Windian Records’ Subscription Series Number 3 is bonkers cool

windian subscription header
Let us discuss the amazingness that is the new Subscription Series from Windian Records. We really enjoyed the singles we heard from the last round, with music from the Ettes and Mrs. Magician, but those were just solo copies, not as part of the whole collection. In other words, how do you talk about a box set when you have neither the box, nor the set?

Well, we’ve the third installment sitting here in the Nuthouse basement, and it is the bee’s knees. It’s six 7-inch, bog hole, 45rpm singles in a custom box with a big, glossy booklet that showcases the sleeves these singles would have, were they to be purchased individually (which you can, with the art for an additional 79 cents). There’s even a download code, and a glow in the dark 45 adapter.
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Reviews of No Love and Davidians’ entries in Sorry State’s North Carolina Singles Series

sorry state north carolina singles series
Sorry State Records recently launched their first single series, dedicated to releasing bands from North Carolina, and the first two installments are now out. The singles come in identical sleeves, and the design asthetic is clean, with a color scheme that calls back to the North Carolina flag, without directly referencing it. With hand-stamped center labels on the vinyl, the packaging combines thoughtful with the slight sloppiness of DIY, making for a cool look.
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Josh Berwanger, “Oh Bis!” 7-inch

cover - berwanger too much rockKids! Kidskidskidskids! Guess what?

Josh Berwanger put out a new single! And it’s part of the too Much Rock single series! And it has a cover of the Jags’ “Back of My Hand” on the b-side! I literally responded to the initial news of this with a linked article on Facebook and something along the lines of “THE FUCKING JAGS?!?!”

But, really, everybody: I’m a huge fan of Josh berwanger as a musician and just a guy to chat with in general, and this might be my favorite thing he’s thus far done. “Oh Bis!” has been part of Bernwager’s live sets for a while now, and the fact that he uses the word “bozos” has always endeared the song to me.
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Kid Congo Powers, “Five Greasy Pieces” single series

kid-congo-five-greasyKid Congo Powers
& the Pink Monkey Birds
Five Greasy Pieces
(In the Red)

The Five Greasy Pieces single series from Kid Congo Powers serves a dual purpose: you get five fantastic pieces of psychedelic garage from his forthcoming album with the Pink Monkey Birds, Gorilla Rose, as well as five stellar b-sides. The whole thing, when completed, is housed in a custom box, adorned with an image of a dead chicken. Considering the singles themselves come in sleeves that look like checkered tablecloths, a la something you might have out for a picnic, it’s fairly appropo.

But, imagery aside, what of the songs? Well, I’ve been listening to the album tracks (“Hills of Pills,” “Goldin Browne,” “Our Other World,” Catsuit Fruit,” and “Bobo Boogaloo,” for thems that care) since I interviewed Kid Congo back in February. Hell, “Goldin Browne” has been a set staple since early last year. These tracks are almost familiar friends by this point, so it’s probably new to 99% of the folks who’ve gotten the series, considering the album doesn’t come out until next Tuesday. It’s a looser, freakier version of what the band did on Dracula Boots, and the b-sides only further that aesthetic.

“Jump Into the Fire” is a hallucinatory trip, looping back around on itself, while the Haunted George and Illuminoids remix of the Boots cut “LSDC” streamlines it into a something simultaneously more rocking and a little more freaky. They cover Bowie’s glam rocker “Cracked Actor” admirably, leaving it recognizable, yet still dirtying it up and rendering it a little sleazier in the process. The real gem of the set, however, is the way Kid Congo and the Pink Monkey Birds perform a Mexicali work-up on the Troggs’ “Wild Thing.” Leaving the song a stomper, they kick up the organ and give you a borracho singalong.

If you can track down a copy of the set, grab it. It sold out, and is limited to 250 copies, so you might have to pay more than the $30 I lucked into my copy for. Still, given the killer songs, the solid production, and the b-sides (which I am told will never be available anywhere else), to say nothing of the fact that these are on some thick-ass vinyl (not as thick as the new Off! single, but close), you’d do well to grab it up if you see it.