLE AND SEBASTIAN in Granito, o intenti a fomentare la giga intossicata e accomodante JANE'S ADDICTION via SOFT BOYS in Above the tree, e ancora alle prese con ruffianerie insidiose in Stereogirl e Magic piper, con la mestizia armata di So sad o con gli aromi crepitanti di Violini.
Chitarre spasmodiche e crepitio d'hammond, tromba e corno francese, un senso di energia che si libera angolosa, premeditata e sferzante, come uno scherzo ridanciano giocato terribilmente sul serio. Dieci brani acidi sì ma senza cupezza aggratis, perché affilati di prepotente vitalità. Ce li fornisce la benemerita Lepers in regime di free download, ma se preferite potrete ordinarne la versione fisica dal sito della altrettanto lodevole Hysm. Un bel gesto, in ogni caso.

da SentireAscoltare

Cristio - Granito


Tracklist:

01. Tempesta
02. Above the tree (fall in love)
03. Stereogirl
04. Violini
05. Salita in bici
06. Magic piper
07. Granito
08. So sad
09. Sala giochi
10. I can't

Coproduzione
------------------------------------
Myspace
Download here

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Aut Aut - Musica di periferia #1994

Punk-rock proletario da Roma. Attivi tra il 1989 e il 1995. Questa è la loro unica produzione.

Aut Aut - Mani sporche


Tracklist:

a1. Aut aut
a2. Teknotroniks
a3. False elezioni
a4. Combatti nelle strade
a5. Arresa
a6. Home rule

b1. Musica di periferia
b2. Mani sporche
b3. Tempo di eroi
b4. Mucho macho
b5. Né sogni né speranze
b6. Trauma va' a lavora'

Gridalo Forte records
--------------------------------------
Myspace
Download here

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