Title: Hanson Brothers - 'It's a Living'  Label: Wrong Records/Southern Records Released: Available Now Format: CD/DVD & Double Vinyl         I love it when I get pleasant suprises, and this the latest opus from NoMeansNo's oddball Bar-comedy-punk side-project The Hanson Brothers, has plenty of them!   The first thing that surprised me was my own lack of any observational skills, and how I should probably eye-ball the press release a bit before slamming CDs into my Mac. This CD has a DVD on the otherside, which really baffled for a second! (I had put the disk in the wrong way!)    First up, the music! THB play a blend of punk rock that harks back to the good-ol days of the Ramones and The Ruts-era Punk, but with the added twist of cleverly placed (and actually funny) odd-ball comedy. The CD is setup to sound like a live radio-session, interspersed with band interviews and rants, which actually works really well. If, like me, you are a fan of NoMeansNo, you will instantly recognise the 'sound' of this record...in fact this kind of reminds me of their earlier releases, but with more of a, dare I say, comedy-concept.    The DVD, which I ended up rewinding once I realised my mistake, is, ...

ASVA are probably my favourite of the 'Drone/Doom' (whatever) bands out there, SUNN O)) coming a very close second, so I was pretty excited to get my hands on this release. Formed a few years ago by Stuart Dahlquist (Burning Witch, Goatsnake...and I think he was a part of SUNN O)) at one point as well?), and featuring such names as Trey Spruance (Secret Chiefs 3, Mr Bungle) and the oddly named B.R.A.D. (Burning Witch), this is quite the 'super-group'. In their debut album, Futurists Against the Ocean, ASVA took the slow cue from bands like Earth and then added their own, very unique flavour.  In this record that blueprint was dusted off and added to, giving a much more individual feel to each track. At points far more sinister and claustrophobic than it's predecessor, at others faster and more urgent. Spruance's influence on this record feels a lot greater as well, the varied instrumentation, and what sounds like alternate tunings at some points.  The standout track on this record is the incredible 'A Trap for Judges', which lurches slowly like a grim leviathan nearing some awful, unearthly climax (and can be downloaded from the Southern site here). If you're interested in ...