JEFF The Brotherhood - "Sixpack"

After landing their Infinity Cat imprint under the Warner Bros. umbrella back in 2011, JEFF The Brotherhood are now putting out their first official release for the entertainment conglomerate: a four-song EP and sampling of the duo's forthcoming full-length album, Hypnotic Knights. Produced by Dan Auerbach and recorded in the Black Keys' guitarist's Easy Eye studio in Nashville, the band's major label offerings reveal its most economical and pop-geared sound yet. If We Are The Champions showed a hint of early Weezer influence, the Rivers Cuomo dial is now jacked to 10. But we're not complaining: the tracks are immensely enjoyable with Brothers Orrall retaining their signature humor, shred-heavy sound, and psychedelic jaunts. The hits of sitar and rhythmic jams are all still there, they're now just more compact and thoughtfully organized. Pop fans: rejoice.

Snag the EP now from iTunes.

JEFF The Brotherhood - "Sixpack" (from Hypnotic Knights EP)

Interview: Natural Child

Back in early April, after a show at the Black Cat here in DC, I spoke with the fellas in Nashville's Natural Child about their new record For The Love Of The Game, their interest in Kevin Costner movies, and swimmer's butt. The show ended that night with a blistering cover of "Like A Rolling Stone," and somehow that era-defining anthem fit perfectly into a set alongside the fiercely rollicking and low brow humor of Natural Child originals like "Easy Street" and "Shame Walkin," which feature the respective choruses, "Let me get that stoned" and "I don't wanna fuck you, but I got to." Natural Child may not be nearly as poetic as Dylan and they certainly aren't out to reinvent the wheel, but shit can they play. In fact, they might just be the best pure rock 'n' roll band playing today. While For Love Of The Game may lack any new curve balls (aside from the reggae joint "Paradise Heights"), it delivers the goods in the form of a raucous and unapologetically good time: crunchy roaring guitars, fat bass and drum grooves, and lyrics about everything from from death to codeine and weapons charges.

The Paperhead - "Pictures of Her Demise"

Nashville psych-rock outfit The Paperhead—formerly known as The Looking Glass—released their first record in 2010 as a 100-run casette on hometown label Infinity Cat. That long sold-out release showcased three 18 year-olds tapping into a space time-warp of vintage psychedelia, utilizing the sort of fuzz, tone, and heavy LSD-inspired exploratory jams that were first born in the late 1960s. The band's sound has quickly earned them a devoted following since then with vinyl releases on the UK's Ample Play and Chicago's Trouble In Mind. Not only are the members' musical chops undeniable, but their playful mix of instrumentation is impossible not to enjoy with rock guitars and rolling bass lines grooving alongside Indian staples like the sitar and tabla drum a la The Beatles more drugged-out days. The band's newest release is a 7" featuring the uptempo bass-driven track, "Pictures of Her Demise." Due out on March 6th on Trouble In Mind, the song almost sounds like a lost cut from The Piper At The Gates of Dawn-era Pink Floyd, boasting very distinctive spliced together sections and an absolutely classic-sounding chorus dripped in harmony and piano. These guys might recall the dusty old records on your shelf, but they're also doing something special and original here—and I couldn't recommend it any higher.

Nab the Pictures of Her Demise 7" along with the band's self-titled LP from Trouble In Mind.

The Paperhead - "Pictures of Her Demise" (from Pictures of Her Demise 7")

The Paperhead - "Back To Those Days" (from The Paperhead)

Natural Child - "Ain't Gonna Stop"

Everybody Taste loves us some Natural Child. Nobody spits booze, bongwater, or fire quite like this scuzzy punk-meets-country Nashville trio. In 2012, these Infinity Cat veterans will be dropping two records on another of our favorite labels, Fullerton, California's Burger Records. Burger—who already have a cassette version of the band's debut LP, 1971, under their belts—will be reissuing the band's 7-track cassette Bodyswitchers in March and a new LP, For The Love of The Game, in May. Below, you can stream the first taste of the new full-length by way of riff and shred-heavy barn-burner "Ain't Gonna Stop." And that's not all: The band's currently working on another long player, Hard In Heaven, slated for release before the end of the year (photo via Instagram).

Natural Child - "Ain't Gonna Stop" (from For The Love of The Game)

Watch: JEFF The Brotherhood play "Diamond Way" on Late Night

JEFF The Brotherhood made their national TV debut last night on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. "Hello America," said Jake Orrall to the crowd, before launching into a typically fiery rendition of We Are The Champions standout "Diamond Way," all while a friend of the band sat casually in front of the stage chowing down on a burger. Aside from touring around the world and conquering late night, Brothers Orrall recently released a Blues Series Single on Jack White's Third Man Records imprint, featuring the bruising 6 and 1/2 minute A-side "Whatever I Want" and a raucous cover of Tiger B. Smith's "Everything I Need" on the flip side. You can snag that vinyl right here.

JEFF The Brotherhood - "Diamond Way" (Live in Melbourne)

After the jump, watch JEFF's Late Night performance and a twisted video for new single "Whatever I Want."

PUJOL :: Nasty, Brutish, and Short

As PUJOL, Nashville-based musician Daniel Pujol writes and records loud and undeniably catchy garage-born pop music. PUJOL has put out records on countless labels including JEFF The Brotherhood's Infinity Cat and Jack White's Third Man, and now continues that prolific trend on October 18th with a new EP for Saddle Creek titled Nasty, Brutish, and Short. There's hints of both the power-pop smarts of The Nerves and the sardonic recklessness of The Replacements here, which creates an irresistible and highly combustible concoction: blazing-hot honey-glazed hooks that feel as if they could implode and fall apart at any given moment. Every song here flys out of the gate as if propelled by rocket fuel, but particularly invigorating is the 1:40-long foot-stomper "Stuff," where Pujol choruses over roaring guitars: "I must be consistent with what I believe in / Or I live a lie." It's a straightforward and simple line, but it's also one that sticks. Pujol's music is fuzzed-out and brash, and if we're being honest, it just wouldn't feel right any other way.

The 7-track 18-minute EP is available digitally and on 10" colored vinyl. Pre-order here.

PUJOL - "Mayday" (from Nasty, Brutish, and Short)
PUJOL - "Stuff" (from Nasty, Brutish, and Short)

Analog Edition Zine: Issue No. 1

The first issue of the Analog Edition Zine is now up in the Analog Edition store. Limited to an edition of 100 physical copies, the 64 page booklet is a collection of interviews, artwork, and articles featuring labels Mississippi Records, Infinity Cat Records, and Father/Daughter Records; bloggers Aquarium Drunkard, Rollo Grady, Tympanogram, 7 Inches, Knox Road, Folk Hive, and Hugh Willett; and bands Sonny & The Sunsets, Lord Huron, and Levek. The rad cover artwork is by the ultra-talented Kaitlin Van Pelt of Breakfast In Fur.

You can now watch a video preview of the zine and read the first 1/3 of it as an online magazine here. Every week, an additional article will be added to the web edition until all 64 pages are online.

Head to the AE store to grab yourself a copy. All orders will ship straight away.

Denney & The Jets :: The Devils Harvest

What's so endearing about a grown man singing about his love for recreational drug use? Maybe it's the twang and nonchalant demeanor of frontman Chris Denney. Or the fact that he rhymes "cocaine" with "same." Or maybe it's that his band is named after the Elton John song "Bennie and the Jets." All I know is that "Pain Pills"—a three chord wonder of a song—has been on repeat in my apartment since discovering the track on Infinity Cat's spring sampler back in February. The Nashville label—run by JEFF The Brotherhood's Jake and Jamin Orrall—put out Denney's album The Devils Harvest as a cassette-only release in 2010. Whether channeling Gram Parsons or singing about George Jones, Denney's lo-fi six-song set of country, blues, and punk music proves this casual and rebellious voice to be one worth keeping a sharp eye on.

Buy the cassette from Inifty Cat.

Denney and The Jets - "Pain Pills" (from Devils Harvest)
Denney and The Jets - "Doctor Can't Take These Blues Away" (from Devils Harvest)

JEFF The Brotherhood - "Shredder"

The aptly-dubbed "Shredder" kicks off with a buzz saw of theremin before Jake and Jamin Orrall lay the hammer down with their respective guitar fuzz and drum dynamite. Just over the two-minute mark, "Shredder" is everything it should be: short, furiously fast, and imbued with killer riffs and drum breaks. The song is the first taste off JEFF The Brotherhood's forthcoming We Are The Champions LP out on June 21st via the brothers' impeccable Infinity Cat label. If you're a vinyl fiend, catch JTB on their May tour to nab this on sexy clear vinyl.

JEFF The Brotherhood - "Shredder" (from We Are The Champions)

Natural Child To Release Full-Length Debut, 1971

Nashville band Natural Child have two Twitter accounts: @naturalchild420 and @naturalchild69. Their label, Infinity Cat, just announced the release date for the band's debut full-length, 1971: it's 4/20. You know what my favorite song by Natural Child is? "Crack Mountain," which boasts the chorus, "I've been smoking crack with my friends." My point is you can't escape the band's endless jokes about sex and drugs, but underneath that veneer of depravity lies a wholly formidable rock and roll band equipped with swampy stadium-sized bass and guitar riffs, sledgehammer drums, and the kind of vocal melodies and lyrics that are as easy to remember as they're impossible to forget. When I put on Natural Child, no one screams "Welcome To The Thunderdome," but it absolutely feels like someone should. This is wild and unholy rock and roll and it's safe to say 1971 is now officially Everybody Taste's most anticipated release of 2011. Hear the first taste of the record below.

Natural Child - "Hard Workin' Man" (from 1971)

Infinity Cat: Spring 2011 Sampler

Infinity Cat—the hilariously titled Nashville label responsible for shedding light on the city's riff-heavy underground punk scene—has released an excellent sampler of its roster, including tracks by flagship band Jeff The Brotherhood and Everybody Taste's personal favorite, Natural Child. Grab all 12 tracks over at the Infinty Cat homepage. So far, the sampler has already turned us on to the likes of Denney and The Jets via his lo-fi country-tinged ode to drinking, cocaine and pain pills. If you dig, make sure to head to the store and grab the vinyl goodies while they last, as both Natural Child 7"s have already sold out.

Natural Child - "Hard Workin' Man"
Jeff The Brotherhood - "Mellow Out"
Denney And The Jets - "Pain Pills"