Haven’t we all gotten tired of that generic tinny lo-fi garage guitar sound? Upward and onward to newer and more glorious fuzz, I say. Down with the old! Appreciate the garage records of yore only for what made them good, or what was awful to the point of being interesting. The b-side rave-up is not a folk tradition that needs any sort of mummification process by each progressive tribute record.

This bears stating because Wax Idols are a band with definite appeal and a some knack for hooks, yet their debut No Future too closely recreates the feeling of putting six or so hopelessly obscure garage 45s on a stack spindle and just letting it run. Yes, there are fresh nuggets; “Dead Like You”, “Nothing At All”, and “Gold Sneakers” have all earned a number of repeat rotations. But they only come sporadically through generic rave-ups like “Hotel Room” and “Dilno”.

The vocals are straddled between a Joan Jett swagger and Shaggs-damaged naiveté. The feisty delivery aids the energetic vibe on display. However, on a track like “Hitman” – a story of dismemberment that reminded me of the horrific shock stories I read helping grade middle school creative writing papers – it brings the silliness of it to the forefront. Though a feeling of professionalism and polish has killed many garage records, this shouldn’t be taken so as to confuse the lack of wit or lucidity with a self-justifying primitivism.

It seems the Idols themselves recognize when they’ve stumbled on a good hook, and play with an extra exuberant fervor, such as on the soaring chorus to “Gold Sneakers”, which features one of the few musically interesting textures here: the wiry angular line full of sharps that guides the “I-I luh-luh-love you”s along like a roller coaster. Something frantic and not wholly self-determined is brewing there, and I wish it could’ve been explored more than the grade school nihilism of tracks like “Human Condition”.

The group’s single, also released this year, “All Too Human b/w William” is the catchiest thing they’ve recorded yet. When a singles compilation drops a couple albums down the road, it’ll be an item to watch for. For now though, it remains a constructive process. If you want a garage fix, you could do worse.

RIYL: C or G chords

or

RIYL: Black Kites, Grass Widow, Wooden Shjips, Joan Jett, The Runaways, Cats and Jammers

Wax Idols – Dead Like You

Wax Idols – Gold Sneakers

Wax Idols – Hitman

Hozac Records / BUY

The post Wax Idols – No Future (2011) appeared first on Obscure Sound: Indie Music Blog.

December’s features were cut short by the ‘Best Albums‘ feature, so I decided to cram two months into one for this compilation. I think it makes this one twice as good as the average one on here, headlined by the first big successes of 2011. Destroyer, Smith Westerns, British Sea Power, and Cut Copy are the first big names to release an album in 2011, all doing so with critical acclaim. Three of the four are featured in this month’s compilation with some of the highlights from those releases. Add to that some new efforts by other familiar faces like Memory Tapes, Akron/Family, and Times New Viking and there is little to complain about thus far. If 2011 continues in a positive direction like this, we could all be in for a great year.

Even aside from the popular names, other names like Woodsman, Grass Widow, and Tennis are generating buzz as well. There is yet to be a breakout new star in 2011, but a couple of these artists produced exceptional debuts and sophomore releases that should provide them with some well-deserved recognition. I’m just hoping that February comes and goes quickly… in my opinion, it’s easily the worst month of the year. The weather absolutely sucks, the only sport on TV is basketball, and illnesses are flying around with malicious intent. I was unlucky enough to catch one early last week and am still battling it. The last time I was sick before this? Last February. There’s just something about the month that makes my body weak. Good thing music is not affected by the miserable qualities of a given month. It’s one of the only things that acts as an enjoyable compass in times like these.

01. Destroyer – Chinatown (post)
02. Smith Westerns – All Die Young (post)
03. British Sea Power – Mongk II (post)
04. Akron/Family – So It Goes (post)
05. Bullion – I Just Wasn’t Made For These Times (Beach Boys) (post)
06. Memory Tapes – Today Is Our Life (post)
07. Times New Viking – No Room to Live (post)
08. Woodsman – I Can’t Move (post)
09. Soft Landing – Pendleton Woolen (post)
10. Young Prisms – I Don’t Get Much (post)
11. Grass Widow – Fried Egg (post)
12. The Mountain Goats – Damn These Vampires (post)
13. Tennis – Pigeon (post)
14. Young Galaxy – We Have Everything (post)

DOWNLOAD ENTIRE COMPILATION>>> (91.2 MB, .RAR)

The post Obscure Sound: Best of Dec./Jan. ’11 appeared first on Obscure Sound: Indie Music Blog.