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Vaz "Chartreuse Bull" review from Aquarius Records!

More love from Aquarius...Thanks aQ!!

http://www.aquariusrecords.org/

VAZ Chartreuse Bull

(Sleeping Giant Glossolalia)

Not sure how we managed it, but this is the first we've heard from noise rock heavies Vaz, which is kind of weird for a couple reasons, one, this is their 3rd or 4th record so far at least, and those past records were on some seriously kick ass labels, and two, Vaz is in fact two members of the late great AmRep outfit Hammerhead, who we LOVED. But better late than never, and this is indeed a serious chunk of blown out super hooky and heavy noise rock, pop at its core for sure, but wrapped in some thick, crumbling ultra distorted riffage, not to mention some tripped out psychedelic guitar action, anchored by the drums, a wild chaotic pound, and the vocals, surprisingly melodic, which positions Vaz more alongside other poppier heavy rock combos like Torche, but Vaz definitely twists up their sound, atonal and off kilter, jagged and frenzied and frantic, sleeping easily from twisted crunch to soaring hookiness and back, with a definite brooding downer pop vibe running through some of the songs too. And some ridiculous hooks tucked amidst all that crunch and pound. We gave this a quick listen when it first came in, and thought it sounded pretty good, but when we finally sat down to really dig in, it quickly became a new fave, sounding suddenly like some impossible hybrid of Nomeansno, The Melvins and Torche, with a hint of the WipersÉ and we've been listening to it like crazy ever since, which pretty much says it all.

Killer stuff, and definitely recommended for fans of heavy pop and poppy heaviness. Packaged in swank silkscreened jackets, includes a free download as well.

MPEG Stream: "Charteuse Blues"

MPEG Stream: "Blockade"

MPEG Stream: "The 2nd"

Bobb Bruno "Mellowdramas" review from Aquarius Records!

One of our all-time favorite places/sites has some kind words for this incredible LP....

http://www.aquariusrecords.org/
BRUNO, BOBB Mellowdramas (Sleeping Giant Glossolalia)

Most folks probably know Bobb Bruno as the guitar player in sunshiney retro poppers Best Coast, although some aQ-ers no doubt know him as the man behind ultra heavy guitar/drums duo Goliath Bird Eater, and still others might remember him as a member of late great nineties indie rock weirdos the Polar Goldie Cats, so with all that in mind we weren't sure what to expect from this long in the works solo record, on which Bruno plays everything, but has some notable guests along for the ride (including Nels Cline, and Josh Klinghoffer from the Red Hot Chili Peppers!).

The title is your first clue, as these are in fact mellow sonic dramas, the opener is a dark, dreamy gloom pop gem, all murky chordal whir, shimmery organs, and some gorgeous torch song vocals, courtesy of Kandyce Lynn Crane, the song smolders and slithers, peppered with pizzicato strings, sounding a bit like a moodier creepier Best Coast actually, the music could maybe be a Best Coast 45 spinning at 16rpm, but regardless it's so lovely. The second track is another dark pop gem, this one more orchestral, sweeping and grand, a dreamy softly fuzzy epic, laced with some cool droned out buzz, it's the sort of sound you might have expected from Cardinal back in the day. "Loveletter" is another symphonic pop number, all swirling soaring strings, swaddled in mysterious electronic chitter, the melody theremin like, hazy and lush and again so lovely, the guitars warm and buzzy, and when the drums finally kick in, the song slips into a Mazzy Star like shoegaze drift, all dreamy slowcore, and again, the song features a cool, weirdly effected super melodic guitar solo.

The vocals return on "We Know You Know" which is all low slung, electro-skitter, which quickly blossoms into a sort of dubbed out Portishead-y downtempo shuffle, but with lush squalls of super distorted guitar and some gorgeous wordless vocals, the sound dark and dramatic and a little bit gothic, sounding like a more post punk shoegazey Zola Jesus, which is not at all a bad thing.

"Loners" is all murky lysergic slow jam, with James Blake like distorted slo-mo soul vox, the sort of track Balam Acab or Clams Casino might conjure up, woozy and washed out, warped and warbly. "Near Ecstasy" starts off all minimal and fuzzy, with some sweetly crooned vox, again sounding very goth, almost Kate Bush like at times, all over an almost krautrock sounding groove, wreathed in flanged synths and swirling gauzy thrum, and then finally, the record finishes with "Over", a strange bit of experimental synthscaping, that sounds like it was modeled after some Beach Boys outtake, pounding chords, overlapping, all over a hushed shimmer, finally coalescing into a fuzzy chunk of dream pop, with a sweet tinkling chime melody, only to seemingly melt into a warped stretch of druggy murk, that sounds more like the Skaters than anything, but a gorgeously tripped out finish to a pretty fantastic record. Not at all what we were expecting, but all the more exciting for that. Definitely for fans of dark, lush pop and hazy electronic dreaminess, we're actually digging this like crazy!

Cool bloody panda bear sweat sock cover art!

MPEG Stream: "Building"
MPEG Stream: "Look Out The Window"
MPEG Stream: "Loveletter"