sfilzen, Author at Vinyl From The Vault

Jack White “Frozen Charlotte”

sfilzen — Wed, 11 Nov 2026 18:45:26 +0000

Jack White “Frozen Charlotte” 2026, limited edition blue vinyl. Third Man Records. We picked up this album pretty close to its release back in July but I’ve been sitting on it with the anticipation of maybe seeing Jack White in concert. That happened last night (thanks to WMSE for hooking us up with free tickets!) at the Landmark where he ripped through a massive set of old and new material plus a few covers. My favorite moments of the night: Jack and his band playing a chunk of The Stooges “I Wanna Be Your Dog” in the encore – part of a medley that eventually morphed into “Ball and Biscuit” and WMSE dj Christreater spinning the now defunct but always number one in my heart Milwaukee band Slow Walker’s “Weed Out the Squares” before the show. (Sadly this did NOT weed out the squares as we had a woman who was either very drunk or completely ignorant of show etiquette. Maybe both) I have zero show pictures because everyone’s phones were locked up as we entered the venue (BOO! I hate it mostly because meeting up with friends becomes impossible unless you want to attempt a loud, tipsy game of Marco Polo) but we snapped a couple before/after; we also picked up the show poster to add to our rather beefy Von Munz collection.

Frozen Charlotte is Jack White’s 7th studio solo LP and like most of his work, it’s fantastic with even more nods to old-school blues but put through a hard garage rock buzzy blender. The band on the record is the same as his touring band which includes keyboardist Bobby Emmett (who I just learned was in The Sights, one of my favorite late 90’s/early aughts garage bands – we saw them at Cactus Club a million years ago; I still have my shirt from that show); drummer Patrick Keeler (The Greenhornes, The Raconteurs, The Afghan Whigs); and bassist Dominic Davis. Frozen Charlotte went to #32 on the main US charts but to #3 on the indie chart; it hit #29 in the UK. They performed one of my top tracks from the album last night “G.O.D. and the Broken Ribs” (also released as a single). I’m fairly positive they also played “Neighbors Blues” and it’s possible snippets of more were blended into other songs but the morning after is hazy and I didn’t have my damn phone to take notes. Other top tracks include “Dollar Bill” (also released as a single), the Zeppelinesque “There’s Nobody There” and the bendy blues of “Raising the Grain.” But really the whole record is fantastic, as good or better than No Name from 2024.

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Fret Rattles “As the World Falls Apart”

sfilzen — Mon, 09 Nov 2026 17:55:35 +0000

Fret Rattles “As the World Falls Apart” 2026. Ghost Highway Records. We caught the hard rocking Minnesotans set this past Friday night at X-Ray Arcade and picked up their latest LP at the merch table, along with an older record, a bunch of 45’s and bassist Sir Chadwick (aka Chad Johnson) generously threw in some extras, too. What a show! What an album! Channeling fellow Midwesterners, protopunkers The Stooges, Dead Boys and MC5, Fret Rattles stomped and swaggered through a slew of killer garage rock songs with a sound that one reviewer on the album’s hype sticker class “an unrelenting barrage of scissor-kicks to your thorax.” As the World Falls Apart is the band’s third/fourth album. We’ve had their first record (which I don’t think is counted in their official discography) cleverly titled The First One (from 2012 and not on a record label) for a few years now having seen them in 2022 (or at least Joe did, I can’t remember if I was there or not) and have been fans since. The album is high energy garage punk with twin guitars for a big-ass shred sound and a wickedly-paced beat. I know for sure they performed the song “Flavor of the Month” at the show (it’s great!). My other top tracks include the Motörheadesque “Running with Scissors;” their cover of the Dead Boys’ “What Love Is” that features former Fret Rattles musician Rob Tossava (also in Vasoline Alley, Trim Reaper, Goo Goo Mucks All-Stars) who died from cancer this past spring; the snotty “Don’t Wanna Know,” and the frenetic ass-shaker “Already Dead.” I didn’t record any video at the show but here’s a clip from their performance this past summer at GBUFO’s Invasion Fest up in Green Bay.

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Nigel Wearne “The Reckoning”

sfilzen — Thu, 05 Nov 2026 19:51:05 +0000

Nigel Wearne “The Reckoning” 2023. Signed, limited edition red and black marble recycled vinyl, not on label/self-released. Dark jazzy and bluesy Americana from Australia. We picked up this copy from Nigel Wearne, along with his backing band The Spectres, this past August up at Mile of Music in Appleton when we caught his Tom Waits meets Gogol Bordello (though Wearne is much much more mellow) set at the outdoor stage at Emmett’s. We hadn’t heard of him but his MoM bio caught our eye:

Nigel Wearne & The Spectres saunter after dark in the music of the night, blending blues, jazz and Americana-noir. Swathed with rambunctious horns, Gretsch guitar, drums and double-bass, they’ve got a retro vibe that smacks it straight back to the 60’s. Hailing from Gunditjmara country in the deep south of Australia, Nigel Wearne is a guitarist and multi-instrumentalist with diverse influences such as Nick Cave, Tom Waits and Rickie Lee Jones.

The Reckoning looks to be his third full-length release; the first, Black Crow, was released back in 2012 so he’s been around for awhile but I don’t think with the support of a label/distributor. It’s mood music with some flare: think a decadent and dark speakeasy, lit with dim chandeliers and candles, but there’s peeling wallpaper and stains on the velvet upholstered booths. “Back Behind the Blue” with its brush drums and horns perfectly encapsulates the vibe. The title track, “The Reckoning,” has a cha-cha-cha rhythm and would feel tropical but for the sinister suggestion. “Old Belly’s New Ride” is snakey surf instrumental with bendy guitar. Some of the tracks are too mellow and atmospheric for my tastes but Wearne’s voice is great and this album has a strong point of view with oodles of instrumental talent.

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New Order “Perfect Kiss”

sfilzen — Wed, 04 Nov 2026 18:51:50 +0000

New Order “Perfect Kiss” 1985. 12″ single, Factory Records. The cover is really beaten up (not sure if by one of its previous owners, one R. Martin Basso, Esq. from California, who stuck his mailing address on the front – not a good idea on so many levels) but it’s great 80’s dancey synthpop. “Perfect Kiss” was the band’s 9th single and is also on the ’85 LP Low-Life. It went to #46 in the UK but #1 on the UK indie chart; in the US it hit #5 on the dance charts. The single version does not appear on this 12″ release. Instead Side A has the almost 9 minute original version. The video is even longer!

Side B has “The Kiss of Death” which is another remix with just snippets of the lyrics from “Perfect Kiss” along with lots of electronic effects, one of which sounds like a cross between frogs and crickets. Also on Side B is “Perfect Pit” which is super-short, clocking in at under 2 minutes with clanking beats and sparse bleep-bloops for an odd little industrial instrumental nugget.

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Chicago “Chicago 17”

sfilzen — Mon, 02 Nov 2026 19:56:24 +0000

Chicago “Chicago 17” 1984. Yes this is my record…but I can explain (we are back from a long weekend in Chicago so it feels like the right time to spin) – I was still 13 years old when this record was released in May of ’84 and my only real access to any new music was the Fox Valley commercial radio market. I do not recall if it was a Green Bay or Appleton station that ran the promotion but I won this copy from a on-air call-in deal. I was unfortunately a runner-up in the contest: the grand prize was a limo drive to Chicago’s concert (in either Milwaukee or Chicago, I don’t remember). Now, was I really a Chicago fan in 1984? I don’t think so (I was nutso for Duran Duran and all things British new wave/synthpop) but as someone who rarely wins anything, it felt like a real coup. I don’t think I played it much but because so many of the songs were played to death that year, most of the songs are embedded in the dark corners of my brain and I can still sing along to most of the LP. Despite the title, Chicago 17 was actually the band’s 14th studio LP (though with the other releases yeah sure it’s number 17). It was a smash hit, going to #4 on the US album charts and won three grammies. The single “Hard Habit to Break” helped set the mold for 80’s power ballads (it hit #3 in both the US and UK). “You’re the Inspiration” (#3 US) is a straight up soft rock ballad and, while I truly despise this one, I can 100% sing along to the whole fucking thing. “Stay the Night” was the first single released from the LP and is a bit harder song than Chicago was known for (and is really not representative of most of the rest of this album). It went to #16 on the US charts. “Along Comes a Woman” (#14 US) was the fourth and final single released from 17, it was also the last single that original Chicago band member Peter Cetera appears on; he quit the band in 1985. It’s is SO 80’s: the guitar, the horn accents, the 80’s rhythm and production, everything. Now that I’ve listened to the album for the first time in its entirety in over 40 years, I think I’m good for another 40.

I don’t think I ever noticed that Peter Cetera is wearing a Bauhaus t-shirt in this video!! Hilarious!

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Duran Duran “Burning the Ground”

sfilzen — Tue, 27 Oct 2026 15:24:38 +0000

Duran Duran “Burning the Ground” 1989. I don’t remember that many people’s birthdays, but Simon LeBon’s is permanently embedded in my brain — today, October 27th is Simon’s 68th birthday (b. 1958). This is the 12″ single of their stand-alone single released to promote Duran Duran’s comp LP Decade (also released in 1989). “Burning the Ground” is itself a compilation/mashup of their biggest hit singles up to that point; the song was not included on Decade however. It actually charted (well, I’m not surprised as it is a dance floor banger), going to #31 in the UK and making the US Dance/Club chart at #23. It did even better in Italy for some reason, hitting #2 over there. Side A of the 12″ has the aforementioned “Burning the Ground” plus a couple versions of “Decadence” – the regular version and the Extended Mix. That song is also a mashup of their old hits but is even more sampled (heavy on “Save a Prayer,” “The Reflex” and “Notorious”) and instrumental than “Burning the Ground.”

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Siouxsie and the Banshees “All Souls”

sfilzen — Mon, 26 Oct 2026 17:27:58 +0000

Siouxsie and the Banshees “All Souls” 2022. It’s Siouxsie season! This comp of Siouxsie and the Banshees’ releases was put together by Siouxsie herself as a “seasonal celebration” of some classic Banshees spookiness, remastered, like “Halloween” and “Spellbound” plus other macabre-themed album tracks and b-sides from over the years. The aforementioned tracks are both from the 1981 album Juju, and the album opener “Fireworks” is a single-only release from 1982 in between Juju and 1982’s A Kiss in the Dreamhouse. And one of my favorite Siouxsie songs of all-time, the single “Peek-A-Boo.” There are a couple of non-singles: “We Hunger” comes from 1984’s Hyæna, “The Sweetest Chill” is from 1986’s Tinderbox, and “Rawhead and Bloodybones” from 1988’s Peepshow. A cover of Ben E. King’s 1975 hit “Supernatural Thing” was the b-side to the 1988 single “The Last Beat of My Heart” and “Something Wicked (This Way Comes),” was the b-side to “The Killing Jar,” both also on Peepshow. We have all of the albums mentioned above so most of the tracks but not some of the b-sides so this is a really great Halloween/All Souls Day/Day of the Dead collection.

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Wine Lips “Stressor”

sfilzen — Thu, 22 Oct 2026 18:12:58 +0000

Wine Lips “Stressor” 2019. Not on a label/self-released. Canadian garage-psych-punk, their debut LP. We saw Wine Lips perform for the first time 3 years ago (opening for Frankie and the Witch Fingers at the Miramar in November 2023) and saw them about this time a year ago at Cactus Club (November 2025). They’re on tour now and playing Chicago in about 2 weeks, not sure if we will get down there or not but it would be absolutely worth it: they have killer energy with mullets that are epic even by Canadian standards (though cannot confirm they still have that style this year). Shreds, ass-shaking, high high high voltage energy and their debut album is no different.

Wine Lips at the Miramar 2023

Wine Lips at Cactus Club 2025

My top tracks on Stressor are the highly danceable “Fly Swatter, ” the grooving (and 90’s vibey garage punky) “Electric Lady,” and the head-banging meets booty shaking shredding ‘Weak Knees” Also great is the exotically hypnotic “Fried II” (which evolves into an all-out rocking freakfest) and the funky garage psycher “She Said.” Their latest album TV Dinner came out just a couple months ago, in August 2026. It is possible we have a copy somewhere around here that I’m not aware of (or maybe it’s an upcoming holiday present!) but I don’t remember picking it up. Of course it could be a stupid tariff trade war casualty and just not available for a reasonable price here in the States.

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Hot Garbage “Precious Dream”

sfilzen — Mon, 19 Oct 2026 17:16:30 +0000

Hot Garbage “Precious Dream” 2024. Mothland Records, EXAG’ Records. Limited edition “Ready 4 Blood” variant. Canadian heavy psychedelic rock. We picked up this LP in Toronto this past July, after asking about local music in our preferred genres. The very helpful record store clerk suggested Hot Garbage and I think (or want to think) was pretty impressed when I was like, “Oh yeah, we saw them open for Frankie and the Witch Fingers a couple of years ago in Milwaukee.” It was in July 2022 and back then I wrote about their 2021 release Ride, which we bought at the show, “Holy shit! So so good: swirling and hallucinogenic organ/synths (Dylan Gamble), icy cold vocals (Juliana Carlevaris), hot buzzy guitar (Alessandro Carlevaris) and nonstop hardworking rocksteady beats (Mark Henein). Comparing them to bands I love and listen to: a mash up of Ty Segall, The Limiñanas and Sonic Youth.” Precious Dream seems heavier (though I admit it has a couple of years since I’ve taken Ride out for a….ride) and darker. “Tunnel Traps” in particular is dense and sludgy, more slow head banging than ass shaking, and slothfully hypnotic (that’s not a bad thing). I also really like “Look at My Phone” and “Blue Cat” has an absolutely addictive beat and hook that grabbed me two seconds into the track, layered on top are experimental textures of buzz, fuzz and drone.

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Cosmic Psychos “Go the Hack”

sfilzen — Wed, 14 Oct 2026 16:51:45 +0000

Cosmic Psychos “Go the Hack” 1989. Survival Records (Australia)/SubPop Records (US), reissue on Goner Records. The second full length LP from thunderous Aussie punks that one helpful Discogs reviewer calls “the missing links between Australian pub rock, Detroit proto-punk, and the sludgy, beer-soaked attitude that would later define Seattle’s underground…Cosmic Psychos played with the simplicity of Motörhead, the swagger of The Saints, and the reckless spirit of the Stooges, but filtered it through an unmistakably Australian sense of humour and working-class grit.” I’m going to add AC/DC to the above comparison/quote: while trite it’s also important to note their hard, deep sound that not all 80’s punks had. I’m also not convinced with the grunge comparison unless you consider bands like L7 (who covered the Psychos “Lost Cause”) and Nashville Pussy from that era “grunge” (I don’t). Cosmic Psychos are way too punchy and fast to easily be lumped in with the swampy sludge of 90’s grunge.

We saw our first Cosmic Psychos show almost exactly three years ago at The Rave, along with fellow Australian punks The Chats and then again a little over two years ago in Las Vegas at Punk Rock Bowling (The Chats were there, too). Go the Hack is loud, fun, obnoxious – precisely what I expect from Australian punks. The whole record is a banger but my top picks are album opener “Lost Cause,” the Motörhead-ringer “Rip ‘n’ Dig” and the lightning-speed shredder “Back in Town.”

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