BCG’s - Angel Lust EP

From Los Angeles, the BCG’s have emerged to concoct a disturbing and ferociousness groove that thumbs its nose at any sense of conformity.  The BCG’s are not for the faint of heart. What they are is a full contact musical experience landing somewhere between thrash, disco punk and horror pop. They have the creepiness of The Cramps, the energy of The Misfits and the dark synths of Praga Kahn. Their debut release, Angel Lust, is deranged, hostile, and really catchy.

Joel Zimmerman is violent on vocals, disobedient, belligerent and disorderly. He sounds like Steve Bays of Hot Hot Heat on both LSD and amphetamine simultaneously. Joel has the energy that could power a small city or summon the ghost of a 22-year-old Jack Grisham in a séance. The rhythm section of BCG’s is Mikey Cabral laying down thick bass lines akin to The Strokes at certain times and Korn at others. Jose Roldan jams in the swanky guitar fills and effects while Francisco Hernandez bangs on deep tom tom drums that produce big timpani-styled booms and the keys that slice through the choruses of these songs like bombs falling from the sky in a WWII air raid.

The BCG’s make an art out of lyrical exhibitionism. Their words are dark, scoffing and hell bent on targeting underbelly aspects of life and putting them on display for all to see. With themes such as drugs, cutting, and pedophile priests, the BCG’s take archetypal mockery to a whole new level. What happens when our heroes are flawed? What happens when the systems that we trust fail us? What happens when our frustrations hit a boiling point? Well, the BCG’s are there to witness it with apocalyptic funk and groovy horror sounds as they deliver their clever narratives on the world as they see it.

“I like to look at myself cry in the bathroom mirror, while sliding my fingers over your pink razor…I like to leave bloody fingerprints when I shush your swollen lips” (from Sid & Nancy Boi)

The underground punk scene is not dead anymore with the BCG’s on the job. Along with the rest of the Records Ad Nauseam army, they are slowly pushing through the surface and poking their fingers into the eyes of every pop fodder machine that exists in this YouTube generation. These are the next wave of kids taking the pop model and any preconceived notion of wide-appeal sound and tossing it in the wood chipper. You can’t listen to Angel Lust and not have a reaction. It is the stuff of frustration, disorder and the inevitable lashing out that occurs under that pressure…the makings of any good riot.

Angel Lust by BCG’s is available for purchase and immediate download at: Angel Lust EP

Also, be on the look out for the BCG’s collaboration with Terminal A on the forthcoming single “Klaus Barbie Dreamhouse.”  Check out Records Ad Nauseam for more info.

Dead Sara @ Fingerprints

Los Angeles-based Dead Sara recently treated their fans to (2) exclusive in-store performances at the local vinyl bins of Amoeba Music (Hollywood, CA) and Fingerprints (Long Beach, CA).  These performances were a kick starter to promoting the band’s sophomore release, Pleasure To Meet You, but they also featured a rarely assembled acoustic version of Dead Sara with some unique renditions on the band’s favorite powerhouse rock anthems. 

The crowds started amassing in front of the doors at Fingerprints as early as 3:00pm. Those dedicated fans that preordered the CD or Vinyl record of Pleasure To Meet You ahead of time received priority entrance to this general admission event and upon being let in, ran quickly through the store's aisles to claim their 2-feet-from-the-band, front row positions. The lucky fans were allowed to be close enough to the band that they could have strummed Siouxsie and Sean's guitars for them.

Dead Sara entered from the back of the crowd, pushing their way to the front in their typical tongue-in-cheek/photobomb manner, eventually taking their perch upon four high stools only inches away from those in the front row.  After a quick thank you to the crowd for coming out, the band immediately ripped into Test On My Patience and Radio One Two with the crowd jumping right in, clapping out the downbeats and loudly singing out each lyric. Sean Friday and Siouxsie Medley skillfully plucked away on acoustic guitars and sang back-up vocals in hushed tones behind Emily Armstrong's sing screams and stunning vocal power that was in no way lost in this acoustic version of the band.  In the background, Chris Null shook a handheld shaker while brushing a single snare and stomping on what I later found out was Siouxsie’s guitar case, using it as an improvised bass drum. The whole show was very informal and extremely intimate.  It was like we were all in the band’s living room for a spontaneous jam session during a housewarming party.

The band had a surprise halfway through the set when they launched into a risky folk-inspired cover of Nirvana’s “Sliver,” transforming the notorious grunge track into a roots rock country ballad.  They completely nailed it along with the other songs they performed that night.  I sincerely hope that after these 2 appearances, Dead Sara decides to record an all-acoustic album at some point or these powerful renditions will be lost. They brought the all-too-short show to a close with their infamous “Weatherman,” rocking it with just as much energy as they do with the full electric compliment. 

After the show, the band moved to the front of the store where they signed posters, CD's and other memorabilia and of course, posed for countless photobombs until the last of their diehard fan base had left the store.  It was an amazing night and a rare treat for both longtime fans and newbies alike.

Pleasure To Meet You is now available on CD, 12 inch Vinyl, and digital download.  Find out more at Dead Sara

Photo by Susan Proctor

  Photo by Susan Proctor

 Photo by Eric Walden