Bad Sports 'Kings Of The Weekend'

Bad Sports new album 'Kings Of The Weekend' on Dirtnap follows up debut on Douchemaster (2009). Threesome Orville Neeley (Guitar/Vocals), Gregory Rutherford (Drums), TV's Daniel Fried (Bass/Vocals) featured on Matador's 'Casual Victim Pile 2010' encompassing many worthy bands displaying high caliber garage rock and punk outfits based in Texas. Outside of Bad Sports these guys have also played in Mind Spiders, OBN III and Wax Museums. Mark Ryan (Marked Men/Mind Spiders) recorded the album in his Fort Worth studio, Ryan's approach to super clean sound on his own records is used on Bad Sports second offering and certainly does it justice. 'Kings Of The Weekend' is a rabid punk record with a big rock feel to it that sounds like Ramones covering Big Star. It's wraps up an amalgam of influences from first wave punk, garage rock and bubblegum melodies delivered with a raw energy which sound like damaged power pop. Striking like a bolt from the blue 14 songs about being adolescent, horny and drunk rip through 30 minutes at a head-spinning pace. Highlights; "Can't Just Be Friends", "You Look Funny" and the heartfelt "Someday In The Future". 2 years in the making and it was definitely worth the wait, this second album feels like Bad Sports have hit their stride. 500 pressed, the first 100 on blue vinyl and you can find copies here.

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Bad Sports 'Nothin' To Do'

Austin's Bad Sports are gearing up for a new album this summer and to kick things off is a new single 'Nothin' To Do'. So far their catalog boasts a debut album on Douchemaster and song 'I Don't Remember Your Name' featured on 12XU's 'Casual Victim Pile 2010' compilation. The three piece (Orville Neeley - Guitar/Vocals, Gregory Rutherford - Drums, TV's Daniel Fried - Bass/Vocals) mix frenzied punk and power pop fit for any Cheap Time, Marked Men or Hex Dispensers fan.

Check out the single on Nashville's Dead!

Stay tuned here for the new LP

Mind Spiders 'The Mind Spiders'

Can you remember the last time hanging out in a bar a record came on that made you put down your drink and go 'What IS that?!'. For this blogger, it was Marked Men and this is how I got hip to them. Picking up a copy of 'Ghosts' faster than it took to bug the DJ that night, this album has gone everywhere with me since. After this release Jeff Burke who shares guitar duties with Mark Ryan left Denton, Texas for Japan and Ryan with some spare time on his hands. Luckily for us it wasn't long before Ryan started cranking out new material under latest project Mind Spiders also on Dirtnap (Bad Sports, Goodnight Loving, White Wires).

Listening to the two singles already available from Mind Spiders, these pop punk songs much like his previous band are little pieces of adrenaline. However, the singles do hint at exploring new sounds especially on B side 'Time Sucker' on the self titled 7", so don't be surprised to discover Ryan doesn't play it safe on this debut full length.

The album ducks and dives between party stompers and slower darker numbers with Ryan drawing from an amalgam of musical influences. Ryan could have been an Adverts fan in his formative years as 'The Mind Spiders' sounds influenced by them in the way that 'Blood Visions' unintentionally did. Opening with head turner 'Go!' most of the first side is a collection of brilliant high energy pop punk numbers slowing down a beat only for 'Read Your Mind'. 'Mind Spiders Theme' on Side A hints at the transformation the songs take on the later part of the album. A curious interpretation of Little Richard's 'Slippin and Sliddin'' on Side B has a lofty, sluggish sound you might associate with Spacemen 3. From here Ryan explores post punk in a style not dissimilar to Blank Dogs especially on track 'Your Soul'. These darker synthesized numbers bring more of the late great Jimmy Lee Lindsay projects to mind like Angry Angels and Lost Sounds, may be you'll hear it too? I don't know... The aptly titled track 'Close the Door' ends the album cooling off with Greg Rutherford's (Bad Sports/High Tension Wires) pulsating rhythms and Ryan's eerily sanguine tinged guitar and voice. Is it too early to have a favourite 2011 release? Nah, Mind Spiders are the band to beat.