Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Pheromoans- "Does This Guy Stack Up?" *Plus* The Sticks- "I Don't Like It" *Plus* The Bomber Jackets-"Centurion Travel"

 

The Pheromoans- "Does This Guy Stack Up?"
This band is easily a favorite in contemporary music.  Past efforts were rough and ramshackle DIY post-punk gems, in all their deadpan glory.  The two mini-albums from 2011,"Bar-Rock" and "Darby, Joan, & Fosters," showed a path towards more, not necessarily polished, but clearer recordings and more pop leanings.  This one goes another step further in that direction, and despite what many punk/garage fans may think, this is not a bad thing at all.  Granted, "I'm Through with the Wedgie Cubist" (2009) is one of my favorite songs out there, and ideally I'd love more records like that, but I don't think I could continue to be interested by a band that continually played to fans' ideals.
The album starts out with a great one two punch, namely "The Final Sugar Rush" and "I'm a You-Know-What" (possibly the pop hit of the album) before venturing into more mysterious territory (odd ditties and pop hits in equal measure).  "Power Watch" vaguely reminds me of "Chairs Missing" era Wire...maybe it's just the backing vocals.  "Grab a Chair" plays like a cool guy slacker anthem, if slackers could bother with anthems.
Aside from art-punk leanings, there is a strong low-key garage influence too.  Still plenty of wordy, smart, smart assed lyrics, that are better heard than read.
Basically, this music is hard to put into words (that's a very good thing, you know) and this record, and band for that matter, are for anyone with an adventurous taste is music and a sense of humor.
Even though this LP is more pop influenced, this is still not a record for the masses, just something wonderful for us weirdos.

http://www.upsettherhythm.co.uk/thepheromoans.shtml



The Sticks- "I Don't Like It"
I'm not entirely sure of the personnel, but this group does contain a Pheromoans member.  The Sticks are even more stripped down and just as deadpan (maybe more?) than the Pheromoans.  There are some similarities to their sounds, but now that I'm familiar with the Sticks, there's no mistaking them.
The first time I listened to this tape I was struck by how sparse it is...clean low-key guitar, bass, drums, and sometimes vocals all doing something completely off the beaten path.  After the first listen, outside of a few tracks, I didn't really get it, but something made me keep flipping and re-flipping the tape all night.  Then it made a hell of a lot of sense.  I really recommend repeated listens to this band, really rewarding stuff here.
If the video below doesn't pique your interest, I really don't know what to say to you...

http://sixteentambourines.bigcartel.com/product/the-sticks


The Bomber Jackets- "Centurion Travel" 7"
In all honesty, electronic pop is not my favorite kind of music, granted a good song in any form is a good song regardless.  My first introduction to this group (2/3 Pheromoans members, I think) was their split 7" with the Rebel.  I think I'm a little partial to that one, though this one is not without its charm.  I guess it is a little more electro-pop, so it just took a little getting used to for me, but considering the other contemporary electro-pop bands I have been subjected to, this one is a breath of fresh air in an array of synthetic shit.
Go figure that deadpan sense of humor is here, too...would be curious to hear their cassette releases...

http://nightschoolrecords.bigcartel.com/product/lssn009-bomber-jackets-centurion-travel-e-p-7

As you can tell, this group of guys are really on the ball, hopefully they have more side projects I haven't heard of...a true hub of post-punk brilliance.

3 comments:

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  2. If you can get your hands on the Charcoal Owls tape R. Walker made in 2010, it's by far the best tape collage/spoken word album I've ever purchased/listened to: https://soundcloud.com/charcoal-owls/remastered-gardens-side-ii. Tomentosa seems to still carry it: http://tomentosarecords.com/shop/charcoal-owls-remastered-gardens-night-people/.

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  3. haven't heard that one, thanks for the tip! That King Alfred Man of Leisure tape Savoury Days put out last year was AMAZING

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