SUMMER TAPES

Skeleton Warriors "LUVSIC" cassette (SAFG)
Okay so Skeleton Warriors are like Front 242 and all that Belgian shit plus some of the bubbling homemade synth charm of proto-NRG Patrick Cowley recordings, with a post-Rap appreciation for Roland drum machines. Dramatic and over-the-top vocal performances draw lyrical inspiration from topics like dating the elderly and theme songs about children of the porno generation. After all, they ARE from Florida, a weird nexus where scenes as diverse as Death Metal, Industrial, Pop Punk and Miami Bass have all thrived. The drive to write anthems that all of those art forms share is apparent when all of these weird elements start mixing. I definitely give these dudes props for trying to carve out their own little world of sound in between the cracks of so many oddly complimentary influences. Would love to hear these dudes do something super pop and "sell-out" like a remix 12" or a Scott Storch collabo.

Jimmy Sanchez and his Crystal Balls cassette (SAFG)
Jimmy from Skeleton Warriors gave me his solo tape last time they were in town. It's toned down a notch from Skeleton Warriors super tornado of sequencing, sparser and stripped of much of the sonic chaos. It lets the weirdness creep out a little slower. I like this tape, it's chill and gurgley.

Viking Fuck "Virgins" cassette (self-released)
Met these guys back in April when Possible Fathers and Catacombz visited their home turf of Iowa City. Three piece includes lead singer in cut-off jean shorts, no shirt, drummer with only a tom and cymbal who stands up when he plays, and an organist. We played in their basement where they were practicing earlier in the day when we arrived. Pretty appealing, sweaty, out-of-control... I wanna say synth punk but technically it's organ punk? Anyways, I'm a sucker for a properly executed "96 Tears" cover. Generally somewhere between New York No Wave and San Diego-style Spazz Punk legends like Le Shok and XBXRX, rounded out with a new millennium sense of psychedelia. Put that in your fucking one sheet, assholes. Anyways, grabbed this tape when Big Fun 4ever and Catacombz went to East Moline and played with them at Nitetrotter Fest. Where they proceeded to play another blazing, brief set. Even though I've long been sick of both Viking and Pirate imagery, it's worth overlooking for Viking Fuck.

Was gonna post the Catacombz and BZYBODIES tapes too but I haven't gotten them yet. Same with the iiEYES tour tape.

I've been stocking up on some great singles at basement show merch tables lately:


Tampa, Florida is not fucking around, people. Preaux Breaux Geauxld's "Electric Fingertips" has an early-Hi-NRG-goes-lo-fi vibe with riffs that feel like they're melting into each other. It's addictive and fascinating in a way that every great pop tune should be. Not to be outdone, for their side Skeleton Warrior write a love song to a lethal cleaning product, "Married to Draino" (with Diamond Hymen guesting as the voice of "Draino" [BTW someone put out a Diamond Hymen 7" NOW!]) that bubbles along at frightening crawl and sounds as if it's makers were drinking the product whilst producing this cut. The vinyl is black with white marble wisps, like a fog machine running in a dark room. Which is exactly appropriate for these bands. Pick it up when you see them live, or hit up Cephia's Treat.
Clip of Diamond Hymen from Sunday:


Mutating Meltdown's "Fantasy" single is terrific. Half of Finally Punk plus the dude from Zom Zoms playing organ. An anthem for anyone living in the (underground music) world. "So, so tight/don't fit quite right/circulation cut off/can't speak, can't cough/so hot, can't breath/this heat is suffocating me." Tell me about it. Limited edition third pressing of two hundred copies on sky blue vinyl via M'lady's Records. Full length LP in the works? Their live set featured brief blasts of otherworldly sonics that are only faintly hinted at on this early recording. Hopefully those elements show up intact on the long player once it arrives.


I would imagine this track being prominently featured on the upcoming JEFF The Brotherhood full length "Heavy Days". The theme that connects this disparate collection of singles (besides all of them being available on 7" and limited to 300 copies or under) is that the songs represent the most coherent and streamlined singular statements yet from their respective makers. "Heavy Damage" is practically a mission statement for JEFF, nicely honing all of their psychedelic, grunge and garage tendencies into one concentrated blast. Available from the band's own Infinity Cat label and Crystal Swan Recordings.

C the previous Preaux Breaux Geauxld post for streamings tracks + utube vids and check out our Stagediver post to hear some of his jams.

EDIT: PREAUX BREAUX GEAUXLD HAS DROPPED OFF THE TOUR BUT COME TO THE SHOW STILL BECAUSE SKELETON WARRIOR + DIAMOND HYMEN ARE COMING FROM FLORIDA 2 PLAY.

PRO BRO GOLD came to Milwaukee last October with Lazy Magnet on their Liquid Gold tour. I picked up his tour CDR, which was recorded live in different cities around the country. The recordings had a dull, murky quality, as if they had been ripped to mp3 off of a 20-year-old vhs tape, which really added to the whole creepshow vibe. His live set was much more vibrant, with bright sounding synths and even brighter lights, and the excessive volume coupled with a smoke machine helped to bring the hazy, terrifying quality of the recordings to life in a visceral way. See what I mean:



stream "Club Mix I" from the Liquid Gold Tour CDR @ myspace.com/probrogold

Pro Bro Gold is now going by Preaux Breaux Geauxld and is on tour yet again. He's set to visit Milwaukee on August 23 (edit: @ Eagle's Nest check the Flyer) with Skeleton Warrior (they have a new split 7" out too! on Cephia's Treat) and Diamond Hymen.

Skeleton Warrior "Quivering Anus" (direct link mp3)



buy records by Pro Bro Gold + Skelton Warrior @ CephiasTreat.com