Last year, Olympia’s TFX delivered the opening salvo in the long-overdue big beat revival with Biggest Baddest Beatest. Now, bad tuner throws their hat in the ring with “24 hours,” a track with enough third-tier Chemical Brothers rip-off energy to soundtrack a car commercial in 1999. Do breakdancers appear in that ad? Very possible…
The Heartland’s finest fucked garage project is back with a three-tracker called the Negative EP. Not as good as Life is pain idiot, their 27-song “punk tour de force” from 2021—listen to that whole thing if you haven’t—but still... On a similar tip, I thought the most recent record by Sydney band Tee Vee Repairmann was pretty good.
BIGOBLIN, Chaki Bley “Cuando Me De Pa Ti”
I’ve said it before, and I’ll keep saying it. There is too much music in the world. Case in point: Dominican dembow, a genre I like but do not keep up with. There’s only so much time. Luckily, the neverending avalanche of content that is the Billdifferen Twitter account keeps bonking my dome with new nuggets. That’s where I found this dembow cut, which, in its vocal cadences, sub slides, and drum programming, has some of the most exciting rhythmic energy I have heard in a minute. Frenzied!
A lot to like about Oxtoa’s “Bonnet” beat: the switchy double-time flips, the ravey little stabs. And TiaCorine bars out with the gusto of an unemployed 19-year-old hopped up on Mountain Dew Game Fuel. Alternative Nation: alive and well.
40 years deep into a life of rock, Melvins still got it. On their new song, they work in double drummer mode—Ministry skinsman Roy Mayorga sits in the two spot—and kick out six minutes of sludge that would sound great banging out of a 1993 Toyota Corolla with the speakers a little tweaked. The hazy chant outro will have you seeing double on Manhattan Ave.
MIX OF THE WEEK: Tim Reaper “NTS Radio 1/17/2024”
We got breakbeats on the brain here at John’s Music Blog, so it’s a good time to check-in with London’s finest contemporary junglist: Tim Reaper. His newest NTS show is an hour of new stuff; one standout is Cheetah’s “Gorgan Donette [Dub],” an unreleased ragga Amen chaos flip of “Gorgan Donette” by Princess D & Sister Wingie. Jungle so fire it has Jamie Oliver saying, “Yes, mother!”