Carbonas - Your Moral Superiors 2xLP - Red Vinyl

Goner (2018)

The Carbonas are a band that I haven't really written about much as I had purchased the vast majority of their records prior to starting up this site.  I don't remember how I heard of the Carbonas originally and I'm not sure if I bought one of their records or the first Gentleman Jesse 7" first, but I kind of came into both bands around the same time and spent a lot of time hunting down weirdo variants of 7"s and LPs.  Some of that was a little frustrating for The Carbonas as several of their really early records were perhaps just a bit too punk rock for me.  But as time went on their songs got poppier and I became more obsessed with finding everything.

This double LP acts as both a singles compilation and an outlet for a bunch of unreleased songs that never saw the light of day when the band was still together.  Like their overall discography, this double LP set can be uneven at times.  For every surefire hit like "Blackout (Waiting To Happen)" or "Frothing At The Mouth" you are going to come across a song or two that is more concerned with being a fast and loud blunt object than making sure the hooks and melodies are all in the right place.

That's one of the charming things about the Carbonas.   While you know that they could bust out the catchiest song in the world if they wanted to, they also just had a love of trash and fuzz that couldn't be contained.  While I think their third full length album that came out on Goner is their best, if you aren't familiar with the band this compilation is actually a really great starting point.  You get a lot of songs from several eras of the band and at least seven or eight songs that are just incredible.  Even if you have all of their 7"s like I do, there's plenty of new material to keep you entertained.

Carbonas - Your Moral Superiors: Singles And Rarities:
https://carbonas.bandcamp.com/album/your-moral-superiors-singles-and-rarities

The Blind Shake - Celebrate Your Worth LP - Blue Vinyl (/50)

Goner (2016)

Just to mention right off the back, I think that the information I've found online that indicates there are only fifty copies pressed on blue vinyl is a little suspect.  That's a lower amount than is typical for Goner, but that's the information I'll go with unless someone can point me to anything that says otherwise.  Seems awfully low to me.  Anyway, I'm glad mine is on blue.

The Blind Shake is one of those bands that absolutely goes against type for me.  I say this every time I review one of their records, but if you just take a surface look at this band, it doesn't make sense that I like them.  Noisy, kind of sludgy, weird guitar solo things.  It shouldn't work for me, but it always does.  There is something so engaging about this band's manic energy and the way they construct their songs.  There's always the slightest hint of a hook buried in the song, almost like The Blind Shake is daring you to find it.

As is usual with Blind Shake albums, I gravitate towards the fastest and catchiest songs on the album.  In this case it's standouts like "Reasonable World," "Society of Plants" and "Demox."  But as usual, the whole album is captivating as the band jumps from one sound to another with ease.  One thing you can really never say about The Blind Shake is to accuse them of having songs that all sound the same.  Celebrate Your Work is another example of their dynamic songwriting and their ability to pull me into some of the most unlikely bits of noise.

The Blind Shake - Celebrate Your Worth:

https://theblindshake.bandcamp.com/album/celebrate-your-worth

Shadow In The Cracks - S/T LP

Goner (2015)

Discovering The Blind Shake is one of the smarter things I've done over the past few years (thanks again @swamipat).  Their potent blend of noise, punk and hooks have made quite an impact on me.  Shadow in The Cracks is two thirds of The Blind Shake (Jim & Mike Blaha) and chances are if you dig The Blind Shake, you will dig parts of this record as well.

I won't pretend to like this quite as much as I like The Blind Shake.  One of the things that I think really defines that band is how deceptively catchy they are.  Sure those hooks are buried deep in the grime, but they are there.  Shadow In The Cracks is much more of a dissonant record.  Not to say that there aren't any hooks, but the grime is thicker and there is a more experimental sound.  If anything, you'd have to say these are much more in line with the further out there, weirdo Blind Shake songs.

This Shadow In The Cracks album is an economical nine songs and thirty minutes long.  It's long enough to let the ideas of each song play out, but not so long that they become self indulgent or overbearing.  It's an interesting listen, with lots of unique ideas.  I hate to bring up The Blind Shake in nearly every sentence in this review, but that's going to be your touchstone as what to expect.  If you like one, it's probably likely that you'll like the other as well.

Shadow In The Cracks - "Timeless":

https://soundcloud.com/gonerrecords/shadow-in-the-cracks-timeless