DEMO OF THE WEEK
OO..... 

ALSO CHECK OUT
BROOKE - Now the story goes like this, we’re passing the scrum outside that ‘low-key’ Pearl Jam gig at the Astoria – two hundred quid a ticket on the street outside! People selling their souls, their asses, their minds, falling under buses and taxis (them taxi drivers are all Gooners you know, not the sort to stop – “I did not see, I ‘ad my Arsen Whinger glasses on, I only see what I want to see. Hey, this taxi has vavavooom, hey Bobbi, what’s French for I’m leaving?) The touts were having a field day, Japanese student girls throwing themselves at their feet (them touts are all Millwall you know, except for the ones who were once in the Happy Mondays, did I ever tell you about the time the Mondays and, nah, that’s for another time....). We’d just escaped Camden and that damn Crawl that gets us in to a yelling rage, so many bad haircuts, media film crews and minor celebrities getting “down with the kids” and all sucking on the tediously average (“What is it with all the bad 70’s haircuts everywhere?” asked a member of Lower Forty Eight the next night down at the Silver Rocket gig where some actual real honest and musically rewarding bands were playing to a packed sceenster-free house of real people rather than a set of fashion-chasers parading for a pack of indie-sheep drowning in average sound. Gawd did you read the nauseating self congratulations in the Pubrocker post Crawl e.mail spam the next day – self congratulating averageness is plaguing self-important London). Not that we were going to the actual Pearl Jam gig you understand (someone around here tried to argue the case for Alive but hey, I’ve got control of the typewriter right now, I’ve known grown men pull their own ‘eads orf rather than have to listen to Pearl Jam again). We were just passing m’lud, just passing (and now b^*%$&& Smashing Pumpkins have reformed!!! Come on you Americans! Allowing a second term of Bush was bad enough, but the damn Smashing Pumpkins reforming is one step too many! No wonder that other arch gooner Bin Lard’in is raging up there in the mountains. The world is in a serious mess when the last so called super power allow such things to happen – “the devils and infidels have allowed the Smashing Pumpkins to reform, this is too much, I am going to become an A&R man and give all my millions to Pubrocker so they can put Towers Of London on the cover again and congratulate themselves some more while they save us from these American infidels). Where were we off tooooo? Well it’s none of your damn business where we were going is it? Brooke were showing some rare band enterprise and dishing out free CD demo things to the scrum outside (way to go Brook, why are so many of you bands so damn lazy? There’s one band who’ve had good radio play and coverage from us in the recent past and who actually live right there over the road from us, they keep sending us mails asking us if we’ll review their new CD, have they managed to walk across the road in the last month? Do I need to answer that? You bands do nothing to help yourselves). Thing is people can be so damn rude outside gigs when you hand them something for nothing - that’s where the yelling rage and the bruises come from. So we rescued a few of those demos from the pavement like the capped superheroes we are. Hey, if you like Pearl Jam or Screaming Trees or that recent Greg Afghan Whig stuff (we didn’t) then these Essex boys do it really rather well. You damn Pearl Jam fans, rather than standing outside the Astoria in a sulking scrum because you can’t get in, ignoring a free CD when it’s offered because you’re too damn cool, you’d be better off actually bothering to check out Brooke. I mean how difficult is it to put a CD in your bag/pocket and give it five minutes of your time when you get home? Brooke do their thing really well, two of the three tracks here are really not that bad, they’re certainly professional sounding, hey if you like things like Pearl Jam (I don’t) then Brooke deserve a hell of a lot more than to have their CDs thrown on the pavement. This has been a public service rant on behalf of god knows who or what, back to listening to something with Taurus bass peddles and Mellotrons before the world explodes or there’s another battle for Epping Forest or something. www.brookesound.com

Last week's demo of the week - CARTRIDGE

Previous demo's of the week - PERHAPS CONTRAPTION / THE PROCESS VOID

ALBUM OF THE WEEK
THE UNIT AMA – The Unit Ama (Gringo) - It would be just so unreasonably impossible to have an album of the month in each issue of Organ. So much good music being birthed right now (it must be a pain for you reading all this and then having to somehow find the time to go track it all down and check it out, sorry for being so damn inconsiderate. Hey maybe that’s why your caring NME/Kerrang/Fly and the rest never review any of this stuff? Hey, that must be it! They care about you so much more than we do – yes, I got it now! What inconsiderate bleaters we are telling you about all this exciting music. Hey stop reading this! The Franz Chiefs will be on XFM again in a minute and the NME will have another feature on that bloke with the hat on his head and how he’s just been arrested again). And I really get annoyed when lazy cynical jaded people use their charcoal tongues to tell us there’s no good music around anymore. It’s just an opinion that keyed in to the colour - the music is better than ever! We are in a golden age of creative musical delight and delicious bands and excited independent labels and new radio and zines and alternative printed-word outlets and websites that mean you no longer need the old attitudes of the tired music press. It’s never ever been so good, you just need to take a little much time to scratch under the surface (and go close up to the light). 
      Be recognised and disturb those curtails of dust that cause indiscretion – it’s just an opinion though, don’t just take my word, don’t swallow this chapter and verse.  The Unit Ama are a beautifully dark and slowly unwinding locked-on rumbling left-field alternative progressive and deeply dark psychedelic art-rock blues band from Newcastle. If this album was to be packaged as a re-issued lost artifact from 1971 then record collecting chin strokers would be raving and drooling like they do over that lost Nick Drake album or the Strawberry Lemonade Chocolate Watch Band or that long lost slice of vinyl from Germany they just paid nearly three thousand pounds for on Ebay. 
    The gloriously full sound that The Unit Ama make is one you’ll probably never hear, but hey, if you do then they won’t disappoint and there will be a sparkle on your eyes like there’s no tomorrow. It’s a brooding slow-rolling sound, a dark loose sound that has no thought for who you are or your light of day, they just swoop you up and takes you with it. Leave your mind at the door, forget the things you came here for. They sound so loose and like they’re jamming but that is a very controlled progressive sound. A very very dark Cream, dark brooding free-jazz – free and intense and clever and truly properly progressive – a classic three piece, only darker and far more brooding than the others. Brooding and with an understanding that sometimes less is more and things need to breathe in the silence and the space between notes (and the occasional clever time signature). I am a dancing bear, and living proof, and this was all planed. A rolling rumbling free sound, read my lines, read them low and sweat, if it’s not right then these colours could take a thousands years to repeat and repaint. We’re half way through the six minutes of track ten now and they’ve almost stopped making any kind of sound other than the intense sound of silence. And those oh so quotable lyrics just drag you in again and again and the last half minute is complete silence... www.gringorecords.com

ALBUM OF THE WEEK 2
BEATNIK FILMSTARS – In Great Shape (Track & Field) - Now where have they been? Check that date, they’re back and they’re defrosted, oh that’s nice. The Jam for Fall fans with more than a healthy slice or two of quirky lo-fi synth fizzing away is how they open things up this time. I never have been able to pin down Bristol’s Filmstars, that’s no bad thing, their albums have always been well received around these parts. Now this does sound like The Jam being very English in a very alternative lo-fi fizzzy US alternative Pavement kind of way (or maybe a Super Furry Beach Boys kind of way or maybe a Pastels for... ). Now when I say lo-fi don’t go thinking shabby/lazy production, no, this is very hi-fi and warm and done just right, it’s just the details and creative attitude and the clever – the clever soul-fi? (Ok, I stole that Soul-fi thing off their hand-scribbled covering letter). Like one of those fine Deus off-shoot bands. Infectious pop songs – Here’s what the letter scribbled in ink said “Hello, I know you used to like this band because you used to write nice stuff about us in Organ. So after seven years of doing nothing we decided to do some more stuff...” And he’s right, we did write nice stuff, but that was back there and now is now and you’re only a good as your latest thing. I think I like this more, they got no new shoes but they have lots of soul. Beatnik Filmstars are an odd band, they’ve never really fitted anywhere obvious, they just float in doing their own thing in their own way and they’re always worth your time. Think Guided By Voices for Morrissey fans but nothing like that. Much loved by John Peel (lots of bands claim that, especially now he’s not around to respond, he really did love the Beatniks – five sessions and there would have been more). Hey, Beatnik Filmstars are rather unique in their own indie lo-fi kind of way, they should be treasured like so many of you treasure The Fall and The Wedding Present. This may be their finest album yet, don’t let no one piss on no parade today – if Beck led an English indie band and loved The Pastels. Hey look, we’ve given you far too many lazy list-like reference points now, they’re unique alright. www.beatnikfilmstars.co.uk

ALBUM OF THE WEEK 3
CHAMPION KICKBOXER – Perforations (Thee SPC)  Warm minimal English art rock, refined structures, clever stuff (not too clever) from the Sheffield band. Intricate, uncluttered and rather naturally easy, almost nervous and thinking for itself and not quite so eccentric as it seemed to be before (is that because we’re a little more familiar with them now?). Delicate, very English, full of character. Thinking is a genuine organic treasure from the musical box, such noble specs of energy. Champion Kickboxer (they really don’t sound like their name) are a band who you need to spend a little time with, they’re not immediate, they’re not one of those bands who instantly grab you and demand full attention, it would be easy to just walk away – please don’t. They almost apologise for taking up your time and space and for disturbing you with their warm beauty. They are as uniquely English as XTC and yes we were right to mention Cardiacs last time (maybe a more conventional, ‘normal’ William D.Drake). It’s kind of where you hoped British Sea Power night be heading and once you’ve let all it in and go back for more you’ll find the whole thing is really rather wonderful and in their understated way they’ve completely hooked you. I feel like a nice cup of tea and a slice of fruit cake now. Unique and wonderful.  www.championkickboxer.co.uk / www.theespc.com

ALSO CHECK OUT
APPARITION – Drowned in Questions (Casket) - Ohhhh hell on toast, another one of those damn girl fronted double bass drum kicking melodic Euro-goth metal bands. Pass me my Evenescence protection suit, cover my back, the public needs protecting from things like this. I’m going right on in beyond the first thirty seconds of the first track – oh bad outbreak of frozen roses, black tears and piano outbursts. Formed out of the ashes of Aspyxiator (at least they’re making progress on the name front then..). Hey look, the slightest mention of the dreadful Lacuna Coil brings me out in a rash of broken CDs and I’ve listened to three whole Apparition songs now and if you like that cod-dramatic Evensecence stuff then here’s a link, I’m out of here, hey it’s just an opinion, I told you about it didn’t I? If you like this stuff there’s the link - www.apparitiontheband.co.uk

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN – We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions (Sony/BMG) - Now I’m no Pete Seeger expert (and no real Bruce fan either, I mean I don’t mind him, I just never had the desire to look that close, I prefer Frankie’s Born To Run, that would probably get me shot in New Jersey). You need an American folk purist to tell you if this CD/DVD set of Springsteen interpretations is really any good or not. I mean we all know Pete Seeger songs even if we don’t know it, legendary guiding light of American folk music and all. You may think you don’t but you will know at least some of these songs. Springsteen is sounding kind of liberated these days. Big band American style folk musicians backing him here, Seventeen piece band, it sounds alright, sounds like they’re in need of a little bit of a less-is-more attitude, Billy Bragg does it with more real warmth and feel, this is a little ham-fisted actually. The DVD is interesting enough. Springsteen is clearly doing what he wants – good for him.

I OBJECT – Teaching Revenge (Alternative Tentacles/Blacknoise) – Wholesome old school late 80’s sounding girl-fronted US hardcore. Ragingly pissed off straight edge relentless-sounding DIY positive punk rock from NY state. Nailed down sound for Minor Threat fans everywhere. A four piece with a no messing attitude and a seriously nailed down sound. Positive and passionate without preaching. www.alternativetentacles.com

SATYRICON – Now, Diabolical (Roadrunner) – The much anticipated sixth album from the Norwegian band who’ve always had a need to make their black metal a little more challenging. Part of that wave that followed through on the tales of the originals like Venom and Bathory.  This time it’s stripped back to the most basic of metal structures. Back to bass, drums, guitar and voice and they’ve somehow made it extremely tribal, a well defined set or relentlessly heavy trance-stomps. A different black beast. www.satyricon.no

NOFX – Wolves in Wolves Clothing (Fat Wreck) – NOFX doing just what you want them to do, that fast biting US style melodic punk-pop thing that NOFX do best. Lyrics that bite, full speed ahead, never mind the iceberg, watch them razorblades now. Punk rock political awareness having a good time and punching new holes in the bible belt. www.fatwreck.de.

GRAM RABBIT – Cultivation (Stinky) - Now what do we have here? A cult of white rabbits who’ve been feeding their heads out in Joshua Tree? A hedonistic cult flying around in their jefferson airplanes with smashing pumpkins for their surrealistic pillows. Magic potions and sharing the Californian desert with the egg steeling coachwhips. “with this album we want to spread the energy of the desert and plant the seeds of truth” (their last album was called Music To Start A Cult To). We’re talking Californian eccentricity and Zappa and Beefheart and Jefferson Airplane – she does sound rather like Grace Slick in a very now kind of way – no this isn’t hippy nonsense, it’s perfectly reasonable to be part of a cult dancing around the Californian desert in giant white rabbit suits. It’s a lush modern American pop sound that could only come from where it does - it’s as a much La Tigre as Zappa, Electralane as Beefheart – so what if their audience all wear shinny white rabbit ears? More tales from the desert, feed your head, love those coachwhips. www.gramrabbit.com

THE FEVER – In The City Of Sleep (Kemado) – It’s a kind of NYC junkyard thing, a (not quite) fellini-esque circus where a (not quite) David Lynch lurks underneath the lullabies of lost innocence (only not quite as good as that make it’s all sound). I think I read somewhere that they were the NY Franz, they’re nowhere near that bad! I kind of like them, oh I don’t know, maybe. There’s some nice detail in there. www.feveronline.com

THE HOLLOW EARTH THEORY – Hanging The Followers – Self released five track mini album from the soothing/bludgeoning Shrewsbury metal crew. Exploring the same areas as bands like I-Def-I in that Killswitch Engaged/Hatebreed kind of way. They do it well, needs a little X factor to go with the rather professional sound, worth investigating. They make great cakes in Shrewsbury you know, the butter buns from Market Drayton are better though – www.myspace.com/thehollowearththeory

PEARL JAM – Pearl Jam (Sony) - Got the new Pearl Jam album here, tried playing it at a few people without telling them who it was, most agreed it was “pleasant enough” and “alright, nothing special, nothing bad” and “the guy has a decent voice” and “it’s all very professional and if it’s a demo they’re good at their thing”. Sounded like another average A.O.R style Pearl Jam album to me, don’t really care either way (there are so many other things I would rather have found in this jiffy package). I’ve been playing it most of the day whilst doing other things, it hasn’t really made any impression and I got things to do and place to go now, you’ll have to excuse me. I was listening to a Pearl Jam album you say? When was that then? Oh yeah, I forgot all about that, I was thinking about toast and knitting and the state of the back four ad do we need some corn flakes and what do you think of the wall paper in here, nice beige don’t you think. Brook are probably playing the Royal Standard next week. Anyone want a slightly played Pearl Jam album? 
 

Last week's album of the week - THESE MONSTERS / SUNS OF THE THUNDER Previous album's of the week - TELEVISE / SONIC YOUTH / PSAPP / ENABLERS / SUNN O))) / CATNAP / THE DRESDEN DOLLS / PROUDFLESH / all the past has been deleted (for now)

- The continued confessions of a music junkie: Day 472, off to stalk those reptile infested streets again, back to where there’s nothing strange in the notion of packs of skunks running wild and feasting on the remains of those surely by now discarded Doherty hats (he must be last week’s news by now surely?). Off to Camden again (at least it’s crawl free today), off to Camden, “we are, after all, professionals and we do our keenest thinking under such circumstances”, force ourselves out of the front door and off to Camden once more, flying in for free on the Silver surfer line. Are the suspiciously unsubtle men who whisper about the coming skunk invasion conspiracy growing in number? The day must be coming closer? “Skunk” they whisper every time we pass, why are they so bothered about packs of skunks? I asked one about squirrels the other day, “surely the squirrels are the ones to worry about?” That enquiry got a most unsavoury reply, clearly there is no worry about a squirrel invasion and they appear to have no concern when it comes to the hoodrats either. The Colours Bar, just down from the mouldy old Good Mixer (and the shattered bitterness of Brit pop’s glorious failures – they’ve all got Doherty hats now you know) - Inverness Street is the destination of choice tonight. Teasing Lulu are on already - we were busy dishing out Organs to people outside the Ballroom where that Blink 182 Emo offshoot band, Hearts in Angels (or some bandwagon jumping name like that - must be another one of Marty’s signings) were playing (nice guys those 182s, despite all our insults they went on American Loveline and told the nation to read Organ, doesn’t excuse their dreadful music though). 

No beer on tap in here! Is this the workings of the advance reptile invasion parties laying the ground for the much talked of the Skunk invasion? Destroy the pubs, expensive bottled beer will bring down the humans! That and infest the place with average music - the Fly and their Camden skunk allies and the A&R hoodrats that all infest this part of town, the conspiracy is clear. Saucy Lil Tart gatherings are always worth your time and are indeed part of your antidote treatment (their gigs don’t even get in the Fly gig listings – wonder why that is?), Nat and her D-I-Y Riot Grrl ethos (and her handmade pink T-shirts for sale on the door).  Cut the crap, leave those rodents and reptiles to their business and get on with the damn review – hey there’s a big black rat over there! What’s J.J Burnel doing in here? Is the Strangler in with the skunk legion? Surely not the Raven?

TEASING LULU have come from Brighton (with a bad attitude manager in tow so it seems, annoying people more than the bar prices, not good, no need for it). The band – rocking-out three piece indie pop rock with a screechy-grrrl bite. A screech that says something about wanting to sets it sights on you. Lucy on vocals and Louise on bass, Jason on drums. They’re kind of politely semi-infectious, they look like they want rip it up but don’t quite dare, the songs are a little polite and safe and indie-rock compromised when they really could be, if they wanted it all to be, rather dangerous...

SOB DOLLIES are all together far more rewarding - two girls, two boys, perfectly unbalanced, totally unhinged... It takes a little while to grab hold of the fact that they are without a doubt brilliantly unhinged and rather like nothing much, however unhinged, that you may have encountered before. Your head like a monkey skull... Alice on vocals is in wonderland or some kind of land.... Your head like a monkey skull, decisions you make in this incredible station. There’s a subtle booming d-i-y (slightly fractured) dark (electronic drum) home-made sound and a kind of warped dark punkoid Bjork via for some kind of Nearly God Trickyness via a slightly sinister Banshees via Yeah Yeah Yeahs pop via PIL’s metal (pop) box and Jah Wobble and nothing like any of that whatsoever - all of them will shut up shut up up – are this band crazed and disjoined and about to crash and burn? It is a little messy and experimentally raw and all of them will shut up shut up shut up... Are they brilliantly different and very clever indeed? Probing your desire, cancel their desire. And it all takes place on the floor, no stage, and through the most basic of PAs in a bit of a cheesy wine bar – she’s in a white dress, big red belt, he’s got a Motley Crue shirt on – unhinged, Alice is in another land, we’ll have to be back for more, our curiosity has been probed once more, I like I like. 

THE SMEARS - there is only one, this is them, forget all the others who borrowed the name and kept it warm and ready for these three to slip in to. We’ve been shouting about their deliciously messy demos and playing their fiercely raw roar on the radio and they don’t get to London much do they? They’re finally in a venue that we’re not banned from yet (actually I do believe this is only their second London gig, we’re not banned from that many venues, honest guv, it wasn’t us - there’s usually a revolving list of about four or five venues we’re banned from depending on people’s moods and who doesn’t like what we have to say much this week). There’s three of them, Emma O’Neil on low slung guitar and very loud vocals, Miss C on even lower slung bass and C-Doll on drums locking it all down. Now I hate these situations, we’ve been talking up a band on the strength of their demos and their obvious attitude. We’ve not seen them live yet, I’m here face to face in a very intimate venue, there’s nowhere to hide, I can’t even secretly sneak out if they suck – are they going to disappoint? Is it going to be a quick polite “yeah, it was good, got to go, there’s another band I promised to see and the reptiles must be fed and I need to avoid that giant skunk over there and yeah, I’ll speak to you soon, bye, yeah yeah, I’ll call you... ”.  The Smears are in town (from Nottingham) and no need to worry! They seriously rock from the moment they hit the floor (nearly said stage there – no stage, bare brick wall, minimal PA, this is a DIY punk rock gig drenched in good attitude) and they were such quiet polite friendly people before hand as well (isn’t always the way). Now The Smears are not in to the Riot Grrl tag, they say they’re just a punk rock band and yeah, I know where they’re coming from - there’s no manifesto, there’s no feminist stance, there’s no Donnas style gang image.  Hey Emma kicks up a seriously roaring Babes In Toyland/Seven Year Bitch screaming storm of intensity though, Miss C is not far behind with her classic low slung garage punk rock bass and rip it to shreds backing vocals. You clearly do not mess, they’re just right up there doing it – surely that’s what Riot Grrl was always meant to be! The Smears are right up there on their own terms. They’re got the high heel swagger, they’ve got the attitude, they know how good they are, they know they rock more than you or your weedy band. They’ve got that punker than you garage blues edge of Mudhoney or the Stooges. They deliver their deliciously aggressive songs relentlessly fast and furious, they never ever let it up. They rip apart Patti Smith’s Rock n’ Roll Nigger – whooooooo can Emma sing! woooo can she spit out those vocals! Raw power! The Smears know they should be getting far more attention, there’s anger with the swagger and the screaming (and the frustration). This is real punk rock, this is real riot grrl power whatever they may say about it. The Smears are the real right-in-your-face deal – they’re got the songs as well, you can’t run that far on just pure attitude, that Patti Smith moment really does not stand out that much from their own material and their seven deadly sins, there’s some real class here. You want a classic three-piece shoulder to shoulder rock ‘n roll band? You want no messing stripped-down raw as hell confrontational positive punk rock?  The half hour flies past, no encore, no messing, everything you needed. 

www.myspace.com/teasinglulu
www.myspace.com/sobdollies
www.myspace.com/smearsuk
www.saucyliltart.co.uk
 

Last week's single of the week - i LIKE TRAINS

Previously - THE OXFAM GLAMOUR MODELS / PSAPP / GREENSPACE
 

PAST ISSUES -

ORGAN 155 - 

ORGAN 154 - 

ORGAN 153 - 

ORGAN 152 - 

ORGAN 151 - Out in print now, 40 pages A5 APRIL Organ

ORGAN 150 - NEXT LIFE, CRETIN, HAWNAY TROOF, SYMMETRY, GREENSPACE, DRUGDEALER CHEERLEADER, LAST PARTY, ALEX WARD, BURNT, INTENTION , TRACTOR SEX FATALITY, THE DRESDEN DOLLS, PROUDFLESH, THE GHOSTS, SPEED THEORY, EL TOPO, THE CULT WITH NO NAME, THE PROCESS VOID. 

all the past has been deleted (for now)