Casper Bangs is the recording project of DC based vocalist and guitarist Rob Pierangeli. Named after the ex-lover that inspired many of the songs, Casper Bangs is a trip through the joys and downers of loving and being loved. The Whitespace 7” and s/t EP are a preview of Casper Bangs’ full-length record, I Woke Up. It was written and performed by Pierangeli at his desktop computer in the midst of relational bliss – it’s a document of a good thing that ultimately goes bad. The songs contain strong unaffected vocals balanced with harmony, layers of noisy guitars, and reverb.
Kurt Vile / Freak Train I love the speed and repetition on this song, the beat, the arpeggiating guitar line, and pulsating bass. And when Vile starts shouting ‘freak train’, it’s somewhere in between Springsteen and Dylan. Make no mistake, these guys bring it live, too.
Before Yeti Lane, there was Cyann and Ben. The four-piece were signed to the legendary Gooom Disques label alongside M83 and between 2004 and 2006 released three albums of fantastic, folk-inflected space-rock that, despite the proselytising of Pitchfork, went woefully under appreciated. Then, just as they started work on album number four, Cyann quit the band, forcing Ben (vocals, guitar, synths), along with LoAc (vocals, guitar, synths) and Charlie (drums, percussion, synths), to make a fresh start as Yeti Lane. The unusual name was chosen to echo releases by both Amon Düül II and The Beatles, which also rather conveniently sums up their new sound.
Pavement / The Hexx A song on their final album, Terror Twilight. I really appreciate the guitar parts and how it repeats in the song. It’s so insistent, until it becomes a maelstrom that carries away the listener. Even the drums accentuate those parts. This is one of the best Pavement songs for me.
Iconic band Beasts Of Bourbon are a part of Australian folklore and have played at every major local festival, from Homebake to the Big Day Out.
Can / Vitamin C Can always manage to be minimalist, and repetitious, hippy and punk, busy and spacious, simultaneously. As always, Damo Suzuki does a great cut snake impression. The bass and drums provide the hooks, leaving guitars and keyboards to provide atmosphere. It sounds absolutely contemporary but was recorded back in the mid-seventies. It sounds free-form, but is too catchy and irresistible to be so.
Crimea X is the coming together of two offbeat, disparate characters, DJ Rocca (Ajello, Super Sonic Lovers, Maffia Sound System) and Jukka Reverberi from 90s Italian glam cult rockers, Giardini di Mirò, who have often have been compared with the sound of Mogwai, Arab Strap, and Godspeed You! Black Emperor.
The Smiths / Ask I saw them playing live on Italian TV. It was during the 80s when I was extremely young, and I’ve never stopped listening to this song.
Salmonella Dub have just released their auspicious seventh studio album, the dynamic Freak Controller, a medley of roots, rock and electronica dance styles. It’s been two years since Salmonella Dub released their last studio album, the platinum selling Heal Me in 2007. In 2008, the band toured with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra and released the live album, Feel the Season Change.
Nick Cave / Stagger Lee I’ve always been a Birthday Party fan, but it wasn’t until Liz, my wife, played me this track that I fully realized the depth of power behind Nick and the amazing thing that the Bad Seeds had morphed into. This is rock and roll orchestration at it most cutting edge. Oh, what a story!
Psychedelic yet direct, raging but tuneful, All the Saints’ debut LP Fire On Corridor X bulldozes preconceptions at volume. Named after a section of the I-22 highway connecting the trio’s native Alabama to Mississippi, the cryptic title track is a hypnotic mind-meld of their primary influences, welding a Loop-sized space-groove to The Gun Club’s lyrical bite.
The Wipers / Youth of America Greg Sage is the man! The use of open space on this track is beautiful. A ten and a half minute punk song that gets put through the Sage psychedelic blender. This the cover of the song by The Humanoids.
The music of Calexico has a subtle warmth to it. It’s intimate and loose, and it conjures up a thousand sandswept memories. Or something like that. They’ve always displayed their influences boldly on their well-worn jean patches, which is what makes frontman Joey Burns’ Secret Playlist such a diverse yet strangely familiar collection of songs.
The Acorn / Crooked Legs Hailing from our northern border, The Acorn have the talent of building melodies that are simple enough to dive into and stay deep in your consciousness long after the music dies. They are from Ottawa, the land of long summer days, and we met at Winnipeg for a rainy day festival. Caked in mud and shielded by thin tarps from the storm, we found this unexpected group’s catchy grooves and songs warming and nurturing. It’s good medicine for campgrounds.
The Panics are a Melbourne-based indie rock band who exploded onto the Australian scene in 2003 with the critically acclaimed album, A House on a Street in a Town I’m From. Since then, the Aria Award winning band have released two more long players, including Sleeps Like a Curse and last year’s ARIA and J Award winning album, Cruel Guards. We got the word on the tunes that make up their Playlist from guitarist Drew Wootton.
Jimi Hendrix / Have You Ever Been I don’t think I’ll ever get out of my Hendrix ‘phase’. I always liked the slower playing stuff though. His humanity seems to come through a lot easier on the ballad-y stuff. I also loathe ballads, so he’s got me good. This song is lush and pretty weird sounding. I love Hendrix because he’s got the innocence and creativity that reminds me of being a little kid, wrapped up in my own daydreams.
My Secret Playlist is a music discovery website and weekly email publication. We invite our favourite bands and musicians to give us the rundown on their eight favourite songs right now. These are their words on the music that inspires them.
