Teengenerate, “Get Action!” (Crypt, 1995)
Their usual greatness, treble-blaring garage-punk with an emphasis on the “punk”; barely-controlled guitar blasts powered by barreling drums and a singer who sounds like he’s just had major dental surgery and the anesthetic is wearing off.
Try 1, 2, 3, 7, 17
4/30/12
Teengenerate, “Smash Hits” (Estrus, 1995; original release 1993-5)
Explosive garage=punk from Japan. Almost unique in its combination of extreme treble blare and an absolutely ass-flattening gut-level punch. At times they sound like they’re about to kick right through the song structures, but they’re still super-tight. Try A/2, A/4, A/6, especially B/1.
4/11/11
Telephone, “Crache Ton Venin” (EMI France, 1979)
French group that appeared at the start of the new wave playing fast, hard-edged pub-style rock and roll. This has a somewhat Blondie-like new wave sheen, but it’s still in the same gritty street-level stuff, with a distinctively Gallic nasty-romantic flourish.
Try 1/ 1, 1/ 3, 2/ 3
11/10/16
Television, “Marquee Moon” (Elektr 1977)
Debut set from o. g. CBGB’s marathon men. The more undifferentiated garage/Velvets attack revealed by live recordings is here distilled into tersely elliptical sculpted guitar argpeggios that interlock, then spiral open into skyscraping ecstasy.
Try 1/ 1, 1/ 4
7/6/18
Temple City Kazoo Orchestra, “Some Kazoos” (Rhino, 1978).
You read it right: this has four well-known tunes as played by a room full of dudes with kazoos; the resulting baleful cacophony recalls early Sonic Youth being attacked by a swarm of killer bees. Try 1/1, 2/2.
11/12/12
The Band, “Music From Big Pink” (Capitol, 1968)
Debut of the proto-roots-rock giants, definitely the rawest, weirdest record they ever made. Rhythms buckle under you like the floor of a decrepit cabin, melodies float off in the opposite direction from what you expected, guitars and organs build to a warm but funereal hum like the murmur of hidden old ghosts.
Try 1/1, 3/2, 3/3
4/7/19
To Damascus, “Succumb” (Ringent, 1986)
Sylvia Juncosa would go on to far greater heights, but this first effort is alive with a wildly inventive, let’s-try-everything-at-once spirit. Nearly every strand of mid-‘80s L.A. underground rock is in evidence, from neo-psychedelia to hardcore to SST-ish prog-noise metalisms, sometimes all on the same track.
Try 1/3, 2/1, 2/6
10/23/11
To Damascus, “Come To Your Senses” (Ringent/Restless, 1987)
Titanic, oceanic post-hardcore guitar-psych from an L.A. six-string goddess who’d already played with greats from bands like Black Flag and Dream Syndicate. The way she can alternately stretch or compress time and space is truly breath-taking. This music is meant to be a triumph of the human spirit over the machine of civilization, and it is.
Start with A/1, A/2
4/11/11
The Time, “Ice Cream Castle” (Warner Bros., 1984)
Prince protegés doing new-wave-inflected funk, but with an added suave/sleaze aura, like Rick James if he’d assimilated New Romanticism.
A/1 I best, pleasantly paisley-hazy, but B/1 is also a stand-out.
Tim Presley’s White Fence, “I Have To Feed Larry’s Hawk” (Drag City, 2019)
I find this very talented guy’s work sort of hard to keep track of, but when he pulls off a great one, it’s worth the wait, and that’s what we’ve got here. First disc is haunted/melodic psych-pop-rock tunes with extra guitar grit, à la Roky Erickson, and they represent a pinnacle of accomplishment for Tim P. in this vein, dazzling miniature kaleidoscope worlds that fit perfectly in your hand. Second disc is sporadic minimal organ instrumentals, like Presley woke up one morning and decided to make a Terry Riley tribute piece while drinking his first cup of coffee, and darned if it doesn’t work, evoking a very nice casual-yet-exploratory feel.
Try 1/1, 1/5, 3/1
4/7/19