Red Kross “Candy Coloured Catastrophe”
I’ve been doing this blog, solo dolo and twice a week, for almost a year and a half now, and every post falls short of where I would like it to be. I’m always finding something I need to fix upon re-reading later in the day, which never fails to cause some amount of inner turmoil, which is stupid. I just want to make a good music blog for all you nice people. You should read that last sentence in the voice of a toddler. Anyway, it’s always good to hear new music from Red Kross, who are actual Los Angeles rock and roll legends, for real—seriously.
Overloaded Bronx business, built on a Sexyy Red flip. I like how the kick works with Miyaa V’s chaotic cadences; those double time moments make me want to get out of my seat and start doing high knee exercises. It's been a month with no Dunking Donuts; maybe that's a new record for me. I’m trying to get my cholesterol down.
Bladee (Feat. Yung Sherman) “YUNG SHERMAN”
I’m not a Drainer, but I guess I’m not not a Drainer, either. I often end up toggling through Bladee records in an attempt to find the song that really sticks with me. Now that the smoke has cleared on his newest one, I can say with authority that my 2024 Drain draft pick is “YUNG SHERMAN.” When the digi-sauteed beat filters down and re-emerges as a piano ballad, that’s a beautiful moment. And the lyrics? “GTB sliding in a Hellcat bumping From First to Last / When I die they're gonna make a park bench saying: This where he sat." That’s a bar. “Me and Yung Sherman going rehab, this shit is very sad / Me and Yung Sherm in Venice Beach, man, this shit is very rad.” Another bar.
Listen up, rockers: The new one from Tokyo hardcore lifers Kriegshög will turn you and your friends into an animated gif of Beavis and Butt-Head banging their heads. “P.S.M.” kicks off with some of the nastiest distorted bass I have heard in a minute, and it doesn’t get any nicer from there. The song is two minutes of mid-velocity punk, executed at a graduate level.
Charles Gayle/Milford Graves/William Parker “Webo C3”
Taken off of a forthcoming triple LP of previously-unreleased material, here is something from a 1991 session by three masters of the free form. It’s American Energy Music, building into a frenzy. The ideal textures for my slushy brain at night—I recommend pairing it with a lava lamp and a soft seltzer.
MIX OF THE WEEK: The Exhibition Hour w/ Dazegxd, 26th April 2024
Mix of the week? Dazegxd's hour of high-energy madness on NTS might be the mix of the month, maybe even the mix of the season. Who knows. Here, the New York DJ and producer works in and out of good jungle, both new and old. In between, he touches on everything from juke to club to Tony Seltzer. You don’t have to know much about niche dance music to enjoy this thing. Just bask in the glory of the chopped-up Amen!