Tilts’ self-titled debut full-length is one of those pledge jobs — you know, where a band raises a certain amount of money directly from fans and uses that money to make an album. The amount of money a person pledges determines the package they receive, be it a digital download, a record, a record and a t-shirt, etc., and only those people who pledge get the tunes. It’s the print-on-demand model applied to music (a model also recently successfully employed by Ginger Wildheart for his triple album project), and it is thanks to about 117 backers that this here attack of supercharged indie power pop is gonna meet an invested audience. Tilts is a remixed and remastered collection of the St. Louis band’s first three EPs (Cassingle, Sidepipin’, Contractors to Her Majesty’s Forces) and sizzles like a schoolgirl on an electric fence, and if there were such a thing as dance halls anymore, this album would sweep ‘em in a big way. Tilts (who feature Torche’s newest member Andrew Elstner in their ranks) are simply addictive, and do all sorts of dirty, wonderful things with this album by turning it into a sonic smorgasbord; you’ll taste all kinds of rock here, like Southern (“Mexiqo”), garage (“It Helps”), alt (“Whatever Happened”), fuzz (“Palm Reader”), desert (“Sidepipin’”), and even a nod to Van Halen (“Hot for Pizza”). Hell, wait until you hear the heavy they lay down on “Contractors to Her Majesty’s Forces” and “Strongbow”. Simply put, Tilts is overloaded with catchy, hip shock n’ roll that’s been put on a pedestal made of gumdrops and nails. Everything great in a spin, really, and record store geeks and smarmy critics are gonna go ga-ga for this. Assuming they pledged, that is.
Ancient VVisdom A Godlike Inferno
Shinebox Recordings
Yes, that’s VVisdom, with two V’s instead of a W, perhaps to denote some sort of kvlt affinity, and why not when you’re a band whose first recorded offering is a split with Charles Manson and your dark, acoustic doom is black metal played out as the Devil’s blues? Driven by a forbidden force of steel-stringed conviction and Antichrist alchemy, the Austin band’s debut, A Godlike Inferno, is more than a poor cover, fancy spelling, and men in costumed ceremony — it’s eight tracks of pagan chamber music, a melodic and catchy gush of neo-folk played by dudes in dirty denim vests. And nevermind that Ancient VVisdom contains members of the louder groups Iron Age and Integrity because this is simple, stripped down, fire-licking rock n’ soul, like Agalloch at a biker camp-out or Days of the New in corpse paint, which is actually way better than it sounds.
Check out two videos for “The Opposition” and “VVorld of Flesh” from A Godlike Inferno!
Spiders are a neat little rock n’ roll outfit hailing from Gothenburg, Sweden, featuring John Hoyles of Witchcraft and Axel Sjöberg of Graveyard (although at the time of this review he’s no longer in the band), but starring the foxy Ann-Sofie Hoyles as lead scream Queen, and I’ve waited on writing about them because it seems every time I sit down to do so they put out another single. Indeed, it all started back in January when Spiders released this here four-song EP on regular vinyl and picture disc, and given the aforementioned members penchant for the retro sound, this one definitely stinks of drugs and fuzz, but it also takes on much more of a sonic sexiness, no doubt due to Ann-Sofie’s tempting wiles. You might think a band like Spiders would come off sounding like Blood Ceremony or The Devil’s Blood given the dynamics, but they’re more dirty denim and sweaty leather than black robes and incense, and fall in line with the likes of the American electric dealers of the 60s and 70s, like Fred “Sonic” Smith jamming with Grace Slick. Spiders are a don’t-drink-what’s-in-the-red-cup kind of party, a backseat education for dark minds and idle hands. Anyway, Spiders then took this four-song EP and cut it in half, releasing two separate 7″ singles in the US in March, High Society b/w Gracious Man (Kemado Records) and Nothing Like You b/w Long Gone (Valley King Records). If that wasn’t enough, they then released another 7″ single in August on De:Nihil Records, featuring the brand new song “Fraction” and a cover of Alice Cooper’s “Under My Wheels.” We can now only hope a full-length is on its way. In the meantime, I’m gonna go drink what’s in the red cup and rock the fuck out.
I know this song isn’t on the self-titled EP, but videos are fun, so check out the video for “Fraction”!
Tilts
Ancient VVisdom
Spiders