Pawing The Milk Maid

Here are two linked acts that are prepping amazing releases through Fat Cat Records this year.


First up is another slacker rock album that owes as much to the 90s psych movement of the Dandy Warhols/Brian Jonestown Massacre era as it does to fellow revivalists like Yuck. Milk Maid are from Manchester (chief songwriter Martin Cohen used to be in the pretty rad Nine Black Alps) and Mostly No (their second after releasing Yucca only last year) is an album chock full of jangly guitar ramble and chunky guitar drive. I love me a guitar album. Yet I still think that due to trying to find that balance between the jangle and the crunch, the trio straddles both without embracing either, so things aren't as strong as they could be. It's not that I struggle with isn't that the trio aren't good - Mostly No is a pretty delectable album - it's that their name is too close to Milk Music, the Washington band that are one of the best things going around right now. So when I forget, or get confused, and hit up Milk Maid instead of Milk Music, I'm invariably disappointed. This isn't the band's fault of course, and Mostly No is an album that makes an impression, then falters, before winning you over in the end ('Do Right' and 'Bad Luck' are pretty killer). Let's hope the next one works harder to rock all the way through.




Much more upbeat are PAWS, a Glasgow based trio that dish out scuzzy garage fuzz with little regard for their own safety. They brought out their debut EP Misled Youth (in cassette form) back in May, and are quickly backing that up with their Jellyfish/Bloodline 7" (which rings of early Japanadroids, especially the A-side) in preparation for their upcoming LP Cokefloat! (which has been recorded and produced by Warm Brains' uber-producer Rory Attwell). I have to say that I'm a big fan - these two quickly constructed releases (everything except for 'Bainz' - my favourite - was written and recorded in under a week) allude to a world of promise.

PAWS - Misled Youth



You can grab all of these releases on the FatCat website here.

Double Odonis Dunks His Busted Lip In Hollandaze

Odonis Odonis, the Toronto punk rapscallions led by Dean Tzenos, released their Busted Lip 7" yesterday through, which is a single off their debut LP Hollandaze. It's funny that I've taken so long to talk about these guys - it's merely because I already had, but when I started to write this I realised that there was no previous link. My bad, because Hollandaze is a premier example of loud, noisy, aberrant surf rock injected with a punk snarl, both out of place in its Canadian climes and yet very much of its time. The beauty is in its electricity - these tracks rip through you, yet it is a dark fun being exuded, not a nasty exertion of vitriolic noise. Sure, lots have said the words 'Albini' and 'Big Black' when discussing this trio, yet it isn't the parallels to those tar-black outpourings that should be the focal point. It's the relentlessness of these punk crashes, infused with squalling guitars, urgent rhythms and snarling venom, yet all with an upturned frown and a glint in the eye. It is brutal and frenetic - only the six minute 'Seedgazer' offers a respite, and even then it doesn't alleviate the sweaty fervency, what with its restless wall of guitar noise.


You can pick up the vinyl of Hollandaze here. You can pick up the 7" here (re-released after being a rare release about this time last year, before FatCat Records added them to their roster). Apparently we will have a new album on the blocks very soon, so get excited!!!

Odonis Odonis - Busted Lip
Odonis Odonis - Hollandaze
Odonis Odonis - Seedgazer

Maps & Atlases Beware And Are Grateful For Winter

Can you believe that Maps & Atlases have only had one proper album out? God, it feels like they have been around forever, and with their many EPs it's easy to forget that 2010's Perch Patchwork was their debut (I actually thought it was their second LP until only last week...oops). Well they are about to double that account when they release Beware And Be Grateful on Fat Cat Records on April 16. The Chicago act are teasing us with what's to come with 'Winter', something that mirrors their tight kinetic pop aesthetics, yet offers some nuance that piques the interest - exactly what a teaser is meant to do! Frontman Dave Davison claims the band came up with 'Winter' during the previous incredibly cold Chicago winter. "The song contrasts memory and the perspective of winter as a season of possibility and creativity with the bleak, stillness of winter nights in the Midwest." Interesting, right? Check it out below.

Maps & Atlases - Winter

If you are in London you can catch the band play the new album a day after its release on April 17 at the Garage. This will be a solid gold show - grab tix here.

The Power Of Styrofoam Is Too Great...

About a fortnight ago I started writing for ace US blog The Styrofoam Drone. That is my post today about Brissie locals Feathers and their vinyl LP Feather's Moon. The past two posts - Otro Mundo and a Palmist 10" split between SM mainstays Thee Ludds and awesome US band The Growlers. You can read those two here and here. I have already mentioned the Feathers and Otro Mundo releases, but haven't touched on how awesome Palmist Records' recent run of splits really are, although I mentioned the one that had The Whines and Burning Yellows on it here. Suffice to say it's killer. How killer? Thee Ludds finally showing their potential is warranted, whilst The Growlers have produced one of the tracks of 2011 with 'Graveyard's Full'. It really deserves a mention. Have a taste below, then head over and check out Zac's work on The Styrofoam Drone - it's an excellent blog that really goes that extra mile.

The Growlers - Graveyard's Full

Thee Ludds - Jagged Prowl