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THE SCENE IS NOW - BURN ALL YOUR RECORDS CD (LEXDEV024)

“You can never say enough about The Scene Is Now” - Ira Kaplan, Yo La Tengo

That’s an oft-quoted line used by anyone spruiking the wares of the band known as The Scene Is Now, but never have truer words been uttered. The Scene Is Now (TSIN) were formed at the dawn of the 1980s by Philip Dray and Chris Nelson, a band born from the ashes of No Wave trio, Information (the third partner of that outft being Rick Brown). Infuenced equally by the ragged avant-folk sounds of the Holy Modal Rounders and the Fugs, the screech of DNA and Mars, and the traditional Americana of Bob Wills and Hoagy Carmichael, TSIN instantly set themselves apart from the pack. Their music was an indefnable mixture of the old and new, the impenetrable and the accessible and the weird and wonderful. Some folks compared ‘em to the Red Krayola or Pere Ubu, some to SST outfts such as the Meat Puppets and Slovenly, and some people even hail them as the world’s fnest No Wave jug band. The point is this: between the years 1984 and 1988 they released three magnifcent albums on their own label, Lost (the last two being in co-operation with the Twin/Tone label), which have been out of print for a dog’s age and never seen the light of day on compact disc. Until now.

Now, that said, we’re fnally here, at the end of the The Scene Is Now reissue line: going backwards from 1988’s Tonight We Ride to ‘86’s Total Jive and right on through to their extremely rare 1985 debut, Burn All Your Records. Recorded in 1984, BAYR was laid to tape when the band was still musically pretty raw and yet to blossom into the melodic powerhouse they became over their subsequent two LPs. For many, this is also its greatest assett. A parallel I’ve often used in the past is the musical evolution of the not-too-dissimilar Meat Puppets throughout their frst three discs: from an almost amelodic chaos through to a streamlined pop band in three shakes.

On BAYR, The Scene Is Now were tearing out a ramshackle brand of Dada-infused post-No Wave folk-rock which was part DNA, part Fall, part Fugs and equal doses of Pere Ubu and the Red Krayola. There’s been nothin’ like ‘em before or since. BAYR is twenty tracks of primo slop-pop in just under 40 minutes. It’s the sound of four NYC gentlemen kicking against the pricks in Reagan-era America. It’s some of the best hardly-discovered underground rock ‘n’ roll being made in the 1980s. It’s fnally available again, remastered from the original tapes and featuring a full-colour 16-page booklet with liner notes by Wire/Uncut scribe Jon Dale and Dave Lang and a wealth of exclusive photos from the period. And, yes, it does feature “Yellow Sarong”, as later covered by Yo La Tengo. Killer.

YAWNING SONS promo video!

OUT NOW!: YAWNING SONS - Ceremony To The Sunset CD (LEXDEV023)

The band known as Yawning Sons is the result of a unique collaboration between musicians from different sides of the Atlantic. In July 2008, Californian desert-rock veteran Gary Arce (YAWNING MAN/TEN EAST/FATSO JETSON/DARK TOOTH ENCOUNTER etc.) was flown out to the UK to produce an album by the Kent-based instrumental riff-rock quartet, SONS OF ALPHA CENTAURI. Upon the first day of working in the studio, it was clear that a new direction was to be taken: Gary and the band would work together and write and record their own collaborative album within the space of a week. The week's work bore fruit in the form of seven incredible instrumental tracks whose sound was caught somewhere in the musical netherworlds of Yawning Man, Sonic Youth, Can and early Pink Floyd.

Over the course of the next few months, more additions were made to the recording, including extra guitar overdubs from Arce, as well as vocals from Scott Reeder (KYUSS/OBSESSED), Mario Lalli (FATSO JETSON) and Wendy Rae Fowler (MARK LANEGAN BAND/UNKLE/EARTHLINGS?). The results are sublime. From the soaring vocals of Fowler on the opener, "Ghostship - Deadwater", which has the fuzz 'n' sheen of Loveless-period MBV, to the drone-laden vocals of Reeder on "Garden Sessions III", which is like a blend of More-period 'Floyd and '80s Meat Puppets, through to the extended guitar workouts on the Lalli-helmed "Meadows", right on through to the chiming guitars and metronomic drums on the closer, "Japanese Garden", Ceremony To The Sunset will prove to be a revelation to fans of any and every of the artists involved, and will appeal greatly to lovers of Kraut/psych/desert-rock.

Ceremony To The Sunset comes housed in a deluxe 16-page full-colour booklet on glossy paper stock with plenty of photos of those involved: the perfect package.

COMING SOON!

THE SCENE IS NOW - Total Jive CD (LEXDEV025)

Lexicon Devil is proud to present part two (of three) of their reissue series documenting the great works of New York’s The Scene Is Now from the 1980s. This time around its their sophomore album from 1986, Total Jive.

TSIN started out in the early ‘80s, born from the ashes of No Wave outfit, Information (recently documented in Thurston Moore and Byron Coley’s No Wave book), by Philip Dray and Chris Nelson. Joined by Dick Champ and Jeff McGovern, they went on to release three LPs in that decade which remain amazing and scarcely-heard gems from Underground America. With a sound which was distinctly New York - equal parts Velvets/Feelies strum, angular geekoid rock a la Television/Talking Heads and choppy avant rhythms straight from the No Wave - the band also melded influences from such disparate sources (The Fall, Minutemen, Bob Wills) that they remain a tough band to musically pin down. They truly are/were a unique blend of the avant-garde and the traditional.

Total Jive was originally released on the band’s own Lost label in 1986, manufactured and distributed by the Twin/Tone label. Roughly half of the tracks are produced by downtown wiz-kid, Elliott Sharp, and it has never been issued on CD before. This version is fully remastered from the original master tapes and features a 12-page full-colour booklet with never-seen-before photos of the band from the period, as well as liner notes by Lexicon Devil honcho, Dave Lang. The 1980s produced a lot of great underground sounds from the US of A, and The Scene Is Now is certainly one of them begging for some much-deserved 21st-century recognition.

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TEN EAST live at the Annandale in Sydney, December 2008. Enjoy!

THE SCENE IS NOW - Tonight We Ride CD LEXDEV026

Out November 1st 2008

Here's the liner notes...

I first heard of the band known as The Scene Is Now in 1989 when I read a review of their Tonight We Ride LP, penned by the great James C., in issue 23 of B-Side fanzine. The review in question had my curiosity piqued. Early in the lengthy piece he made allusions to Mellencamp(!) and Springsteen(!!) in regards to the band's ability to pen seemingly "straight" rock/pop tunes, yet as the review progressed he then began to note that the band's apparent simplicity was disarmingly deceptive and that repeated listens brought to light a group of great uniqueness. His summation at the end of the first paragraph put it perfectly and succinctly: "...by the third song, "Full Fathom Five", you start to realise that you've become involved in something VERY ODD INDEED...". After listing a motley crew of TSIN's cohorts (Fish & Roses, Chain Gang, Mofungo), he ended the review with this line: "You probably won't find any of their recs in yr local store, but you'll be missing out on some of the most unusual and best US crap being put to vinyl these days. Do what you know you must".

I did: two years later when I discovered a copy of Tonight We Ride for $8 in the sale bin at Exposure Records. The first time I took it home and put needle to vinyl, it made perfect sense. There were no shortage of pop hooks interspersed among what at first appeared to be a seemingly straight-playing rootsy indie-rock album, but then the magic of the band's unique interplay took hold. Guitar lines weaved randomly throughout, keyboards came to the fore at unexpected moments, and, despite the fact that much of the material sounded like two bands playing at once, pulling at times in opposite directions, each song came together at the right moment to deliver a knockout punch. I tried to think of comparisons, and the ones I came up with, I later found out, had been used many times before: Slovenly, Red Krayola, Beefheart, Pere Ubu, The Feelies. I announced them to friends at the time as the great post-No Wave harmolodic pop band. After all, somebody had to be. No one would listen, and the cult of TSIN remained a well-kept secret, even if Yo La Tengo did record an old songs of theirs.

By 1995 the album had become such a stalwart favourite that I wrote about it in the fanzine I was producing at the time, Year Zero, in an article detailing the top 10 LPs I would take to a desert island. Alongside the likes of iconoclastic faves of the time (and now!) such as Die Kreuzen, Chrome, Minutemen, Electric Eels and MX-80 Sound, I noted that the music of TSIN may shock some listeners who believed I only wanted abrasive racket in my audio pleasures. I said something dopey along the lines of "the music of TSIN probably won't upset your average Fleetwood Mac or Eagles fan", but then noted that such a comment was only meant to imply that TSIN wrote great pop songs. Indeed they did, and still do.

TSIN were formed from the ashes of NYC No Wave outfit Information by Chris Nelson and Philip Dray at the dawn of the '80s. They went on to produce three albums in that decade - Burn All Yr. Records, Total Jive and 1988's Tonight We Ride - and to me they demonstrate a brilliant evolution in sound from one of the great unknown bands of the era, a three-disc evolutionary bender from ramshackle beginnings to slick songsmithery and musicianship rivalled only by the Meat Puppets. The former two will be reissued by Lexicon Devil in due course throughout 2009 (don't ask me why I'm going backwards; perhaps it's because their third LP is the most accessible of the three), and are musically much different, and perhaps more abrasive, affairs. Added to the band for Tonight We Ride were ex-dB Will Rigby and Tony Maimone from Pere Ubu. The sound was much more streamlined but still unmistakably The Scene Is Now. It's the band's combination of the avant-garde and the traditional which makes them so special. The fact that the band can claim influence from the likes of Bob Wills and Hoagy Carmichael, as well as Sun Ra and DNA, speaks volumes of their synthesis of disparate influences. I always thought their sound encapsulated that wide-open-space Americana sound many reached for, even a picturesque midwestern-cornfields vibe, though now that I listen to it again, and ogle the Coney Island photos the band just sent me to accompany the booklet (taken the same day as the front cover), I see their sound as pure east coast, even urban. Or perhaps not. Now I'm just confusing myself. I'm reminded of family summer holidays in Coney Island and yet I've never even been to the place. TSIN evoke a sense of old-time romanticism in me. Their oblique lyrical references, which include lines taken from Shakespeare, and occasional forays into right-on political radness, make them a curious beast indeed. The comparisons have been made, yet there remains no band on earth like The Scene Is Now. It's 17 years later, I'm now reissuing the thing on my own label and it still sounds so goddamn good. Enjoy.

- Dave Lang, October 2008

TEN EAST - The Robot's Guide To Freedom CD (LEXDEV022)

Here’s what ya need to know... Ten East started up in the mid ‘00s as a semi-improvised outfit and an excuse for old friends to get together, jam it out and put some tunes to tape. It wasn’t long before they caught the ears of Alone Records out of Spain, who then released their debut longplayer, Extraterrestrial Highway (since re-released by Lexicon Devil: LEXDEV019). On that album, the band was Gary Arce (YAWNING MAN, SORT OF QUARTET), Brant Bjork (KYUSS, FU MANCHU, etc.), Mario Lalli (ACROSS THE RIVER, FATSO JETSON, etc.) and Bill Stinson (GREG GINN’S HOR, CHUCK DUKOWSKI SEXTET). They completed a successful tour of Europe with Greg Ginn (BLACK FLAG, GONE, etc.) filling in on bass for Bjork, then regrouped in late ‘07 to record The Robot’s Guide To Freedom.

The line-up here is a veritable stoner-punk supergroup: Arce, Lalli and Stinson, and joining them are Scott Reeder (KYUSS, OBSESSED, etc.) on bass; on guitar there is acclaimed six-stringer Bryan Giles (LAST OF THE JUANITAS, RED FANG, etc.) and Greg Ginn himself with guitar (and organ) on most of the tracks. Recorded at Ginn’s SST studio over several months, TRGTF sees Ten East branching out in heavier, more aggressive territory than their first release, as well as tempering the brute attack with forays into more ethereal space-rock and ‘60s/’70s-style psych jams. The music is a perfect encapsulation of the “scenes” these individual members helped create: the ferocious punk squawl of Ginn’s frenetic, free-jazz-inspired riffs which set California ablaze some 25 years ago, combined with the scorched desert-rock of stoner pioneers Yawning Man, Fatso Jetson and Kyuss.

The music of Ten East is dense, multi-layered and worthy of many repeated listens. Lead songwriter Gary Arce has the knack for penning a totally non-generic riff - such riffs born from his love of the guitar work of Ginn, Eno, Steve Fisk, surf music and Tom Verlaine - and creating a truly lyrical piece of music, one which makes one forget that Ten East don’t and likely never will require a vocalist. The appearance of Yawning Man, Kyuss, Fatso Jetson and Black Flag members all in one band should make you stand up and take notice. Anyone into the sounds of such bands, or the manic prog freakouts of early ‘70s King Crimson, the surf twang of the Ventures, the spaced grooves of Guru Guru and Amon Duul, or the peyote-fried guitar work of primo Meat Puppets will find something in the music of Ten East.

DARK TOOTH ENCOUNTER - Soft Monsters CD out May 1st

Dark Tooth Encounter is the name of the new music project from Yawning Man/Ten East lynchpin, Gary Arce, and drummer extraordinaire, Ten East’s Bill Stinson. Although joined by Scott Reeder (Kyuss, Obsessed, etc.) and Mario Lalli (Across The River, Fatso Jetson, etc.) on a few of the seven tracks on their debut album, Soft Monsters, the approach is much more experimental and cerebral than many of the players’ previous work, sounding like an update on the classic ‘70s art-rock of Eno.

With Gary supplying guitars (inc. lap steel) throughout, as well as keyboards and electronics, along with the metronomic beats of Bill Stinson and contributions from Lalli and Reeder, Dark Tooth Encounter remain a unique proposition. Purely instrumental, and aided by the astonishing production and studio work of Mike Shear, their music is a mixture of several different elements. There are two almost rootsy-sounding tracks in “Weeping Pines” and “Engine Drone” (a 9-minute epic which remains the album’s centrepiece and masterstroke, a phenomenal work that brings to mind the acid-fried guitar workouts the Meat Puppets once perfected); a breezy space-rock number such as “Deep Sleep Flower”, which borders on My Bloody Valentine shoegazer territory; the minimalist, aggressive drive of “Radio Bleed”; and the quieter, plaintive passages in “Alloy Pop” and “Hyper Air”.

Anyone with an interest in post-punk instrumental rock will get a kick out of Soft Monsters. Their sound incorporates small elements of the players’ other outfits, sure, but there’s also hints of math-rock, prog and shades of country-rock and psychedelia. DTE have already caught the ears of Ash Ra Tempel’s Manuel Gottsching and Pell Mell’s Steve Fisk, both of whom wish to work with the band in the future, but for now you have Soft Monsters, an album sure to be loved by stoners and art-rockers alike.

ARTIST: Dark Tooth Encounter

TITLE: Soft Monsters

CATALOGUE : LEXDEV021

BARCODE: 9326425802892

FORMAT: Shrinkwrapped CD jewel case with 12-page full-colour booklet and explanatory sticker on front

CD duration: 40 minutes

YAWNING MAN – VISTA POINT CD NOW AVAILABLE ON LEXICON DEVIL

Hot on the heels of reissuing Ten East’s Extraterrestrial Highway, we’re proud to present Yawning Man’s Vista Point CD, which groups together their two (now deleted) releases of the last few years, Rock Formations and Pot Head. Yawning Man have been around as an on-and-off-again project for guitarist Gary Arce (Ten East, Sort Of Quartet, Fatso Jetson) and drummer Alfredo Hernandez (Kyuss, QOTSA) for over 20 years, and stand as a defining influence on the so-called “desert-rock” scene which inspired the likes of Kyuss and Queens Of The Stoneage. Yawning Man, however, are quite a different musical beast from those they inspired. Drawing heavily from the SST roster of artists which set the world ablaze in the 1980s – Black Flag, Minutemen, Meat Puppets – their music is caught in the nexus of surf, psychedelia, Krautrock and the Spaghetti Western soundscapes of Ennio Morricone. Or, if you will, a missing link between the worlds of Dick Dale, Syd’s ‘Floyd, instrumental Black Flag and Pell Mell.

On these recordings, Yawning Man also features the bass duties of Mario Lalli (Fatso Jetson, Ten East) and Billy Cordell (Unida), and the levels of interplay between all players are sublime. One listen to a song such as “Perpetual Oyster” (track 2) will convince you that Yawning Man are onto something very special indeed. The sheer lyricism of the playing demonstrates their total lack of need for a vocalist.

Yawning Man enjoy a huge cult following throughout Europe and have toured there several times before, regularly selling out 800+ seat venues. Closely aligned to both the stoner-rock scene which adores them (despite their total lack of ‘Sabbath-like riffery), and the SST family of artists which they are linked to (ie. Fatso Jetson, Sort Of Quartet; plus Greg Ginn’s membership in Ten East), their highly vocal fan base runs the gamut from stoners to avant-rockers to even Julian Cope (who mentions the band, and Ten East, in his new Japrocksampler book).

Yawning Man are recording a new album as I write this, due for release on Lexicon Devil in the new year. Until that time comes, you have Vista Point.

ARTIST: Yawning Man

TITLE: Vista Point

CATALOGUE : LEXDEV020

BARCODE: 9326425802601

FORMAT: CD in jewel case with 12-page full-colour booklet on glossy paper stock

CD DURATION: 67 minutes

KEY TRACKS: “Rock Formations”, “Perpetual Oyster”, “Sonny Bono Memorial Freeway”, “Digital Smoke Signal”

FOR FANS OF: Black Flag, Meat Puppets, Fatso Jetson, Kyuss, Sonic Youth, Ventures, Can, early Pink Floyd

lexdev019 TEN EAST - Extraterrestrial Highway CD OUT NOW!!

If ever one was to use the term “supergroup”, I guess now would be the appropriate time. In terms of mining the pipeline of instrumental, multi-layered, psychedelic desert-rock with a heavy-assed backbeat, Ten East has the line-up to die for. On Extraterrestrial Highway, Ten East are: Gary Arce (Yawning Man, Fatso Jetson, Sort Of Quartet), Mario Lalli (Fatso Jetson, Yawning Man), Brant Bjork (Kyuss) and Bill Stinson (HOR, Greg Ginn). Their sound is caught somewhere between a jazz-like improvisation and a sense of rock-solid riffery. Taking inspiration from punk, blues, psychedelia, surf and jazz, the band’s sound ably demonstrates creeping influences from such artists as SST standard-bearers Black Flag, Meat Puppets and the Minutemen, as well as the Ventures, Captain Beefheart, Brian Eno, ZZ Top and the improvisations of Monk and Dolphy. If there’s one thing you must never suffer any confusion from, it’s that Ten East are merely a “stoner rock” outfit.

Ten East started off as a one-off recording project for Gary Arce and his friends, but has now taken on a life of its own. Extraterrestrial Highway was recorded in 2006 and is now available exclusively on Lexicon Devil. Since it was recorded the band has toured Europe to huge acclaim and enjoy a dedicated following throughout the continent, regularly packing out 800+seat venues. But there’s more…

Ten East continue with a brand new line-up who are recording right this minute for a new album which will appear on Lexicon Devil in early 2008. Bjork has left the band and none other than Greg Ginn (Black Flag, Gone, SST Records) has replaced him on bass. Gary and co. promise a slab of instrumental fury which will blow brain cells throughout many lands and I’m prone to believe him. Until then, you have Extraterrestrial Highway.

lexdev018 F/i - Paradise Out Here CD<?b>

First time on CD for this ultra-rare 1989 LP from these Milwaukee space-rock gods. Features 3 previously unreleased bonus tracks.

lexdev017 Candlesnuffer - Apsomeophone CD

Guitar strangulations, cut-ups and loops from resident everyman genius, Dave Brown (Embers, Bucketrider, Lazy, Dumb and the Ugly, etc.).

lexdev016 F/i - Blanga CD

2005 studio album of slow-burn acid/psych/space-rock from the lads.

lexdev015 Oil Tasters - s/t CD

First time on CD! Contains their lone 1982 LP and both 7"s. Primo No/New Wave jazz/spazz-rock from this legendary Milwaukee bass/sax/drums 'n' vocals trio.

lexdev014 Tar Babies - Face The Music/Respect Your Nightmares CD

First time on CD! Features their first two 12" EPs and a swag of previously unreleased bonus cuts from the period by this great, great, GREAT Wisconsin '80s outfit who later recorded for SST. Fist-shakin' punker aktion for ages.

lexdev013 Hiroshi Nar with Nishinihon - Live 2001 CD

A truly fried live document from these Japanese psych-warrior longhairs, featuring folks from Acid Mothers Temple and Les Ralliez Denudes.

lexdev012 Vibracathedral Orchestra - My Gate's Open, Tremble By My Side CD

CD reissue of a long out-of-print LP from this UK ensemble. First-rate slabs of multilayered drones.

lexdev011 Verdure - Cross & Satellite Station CD

Dare one say "acid-folk" at this juncture? Top-notch Syd-like songcraft from this chap linked up w/ the Jewelled Antler Collective and all their minions.

lexdev010 Currituck Co. - Ghost Man On First CD (DELETED)

Fahey-ish guitar scrapes 'n' journeys from this NYC gent. Now deleted and reissued elsewhere!

lexdev009 Boy Dirt Car - Winter CD

CD reissue of this Milwaukee "noise" band's 1987 LP plus their side to the split LP they shared w/ compadres F/i. Features Keith and Dan from Die Kreuzen. I don't care what you say: Wolf Eyes ripped 'em off.

lexdev007/8 Jennifer Gentle - Ectoplasmic Garden Party 2CD

First two albums from this GREAT Italian psych brigade (now on Sub Pop, ya know) on one double CD.

lexdev006 F/i - Blue Star CD

lexdev005 F/i - The Past Darkly/Future Brightly 2CD

lexdev004 F/i - Why Not Now?... Alan! CD

lexdev003 Boy Dirt Car - Heatrig CD

lexdev002 Vocokesh - Ispepnaibara CD

lexdev001 F/i - Space Mantra CD