Posted on05/03/2012bykevin|Comments Off on PosDes + Speakeasy Brewery Present: Terry Malts, Uzi Rash, Synthetic I.D., Yi
We are honored to present one of the arguably tightest live bands in the world at the moment, San Francisco’s very own Terry Malts, Saturday May 26th performing live at another esteemed SF institution – Speakeasy Ales & Lagers Brewery. The Malts will be joined by a fantastic supporting local line-up: Oakland’s Uzi Rash, punk outfit Synthetic I.D., and Yi.
Our buds at Speakeasy have made it possible for this to be a free + all ages event and will be showcasing some of their own brews during the event. Doors at 4pm. RSVP for the afternoon show here.
Posted on04/24/2012bykevin|Comments Off on Positive Destruction turns 1 year old
Today marks the 1 year anniversary of Positive Destruction, and we couldn’t be more stoked to celebrate it by announcing our next showcase, co-hosted with buds at Decades MagazineSaturday, May 19th at Thee Parkside. More details coming soon.
01 Chasms :: Headwound/What’s Real [excerpt] 00:00 02 moonbell :: Nothing Less 01:34 03 Fine Steps :: Tomorrow for All of Today 05:34 04 Blasted Canyons :: Holy Geometry 08:20 05 Ty Segall / White Fence :: I Am Not a Game 11:49 06 Permanent Collection :: In My Head 15:43 07 Monster Treasure :: Our Minds 20:01 08 POW! :: Hanging Out (At Home) 23:40 09 Ty Segall :: It’s a Problem 25:55 10 Grass Widow :: Goldilocks Zone 29:30
Posted on02/08/2012bykevin|Comments Off on album pick: Royal Baths – Better Luck Next Life
by Sky Madden
With a stinging vengeance comes Better Luck Next Life from the Kanine imprint (great releases this past year from Young Prisms, Surfer Blood and Dream Diary). On their sophomore effort the Royal Bath boys Jigmae Baer and Jeremy Cox evince more of their gloomy catharsis. Always dependable for not being blissed out, but rather strung out, blacked out and freaked out, the new cuts here delve further into the rabbit hole. On BLNL they do what it is they know best by taking refuge in the bonfire and finding safety in harms way. And in taking comfort with discomfort, the Baths come on strong, straight out the gates with opener and first single off the album “Darling Divine.” Wrapped in bent notes and vocal snarls, “Darling Divine” is Next Life’s prologue, a kiss off for what’s to come of the Royal Baths newest chapters on damaged love and depravity.
The Royal Baths mythology comes to life on Better Luck Next Life with the vocal play between the two, which is eerie as the they often mimic each others’ intonation and timbre. The constantly hard rolling rhythm section makes a cold bed for Baer and Cox’s prophetical vocals, sometimes softly spoken or dismissively rattled off with sinister confidence. On songs “Faster, Harder,” “Nightmare Voodoo” and “Map of Heaven” their kaleidoscope reflects dystopic scenes, casting images of high heels walking in the opposite direction, bedroom abuse and blackened intimacy, that complicate the idea of pleasure. The lyrical bravado and restless instrumentation on “Be Afraid of Me” calls to mind the experience of involuntary twitching while falling asleep or just starting to regain consciousness. This is to say that for all the destabilization of guitar and vocal battles on BLNL there are areas of meditation, moments of transportation. The angular pierce of Cox’s bizarre scale crawls are back too. He’ll solo in and out of verses, playing at speeds conjuring a freak vibrato that races against Baer’s howling, effecting the sound frequency of bow to violin. There is a sweaty, closed fist, “Fuck yes,” instance of this on side A track “Burned” where the two drown each other out in sound.
The recording is the band’s cleanest, warmest yet featuring a new a version of “Black Sheep.” Better Luck Next Life is a grinning nightmare for fans of shamble pop or anyone who’s survived a two-faced girlfriend. If Better Luck Next Life is on in a room near by and you’re sitting down you’ll stand up. If you’re in a coma, you will be shaken out of it.
“Do you think I don’t know what’s wrong? It is me.”
Posted on02/01/2012bykevin|Comments Off on Ty Segall + White Fence LP collab announced
[photo by Ruth Swanson]
Stoked to hear more about this since Ty Segall dropped some hints a few months ago – thanks to Spin, we now know that the duo’s collaborative effort, entitled Hair, features Tim Presley on lead guitar/bass and Ty on drums/guitar. The album drops sometime in April on Drag City and will be supported with a tour that starts in SF Friday March 3rd atGreat American Music Hall. Buy tix for that here. Ty also talks up his new solo album, due out in September, as “sounding really fast and hard and aggressive,” so make sure to check out the full interview.
The Bay Area absolutely smashed it in 2011, with some of our favorite artists releasing amazing albums, EPs and cassettes that we’ve been listening to endlessly this year. It was incredibly difficult to cull the past 12 months to our favorite 15 releases, but we did it anyway. Check them out below and let us know what you think in the comments.
Hunx collaborator Christopher McVicker managed to release one of the most understated albums of the year under the moniker Swiftumz. “Don’t Trip” is an immersive collection of hazy, moving jams that transcends the limits of bedroom pop.
The debut LP by Wax Idols features singer/songwriter Hether Fortune elevating the charming pop sensibilities found on her earlier work to a complete full-length, with lyrics veering from the lovesick to the macabre.
mp3: Wax Idols // “Gold Sneakers”
This scuzzed-out compilation of pop songs marked a solid debut album from Moonhearts/Ty Segall collaborator Mikal Cronin. Unexpectedly wistful and incredibly catchy, this is a record we’ve been spinning endlessly.
Thee Oh Sees scorched through 2011, releasing two mind-blowing full-length albums and a singles only double-LP all while maintaining a frenetic touring schedule that recently concluded (with Total Control).Carrion Crawler/The Dream was announced only a few weeks after Castlemania, and proved to be the “pummeling” record John Dwyer promised it to be. An instant classic and our unequivocal favorite record of 2011.
