And the hits keep coming! Here's Chixdiggit's third album - more of the bratty pop punk we've all come to love from them. We should probably make some sort of comment about how topical the track "Spanish Fever" is right now...
Anyways, being from the early 2000's, this CD takes advantage of the technology available at the time, and includes an interactive thingy. We put this in our computer, and were reminded that they included this very Heavy Metal Parking Lot clip:
And, since we don't want to get into too much trouble, this is something we'll point you to the Chixdiggit Spotify for listening.
Here's a two-fer post for your Sunday (we'll get to the reason why later - we SWEAR it's not just b/c we're lazy). Pat of why this is following on yesterday's Lorrie Matheson-related post is that Zuckerbaby frontman Andy Eichhorn had been busy working on a solo album before all this COVID kookiness.
Anyways, what's there to say about Zuckerbaby that we haven't said before (and that isn't mean-spirited bullshit)? Platinum Again is a solid set of powerpop, anchored by the extra-solid "Overexposure":
Oh, and that Overexposure CD single we picked up from Recordland years ago? Turns out it's actually the full Platinum Again CD, just with different disc art. Weird.
Anyways, since we don't want to get shut down by whatever is left of the Universal Music Group., you can go give this a listen on Zuckerbaby's Spotify.
We're going to start into our stack of twenty year-old CDs with this one, a favourite of ours from Lorrie Matheson. This second National Dust CD saw Tim Leacock stepping into lead guitar duties, which seemed to cement the band's alt country sound. Plus, Matheson's songwriting on this one is pretty tight - the first three tracks on here are a 1-2-3 punch of hooks and wordplay that's not too overdone.
We've been a big fan of Tom Phillips' work over the years, especially what he's been doing with his current band, the DTs. This CD is, like all of Phillips' work, solid - with literate songs that rise above country and western cliché. But it's the majestic "Ribbons and Bows," tucked away like an afterthought towards the disc's end that's the show-stealer. We included that beauty in the Calgary Songs Project for a reason.
Out of respect for the working musician, we're not posting a link to the download. Go buy one of his newer records, you'll be doing yourself a favour as much as him.
We're about to head into a big mass of CD posts from 20 years ago, but first we have a few others to catch up on. Like this one, which we found in the basement of Melodiya Records, new as the day it was made - in shrink wrap, even!
We were about to completely discount Groove Yard on the basis of their name, until Gene pointed out that drummer Bruce Livingstone was also half of the Bittermen. So, we gave it a listen, and it's not at all what we expected - no funk metal here, this is 90's alternative with a foot firmly planted in power pop. Which probably makes sense, since two members also played with Bobby McAllister.
Here's a question we never thought we would ask: have you ever thought to yourself, "man, I LOVE Bog Bodies, but I wish I could get a tape with JUST the weird audio bits between songs (and full colour weirdo artwork)!" Well, if you have, please seek help and/or continue to read this post!
We found these kind of by accident when cruising bandcamp last Friday, trying to buy as many tapes as we could (which sadly wasn't as many as we would have liked) to support independent local musicians in this weird time. We're pretty sure this is the work of half of Bog Bodies, Ivo Musa, and we're certain that it's strange. This is somewhat disturbing audio collage - maybe we're too early into our self-isolation to fully enjoy this. We'll save the handy instructions that came with these tapes for when we are:
Do the last few posts have you scratching your head and wondering what the heck happened at the CCPS, and where all the usual punk tapes went? Well, don't you fret! We're back on track!
Okay, so Motorists are technically a Toronto band, but we're hoping all members of this trio (SIDS alumni Craig Fahner and Jesse Locke, along with Mount Analogue alumni Matt Learoyd and Jesse Locke) move back to Calgary some day. Motorists picks up kind of where Feel Alright left off - ultra grippy power pop hooks, sugary sweet vocal harmonies, and good times aplenty.
Here's another tape that's found its way into our hands via Jack Sinclaire/Bug Incision. Sinclaire tells us this is a super limited re-release of two previously super limited releases. This is a mixture of subtle ambient drones and pulses, powered by random electronics (maybe?) and tape loops (we think?).
Given how limited Sinclaire says this is, we're not sure where to point you, other than the bandcamp for his prior project, Dirges.
We were very, very sad to hear that this year's Moments Fest has been cancelled. It was finally looking like we'd get out to Siksika to check it out, but... dammit.
At least we have this pair of tapes from Iron Tusk (featuring Moments Fest organizer Carlin Black Rabbit) to fill that void. Why are we posting two tapes at once? Well, it turns out the second is all the songs on the first plus one. A cunning strategy; considering we bought these two tapes along with a copy of the 7" version of the first tape, we effectively bought the same recording three times in different formats. What a bunch of nerds we are.
Anyways, these tapes are three or four songs of doomy metal and hard rock. We like how there's a ragged, almost frantic feeling to some of these songs - almost like the band is being chased by something and just barely keeping ahead.
These are weird times right now, BUT the benefit of social distancing is that we're finally able to get caught up on a stack of things we've been meaning to post. We'll start with this tape that road warriors the River Jacks released last year. You're probably familiar with the River Jacks' brand of punk, blending what we like to call "Knucklehead punk" with, well, accordion. Oh, and look, this live tape includes a Knucklehead cover! Along with a pair of Beastie Boys tunes. Wear your influences on your sleeve and be proud of them, we say.
We're not sure where to direct you for this tape. We got it from the band at one of their usually ubiquitous shows, but it's not on their bandcamp (yet).
