Defecting Grey "Circuits"
Defecting Grey is the convergence of long-time friends and members of central Jersey punk and power pop bands. CJ and Vince Grogan (The Phantom Five, The Grievous Angels/Gigantic/Buzzed Meg) and Mike Polilli (Buzzkill/Atom Driver) are a trio drawn together by the irresistible, gravitational force of playing music they love. Harnessing the melodic power and virtuosity of bands like Husker Du, The Minutemen, The Jam, and Mission of Burma, since coming together in late 2017, they’ve remained singularly focused on forging songs that are ascatchy as they are visceral.
Over seven years, the band has alternated between recording and serving up one blistering live set after another, all the while honing their mix of power and unmistakable hooks. A year after releasing their Rising Son EP in the summer of 2018, Defecting Grey entered beloved punk laboratory Exeter Studios to record six new songs with a particular focus on capturing the raw feel of their live shows. The resulting Run Silent EP was released on MVC Records in August of 2019 to rave reviews:
“Defecting Grey’s latest collection is a rabbit punch of a record, featuring well-crafted tunes delivered in a tastefully pulverizing manner… Defecting Grey achieves a perfect balance of meaning and malice on this collection from start to finish” -Neuse News
“You can imagine what a live band these three are. “Your Moonlight” ends proceedings and encapsulates all that the band are about. Pace, sweat and real shake your fist stuff, superbly played with an Eddie Clarke type solo. Ladies and Gentlemen, this is rock and you should just embrace it”- I Don’t Hear a Single
And then? Covid. BOO! With playing out and proper recording on ice, the band spent the next two years building on nearly 20 of CJ’s demos, finally returning to Exeter in June of 2021 to record their first long player ‘ARC’ tracking the evolution from a collection of rough sketches to their first fully realized album, released in May’ 22. The reception, was once again, roundly positive:
‘After several EP’s, Defecting Grey has delivered an album of psychedelic garage punk that recalls the similar fusion pioneered by Husker Du (C.J. even sustains his vowels like Bob Mould.) But there’s a lot more going here than mere Husker worship. Vince Grogan plays his bass like a lead guitar, Mike Polilli brings the thunder, “Post Modern Western” veers towards power pop, the 6 minute-plus “The Seven Hunters” emphasizes the band’s psychedelic side’-Jersey Beat
‘Grandiose, very spacious sound, wonderful guitars, enviable songwriting, partly polyphonic vocals with heavenly harmonies”-Ox Fanzine
And now, in late 2024, the boys emerge once again from Exeter with perhaps the truest record of their music to date. The 6-song EP, “Circuits”, released on NJ’s own Fake Chapter Recordsexplodes right out of the gate with the raucous, poppy garage-punk of “Gibraltar”, the first single off the record. Each song that follows shows off Defecting Grey’s deft skill at exploring the sounds and melodies of the music they love most. Whether it’s the driving power-pop of “Flat-Earth Theory” and “Circuits”, the country-tinged “Blind Country”, the super-charged “Backwards Ghost” or the haunting jangle of “Low Status Sound” this is a band showing off just what it’s capable of to glorious effect.
Look out for shows in support of the new EP in late ’24 early ’25.
Sunroof "Electronic Music Improvisations Vol. 3"
Sunroof, aka Daniel Miller & Gareth Jones, release their brand new album, Electronic Music Improvisations Volume 3, via Mute’s Parallel Series. Out on limited edition transparent orange vinyl (limited to 1000 worldwide) and CD formats.
Electronic Music Improvisations Volume 3 is a collection of nine improvised tracks, recorded using the duo’s Eurorack modular systems, and builds upon the self-imposed parameters laid out on their 2021 debut.
Daniel Miller, the Founder and Chairman of Mute, and Gareth Jones, producer and engineer, notable for working with Depeche Mode, Einstürzende Neubauten, Erasure and Yann Tiersen, have been collaborating for four decades. Although neither dwell on their past work, preferring to constantly explore new ways to create, Miller and Mute’s legacy is given a nod on the track “Splendid” which opens with the distinct hiss of cassette over a rhythmic heartbeat before oscillators burst and collide. This track was recorded using the original 4-track TEAC that Miller picked up second hand in the late 70s and recorded The Normal’s “Warm Leatherette” 7” on.
This record follows their debut Electronic Music Improvisations Vol.1 (2021) and second album Electronic Music Improvisations Vol.2 (2023), along with their Bandcamp exclusive release Electronic Music Improvisations Live in London and Frankfurt, which captured their live shows at Frankfurt’s Museum of Modern Electronic Music and London’s IKLECTIK.
Papa M "Ballads of Harry Houdini"
The “Great Escape Artist” is back! No, not THAT one – dude’s dead! We’re talking about Papa M. And HE’s talking ‘bout Harry Houdini – in the album title, anyway, not sure about anywhere else. So, six years since his last LP, the all-acoustic A Broke Moon Rises, Papa M rolls into the shred zone, buns glazing, with his fifth full length in 25 years of Papa M-itude! Six fat-assed songs – a couple ballads, yeah, but mostly real all-out groovers here.
The Body "The Crying Out of Things"
The Body have been a leading force of innovation in heavy music for over two decades. The prolific duo of guitarist/vocalist Chip King and Lee Buford (on percussion/electronics) have consistently expanded the scope of what heavy music can be. The Body has produced a wealth of groundbreaking collaborations and benchmark albums that over the past 2 decades have changed the perceptions and directions of heavy music. Known for the monolithic force of their music, and their inventive production techniques, their albums are benchmarks in the expansion and evolution of heavy music. Tightly packed with deceptively nuanced arrangements, exhilarating and challenging distortion, their albums are possessed of an unmistakably singular sound. The Crying Out of Things is no exception, a culmination of all that The Body have done before, highlighting their mastery of dynamic, monumental music that pushes toward the unmistakable sound of oblivion.
From the band’s origins, incorporating unorthodox methods to achieve an oppressive atmosphere has been essential to their alchemy. Full choirs, unexpected sound samples, 70s-inspired horn lines, dub drum beats and diverse guest performances have speckled their varied and eclectic repertoire, the common thread being a complex webs of distortion and noise. The Crying Out of Things harnesses elements from their ground breaking catalog: the expansive ecstatic distortion and live energy of I’ve Seen All I Need To See, the ambitious layering and arrangements on I Have Fought Against It, But I Can’t Any Longer, and the corroded pop edge of No One Deserves Happiness into one compact work. Guest performances include vocalist Ben Eberle, horn player Dan Blacksburg, and recent collaborator Felicia Chen add essential textural range. The Crying Out Of Things makes clear The Body’s distinct power to convey a dark range of emotions, thought inventive arrangements, dynamics, and sound selections.