Foxx Bodies :: Vixen

Get ready for some uncomfortable oversharing, set to the tune of early grunge, with an occasional jazz or doo-wop idiom thrown in… it’s a bit of uneasy listening but it gets its hooks into you.

Liily :: TV or Not TV

Jagged thunder aplenty, as this band tears through a set of impressively constructed symphonies of hostility. If you like the sort of music that makes you headbang, give this a listen but make a chiropractor appointment first.

Deerhoof :: Actually You Can

Featuring a thunderous rhythm section unafraid to venture into lockstepped odd grooves, a guitar team willing to weave in and out of those sonic pylons in tandem, and a beguiling childlike voice floating above it all, this is your standard Deerhoof.

Clinic :: Fantasy Island

In this sterile brushed steel and gleaming plastic environment, underneath the tangles of tubing and wires and chirping electronic devices operating at their own rhythms, below the readouts and blinking lights, beats a mighty analog heart.

Pokey Lafarge :: In the Blossom of their Shade

If the name didn’t give it away, this is suitable for slow-dancing cowboys, at least as they exist in our imagination. The crooning voice floats lithely over western swing and doo-wop influences to make you either start or stop howling at the moon.

The Record Company :: Play Loud

Deep-fried riffs, some well-placed cowbell, and guitars up front in the spotlight make for a heaping slab of that delicious Southern Boogie. There’s not a whole lot of new going on here, but it sure is ready to party.

Lizard Music :: Arizone!

It has been a while since we have heard from this band, with its brutally catchy hooks and ultra-refined pop sensibility, delivering velvet hammer blows with the gentlest vocal harmonies and delicate guitar plucks.

Ministry :: Moral Hygiene

Thirty years ago, I witnessed Al Jorgensen chug a bottle of vodka while getting a tattoo and waiting for the acid to kick in. Unrelated, it doesn’t sound like a lot has changed, and fans of this aggressive industrial music outfit should be pleased.