Shake Appeal, Evan Minsker's weekly garage/punk/psychedelic/etc. music round-up, kicks off 2015 with a stack of new stuff by Australian bands (Hierophants), Memphis icons (Jack Oblivian), West Coast oddballs (Jack Name), New York rippers (Pampers), and an Indiana garage pop outfit (Frankie and the Witch Fingers).
Hierophants: Pneumatic Drill 7" [Moontown] / I Don't Mind 7" [Goner]
And lo, in the dead zone between late December and January, when very few (exciting) records get released, Hierophants deliver two strong 7"s. The Australian band features members of Frowning Clouds, Ausmuteants and ORB; they've been a singles band up to this point, but their debut album is due sometime this year on Aarght!/Goner. As the stop-motion video for "Pneumatic Drill" illustrates, this is music that's fast-paced, choppy, and willing to erode into more fluid and psychedelic grooves. (Who doesn't dig a groove?) Meanwhile, their upcoming Goner A-side "I Don't Mind" highlights their pop sensibilities. Ausmuteants just had an incredible year; it'll be a joyful 2015 if Hierophants can keep pace.
Jack O and the Sheiks: Live in Memphis [Secret Identity]
It's a live Jack Oblivian solo album, and he's backed by the Sheiks. It's one of the all-time Memphis greats doing some of his best Memphis songs in a Memphis room accompanied by a really good Memphis band. Solo material, 'Blivians tunes--does it matter? How could this record not be pure, uncut finesse from a master who has no interest in anything put continually proving his rightful place in the canon. It's Jack O's first live 12", and it's a good one at that.
Jack Name: "Running After Ganymede" [dir. S. Wadsworth Adams]
One year after his fantastically gonzo concept album Light Show was released on God? Records, the enigmatic West Coast studio wizard Jack Name will unleash Weird Moons via Castle Face on January 20. The great video for "Running After Ganymede" is exactly what it should be—a wolf howling at and chasing after the largest moon in the Solar System. A bald metaphor, but hell of a tune.
Pampers: Right Tonight 7" [In the Red]
Their debut self-titled full-length was great—overlooked, for sure—and the New York garage punks Pampers are back with four more very good songs. The A-side packs bitter lyrics, a belligerent pace, and a killer guitar solo—the sort of muscle-headed 108-second punk tune that makes you want to throw $6 plus shipping at Larry Hardy. It's worth it! And sure, Pampers offer more than just an all-power assault; they are not merely rip-riffers. B-side "Seneca Road" comes in nice and slow, gradually building to a song with beatific pop harmonies.
Frankie and the Witch Fingers: "Vibrations" [dir. Dante Augustus Scarlatti]
Frankie and the Witch Fingers are a garage rock outfit from Bloomington, Indiana (soon relocating to Los Angeles, apparently, and understandably (no shade, Hoosiers!)), and with one song, they've made their forthcoming self-titled album on Permanent a hot album to pine for in 2015. Aside from the "True Detective" vibes, I'm not sure what exactly is going on in the "sexy and dangerous witchcraft" video for "Vibrations" which is puzzling, creepy and yet, sustains fascination. Regardless, this song is at the top of the heap when it comes to garage pop tunes that could've thrived in the 1960s. You just don't hear organ work like that anymore.