Sons of Tonatiuh Sons of Tonatiuh
Hydro Phonic Records
Real nasty spawn, these Sons of Tonatiuh, born under a bridge in the worst part of Atlanta, left to muckrake a miserable existence from wee hellions with pockets full of coal to teenage pariahs with duffel bags full of stolen goods, now barely alive, toothless and hungry, channeling their anti-social behaviour into a rent-by-the-hour racket. This here self-titled full-length debut is what happens when street urchins demand to be heard; ugly, crusty, disease-ridden doom that’s lost all sense of control and shoved a twisted scrap of sheet metal into your leg just to get at that moldy, half-eaten sandwich in your pocket. Socially morbid, squeegee-bleed, spastic death metal with the rank odor of sewer water, fetching flies and whores, holding dominion over the unseen, chemically ruined, appalling and bloated rot, lecherous companion to all kinds of Black Cobras, Weedeaters, and Scum. Abandon hope, all ye who enter here.
The Main Street Gospel Love Will Have Her Revenge
Tee Pee
Blowin’ in on the winds of yesteryear is The Main Street Gospel, a country-psych band with ties to Brian Jonestown Massacre and a sound so steeped in nostalgia and tradition you gotta blow the dust off of it just to discover the true treasure it really is. Love Will Have Her Revenge, the Ohio trio’s debut, is a laid back approach to the usual foot-stomp of mustache rock, and gets its point across by way of delicate pop melodies, tin cup blues, and breezy jams. While none of the songs here are exceptionally overpowering in their virility, they do have amazing breadth, depth, and reach, like the thick roots of an old and impressive tree. Not only that, but they shake and hum at times with a journeyman vibe, as the longest songs on deck (“Fool’s Gold,” “Ready to Shine,” and “She’s a Disease”) draw you into a solitary world of lonely rural squatting and the hallucinations it might induce with their 70s-inspired freak-folk rock. You’ll be able to hear a wide array of influences on this one, like Neil Young, Wilco, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Dead Meadow, and Blood Meridian, but in the end it’s just good ol’ rock n’ roll — vulnerable, honest, heartfelt, and a tad trippy.
Check out MSG performing the title track from Love Will Have Her Revenge!
Another Biters EP? Oh, that’s right, Jack. I guess releasing one outta-this-world album in 2010 wasn’t enough for these power pop superheroes because they’ve gone ahead and dropped yet another five-song masterpiece on us like a sack full o’ diamonds. Seriously, if they keep this up my heart’s gonna explode in a shower of cocktail napkin confetti. But really, can you think of a better way to go? Sure, you’re saying, when I’m balls deep in a teenage scream queen. Well, I got news for ya, friend. This is better than that. I’ll take your juicy thighs and smeared lipstick and raise you an orgy of rock n’ roll, cotton candy, jungle cats, wet tongues, and champagne bubbles. It’s just all sorts of crazy good stuff, ya know? When I had a go at their self-titled EP, I said that if the Biters weren’t the biggest band in the world real soon that we’d all be doomed, and I believe that now more than ever. So do the Biters apparently, who are doing their part by releasing the most amazing music at a roller-skate pace. It may be OK to like Biters, but it’s better to fucking love Biters. In fact, it’s pretty much mandatory.
Sons of Tonatiuh
The Main Street Gospel
Biters