S/T
7"
noisestar_music
2007
"Loud,
saturated psychedelic rock from England, doing a good and pretty
novel job of crossing up the kind of throttling, manic psychedelia
of Oneida with nodding-off blooz riffage and weighty, ponderous
tempos. Quite a weird combination, but it works, if only on
the strength and force applied in getting it out. The songs
just hang there, filling up all the space in the room, and it's
a big room. More or less a cross-section of Heavy London, with
requisite grebo tendencies (check the 13th Floor Elevators cover)
and the painful, violent qualities of Part Chimp. Skirts the
fence between loud indie and legitimate psychedelia quite nicely,
and its runtime is long enough for you to get a good feeling
for this lot. Limited edition of 300 copies, on thick black
vinyl." - Dusted
Magazine
"7/10
- Scratchy sound on this four-track 7” – i.e. it
has four songs across its twin sides, not that it was recorded
on a four-track – can’t disguise the fact that London’s
The Notorious Hi-Fi Killers are true brutes; their awesome sonic
strength might be mildly diluted here, but it nevertheless echoes
their live force.
Recorded by a quarter of revered capital city tinnitus-spreaders
Part Chimp, this thick slab of wax – seriously, you could
kill a grown man with something this heavyweight – sends
psych-laced riffs reeling with wave after wave of distorted
amplification, the sort that pounds its way sluggishly into
your brain, like a bulldozer bringing down a Jenga tower. Grooves
are deep and straight, easy to lock into, while incessant battering-ram
drumming drives these arrangements through the blackest of holes
and out into a blistered-by-the-sun horizon. Looking back, you
can see the trees stripped of their bark; birds lie dead by
their protruding roots, their nests torched. Although not one
of these songs – one, ‘Reverberation (Doubt)’,
is a cover of a 13th Floor Elevators number (like, d’uh)
– truly captures the tumultuous experience that is witnessing
TNHFK (crap acronym, that) in full in-your-face effect, as is
aforemtioned, this record does serve as a fine flyer, if you
will, for their shows. It’s sure to arouse interest in
the bowels of previously uninitiated parties for the next Killers
set – be there, and try to hold onto your insides"
- Drowned
In Sound
"Who?
A London band specializing in psychedelic layers of fuzz, sludge,
and filth. Sounds about right. How Is It? Well, I’ll tell
you one thing: this ain’t hi-fi. The band distorts everything
so much that it’s hard to tell what the emphasis of each
song should be. Still, the reformed metal riff on “A Prayer
For The Modern Man” cuts through the static-drenched vocals
without difficulty. And the chugging, heavy riff on “Horny
& Broke” recalls Mouth of the Architect, but where
screams would follow, there is only wasted noise. As a limited
pressing of heavy vinyl, these four songs could be a cool collectors
novelty. Oh, you only collect locks of hair? Don’t bother
with this." - Absolute
Punk
"They're
cunts, I didn't like them." - boss_kitty
blog
"As
a limited edition EP, this fuzzed up slab of sheer sonic audaciousness
needs to be heard, and now! Fuck 300 copies, this should be
thrown in with the national curriculum, it'd certainly help
stamp out the stranglehold Girls Aloud have on our impressionable
youth! With the monolithic, near teutonic riffage of Todd via
the feedback drenched psychedelia of My Blood Valentine, The
dirge like pace recalling Part Chimp at their filthiest! This'd
be a deserved addition to the fabulous In Te Red Records roster!
Genius!" - Subba
Cultcha
"...
speakers appear to seize under the weight, the heaviness,
of the incumbent guitar parts. Well that may not entirely
be the case but it is a damn heavy riff. It just drags
like an elephant trying to escape a tar pit. Or a child
being taken to the dentist against their will. Or
something like that. Vocally this is close to Wino, indeed
there even a bit of Obsessed chug going on, but mainly the instrumentation
is, somewhat strangely reminiscent of Sea of Green circa Northern
Lights. Whatever the comparisons this is badass.
Jump on it quick." -
Rock-A-Rolla
4
TRACK DEBUT 7" SLAB OF ROCK ACTION FROM THIS LONDON BUNCH OF
HEAVY SCUZZ ROCKERS. REALLY HEAVY PSYCHED OUT FUZZ NOISE STOMP
IN THE VEIN OF PART CHIMP (BUT MORE GARAGEY) OR THE HEADS (BUT
MORE MELVINSEY) IF YOU GET OUR DRIFT, A CRACKING DEBUT, AND
ONE OF THE TRACKS IS A 13TH FLOOR ELEVATORS COVER VERSION..500
ONLY, GET EM WHILST THEY'RE HOT!! -
FORTE
NOTORIOUS HI-FI KILLERS Into The Light (Noisestar) Four slices
of very heavy old school primitive reverberating blues drenched
in super fuzzing heavy authentic psychedelic progressive fuzz
and the debut release from London's trend-obliterating wall
of noise makers, nothing new, nothing revolutionary, but then
who said it had to be? An aggressively positive old school sound
should you want it. Limited edition 7, 300 copies -
Organ |
WHICH
SIDE ARE YOU ON?
Rocket
Recordings 2008
"Hi-fi
is dead. Well, at least that's what the name of this UK band
suggests, and indeed, The Notorious Hi-Fi Killers embrace the
lo-fi aesthetic with not just enthusiasm, but with downright
aggression. With their amps turned up to 11 and the distortion
pedals on maximum overdrive, the band jumps and crunches through
a number of punk influenced originals with titles such as Lost
in the Modern World, Queen O' Fuck and Stars Explode, as well
as a pretty decent cover of Freddie King's Going Down. This
is not metal, mind you, but it is explosive, raw, energetic
music, stripped of any fancy modern production, just basic,
down n' dirty rock n' roll. The band does have some psychedelic/space
rock aspirations though, too, as can be heard in the somewhat
mellower She Plays With Light and Crystal Roses, and especially
in the 16-minute opus, Near the Final Destination. Here the
band stretches out, filling their sound with lots of loopy effects,
shimmering guitar notes, druggy vocals and even some horns,
sliding from a march-like mantra to a free jazz-like stew of
swirling sonic craziness. It's a bit of a strange contrast to
what has come before, but ends up being my favourite track on
the album. Personally, I would have preferred to have heard
more of the freakiness, less of the punk-like influences. Infusing
their rockers with a bit of psychedelic weirdness, as they are
obviously quite capable of (and interested in), would have made
for a bit stronger album, in my opinion. Still, if you are tired
of a lot of over-produced, slick rock like you hear so much
of in the mainstream these days, The Notorious Hi-Fi Killers
are a welcome breath of fresh air. I just hope they embrace
their psychedelic side a little bit more on future releases."
- Aural
Innovations
"Completing
a trio of UK based guitar destruction, The Notorious Hi-Fi Killers,
get everything right on their debut album "Which side are
you on?" Kicking off with the Stooge like riff/drone of
"National Crisis", the band blaze their way through
the next 50 minutes, with highlights including the short and
definitely not sweet "Queen'o'Fuck", the slow-motion
confusion of "The Distance Between Us", and the Sabbath
inspired ""Feel Like I'm Fading Away". Best of
all however is the 16 minute head-fuck of "Near the Final
Destination", a practically perfect mix of the Doors epic
tendencies, the Stooges noise aesthetics and Spacemen 3's Psychedelic
visions, the song slowly imploding into a welter of drones,
skronking horns and general madness." - Terrascope
"Whilst
most sleazy rock bands belt out great immediate songs that are
ultimately disposable, this London three piece go the long way
round and just mutate what, at the heart of their sound , is
fuzzy go ahead rock , and twist it in to a myriad of shapes
that create a rather unique whole. If you start taking note
of what bands come to mind as you listen to Which Side Are you
on? You’ll soon run out of paper, since there is so much
interweaved in these twelve songs that you’ll just end
up scratching everything off and writing a big fat Notorious
Hi Fi Killers on the What They Sound Like and be done with it.
There’s the hard hitting Motorhead bass groove of ‘Don’t
Wanna Know’ , there’s the trippy psychedelia of
the enormous Near The Final Destination, the far away sounding
ambience of The Distance Between Us, the Melvins esque crushing
swagger of Feels Like I’m Fading Away , and the pure Black
Sun nasty sludge destruction of Queen O Fuck, All this is just
scratching the surface, as the whole thing is enveloped in a
hazy mist that is both classic Sabbath and vintage Kyuss, giving
the albums songs a common thread that prevents them from disassociating
from each other due the wildly different directions they point
in. If you want something that’s intelligent and original
but which at the same time is immediate and nods wisely to the
past classics, The Notorious Hi Fi Killers are your men"
- Rock-A-Rolla
"8/10
- ...the final victims are The Notorious Hi Fi Killers who have
emerged from South East London with their debut album ‘Which
Side Are You On?’, a psychedelic mixed bag of a record
that crosses so many genres it is hard to know where to place
it. The album starts with a fuzzy ‘Dragonaut-esque’
bass and vocal sound that is totally turned on it’s head
as the album moves through the bluesy garage rock of tracks
like ‘Lost In The Modern World’ to tracks like ‘Don’t
Wanna Know’ that have a spoken word Motorhead feel to
them. All this variety leaves little room for boredom and is
either a source of pure genius or the product of a talented
band with ADD."- Terrorizer
"4/5
- These south London compatriots of Part Chimp, Duke Garwood
and Alexander Tucker – all of whom guest here –
finally kick out some biker-psych power trio jams in the studio.
Mondo heavy blues collide with superfuzz space rockers, culminating
in the heroically dilated Near The Final Destination."
- Mojo
"9/10
- Have you ever wondered what it would sound like if The Sonics
fed their guitarists Kyuss steak sandwiches and Eyehategod bongwater
all day just to see what would happen? Me too! Turns out the
results have been hiding in southeast London the whole time
behind a silly name and a wall of Big Muff distortion pedals."
- Vice
Magazine
“Which
Side Are You On? mixes sludge rock with monsterSabbath riffs
and epic, Elevators-style freak outs.It's a hell of a trip,
tight and explosive, then suddenly dubbed out and loose."
- The
Stool Pigeon
"7/10
- While brownie points can be awarded for their distinctive
psychedelic vision, this debut by the London trio is no easy
listen. This is dark, murky rock n roll at its most ferocious,
with oddly dilapidated production values. For fans of uncompromising
and dirty music." - Rock
Sound
"They
do just what you’d expect a band called The Notorious
Hi-Fi Killers to do – or do they? What would you expect
anyway? Who expects what? Who are these notorious people? People
from Joeyfat, Princess Headbutt, people who’ve been around
London in various bands doing various things for a while now.
Moody smouldering edgy raw moody garage blues that’s nailed
on and direct when it wants to be, psychedelia that goes right
out (beyond) there when it has a mind to. They’re timeless,
they could be from anytime in the last thirty or so years -
no, that’s wrong, they sound like now, like the musical
melting pot that is right now. They’re not afraid of a
fifteen minute smouldering mindwarp down the river behind the
lines (where Charlie don’t surf). There’s Beefeaters
on the back cover, who knows why? Dirty filthy guitars, dirty
filthy acid blues, who knows which side they’re on, who
went in to the DMZ? North London? Which side are you on?"
- Organ
"Imagine
MC5 taking a stab at Spacemen 3 or Blue Cheer doing Loop and
you're close to what London's The Notorious Hifi Killers offer
up on their debut album. "Which Side Are You On?"
will be coming out on Rocket Recordings, a label whose pedigree
you can trust when it comes to blown-out psych and burly fuzz.
The band has a killer, fuzzed-out guitar sound propelling their
heavy-blues edge, but they also sport a primal rock-n-roll /stoned
/ psychedelic side. The track "Near The Final Destination"
is a stellar example of the Hifi Killer's take on psychedelic
bliss -- thanks to the added assistance of Alexander Tucker,
Duke Garwood and members of Part Chimp, while "Queen O'
Fuck and "Don't Want To Know" showcase their penchant
for ferocious biker-punk anthems." - Roadburn
"We
just got this bands' new album in .... in fact we just finished
listening to it ... Ladies and germs this slab has rocked us
in the nicest possible way. Overloaded backline, free jazz,
mantras, big frikkn Blue Cheer/ Sabbath riffs, and weird rock
jams are all over this thing ... so stop sulking about the poxy
Led Zeppelin gig and ready your headphones for a what sounds
like a jouney into the darkest recesses of Lemmy's head when
he first heard John Coltrane's Ascension on downers'n'speed."
- TTYC
website
"6/10
- Honestly, is someone breeding these type of bands?
Better than The Warlocks, more consistent than your average
BJM record, but without ever reaching the dizzying highs of
Comets On Fire, Notorious Hi-Fi Killers are a thudding, maelstrom
of shoe-gaze and rock & roll skuzz while Which Side Are
You On? sounds like it was recorded in a sock. A big, fat, wet
one soaked in shitty bourbon." - Get
into this |
NEW
SPIRITUALS
noisestar_music
2008
"
4/5 - Here's a vinyl only stopgap
of radio sessions to whet your appetite for the second album,
due next year, from our premier psychedelic swamp-rock torchbearers,
The Notorious Hi-Fi Killers. A steroid-enhanced rip through
the 13th Floor Elevators' Reverberation (Doubt) evidences the
group's familiarity with acid rock's first wave, but the superdense,
late-1980s sounds of Spacemen 3 and Loop have been snaffled
along the way, and burnished with battery-acid blues licks.
This heady mix sounds as if it was sunbaked somewhere on the
Texas border, but in fact it percolated up through the drizzle
of south London. And there's more coming soon."
-
Stewart Lee, Sunday Times Culture Magazine
"It
doesn’t take much to amuse me. Just put a toy nun with
an electric guitar on a record sleeve and I’m entertained
for hours. Well, maybe not hours - maybe more a matter of seconds
- but plastic nuns are pretty damn cool. And I’m stone
cold sober. The ironically named The Notorious Hi-Fi Killers
play lo-fi stoner rock with noisy indie rock tendencies. “The
Distance Between Us” sets the stage for their latest album,
New Spirituals, with a simple riff and plenty of static and
muted squeals. Over eight minutes you’ll be lulled into
a daze from which “Stone Cold Liveth” arrives with
a sharp urgency. Guitarist vocalist Johnathan Richards’s
low voice forcing high end notes makes for some great bluesy
croons. Most songs are around a minute or two, long enough to
establish a solid groove and then move on. The cover of 13th
Floor Elevators’ “Reverberation (Doubt)” is
nice, although perhaps too faithful to the original, while their
cover of Freddie Kings’ “Going Down” draws
a grin, but falls flat on the vocal front. There are just some
singers you can’t touch. “Queen o’ Fuck”
and “Lost in the Modern World” are great rock songs,
lightning fast and about as dirty as you can get. The closer
“Near the Final Destination” has some great clouds
in the sky guitar lines, although it feels a little long after
the previous musical sprints. New Spirituals is a little spastic
as an album. The Notorious Hi-Fi Killers excel at playing vintage
rock, stoner rock, and garage rock, but need to either group
like songs together, or figure out a way to bridge the styles."
- Stoner
Rock
"When
I first received this album to review I thought “what
an awful name”, and then in the judgemental way that is
expected of simple human nature, especially that of the English,
I then decided they were going to a) be definitely awful and
b) sound like what I describe as a “pub rock” band
that compromised of 15/16 year olds. Well, I was wrong. Really
f*cking wrong. Instead, these guys make intelligent, lo-fi,
indie rock a là The Stooges, Part Chimp and definitely
Comets on Fire, maybe even with some Flipper or The Catheters
thrown in. Notorious Hi-Fi Killers, despite the name, are an
intelligent bunch of music makers, it seems. Unfortunately,
it is nigh on impossible to find any details on them as far
as their backgrounds go, so they are a bit of an enigma wrapped
in a question mark, but who cares? This album, recorded live
to tape during a tour as a “companion” to their
debut ‘Which Side Are You On?’, is a good mixture
of rock, blues, distortion pedals and the rawness a lot of bands
lack these days." -
Subba
Cultcha
Nevím,
jak to ty Anglicšani dešlají, ale mají jednoznacšneš
styl. Platí to o Part Chimp, o Gallon Drunk a jednoznacšneš
i o Hi-Fi Killers, kterší jsou s vy´sše zmínešny´mi
jedna krevní skupina. Vsšem tešmhle kapelám koluje
v zšilách sšpinavá krev, která byla infikovaná
sšpinavy´m rock´n´rollem a jehozš hladina
musí by´t neustále doplnšována na
nejvysšsší únosnou míru. Ano, pršesneš
jako si fetšák pumpuje do zšil dalsší a dalsší
dávku fetu aby mohl fungovat, pumpujou si tihle pánové
do hlavy stovky decibeluž, ktery´ je ovládají
a ozšivují. Kdyzš jsem videšl poprvé Part Chimp
(s nimizš se Hi-Fi Killers obcšas dešlí o bubeníka),
tak mi to ustršelilo hlavu, protozše poté, co se chvíli
jen tak bezprizorneš motali po podiu, najednou bez jakéhokoliv
varování doslova skocšili na kytarové efekty
a bubeník ršízl do virblu a toho nejveštsšího
cšinelu. Byla v tom krutá, animální zšivocšisšnost,
brutální síla i záblesky pršemy´sšlivosti.
Kdyzš tam obcšas hodili, nešjakou víc rozehranou pasázš,
tak vás to jen tak vlácšelo, jako kdyzš vás
zbicšovany´ho pršivázšou za koneš. No a práveš
tady je ten pružsecšík mezi Part Chimp a Hi-Fi Killers,
kterší na vás nejdou hned z bicšem, ale snazší
se vás napršed lapit do síteš. Za toho koneš vás
ale pršivázšou stejneš a nešjaká ta rána
bicšem taky padne. Ve své podstateš je to fakt "dirty
music for dirty people", jak sami o sobeš písšou.
Bicí s krutou basou pršesneš vymezujou prostor a kytary
si v nešm obcšas dešlají co chtešjí. Poletují
nahoru doluž a vytvárší pršed vasšima ocšima bizarní
obrazy z tónuž, které vám rozsširšují
panenky. Hlavní inspirace je jednoznacšneš v psychadelickém
rocku 70. let a pak taky samozršejmeš v Black Sabbath a to hlavneš
tehdy, kdy jsou Hi-Fi Killers peškneš rozjetí jako naprš.
v sedmé Quenn o´Fuck. Jsou ale i schopni vám
sšeptat do ucha a jen vás tak napínat nádherneš
rozlozšeny´mi akordy, které rezonují prostorem.
V tešchto momentech bych skoro pršísahal na to, zše slysším
Doors ovsšem v mnohem tvrdsším podání.
The Notorious Hi-Fi Killers je kapela, slozšená se skvešly´ch
muzikantuž, kterší zvládají pracovat s
obrovskou sškálou vy´razovy´ch prostršedkuž,
bytš vycházejí z jednoho inspiracšního
proudu a vsše navíc poskládat dohromady tak, zše
se vám z toho zatocší hlava. - CzechCore
Garázšová
pudovost a syrovost, hard rocková riffovost a smysl pro
melodie a kolem husté mázy psychedelie, ktery´
jsou stejneš opojné, jako pohled na kola barevné
plísneš, která je k videšní na zdech té
garázše, kde tohle vsšechno vzniká. Tak takhle
nešjak bych asi jednou veštou popsal to, co umí britsští
ty´pci s parádním názvem The Notorious
Hi-Fi Killers vykouzlit na svém lonšském live
albu "New Spirituals".
"Hrajeme sšpinavou muziku pro sšpinavy´ lidi"
ršíká o sobeš tahle trojice. Jo, jasneš, ale my
se bavíme o sšpíneš, která nevadí,
není odporná a nemazše. Tohle je sšpína
z poctivého rockandrollového zšivota a blues holky
a kluci. Rozdejme prosteš kytaru, basu a bicí, pršed
tím si poslechnešme pár desek stary´ch dobry´ch
oblíbencuž, kterší tenhle mix psychedelie a rockandrollu
smazšili uzš v 70. letech, dejme tomu vlastní názor
a bez nešjakého velkého uvazšování
to tam napalme a nechme se tím bavit. Takhle nešjak myslím
The Notorious Hi-Fi Killers k své tvorbeš pršistupují.
Kytarové orgie, náhul i neškolikaminutové
jemnešji znešjící kousky psychedelického
snešní. Ale to uzš sem vlastneš ršíkal. Osobneš
si tuhle kapelu dokázšu pršedstavit nejlíp v nešjakém
mensším zaplivaném klubíku, v bocšní
tmavé ulicšce, kde vešcšneš nesvítí veršejné
osveštlení a kolem popelnic bešhají krysy. Uvnitrš
klubu sedí parta pokérovany´ch fotruž v
dzšískách bez rukávuž a cucají své
pivko. Kolem nich kršepcší jejich synové v odrbany´ch
dzšínách, na hlaveš maj hára, cšíra
i sšvihácké úcšesy ala Elvis a vsšichni
dohromady jsou tam moc spokojení a sštšastní.
Pozor! The Notorious Hi-Fi Killers práveš zacšínají!
- MusicZone
"Dél-kelet
Londonból jön a The Notorious Hi-fi Killers, akik
a 70-es évek rockzenei alapjait keverik némi pszichedelikus
beütéssel, melynek végeredménye egy
építkezo˝s, impulzív, magával ragadó
lo-fi rock&roll. A teljesség igénye nélkül
pár név, amely zenekarok kedvelo˝inek kötelezo˝
a részvétel: Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Melvins,
The Sonics, The Stooges, Kyuss és a kevésbé
ismertek közül pedig a Part Chimp, Spaceman 3, Loop,
The Catheters, Flipper, Comets On Fire." - Old
Gipsy |