Soft Abuse Blog

2011 favorites at Soft Abuse HQ

2011-12-30T10:24:00.000-08:00

Just like every year, 2011 saw a heap good records trickle out... In compiling this list of favorites I'm surely forgetting a few things that I really loved, but below is what I can recall at this moment, listed in no particular order.

Full-lengths

The UV Race - Homo (In the Red)
Blackout Beach - Fuck Death (Dead Oceans)
Stare Case - Lose Today (DeStijl)
Bill Callahan - Apocalypse (Drag City)
Cass McCombs - Wit's End (Domino)
Cass McCombs - Humor Risk (Domino)
Condominium - Warm Home (Condominium)
Tim Hecker - Ravedeath 1972 (Kranky)
Zomes - Earth Grid (Thrill Jockey)
Stan Hubbs - Crystal (re, Companion)
Martin Newell - Songs for a Fallow Land (re, Fixed Identity)
Destroyer - Kaputt (Merge)
Juma Sultan's Aboriginal Music Society - Father of Origin (re, Eremite)
Various - Still Going in Offices (Savoury Days)
Der Teenage Panzerkorps - German Reggae (Holidays)
Horrid Red - Celestial Joy (Holidays/Brave Mysteries)
Angus Maclise / Tony Conrad - Dreamweapon III (re, Boo-Hooray)
Vernon Wray - Wasted (re, Sebastian Speaks)
Sic Alps - Napa Asylum (Drag City)
Jerusalem & the Starbaskets - Dost (DeStijl)
Grouper - A I A (Yellow Electric)
Jakob Olausson - Morning & Sunrise (DeStijl)
Matthew De Gennaro - Adversaria (TU-134)
The Axemen - Three Virgins, Three Versions, Three Visions (Siltbreeze)
Ryan Garbes - Sweet Hassle (Hello Sunshine)
Lighted - Queendom (Lighten-Up Sounds)
Papercuts - Fading Parade (Sub Pop)
Six Organs of Admittance - Asleep on the Floodplain (Drag City)
Total Control - Henge Beat (Iron Lung)
Kitchen's Floor - Look Forward to Nothing (Siltbreeze)
Various - Kryton Ten (Unwucht)
Belong - Common Era (Kranky)
The Garbage & The Flowers - Stoned Rehearsal (Quemada)
Steven R. Smith - Old Skete (Worstward)
Myrrh - Myrrh (Self-Released)
Tinariwen - Tassili (Anti/V2)
Larry Marshall - Queer & Wonder (re, Rare Youth)
Bobb Trimble - Crippled Dog Band (re, Yoga)
Kurt Vile - Smoke Ring For My Halo (Matador)
Pigeons - No Shore (Sixteen Tambourines)
Slugfuckers - Three Feet Behind Glass / Instant Classic (re, Insolito)
Suspensers - FMLOL (Self-Released)
Peaking Lights - 936 (Not Not Fun)

Singles / EPs

Real Numbers - Tear it in Two (Florida's Dying)
Lower Dens - Deer Knives (Sub Pop)
Eddy Current Suppression Ring - Walking in Unison (Captcha)
Mad Nanna - Mad Nanna (Eggy)
Mad Nanna - I've Been Talking (Albert's Basement)
Jonathan Halper - Puce Moment (Bootleg)
Art Museums - S.H.O.P.P.I.N.G. (Dulcitone)
Grudge - When Christine Comes Around (re, Mighty Mouth)
The UV Race - Acid Trip (Sweet Rot)
The Mantles - Raspberry Thighs (SDZ)
Muura - Untitled (Albert's Basement)
Scrotum Poles- Revelation (re, Ducitone)
Just Urbain - Everybody Loves (re, 540)
Three Legged Race - Raining Order (NNA Tapes)
Cuffs - Privilege (Ride the Snake)
Lures - New Boy (Salvaged)
The Moondogs - Heads I Win (re, Sing Sing)
Gold-Bears - Something to Think About (Cloudberry)

Last but not least, a recap of all things Soft Abuse from 2011, listed chronologically --

Horrid Red - Pink Flowers EP
Primitive Motion - Certain Materials EP
Brute Heart - Lonely Hunter
Horrid Red - Silent Party EP
Julian Lynch - Music for How Mata Hari Lost Her Head and Found Her Body
Pumice - Pebbles (remastered LP)
Primitive Motion - By Arc or Chord
Pigeons - They Sweetheartstammers
Ulaan Khol - La Catacomb

& the above list, in playlist form -

Soft Abuse 2011 by Soft Abuse

Pigeons "The Welcome" video directed by Camilla Padgitt-Coles

2011-12-22T14:48:00.000-08:00

We've got another Pigeons video to share with you all, this one's the second from their latest LP, They Sweetheartstammers. "The Welcome" was directed by video artist Camilla Padgitt-Coles, and as Wednesday from Pigeons pointed out, it's got a heavy Loie Fuller vibe.

Brute Heart rounds out a busy & stellar 2011 on a high note

2011-12-14T19:14:00.000-08:00

Minneapolis' Brute Heart are ending 2011 on a high note thanks to some year-end nods. First there was the pizza party at Soft Abuse HQ (much-belated), then their profile as one of the best bands in Minneapolis from Lavender Magazine hit the newsstands / web ("...with a sound that’s like some kind of Middle-Eastern Velvet Underground"), and today their brilliant second album, Lonely Hunter, was named one of the best Minneapolis album of 2011 by City Pages.

2011 was a banner year for the band, with the arduous recording & massive release of Lonely Hunter, a tour of the west coast in the summer, a trip to NYC for CMJ in the fall, and dozens of gigs in-between. 2012 should be just as bright, with two singles imminent via M'lady's and Mississippi-offshoot imprint Water Wing, more touring & who-knows-what. Expect good things.

Primitive Motion two-part interview with Splice Today

2011-12-03T14:55:00.001-08:00

Primitive Motion's recent email interview with Ray Cummings appears - in two parts - via Splice Today & it's a great one. Aside from the insight that these things generally provide, this interview also includes some new & unreleased tracks from upcoming PM releases.

Part one is here and part two is here.

We've still got copies of their debut 7" (here), and first full-length on cassette (here) and CD-R (here) -- all very limited.

Pumice "Pebbles" LP launch gig photos

2011-11-06T12:45:00.000-08:00

Auckland photographer Petra Jane took a few photographs at the recent Pumice "Pebbles" LP launch gig at The Wine Cellar, and was kind enough to allow us to post a few of them here. Stefan Neville was joined by Rosy Parlane for the gig, which featured the two performing "Pebbles" in sequence. More photos can be found at Petras' site - check 'em out. We'll hopefully have video to share before too long...

Pigeons live at CMJ 2011

2011-10-22T17:51:00.000-07:00

Brilliant footage has surfaced of Pigeons' performance at yesterday's Chouette Promotion / DeStijl Records / Soft Abuse soiree at Bruar Falls for CMJ 2011. Here the band performed as a duo line-up of Wednesday Knudsen and Clark Griffin, amidst sets by Jerusalem & the Starbaskets, Forest Fire and Amen Dunes.

Pigeons share live studio session & tour, too!

2011-10-06T20:38:00.000-07:00

The wonderful Bronx-based Pigeons are set to unleash their latest (and greatest) album, They Sweetheartstammers, via Soft Abuse on 8 November. In the meantime, the foursome (Wednesday Knudsen, Clark Griffin, Jason Meagher and Nathan Bowles) have hopped the pond for a few shows in the UK and Belgium. Pester your friends over there to check 'em out!

06 October - London - St Giles In The Fields (with Grouper, Chris Forsyth)
07 October - Newcastle - Tusk Festival (with Grouper, Bill Orcutt)
12 October - Brussels - Micro Marche

To satiate the hearts & minds of those that can't catch them in the coming days, we've got a special offering -- four live tracks the band laid down at Black Dirt Studios in late August (complete with ad hoc accompanying artwork by yours truly). Freshly uploaded to our SoundCloud page, here's all four songs for your enjoyment --

Pigeons - Live at Black Dirt by Soft Abuse

Pumice "Pebbles" LP release gig, 15 October

2011-10-02T19:17:00.001-07:00

Stefan Neville, AKA Pumice, has planned a launch gig for the newly-released LP reissue of his 2007 opus Pebbles on 15 October at the Wine Cellar in Auckland. He's recruited the peerless Rosy Parlane to assist in playing the album front-to-back.

Here's a word from Stefan himself about the proceedings --

I recorded Pebbles in 2006 at home in Kingsland with a precarious pile of instruments on a weary 8 track tape machine. I was in a downstairs room & much of it was recorded as quietly as possible so as not to disturb flatmates upstairs.
Pebbles originally came out on CD in 2007 on Soft Abuse Records (Minneapolis,USA) and the same label has now had it remastered & re-released on LP in a limited edition of 300 which also comes with a download code.
To celebrate I have decided to play the whole album live. To do this I've enlisted Rosy Parlane to play piano, bass, ukelele & keyboards while I handle drums, guitar, reed organ, vocals & tapes. We will play three short sets consisting of Side One, Side Two & some extras at the end.

Look for photos & video from the gig as soon as we get 'em. Order your copy of Pebbles (on CD, CS or LP) here.

New Pigeons video "Tournoi" from upcoming album

2011-09-15T09:04:00.000-07:00

This week Bronx duo Pigeons unleashed their first video from their upcoming album They Sweetheartstammers, due 8 November via Soft Abuse. Our pal Amy Ruhl directed / created the animated clip, about which Altered Zones' Jenn Pelly said --

Pigeons' recent releases for Soft Abuse, Curatorial Club, and Olde English Spelling Bee highlighted the Bronx duo's noir-ish breed of slow, psychedelic pop. But on "Tourni," from their forthcoming The Sweetheartstammers LP, guitarists Wednesday Knudsen and Clark Griffin carry their sonic vision to a new level of clarity, with higher-fidelity production values and help from two new members: bassist Jason Meagher and drummer Nathan Bowles. The result is a fuller-sounding Pigeons that still maintains their brooding beauty, but with pronounced hints of Hope Sandoval and brighter guitars that meander densely. In the video above, Brooklyn-based filmmaker/visual artist/recent Julian Lynch collaborator, Amy Ruhl layers chroma-keyed footage atop digitally animated archival photos. And like Pigeons, the result has an eery gracefulness that feels vintage and secret.

Be sure to check out "Tournoi" and "Dead Echo," also from They Sweetheartstammers, via Soundcloud below. The LP / ltd CS release features lettering by Keith Connolly of NNCK and artwork (inside & out) by Yugi Agematsu.

Pigeons "Dead Echo" by Soft Abuse

Pigeons "Tournoi" by Soft Abuse

On The Road with Donovan Quinn

2011-08-10T12:13:00.000-07:00

West coast heartbreaker / song-maker Donovan Quinn has left his perch in San Francisco to tour the east and midwest in support of Six Organs of Admittance (a solo Chasny). The gigs are nigh, please share with friends -

08/11 - Ithaca, NY - Delilah's
08/12 - New York, NY - Mercury Lounge
08/13 - Brooklyn, NY - Littlefield
08/15 - Philadelphia, PA - Johnny Brenda's
08/16 - Washington, DC - DC9
08/17 - Charlottesville, VA - The Southern
08/19 - Chapel Hill, NC - Local 506
08/20 - Atlanta, GA - The Earl
08/22 - Asheville, NC - Harvest Records
08/23 - Knoxville, TN - The Pilot Light
08/25 - Louisville, KY - Uncle Slayton's
08/26 - Chicago, IL - The Empty Bottle

Primitive Motion debut new song live

2011-07-11T18:31:00.000-07:00

Brisbane's Primitive Motion (Sandra Selig and Leighton Craig) recently played their first-ever live show. The duo debuted a new song called 'Home of the Lone Coast (Tears of the Lost Ghost),' and it's killer. Check out the live recordings from their newly minted Soundcloud page -

Primitive Motion - Home of the Lone Coast (Tears of the Lost Ghost) by Kindlingrecords

Brute Heart live at Public Fixture, LA

2011-06-25T12:32:00.001-07:00

...a few photographs from Brute Heart's show at Public Fixture Gallery in LA (they performed behind the BELIEVE sign). Great sets all-around from Brute Heart, Warm Climate, and Metal Rouge at this awesome venue...

Primitive Motion live debut tomorrow night!

2011-06-25T07:19:00.001-07:00

Primitive Motion (Sandra Selig & Leighton Craig) make their live debut tomorrow night at the Bastard Theatre of Brisbane. Here's the word from LC himself -

11th hour notice of Primitive Motion's debut gig tomorrow night at The Bastard Theartre of Brisbane #3, Contortionist Studios, 1/13 Lucinda St, Woolloongabba. 7pm, BYO.

Expect new wave. With sax.

Playing with Whores, Brain Drain, Pink Mouse and Keptis.

We'll have a few copies of our Soft Abuse single for sale at the show.

PM's debut single is available now & their first full-length (By Arc or Chord) is coming up shortly...

Video from Horrid Red's debut live show

2011-06-21T14:35:00.000-07:00

First video (that I've found) from the string of debut shows from Horrid Red this past week. This one's taken from their debut show, at Haunted Oak in Davis, CA (a house venue; RIP The Hub). I'll share some live photos from their gig at The Echo shortly...

Pigeons CS coming soon from Sixteen Tambourines

2011-06-14T11:35:00.000-07:00

Our pals Pigeons have a new cassette-only release, No Shore, due in the coming months, courtesy of the excellent Japanese label Sixteen Tambourines. The limited tape (edition of 100!) is set to drop just before their EU/UK tour begins in the fall, & features artwork from Blaise Parmentier. No Fear of Pop has a preview of the song Both Youths from No Shore. Sixteen Tambourines is currently taking pre-orders.

CUFFS debut 7" out now

2011-05-20T08:34:00.000-07:00

From the ashes of Pants Yell! comes CUFFS, a band "comprised of 2/3 of the band Pants Yell, a member of Reports and the blonde kid from Big Troubles." Their debut single has been released by Ride the Snake Records & judging from the a-side (streaming via the CUFFS bandcamp page) you won't want to sleep on this... Andrew's very particular (& brilliant) songwriting style is on full display here. All hail CUFFS!

Horrd Red plot tour & prep new EP

2011-05-18T08:59:00.000-07:00

Trans-continental post-punks HORRID RED release a new EP, Silent Party, in time for their debut live performances in June. This freshly hatched EP recorded March 2011 in Berlin & San Francisco, in anticipation of their summer tour, kicks off with the somewhat funky title track (it might be a fun party jam if it wasn't so creepy). From there it descends into the Red Western nightmare that is The Horror & The Cruelty, built on a galloping Wall of Voodoo beat & twangy guitars. Meanwhile the b-side mini-opus Marble Staircase Parts I & II comes on like a Colin Newman solo track, with atonal crooning over watery guitars, and dissolves into a morbid piano ballad (featuring Clay Ruby tickling the ivories). Tying it all together as always is Bunker Wolf's inimitable German-language rants & producer Edmund Xavier's high lonesome guitar melodies.

Horrid Red will make their live debut in June, as a six piece (!!), on a four-day trek through California. Yours truly is making the trip out to bear witness.

16 June - Sacramento, CA - The Hub (with Burial Hex, Ganglians)
17 June - San Francisco, CA - Hemlock Tavern (with Burial Hex, Brute Heart)
18 June - Santa Cruz, CA - Brookdale Lodge (with Brute Heart, Fresh & Onlys, Donovan Quinn)
19 June - Los Angeles, CA - The Echo / Part Time Punks

Brute Heart album release May 14th at Turf Club, video forthcoming

2011-05-07T18:11:00.000-07:00

Minneapolis art-punk trio Brute Heart will release their second album, Lonely Hunter, on June 7th. Fans and friends in the Minneapolis area will have the chance to spin it sooner; the band is throwing a release party this coming Saturday, May 14, at the Turf Club. Also appearing will be Jerusalem & the Starbaskets (check their new LP Dost on DeStijl), Tender Meat, Lighted, and Patches, with DJ Tumbleweed spinning between bands. All of this for $6. The release show poster comes courtesy of LandLand.

Last week the band filmed a music video with MPLS.TV in their practice space (Jackie's garage). Despite interference from the authorities, the video was actually completed & will be released this coming week. In the meantime check out the photo session from that evening...

Donovan Quinn & 13th Month play KUSF benefit

2011-04-29T13:17:00.000-07:00

Embattled, excellent free-form radio station KUSF are holding a benefit show this coming Wednesday, and our man Donovan Quinn (& the 13th Month) will be performing. The show marks the debut of the all-new 13th Month line-up, which now includes Michael Tapscott (of Odawas, etc) on synth. Check the show, help the station...

The official word --

Wednesday May 4, 2011
7:00pm door, 8:00pm show

Tartufi and the Verdi Club Present
DARK NIGHTS:
A BENEFIT FOR KUSF

Featuring:
Mammatus
Tartufi
Donovan Quinn & the 13th Month
Life Coach (Phil Manley of Trans Am)

http://www.verdiclub.net/events.html

Say hello to Brute Heart!

2011-04-25T20:13:00.000-07:00

Minneapolis trio Brute Heart have amassed a grip of fans in their brief existence, thanks in no part to the depth of their songs & strength of their live performances; they even landed a Daytrotter session last fall. They've toured a bit in the midwest and east, and are set to play their first west coast shows in June, on the heels of their upcoming album, Lonely Hunter. Lonely Hunter finds Crystal Myslajek, Jackie Beckey & Crystal Brinkman pushing further into the blurry fringes of art-rock, post-punk and dark folk, treading the same turf as the likes of Dog Faced Hermans, Grass Widow, Quix*O*Tic, The Raincoats and Family Fodder. They've moved far ahead of their stellar debut, Brass Beads, incorporating more of a hypnotic, Eastern influence than before & deepening their cathedral harmonies and trancey / dancey rhythms.

Lonely Hunter is now available for pre-order; the official release date is June 7. For those in the Minneapolis area, join us for a release party at Turf Club on May 14, with Jerusalem & the Starbaskets, Lighted, Tender Meat, and Patches (Isa Gagarin). Pre-orders will ship to arrive before the release date...

Brute Heart are headed into the studios of The Current, Radio K and KFAI here in Minneapolis in the coming weeks -- we'll share more info about those appearances as its available. In the meantime, preview the song Blindfolded from Lonely Hunter here.

Tour dates & more information to come!

Pumice NZ tour with Eat Skull

2011-04-19T12:23:00.000-07:00

Fresh off his performance at the Lines of Flight Fest in Dunedin, the mighty Pumice is set to rear up yet again, over the course of three nights in support of the always-great Eat Skull.

20 April - Wellington - Eat Skull, Pumice, Full Fuckn Moon @ Mighty Mighty
21 April - Whanganui - Eat Skull, Pumice @ Arc Theatre
23 April - Auckland - Eat Skull, Pumice (Borderline Music Fest) @ Whammy Bar

And here's a few short clips of Pumice's performance from Lines of Flight, a stellar three day festival that also included sets from The Futurians, Dead C, Alastair Galbraith, Seht, and heaps more. These snippets will appear in longer form on the upcoming Pumice full-length, due later in the year.

Pigeons / D Charles Speer live in New Orleans

2011-04-08T16:38:00.000-07:00

Yours truly had the distinct pleasure of catching two Pigeons gigs last week, in Pensacola and New Orleans. Now a quartet with Jeason Meagher on bass and Nathaniel Bowles on drums, the band has never sounded better. I managed to snap a few photos in New Orleans of both Pigeons and D. Charles Speer ("solo trio"), who were touring behind the release of the new LP, Arghiledes, on Thrill Jockey.

Donovan Quinn video - new song, live

2011-04-08T07:16:00.000-07:00

Good ol' Donovan Quinn recently opened a string of shows for Six Organs of Admittance, and the video above features our pal playing an as-yet released new song solo with a modified acoustic 12 string. Check elsewhere for live footage of The New Bums, his duo with Ben Chasny, playing a few tunes from a forthcoming full-length.

Horrid Red "The Horror & The Cruelty" video

2011-04-07T06:26:00.000-07:00

Edmund Xavier has unleashed a new video from the forthcoming Horrid Red 7" on Soft Abuse called Silent Party, due in June.

Primitive Motion video for "Certain Materials"

2011-03-29T05:55:00.000-07:00

Direct from Brisbane: Primitive Motion have shared a video for the lead-off / title tune from their newly released Certain Materials EP. Its a good one...

Primitive Motion debut 7" released 22 March

2011-03-16T19:14:00.000-07:00

Australian duo Primitive Motion are set to release their debut 7", Certain Materials, via Soft Abuse on 22 March. Their spontaneous pop emissions puff in a manner similar to those by The Door and Window and Fluxus artist Joe Jones from years past. With preset keyboard, cosmic flute lines, percussion & lyrics cut from old astronomy texts, Primitive Motion churn a peculiar charmed pop brew. Leighton Craig and Sandra Selig are Primitive Motion. Look for more from them in the months ahead...

Certain Materials, released 22 March in an edition of 300 with hand-printed sleeves and complimentary downloads.
$7.50 ppd USA
$9.00 ppd Canada / Mexico
$11.00 ppd elsewhere

Horrid Red "Foehn Winds" video

2011-03-14T13:15:00.000-07:00

Edmund Xavier created another video missive for Horrid Red's new Pink Flowers EP, this one for the much-blogged final song (my personal favorite), Foehn Winds. Check it out --

Live Deadnotes footage, in support of The Clean

2011-03-12T13:08:00.001-08:00

The Clean recently made their first trip to Australia in twenty-something years. Their gig in Brisbane was particularly excellent, with support from Blank Realm and our very own The Deadnotes (with The Legend!). A few live clips have surfaced via the Eternal Soundcheck blog; check them out --

Stefan Neville & Matt De Gennaro "Women" CS

2011-02-26T11:01:00.000-08:00

We scored a few of these limited edition cassettes (100 made) created by Matthew De Gennaro and Stefan Neville. The press release says it all, beautifully:

Two men that lead interesting lives share ennui from unanimous confusion via Women. A blurred vision ensued. Symmetrical recording and echoic blues. Yes. Recorded in a one room schoolhouse, summer (northern hemisphere) 2009. Joe Jones music machine guest stars on The Mess Knowing You Has Made of Me. Artwork by Stefan Neville.

A wonderful, solemn session. We highly recommend grabbing one - perhaps from our distributed section (?) - while they last...

In June

2011-02-16T06:30:00.001-08:00

More info soon...

Blackout Beach live album now available!

2011-01-31T16:40:00.000-08:00

Carey Mercer, the principle songwriter in Frog Eyes, has released a live document of the first (and as yet, only) live performance of Blackout Beach. The album is now available from his Bandcamp page for a mere $2.99. Here's what he has to say about the release --

This is a live record from August 2010 of the only Blackout Beach live performance, focusing on mostly tracks off of Skin of Evil, released by Soft Abuse records. I read some poems and stories. My mom did the door, and my dad was the bouncer. My friends came. It was a nice night. All tracks are 24-bit 48 whatever...

Accompanying Mercer as Blackout Beach are Melanie Campbell and Megan Boddy, both of whom contributed to Skin of Evil.

Horrid Red "Pink Flowers" video

2011-01-23T07:02:00.000-08:00

Edmond Xavier just completed his video for the song Pink Flowers, from the upcoming Pink Flowers EP. Check it out --

Say hello to HORRID RED

2011-01-05T19:19:00.001-08:00

First up on Soft Abuse in '11 is a single from Horrid Red, an offshoot of Teenage Panzerkorps (Der TPK), titled Pink Flowers. Der TPK deal in frenzied post-punk britzkriegs, but Horrid Red take a more delicate, less blown-out approach. Pink Flowers arrives on the heels on the acclaimed Empty Lungs 12" on Holidays Records (a recent pick of the week in German Vice!) & dials back the moody synth touches in favor of a (Euro) pop vision shared by Can ca. Future Days or The Fall ca. This Nat-ions Saving Grace.

Pink Flowers is now available for pre-orders, all of which will ship to arrive before the 15 February 'official' release date... The 7" version is limited to 300; the cassette version is limited to 50 (pro-printed, etc) & includes three additional tracks. Each version includes a gratis DL with all the bonus tracks, one of which was made in collaboration with Burial Hex.

Hear a few tracks from the single (& buy the DL direct from the band) at the BORUNDI CLOUD bandcamp page.

Free live Pumice download

2010-12-19T11:54:00.000-08:00

Papaiti Records just released a live Pumice set as part of their bootleg series of live recordings. The set was recorded at Happy in Wellington in support of Grouper, and includes not only a cover of a Privacy song, but also a few songs from the forthcoming Pumice LP, due in 2011 on Soft Abuse (tentatively titled PUNY).

Grab the free download here.

Pigeons live at The Empty Bottle, via Acid Marshmallow

2010-12-09T13:14:00.000-08:00

Pigeons
November 2nd, 2010
at Empty Bottle in Chicago

More from our pal Acid Marshmallow, this time we've got video from their gig at The Empty Bottle on election night.
More videos and photos from the just-finished Pigeons tour are forthcoming...

Tonight in NOLA: Pigeons / Fabulous Diamonds @ Circle Bar

2010-11-24T07:56:00.000-08:00

Pigeons, Fabulous Diamonds and Hosanna are all playing a free show tonight in New Orleans at The Circle Bar. Thanks to Alice Cohen for the killer flier...

Pumice "World With Worms" video

2010-11-21T19:37:00.000-08:00

Gfrenzy created this animated video for Pumice's tune "World With Worms" (from the album Quo), based on "old EC and Warren horror comics based on my 6 year old child memory." It's perfect.

Tonight in SF: Pigeons / Fabulous Diamonds / DQ13

2010-11-17T14:03:00.000-08:00

Pigeons, Fabulous Diamonds and Donovan Quinn & the 13th Month are all playing tonight at Bottom of the Hill in San Francisco, preceded by an in-store at Aquarius Records. Thanks to Alice Cohen for the killer flier...

Pigeons live at Permanent Records, via Acid Marshmallow

2010-11-03T21:12:00.001-07:00

Pigeons
November 2nd, 2010
at Permanent Records in Chicago

Thanks to our pals at Acid Marshmallow for sharing this video !

Pigeons US tour underway, new album Liasons due 16 November

2010-11-02T13:31:00.000-07:00

Bronx sweetheart duo Pigeons are out on tour right now with Fabulous Diamonds, in support of their forthcoming third album, Liasons, due on Soft Abuse as CD/ LP / DL on 16 November. Here's their complete list of confirmed dates --

10/31 - Boston, MA - Spectacle
11/02 - Chicago, IL - Permanent Records in-store
11/02 - Chicago, IL - The Empty Bottle (with Wet Hair, Running)
11/03 - Oberlin, OH - Oberlin College
11/04 - Iowa City, IA - White Lightning (with Wet Hair)
11/05 - Minneapolis, MN - Club Med (with Wet Hair, Shahs, Robust Worlds)
11/06 - Minneapolis, MN - Hexagon Bar (with Brute Heart, Leisure Birds)
11/07 - Omaha, NE - The Manor (with Wet Hair)
11/11 - Anacortes, WA - The Business Records in-store
11/11 - Bellingham, WA - NoHouse (with Jazz Magazine)
11/12 - Seattle, WA - Josephine
11/13 - Portland, OR - East End (with Monopoly Child Star Searchers)
11/16 - Sacramento, CA - The Hub
11/17 - San Francisco, CA - Aquarius Records in-store
11/17 - San Francisco, CA - Bottom of the Hill (with Donovan Quinn & the 13th Month)
11/18 - Los Angeles, CA - Echo Curio (with Donovan Quinn)
11/19 - Irvine, CA - UC Irvine
11/20 - Phoenix, AZ - The Dressing Room (with Eddy Detroit)
11/23 - Houston, TX - Notsuoh
11/24 - New Orleans, LA - The Circle Bar (with Hosanna)
11/26 - Pensacola, FL - The Handlebar
11/27 - St. Augustine, FL - TBA
11/28 - Tallahassee, FL - The Farside (with Langtry)
11/29 - Atlanta, GA - Wonder Root
11/30 - Chapel Hill, NC - Nightlight (with Dan Melchior und Das Menace)

More dates may be confirmed, for the latest, check out Pigeons homepage here.

Liasons is the third Pigeons full-length, following on the heels of Si Faustine (released by Olde English Spelling Bee earlier this year), and 2008's Virgin Spectacle (on Black Dirt). Liasons finds the band in the midst of an enormous creative leap; the psychedelic chanson moves of previous releases now cohabit with spacious westcoast art-blues & wistful cosmic folk tunes, casually invoking Catherine Ribeiro, Brigitte Fontaine, Grim and Opal. Pigeons’ singular approach to structure, arrangements & production techniques - mirrored by the disruptive spelling of Liasons – culminate with Wednesday Knudsen and Clark Griffin lacing their songs with flute, saxophone, echo, drum machines and languid guitar lines. Liasons also includes two songs in French, one of which is a brilliant a take on Laisse Tomber les Filles (by Serge Gainsbourg). Artwork from Mary Nicholson appears throughout. We're now taking pre-orders for Liasons, all of which will ship to arrive before the release date...

Also in time for the tour, we've released a 7" single (Visions of the Valley), pressed in an edition of 200, and have printed up some Pigeons shirts as well. Click here to preview or purchase the single, and click here for shirt info. The band will have plenty of each to sell at their gigs as well...

Olympus album release party!

2010-10-30T07:56:00.001-07:00

Kraus and Neville recently hosted a soiree to celebrate the release of "Bold Mould," their debut album as the duo Olympus. The party featured a mountain-themed cake, and a bevvy of other snack options.

The two also recently shared a track-by-track commentary with the NZ webzine Under the Radar. The site is also streaming the full album for he next week. Read / hear it here.

Debut from Olympus now available!

2010-10-25T19:00:00.000-07:00

Olympus brings together two dodgy geniuses from New Zealand's sub-underground under one banner - Stefan "Pumice" Neville & Kraus. Like their namesake Mt., Olympus assail their listeners with a rock-solid (sorry), yet varied selection of tunes that include basement kraut grooves, blasted tape manipulation, fuzzed-out homemade electronics, explosive drumming, minimal synth dervishes and melancholy pop instrumentals. Neville and Kraus met a few years back, and after drinking & playing pool together, the idea for Olympus was hatched. After a few years of sending bits & ideas back & forth through the mail, the duo are proud to share "Bold Mould," their debut, with the world.

"Bold Mould" is a Stabbies, etc / Soft Abuse co-release, pressed in an edition of 500 with a gratis DL coupon. The duo have a lathe 7" single coming soon via Epic Sweep.

Sonny & the Sunsets do Daytrotter!

2010-07-29T08:49:00.000-07:00

The Daytrotter session recorded by Sonny & the Sunsets at this year's Noise Pop Festival (back in February) is now online. To download or sample, visit Daytrotter here. The band tackle a few newer tunes not found on Tomorrow is Alright (in addition to some on the album).

Donovan Quinn & the 13th Month: new album & video

2010-06-22T20:00:00.000-07:00

We're pleased to announce that the sophomore album from Donovan Quinn & the 13th Month will be released August 3, 2010. The LP (with free DL) version is on Soft Abuse, while CD / DL fans will find theirs via the esteemed, venerable Shrimper label. The album is called "Your Wicked Man."

"Your Wicked Man" was created in collaboration with Nick Marcantino (bass), and Paercuts' Jason Quever as producer and multi-instrumentalist. In much the same way his presence molded early efforts from Cass McCombs, Quever's touch on YWM serve Quinn's narratives with arrangements that range from barely there to lush & ornate. There are some rockers, too. The band's particular take on art-pop & folk-rock song forms plays out like a re-imagining of the early efforts from Mekons, Nikki Sudden and John Cale as filtered through a distinctly Californian approach. Quinn's enigmatic deadpan & dense, fragmentary style reveal a reverance for Robert Forster, Malcolm Lowry, Pavement and Thomas Pynchon (in equal measure).

The first song released from "Your Wicked Man" is the hypnogogic, otherworldy 'Mom's House' (mp3 available here), which seems almost like a hallucination. Donovan himself put together a video for the song; we hope you agree that its brilliant....

Pumice cassette editions of Pebbles & Quo now available!

2010-06-08T16:09:00.000-07:00

We just received the cassette reissues of Pumice's two most-recent full-length releases (Pebbles from 2007 and Quo from 2008) in today's mail. We feel that this music is almost tailor-made for tapes, and are pleased to provide these re-releases for fans & all others as well.

Both casettes are available for pre-order now. We'll start shipping direct mailorders in a week or so...

Some praise for Pebbles --

"...sounds like our hero has eaten the bread of Gate & drank from the cup of Alastair Galbraith. Sometimes he even breaks out like he stole Bruce Russell's Fire Engines records! The new sherriff of Xpressway County don't shoot no blanks. Great stuff." - Tom Lax, Siltblog

Some praise for Quo --

"Fans of overdrive will find their fix in 'Fort' and 'Battersby,' which sound like a bag of early SST cassettes found melting in the desert." - Exclaim Magazine

In other Stefan Neville / Pumice news, Soft Abuse (in conjunction with Neville's own Stabbies imprint) is currently prepping for release the debut from Olympus, Neville's long-running collaboration with Kraus (a former member of Futurians, The Aesthetics, etc). Bold Mould is more than two one-man bands coming together; it presents of two old friends coming together, and in the spirit of collaboration, Olympus provides the forum for each artist to expand on his own world of sound. Olympus' debut, Bold Mould, is LP-only (w/ DL) & should be available by September.

Sonny & the Sunsets "Death Cream" music video

2010-06-07T08:04:00.000-07:00

Killer Sonny & the Sunsets video for Death Cream, created by Ben Montero & edited by Rosie Adams. We still (remarkably!) have copies of the band's Love & Death single, which features Death Cream b/w Strange Love. The song is also found on the band's debut LP, Tomorrow is Alright.

The return of Car Commercials!

2010-06-02T18:14:00.000-07:00

It's been nearly two years since Car Commercials released Eric's Diary, their lurching & creepy concept album dealing with tragedies in teenhood. That one arrived amidst a flurry of releases, including an LP for Cenotaph (Judy's Dust) and a cassette on Fuck It Tapes (Black 93). Since then.... silence. Daniel's been working on Home Blitz recordings / releases / etc, and David's been busy with Current Amnesia; he also created a new work for Issue Project Room's New Roaratoria series, which also included pieces from Grouper and Carlos Giffoni.

The point is: time has passed & Daniel DiMaggio and David Sutton have reconvened for more new Car Commercials music. Like their other stuff, Prisoner of Type touches on the darker / personal side of the KBD & Messthetics universe with spontaneous-seeming tunes & questionable production skills, but these new ones feature bits of more trad musicality than previous. These five songs fit snugly on a 7" & should whet the craving for music made by true weirdos. Pre-order now, ships in early August (if not before). 300 copies. Hand-printed sleeves. A nice one.

Sonny & the Sunsets encroach upon SXSW

2010-03-12T20:06:00.001-08:00

[photo swiped from headphonerecord's flickr]

Look out music industry: Sonny & the Sunsets are headed to SXSW in Austin! After getting the initial invite from WFMU, the band said "fuck it," & pawned some gear to pay for flights to the Live Music Capitol of the World™.

If you're planning to attend the festival, we urge you to see them; if for no other reason, to seek respite from the overwhelming chaos & ridiculousness of (most of) the rest of it.

Their plans in Austin, TX (times are close to accurate) -

03/18 - Beauty Bar (Bay Bridged showcase); 11 AM
03/19 - Encore (WFMU / Aquarius showcase); 11 PM
03/20 - Spiderhouse (Panache/Cake Shop showcase); 1 PM
03/20 - City Hall (Sneak Attack showcase); 2 PM
03/20 - Domy Books (KVRX showcase); 4 PM
03/20 - Beerland; 6 PM

The band should have some records with them, including recently unearthed copies of the heretofore out-of-print Love & Death 7".

In other news, Tomorrow is Alright, the band's debut LP, is possibly sold out from anywhere you might look to find it. I'm sure there are copies lurking in shops & mailorders. It's worth tracking down; it looks like this -

There may soon be an LP repress available, but in the meantime it's out there on iTunes, Other Music Digital, et al as a DL. The CD version is forthcoming, shouldn't be much longer now...

Ulaan Khol "III" & limited 'Ceremony' series box now available!

2010-03-05T14:16:00.000-08:00

At times recalling Neil Young's score for Jarmusch's Dead Man, III is Steven R. Smith's (Hala Strana, Thuja, etc) masterstroke. Not only does this work tie together all three Ulaan Khol releases into a cohesive whole (the 'Ceremony' series), it also stands alone as a groundbreaking, breathtaking amalgam of heavy Komische & basement psychedelic madness.

"'III' is as immediate as a truck with failed brakes crashing through your living room wall. The third and final installment of a trilogy entitled Ceremony, its opening moments rage and wail, with distorted guitars pulling out in front of the drums like hellhounds that have slipped their master's leesh. But this isn't a mono-dimensional freak-out. Smith paces himself, pulling back into brooding drones and pensive picking before lashing out once more. As befits a journey that's taken three discs to unfold, it ends with a grand gesture; the final melody is as epic as Roy Montgomery's mid-'90s work, and it unfurls over a landscape of blasted wah-wah licks and feeback that somehow reconcile The Stooges and Popul Vuh." - Bill Meyer, Signal to Noise

As an added bonus to fans of the Ulaan Khol releases, we're pleased to offer - while they last - a limited edition handmade birch box that nimbly fits all three volumes of the Ceremony series. An edition of 75 printed / stamped boxes, built by Andie Mazarol (Mother of Fire, Myrrh, etc) & Marshall LaCourt (Dark Dark Dark) in Minneapolis; these will only be available direct from Soft Abuse or from Steven R. Smith via his Worstward web site.

Shoddy photo aside, here's the box -

Ulaan Khol's "III" as well as the limited Ceremony box may be purchased here.
Ulaan Khol I and II are still available, too.

The Deadnotes "Orange Trumpet" now available / Brisbane gigs this weekend

2009-08-26T20:30:00.000-07:00

The Deadnotes are Eugene Carchesio, Stuart Busby and Leighton Craig, from Brisbane in Queensland, Australia. Armed with an arsenal of trumpet, guitar, drums, casio & vocal moans, the trio make glorious, semi-spontaneous eccentric pop music that’s drawn comparisons (rightly or wrongly) to the likes of Ennio Morricone, Maher Shalal Hash Baz, The Magic Band, Moondog and even The Minutemen. Since their formation in 2005, the band has written and recorded hundreds of miniature odes to this & that, some of which have seen release in limited CDR editions on Craig’s Kindling imprint. The 30 tracks that comprise Orange Trumpet, the trio's defining statement, are amongst their earliest creations. A jaunty melancholy that echoes Tenniscoats & The Grow-Up, is present throughout, regardless if the boys are shuffling thru haunted dirges, garage-y workouts, or other points in between. Carshesio's classic recordings as DNE are undeniably a touchtone here as well...

The Legend(!)ary Everett True said the following about The Deadnotes:

“[W]hat attracted me to this band on first sight – trained in the “school of error” as practised by Maher Shalal Hash Baz and all those other naive orchestral delights, accomplished keyboards man Leighton Craig of the firm belief that where drummers went wrong was when they first started crossing their arms over – is what still attracts me to them: belief, brevity, melody, resonance, a fondness (acquired from having lived through it) for the early 80s post-Go-Betweens/early Fall mannerisms of derelict Brisbane nightclubs. Stuart Busby not only wields a trumpet like Brighton’s own Alistair Strachan (Hamilton Yarns, Crayola Lectern) but understands the absolute necessity of controlling (or not controlling) the sound. Guitarist/drummer Eugene Carchesio – an accomplished, exhibited visual artist in his own right – much favours the “play once, move on” approach to creating and inventing new songs that can’t help attract simple me. One of Eugene’s favourite musicians is Jad Fair. How can I argue with that?
…. Too often noise musicians deliberately eschew melody – as if to admit for a fondness for such is a weakness. The Deadnotes are as unreconstructed and wilfully abstract as the most experimental among us, but at the heart of the music is (usually) a melody, a structure, a beating heart.”

Orange Trumpet is released in an edition of 400 numbered LP copies with full color jackets, and may be purchased here.

The band have a few gigs in Brisbane this weekend -
08/28 - Brisbane, QLD - The Step Inn
(with The Legend!, Kitchen's Floor, Alps)
08/30 - Brisbane, QLD - Tidy Art Space
(with The Legend!, Yout Dem)

Grouper & Pumice : NZ tour / split 7"

2009-02-11T16:26:00.001-08:00

Grouper (Liz Harris) and Pumice (Stefan Neville) are set to join forces on a tour of Neville's New Zealand homeland in March. To commemorate this event, Soft Abuse (in conjunction with the artists themselves) will release a tour 7" single, which is strictly limited to 500 copies & features exclusive new songs. Grouper's contribution, 'Rising Height,' is a gorgeous example of her elongated Kendra Smith-esque fuzzy drone craft. Pumice gives us 'Twin Neck Double Kick Bum Chin,' a new song that could've fit well on Quo. The single will be officially available on 24 March (as well as all NZ gigs), and is currently available for pre-order here.

Confirmed tour dates are as follows -

03/12 - Auckland, NZ - Whammy Bar
03/13 - Wanganui, NZ - The Stink Magnetic Record Co.
03/14 - Wellington, NZ - Happy (with Seht)
03/15 - Wellington, NZ - SpaceThing (with The Ghastlies)
03/19 - Christchurch, NZ - Saint Lukes (with Roy Montgomery)
03/21 - Port Chalmers, NZ - Chicks Hotel (with CJA & Smokehouse)

Donovan Quinn & the 13th Month "Sister Alchemy" video

2009-01-03T10:14:00.001-08:00

Marcy Saude (website here) filmed this super-8 video for 'Sister Alchemy' in San Francisco in 2008. Features Donovan Quinn, Grace Cooper and Jason Quever. The song, written by Donovan Quinn & the 13th Month, appears on the limited 7" single of the same name (purchase here), as well as the band's self-titled debut album (purchase here). Cameras by Marcy Saude and Michael McWay.

2008 S.A. Friends Top Tens

2008-12-17T11:32:00.000-08:00

Loren Chasse
Here seems to be the music that's most put my ear in its clutch this past year...
Nagisa Ni Te...Yosuga
Milton Nascimento...Lo Borges
Terry Riley...the Last Camel in Paris
Blackout Beach...skin of evil
Andrew Chalk .....time of hayfield
Tim and Eric...Awesome Record
Laraaji....Cascade
Maureeny Wishfull...The Maureeny Wishfull Album
Steve Roden...a slow moving boat
Arthur Russell...Wild Combination documentary (and its songs!)
Autistic Daughters..uneasy flowers
Grouper...Dragging a Dead Dear Up a Hill
Peter Hammill...Fool's Mate
Klimek...Dedications
M83...Saturdays=Youth
and as always: Camberwell Now....All's Well

Glenn Donaldson
late 2008 obsessive playlist
1. grouper dragging a dead deer up a hill
2. christian death only theater of pain
3. christian death catastrophe ballet
4. JFA my movie 7"
5. giorgio moroder from here to eternity
6. burial hex initiations
7. cocteau twins garlands
8. eyeless in gaza photographs as memories
9. blessure grave unreleased mp3's
10. brave new world s/t 7"
11. the clientele it's art dad
12. killing joke nervous system 7"
13. blackout beach skin of evil

Nick Forte
Monopoly Child Star Searchers- "Gitchii Manitu (12 Step Retrance Program For Troubled Dream Warriors)"
Monopoly Child Star Searchers- "Infant Spirituality Rates Coconut Percent"
Leviathan- "Massive Conspiracy Against All Life"
John Wiese- "Dramatic Accessories"
Graham Lambkin/Jason Lescalleet- "The Breadwinner"
Ancestors- "I"
Chris Corsano- "The Young Cricketer"
Jason Crumer- "Ottoman Black"
Philip Jeck- "Suite. Live in Liverpool"
Deep Listening Band- "Then & Now, Now and Then"

Stefan Neville
Fuigo-Fuigo
Privacy-Mercy
Kraus-Red Green & Blue 1998-2003
Jon The Dog-Live at Enban cdr
Leighton Craig-11 Easy Pieces
Planxty-Cold Blow & The Rainy Night
The Shadow Ring-The Lighthouse
Russian Tsarlag/Blueshift-split rare youth LP
Sunstabbed-doubtful sounds 7"
Henry Flynt & the Insurrections-I Dont Wanna
Michael Hurley-Armchair Boogie
Jos Steen-Electricity
the bug feat. warrior queen-poison dart
bonzo dog band-cornology
armpit-tron

David Sutton
Graham Lambkin/Jason Lescalleet- The breadwinner (erstwile)
pac man (Bone tooth Horn)
karina esp/ circle brothers/ drekka 10 inch lathe (morc tapes)

Chris Berry
Leighton Craig - 11 Easy Pieces (Room 40)
Destroyer - Trouble in Dreams (Merge)
Eat Skull - Sick to Death (Siltbreeze)
James Ferraro - Marble Surf (New Age)
Grouper - Dragging a Dead Deer Up a Hill (Type)
Jeremy Jay - A Place Where We Could Go (K)
Tommy Jay - Tall Tales of Trauma (Columbus Discount)
King Darves - The Sun Splits For... The Blind Swimmer (DeStijl)
Nagisa Ni te - Yosuga (Jagjaguwar)
Pigeons - Virgin Spectacle (Black Dirt)
Arthur Russell - Love Is Overtaking Me (Audika)
Sic Alps - U.S. EZ (Siltbreeze)
D Charles Speer & The Helix - After Hours (Black Dirt)
Teenage Panzerkorps - Games for Slaves (Siltbreeze)
Vizusa - Vizusa (Seres)

Blackout Beach "Skin of Evil" arrives January 20

2008-12-17T10:35:00.000-08:00

Carey Mercer's solo project, Blackout Beach, has been dormant since the release of his debut (Light Flows the Putrid Dawn) in 2004. That's not to say that he hasn't kept busy with other things... In that time, Frog Eyes has released two astounding albums & one EP, in addition to touring the world more than once. Mercer also started a side project, Swan Lake, with friends Dan Bejar & Spencer Krug. Somehow in the midst of it all, he's found time to write & record an epic new Blackout Beach full-length. At the risk of seeming overly hyperbolic, we'd like to formally proclaim that it's his most dense, rewarding, and frankly best work to date.

Skin of Evil is a song cycle based upon a character, Donna, and her past and present lovers. Though, as Mercer stresses in his own (highly recommended) blog, "I think my albums always get mis-represented. Skin of Evil is not so much about 'Donna', as it is about my own attempt to just stick to something, and not veer off into the nebulous domains of 'fractured social commentary.' I think that in this sense Skin of Evil is a moderate success." Over the course of it's ten songs, Skin of Evil does suceed in sticking to it's story, which is set against a dark backdrop that manages to reference proto-punk icons Pere Ubu & the textural/dense recent Scott Walker works. That's to say it's a wholly unique listen; one that's highly listenable, and yet challenging (in the best sense of each word).

Skin of Evil is currently available to pre-order here. Those that opt to pre-order the LP will also receive a Skin of Evil poster.

We've had several comments about the striking painting that adorns the sleeve, which was painted by Vladimir Kandelaki. Again, Carey wrote at some length about this at his blog, but Kandelaki lives & works in Georgia, and was incredibly generous to allow the use of the painting for this record. To see more of his work, visit http://www.kandelakiv.com/.

Our friends Dan Bejar and Glenn Donaldson shared their thoughts on Skin of Evil. Read on below...

“I believe Skin of Evil is the best record I will hear this year, but let’s not get into that.

A reference for something as singular would certainly combine goofy American babbler music (Jerry Lee Lewis/Dennis Quaid) with the highest, most harrowing modernist Euro nightmare (‘The Drift’). By this I mean there can be no frame of reference, for these two things have never met before, and external forces work hard to make sure they never do. Yet somehow the sonic space created for this set of singing happened, feels familiar, and doesn’t give me the willies. Maybe it’s because Scott Walker has never expressed interest in the traditions of rock & roll guitar, and unlike J.L.L., Carey is not a pervert/showman…
I'll make no bones, I enjoy the sound of people singing like this. I even like the sound of people talking like this. I also think that this is the best record Carey's been involved with. Note: how good it sounds when Carolyn & Megan chime in!
Maybe it's about a girl, about salvation's undoing through romantic love, wreckage of this kind…No matter, the important thing is that this is the first time I've REALLY heard theatrics AND atmospherics in a record, and such an abundance of both. One exception is Roxy Music’s Avalon, which this record reminds me of if only for how incredibly well you can (thankfully) hear every last thing. And though Bryan Ferry’s version of control and release are slightly different than Carey’s, Skin of Evil is more just different lyrical concerns, which we’ll here call “worldview.”
One last thing about theatrics and atmospherics: they are at war (did I already say that?). Theatrics (individual) vs. Atmospherics (the universe) seems pretty straightforward to me as a life model…

I keep thinking about this when listening to Skin of Evil, though I'm not sure if this is what the record's about.

Skin of Evil addresses panic in the face of dark nature, being fucked over constantly to the point of almost death (and then maybe death) by higher powers, like Gods, the jailer (or whoever holds the keys), your local PTA, etc., and finally the possibility that you have a small hand in it, this, your doom, a ditch in the rain you don't just somehow fall into."

– Dan Bejar, Vancouver, BC

"I've listened to this a dozen times & still can't figure out how this can be so indulgently arty & yet so easy to enjoy. Totally unclassifiable but file next to other lofty unheralded classics: Crime & the City Solution's Paradise Discotechque, Wallof Voodoo's Dark Continent & Eyeless in Gaza's Caught in Flux. I'm in awe of this record but fear it's just too good for the rabble."

– Glenn Donaldson (contributed to Stereogum.com)

Ulaan Khol / Steven R. Smith live on WMFU

2008-10-31T16:06:00.000-07:00

Steven R. Smith recently performed an exclusive live set for WFMU (pre-recorded without overdubs, etc) from his home studio in Los Angeles. The 40+ minute performance kicks off with the first track from the upcoming Ulaan Khol release, II.

Hear an archive of the performance here.

Ulaan Khol's II, released December 2, 2008, is the second installment of his trilogy known as 'Ceremony.' Following the cryptic first installment, II shines with hazy, rolling atmospheric works that drift and shift with ease. Riding a crumbling riff into oblivion, Ulaan Khol's II emanates with the gleam of pure white light.

DQ13 at CMJ in NYC (& beyond)

2008-10-22T14:48:00.001-07:00

Donovan Quinn - friend to dogs, lover of all things October, writer & singer of songs - is making his first solo trek out east today for the annual CMJ fest. Donovan Quinn & the 13th Month are making several appearances over the course of the fest; read on to find out when & where. For the east coast shows, the 13th Month consists of DQ (guitar, voice), Nick Marcantonio (bass) and Pete Nolan (the drums). Jason Quever will be back behind the kit for the band's headlining homecoming gig in early November -

10/23 - Brooklyn, NY - The Bell House
(Gothamist CMJ showcase, 2 PM)
10/23 - New York, NY - Piano's
(ForceField PR CMJ showcase, 8 PM)
10/24 - New York, NY - Cake Shop
(Chouette CMJ showcase)
10/25 - Boston, MA - P.A.'s Lounge
(with D. Charles Speer & the Helix, King Darves, Moore & Sons)
11/05 - San Francisco, CA - Hemlock Tavern
(with Lazarus, The Sarees)

Look for more west coast dates (hopefully with Lazarus) before too long...

Donovan will also be playing with The Skygreen Leopards in support of Woods in a few weeks...

11/13 - San Francisco, CA - Amnesia
(with Woods)

RIP small silver guitar

2008-06-25T18:33:00.001-07:00

Stefan Neville via the Rose Quartz blog -

"When i arrived back in Auckland last week the small silver guitar got smashed in the flight. I think i can piece it back together but it wont tour again which means the end of Pumice as we know it."

Please note that Stefan hasn't decided to call it quits - he's simply not able to play live with his signature axe...

Pumice in USA '08

2008-05-27T21:35:00.000-07:00

Stefan Neville is currently on tour in the USA; this marks only his second tour of these parts. Current tour dates are below- we expect more will fall into place in the week ahead.

05/26 - New York, NY - Cake Shop (with King Darves, Car Commercials)
05/29 - Brooklyn, NY - Union Pool (with Enos Slaughter, Marcia Bassett, Folk Spectre)
06/04 - Providence, RI - Looney Bin (with Goat of Arms)
06/10 - San Francisco, CA - Aquarius Records (in-store, 6 PM)
06/11 - San Francisco, CA - Hemlock Tavern (with Some Dark Holler)
06/14 - Davis, CA - 1114 Cypress

To commemorate Stefan journey over here, we've printed a limited number of tour shirts. Most of these were sent to him directly, though a few are for sale via the Soft Abuse web site (while they last). Stefan made the drawing; depicted is an alternate universe Pumice roadie, caught in the act of of the rock n' sway. Beautiful.

To purchase or see a photo, merely click here.

Car Commericals at Cake Shop

2008-05-27T21:25:00.000-07:00

Behold: the full set from David & Daniel's gig at Cake Shop, NYC on May 26 in support of Pumice and King Darves. Wow.

Pants Yell!: Live at Cake Shop

2008-03-14T09:39:00.000-07:00

Two excellent YouTube clips from the recent Pants Yell! gig at Cake Shop have surfaced - check out the boys in action!!

"Two French Sisters" (above)

"Kids are the Same" (above)

They've got a few upcoming shows of note & more on the way (in due time). In addition, Pants Yell!'s Andrew Churchman will be performing a solo radio session on WMBR on March 25. Be sure to tune in!

03/25 - Cambridge, MA - WMBR radio session
04/05 - Philadelphia, PA - Phi Lam at UPenn
(with A Place to Bury Strangers, Japanther)
04/06 - New York, NY - Club Midway (4 PM)
(with My Teenage Stride)
04/17 - Cambridge, MA - Middle East Upstairs
(with Casiotone for the Painfully Alone)

Pumice & Chadborne on Tyfus Radio!

2008-03-06T10:15:00.001-08:00

Dennis Tyfus recently posted two Pumice sessions from his radio show, Radio Centraal, one of which features Stefan with Eugene Chadborne & their cover of Beefheart's 'Orange Claw Hammer.' Hear it all here.

Pumice's session for VPRO should be online shortly.

And lastly, the remaining Pumice European tour dates (with some new additions) -

03/11 - Tampere, Finland - Vastavirta
03/12 - Helsinki, Finland - GALLERY MYYMÄLÄ2
03/13 - Turku, Finland - TVO (with Avarus)
03/27 - Tromsø, Norway - Kaos
03/28 - Oslo, Norway - Sofiengberg Church
03/29 - Stavanger, Norway - Tou
04/01 - Gothenborg, Sweden - Underjorden
04/05 - Mogliano Veneto, Italy - Filandia Motta
04/06 - Solighetto, Italy - Villa Brandolin

Donovan Quinn & the 13th Month "The Wind At Her Craft"

2008-03-05T09:06:00.000-08:00

Live footage (courtesy of 'bcfaulkner' on YouTube) of Donovan Quinn & the 13th Month live at the Bottom of the Hill. That's Jason Quever on the drums...

Soft Abuse t-shirts by Shayde Sartin are here!

2008-02-11T18:29:00.000-08:00

Our man Shayde Sartin sent a big batch of drawings a long while back, and it became clear that the time had finally come to print some Soft Abuse t-shirts. These are printed on Ultra Cotton Gildan shirts (100% cotton) by Tee Squared in Northeast Minneapolis, and are available in 'Light Blue' and 'Yellow Haze.' These are limited, and may be garnished with paint if you so desire.

Available in unisex S, M, L and XL. Please specify color & size when ordering (use the 'notes' field in Paypal). Click here to order.

Hear Pumice in Paris

2008-02-10T09:59:00.000-08:00

Radio WNE is hosting archived audio of the Pumice gig in Paris with Los Llamarada and Minitel. Hear all three bands here.

Pants Yell!: Live!! In Person!!

2008-02-06T16:52:00.001-08:00

The three young men of Pants Yell! have awoken far before the end of winter for a string of shows around the northeast in the coming weeks and months. Its been quite a while since htey graced a stage, so cheer 'em on if you're around any of these locales on these dates -

02/22 - New York, NY - Cake Shop
03/08 - Annandale-on-Hudson, NY - Bard College
(with Ponies in the Surf)
04/05 - Philadelphia, PA - Phi Lam at UPenn
04/17 - Cambridge, MA - Middle East Upstairs
(with Casiotone for the Painfully Alone)

In other PY news, the group's most recent effort, Alison Statton, has just been issued in Australia and New Zealand courtesy of the venerable Popfrenzy label.

Pumice puffs through Europe

2008-02-02T18:08:00.001-08:00

Good ol' Stefan Neville (AKA Pumice) is out on the road in Europe after a string of dates in Japan. The road warrior has quite a bit planned for 2008, including another visit to the USA for gigs in late summer. First things first, though, and that's his current European jaunt, which finds him zig-zagging across the continent & sharing bills with everyone from Los Llamarada to Lydia Lunch. If you're able, go & see him and fall in love, and buy him a pint while you're at it.

More dates are coming together here & there, and will be posted as confirmed. His MySpace page is another good spot to look for tour dates (and other bits of info).

Tour dates -

02/04 - Paris, France - La Miroiterie
(with Los Llamarada) (poster below)
02/08 - Hasselt, Belgium - Kunstencentrum Belgie
(with Truman's Water)
02/11 - Geneve, Switzerland - à l’Etage # 6
02/12 - Lyon, France - Sonic Lyon
(with Lydia Lunch)
02/13 - Grenoble, France - 102 Rue d'Alembert
02/14 - Bordeaux, France - La Centrale
02/15 - Nantes, France - The Barakason
(Cable Festival)
02/27 - Amsterdam, Netherlands - VPRO
02/28 - Antwerp, Netherlands - Scheldapen
(with Eugene Chadborne)
03/01 - Berlin, Germany - Madame Claude
(with The Shitty Listener)
03/11 - Tampere, Finland - Vastavirta
03/12 - Helsinki, Finland - GALLERY MYYMÄLÄ2
03/13 - Turku, Finland - TVO
(with Avarus)
03/27 - Tromsø, Norway - Kaos
03/28 - Oslo, Norway - Sofiengberg Church
03/29 - Stavanger, Norway - Tou

DQ at Big Sur

2008-01-25T12:19:00.000-08:00

Happening Friday February 22...

S.A. Friends 2007 Top Tens

2007-12-27T13:44:00.000-08:00

Nick Forté (Felipe + Forté)

1) Portal "Outre"
2) Growing "Vision Swim"
3) Aaron Dilloway "Concealed"
4) Cloaks "A Crystal Skull in Peru"
5) Robedoor "Free Buried"
6) Spirit of The Positive Wind S/T
7) Flaskavsae "Philosophies"
8) Jabladav "Black As Pitch"
9) Hala Strana "Heave the Gambrel Roof"
10) Leslie Keffer "Feels Like Frenching"
11) Eric Copeland "Hermaphrodite"
12) Ju Suk Reet Meate "Solo 78/79"
13) Byla + Jarboe "Viscera"

Glenn Donaldson (Giant Skyflower Band, et al.)

Adam & the Ants Prince Charming
Fun Boy Three s/t
Fun Boy Three Waiting
Human League Travelogue
The Smiths s/t
Morrissey Bona Drag
Felt Poem of the River
39 Clocks Pain It Dark
English Beat Special Beat Service
English Beat I Just Can't Stop It

Andrew Churchman (Pants Yell!)

Top Ten mid-'90s indie rock re-buys from used bins in 2007:

Legendary Jim Ruiz Group - Oh, Brother Where Art Thou?
Richard Davies - Never Been a Crowd Like This (c'mon, $1?)
Silkworm - Developer
the Inbreds - Kombinator (way better than Sloan)
the Lapse - Betrayal
Hefner - Boxing Hefner (needs no explaination)
What's Up Matador? (I had the VHS companion in middle school)
Shelby Bryant - Cloud Wow Music (my 3rd time buying this album. essential)
Helium - No Guitars EP
No Alternative comp. (don't hate, that buffalo tom song is actually pretty good)

Stefan Neville (Pumice)

2007. (in no particular order)
-Devoid Of All Mercy "your children left with the stranger" CD
-CJA & Smokehouse "whiskey and freedom" cassette.
-Buffy St. Marie "Illuminations" LP
-The Troggs "mixed bag/cellaphane" CD.
-Kraus "the Facts" cassette.
-generic no name budget Doo Wop compilation CD.
-The Deadnotes self titled CDR
-Bob Dylan "Desire" LP
-Evil "a true untimely atrocity" 10"
-Napalm Death "smear campaign" CD.

Loren Chasse (Ov, The Child Readers, et al.)

panda bear 'person pitch'
tenniscoats 'tan tan therapy'
richard youngs 'autumn response'
pumice 'pebbles'
the shitty listener 'fruitless accomplishment'
forever amber 'the love cycle' reissue (especially hudson and lane's newer versions of the songs)
robert fripp 'at the end of time'
jose gonzalez 'in our nature'
daniel higgs 'atomic yggdrasil tarot'
steve roden 'drawing room with bells'
old million eye 'heights unseen'
opal 'live early recordings'
the story 'arcane rising'
tinariwen 'aman iman'

and this is the music that kept 2007 timeless for me:

margaret barry
genesis (gabriel singing)
the hidden cameras
mourning phase
graham nash
emmanuelle parrenin
rem 'murmur'
dilip roy
shiv kumar sharma
som imaginario
robert wyatt
lifetones
andrew chalk

Jason Honea (The Child Readers, et al.)

1.) Teenage Panzerkorps. - Harmful Emotions LP ( siltbreeze)
2.) Rik L Rik - The Lost Album
3.) Homage to Sherwood Anderson : Letters of Sherwood Anderson
4.) Radio Dept. - Pet Grief
5.) AKA - Liza Jane
6.) East Side Story Comps. ( all !)
7.) Punk is Dead, Punk is Everything by B.R. Trucotte
8.) Of - The Sun and The Earth Together CD
9.) Pink Skulls Meta - Fanzine # 3 -Rik L Rik, Dusty Coffins(rip)Scottish Sounds
10.) The Road by Cormac McCarthy

Chris Berry (Soft Abuse)

new & old/new

THE ABYSSINIANS Satta Massagana (Heartbeat)
ED ASKEW Little Eyes (DeStijl)
BLUES CONTROL Puff (Woodsist)
BILL CALLAHAN Woke on a Whaleheart (Drag City)
CATS ON FIRE The Province Complains (Marsh Marigold)
THE CHERRY BLOSSOMS The Cherry Blossoms (Black Velvet Fuckere)
FROG EYES Tears of the Valedictorian (Absolutely Kosher)
GLASS ORGAN Our (Students of Decay)
GROUPER Cover the Windows and the Walls (Root Strata)
HALA STRANA Heave the Gambrel Roof (Music Fellowship)
KEITH HUDSON Brand (Pressure Sounds)
JEREMY JAY Moonwalker (K)
LAZARUS Hawk Medicine (Temporary Residence)
MAHER SHALAL HASH BAZ L'Autre Cap (K)
MANISHEVITZ East to East (Catbird)
CASS MCCOMBS Dropping the Writ (Domino)
PAPERCUTS Can't Go Back (Gnomonsong)
PINK REASON Cleaning the Mirror (Siltbreeze)
PSYCHEDELIC HORSESHIT Magic Flowers Droned (Siltbreeze)
LEE ROCKEY Lee Rockey Music (DeStijl)
SAPAT Mortoise and Tenon (Siltbreeze)
SIC ALPS Description of the Harbor (Awesome Vistas)
TINARIWEN Aman Iman (World Village)
TENNISCOATS Tan Tan Therapy (Hapna)
BOBB TRIMBLE Harvest of Dreams (Secretly Canadian)
CHRISSY ZEBBY TEMBO & NGOZI FAMILY My Ancestors (Chris Editions)
ZELIENOPLE His/Hers (Type)

Donovan Quinn in the UK / October Lanterns is nigh

2007-11-01T18:41:00.000-07:00

Our friend Donovan Quinn is headed across the pond later this month for a string of live dates throughout the UK. Catch him if you can over there, or be sure to greet him in SF in December...

11/25 - London, UK - In the Pines @ The Harrison
11/26 - London, UK - 93 Feet (with Six Organs of Admittance, Mick Flower)
11/30 - Wigan, UK - Fourpaw - Tudor House Hotel
12/01 - Coventry, UK - Taylor Johns House
12/02 - Newcastle, UK - The Tyne
12/03 - Hull, UK - The Adelphi
12/04 - Bristol, UK - Cube Cinema (with Little Wings)
12/05 - Edinburgh, UK - TBA (with Little Wings)
12/06 - Manchester, UK - The Music Box (with A Hawk and A Hacksaw)
12/18 - San Francisco, CA - Hemlock Tavern (with Giant Skyflower Band)

Also on the horizon is the limited CDR issue of Donovan's 'lost' solo album, October Lanterns, which was recorded in ’02-’03 but shelved for reasons long since forgotten. Audio samples are available on Donovan's MySpace page and at Soft Abuse HQ.

CMJ 2007

2007-09-29T17:56:00.000-07:00

Join us!

Pebbles: The Illustrated Interpretation

2007-08-13T16:39:00.000-07:00

San Francisco-based comic book artist/illustrator Mike Hales (of the Wobbly Art web site) has created a visual interpretation of Pumice's new album, Pebbles. Each panel of the strip correlates to a song on the record. Take a look here.

Giant Skyflower Band - live!

2007-07-05T14:55:00.000-07:00

Live footage has surfaced from the debut live performance by Giant Skyflower Band in San Francisco at Hemlock Tavern on June 29. Here the newly-expanded trio of Glenn Donaldson, Shayde Sartin and Jason Quever perfrom two new tunes.

Pumice NZ Tour

2007-06-15T06:59:00.000-07:00

Our man Stefan Neville kicks off his 'Pebbles NZ Tour' tomorrow in Auckland. Be sure to see him if you can, buy him a beer, etc., and click on the image above to enlarge.

06/16 - Auckland, NZ - The Wine Cellar

06/21 - Wanganui, NZ - The Eye of Night

06/22 - Wellington, NZ - San Francisco Bath House
06/26 - Wellington, NZ - San Francisco Bath House

06/28 - Christchurch, NZ - The Media Club in Borderline Ballroom

06/30 - Dunedin, NZ - The Crown
07/06 - Wellington, NZ - Happy
07/07 - Hamilton, NZ - TBD

Pebbles is now available for mailorder direct from Soft Abuse, and will be found in shops, mailorder sources and digital outlets near its July 10 release date. Press blurbs for the album are coming in slowly but steadily...

Lovely & New - Ov "Soul of Swan" video

2007-06-05T15:26:00.000-07:00

Newly created by Ov's Christine Boepple.

Child Readers video action

2007-05-04T07:48:00.000-07:00

Three videos from The Child Readers for you - the first two were created by Christine Boepple, and the third is a very brief clip of the duo live & in person in Berlin.

Pile of Pebbles

2007-05-03T08:59:00.000-07:00

Here's a first look at the new Pumice album, the excellent Pebbles, which is slated for release in July. More info may be found here. An mp3 for the song Northland is now available, too.

In other Pumice news, Stefan Neville is in the process of assembling a 'Pumice Big Band' for performances in New Zealand this summer. I'm not so sure what this entails, but the very idea is an exciting one. More details in due time.

FYI, also pictured is the stamp kit used to create the sleeve for the Claxxon's Lament lathe cut single from Blackout Beach.

Welcome!