Don't Steal The Beardy Durfs Ponce's Lunch Box

I love it when you open up the inbox and before you have to start wading through all the remixes, bad hip-hop and terribly written PR pieces, the first email inadvertantly floors you. This is what The Beardy Durfs' 7" Lunch Box/Ponce did to me. The Danish duo (seriously, Copenhagen's scene seems so disparate and incredible awesome!) are channelling no wave into makeshift pop compositions, then are extrapolated or truncated on a whim. 'Lunch Box' is a delectable slice of raucous garage noise-pop, whilst 'Ponce' is a lysergic jam into a bleached-white wilderness. Digital-only track 'Dead Poncho' is pure noise abandon, the kind of pop single Times New Viking or Japandroids might put out if collaborated with motorik annihilators A Place To Bury Strangers. This cacophonous ear orgasm is achieved via modified guitar pedals, homemade amplifiers, broken guitars and a seriously trashed drum kit built in the former East Germany. I seriously enjoy this 7". These are the kind of tracks I want to hear when I wake up people! (Actually, I want to hear them all day long. Keep it coming dudes).


You can get Lunch Box/Ponce from Pad & Pen Records.

Found A Dead Sailor In The Stagnant Pools

I brought to your attention only weeks ago that rad track 'Consistency' by Indiana brothers Stagnant Pools, drooling over the groove-laden dirge that is equal parts shoegaze swoon and lackadaisical guitar pop, with a smattering of gritty drone to boot. Well they have an album coming up on Polyvinyl called Temporary Room. What's more they have just finished up support slots with labelmates Japandroids (who also have a newie out, more on that later!!!) and EMA, and have more to come alongside A Place To Bury Strangers, Lotus Plaza, Exitmusic and Akron/Family (the last two of which sees them touring in a van they received as a graduation present - thanks pez!). These guys are heating up.

Stagnant Pools - Dead Sailor

Triple Friday Cover Up - Loving Someone With Wet Hair Down By The Water

Ah, the week's end. Its a beautiful thing. So let's end it with a triple treat of covers!


I mentioned earlier in the month the lovely Cheyenne Marie Mize and her incumbent release We Don't Need. What we have here is her reworking of a classic PJ Harvey tune. Seeing as PJ has had a stellar 2011 with her award-smashing Let England Burn, it goes without saying that she doesnt need any more exposure :). But this is a lovely rendition, and makes me even more excited to see Mize in the live arena.

Cheyenne Marie Mize - Down By The Water (PJ Harvey cover)


Ive started taking hellish commuter trips to my new workplace - two bus trips that has me up and hailing public transport at 6am. With the iPod back in action, its been funny that my shuffle keeps landing on noisy duo Japandroids, particularly 'Darkness On The Edge Of Gastown' off their Lullaby Death Jams EP. Ive also been enjoying Teen Daze's 'The Harvest' - seriously, this dude is really putting it out there. Whilst I cant claim my iPod has developed cognitive powers and smooshed these two together, maybe the vibes have echoed across the cosmos, with Teen Daze trying his hand at Japandroids' 'Wet Hair'.

Teen Daze - Wet Hair (Japandroids cover)


Finally, a warped do-over. Raw Moans doesn't do things by halves, forcibly etching his personality on every cover he attacks. As you may remember he has been working on Safe Sex, a concept album that retools songs by musicians that were affected by HIV/AIDS. The album will be released on vinyl through Los Angeles label Living Tapes very soon, but in the meantime, get a fix with the cover of Queen's 'Somebody 2 Love'.

Raw Moans - Somebody 2 Love (Queen cover)

The weekend will be filled with posts on Psychic Ills, Mark McGuire and the next instalment of Hits From The Box - no rest for the wicked! Nevertheless, beers will be consumed. Enjoy the break kids!

Hairy Times In The Gauntlet

Gauntlet Hair make me laugh, they really do. The duo from Colorado have so many stupid-yet-awesome band photos (see above for one just pic), and they love having a stupid-arse time. It really benefits from them actually being able to kill too (evidenced by the ace 'Keep Time' which is all yours below). Its loud, its dissonant - but infusing it all with a sense of abandon more familiar with how a band like Japandroids might do an album reworking of Animal Collective's Sung Tongs. Very worthwhile, then.

Gauntlet Hair - Keep Time