NOISEZILLA

With the release of Family Perfume Volume 2 last Tuesday and Volume 1 a few weeks prior, White Fence has put forth one of the most epic acid garage rock showcases since Easter Everywhere way back in 1967. Taken as a whole, 29 songs of burnt haze, inverted guitar jams, and vocals sounding as if they’re being transmitted from the depths of outer space. Surprisingly, the album is incredibly diverse and rich with plaintive folk flower blossoms (“Stomach Sexes”), meandering Sgt. Peppers-inspired distortion feasts (“It Will Never Be”), and of course blistering psychedelic romps (“She Relief”).

The Family Perfume volume is designed to stimulate, to thread a sense of awe and desire. Timothy Presley, the driving force behind White Fence, basically caught fire, found a window into his tortured, explosive retro soul and bared it all. 

The sound collages, the cordial melodies, and most of all the liquid mosaic production value. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it, but now that I have done my research for Here We Go Magic’s latest opus, A Different Ship, I couldn’t believe it didn’t come to me sooner.

Nigel Godrich. Producer. Radiohead. Do you see where we’re going here? There probably isn’t a pair of artist more perfectly suited to share the same recording studio. Luke Temple’s sonic pop creations have been thriving for years in a loose blend of lo fi production and studio trickery. He’s been one of the most underrated songwriters of the last decade, quietly exploring his own psychedelic pop wonderland. Thankfully, Godrich’s palette has only served to enrich A Different Ship in a complex glow of ultraviolet pleasure and pain. 

2011 was epic for the Disappears. Guider solidified their status as one of the most important noise rock machines in all the land, buoyed by their fuzzy 15 minute mind blowing groove, “Revisiting.” Although they haven’t dialed back the crushing psychedelic riffs of fury, Pre Language on the other hand trends much tighter overall. Their songwriting is starting to open up, melodies are being peeled back with sharp, spiraling guitar signatures, and the group’s percussion is moving in explosive directions. Disappears just released the album to top in this still very early 2012 contest!

For such a tiny island nation, New Zealand sure made the most of their insular music and art scenes in the late 80s / early 90s. In this case, the 1992 debut (Hellzapoppin) from the 3Ds was yet another triumphant statement full of blustery feedback (Pavement), unconventional signatures (Pixies), and power pop bliss (the Clean). Hellzapoppin sounds pretty damn fresh for turning 20 years old this year. 

Flying beneath the blogosphere radar for much of 2011, Carter Tanton’s debut album Freeclouds is an earthy, Americana style similar to M. Ward but with a smattering of keyboards and sonic explorations. His melodies and crisp lyrical imagery balance nicely between the album’s spattering of power chords (“Horrorscope”) and delicate sonnets (“In Knots”). Freeclouds is an album that lingers long after the songs have moved on.

It doesn’t bother me that Ringo Deathstarr may have just taped over their favorite My Bloody Valentine records in the making of this album because their 2011 release, Colour Trip, also defines their own unique perch from the noise-rock ledge. Songs like “Two Girls” or “Never Drive” blend a sweet melding of male/female vocals with twisted, metallic shoegaze. It’s not really Dublin circa 1987, it’s Austin (TX) 2011. And I think the album does a good job reflecting that fact.