Social Junk - Concussion Summer

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Customer reviews
Press release

4...according to our Brett on Thu 24 Jul, 2008.

'Concussion Summer' on Not Not Fun is by a merry band of travelers called Social Junk. I've never had concussion but I was hoping to this summer, sadly there's been no decent weather for me to go out tree climbing or trying to get myself set upon by gangs of local toughs. Next year, eh? It's kind of hard to know what to say about this LP really, other than I like it. Some bits are noisy and lo-fi tribal a bit like that amazing Heavy Winged LP from a couple of weeks back and there are even a couple of breathy ballads but the majority is quite experimental ambient-y noisy stuff that's interesting without having to rely on an all-out amplitude assault. Maybe a bit Double Leopards or something? Hard to say but it's good!

The greater midwest 'hood is responsible for so much of the U.S.'s most living musics it seems like lately. Out here on the west we tend to get a bit blissed and burnt and, conversely, eastern seaboarders can fall into a condensed-consciousness that sometimes doesn't translate well to those outside their bubble. But in the middle country there's often a rawness that's honest and real and really clears the ears/mind, and for our tastes Ashland, Kentucky's Social Junk are champs at this direct, red-blooded approach. Somewhere between the Bible Belt brutality of Sword Heaven and Tusco Terror and the sticky southern electronics of Pax Titania or even recent Wet Hair, SJ navigate an interesting interzone, boiling together ominous loops, mangled sax, heavy riffs, various vocal moods (pissed, lost, aggro, angelic), militant tribal drumming, and a mess of electric atmospheres into something genuinely gripping and wholly their own. And right on the eve of both a behemoth bi-coastal tour (six weeks long!) and a brave re-location to CA's Bay Area, we are amped-as-shit to announce their vinyl debut after a million killer limited tapes and splits. Concussion Summer rumbles through noisy drum circles, hypnotic thrash, and even a couple creepy ballads, with Noah Anthony and Heather Young's co-dependent chemistry channeled into eight concise hybrid pieces of perfect/classic JUNK. High-time, and fully worth the wait. See them soon. Black vinyl LPs in jackets with artwork by Hair Police's Robert Beatty. Edition of 435.

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