Death Crossed The Street – Reverend Beat-Man & Milan Slick (Voodoo Rhythm)

In a world content with the cute and besotted with the bland, Reverend Beat-Man is the ultimate trashman. Whether he’s in one-man band guise or fronting the four-headed fuzz-fest that is The Monsters, this intense Swiss eccentric has been touring the garages and licensed shitholes of this world since 1992 peddling primal rock and roll, both live and via his own Voodoo Rhythm label.

The label’s slogan is “Records to ruin any party” and it’s home to some of the most esoteric, trashy and weird music that rock and roll’s hatched. “Death Crossed The Street” is no exception.

This time out, it’s Beat-Man on vocals, guitar and drums and a younger collaborator, Milan Slick, on vocals, guitar and keys. Of course, they met while soundtracking a vampire film. What else do you do in Switzerland during a pandemic?  

Trauma Magnet – Van Ruin (Crankinhaus Records)

It has been an explosive 12 months for Van Ruin, a band formed in Sydney only a year ago that almost immediately began recording their first mini album. Band leader Phil Van Rooyen had a batch of deeply personal songs he had written about his years of counselling substance abuse in the underbelly of the city's Northern Beaches.

Phil threw himself into a flurry of  writing and recording, working with his decades-long mate and Al Creed, of local legendary bands like Dr Fruitworld and Panadolls, as well as the New Christs.

Enter Stuart Wilson (Lime Spiders, New Christs, Chris Masuak’s Dog Soldier and The Crisps) on drums. There were a couple of the raggedy, under-rehearsed gigs that were hanging by a thread at times, and as thrilling as they were they did not capture the brutal darkness and brilliance of what would the debut EP,  “Jails, Death and Institutions”.

Calling From Nowhere Land: Live in Vancouver 1994 – Pillbox (Vicious Kitten)

Pillbox wasn’t a household name in the 1990s – unless you lived in what was left of New York City’s Lower East Side tenements and had a big jones for swaggering sleaze rock.

The band’s solitary long-player, “Jimbo’s Clown Room”, came out on CD way back in ’93 and despite being re-released on vinyl, their output remains so far from the mainstream of modern popular music to qualify Pillbox for lifetime outsider status. Just like you.

Badlanding – East Coast Low (Crankinhaus Records)

It’s been a decade since they formed and four years since East Coast Low hit their straps on the “Seas on Fire” album, and “Badlanding” shows a band that’s even more self-assured and in control. 

Is it coincidence that some of the best Australian albums of the last few years have come from satellite cities of Sydney? “Badlanding” proves that East Coast Low are as good as anything to have emerged from the grit-flecked city of Newcastle in the last 30 years.

“Badlanding” rocks hard but has an unmistakable swagger. With Rob Younger at the production helm, its varied collection of songs sounds powerful and coherent and there’s an array of sonic exclamation points apparent. Rick O’Neill’s mastering widens the soundscape nicely with no loss of edge.

Shout It On The Mountain – Neverland Ranch Davidians (Heavy Medication Records)

Any band with a name that fucks with the memories of cult leaders Michael Jackson and David Koresh in equal measures has to have something going for it. Snappy nomenclature is one thing, but this Los Angeles outfit also has substance to back it up.

Neverland Ranch Davidians trade in scuzzy punk rock intertwined with funk and greasy R ‘n’ B. “Shout It On The Mountain” is their second long-player and it’s on Polish label Heavy Medication, a refuge for acts like The Primevals, Streetwalkin' Cheetahs, The Meatbeaters and Pat Todd.

Keep Moving – Xani (Live At Fight Night Records)  

It’s been a month since I saw Xani at The Recital Hall in Sydney, in support of John Cale. Those in attendance that I’ve spoken to were blown away by the lone figure on stage with her Irish jig footwork and extraordinary violin playing.

That night Xani produced a vast array of sounds from that tiny instrument. Of course, in a studio with multi-track recording, an artist doesn’t need the same level of complexity, timing and, in Xani’s case, looping. I suspect the songs in a studio setting came first and looping is a means of reproducing a wild tapestry of sounds when playing live.