Fat Cat friends Mazes and my perennial 2011 favorites, Eagulls, have finally released this much anticipated split 7″ via Mazes-off-shoot Italian Beach Babes. Obviously you get the intricate artwork I believe to be a product of George Mitchell’s pen, and you get duelling Wipers covers with Eagulls tackling Mystery and Mazes take on Messenger, and then you get a original cut from each. I’ve waxed poetic about both the Eagulls jams, so you should probably get your copy while supplies last. Stream below:

I’m pretty stoked to say that our Northern bros, Ghost Outfit, who in my entirely correct and humble opinion are one of the best bands in the entire country, are finally putting something to wax with the help of Sways Records. Having finally getting the pleasure of seeing Ghost Outfit a few weeks ago, I can confirm that they’re a great live band — all sweat and guts and fast, furious playing. You can listen to both sides of the 7″ below, Tuesday and I Want Someone Else, but more importantly you can pick up a copy for only £4! If you’re smart, though, like me, you’ll grab the limited edition (only 50!) which features Ghost Outfit debut 7″ on white vinyl with handmade plushy toy ghost and 7″ artwork square. Also includes the 13 track Young Ghosts EP Sides One and Two. EP is on a white cassette tape with unique hand drawn designs, courtesy of Mike Ghost. Do not sleep on this.

Ghost Outfit – Tuesday by sways

Ghost Outfit – I Want Someone Else by sways

I know I’ve been banging on about both The Growlers and Thee Ludds for quite some time now, but this record is really special and I just got my hands on a copy today, and oh, how beautiful it is. Palmist Records, sister label of the great Brighton institution Fat Cat Records, has spent all of 2011 releasing stunning split 12″ by US Girls & Slim Twig, Burning Yellows & The Whines, Lotus Plaza & Odonis Odonis and more. And the latest, and in my irrelevant opinion, happens to be the best. Palmist 06 features The OC’s finest, and one of my favorite bands live and on record of all time, The Growlers, giving the UK an introduction to the wonderful swamp-stop, drinkin’ the juice blues world they’ve created for themselves. On the flip side is Leicester’s Thee Ludds who have mastered really old school sounding 60s garage stomps with eerie organs and pounding drums, it’s all angular man, and there’s a couple new jams that haven’t been heard by anyone who doesn’t have this record.

You can, should, and will go to Palmist Records and pick up your copy.

Thee Ludds – Astral Plane by Palmist Records

Growlers- Graveyard’s Full by Palmist Records

England’s best kept garage secret (probably only due to the fact that this is their first single) Something Men are beginning their ascent to the heights of garage rock fame with their first single. Birdy Roof 7″ is definitely one of the best jams I’ve heard in a minute. You can grab your copy from EZPZ Records. I wrote some words for them about Something Men, in awe of their twangin’, bustlin’, infectious blues garage rock. Read what I said, listen to Birdy Roof below and grab yr copy of this single via EZPZ.

“The spirit of throwback American rock and roll is alive and well in the midlands of the UK. Worcester’s Something Men certainly embody the dirty, raucous spirit of the Sonics and The Velvet Underground, and they’re blessed with the gift to turn these influences into sublime slices of perfect garage-rock. While they stray towards the blues more than surf influences than other British garage bands, there’s absolutely an almost Chuck Berry-esque knack for deceptively easy songwriting in the Something Men. Blessed with a great musical swagger, Something Men have a great gift to sound thoroughly modern (ala first Strange Boys LP) while reaching back into the annals of American rock to bring something effortlessly intricate, fabulously unhinged and tinged with beautiful, beautiful grime to our ears.”

Birdy Roof by Something Men

Brighton’ s new superstar record label, Palmist Records (yes, the Fat Cat sister label), has released the info for their 5th split 12″ inch, this time featuring The Whines & Burning Yellows. Listen to a jam from each side of this split below and revel in the fuzzy, garage pop goodness. In the past 12 hours, I’ve become absolutely enamoured with The Whines. Burning Yellows will be playing Sticky Mikes Frog Bar with Sealings on the 10th of September & The Lock Tavern in London on the 15th of September.

The Whines – Electric Current by Palmist Records

Burning Yellows- False Horizons by Palmist Records

Our friends over at Palmist Records are doing something that is long overdue, in my humble and entirely correct opinion. They are releasing the first ever Growlers record in the UK. The split 12″ which will surely convert the Growlers into the most popular band in the world, features tracks from their ‘debut’ LP Are You In Or Out & their many Couples EPs as kind of an introduction for their future legions of British fans. On the flip side is another band we’ve given a lot of love to, Leicester’s Thee Ludds. Their brand of wild, frenetic 60s garage rock is the perfect b-side to the Growlers goth surf psych stomps. Below is ‘Graveyard’s Full‘ from Hot Tropics EP/Couples Volume 6 which will feature on the 12″.

Let us not forget that The Growlers are playing The Lexington in London on Sept 7th and The Green Door Store in Brighton on Sept 9th. See you there or else!

Growlers- Graveyard’s Full by Palmist Records

Oh, shit! Three of my favorite bands of this year are getting together to release a limited edition 7″ for XVIII Records. And the best part about it, really, is that Assassins 88 and TV Colours (who released a kickass split between themselves not too long ago) teamed up for the second side. ‘Trouble‘ combines what both bands do best, which happens to be some kind of weird mash of gutter punk noisy abrasiveness and completely sublime pop songs. These two Canberra bands kick ass separately AND together, this might be the best most crazily catchy song I’ve heard in a while. Meanwhile, Catholic Spray‘s side is another perfect slice of what they do best. ‘Screamin’ Mermaids‘ is a jaunt through a wild forest of slashing guitars and and indelible chorus. In a nutshell, it’s glamorous fuzzy punk slime perfection and it fucking rules. You can grab your copy via XVIII Records and check out Catholic Spray’s contribution below.

mp3: Catholic Spray – Screamin’ Mermaids

Our perennial favorites, The Growlers, have announced that they’ll play a FREE show at Origami Vinyl on April 16th for Record Store Day. They play about 8pm. They’ll be joined by the amazing (and buzz-central) Hanni El Khatib and Nick T from Islands. Origami Vinyl will have 50 copies of the RSD exclusive new 7″ from the Growlers, Gay Thoughts/Good Feelings. Having heard both sides of this 7″, I can tell you, this shit is worth lining up for. The Growlers add new components (horns?!) into their winning mix of swamp stomp, psychedelia with choruses that will refuse to leave your head with ‘Gay Thoughts‘. ‘Good Feelings‘ is also a step-forward, there’s new noises here too, of the keyboard (and like, xylophone?!) variety but it meshes really well with the Growlers strengths. They’re so subtle sometimes, it’s a thing of beauty and a step forward. They’re the best. Get your hands on a copy of this come April 16th.

Our brother in Growlers-adoration Jack Coleman just released a new video of one of our favorites cuts from 2009′s Are You In Or Out?‘s Empty Bones Check it out:

mp3 | The Growlers – My Forehead’s Dripping Ocean

Scion A/V are releasing another 7″, in a series of great split singles featuring great garage bands, and this time it is with Human Eye and NRBW uber-favs Sex Beet. The bands are no strangers to each other, as they’ve played Scion/Vice curated shows in Austin and NYC, so this all works really well together. Sex Beet‘s contribution, Alone, is one of my favorite Sex Beet songs, although when you say that about every song… It’s kind of funny that this song, about the shedding of dead weight/bad relationships is also their best produced song thus far. The vocals are audible AND coherent, the keyboard sounds just ridiculously good and it’s still got that kind of ramshackleness that made me love Sex Beet in the first place. I’ve long said that I think they’re one of the best bands in the UK and I hope that this cements that in y’alls minds too — these guys have got it, whatever it is, and it feels good.  Human Eye‘s ‘Martian Queen’ is pretty much as weird and awesome as it sounds – I love the space age sounds and the distortion. This is a really great foil to the Sex Beet side.

The digital single is available for streaming/loving/adoring/downloading below:
Scion A/V Garage: Human Eye/Sex Beet by ScionAV

The Entrance Band fucking rip. This is just a generally known fact. Their live show is… pretty out of this world, and they’ve just announced that they’re releasing a new 7″ just in time for two of our favorite Holidays, Record Store Day (April 19th) and the one the very next day. Black Tent Press will release I Want You with b-side A House Is Not A Motel. 500 of these bad boys will be printed, with two colour hand printed serigraph covers. Pre-Order your copy here very soon. Stoked!

mp3 | The Entrance Band – Lookout!