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| 1995 |
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| 1996 |
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| year unknown |
1997
Thanks to Sposob Rocks for this big post from an obscure indie rock Australian band.
31 October 2012
30 October 2012
HEATMISER Cop and Speeder 1994
biography
[+]
The Portland, OR, band Heatmiser was best known for launching the career of singer/songwriter Elliott Smith,
but other members of the group went on to have successful music careers
long after Heatmiser's demise. Singer/songwriter/guitarist Neil Gust went on to form the pop/rock band No. 2, while bassist Sam Coomes formed the popular indie pop duo Quasi with his then-wife, Sleater-Kinney drummer Janet Weiss. Drummer Tony Lash, who produced some of Heatmiser's material, went on to do production work with a variety of artists, including the Dandy Warhols, Death Cab for Cutie,
and the Minders. Heatmiser was well-known in the northwest rock scene
of the early '90s, but despite Smith's burgeoning solo career, the band
never achieved more than a cult following. Smith shared songwriting
duties with fellow guitarist/vocalist Neil Gust,
whom he met while both were attending Hampshire College, and their
contrasts in styles made Heatmiser's records compelling but incohesive.
Gust's songs were typically darker and harsher than Smith's melodic
folk-rock contributions. The fact that Heatmiser toiled in relative
obscurity during their active years and has remained unknown to the
masses despite Smith's popularity is puzzling to say the least.
Heatmiser formed in Portland, OR, in 1992, a time in
which labels large and small were scarfing up all the unsigned talent
they could in hopes of finding the next
Nirvana or Pearl Jam. Sub Pop records had signed several decidedly non-grungy Portland bands, such as the Spinanes, Pond, and Hazel, but Heatmiser somehow escaped Sub Pop's grasp. The band released its debut album, Dead Air, on Frontier Records in 1993. A second album, Cop and Speeder, appeared on Frontier in 1994 as did a five-song EP entitled Yellow No. 5.
By 1996, Smith had released two critically acclaimed solo albums and it
was becoming clear that Heatmiser was not his first priority.
The
Tony Lash-produced Mic City Sons was released in October of that year by the independent label Caroline. Hailed by critics as the best Heatmiser record yet, Mic City Sons
unfortunately was released as the band was in the process of breaking
up. Thus, despite all the makings of a breakthrough effort, Heatmiser
was grinding to a halt and would never record as a group again. Smith
reported in an interview in 1997 that Heatmiser had signed a contract
with Virgin, but an album never materialized. The bandmembers have
maintained working professional relationships, appearing on each others'
various projects in some capacity. Quasi toured with Elliott Smith in 1997, and both Smith and Coomes contributed to Gust's No. 2 album, which was released in 1999.
read more27 October 2012
LOVE SPIT LOVE self titled 1994
By request
biography
[+]
LUBRICATED GOAT Psychedelicatessen 1990
review
The third album from this Australian noise rock project led by Stuart Gray (aka Stu Spasm)
and first for Minneapolis noise label Amphetamine Reptile is no less
fierce than the previous two released on Black Eye, still fusing Suicide, Captain Beefheart, and Pere Ubu
to sheet-metal guitar noise and depraved lyrical content in the formula
of the Black Eye albums but with additional deviations into nightmarish
jazz, hip-hop, and lurching industrial noise. "Give Chance a Piece,"
"New Kind of Animal, and "Spoil the Atmosphere are classic noise rock in
the vein of Helios Creed, the Jesus Lizard, and Halo of Flies.
25 October 2012
TOASTED HERETIC Another Day Another Riot 1992
By request
The band was formed in Galway in the mid-1980s and came to national attention with a self-published album, Songs for Swinging Celibates (an allusion to the Frank Sinatra album Songs for Swingin' Lovers), in 1988. With resources tight, the album was recorded on cassette tape via a TASCAM Portastudio in drummer and producer Neil Farrell's
home, and distributed only on cassette. Their characteristic style was
immediately distinguished by their unorthodox lyrics, the virtuosity of
guitarist Declan Collins, and the eccentric showmanship of frontman (and Nenagh native) Julian Gough.
22 October 2012
CRAZY ALICE Bender 1996
by request
Discogs
Tracklist
| 1 | My Hole | |
| 2 | Only Friend | |
| 3 | Paranoid | |
| 4 | Trash Heap | |
| 5 | Fast | |
| 6 | Infected | |
| 7 | Bleed | |
| 8 | Vodka & Hope | |
| 9 | Clean | |
| 10 | Family Curse |
20 October 2012
LOW and DIRTY THREE In the Fishtank 7 2001
.
review
[+]
In late 1999, the Dutch label KonKurrent invited Minneapolis band Low into an in-house studio to record one of the label's near-legendary In the Fishtank
sessions; bands have two days to record between 20-30 minutes of all
new material of their choosing. Also touring at the time were Low's pals, the Australian instrumental dynamos the Dirty Three. Low invited them in, and in the same collaborative spirit as another In the Fishtank session involving Tortoise and the Ex,
this half-hour session is the document. What is truly amazing about
this hookup is how natural these two bands sound playing with one
another. Low
has been striking out lately, playing different kinds of material while
keeping its signature slower-than-slow approach to songwriting. the Dirty Three has taken a more melodic and dynamically restrained tack since their landmark Ocean Songs recording of a few years back. Of the six songs recorded here, none is more successful that the nearly ten-minute cover of Neil Young's "Down By the River." Mick Turner's
trademark guitar style opens the work with lots of brush and cymbal
work. It's unrecognizable for the first five minutes; it's just an
opening shimmering drone with guitar strings wafting in and out of the
atmospherics before Low's Mimi begins singing the verse and Alan teams with Turner to entwine guitars. And when Warren Ellis'
violins slip into the middle of the stream, the eerie effect is
complete, and the trancelike motion of the song takes hold and won't let
go until silence takes over. The other five tracks are sensual Low originals full of longing and resplendent minimalism. The D3 hold their place in the Low mix, painting it out over a vaster, more colorful expanse, creating more space in their trademark suffocating mix. Alan and Mimi croon together, singing like lovers rather than as bandmates on "Invitation Day." Mimi's vocal and Turner's guitar playing sound enmeshed on "When I Called Upon Your Seed." Drummer Jim White is also a perfect foil for Low;
his off-time washes of brush and muted rimshots split the notion of
time in two, making the vocal and the tune's time signature two separate
entities in a sea awash with the driftwood of the other instruments. Alan's harmonium and organ and Turner take the tune out with Ellis' haltingly shimmering strings. He opens "Cody," however, with the most lonesome, forlorn fiddle line this side of Hank Williams' "Six More Miles to the Graveyard," though it echoes Fartein Valen more than country music. This is really The D3 with Low lending textural ambience and structural balance. It's full of a haunted, hunted beauty that only The D3 can muster up, and it is enhanced by the addition of Zak Sally's bass playing. The disc closes with "Lordy," featuring Low's Alan (providing banjo accompaniment) and Mimi in a gospel-drenched duet before The D3 kick in full-tilt with sawing violin from Ellis tearing the tune apart from the inside; Turner plays slide and counters him to keep in it in a blues mode as White and Mimi duke it out on the trap kits. Turner's scree ends just as the banjo re-enters and Alan
forlornly pleads for his soul to be saved as the track just falls apart
before ending properly. This is a studio collaboration that works. It's
half an hour of music made from the heart of goodwill and the desire by
six musicians to do nothing more than play together to see what
happens. What resulted is some of the best material either unit has
produced.
read moreTracklist
| 1 | I Hear... Goodnight | 3:09 |
| 2 | Down By The River | 9:35 |
| 3 | Invitation Day | 5:03 |
| 4 | When I Called Upon Your Seed | 3:58 |
| 5 | Cody | 4:05 |
| 6 | Lordy | 4:23 |
WOOL Your Choice Live Series 1995
Live CD from Wool recorded around 1995. Decent sound quality.
A
vinyl release of this was done with the record being blue marbled vinyl.
I never saw any copies of the CD or LP. Must have been a small press
run of both.
Discogs
Tracklist
| 1 | SOS | 3:55 |
| 2 | Kill The Crow | 3:19 |
| 3 | Soundchecksong | 2:06 |
| 4 | Carcrash | 3:22 |
| 5 | Clear My Head | 3:27 |
| 6 | Eden | 3:06 |
| 7 | B-350 | 7:26 |
| 8 | Zitty | 1:22 |
| 9 | Blackeye | 4:11 |
| 10 | Coalinga | 3:23 |
| 11 | Superman Is Dead | 2:22 |
| 12 | Medication | 4:15 |
| 13 | Wait | 3:39 |
| 14 | Eff | 7:23 |
| 15 | Sistersong | 2:28 |
HUGGY BEAR Her Jazz 7 inch 1993
biography
While groups like Bikini Kill and Bratmobile were leading the riot grrrl charge in America, across the Atlantic, Huggy Bear
were spearheading their own revolution, girl-style. A multi-gender unit
comprised of vocalist Chris, vocalist/bassist Niki, guitarists Jo and
Jon, and drummer Karen -- in addition to their refusal to reveal their
full names, they also rejected all requests for interviews and
photographs -- the group debuted in late 1991 opening for Heavenly, and soon began recording their first demos. After the British indie Wiiija issued a collection of their demos, Huggy Bear
became the subject of a major label bidding war, but the quintet
steadfastly rejected all offers to remain with Wiiija -- they did,
however, agree to an offer from the Nude label on the condition that the
company drop its flagship act, Suede. (Nude declined the offer.)
In 1992,
Huggy Bear
released their debut EP Rubbing the Impossible to Burst, a blistering
collection of musical rants and tape pastiches issued in a sleeve
adorned with political manifestos. Two similar 7" releases, Kiss Curl for the Kid's Lib Guerrillas and Her Jazz, followed before Huggy Bear teamed with Bikini Kill
for a British tour and a joint 12", Our Troubled Youth/Yeah Yeah Yeah
Yeah, released as the riot grrrl movement was reaching its media fever
pitch both in the U.S. and the U.K. In late 1993, Huggy Bear compiled their early material on the collection Taking the Rough with the Smooch before disappearing for a year, resurfacing in late 1994 with a pair of EPs, Long Distance Lovers and Main Squeeze. After finally releasing a proper LP, Weaponry Listens to Love, Huggy Bear disbanded; Niki and Jo later joined Wiiija labelmates the Blood Sausages, Karen signed on with the Phantom Pregnancies, Chris performed with Skinned Teen, and Jon enlisted with I'm Being Good.
Tracklist
| A | Her Jazz | |
| B1 | Prayer | |
| B2 | Pro No From Now |
ADICKDID Dismantle 1993
By request
Adickdid was an all-female punk band started in the early 1990s in
Eugene, Oregon, USA, by Kaia Wilson (The Butchies, Team Dresch) Nalini
Deedee Cheriel (Juned, The Teenangels, The Hindi Guns) and Sara Shelton
Bellum (Bella Low). Their first single “All American Girl” b/w
“Columbus” was put out by Imp Records in 1993. They toured along the
American West Coast and played on the radio station KXLU in Los Angeles.
One of their opening acts was Beck at the Jabberjaw in Los Angeles.
They played shows opening for Hole, Fugazi, Heavens to Betsy, Bikini
Kill and Lunachicks.
Tracklist
| A1 | She's Dangerous | |
| A2 | Eye Level | |
| A3 | Telephone | |
| A4 | Song No. Two | |
| A5 | Hey Sister! | |
| A6 | Mailbox | |
| B1 | Ask Nicely | |
| B2 | Stare Right Past Me | |
| B3 | Bugs In Nevada | |
| B4 | All American Girl | |
| B5 | Adickdid | |
| B6 | Joe's Stubble |
19 October 2012
APPALACHIAN DEATH RIDE Hobo's Codebook 2003
By request
Here's a review of their self titled album from 1996:
review
Galloping rhythms, squelching feedback, three- or
four-chord changes per song, and moments that sound like R.E.M. and Pink
Floyd under the musical direction of George Jones are all part of this
album. A bumbling Southern-type growl leads the track "Willow Garden,"
which is a trip to Texas without actually having to go there. Highlights
such as "Sunrise," with its gurgling bass and drums, sound like a
forest filled with amazingly loud electric guitars that are shaking
squirrels down from the trees. Other numbers like "St. Anthony" mix
banjos and guitars, making you envision indie rock kids square-dancing
at a slightly askew hoedown. Tragedy does strike though, as the band
comes close to plagiarizing Neil Young's "Rockin' in the Free World"
riff on "Slick." The group also has the tendency to overindulge in its
fancies, as displayed on "M.I.B.," where the guitar solo decides to
rattle the listener's teeth for over half the track in wild abandonment.
With its mixed bag of well-planned compositions and half-baked mental
snippets, you're bound to view this release as a glass that's either
half full or half empty.
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