Killer Tracks: 2:54 - Creeping

London-based, neo-shoegazers 2:54 was one of the bands we were tipping at the beginning of the year and now it's time to see if sisters Hannah and Colette Thurlow will make good on their initial promise. Their self-titled, Rob Ellis and Alan Moulder produced, debut album is coming out today and based on the excellent new single "Creeping" (a reworked version of one of their early tracks) I think it's going to hit the spot. Check out below the brand new video for the track which will be backed by "The March" (listen and download here) on its June 18 7" vinyl release (preorder your signed copy here):

2:54 - Creeping

Milk Music, live @ Six D.O.G.S (Athens, May 23, 2012)

One of our first posts of the year was about the new bands and artists that fit the profile of what we'd like to listen to more in 2012. Olympia, Washington’s Milk Music made the shortlist thanks to the awesomeness of their guitar sound, a raw, powerful yet melodic noise that brings to mind some of the best moments in the history of SST and Sub Pop, two of the leading American noise rock labels of the '80s and '90s. Little did I know back then that a few months later not only would I finally get my chance to score a copy of their excellent debut EP "Beyond Living", but I would also have the opportunity to see the band live, right here in Athens.

Thanks to the efforts of Arte Fiasco, Milk Music made their Greek live debut at the Six D.O.G.S club accompanied by two local acts, Pockets Full Of Sand who play experimental weird rock reminiscent of Ween, and melodic garage-poppers The Mongrelettes (see also here).

Milk Music came on stage a little after midnight enjoying a bottle of wine while tuning their guitars and setting up their drum kit. The 50-minute set that followed was as loud and manic as we’d hoped for, although not without a few technical glitches that broke the flow of the show a couple of times. Those hiccups didn’t stop us or the band from having fun and finally the only complain that we could possibly have was that we didn’t get to hear more than two tracks from "Beyond Living", "Out Of My World" and the same titled one that was saved for the end.

We did have the chance, however, to sample for the first time songs from their forthcoming debut album and we’re happy to report that the new material achieves the same melodic yet noisy guitar mix that follows in the footsteps of bands like Dinosaur Jr. or The Wipers while the powerful rhythm section drives the music at Hüsker Dü speed. It goes without saying that all this fine mess was delivered with the appropriate amount of headbanging and hair-tossing, while the band’s dancing shoes were put to good use. It also goes without saying that if the record sales of "Beyond Living" on this night were eligible for the local official album charts, Milk Music would most likely make it in the Greek Top 10 this week!

Here's a taste from Milk Music's new material from their Athens show - if I'm reading correctly the piece of paper with the show's set list, the title of this one must be "Cruising":

Milk Music - Cruising, live @ Six D.O.G.S (Athens, May 23, 2012)

Set list (as transcribed from said piece of paper): Coyote R., Run Away, Out Of My World, Cruising,  I've Got A Wild Feeling, Caged Dogs, New Lease, Illegal and Free, Coyote, Beyond Living

The Mongrelettes

Pockets Full Of Sand

Plisskën Festival 2012 (Athens, May 12, 2012)

The second edition of Plisskën Festival took place almost a year and a half after the first one, this time with even more acts (23 in total) divided between two stages. These are the most memorable performances we witnessed last Saturday at the all-day alternative music event that took place at the "Hellenic Cosmos" Cultural Centre:

Peaches

The previous time we saw Peaches in Athens, she was one of the headliners of the last edition of Sync Festival. It was an interesting coincidence to see her returning to the city as one of the top names of Plisskën, in essence the festival that is stepping in to take Sync's place as the alternative music event of the summer.

This time Peaches' live agenda was to present us in full her debut album, the electroclash classic "The Teaches Of Peaches", but also to take this opportunity to comment on the issue of the rise of the extreme right in the recent national elections, incorporating in her lyrics a few fitting Greek slogans that were greeted with cheers from the audience.

The 2012 live version of the album had a rock'n'roll edge despite most of the music and beats coming from Peaches’ synthesizer and the only other musician on stage being a drummer who didn’t have much work to do. Peaches once again offered a very entertaining show, energizing the crowd and making us forget about the venue's poor sound quality that plagued most of the festival’s performances. Among the highlights of her set was the impressive stunt of crowd-walking (taking a walk over her fans who managed to hold her up for several death-defying steps), the previously mentioned amusing political sloganeering and the show-stoping "Fuck The Pain Away" that closed the main set, before an one-song encore that comprised of "Boys Wanna Be Her", the only post-Teaches Of Peaches song of the night.

Dead Skeletons

Iceland’s Dead Skeletons added psychedelic aroma and dark space rock mood to the festival’s eclectic music mix. In one of Plisskën's most rewarding performances, the band presented tracks from their recent album "Dead Magick", the entry point to a colorful, psychedelic universe that matched the projections shown on the background of the darkened stage. Don’t fear the Dead Skeletons - let them be your guide as you break on through to the Other Side with them!

King Kahn & The Shrines

King Khan with his highly energetic band The Shrines offered perhaps the most fun performance of the festival. The Indo-Canadian musician who was introduced onstage by Peaches (later he returned the favor) proved his reputation as a charismatic performer, while The Shrines delivered a fiery mix of garage rock and soul. King Khan also had a few choice words regarding the local extreme right party which he delivered in Greek much to the delight of his audience - good time rock'n'roll with a message!

King Khan & The Shrines

Other notable performances of the festival included a very early afternoon set by London punk rockers Male Bonding which, unfortunately, was witnessed by very few as most festival goers hadn't arrived yet, a krautrock meets minimal electronica meets free jazz improvisation performance by Neu! co-founder Michael Rother who played together with Berlin based experimentalists Camera, the indie rock - electropop stylings of The Notwist who based their set on their last two albums ("The Devil, You + Me" and "Neon Golden") and the atmospheric beats of Forest Swords, aka producer Matthew Barnes, who mixed material from 2010's "Dagger Paths" with brand new tracks.

Male Bonding

The Notwist

Michael Rother with Camera

Forest Swords

Plisskën Festival promises to return next year for a third time. Let's hope that the event's brave organizers will manage to keep their promise despite the country's economic adversities and even more music acts and fans come together in the next edition of the festival.

Check out below Male Bonding, Michael Rother with Camera, King Khan & The Shrines, Dead Skeletons and Peaches performing at the main stage of Plisskën Festival 2012: