Post Thanksgiving 7" Turkey Shoot!

Disaster Amnesiac is very grateful to be employed at a place where I get not only Thanksgiving Day off, but the  next day as well. I figured the down time would be a great opportunity in which to dig into a few 7" record purchases of the last five years or so. These seven discs were chosen pretty much at random, but it would be a bit of a fib if I said I haven't wanted to describe and enthuse about all of them at some point.  Alright, grab a slice of pie or some left over grub from yesterday and enjoy!

A.H. Kraken-Gianna Michaels/Je Suis Ton Marecage; Sweet Rot Records
It seems like the brilliant Metz Punk Rock scene of the mid to late 2000's has tapered off production a bit, but Disaster Amnesiac still very much enjoys the raw and rippin' sounds from groups like the Anals, Plastobeton, and the mighty A.H. Kraken.  Here we get two trebly tom tom pounders from these Alsatian kings, skull pounding repetitive riffs with slightly cooler and less angst-ey vocals than on the LP. Sort of like a tighter version of Mars's early No Wave crush.

2X4-Six Drum Solos; no label listed
This one's always been a head scratcher to me. I ordered it from Chi's venerable Dusty Groove Records, but can't recall what exactly sold me on it. If you like the sound of relatively simple beats played on a rather beat up old drum kit, you'll find sounds to enjoy here. Disaster Amnesiac wonders if this one is intended mostly for DJ's to use. There is scant info listed on the equally primitive cover here. The world's full of mysteries, and 2X4 counts as one of 'em.

The Normal-TV O.D./Warm Leatherette; Mute Records
Of course, this is thee Post-Punk jam. It's so nice to hear the crisp, computerized percussion of this one, paired with the dour lyrical delivery and swirling, whirling synths. Disaster Amnesiac has somewhat embarrassing personal memories of doing the Spooky Dance to these tunes as a Goth-like adolescent creature at some dorky club in Mannheim, but I'll spare you the details of that and just say that this 7" is an English musical high point for sure.

Jack Brewer & Kava-Major Punk Statement; Carducci.2 Records
I was stoked to be able to find this early 1990's Underground gem on eBay for a relatively cheap price a few years back, being a fan of all things from all principles herein. Wilmington Poet Laureate Brewer gets all confrontational with some Chicago cue ball and brilliantly titles a track We're All Created By the Same God or Martian, while Kava gives Art Punk a good name with whirling energetic rhythms and crazy guitar skronk. Quoting Sonic Youth seems a bit beneath Jack's spieling skills, but he quickly ramps things up to his high levels of Word on the title track.

The Blue Humans featuring Rudolph Grey-To Higher Time; New Alliance Records
Speaking of Skronk, here's Rudolph Grey, Alan Licht, and Tom Surgal paying tribute to Beaver Harris and Charles Tyler. Surgal's rolling Free Jazz drumming pushes Licht's and Grey's guitars to ridiculous levels of six string madness, the whole eleven minute affair making music interact with the listener in the same way that a tornado interacts with a prairie. Massive slabs of fired, energetic sound, on delicious blue vinyl.

Minutemen/Saccharine Trust split; Water Under the Bridge Records
Greg Ginn gets thanked on the  liner note of the Minutemen side, and Disaster Amnesiac must wonder if that will be the case of subsequent reissues of this one, in light of the past summer's internecine war of the South Bay. The music included here features the cream of early 1980's comps, with D. Boon and his pals showing up with some pop culture philosophizin' on 9:30 May 2 and two tightly Wired bass-ey instrumental blasts to follow. Marc Bolan's Prelude sounds like they may have been drinking Pabst with the Plugz before they went into the studio to lay these tracks down. Saccharine Trust's side features their early, arty Punk grit, pushed energetically by Rich Wilder's awesome drumming on two tracks and free form piano jangles from Spot on a third. Baiza's in the house of course, what with his cutting SG tones and great art. Pettibon? Check.

Rara Percussion & Horn Ensemble-House of the Rising Sun/Love Song for the Widow Paris; Self released
This Atlanta based band got deep into the New Orleans vibe with this one, covering the Animals whiskey raw and horny (in need and in instrumentation), a bit more gritty than the original, while dancing a funky second line strut on the flipside, grooving all clickety clack for Marie Laveu, the horns harmonizing greatly and in lock step. Passionate red is the color of this wax.

That'll do it for this installment of the Disaster Amnesiac Chronicles. Can I also say that I'm thankful for every view over the past five years? I will, and I am. Until next time, have a great weekend!