John Wesley Coleman goes punk, Texas style. Backed by usual band members Julia Hungerford (drums) and Yamal Said (guitar), Wes called on JJ Ruiz (of Trailer Space Record Store) and Dean Beadles (formerly of Ape-Shits) to round out the Gaylords. Lo-fi and impromptu, this 7" carries on where Wes' stellar debut Steal My Mind left off—just weirder and faster. Limited to 500 copies on mixed colored vinyl. Artwork by John Wesley Coleman.

John Wesley Coleman might be from Austin, but his ties to the Memphis music scene run deep. As a member of the Golden Boys, Coleman played Murphy's and the Buccaneer regularly, and the band also earned a spot at Goner Fest Nine. Not one to be tied to a single project, Coleman has released solo albums for numerous indie labels, including the Greg Ashley-produced Last Donkey Show for Goner Records in 2012. The self-proclaimed "Trash Poet" has numerous side projects, and Coleman has even released poetry and movie scripts in addition to offering a dirt cheap songwriting service in which he will write any paying customer a song about whatever they want for less than what an album costs these days.

It's important to have all of that understood before listening to Coleman's latest single "Radio," the first with the Gaylords backing him. Both songs on the Spacecase single are stripped down and to the point, with Coleman repeating phrases like "I gotta radio" and "messin' with my brain" over and over. While "Radio" builds to a climatic ending with swirling synthesizers and blown out guitars, "Aliens" is over in less than two minutes, leaving the listener to wonder if Coleman and company got abducted at the end of this recording session. If this brand of weird, fried psych punk is what the Gaylords are capable of getting out of Coleman, an LP would definitely be worth checking out. For now, this great single will have to do.
--Chris Shaw, Memphis Flyer