News, Releases, Yada Yada Yada

The floodgates have opened folks – for the rest of the month nothing but new releases coming through – so find that special record and grab a piece of music history – here’s the latest from rockabilly gods Rolling Bowling, post rockers Pentatonic, indie staples Casino Demon, as well as Wuhan’s newest crop of talent.

Casino Demon is my comfort food. There’s nothing remarkable about their music, it doesn’t push any boundaries, it’s not particularly imaginative – but damn I’d be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy their music immensely. Simple, melodic, unswerving, and genuine, their sound simply agrees with what my ears crave. After last years’ Have You Ever Seen The Stars? , their latest release, Do You Still Love?, continues their trend of creating ridiculously catchy singles that have nothing to prove other than to get your feet tapping. The four-track EP was officially released last Saturday at Mao Livehouse and all but one can be listened to on their douban page. ‘Fire Place’ is shaping to be one of my favorite songs of the year and sports one of the greatest lines in ‘There is no song in my fucking lung’ while ‘Girls’ keeps things moving along with a kick ass guitar rhythm that feels like a stateside West Coast jam. Casino Demon aren’t reinventing the wheel here, but man do they know how to craft out a finely tuned piece of indie pop. Grab your copy over at School or at Yugong Yishan this Friday where the band will perform alongside Skip Skip Ben Ben, Mr. Graceless, and Brain Failure.

If you’ve followed this blog, you know my feelings toward Rolling Bowling run deep – I don’t even like rockabilly that much, but these guys are straight up dynamite and have yet to let me down. So when I picked up their latest at IndieStore, I was ecstatic but worrisome that the studio wouldn’t to be able to capture the roaring liveliness of the group on record. I’m happy to say that for the most part, the hilariously titled ‘Marriage Is Not My Favorite Thing’, under Starsing Records – Rolling Bowling’s first full length studio release – is a great entry point into the bands’ sound. Old favorites ‘坠落’ (Fall) and ‘影子’ (Shadow) have lost none of their rapture, and while the guitars do come through too clean too often throughout the eleven tracks, there are a lot of nice flourishes to the production, including a fiddle in the closer ‘My Life Is Like A Dog’, which sounds like a early Dropkick Murphy’s cut. All in all, it’s punchy album full of short, swift, rockabilly tunes with awesome riffs, chants, and plenty of swagger to boot. You could even look at the album as a whole as statement about what means to be a 21^st century Chinese male – if you’re too busy NOT busting your ass to the rockabilly lords of Beijing. Give her a twirl.

Post rock is no stranger to Beijing – the atmospheric genre has pretty much enraptured the city’s scene to the point where post-rock nights have become the norm. The latest entry to the scene is Pentatonic, who if you recall had a track on the Beijing Post Rock compilation under 1724 Records last year. Now a full-fledged band led by Xiaoma, they have released their debut full-length album entitled Syndrome. Re-mastered by legendary post rock studio Grey Market Master in Montreal and disturbed by local indie label, 1724 Records, the album is looking to make a splash here. It’s a hefty album, one that wears its influences proudly on its sleeve, from Portishead, to Sigur Ros, Mogwai, and just about every post rock band that gets tossed around these days. And while the album only really picks up after the adorable ode to ‘Twinkle Twinkle Little Star’ it’s a hell of a second half. I love how the vocals are integrated throughout, and the band isn’t afraid to draw their sound in and make every note count. ‘Maya’ creates a breathtaking landscape of sound that’s gets bigger and bigger without losing any of its beauty, while the progressive ‘Sedentary Secretary’ isn’t afraid to get noisy and bring the guitar out front and center. Give it listen over at bandcamp and pick it up over at IndieMusic.

Last but not least, is Voice Of Wuhan, a compilation CD representing the latest cropping of bands coming out of Wuhan. It was put together by the city’s premier live music venue VOX and features ten bands showcasing their stuff. As with most compilations, it’s hit or miss, but there are little gems here and then including The One’s ‘You and Me’, Chinese Football’s ‘Goalkeeper’, and Kill Wagon’s ‘Sharp Pills’. Give the whole thing a listen here. And don’t forget, the Voice of Wuhan will be swinging through Yugong Yishan next Saturday to promote the album release with Wuhan representatives Chinese Football, Mean Street, and Kill Wagon. Cool beans. Hot tip to Slink Rat for this find.

Alright that’s all I can manage now folks – come back next week for the latest from Los Crasher, Low Wormwood, Buyi, Tomahawk, and of course KTR (yes I’m holding out on those kids).