After a brief hiatus last week (we were, as Bill Murray says in Caddyshack, “Unavoidably Detained”) we’re back with a selection of decidedly anti-summer anthems.  Now, we’re not anti-summer, far from it, but seems we’ve largely been rotting your teeth out with sugary pop confections for the past few months, so it’s time to get that tinnitus rattling around again, just in time for yr spangly Memorial Day festivities.  Onward then, into the murk.

We stumble out of the gate this week with Ancestors’ II on Youth Attack! Records.  McCoy’s proper vinyl pressing of a hyper-limited (100 copies) cassette, this virgin white slab is a flailing piss storm of schizophrenic BM that’s utterly despondent and horrifyingly toxic and, at times, sounds like it’s being interrupted by shortwave radio blasts from WWII.  While not exactly free-form, each side (composition?) is essentially structureless, meaning there could be one song or 45 and you’ll never know the difference.  Their harsh malevolence rains down like battery acid as a completely blown-out morass of humanity struggled to find shelter from the pain.  Limited to 333 copies and (surprisingly) still available at YA!’s site.   

Dredged from the sewers of somewhere is Fresh Meat’s “Saw Her” b/w “Man or Woman?” on Breathing Problem Productions (Rusty from Total Abuse’s label).  What you get here are two sides of ultra lo-fi shit-core that sounds like the brainbombs being given a lobotomy in a dumpster, or someone running Poison Idea through a meat-grinder whilst they are still playing.  The whole mess sounds like it’s being held together by cheap apoxy (as much for the high off the smell as anything) and fueled by even cheaper beer.  People have compared them to Drunks with Guns, but in reality, this sounds more like actual drunks huffing aerosol fumes, unable to tune a guitar and puking on the 4-track; so basically, it’s fantastic.  Still available here but who knows for how long.

Perhaps the least abrasive thing we have this week is the new Young Widows/Melt Banana split on Temporary Residence Ltd.  The second volume of YW’s split singles series pits the Lousiville noise-rock heroes against Japan’s three-headed spazz hydra.  On the A-Side, Young Widows are at their AmRep-aping early ‘90 best here with “Long Live the New Weight”, cranking out a terse, bottom-dwelling rocker that makes liberal use of ear-scrambling distortion.  On the flip, Japan’s Melt Banana take things in a more Boredoms-centric direction than we’re used to with “Pain in Ash”, creating a dense, poly-rhythmic foundation for their twisted melange of supersonic sound and toning down their frenetic grindcore in favor of gurgling, organ-stabbed understatement.  Head on over to TRL’s website to pick up a copy (or subscribe to the series if you are so inclined).

Just like Dr. Dre we’re keeping heads ringing this week, and while we can’t promise we won’t next week, we do have some lighter fare coming up in the weeks ahead, so make sure to stay tuned (and hydrated). 

We’ve been fans of The Coathangers since we saw them play at CMJ. So we’re definitely paying close attention as they prep the release of their Suicide Squeeze debut on April 7, which now includes an in-the-works video for “Stop Stomp Stompin’”

In this footage we see the girls — Julia Kugel (guitar/vocals), Stephanie Luke (drums/vocals), Candice Jones (keyboard/vocals), and Meredith Franco (bass/vocals) — discussing the theme behind the Kevin Borke directed and David Hahn produced video. There’s also some live and interview footage from a show in Atlanta, so you can get primed for what you will see when they play your town on their current tour.

The Coathangers – Behind The Scenes At The “Stop Stomp Stompin’” Video Shoot
Directed by: Kevin Borke
Produced by: David Hahn

The Coathangers tour dates
03.13.09 – Atlanta GA (Drunken Unicorn) #^
03.13.09 – Gainesville FL (Common Grounds) #^
03.13.09 – Orlando FL (The Social) #*^
03.17.09 – Houston TX (The Mink)
03.18.09 – Austin TX (SXSW, Red Eyed Fly, Suicide Squeeze Showcase)
03.19.09 – Austin TX (SXSW)
03.19.09 – Austin TX (SXSW)
03.19.09 – Austin TX (SXSW)
03.19.09 – Dallas TX (The Lounge w/ Wavves, Abe Vigoda)
04.04.09 – Atlanta GA (The Earl, Record Release)
05.11.09 – Atlanta GA (The Eyedrum w/ Calvin Johnson)

# with These Arms Are Snakes
* with All The Saints
^ with Young Widows