Coming November 1 : Voice Imitator – ‘Of How Hits’ (12XU 161-1_)

Voice Imitator – “Of How Hits’ (12XU 161-1)

In attempting to write this dispatch on the second Voice Imitator album my instinct is to pitch them as somewhat of an antidote to the current ills of what could be described as the post-Noise Rock landscape. I’m trying not to tread too far down the path of negativity and slander, so let’s just say that while on paper they share basic characteristics with popular groups in the pigfuck to frat rock pipeline, Voice Imitator possess a tact and vision scantly seen in Repetition Orientated Rock.

(Directed by Xavier Irvine
Produced bu Voice Imitator and Xavier Irvine)

On ‘Of How Hits’ the members decades long individual and collaborative experiences in punk/rock, the avant-garde and electronic music, are further honed to form an internal logic that doesn’t merely cut and paste from these experiences, but creates a distinctive and singular group sensibility. Self conscious subcultural baggage is removed from past youth music experiences, only the molten core remains.

With each listen the distinction between traditional band and synthesized modes becomes harder to distinguish, like a zoomed in Killing Joke welding itself to Robert Hood’s technominimalism. Lyrics reflect the surreal banailty and horrors of modern existence, like a co-worker recapping their interstate trip away to the Banksy exhibition. The album ender, ‘On Cloud Nine As One Of Three Percent’ can only be compared to Lou Reed and Metallica’s ‘Junior Dad’. In short, affecting contemporary music. – Nic Warnock (Repressed Records / R.I.P Society
Records)

preorder :

https://voiceimitator12xu.bandcamp.com/album/of-how-hits

http://12xu.bigcartel.com/product/voice-imitator-of-how-hits-lp-12xu-161-1

Coming October 25 : Mope Grooves – ‘Box Of Dark Roses’

Through the fog of our grief in the wake of the earth-shattering loss of our beloved angel Stevie, on this day which would have been her 35th birthday, we announce the release of Mope Groove’s final album; Box of Dark Roses. A 27 song, 2XLP of songs that Stevie prepared for release before she left. In addition to the music, Stevie provided extensive liner notes to accompany the album. These are included with the album in the form of a zine, or as a digital PDF, respectively. 
 
“If i’m ever hard to get a hold of u can find my whole heart in here.”
-Stevie (from her liner notes)
 
Rest in peace sweet angel. We love you forever. 

Stevie provided the following statement on the album before her departure: 
 
“all artist profits and digital proceeds will be redistributed in perpetuity to incarcerated or formerly incarcerated survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence, especially the many women and other gender marginalized ppl incarcerated for defending themselves against their attackers. funds will be allocated to the Survived and Punished NY Mutual Aid Fund, a comparable organization, or directly into commissary funds or fundraisers of incarcerated survivors.
 
“box of dark roses is a 27 song LP where the same images repeat and repeat until you might have some idea of what roses have to do with armed struggle, trans autonomy, losing your house (again), angels, women political prisoners, violence returned to sender, suicided poets, refusing to recant, insisting on life, & how the revenge of twenty billion screaming ghost women could unmake the worst of all possible worlds”

liner notes, lyrics, credits : https://12xu.net/mope-grooves-box-of-dark-roses/

FOR UK/EU orders: https://night-school.bandcamp.com

(preorder from Bandcamp)

(preorder from 12XU)

performance by stevie (lowercase, no last name, she/her), cap (lowercase, no last name, they/them), Lee Butterfield (they/them), Penny Olives (she/her), Elias Williamson (they/them), Izzy Dupuis, Ana Díaz Sacco (she/they), Clinton O’Brien, Evan Mersky, Ana María Rodríguez (she/her), Ray Aggs (they/them), & Kyle Raquipiso

mastered by Carl Saff

pressed in Chicago by Smashed Plastic

Coming May 3 : WInged Wheel – ‘Big Hotel’ (12XU 160-1)

‘Big Hotel’, the sophomore effort of Winged Wheel, is an evolutionary document. Core members Cory Plump (Spray Paint, Rider/Horse, Expensive Shit), Fred Thomas (Tyvek, Idle Ray), Whitney Johnson (Matchess, Damiana), and Matthew J Rolin (Powers/Rolin Duo, solo) expand their lineup to include Lonnie Slack (Water Damage) and Steve Shelley (Sonic Youth), and instead of the entirely remote method utilized to create their 2022 debut No Island, the far-flung party convened in person in Kingston, NY for a long weekend of live studio recording.

The results are undeniably compelling. The band’s signature cyclonic energy is simultaneously augmented and refined with the approach of real-time collaboration. After tracking three days’ worth of group improvisations, weirdly-born songs, and other spontaneous creations, the hours of material were edited with a similar intensity. Half-hour jams became three-minute ragers and fragments were looped into infinity, calling on the same spliced aesthetic as some of the most adventurous material by Can, Faust, or more recently the experimental production of the International Anthem camp. The stereo field has been torn apart and sewn together again, rerouted with strange and mesmerizing left turns. Vignettes of ambiguous construction, both tightly coiled and exploding, revolve around themselves, gathering intensity and mass, coalescing into something greater than the sum of its parts.

“Demonstrably False” swells into existence like a motorik tidepool, tossing fauna onto the shoreline where it sprouts legs with a steady gait lying readily in wait within them. The controlled frenzy of “Sleeptraining” marks a determined dash to a patch of reeds that are given form by the propulsive and minimal “Clean Blue Shelf,” where lush terror and the balm of shelter seem equally likely to dwell. “Grief in the Garden” describes itself like the eventual, fleeting triumph of eyeing the sun as it rises to declare the end of a starless night.

“Smudged Textile” seems another gesture from the sun, where it begins its work of burning swaths of cloud away to uncover the stark and perfect sky; it is around here that the sensation of flight becomes all but irresistible. The aerial coolness of “Aren’t They All” maintains a reassuring pace much more like a heartbeat than a flapping of wings, which flows naturally into “Soft Hands,” a piece that widens and ultimately splits the perception, somehow evoking an even, landbound march even as it continues to narrate that endless, gliding flight. “Short Acting” is blissfully ambiguous in its suggestion, managing to hint at the vault of heaven before descending unhurriedly but inevitably back to earth. “From Here on Out Nothing Changes” completes the vast arc, teeming as it is with the wild and singular energy of conscious life.

Where No Island was born out of distance and murk, these songs breathe and erupt in close quarters. Though the band isn’t necessarily concerned with finding new levels of clarity, there’s a newfound power in the steady drive of Shelley’s unmistakable rhythmic style, and the unexpected interplay that builds on this foundation. Big Hotel is the sound of what happens in the rare and intriguing moments when Winged Wheel are all in the same room.

-Jen Powers, March 2024

order LP/DL from Bandcamp
order LP from 12XU

Coming April 12 : Water Damage – ‘In E’ 2XLP

Water Damage – ‘In E’ 2XLP (12XU 157-1_
out April 12, 2024

preorder from Bandcamp
preorder from 12XU

Volume, repetition, volume, repetition, volume and repetition, this is the sonic mantra of Austin, Texas’s Water Damage. On their new record “In E”, Water Damage continues to scorch the earth with walls of punishing sound. It’s no secret that something truly special can happen to the psyche when you are being pummelled with trance inducing drones, you can transcend time, you might laugh, you might cry but hopefully you look inward, letting a calm wash over you with metric tons of distortion. Water Damage are the rare “rock” band that follow in the lineage of artists like Faust, Tony Conrad, Steve Reich and Pärson Sound, one that creates such heavy yet minimalistic audio treasures that not only hit you viscerally but also give space to contemplate on your place in the cosmos. Their longest offering yet, Water Damage hits you with 4 side long tracks of krautpunk ending with a cover of “Ladybird” by Shit & Shine featuring Craig Clouse himself on vocals. Drone until you hear god speak.

– Joe Trainor, Dummy

Engineered by Max Deems at Diseased Tapes Billion Dollar Studio. Mixed by Travis Austin. Mastered and lacquers cut by Carl Saff at Saff Mastering. Art and design by Greg Piwonka.

“Ladybird” written by Shit & Shine.

Water Damage is Mari Maurice, Thor Harris, Jonathan Horne, Nate Cross, George Dishner, Travis Austin, Mike Kanin, Greg Piwonka, Jeff Piwonka and Lonnie “Palmtree” Slack.

Coming March 8 : Love Child – ‘Never Meant To Be : 1988-1993’ 2XLP

photos by Michael Galinsky

Love Child – ‘Never Meant To Be : 1988-1993’ 2XLP (12XU 136-1)
out March 8

preorder from Bandcamp
preorder from 12XU

At the very dawn of the 90s, Love Child’s debut 7” made a splash on the burgeoning scene of shambolic bands and lo-fi recordings. Back then, they were mentioned in the same breath as Pavement, Sebadoh, or Beat Happening. But Love Child’s two great albums and sparkling singles have become the stuff of record collectors, unavailable vis streaming and out of print, until now. Never Meant to Be: 1988-1993 pulls from these releases and some unreleased radio sessions, unearthing a trove of lost gems by a band that could be the best of all of the 90s buried treasures.

Culled from their smashing debut 7-inch, their two full-length albums, another great single and some unreleased radio sets (including a Peel Session), ‘Never Meant To Be’ has catchy hooks, gritty noise, sneakily-deft playing, brainy but blunt lyrics, and lots of other awesome stuff. Love Child were part of lo-fi’s beginnings, but also had the NYC pedigree to absorb predecessors like the Velvet Underground, the Voidoids and Teenage Jesus and the Jerks. (Their swirl of brightness, brains, and brawn led Byron Coley to liken them to a fantasy VU made up of Moe Tucker, Doug Yule, and Angus MacLise).

Will Baum started Love Child while a student at Vassar College, bringing on classmates Rebecca Odes and Alan Licht. At first, Baum wrote the majority of the songs, bringing a Modern Lovers-like garage-pop attack to the band’s 19-song whirlwind debut album Okay? (Homestead, 1991) But Odes and Licht contributed songs as well, each with a distinct sonic fingerprint (One fan, Kurt Cobain, allegedly predicted Love Child would become the Fleetwood Mac of the 90’s).

All three members were happy to trade roles and instruments from song to song, but they also had some specific chops. Licht was a bit of a guitar prodigy, having taught himself how to tap like Eddie Van Halen, but versed enough in punk to know simplicity could be just as powerful. Odes’ bellowing bass was equally prominent, and her vocals could veer quickly from sweet to snarling, like Kim Deal or Georgia Hubley with a jagged edge. Take “Asking for It” (taken here from a 1992 Peel Session), whose righteous slam makes it a proto-riot-grrrl anthem.

Not long after Okay?, Baum left, replaced by drummer Brendan O’Malley. Love Child’s sound evolved too, toward a dronier zone not far from the bubbling haze of then-nascent shoegazers like My Bloody Valentine and Slowdive. On their next album Witchcraft (Homestead, 1992), smart hooks stretched into deeper ruminations, without any loss of brashness. “Stumbling Block” turned a riff into a minimalist mantra, while “Wait and See” took two melodies–one sung by Licht, one by Odes–and weaved them into the band’s most hypnotic moment on record.

Love Child didn’t last long past ‘Witchcraft’, though it’s not 100% sure that they’re fully done (Alan and Rebecca have been rumored to be playing together again). But until that comeback emerges, ‘Never Meant To Be’ should satisfy fans and newcomers for a long time.
– Marc Masters

Coming January 12 : Gerycz Powers Rolin – ‘Activator’

 

Gerycz Powers Rolin – ‘Activator’ LP (12XU 152-1)

order from Bandcamp
order from 12XU

‘Activator’ is the third installment from the trio of Jayson Gerycz, Jen Powers and Matthew Rolin, who respectively need no introduction writ-large. For anyone observing the American underground in the last decade, whether live, on tour or across various listening formats, these names are attached to the crucial goings-on propelling the Rust Belt and beyond.

Here we find the trio expand their collaborative vernacular across two sides of vinyl starting with the steady strumming of “Entrance”, a paradox of pensive riffing and anxious percussion where Gerycz and Powers meld into a nebulous cluster of shapeshifting staccato and phantom rhythms. Tracks like “Sun Rays” and “Ivory” walk a tightrope between structured songcraft with chord patterns and concise riffs held together by steady cadence, ranging from hand bells to the bombastic, full-kit eruptions Gerycz has perfected over many years. As each piece ascends and unfurls, Powers provides a gentle tessellating from her dulcimer, with each strike landing like raindrops upon shallow puddles. The title track “Activator” displays the full range and might of the trio, highlighting and merging the many facets and abilities each individual brings to the table, forming the singular identity that has made the project so beloved. Starting with slow dulcimer swells, watery bells, and mellow, motorik electric guitar, the track slowly tangles up its own elements and tumbles itself with grace and patient beauty while ascending to an ecstatic explosion of distortion and thunderous drumming before dissolving into an iridescent singing bowl meditation.

“Activator” leaves it all on the table, displaying a perpetual metamorphosis of different modes from improv to song structure, a display of seemingly endless possibilities executed with a nimble prowess that comes from time spent in close collaboration. Over 40+ minutes of transcendent music the trio employs these multitudes of music making approaches while remaining cohesive and articulate, beautiful and mysterious – a rare talent for the artists and a gift for the listener.

– John Elliott

Lewsberg – North American Tour, New Single & New Album

photo by Tommy Ventevog

LEWSBERG will be touring North America for the first time this Autumn, with a 25 show run kicking off September 20 at Brooklyn’s Union Pool. The band’s first-ever trip to these shores includes a September 30 Memphis appearance at the 20th edition of Goner Fest. Full dates below.

Said tour is preceded by Tuesday’s release of early mixes of 2 new Lewsberg songs, “Without A Doubt” and “Communion”, both of which will included on the band’s forthcoming 4th album, ‘Out & About’,  coming this September.

In addition, Lewsberg’s self-titled debut album from 2018 is being reissued in the U.S. by 12XU this July

Lewsberg North American Tour  2023

9/20 – Brooklyn NY, Union Pool w/ Ava Mendoza, Donna Allen
9/21 – Kingston NY, Tubby’s w/ Rider/Horse
9/22 – Philadelphia, Jerry’s on Front w/ Cartoon
9/23 – Wash., DC, Quarry House
9/24 – Chapel Hill, The Cave w/ Three Body Problem
9/26 – Atlanta, The Earl w/ Dippers, Arbor Labor Union
9/27 – Nashville, Drkmttr w/ Dippers
9/28 – Louisville, The Portal w/ Charm School, Palomina
9/30 – Memphis, Gonerfest 20
10/1 – Jackson MS, End of All Music anniversary party
10/3 – New Orleans, TBA
10/4 – Houston, Echoes
10/5 – Austin, Hotel Vegas w/ Water Damage
10/7 – Lawrence KS, The White Schoolhouse
10/9 – Chicago, Sleeping Village w/ CB Radio Gorgeous
10/11 – Indianapolis, State Street Pub w/ Craig Bell & the Dead Man’s Handle, Living Dream
10/12 – Columbus, Cafe Bourbon St. w/ Unholy Two
10/13 – Detroit, Outer Limits Lounge
10/14 – Cleveland, Beachland w/ Obnox, Wrong Places
10/16 – Rochester NY, Lux Lounge w/ Nod
10/17 – Toronto, Tranzac
10/19 – Montreal, Casa del Popolo w/ Chris Forsyth, Helene Barbier
10/20 – Cambridge MA, Middle East Cafe w/ Chris Brokaw, Minibeast
10/21 – TBA
10/22 – Asbury Park NJ, Bond Street Basement

Coming July 14 : Lewsberg – ‘s/t’

On July 14, we’ll be issuing the first US pressing of Lewsberg’s 2018 self-titled debut LP.  You can preorder via Bandcamp or from the 12XU mail order dept.

Recorded at Schenk Studio during the summer of 2017, one or two overdubs at the band’s rehearsal space in Delfshaven.

Produced and mixed by Jan Schenk and Lewsberg.

Mastered by Mikey Young.  Lacquers by Carl Saff, US Pressing at Smashed Plastic, Chicago

Coming June 2 : Weak Signal – ‘War&War’

Weak Signal – ‘War&War’ LP (12XU 148-1)

“Consolation” video – directed by Tran, starring Paul Major

first vinyl edition of NYC trio Weak Signal’s 3rd album, 2022’s ‘War&War’, originally issued digitally by Colonel Records.

“crazily focused & powerful” – Jennifer Kelly, Dusted

“a slyly incendiary collection wracked with rippling tension” – Raven Sings The Blues

“a mesmerizingly morose journey, yet a scenic one too. Just don’t whack it on the turntable when you’re feeling at your most fragile.” – JR Moores, The Quietus

Weak Signal is Sasha Vine, Tran and Mike Bones.

Ryan Sawyer plays additional percussion throughout.
Sarim Al-Rawi plays additional guitar throughout.
Cass McCombs plays guitar on Spooky Feeling.

Produced and Mixed by Jonathan Kreinik at Vitos Fall 2020 and Union Pool Spring 2021
Mastering and lacquers by Carl Saff

‘War And War’ is a novel by László Krasznahorkai