Shane's Recs: Top Ohio Releases in Recent Memory

By: Shane Riley, Promotions Director

Ohio is a silly state filled with silly bands that play for millions of dollars every night. Every once in a while, they cut records, too. Here are the best and most famous records from our great state in recent memory, as can be confirmed by the charts, on which all of the following are absolutely skyrocketing.

1. MURDEREDMAN - MURDEREDMAN 7’’

This is really nuts, this stuff. It really is. I wholly recommend it, as the title of this blog would state. The band's from Cleveland and it's somewhere between some heavy, shirtless spitting Jesus Lizard or Pissed Jeans or Shellac and a little wackier Flying Luttenbachers-type shindig.

2. Giant Claw - Max Mutant

This guy is a whacko, I can tell ya that much. He releases about 37 albums every couple weeks and all of them are mostly dope. This is his latest. It moves away a bit from his other work--a little less repetitive synth arpeggios a la Tangerine Dream (or whoever else has played synth in the past 400 years) and a little more emphasis on jazz drums samples and overall confusion. Sounds kinda like Squarepusher but a bit more nutso, ya know?

3. GAZER - Phone Commercial

Yeah, yeah, it’s kinda noise rock, it’s kinda punk or whatever. Sounds like Fugazi or someone else that sounds like that. I do know that it’s all very well done and one could not possibly resist listening to such a feat. I’m losing steam here but hey, it’s great. Check it out, live it up.

4. Mike Shiflet – Llanos

This was released a little bit ago, but hey, it’s quite good and everyone who has ever listened to it thinks it’s kinda pretty and it really is. Some good ol' field recordings blend in perfectly with some mellow harsh-out noise vibes and they all sound just jolly.

5. Fertile the Drip - Fertile the Drip

Whoa, this is actually a pretty great thing. Even though some dumb blues rock riffs take over every once in a while, it just makes sense in the worst way possible. Kinda like Naked City or some meta postmodern start/stop intentional campiness-type act. Genuinely weird, wet and wild, and who could want something more than that?

6. Moth Cock - Bremmy

Just listen to this little windbag play the clarinet with another nice guy doing nothing at all except hey, he’s really twiddling some knobs there and holy hell it sounds just dandy. This is live and it should be that way.

7. Zack Kouns - The Peasant Girl's Crotch Full of Stars

This guy’s a hack but his music is nice enough to make a little list, so.

There’s a lot more but eh, that’s enough for now.