Constant Mongrel

new 7", The Law, just came in

Wonderfuls - Only Shadows Now lp

just came in

New stuff in

Got Low Life - Dogging, Chook Race - About Time lp, Wireheads - The Late Great lp in

Led Zepplin and Guns and Roses.....

Kicking things off, the ironically titled (obviously) Young Liberals casually go about their business. Their dorky style gives them an innocent edge, which they quickly dispel as they blow the unassuming crowd’s ear drums with primal punk-rock.

They’re rough as guts; all distorted guitar and heavy rhythm that slides back and forth between The Stooges and The Strokes. The mulleted frontman never gets animated, but has a perfect rock scream that cuts through the chaos and energises the room.

Most of this created atmosphere is lost during Exhaustion’s set, though. It all starts out sounding a bit like a sound check, because they’re really just jamming along together. The three-piece play an unenthusiastic first few variations that seem to confuse the crowd.

A bit like Led Zeppelin’s Whole Lotta Love breakdown, the band members are all on their own planets, mashing away on their own tangents – they might as well be playing in different rooms. There’s simply nothing for the audience to hold onto until the drums and bass start their own, more succinct, rhythms. Now it’s a bit easier to sink into a deep focus and appreciate the subtle variations, but it still feels over-indulgent. Perhaps they’re simply not the right band to open for Geelong’s Ausmuteants.

The headliners’ first song Freedom Of Information has guitarist Shaun Connor taking over the vocals and he does a great job, chanting angrily, “I don’t wanna touch!” and firing the crowd up straight away. The guys look super-cool, especially bassist Marc Dean who, wearing a singlet and tight jeans, channels rock gods like Slash as he jams along, seemingly lost in his head (but definitely not).

Lead singer Jake Robertson plays pretty corny synthlines that add a meatier, pop element to the band’s otherwise lo-fi garage sound – he’s a great frontman and gives the band a strong core to work around. Robust drummer Billy Gardener also helps.

This disco-punk quartet is about to head off to tour the States. They are well-oiled and go through the motions of playing their biggest crowd-pleasers. That’s not to say they’re doing so passively; all four band members bring heaps of energy to their short, punchy songs and deserve the recent attention they’ve been getting. They might occasionally come across as young and naïve, but Ausmuteants definitely know what they’re doing.

School Damage

School Damage are  Carolyn, Jeff, Jake and Danielle. They come from Melbourne and Geelong and probably somewhere in between too.
This is their first record , its round, black and has 3 songs on it:  "Sick of You" opens with Danielles' monstrous bass growl, swelling with tom toms from Jeff (that really should have been played standing up) and guitar feedback into an ice cool verse and throwaway chorus that will make any fan of the Shop Assistants swoon.  Jakes' guitar kicks off "Butt Hurt" which promptly explodes into a full blown keyboard driven Fairground/Carousel orgy of boy/girl Vox that is pure pop-methadone.
B-Side Ballad "Break Up" is the Big-Haired Indie-Rock slow-burner that also-rans like the Vivian/DumDum/West Coast Girls would kill for, like all good FM rock the song goes on forever, Carolyns' keyboard eventually fading into the sunset over the Bay.
more....

The debut 3 track 7" will be released in early August, available to preorder now from the Detonic Recordings store!!!

Old Mate - It is what it is - lp

IN REVIEW: OLD MATE – IT IS WHAT IT IS (SDZ RECORDS, 2014)

AUGUST 19, 2014 WEIRDOWASTELAND

It’s another great piece of down in the dumps, black and blue rock. Australiana meets Americana. Songs soaked in box wine and cheap beer, set decrepit neighbourhoods and between shitty relationships. There is a rhythm here that moves, a rhythm that one must keep when moving through life to avoid being left behind. 

Old Mate is the newest outfit helmed by Pat Telfer (Bitch Prefect). What originally started as a solo project has now expanded and features members of Peak Twins and Wireheads. It Is What It Is is the debut LP from the group, coming after an EP in 2012 and a 7” in 2013.

It’s another great piece of down in the dumps, black and blue rock. Australiana meets Americana. Songs soaked in box wine and cheap beer, set decrepit neighbourhoods and between shitty relationships. It’s a nice departure from the jangle and strum of Bitch Prefect, reflecting more the day drunk desperation ofKitchen’s Floor.

This is a terrific album thanks to some cunning instrumentation and a willingness to add flavour to the bluesy murk. Piano, saxophone and other intriguing bits and pieces create some airy texture over the fundamentals. Telfer’s brooding croon is exquisite. His purposefully flat delivery adds gravitas to his tales of daily monotony, over drinking and failed relationships.

The music helps to lift the vocals above the subject matter; for example, the sax on ‘Know What He Wants’ adds a sense of urgency to, what I gather is, the tale of a man seeking to take from others without consideration. The album seems to look at abusive relationships in society; abuse of substances, abuse of the self, abuse of others – it’s all pretty grim yet there is an interesting dichotomy at work with the instrumentation, preventing the listener from getting bogged down in the grittiness. We are made aware of the topics at hand, but are constantly moved along by the strong musical current.

It Is What It Is seems to be about the exploring the hard facts of life but not being able to do anything about it. Life is what it is; you can’t do a damn thing about it but live as best as possible. This album is about trying to do that but not always being successful. This is a largely entertaining album, I can imagine it transitioning well live – an experience I hope to catch soon. There is a rhythm here that moves, a rhythm that one must keep when moving through life to avoid being left behind. The road points straight ahead, where it leads is anyone’s guess. Old Mate walk the road, playing I Spy with what they see along the way; observant and honest music and something to treasure.

SDZ RECORDS / SDZ SOUNDCLOUD / OLD MATE BANDCAMP

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Friendsters 7" from eternal soundcheck

Multiple Man review from 7" blog

Multiple Man on Major Crimes Records

I've been shocked by how good the music is in Halt and Catch Fire on AMC. Never mind that it's about ancient nerd stuff which I really appreciate; an underdog personal computer company starting out in the early '80s but the music supervisor Thomas Golubic is digging really deep into anything but the obvious for this time period. There's the touchstones I've never heard in mainstream pop culture like the Bad Brains or X-Ray Specs but the opening shot in one episode was a track "Are 'Friends' Electric?" from Gary Numan & The Tubeway Army which got me deep into a crazy rabbit hole lately. I'm following their picks pretty closely for more of this early synth era and post punk...the meeting of those two is my weak spot. So is the combination of influences on this single from Brisbane's Multiple Man, they keep things minimal with one foot in nostalgia and the other dark and forward looking. You're right - it sounds uncomfortable.

Synth blasts in on A-Side's "Body Double" turning this one dark like Ashrae Fax or Blessure Grave. Plowing away with weird digital percussions that can't bridge the uncanny valley of drums and become something else, this reverb snare, a buried electro tom. A perfect rough groove carved out of these analog elements, a chugging away of a robotic locomotive, buried under water and reverb, plate springs and coils. Not that this is of the lower fidelity variety, far from it, everything comes through loud and clear and they take their time getting this momentum up before the vocal comes in layered with plenty of echo sounding aggressive with a weird distance and agonized angst of something like Lust for Youth. This sort of thing is unsettling, there's no reason this should make you look over your shoulder when examining the pieces, but this rhythm and careful use of echo take this to a weird place of miscommunication. Everything is obscured and blown out, the rhythm is relentless it's coming for you, I think even Gary Numan was unwilling to get this dark, slanting more towards breaking those commercial rules and airwaves to go to these creepy depths.

B-Side "Surface Roads" is the apocalypse. You have to venture to the surface and make high art out of ascii characters and digital glitches. This track creeps up out of atmospheric digital fog swirling around into a heavy square sine wave bass line and a ring toned fax machine/modem sound is bent back into shape with autotune. But I doubt they're even using that kind of modern technology here. That melody evolves into a guitar riff of some kind with a synth punk like The Units which shouldn't make sense, they hated the guitar. There's a lot of density here while seeming minimal, precise and repetitive. No lyrics on this one while a Knight Rider two note inspired foundation manically twiddles away. Somehow sounding more optimistic but maybe because the A-Side was right after the war with the machines...and on the B-Side you find out they won.

Get this from Major Crimes Records - for those of you in the US that means Easter Bilby Distro

Multiple Man actually interviewed Gary Numan...the plot thickens.

M.O.B.

BEST REASON TO WRTE A FUCKIN’ RECORD REVIEW TODAY!

✩M.O.B. M.O.B. lp(R.I.P. Society, Aus - 2014)✩

• There’s no shortage of sick tombstones to trip over atR.I.P. Society, but this purple Mersh Of Blastitude shan’t be overlooked for more easily digestible lollipops. Gurgling burbles of cross talking korgs escort each other into the bleak echelon of early Cabaret Voltaire squirm, with all offerings draped in the lusty terror howl of decrepit synths aiming to rearrange the appliances - and your nipples - while you sleep. This is high caliber squelch and enjoyable beyond reason. Easter Bilby distro’s got a bunch, so talk to your machines and make it happen.

Power

Power cassettes just in from cool death records
Cool Death interrupts whatever the hell you *were* doing to bring you actual high voltage rock music. POWER!
Three dudes from Dribble, Soma Coma and Kromosom playing rock and roll the way it was played four decades ago before punks knew what punk was. For fans of Iggy and The Stooges and Lobby Lloyd - Rest in POWER.

Still single recommended

Rat Columns – Leaf LP (R.I.P. Society)

RECOMMENDED

I’ve listened to this one so much that I’m challenging myself by listening to a different record while I write this. Actually, I’m not listening to anything but the ambient rush of traffic along the BQE. It’s a clean, headclearing sound that would be a good ambient background for this superb pop record, the second full-length under this name by the busy and talented David West (Rank/Xerox, Lace Curtain, Burning Sensation, ex-Total Control, a handful of others), who gets help from countrymen James Vinciguerra and Mikey Young on this go-round, along with his American rhythm section (Jonathan Young on bass, Violent Change’s Matt Bleyle on drums). West started Rat Columns as some manner of 4-track pop clearinghouse, which took a turn for pop-punk on debut album Sceptre Hole, and here starts that way before diving into a slightly slower, more contemplative groove. The “hit” material is on the A-side, and feels a bit mid-‘80s British/C86 by design, though elements of a deeper narrative are placed throughout (small touches like that sleigh bell jingle at the end of “Pink Mist,” for instance, kind of set things off a bit), and I’m also reminded of when American indie bands decided to cool down a bit in the ‘90s and become a little more genteel, a la The Sea and Cake. Strangely, this record picks up where others seem to think it lets down: side A closer “Fooling Around,” written by Young, is an out-of-nowhere highway/motorik grazer, evoking Yo La Tengo on the autobahn late at night, a totally pleasing and mature entry followed by a spate of personal breakdowns that, for me, make the record. Apart from the title track closer, the drumming on side B slips … a lot. I assume this is by design, and since everything else, even the wheezing synthesizer, is played straight, the lapses in timing on percussion add a sense of unease and vulnerability that would be missing were they up to scratch. West’s mumbled, drifting vocals obviously add to these qualities, but together these concepts add a new dimension of pressure to the leering, too-hot/too-close “Petrified,” and the late night halogen streetlight halos and cruise control search of “Empty Lanes,” more reminiscent of the quieter moments of the late, great band Seam than anything I’ve heard since their demise. Then there’s “Leaf,” which breaks the mold altogether and seems to begin with a sample of a panting dog, which builds into the rhythm track, the neon/dying fluorescent tube flicker and sumptuous electronic/bass interplay, sounding closer to a Lace Curtain track than any Rat Columns material before it. Somehow, West has crossed Australian pop with pleading, emotive American strains, and come up with a meaningful and poignant record for this calendar year. I can only hope that this project continues in, and with, such a strong internal direction. (http://ripsocietyrecords.tumblr.com)
(Doug Mosurock)

Ausmuteants mad max garage video

"Pissing in Two Streams" AUSMUTEANTS from john waddell on Vimeo.

Angie/Nathan Roche US Tour

Monday Sept 22nd Brooklyn

Tuesday Sept 23rd Philadelphia

*Wednesday Sept 24th

*Thursday Sept 25th

Friday Sept 26th Goner Fest

Saturday Sept 27th Goner Fest

*Sunday Sept 28th

Monday Sept 29th Atlanta

*Tuesday Sept 30th

Wednesday Oct 1st Richmond VA

*Thursday Oct 2nd

Friday Oct 3rd Chicago

Saturday Oct 4th Kalamazoo MI

Sunday Oct 5th Columbus OH

Monday Oct 6th Cleveland OH

Tuesday Oct 7th Rhode Island

Wednesday Oct 8th New Haven CT

Thursday Oct 9th New York

Ausmuteants US tour

Ausmuteants US Tour Dates
9/20 – Tempe, AZ @ 51west w/ Detached Objects, Womb Tomb, Blanche Beach
9/23 – Austin, TX @ Beerland
9/24 – New Orleans, LA @ Saturn Bar w/ Buck Biloxi and the Fucks
9/25 – Memphis, TN @ GONERFEST 11 w/ Grifters, Radioactivity, So Cow, Golden Pelicans, Ross Johnson’s ‘Like Flies On Sherbert’ Revue
9/26 – Louisville, KY @ Cropped Out Fest
9/29 – Durham, NC @ Duke Coffeehouse
9/30 – Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda’s w/ Dan’l Boone, Lantern
10/1 – Boston, MA @ Midway Cafe
10/2 – Brooklyn, NY @ Death By Audio
10/4 – Detroit, MI @ PJ’s Lager House w/ Odonis Odonis
10/5 – Chicago, IL @ The Owl
10/6 – St. Louis, MO @ Melt w/ Lumpy & the Dumpers
10/7 – Minneapolis, MN @ Hexagon w/ Real Numbers
10/10 – Portland, OR @ Dante’s w/ King Khan & BBQ Show
10/11 – Seattle, WA @ The Crocodile w/ King Khan & BBQ Show
10/15 – San Francisco, CA @ Hemlock Tavern
10/17 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Smell

The Ulsers

Should be here this week, check them out at wallaby beat.

The Ulsers

Thigh Master - Head of the Witch 7"

Just in from Tenth Court,

"Pay back takes precedence on the new 7” single Head of the Witch from Brisbane band Thigh Master - a hook laden guitar pop gem that sounds as if it had just erupted from some sealed off tomb of the ghosts of Indie Pop past. The band combines Memphis garage with Kiwi jangle in a way that sounds distinctly Brisbane; yes, that striped sunlight sound, reflecting back from the muddy waters of the Brisbane River. 

Far from forlorn, the band howls through Head of the Witch with vitriol to spare, a demanding sonic presence bursting from the speakers. The flipside is just as rewarding, with the driving pop punk of DD and ominous tom-tom strut of Night Terrors rivaling each other for a-side status. This is vibrant, memorable pop music played with conviction and a gut full of piss."

Ausmuteants -Stale White Boys 7"

Is in and will begin shipping tomorrow

Gonerfest 11

GONERFEST 11

SEPTMBER 25-28

2014

MEMPHIS, TN 

Including

Len Bright Combo (UK)

The Gizmos (IN)

The Rebel (UK) 

Ausmuteants (AUS)

Nots (Memphis)

Grifters (TN) 

So Cow (IE) 

Radioactivity (TX) 

Angie (AU) 

Terry & Louie (OR/LA)

Spray Paint (TX) 

Sick Thoughts (MA)

Cool Runnings (NZ)

Deaf Wish (AU)

Angie interview

Talking about all her bands, as well as her solo work
http://pitchfork.com/thepitch/365-shake-appeal-angie-on-straight-arrows-ruined-fortune-circle-pit-southern-comfort/

Low Life - Dogging lp

Sold out, goner and fls dying got the last wholesale batches, so you could try them.



I think Low Life’s Dogging was promised back in 2012 but incurred some setbacks - I’m sure a large part of it was the passing of Brendon Annesley, whose Negative Guest List label was to release it originally - but it’s finally arrived two years later, brought to you jointly by R.I.P. Society and Disinfect Records. The record, dedicated wholly to Annesley, is biting, dark, and often self-flagellating, outdoing the punks and besting brainless revivalist goth acts in under half an hour. The A-side picks up where the great Sydney Darbs 7” (buy it) left off, keeping things taut and plenty aggressive: the nasty “Speed Ball” feeds right into “Down at the Dogs,” the latter folding in on itself to scream “YOU FUCKIN’ DOG!” before tearing back into form. The B-side starts with the scathing “DNA” and then things begin to slowly stretch out, beginning with the tense, sprawling “Dream Machine” followed by the almost wistful “Emmie.” The change-up works to the band’s advantage, swapping driving rhythms for heavy textures to keep things fresh, in turn allowing the acerbic closer “Friends” to hit twice as hard as it would otherwise. It’s a bonus that everything sounds great on here, undoubtedly a byproduct of the album’s extended gestation time. Dogging was every bit worth the wait, a provocative diatribe against sickening aspects of modern society that get swept under the rug. My favorite record to come out of Australia so far this year.

Americans can buy the LP from Bruce at Easter Bilby Distro. You can also find the other two recent R.I.P. Society releases (LPs by M.O.B. and Rat Columns) and many other recent Aussie records in there as well.

http://goodbysunball.tumblr.com

Easter Bilby Store

Has been upgraded, I'm in the process of adding items when I can. Still got 40 slots to go, so if you're looking for anything from the catalog below, let me know.

Easter Bilby Store

Nathan Roche - Magnetic Memories

Just arrived, http://thethousands.com.au/melbourne/hear/nathan-roche-magnetic-memories

New stuff coming in

M.O.B., LOW LIFE and RAT COLUMNS LP's will be shipping next week, available in stores soon after. I don't think the world is ready! I know I'm not sufficiently prepared. These records will be available for wholesale from Easter Bilby Records in the USA and directly from the label in Australia. THERE WILL BE NO PRE-ORDER SHIT JUST CHECK IN WITH THE REGULAR PLACES THAT STOCK GOOD RECORDS.

New addresess for old customers

Hot mail is fucked, had never given me serious problems until recently. bashlee67@gmail.com. Or easterbilbyrecords@gmail.com  can probably come up with some more, but for now, those are it.  Gonna look at hotmail, if I can, for a while, but it's about done

Ausmuteants 7"

The cover for the bilby 7" is up on the Facebook site, if you want an early look

Guardian Article

Thanks Doug

 http://www.theguardian.com/culture/australia-culture-blog/2014/mar/05/fire-records-easter-bilby-australian-indie

No Motivation

Ausmuteants - Stale White Boys 7" (EB-004)

At the pressing plant, should be out mid April, maybe longer, forgot about record store day.

Nice Angie review from Victim of Time

http://victimoftime.com/articles/breaking-sounds-angie-emturningem-debut-lp/

BREAKING SOUNDS: Angie Turning LP

by Todd Killings

posted Monday Feb 3rd, 2014

If you've been paying any attention to the current wave of new Australian underground music that has been seeping out of the continent for the past decade, it will come as no surprise that we are witnessing a new awakening and a new era unfold right before our ears. And aside from the bigger-named acts such as Eddy Current Suppression Ring and Total Control, it's well worth your time and effort to dig into the deranged world of music swirling around Angie Bermuda, the femme tour de force responsible for the sickening underlying sounds behind such reputable bands as Circle Pit and Straight Arrows, her new supergroup Ruined Fortune, her project with Harriet Hudson, Southern Comfort, as well as her undeniable solo work, which shines like a glistening black diamond on this debut LP. Just as Kitchen's Floor output a few years ago was the first step in disillusioned dissolution, Turning is the logical next chapter in this invigorating downward spiral.

Under the moniker Angie, this album touches all the nerve endings dulled by your self-destructive lifestyle and reaches into the darkness to pull forth a bummer pop touchstone of unsettling proportions. It's got a certain heaviness that's only displaced by Angie's enchanting and gorgeously deadpan vocal style across all eight tracks, immediately ensnaring echoes of Xpressway's Sandra Bell, and the deep, dark well of infinite sadness and ultimately, a death-like peace. To refrain from the certain tar-sick feel of doom and overall grip of the end of your rope, which is woven deep into this collection of songs, the vocals carry your soul right into the rocks just as a siren would have hundred of years ago, and it's never felt like more of a relief. So cue up The River's Edge, mute the volume and crank up 'Turning' and set yourself adrift, and don't forget to pick up the debut LP out now on Easter Bilby/Rice is Nice at your favorite record store or mail order spot before it's too late.