NUN - one of the most powerful bands Melbourne has ever produced, presents their dark-yet-somehow-vibrant vision of electronic pop with their debut self-titled album.

Nun’s sound flows from sinister drone-orgy and hyperkinetic synth-punk to saturated new wave worship by incorporating huge, gnarling basslines, shimmering analogue synthesiser, punishing drum machine and the most malevolent vocal presence since the Dalek.

From the first few seconds of opening track ‘Immersion II’, it is clear that the lean minimal buzz of their debut 7” Solvents (on cult Melbourne label Nihilistic Orbs) was merely one sparkling facet of a much more monstrous body of work. Their debut album veers from perfectly crafted electronic pop to intense industrial noise, with singer Jenny Branagan’s scathing lyrical vision always rising to occupy the central point of focus.

Song structures are simple, considered and direct - everything is fine-tuned to ensure maximum sonic devastation. Synthesisers spit juddering sequences over a dark melodic backdrop that alternates between sinister atonality and serene melancholy, while insistent percussion cracks time beneath Branagan’s formidable vocals which range from sweet 1980s pop and detached gothic intonation, to a terrifying yell as the music requires.
Nun’s unrelenting aesthetic sense penetrates every aspect of this record, resulting in a remarkably cohesive work of art. The music is danceable and poppy, it’s sad and incisive, it’s fun, aggressive and heavy as hell. Most impressive of all is its immense force; the effortless delivery belying an overwhelming sense of something very heavy and unpleasant looming just beneath the scintillating pop surface.

Recommended If You Like: Chrisma, Kas Product, Total Control, New Order, Second Layer, Grauzone, Black Bug.

Recommended If You Like: Magic Kids, Barbaras, King Tuff, R. Stevie Moore, Ween, Jay Reatard, Hawkwind, Styrenes.

"Cretin Stompers landed in our lap on an other-worldly afternoon one day, sent directly from the future and completely ready to bury your past and everything you've ever held dear. Not even a fully formed embryo upon their first recording, the interstellar project began as a long-distance collaboration between past members of the ethereal Barbaras, Magic Kids, Boston Chinks, (and later, Jay Reatard Band/Wavves) in Memphis, and their mysterious cohort, (who had never been met or even spoken to while making the record!) BIG MUFF RADIO, living up north in Brooklyn, and has reached it's fully-developed final mutation in the form of the Looking Forward To Being Attacked debut LP. And just like a Xenomorph wrapping its way around your head right before that inevitable lobotomy, the Cretin Stompers infectious oozing pop slime will find its way into any of your exposed orifices, so be sure to wear a tight belt as this is one debut album with the power to entrance and eviscerate like never before...

With as many studio tricks and alien-like pop moves Cretin Stompers conjure, it will become obvious by the first few tracks that this is unlike any other album you've heard before, a true pioneering and sublime step into the iridescent pop dreams (and nightmares) of the not-so-bleak future. But don't be afraid of what's ahead, that's just part of who we are, and more importantly, who you are, as someone who doesn't let uncertainty cloud their ambition to make new discoveries or hold back your enthusiasm for the unknown. For this, you will be rewarded with a dynamic explosion of space punk filtered through a clogged toilet of remarkable pop hooks and impeccable melodic surges that hit such wavering heights, you just might need some orange slices to keep your eyes on the road. And as if Cretin Stompers couldn't give you any more ear candy to clean out your cavities with, they have culled two superb covers from The Styrenes and Dave Brock (of Hawkwind) to knock you back to summer school with another research assignment, always the true sign of real innovators of any era of music. So don't keep taking the same route to rock'n roll salvation when there are so many exciting ways to live, and get ready to have your mind thoroughly blown, because the future sounds fucking unreal. Also features exclusive artwork from the legendary Memphis fine art photographer WILLIAM EGGLESTON (known for his BIG STAR album cover photos)!"  – Victimoftime.com.

"ARE YOU WIRED TO GET HIRED? Let’s get this straight, nobody likes to be pushed around by THE MAN. With all of the corporate involvement in the music industry these days, it’s finally time to grab those smug CEOs and thrust them onstage and see what comes out when you really stick ‘em. And nothing is more satisfying, both financially and fiscally responsible, than to let THE MAN do their thing, because they will walk all over you and you will love every minute of it. With a panicky/riveting/down-sizing guitar crunch, merging with the heavy dose of anxiety-riddled bass throb, over-worked, stress-wrenched drumming, and all slathered in “workplace harassment”-style vocals, your long-term relationship with THE MAN is one “meeting” you just can’t opt out of and still come away with your promotion intact. Resistance is futile, projections seem grim, and your mental and fidooshiary well-being depend on nothing more than your complete and utter submission to THE MAN, in all of it’s holdings and territories, as declared in their mission statement, thumbtacked to your forehead." - VictimofTime.com.

Recommended for fans of Baseball Furies, Wire, Reatards, Persuaders, Guilty Pleasures

"So at this point, the Lansing, MI band, People's Temple, are pretty much an institution here at HoZac, and their anxiously awaited third LP is finally here and ready for you to sink your teeth into. Not necessarily an album formed in pre-conceived theme, akin to their debut, and More For the Masses, but similar to how the Rolling Stones' Between The Buttons or The Seeds' Fallin' Off The Edge albums represented a collective of songs put together with vasty different styles, due to the sheer abundance of material, yet an impressively cohesive arrangement of their always expanding strains of rock'n roll. With 'Musical Garden,' the band shows no signs of slowing down in their increasingly dynamic range of songwriting, bridging across various sonic experiments with textures through their effortlessly effective delivery, and their increasingly apparent studio prowess, which shines even brighter on this explosive new full length.

Both sets of brothers in People's Temple are integrally active in the songwriting process, and there are more than a few curveballs in this new album. The game-changing 'Male Secretary,' almost unrecognizable compared to the bulk to the PT output, throbs forward as a sizzling slab of gnarly, progressively fuzzed-out glam rock, meticulously built around an atypical song structure that deftly challenges the boundaries of their contemporaries. And with the recent 21 year-old status reached by the band's youngest member George, they quickly proved that they didn't even have to play the "teenage band" card over the past few years to garner any attention they rightful deserved in the first place. After your initial listen to 'Musical Garden,' it will be painfully apparent that this band has nowhere to go but up, and this unflinching and bombastic third LP is their inevitable next step in solidifying their status as one of the Midwest's brightest examples of exciting underground rock'n roll." - VictimofTime.com

Recommended for fans of 13th Floor Elevators, White Fence, Love, Ty Segall, Index, Night Beats, Golden Dawn, Zachary Thaks, Troggs, Black Diamonds, Brian Jonestown Massacre.

STAFF COMMENTS

Darryl says: Formed in 2007 by two sets of brothers, Michigan's The People's Temple present their third album, 'Musical Garden'. A truly wonderful Love/Seeds influenced garage/psych album - raw and melodic fuzzballs with hooks aplenty.

On the toes of their sophomore LP, also due out on HoZac this year, this single slings two tracks that really define a new direction for the band. Since the last release, Radar Eyes have gone through a line-up change, now including Russ Calderwood, known from such Chicago luminary bands as The Brides, The Dirges, and most recently, The Runnies.

"And for those who couldn’t keep their ears off the their “Shakes” or “Miracle” singles, don’t fret, that soaring psych-pop and those twangy guitar harmonies haven’t eluded their deep clutch on modern rock’n’roll songwriting. The A-side, “Positive Feedback,” has the same brilliant and glorious vocal interplay and ardent guitar strangling that sold us on them years ago, and all your panting over the Paisley Underground and JAMC comparisons will still be relevant, and we guarantee it will get you laid." – Victimoftime.com

The swirling cloud of deranged noise emanating from the highly radioactive inner core of RAYON BEACH has once again reared its head up, bucking wildly and shattering the iridescent thunder of the heavens into shards of wonderfully damaged sound. After the inescapable fallout from their debut Memory Teeth 12-inch EP in 2010, they have rightfully emerged with their first proper full-length LP, dragging the trembling scraps of electronic punk slime through a kaleidoscopic garbage can and out into the light, where they can cook properly in the blinding Texas sun. But whereas on their first record the band was still carving out their slithering sound, melting from one mellifluous life form into another over the course of those first six treacherous tracks, here they’ve found their footing on their first LP, clenching a roughly pristine throb and riding it out into a sizzling pinnacle of modern punk precision.

We've been waiting for this moment from Radar Eyes for years. This debut album is more of a pinnacle of modern noise pop than just another invigorating album to get warmed up to on a cold morning. Soaring guitars and heavenly vocal interplay, all screaming along with such interstellar melody and power, you'd think they were on the brink of signing to Creation Records. They have been quietly building an explosive array of hits for the past few years, and now their incredible shine has become unavoidable as they crush together spacey noise with pop hooks so devastating, we just had to ask them to put out their debut album.

Here, finally on the LP format they're best suited for, they've aligned their angelic guitar transcendency to come to full fruition, heralding a fresh new layer of palpitating excitement to their timeless sound they've honed to such a fine point. This is a band that understands how to control themselves under all the constraints, firing off powerfully direct, gigantic synthesized pop anthems that twist and turn with the best of their influences and lock themselves deep inside your head.

RIYL: Spacemen 3, Ride, Bubblegum Lemonade, The Ponys, The Seeds, Meat Whiplash etc...

STAFF COMMENTS

Darryl says: Ace indie-jangly 60's fuzz-drenched guitars on the debut album from Radar Eyes. This is exactly the sort of album that Creation Records would of licensed back in the day. Recommended!

As the hypnotically serene breeze of summer finally locks into place across the land, the sophomore LP from the three hyper-talented Cleburne, TX teenagers known as Fungi Girls, sprouts up from the earth like an other-worldly fern-like vessel emerging from the desert, ready to seduce the innocent and beguile the non-believers with its powerfully delicate and cavernous sound. Wise beyond their years, both in song construction, and in their depth of influences, Fungi Girls have been carving out a reverberating and resilient groove that sucks you into their hazy world of lacing crystalline guitar line over thunderous bass rhythms, all wrapped in their inimitable vocal style, which clearly drives this band into their own realm of psychedelic pop mastery.

Needless to say, these small-town kids are doing something incredible with the wealth of music lying effortlessly at their fingertips, and forging their own unique sound and certain tension has become second nature on this new LP, which embraces a simple formula that works perfectly to distill the nuances of yesterday's overlooked visionaries into the perpetual sound of today. Not many bands can muster this type of atmospheric allure in these modern times of flash-in-the-pan hype and redundant indie rock drivel, yet Fungi Girls have found their voice on 'Some Easy Magic'. What we get is a clearly refined, yet, major step forward from their noise-pop saturated debut 12" that got the fire burning outside of their local confines last year.

The subdued textures they create can be staggering, proving this LP has straddled both the maturity and the purity of early 80s DIY pop, aligning jaggedly with early 90s underground influences from the darker side of Slumberland catalog, all connecting into a tightly-bound collection of songs that kill the pain, and slow the drain.

"We’ll admit, this finished album landed at our headquarters late last summer, but it just seemed unfair to release it in the Fall or Winter months, since this debut LP by the Happy Thoughts is such an incredibly classic-sounding ‘Summer album’ in all aspects of the term. How do guitar riffs like these clear the clouds away so well, while embracing a pure freshness in such a familiar sense? You’ll feel like you’ve been listening to these songs your whole life.

As clean and crisp as the early ‘60s-infused rock’n roll backbeat holding onto these songs for dear life, each track sticks right to your ribs, and with the addition of a full band, compared to the previous solo recordings, it’s a richness you didn’t even know you deserved. Purity, harmony, and true, unabridged happiness come bleeding through this collection of songs even more impressively than on the other bands Eric Lagrange has played a pivotal part in, namely, the excellence of the Cave Weddings and Romance Novels (the latter of which, chosen by Nobunny for support on his first US tour).”

For fans of Bobby Fuller Four, Nobunny, Fevers, Shoes.

TRACK LISTING

1. Half Day
2. One More Fish
3. Sweet Dirty Love
4. Indiana Girls
5. Back Of The Line
6. Bad Days
7. Anything But Love
8. Never Gonna Do It
9. Black & Blue
10. Hang Around
11. Ride Ride Ride
12. Think Happy Thoughts

'Oh yes, the Mickey album is finally here, and it’s one of those records that will hit you unexpectedly. This sparklingly devilish debut LP comes off so ferociously powerful and snotty, yet recorded and delivered with a finesse and attitude so overwhelming, it might just become your new obsession. Deranged glam pop that hearkens back to the daze of corrupted youth, running from the law, outwitting your parents, and the endless thrills that come with breaking away into where the night takes you. It’s got the desperation and the dereliction to conjure these impulses so well, you might even feel like running away from home, just for that irreplaceable rush, years after you’ve already left. Guitars this clean shouldn’t sound this dirty, and songs this juvenile should never be this immediate. That’s just what might be the most intriguing facet of this debut LP, a triumphant return to the nastiness of unhinged rock’n roll that spans the ages. Conjuring ‘50s/’70s doo-wop/glitter catchiness with pop/metal hooks that just were never supposed to be, yet here they are, running down your legs in all their soiled glory, as the songs come bleeding out of the speakers while you scream down the highway.'

TRACK LISTING

1. Dance
2. Summer Night
3. She's So Crazy
4. Rock And Roll Dreamer
5. Bright Lights
6. My Lady
7. Kids Crazy In Love
8. For You
9. Scream With Me
10. Baby We're Gold

It's bad times all year 'round in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, where the castrated legions that makeup the by-product known as Tortured Tongues reside. The tar-like muck that licked your face endlessly for days upon the debut of their self-released 7-inch in 2009 has crawled out from those toenails once again and has brought the prime slime right up to the front, where it's always belonged. Churning dawn-of-the-century Clone Defects slobberism, schitzo Screamers scuzz, along with Bobby Soxx-soaked backwash, this is one Puritan-polluting problem we can fully stand behind here, as Tortured Tongues will be a very hard stain to wash out.

Three full-charge scum punk wonders gracefully degrade this EP over the two sides, with the rusty-gutting, strangulated delivery oozing out of all the facial wounds of your miserable existence, this record might just be the "end of that rope" people are always referring to. First press of 500 black editions.

Atlanta's favourite son, Gentleman Jesse Smith is back in a big way after he turned the modern pop world upside down with 2008's debut single and LP that immediately raised the bar for contemporary power pop recordings. We've been waiting for this release since 2007 and it's finally here. This year has seen Gentleman Jesse & His Men touring like crazy with a new single on Douchemaster along with this one right here, ushering in the second wind we've all been waiting for from this much-adored pop pioneer. This songwriting well isn't even close to running dry, and if the two tracks contained on this new single are any indication of the follow-up LP's magnitude, it may just be time to roll over and declare Jesse the modern 'King of Pop,' as we all know Michael fucking Jackson sure isn't holding onto it anymore. First pressing 500 black editions.

Since their inception, Seattle's eminently unique noise-benders, Idle Times have enshrouded their unhinged pop dexterity in an entire soiled spectrum of illustrious cloaks, assuring every angle they pursue is leveled with deranged precision. From the instant the lead off track kicks in on their debut LP, it's impossible to ignore the band's brainchild, Brian Standeford, utilizing an unreal and other-worldly scorching guitar tone, which very well might be what locks you in at first. But on closer listens, it's the scraps of distant-yet-familiar sound swatches, seamlessly patched together behind that inimitable guitar and vocal combination that make up the intensely diverse array of songs on their first full-length. It's never been more prominent than on their anxiously-awaited debut LP, where Idle Times are clearly pioneering a sound that's meshing so many degrees of varying styles from track to track, that it becomes easy to get lost in the staggering creativity of each intricate alcove.

With such an intense collection of tracks that crush and crackle with deranged delight, Idle Times wield both noisy pop hooks with subdued melodic mastery, and prove that following up Sic Alps/Guided By Voices-style grungy, yet fully jangled scratchy pop hits, with the twang and clang of a fried-out later-era Byrds studio outtake, is truly something fresh and exciting in this never-ending world of recycled ideas and ripped-off innovation. It just doesn't sound like anything else, and as shocking as that may seem, that's most likely why it's just so compelling. After a smashing debut single on Woodsist Records in 2009 and their elusive HoZac Hookup Klub single that followed it a few months later, Idle Times have been hard at work mastering these delicately agonizing tracks into a complete whole, reinstating the value of the full-length with its ability to showcase the broad variety of irresistibly catchy sonic sophistication included within. Dispositions and delusions aside, don't miss out on the Pacific Northwest's most enchanting underground pop ensemble of the moment, and hitch onto Idle Times while you still can breathe in the all-encompassing atmosphere of their wondrous world.

RIYL: Sonic Youth, Sic Alps, The Intelligence, Times New Viking, The Byrds, Guided By Voices

It's finally here, all on one handy format for accessing the hottest cuts from the first Round of the HoZac singles club, along with two previously unreleased bonus tracks by Teepee and Idle Times. This compilation spans the first ten elusive subscription-only 7" records released from 2009-2010, featuring rare tracks by Dum Dum Girls, Woven Bones, Box Elders, Flight, White Mystery, Teepee, Idle Times, Mother Of Tears, Art Thieves, and Teeth (the elusive Blank Dogs/Spider side project), and is not to be missed.

Not only does this release mark the 50th record in the Hozac repertoire, but its got the goods to back it up with a massive array of underground gems normally fetching hefty ebay prices as the only other means of access. Although not every track from the 7" series is included due to space limitations, they've culled the most sparkling cuts and remastered the tracks to perfection, and housed it in one convenient package. Oh, and those bonus tracks? You can bet you're gonna want 'em based on the brilliance of Teepee and Idle Times' exquisite track records.

The raw exuberance that Woven Bones seethes from its tightly-wound inner coil of turmoil isn’t exactly the stuff daydreams are made of, but as their menacing presence has been culminating over the past couple of years, it’s now clear as daylight that their finest efforts would come together on this, their debut LP. As they’ve effectively dragged the shards of their tattered souls with building ferocity on each of their previous singles and EPs, the evolutional process has honed itself to a fine edge, poised to level any contention and break into the blinding realness of now. They’ve finally harnessed the elusive throb and crash of their intended sonic perfection on their own terms, and this debut album will no doubt convert the middling masses into drooling slaves to their hypnotic heartbeat rhythm.

What was only hinted at before is now as pure, raw, and ugly as a newborn jackal, squirming out of the wretched womb and ready to face the world, all the while, sending an evil chill down the spine and reminding you that yes, new music really can be this good. Like the eardrum-shattering noise pop icons that came before them, Woven Bones blaze their own trail of lascivious loudness and controlled snarl that’s just what the world needs right now, and the perfect soundtrack to your screwed-up summer.

The debut album, "In And Out And Back Again" delivers nine heart-stabbing hits that just keep hitting back, so without further hesitation, we give you the debut album that explodes heads on contact, by your new favourite band, Woven Bones. They slayed SXSW2010, and the album will be the proof that once again, America has the hits!

TRACK LISTING

1. I'll Be Running
2. Guess You Already Knew
3. 7 Year Mirror
4. If It Feels Alright
5. Your Way With My Life
6. Creepy Bone
7. Half Sunk Into The Seats
8. Couldn't Help But Stare
9. Blind Conscience

Hozac starts the year with a slew of hot stuff!! As the leaves have all fallen and the Autumn winds have now turned cold, the timing couldn't be more perfect for the debut LP, "This Town", by New Milford, Connecticut's melodic saving grace, Medication. The one-man home-recording project has built itself up into a fully-automated live band over the past year, but the seductive recordings contained herein, lush in their simplistic, beautiful morosity, and minimally-orchestrated fragility, have continued to seep into the fabric that defines the season better than any other modern contenders.

Mikey Hyde's songwriting development is steeped in the winning revelatory combination of isolation and reverberation, and as the static-laden echoes rise and fall against the imaginary backdrop of your mind, it's tough to fight off the therapeutic effects Medication will have on your physical and mental well-being. As if self-prescribing music like this hasn't been the answer to society's ills all along, playing the first full-length by Medication in times of despair or hopelessness like these has never been more important. Recommended if you like: Gris Gris, Leonard Cohen, Skip Spence, Dutchess & the Duke, Pink Reason, Kurt Vile, Thee Oh Sees.

Nova Scotia's underground punk output has been sorely ignored by most of the world, and with the debut 7" EP by Sydney's brilliantly belligerent Mess Folk, hopefully a little more light will be shed on this systematically-neglected barren frontier. With an immediate slop/savant aesthetic that conjures a drooling, drugged-out, and agitated ball of putrescence, Mess Folk keep their blurry message straight to the point and deliver three devastating punk cuts simmering in anxiety, depression, and the delusional inner turmoil that sets in after months of cabin fever. The deranged, discombobulated vocals go so perfectly with the frantic razored guitar slashings and choppy songwriting that eeks out resemblances of discarded Electric Eels and Urinals ruination/infatuation, radiating with a sticky familiarity you just can't quite put your finger on. Anyway you cut it, Mess Folk have arrived and it's gonna take a hell of a lot of zit cream and/or stain remover to eradicate their slimy presence from the ugly face of modern punk.