Hunx - "I Won't Tell If You Won't Tell"

The fifth release in the LAMC series from Brooklyn label and collective Famous Class is a split between current Babies guitar slinger Cassie Ramone and Seth 'Hunx' Bogart. Hunx occupies the A-side with the slinky and catchy-as-hell "I Won't Tell If You Won't Tell," which runs on the fumes of a snappy half-muted guitar lick that proves to be the perfect vehicle and companion for Bogart's nasally punk timbre. Dig into the single, and sneak a peak at Hunx's Hollywood Nailz video series below. The clip here features Shannon & The Clams and Grass Widow hilariously covering 1990s hits "The Power" and "Unbelievable," the latter of which is somehow transformed into an absolutely killer cut.

Hunx - "I Won't Tell If You Won't Tell"

Best of 2012: The Songs

60-51
Porcelain Raft - "Shapeless & Gone"
Damien Jurado - "Museum of Flight"
Lord Huron - "Time To Run"
Andy Human - "Land of The Dinosaurs"
The Men - "Candy" // Stream
White Wires - "Down On My Own"
Breakfast In Fur - "Whisper"
Beach Fossils - "Careless"
Divine Fits - "Shivers" // Stream
Natural Child - "Blind Owl Speaks" // Stream

Grass Widow - "Under The Atmosphere"

There's a thin fine edge that separates harmony and dissonance, and whether it's their intersecting warmly toned bass and guitar lines or overlapping polyphonic vocal harmonies, Grass Widow often play like a band that could at any moment drift into complete bliss or oblivion. Like three distinct lines pointed in the same direction, the band members always share the same destination, but—thanks to varying speeds, chaotic convergences, and bumps in the road—the paths they take to get there always vary. That's what makes Grass Widow so intriguing and dynamic: they never sound like a perfect whole, but rather three different parts of a discussion about the same idea. On "Under The Atmosphere"—a cosmically themed highlight on Internal Logic, the band's third full-length together—the trio at turns sounds like a church choir, the riveting rhythm section of a surf rock band, and the post-punk torch-bearers of The Neo Boys. The result is one of Grass Widow's finest concoctions to date: a trip into space that's as mesmerizing and haunting as it is vivid.

Internal Logic is out now digitally and on vinyl via the band's own HLR Records.

Stream: Grass Widow - "Under The Atmosphere" (from Internal Logic)

Video: Hunx - "Private Room"

While we wait for Seth Bogart's Punx-less Hunx LP, Hairdresser Blues—due out next week—here's a peak at a second track from the record, "Private Room." According to Bogart, "Private Room" was inspired by his time at a nude beach in San Francisco. "If you walk all the way to the end near the Golden Gate Bridge," says Bogart, "there are actually little tiny caves and handmade private rooms made out of rocks from the ocean. Men go and have sex in these private rooms." Check out the video directed by Hannah Lew of Grass Widow after the jump. And no, unfortunately, Lew's vision does not include footage of dudes having sex in little beach caves.

Neo Boys - "Time Keeps Time"

Here's an absolutely killer cut from the relatively obscure Neo Boys, a group named for this Patti Smith phrase and touted as one of Portland, Oregon's first all-female punk groups. "Time Keeps Time" is taken from the 1982 EP Crumbling Myths, one of only two releases by the band along with their self-titled 1980 7". The punchy persistent drums and at turns surf-inspired and muted guitars of "Time Keeps Time" create an unsteady and irresistible wave-like force teeming with electricity. Big thanks to ET favorites Grass Widow for this introduction. The San Francisco-based band's recent Milo Minute 7" includes a cover of "Time Keeps Time," which you can procure right here from the band's own HLR Records.

Neo Boys - "Time Keeps Time" (from Crumbling Myths)
Grass Widow - "Time Keeps Time" (from Milo Minute 7")


After the break, watch a live performance by the Neo Boys from 1979.

The Best Albums of 2010 :: 30-16

Grass Widow - Past Time
Raw propulsive bass lines, angular guitars and near chaotic overlapping vocal harmony lend a discordant beauty to the follow-up from this all-girl San Francisco trio.
Sample: "Shadow"

Deer Tick - The Black Dirt Sessions
A dark brooding collection of songs that, with the exception of "When She Comes Home" and "Mange," feel more like a sobering John McCauley solo record than than the drunken poetry of Deer Tick—but poetry it still is.
Sample: "Twenty Miles"

Surfer Blood - Astro Coast
From the light tone of "Take It Easy" to the giant roaring swell of "Swim" and ferocious velocity of "Neighbor Riffs," this is simply one of the best guitar-driven rock records to come out in quite some time.
Sample: "Neighbor Riffs"

The Radio Dept. - Clinging To A Scheme
This is pop music in its most charming, addictive, and sweepingly creative light—a near greatest hits quality collection of singles from this elusive Swedish band.
Sample: "Never Follow Suit"

Grass Widow: A Bay Area Trio with a Penchant For Harmony

Let's talk architecture: If punctual clear-toned bass play, angular distorted guitar riffs, and precisely scattershot drumming make up the foundation of San Francisco trio Grass Widow's music, then the group's arresting three-part harmonies are like the skylight—a breathtaking wash of sunshine that gives life to an old rock formula. While the ladies put the finishing touches on their forthcoming full-length Past Time—due out August 24th via Portland's Kill Rock Stars—make sure to check out their stellar self-titled EP, available for purchase digitally here.

Grass Widow - "Lulu's Lips" (from Grass Widow)

Grass Widow - "Shadow" (from Past Time)