Ex Hex / Twerps - Split 7" - White Vinyl (+Merge Box & CD)

Merge (2014)

The last 7" in the Or Thousand Of Prizes series from Merge is a split 7" between Ex Hex and Twerps.  Ex Hex is a band that I am somewhat familiar with.  I had seen the Mary Timony fronted band open up for Rocket From The Crypt last year.  While I did enjoy them, it wasn't to the point where I felt that I wanted to pick up one of their records.  I'm pleasantly surprised with how much I like their contribution, a cover of The Real Kids' "All Kindsa Girls."  It's tremendously catchy in a garage-y Ramones sort of way.  Just a really fun song.  

Twerps, on the other hand, is a band that I'd never heard of before getting this 7".  Their song "Science" is pretty good.  It leans towards the indie rock side of the spectrum with muddy production, but strong harmonies piercing through the fog.  It has a distinct 90's sound, but I'm having a difficult time really pinning it down.  It mostly reminds me of Cub or Go Sailor, but not nearly as in-your-face upbeat and energetic.  I actually like this song a bit more.  I'll have to check out more of their records as I was pretty intrigued by this.

Since this is the last of the series, I've also taken a picture of some of the bonuses.  It comes with a nice, sturdy box set to hold all of the singles.  They also sent along a CD of every song in the series (I nice bonus since the 7"s didn't have MP3 download coupons). I also got a Merge shirt and another bonus 12" of Merge bands covering other Merge bands (That's a review for another day).  

For the money, the quality of these records is really worth it.  Merge handled this like champs.  The records always came out on time and the extras were really cool.  Musically, I can't say this series thrilled me as a whole.  Though I was really into Superchunk, Mikal Cronin, King Kahn and a few others; for the most part this just seemed like a box set of mid afternoon NPR bands.  I wish there were some more bands with a little more oomph.  Still, it's hard to complain about this series as it was just presented so flawlessly.  Kudos to Merge.

Crooked Fingers / Spider Bags - Split 7" - Green Vinyl

Merge (2014)

We're in the home stretch for the Merge Records Or Thousands Of Prizes singles series.  For the November release they paired up Crooked Fingers and Spider Bags.

Let me admit right up front that I hate Crooked Fingers.  That band drives me out of my mind.  Sure, it may simply be because Eric Bachmann was in Archers Of Loaf and Crooked Fingers sounds nothing like Archers.  But I think even past that it's because I've always felt that Crooked Fingers was making pretentious music just for the sake of it.  I'm sure I'm wrong, but I've tried to give them another chance again and again and I just never like anything they's done.  Their contribution to this split is no different.  "Western Line" is built over minimal rhythmic drumming, the occasional quick guitar overlay and harmonized lyrics that sound like their off of a band Paul Simon benefit record from the 80's.  It's just not for me.

On the flip side, Spider Bags are a band I find much more agreeable.  While they don't knock my socks off or anything, their song "Into A Tree" benefits from being much more upbeat and cohesive.  The cadence of the lyrics remind me a little bit of The Dandy Warhols, but just slightly.  When compared to the other side of this record it sounds like the best song in the world, but in reality it's just ok.

Spoon / Eleanor Friedberger Split 7" - Gray Vinyl

Merge (2014)

I'll be all caught up on Merge's Or Thousands Of Prizes 7" series with this record.  That only leaves one last package containing November and December's releases.  I sure hope they go out with a band as this 7" doesn't really thrill me.

We'll start off with Eleanor Friedberger's contribution "Open Your Soul To Me." It's just slow, NPR style indie rock.  Kind of like a female fronted Ted Leo song that is missing all of the exciting things that Ted adds to his music.  The song just never grabs me and it quickly turns into background noise.  There's a sort of interesting Bright Eyes style flute thing that pops up halfway through, but it still isn't enough to really make me care all that much.

Spoon is one of those bands that just never clicked for me.  I know a ton of people who really, really love Spoon, but I never latched on to them.  Their song on the split, "Waiting To Know You," certainly isn't about to change my mind.  It's build off of bass guitar and 80's sounding synth through the intro and then once the verse hits, you get an awful lot of xylophone.  I would kill for some loud guitars right about now.  I realize I'm getting older, but maybe I'm not quite old enough to enjoy this sort of thing.

As a whole, Merge's singles series is putting out more boring records than good ones.  Part of me wonders if I should have just bought the Superchunk/Mikal Cronin split on eBay and called it a day.  There are two more records coming to hopefully change my mind, but I have a feeling I'm going to end up with quite a few records that I'm probably not going to play very often.

Hiss Golden Messenger / Matt Scuggs - Split 7" - Red Vinyl

Merge (2014)

More Merge madness from their 7" series.  Though the deeper we get into the series, the less interested in it I'm becoming.

Case in point is Hiss Golden Messenger.  They're a band I'm not familiar with, but that's not the problem.  Half of the reason I sign up for singles clubs is to hear about new bands.  But I don't really need to hear more like this.  It's another blast of generic NPR style rock.  The singer has a nasal vocal delivery, aiming for a Bob Dylan sort of thing, but never really pulls it off.  The song has a slight alt country tinge to it, but at the end of the day is just boring.

Matt Scuggs is significantly more interesting.  It comes off a bit like Modern Guilt era Beck with its muted bass guitar and drums driving the verse.  At the tail end of the song, Scuggs delivers that loud blast of guitar that you felt building up, but the song is far too short.  It's very good and I do like it, but it could have been much longer and really needed a killer chorus to push it over the top.

East River Pipe / Reigning Sound - Split 7" - Yellow Vinyl

Merge (2014)

I'm going to spend the next few days getting caught up with the Merge singles series records that have been piling up.  I've only got 3, but I imagine a couple more will be en route pretty soon.  So let's clear this backlog.

On the East River Pipe side there's a kind of slow song called "Did The Bank Boys Fool Ya."  It's got distorted vocals with a pretty heavy echo effect on them.  The song itself is somewhat simplistic and it almost reminds me of little kids' music.  I've never heard of this band before and this song didn't really leave much of an impression on me.

The flip side is an acoustic song by Reigning Sound.  They are one of those bands that my friends all seem to like way more than I do.  I think they're totally fine, but nothing they have done has really elicited the sort of emotion in me that I see in others.  "Falling Rain" is primarily built on the strumming of an acoustic guitar with some hints of sliding steel guitar sounds in the background.  It's a nice song actually, but not really anything I think is special or noteworthy.  It's not bad, it just isn't the sort of thing I see myself listening to more than once or twice.

Redd Kross / Vertical Scratchers - Split 7" - Pink Vinyl

Merge (2014)

Time to line up some new Merge Records 7" series releases.  First up on this split we've got Redd Kross.  A stalwart on the indie punk scene, and when they put out songs like "Leave It Where You Found It" it's easy to see why.  This one is just a smash hit.  Over pounding drums and an fuzzy guitar riff, the band lays down some great, borderline British Invasion style vocal melodies.  It's probably even better than anything on their last full length "Researching The Blues."  One of the highlights of the entire series so far.

On the flip side we have a band called Vertical Scratchers.  I can't say I've ever heard of them prior to getting this 7", but I am intrigued after listening to their contribution, "Jackie's Favorite."  It's a good, upbeat pop song.  The guitars have a heavy jangle factor and it's got a really catchy chorus.  That being said, the vocals are a little off-putting.  Whenever the chorus hits, the singer leaps in to this super high pitched falsetto.  We're talking Bee Gees high pitched.  I won't go so far to say it ruins the song, but it certainly makes me think twice about looking into any of this band's other releases.

I thought the last couple of singles from Merge were a little lackluster, but this one gets things back on track.  I'm still debating on whether or not I liked the Vertical Scratchers song enough to pursue more music by them, but I guess a quick hunt around the internet for some samples won't take up that much time.

I couldn't find the Vertical Scratchers song online anywhere, but someone did put the Redd Kross on up on YouTube.

Redd Kross - "Leave It Where You Found It":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1XSjnIEWOg

Wye Oak / Telekinesis - Split 7" - Blue Vinyl

Merge (2014)

The Or Thousand Of Prizes singles club from Merge rolls into June with a split 7" offering from Wye Oak and Telekinesis.  Merge has been very timely with these records.  I don't want to jinx it, but so far this is the best, most consistent roll out of a singles club that I've ever seen.  Hopefully they keep on going strong.

Musically, I can't say the series has been as consistent for me.  Wye Oak employs a clean guitar sound with some electronica and ambient sound effects.  High pitched, other worldly vocals glide over top.  There's a few Beck songs that have a similar flair, but those were always the Beck songs that came off as a bit pretentious to me.  Wye Oak sure sounds like they are trying to be important and artistic, but to me it just comes off as being boring.  "Better" kind of reminds me of "Chariots Of Fire" or some other pseudo-inspirational schlock befitting a slow motion scene in a movie.  There's a somewhat interesting moment towards the middle where Wye Oak indulges in a louder, synth driven solo; but it immediately reverts back to being boring again to close out the song.

Telekinesis, on the other hand, are much more exciting.  Building off of a loud, crunchy guitar with a hooky verse and strong vocals that don't rely on fuzz or other trickery (though there is a slight echo on the chorus).   I can't say that I was really familiar with this band, but I'm pretty impressed with this song.  Though I could not in good conscious say they are as good as Mikal Cronin, I feel like Telekinesis is aiming for a similar place.  Worth checking out.  

Hospitality / Lambchop - Split 7" - WhiteVinyl

Merge (2014)

For the month of May, the Merge Records Or Thousands Of Prizes singles club dropped another new 7" on my doorstep.  This time I was presented with 2 bands that I had heard of, but never really listened to much at all.  This split would be the first chance I'd have to spend any real quality time with either.

First up is Hospitality.  While the female fronted vocals and wonderful backing harmonies create some very sweet melodies, this band sounds kind of old.  Not necessarily in a good, cool throwback sort of way.  They just sound dated, like they're trying to exist in a completely different time.  There are a lot of genres ripe for a revival, though I'm not sure 70's easy listening is really the one to champion.

Still, I find Hospitality significantly more interesting than Lambchop.  Like Hospitality, they kind of reek of the 70's, but this band seems to be yearning for the days of the lounge piano player.  The song starts simple, and builds, but it doesn't really build into anything all that interesting.  It's kitschy in the way that songs like "MacArther Park" are, but that doesn't make it good.

Destroyer / King Kahn & The Shrines - Split 7" - Purple Vinyl

Merge (2014)

For their April release, Merge went back to the split 7" format after a brief one month departure.  The two bands they brought together were Destroyer and King Kahn & The Shrines.

I was particularly excited about Destroyer.  I was a big fan of their earlier releases, particularly Streethawk: A Seduction.  But as the years went on, Destroyer got a bit weirder and I haven't really been keeping tabs on them as much.  I figured that being able to check out a recent song might show me if they are worth giving another shot.  Well, after this entry into the singles club, I think I've made the right choice paying them no mind as of late.  As the title may suggest, "Te Recuerdo Amanda" is completely in Spanish.  While that's not really a deal breaker, the fact that the song is slow, quiet, boring and kind of goes nowhere is.  It just seems like such a throwaway.

King Khan & The Shrines, on the other hand, really brought their A game to the record. Even though it's a Saints cover, the King Kahn version of "Know Your Product" blasts out of the gate with a huge horn section, organ and driving bass.  It's a real rhythm and blues review that pays homage to the original, but is a pretty spectacular stand along track for King Khan.  It's part Rocket From The Crypt, part Blues Brothers and part soundtrack to a car chase.  As bad as the Destroyer side is, the King Khan & The Shrines side more than makes up for it.  I've been lukewarm about King Khan records in the past, maybe it's time to give him another chance if his take on this song is anything to go by.

The Clientele - Falling Asleep 7" - Blue Vinyl

Merge (2014)

This record is the March edition of the Merge records Or Thousands Of Prizes singles club.  Unlike the first 2 volumes, this isn't a split 7".  For March they decided to let Clientele have both sides.  Off all of the bands that have participated thus far, I'm not sure why Clientele earned their own 7".  If it was me, I would have given that to Superchunk.

Not that Clientele is bad.  They're not at all, but they are a little forgettable.  The A-side, "Falling Asleep," isn't one of those songs that you can't figure out why they called it that.  It's pretty mellow and honestly a little boring. Dreamy vocals with a slight layer of cloudy distortion over hippy-esque 60's music.  It reminds me of Donovan a bit actually, but with less energy.

On the flip side is "Orpheus Avenue."  It's also slow paced built over a layer of gently plucked acoustic guitar.  In some ways it reminds me of Sea Change era Beck, but with none of the gravitas or importance that Beck can muster out of a song like this.  I wouldn't say either song was bad or not worth a listen, but at the end of the day both are a bit boring and I honestly can't see myself getting the itch to listen to it again.

Clientele - "Falling Asleep":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cK9WkClyCb4

The Mountain Goats / Mount Moriah - Split 7" - Turquoise Vinyl

Merge (2014)

Shipped with the Superchunk / Mikal Cronin 7" from yesterday was the second entry in the Merge Records singles series.  This one is a split 7" between The Mountain Goats and Mount Moriah.

We'll start with The Mountain Goats since I am familiar with them.  I can't say I have ever been a big fan, but at the same time I've always appreciated the music that John Darnielle has released.  I remember originally I stumbled across them when I went through my tape label phase in the mid 90's and was buying cassettes & records by bands like Diskothi Q and Charlie McAlister.  For some reason The Mountain Goats just never hit for me and the song on this 7" is another reason why.  It's a strong song, plaintive and honest. It's mostly just voice and piano with some light electric guitar work occasionally in the background.  I think it's just a bit too downtrodden to really embrace. I certainly can appreciate plenty of music that's not fast and catchy rock & roll, but I've always found the Mountain Goats a bit too gloomy for me.

Mount Moriah is a band I've had no prior exposure to.  Their contribution to this 7" is somewhat soulful, female fronted rock.  It's built off of a repetitive, bluesy guitar riff with some nice organ work in the background.  it's pretty good, but I'm not wowed to the point that I'll likely pursue anything further by this band.

So 2 singles into the Merge series and it's a good showing so far.  I'm eager to see what comes up next on the horizon.  I worry that the Superchunk 7" might end up being the highlight for me, but who knows, maybe they'll get the Karl Hendricks Trio on board.

Superchunk / Mikal Cronin - Split 7" - Pink Vinyl

Merge (2014)

Another year, another singles club.  This year I joined up for the Merge records 25th anniversary singles club.  How could I not, it starts off with a Superchunk 7" and if there's 1 thing in this world I have, it's a lot of Superchunk 7"s.  The Merge series looks like they're sending out two 7"s at a time.  I'll write up the 2nd one tomorrow.  The sleeve is a sturdy cardboard with a shiny silver logo on the front and some light embossing on the back.  There's a few odd designs cut into it as well that exposes the vinyl, so make sure to bag this guy up before filing it away.  It looks cool though.

I'll start out with Mikal Cronin.  He is one of the absolute top guys where so many people whose taste in music I trust love him, but he just never did anything for me.  I tried so hard to get into his first record and it just never clicked.  What I can say though is that his song "Takin' It Easy" on this 7" is incredible.  It's got some minor psych/drone on the vocals, but it's not annoyingly distorted like a lot of bands go for these days.  This song has an awesomely loud and catchy chorus.  The verse takes it down a bit, but it just helps build up energy for that chorus.  I've only heard the first Mikal Cronin record.  If anything else of his sounds even sort of similar to this song, than I really need to give him another chance.  Someone confirm or deny please.

Superchunk hardly needs a description.  Their song "Good Morning" is another slice of classic Superchunk greatness.  It's a bouncy, jump up and down because you can't contain yourself anthem. It's catchy in the right places and dynamic where it needs to be.  Superchunk hardly ever lets me down and this song is no exception.  I also love how committed Superchunk is to supporting the 7" format.  All these years later and they're still cranking them out.  This record is a great start to the series.