Shake Appeal is a column that highlights new garage and garage-adjacent releases. In this week's edition, Evan Minsker looks at new stuff from Richmond's the Ar-Kaics and SLUGZ, Baltimore's Sick Thoughts, and London guy Lucern Raze.
The Ar-Kaics: The Ar-Kaics [Windian]
"Come visit Richmond," Matthew E. White said as he finished a SXSW set last year. I'm a West Virginia native, but I've yet to make the trek to Virginia's capital. While White's Spacebomb Records crew alone make a strong argument for making the trek over there, I think it's the Ar-Kaics who have sold me on the necessity of that road trip. I've heard a few of this band's singles before, but it's their new self-titled LP on Windian that's the true hit parade—proof that this band excel well beyond the scope of a couple 7"s. "Can't Keep Waiting" is a perfect example of this—a song with incredible drive, one that occasionally pauses to build tension, and one that packs a few well-placed screams. This is a really good band, and they've made an excellent record.
SLUGZ: SLUGZ [Feel It]
And here's one more very solid reason to make the trek to Richmond: They're called SLUGZ, they're a five-piece band making music in the vein of Carbonas or the Germs, and their debut album completely rips. Some of 2014's best rough vocals, dual guitars that constantly threaten to overthrow a given track's balance, a drummer who's really good, the cutthroat pace of a Motörhead record—it's all here. "Workin' for the Man" is an incredible song about hating the day-to-day work grind, and it ends with a bruiser called "My Dad Ain't Shit". This is the sound of the band at the height of their powers, and it's awesome.
Sick Thoughts: Last Beat of Death [Mina's World]
"Fuck you, get out of my face," goes the central verse in Drew Owen's 80-second track "G.O.O.M.F". This Baltimore dude has put out a ton of music this year, but the formula hasn't failed him on his new Sick Thoughts tape Last Beat of Death (out now on the new Boston tape label Mina's World). The eight-song tape actually retreads some of the same stuff he offered on his great album Terminal Teen Age, but this time, he gets a little more intense, bashing out "I Don't Relate" with goblin vocals and breakneck speeds. This is yet another brick of evidence to add to Owen's scummy rock'n'roll hot streak. Long may he reign.
Lucern Raze: "Sunshine Blues" [PNKSLM]
This is the debut single from Lucern Raze, which is Luke Reilly's pseudonym. Reilly is a member of London's Sex Beet, and perhaps more notably, he's the head of PNKSLM Recordings, who recently put out records by Black Mekon and the Red Cords. His debut single "Sunshine Blues" is an impressive solo showing. The first word in the title takes tonal precedence: It's a sunny track, for sure, with an off-kilter earworm melody and few handclaps thrown in for good measure.