STATE OF THE KIDS, 2009

It’s time to return to the present, the now, 2009, for a friggin’ change, and take a gander at some of the hot, young up-n-comers who are making music every bit as relevant & wild as the old-timers we repeatedly flog on this site. I can’t say that I’m totally up to the moment on what’s going on in the bars & clubs around the nation and the globe, but I still keep an ear to the ground from time to time. There are a few stunners that hit my ears every month, and if you haven’t heard of some of them yet, well that’s what this post is all about.

Take XYX. I figured they’d be another tuneless, formless mess a la Los Llamarada, being from Mexico and all, and then when I heard their 7”EP I heard another thing entirely. Completely off-the-rails, psychedelic post-punk overload, pretty much as good or better than anything I’ve heard in years. Fried-out electronics, braying female vocals, time shifts & delays and all manner of exploding guitar. Wow! Then there’s the TERMINAL WASTE BAND. Now I know for a fact that at least a couple folks from this Portland band are not “kids”, having befriended a couple of them in my 20s (and subsequently lost touch this decade)…..but it’s another big surprise here. Instead of the socket-bursting improv noiseathon I was expecting on their one and only 45, I got a beautiful, laid back LEE & NANCY-style psych/folk groovefest, especially on the excellent A-side “Dial M For Monkey”. This is a new 45 on Black Velvet Fuckere records – I hope there are more coming.

THE NODDZ are getting some good press in & around the San Francisco bay area where they and I both reside, and I reckon I can see why. Their new LP’s a lot of fun in a late 70s power-pop/early 90s garage punk sort of way, and "Is She There" is my favorite song (so far) from it. Now if I could just drag myself the 3 or 5 miles or so it would take to see them live. Nah, forget about it, I’ll stay in tonight instead. Challenging “The Electric Bunnies” for “best music despite worst band name” honors, Australia’s THE OOGA-BOOGAS also have a great new LP out called “Romance & Adventure”. It’s got elements of bluesified punk rock, some blatant 60s throwback jingle-jangle, and a lot of loud, intense riffage. I was told I was going to like it, and I did. “Ooga Booga II” is just a short volt of energy that starts the record, but it gives you a pretty good idea of what’s inside.

Finally, I've got a couple of wild cards, just to throw the proverbial spanner into the proverbial works. First is a track from 2007 (!) that I just discovered this year from THE MAGIK MARKERS called "Taste". My pal JB implored me to check out the YouTube video for this song, and I was absolutely hooked - this came in the same week that I saw Markers frontwoman Elisa A prowl the stage like a feral catwoman in a band called SF DIRTY STEALER (who were great!). Anyway, this track "Taste" is a near-masterpiece of haunting, downtempo, languid sound. Our last one will probably lose me a percentage of my Detailed Twang clientele, but ah well - it's a great 50s girl-ground send-up called "Becky" by a somewhat ridiculous band called BE YOUR OWN PET. This act sounds like something off the Vans Warped tour for the most part, but there are about 2-3 numbers on their latest record "Get Awkward" that absolutely nail it. This is one of them. I'm still "havin' a laff" every time I hear it. Enjoy.

Play Terminal Waste Band - "Dial M For Monkey"


Download XYX – “Anel and Her Problem”
Download TERMINAL WASTE BAND – “Dial M For Monkey”
Download THE NODZZZ – “ Is She There"
Download THE OOGA-BOOGAS – “Ooga Booga II”
Download THE MAGIK MARKERS - "Taste"
Download BE YOUR OWN PET - "Becky"