Hungry Eye releases are available here:
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Interpunk
Revolver/ Midheaven
Cargo UK
Release the Bats (Sweden)
Mt. Sims - A Grave 12" EP
We are very proud to welcome the band/ art collective Mt Sims to the Hungry Eye stable, fronted by Matt Sims. Already quite a name in his own right, Matt Sims has two albums under his belt on DJ Hell's International DJ Gigolo label as Mount Sims, the first of which, "UltraSex", saw an American release via Emperor Norton, and was supported through a North American tour with Ladytron. He's also known for his collaborations with the Hacker, David J of Bauhaus and Cross-over. The past year and a half has seen Matt relocate from LA to Berlin and and establish a new chapter in the Mount Sims legacy, rebuilding the band with Berlin musicians Randy Twigg and Andre Lange and working with producer Thomas Stern of the legendary Crime and the City Solution. "A Grave" 12" EP is the first offering of these new tracks and will be available as a limited 12" EP on clear vinyl with stunning artwork by Peter Wu (one time pressing of 1,000 worldwide) and pushes the band even farther into the creepier and more aggressive territory he's veered into, with a concoction of electronic music and stark post-punk he's become respected for. Included is "Grave," a single off the upcoming album "Happily Ever After," and 3 exclusive tracks.
$8.50 in the USA
Available for pre-order NOW! (shipping end April '08)
First 50 pre-orders get special limited test press version
EYE14 Black Ice- Myopia
After spreading their unique brand of darkness to many corners of the globe with their critically lauded debut "Terrible Birds," the Oakland troublemakers return with "Myopia". Upping the ante with a deeper, more full sound, the Ice continue to fuse heavy experimental soundscapes with cathartic postpunk cadences creating an addictively hypnotic sound. While their last album was quickly praised by many as one of the best and most anticipated albums of the year, "Myopia" is undoubtedly more icily intense and hypnotically sinister.
EYE12 the Holy Kiss- self titled CD
Eerie Tenderloin-blues with a drunken swagger, lazy rhythms and drawling vocals. The Holy Kiss would not have become the bug in the ear they've managed to develop into if they were just served up a predictable mix of neo-blue garage rock; they are a far cry from the current set of indie rockers appealing to the Lomax recordings for credibility. They have their own sound of unease - eruptions of melancholic fury and noir-ish slide guitar ferocity; it's an intoxication of absinthe rather than whiskey. They evoke an uncanny and confused imagery, like a soundtrack to a David Lynch movie, and make for appropriate companions to bands like the Bellmer Dolls and Lion Fever. This release captures their rare, out of print, and hard-to-find early recordings, most available on CD for the first time.
EYE11 the Bellmer Dolls- the Big Cats Will Throw Themselves Over CD EP and 12" EP
They take their name from the dolls of Hans Bellmer, the German artist whose highly charged work characterized Europe's interwar period and foreshadowed the impending cataclysm of World War II. There is definitely something of the reckless abandon of the cabaret in New York City's Bellmer Dolls, as well as the cruel probing of the surrealist, making the Weimar-era artist an appropriate point of reference for them. The juxtaposition of the dark and the sensual in their own work is expressed through pounding beat cut by bursts of feedback that sears like an exposed nerve. These Dolls boast a highly impressive CV of ex- Love Life (whose other alumni formed the celebrated Celebration), Universal Order of Armageddon, and Vanity Set members and Jim Sclavunous (known for his work in Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, the Cramps, Sonic Youth, and 8 Eyed Spy) is at the helm as producer, so it is not terribly surprising how cruelly effective they are.
EYE10 the Weegs- the Million Sounds of Black CD and LP
On “The Million Sounds of Blackâ€, the Weegs return to Hungry Eye with a second full length of tripped out distorto-skronk. They take their craggly claw, latch onto early American punk/ post-punk and California “no waveâ€, and drag them kicking and screaming into the 21st century. Now even more entrenched in a crypto- sarcastic anonymity that recalls, their disjointedly pulsing rhythm throbs along with hypnotic bursts of feedback and noise that would do Arto Lindsay proud. This art-damaged racket is still uncannily musical, like some freak-beat psych band gone horribly wrong.
EYE09 Saros- Five Pointed Tongue CD
The story of Saros begins with two Bay Area natives meeting up with two east coast transplants. Armed with mutual backgrounds in punk, affinities to metal, and an interest in pushing boundaries, they took off with a running start. On the strength of an unreleased demo and the repuation of their live shows alone, they quickly gained a word of mouth following that drew interest from Slayer and High on Fire members. With a point of departure that builds on a rich tradition of Bay Area thrash, they inject atmospheric instrumentation and a punishing rhythm section that drive a hynoptic beat home with a precision that rivals their obvious krautrock and prog influences.
EYE08 the Phantom Limbs- Random Hymns 12" EP
The Phantom Limbs successfully mined the early San Francisco “no wave†scene, the seminal deathrock scene, and turn of the decade punk to conjure up their own unsettling racket. Having already secured their place in Bay Area music lore through their frenetic live shows and deranged antics, the Phantom Limbs have gained converts throughout the world with their previous two full lengths and their numerous tours. This EP, their last before an undetermined hiatus might very well be the curtain call in their histrionic death-cabaret. This is the vinyl version of the CD that just came out on GSL Records. First pressing on limited white vinyl, for those with a wax fetish.
EYE07 Black Ice- Terrible Birds CD
What started as an experimental side project to Bay Area stalwarts Phantom Limbs to compose haunting instrumental sound-scapes soon evolved to a full band of its own. Numerous compilation appearances (including Cochon Records’ “Nostalgia Del Buio†compiled by Vanishing’s Jesse Eva and Manuel Cochon, and GSL Records’ “Golden Grouperâ€) and an EP on Atakra Records landed their unnerving din instant acclaim in multiple continents. The throbbing rhythms and jagged melodies of this debut album are both atmospheric and edgy enough, and languid and razorsharp enough to appeal to enthusiasts of indie, post-punk, and deathrock fans alike.
EYE06 the Weegs- Meat the Weegs
Surrounded by the aura of a carnival freak show from hell, electronic timbres and post-punk riffs join forces to produce The WEEGS' eerie sound. Ernest burst of screams driven by relentless rhythms put on the finishing touches to this creepy and rousing record.
EYE04 Sixteens- Fendi EP
Hailing from San Francisco, SIXTEENS perform a serious dance floor exorcism. Treading the darker terrain of new wave they blare out an art-damaged electro replete with minimalist beats and eerie analog synthesizers.
EYE03 Vanishing/ Phantom Limbs split 7"
Two of San Francisco's underground favorites get together for a dark-wave/death rock split. THE VANISHING churn out a dark brand of pulsing, synth-driven madness, while the PHANTOM LIMBS serve up their own foreboding tune.
EYE02 the Witnesses- We're Taking Over 12"
New York City's newest rock'n'roll exports, the WITNESSES continue their whirl-wind conquest of the Naked City with this latest release. Combining equal doses of soul and swagger, the band offers four songs of vigorous bluesy rock'n'roll devoid of any garage rock pretension. Originally pressed for the group's debut UK tour supporting Har Mar Superstar.
BUY AT: Insound
EYE01 Urban Waste CD EP
URBAN WASTE was part of the New York renaissance of hardcore punk in the early 1980s. Much more raw, visceral, and overtly confrontational than their New York punk predecessors, these boys were contemporaries to Reagan Youth, the earliest incarnation of the Beastie Boys, and the Bad Brains. This is a reissue of the sole EP by one of the most sought after and enigmatic bands from the earliest days of New York hardcore. Despite the obscurity of the original release, Urban Waste was made famous through their signature style of blown-out, over-the-top hardcore punk replete with trademark menacing buzzsaw guitars and piercing vocals. Roger of Agnostic Front has said of them; "Urban Waste is the band that got me into hardcore."
EYE00 Skabs- Aged To Perfection CD
[description forthcoming... see website in the meantime]
Sixteens and Weegs videos courtesy of Kevin Brown's Videos. (See his You Tube site for countless other live videos!
Sixteens
Bellmer Dolls
Black Ice
the Holy Kiss
the Weegs
Phantom Limbs
the Vanishing