Ibex Clone Announce All Channels Clear

Gathering members from across Ex-Cult, Nots and Hash Redactor, it seems like Ibex Clone already had a nice formula, at least to appeal to my tastes. Now, with their new album and a brand new single, it’s time to give the band’s work a nice listen. Drawing inspiration from GBV, Meat Puppets and XTC, the band’s aim are to take those pop structures and stretch those sounds into something fresh. You can certainly hear the guitar work playing into the jangling pop scene, though the fleshing out brings in a little bit more heaviness and weight; it all sort of feels like collage work, adding layers and textures from the musical touchstones and building a new piece that stands on its own. Excited to hear where All Channels Clear takes us; it’s out via Goner Records on February 3rd.

Optic Sink Share Personified Video

Optic Sink is the new project from Natalie Hoffman (NOTS) and Ben Bauermeister (Magic Kids); they’ve just announced their debut felt-titled album via Goner Records. While the presser hints at a wide range of sounds, our first listen is this pulsing electronic number, matched up with this visual enhancer. For me, the song sort of strips the humanity from Hoffman, offering an almost sterile machine-like vision, devoid of emotions in its presentation. Perhaps its a last gasp, a final attempt to hold onto all that we hold dear as we struggle with loss on so many levels. Whatever it may be, it’s definitely cool to my ears. The LP will be released on October 2nd.

Aquarian Blood Share New Tune + ATX Show Tonight at Vegas

You’d think a band comprised of members of Ex Cult and NOTS (formerly) would have some sort of monstrous presence in a new project. But, that’s exactly why I love Aquarian Blood, and in fact, why I’ve always loved rock n’ roll. This isn’t a banger, or a ripper; it’s a stripped down ballad that’s about as intimate as they come. The vocals are wholly solemn, almost weary from a live well-lived. I guess for me, the band just hit that sweet spot of not-quite folk; you can hear the musical lineage on both sides of the coin, particularly with the great arrangements fleshing out the tune. This tune will be on A Love That Leads to War, the new LP out October 11th via Goner Records.

Plus! If you’re in Austin, you can catch the band with Thigh Master at Hotel Vegas tonight!

Check This New NOTS

Slimming the band down is bound to change the way a group like NOTSsounds, and I think for the first 20 seconds or so, you can feel a change in the direction; there’s an electronic pulse sort of quivering in the opening moments. But, once that’s on, the vocals begin to straddle the rhythm section, delivered in such a fashion as to sort of intoxicate the listener; I feel like I’m being drawn into some sort of dark seance and I can’t turn away. This track has the band leaning more towards that psychedelic vibe, but you can still here that ominous tone of punk rock lurking in there. Look for 3 on May 10th via Goner Records.

New NOTS Album Announcement

Merely a day after Hash Redactor announced a new release via Goner, the two members that play in NOTS announced they’ve got their own new album on the way. It’s this pulsing bit of post-punk, filled with swirling guitars that have the potential to cause dizzying effects. In the vocals there’s this echoed distance, as if they’ve been recorded in some abandoned industrial warehouse, furthering the dark vibe at play here. Slimmed down to a three piece, the band doesn’t seem to have missed a beat, leading me to believe that good things are in store with 3; it drops on May 10th via Goner Records.

Hash Redactor Announces Debut

You’d expect nothing short of the sound below if you found out that members of Ex-Cult and NOTS formed a new band named Hash Redactor. There’s this heavy post-punk, consistently being spliced into pieces by jagged guitar chords as the matter-of-fact vocal delivery serves to steady the ship. We get to hang out here, in an anxious state, which only grows around the 2 minute mark as the song gets more frantic, more discordant, rushing listeners to the song’s end. Drecksound, the band’s debut album, will be released by Goner Records on April 26th.

New Jam from Nots

If you think you’re used to the sound of Nots, then perhaps you should check again. These rad ladies are upping the pulsating synths this go round, rather than jump straight at you with their barrage of guitars. Vocals have this hollow echo and brash tone, while the rest of the band builds a brooding soundscape of apocalyptic proportions. If the end of the world is indeed just around the corner, I’m hoping that it sounds a whole lot like this. Look for the Cruel Friend/Violence 7″ via Goner Records on June 30th.

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Rocker from Aquarian Blood

All pop and no rock makes me a dull boy, so this Aquarian Blood tune is the best way to wake us all up today. The band is comprised of JB and Laurel Horrell (he of ExCult, she formerly of Nots), and they brandished a pounding bit of discordant punk that you’d expect from the two…fleshed out with some help from their friends. It’s a frenetic pace from the get-go, and only settles down in the final thirty seconds of the tune. You want energy, you want rock? Then check out their Last Nite in Paradise LP on Goner Records on February 10th.

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Kicking New Tune from NOTS

notsJust a few more weeks until the new NOTS record officially comes out, so seems only right the band would kick out another blasting bit of rock n’ roll. The ferocious feeling of the vocal delivery definitely brings in the punk attitude, with the rest of the band pushing things quickly through the speakers. In my listens through Cosmetic, it’s clear that this isn’t a record where you’ll hear the band fucking around; they take aim at rock n’ roll and blast on through. Look for the release on September 9th via Goner Records.

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