Cloud Nothings: "Psychic Trauma"

"Psychic Trauma" doesn't sound like anything you haven't already heard, but that's primarily because the component sounds are so familiar: garage rock, noise... and post-punk? You don't see the latter thrown into the mix that often, at least not successfully, but damned if Cloud Nothings don't pull it off. I'm a root-for-the-underdog kinda guy so I'm not necessarily pulling for Here and Nowhere Else to come off as a top 10 album at the end of 2014 - Christ knows they earned a lifetime's supply of accolades for 2012's (admittedly glorious) Attack on Memory - but it's good to hear the band haven't lost a step nonetheless.

Polvo: "Total Immersion"

Noise rock and math rock are both pretty big right now. Since Polvo had a hand in shaping both it's only fitting that they make a triumphant return with their upcoming album, Siberia. Their actual comeback was more properly 2009's In Prism, but even if four years is only a third of the time they took off for their break up it's still kind of an eternity in today's age. "Total Immersion" is almost too busy - I literally had to double check to see if I accidentally had two songs playing at once - but somehow they manage to tie it all together.

Dirty Beaches: "Casino Lisboa"

Alex Zhang Huntai, a.k.a. Dirty Beaches, is through fucking around. The 75 minutes of his new double LP Drifters/Love Is the Devil, leave the listener scrambling for footholds in its dense mire of scattershot noise. In spite of Pitchfork's overly ebullient score the collection has a patchwork (read: directionless) quality to it but I guess if you're going to get your feet wet "Casino Lisboa" is the place to do it. Just keep in mind this is probably the poppiest song on the record.

Raspberry Bulbs: "Groping the Angel's Face"

Ok, so now we're mixing black metal and bootstrapping garage punk? Is that what we're doing? I guess it'll be alright.

Destruction Unit: "Sonic Pearl"

Rarely does drone go the junkyard dog route, but when it does the band Destruction Unit may just be involved. These guys have an album coming out August 20 on garage-psych trainspotters Sacred Bones, but a month prior - July 16, to be exact - they will unleash a 7" of this puppy via Suicide Squeeze's Singles Series. And apparently I just missed these guys during Chaos in Tejas this past weekend. Of course.

[EDIT 6/16/13: added music video]:

Dope Body: "Leather Head"

Been kind of a strange trend recently of bands putting out videos (or just audio leaks) of b-sides to their singles rather than the usual a-side. I kind of don't give a shit when the results have this kind of oil tanker bass grooving beneath a minimalist, catchy rhythm. Ghost children of the almighty Jesus Lizard as far as I'm concerned.

Pissed Jeans: "Bathroom Laughter"

Honeys just came out today so probably no coincidence that Pissed Jeans just dropped this vid like it was a slicked up baby straight out the womb. Oh, come on, this shit is obviously brain damaged.

Band in Heaven: "Summer Bummer"

Too many "Band" band names lately. Band of Horses. Band of Skulls. Band of Joy. Also too many "Heaven"s. Heavenly. Bear in Heaven. Heaven & Hell (RIP). This is Band in Heaven, which sounds exactly like Bear in Heaven when you say it aloud, but not necessarily when you play it aloud.

"Summer Bummer" is on one of those trendy split cassettes over at - yes - Bandcamp.

Slug Guts: "Scum"

You don't often hear Western sounding guitar licks thrown into a noise rock song, but Aussies Slug Guts are not your average cacophonous post-punk band. Already on their third album but still largely unknown outside Oz, this is one band content to (not so) quietly skulk in the shadowy corners of the blogosphere. Of which WKMR is grudgingly shadowy as fuck.

XYX: "Simulador"

We're running out of band names. Soon a government regulated entity will hand out randomized sequences of letters and numbers to prospective new groups the same way the post office hands out phone numbers (ie.  only the select few will even have the option of choosing from an existing pool of unused character strings; presumably you will need major label backing to achieve this honor, similar to how most telephone companies reserve this privilege for deep pocketed businesses). If "Simulador" is any indication, XYX are both confused and perturbed about their lot in life.

Teatro Negro is already out on the decidedly non-major Monofonus Press (ie. it's apparently based in WKMR's hometown of Austin and we've never heard of it; good works, boys and/or girls).

A Place to Bury Strangers: "You Are the One"

Is this a new direction for A Place to Bury Strangers? They've been slowly letting up off the (volume) pedal in small increments since their self titled debut five years ago. The title track from this year's Onwards to the Wall EP hinted at the rhythmic post-punk of "You Are the One", though the other four songs were in line with their faster noise rock material. I'd label this video NSFW for violence and general lascivious sleaze. If the boss is looking over your back you might just settle for the Soundcloud audio below.

Worship is out June 26 on Dead Oceans.

White Suns: "Footprints Filled"

Whoa. Not sure what to call this shit. It's kinda sludge, kinda punk, kinda noise. Actually it's mostly noise, but there are vocals and discernible riffs so definitely don't think of Merzbow or old Earth style drone. White Suns are playing with genre conventions in a manner that the average metal blog would have you believe is only being done via Cascadian black metal. Fuck your Cascadian black metal in the ear. Sinews is out 4/20 (appropriately enough) on Load Records.
(via Tiny Mix Tapes):

Bass Drum of Death: "I Wanna Be Forgotten"

I could have swore Bass Drum of Death was just in Austin for SXSW - I missed them if so - but damned if they aren't balls deep in tour dates through the summer, including an Austin engagement at the Mohawk. It's been a full year since GB City came out so to sweeten the pot the band have recorded a split 7" with tour mates DZ Deathrays. The BDoD contribution to that tour only release doesn't disappoint and shan't soon be forg... ah, fuck the easy puns:

1990: "Nancy Boy Cocaine Whore Blues", Cows

If ever there were a genre that made either introduction or explanation pointless, enter noise rock:

1990: "Shove", L7

Not that Courtney Love and Kat Bjelland were the only formerly interrelated band members attempting to establish themselves with a similar sound. Jennifer Finch had also played with Love and Bjelland in Sugar Baby Doll. As it turns out, L7 were first to make it to record with 1988's L7, but at this point it's nearly impossible to unravel which of these women was most instrumental in defining the sandblasted, grunge punk sound all three bands would become associated with, or to what extent the evolution was a group effort.

"Shove" was the lead off single from 1990's Smell the Magic

1990: "Swamp Pussy", Babes in Toyland

In fairness to Courtney Love, she and Kat Bjelland played together in several unrecorded bands before going their separate ways to form Hole and Babes in Toyland, respectively, but though both women argued incessantly over whom originally came up with the tattered baby doll look and throat shredding punk sound both bands early became known for, it seems that the majority of their mutual bandmates side with Bjelland on this issue. Either way, it's hard to argue that Love wasn't the first to cash in her underground credentials.

1990: "Retard Girl", Hole

1990 also marked the debut, non-album single from Hole. Listeners only familiar with "Doll Parts" and "Malibu" may be surprised at the heavy, almost noise rock quality of this early offering, but before we go giving Courtney Love too much credit our next entry will show where a huge chunk of her "influence" came from. This is still a pretty strong debut, any way you slice it, though.