Taken from their Matt Hartman-produced new EP 2nd Place, out 4/20 on Castle Face. Blasted Canyons is currently on tour.

mp3:
Blasted Canyons :: “Holy Geometry”

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Dope new video from our buds in Burnt Ones, off their new 7″ available now through Burger Records. Directed by Rob Williamson.

[The Mallard @ Hemlock Tavern]

Monday
Peter Case, Paul Collins, Summer Twins | Red Devil Lounge, 8pm

Tuesday
Burnt Ones, Blasted Canyons, Soft Swells | Brick and Mortar Music Hall, 9pm [free]
Thee Oh Sees, Magnetix, Pets with Pets, The Mallard | The Independent, 9pm

Wednesday
La Sera, Cold Showers, Swiftumz | Rickshaw Stop, 8pm
Mean Jeans, Guantanamo Baywatch, Primitive Hearts, The Wrong Words | Thee Parkside, 8pm

Thursday
The Fresh and Onlys, The Mantles | Makeout Room, 7:30pm
Vetiver, Dominant Legs, Simone Rubi | New Parish, 8pm

Friday
Barn Owl, Date Palms | The LAB, 8pm [16th Street x South Van Ness]
Crocodiles, Bleeding Rainbow, Terry Malts | Rickshaw Stop, 9pm

Saturday
Grave Babies, Permanent Collection, Chasms | Hemlock Tavern, 9pm
Hank IV, Electric Jellyfish, Mike Donovan, Carlton Melton | El Rio, 9pm

Anything else?

[more photos of The Mantles, by Robert Khoury]

Tuesday
Plastic Villains, Cool Ghouls | Bottom of the Hill, 6pm [free show/ noise pop party]
Wild Moth, Heist, Street Justice | The Knockout, 8:30pm
Wet Illustrated, Magic Leaves, Noah Gundersen | Brick and Mortar Music Hall, 8pm [free]

Wednesday

Thursday
Lana Del Ray | Amoeba, 6pm [free]
Gardens & Villas, Young the Giant | Rickshaw Stop, 9pm [popscene]
Flails, Dimples, Mo Odds, Pink Films | Thee Parkside, 9pm
The Younger Lovers, Los Headaches, Guitar Magazine | Hemlock Tavern, 9pm

Friday
Bare Wires, Toys that Kill, The Pharmacy | 1-2-3-4 Go! Records, 7pm [all ages]

Saturday
Brother Jt, Nothing People, Swiftumz | Hemlock Tavern, 9:30pm
Digital Leather, Blasted Canyons, Glitz | 1-2-3-4 Go! Records, 7pm [all ages]
The Mantles, Pamela, Rat Columns | Engine Works (17th & Capp), 9pm [positive destruction showcase]

Sunday
Indian Jewelry, Jealousy | Hemlock Tavern, 9pm

Anything else?

-

Tickets available here. RSVP here. Doors at 8pm, show starts promptly at 9. Hope to see you all there.

New music from The Mallard, who are releasing their debut LP YES ON BLOOD on Castle Face sometime early next year. The Mallard joins POW! + Hot Victory + Blasted Canyons tomorrow night in San Francisco at Thee Parkside for our second annual Presents showcase. Buy your ticket here. RSVP here.

The Mallard // “I Listen to Lyrics Last”

Tuesday
Meridians, Date Palms, Mike Wexler, Koen Holtkomp @ Life Changing Ministries (1629 8th St., Oakland), 7pm

Wednesday
Scratch Acid, Thee Oh Sees @ The Fillmore, 8pm
White Arrows, Races @ Brick and Mortar Music Hall, 10pm
Night Genes, Houndstooth, Garrett Pierce @ Hemlock Tavern, 9pm

Thursday
Blasted Canyons, Hot Victory, POW!, The Mallard @ Thee Parkside, 9pm [positive destruction presents]
Love Inks, Melted Toys, Tidelands @ Hemlock Tavern, 9pm

Friday
Burgers, Dimples, Pink Films, TINT, Grandma’s Boyfriend @ LiPo Lounge, 8pm
Phanton Kicks, Bad Bibles, Mist Giant @ Hemlock Tavern, 9:30pm
Wild Hum, Nathan Grice, Asabov Sobelo, Ryan Sambol @ Engine Works, 9pm
Two Gallants, Black Bird Raum, Tim Cohen’s Magic Trick @ 924 Gilman, 7:30pm

Saturday
Uzi Rash, High Castle, Lenz @ 1-2-3-4 Go! Records, 7pm [record release]

Sunday
Victim’s Family with Jello Biafra, Ty Segall, Ricky Berger @ Rickshaw Stop, 9pm [SF Rock Project benefit]

The Bay Area absolutely smashed it in 2011, with some of our favorite artists releasing amazing albums, EPs and cassettes that we’ve been listening to endlessly this year. It was incredibly difficult to cull the past 12 months to our favorite 15 releases, but we did it anyway. Check them out below and let us know what you think in the comments.

15 The Sandwitches // Mrs. Jones’ Cookie

mp3:
The Sandwitches // “Lightfoot”

14 Bare Wires // Cheap Perfume

mp3:
Bare Wires // “Cheap Perfume”

13 King Lollipop // Woodland Whoopee Songs

mp3:
King Lollipop // “Cheeseburger and Fries”

12 Pamela // Pamela is Hungover

mp3:
Pamela // “Lie Down (Eye Contact)”

11 Weekend // Red

mp3:
Weekend // “Hazel”

10 Wet Illustrated // Wet Illustrated

mp3:
Wet Illustrated // “Gypsy Town”

09 Ty Segall // Goodbye Bread

mp3:
Ty Segall // “Goodbye Bread”

08 Swiftumz // Swiftumz

Hunx collaborator Christopher McVicker managed to release one of the most understated albums of the year under the moniker Swiftumz. “Don’t Trip” is an immersive collection of hazy, moving jams that transcends the limits of bedroom pop.

mp3:
Swiftumz // “4EVA”

07 Rank Xerox // Rank Xerox

Rank/Xerox // “Sterile Regions”


Rank/Xerox // “Nausea”

06 Blasted Canyons // Blasted Canyons

Never before has an ode to weed and ice cream sounded so raw, explosive and all-together effortless.

mp3:
Blasted Canyons // “Ice Cream Man”

05 White Fence // Is Growing Faith

mp3:
White Fence // “And By Always”

04 Ty Segall // Singles 2007-2010

mp3:
Ty Segall // “Bullet Proof Nothing”

03 Wax Idols // No Future

The debut LP by Wax Idols features singer/songwriter Hether Fortune elevating the charming pop sensibilities found on her earlier work to a complete full-length, with lyrics veering from the lovesick to the macabre.

mp3:
Wax Idols // “Gold Sneakers”

02 Mikal Cronin // Mikal Cronin

This scuzzed-out compilation of pop songs marked a solid debut album from Moonhearts/Ty Segall collaborator Mikal Cronin. Unexpectedly wistful and incredibly catchy, this is a record we’ve been spinning endlessly.

mp3:
Mikal Cronin // “Get Along”

01 Thee Oh Sees // Carrion Crawler/The Dream

Thee Oh Sees scorched through 2011, releasing two mind-blowing full-length albums and a singles only double-LP all while maintaining a frenetic touring schedule that recently concluded (with Total Control). Carrion Crawler/The Dream was announced only a few weeks after Castlemania, and proved to be the “pummeling” record John Dwyer promised it to be. An instant classic and our unequivocal favorite record of 2011.

mp3:
Thee Oh Sees // “The Dream”

Thee Oh Sees // “Carrion Crawler”

NME recently put together a “cool list” of music makers and shakers for 2011; GorillavsBear did a good job ripping it apart in their list and perhaps pointed out the obvious in stating that making “‘cool lists’ is not really that cool.” Nevertheless, here’s our Bay Area version. Let us know what you hate in the comments.

10 Shiv Mehra // Creepers

mp3:
Creepers // “Spiral”

09 Corey Cunningham // Terry Malts

mp3:
Terry Malts // “Tumble Down”

08 Lars Finberg // Thee Oh Sees

mp3:
Thee Oh Sees // “The Dream”

07 Mikal Cronin

mp3:
Mikal Cronin // “Get Along”

06 Mark Tester // BURNT ONES

mp3:
Burnt Ones // “Do the Spell (Loud)”

05 Robbie Simon // Wet Illustrated

mp3:
Wet Illustrated // “Gypsy Town”

04 Tim Presley // White Fence

03 Blasted Canyons

02 Chris McVicker // Swiftumz

mp3:
Swiftumz // “Angelita”

01 Mike Donovan // Sic Alps

mp3:
Sic Alps // “Breadhead”

Beyond psyched to announce that we are once again teaming up with Thee Parkside to host our second Positive Destruction Presents showcase on the evening of Thursday, December 15th. Following up on the success of our inaugural event, the lineup features the creator of the best album of 2011 to date (Blasted Canyons), electro-dystopians Hot Victory (from Portland), POW! (it’s their EP release party) and the most recent signing to the Castleface label, The Mallard. (Incredibly sick woodcut above also by Greer McGettrick)

Tickets are on sale now. The show kicks off promptly at 9pm, and we encourage everyone to come earlier to catch all four bands. RSVP on the Facebook event page.

mp3:
Blasted Canyons // “Ice Cream Man”

Hot Victory // “ZENITH”

POW! // “Night Train To Fog Town”

The Mallard // “Fault”