The Next Big Thing

Flushed with success at breaking into the thing called "THE CHARTS" with The 5,6,7,8's, SWEET NOTHING records continues to kick back the frontiers of rawk. As you know, Simon has had the good graces to bring down the wrath of many combo's upon an unsuspecting and often uncaring UK bound rabble. This missionary work has been carried out on behalf of THE HELLACOPTERS and a band that should similiarly rule the planet called MAGIC DIRT but as you know, the "kids" are too stupid to bite. Anyways, not content with having put out THE SOLUTION's COMMUNICATE in recent weeks, here's some more SN booty you should keep a shredded eardum out for.



THE STARLITE DESPERATION ep VIOLATE A SUNDAE could do much to rid the world of the sell by date way up Strokes. Their sinewy, undulating not unlike The Scientists spacerock is gloriously non-retro and as anthemic as this kind of fare is ever likely to get. Part of the Southern Ca Smog-Psych movement (according to Skyscraper Magazine), methinks these blighters and their Conga Line could catch on.



LION FEVER, who take their name from a non existant ailment are in comparison, a more tame proposition but only in the sense that it has a kinda grounded smokey basement element to it. LUSTRE is the most outright punk-related of these three products with the singer Jennifer pearl sounding like both Patti Smith and Grace Slick but neither. They get extra points for covering The Gun Club's "For The Love Of Ivy" and can muster a fair ol' ramshackle groove. There's a mention that they were influenced by The Stranglers on their site but I won't hold that agin 'em.



"If Exuma, Blue Cheer, Albert Ayler, Mitch Mitchell, Nanjo and the zombie of John Cippolina all met on the blue highway, wasted on golden whiskey and cocaine, there they would throw on Field Recordings From The Sun on a trashed boombox while shooting pistols at their tracers. This is West Coast Psychedelia, hang onto your eardrums". That's how the Alternative Tentacles blub goes for Santa Cruz, Ca's COMETS ON FIRE,'s FIELD RECORDINGS, add a cut and shut between Hawkwind and MX-80 via MONTROSE (the band not the Scottish seaside resort) and some vibes beamed up from the underbelly of Detroit to that pot and you'll be no closer to describing the ugly yet strangely satisfying web of sound they've fashioned. Free-form freak outs seldom come much more entertaining than this. Available in Europe via Sweet Nothing, AT in the US. Photo from AT website.