27

July
2010

A Kick In The Pants # 4 – Dead Mechanical

category: A Kick In The Pants,Reviews,Updates
by Mark, No Comments »


After listening to this Baltimore-based indie/punk outfit for 3+ years, I’ve finally realized why the band is a trio. Frontman Lucas Carscadden’s voice is the 2nd guitar. I’ve always enjoyed Dead Mechanical’s music on a superficial level – it’s catchy bash and pop like Jawbreaker and Superchunk and other stuff that throws indie rock hooks and punk blasts into a blender. After this “vocals as guitar” revelation though I feel like I understand things on a deeper level, and I guess in some way that leads to a more well-rounded enjoyment of the music. Allow me to elaborate: Carscadden’s voice has an intense, loud quality. Every line is amped up and exhaled like an electric strum, the melody arm wrestles with volume with neither one pushing the other to the table. It’s rough and fuzzy, but still vibrant and full, like a smoker that refuses to be reduced to a hacky rasp by sheer power of will. Another part of the Dead Mechanical dynamic that seems to confirm my point is the songs that drummer Matt Dorsey sings. Excellent in their own right, but with Cascadden’s vox out of the mix they sound treble-heavy and almost a little hollow by comparison.

It all comes together in brilliant fashion on their latest, Addict Rhythms. 12 tracks of alt-punk that bream with experience and sincerity (and geography). Lines drawn from New Jersey’s punk pop, DC’s Dischord output, and Chapel Hill, NC’s 90s scene all intersect here. Punk rock has traditionally carried a message in it’s lyrics, usually about some political or social ill that incite the songwriter in some way. 99% of the time the result is dumbed down diatribes or vague (and yet predictable) chants – slogans that do nothing more than provoke empty sing-alongs. These guys thankfully occupy the other 1%, and this album is marching firmly into my top 5 records of the year. Check out “Film At Forever” for a small taste of all they have to offer, and head on over to Traffic Street for the goods.

Dead Mechanical – Film At Forever


26

July
2010

Special Monday Morning Tape – #60

category: Special Monday Morning Tape
by The Beat, No Comments »

Hunter Sounder – inner sleep
(officially unreleased)
Jon Langford and Skull Orchard – getting used to helplessness
(taken from their 2010 release Old Devils)
Futurebirds – battle for rome
(taken from their 2010 release Hampton’s Lullaby)
Sputniko! – google song
(taken from her 2010 release Parakonpe 3000)
Abner Trio – you’re gorgeous, believe it!
(taken from their 2010 release The Giant Crushes You)
Kristin Hersh – coals
(taken from her 2010 release Rubidoux)
Darren Hanlon – all these things
(taken from his 2010 release I Will Love You At All)
Tennis – baltimore
(taken from their 2010 release Baltimore EP)
Deerhunter – revival
(taken from their 2010 release Halcyon Digest)
Procedure Club – vermont
(taken from their 2010 release Doomed Forever)
Delorean – real love
(taken from their 2010 release Subiza)

Yourstru.ly Presents: Maps & Atlases


21

July
2010

July 2010 Mix

category: Mixtapes
by The Beat, No Comments »


Artwork/collage by Jeff Susczynski of The Gifted Children

Disc One

1. Tame Impala – lucidity
(taken from their 2010 release Innerspeaker)
2. The Wiggly Tendrils – beat the indie drum theme song
(recorded upon BTID request!)
3. Best Coast - boyfriend
(taken from her 2010 release Crazy For You)
4. Kid Cudi, Best Coast and Rotsam Batmanglij - all summer
(officially unreleased)
5. ARMS - ooh la la
(officially unreleased)
6. Tennis - south carolina
(taken from their 2010 release South Carolina 7″)
7. Colourmusic - yes!
(taken from their 2008 release F, Monday, Orange, February, Venus, Lunatic, 1 or 13)
8. Monster Eiffel Tower - separate and run
(taken from their 2009 release Land Lines EP)
9. Kid Canaveral - good morning
(taken from their 2010 release Shouting At Wildlife)
10. Rich Aucoin - 10,342 cuts for the u.s.
(taken from his 2008 release Personal Publication)
11. Caitlin Rose - answer in one of these bottles (daytrotter)
(taken from her 2010 Daytrotter Session)
12. Breakthrough Frequencies - dying together isn’t going to solve anything
(taken from their 2010 release The Broadcast Begins EP)
13. Janelle Monáe – wondaland
(taken from her 2010 release The ArchAndroid)
14. Listener – you were a house on fire
(taken from their 2010 release Wooden Heart)
15. Jeremy Messersmith - john the determinist
(taken from his 2010 release The Reluctant Graveyard)
16. El Sueno De La Casa Propia - voluntad de oro
(taken from his 2010 release Historial de Caídas)
17. Weed Diamond - mint in my mouth
(taken from their 2010 release Carry On)
18. The Clientele – jerry
(taken from their 2010 release Minotaur EP)
19. Run On Sentence – out in the woods
(taken from his 2010 release You The Darkness and Me)
20. Dinosaur Bones – n.y.e.
(taken from their 2008 release Dinosaur Bones EP)
21. Mersault - crank resolutions
(taken from their 2010 release All Creatures Will Make Merry)
22. Sunsquints – machu picchu
(officially unreleased)

Download Zip File 128MB

Disc Two

1. Beach Fossils – daydream
(taken from their 2010 release Beach Fossils)
2. Medications - long day
(taken from their 2010 release Completely Removed)
3. The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion - money rock ‘n’ roll
(taken from his 2010 release Dirty Shirt Rock ‘N Roll: The First Ten Years)
4. Listener – wooden heart
(taken from their 2010 release Wooden Heart)
5. The Books - the story of hip-hop
(taken from their 2010 release The Way Out)
6. Lille – tall shoulders
(taken from her 2010 release Tall Shoulders EP)
7. Woven Tales - god helmet
(taken from the 2010 compilation BEKO-DSL CS-01)
8. Weekend - end times
(taken from their 2010 split 7″ release with Young Prisms)
9. Chief Black Cloud - wet season
(taken from their 2010 BEKO Digital Single Series release)
10. Free Energy - free energy
(taken from their 2010 release Stuck On Nothing)
11. Eux Autres - you’re alight
(taken from their 2009 release You’re Alight 7″)
12. Tennis – marathon
(officially unreleased)
13. Ghost Animal - summertime in heaven
(taken from their 2010 cassette release Summertime In Heaven)
14. Golden Ages - it doesn’t mean shit
(taken from their 2010 release Africa EP)
15. Jeremy Messersmith – violet!
(taken from his 2010 release The Reluctant Graveyard)
16. Sun Airway - put the days away
(taken from his 2009 release Oh, Naoko EP)
17. Cotton Jones – glorylight and christie
(taken from his 2010 release Tall Hours In The Glowstream)
18. Lookbook - the only ones (daytrotter)
(taken from their 2010 Daytrotter Session)
19. Houses – endless spring
(taken from their 2010 release All Night)
20. Frankie Rose and The Outs – little brown haired girls
(taken from their 2010 release Frankie Rose and The Outs)
21. Valley Maker – the first
(taken from their 2010 release Valley Maker)
22. Maquiladora – ritual of hearts
(taken from their 2002 release Ritual Of Hearts)

Download Zip File 127MB



19

July
2010

Special Monday Morning Tape – #59

category: Special Monday Morning Tape
by The Beat, No Comments »

Procedure Club – feel sorry for me
(taken from their 2010 release Doomed Forever)
Delay Trees – cassette 2012
(taken from their upcoming 2010 release)
Superchunk – digging for something
(taken from their 2010 release Majesty Shredding)
Sky Larkin – kaleide
(taken from their 2010 release Kaleide)
Like Bells – follow the birds
(taken from their 2010 release Palma)
The Vaselines – i hate the 80′s
(taken from their 2010 release Sex With An X)
Versus – gone to earth
(taken from their 2010 release On The Ones And Threes)
Kristin Hersh – rubidoux
(taken from her 2010 release Crooked)
Hot Lava – pink lemonade
(taken from the 2010 compilation Wish I’d Kept A Scrapbook: A Tribute To Tullycraft)
Red Sparowes – giving birth to imagined saviors
(taken from their 2010 release The Fear Is Excruciating, But Therein Lies The Answer)
Solanin (of Titus Andronicus) – ame no uta
(taken from her 2010 release For The Sky EP)
Laura Veirs – summer is the champion
(taken from her 2010 release July Flame)

Lonski & Classen – the punisher


15

July
2010

Mini-Beats – July 2010 – Edition 22

category: Mini-Beats,Reviews
by The Beat, No Comments »

Boas – Boas (2010, self-released) ♥♥♥
-not a whole lot of information out there on the member(s) of the band but this will appeal to fans of melodic IDM, shoegaze or Mantles-inspired chillwave-
Oberhofer – o0Oo0Oo EP (2010, self-released) ♥♥♥♥
-not sure how official this release is but there’s enough lo-fi pop perfection on here to force it onto everyone’s year-end list; oh, and it’s free-
Caribou – Tour CD 2010 (2010, self-released) ♥♥♥♥
-rumor had it that Dan Snaith’s tour cd’s were nothing short of super awesome; I’m a believer-
FUR / Coyote Clean Up – Lacksadaisical EP (2010, Waaga) ♥♥♥
-mostly chill beats not unlike Washed Out; not much difference between the two contributors-
Faust – Faust is Last (2010, Klangbad) ♥♥½
-those expecting the krautrock leanings of their early career will surely be disappointed; that’s not to say this is without its artistic merit – just a bit more warped weirdness kinda like the last Scott Walker album-
The Sadies – Darker Circles (2010, YepRoc) ♥♥♥
-this got a little better with each subsequent spin; there’s plenty of alt. country variety here but it won’t be ranked up there with John Doe & Co.’s best-
Mayhew The Traitor – Deathwish (2008, Thinker Thought) ♥♥
-i downloaded this based on a review that claimed it to be ‘dark, Gothic Americana’ but it’s hardly any of those and mostly uninteresting-
Sam Quinn – The Fake That Sunk A Thousand Ships (2010, Ramseur) ♥♥♥
-loved Sam’s work with Jill Andrews as the Everybodyfields but while there are a few good songs here there isn’t much to latch onto even after a few listens-
A Thousand Times Yes – Heart Beats (2006, self-released) ♥♥♥
-slightly more aggressive than their previous album; the tag-team boy/girl interplay still exists making adding a bit of fun; RIYL The Anniversary-
Wolf Parade – Expo 86 (2010, Sub Pop) ♥♥♥
-highly anticipated after hearing the first two singles but these lycanthropes may be losing their edge; creative twists and turns have been replaced with predictability-
Honey For Petzi – Nicholson + RMX for HFP (2006, Gentlemen) ♥♥♥½
-this continues along a natural progression of their previous work; fans of noodly guitar work and melodic instrumental mathcore rejoice and thank these Swissmen; RIYL Don Caballero / Dianogah-
The Books – The Way Out (2010, Temporary Residence) ♥♥♥½
-the purveyors of the folktronica genre and warm, textured sound collages and samples have notched another winner in their catalog-
Justin Rutledge – The Early Widows (2010, Six Shooter) ♥♥½
-Americana (from Canada) that focuses on fragile balladry; couple tracks include gospel choir backing to mix things up; RIYL Tom McRae-
The Mantles – Pink Information (2010, Mexican Summer) ♥♥
-not too much to see here if you were hoping for more of the S/T LP; sold exclusively on Record Store Day-
The Microphones – The Glow Pt. 2 (3LP Remaster) (2007, K) ♥♥♥♥½
-my first experience with the full LP of bonus tracks/outtakes/b-sides from this period and it does little to add to the original recording-
Linfinity – Martian’s Bloom (2010, American Myth) ♥♥½
-if you treasure the thought of DeVotchKa fronted by Antony Hegarty (Antony & The Johnsons) then you might glean some honey from this comb; the bad news is this batch of tunes leaves little more than a faint impression after a few listens-
The Liminanas – I’m Dead 7″ (2010, Hozac) ♥♥♥½
-excellent throwback sound that channels the Specter wall-of-sound through 60′s psyche-pop a la Os Mutantes; bring on the full-length-
Grails – Black Tar Prophecies Vol. 4 (2010, Important) ♥♥
-a very tame (read: dull) effort for a band that usually keeps the post-rock real; hopefully not a sign of things to come…-
The Acorn – No Ghost (2010, Paper Bag) ♥♥½
-if you were hoping for exploratory indie-folk sounds similar to ‘The Flood’ etc. from the excellent Glory Hope Mountain you’re going to leave this one as disappointed as I was; as harmless as it was unfulfilling-
Carrots – So Many Failures You Call Success (2005, Grabaciones Del Mar) ♥♥♥♥
-a compilation of ‘hits’ from this seriously overlooked collective from Spain; equal parts E6 psyche-pop and power-pop and jangle-


15

July
2010

Mixtapes + News – July 2010: Part 2

category: Commentary,The Best Things In Life Are Free
by The Beat, 2 Comments »

My unhealthy man-blog-crush with Yewknee continues as I feel compelled to hype the next installment in the Yewknee Records catalog, the latest Uncle Skeleton LP. I haven’t gotten the chance to spin it in its entirety but considering I put Pancho Chumley in my favorites of ’09 list – this will be worthy of our time.

There’s also a new Yewknee mix that pre-dates the Summer Mix Series contribution. There’s several great tracks on here, some of which you already know. Click the pic for details.


Paige from Flux-Rad has added two more mixtapes to her collection since we last spoke – Holy Carp and Academy Of Altered Lovers.

R.I.P. Optical Atlas

An excellent new-ish mixtape from Ears Of The Beholder – Partially Shaded. You’ll be seeing a few tracks from this on the upcoming July mix.

I’m always a month behind in preaching the news of the latest Musical Alliance Pact – June is ready for downloading, the July edition is right around the corner – today possibly? Only 28 artists from 28 different countries this month as several bloggers are on summer holiday. June’s US contribution comes from the much-hyped (and duly so) Oberhofer. Dig the track below! (UPDATE: The July edition is right har)

Oberhofer – I Could Go

Paint me very impressed with the Mondo Salvo music blog. Not only have I enjoyed several of the artists covered thus far and the site layout but there are 2 current compilation/mixtapes up for grabs, 33 and 34.

The Road Goes Ever On, a member of Pitchfork’s heavily scrutinized Altered Zones ‘blog’, presents the Small Summits compilation as a free download. Notables include the opening Blackbird Blackbird track (mmm) and an intriguing cover of Joanna Newsom’s ‘Peach, Plum, Pear’.

A summer mix contribution from one of my new favorite blogs, I Am Fuel, You Are Friends.

Last, but definitely not least for this edition of news, is the Built On A Weak Spot June mix. Haven’t listened yet but those Kitchens Of Distinctions and Spare Snare tracks are top-notch.



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