Major weekend news and a tip from Gossip Wolf: don’t wag your tail too close to the grill, y’all, lest you singe all your back fur and suffer some fiery depilation!
Back in April this Wolf reported that top-notch local scuzz-rock outfit the English Softhearts—anchored by drummer-singer Marc “Bubblebath” Arcuri and guitarist Rich “Styrofoam” Salamander—would reunite this summer. Now, like a tree full of low hanging garage-rock fruit, that reunion has borne a hearty harvest! Last week the band released free downloads of their entire discography at englishsofthearts.com. That’s the five albums they released before breaking up in 2003 plus the brand-spankin’-new End It—which features catchy oddball numbers like “Victory Chalice” and “Chicago Funk.” We call that shit pro bono! No, not Bono—screw U2. Yay America! The Softhearts hope to self-release a nonfree vinyl version of End It before the year’s out. They’ll make their return to the stage next weekend during Bitchpork, the biggest and smelliest of several local alternatives to the Pitchfork fest. E-mail theenglishsofthearts@gmail.com for details.
Also reuniting at Bitchpork: Warhammer 48K. Before 90s rock became hip (again), they preached the gospel of grunge with their loud-ass lo-fi blowouts. Hailing from Columbia, Missouri, the rock collective is perhaps best known for a band it spawned after breaking up in 2008: former members Cooper Crain and Rex McMurry play in beloved local psych act Cave. Warhammer specialized in extremely loud sets and had some crazy visual displays that featured major amounts of strobe lights and smoke. Be sure to bring your earplugs and sunglasses!
On Tuesday local hardcore trio Harm’s Way dropped their second full-length of circle-pit-ready brutality, Isolation, on Closed Casket Activities. The eight-song collection clocks in at 32 minutes and is available on vinyl, CD, and as a digital download. Andy Nelson (Weekend Nachos, Like Rats) engineered and mixed the chug-o-riffic effort this spring at Pilsen studio Bricktop Recording.
Got a tip? Tweet it: @Gossip_Wolf