Shake Appeal is a column that highlights new garage and garage-adjacent releases. This week, Evan Minsker is very excited about the new albums from Orlando's Golden Pelicans and Melbourne's Cuntz. Also good this week: New Swears' new album, plus a video from the 1990s L.A. band Further.
Golden Pelicans: Golden Pelicans [Total Punk]
Pitchfork editor-in-chief Mark Richardson once wrote a blurb about Gunplay's "Jump Out" that I like a lot. It asks you to imagine a closed-minded, conservative listener who, on principle, objects to music that isn't relaxing or beautiful. He posited that "Jump Out" is the exact sort of nightmare this person fears. I'd posit that the same hypothetical person would be just as outraged by Golden Pelicans' "Pissing in a Puddle of Puke". That's not just because of the song's title and chorus—this is some gnarly, mean-sounding rock'n'roll. Continuing their reign of terror from their recent "Burn Everything" 7", Golden Pelicans' new 12" on Total Punk is a hit-after-hit monster. That's seven songs and some awesome artwork by Mac Blackout for $10.
Cuntz: Here Come the Real Boys [Chunklet]
After blasting Solid Mates consistently since a copy came in the mail, it's an absolute joy to see a new record by Cuntz. Even better, it's a live album featuring all the hits! It's got them bashing through their minute-long gem "Dog", screaming at the outset of "Third World Attitude", and chugging through "Bin Day". As the American flag on the album's cover suggests, these are tracks from the band's tour of North America recorded at WFMU, Gonerfest, Death By Audio, and the Earl. Their between-songs banter is awesome, like their radio-friendly introduction, "This is C-U-N-T-zed," or, "This next song's called 'Beef Week'—in Australia, we have a whole week for beef."
New Swears: Junkfood Forever, Bedtime Whatever [Bachelor]
In four words, New Swears encapsulate their Poochie-esque core: Junkfood forever. Bedtime? Whatever! These four Ottawa dudes have written a genuinely fun record—handclaps and chugging, sunny riffs in tow—full of songs about smoking weed, drinking, having sex, and, generally speaking, not giving a shit and having a good time. Do they break shit? You better believe it. Do they care about the bullshit? No way. The record might be best exemplified by "Legalize Freedom", a deep-voiced, sketchy track about outrunning the cops and doing coke and sleeping with prostitutes. This sounds more like a low-budget exploitation film than a gritty account of real life, but like a lot of low-budget exploitation films, this thing is fun.
Further: "Filling Station"
Further were kicking around California in the 1990s, and somewhere along the way, they made a video for their great, sludgy track "Filling Station" that never got released. At last, it's surfaced, and it's a good one. The track is equal parts indebted to Dinosaur Jr. and a precursor for bands like Milk Music. "Filling Station" and 12 other songs will appear on Where Were You Then?, which is out September 2 via Bad Paintings.
Also worth hearing: A killer new single from the Mants (coming soon via Manglor).