3 EP Reviews: Sports Bar, Dum Dum Girls & Milk Music

Here's a few EP reviews for you...

Sports Bar - Sports Bar Demo

Super-Fun Garage Punk.

Sports Bar are a Garage-Punk and Rock n' Fuckin' Roll band from Richmond, VA. This demo cassette is really fucking fun. Good party music: Booze. Girls. Drugs. The 22-minute cassette has 10-tracks. "Anisa, Nah She Don't Live Here No More" is far and away the hit on this EP. I fully expect it to be on all the mix-tapes this summer. "Camo Face" is an ode to hunting and is a perfect closing song. This band is awesome and I can't wait to see them live, they should be a lot of fun.

Sweet Dreams Records

Released: January, 2011

Similar: The Black Lips, King Kahn and The Shrines, The Sonics

Rating: 8.5

Dum Dum Girls - He Get's Me High EP

All-Female Dream Pop.

For my money I like the Dum Dum Girls so much better than Best Coast. Both are recent female-fronted bands playing fuzzed-out garage-pop. I just think that this band does it so much better, and I think that Best Coast are waaaaaay too overrated. The newest Sub Pop release from these girls is a four-song EP with three originals and a cover of the Smiths "There is a Light that Never Goes Out" (which is amazing and the DDGs manage to make the song non-mopey). The title track "He Get's Me High" is a dreamy swirling mix of the girls voices, guitars and melodies and I highly suggest checking it out. This band is seems to be moving towards more of a Dream-Pop sound and I really like it.

Sub Pop Records

Released: March 1st, 2011

Similar: Asobi Seksu, Best Coast, The Smiths

Rating: 8.0

Milk Music - Beyond Living EP

Fuzzed-out early-sounding indie-rock and garage-punk.

This band fucking rocks. They have a great fuzzed-out sound that reminds me a lot of early Dinosaur Jr and maybe a bit of The Wipers. Driving rhythms and epic courses. They're from Olympia, WA which comes through with their sound, as the use of the fuzzed out guitars has a bit of Mudhoney ring to it as well. The title track is fucking epic, but the whole EP is worth the listen. I want to hear more!

Self Released

January, 2011

Similar: Dinosaur Jr, The Wipers, Bloody Gears

Rating: 7.5

Music for Headphones - Life.in.Mono

Electronic Krautrock with a dash Post-Punk and Post-Rock for good measure.

Ok let's first start off by saying this band has a stupid name. I mean it is fitting but COME ON! But after get over the Philadelphia band's (well dude, Jonathan Allen's) name, this is some excellent Neu! style Krautrock. It might not have that snazzy drum beat that Neu! is known for but it does have some pretty epic synths like the German inspiration. Plus like the cover would suggest Music for Headphones would make some excellent driving music.

Refreshingly Life.in.Mono does vary from the Krautrock template at points. There a couple songs that have an almost angular Post-Punk sound (a-la newer The Fall), such as the stand-out track "Drive Motorik". A Post-Rock sound comes through in other songs like "123GO!!!"

But all in all this is some straight up Neu! worship if I've ever heard any. It is really good too. Good music for driving or working on some project. It's get-shit-done kind of music. The type of album you put it on and after 40 minutes of solid work-time and you realize the album is done.

Similar: Neu!, The Fall, Mogwai

Rating: 7.5

Self-Released (Website)

Released: January 4th 2011

Wire - Red Barked Tree

Pink Flag Records

Released: January 10th, 2011

New Post-Punk from one of the originals of the genre.

Wire has been around for a looooong time. They started off in the first wave of English punkrock bands in 1977. But even 1977's iconic Pink Flag LP was something more than punkrock. They were a band striving for their own unique sound, like so many other acts of the time. In the process of striving for a sound of their own, they, along with other bands at the time crafted what is now know as post-punk.

While Pink Flag stands as one of the albums that defined a genre, Wire's new album is anything but genre defining. Don't get me wrong, I think its a good album and certain songs like "Clay" and "Two Minutes" contain some of the old Wire sound, but this album lacks the cutting social commentary and guitar riffs of songs like "12XU".

The first track off the album, "Please Take" is far and away the "hit song" of the disc, but it is a lot more easily digestible than the abrasive and angular guitars and lyrics of Wire's 70's and 80's output. All in all a good listen and worth picking up if your a fan of the genre or the band, but if you've never listened to this band (Ahem. Really?) pick up Pink Flag instead.

Similar: The Fall, Buzzcocks, Gang of Four

Rating: 6.5