Mentioning Tangiers and DFA1979 in the same breath would normally make me feel nostalgic. However, after realizing that both bands have broken up years ago and have had a number of solo projects and offshoots, I’m getting alllllll geriatric up in this bitch.

Thankfully, with their new project Bad Tits, Sebastien Grainger and Josh Reichmann feel as sweet as they have at their most exciting Canadian underground-touring times, granted that they have their own reputations to live up to. Considering that Grainger’s previous projects were steeped in danceable hardcore and straight-up pop, and that Reichmann’s were of the garage rock persuasion, to hear and see something like the video for Bankok Hilton is pretty jaw-dropping–the first half sounds like it emerged from the shitgaze craze! Expect that song on the 7″ pictured above, titled Garbage Night on Hand Drawn Dracula and hopefully we can see some tour dates from them beyond Montreal and Ontario in the near future.

The ten tracks offered on this EP see these UK electronic alchemists opting for refining and combining their previous sonic elixirs, rather than conjuring something altogether new. And the results are pretty damn good. Those expecting the abstract, glitch-frenzied madness of 2001’s amazing Confield will notice immediately how straight forward some of the beats are here. Tracks like “M62” and “Y7” are constructed on a steady, four-on-the-floor pulse, yet Autechre only use this decidedly accessible meter as a backbone for a concise, complex symphony of writhing analog synths, dizzying melodic interplay and masterful, layered production. Still, this is far from Daft Punk. Listeners pining for something a tad more obfuscated have the lead off track, “Etchogon-S,” which sounds like a drum machine gone completely haywire inside an echo chamber while 8-bit icicles come crashing down atop that giant floor piano in the movie Big. Thankfully, Autehcre’s keen ear for atmosphere is stronger than ever; Move of Ten feels icy, dark and foreboding, yet the songs are catchy, groovy and utterly alluring. This delicate balance is what makes Autechre among the best, and Move of Ten a fantastic album. Repeated listens and headphones are a must. (Warp Records, www.warp.net) Curran Faris

So I finally sat down with my good set of headphones and a vinyl copy of this record when I had some time to myself. I dropped the needle on the band’s full-length debut and lay back with the liner notes as these three Londoners were firing through “Year’s not Long,” already one of my favourite songs of the year with its major scale hooks and furious sixteenth note strumming. In the midst of guitar noise, reverb settings stolen from Abe Vigoda, double time drums, half time drums, and inprecise chord changes, you can catch that almost all of John Arthur Webb’s lyrics are about temporality, living in the moment, etc. etc., which gives the whole of Nothing Hurts that arty and poetic edge. Unfolding the liner notes, I discovered a huge photo of the three stylish guys looking up at the camera and the name Male Bonding splashed under them. Right then and there I wanted to scotch tape it to my wall and scream along for weeks on end. (Sub Pop, www.subpop.com) Taylor Burgess

New York, New York’s Endless Boogie is one of the most aptly named bands around today. Forget obtuse band names like Animal Collective (no animals playing instruments—big disappointment) or Japandroids. (What? Not even a word.) Endless Boogie aim to deliver exactly what their name implies—Boogie, in the quantity of Endless. This is primarily achieved by taking one or two guitars and having the first slam out some heavy bluesy guitar riffs, full of Boogie, and then repeating them into damn nigh eternity, hence the achievement of Endless. Then, halfway through most songs, the second guitar snaps into the forefront, in full Wank mode, lending some Endless solos too. The guitars are the star of this picture based on their presence alone. They are so all-encompassing you barely notice the competent, albeit complacent rhythm section, which anchors down a beat for the guitars to wail over. The vocals are growled or hurled out seemingly as an afterthought. From what I can tell, they are mostly about pie (“Mighty Fine Pie”) and having good times (“All Other Songs”). Pleasant enough, given that you love electric blues and take the term “Endless” as a good thing. (No Quarter) David Nowacki

Overlords of all things heavy and riffy return with their proper follow-up to 2008’s excellent Nude With Boots. In case you haven’t been paying attention, this is the third record that wizard-haired front man Buzz Osbourne and god of thunder Dale Crover have churned out with the heavy-hitting rhythm section of Big Business. The two-drummers-on-one-massive-drumset formula has been perfected here, with Crover and Willis no longer merely trading fills but somehow sounding like one superhuman drummer: syncopated, complex and unstoppable. But something just isn’t sitting right with me on this record. The Melvins have been around forever and have rarely missed the mark – unless they’ve missed it on purpose. (Prick anyone?) While The Bride Screamed Murder has it’s share of bangers, Buzz and the boys let their bizarre sense of humour loose a bit too often here. The military march, call-and-response of “The Water Glass” is interesting, once, while the 8-minute version of “My Generation” is just awful. But, if you’re a Melvins fan, you know that every once and a while they mix in some self-indulgent silliness amidst some of the greatest riff-rock ever written. It’s a price that must be paid. (Ipecac Recordings) Curran Faris

By Taylor Burgess

As Stylus found out in this interview, William Schaff is a musician too, but he’s most well-known for his album art. He has done the entire discography for Okkervil River, but most of us Brave New Waves-listening –and The Wedge-watching– punks were first thrown into his world after cracking open Godspeed You! Black Emperor’s Lift Yr Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven! and witnessing the disturbing drawing of skull-masked presidents wagging their fingers and chopping off hands. Freud’s Bathhouse and Diner is getting more than 100 original zines of Schaff’s as the key attraction of their zine art exhibit and expo, I Know What My Weaknesses Are, Probably Better than You Do. Schaff took enough time to talk to Stylus over the phone from his Rhode Island studio where he works and sleeps.

Stylus: I read all about how you met up with Okkervil River, how you and William Sheff met because you almost have the same name, but how did you meet up with other bands, like Godspeed You! Black Emperor or the What Cheer? Brigade?
WS: Meeting with Godspeed was coincidental. I was in a band ages ago and we toured through Montreal, and we played at Hotel2Tango. We slept there, and in the morning this guy [Godspeed’s Efrim Menuck] popped out, we started talking. And I gave him one of those little books [that’ll be in the exhibition] because back then I always carried them around with me. Time passed on, and he asked me in an email if it was alright that used images from that book for his band’s album cover. I said yeah, go ahead, that means I don’t have to draw anything new for it, you’ve already got the images. Then I was sitting in New York, reading my Rolling Stone and I realized, “Wow these guys are huge.” I just finished another job for them this week. They’re curating a show for All Tomorrow’s Parties. I did the poster for them. It’s nice that they’re keeping in contact about stuff like that.
As for the What Cheer? Brigade: I’m a member of that band. There are so many people in that band and there’s no band leader, so everyone brings something different to the table. I hate booking shows, but I am able to create images for the band.
Stylus: What do you play?
WS: I’m one of the six drummers, I play the quad drums. It’s a standard marching band instrument.
Stylus: On your Flickr page, you post playlists that you had listened to when you were making a piece. Do you feel it’s necessary to do that?
WS: I have to listen to music when I’m working, it’s seldom there isn’t some sort of sound going on in the background. Like right now—well, I paused the DVD when you called—but I’m watching this documentary that I can’t figure out whether it is fake or not. It’s called Brothers of the Head; have you heard of this?
Stylus: No, not at all.
WS: It’s about two conjoined twins, about their life, and they start a rock band together. It’s really something. Anyways, getting back to the question, I’m always listening to music when I’m working because it has the biggest influence on me. And as for posting my playlists, I do that because someone who likes a piece of mine might be interested in the music that I’m listening to and then maybe they could see how that music goes with the piece.
Stylus: What’s your opinion on street art?
WS: I love good street art. I have absolutely no problem with graffiti, but I just hate bombing crews who are just putting their name everywhere. When I was in Berlin not too long ago, there was beautiful street art everywhere—but here in the U.S., it’s illegal, so nicer street art is harder to find. I do make some stencils once in a while, but by no means do I consider myself a street artist.
Stylus: I also noticed that you do a lot of mail art. Why did that interest you?
WS: I originally started doing that because I got the internet way back when the internet wasn’t like it is now. I started drawing on envelopes because it took a good chunk of time while a page was loading up. Over time, I’ve gotten a lot of beautiful mail. I get a lot of bills, most of which I never open. But to see a wonderful package, amidst all those things that bring you down, it really brightens your day.
Stylus: Is there anything else you’d like to talk about?
[After a bit of small talk]
WS: Yeah, actually I’d like to talk about the gallery [Freud’s Bathhouse and Diner]. They’re reaching out to artists, and they’re taking all the steps to make it happen. They’re saying, “Yes we’ll ship it here, yes we’ll ship it back, yes we’ll insure it.” It’s really admirable because not many people would do that, and it’s amazing that they have the wherewithal to carry through with it all. So if I had something to add, it’s how thankful I am for people like Kristel and Mark, because I couldn’t do it without them.

You can see I Know What My Weaknesses Are, Probably Better than You Do opening tonight and showing until August 29 at Freud’s Bathhouse and Diner at 42 Albert Street.

By Taylor Burgess

Tonight at the Lo Pub with Vampires and White Light Machine, Ultra Mega will releasing The Dart EP, their first record since their controversial Black Wu Jackets.

The sessions didn’t include drummer Ben Jones because he was busy with school and the recently-added guitarist Josey Krahn wasn’t a member yet, but singer/guitarist JD Ormond and bassist Conrad Petkau had a great deal of fun recording with Six Shooter signee Luke Doucet.

Doucet, who played the role of producer and played the drums for the EP, happens to have quite a special relationship with Ultra Mega. He’s Ormond’s brother.

“Sometimes when we were working in the studio,” says Ormond wistfully, “I would be looking at Luke and I’d just picture him like he was some punk in the West End and we were making songs you could double your friends on your BMX to.”

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