[Editor’s Note: Issues with my FTP client made uploading more trouble than it was worth, so I hope you forgive the EXTREME tardiness of this Music Monday post by listening to some EXTREME new music.]

Fatal Flying Gilligan’s Island. Get it?

The Fatal Flying Guilloteens would be misunderstood if they actually cared what people thought of them. Thankfully, they don’t. Let’s just say that it generally takes quite the tolerant musical palate to for one to be adept to the Guilloteen’s brand of rock. If you’re blessed with said palate, you’re in for a treat.

In their native Houston, the Guilloteens, who just recently back from playing CMJ, are pretty much revered as one of the saving graces of the hardcore/noise/rock scene. With some of the heaviest and (dare I say) sexiest bass lines ever devised matched with high-energy percussion and frenetic guitar riffs, listening to the band’s latest release, “Quantum Fucking (A Fictious Real Life Account Of Young Love In The Streets)” is the musical equivilant of an unnatural quantum mindfuck (think about that for a second).

“Quantum Fucking” is the Guilloteens’ third full release (although the first through the French Kiss label) and has been in the works for more than a year. The amount of reckless and explosive energy in “Quantum” belies amount of talent and effort that went into the album. Lead vocals are shared by three, count them, three band members while drums and guitar are shared by two. I personally shed a tear when Brian McManus, one of the three “singers”/guitarists and one of the funniest writers I’ve had a chance to read, left the band earlier this year, but his swan song in Guilloteens history has been preserved.

Even with McManus gone, the Guilloteens keep their place as the rowdiest perfomers I have ever been witness to. New guitarist Erik Bogle (Bring Back The Guns) more than keeps up with the insanity, which usually ends up messier than a Gallagher comedy show. Word to the wise: the dangers of the a Guilloteens show aren’t limited to the front, or what the kids call the “mosh pit.” Second-hand beer will find its way on to your favorite shirt and/or pants some how or another.

UPDATE: The monumentally kick ass Houston music blog The Skyline Network has live video from the Guilloteens’ Halloween CD Release Party. Awesomely enough, both vids are the same songs we’re loving. Smell that synergy in the blogosphere…

Featured Song: “Reveal The Rats” by Fatal Flying Guilloteens


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Featured Song: “Tiger Vs. Gator” by Fatal Flying Guilloteens


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The miracles of Annie Clark.

I’ve wanted to write about St. Vincent for a couple of months now. I still kick myself for missing her show, but having recently seen the video for “Jesus Saves, I Spend,” I figure now is as good as time as any.

Annie Clark is the lone member of St. Vincent, not including the long list of reputable rotating musicians who have helped Clark out. Clark herself has shown her musical range and penchant for grandiose noise having performed with The Polyphonic Spree and Sufjan Stevens. “Marry Me” successfully functions as both Clark’s first album and evidence of her appreciation of Arrested Development. In fact, the gives us the impression that Clark is a singer/songwriter with a detectable sense of sincerity, a little bit of quirk and a level of sophistication Regina Spektor probably dreamed of having before her Adult Top 40 career.

All that and she’s dangerously cute.

Featured Song: “Jesus Saves, I Spend” by St. Vincent

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Featured Song: “Your Lips Are Red” by St. Vincent

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Featured Video: “Jesus Saves, I Spend” by St. Vincent

Brooklynites Elephant Parade get down.

Brooklyn loves its girl-boy power indie pop duos. If Matt & Kim are in the high-energy end of the spectrum, Elephant Parade is most definitely on the lo-fi end. Gracing us with soft guitar and strikingly fragile vocals, to say that Estelle, from Gainsville, FL. and Ido, from Israel, are minimalist musicians is an understatement

Not unlike artists like Jana Hunter, Elephant Parade’s arrangements and vocalization sometimes emote more than the actual lyrics or instrumental ability (and they’re obviously a talented twosome). Adding their guitar and piano, the songs left me with an incredibly earnest sense of loneliness and sadness. (I’ve recovered since.)

My favorite track is a short and pretty straightforward song. A man waxes his car while his family watched television indoors. The song ends with “Ooh, baby/When I’m with you I’m all right/Hey baby/When I’m with you, it’s all right/Yeah, baby/Let’s take the Cavalier out.” Without taking too much of a leap, the song, titled “Xanax” is a little slice of the modern, pharmaceutically inclined life.

Featured Song: “Goodbye” by Elephant Parade


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Featured Song: “Xanax” by Elephant Parade


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Featured Video:

Not so rock & roll.

If you’ve got www.acdc.com (seriously, folks: XNSFW, unless your boss is into that kind of stuff) bookmarked on your computer, you better refresh your Favorites.

Legendary Aussie band AC/DC (okay, this one is SFW) has staked its proverbial flag into the domain name, which was previously being used by a kinky porn site. Kinky like bondage, water sports and more of the like.

Why, after years of conceding the domain name to the porn site, would they reclaim the URL now? Like always, it’s for the children. Label manager Sam Horsburgh:

The young fans are so net savvy it’s the first thing they do. The push to get it back came predominantly because they knew there were a lot of younger fans coming through.

It’s really cute listening to your 10-year-old singing, “She told me to come/But I was already there.” You have to treasure those precious moments, people.

Featured Song: “You Shook Me All Night Long” by AC/DC


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Sources:
AC/DC become masters of their domain
AC/DC wins back website from porn business

Multiculturalism at it’s best.

I have decided to make up for the last jibe at Pitchfork by complimenting them on their support of Black Kids and their “Wizard of Ahhs” EP. I haven’t heard this much deserved buzz about a band as I’ve heard for Black Kids in a long while. Even with only four recorded tracks, I will even go as far as to say that the EP is contemporary indie pop perfection.

“In Rainbows” may be “pay-what-you-want,” but Black Kids made their EP available unquestionably free on their MySpace page (although it’s also downloadable on iTunes, if you’re so inclined). “Wizard of Ahhs” is a brief introduction to the Jacksonville band, which is a God-honest unsigned band that is pretty much infiltrating the general indie music consciousness.

On an purely editorial note, I tested “I’m Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance With You” on the dance floor over the weekend; it definitely works.

Featured Song: “I’ve Underestimated My Charm (Again)” by Black Kids


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Featured Song: “I’m Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance With You” by Black Kids


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Featured Song: “Hurricane Jane (Beige Reemix)” by Black Kids


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If members of The Walkmen savored life instead of laconically sneering at it, they would be The Love Language.

Let’s skip the fancy adjectives and just click the links. End post.

Featured Song: “Stars” by The Love Language


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Featured Song: “Nocturne” by The Love Language


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Featured Song: “Talita” by The Love Language


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The Octopus Project have their tentacles in a twist.

I remember first hearing about The Octopus Project before I actually heard them.

For a while, there was a real debate about the band’s origins: Houston or Austin? Austin or Houston? In the end, Austin, like always, wins. On a technicality, though. (They operated in Houston under the name Invisible Robot Fish; The Octopus Project, a decidedly much cooler name, came to fruition as a side project when they moved to Austin for scholarly pursuits.)

Regardless, the band is rapidly becoming a stable within the experimental indie scene. Under the watchful eye of Peek-A-Boo Records, The Octopus Project releases their third full album this month. Recorded and co-produced by the same parties behind Blonde Redhead and The Gossip, “Hello, Avalanche” is the perfect combination between traditional rock and roll, orchestral and electronic. Add some theremin to the mix and you have a thoroughly enjoyable album.

How enjoyable, though? Pretty damn enjoyable. In fact, I think this is probably their most accessible album to date. They retain their ingenuity with their trademark nontradional instrumentation, but have a softer vibe. This isn’t to say there isn’t a bite to “Hello, Avalanche.” Still, I supposed The Octopus Project is one of those bands that are great on recordings, but mind-blowing on stage. In fact, if you happen to be in Houston on Thursday, the band is playing with local favorites Bring Back the Guns at Number’s nightclub.

Featured Song: “I Saw The Bright Shinies” by The Octopus Project


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Featured Song: “An Evening With Rthrtha” by The Octopus Project


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Shows:
Oct. 4 - Houston @ Number’s
Oct. 5 - Baton Rouge @ TBA
Oct. 6 - New Orleans @ TBA
Oct. 7 - Tallahasssee @ TBA
Oct. 8 - Orlando @ Back Booth
Oct. 9 - West Palm Beach @ City Limits
Oct. 10 - Jacksonville @ Jack Rabbit’s
Oct. 11 - Atlanta @ Drunken Unicorn
Oct. 12 - Knoxville @ Pilot Light
Oct. 13 - Charlotte @ Milestone
Oct. 14 - Durham @ Duke University
Oct. 15 - Baltimore @ Ottobar
Oct. 16 - Washington DC @ Rock N Roll Hotel
Oct. 13 - Philadelphia @ John Brenda’s
Oct. 14 - New York City @ High Line Ballroom (with Enon)
Oct. 15 - Boston @ Great Scott (with Enon)
Oct. 16 - Montreal @ La Sala Rossa (with Enon)