MILK N' HERPES RECORDS available releases

2009-10-22T09:05:00.000-07:00

WHEELS ON FIRE 7" single 'dead of night/surrender road' / 400 pressed

U.S. customers only. message milknherpes at live . com for INTL orders

BARE WIRES 7" single 'let down/looking for some action'/ 500 pressed

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"Remember that Bare Wires SSLD 7"? I think me and Rob Vertigo were the only two people who liked it. I sort of forgot about the band as Snakeflower 2 seemed to become Matt Melton's main musical vehicle, but the second Bare Wires 7" has now arrived, and it's now making me forget about that Snakeflower LP. Possessed of the same sort of beautifully sleazy Seventies Stones-y, semi-poppy flavor that the Snakeflower 7" on TTT had, both tunes are immediately accessible, sounding somewhat familiar and comfortable but still maintaining an original/modern vibe. Looks like the chick from Time Flys is in the band now too, so maybe that helps. "Let Down" earns the A-Side nomination with rocksolid drum drive (heavy on the hi-hat, I like it), understated and catchy vocals and rhythm guitar/bass that gets blasted to the background during the piercing guitar lead excursions. Super fucking hooky while we're at it. "Looking For Some Action" on the flip is simple pop one-two with a dreamy refrain and a nice guitar/shakers workout at the end. I enjoy this guy's aesthetic, or least I think what he's doing in referencing late-Sixties/early-Seventies rock without pulling out the weird-psych acid shit or proto-punk heaviness, it's more of a mellow jean vest, joint-and-a-beer barrelling down the interstate in a Dodge Charger straight rock'n'roll thing. Looking forward to more, medium-fi recording sounds great. This is also the best looking Milk'n'Herpes record yet and I'm enjoying the "new" logo and label design. Get a couple of these." (RK) terminal boredom

the PEOPLE'S TEMPLE s/t debut 7" ep / 350 pressed
U.S. customers only. message milknherpes at live . com for INTL orders

"Debut release from Lansing, MI garage-punkers. They riff on the art from the Head Shop LP for the sleeve. That's a pretty good record. This one ain't too bad either, at least for a band trying to get a few more miles out of Jim Jones imagery. "Outta My Hands" is ripped from the Electric Prunes echo-psych playbook, "The Way It Is" is a simple enough "I'm-a-bad-dude" tough jam, with guitar distortion bleeding all over, probably pulling influence equally from the Electric Eels and Sixties biker-rock. B-Side offers up a reverbed out Back From The Graver and a toss-off droner. Three decent cuts outta four, thin sounding (in a good way) shit-fi recording with the guitar turned up and screaming all the way. Not bad for modern garage done pretty traditionally."(RK)
terminal boredom

FONTANA 7" single 'not a leg to stand on/miss calhoun'/ 300 pressed

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"Fontana = the sleeper band of the next wave of Detroit punk. They might not get as many fest invites or namedrops as your Human Eyes, Druid Perfumes, or Terrible Twos, but they've gone and released a couple choice records without as much fanfare as their scene compatriots. I guess Terrible Twos might be their closest relative sound-wise (with a dash of first LP Cloney D's too), as they incorporate a similar choppy-punk approach, but do so with a bit more gruff muscle, less overtly weird bits and no synth. This record reminds me a little of a younger and punker Vee Dee in passages, with its blaring guitar assault out front and interplay with some understatedly deft bass playing hiding in back, and the somewhat psych-y digressions on "Not A Leg...", but they accent it with faster punk chops on the verses. Really interesting song construction, slightly complex but never frilly and when they go off on a tangent they always bring it back to the raw punk. Great rust belt rock with plenty of moxie. "Miss Calhoun" is a punk jammer all the way but with a bit of a wistful nostalgia about it and an evocative guitar solo to make it more than just a fast-loud excursion. Honest and creative rock invested with some emotion that hits you not just with the brute force of the punk hammer but hooks you with some gutsy songwriting too. The more I listen the more I'm impressed with the craftsmanship of these tunes. A lot of bands sound like they're just churning shit out assembly line style (riff + "weird" part and/or recycled hook + afterthought lyrics = hey, we just wrote the A-Side of our fourth 7" in six months!), but these guys have taken the time to create something more than just the run-of-the-mill. I'll take more songs like this from Fontana and less cookie-cutter weird punk all day. A+ recording job from Brooks Hitt as well." (RK) terminal boredom

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DEAD GHOSTS debut 7" single 'what to do/god only knows' 2nd press
Dead Ghosts inhabit the mid-ground betwixt Demon's Claws more country-rock stuff and maybe the Black Lips' more haunted BFTG moments. "What To Do" is a stunningly catchy and upbeat number, with some sweet guitar pluck-and-jangle and a great little (almost)harmonized doo-woppy chorus that rolls along nicely. "God Only Knows" is darker and slower, a little more country-sounding, with some minimal backbeat from just a couple of sticks. Really enjoyable, mellow but not wimpy and just low-fi enough. I'm sure these guys (and others like Jacuzzi Boys, Estrogen Highs, Spread Eagles, even Demon's Claws perhaps) aren't trying to flat-out emulate the Black Lips (and they don't directly sound as if they are either), but I enjoy that bands are maybe using what the Lips have done over the past few years as a starting point or indirect influence to take those sounds (or just the same spirit)even further out. Maybe I'm reaching here, but I like that a great band can still influence and shape the musical landscape somewhat and inspire other groups that aren't direct imitators but are still cut of the same cloth. Anyway, Black Lips ripple-theorizing aside, this review is supposed to be about this Dead Ghosts' record, which I recommend purchasing on its own merits. (RK) terminal boredom

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MILK N' HERPES RECORDS available releases