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« on: December 22, 2011, 08:16:58 AM »
Cosmonauts ? He Never Hit Me 7″
Fullerton, CA is home to Burger Records, both store and label, and they?ve done a good job of fostering and spreading the garage gospels of Roky Erikson, Poison Ivy, and The Mummies to the masses. And with the sponge like brains the youth typically have, the very young Cosmonauts have been taking extensive notes and doing extra credit, specifically on psych rock living legend John Dwyer.
Drugpunk is their term of choice to describe their sound, and on the new 7? single He Never Hit Me, which is being released by Goodbye Boozy, if it wasn?t them, some cheeky blog writer would have described them as such. But halfway through Hit Me, it almost sounds like the boys took too many tokes and jam for a bit, forgetting the 3-minute surf punk rule. But then, it?s punk to scrap all the rules and take in all the drugs you want.
In addition to this new single, Cosmonauts new LP is out on Permanent, and you can also pick up several tapes from Burger Records. And be on the lookout in August when these kids decide not to go back to school and just tour!
Cosmonauts ? He Never Hit Me 7″
Released in part by the mysterious Goodbye Boozy label is a fresh single from Orange County surf-psych favorites COSMONAUTS. We covered their self-titled full length back in March and these tracks continue on from that mix flawlessly.
So what we have here is a near five minute single which comes from three different labels (one being Goodbye Boozy), each released with their own cover art and a certain number of pressings to confuse the shit out of people. If you can recall (and how couldn?t you?) their s/t from earlier this year, then you should already know how this is going to turn out. ?He Never Hit me? automatically comes through with heavy surf rock vibes and an overwhelming psych twist, combining both breezy summertime notions and a barren, sweltering desert. Pounding drums dismantle everything in their path in unison with paralyzing guitar textures, which proves that Cosmonauts continue to offer these massive, submerging sounds that always end up swallowing you whole in one sloppy, energetic bite.
Flipping over to the B-side, the boys supply an even more invigorating number with their take on ?Little Honda?. They take their blazing surf rock to a whole new level with ecstatic solo work and twangy blues vibes which makes for a destructive yet highly gratifying listen. Shattering textures of haze and crunch mix for a catastrophic sound stricken with hyperactivity, hereby culminating into one of our favorite singles we?ve heard yet this year.
Cosmonauts ? He Never Hit Me 7″These kids sound a bit more palatable on the shorter format, or at least there isn't as much time to think about what might be missing. Title cut cruises at mid-speed with force and a little bit of agility, cutting through water like a heavy freighter, the guitars create dual propulsive drones that circle in on themselves and go a little higher for the breakdown/solo portion. Effectively fuzzed out without sounding West Coast neo-hippie or overly garagey - honestly, it reminds me of something like Spacemen 3 as handled by Brimstone Howl - sort of an earnest modern psych tune a la People's Temple even. B-Side is a "Little Honda" cover that could have been done better by The Moonhearts, but confirms my Brimstone Howl reference earlier...A-Side is a good song, and will make a better intro to the band than the LP. Scum stats: 300 copies/3 labels/e sleeves.(RK)
USELESS EATERS - difficult - 7"
I can hardly keep up with the pace at which Seth Sutton announces and releases music. Slightly more than halfway through the year, he already has an LP and this 7? under his belt with more on the horizon. The A-side here, titular ?Difficult?, is a searing blast of punk/post-punk indebted garage fury. Among the shortest songs Sutton has recorded so far, it lays down a hook that will be hard to shake over trash can style drums. The B-side ?Who R U?? is similar in style, though focused more on chugging, low-end repetition and is over before you wish it could continue for three more minutes?-it?s like a Fall song cut short. The record?s done in under three minutes, and you?ll be lucky to catch your breath before it?s over. By that time, Sutton will probably have already announced another new 7?. Out now on Goodbye Boozy Records with three different limited cover art variations.
USELESS EATERS - difficult - 7"
Hey, a one-sided single with two songs from this guy...just what the doctor ordered. I really like the sleeve variant I got though. These two songs have a bit more personality than the other 7" reviewed above. He's just running through every weird guitar sound he can find and then rattling something off on the 4-track or whatever he's recording himself on. "Difficult" uses a generic underwater effect, "Who R U" has a great shit-fi bass sound with a piercing trebly solo. Both are sub-two minute flashes in the pan. Maybe a bit more on The Spits side of things this time. I've lisetened to this a half dozen times and still find little nutritional value here....300 copies, three sleeves, one side, two songs...(RK)
PRIMITIVE HANDS / INDIAN WARS split 7"
Indian Wars are from Vancouver, sound like Demon's Claws understudies, snooooooze. Primitive Hands is an actual member of Demon's Claws (Brian Hildebrand, drummer), and both songs are damn good - of a quality similar to the first 7" (which was great), not his second 7' (which kinda stunk). One psych-style stomper that sounds like a Ty Segall song if the kid was Canadian and ballsy or a more garage-y Red Mass moment, and "Priscilla" which is fragile psych-folk with generous reverb and some dextrous picking. I like these cuts and their vibe, too bad they're buried on a split. Primitive Hands are batting just under .500, and while I don't feel like I need to hear LP by them (him?) I do feel like I want to hear more....Scum stats: 300 copies, sporting a couple different label names with three different sleeves all drawn by Canadian artist Bob Scott, the coolest one of which is pictured.(RK)
PRIMITIVE HANDS/INDIAN WARS
Split
Awesome split 7?. Montreal?s Primitive Hands (featuring Brian Hildebrand of Demon?s Claws) get two tracks; Vancouver?s Indian Wars get the same. Bob Scott of Mongrel Zine created three different covers for this 45, so what you see may not be what you get (although it?ll still rule).
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