Shake Appeal is a column that highlights new garage and garage-adjacent releases. This time Evan Minsker discusses new records from the People's Temple and Teenanger, plus a new video from Acid Baby Jesus and a compilation from Stolen Body.
The People's Temple: Weekends Time [State Capital]
The People's Temple released their third album Musical Garden earlier this year via HoZac. Their new one, Weekends Time, is out September 25, and the whole thing is available to hear below. What's immediately clear about this new one is that they've come a long way since Sons of Stone. Not to say they've gotten "better", but their echoing desert psych days might be behind them, as their new one sounds like it's sprung from the melodic wheelhouse of Ric Ocasek and Dwight Twilley. It's a new frontier for this band—a damn catchy one, at that. This is the sort of record that makes me want to put on everything they've released, in chronological order, to hear their progression, and then wonder where they'll go next.
Teenanger: E P L P [Telephone Explosion]
Speaking of bands that seem to churn out tons of music, let's pivot to Toronto's Teenanger, whose latest album is their third in three years. Chris Swimings' vocals set a menacing, gutter-dwelling tone for their new one. Surrounded by the rest of the band's all-power attack, Swimings sings in this deep, throaty-but-nasal voice—"Sky Saxon" devolves into him repeating the words "Michael Jackson" over and over. They create this sound that's equal parts "aggressive" and "odd", with killer riffs and, occasionally, a horn solo. It's post-modern punk music, unpredictable and consistently intriguing.
Acid Baby Jesus: "Vegetable" [dir. Jeff Clarke]
If you haven't heard of the Greek band Acid Baby Jesus, do yourself a favor and listen to their 2011 self-titled LP. As is the case with many Slovenly records, it's absolutely killer and didn't get nearly the amount of attention it deserved the first time around. They've got another album in the works, but first, this week they've released the Vegetable EP. That's the spooky video for the title track below.
Various Artists: Vegetarian Meat [Stolen Body]
Stolen Body Records have been churning out consistently solid records for quite some time now. If you haven't gotten the chance to familiarize yourself with their offerings, their Vegetarian Meat compilation is a perfect introduction. It's 14 tracks—seven artists contributed two songs each—from all over the globe. There's stuff from the Grand Rapids band Heaters, the French outfit Dusty Mush, the Bristol wreckers Factotum, and some psychedelic pop from the Paris band Os Noctambulos. As "introduction to the record label" compilations go, it's a good one.
The Memories: Early Memories [Gnar Tapes]
If you've ever swooned along with those greasy Portland stoners the Memories, here's a Cassette Store Day treat: A compilation tape of rarities and unreleased tracks from 2010 to 2013 recorded "at houses and in bedrooms". Based on their previously shared output, this is the exact collection of tracks you've come to expect from this band—stuff about getting high and being in love. "Don't Be a Drag", they tell you. "Love Is Not a Dream", they assure you. The songs are brief and to the point. It is, of course, the perfect soundtrack for lighting up with that special someone.
Also Worth Hearing: The new album Centre of Your Universe from Brooklyn's Wax Witches (via Burger); an LP by the Portland outfit Kingdom of Smoth.