Shake Appeal is a column that highlights new garage and garage-adjacent releases. This week, Evan Minsker discusses the latest from San Francisco's Generation Loss, Chicago's White Mystery, Davila 666 frontman AJ Davila, Grand Rapids psych outfit Heaters, and New Orleans' Trampoline Team.
Generation Loss: Generation Loss [Cut-Rate]
Last year, Cut-Rate Records released the debut full-length from one of the Bay Area's most exciting new bands, Scraper. Now, with San Francisco three-piece Generation Loss' self-titled cassette, Cut-Rate has cemented its position as a label to watch. Generation Loss is a sharply written album recorded by Segall Band/Fuzz guitar hero Charles Mootheart. It has the sort of fuzzy shredding that recalls recent releases from California X and Milk Music. On "Turnaround", Generation Loss sweeten things with a pop melody, though they throw in some erratic guitar sounds for good measure. They get motorik on "Hostage" and open "Paralysis" with a killer guitar solo. An impressive debut that stays diverse and captivating.
White Mystery: "Unteddy" [self-released]
It's like clockwork: Every April 20, Chicago brother-and-sister duo White Mystery put out a new record. This year, it's the double LP Dubble Dragon—one half is a new studio album, the other has songs recorded live at Chicago's Double Door. "Unteddy" is further proof of just how powerful these two can be. While Francis White's drum sound seems to land harder than ever, Miss Alex White's guitar thrives in its dense, opaque low end. The song is raw power, and when it finally begins to slow down, it's with Alex's entirely badass tapping solo. This band gets better and better.
Heaters: EP [self-released]
Don't take your eyes off Grand Rapids, Michigan, because that city seems to keep churning out bands like Heaters. Formerly called Plantains, Heaters are a psych outfit whose home-recorded EP leans more garage/surf than heady stoner rock. (In Michigan psych band terms: Slightly closer to Bad Indians or the People's Temple than Haunted Leather or Sisters of Your Sunshine Vapor.) "Steve's Boots" is catchy and kinetic, while "Chili Cheese" aims for airy spookiness. Everything's a bit muffled, especially during the swirling vortex of noise that comes near the end of "Draggin' Feet", but their energy and hook writing are clearly on point.
AJ Davila: Terror Amor [Nacional]
Aside from a couple singles back in 2012, Davila 666's last release was 2011's Tan Bajo. Now, AJ Davila brings us Terror Amor, his debut solo effort. It's a good reminder that while his band's name and live reputation usually peg them as a raucous garage rock outfit, they also have a soft side (like on their masterful track "Tu"). "Ohhh" is scrappy, but also features sunny, twee instrumentation. The album certainly gets heavier on several occasions, but that balance between sweetness and distortion is a clear mirror of the album title: Terror on one hand, "amor" on the other.
AJ Davila: "2333" on SoundCloud.
Trampoline Team: Velveteen Dream EP [Pelican Pow Pow]
Shelby, Sam, and Michael are New Orleans' Trampoline Team, and their Velveteen Dream 7" is hyperactive, gleefully nihilistic garage punk. "Leave me alone," they sing on "Feels Like Nothing". "Fuck your stupid job," they declare during "Hands Off". Everything on this EP is really fast—their drum attack, the rapid-fire guitar solo that closes out "Rabbit Foot", etc. Everything on this record bites and soars. Like any good 7" in this wheelhouse, it's like a bag of potato chips—you run through it pretty quickly and want to go back for more as soon as you're done. I've lost count of how many times I've flipped this record.
Trampoline Team: "Feels Like Nothing" on SoundCloud.
Trampoline Team: "I'm So Popular" on SoundCloud.
Also Worth Hearing: A video from Tough Age (via Mint); the new single from Johnny Ill Band (via Dusty Medical).