INCHES reviews 'Woodstock', Charizma & Peanut Butter Wolf, We Break Cameras, Lilofee (MP3s)

In the strange wake of music's digital rebirth, vinyl has experienced a modest boom in popularity, seen by many as a replacement for the awkward middleman that is the compact disc. INCHES reviews the output of L.A.'s healthy vinyl community (artists and labels, indie or other), believing that good music deserves much more than a handful of ones and zeros.

Last time, we took a spin through some hypnogogic ladies and grooved with a guitar legend. This week... well, read on. Submissions or suggestions? Email INCHES here.

Chris Martins

So we're well aware that INCHES has been featuring the hell out of Stones Throw's one-off micro-label 7-inch series (last week's column included the Nite Jewel 45 on "1984 Records"), but it's not for lack of other options -- we really just can't get enough. Here's the party line on this one: "This 3-song 7-inch joint venture between Swamper Records and Radish Records was done without [...] permission. [...] As part of the out-of-court settlement, Stones Throw received all 60 remaining copies of this. Or maybe it was 600. Who remembers or cares?" Well, we all should, as the A-side contains the first two demos label founder Peanut Butter Wolf ever cut with his late, great partner in rhyme, Charizma. As these funky breaks and effortlessly smooth raps reveal, the pair was on its way to becoming another 1993 Bay Area underground success story when Charizma was tragically murdered. The B-side freestyle jam, "Peanut Butter Wolf Scratch" offers an open-ended up-note to fade out on.

Download: Charizma & Peanut Butter Wolf - "Raquel" (MP3)
Bonus: Charizma & Peanut Butter Wolf - KZSU Interview, 1992 (MP3)

Purchase at your local independent record vendor (INCHES recommends Origami or Vacation), or right now via the Stones Throw web store.

Chris Martins

You may as well get acquainted with We Break Cameras now, because if the band's debut EP is any indication, we'll be hearing a lot more from the local five-piece in the coming year. Jock Jams Vol. 2 is anything but what its title would imply. Here are six Kraut-flavored post-punk tracks that masterfully walk the line between wild improvisation and seductive groove. The A-side of this super limited platter (to be reissued in February) contains the only track with vocals -- "Dunno No," a sneered-out performance atop a punchy Can-like pulse. "Make Out One" is an eerie shredder, while B-side lead-off "Red Not Blue" is an angular epic. WBC reportedly recorded all of these live (in a Chinatown studio), letting the free-form jams coalesce into songs. Be sure to catch the band's IN-STORE AT ORIGAMI VINYL THIS SATURDAY, December 5, 7 p.m.

Download: We Break Cameras - "Dunno No" (MP3)
Stream: the entire EP.

Purchase at your local independent record vendor (INCHES recommends Origami or Vacation) -- THORN01 is sold out.

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