wisconsin music Archives - Vinyl From The Vault

Dusk “The Pain of Loneliness (Goes On and On)”

sfilzen — Tue, 15 Feb 2022 20:01:28 +0000

Dusk “The Pain of Loneliness (Goes On and On)” 2018. Dirtnap Records. Appleton, WI-based Americana garage-pop. The 7″ single is backed with “Go Easy.” Both songs are upbeat with a touch of country flare – “The Pain of Loneliness” a bit more driving, “Go Easy” is, as advertised, more easy-going – with a super-full sound and Laurel Canyon vibe. We’ve seen Dusk and their sister-band, Tenement, play a few times over the years (mainly up in Appleton at Mile of Music) and I remember the stage being stuffed with musicians, though the liner notes say there’s only 5 members (in person and on the 7″ it feels like a lot more). I think we may have picked up this single from one of those MoM shows.

From Dirtnap’s Bandcamp page: “Dusk was formed in 2014 by Amos Pitsch (bass guitar, vocals) and Colin Wilde (drums) as an informal recording project – mostly of obscure soul covers and country-rock indulgences – and later gained traction as members Julia Blair (described by Pitchfork Media as a smooth country-soul alto), Ryley Crowe (electric guitar, vocals) and Tyler Ditter (electric guitar, vocals) joined the fold at the onset of serious songwriting and recording. They recorded a series of demo recordings and later a 2 song single for Forward Records. They’ve toured America twice thus far; once doubling as the backing band for Tim Buchanan in Oklahoma City-based cosmic-cowboy punk band Cherry Death, and the other time doubling as an extended lineup of Pitsch’s other group, Wisconsin punk band Tenement. “The Pain Of Loneliness (Goes On And On)” was written by Amos Pitsch, and “Go Easy” was written by Tyler Ditter. Both cuts were arranged by the band and recorded mostly live at Crutch Of Memory, Dusk’s home-base and recording studio in Appleton, Wisconsin.”

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Tenement “The Self-Titled Album”

sfilzen — Wed, 01 Aug 2018 14:38:09 +0000

Tenement “The Self-Titled Album” 2016. Forward Records/Deranged Records. Tomorrow we’re heading up to Appleton, Tenement’s (and my) hometown for the Mile of Music Festival for four days of non-stop performances. Tenement is not playing this year but we caught them last year (and I picked up this record and am now, finally, giving it a spin). (Photo of their performance last August at Emmett’s outdoor stage, the band had doubled in size from when The Self-Titled Album was recorded)

Tenement is described by online articles as either punk, fuzz punk, pop punk or noise pop (they were even included in a 2016 list of the 10 Great Modern Punk Bands by Rolling Stone) but I really don’t think any of the descriptions fit, or at least not this album (those descriptions DO fit their first release, Napalm Dream from 2011 on Mandible Records). When I wrote about them last year as part of the Mile of Music experience, I described one of the songs they played as “a Velvet Undergroundy freak out sonic assault that lasted about 15 minutes.” That description also does not fit The Self-Titled Album. Rather it’s got an alt-rock, laid-back vibe that recalls to my ears the Milwaukee band Space Raft: catchy, sunny, chill, melodic with some fuzzy rough edges. You can decide for yourself by listening to the entire record here.

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Bob Burns and the Breakups “Hydrostatic Heart”

sfilzen — Thu, 05 Jul 2018 23:11:30 +0000

Bob Burns and the Breakups “Hydrostatic Heart” b/w “Losing My Head” and “Acid Reflex” 2006 on clear vinyl. Plastic Idol Records. Buzzy, lo-fi garage punk out of Stevens Point, Wisconsin (a town I’ve always considered one of the gateways to “up north” – it’s about an hour northwest-ish from where I grew up and now we drive through it each summer on our way to and from way-way up north where we spend a week in a cabin in the woods. Not much in Stevens Point other than a university and a surprisingly good sushi restaurant). Allmusic says of Bob Burns and the Breakups, “Based out of Wisconsin, these drag-strip rioters play fast and furious punk that owes a slight nod to godfathers like the Stooges and Saints, as well as various blinked-and-you-missed-‘em acts from the Killed By Death set. Yet the mondo fuzz guitars, drunk-drummer tempos, and frontman Bob Burns’s sucker-punch vocals place the band firmly in the post-Crypt Records era.” And from Gearhead Records’ website: “Revved up and stripped down. Raw punk rawk framed in catchy tunes that clock in under 2 minutes. When you’re listening to Bob Burns and the Breakups you know you’re in the midst of the muffled screams of insolent youth and the double- barreled middle-finger salute to unsuspecting business types. Hailing from the sleepy college town of Steven’s Point, WI the band, which formed in 2003, mixes hints of late 70s punk ala D.O.A., Fear, The Dils and The Middle Class with a heavy trashy dose of The Devil Dogs and New Bomb Turks.” (Their 2007 LP Terminal Breakdown came out on Gearhead)

“Hydrostatic Heart” is fast and punchy, super-high energy. Same with “Losing My Head,” but with even more manic fuzz. “Acid Reflex” is stuttery and off-kilter, the weird rhythm mimicking the reflux referred to in the title’s play on words.

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Rebel Waltz “The Last One To Die Is A Rotten Egg”

sfilzen — Tue, 06 Jun 2017 20:21:56 +0000

Rebel Waltz “The Last One To Die Is A Rotten Egg” 1991, Erosion Records on 10″ blue vinyl. The Vault boy and I are heading up to the Fox Valley for a few days (he’s off school for the summer) so I thought I’d dig out some local late 80′s/early 90′s music. Rebel Waltz hailed from Oshksoh, WI and were active from ‘85 to ‘96. I know I saw them a few times opening for other bands around Oshkosh, Appleton and Green Bay, though for whom I can’t recall – most likely at least one of those shows was Soul Asylum (probably more like 10, it seemed that Soul Asylum passed through every other week in the late 80′s). Their stated influences are bands like The Byrds, Stiff Little Fingers and their namesake, The Clash (the song “Rebel Waltz” appears on Sandinista!). From their Facebook page: “We played a ton of gigs during the height of our popularity. The fact that we had a PA probably helped a ton with that but we got to open for Social Distortion, Soul Asylum, and The Tragically Hip to name a few. We met hundreds of great musicians over the years.” The band did reunite to play a few shows in 2015 and 2016, including one for the locally infamous Rev. Norb’s 50th birthday.

Rebel Waltz recorded The Last One To Die Is A Rotten Egg at Smart Studios in Madison, WI around the same time Nirvana was doing some of their recording for Nevermind. The grunge influence on this 6-song EP is obvious, though much more melodic: Midwestern-nice punk/grunge. If I didn’t know these guys were from around my hometown, I’d guess that they were from the Minneapolis area, with a sound that is very Replacements-esque (and Soul Asylum-y). Audio links to the record, or any single track, seem to not exist but their album Rubber Walls from 1990 does so if you are so inclined, you can listen to that.

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