The Melvins – “Pinkus Abortion Technician”
We’ve got some insane vinyl on this week’s RECORD OF THE WEEK Blog!!!
What can you say about the MELVINS other than they are older than your mom. One of the most prolific bands out, this time King Buzzo and gang are joined with Pinkus (of Butthole Surfers) AND Jeff McDonald (of Off!/Redd Kross) on bass. This is the “regular” edition, not to be confused with the “fancy pants” edition. If you want to find out what that means, head over to AMPHETAMINE REPTILE!
BAND NAME: (the) Melvins
LABEL NAME: Amphetamine Reptile Records
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Formed in the summer of 2018, GREAT WIGHT hit the ground running. Setting out with a goal to let punks of color know they’re not alone, they’ve toured the US, as well as Europe, performed multiple festivals, and performed on late night TV in less than a year. The message is clear: Punk isn’t just for straight, white men. Everyone is welcome. “The Suburbs Have Ruined My Life” tells the story of what it’s like growing up a queer, black atheist man in the bible belt. Spoiler alert: It’s not fun.
BAND NAME: Great Wight (Website / Instagram / Facebook / Bandcamp)
LABEL NAME: Old Press Records
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DELIRIUM was founded in 1987. After the band had developed the first songs, followed by the first two demos “Delirium” (1988) and “Amputation” (1989). In addition, after a number of cast changes with singer and guitarist Mark Honout, bassist Laura Beringer and drummer Han Swagerman had found a permanent cast. In this cast, the band recorded their debut album “Zzooouhh” , which appeared in 1990 on Prophecy Records. After that, the band broke up again. Head over to THE CRYPT to get a very special repress of one of the out of print and most sought-after death metal gems from the Netherlands!
BAND NAME: Delirium
LABEL NAME: The Crypt
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Since the formation of the band, Railway Gamblers has cultivated an extensive catalog of original music (4 full-length studio albums) that has led to a loyal Midwest following. About to head out on a seemly endless tour, they be playing quite a bit around their hometown (Chicago) and surrounding Illinois areas, as well as making stops at neighboring states (Michigan, Iowa, Indiana). While ‘Lover’ is the fourth (4th) full-length album release from RAILWAY GAMBLERS, it is the first selection from our catalog to be released on vinyl!
BAND NAME: Railway Gamblers (Website / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram)
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American rapper RAS KASS was born John Austin IV in Watts, California in 1973. A voracious reader throughout his youth, he adopted his stage name in honor of Ethiopian emperor Ras Kassa Mercha. After releasing a pair of independent singles, RAS KASS emerged as one of the most highly regarded new rappers at the time. The release of his long awaited album, “Van Gogh”, was delayed by label mergers and bootlegging, and RAS was forced to shelve the project until the summer of 2018.
BAND NAME: Ras Kass (Website / Instagram / Facebook / Twitter)
LABEL NAME: Big Herc
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From 2008 to 2015, Heidi Alexander formed one-third of San Francisco garage-folk band The Sandwitches. During that time, she also developed a side-project based around an alter-ego, EARTH GIRL HELEN BROWN, a mysterious girl, born in Canada, raised in a Georgia-based religious cult, who went blind in one eye as a child playing baseball. After leaving the cult, Brown became a nomadic psychedelic folk singer, lived in the Alaskan mountaintops, befriended a (fake) shaman and led a drug-fueled musical career that involved cutting herself on stage, before vanishing into obscurity. THE EARTH GIRL HELEN BROWN CENTER FOR PLANETARY INTELLIGENCE BAND (E.G.H.B.CF.P.I.B.) is joining forces with IN THE RED RECORDS & EMPTY CELLAR RECORDS, presenting the first vinyl release of their proto planetary series: “Four Satellites Vol. 1”. Double gate-folded LP (3 sides + etching), the release is a collection of songs and information from the band’s 2017 consumer recycled cassette series. Spring: MERCURY: fire; Summer: MARS: war; Fall: SATURN: communication; Winter: VENUS: love. All proceeds benefit 12 earth-minded organizations.
BAND NAME: Earth Girl Helen Brown
LABEL NAME: In The Red Records, Empty Cellar Records
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OHMME (aka the duo of Sima Cunningham and Macie Stewart) amalgamate the aggressive and the meditative on their bold debut full-length album, “Parts”. The duo are multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriters with a special penchant for two instruments in particular. These guitar-heavy experiments are sometimes earthy and resounding, at other times shimmering and buzzing—swirling around the duo’s expertly crafted vocals while creating a chaotic bed of harmony. This range from sweetly shiny 2-minute hypnotic bangers to woozy and sprawling 7-minute long tracks boasting moodily atmospheric wafting guitars and piercing feedback shows a band colliding thoughtfulness and creative ingenuity to produce music as unique as it is earworm-worthy. With “Parts”, OHMME manage to organically marry a breadth of divergent styles into an album that is cohesive, daring, and distinctly their own.
BAND NAME: Ohmme
LABEL NAME: Joyful Noise Recordings
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Big stuff next week, stay tuned!