Minus the Bear – VOIDS
“Minus the Bear continue defying expectations and exploring new sounds with each new album.” – A.V. Club
“That dichotomy between dark imagery and danceable, inventive rock has always been a hallmark of Minus The Bear’s sound” – Noisey
“The result of the band’s recent adversity is an exceptionally cohesive effort that ranks among the best of its catalog to date.” – Relix
On their sixth album VOIDS, Minus the Bear started with a blank slate, and inadvertently found themselves applying the same starting-from-scratch strategies that fueled their initial creative process. Album opener “Last Kiss” immediately establishes the band’s renewed fervor. An appropriately dizzying guitar line plunges into a propulsive groove before the chorus unfolds into a multi-tiered pop chorus. From there the album flows into “Give & Take”, a tightly wound exercise in syncopation that recalls the celebratory pulse of early Bear classics like “Fine + 2 Pts” while exploring new textures and timbres. “Invisible” is arguably the catchiest song of the band’s career, with Jake Snider’s vocal melodies and Knudson’s imaginative guitar work battling for the strongest hooks. “What About the Boat?” reminds us of the “math-rock” tag that followed the band in their early years, with understated instrumentation disguising an odd-time beat. “Erase,” recalls the merging of forlorn indie pop and electronica that the band dabbled with on their early EPs, but demonstrates the Bear’s ongoing melodic sophistication and tonal exploration. By the time the band reaches album closer “Lighthouse,” they’ve traversed so much sonic territory that the only appropriate tactic left at their disposal is a climactic crescendo, driven at its peak by Cory Murchy’s thunderous bass. Not since Planet of Ice’s “Lotus” has the Bear achieved such an epic finale. All in all, it’s an album that reminds us of everything that made us fall in love with Minus the Bear in the first place, and a big part of that appeal is the sense that the band is heading into uncharted territories.
Ty Segall – Sentimental Goblin EP
It’s tough to keep up with garage rock’s wunderkind Ty Segall. Between his steady release schedule of LPs, raucous side projects like Fuzz and GØGGS, and collaborations with fellow songwriters Mikal Cronin and Tim Presley, it’s as if a season can’t pass without Segall dropping a new record. And that’s not even taking his cassettes, splits, and EPs into consideration. Fortunately, Segall’s bottomless well of creativity, production savvy, and boundless fascination with the various niches of the rock world makes every new release an occasion to celebrate. Suicide Squeeze Records is proud to offer the latest entry in Ty’s impressive canon with the Sentimental Goblin 7”. Side A features “Pan”, a fuzz-soaked proto-metal jam that links Beatles’ pioneering guitar dirge “I Want You (She’s So Heavy)” to later lurch classics by Sir Lord Baltimore and Pentagram. In true Segall fashion, he switches gears on side B and conjures the erudite pop appeal of T. Rex and Bowie with the lush glam rocker “Black Magick”.
This Will Destroy You – The Puritan
Continuing her journey into uncharted waters, Julianna Barwick’s remix of This Will Destroy You’s serene composition The Puritan is an exercise in both refinement and intensification. Taken from TWDY’s viscerally cinematic full-length studio LP Another Language (out now on Suicide Squeeze), the Brooklyn-based songstress elicits an invisible structure from the track’s warbling textures and oceanic vastness, distilling and reconstituting the band’s reflective soundscape into a rarefied elemental form. The resulting single is pristine and subtle; a fully immersive pairing of melodic piano with layers of decaying tape textures, anchored and paradoxically tethered to submersed bassline programming and distant, hyperborean 4/4 kick drum. By once again shifting shapes and adding emphasis with the beats she does and doesn’t drop, Barwick is able to forge a totally new path for both herself and instrumental-stalwarts This Will Destroy You. A feat not easily accomplished on either count. Like so much of Barwick’s work, The Puritan remix sounds as if it is both sinking, and, floating.
Barwick made a healthy habit of taking compositional risks and working outside of her comfort zone on 2016’s Will (Dead Oceans), a significant departure from her acclaimed Nepenthe LP. On The Puritan remix, she even discards her celestial and often wordless vocals, for which she is deservedly renown, to astounding affect. As if to match TWDY’s instrumental proclivities in spirit, Barwick progressively unveils a compelling sonic narrative without her central and celebrated vocal prowess. TWDY, on the other hand, embraced the space between the notes on their latest LP Another Language more so than any previous release. Fitting, it seems, that the most subdued track on the album would see a remix. More fitting, that within even such placidity further complexity and order should be extracted from master songwriters such as TWDY’s Christopher Royal King and Jeremy Galindo.
It is easy to see why so many have been swept up in Barwick’s aural currents. Her remix of TWDY’s sonic meditation jaunts into unknown quadrants for both respective parties with marked efficacy, inviting listeners of both Barwick and TWDY into a synergistic, inimitable experience. With filtered and processed piano tones acting as light beacons along the way, and propelled by a undercurrent of sublimated rhythm, Julianna Barwick has reimagined The Puritan as an existential voyage whose destination can be arrived at only in time.
The Coathangers – Parasite EP
“The fact is, the Coathangers are in their prime.” – Punk News
“It’s a brilliant blast of punk fun, tempered with a serious message.” – The Line of Best Fit
“Parasite, the five-track tease, is a huge step forward for these badass babes, and reflects some new developments to their nuanced song craft while staying true to their unbridled, grimy, and raw as fuck tendencies.” – What Youth
Parasite kicks off with the title track, a rowdy throwback to a younger, angrier incarnation of the band. Crafted in the wake of the election and during a tumultuous period in the band members’ private lives, “Parasite” is pure catharsis. “During the making of our last album, I didn’t want to scream anymore, I just wanted to sing and focus on melody. When we came to this recording, I just wanted to scream and curse.” If the EP is meant as a journey through the various stages of the band’s career, it certainly storms out of the gate with the same kind of piss-and-vinegar of their eponymous debut. And while “Wipe Out” is another rowdy venture, with bassist Meredith Franco taking over the lead vocal duties over a steady barrage of pointed power-chords, it also showcases the rousing choruses that elevated the trio from underground heroines to an internationally renowned garage act. Despite the adverse times, The Coathangers’ mastery of pop cannot be contained forever, as is evident in the EP’s single “Captain’s Dead”, with its sultry verses, triumphant chorus, and a bombastic freak-out of noisy guitar. The journey through The Coathangers’ musical evolution leads to a revamped version of “Down Down” off 2016’s Nosebleed Weekend LP and the smoky twang of “Drifter”, in which drummer/vocalist Stephanie Luke demonstrates her knack for solid Dusty Springfield-style ballads.
Parasite’s cover features an illustration of The Coathangers as sirens of the sea, an image that aptly captures the nautical themes of the EP. But the notion of The Coathangers as both mischievous and enchanting is certainly fitting too, as is evident in the alternately piercing and beguiling tracks on their latest EP.
Michael Nau – Some Twist
“His songs bear new fruit on each repeated listen: Sometimes it’s a half-buried counter-melody, sometimes it’s in a subtle turn of phrase. This is generous, full-hearted music.” – Bandcamp
“sweet, a little fuzzy, and good for the soul.” – FADER
“Songwriting as graceful and elemental as Nau’s is ripe for any season” – Newsweek
Michael Nau returns with his new album, Some Twist, released June 16th. Some Twist is the follow up to 2016’s Mowing and its announcement comes amidst a flurry of recent activity. Two weeks ago, Nau debuted songs from Some Twist on KCRW’s Morning Becomes Eclectic and headlined two sold out shows on back-to-back nights in Los Angeles. He has received extensive BBC radio play and been selected as a “6 Music Recommends” pick. One-off single “Love Survive” cracked the top 50 on Spotify’s Global Viral Chart and Elton John has played Nau on his Beats1 show.
Guantanamo Baywatch – Desert Center
“Powell’s guitar screams and his voice rumbles at the back of his throat, itself a scream barely caged. As soon as they set up a perfect house of cards — a hazy, delicate melody — they knock it down with glee.” – NPR Music
“It’s a playful, curled-lip rock ‘n’ roll track that’s driven by a grubby, hurried bassline. Hot, sweaty, wonderfully off-balance, and shamelessly, tomorrow-ruiningly fun.” – Noisey
“Off-kilter, kitschy, and nothing but salty, greasy fun, Desert Center is kinda like the scene in Pee Wee’s Big Adventure where he desperately grooves to “Tequila” in a biker bar. It’s surreal, atomic age fun that’ll make every eye-patched Satan’s Helper dance.” – L.A. Record
Guantanamo Baywatch’s new album Desert Center opens with “Conquistador,“ an instrumental track displaying enough fretboard savvy and fiery twang to make The Challengers proud. But any notion that Guantanamo Baywatch is strictly adhering to one facet of rock n’ roll’s classic era is dispelled by the soulful swagger and unabashed pop of “Neglect.” It’s an inadvertent juxtaposition maintained through the entirety of Desert Center, with blazing instrumental nuggets like “The Scavenger” alternating with the proto-grunge and golden oldies mash-up of a track like “Blame Myself.“
Like their 2015 album Darling… It’s Too Late, Desert Center was primarily tracked in Atlanta at Living Room Recording with Justin McNeight and Ed Rawls, with Jason Powell doing the bulk of the guitar tracks on his own at Jungle Muscle Studios. While Guantanamo Baywatch initially made a name for themselves with their early blown-out recordings, Desert Center retains the raw aesthetics of a Hasil Adkins single, but has the added heft and thump afforded by a modern studio. This balance is perhaps best captured on their lead single “Video”, where bassist Chevelle Wiseman drives the tune with a thick, throbbing riff while drummer Chris Scott ruthlessly pounds his kit with a crashing clarity guaranteed to please even the most snobby analog audiophile.
L.A. Witch – L.A. Witch
“Who knew all you’d need was some badass whips, a killer all-black wardrobe, and an unbothered attitude to be the most stylish person around?This is the vibe of which West Coast dreams are made.” – NYLON
“L.A. Witch have stood out from an abundance of West Coast garage rock bands with their fresh and forceful blend of post-punk, retro girl group, and reverb-heavy psychedelic bubblegum.” – Bandcamp
“The blend of desert punk, 60s girl group sounds, and garage rock that they’ve honed over the last four years is dark and evocative…Sanchez sounds like she genuinely might steal your car and your soul, and then drive them both through the darkness to Hell.” – Noisey
The name is a partial misnomer. Though the band hails from Los Angeles, they do not partake in any sort of witchcraft. Yet their ability to conjure a specific time and place through their sound does suggest a kind of magic. On their eponymous debut album, L.A. Witch’s reverb-drenched guitar jangle and sultry vocals conjure the analog sound of a collector’s prized 45 from some short-lived footnote cult band. The melodies forgo the bubblegum pop for a druggy haze that straddles the line between seedy glory and ominous balladry; the production can’t afford Phil Spector’s wall-of-sound, but the instruments’ simple beauty provides an economic grace that renders studio trickery unnecessary; the lyrics seem more descendent of Johnny Cash’s first-person morality tales than the vacuous empty gestures of pre-fab pop bands. This isn’t music for the masses; it’s music for miscreants, burnouts, down-and-out dreamers, and obsessive historians.
Album opener “Kill My Baby Tonight” is the perfect introduction to the band’s marriage of ‘60s girls-in-the-garage charm and David Lynch’s surreal exposés of Southern California’s underbelly. Sade Sanchez’s black velvet vocals disguise the malicious intent of this murder ballad, with the thumping pulse of bassist Irita Pai, the slow-burn build of drummer Ellie English, and Sanchez’s desert guitar twang helping beguile the listener into becoming a willing accomplice to the narrator’s crimes. “Brian” follows the opening track with a similarly graceful, if not somewhat ominous, slow-mo take on a well-worn jukebox 7”. It’s a vibe that permeates the entire album, from the early psychedelic hue of 13th Floor Elevators on tracks like “You Love Nothing,” through the motorik beat and fuzzed-out licks of “Drive Your Car,” to the grittier permutation of Mazzy Star’s sleepy beauty on “Baby In Blue Jeans.”
Michael Nau – The Load EP
“A pure gem of campfire charm” – The Revue
“Nau’s voice is sticky-sweet and deep like honey, and when Prass joins him, her twangy, floaty tones complement perfectly over those golden ’70s sounds. It’s so good.” – FADER
“On “Big Wind, No Sail” Michael Nau waltzes with us into daydreams and quiet magic.” – The Grey Estates
Said Michael Nau on The Load EP: “These songs come from the same pool as the songs from Some Twist. For whatever reason, they felt like outliers at the time, and weren’t included in the mixing sessions. You can hear some pieces…a few lines here and there that worked their way into that record in a different form. I see this as an extension of those songs, and that process. It’s not easy to separate myself from that process – the time and place spent recording these things – I’ve stopped trying to hear it any other way.
For the most part, this is a band playing together in a room… well, a different band, in different rooms, at various points in the trip. It brings me a great deal of joy to be a part of those moments and I walk away feeling energized and wonderfully confused – I’ve learned to let that period linger best I can, before it passes. I hope that same joy is what carries on with these songs. I’ve been making records for a good while and still feel at a beginning – and that finally feels like a good place to be.”
“The Load” and “Sure It Can” were recorded in the same afternoon at Sound Loom in Burlington, VT. Recorded live to Tascam 388 tape machine. Brass for “The Load” was later overdubbed at Sound Loom, & Seth Kauffman recorded the strings for “Sure It Can” at his place. These two songs were a part of the same session that a lot of the songs from Mowing and Some Twist came from.
“I Root (trio)” was recorded in Burlington, late night in Benny Yurco’s studio, Little Jamaica. The strings were done later at Sound Loom. We did a few songs in this trio arrangement…this is the only one that stuck. I like this version as a sort of standalone, but it didn’t seem to work with the overall vibe of Twist, so we used the full band version for that record.
“Big Wind, No Sail” and “Diamond Anyway” were recorded in Nashville. Benny Yurco, Natalie Prass, and I pieced these together one weekend. We’d met for the first time that weekend, through mutual friends, and the first thing we did was “Big Wind.” I was pretty tired of recording music by myself… they made it fun! These recordings are special to me for that reason. We recorded it to the 388 with, I believe, one Sm58 microphone. There were a lot of problems we couldn’t fix… that’s what I like about it.
“Looking For A Crack” and “Old Door” were recorded in Burlington. These were recorded live in one take. We came together to make a record but, instead, just played songs for a few days. We still occasionally bump into recordings from that week that we forgot we did.
Hinds / Los Nastys – El Sueño De Benilandia
Punk rock exploded on the international scene just as Spain was awakening from the end of Franco’s 35-year regime. And while new freedoms for an old country meant a blossoming of art and culture, the combination of geographical obstacles, a struggling economy, and prejudices towards the countries of the Iberian Peninsula meant that the Spanish underground music scene operated with added urgency, it also operated in relative isolation. But as anyone that’s dug into Spanish punk could tell you, the scene has an unparalleled vibrancy. Suicide Squeeze Records is proud to spread the word on this exciting community by way of a split 7” by two of Madrid’s most ecstatic contemporary garage rock bands—the fiery quartet Hinds and the psych-tinged scorchers Los Nastys. In a nod to Madrid’s close-knit underground circuit, the longstanding musical tradition of covers, and the band’s mutual admiration, the split 7” features the two bands tackling each others’ songs. Side A finds Hinds covering Los Nastys’ pop gem “Holograma” while the flipside finds Los Nastys’ doing a rave-up of Hinds’ “Castigadas En El Granero.” The record is both an unabashed party and an exciting document of an oft-overlooked scene.
