NOISE Annoys is back in its regular saddle this week, having battled the vagaries of Microsoft Word Mobile Edition (wot, no 'word count' feature? Cheers there, Bill) to file last Friday's Gama Bomb-stuffed copy from the sunny Caribbean.
Indeed, it was while sunning it up in the name of quality travel features that news of the new Screaming Eagles single and promo video first reached me.
Breaking All the Rules is another headshakin', foot stompin' slab of catchy radio-friendly riffage from this Banbridge-bred crew which celebrates all manner of bad behaviour in a classic 'southern rock' style.
The video clip is pretty cool too, especially if you're into crime/gangster flicks like Casino and Reservoir Dogs and classic Playstation games like Driver and Hitman.
It features the band being fleeced at the card table by a 60s muscle car driving Agent 47 lookalike and, to be honest, the modestly budgeted clip proves to be more solidly entertaining than the last megadollar Hitman flick starring Quinn from Homeland.
Have a gander at Fb.com/screamingeaglesrock and then consider the purchase of said single via your preferred online retailer.
While lounging poolside in a pina colada and jerk chicken-induced haze, I was also reminded (via the joys of free wi-fi) about the new project from Cashier No 9 men Danny Todd and James Smith.
With the Bella Union-signed Cashier No 9 having fizzled out in the wake of their well-received David Holmes produced debut LP, To The Death of Fun – a decent album that disappointed me by scraping off the gritty bionic psychedelia of superb early singles 42 West Avenue and When Jackie Shone in favour of a more Phil Spectorish, Beach Boys-esque sound – Todd and Smith have now regrouped as Exmagician.
While that moniker will perk up the ears of Pavement fans, the sound of their first Rocky O'Reilly-produced offering Kiss That Wealth Goodbye has little in common with the slack indie rock thrills of Malkmus, Kannberg and co.
Instead, it marks something of a return to the original Cashier aesthetic, combining mesmeric percussion and groove (the latter reminiscent of the MAARS classic Pump Up The Volume) with pleasingly ramshackle layer of guitars, groaning synths and horns.
The tune smoulders along in a manner reminiscent of the Beta Band and Spiritualized, making for an extremely promising start to Smith and Todd's latest musical project.
Available for your listening pleasure right now at Fb.com/exmagicianmusic, Kiss That Wealth Goodbye is the lead and title track from the duo's debut EP, due for release via Bella Union on November 20.
Before that, however, you can be present for Exmagician's live debut at the Back Bar in Lavery's, Belfast, next Friday night.
Admission is £5.
Finally for this week, a heads-up on the newly announced support for Californian powersludge gods High On Fire (whose current LP Luminiferous offers very metal noise pollution of the finest vintage) at their Limelight gig on Monday.
It seems that previously announced openers Black Tusk can no longer make it to our fair shores, clearing the way for Belfast's own gods of thunderous crud, Slomatics, to step into the breach.
Chris, David and Marty have been busy cooking up new material of late, so you might get a new tune or two in the mix along with all your skullcrushing faves from Estron, A Hoct and the rest of the trio's impressively doom-laden back catalogue.
High On Fire's other tour buddies, North Carolina's Bask (whose excellent psychedelic crunch-athons are well worth checking out at Basknc.bandcamp.com) are still on the bill, offering punters plenty of (head)bang for their 19 bucks.
All hail Sabbath.
