Mouthbreathers Anxiety B/W The Creeper In the Red 2010

Mouthbreathers Anxiety B/W The Creeper In the Red 2010 CAT #ITR215

Previously, I discussed this Lawrence, Kansas' 7" record that was put out on Replay Records (here). I dug that record a lot, but seeing how I was discussing multiple releases all at once, kind of glossed over the band. However, when I saw this 7" on the cheap, I snagged it and have been sitting on it for year.

Had I known how this record came to be, I would've wrote about much earlier. The story is told in all it's glory here. But, to summarize, the band's demo CD was provided to a member In the Red band, Reigning Sound. In the Red has been putting out tons of noise for years and are kind of a big deal out in L.A.. They have a huge catalog and have released numerous Ty Segall records and that dude is all the rage every 3 months when he puts out 12 new songs. The CD they provided was just a blank CD with a picture of a dick on it (yeah, a penis). Eventually, the CD was lost, but, Kelly of the Love Garden was called by the former owner asking for another copy. CD was supplied and it eventually made it's way to In the Red label founder, Larry Hardy, who agreed to put out this single.

It's a solid 7", I brought up Ty Segall previously because like him, the Mouthbreathers are channeling a late-60's garage rock vibe. Mouthbreathers modernize the sound and make it their own, it's refreshing whereas most bands labeled garage punk (Ty Segall included) sound more revival to me.

Anxiety

Cowboy Indian Bear/It's True Foolish B/W The Bridge The Record Machine 2010

Cowboy Indian Bear/It's True Foolish B/W The Bridge The Record Machine 2010 CAT# TRM 019

I used to have all these really great split 7"s back in the day. Loved them. It was such an economical way to get something from a band you liked and possibly get into a band you've never heard. Or, you'd get a couple songs from two of your favorite bands on the same 7". They were special, many times it'd be the only way to grab a certain song, or you'd get a preview of an album track prior the full length release (and it would often be an alternate version).

It's not the same anymore for the split 7" EP. With the vinyl resurgence, they still try to push these out in front of everyone, but too often a 7" isn't cheap. $7 to $10 for two songs you can download on Bandcamp for a $1 doesn't make a whole lot of sense. It made sense when you got something special for less than $5, but anymore, 7"s cost too much. Which is a shame, because more people would probably end up with good ones like this if they weren't such a cost prohibitive format.

Either way, this is a great 7" put out by the Record Machine, The Cowboy Indian Bear track, "Foolish" doesn't feature female vocals like many of their songs, but makes up for it with an opening that could be confused for something by the Sea & Cake. It's True is a band from Omaha, NE, their track fits right in with the whimsical Record Machine sound, but unfortunatly, it doesn't appear the band is active any longer and didn't put out much in the way of releases.

Get Up Kids Simple Science SimplePsyence Recordings/CR Japan 2010

Get Up Kids Simple Science SimplePsyence Recordings/CR Japan 2010 CAT #

Because I was late on the Get Up Kids reunion, I had to beg for one of these and this is a Japanese press that was limited to 500, my copy came on green vinyl.  Very glad I did swallow my pride and beg for it, though.  As stated previously, the 4 songs here are the reason I gave the full length There Are Rules another chance.

The four tunes are solid.  Despite that the looped spoken word William Burroughs intro makes me want to puke every time I hear it, "Your Petty Pretty Things" is a solid tune.  Feels dark and hurtful, like the guys were sick of their image (they probably were).  "Keith Case" was previously talked about as it appears on the There Are Rules album.  The flip side is "Tommy Gentle" and "How You're Bound".  They're both solid pop tunes.  I'm willing to call "Tommy Gentle" vintage Get Up Kids even, similar feel to the tunes found on Something to Write Home About.  "How You're Bound" is sparse, feels like it'll break and it almost does when they drop a chunky moog riff on top of programmed beats and atmospheric sounds.

As a whole, the release is a little schizophrenic, but it shows the band were still great songwriters.  I'm glad I started spinning it as a quick fix, because it led me to a solid album in There Are Rules.

How You're Bound
Acoustic Your Petty Pretty Things

Canyons, Tigon, Foreign Theaters Split Can't Have Nothin' Nice The Ghost Is Clear Records/Mayfly Records/Melotov Records

Canyons, Tigon, Foreign Theaters Split Can't Have Nothin' Nice The Ghost Is Clear Records/Mayfly Records/Melotov Records 2010 NO CAT#

Cool story, well to me anyway, about the local label that helped put this out.  For a while I had two copies of The Get Up Kids/Coalesce split 7", no big deal, but I had an extra.  I first attempted to dump one off on InstaGram for charity, no one bid or offered any money for it.  Then, I tried to sell a copy for profit on eBay.  One person bid who was from Kansas City for the bargain basement price of $1.99.  The person paid and when I went to package up, I looked at the address and saw this buyer was from Kansas City.  Being a nice guy, I quickly messaged the person and said, "Dude, if you're from Kansas City and just want to pick this up, you can have it.  Free."  The buyer emailed back and she said, "I'm not a dude, but thanks, I will pick it up."  Things went from eBay to Craigslist and we met near my place of employment.  It was a brief exchange, she was accompanied by her boyfriend (got to be safe when meeting strange record people, good move on her part) and the record and pleasantries were exchanged.  I asked about their interest in local music and if they were wanting the 7" more for Coalesce or the Get Up Kids, they said both and were just into local music.  I was like, "Sweet, my kind of people."  Which, they were probably looking me at me like, "No, you're fucking square."  But, whatever, I was in my work clothes and am kind of square, it would have been justified.  Anyway, the boyfriend introduced himself and told me about his label.  At that point I was thinking since I gave them a free 7" he'd reciprocate, he didn't.  But, he handed me a sticker for this label and told me to check it out.

It's a cool label, centered mostly around metal and it releases locals along with bands from all over the US.  The coolest thing they've done is reissue the Puig Destroyer 7".  Which, if you are not familiar with, is a reference to the Los Angeles Dodger, Yaisel Puig.  People think it's hot shit because it was released by baseball journalists who are also metal enthusiasts, admittedly, it is pretty hardcore.

This is the first thing I've picked up by the label, it was cheap and I've been enjoying abrasive hardcore metal lately.  Canyons are a Kansas City band and the reason I was drawn to it (that, and it's cheap).  They play brutal metal, not far off from Coalesce.  Dissonant and abrasive, guttural vocals, odd time signatures...it makes me want to punch kittens.  The songs are short, which is about right for this brand of metal, I don't need 5 minutes of constant shifts, they keep it focused on all four of their tracks.  Tigon is a California band, they on the other hand do take some time to complete a song.  They aren't as straight ahead as Canyons, a bit more noisecore, so it works for them.  Foreign Theaters is from Marshall, MO, which is too far away from KC to be considered local to me.  They are in interesting band, but checking out info online, doesn't seem they are still active.  Foreign Theaters is the least "metal" of the 3 bands on the LP, kind of sludge rock, like a heavy metal version of 90's grunge.

Canyons Have It Lavish
The Ghost is Clear-Buy Local

Mates of State Crushes The Covers Mixtape Polyvinyl 2010

Mates of State Crushes The Covers Mixtape Polyvinyl 2010 CAT#PRC-9140

I don't know the history behind the release, if this came out as a tape first or whatever, but it's a compilation of covers Mates of State put together.  There are cover tunes by Fleetwood Mac, Nick Cave, Tom Waits and a host of others.  This particular version was a limited edition Record Store Day clear vinyl pressing.

The whole premise and selection of covers is undeniably cute.  The husband and wife team obviously picked tunes important to them and recorded them at their home studio with the exception of drum tracks laid down in a studio.

Due to the group's consistent boy/girl vocal approach, they are able to place their own stamp on virtually every song.  This is especially true of "Son Et Lumier" by Mars Volta which was shortened considerably, but it's almost unrecognizable.  Even a classic like "Second Hand News" by Fleetwood Mac is true to the original, but got a lot of the Mates' personality stuck to it.  They also turned Tom Waits' "Long Way Home" into indie-Stadium Rock, it's freaking huge.  My favorite track though is the Vashti Bunyan song, "17 Pink Sugar Elephants", in which the group got their daughter to sing on the track...so, undeniably cute.

17 Pink Sugar Elephants
Lawrence.com Bio with video discussing the Lawrence roots of Kori Gardner

The Get Up Kids There Are Rules Quality Hill Records 2010

The Get Up Kids There Are Rules Quality Hill Records 2010 CAT# QUAL - 003

Yeah, outside of the first 7" this band put out, this is the only thing I've ever paid for by the Get Up Kids.  Not that it matters, I just wish I had bought more because members weren't always around to give me free shit back in the day and I have some holes I'd still like to fill.

Truthfully, I bought this album, listened to it once, and shelved it.  Threw it aside as the band attempting to be something they weren't.  I listened to to the album, waiting for Jimmy Suptic to do a pick slide and Matt Pryor to yelp about a girl and it never happened.  It's filled with a lot of electronic accompaniment and finds the band going to the early DC scene that was the epitome of cool when they first started.  It felt like they were trying to be angry which doesn't suit the band.

Then, as something to throw on for a quick fix I started spinning the 10" that came out previous to this LP, Simple Science.  And, while I still scoff at the use of a William Burroughs sample every time I play it, I've started to enjoy the four tracks it offers up.  So, next logical step, give There Are Rules another try.

After giving it another try, it's pretty fucking good.  It doesn't sound like the Get Up Kids, though.  But, had another band produced something similar to this, it would have been met with rave reviews.  Instead, it gave another reason for Pitchfork to call Kansas City boring and blast the Kids at least one more time.  But, hey, There Are Rules review does say the hatred the band got within the indie-community was a bit over the top.  Which might be a failed attempt to apologize because anyone can  read the previous Pitchfork reviews and realize Pitchfork was the the ring leader and trendsetter for Get Up Kids bashing.

Moving along, there are some great ideas here and an amazing Side 1.  Again, I stress it sounds nothing like the Get Up Kids, but it's good.  To go in order, "Tithe" and "Regen't Court" go back to the Fuguazi/DC sound the band discovered in high school.  "Shatter Your Lungs" is a brilliant little post-modern pop song.  "Automatic" and "Pararelevant" are high energy.  "Rally Round the Fool" is probably the weakest of side 1, mid tempo, experimental-ism that uses echo effects and programmed beats because Portishead apparently is still cool.  Side 2, not quite as strong, but has it's moments as well.  "Better Lie" starts with it's Strokes-esque vocal effect to get Pryor's voice down an octave so the band can be a bit darker.  "Keith Case" is featured on the Simple Science EP and features about the only chorus that resembles something you'd find on previous work.  "The Widow Paris" feels a bit programmed, a bit 80's goth, not executed as good as it could have been.  The band throws a nod to the early British post-punk scene with "Birmingham" before things get a bit wishy-washy with the sentimental tackiness of "When It Dies."  The album ends with "Rememorable," which is a stupid ending song title but, it's got a lot of crunchy guitars so it's enjoyable.

Overall, it's an album filled with all the influences they felt they couldn't touch as Get Up Kids Mach I.  Their previous success pigeonholed them to a specific sound.  Their career took them all over the world where they discovered albums, bands, influences that were previously off limits.  I mean crap, Pyror had to create the New Amsterdams after discovering Elvis Costello, it had no room in the Get Up Kids sound.  The Pope brothers did rhythm for Koufax just to sound retro.  In the end, it doesn't sound like a band trying to reestablish a career, it sounds like a band finally allowed to get some things off their chest, a one last hurrah type event.

Shatter Your Lungs
Regent's Court