ONSIND + Ghost Mice - Split

 

I have a huge amount of time for ONSIND. As soon as I got into them I started listening to all their songs on Bandcamp - that was around 2011 so this 7" would have been on there (although isn't there any more). I started buying any of their records I could find, and this was a very pleasant surprise on my first trip to All Ages. As a side note, I should have visited All Ages much sooner into my time living in London, but I was rarely that far north except in the evenings for gigs; I later realised that it was worthy of dedicated trips on its own. I've also not been there anywhere near enough - not only do they stock all the punk records you could possibly want, but they also have a good selection of metal and obscure heavy stuff (two genres I'm leaning more into these days).

The second ONSIND song, That Takes Ovaries, also ended up on their superb second album, Dissatisfactions. They've stopped playing it after taking some criticism for the blunt lyrics, but certain lines aside the point they're trying to make remains as valid as ever and is often one that comes to mind when watching some bands. The first song, Call Me If You Ever Feel Too Old to Drive, is a perfect ONSIND song and worth the price of the record alone.

Ghost Mice are on the second side of the record and that's really about the most I know about them, other than that they're from the USA. To sum them up very briefly, they're too nasal and high pitched for me to really find them enjoyable. I do love their energy though. They sound a bit like a Chuck Ragan song played 50% too fast, which you can either choose to take as a compliment or not, depending on how that summary lands with you. Their third song, Exit #2, paints a nice picture.

Format: 7", insert

Tracks: 4

Cost: £4 new

Bought: All Ages, Camden

When: 03/10/12

Colour: Black

Etching: no

mp3s: no

Rope - Manteision Bodolaeth or the Perks of Being

I don't remember being blown away by this album the first time I heard it, nor do I remember the exact point I realised it was brilliant, but it happened sometime between March and December 2016; March was when I bought it and December was when I placed it at number 4 in my albums of the year list. I have distinct memories of being sat at my desk and thinking "I want to listen to that Rope album" and, more often, "I really want to play that Rope album again".

The reason I got into Rope was quite simple - I knew the singer, Kai, from my Cardiff days and have been listening to his various bands for many years. He was good friends with my old housemate Nicky, in a band and a regular at all the local punk shows. He was a few years younger than us so his enthusiasm definitely helped us get more excited about some shows. Plus, he had a car and would drive us back from Le Pub. The first band I heard he was doing after I left Cardiff wasn't a punk band but doom metal, which I was not expecting but enjoyed. They were called Hunger Artist, wrote a three-song 44-minute album and released only one cassette, which I duly bought. I liked the music that happened when Kai went metal.

Some years passed and I heard he was in a new band called Rope. The album came out at the start of 2016 and I bought a copy when I was in All Ages a short while later. I'd heard only two things about the album - it was heavy but pretentious. The first is certainly true, and based on the number of quotes, literally references and some of those song titles, I could see how someone would reach the other conclusion. I don't mind it - in fact, being a Manics fan means I've got quite used to seeing quotes all over album sleeves.

Regarding the heaviness, Rope are brilliantly slow and heavy. It's less metal than Hunger Artist, but the result is a sort of doom-Shellac - the songs are quite sparse and at times angular, but everything is played so slowly and thoughtfully; songs shift at unexpected times. Highlights are The Perks of Being (seamlessly blending in some sports commentary) and Crisis on Infinite Earth, although it's only six songs so you might as well listen to them all. The drums on Ignatius (A Plague of Dunces) are particularly excellent.

2018 brought around another Rope album, and another entry in the top half of my end of year list (at number 3). I'll write more about that one another time, but I thoroughly recommend checking both albums out.

Format: 12", insert, poster
Tracks: 6
Cost: £11 new
Bought: All Ages Records, London
When: 25/03/16
Colour: Clear
Etching: none
mp3s: none

Shellac - Dude Incredible

Dude Incredible made it to number 2 in my albums of the year list in 2014 (in a very close top 5), but the truth is, I think any new Shellac album would chart pretty high - it'd have to be a very strange record to not make it into the top 10, and I just don't see them ever making such an album.

I got into Shellac in 2008 (by the way of 1000 Hurts), and had never really appreciated quite how soon that was after the release of their second-to-last album, Excellent Italian Greyhound. In 2009 I would see them for the first time at All Tomorrow's Parties (I recently commented to my brother-in-law how jealous I was that he was about to see Shellac for the first time, and that I wished I could have that fun again). Over the following years I bought all their albums and I'd see them as often as possible. I didn't think twice about booking tickets to the ATP they curated and was introduced to some incredible bands that weekend (I wonder if I'd ever have discovered and fallen in love with Dutch punks The Ex had I not seen them there). More than most musicians, I feel like I know them as people and love watching their dynamics on stage; they're a great band.

So when they announced Dude Incredible (no comma, as per the press release) I was very excited and bought a copy as soon as I could (which happened to be a few weeks after the release in All Ages, before going to a gig that is quite possibly the opposite of Shellac - Max Richter playing in the Royal Albert Hall). I was very pleased to hear Compliant, a song we'd gotten used to hearing live for a few years beforehand. Every time I hear it I picture the three of them on stage. The highlight for me has always been Riding Bikes which moves through in true unusual Shellac-style, before the climatic "I'm riding bikes!" and Todd's brilliant drum-fills. The intro before All the Surveyors always felt a bit unnecessary, but that's literally the only criticism I have with this album. The song itself is another instant classic, and probably one of their most accessible songs (it has verses and a chorus). There's a rare harmony in Gary and it's so slow it's almost doom, which is great. Only nine songs, but each one a treat.

In the years since this album, Shellac have started playing a couple of new songs fairly regularly so I'm cautiously optimistic that they won't make us wait another seven-year gap between albums. I certainly hope so, I'm looking forward to putting another Shellac album in the top half on an end-of-year list soon.

Format: 12", picture sleeve
Tracks: 9
Cost: £16 new
Bought: All Ages Records, London
When: 04/10/14
Colour: Black
Etching: Side A: "Some of them are none too fit" Side B: "Some of them are spectacular"
mp3s: cd included

Quicksand - Quicksand

I bought this record a long time after I probably should have. There was a RSD pressing of it some time before which I didn't buy at the time - RSD 7" records were getting pricey and I was already spending way too much. I suspect it was £7, which is what I ended up paying for this record a few years later. I understand inflation, but have such fond memories of 7"s costing £1 or £2 that it's hard to bring myself to pay £7 for a 7".

All that said, Quicksand are a band worth spending £7 on, and I'm glad I finally bought a copy of this 7". The versions of Omission and Unfulfilled are both fun and sufficiently different to the versions on Slip - it sounds like Walter is having fun with his vocals and hasn't always decided how he's going to sing it before it comes out. Clean Slate is a classic chuggy Quicksand song and Hypno Jam with Dan is a short but interesting instrumental with a very unexpected (but very welcome) trumpet.

I don't know why I finally bought this last March. I'd been in London for an interview that had been long and draining and slightly soul-destroying, but conveniently near All Ages. I don't get to shop there as often as I'd like, so it was nice to get to spend some good time in there. They have so many 7"s that it's a little daunting to start browsing - maybe that was why I bought it - I'd invested so much time in browsing all the 7"s that I felt like I had to buy something in there.

Anyway, an essential purchase for any Quicksand fan and one I should have bought years ago.

Format: 7", insert
Tracks: 4
Cost: £7 new
Bought: All Ages Records, London
When: 24/03/17
Colour: Red
Etching: Side A: "On a secret mission" Side B: "To cstraat"
mp3s: None

The Evens - The Odds

The Evens had released two albums before I'd ever even heard of them, which I still find odd. I'm a big fan of Minor Threat and Fugazi and so are many people I know - I have no idea how so much time passed before I heard that Ian MacKaye was releasing new music. The strangest thing was that the friend who finally introduced them to me was mostly into dance music, but happened to also enjoy The Evens. He'd put a song on a mixtape for another friend that he was playing on a ski trip a few years ago - in amongst a lot of minimal techno, there was this song by The Evens. Given the music around it, it made even more of an impression.

A while later I found this copy of their third album, The Odds, in All Ages in Camden. I was excited to finally hear more of the band. It sounded roughly how I remembered - relaxed but interesting. Ian's voice is so distinctive that I recognised it on the song on the mixtape and I love that it fills a Fugazi-shaped hole in my life. Amy Farina's voice is great too and absolutely soars on Warble Factor. The relative simplicity that comes from only having two instruments adds a lot somehow - it makes the songs more inviting somehow.

I've got a lot of enjoyment from The Odds over the years. It doubles as one of those rare records that is genuinely a great listen, but also you can play in polite company (which is hard to find in my record collection). I can't imagine how anyone could not enjoy songs like King of Kings or Competing With the Till. I've not picked up The Evens or Get Evens yet, but I plan to. It's only that I haven't seen them in shops that has stopped me from getting them so far. I'm looking forward to the day I find them very much.

Format: 12", picture sleeve
Tracks: 13
Cost: £11 new
Bought: All Ages, Camden
When: 04/10/14
Colour: Black
Etching: Side A: "Fred, Cath and beyond"
mp3s: Download code

Art of Burning Water - Love You Dead

I bought this record on something of a whim - I don't think I'd ever heard or seen The Art of Burning Water before, but I knew the name for some reason. It was £5 in All Ages, which seemed like a bargain, so I decided to chance it; wherever I'd heard their name, it was in such a light that I thought they'd be worth listening to (the more I think about it, there was some connection to a friend of a friend's record label possibly. I think I knew they were relatively local, somehow).

I mentioned the purchase to my friend Sarah who said "you might like it. It's very crust-punk", which was a term I've never heard used for music, just about the older punks people seem to complain about at Fest. It meant I went into the first listen of The Art of Burning Water slightly sceptical about whether I'd actually like it, which isn't the best of starts.

Despite that initial worry, I've spent most of the second half of 2016 absolutely loving Love You Dead. My usual go-to albums at work tend to be instrumental and calming, but I've found that sometimes I need the exact opposite in my day, and this album does that perfectly. After a brilliant intro about the revolution, the album let's you know exactly what's going to happen for the next half an hour with a huge wall of heavy guitars and blistering drums. Every now and again, it settles into groove, which is the closest you get to a reprieve other than turning the record over. The vocals aren't my usual style, but in this context I love it. The songs are fairly hard to tell apart, except for the lengthy, sludgier Nicaragua at the end, although you don't really notice whether you're listening to three 4-minute songs with slight gaps between or one 12-minute song. But then again, I'm not listening to these guys expecting to hear a perfect single - I play it to hear 30 minutes of brutal, intense noise and ticks that box very firmly.

Format: 12", folded sleeve
Tracks: 8
Cost: £5 new
Bought: All Ages
When: 25/03/16
Colour: Black
Etching: none
mp3s: no

Earthless - From the Ages

This album is incredible - such perfect psychedelic stoner rock jams. The whole thing is mesmerising. From the first few riffs on the first song I knew I'd made a good choice. You also know you're in for a treat when the first song is an entire side of vinyl. However, for Earthless that isn't enough, so the title track is a whole record long. There's a 5 minute song in the middle, which for this band is a fraction of a normal song. What's quite incredible is their ability to keep me enthralled whether it's a 5 minute song or a 30 minute song.

I got into Earthless quite late - I certainly wish I'd got into them properly much sooner. I first heard their name when I read a Pitchfork review of this album and saw that Mario Rubalcaba from Hot Snakes and RFTC played drums. That, along with the brief description of stoner rock got me interested and I checked out a song. I enjoyed it and made a mental note to check them out further. I forgot about this entirely until Primavera Sound last year when I saw their name on the line-up. I don't remember seeing it on the first few reads but was very pleased when I saw them on timetable on the day. I went to watch them on my own - I can't remember what everyone else was watching - and it was incredible. They played two songs in the their set, each one long, powerful and had me transfixed. Every now and again I'd realise how into the music I was, which would draw me out for a moment, only to be sucked right back in. The same thing happens with the album - I lose track of everything else going on around me and realised I'm headbanging very slowly to the music.

Nearly a year later, I found this in All Ages Records in Camden and very excitedly bought it. In fact, it was most of the reason I'd gone in there - we'd been in a few days earlier before going to see Gorilla Biscuits and I saw they had a copy of Rhythms From a Cosmic Sky; memories of how great the band were came flooding back to me. However, I didn't want to carry any records around with at the gig, so didn't buy it then. I was in London a few days later meeting up with a friend, so I made a special detour to All Ages. They'd sold the copy of Rhythms but had a copy of From the Ages instead. I was pleased to get any of their albums, so bought it along with a couple of other bits. Needless to say, I was even more pleased when the needle hit the record.

Format: Double 12", gatefold sleeve
Tracks: 5
Cost: £20 new
Bought: All Ages, Camden
When: 25/03/16
Colour: Red
Etching: none
mp3s: no

November Coming Fire - Dungeness

November Coming Fire were an under-rated metalcore band, at least as far as I could tell. In certain circles this album is considered a classic; in others it's unheard of and I suspect some of the people in those circles would really enjoy it. 

Just after Christmas one year when I was in Cardiff, Hugh gave me a couple of cds - I think he'd acquired some bundle of cds that included Dungeness by November Coming Fire and the State Run discography, both of which he already had copies of. I was happy to take them both, despite not knowing either band.

November Coming Fire are heavier than a lot of bands I listen to - at their quieter moments they sound a bit like Envy; at their heavier they sound like a hardcore band. We were going to a lot of hardcore shows back then and I was starting to appreciate it better as a genre. I always enjoyed Dungeness despite it being so different to what I normally listen to. HMS Blackwater, Argonaut and Mascot are stand-out songs for me. I enjoy the album as a whole, albeit not very often. It's a pleasant surprise to play it and remember how much I enjoy and that I know the songs much better than I ever think I do.

I picked this vinyl copy up in All Ages a few years ago. I definitely felt that for a tenner it'd be rude not to buy it, and as an added bonus it turns out it is on a very nice gold/black splatter (which is apparently one of 250).

Format: 12", gatefold sleeve
Tracks: 12
Cost: £10 new
Bought: All Ages Records
When: 03/10/12
Colour: Gold with black splatter
Etching: none
mp3s: no

Drive Like Jehu - Yank Crime

It's hard to explain quite how much I enjoy Drive Like Jehu. I don't actually listen to them all that often, but when I do I can't think why I don't play them more. Yank Crime is a huge album, filled with moments that fill me with pure joy when I hear them. I certainly consider this to be a classic post-hardcore album, possibly under-rated (at least as far as I can tell, perhaps everyone else loves it too).

I think if I had to list my favourite songs on this album, they'd be Here Come the Rome Plows, Do You Compute and Luau which (on the vinyl version) are the first three songs - it makes for a pretty epic side A. One of the things that sets Drive Like Jehu apart from so many other post-hardcore bands of that era is that they have no qualms about letting a song run on for 7 or 8 minutes, which turns out to be an excellent thing - the intro to Do You Compute is so perfectly stretched out that it's almost taunting you - you know what's going to happen but the song wants you to wait. It's such a pleasing moment on the album. Similarly with Luau - there's no rush to get to that huge chorus, you have to wait. But it's all worth it.

I first heard Yank Crime in 2006 when I got the cd as a Christmas present from my sister. I'd heard about the band and told her I'd quite like one of their albums. Thinking back now, I don't remember what it was I'd read or heard about the band (it was possibly just the Rocket From the Crypt / Hot Snakes connection) but I'm glad I decided to check them out. That was 8 years ago and I still find this album exciting and interesting now.

I'd been meaning to get Yank Crime on vinyl for a while and found this copy in All Ages in Camden last October. I wasn't aware that the order of the songs differed so much between the cd and the LP; not sure why. What it does mean, like I mentioned before, is that the first side of the 12" is pure gold. The last three songs are on a separate 7" and both records are coloured, which is a nice touch.

Format: 12", 7"
Tracks: 9
Cost: £16 new
Bought: All Ages
When: 04/10/14
Colour: Transparent green, transparent blue
Etching: none
mp3s: no

Turbonegro - Ass Cobra

How the fuck did it take me so long to hear Ass Cobra!? I've been sporadically buying Turbonegro's albums since I saw them seven years ago and I figured I'd heard their peak on Apocalypse Dudes; how could any of their records been better than that instant classic? Ass Cobra does it somehow. I still love Apocalypse Dudes, but Ass Cobra has re-ignited my love for Turbonegro.

Some of the bands greatest songs are on this record. Deathtime, Demin Demon, and Bad Mongo are all perfect examples of Turbonegro's own death-punk genre, and that's just Side 1. In fact, you can drop the "death-" because the whole album is full of great punk songs. I think that's why I like this album more than Apocalypse Dudes - it's way more punk and way less camp (despite Sailor Man). The first album is even more rough around the edges, but Ass Cobra does everything perfectly. The intro to Imorgen Skal Eg Daue might just be one of the greatest intros I've ever heard, and I Got Erection closes the album on another of Turbo's greatest hits.

I picked this album up for a tenner on my second ever trip to All Ages in Camden, and it's proved to be £10 very well spent. Inexplicably, the order of the songs on the vinyl and the tracklisting on the back of the sleeve bare no relation to each other at all. I can't seem to find any reference to this on the internet (Discogs lists 6 versions of the LP, and it appears that I have the Boomba Recs sleeve and the Bliztcore vinyl but with neither a poster nor insert). So, for the sake of posterity, here is the order that the songs play on at least my copy of this record:

Side 1
1) Raggare is a Bunch of Motherfuckers
2) Deathtime
3) Demin Demon
4) Imorgen Skal Eg Daue
5) Turbonegro Hate the Kids
6) Sailor Man
7) Bad Mongo

Side 2
8) Hobbit Motherfuckers
9) Black Rabbit
10) Mobile Home
11) The Midnight NAMBLA
12) Just Flesh
13) A Dazzling Display of Talent
14) I Got Erection

Format: 12"
Tracks: 14
Cost: £10 new
Bought: All Ages, Camden
When: 17/10/12
Colour: Black
Etching: none
mp3s: no

The Magnificent - Bad Lucky

When I went into All Ages to buy The Magnificent's LP, the guy behind the counter told me it was "exactly that". I was feeling a bit slow that day so it took a moment to figure out that he was telling that the album was magnificent, but I eventually got it and told him how much I was looking forward to hearing the record. Over the past year I've picked up a handful of splits and 7"s featuring The Magnificent and enjoyed all the songs, but somehow managed to put off buying the record until October. Better late than never I suppose.

Anyway, the guy in All Ages was right, it's a great album. When I wrote about the 7" of 1981 I said it reminded me of very early Manics, a comparison I stand by despite the fact it's probably more that both were influenced by The Clash. It's certainly heavier and faster than those bands generally were (the whole thing plays at 45rpm) and much more gruff. 1990 is possibly my favourite song, and it's nice to hear the full band version after a year of listening Jimmy's solo version on the Chuck Ragan et al split (as it happens, that was one of my favourite songs on that record too; the female backing vocals are the end of this one are spot on). Hold my Drink up High and King of Denim Jackets are highlights too.

Somehow I've only just found out that this is their second album, despite having trawled the Boss Tuneage website when buying some things earlier in the year. It's only a fiver so I might pick it up as an early Christmas present to myself. Also, I still haven't seen The Magnificent live, but hopefully they'll play London before too long.


Format: 12", insert
Tracks: 10
Cost: £11 new
Bought: All Ages, Camden
When: 03/10/12
Colour: Black
Etching: none
mp3s: Download code

ONSIND - Dissatisfactions

This record was one of the musical highlights of 2011 for me. I hadn't heard ONSIND until a few days before K-Fest that year, and had barely even heard of them before that. I was mostly going because Above Them were playing, but also because there were some other decent bands on the bill and it looked like a good little weekender (although I only went on the Saturday). Anyway, a few days beforehand I decided it would be a good idea to actually listen to some of the new names and somehow the first band I picked was ONSIND. I found their bandcamp page, pressed play on their latest album Dissatisfactions and was instantly hooked.

The ten songs I heard were unbelievably catchy and I couldn't get enough of them. And on top of all this great acoustic punk-rock was some of the most thought-provoking lyrics I've heard in ages. Heterosexuality is a Construct is a scathing but upbeat attack on homophobia and You Should Probably Keep it All In is a song I'm sure almost everyone can relate to. I'd not long broken up with my ex-girlfriend when I heard Dissatisfactions and the line "You said you never wanted me to change, and to my detriment I'm still the fucking same" on Old Hazel Eyes is Back caught my ears every time. On top of all that, there are choruses that other bands can only dream of writing, like on Heterosexuality..., "Either He's Dead or My Watch Has Stopped", and "I Could Carve a Better Man Out of a Banana". I played the album a couple of times over that day and listened to everything else I could find. I was pleased that the first K-Fest band I did any research on turned out so well.

I arrived later at the Fighting Cocks on the Saturday than I'd planned, but perfectly in time to see ONSIND. They set up their two mic stands in the middle of the floor, the crowd gathered around them and they opened up with this album's closer "I Could Carve a Better Man Out of a Banana". The first time I heard that song I was fully drawn into the story that it tells and quite amazed. The rendition that afternoon in the Cocks then made it incredible with everyone in the room joining in singing the chorus at the top of their lungs. It was the highlight of the day and kept me smiling for ages (I was very pleased that I'd heard the album so I could join in). The sing-a-longs didn't stop there and the rest of the set was great. Afterwards my friend Sarah and I both bought copies of the cd and I eventually picked up a copy on vinyl in All Ages in Camden (although strangely there is a gap in the middle of Old Hazel Eyes is Back which I assume is some sort of pressing error that made its way past the test press).

I've had some bad luck seeing ONSIND since then - they've played London a few times but I've been away for all but one of them (most annoying was a house show just a short walk from my old flat in Surbiton which clashed with my grandad's 80th). I can forgive them because it's a long way from Durham, but I do hope they play again soon.


Format: 12", a4 insert
Tracks: 10
Cost: £10 new
Bought: All Ages, Camden
When: 17/10/12
Colour: Black
Etching: none
mp3s: download card