Here are some words about my favourite/tracks you NEED to hear from this year.
Sleigh Bells – Comeback Kid (from ‘Reign of Terror’)
For once, jangly-guitar bedwetter indie is a million miles away from iTunes free downloads section. Thank god. ‘Comeback Kid’ is a torrent of LOUD NOISES, heavy, punishing synthesized beats, Derek Miller’s wailing guitar and Alexis Krauss’s beautifully seductive vocals. It’s abrasive, scathing pop music that’s rich and raucous. True Shred Life, guys.
The Chariot – First (from ‘One Wing’)
‘First’ sees Josh Scogin’s The Chariot pushing metal music to more extreme measures. After the initial minute long blast of furious and taunt metallic hardcore, the second half of this is a spaghetti western. Yes really. Foot-on-monitors style epic rocking at the end guaranteed.
Japandroids – The Nights Of Wine and Roses (from ‘Celebration Rock’)
Could have mentioned any song from ‘Celebration Rock’ really. You know where you are with Japandroids; all their songs are awesome and will make you feel awesome. As opening tracks go, this is one of the finest of 2012; fireworks, huge drumming, washed-out guitar fuzz, ‘woahs’ and lyrics shouting for you to gather your friends and as much alcohol as you can and have a fucking great time.
Torche – Walk It Off (from ‘Harmonicraft’)
Sounding like Queens of the Stone Age, gone punk rock, ‘Walk It Off’ is Torche racing to the finish line in a vehicle devoid of brakes, steering and proper maintenance. Absolutely heart-racing guitar squeals thunder this 86 seconds of stoner-pop brilliance out of the ballpark.
Death Grips – Hacker (from ‘The Money Store’)
Ah Death Grips and their WACKY adventures through time and space. What will those CRAZY guys get up to next episode? ‘Hacker’ is obnoxious, arrogant and repellent – but thankfully it’s a strutting and explosive whirlwind of mangled hip-hop, explosive beats and layers of clashing samples. No ‘ins’ and ‘outs.’
METZ – Wet Blanket (from ‘METZ’)
Sounding like someone bashing a load of rusty bins apart inside a larger bin; ‘Wet Blanket’ by METZ, is an eerie, blast of trashy-punk rock, fed through battered speakers, spat with distaste and conceit. This will make you want to take up the guitar – and smash it into a wall of amps.
BATS – Heat Death (from ‘The Sleep of Reason’)
A toss up between this and ‘Stem Cells’ – but ‘Heat Death’ wins out, due to the fact it’s quite frankly, so completely out-there it deserves a special mention. Constantly evolving and devouring, ‘Heat Death’ is a stuttering, punishing, depth-filled rabble of harsh musical terror.
DZ Deathrays – Gebbie Street (from ‘Bloodstreams’)
Filthy, sleazy, depraved garage rock, that oozes with sneering lust and a squelching, guttural riffage. If DZ Deathrays were a character in a movie, they would be the slobbish, braying, wise-cracking sidekick who drinks alcohol for breakfast, but still bangs more chicks than you, simply because they’re much cooler than you and don’t give a shit.
Her Parents – There’s A Body (from ‘Physical Release’)
Sounding like the most fun you can have with a bunch of guitars and a drum kit, Her Parents trash their instruments to pieces during 2 minutes of splatter punk goodness on ‘There’s A Body’. The guitars scrawl a messy trail of destruction, whilst the vocals are spat with a throaty but enthused venom.
Future of the Left – Beneath The Waves an Ocean (from ‘The Plot Against Common Sense’)
Just lots of bass on this really. Future of the Left deliver more acid and more gnarled, furious hard rock on a song littered with bonkers lyrics (“waiter, waiter there’s movement in my soup, I swear I saw a chicken making eyes across the table at me…â€) and a sense of creeping dread.
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A Spotify playlist can be found here, featuring the above 10 tracks, plus 20 others for your listening pleasure. Enjoy!
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By Ross Macdonald
Lizard Hips
Junior Vice President of Keep It Fast. In other news: I work in social media, talk about dinosaurs, run a book club and have amazing facial hair. I am also a male man who is still not dead.
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