Single of the Week: Mac DeMarco - "My Kind Of Woman"

The problems with retreading not only a familiar style of music but also subject matter are many. At worst it can sound kitsch, insincere, lazy and uninspired; not to mention there's always going to be someone else doing the same thing, especialy nowadays. Up and coming singer-songwriter Mac DeMarco, who plans to release a debut album, 2, on 16th October via Capured Tracks, sidesteps all of these problems by doing what his chosen genre does best (in this case 50s rock & roll). On "My Kind Of Woman" DeMarco plays it straightforward, letting his guitar ring out cleanly behind his lovelorn vocals, noticeably higher than his usual baritone. It's obvious that DeMarco is leaving behind the lo-fi, often jocular nature of his earlier recordings as Makeout Videotapes and heading for the big time.



Track all the info up to the release of 2 on the Upcoming Releases page.

R.I.P. Bill Doss - Olivia Tremor Control playlist

Devastating news came last Tuesday when it was revealed that Bill Doss, one of the founders of the seminal 90s psych-rock band Olivia Tremor Control, had passed away at age 43. Bill was a key figure in the Athens, Georgia music scene and one of the founders of the Elephant 6 Recording Company, a group of independant music artists who saw the inception of not only the Olivia Tremor Control but also Neutral Milk Hotel, The Apples In Stereo and Of Montreal.

The Olivia Tremor Control was started up by Bill Doss and Will Cullen Hart in Louisiana in 1988. They released two studio albums: Music From The Unrealized Film Script: Dusk At Cubist Castle (1996) and Black Foliage: Animation Music (1999). Both albums are regarded as classics by many: heavily indebted to 60s psychadelic rock in sound and recording style, yet in a uniquely inventive style that ensured their legacy as one of the most creative bands of the 1990s.

The band had succesfully reunited by 2011 and were busy touring and reportedly working on material. This burst of new energy has made the news of Bill's passing all the more sudden and unexpected. Being a fan of Bill's work through the Olivia Tremor Control I thought the best way to honour his legacy would be to make a short playlist of songs from the two OTC albums. You can consider it an introduction to the band if you're unfamiliar with their material. I would defenitely recommend delving further into one or both albums if you like what you hear here:



Rest in peace Bill.

Ty Segall Band - Slaughterhouse added to 2012 Recommended Albums

Ty Segall has released a number of solo albums over the last few years, but Slaughterhouse is the first under Ty Segall Band. The distinction is significant; this album is huge-sounding, and undouubtebly sets a new precedent for Segall's San Fransiscan garage rock peers.

The basic mix for Slaughterhouse consists of Stooges garage rock, the heavy riffing of Sabbath, and just a pinch of the Cramps' weirdness for flavour. This formula makes it essential. The ultimately terrifying doses of acid psychedelia contemporaries like Thee Oh Sees pump into their music is reduced to a minimum: Segall's experiments in these areas are much more the focus of the other album he's released this year, the White Fence collaboration Hair. Slaughterhouse's heaviness is what sets it apart from the rest of his work so far. It's about as dark and sludgy an album of this style could get, and all of its qualities are reflected in its extremely scuzzy low recording quality. The guitars, bass and drums are never short of oversaturated, and as much as Segall's vocals vary - from high range yelps and screams ("Slaughterhouse"), to deep grouchy Howlin' Wolf reminders ("That's The Bag I'm In") - they usually end up indecipherable. Only when strange Beatles-like melodies are employed ("I Bought My Eyes") can Segall's lyrics be clearly heard.

This is unimporrtant for this record. The recording quality of classic proto-punk LP's such as the Stooges' Funhouse is what gives them such a mythic quality. Incidentally Slaughterhouse could be considered a modern reinterpretation of that album: if the similarities in name and sound aren't enough, consider the ten-minute closing instrumental "Fuzz War" and it's similarities to "L.A. Blues", not to mention the guitar riffs that frequently conjure up the tenacity of the late Ron Asheton.

Delights aplenty are to be found elsewhere on Slaughterhouse. "Tell Me What's Inside Your Heart" lasts under four minutes, but its unstoppable breakneck speed make it feel much longer. It backs onto "Wave Goodbye", an impossibly heavy, brooding tune that begins much slower; its opening bass riff dominating the mood of thee next four minutes or so. But the album doesn't skimp on the fun: surf-rock finds its influence on "Muscle Man", as classic rockabilly does on "The Tounge". The band's cover of Bo Diddley's classic single "Diddy Wah Diddy" ends unfinished, with Segall yelling "FUCK THIS FUCKING SONG!", yet this outtake feels spirited enough to just work in the context of the album.

2012 has so far been full of exceptional rock albums, and Slaughterhouse finds itself easily amongst the pick of the best. It's brutal, visceral but above all fun and engaging, and shows a lot to the numerous other records in this style that come out this time of year. It just rocks, plain and simple. Even if that is a phrase I seem to be repeating. Immediate satisfaction calls for immediate responses.

Click here for the rest of the 2012 Recommended Albums list