The first thing to blow speaker cones this week is the latest from Australia’s Naked on the Vague, “Chitty Chat” b/w “Goodbye Dark Cliche”, their first single since last year’s awesome Poltergeist Palm on Skulltones. The A-Side is a slow-creeping dirge that shatters into a billion splintered pieces, voices stumbling over one another, guitars backfiring and a clattering tribal ruckus holding the whole thing together for the duration, only to have it meltdown in its final moments. The ominous clouds roll in on the flipside, a macabre synth-war that sounds like someone shooting angels out of the sky with an AK-47 and gleefully shrieking as they plummet to the pavement. We’re not certain, but if it’s possible for something to be both utterly genius and totally horrifying at the same time, we think NOTV have captured it on tape here. - Jason Jackowiak

Modern basement-wave is served best by Sacred Bones, a label with a keen presentation and quality feedback rating. That’s what you get with this new Naked On The Vague single, ‘Chitty Chat’. I absolutely loved their debut album ‘The Blood Pressure Sessions’, as it borrowed from a quality cross-section of early 80s scenes, from downtown NY to Melbourne to Berlin. Since then, they seem to have moved further into a murky, depression-based style, where their drum machine rhythms are not to be danced and the bass and keyboards slowly sink instead of propel. The ‘Sad Sun’ EP unexpectedly had a Wolf Eyes feel at times, and their Skulltones single was cool but still sounded distant and a little too chilly when compared to the sexual thrust of “All Aboard” or “Mother’s Footsteps” on the album. They’ve gotten some of that back here with “Chitty Chat”, which shows some of the energy they seemed to be ignoring. Nice pulse, love the dual vocals, and after someone eventually turns off the drum machine I am reminded why this is one of the few bands I have consistently left my house to see. “Goodbye Dear Cliché” is another slow drifter, with par-for-the-course cave sounds and a Public Image Ltd. swagger, but it’s a nice come-down from “Chitty Chat”. This single definitely kept my interest up, confirming my excitement for their next LP, whenever that happens.

Naked on the Vague to me is repetition and sustained tones, synth and guitar fed through a rock filter. They are definitely experimental, but play with rock ideas and build a solid beat to put weird sounds on.'Chitty Chat' opens with long grating synth notes and an opposing electric guitar melody that's off on it's own. There's a great live room sound to their recordings which I appreciate. It sounds like a session, not separate elements layered or done after the fact. It's the sound of a group that knows what they're doing and then doing the opposite. The percussion can be drum machine or far away sounding sheets of metal, adding to the mystical...it's like they are summoning something really really bad. It's reminding me of listening to the two full length Los Llamaradas LP's over and over. When it gets into this pattern with those unintelligible vocals, and I can't explain it, but it just creates this uneasiness. It's not a fun place. When Chitty Chat turns rhythm it's a little like early Sonic Youth but it never entirely goes rock thanks to Dear Cliche's vocals it's always sounding really aggressive and mostly disturbing. It's a challenging kind of ritual rock. It's the kind of thing that will remind you we're not ever three days without electricity away from violence and perversion. There's just no hope with these guys.

This new batch features some of the P. Future’s heaviest hitters, so expectations were even higher than usual, and all three artist meet them, beginning with Naked on the Vague. I’ve loved this Australian girl-guy duo since their debut LP oozed into my psyche early in ’08. Their Skulltones single was another dose of shakey vibes, and their live show has garnered respect from even the most jaded cross-armies. NOTV’s stuff has kick-started a seance here or there, but no matter how ugly these two try to make their music sound, it always ends up more loveable than you’d expect. Enter “Chitty Chat,” where harshness outlasts the ritual melody and voices surface from parts unknown. “Goodbye Dear Cliche” scratches more of the black hole’s wall, spiraling to its end just in time for another spin. Play this one loud or you’ll miss all the details engulfed by the top layer.- Doug Elliot