Grungey, synthy, understated rock, with more than a flicker or beach pop persevering through – that the best way to describe the wonder of music that up and coming Swedish duo, Pale Honey, make. The minimalistic rock outfit called Gothenburg home, and are set to release their self-titled debut album on May 4th. Their debut single, Youth (which you can check out below), has been premiered on Stereogum, already receiving critical acclaim and the promise of big things to come.
Watch this space – we think these guys might be the next big thing….
At dawn, with little fanfare, psychedelic rock wonders Tame Impala revealed a brand new, eight-minute long track entitled “Let It Happen”.
Representatives for the band have stressed that this new swirling synth-led adventure is not the first single from the band’s forthcoming album, the follow-up to 2012’s Lonerism, but instead a track just for fans. There’s evidently plenty of them as well, with the initial release causing the band’s website to crash. Everything is back online now and “Let It Happen” is being offered as a free download in exchange for your email address. You can also stream it below.
The nearly 8-minute song has heavier lean towards the electronic compared to their previous stuff as the group’s keyboardist Jay Watson told Faster Louder in an interview, building on the band’s signature psych-rock sound.
There’s still no word on an official release date for the new record, but the release of this new single, which is their first new music in three years since 2012’s Lonerism, gives us reason to be excited and indicates that the time may be drawing close.
If ever there was a cautionary tale of the excesses of drug, sex and rock n roll that will bring a tear to the eye – the story of one of the pioneers of psychedelic rock – Roky Erickson – is it.
Like Syd Barrett, a common point of reference, Roky Erickson rose to cult-hero status as much for his music as for his tragic personal life; in light of his legendary bouts with madness and mythic drug abuse, the influence exerted by his garage-bred psychedelia was often lost in the shuffle. Born Roger Kynard Erickson on July 15, 1947, in Dallas, TX, he began playing the piano at age five; by age 12, he had also taken up the guitar. The child of an architect and would-be opera singer, Erickson dropped out of high school to become a professional musician. In 1965, he penned his most famous composition, “You’re Gonna Miss Me,” which he first recorded with a group called the Spades. The song and his high, swooping tenor brought him to the attention of another area band, the psychedelia-influenced 13th Floor Elevators, whose lyricist and jug player Tommy Hall invited Erickson to join; the Elevators soon cut their own version of “You’re Gonna Miss Me,” and took the single to number 56 on the pop charts in 1966.
The 13th Floor Elevators were perhaps the inventors of psychedelic rock. Certainly they were among the very first to play it. They were also one of the first bands to suffer the prejudice of the moralists and the law. They were, alas, also among the first to pay the consequences of drug abuse.
The band formed in Austin, Texas, around jug musician Tommy Hall and vocalist Roky Erickson, who had already released an earlier version of his You’re Gonna Miss Me in 1965, with the Spades. Tommy Hall, who had a background in science and philosophy and had been one of the first kids in town to experiment with drugs, was the brain behind the project. He wrote the cerebral lyrics to their songs, and he invented the sound of the electric jug that became the trademark of their arrangements. Stacy Sutherland was the quintessential fuzztone and reverb guitarist.
Their first album, The Psychedelic Sound Of The 13th Floor Elevators (International Artists, 1966), released in the spring of 1966, is one of the most fascinating of the acid age, the archetype of psychedelia. The album presents a collection of acid ballads that feed on sound effects (Reverberation), on ethereal folk-rock (Splash), on rhythmic boogie (You’re Gonna Miss Me), and on down-and-dirty improvisation (above all Roller Coaster, but also Fire Engine). Theirs is a rhythm and blues a la Rolling Stones, viewed through the deforming lens of LSD.
The group’s anthem, You’re Gonna Miss Me, which made history in the genre, is a ferocious and dissolute soul song with hints of Tex-Mex and depraved vocalizations, full of instinctive fury, and propelled by the demented rhythm of Hall’s deafening electric jug.
Despite the instability of the lineup, the group recorded Easter Everywhere (Radar, 1967), which includes Postures, She Lives In A Time Of Her Own and Skip Inside This House. The album was Tommy Hall’s attempt at assimilating Eastern philosophies (Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism) as well as Quantum Physics into psychedelic music. Then Hall left the band while Erickson was arrested for drug possession, and locked in a psychiatric hospital for schizophrenia. He is practically absent from Bull Of The Woods (Decal, 1968), an album that contains some of their most bizarre experiments. After their break-up the band attained cult status. Best (Eva, 1994) is a good anthology.
When Erickson came out of the psychiatric hospital (1972), he published a book of poetry. Despite his mental instability, he hit the scene again during the rush of psychedelic revival and punk-rock, with dark humor and a taste for the supernatural that carried him away from his origins, towards a macabre rhythm and blues, with lyrics filled with alarming monsters (Bermuda, 1977, Two Headed Dog, 1975).
And The Aliens (CBS, 1980) and The Evil One (415, 1981 – Sympathy, 2002) are the two albums which define Erickson’s solo career. The second contains bewildering rave-ups such as Creatures With The Atom Brain and Stand For The Fire Demon, voodoo-blues a la Credence Clearwater Revival, such as Night of the Vampire, and his spiritual testaments: I Think of Demons and I Walked with a Zombie.
An album of previously unreleased material, Don’t Slander Me (Pink Dust, 1986), is a work of lesser quality, except for Bermuda and the wild Don’t Slander Me.
Erickson ended up in a mental institution again, but the record industry continued to release every thing that he had absentmindedly recorded. I Think Of Demons (Edset, 1987) is a compilation of leftover cuts from those sessions. Gremlins Have Pictures (Pink Dust, 1986), Mad Dog (Swordfish, 1992) and Love To See You Bleed (Swordfish, 1992) include several rarities. Click Your Fingers (New Roses, 1990) is a compilation of EPs: Mine Mine Mind (Sponge, 1977) and Clear Night For Love (New Roses, 1985), and the Holiday Inn Tapes, which are very crude acoustic recordings. Never Say Goodbye (Emperor Jones, 1998) is a collection of home recordings made between 1971 and 1985. Three live albums were also released.
Broke and incapable of caring for himself, Erickson released one last, very spartan album, All That May Do My Rhyme (Trance Syndicate, 1995), recycling old material (the EP Clear Night For Love, the 1966 single We Sell Out by the Spades, and remixes of old classics) along with new compositions.
Everyone’s fave Pepperoni Playboy Mac Demarco, not content it seems with writing one of the albums of the year (Salad Days for those of you living under a rock) now wants to take over the retail world. Kind of….
The above pair of rather tattered vans were posted on eBay by Mac himself with the following caption –
“I’m selling an old pair of my shoes. I’ve John Hancocked the left shoe. Will anyone buy an old stinky pair of shoes? I don’t know. lets wait and see.”
Well following a bidding war someone was willing to buy the pair – for a whopping $21,100 on eBay. Yea you read that right – $21,000
He even answered a few of the weirder fan questions on the site – our faves below;
Q: i love you but my mom thinks that you are a reckless hillbilly who does nothing but smoke cigarettes and be foul. can you convince her otherwise? i cant seem to convince her myself. P.S. you should play an all ages show at brooklyn sometime goodbye mac (i love you)
A: Not a hillbilly, just Canadian, there’s a difference. Sorry mom. We’ll do a bk all ages show soon
Q: hey so whats the deal man?
A: Pee pee!!!
Q: What are your thoughts on Nickelback?
A: Look at this photograph.
Q: Do you have any interest in trading a jar of ghost cum for your red clown shoes? #slimer Best Jeremiah
A: I don’t think they need any ghost cum at rock camp for girls
But if you were unsure as to the pong – he even posted a video of his much serenaded lady – Kira – giving them a ceromonial whiff – watch below.
We love Mac and the fact that all the proceeds went to benefit Willie Mae Rock Camp for Girls – so he’s a doing his bit for charity too. It seems like everything this guy touches turns to gold at the moment – even a pair of smelly old vans.
Need a further dose of the Mac? Check out his “Mac-umentry” below – following him and his band touring Salad Days.
The Heavy claim to be the music industry’s worst kept secret. They make blazing, urgent, infectious rock-soul with a strong dose of hip-hop and if you’ve eve been on Dissatisfied Sounds before – that never goes amiss. You’ve heard their songs in a lot of different places, and it’s likely that you loved them.
Hailing from good old Blighty, and forming in the fertile swamps of England’s West Country in the mid-naughties, around the axis of Dan Taylor (guitarist and songwriter) and Kelvin Swaby (vocalist and songwriter,) the Heavy immediately astounded. Jaw dropping, freshly minted riffs, swinging hip-hop drums, funk-ridden bass and Swaby’s startling, Mayfield-esque vocals meant early singles ‘That Kind of Man’ and ‘Colleen’ blew minds and won hearts. The debut album they were taken from – ‘Great Vengeance and Furious Fire’ – became an instant connoisseurs’ classic.
Their third LP may be titled The Glorious Dead, but soulful rock-‘n’-rollers The Heavy are alive and well—and the classic guitar riffs, funky horns, and Curtis Mayfield-reminiscent vocals that fans have been missing since their 2009 album, The House that Dirt Built, are all in tow. That album’s lead single, “How You Like Me Now,” was one of the year’s most joyful surprises; and the first single from The Glorious Dead, “What Makes a Good Man?” follows in its catchy, triumphant footsteps. Play this album loudly enough, and it may just be possible to rouse the dead.
It was their sophomore album, though, that saw them blasting into homes across the globe. ‘The House that Dirt Built’ was everything a second album should be: a deeper, richer progression from the band’s early work. It also yielded the mighty ‘How You Like Me Now?’ The single was licensed for a major commercial in the 3rd Quarter of the Superbowl (the biggest ad slot in the world) and quite simply went stratospheric – whilst not even being the best on the album (that award goes to Short Change Hero – listen below)
“How You Like Me Now?” continued to be eaten up by the mainstream media machine – A heady mix of impassioned, incandescent vocal, gargantuan riff and boom-bap drums, it also happened to conjure up a triumph-in-adversity sentiment that struck a chord across the globe. The song went on to become the first for which David Letterman ever requested an encore, when The Heavy played the “Late Show,” and appeared everywhere from “Entourage,” Academy Award-nominated film The Fighter, and Mark Wahlberg’s hit comedy ‘Ted.’
“It became such a big tune, that people asked, ‘How are you going to top that?’.” Swaby says.
The answer was 2012’s ‘The Glorious Dead,’ the band’s third album. Searching for inspiration, The Heavy – which in addition to Taylor and Swaby includes Spencer Page (bass) and Chris Ellul (drums) – travelled from their Bath, England hometown to Columbus, Georgia. There, they hooked up with local gospel singers and musicians for some Southern Gothic sublimity.
The final magic ingredient in the mix was Gabriel “Bosco Mann” Roth of Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings, who added string and horn parts to four songs.
Even deeper, a touch darker, and with shades of Southern Gothic infesting the swampy rock n’ soul of previous records, the album was another giant step forward, Frankensteining swampy voodoo and b-movie zombies with garage rock and Gospel-soaked soul.
Lead single ‘What Makes a Good Man?’ showed that The Heavy were able to write brilliant singles time after time, with synchs snowing in once again, and American radio coming on board. The band toured the world exhaustively, wowing audiences with their transcendental live performances.
“It was over the top, in a good way,” adds Heavy frontman Kelvin Swaby. “We went pretty cinematic, setting out to score a film that hasn’t been written.”
“It’s good to have a bit of light and shade,” Taylor adds.
Since then, The Heavy has gone on to achieve storming success in Japan, playing Fuji Rock, chalking up a #1 alternative album on iTunes Japan, scoring a major Pepsi synch and playing Japan’s biggest breakfast TV show, ‘Sukkiri.’ The band will play a full Japanese tour in October 2014.
Their music was used in the stunning Guiness Sapeurs ad, they played Glastonbury, sold out Shepherd’s Bush Empire and re-recorded How You Like Me Now? with none other than 50 Cent, to launch ESPN’s coverage of the NFL Draft Week.
Whilst they may, in the same vein as the National, have traded in their underground credibility for a slot in the Super Bowl. Its always nice to see a band be rewarded with fame, glamour and cash for being original and frankly – pretty fucking good.
Not to be confused with the Ghost Pokemon that evolves when trading a Haunter – yea we went there….Gengahr (apparently pronounced Geng-er) are another band we suggest you keep your ears open for.
The band claim Gengahr was born out of a desire to create something fresh and unique, Gengahr are part of the new breed of indie bands able to create large soundscapes and original sounds straight from their bedroom.
Seemingly effortless smooth and melodic indie-rock that meanders along at a laidback pace – think Tripwires and a Joy Division with a bit more Joy. Their influences draw from icons such as The Smiths and Modest Mouse, to the more recently revered Unknown Mortal Orchestra and Youth Lagoon. Gengahr have already received support from Huw Stephens, NME, DIY and host others.
With more news to follow in the coming months get more acquainted with Gengahr via the 3 tracks they are giving away on their Soundcloud, which include the spellbinding ‘Fill My Gums With Blood’ and the shimmering ‘She’s A Witch’ and check out the recent release of ‘Powder’ below.
We love a bit of Shoegazey music at Dissatisfied Sounds – and these guys are definitely worth checking out on their upcoming October tour. Details below;
Excessive lifestyle, noise, hype, drugs, ego, illusions of grandeur.
According to 150 Friends Club – That’s not them….
Singing of exclusion – 21st Century ennui they certainly aren’t One Direction.
Check out I Don’t believe in Atheists above….
Forming after the split of David Goo Variety Band came to its natural conclusion, David Goo wanted to do something different. After reading Dunbar’s theory that society works best in groups of 150 people, he concluded an audience of exactly 150 could be pretty sweet too. Smaller numbers, intimate settings, personal rather than alienating. The 150 Friends Club was born.
It was to a crowd of just under a hundred at the famous Half Moon in Putney at our favourite even of music and poetry Union (definitely one to check out – details at the bottom) that we had the pleasure of watching the Club in action. With deep crazy Lupen Crook-esque vocals David Goo conducts the four-piece who look as if they’ve been plucked from four totally separate bands. Somehow it works – we suggest you check out on Spotify Airbrushed AKA Your Children Will Not Inherit Your Plastic Surgery (that got a laugh from the audience).
Original songwriting and funky vocals make this band one to definitely keep an eye open for.
Check out Union‘s next night at the Half Moon in October ft. Dissatisfied Faves – Bella Figura
We loved it at the time (2008 if you didn’t know) and having heard this track trickle from the PA at a recent festival – we just had to remind you of it. More timeless than retro (thanks Dave Simpson) the Golden Silvers only ever had a keyboard, drums and bass – and this track proves it’s all they ever needed. The band went on to curate the Bronze club at the Macbeth in Shoreditch – which was so dangerously trendy – most of the regulars are probably dead.
It is a shame however that rarer than both Gold or Silver would bee seeing the band live again. There’s something to be said for letting your songwriting take the lead, and we could do with another group like this today. Maybe then we wouldn’t be so Dissatisfied!
Check out their album (also called True Romance); embrace a loved one and let the mellow vocals of Gwilym Gold convert you. Ahhhhh – oh so satisfying
Not only have the Swedish band refused to change their power chord ridden, fuzz induced sound but more impressively their fan base has not diminished as a result, and when you see them live you understand why. The crowd who packed out Brixton academy were a typically harmless, middle-aged one but from the moment they came on stage outfitted with matching suit and tie, which has become so much their trademark, the energy of the crowd surged as if they were 10 years younger. Straight into ‘Two Timing Touch and Broken Bones’ and we had lift off, this was why their sound had stayed the same for so long. High octane, cymbal packed drums, riff filled, distortion driven guitars and vigorous, lyric flowing singing from Howlin’ Pelle Almqvist (yes that’s his actual name), brought everyone to their feet. This was what live music rock is all about. Pelle’s charismatic front-manning was the star of the show without a doubt.
He was incessant in exciting the crowd with laughter and cheering, at one moment suggesting that he was going to shut the fuck up because it was getting in the way of the applause, in another, having the influence to get everyone to sit down, bar a few eunuchs, before the build to ‘hate to say I told you so’. This kind of attraction from stage to crowd helped bring out their surprisingly extensive back-catalogue of songs spanning 5 albums (even that one from the Vauxhall Corsa advert). Overall dissatisfied towers came out of this sweaty show feeling pretty damn satisfied, as satisfied as when Merriweather beat the shit out of T.I.
The Bohicas are fast building themselves a loyal fan base. Signed to Domino Records and having ben touring extensively and a recent spate of oversees gigs has seen their stock consistently rise sharply over the past 12 months. They’re by no means the finished article – with only one official EP release to their name. But boy is that EP is a stormer!
Well actually XXX is a an ok offering – it’s Swarm that get’s our blood pumping! Can you feel the satisfaction?
With the howling sound of two guitars singing in unison – the band really do sound like a swarm of hornets -topped off with a cowbell that would cure Chris Walken’s fever.
Fresh from the NME Radar tour we defiantly suggest you join the swarm and check these guys out. Definitely one to keep an eye on – 8/10
Formed when Justin Gartry (Guitar & Vocals), Rhys Maslen (Drums & BVs), Michael Cooper (Bass & BVs) met at production school. As the setting would suggest, these guys have years of musical experience between them; yet regardless of this familiarity with the scene – Bella Figura are astonishingly accomplished for a band who have been together less than 12 months.
With heavy Led Zep inspired soundscapes, twinned with the rich Crash Test Dummies style baritone of frontman Justin, their brand of intricately put together – yet ultimately eardrum melting rock is refreshing and oh so satisfying. We love trios at DissatisfiedSounds as it forces everyone to get involved – and involved they get! With only a guitar, bass and drums – Bella Figura create a unique sound that grabs you and forces you to take notice.
Without a full release yet – we at DissatisfiedSounds have had to get our satisfaction fix of late from the steady drip of releases popping up on the band’s profiles on Soundcloud and Youtube.
Live favourite and official bangerRemember you Said, one of our tracks of the week– picks up the loud-quiet-loud methodology, of The Pixies and Nevermind-era Nirvana and overlays the sombre but catchy lyricism the band are known for for.
Catchy tunes – with wicked guitar sounds are sort of Bella Figura’s calling card. Somebody New is no different. The band lay down a building tempo before the crash of symbols and drums takes us to the chorus where we are accused of not loving them“The Way that I love you!” Keep up like this boys and its just a matter of time before those roles are reversed.
We’re satisfied by all of Bella Figura’s releases – but we cannot stress how important it is to see these guys live. They’re moments away form playing the big slots so if you wanna get up close and personal with the band – there’s no time like the present!
Satisfy yourself and catch the band this week at the below links…
One man on a cross-country motorcycle trip to try and record an album in seven days before being sent back to the looney bin. Sounds a bit like a terrible Adam Sandler movie or something, but as with all the best stories, this one’s actually true.
Alexander “Skip” Spence was born in Windsor, Ontario, Canada in 1946 to a decorated Canadian WW II bomber pilot father. In the late 1950s, the family relocated from Windsor to San Jose, California, based on Spence’s father finding work in the aircraft industry. At the age of ten, Skip was given his first guitar by his parents.
Spence was a guitarist in the band The Other Side before Marty Balin recruited him to be the drummer for Jefferson Airplane. After one album with Jefferson Airplane, their debut Jefferson Airplane Takes Off, he left to co-found the band Moby Grape. Whilst Skip enjoyed the success and fame his talent brought him he also turned out to be a sucker for the excesses that inherently came with the two.
Jefferson Airplane in 1966. Skip left the band before they garnered world fame for Surrealistic Pillow. (1967)
During the recording session of Moby Grape’s second album, Wow, in 1968, famously Spence attempted to break down a bandmate’s hotel room door with a fire axe, while under the influence of LSD. Spence’s deterioration in New York and the “fire axe incident” are described by bandmate Jerry Miller as follows:
“Skippy changed radically when we were in New York. There were some people there that were into harder drugs and a harder lifestyle, and some very weird shit. And so he kind of flew off with those people. Skippy kind of disappeared for a little while. Next time we saw him, he had cut off his beard, and was wearing a black leather jacket, with his chest hanging out, with some chains and just sweating like a son of a gun. I don’t know what the hell he got a hold of, man, but it just whacked him. And the next thing I know, he axed my door down in the Albert Hotel. They said at the reception area that this crazy guy had held an axe to the doorman’s head.”
As described by bandmate Peter Lewis, it appears if possible Skip’s condition began to deteriorate into even more ludicrous hallucinogenic binges.
“They’d played a Fillmore East gig without me, and Skippy took off with some black witch afterward who fed him full of acid. It was like that scene in The Doors movie. He thought he was the anti-Christ. He tried to chop down the hotel room door with a fire axe to kill Don (Stevenson) to save him from himself. He went up to the 52nd floor of the CBS building where they had to wrestle him to the ground. And Rubinson pressed charges against him. They took him to The Tombs (and then to Bellevue) and that’s where he wrote Oar. When he got out of there, he cut that album in Nashville. And that was the end of his career. They shot him full of Thorazine for six months. They just take you out of the game.”
Don’t mind me – I’m just the anti-Christ
However whilst being pumped full of the strongest meds available would put most of us down – Skip’s tale had one more turn up it’s sleeve.
On the day before his release, he drove a motorcycle, and as the urban myth goes, dressed in only his pyjamas, directly to Nashville to record his only solo album, with no other musicians appearing on it, the now-classic psychedelic/folk album Oar (1969, Columbia Records).
A Haunting and at times mad album – it’s definitely one we think you guys should check out. We don’t like to hear of anyone losing it Peter Green style, but, its a very satisfying album and one where the backdrop lets the songs resonate even longer in the memory.
Our personal fave Cripple Creek (we’re so great we even embedded it below…..nope, no need to thank us…..)
Oar gets a 7.5/10 and leaves us a little creeped out about the thought of Skip axing our door down The Shining Style – but ultimately SATISFIED
We’re now on youtube! If you haven’t already, we expect yo to drop everything and subscribe to our channel and get all the latest satisfactory hits beamed into your brain on a daily basis. Listen to us and you won’t need a radio ever again. A sea of satisfactory sounds is soon to be flowing your way! Pretty sweet huh?!
Drugs, violence and just plain rock & roll madness were major themes covered in the 2004 rockumentaryDig! as viewers watched San Francisco psychedelic rock band the Brian Jonestown Massacre fall apart at the seams. Yet, it was their goofy, flamboyant and not-nearly-as-volatile (well slightly less-so) tambourine player Joel Gion who became a favourite with a lot of fans whilst by no means being as talented as the more active members of the group…..
…….Or maybe he was?
Well no. But the upcoming first solo release from Mr. Gion, Apple Bonkers, certainly marks the death of the simple tambourine player for the BJM. It seems Joel has wanted to move on for quite some time, as in fact, BJM leader Anton Newcombe asked Gion to rejoin the band a year after the movie was released—he quit during the filming—because so many people were coming up to him at shows, asking him where the “tambourine guy” was.
So having never even written a single song before a few years ago how does the lead track YES from his upcoming full release fair?
Well, it’s a good effort. A simple, yet catchy riff drives the tune, whilst a pleasant plodding bass keeps the head bobbing. Not bad at all. Check it out and let us know what you think.
Considering its his first outing the track sounds accomplished, with multiple instruments in play and that unmistakable BJM vibe. Definitely makes us want to check out Apple Bonkers and for that reason gets a 7/10 and a big fat SATISFIED!
Oh and also check out Dig!probably the best music documentary of the last twenty years. Winner of the Cannes film festival best documentary prize and a rare, genuinely sincere insight into the lives of two bands, both incredibly talented, but destined to follow different paths. Whilst we can’t say seeing one of our favourite musicians of all time’s descent into heroin addiction is satisfying……boy is it a good watch!
Where to begin with Ty Segall? This generation’s Beck his offerings often combine elements of many different genres, such as garage rock, punk rock, psychedelic rock, noise rock, glam rock, as well as heavy metal and classic rock. With Ty himself stating in interviews that his favourite band of all time is Hawkwind – it’s hard to tie this guy down. Twin the tangled web of musical influences, with his below discography and you begin to see how prolific this guy really is. Oh and did we mention he’s 27?…and he plays all the instruments on his solo releases?….
show off…..
Discography
As a solo artist
Studio albums
Ty Segall – Cassette/LP (2008; Burger Records issued cassette only / Castle Face issued LP only)
Lemons – CD/LP (2009; Goner Records)
Melted – CD/LP (2010; Goner Records)
Goodbye Bread – CD/LP (2011; Drag City)
Twins – Cassette/CD/LP (2012; Drag City)
Sleeper Cassette/CD/LP (2013; Drag City)
Manipulator Cassette/CD/LP (2014; Drag City)
Other albums
Horn the Unicorn (Original Release) – Cassette (2008; Wizard Mountain)
Halfnonagon (split with Superstitions) – Cassette (2008; Wizard Mountain)
Swag / Sitting In The Back Of A Morris Marina Parked At The Pier Eating Sandwiches Whilst The Rain Drums On The Roof (split with Black Time) – LP (2009; Telephone Explosion Records)
Horn the Unicorn (Re-release with Addition Tracks) – LP (2009; HBSP-2X)
Ty Segall & Lemons – Cassette (2010; Burger Records)
$ingles – Cassette (2010; Psychic Snerts)
San Francisco Rock Compilation or Food or Weird Beer From Microsoft – Limited Release, only 350 copies made – Cassette/LP (2010; God? Records issued cassette only / 2011; Social Music Records issued LP only)
The Primate Five vs The Traditional Fools (split with The Primate Five) – 7″ (2007; Goodbye Boozy Records)
The Traditional Fools – 7″ (2007; Chocolate Covered Records)
The Traditional Fools – LP (2008; Wizard Mountain/Make A Mess Records)
The Perverts
The Perverts – 7″ (2009; HBSP-2X)
Sic Alps
“Breadhead” – 7″ (2011; Drag City Records)
Fuzz
This Time I Got A Reason/Fuzz’s Fourth Dream – 7″ (2012, Trouble In Mind)
Sleigh Ride/You Won’t See Me – 7″ (2013, In the Red)
Live in San Francisco EP – 12″ (2013, Castle Face)
Fuzz – LP (2013, In the Red)
Sunderberry Dream/21st Century Schizoid Man – 7″ (2013, In the Red)
Till the End of the Day (Kinks cover) – 7″ (2014, Famous Class)
So aaaaaaaaaaaaaany way. Congratulations on making it to the bottom.
But regardless of how many singles this guy has dropped over the last few years – the tune that’s really satisfying us at the moment is Girlfriend. Short, tight and punky with a Hives’y edge on the shouty vocals. Californian punk pop that earns a nice 8/10.
Our most satisfactory sounds for the week starting 18/08/14
King Harvest – Dancing in the Moonlight
Original to the tune made famous by everyone’s not so favourite band Toploader. These fur clad 70’s rocker’s vocals are just oh so sweet they makes us want to, well…dance in the moonlight I suppose – SATISFIED
FIDLAR – Crackhead Ted
This tune from the prolific Californian punk rockers is a pretty low fi effort, with squealing guitars and an unnerving video to match. The band make no secret for their penchant for booze and drugs, and Crackhead Ted is no exception to the rule, with singer Zac Carper reeling of a list of narcs that would cause Keith himself to think twice. But with the suggestion from the band that they’ve already forgotten how to play the song and that they wrote it over the course of a weekend – we think you should check it out before the band forget about it all together – SATISFIED
Brothas Doobie – Lost in Thought
Now for a little change of pace. 1995 saw Cypress Hill at the forefront of the mid-90’s rap scene. Black Sunday had exploded across the globe and everyone was craving their blend of South Californian post-gangster Hip-Hop. Enter Brothas Doobie – whom Cypress Hill announced as their protégés.
Fast forward to now and Brothas Doobie never reached the heady heights that their mentors may have – but with Lost in thought, with its clever sample of the Los Angeles Negros, they stand apart from Cypress Hill; displaying their more patient and thoughtful approach. A seminal tune from a group who deserved more recognition at the time. SATISFIED
together Pangea – Sick Shit
Much like FIDLAR, together Pangea are doing their best to claw back some credibility for modern rock – shunning the heavily produced offerings of previous years, for raw driving punk music, heavy on the guitar, drums and well, pretty much everything. The track comes from this years Badilliac – however we prefer the Rollo & Grady’s session recording – as the guitar really sings. Enjoy below,
SATISFIED
Bella Figura – Remember You Said
DissatisfiedSounds favourites Bella Figura are simply great – even better live. We don’t feel the need to say much more as this massive track does the talking. Watch out for more stuff from us about these guys – they’re gunna be big.
To kick us off and set the mood, here’s a track that has been spinning in the DissatisfiedSounds HQ of late.
The most recent track from Tripwires – Total Fascination Stuff.
2013’s Spacehopper saw the band really hit the big time
Following 2013’s Spacehopper, which saw the band get major radio play and a tour the country in increasingly impressive style – Tripwires seem to have taken their outspoken influences from Brian Eno to heart as Total Fascination Stuff floats along slightly gentler than the previous more rocky efforts from the Reading four-piece. Playing up to their shoegazer tag, this track will definitely be one to watch out for on their live tour as clearly some love has gone into its composition – with intricately written guitar melodies dripping all over the track – it really is a beautiful song. With a low-fi video shot with a dreamy filter, this wistful tune earns the band a 8/10.
We were satisfied. After being a fixture on the London scene for many years Jamie Alexander Treays (Jamie T to you or I) represented a new vanguard of lyric savvy singer song writers taking the influx of vibrant guitar led music of the mid-2000’s and adding their own lippy world view.
Songs like Sheila and If you got the Money won him droves of fans and earned him headline slots and major radio play. His first full album, 2007’s Panic Prevention, is now logged in the annals of history as a truly seminal record of the mid 2000’s. This was then cemented by 2009’s Kings & Queens, with the lead track Sticks n Stones winning Jamie further mainstream success and even more of a loyal fan base.
That was 2009 – a good 5 years ago and Jamie has been awfully quiet. With rumblings of Record labels rejecting his first offering for album number 3, and suggestions that Jamie himself may have let the heady success of his early career get the best of him – some wondered if he would ever make his return.
But 2014’s Don’t You Find has announced his return and we at DissatisfiedSounds are here to save you some time and tell you whether or not you should care.
Much slower than his previous efforts, this track forms a ghost like melody that plods along eerily with the addition of sharp female harmonies – this is clearly not the Jamie we knew before. With minimal lyricism this methodical, tightly conceived tune is definitely a change of pace.
One that will definitely find its audience of course – with its chorus of oooo-aaaahhhs and synth heavy effects, the punters at the UK’s festivals wont be short of lines to sing along to. Thats not to say that we don’t respect Mr T for trying to evolve and become more mature (see our review for Cage the Elephant’s Melaphobia for how this can be done right) but this track seems to want to be a moody, important track – but comes across as rather straightforward. Whilst clearly not designed for those wanting to hear more of the same, this track seems to have been written for the post Alt-J, XX audience who want to hear slower darker tunes – whist having a basic chorus of cavemen sounds – a technique made famous by the Lumineers. We feel Jamie has misplaced some of his cheeky Wimbledon charm in the intervening years – part of the reason we liked him in the first place.
This is not the be all and end all however as an album is on the way and if his latest release Zombie (see below) is anything to go by there is still space on the new LP for the true-to-life lyrics and faster paced hits of years gone by on the upcoming release.
Cage the Elephant achieved surprise commercial success in the mid 2000’s – with Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked breaking into the British Top 40 – a unexpected success for all, including the band. Whilst their unique brand of pop punk – with garbled hip hop infused lyricism & country and blues style grooves won the group many fans – the question still remained to be answered in our minds – do they truly satisfy?
This photo took a team of stylist 6 months to put together – don’t believe us? – look at pictures from 2005…
Well this question need not be asked again as the band’s third effort, 2013’s, Melaphobia is an absolute scorcher.
Kicking off with the Spiderhead the band start as they mean to go on, clearly prioritising tight intricate guitar parts with smooth grooving rhythms, the band have clearly decided to go for a more mature accomplished sound than their sophomore effort.
The result is a really convincing album that at times smoothly tickles the listener before hitting you in the face with rocky drums and whooping bass lines.
The first three tracks on the album Spiderhead, Come a Little Closer & Telescope all sound distinct but at the same time consistent, Telescope a nursery rhyme – with Come a Little Closer, a modern rock anthem if we’ve ever heard one. A consistent piece of music – Cage the Elephant’s latest effort deserves to be held up high and really taken seriously. We can’t wait for what they’ve got planned next.
A brilliant album that gets our rating of 8.5 / 10
Fresh from the NME Radar tour we defiantly suggest you join the swarm and check these guys out. Definitely one to keep an eye on – 8/10 
DissatisfiedSounds 