Shake Appeal is a column that highlights new garage and garage-adjacent releases. This week, Evan Minsker highlights two comps from Los Angeles punks the Weirdos, a 7" box set featuring 1960s Australian garage rock singles, and new releases from Denney and the Jets, Räjäyttäjät, and Les Marinellis.
Denney and the Jets: Mexican Coke [Limited Fanfare/Burger]
If you thought the cross-sections between Southern rock and garage started and ended with Natural Child, take a listen to Denney and the Jets. Mexican Coke is a languid romp dripping with Southern-rock molasses, primed to soundtrack all your beer-drinkin' & hellraisin'. Regardless of how you feel about their (admittedly ludicrous) band name, they've got a knack for locking into a bluesy, boozy groove, dropping a guitar solo in the perfect spot, and sweetening the deal with some licks on a Hammond. As the album title and tracks like "Pain Pills" suggest, it's a druggy ode to the country that invokes the "Country Honk"-era Stones.
Les Marinellis: Les Marinellis [P. Trash/Burger]
Montreal's Les Marinellis have a new record on P. Trash and Burger, and it accomplishes something that many artists in this same sphere can only manage to fake. Les Marinellis drives and churns and echoes—forgoing the screaming, searing chutzpuh of punk—while still managing to sound cool. Obviously, that word presents an ultra-subjective, total-bullshit criticism, and I'm probably writing it here because the tone of this LP reminds me of the Black Lips' Let It Bloom. With "J.J.", this album similarly invokes the hypnotic pace of Jacques Dutronc's "Hippie Hippie Hoorah". Later, they conjure some swirling voodoo on "Le Ciel". Wholeheartedly recommended.
The Weirdos: Weird World Volume One and Volume Two [Burger/Frontier]
Thanks to Burger, you can add seminal Los Angeles punks the Weirdos to your tape collection. They've reissued both volumes of the Frontier Records compilations (which came out in 1991 and 2003, respectively), and if you aren't already familiar with their work, now's as good a time as any to get acquainted. There's some first-wave punk gold in their discography, like their essential 1978 single "We've Got the Neutron Bomb" b/w "Solitary Confinement". Also, if you haven't seen the "Helium Bar" video, you definitely should.
Various Artists: Black Diamonds: Singles From the Festival Vault 1965-1969 Volume One (10x45 Box Set) [Blank]
Blank Records have offered the first volume in a series of 45 box sets, which features some mid- to late-1960s Australian rock'n'roll singles originally released by Festival Records. It'll set you back a reasonable pile of money, but collectors of the Nuggets and Pebbles comps should probably pay attention. This one features psych, garage, and freakbeat songs by 10 different Australian artists, including the Lost Souls, the Playboys, Derek's Accent, the Blue Beats, the Atlantics, and yes, the Black Diamonds. It's early fuzz rock relic with organs and harmonicas. Dig in.
Räjäyttäjät: "Tulee Taas" 7" [White Denim]
In her column Down Is Up, Jenn Pelly recently wrote about White Denim's other new release, Fuck Off from London's Good Throb. The label has another excellent new release out this week: a 7" from Finland-based punks Räjäyttäjät. The track begins with a spoken word sample, which breaks into a vintage-sounding surf track, but then it all dissipates when a roaring electric guitar solo comes in. There's an awesomely rough quality to these vocals, and the band litter the track with familiar-sounding earworms. It closes as it started—with more vintage surf rock. It's chaotic, and it rules.
Also Worth Hearing: A split from VAGUESS (whose last record Simpler Times is great too) and one-man Ontario wrecker Paul Jacobs; the new power pop EP from 1-800-BAND.