Brooklyn Vegan interviews SISTERS

photo by Leia Jospe. Bill is killing it with the interviews over at the Big V!

While they have yet to release an album, Brooklyn duo Sisters have been busy releasing split 7"s with JEFF: the Brotherhood and helping run Death by Audio the venue. Death by Audio, the label, will release their full-length debut in the spring of 2010. The guys don't have any local shows till February (when they'll open for Atlas Sound and Neon Indian) but they play Toronto on January 15 with Little Girls. Singer-guitarist Aaron Pfannnebecker, and drummer/keyboardist Matt Conboy sum up their 2009, and explain why two people need so much volume...

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You spent 2009 working on your debut album. How's that coming along?

Aaron: Yeah, we started in September. We are starting to mix it this week actually. I am really psyched. It's sounding great.

Matt: It's coming along great. We're working with Jeremy Scott at The Civil Defense. I think some times I get impatient, and want the thing finished sooner, but I know that it will be worth the wait to make it exactly how we want it.

Sisters use more amps than the average person might expect from two people. What's with that?

Aaron: I send loops sometimes to one stack and sometimes play out of both. We also babysit, so sometimes kids can hang out in them if we need to play a show.

Matt: The short answer is that I can't really play drums quietly, so Aaron's guitar needs to be loud enough for me to hear it. We also try to fill out a wide spectrum of sound, but having only two members means compensating with amps etc. Plus I think we sound a lot better now than when we just had one guitar amp.

What was your most memorable musical moment of 2009?

Aaron: Making up music in my bedroom with some new toys and making music with Matt.

What about non-musical moment?

Matt: New years with my girlfriend in Lake Taho, CA.

Aaron: Swimming, traveling to see friends.

Favorite place to play in NYC?

We both really have fun at the Dead Herring.

Best new NYC-area band?

Aaron: I guess, she is not so much new, but new to me. I really like Noveller a lot.

Matt: Coasting.

What's the best and worst thing about being in a band in NYC in 2009?

Matt: It seems like NYC is more saturated with venues and bands. This is great because there are lots of awesome people doing inspiring things (both playing music and running spaces). But it's also frustrating because you often have to wade through a lot of mediocrity and crap to find them.

Aaron: The best is all the great bands and venues to play. The worst is I guess the uptight seriousness that comes with a place like this.

What were your favorite albums of 2009?

Aaron: Lots, Jeff: The Brotherhood - Heavy Days, Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion, Bill Callahan - Sometimes I Wish We Were an Eagle, Atlas Sound -Logos.

Matt: Jeff: The Brotherhood - Heavy Days, A Place to Bury Strangers - Exploding Head, Grooms - Rejoycer, Dan Deacon - Bromst, Lightning Bolt - Earthly Delights.

Favorite Singles/Songs?

Flight - Flowers 7" (from Memphis), Teengirl Fantasy - TGIF EP, Miley Cyrus - "Party in the USA"

What was the best show you saw in 2009?

Matt: Black Pus and Jeff: The Brotherhood at DBA in April.

Aaron: Jeff: The Brotherhood at Mercury Lounge was awesome, and I had a lot of fun at Deerhunter show earlier in the year.

Favorite Michael Jackson song?

Aaron: "Human Nature." It's the best.

Matt: "Shes Out Of My Life"

What is the proper way to incorporate "Meh" into your band name?

Smehisters

Shitgaze, Glo-fi or Dark Wave?

Aaron: I like the sound of a Dark Wave.

Plans/predictions for 2010?

Matt: Some things will be worse, others will be better. I am excited.

Aaron: It looks like it is going to be busy with music. Our album will be out in the Spring and then shows. I can't wait, and it will be weird to write 2010.

Brooklyn Vegan interviews Travis from GROOMS

Thanks to Bill over at the BV for this quick questionnaire.

Grooms released their debut album this year. How'd that go? It's been awesome and exciting. We're just finishing up our first tour. 4 out of 5 weeks down. I can't wait to get around actual shampoo again.

editor's note: the tour has since finished.

You also changed your name, which can prove difficult. How'd that go? I'm so glad I'm not in a band called The Muggabears anymore. Once we decided to change the name and basically start a new band, it just felt super natural (and necessary).

What was your most memorable musical moment of 2009? Playing with Jim (on drums) for the first time. Emily and I had to go turn our amps up by about 100% immediately. He's crazy loud.

What about non-musical moment? Hmmm... how about getting back into the dating world again?

Favorite place to play in NYC? We played this show underneath the Highline park in Manhattan. It was beyond zany. I hope we can play a place like that again. I'm pretty sure that actual place won't be played again though.

Best new NYC-area band? Talk Normal. Deradoorian.

What's the best and worst thing about being in a band in NYC in 2009? Best - being around friends all the time who are also playing in bands and doing really really creative things. Worst - Having no money to replace broken equipment.

What were your favorite albums of 2009? Wye Oak - The Knot A Sunny Day in Glasgow - Ashes Grammar Atlas Sound - Logos Talk Normal - Sugarland

Favorite Singles/Songs? "High Road" by Deradoorian. A song on Wye Oak's album that I can't remember the name of (I listen to it straight through in the store I work in).

What was the best show you saw in 2009? Hank IV at SXSW. Amazing band from San Francisco.

Favorite Michael Jackson song? "The Way You Make Me Feel" or "Smooth Criminal"

What is the proper way to incorporate "Meh" into your band name? Groomehs.

Shitgaze, Glo-fi or Dark Wave? I really despise trends. But I'll say glo-fi.

Plans/predictions for 2010? New album coming out!

Swedish Love - Devotion Names CUT's "Junksmith" as a Top 10 song of '09

Do not adjust your modem. The Swedish music magazine DEVOTION has named Coin Under Tongue's barely released song "Junksmith" as a top 10 song of 2009. This is somewhat shocking considering it's ACROSS A FUCKING OCEAN and the song has only been available as a song on the downloadable version of the Pursesnatchers/CUT split 7". Please bear with us as we let the Googlebot do a hack translation of what they had to say:

Coin Under Tongue Leaving George Wilson - exactly, and quite rightly, the former Dirty on Purpose-guitarist - and the singer Joe Kelly as the main card in this Brooklyn Raised three-man lineup. Many American music genre writers continue like Coin Under Tongue at the intersection of post-hardcore and 80s post-punk, but it is certainly wide open to their interpretations in this case. The register is primarily British, but broad, very broad, and with one on the brink of endless life in care practices. There is noise. There is underground parking. It's Josef K meets World Domination Enterprises meets the 2000s and Silversun Pickups. It is on the verge of severe schizophrenia when Kelly more or less interpret the 80th century all the post-punk giants during the intro to the Junk Smith. But above all it is ingeniously produced. Where I and the doubts that there even is recorded on this page 1985, where my extended post-punk aortic pulse during foreplay and between games to the chorus and the biting, caustic, and much harder post-hardcore credentials, and then discarded in Kelly's schizophrenic voice registers . Coin Under Tongue is on Death by Audio Records, which also visiting hajpade Sisters is located, and where not surprisingly, both A Place to Bury Strangers, and now dispersed Dirty on Purpose previously has hosted. Last spring, I witnessed personally DEATH RINGO STARR, and The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, drummer Kurt Feldman's side project Depreciation Guild at the intimate underground club with Death by Audio driver in Brooklyn. A room, with its atmosphere and spirit, must be experienced on the ground to not be left to utopias. And just the same way I could summarize Coin Under Tongue, and above all Junk Smith. A jewel of overeating Brooklyn Romantikerserien with one foot still in the 1980s in Britain.

SOOOO big super sloppy kisses to Devotion Magazine for the intercontinental shout out!

Download "Junksmith" by Coin Under Tongue- just CLICK HERE. (right click/cntrl+click to save)

Hello, My name is Ghost Manningham

Thanks to everyone who voted in our most recent poll, which was conducted to give a name to our cat that you see above. It was a close race, with Ghost (A.K.A. The Ghoster) beating out Manningham by a mere 2 votes. We've decided to use Manningham as the cat's last name, which is a more appropriate stage name if and when The Ghost decides to pursue an acting career. UPDATE: The Ghoster has become quite an annoying teenager since this poll began, interrupting her owners' sleep by jumping into bed and curling up on their faces and an uncanny ability to find bouncy balls at 4AM.

Grooms On Tour Across this wide country

Yo America, come out to one of these fine dates listed on the right sidebar of this blog and rock to Grooms. We suggest choosing a date that corresponds to the show closest to you. Their new record Rejoicer is a smash! - just look what Tiny Mix Tapes had to say about DBA-005:

"Grooms, however, have chosen to bring into the future the foundational indie sounds that were arguably developed as a direct protest against the nihilism, hyper-individualism, and hyper-consumerism of 80s pop culture. It was the latter that early indie bands like Black Flag and Sonic Youth detested, for they knew that its apparent harmlessness was merely a cloak for political conservatism. These are the giants’ shoulders that Grooms have chosen to stand upon, and with Rejoicer they have done so excellently."

photo by Bryan Bruchman

Top Jam of the Week - Pursesnatchers

If it weren't for guys like Bill over at I Rock Cleveland, little labels such as ourselves would get no love. Here's what he has to say about "Certain Famous Covered Bridges" by Pursesnatchers:

"It's always been my contention (And I'm sure others would concur), that the perfect three-to-four minute pop song doesn't need an explanation. One needn't study the lyrics, chart its chord progressions, or burrow into its back story. All the proof you need occurs during the first impression, the second the sound meets your ears.

Such is the case with "Certain Famous Covered Bridges," the latest single by the Brooklyn husband-wife duo of Doug Marvin (Dirty on Purpose, Black Acid, and Neckbeard Telecaster) andAnnie Hart (Au Revoir Simone), collectively known as Pursesnatchers. They freely admit to sounding a bit like Yo La Tengo, others may here the wistful tones of The Shins, and this track in particular, has a Built to Spill style break down near the end. And really, that's all you need to know. Point, click, and enjoy.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THIS PLUS BONUS TRACKS!!!

Hussies At Bay review

The kind people over at Audio Current took the time to write some pretty flattering things about Coin Under Tongue's FREE Hussies At Bay EP.

"I went on Death By Audio’s blog and found they were giving the Hussies At Bay EP away for free, my life will never be the same.

In ancient times some people used to believe that if you put a gold coin under the tongue of the recently deceased, it would help them pay the ferry toll to cross the river Styx and enter the Underworld. If they don’t put the coin under tongue the dead man’s spirit will haunt them forever. Coin Under Tongue might be one of the best band names ever.

The first track on Hussies At Bay has a riff that would sink the Titanic, think Rage Against The Machine crossed with Aerosmith and a touch of Tool. Yeah, that’s right, I said it. On this one Joe Kelly uses his mid range bark that’s raspy, punk and ballsy enough to stand up to the rest of the sonic onslaught.

Next is ‘Roll Child’, which sounds nothing like the last track. It starts with a Post Punk beat and a guitar lick that is more reminiscent of Joy Division than anything Hard Rock. Once Joe decides to overdrive his buttery vocals the Coin’s sound becomes more obvious. The song quickly shifts into a more garage feel and starts uncontrollably oozing swagger. I can’t imagine what might possibly come next.

‘Shaven Clean’, could be what the amazing Death From Above 1979 might sound like if they hadn’t broken up. Kelly cycles through one epic fizzling guitar tone after another while the bass holds down a dope clean groove.

Finally, ‘This Flag Is A Scythe’, is the brilliant closer. It’s got a strong shuffling Post Punk beat, with Jamie Cook guitar swats. Again, the guitar tones are untouchable and different from the previous tracks.

A flawless EP that proves Coin Under Tongue will soon have the whole Underworld at their feet.

True Womanhood - Free Tunes!

Death By Audio is joyed to release the debut digital single by True Womanhood, an ace group from Washington, D.C. This digital release will be followed by a 7” single on November 15. Both songs, “Magic Child” and “Dignitas,” were recorded at Brooklyn DIY convent Death by Audio. Where Magic Child is a post-punk freak out Dignitas is a slow building barn burner. Check them out here. Dignitas --- Magic Child

FOR SALE AND FREE - DBA-006 Pursesnatchers / Coin Under Tongue

Today, October 15th, 2009, Death By Audio Records are giving away 4 tracks to celebrate the release of DBA-006: a Pursesnatchers / Coin Under Tongue split 7".

From the control center/hobo fallout shelter known as Death By Audio comes this split 7" from two friendly Brooklyn bands- Pursesnatchers & Coin Under Tongue. These groups have stretched their style arms across their normal sound fences to join hands in vinyl. Pursesnatchers reach for the rock sky on "Certain Famous Covered Bridges", a majestic paean to Tennessee drifting, whereas Coin Under Tongue scale back for a coed duet of pop worship on "Turnaround". Both songs feature Annie Hart from Au Revoir Simone and are wrapped in a foldout, inked scene from frequent Bright Eyes artist Kaite Murphy.

Vinyl is stamped in random, swirled colors - will vary.

To buy this new 7" from our store, CLICK HERE!

Here is a link for both songs on the record PLUS two bonus tracks.

Coin Under Tongue's song "Junksmith" is from their upcoming sophomore album, RECEPTION:

To make things easy,

please download this zip from Mediafire that contains the whole shaboom.

DBA-006+bonus.zip

NEW POLL WEDNESDAYS - Name This Cat

This is the latest addition to the DBA family - meet _____ ! Rescued from a mobile unit in Manhattan run by Animal Care & Control of New York City, this cat is known for it's two different colored eyes, a conditioned commonly referred to as an "odd-eyed" cat. She has a grey stripe of hair on top of her head. There are long whisps of hair that come out of her ears and her meow sounds like she smokes kitty cigarettes. Her day consists of climbing rope-wrapped hot water pipes and pissing on brand new white couches (that was before she was fixed, mind you). Maybe these clues can guide you to clicking the name you feels most fits this kitten in our new poll located on the right side of the blog: NAME THIS CAT!

The Greatest Guitarist Poll Results

Our results are in and it looks like Jimi Henderson is now to be referred to as "The Greatest Guitarist Ever" from here to eternity. It was a close race, with Jimi beating out Prance by a mere two votes and the Silver Surfer by three. We would like to thank the following (loser) contestants for their obliviousness to being listed in our poll: Sammy Page, Dan Halen, Rocky Roads, Eric Claptons, Jimmy Ray Von, Hewey Malmstein, Santos Cabana, Slasher, Angus Schoolboy, and Bucketman. Please take a moment to vote in our latest poll located on the right of this blog when it shows up.

Pictures Taken Indoors - Part Two

A poster for a show that happened at Death By Audio in February of 2009 that was made by Rob Erickson of Visual Mechanics. This is Oliver Ackermann's bed. He doesn't use it very often. This is quite possibly the single most listened to record at the loft, right up there with The Mummies "Never Been Caught" and Lionel Ritchie. The record is JEFF: The Brotherhood's "The Boyz R Back In Town". This is how we fix holes in the wall. We have all the latest techmologies here at Death By Audio studios. This is the rack above the mixer where we keep the good shit like liquor.

Welcome to the Death By Audio Records storeroom. Everything is arranged by gravity.

This is Joe and Doug in the DBA studio working on DBA-006 - a split 7" between Pursesnatchers and Coin Under Tongue.

Pictures Taken Indoors - Part One

Mac's uncle draws a calendar like this every freaking year and gives them out as gifts. Just... damn.

This is the skateboard rack next to the front door. It seems a little understocked right now. This is Aaron from Sisters chillin' in his room, back when he lived in the DBA loft. He is known for his uncanny, mutantesque reading abilities. This is an art piece George is working on. It's thousands of holes punched from confidential envelopes. This is another art work from George, with thousands of jewels, hole punched confidential envelopes, and the handwritten line ,"Don't make fun of my Friday night..." over and over again. The line is from a song performed by the band Xiu Xiu. These are two floatation devices for children that are tied up into the ceiling above George's art studio room. He hade a resin sculpture of these, the two animals' heads being replaced by two human hands forming a vagina. This is a picture of a used spinning firework wheel nailed in close proximity to a smoke detector.

A Small Collection of Signs

The loft's population is in constant flux, therefor its inhabitants must sometimes leave notes or signs to communicate with their fellow ranchers. Bands blowing through town are a major contributor to these postings, as well as house rules declared in moments of clarity by individuals clinging to their sanity within this constantly swirling hellhole party prison. Take a gander!

This is a brilliant idea. It used to say 8:45 to 9PM but apparently someone has amended it to 8:45 AM to 9PM. That's obviously a joke so this rule has been civilly disobeyed. If only they had Wii remotes in the shape of dusters and mops...

That's a lil dish goin' "Yay". Lot's of people tend to eat in this place which is weird because it's basically a hobo fallout shelter. Wine glasses here have a shelf life of 30 minutes and sometimes you're washing plates in screenprint ink with a sponge that looks like a used Dr. Scholl's pad , but hey.... well, no, it is pretty shitty. Paper plates are available by request.

These notes are like brother and sister.

This is one of the first "Marc Ramsey" tags ever in Brooklyn. Dude is blowing up like Tit Brace or Turkey Clit or whoever those famous taggerz are. Normally we don't let people tag the house, but it's Marc Ramsey and he loves us and it's sprayed on the door to the spray paint room.

This all started because Dirty On Purpose confiscated Coin Under Tongue's lucky band sandwich. It has since been completely ignored like an email from Prince Nashid informing us we've won the Zimbabwe lottery. Or a soundman asking us to turn it down or else he turn off the PA. Whatever, dude.

That's where the TRASH goes, in that big ass can next to the stairs,with the pen used to keep dart scores hanging above it, pointing into the hoop you should aim all your balled up electric bills. You've been a wonderful audience.

57% of Coin Under Tongue's 1st album NOW FREE

Any human with a computer can now download four sevenths of Coin Under Tongue's debut album, Coin Under Tongue/Hussies At Bay, by clicking on THESE WORDS (link fixed!!! - thankx) . These tracks have been remastered, whatever that means. This zip file contains the bands' calling card "Coin Under Tongue", the emo-garage ode to rolling, "Roll Child", and TWO MORE! We would have let loose the whole album but 2 of the tracks are being rerecorded because a lot has changed at DBA since this album was recorded on 4-track. AND one of the tracks ("High Until We Die") has already been rerecorded and released for free HERE. (the watercolor above was done by Michel Gondry)

WE LOVE CLEVELAND UPDATE::::::--- The killer rock blog I Rock Cleveland has proclaimed "Coin Under Tongue" & "Shaven Clean" as its Top Jam(s) of The Week. Here's what it says: "With the gnarliest guitar sound outside of A Place to Bury Strangers, it's only a matter of time before Coin Under Tongue blow out their amplifiers, blow out the electricity to whole city blocks, and blow up all over this thing we call the internet. Still, without a full length to their name, but getting closer, Death by Audio Records has released another four-song suite for free download via their website. Like their last internet release, the So Far EP, the tracks on Coin Under Tongue/Hussies at Bay, can be tough to peg down. All purpose, doom, post-punk, post-industrial, ear-bleeding feedback rock is a little unwieldy, and doesn't fit nicely into with the current trend of shortened speak. So, we'll say rad static, as in, turn up the volume on "Coin Under Tongue" and "Shaven Clean" and lose yourself in the rad static. "

STATLER BROS. @ HOME SWEET HOME - July 31st

If you follow this blog, you might remember a post a long, long time ago about a noise/free/jazz project called The Statler Bros. , that consists of Joe (Coin Under Tongue), John, and wunderdrummer David. Just to recap, The Statler Bros. use two feedback looping rigs, no "real" instruments, and a jazz drummer. Not feedback, like "oww, that high pitch sound is killing me!" more like "wow, this sounds like 2001, space invaders, and fax machine static!" They will be playing (and recording) a show tomorrow, this Friday at around 8:30 PM at Home Sweet Home, which is just south of the Bowery Ballroom. IF you like dive bars and taxidermy, come on by. Also on the bill is our friend NATE and Nature Program. After the show is complete, the audio recording of the show will be posted here for the bees that are too busy.

UPDATE!!! - (Live tracks added below.)

right click or opt/cntrl click to download

Statler Bros. - Unexpanded

Statler Bros. - Piñata

Nathan W. McKee - How Did We Get Here?

Nature Program - Live Jam (?)

Potato Survey Result Are In

After months of polling, we still couldn't decide which is the best way to serve potatoes. It ended up being a four way tie between Tater Tots, Mashed, French Fries, and Hash Browns. Please take the time to vote in our new survey, WHO IS THE GREATEST ROCK GUITARIST OF ALL TIME? (the survey is located on the right sidebar)

DBA Showcase Review from Radio Flyer

When: July 15

Where: Death By Audio "Obviously, I wouldn't miss a show featuring two of my midyear Bands to Watch in 2009 playing in their own home space, which also happens to be the city's best DIY venue. Yeah, hottt.

I named Coin Under Tongue a band to watch without having heard them live. It was a bit of a gamble, but the recorded material was so strong, it seemed worth the risk. And after all, the Death By Audio collective (A Place to Bury Strangers, Dirty On Purpose, Grooms/Muggabears, etc) has yet to produce a band that falls short of amazing.

But nothing prepared me for exactly how amazing CUT would be live. The band pumped the room so full of smoke you could barely make out the folks in front of you, let alone the stage. Then, as they slowly emerged from the murk, the band cranked out some of the heaviest, nastiest post-hardcore I've ever heard.

The distorted bass crashes through like a drunk mammoth but the man behind the sound, George Wilson (oddly enough, formerly of slowcore dream-pop outfit Dirty on Purpose) is anything but clumsy, shredding some deliciously difficult riffs. The similarly-lumbering guitar cuts like a slow-motion buzz saw while Joe Kelly howls death metal renditions of secretly lovable melodies.

The band seemed a little underrehearsed for the show, stumbling more than once. This would have bothered me more, but truthfully, it was kind of nice to see the band, though skilled, are not infallible virtuosos. I was also pleasantly surprised by the variety the band offered, some songs more gentle or even downright pretty, some faster and post-punkier, some cleaner and some noisier - you'd be hard put to accuse this band of always sounding the same.

I was excited to catch Jeff the Brotherhood knowing nothing about them, but just based on the fact that they were selected to play between CUT and Sisters. Tennessee duo set up on the floor, and though that might have been just to speed up the transition between their set and Sisters', it seemed to be an ultimate gesture of solidarity. Literally playing from the midst of their not-quite-moshing audience, the band made the fans as much a part of the experience as they themselves were.

The downside, unfortunately, was not being able to see the band, except when guitarist Jake Orrall climbed on top of the amps on stage for a moment of rock-hero posing. Still, it was worth it.

The entire set found me unsuccessfully groping for a reference point - though JtB doesn't sound particularly "out there," they aren't easily pigeon-holed either. There are guitar-heavy moments that take a page straight from the classic rock and metal book, while just as often, the band sounds like a tidied up lo-fi pop outfit.

Whatever it was, the songwriting was superb and the performance thrilling. JtB sound most like some lost classic from greatest moments of the 1980's American indie scene, but like a sonic chameleon, the band wouldn't sound out of place much of anywhere. It would just sound damn good. [MySpace] Rounding out the night was Sisters, another personal favorite. Last time I saw them live, I was impressed but not blown away. This time, the band left no question of their pure awesomeness. There's something awkward about the band's two members - I could just imagine them as dorky third graders. But if they ever were, they certainly aren't dorky now.

Banging out a constant stream of lo-fi gems, Sisters are punk rock in a totally unclicheed way. Though they have some technical skill and their songs are not simplistic, the duo seems more interested in crashing and smashing and making a racket than in playing carefully. I'm not a fan of the prerecorded parts, only because I like seeing music produced right in front of me, when I'm at a show. Still, those parts weren't too many or too involved, just an invisible third person when an invisible third person was needed.

Cramped full of hooks and bright melodies, Sisters' music is pretty hard not to love. They wouldn't even need such evident concentration and effort and such unabashed enthusiasm to win over their audience, but putting this great of a live show with this great of songs is a combination you don't want to miss. "

RADIO FLYER REVIEW LINK

Th' Haint - Download DBA Album of the Month -

It wasn't long ago, music had balls. Rhythms used to lurch, guitars used to twang and snarl, and singers used to howl. And when things got safe and boring, this album crawled its way out of the backwoods muck to haunt those that tried to dispose of its body. A front porch Jesus Lizard and a tool shed Cramps, the same dirt road leads to both. Don't send a letter though because the post office don't go up there anymore.

(download free album from MediaFire - link broken)

Brooklyn Vegan, Narnack, & Grooms in "This Week At The Loft"

From Brooklyn Vegan - "Tonight's show at Death by Audio should be deafening. JEFF shares the bill with noise-pop duo Sisters, who I've written about more than once already, and have become big fans of. Third on the bill are Sisters' Death By Audio Records label-mates Coin Under Tongue who make the kind of stoner, punk-inflected hard rock that Sub Pop used to specialize in, in the label's early days. (I'm talking Tad, Mudhoney, Das Damen). There's other influences in there too -- metal plays a big part, as does UK punk and postpunk I suspect. And there are some really nice guitar parts when the guys aren't stomping on the pedals but basically you're getting balls-to-the-wall, scream-the-chorus rock. It goes without saying Coin Under Tongue are really, really loud. But they've got songs to match the volume. They're finishing work on their new album, but have offered up a progress report of an EP that you can download at the top of this post. It rocks. (Thanks Bill!)"

Also, this other news item: Grooms have signed to Death By Audio Records and will be releasing their album Rejoicer with us. DOPE!

The picture above was taken this one time I went into the studio and found this guy changing his clothes - wtf!? Found out later it was Frank Sidebottom.