Birds and brains

by JOHNSON CUMMINS

There’s been a rash of local releases stacking up on my desk lately, so in the name of spring cleaning, let me hip you to these home-baked discs. Hitting shelves this week is the Brains’ Hell N’ Back, a barnstormer that perfectly mixes psychobilly with meat ’n’ potatoes punk rock, sporting two members of hardcore heroes Vulgar Deli. René Garcia turns up the Gretsch twang and raunch, while Johnny Montreal’s tub-thumping bass keep things on track. Twenty-five songs, with a central theme of zombies looking for brains, might’ve been overreaching a bit, but even psychobilly legends Nekromantix could take some notes here. These greaseball delinquents launch this puppy on May 1 at Centre Fractal, so mark your calendars.

I’m being a bit tardy here but somehow, the Chocolat debut slipped through my grubby mitts when it came out a couple of months ago, so better late than never. Chocolat have been kicking up a storm at l’Escogriffe and other not-so-swanky haunts, and this disc hardly disappoints. Production is kept lo-fi as the band stomps through some great ’60s-style nuggets like “Le monde est vert” and “Johnny Depp.” Chocolat’s real power is pounding simplicity, while singer Jimi Hunt’s Hasil Adkins squeal adds further dementia to the stomp-down. Check out the psyched-out, hypnotic and very Yardbirds/Pretty Things “Gabrielle” for a little slice of near-genius. Extra cool points are thrown in for packaging the thing in a killer gatefold silkscreen cover—take that, downloaders. With only seven songs weighing in at 22 minutes, this will have to do for now, but like any EP worth its salt, you’ll be salivating for a full-length.

I mentioned Menace Ruine’s debut In Vulva Infernum a couple weeks back in this column, but these machine-driven blast beats with glimmers of doomy drone deserve a bit more ink than previously spilt. Although this metal may have been created by synths, things never stoop to cartoonish goth silliness. Rather, they delve deep into the dark, brooding and foreboding. Songs like “Bonded by Wyrd” and “Permanently Liminal” work over the epic minutes, with psychedelic tribal sections merging with the familiar metal-trademark double-kick drum and super-low bass. The earth-shattering dirge at the end of “Omnia in Nihil” is a face-peeler. Admittedly, the keyboard arpeggios can get a bit tiring by the end, but it’s the adventurous arrangement work and occasional plodding, industrial-style wallop that really makes Menace Ruine stick out amid the doom-and-gloom set.

Another long-overdue disc would be Little Birdie’s Cinemtatic Way. In case you didn’t already know, Little Birdie are one of the many bands emerging out of the vibrant Montreal alt-country scene. They’re headed up by chief songwriter Orit Shimoni, a siren singer who merges her songwriting pearls with Barfly stalwarts Lil’ Buck. Shimoni’s velvet croon grabs you by the heartstrings with tales of destitution, drinking and nursing a broken heart, with Lil’ Buck proving to be no slouches as the support group. Guitarist Mark Goodwin deserves an extra mention here for delivering a stellar production job. If you are currently getting hip to the burgeoning country scene happening around town, don’t let these guys fall through the cracks.

Currently flipping out on Sunn O)))/Boris’s Altar… Jonathan.cummins@gmail.com