“Little Rockets/ Death Rug/ Milkman” by Shrapnel

Here’s three songs segued together as an introduction to a new release upcoming from Sydney lo-fi guitar pop outfit Shrapnel, in the process sounding like something from an early Guided By Voices album:

Not sure if this is how these tracks will be assembled on Shrapnel’s “Wax World 5” album or if this is a three-up edit as a pre-release tempter, but either way this is a great way to experience three quite different flavours of Shrapnel’s scratchy, distorted pop goodness.

“Little Rockets” and “Milkman” have the highest GBV quotient, dangerously melodic and a bit mad (those “Milkman” choruses are extraordinary). In the middle is the prickly and furious beast of “Death Rug” which will sandpaper your ear-drums with the roughest fuzzed out guitar and overloaded (cassette porta-studio??) recording.

Shrapnel features Sam Wilkinson who was also in a couple of PopLib favourites – Sachet who in turn came out of the fine Sydney shoegaze band Day Ravies.  Check them all out please, if you haven’t already. Some very fine albums and singles from all.

 

“Toroid” by Possible Humans

This fine twisting, moody creature of a song called “Toroid” comes from a recent 7″ single on Sydney label Strange Pursuits, by Melbourne band Possible Humans:

“Toroid” sometimes hints at an eclectic array of electric psych-pop favourites. Those first snaking guitar lines hint at The Clean, the melodic rise and fall of the vocal melody may trigger a warm rush of Guided by Voices memories and it inhabits the kind of imaginary 1960’s psychedelic power pop world Television Personalities constructed during their first few albums. However, it turns out to be not much like any of these things in the end, instead carving out its own odd space in the world by not conforming to any particular influence and sounding both timeless and mysterious at the same time.

Possible humans have 5 members. Three are brothers. Two wrote a song each on this single. Neither of the two songs on this single appear on their forthcoming (sometime) album, which features songs written by all 5 members. So, when they say of the album – “it’s a big fun mess of Free Rock, in the jailhouse sense, and the wheelhouse sense, as in silly as wheels, when your mind is gone” it’s an invitation to keep an eye out for that album.

In the meantime we should all snap up this 7″ in preparation. And watch this video they made for the single “A” side “Cuz” too:

 

 

‘Plumes’ by Ginnels

I think I owe the credit for the discovery of this absolute gem of an album from Ginnels to Unpopular music blog (one of the most reliable sources of new underground pop music tips and monthly mix compilations).

The striking cover image caught my eye and, upon closer inspection of the sounds via the Bandcamp page, the contents were just as colourful and attention-grabbing. Hearing this gives me the same buzz I had when I first heard Guided By Voices Bee Thousand album. Home-baked DIY jangling pop with more hooks than a Pirate convention.

So, I ended up buying the LP. With a cover & songs like this why wouldn’t you?

Jorge, from Madrid based label Tenorio Cotobade will send you the LP carefully packaged, registered mail. Turns out the world of small labels specialising in underground pop is small. He loves Dunedin, NZ jangle-popsters The Prophet Hens and wants to know if that is available on vinyl (it’s not). He also knows of Males from their ill-fated Manic Pop! Records single non-release… which Dunedin label Fishrider Records is rectifying shortly with a 9-song mini-album/ double-EP (on 12″ 45 rpm vinyl) of existing and brand new material, called ‘Run Run Run/MalesMalesMales’. And he loves Trick Mammoth too. Yes, the International Pop Underground is still alive & well.

Ginnels recordings appear to be the work of just one person – Mark Chester. The songs are perfect and infectious, and the sound of the tape-recorder (or whatever these were recorded on) being switched on at the start and then off at he end of songs adds an almost voyeuristic intimacy to the collection.

I’d write some expository words of my own but they’d end up being a re-write of these from the Bandcamp page, so… here they are:

““Plumes” compiles a selection of tracks from Ginnels’ three releases so far plus other online-only tracks, and it’s the first time these songs are available on vinyl. They were all recorded and mixed entirely in Chester’s living room, built up from layers of guitars, vocals, “cheap keyboards and other assorted detritus”.

The approach and sound recall the wonderful jangle pop legacy of the Flying Nun label, Crooked Rain-era Pavement and Elephant 6 bands like The Apples In Stereo. Over the whole album, from fast-paced tracks such as ‘Heathwaite Wood’ and ‘Great Fall’ through to more minimal, reflective moments like ‘Friends Are Dead’ and ‘Champs’, Chester’s knack for delivering really strong, memorable melodies never fails to shine and astonish.”

Yes, indeed.