DJ Scotch Egg- Drumized

Ever played Gameboy on an acid trip? You might get the same effect if you listen to Japan’s DJ Scotch Egg. One of the forefront DJs to popularize the bastard wedding of chiptune and breakcore, DJ Scotch Egg (who was convinced by popular breakcore artist Shitmat to start making gabber tracks with his Gameboy) has been fucking up eardrums since 2003 (although he has been a part of several noise projects predating the DJ Scotch Egg moniker). He has recently signed to Lightning Bolt’s Load Records.

Drumized is DJ Scotch Egg at his craziest. Bombs blast; beeps and boops pound in a violent fuck fest. Demented circus tunes explode into maniacal screams. Lazer beam beats spiral to their death. This is the soundtrack to the most fucked up Gameboy Game you’ve never played. Broken shards of Super Mario Bros., Barnum and Bailey’s circus, jazz, and Beethoven can be heard behind a rage of 8-bit bullets. Strangely poppy, incessantly warped.

DJ Scotch Egg myspace

Victims- Killer

The Swedes are coming, the Swede’s are coming! Goddamn right they are. Victims are Sweeden’s finest in crusty, sweaty, motherfucking punk rock mayhem. Their 4^th album, Killer, lives up to its name in every sense of the word. Try to make it out alive, you’ve got twenty three minutes to run like hell.

This is d-beat rock’n’roll that’s as tight as a virgin’s you know what. But get ready to get fucked. Hearkening back to classic bands like Tragedy and His Hero Is Gone, Victims don’t mess around. This is more melodic than some of their previous releases, but equally as punishing. Living proof that everyone’s favorite neutral country can be as pissed as the rest of the world.

Victims myspace

Beck- Modern Guilt

Beck is god. He can do no wrong. His fourth album in six years stands the test of his creativity by sounding completely different from anything he has put out. His first four albums were sub-par demos of goofy folk to say the least. Mellow Gold was slacker- friendly weirdness; while Odelay was a fucking brilliant display of songwriting/production (the Dust Brother’s at their best). Mutations was somber folk, country, and blues, while Midnight Vultures was tongue-in-cheek “Purple Rain”-esque, shake your ghetto ass sex dance. Beck went all emotional on us with his powerfully personal Sea Change; then went back to his roots with Guero, bringing back the Dust Brothers and his funky ass ways. The Information, recorded essentially at the same time as Guero (but came out a year later), was a brilliant oeuvre combining elements of everything he has ever done.

Two years later Beck is back, and does not disappoint. Teaming up with production extraordinaire Danger Mouse, Modern Guilt is a chilled-out album chock-full of folk, 1960s pop (the title track sounds like a modern day Turtles single), Nintendo beeps and boops, orchestral ambience, dirty bass lines, and airy guest vocals by Cat Power.

Danger Mouse shines, contributing a very vintage sound that doesn’t overpower Beck’s breathy voice. This is a very short album with no b-sides showing up at this time, leaving you wanting more of that Dangerbeck sound.

Beck myspace

One Day as a Lion- One Day as a Lion

This EP is long overdue. It’s been 8 years since Zach de la Rocha left Rage Against the Machine. Audioslave didn’t do it for me. Rumors of a de la Rocha solo album have been circulating for years. He scrapped a project with DJ Shadow, Company Flow, and ?uestlove to record an album with Trent Reznor that never saw the day of light (sans one track released on the internet in 2004). What the hell has this man been doing all these years? Well, finally the word is out, and this release has kind of been lurking in the shadows. There hasn’t been a lot of press preceding its release; it just kind of popped up one day. Regardless, it’s finally here.

One Day as a Lion (the name taken from a black and white graffiti photograph taken by Chicano photographer George Rodriguez in 1970) consists of de la Rocha rapping and playing keyboards, and none other than former Mars Volta drummer Jon Theodore on the skins. The results are a sound that combines the political spitting of Rage and the psychedelic leanings of the Mars Volta, with a bit of a rasta undertone. There are some really sick electronics here and de la Rocha flows like he was always born to do. Tight fucking drumming and great production here by the always fly Mario C. (of Beastie Boys fame). This is the dopest shit I’ve heard this year besides the new Immortal Technique joint.

A very pleasant surprise. But it just makes me long for a new Rage album that much more. Hey, anything’s possible.

One Day as a Lion myspace