lathe cut Archives - Vinyl From The Vault

S.M. Wolf “Precious B-Sides”

sfilzen — Wed, 21 Feb 2024 18:06:25 +0000

S.M. Wolf “Precious B-Sides” 2022. Romanus Records, limited edition lathe-cut (clear vinyl). S.M. Wolf is a “fuzzy, psychedelic, power pop family band from Indianapolis,” and this lathe-cut single has two tracks that didn’t quite make the cut for their LP Precious Downtime (2021, Romanus Records) but were too good to not release out to the world. Side A has “Wide Awake” which has a 70’s arena-rock meets dream pop vibe (it works!). Side B is “Flat Water” – it has a liquid quality with some shimmering organ, mellow bass and beachy psychedelic grove. I have Precious Downtime but I don’t think I’ve listened to it since 2021 when it came out – I think it’s time for a re-listen to determine exactly what about these two tunes wasn’t right for the LP.

There’s not much in the way of videos for S.M. Wolf out there, not much of them playing live that I could find from anytime recently (including when they performed at Romanus Fest in 2021) so here’s a video of them playing live from 2019.

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Volk “Stand the Test”

sfilzen — Mon, 07 Aug 2023 21:19:54 +0000

Volk “Stand the Test” 2023. Very limited edition (25 copies) double-sided lathe cut EP on two discs. Romanus Records. Also included in the bundle are five super-high quality postcards with photos and lyrics, four adorable buttons, a holographic Volk sticker plus one mystery item (which I’m guessing is the page from the Nostradamus graphic novel – on the back is a nice note from the band).

We got to see our favorite cowpunk band this past weekend up in Appleton at Mile of Music and they absolutely slayed the stage. Drummer/vocalist Eleot Reich and guitarist/vocalist Chris Lowe performed a barn-burning mix of older favorites (like “Honey Bee” and “Welcome to Cashville“) plus the songs that appeared – remixed – on this EP. Disc One has two versions of the new song “Stand the Test” – the standard single variant plus the Dubais Bros Remix. It’s a pop-orientated lightly swinging ballad (with synths!) that recalls some 80’s-era Stevie Nicks, at least to my ears. Disc Two has the darkly-tinged, touch-of-evil cow-goth track “I Fed Animals” – the version that is on their 2021 LP Cashville plus the industrial-goth goes to the farm remix “I Fed DarkNESynths.” I believe both remixes feature Electric Six’s Christopher Tait and Matt Van.

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Brother O’Brother “Stay Golden (Demo)”

sfilzen — Fri, 12 Jun 2020 22:41:31 +0000

Brother O’Brother “Stay Golden (Demo)” and “Ooh My Love (Acoustic)” 2020. Romanus Records, Lathe Love series #1: very limited edition (25 copies), crazy side-by-side clear vinyl. “Stay Golden” is a demo from Brother O’Brother’s Neon Native (2017 – I think I have at least 3 or 4 variants of this album) recording session: it’s hard-rocking with a touch of 70′s glam. “Ooh My Love” is a really lovely and dark acoustic that is both totally BoB and yet completely different from their signature sound; it was originally slated to be on the Monster Truck EP but didn’t fit the overall sound of the release (per Chris Banta, and I concur with that assessment). Neither song is available anywhere in the world except for on this lathe cut so I cannot link the tracks for you – sorry!

We caught Brother O’Brother live last night…from our kitchen while eating dinner and washing dishes. They live-streamed their set via Black Circle Brewing in Indianapolis, hosted by Loud Mouth Stream as a fundraiser for the ACLU. The audio and visual quality was top-notch and despite not being there with them physically, Chris Banta (guitar, vocals) and Warner Swopes (drums) put on a high-energy, face-melting set with some of my favorites: songs like “16 Flowers,” “Monster Truck,” “The Itch,” “Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing” and “Means to be a Woman.” I head-banged, shimmied and “too-sweet’d” along to the show while getting some chores done. It’s a weird weird world. Here’s some screen shots I took from Facebook Live: (can you guess the answer to the trivia question in the first shot? There were a bunch of them leading up to the live performance, just like they do at the movie theater.) (Also Warner is not really green in real life haha!)

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