Alien Boy – Don’t Know What I Am (Get Better Records)

I have a bunch of new Bay Area jams cued up for the next column, so I was glad this Portland band came across my desk. Alien Boy plays anthemic and expressive pop with early 90s punk & alt rock influences. Must be a Wipers reference in the band name and the album title and cover photo are perfect existential angst. The singing has a touch of post-Descendents band ALL going on. This has me dancing with tears in my eyes. I first noticed this band when 2018’s Sleeping Lessons came out, a great record, but the two preview tracks on this new one take Alien Boy over the top. I pre-ordered like a wild animal. Is the track “Dear Nora” named after the band? I will find out soon. See FOAP column #20 for more about Dear Nora, a brilliant songwriter.

The Anaksimandros – Beyond the Valley of Aperion (Ikuisuus)

Here’s a surprise reissue of this Finnish folk-noise band’s 2000 cassette. This was from the new wave of Finnish avant folk bands that also spawned Kemialliset Ystavat, Lau Nau, Avarus, and many other acts with fantastic graphics and wild sounds. I discovered them in 2001 via their Life is Skullbow LP, bought on a whim cuz the cover looked awesome (no internet previewing yet! “ok, gen x-er”). If you don’t know about that Finnish micro-scene, then you need to look into it. This is post-industrial folk, noise-folk, free jams played on folk instruments and recorded on cassette: mysterious, murky, wonderful.

The Fulmars – The Lost Ones 7″ and A Day at the Beach Cassette (Huupnootsche Platen Un Kassetten)

Who are the Fulmars? They are named after a sea bird, and apparently, they only sing about the sea and different types of fish. The music is murky minimal cassette pop that would fit on the ALL GONE label but would also please fans of the Tronics and Jane and Barton. These releases are a few years old, and there is no website to confirm anything, but I am covering this in the hopes that they make an LP and somehow it becomes available over here.

——————————————————————————————————

If you appreciate what we are doing here on Free Form Freakout, please consider making a small donation via Ko-fi. All donations received go towards paying our guest contributors and covering our website hosting fees.