Blog: Cactus-Mouth

Low Praises // Waste the Night It's a bit shameful that I've waited a few weeks to share this album, but I'm rectifying that now. Here is Waste the Night , the debut album from Low Praises . This dynamic duo consists of Jimmy Spice ( Liquid Skulls , Poppy Red ) and Neil Lord ( Future Museums , Niall ) and showcases the wonderful byproducts that result from [...]

Speedway Star // "Cool As Molly" Here is a brand new track from my buddy Justin McNiff. I still remember when Justin sent me a handful of early scratchy Speedway Star demos last year. The tracks were certainly rough with crusty fidelity, but they also had a lot of heart from a guy who was earnestly searching for his songwriting footing. With a cassette tape release and a year of experience under his belt, Justin has begun tinkering with the Speedway Star sound incorporating new influences and new [...]

WHATEVER, DAD // WHATEVER, DAD And my unhealthy obsession with the SUNY Purchase music scene continues! WHATEVER, DAD is actually a bit of a change of pace from the rest of the stuff I've been posting lately, but I think it's a rather pleasant way to end the week. It is the solo project of one Elaiza Santos and it's a rather curious little monster. Elaiza's approach to songwriting is so minimalist that it feels like it hangs in the air for mere moments before dissipating. Like the scent [...]

Quarterbacks // Loveseat This charming band emailed me their album a few days ago, but I had already beaten them to the punch after seeing them featured on Decoder . They are called Quarterbacks and they refer to themselves as twee-punk, but that's a tag that I would really resist to pin on them. While the band certainly has an endearing quality to their music, they thankfully never take it to a cutesy level. Their album Loveseat actually reminded me a [...]

Spook Houses // "American" My totally righteous pals at Double Double Whammy hooked me up with this one. Not only did they shoot me a download of the upcoming Spook Houses album Trying , but they are letting me premiere the album artwork (pictured above, duh). The album doesn't come out for a few months but the you can get a taste for what's to come by checking out the first single "American." The style of the track is a perfect snapshot of the band's direction on [...]

Whatever Brains // Whatever Brains Before delving into this album it might be best to prepare yourself. With no regard for how it might affect your psyche, North Carolina noisemakers Whatever Brains have dropped their self-titled sophomore LP on an unsuspecting world. And if you are new to the band just know that they are bound to be a polarizing force with no conceivable room for middle ground. Either you're gonna be of the camp that hates them for all their quirks or you will be a voracious fan who finds [...]

Greg Cee // Rockin' With… Do you want the good news or the bad news first? Ok, bad news is that apparently the New Jersey fuzz punks Ba Babes are calling it quits and scrapped the album they were working on. The good news is that one of the babes Mikey Walsh has started a label out of the ashes with Lord Jord, a good friend of his. The label is called Panther People the pair has some grand ideas for [...]

*ALBUM PREMIERE* Good Amount // Habit Christian Michael Filardo is prolific as he is endlessly creative. Awhile back he threw out a request for some doom and black metal recommendations on Facebook. Amidst a sea of responses I managed to tuck my own recommendations in there because I knew that Christian was most likely up to something. Well, it turns out that that hunch was right on the money. For the past few weeks Christian has been hard at work constructing a new Good Amount [...]

Bosse-de-Nage // "The Arborist" Continuing right where their album ii left off, San Francisco metal outfit Bosse-de-Nage continue to resist classification with their latest track "The Arborist." The track no doubt shows traces of black metal, doom, post-rock and even noise but the sum is so much more than the parts here. What I love most about the band is how visceral and in your face they feel. The production is such that the music feels like it is lodged somewhere in [...]

Dreampeter // "Bluebeard" This is the first that we've heard from Dreampeter since the duo's split EP as Boneglow and Delusions . But now the pair is back together for a new single called "Bluebeard" and they are in top form. Sticking to their wonky pop structure, these two dudes stuff this track with so much personality that it's nearly bursting at the seams from everything they've injected into it. Stylistically speaking the track's instrumentation matches the lyrics in feeling like the mad rants of a drug-addled schizophrenic. It [...]

Echo Beds // Arsonist Alibi This band found their way to me courtesy of Doran from Strange Fires . Without knowing he had sent them my way, I took one listen and instantly thought of him. Funny how that worked out. Anyways, the band is called Echo Beds and they are three Denver guys who specialize in brutal industrial noise. If you listen to the two parts of this EP, you'll find that there is an element of controlled chaos that permeates the release [...]

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Hot Babes // Hot Babes Cool Surf For me, summer is mixtape season. I am always on the lookout for stuff I can burn onto CD's and leave strewn around everywhere, so I guess it's a good thing that I am getting some gnarly vibes off of this EP. It was actually sent to me a few weeks ago by a friend of the band (good people want to see their friends succeed). The duo is called Hot Babes and judging from the name, the track titles, and the artwork you [...]

Monsters From Mars // "Hedorah No Shyukudai" Here is one from the vaults! Back in 2006, San Diego band Monsters From Mars (whose lineup includes Thor from Just Another Snake Cult ) recorded two tracks for a split 7" that they were going to do with The Creepy Creeps . Unfortunately the label releasing the split sat on the tracks for so long that the band decided to just release them for free. "Hedorah No Shyukudai" is the second of the two [...]

InnerSummer // EPFP Man, there has gotta be something in the water up in Purchase, NY. There's a dude up there named TL Hugo who is a classmate of some the LVL UP guys and who records on his own as InnerSummer . His most recent release EPFP is a collection of the best of his singles that he's been steadily releasing for the year or so. Proving that there are plenty enough pop hooks to go around in Purchase, TL sets his sights on [...]

We'll Die Smiling // New Objectivity It's not exactly news that 90's era original emo is making a small comeback. Thanks in no small part to Cloud Nothings ' excellent Attack On Memory , people are starting to remember the genre for what it originally was and not what it ultimately became. Following suit, I think it's about high time that people start getting back into an earlier screamo sound (don't roll your eyes). Thankfully there has been a resurgence in the UK or at least bandcamp would have me think so. [...]

AFRIKA PSEUDOBRUITISMUS // Waikiki Kosmos The internet is a strange place, guys. Where else could something like this exist? I mean, I can't even pretend to understand exactly what this is and frankly I don't really want to either. Released on the vibe-alicious label Ailanthus Recordings , Waikiki Kosmos is an amalgam of sample-collaging and internet drone that does its best to defy description. So bear with me, I'm going to try and somehow squeeze this into my box of understanding. According to the label's bandcamp [...]

The Hiya Dunes // High Tide Let me first state that this is so much more than just another side project. In a day when any given artist operates under several different monikers, it can be hard to make those projects stand out as more than just time-killers. In the case of The Hiya Dunes however, this group of friends is making seriously good music that is as much fun to listen to as I imagine it was to make. Sailing on the seas of smooth songwriting, The Hiya Dunes have come ashore to [...]

Motivator // Decay Oh there is nothing worse than an ambiguous release date. Such is the nature of the beast with the current music scene, though. When an artist says something like "album will be soon" it is absolute torture. Just tell me! Otherwise I will be forced to check your site every few days to see if it dropped. Well, that was the case with Ottawa hardcore punk band Motivator . Last month these dudes put up the artwork for their upcoming cassette Decay with a message. "Coming very soon" they said. [...]

Steezy Ray Vibes // "Empty City" (Demo) Did you guys get a chance to hear this new demo from Dan Casey's new side project? You will most likely know his as Yalls , but who knows, maybe after hearing this track that might change. The project, which is still very much in its infancy, is called Steezy Ray Vibes . Now I'm assuming that the name is a nod to Stevie Ray Vaughn (only my dad's favorite artist ever) which is fitting because the track is [...]