Hacksaw

Swiz were a great band right? Too ruddy right! What do you mean you've never heard them? Well get on the case forthwith. You can download their first demo free of charge from the Jade Tree Records website.

When you've finished doing that come back and download this album by a band called Hacksaw - well probably one of the million bands called Hacksaw. This particular Hacksaw come from Toronto and kick out the jams in a similar style to the aforementioned Swiz. Well that's what I thought but listening to this CD again it doesn't actually sound a great deal like Swiz, they actually sound a lot more similar to the band Bluetip. Who incidently feature Swiz guitarist Jason Farrell, so my initial appraisal wasn't completely off the mark.

This album contains 10 tracks, and from the liner notes it would appear the first 6 were released in 1999 and the final 4 released in 1997 so you could say it is a compilation of sorts. The final 4 songs do sound like Swiz - A LOT! Needless to say these are the standouts on the album, the first 6 being a bit more mid paced and not half as exciting. So my advice to you would be to download the album, skip to track 7 and go back to the beginning when you've had enough of having your ears abused.

Hacksaw (SpectraSonicSound 2000)

1. Kiss the ground
2. L'arme fatale
3. Dirty clothes
4. On the road to crime
5. Got paid
6. Welcome to Deseronto
7. Kick it
8. Lied to myself
9. Without living
10. A million times

http://rapidshare.com/files/189881540/Hacksaw.zip.html

Cheap Girls - Find Me A Drink Home

If someone told me this record was released 10 or 15 years ago I'd have no problem whatsoever believing them. This is total mid 90s style pop punk that bears more than a passing resemblance to Smoking Popes. Which I am completely and utterly in favour of by the way.

Seeing as it seems to be the in-thing to play music that sounds like it was released by Lookout in 1993, it would be criminal if these guys didn't get the attention they deserve. Far be it from me to be the arbiter of taste these days though - I am more than happy drinking in posh bars and listening to M83 records rather than spending my hard earned dough on Maximum Rock And Roll and whatever record's flavour of the month with the 'kids' this week.

Their record is available for download free of charge from their label's website - and if you like it you are urged to give a bit of a donation or maybe buy the vinyl. Or give them a bit of praise on a two bit blog. I am a cheap bastard so I have done none of the above.

Cheap Girls - Fine Me A Drink Home (Quote Unquote Records 2008)

1. Kind of on Purpose
2. No One To Blame
3. 27 Days
4. Stop Now
5. Stay High (Magic)
6. A Lesser Rate
7. Parking Lot
8. I Should Never
9. Kill Your Mood
10. Her and Cigarettes
11. Through To Me

http://quoteunquoterecords.com/qur018.htm

Sloan - Amped mp3

Sloan are hardly an obscure band but they are definitely one that don't get half the credit they deserve. When they first signed to Geffen in the midst of the post Nirvana boom they got a pretty big push in the UK. The 'Underwhelmed' single was all over the place and selling for 99p a pop. I'd never heard of them but a 12" for 99p with a bunch of long hairs in flannel shirts on Geffen can't be half bad right?

The title track was the one that instantly caught my attention - a catchy pop song with a bit of grunge fuzz added to it and a pretty moronic set of lyrics. I went out the next week and bought it's accompanying album 'Smeared' and even their next single 'I Am The Cancer' (which is a gem of a tune), also retailing at that pocket money enticing 99p price point.

After that, the fuss died down and it seemed that Sloan records were no longer worth shipping over to the UK. Geffen promptly dropped them when they failed to 'break big' and Sloan went onto better things, well artistically anyway, they sell practically zero records outside of their native Canada.

I don't very often dig out 12" records - I'm a busy man I've better things to do than flip a record over after 5 minutes - but for some reason a few years ago I dug out 'Underwhelmed' and realised that Sloan had only gone and buried one of their best songs on the B-Side. 'Amped' is a 3 minute blast of pop-punk that gives even Lemonheads a run for their money in the summertime indie rock anthem stakes.

Sloan - Amped mp3

http://www.mediafire.com/?dnyyx2tmgjq

Love Cup

I know next to nothing about Love Cup - and to be quite honest, after 15 years of listening to them, I don't really think it matters anymore, they were just some smalltime band from Illinois who made some great music that hardly anybody listened to. That's all there is to it. However I always prefer it when a blog entry has a bit of blurb on it so I will ramble on for a couple more paragraphs and then you can get on with it.

I first heard Love Cup on a bargain basement compilation CD called 'Dead End Destiny' put out by Rough Trade in about 1993. It's well worth picking up this comp if you can find it - along with Love Cup it also features stuff like Mule, Cell and Honeymoon Killers. It's a compilation of also-rans basically, but in my experience the also-rans normally always have the best tunes. Love Cup's contribution 'Tearing Water' was most definitely the standout song though - catchy and hook filled, my 15 year old self gave it plenty of airtime.

A couple of years later perusing through the bargain bins of my local record shop (Way Ahead Records in Derby for those who care) I stumbled upon Love Cup's full length CD, it looked pretty shoddy and had a stupid title but for a couple of quid I thought I may as well give it a shot. Aside from the fact that it was distributed by Cargo I am pretty surprised this album managed to make it across the pond and into a provincial record shop in the East Midlands. On 12 Inch Records, which was run by the dude from Poster Children (another unsung band from the mid 90s), 'Greefus, Groink and Sheet' (yes, that really is the title) takes the template from 'Tearing Water' - catchy grunge/indie rock - and adds a bit more of a shoegazery element to the mix. Have a listen for yourself, I've added the album and also the 'Tearing Water' tune from the comp (which it turns out was a 7" record). So start off with that and go from there.

There's a bit more info on 12 Inch Records from the label owner himself here - it features a bit of bumpf about the two Love Cup releases as well.

Love Cup - Tearing Water mp3

http://www.mediafire.com/?zoy51xmgqnw

Love Cup - Greefus, Groinks and Sheet (12 Inch Records 1993)

1. Entirely Made of Wood
2. Billfershort
3. Even When I Sleep
4. Nothing In Particular
5. Hi Pazoo
6. Heroine
7. Beloit
8. Green Machine & Scientifically Yours

http://www.mediafire.com/?dj0v4gggm3n