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Plosivs

Plosivs

    Plosives—denoting consonants that are produced by stopping the airflow by using the lips, teeth or palate, followed by a sudden release of air, the misspelling of PLOSIVS is intentional. In audio recording it refers to the loud, vocal pop created by the hard consonant that overwhelms the microphone and causes it to distort. So what does this have to do with a new, angular and melodic punk band from San Diego? Perhaps their affection for this anomaly is celebrated and is symbolic of their appreciation for imperfection. Or maybe the word just sounds cool to them. Although PLOSIVS is a new outfit of very young, handsome men, personally, they have accomplished much in their early careers.

    Vocalist / guitarist Rob Crow is known for being in Pinback, Heavy Vegetable, Thingy, Physics and hundreds more. The length of drummer Atom Willard’s résumé rivals a CVS receipt and is a who’s who of alternative rock royalty: Against Me!, The Offspring, Rocket From The Crypt, Danko Jones, Social Distortion and Angels And Airwaves. Jordan Clark played bass with Mrs. Magician and guitar for The Frights and The Soaks. And prior to PLOSIVS, guitarist John Reis was and still is associated with Hot Snakes, Drive Like Jehu, Rocket From The Crypt, Night Marchers, The Sultans.

    Together, they independently isolated during what then seemed like the height of the pandemic (October 2020). After a short duration of ideas passed back and forth, they convened as a group for the very first time at Singing Serpent Studio in San Diego with Ben Moore at the controls and recorded this ten-song self-titled record. A foundation of guitar dissonance, velocity and harmonic interplay is the basis for its concept in creating tension and release. The rhythm section is not content to merely fortify the bedrock. Instead, jet propelled, accents lash and Earth is moved. Crow’s voice is the guide that illuminates the implied melody. His easy tone contradicts the hectic atmosphere yet its compatibility invents the entire mood. Together, PLOSIVS is something only this assemblage of “road dawgs” could develop and create during these uncertain times.

    TRACK LISTING

    1. Hit The Breaks
    2. Rose Waterfall
    3. Thrown Clear
    4. Never Likely
    5. Broken Eyes
    6. Pines
    7. See You Suffer
    8. Iron Will
    9. Pray For Summer
    10. Bright

    Swami John Reis

    Ride The Wild Night

      Swami John Reis celebrates his 100th year in rock ’n’ roll with a brand new band and record! “Ride The Wild Night” is neither completely similar nor dissimilar to his previous bands (Hot Snakes, Night Marchers, The Sultans, Rocket From The Crypt, Drive Like Jehu, etc). Yet the sound is immediately familiar and assuring (like an old friend you lost touch with that comes back into your life only to ask to borrow money). The music is an amalgam of ’60s folk-punk, ’70s punk-punk and pre-Vietnam War rock ’n’ roll, filtered through the Reis’ unregistered, trademark sensibilities. “I wanted to celebrate some of my favorite rock n roll in its transitional periods. Flaming Groovies, Paul Revere and the Raiders, The Kinks, The Saints and others created some of the most exciting recordings while also connecting the musical past to its future. That really appeals to me”.

      Although titled a “solo” record it is predominantly in name only. The record is built on stentorian bedrock of savage drumming by J. Sinclair K. of Hot Snakes and the pounding acoustic piano of Joe Guevara. Also adding their expertise to the mix is Chris Prescott (Pinback) Gar Wood (Hot Snakes), Glen Galloway (Truman’s Water), Jacob Turnbloom (Mrs. Magician) and Jordan Clark (PLOSIVS).

      With this backing, Swami John Reis finalizes it with his throaty basso and weaponizes the files with roaring electric guitars, rapid acoustic guitar strum and bass.

      Hear his defiant, croak-howl in what might be his most autobiographical work yet. “All of these stories are real. They just might not be completely true.” Reis adds, ”The words come from what I overhear through my fence, what I see across the street, pictures I see in my head, experiences that I can’t forget or am grateful to remember.” If there is a loose theme throughout the record he offers, “Musically and lyrically there is a motivation to surrender to a restless and impulsive spirit that can only be satisfied by breaking things. Creating rubble for better or worse.“

      Music critics and fans alike have long referred to Reis’s signature voice as “The Velvet Yawn” and never has that description been more apt. “Ride The Wild Night” was recorded by Reis at City Of Refuge (Night Marchers, Black Lips, The Spits) and mixed by Ben Moore (Hot Snakes, Diamanda Galas) at Singing Serpent.

      TRACK LISTING

      1. Ride The Wild Night
      2. I Ain't Your Pawn
      3. Do You Still Wanna Make Out?
      4. When I Kicked Him In The Face
      5. Days Of Auld Lang Syne
      6. I Hate My Neighbors In The Yellow House
      7. Vape In The Dark Alone
      8. Rip From The Bone
      9. We Broke The News
      10. Keeper Of The Plains

      Bermuda is the latest effort by San Diego’s dismal-pop outfit Mrs. Magician and their second full-length release on Swami Records. The album offers a concise collection of punk songs inspired by the big sounds of classic ’60s pop and rock ’n’ roll, with structures more associated with ’70s and ’80s power pop. Thomas Garcia’s blissed-out backwash guitar tones and fuck-it fuzz attack juxtapose the band’s dry and thudding foundation, creating a tropically depressed grog. Cutting through the lacquer with a glossy shimmer, producer Swami John Reis (Drive Like Jehu, Rocket From The Crypt, Hot Snakes) coaxes a tightly wound, rigid backdrop for vocalist Jacob Turnbloom’s morose-pop delivery.

      Lyrically far more non-linear than their 2012 debut album Strange Heaven, Bermuda echoes the familiar selfdeprecating humor that is heavily present in the band’s prior work, but focuses less on interpersonal relationships, favoring broader inspirations of alienation and melodrama. Themes of gentrification, addiction, religion and the intoxicating aroma of modern day conspiracy theories wrestle against a bright and tight sonic terrain. This is the ghetto of Kokomo. Bermuda has a boozy and breezy island malaise on the surface. But once submerged, the listener is exposed to confusion, nihilism and the notion that even with all of our technology and omnipresence of big brother, essentially we are all still very lost.

      The Penetrators

      Basement Anthology 1976-84

        The Penetrators' "Basement Anthology" chronicles this criminally overlooked bands recordings from 1976-1982. Their sound was firmly rooted in the tradition of the rebellious rock'n'roll of the 60s and branded with generous amounts of the attitude and style that marked the first wave of American punk bands. "Basement Anthology" is a time machine back into an age that chronologically is not that long ago but culturally is beyond reach. In a time when eyeliner and synthesizers were listed as ground breaking musical influences the Penetrators upstate isolation bred a band worthy to hold the torch of garage blasting during what was then considered dark times. Two unreleased videos from 1982 of "Shopping Bag" and "Teenage Lifestyle" complete this retrospective. None of the material on "Basement Anthology" has ever been released on CD before.


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