These Glycereens shine brightest on their D4 cover

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By The Barman

The Barman

16 January 2021

Hits: 3044

Neon City Lights b/w Get Loose – The Glycereens (Evil Tone)

‘Tis a taster for the forthcoming album from this well-credentialled Brisbane unit with past members of Boondall Boys, Mad Macka and Happy Times. You don’t expect bands to lead with their best track so the assumption is that it's is a flag for what’s to come with the top shelf stuff held in reserve. “Neon City Lights” isn’t bad but drags a tad and doesn’t really go anywhere, and falls short of the poppier songs that dotted the first album, “Hangin’ On”.

There’s major love, however, for the B side “Get Loose”, a cover of a rune from the late New Zealand band The D4, where The Glycereens' brand of fuzzed-out, bubblegum punk really shines. Vocalist Heli Puhakka brings an appealing vocal blend of snot and cool to the party and her and Sol M Robinson’s guitars create a block of buzzing fuzz that’s fit to singe ears. The engine room sounds brutal on this, too. There are still copies on black vinyl here. 

• brisbane
• evil tone records

Take me to the river

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By The Barman

The Barman

15 January 2021

Hits: 3485

Sleight of Hand – River of Snakes (self released)

The fuzz pedal is one of the greatest inventions of the 20^th Century - and Melbourne’s River of Snakes sound like they have shares in it. Let’s hope that canny investment buys the three members a mansion each in the exotic locations of their choice.

The band has been around for a decade. The commercial music world may have moved in a wholly different direction since then, but their sound has stayed firmly rooted in the share-house, college radio universe of the ‘90s…a time when guitars were king and punk - or whatever you wanted to call it - briefly looked like it might drive a stake through the heart of blandness. Of course, that ridiculous but romantic notion was not to be…   

• melbourne
• breeders
• river of snakes
• sonic youth
• magic dirt
• raul sanchez
• midnight woolf
• elissa rose
• pixies

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Loki's compelling journey into atmospherics

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By Robert Brokenmouth

Robert Brokenmouth

15 January 2021

Hits: 3282

The Trap - Velatine (Spooky Records)
Store Atmospherics - Velatine (Spooky Records)

Well, pop tarts, you're all wondering what the fuck to do during lockdown (apart from fucking, fighting, boozing and drugging), so here I am to sprinkle sparkles of hope and joy...

This is my first and probably last music review for 2021. So this will be short, but sweet. 

As I may have reflected, we live in a golden age of music, where the vast majority of what is popular is unbelievably smug and gittish.

Unlike, to take one label by way of example, Spooky Records (sometime home of such mainstays as The Beasts of Bourbon, 6 Ft Hick, Sun God Replica, Shifting Sands, The Braves, Spencer P. Jones, Brian Henry Hooper, Lost Talk, Harry Howard and the NDE, and a host more), whose releases are exciting, curious, intriguing and often downright addictive.

• spooky records
• velatine
• store atmospherics
• the trap

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The Number of the Surf Beat

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By The Barman

The Barman

14 January 2021

Hits: 4326

Swamped – The Quick Sixes (Outtaspace)

There’s an awkward charm to the sound of The Quick Sixes that’s hard to resist. Equal parts twang, space retro blues and garage shimmy, this Geelong quartet is a cross between Brisbane’s late, lamented Hewkawis, The Modern Lovers and Shutdown66 (but with better manners.)

The Gee-troit Sound is long gone but if you think of The Quick Sixes as Barwon Heads Beat you can’t go wrong. It's surf music for the loveless and landlocked. It'll occasionally make you cry into your beer. It's sometime a little loose around the edges, but it's a load of fun. Variety is a by-word, too.

• garage
• outtaspace
• surf
• the quick sixes
• swamped

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Drunk and Disorderly Podcast Episode 39 - Red and The Black Edition

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By The Barman

The Barman

05 January 2021

Hits: 3858

The Celebrity Roadie, Peter Ross, joins The Barman for a special Red and The Black edition of Drunk and Disorderly. Playlist after the fold.

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Episode 38 of Drunk and Disorderly is live

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By The Barman

The Barman

23 December 2020

Hits: 3242

Featuring tracks from Molting Vultures, Datura4, The Stooges, The Dry Retch, Peter Black, Mick Medew,  Johnny Casino, Smalltown Tigers, The Bot Bots, David Johansen, Paul Collins’ Beat and Sunnyboys. 

• podcast
• drunk and disorderly

The Monaros proudly let their skid marks show

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By Ron Brown

Ron Brown

22 December 2020

Hits: 4258

Bogan Rd – The Monaros (self-released)

Hello I-94 Barflies. The Monaros’ “Bogan Rd” is the latest release from Warnambool’s hardest working band. Shit, this must be their seventh or eighth long-player and it’s chock-a-block full of humour and wit.

Just listen to “Parma”. It’s a classic tune about, well, a Chicken Parmigiana. “Ring A Root’,”Kick It Long” and “Dunlop Volleys” are all so bloody Australian. This is a CD to get drunk to, stoned to and maybe not get fucked to – although the track  “King Brown” is kind of sexy.

• cosmic psychos
• psychotic turnbuckles
• grindhouse
• bogan rd
• bogan road
• the monaros

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From Japan with love

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By Robert Brokenmouth

Robert Brokenmouth

22 December 2020

Hits: 3243

Rock'n'Roll Undead – Mad3 (Rock'n'Roll Kingdom)
Upon the Dentigire - 2yago: (Zygeltigit)]

These albums by Japanese bands Mad3 and 2yago were pressed into my hands by one, Paul Slater, who runs the 3D Radio show ”'It's Always Rock'n'Roll” out of Adelaide on Monday nights (and whose adverts occasionally send him to Facebook Jail.) Paul is one of those music nutters who often knows the people who make the music, and has travelled overseas (France, Japan, UK) just for the bands (rather than the touristy T-shirts, towels and gastro).

Mad3 is built around guitar hero Eddie Legend (I-94 Bar readers will know him from the 5.6.7.8s) and are simply incredible. They're one big, bad, really sharp and clever rock'n'roll rollercoaster road trip - you're dragged kicking and squealing into a comic-character world of underground surfer/phantom/doom guitar noir. Play very fucking loud. Eddie has an incredible guitar sound.

• radio 3D
• japanese
• 2yago
• paul slater
• it's always rock 'n' roll
• mad3
• Rock'n'Roll Undead
• Upon the Dentigire

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COVID-truncated trip births new Johnny Casino 45

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By The Barman

The Barman

21 December 2020

Hits: 3431

It's said great songwriters know to write about the things they know about. Johnny Casino has a new 45 imminent and it reflects the strange times in which we all live.

“Twenty Twenty” was written and recorded in the early days of COVID-19 as the expatriate Australian was stuck in Philadelphia, trying to work out a way to get back to his adopted home of Spain. The flip, “People Say”, is a Bored! cover recorded in Spain in stripped-back style as a tribute to that band’s late frontman Dave Thomas, who passed away in 2020.

The vinyl single is out on Spanish imprint Folc Records on January 15 and available for pre-order here.

“’Twenty Twenty’ explains how i was feeling during the months of March and April 2020,” Johnny says. “I had just touched down into Philadelphia International Airport and my brother-in-rock Billy was waiting to pick me up, and his first words were: ‘Brrother I´m surprised they let you in.¨

“I had no idea what he was talking about!”

Casino explains: “Me and my wonderful wife Mayra live in a smallish seaside town called Denia in Spain and we knew there was ¨something¨ happening but not exactly what! We ain’t much for watching news or current affairs programs.

• johnny casino
• bored!
• folc records
• people say
• twenty-twenty

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