Nitzer Ebb – That Total Age (1987)

Vs.

LFO – Frequencies (1991)

The Game is simple… if only one could exist which would it be? What’s more important… personal relevance, cultural significance, or simply being the better album all other things aside? Choice is yours…

Мишка Spring 2010-2nd Delivery Now Available Online!

It’s hereeeeeee!!!! The second drop from our Spring 2010 collection is now available for purchase from our Online Store and all of our three retail accounts around the globe (New York, Los Angeles and Tokyo).

Head over now, either digitally or physically and you’ll find a host of new product like: New button-down shirts like the Aberdeen Plaid and Fratelli Houndstooth. New fleece crewnecks such as the Oversized Mop and Death Adder. A bunch of new shorts like the Vladimir’s in Tartan Plaid and the Wipeout Cargo Shorts just in time for the warming weather. There are solid and striped Watchdog Polos. The Death Adders Baseball Jersey is up now and there is also a whole grip of new T-Shirts, Bags and accessories.

Get at it now before what you want is sold out!

Whenever Glamnation AKA Dennis Chow drops by the office we like to chat it up a bit about classic Goth, Post-Punk and Industrial that we’ve currently listening to and unearthing… and every so often we have a tip for one another on newer bands that we should check out. One day he asked if i had ever heard of a Texas band called //TENSE// which I had not. He told me I needed to check them out and IMed me their myspace page the following day.

What I discovered when I hit play on their myspace player was some of the most pitch perfect Wax Trax era Industrial and EBM outside of the early 90s. At the time of hearing this, NO ONE was making music like this anymore and having grown up a faithful devotee of all things Wax Trax, I was instantly smitten. I contacted the band shortly there after and Bobby and I have been in steady correspondence ever since.

Today marks the debut for the video of their most recent single “Turn It Off” directed by Tommy Boy. This is a total industrial dancefloor anthem if I’ve ever heard one. The track originally debuted as part of the Star Eyes & Dust La Rock’s Ov Curse Mix and if you’re reading the credits in the intro of the video and wondering “Huh?”, yes, it is also something that we’ll be putting out soon on 7″along with a few surprises. But more on that at a later date…

I can’t wait to see these guys tear it up this Thursday. Anyone I know who has seen them or any live reports that I’ve read claim the band to be one of the best live acts you’ll see. Being that Nitzer Ebb even tapped them for support on a recent North American tour, I don’t doubt that these guys will bring the roof down on the 18th.

Jokers of the Scene – Bombs Over Belleville (Click Here to Download)

Those of you heading to our SXSW showcase curious as what to expect from a “dark” Jokers of the Scene set, should look no further than their most current mix for Canadian electronic music blog Curbcrawlers.

Those of you who remember (and hopefully downloaded) their Since Our Last Report Many Things Have Changed mix for Seattle clothing label Actual Pain should know that this is not JOTS’s first foray into the darker side of dance. However for this go around, the duo take things even blacker with a trip to the dark side that marks the end and a new beginning for the people behind the Clubcrawlers blog.

Download Bombs Over Belleville and this is what you can expect this coming 18th of March at our Ov Curse, official SXSW showcase: smoke, mirrors, driving basslines pounding straight for your hearts! This is the darker and deeper side of JOTS’s psyche.

Here’s a new trailer for Treme, the new HBO series from the creators of The Wire. It’s similar to the one released back in January, but features a glimpse of the cast which includes Clarke Peters and Wendell Pierce from The Wire, John Goodman, and Steve Zahn. The show begins next month.

In case this gets pulled from YouTube, you can check out the trailer here. I have to go change my pants.

Happy Birthday – S/T (2010) [Sub Pop] // Grade: B

I think I’ve probably said it before on here, but I love pop punk. It’s one of the few genres you can get a lot out of, just by taking it at face value. After seeing Kyle Thomas’ (Feathers, King Tuff, Witch) new band play a show, on video no less,  Sub Pop quickly signed them to their roster, despite Thomas & Co. having no recorded material as a band. The resulting album is the self-titled Happy Birthday, a good-natured, jubilant power pop record full of shimmering tunes.

Thomas has the perfect nasal, teenage inflection to his voice and throughout Happy Birthday, Ruth Garbus offers swooning backup vocals, making for a great pairing. It’s hard to hate on any album that kicks off with a gem like “Girls FM”, all pop, reverb and sunshine. The album doesn’t go much down from there, mixing elements of power pop from across the past few decades. “Perverted Girl” and “Pink Strawberry Shake” both respectively dip into a nod to the late ’70s.

There’s tons of great juxtapositions happening all over Happy Birthday, but the side-by-side pairing of the Thomas’ sneering punk notes on “Zit” and impressively calm and introspective album closer “Fun” illustrate that Thomas is a guy who knows just how all-encompassing power pop can be, and happily rides the spectrum from one end to the other across Happy Birthday.

I saw this over on Skate and Annoy and as an obsessive collector I just had to share it on here. Looks like Shiner Distribution, one of the oldest skateboarding distributors in the UK is opening up their vaults.

It has been rumored that Shiner has saved one of each and every board that they distributed over the years. Being in business for as long they have I’m sure you can only imagine the wealth of classic decks they’ve had go through their hands.  And as a teaser, this preview trailer gives a pretty impressive idea of what they had/still have in their coffers.

I just caught this on Eddie from AdFunture’s Blog today… A Brand New Bootleg? Didn’t we just release a new one? Hmmm… All we’ll say for the time being is that stay tuned for the first Glow-in-the-Dark Bootleg!

We’re at the end now with our countdown to Ov Curse previews. This final installment focuses on the three DJ talents (4 DJs total) brought in to keep the place dancing and not fall into a melancholic pit from all the darkness that will be engulfing you this Thursday, March 18th! See you there…

—–

First up are Jokers of the Scene who we hope don’t really need an introduction. This Ottawa duo are known for making some of the best remixes for an array of artists ranging from Passion Pit and Kid Cudi, as well as producing some of the biggest dance floor stompers of their own.  Jokers take influence from every aspect of dance music from 8 bit to dark and heavy house beats.

Jokers of the Scene have been down with the bear from the get go, even producing the first volume of our Keep Watch Mixes. We’re thrilled to be teaming back up with them to satisfy your SXSW dance floor needs with a very special all dark and disturbing set that only they could bring!

—–

Next up is the first lady of Bass, Star Eyes who has over 15 years experience in full on dance floor destruction. As a founding member of the world famous Trouble & Bass Crew, Star Eyes has dedicated herself to the art of making you shake your ass. But what everyone may not quite be clued in on just yet is that Star Eyes (like us) has been a devout proponent of Goth and Industrial dance music. She’s no stranger to turning raves over to darker side by incorporating EBM and Industrial sounds into her sets for a minute now. Check her Industrial/EBM banger, 7H3 H4X0R M1X from back in 2008.

In addition to spinning at this year’s showcase, Star Eyes got together with Fools Gold co-founder Dust La Rock in creating an incredible mix of dark jams for which this showcase was named after, Ov Curse. Download the mix, by clicking here.

—–

Finally we have Lauren Dillard who along with Lauren Flax make-up NYC duo CREEP. If you haven’t heard CREEP just yet you are missing out on some of the hottest music coming out of NYC or anywhere for that matter. CREEP slows it down drones it out and pumps the bass way up.

Keep your eyes and ears peeled for more gothed-out goodness from these NYC ladies and some esteemed friends lending vocals to their dark and dancey beats. And if the few tracks leaked here and there are any indication of what’s to come, I am going to have a new favorite record.

Thursday, March 18th, 8pm-2am
Club 1808
Austin, TX
All Ages, Free!

Past Lives – Tapestry of Webs (2010) [Suicide Squeeze] // Grade: A

Being that I was always a casual Blood Brothers fan it took until about the 5th or 6th track to say “Hey wasn’t this guy in another band?!” Tapestry of Webs is the debut full length from Past Lives who are essentially the Blood Brothers minus Johnny Whitney.

Tapestry of Webs incorporates many different sounds from the unmistakable James Chance racket of “Falling Spikes” to the hazy “Deep in the Valley” which (befitting with the bands name) sounds like what déjà vu feels like. Other tracks on the album such as “K Hole” sound a little bit more like what you would expect to hear from well, Blood Brothers. There is a great transition through these different sounds and intensity levels that creates a sort of audio roller coaster ride as each of the disparate parts find common ground and depth between the albums drone and haze filled atmosphere.

For added effect I recommend searching out Past Lives debut EP, Strange Symmetry and segue it into this album. The two bookend nicely with one another as Tapestry of Webs seamlessly expands on its precursors mood and ideas. I’ve had this album on repeat since I was assigned to review it and am eagerly looking forward to much, much more from these guys…hopefully another EP later this year?