Useless Eaters – Memphis Flyer

If you want to get cheered up quick, try Gonerfest.

Memphis punks Nots open Gonerfest 13 in the Cooper Young Gazebo

I had had a pretty crappy Thursday, and was in a pretty foul mood as I headed to the corner of Cooper and Young for the kickoff of Gonerfest 13. The fresh air, idyllic weather, and flurry of faces, both familiar and unfamiliar, loosened me up a bit, and then Nots rocked away the remnants of my darkness. As Goner co-owner Zac Ives said in his brief introduction to the band, it’s been a real privelage watching this band of Memphis women grow and evolve from raw, explosive talent into the finely honed outfit that confidently kicked off the world’s greatest garage punk festival. Even more heartening was the gaggle of little girls who gathered transfixed before Nots frontwoman Natalie Hoffman. The rest of Gonerfest may not be kid-friendly, but for a few minutes yesterday afternoon some Midtown kids got a glimpse of what a powerful, talented, and determined bunch of women can do.

The show moved to the considerably less kid-friendly environs of the Hi-Tone for the evening’s festivities, led off by Memphis newcomers Hash Redactors. Half the fun of Gonerfest (well, maybe not literally half) is discovering new acts, and between the psychedelic Redactors and Chook Race from Melbourne Australia, I had joined two new fandoms before 10 PM. As the night’s MC, the legendary Black Oak Arkansas frontman Jim Dandy, explained “Chook Race” is Aussie slang for chicken racing, which is apparently a thing in the Outback. But aside from their accents, the three piece didn’t sound like they were from down under. I got a distinct vibe of Athens, Georgia circa 1981 from the jangly sound and twisty songwriting. Some songs sounded like Pylon, while others could have been outtakes from REM’s first EP “Chronic Town”.

Chook Race from Melbourne, Australia

The crowd shoehorned into the Hi Tone mingled all kinds of accents and looks. I noticed as I entered the show that passports were being offered as IDs as often as American driver’s licenses. Yes, people really come from outside the states to Gonerfest. Lots of them.

Reigning Sound

The rest of the evening offered various shades of garage rock, from Ohioans Counter Intuits to the Gonerfest veterans now based in San Francisco Useless Eaters. Guitar heroes Fred and Toody—Oregonian legends who fronted Dead Moon and Pierced Arrows—played a noisy set to a reverent room. Then it was time for a return of some Memphis favorite sons, Reigning Sound. Greg Oblivian Cartwright formed the band in the early 2000s with Alex Greene on keys, Greg Roberson on drums, and Memphis import Jeremy Scott on bass and backup vocals. The original lineup stayed stable for two of the best records created in Memphis since the heyday of Stax, and their live shows are legendary. When the original lineup reunited, with the occasional addition of John Whittemore on pedal steel and guitar, they proved the legends true for those who didn’t get the opportunity to see it go down the first time. There wasn’t a bad band on the first night of Gonerfest 13, but the Reigning Sound were head and shoulders above the rest. No one else had the width and depth of Cartwright’s songwriting, or the telepathic group cohesion that can sound both haphazard and incredibly tight at the same time. These guys are, and have alway been, the real deal.

Now to get rehydrated for today’s shows.

Cities Aviv – Your Discretion Is Trust (Collect Records)

Sure this is the Record Reviews column and Gavin Mays (aka Cities Aviv) moved to Brooklyn a few years ago, but during his time here Mays constantly put Memphis underground rap on the national map. His latest album Your Discretion Is Trust was released digitally this week and is available for download on iTunes as well as Spotify. The 14 tracks on Your Discretion Is Trust see Mays staying within the confines of his earlier work (specifically 2014’s Come to Life), and longtime producer RPLD GHSTS appears on multiple tracks, including “Is this Alright” and “Earth Signs.” On the opening track “Anticipation,” Mays raps about mobbing through the city with his crew “who take no lives” one minute, and then shifts to contemplating his existence the next. Such vast changes in lyrical content are par for the course in a Cities Aviv track, and Your Discretion Is Trust is yet another example of the many different ideas Mays is capable of executing in the studio. The samples get pretty psychedelic as the fourth album from Cities Aviv unfolds, especially by the mid-album track “Earth Signs.” Even if this is a surprise record, the songwriting on Your Discretion Is Trust is fully realized, and Mays sounds like an artist at the top of his game throughout most of the album.

Favorite Track: “Isolation Quarters”

Caleb Sweazy – Lucky or Strong
(Blue Barrel Records)

Caleb Sweazy’s fourth studio album was recorded at Music+Arts Studio in Memphis by producer Kevin Houston (Sid Selvidge, North Mississippi Allstars). Sweazy enlisted some notable Memphis players for his Blue Barrel Records debut, including Jessie Dakota (Memphis Dawls) on drums, Logan Hanna (Grace Askew) on guitar, and John C. Stubblefield (Lucero) on keys and upright bass. Lucky or Strong was recorded completely live and finds Sweazy recalling bittersweet tales that cover everything from an old Model A Ford to WWI. Sweazy claims to like songs that make the listener feel happy and sad at the same time, and this collection of guitar-driven, bluesy folk rock is sure to do just that. With this lineup of prominent Memphis musicians and producer Houston at the helm, Lucky or Strong is a good indication that Sweazy is a local songwriter worth paying attention to.

Favorite Track: “Soldier’s Heart”

Useless Eaters – Singles 2011-2014 (Slovenly Records)

Seth Sutton has been cranking out garage rock longer than some Memphis bands stay together, and he’s got the back catalog to prove it. His first single as Useless Eaters came out six years ago, and he’s released more than a dozen more since then, not to mention a handful of full-length albums, split singles, and a smattering of cassettes. The 13 tracks on the Singles 2011-2014 cover a pivotal moment for Useless Eaters, a time when Sutton was experimenting with new songs, new ideas, and perhaps most importantly, new bandmates. Different cities shaped the songs on this collection (recording sessions took place in Nashville, Oakland, and Melbourne, Australia), and the songs range from straightforward garage punk tunes like “I Hate the Kids” to downer psych rock jams like “Addicted to the Blade.” For anyone just getting familiar with Useless Eaters (this is the first time we’ve ever written about them), this collection on Slovenly is a great place to start, especially because most of these singles have been sold out for quite some time.

Favorite Track: “Bloody Ripper”

Mary Owens – Sweet Soul
(Blue Tom Records)

Mary Owens’ debut album is on Blue Tom records, the in-house label at the University of Memphis and also the home of Mason Jar Fireflies and Drew Erwin. Recorded by Boo Mitchell, Sweet Soul is a collection of Owens’ first songs as a solo artist, although she sure sounds like a singer who’s been honing her craft for years. Owens’ vocal approach sits somewhere in between country music and R&B, mixing elements of both genres to create a unique, soulful sound that is distinctly Memphis. Pre-orders for Owens’ first album included the option for a recorded personalized cover of the buyer’s choosing, proving that while Owens’ might be young, she’s already got complete confidence in her voice. Sweet Soul is available for the first time this week.
Favorite Track: “Talkin’ to You”