Sunday, June 26, 2011

VIOLENT STUDENTS -- Party Addiction

Here's the last gasp effort from VIOLENT STUDENTS, a defunct Philadelphia-based black hole Punk / HC outfit whose wasters have been and continue to be involved in some arguably more-refined and mature projects. This self-medicated, throbbing set was recorded live at their final gig inside a South Philadelphia firetrap before a crowd of black-clad pencil-necked geeks that shrank with each passing tic of the metronome. Most of those intensely posed youngsters left too early to witness an exploratory stomp through “Seekers of the Truth”. The Students here are joined by BLUES CONTROL’s Lea Cho, who was a last second replacement on guitar when Jim Winters (of Earth Crisis, Conviction, etc) proved tardy. The flip side is A Handy Magician, originally infamously issued as a cassette in 2004 or so. And as a more articulate scribe has famously noted, if you remember a Violent Students gig, then you weren’t there.

Liner notes courtesy of Tony Rettman.

BRAINWASHED YOUTH -- The Trilogy

The Trilogy by BRAINWASHED YOUTH. It starts off with an outtake from the Bonham solo in "Moby Dick" and then it kicks into some furious punk rock / oi! music that's thoroughly indebted to the Crown, the Union Jack, and all the mugs in England. It’s all courtesy of some infamous blockheads who have surfaced in groups like the Inmates, H-100s, Wolfdowners, and even Integrity.

$6 + shipping to the US





PURLING HISS -- Hissteria

Hissteria by PURLING HISS. It’s two sides of hi-energy psychedelic punk rock & roll that manages to weld Funhouse‘s dialed-in sleaze rhythms to the hungover excess of Hendrix at Woodstock. Or Ginn at Polliwog Park. It’s full of clanging cymbals, howling vocals, fretboard heroics, and menacing vibes.
Purling Hiss is the work of a well-mannered longhair named Mike Polizze, who is best known for his reckless shredding as the guitar player for Philadelphia’s BIRDS OF MAYA. Hissteria is a suitable soundtrack for zonked drives across the dead highways of the USA. Or for predawn paranoid sessions as you pace back and forth in the kitchen trying figure out just what the hell you’re going to do, man.
Or just crank it real loud when the party gets strange. Some people will love it and the rest of them can just go somewhere else and go fuck themselves.

$12 + shipping to the US

Limerence / Space Roots by PURLING HISS by TestosterTunes




BIRDS OF MAYA w/ Harmonica Dan -- Regulation

It's the third vinyl release from Phila's BIRDS OF MAYA and it's a scorching outlaw anthem titled 'Regulation'. This one finds the rock-solid Killinger/Leaphart/Polizze unit joined by Harmonica Dan, a veteran of institutions such as Boogie Witch, the Mega-Jam Booze Band, and the Philadelphia Record Exchange.

$5 + shipping to the US

Regulation by BIRDS OF MAYA w/ HARMONICA DAN by TestosterTunes



BIRDS OF MAYA -- Ready to Howl

Here it is. It's the most ambitious TestosterTunes release to date: a 3-song, double-LP by the three men of Philadelphia's BIRDS OF MAYA. It's called Ready To Howl and it's the soundtrack to an upcoming feature length film of the same name. Formed in 2002, Birds of Maya is the finest meat n potatoes neanderthal rock group operating today, and they're undoubtedly the outfit most committed to creating throbbing, thoroughly relentless, blues-based hard rock. Astute listeners will note nods to the fried power-rock of Split-era Groundhogs or the relentless garage mayhem of High Rise recorded under claustrophobic sub-Funhouse decadence. Anyone with ears will hear fried-Hendrixisms all over this thing.

$20 + shipping to the U.S.













HOME BLITZ -- Out of Phase


The debut full-length album from NJ-based power-pop act HOME BLITZ. According to Dusted Magazine: However sloppy the instrumentation and prankish the attitude, Home Blitz is never precious, always epic. Playful without being self-aware, confident without getting comfortable, and far too odd to cross over, Home Blitz is the real thing. And it moves too fast for the sourball lyrics to break the momentum. As cynical as it gets, Home Blitz is still a raucous, unpredictable party.
It's for sale and it comes with a lyric sheet and an mp3 download. It was written, performed, and recorded by Daniel DiMaggio in Princeton, NJ and it was mastered to vinyl by Bob Weston at the Chicago Mastering Service in Chicago. What does it sound like? It sounds like the greatest album that Home Blitz has ever released on Richie Records // TestosterTunes.

$13 + shipping to the US

Two Steps by HOME BLITZ by TestosterTunes



Saturday, June 25, 2011

FACTORYMEN -- Shitman

Debut LP from Cleveland's FACTORYMEN, a twisted studio-only (no live performances yet, anyway) project that revolves around a certain Steve Peffer of HOMOSTUPIDS fame. According to Matt Korvette at yellowgreenred.com: Shitman is the end result of one man having too easy an access to recording equipment, so that the twisted and lunkheaded non sequiturs that would normally float in and out of one’s brain are forever documented here on vinyl. The a-side is where you’ll find most of the songs, very isolated and creepy tunes that would’ve had Ralph Records second-guessing their mission statement. One of the few understandable lyrics is “then he sprays her with cream”, if that helps.

$11 + shipping to USA





KURT VILE & THE VIOLATORS -- The Hunchback EP


With baritone guitar/bassist Adam Granduciel, rodeo slide & fuzz guitar from Jesse Turbo, and perfect percussion from Mike Zeng, the Violators are Kurt’s Crazy Horse, slugging it out with him when he feels like playing with a full band. Oddly pleasant singing, in-the-red fingerpicking, twisting swells of feedback, totally POUNDING drums, and Krautlike-zen fill both sides of this record. Loud and proud, The Hunchback E.P. looks right filed next to your Neil, Suicide, and Spacemen 3 records.

$10 + shipping to the US

Good Lookin Out by KURT VILE & THE VIOLATORS by TestosterTunes



CLOCKCLEANER -- Frogrammer b/w Early Man


A classic single from Philadelphia Skulls CLOCKCLEANER. Frogrammer is a sweet tuneful number originally done by REMO VOOR. It offers an early window to a certain John Sharkey's vocal range and it sounds so good that it inspired Remo Voor to get the band back together. B-side is an alternate take of "Early Man" -- more direct that the version that ended up on Nevermind.

Recorded by Alap Momin & mastered by Alan Douches. Wow!

$4 + shipping to the US