Turning Round On The Turntable : the Sorels, Mark Sultan, Terry, Pscience

THE SORELS - St - SP - RETA REC./ SURFIN’KI REC. - 2019

The Italian label Surfin’Ki Rec. x keeps on browsing the sweet galaxy of the glamy rock’n’roll girls’ bands (Baby Shakes, the Pale Lips, Nathalie Sweet, Lucy & the Rats...), walking on the steps of the late 90’s shift made by the label Sympathy For the Record Industry (the Eyeliners, the Fondas…). The Italian guys co-releases, alongside with the brand new Canadian label Reta Rec. x , this first single of the 3-piece band the Sorels x .

A beautiful start for this Canadian all-girls’ band with the A-side hit She’s In The Gang. A Chuck Berry-like guitar introduction, a catchy rhythmic section, a warm bluesy voice, a well-appropriate riff on the piano and a song that ends up with a punky explosion full of jovial punchy girly choirs (hou houhou hou - I love that !!) worthy of bands such as the Peeps or the Bobbyteens. 

The tempo slows down a bit on the more glamy B-side, School Girl Blues. A less catchy song on my side, but it reveales the full talent of the front singer with her bluesy voice. The little sisters of the compulsory Detroit Cobras ?

The design of the whole thing (candies, jewels, kitten and pink instruments on the cover, the blue-marshmallow color of the vinyl, the sweet-pink lettering of the band’s name…) adds a loving girly rock’n’roll touch.

MARK SULTAN - I’m A Filthy Rat - SP - SLOVENLY REC - 2019

I have ever felt a particular moving kindness for this guy, Mark Pepe, and his musical universe. That’s why I broke the bank to make him tour La Reunion Island a few years ago and why every new record is a happy event at home.

He’s the kind of artist which is both gifted and productive. He always played in awesome bands, worked with the best of the best of the noughties’ garage scene and explored so many kinds of garage niches : garage punk, psyche, rock’n’roll, 60’s beat, 70’s glam, 77 punk, blues, soul and even gospel… Let’s mention, among the others, the Canadian Spaceshits and Sexareenos in the late 90’s, the King Khan & BBQ show marvelous duo, the Almighty Defenders with the Black Lips or the Ding-Dongs duo with Bloodshot Bill... Not forgetting , above all, his numerous solo records as BBQ or Mark Sultan x. 

The restless, international punk Pete released this new record on his label Slovenly Rec. x , adding Mark Sultan to his giant catalog. The two songs laying on this single were recorded during the 2017 Let Me Out LP session (by the way, check this awesome Animals-like hit taken from the LP: Everybody Knows x). An album that was released back in 2018 by the British label Dirty Water Rec. x. 

Not a huge surprise as some of the tracks had that Medway sound (Graham Day, the Masonics…) we could also find here on the B-side Heart Attack x. A cheerful, highly pulsed song that immediately launched my 10 years old daughter in a crazy jerk dance and made her say :it could be the soundtrack of those old movies in which long-hair girls with boots and skirts danced just any old way. A delightful notice that perfectly fitted the atmosphere of this great tune. And yes, she killed me the next second with a launch of K-Pop missiles… 

The A-side, I’m A Filthy Rats x , was a haunting mid-tempo R’n’B song, with lingering-in-the-head 60’s organ riffs and pretty high vocals, where we could check once again Mark Sultan’s continuous hard work on the tones and octaves. Did he still eat his whales’ nose sandwich to help ? That’s the right season for them in my area !

TERRY - Who’s Terry ? - EP - UPSET ! THE RHYTHM - 2019

Who’s Terry ? x 

The name of the band and the cowboys’ hats worn as a trade mark could make us think about another American folk band. In fact, the 2 guys and 2 girls in Terry x are deeply involved in the Melbourne post-punk scene as they play in many renown local bands : UV Race, Total Control, Constant Mongrel, Primo!…

Heady gimmicks on guitar, innocent 80’s sound on the synthesizer, repetitive bass lines, sharp but casual tempo, nonchalant female vocals and detached choirs… Let’s say we’ve got here a highly melodious and pretty cool 4-songs ep vinyl.

Spud, with its floating psyche touch, nags the uprising, conservative Aussie Minister of Immigration, the catchy Bizzo & Tophat seems to be an answer to their Melbourne fellows in the Shifters. The tempo speeds up a bit on Eggs, a tune full of harmonics and noise effects, while the delicious Drawn for Days delves into some Parsnip-like sugar pop.

Once again, Mikey Young (Eddy Current Suppression Ring) on the mastering and the London-based label Upset! The Rhythm x give us another great dive in this stunning, vivid Melbourne’s scene.

PSCIENCE - ST - LP - SPACE TAKER REC. - 2019

What does the P in Pscience x stand for ? Or is this name a contraction between Psychology and Science ? I fucking don’t know, but everything goes wrong for sure! The 9 stressful songs on this LP gives a report of the worst things nowadays science can offer to the world : toxic substances, plastic surgery, atomic countdown, human upgrating programs, creeping eugenics, radiation exposure, water quality, consumption, human entropy… Damned shitty world! This end-of-a-civilisation atmosphere won’t arrange my depressive state of mind. But let’s keep on pretending things can change and try to believe in all those Clean-Up Days, hummerbird’s tales and other bullshits. I owe this at least to my children.

Whatever ! Robert Watson Craig III (the fabulous Buck Biloxi and the Fucks, Giorgio Murderer, LSDOGS) keeps on going his way in the New Orleans punk scene. He joined 3 Louisianan bad girls involved in Trampoline Team (the new Hozac Rec noisy-punk fav), Black Abba (tough lo-fi punk) and thee Tsunamis (powerpop) and has played the drums for them since. Minimalist punk, short songs, simple and effective guitar play, punchy bass lines, straightforward keyboard’s gimmicks, punctuated and warm girly vocals… Some kind of urgency that echoes the oppressive lyrics.

Sarah (Pelican Wow Wow Rec., amazing label !), the synthesizer girl, released the vinyl on her own label Space Taker Sound x. A minimalist front cover and a beautiful colored inner-sleeve complete what seems to be a synth-punk must-have LP.