From the DEMONSTRATION DEPARTMENT – The Avondales

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I often find demos that are better than actual albums, but, as a rule, I don’t include demos in my Top 5’s (even though many of the releases I do feature are far worse than demo-quality). It’s really up to the artist whether they give their release a title or just call it a demo. That’s actually the only difference, but I made the rule and I’m sticking to it. These guys, The Avondales (not from Avondale), even went ahead and gave this thing a title, but they put ‘demo’ at the end of it so fuck. Hey, don’t worry -I’m not going to let you miss out on any epic demos. If I find any, I’ll post them over here in the Fun Finds section.

In 1876 THIS happened in Ashtabula Ohio. Since then, not much, but NOW, The Avondales and their sweet little demo called There It Is, which features 7 scratchy punk tunes -One of which is a rendition of Mrs. Robinson with slightly revised lyrics. I probably don’t need to say any more than that, but there’s other good stuff on here too. It sounds like it was recorded live in someone’s basement, which might be part of it’s charm. I think they’re planning to record these songs professionally. I already feel like I’m always going to like this version better.

Doesn’t English (#011) – Rey De La Calle

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I’m trying to make my Doesn’t English posts as varied as possible, but I just keep finding kick ass Spanish-speaking punk bands. Gees! Anyway, let me ask you this: When you’re down and out in Acapulco (home of Rose Marie and drunk bros on spring break) and all you have is your skateboard, what do you do? You start smashing bros with your skateboard! Wait no, you shouldn’t do that. Start a pop punk band instead like, Rey De La Calle (King Of The Street). Then use said band to make super fun music about what a bummer life is for a skater-punk in a tourist town. Actually I think most of this EP is about lost love, but whatever, there’s some stuff about skateboarding in there somewhere. Who cares? You probably don’t even understand Spanish. Oh, you do? Well pardon me.

Doesn’t English (#010) – Tentáculo

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Straight outa the gazpacho soaked streets of Seville Spain (Home of Diego Valazquez and marinated dogfish), here you have Tentáculo. That translates to Tentacle. As in “Oh shit, you got him right by the tentacles!” said the friend of the octopus fisherman. Pretty solid rock ‘n’ roll punk going on here, with relevant lyrics too. Lot’s of spirit coming from these guys. They call themselves the dogs of Triana, which is a neighborhood in Seville. Not to be confused with the actual dogs of Triana which are probably mostly harmless, Tentáculo is, at the very least, going to growl at you until you pee your pants. Whatever you do, don’t turn and run. Try slam dancing instead.

Doesn’t English (#009) – Lügen

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Did Germany invent Post-Punk? I feel like it’s a super German type of music. It sounds so natural in that language. Emerging from the Goulash-ridden streets of Dortmund Germany (Home of the Juicy Beats music festival) this is Lügen (Lie). A barrage of black turtle-necks and even blacker lyrics. This feels like really serious music. The lyrics are no joke. Holy crap it rips though. Lots of unhappy energy here. If you’re in a really good mood and you’re just goddamn sick of it, these guys can probably help you out. The whole process is gonna sound amazing too. Don’t listen to this while you’re walking in the rain or you might end up punching someone in the back of the head.