March 30, 2013

Today's Hotness: Mincer Ray, Tyrannosaurus Dead

Mincer Ray -- A Magnate's Reach (detail)

>> With an appreciable Teutonic precision (which is sort of funny since none of its members is actually German), Berlin-based Mincer Ray return this month with a new EP titled A Magnate's Reach. We first turned onto the clearly GBV-influenced trio in March 2012, when it issued via Bandcamp the shifty long-player Ray Mincer, featuring the blistering anthem "A Burning Plane." A Magnate's Reach is a more concise five-song slate of tunes evidencing Mincer Ray's continued embrace of punchy, scritchy indie rock. Opener "Franki Jo" is a determined, melodic strummer indebted as much to The Kinks and the Davies brothers’ hip-shaking sounds as it is to the aforementioned Guided By Voices. Ballad "(Ever) The Optimistic Architect II" operates under an appropriately Pollardian title and gradually builds steam across syncopated quarter notes before hitting a wall after 125 seconds. Assuredly, fans of Dayton's finest will find a lot to like on this EP, and if we have a gripe at all it is that the Berliners don't expectorate music at anything approaching the ludicrous pace that Bob Pollard somehow magically maintains. A Magnate's Reach carries an official release date of May 31, although you needn't wait what amounts to months to hear it: it is available at Bandcamp as a name-your-price download right now, and you can hit the stream via our handy embed below. There will be a proper release show May 31, according to Mincer Ray's web dojo, and lucky fans able to make the gig will apparently be able to buy the EP on 180 gram vinyl. Until now, use your ears to process the ones and zeroes below.



>> London's Odd Box Records this week sent over word of some new releases in its pipeline, and we find ourselves streaming over and over two tunes from recent signing Tyrannosaurus Dead. The Brighton, England-based five-piece's "Soft" and "Sadie," from the forthcoming Pure // Apart EP, each present breakneck tempos and guitar-forward arrangements that show the act incorporating into its melodic, fuzz-filled sound the raw power of Boyracer and affecting sentiment -- as evidenced by certain of singers Billy Lowe and Eleanor Rudge's phrasing that forlornly dangles into space at times -- of Belle And Sebastian. Pure // Apart was recorded in London in late 2012 with Rory Attwell, whose name we’ve mentioned previously as the man behind the boards for acts including Big Deal, Veronica Falls and Yuck. Odd Box releases Pure // Apart May 6, but you can already stream the aforementioned noise-pop gems via Bandcamp. The six-song EP is being pressed in a limited edition of 250 vinyl 12" records, and pre-orders are already being taken, also at Bandcamp. Tyrannosaurus Dead previously released two excellent EPs (one eponymous, the other titled Lemonade) and a song on a split cassette, all of which are available via the quintet’s very own Bandcamp right here. But for starters we recommend to your attention "Soft" and "Sadie," which we've embedded below.



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