33-45 is a celebration not only of physical records but of vinyl. All records reviewed in this feature are available to purchase as either a 7, 10 or 12 inch record, just follow the links below…

Home Blitz – ATK
Mexican Summer
Out now
Buy Here

Back in the day Home Blitz was the scrappy solo project of Daniel DiMaggio, nowadays he does play with a band though I’m not sure if they were included in the recording of this 7”. That probably gives you an idea of quite how much of a brilliant mess this all is. As he sings on this track he’s “spent nine long years with the mic in his eyes” but it seems that time has not tempted him to restrain things. This song suffers from a degree of schizophrenia apparently, undecided if it wants to be pavement, beat happening, something a little noiser or just a disintegrating mess. It’s coming out on a run of 300 on Mexican Summer and if you’ve got any love for lo-fi you should rush to grab one while they’re still about. It’s also worth having a look at the back catalogue which is equally brilliant when you’ve got the time.

Home Blitz – A.T.K. by Mexican Summer

Warpaint – Undertow (Remixes)
Out now
Buy here

I’ve never been a big Warpaint fan to be honest. It’s a weird way for me to start out seeing as I’ve picked them to review but I’ve always found it a bit dull. It’s pleasant enough and there’s an artistry to it that I can appreciate, but it has something of an anaesthetic effect on me. The two remixes here are a reminder of why there is artistry in that field. Showing kids who have just discovered Logic that remixing  means more than forcing a dubstep or electro part into anything, thus shutting out a hybrid of the Moreau variety (please can people stop sending me those). The Night Plane version manages to stretch the track to about eight and a half minutes and remaing more interesting than the original, the vocals stronger in this version. It has the feel of the end of the night, when you want to keep dancing but the weariness is starting to set in even if the buzz has yet to die . On the other side is Nic from !!! turning the track into something darker with more than a hint of menace in its eyes that’s slightly at odds with the vibrant turquoise colour they’ve decided to use for the record itself.

Warpaint – Undertow (Night Plane Remix) by Night Plane

ANR – It’s Around You / Blood on Blood
Neon Gold 
Out Now
Buy here

This is the latest result from the consistently interesting New York based label Neon Gold. The actual music come from  ANR which stands for Awesome New Republic or Brian Robertson and Michael John Hancock if you want to call them something less grandiose. I can’t see why you would after hearing this record, its huge overblown pop music. Not overblown in a bad way just in that there is an audaciously epic quality to the tracks, at times it looks like they could stray into the ridiculous but on the brink just enough restraint is shown, well possibly. ‘It’s Around You’ alternates from sounding like TV on the Radio to pop trumpets and back again while all the way through showcasing a vocal range that astounds. ‘Blood on Blood’ is perhaps the more driven of the two songs and jumps through several phases with piano section interwoven with flamboyant breakdowns and interjections. An odd if brilliant record.

ANR – It’s Around You 7″ by 10Kislands

Caged Animals – Teflon Heart
Lucky Number
Out now
Buy Here

 “You brought me to the cinema, bought me a tarantula, put them in my camera and shot my heart” is how this song starts and the lyrics ability to straddle absurdism with genius remains all the way through. Okay, I admit that the first line appears to be suffering from inner ear trouble and be leaning a bit to the absurdist side but give it a listen and the delivery will change your mind. The vocals are so heartfelt that it will take you a second to even notice quite how an unusual proposition has just been laid out in front of you. Musically it’s a wash of interlocking melancholic synthesisers that manage to achieve that same trick of the lyrics, you will sometimes find yourself going “why has that been put in there?” but somehow it all comes together. This is the bands second single from forthcoming album “Eat Their Own” and is being released in a run of 250 on pink vinyl.

Caged Animals – Teflon Heart by LuckyNumberMusic

Words:

Tom Hinton

This entry was tagged as 33-45, ANR, Caged Animals, Home Blitz, Lucky Number, Mexican Summer, Neon Gold, REVIEWS., tom hinton, vinyl, Warpaint.