Terminal Mind (early 80s Austin punk trio & Big Boys compatriots) premiere track from discography + unreleased studio album

"Grayscale art-rock with punk desperation channeled through instrumental and songwriting legitimacy...Terminal Mind remains an act locals still celebrate despite a short lifespan and being under-recorded." -- Austin Chronicle

First-wave Austin, TX punk trio Terminal Mind premiere the first track from their forthcoming retrospective album today via Austin Chronicle. Recordings collects the short lived band's 4-song 7" (which fetches upwards of $100 on eBay), Live At Raul's compilation cuts and outstanding unreleased studio and live recordings. Hear and share "Refugee" HERE. (Direct Soundcloud.)

Terminal Mind, formed in 1978, was one of the early first-wave punk acts in Austin, TX. Based far from the urban roots of a genre in its earliest stages, the band absorbed influences as disparate as Pere Ubu, Roxy Music, John Cale, and Wire. The life span was short, but their influence touched many of the next generation of Texas noise and hardcore acts as they shared bills with fellow proto-punks The Huns and Standing Waves at Raul's, The Big Boys on the UT campus, and even opened for Iggy Pop at the Armadillo World Headquarters.

Founding members Steve Marsh and the Murray Brothers, Doug and Greg, started as a trio before adding synthesizer player Jack Crow. Steve Marsh moved to New York with his experimental noise band Miracle Room (before eventually returning to Austin and forming space/psychedelic rock band Evil Triplet and beginning an experimental solo project dubbed Radarcave), while Doug Murary joined the Skunks and Greg Murray played in a later version of The Big Boys. Jack Crow passed away in 1994.

This collection of songs is a journey back to the 'anything goes' first steps of American punk as it left the dirty streets of New York and Los Angeles and made its way into the heartland. Like the Austin of 1978, Recordings is a small outpost of musical individualism that planted seeds for the alternative music explosion familiar to later generations. 

Recordings will be available on LP, CD and download on January 19th, 2018 via Sonic Surgery Records.

Artist: Terminal Mind

Album: Recordings

Label: Sonic Surgery Records

Release Date: January 19, 2018

01. I Want to Die Young

02. Refugee

03. Sense of Rhythm

04. Zombieland

05. Obsessed With Crime

06. Fear In the Future

07. Radioactive

08. Bridges Are For Burning

09. (I Give Up On) Human Rights

10. Black

11. Missing Pieces

12. Bureaucracy 

On The Web:

supersecretrecords.com/bands/terminal-mind

Spiny Normen premiere lead track from unreleased album 40-years after recording via Paste Magazine

"A dark masterpiece." -- Paste Magazine Spiny Normen premiere the first track from their forthcoming posthumous album -- 40 years in the making -- today via Paste Magazine. Hear and share album opener "Arrowhead" HERE. (Direct YouTube.) Spiny Normen is an incredible mid-70's Houston hard rock, progressive, psychedelic rock band (yes, all that and more) that featured mellotron, vox jaguar, crunchy, heavy guitars, flute with echo effects, and lots more. A totally lost relic this album is, recorded at the community college and never released. This band has a very English, dark, mysterious and proggy but very acid drenched feeling to it.  Vocalist/guitarist Steve Brudniak dishes on the band's founding and this exceptional recording: Circa 1976, Gerry and I would skip class, smoke whatever scrap of contraband we could scrape together and meet in the high school auditorium where there was a piano and bang out crunchy rhythms.... At home I shoved a mic into the family upright piano and overdrove a cheap recorder and home made echo-plex to get an impressive cacophony. Gerry was playing guitar, listening to Alice Cooper, hair down to his back and about the only Mexican American in a white bread school. He was cool! So when he said one day, "Hey man we should jam some time!" I was stoked. We did, man it was fun! I was soon on the lookout for a keyboard to become legit with. I found the already ancient Vox Jaguar in the Houston paper that had belonged to Fever Tree, one of the original psychedelic bands of the late 60s. I didn't know how famous they were at the time but I bought it for $160 and a Kustom blue sparkle vinyl amp with a speaker that I blew out just right, that made the most beautiful distortion, accompanied by a beloved phase shifter.  We began torturing our parents in various suburban garages and bedrooms after adding Norman Davis on drums and Steve Koch on bass. Back then it was a Black Sabbath sounding, blues based crunch. Songs like "Carry Your Water" and "Space Age Flyer" were early comps.  We made a 4-track recording in a local studio around then that our drummer didn't show up to the session for. All of us being Monty Python fans, and the Norman-no-show gave us the name Spiny Normen (with an E) which two more bands have since taken.  Over the next three years we began to experiment, waaaay off into the beaten path, spending months penning intense, bizarre, surreal and mind affecting pieces influenced by King Crimson, Pink Floyd, film soundtracks, Vandergraaf Generator, and the like along with some bad bad acid trips on my part. I was collecting keyboards ...a melotron (hell yes!) a single key play moog. Gerry was adding echoes, early guitar synth and tons of pedals. I learned the flute. New bass player Bruce Salmon and a try at another vocalist Bob Riley and various drummers, my favorite being Robert Winters, were in and out. In we went with a hired stand up bass player and a little Gerry Diaz engineering knowledge to the Alvin community college 8-track recording studio and just played like psychedelic Mozarts. Timpani, live effects, sound effect records, backward echo, violin bow on guitar and plenty of echo. Gerry and I on vocals now. What came out was still, to this day, in my humble opinion, some very complex, untouched territory, holy-what-the-? stuff. We were all about 19.  It didn't last long and we were way behind and way ahead of our time. I'm so ffffn thrilled though at 54 to see what this world of open-ended listeners will think of Spiny Normen now. The 19 year old Steve is getting his dream fulfilled. Gerry and I still experiment here and again with guitar and theremin in an effort called Psylobison. Just as touched, but its not going to give you such bad dreams. Spiny Normen will be available on LP, CD and download on February 23rd, 2018 via RidingEasy Records. Pre-orders are available at RidingEasyRecs.com.

Artist: Spiny Normen Album: Spiny Normen Label: RidingEasy Records Release Date: February 23, 2018 01. Arrowhead 02. Wrecko Wild Man Ride 03. Carry Your Water 04. The Monkeyweasel 05. To Meet the Mad Hatter 06. The Bell Park Loon 07. In The Darkness of Night 08. The Sound of Younger Times On The Web: ridingeasyrecs.com

Sean Morales (James Arthur's Manhunt) premieres first single from solo debut w/ heavy friends on Super Secret Records

"A wild 8-song collection that’s all over the map musically: power pop, proto-punk, garbled Krautrock, indie rock, Fat Possum blues, and more." -- Big Takeover

Austin songwriter Sean Morales premieres the first single from his forthcoming solo debut today courtesy of The Spill Magazine and Big Takeover. Morales, who also plays in James Arthur's Manhunt, enlisted the help of several local scene luminaries to complete the project, a frenetic 8-song album that explores a variety of styles. Hear the lead single, a cover of '70s British musician/producer Chris Spedding's "Video Life" via The Spill, Big Takeover and Soundcloud. 

Sean Morales is a family man from Austin by way Norfolk, VA. He began writing the songs for Call it In while living alone in Houston, then started shaping the songs with wife and drummer, Erica Barton (also of Super Secret artists Faceless Werewolves), after moving back to Austin. Sean then reached out to Jonathan Horne, a brilliant Jazz-bent guitarist known for his work with Young Mothers, Ichi Ni San Shi, and Knest and other heavy friends from the Austin rock'n'roll underground like Orville Neely from OBN IIIs, Bryan Schmitz from the Golden Boys, and James Arthur from the band Sean regularly plays bass in, the blistering psych damaged James Arthur's Manhunt, to bring whatever they had on them at the time; be it laughter, Clubtails, or scorching guitar. The recording was expertly helmed by Stuart Sikes who's recorded cornerstone works by The White Stripes, Cat Power, and Loretta Lynn.

Call It In is an occasion to celebrate the ease of life. It's an inviting debut that calls you over for a sundown evening of bourbon on the porch and unfolds into unexpected conversational turns. There is an alien familiarity in this record that resembles a solo night drive through blabber and smoke to arrive at a familiar room to find that Alex Chilton, Wreckless Eric, and the members of Amon Duul are already in the house, waiting for Junior Kimbrough to play. It's something that could have conceivably happened at some point, but it's still a dream.

Sean made his first record with more mission than vision, by that we mean that this record is a comfort to those of us who think about records almost as friends we like to catch up with. Call It In will tell you the lowdown and take you to some unexpected places.

Call It In will be available on LP, CD and download on January 12th, 2018 via Super Secret Records. Pre-orders are available HERE. 

Artist: Sean Morales Album: Call It In Label: Super Secret Records Release Date: January 12, 2018 01. Video Life 02. Call It In 03. Bring Me Home 04. Whispertime 05. Problems 06. Slummertime 07. We've Been Apart 08. Party 1 On The Web: facebook.com/singharpy supersecretrecords.com/bands/sean-morales

MARRIAGE + CANCER premiere first track from forthcoming debut via CvltNation, rising Portland melodic-noise band

Portland, OR quartet Marriage + Cancer premiere the first track from their forthcoming full length debut today via CvltNation. Hear and share "God is Tan" HERE. (Direct Soundcloud)

Marriage + Cancer are a quickly rising noisy melodic band from Portland, OR. Their heavy, driving, chaotic sound has captivated audiences in the Pacific Northwest, grabbing the attention of Austin label Self Sabotage, who jumped to release the band's full length debut. The album was recorded LIVE at vocalist/guitarist Robert Comitz's Stop/Start Studio, engineered by Billy Anderson (Sleep, Melvins, Neurosis) and mixed by Brent Asbury (Pinback). 

Marriage + Cancer sounds off from the jagged recesses of domestic landscape, their self-titled debut letting out a bellicose & harrowing howl into today's political & social voids. Rising from the ashes of K Records band Nucular Aminals, vocalist/guitarist Robert Comitz reformed the band under its new moniker, shedding the former's organ grinding & jaunty goth riffs for a heavier approach ranging from the thumping bass of album opener "Command + Comply" to the early-Sonic Youth-esque riffing of "Gound" to the rhythmic expanse of "View From A Cross." 

The band is comprised of Comitz (who also plays guitar is Ssold [w/ members of Get Hustle, Rabbits]), guitarist Jay Mechling, bassist Christian Carmine (also currently in Marmits, previously in Fist Fite) and drummer Chase Hall (also of The Swan Thief). 

Marriage + Cancer will be available on LP and download on February 9th, 2018 via Self Sabotage Records, a division of Super Secret Records. Pre-orders are available HERE. 

MARRIAGE + CANCER LIVE:

02/10/18 Portland, OR @ Tonic Lounge - album release party

Artist: Marriage + Cancer

Album: Marriage + Cancer

Label: Self Sabotage Records

Release Date: February 9, 2017

01. Command + Comply

02. God is Tan

03. Honor, On Our Knees

04. Headache

05. Six Feet + a Box

06. Flora + Fauna

07. Gound

08. Thirteen Stairs

09. View From a Cross

On The Web:

facebook.com/marriageandcancer

marriageandcancer.bandcamp.com

selfsabotagerecords.bigcartel.com

Slowcore dark folk balladeer Little Mazarn streaming forthcoming album in full ahead of release

"Verrill’s music, for all its simplicity, makes the heart move, and if you’re in the mood to yearn, she’s got you covered." -- Tiny Mix Tapes

Little Mazarn, the stage name of Austin songwriter Lindsey Verrill, is streaming her forthcoming self-titled album in full starting today via AltDialogue. Hear and share Little Mazarn HERE. (Soundcloud)

The Big Takeover recently launched the single "White Fang" HERE. Tiny Mix Tapes previously hosted the album centerpiece "My Love is All Around You" HERE. 

Little Mazarn, the stage name for Lindsey Verrill, gets her name from what she calls "an unromantic river" in Arkansas. Playing banjo on three original songs, a traditional murder ballad ("Rain And Snow") and an English sea song, Little Mazarn, in her lilting warble, sings "about precious things, boring things, nature and the garbage that is humanity" (her words). A dreamy pop that would have fit in nicely with the slowcore of the late 90s and early 00s, the album also has unmistakeable connections to older forms & genres like country, gospel and Appalachian folk.

Verrill is joined on the album by live accompanist Jeff Johnston on saw, vocals and harmonium, as well as several guests contributing strings and vocals throughout. Recorded and Mixed by David Boyle at ChurchHouse Studios in east Austin.

Little Mazarn will be available on LP and download on December 15th, 2017 via Self Sabotage Records, a division of Super Secret Records. Pre-orders are available HERE.

LITTLE MAZARN LIVE:

12/15 Austin, TX @ Central Presbyterian Church - Album release show

Artist: Little Mazarn

Album: Little Mazarn

Label: Self Sabotage Records

Release Date: December 15, 2017

01. In Dreams

02. White Fang

03. Rain and Snow

04. The Grey Funnel Line

05. My Love is All Around You

On The Web:

facebook.com/littlemazarn

littlemazarn.bandcamp.com

selfsabotagerecords.bigcartel.com

Ether Feather premiere "Kiss The Earth" video, trio w/ Cursive, Cibo Matto, Reggie Watts band members play odd, heavy psych

Los Angeles trio Ether Feather premiere the video for "Kiss The Earth" from their debut EP today via

New Noise Magazine in the U.S. and The Spill Magazine in Canada. Watch and share the video styled after early-90s era thrillers via New Noise, The Spill and YouTube. 

Although they took their name from a Captain Beefheart lyric, Los Angeles trio Ether Feather seems to worship more at the alter of Black Sabbath, Budgie, and Rush. In many ways the band, with only one release to its name, actually began in 2011 when drummer/singer Dylan Ryan (Cursive, Fatal Jamz) started the band as an instrumental trio called Sand with future Ether Feather collaborators Devin Hoff (Cibo Matto, Julia Holter) and Tim Young (Reggie Watts, Wayne Horvitz) 

After two Sand records Ryan set the moniker aside in favor of a new name that better reflected the new direction of the material he was writing, specifically psychedelic proto-metal. Ether Feather self-released an EP in 2017 called Other Memory and are sorting out plans for the 2018 release of their debut full length.

Director Matt Hewitt on the video: "Dylan and I were definitely inspired by the early 90s style thriller. The plot and mood was referencing movies like Unlawful Entry and Sliver, something of a desert-bound Judgement Night homage.  We definitely wanted to create a video that Michael Douglas or Eric Roberts could have starred in. And of course by the end of the piece it becomes a full-bore Seagal movie, a la Out for Justice or Above the Law. Without being a complete visual rip-off we wanted to recreate that brand of thriller and action film that we hold so dear in a concentrated, miniature format."

Drummer/singer, Dylan Ryan: "Lyrically, 'Kiss The Earth' is somewhat inspired by the film The Witch that we were quite into when we were arranging the parts. I had a long sparse melody that I wanted to stretch out like Ozzy on the second half of 'Fairies Wear Boots'. As far as the music goes, I was heavily into the White Zombie Box Set and the stuff they did right when Jay Yuenger joined the band.  I love his playing."

ETHER FEATHER LIVE:

12/11 Los Angeles, CA @ Resident w/ The New Trust

Artist: Ether Feather

Album: Other Memory

Label: self-released

Release Date: July 1, 2017

01. Kiss The Earth

02. Captain's Quarters

03. Crystal Palace

04. Kyanite

05. Stalker

On The Web:

dylanryanmusic.com

etherfeather.bandcamp.com

facebook.com/etherfeatherband/

instagram.com/etherfeatherband

Slowcore dark folk balladeer Little Mazarn shares new track via Big Takeover

"Verrill’s music, for all its simplicity, makes the heart move, and if you’re in the mood to yearn, she’s got you covered." -- Tiny Mix Tapes

Little Mazarn, the stage name of Austin songwriter Lindsey Verrill, premieres a new song from her forthcoming self-titled album today via The Big Takeover. Hear and share "White Fang" HERE. (Soundcloud.)

Tiny Mix Tapes recently launched the album centerpiece "My Love is All Around You" HERE. (Direct Soundcloud.)

Little Mazarn, the stage name for Lindsey Verrill, gets her name from what she calls “an unromantic river” in Arkansas. Playing banjo on three original songs, a traditional murder ballad (“Rain And Snow”) and an English sea song, Little Mazarn, in her lilting warble, sings “about precious things, boring things, nature and the garbage that is humanity” (her words). A dreamy pop that would have fit in nicely with the slowcore of the late 90s and early 00s, the album also has unmistakeable connections to older forms & genres like country, gospel and Appalachian folk.

Verrill is joined on the album by live accompanist Jeff Johnston on saw, vocals and harmonium, as well as several guests contributing strings and vocals throughout. Recorded and Mixed by David Boyle at ChurchHouse Studios in east Austin.

Little Mazarn will be available on LP and download on December 15th, 2017 via Self Sabotage Records, a division of Super Secret Records. Pre-orders are available HERE.

LITTLE MAZARN LIVE:

11/29 Austin, TX @ ATX6 Finale at The Stateside

12/15 Austin, TX @ Central Presbyterian Church - Album release show

Artist: Little Mazarn

Album: Little Mazarn

Label: Self Sabotage Records

Release Date: December 15, 2017

01. In Dreams

02. White Fang

03. Rain and Snow

04. The Grey Funnel Line

05. My Love is All Around You

On The Web:

facebook.com/littlemazarn

littlemazarn.bandcamp.com

selfsabotagerecords.bigcartel.com

HERE LIES MAN streaming Animal Noises EP in full early; Antibalas members "if Black Sabbath played Afrobeat"

"It's funky, groovy, heavy, and trippy all at once, and it rules pretty hard." -- Brooklyn Vegan

"Enormously enjoyable. Like Funkadelic at their early 70s heavy zenith or the darker works of post-punk pioneers The Pop Group: dancefloor fillers for the black of heart." -- Metal Hammer

Los Angeles quartet Here Lies Man's self-titled debut has been named among Rough Trade's Top 10 Albums of 2017. The esteemed retailer and record label announced their annual picks of best sellers & customer faves today, which includes the band's debut released in April of this year on RidingEasy Records. 

Here Lies Man will also release a new 12" EP, Animal Noises later this month. Classic Rock Magazine recently premiered the band's cover version of Fela Kuti's "Sorrow, Tears and Blood" HERE. (Direct YouTube.) The 4-song 12" will be available November 24th on RidingEasy Records.

What if Black Sabbath played Afrobeat? In short, that's the underlying vibe to the self-titled debut by Here Lies Man. The L.A. based quintet is founded and conceptualized by Marcos Garcia of Antibalas, bringing his erudite experience of World rhythms and music to the more riff-based foundations of heavy rock. The results are an incredibly catchy and refreshing twist on classic forms, without sounding forced and trite like some sort of mash-up attempt. Here Lies Man merges and expands musical traditions organically, utilizing the talents of drummer Geoff Mann (son of jazz musician Herbie Mann and a former Antibalas member) and a host of skilled musicians to make Garcia's vision a reality. 

"These repetitive guitar figures that happen in Afrobeat music are pretty close to heavy rock guitar riffs," Garcia explains. "It's based on the clave. It's the musical algorithm that the rhythms revolve around. That's what gives it integrity and is part of this musical conversation going on. I knew I wanted it to be psychedelic and heavy, and I wanted to be expanding on a musical tradition than pretending to be creating something new." The recording and band came together in the somewhat spontaneous fashion for which L.A. is famous. Garcia and Mann laid down the foundations and the band quickly expanded the recording and live shows soon followed. 

Animal Noises will be available on 12" vinyl and download on November 24th, 2017 via RidingEasy Records. Pre-orders are available at RidingEasyRecs.com. 

HERE LIES MAN TOUR:

11/19/17 Long Beach, CA @ Alex's Bar - All Good Things Fest

02/22/18 Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso

02/23/18 Berlin, DE @ Musik und Frieden 

02/24/18 Copenhagen, DK @ Vinterjazz Festival

02/25/18 Hamburg, DE @ Knust

02/27/18 Brussels, BE @ Ancienne Belgique

02/28/18 Paris, FR @ L'Olympic Cafe

03/02/18 Bristol, UK @ The Exchange

03/03/18 Brighton, UK @ West Hill Hall

03/05/18 Leeds, UK @ Brudenell Social Club

03/06/18 Manchester, UK @ Soup Kitchen

03/07/18 London, UK @ Moth Club

Artist: Here Lies Man

Album: Animal Noises EP

Label: RidingEasy Records

Release Date: November 24, 2017

01. Animal Noises

02. Sorrow, Blood and Tears

03. You Ain't Goin' Nowhere (Chico Mann Remix)

04. Animal Noises (instrumental)

Artist: Here Lies Man

Album: Here Lies Man

Label: RidingEasy Records

Release Date: April 7, 2017

01. When I Come To

02. I Stand Alone

03. Eyes of the Law

04. You Ain't Goin' Nowhere

05. Letting Go

06. So Far Away

07. Belt of the Sun

08. Here Lies Man

On The Web:

facebook.com/hereliesman

ridingeasyrecs.com

Slowcore style dark folk balladeer Little Mazarn premieres track via Tiny Mix Tapes

"Verrill’s music, for all its simplicity, makes the heart move, and if you’re in the mood to yearn, she’s got you covered." -- Tiny Mix Tapes

Little Mazarn, the stage name of Austin songwriter Lindsey Verrill, premieres the first song from her forthcoming self-titled album today via Tiny Mix Tapes. The album centerpiece "My Love is All Around You" is available to hear and share HERE. (Direct Soundcloud.)

Little Mazarn, the stage name for Lindsey Verrill, gets her name from what she calls “an unromantic river” in Arkansas. Playing banjo on three original songs, a traditional murder ballad (“Rain And Snow”) and an English sea song, Little Mazarn, in her lilting warble, sings “about precious things, boring things, nature and the garbage that is humanity” (her words). A dreamy pop that would have fit in nicely with the slowcore of the late 90s and early 00s, the album also has unmistakeable connections to older forms & genres like country, gospel and Appalachian folk.

Verrill is joined on the album by live accompanist Jeff Johnston on saw, vocals and harmonium, as well as several guests contributing strings and vocals throughout. Recorded and Mixed by David Boyle at ChurchHouse Studios in east Austin.

Little Mazarn will be available on LP and download on December 15th, 2017 via Self Sabotage Records, a division of Super Secret Records. Pre-orders are available HERE.

LITTLE MAZARN LIVE:

11/29 Austin, TX @ ATX6 Finale at The Stateside

12/15 Austin, TX @ Central Presbyterian Church - Album release show

Artist: Little Mazarn

Album: Little Mazarn

Label: Self Sabotage Records

Release Date: December 15, 2017

01. In Dreams

02. White Fang

03. Rain and Snow

04. The Grey Funnel Line

05. My Love is All Around You

On The Web:

facebook.com/littlemazarn

littlemazarn.bandcamp.com

selfsabotagerecords.bigcartel.com