Little Claw

Ecstatic Peace has a way of sneaking out great releases to little fanfare. Sure some of the bigger names get bandied about but they do have a great habit of sliding out some gems that just don't get the adulation they deserve. Portland (by way of Michigan) scuzz-poppers Little Claw are definitely one of these gems. Spit and Squalor Swallow the Snow slunk out of the stables at the tail end of last year but I didn't stumble on it until finding them on fellow MI heroes Tyvek's myspace. Anyway they're a completely obvious choice for the Ecstatic Peace stable; noisy, unpolished and rooted in great nineties rock aesthetics. This is a Bikini Kill by way of the Raincoats style euphoric pop mess that's just as much scuzz and growl as it is hazed and shoegazed as it is gristled jangle punk. With an assured and feminine delivery the band's singer/guitarist Kilynn is definitely one to watch now and in the future. Those jumping on the Times New Viking truck should double back and pick this one up quick and in fact I'm almost surprised that Siltbreeze didn't have a hand in this. Released on vinyl only as if you wanted a CD anyway. Seriously, don't hesitate to grab this one!

Download:
[MP3] Little Claw - Movies For You
[MP3] Little Claw - Brackish Stratum

Support the artist. Buy it HERE

HEALTH kick in an entry to the Suicide Squeeze 7" series with Perfect Skin, grabbing the remix treatment from Curses.

	HEALTH - Perfect Skin 7" I'm still not sure what to make of the HEALTH//Disco phenomenon. On one hand I love that HEALTH record from last year, intense rhythmic psych with a shot of spazz but throw a typical indie-dance beat under it and it seems to lose
some of its immediacy. "Perfect Skin" is a dark brooding track off of the eponymous record and so far the Curses remix on the flip of this 7" seems to be the only one that's worked for me. The beat stays just shy of the dance floor and keeps itself buried enough in yhr dirt to be a benefit to HEALTH's style. This ongoing 7" series from Suicide Squeeze that has a pretty superb line-up going, more info on the series HERE Download: [MP3] HEALTH//Disco - Perfect Skin (Curses Remix) Support the artist. Buy it HERE

Suishou No Fune

Another ghost trail out of the Japanese psychedelic scene; Suishou No Fune's ambitious apparitions lap at the edges of space and time, leaving listeners delightfully stranded in the stratosphere. Prayer for Chibi is ambitious to say the least, spanning two discs with most tracks coming in around the 15 minute mark. This release pushes the psych-spiritual connection to new heights with chant-like vocals resting on a bed of echo-dipped guitar while tone ringlets ebb and flow through drones like serene waters crashing into sudden walls of restrained fuzz. The mood swings from mantra-like incantation to frantic visions and back to cooed lullabies as if it was the most natural cycle. Leave it to Holy Mountain to excavate the best of the Post-PSF scene and hurtle them onto American shores.

Download:
[MP3] Suishou No Fune - The Rain Falls

Support the artist. Buy it HERE

Ex Reverie

Another great release from Greg Weeks' Language of Stone, his quickly rising folk label that picks the best of Philly's fervent folk scene. Though Philadelphia's crusted interior seems a strange place for such an enclave of great folk, a quick trip a few miles outside to rocky hills and cobblestone cottages make albums like The Door into Summer seem right at home. Ex Reverie is the work of Gillian Chadwick, who has until now comprised the second half of Woodwose with Jessica Weeks. In this incarnation she keeps the emerging Language of Stone tradition of witchy lost-era folk that haunts the past as much as it moves into the future. This is not quite as evil/sweet as the last LoS release, Orion Rigel Domisse, but it has many of the same somber string touches and strangely ominous keys that made that one memorable. Chadwick's voice is picked straight out of the Pentangle/ Fairport era folk set; and mixed with Weeks' guitar and keyboards that seem at once out of place for their squeezed electricity and at home due to their panic ridden cries, she soars like modern enchantress she portrays.

Download:
[MP3] Ex Reverie - Dawn Comes for Us All
[MP3] Ex Reverie - Clouds? Or Smoke?

Support the artist. Buy it HERE

Jack Rose

With what seems like little fanfare, Jack Rose has a wonderful new album out. This time 'round skewing the solo-picker mentality and shacking up with a few collaborators to produce the seemingly lost in time, Dr. Ragtime & Pals. Featuring Glenn Jones, Micah Smaldone, Mike Gangloff, Harmonica Dan, and Sean Bowles the album treads in the American Roots type folk that Rose is famous for, but the addition of players on harmonica, banjo and washboard kick the olde timey factor up to an almost barn dance level. No fear though this never becomes a gimmick, it just puts Rose in the context he may have always been looking for. As his solo pieces can sometimes become exercises in virtuosity, this context allows Rose to become part of the band, granted an extremely talented focus of the band, but a part of something larger nonetheless. For purists there are still a few classic Jack solo pickings but the collaborations are what really tend to shine. Feeling like a long uncovered gem this is a really bright spot in Rose's already beaming catalog. Seems like its only available via digital outlets for now, which may explain the lack of fanfare. The album will be released on Beautiful Happiness, April 15th as a double disc backed with a reissue of his S/T album which has been out of print for a stretch.

Download:
[MP3] Jack Rose - Fishtown Flower
[MP3] Jack Rose - Walkin' Blues


Support the artist. Buy it HERE

Inspired by the fact that this band is now touring again after years of silence as detailed in the news section, I went back to rediscover some of the chaotic charm of this oft overlooked group. The group started as a cultish following of Father Yod who would later be known as Yahowa. Yod assumed a godlike status for himself and drew followers around the Laurel Canyon area of California, operating out of his health food restaurant in the area. There's a good break down of the albums and some back story culled from a Byron Coley piece on them in Wire, HERE.

	Ya Ho Wa 13 - I'm Gonna Take You Home The band released several albums, most of which have been collected in the God and Hair Box set put together by sometime member and collaborator Sky Saxon of The Seeds. The core group was always
the same Djin Aquarian on guitar, Octavious Aquarian on drums, Sunflower Aquarian on bass with the addition of any number of players from the "family". Yod was prone to playing a large drum and leading the tempo of the jams which with his inclusion were always unrehearsed with no overdubs. This album was recorded in '74 and is probably my favorite of the bunch. All untitled but with a great emphasis on the guitar and a throbbing rhythm culminating in two longer pieces that have improvised lyrics in a talk-sing fashion by Yod. This is Ya Ho Wa at its best, although the most popular album seems to be Penetration which was recorded around this same time. Download: [MP3] Ya Ho Wa 13 - One [MP3] Ya Ho Wa 13 - Three Support the artist. Buy it HERE
	Ya Ho Wa 13 - Savage Sons of Ya Ho Wa The most "album-like" of any of the releases. This is a blues punk gem that sometimes goes the sinister ways of Beefhart and then at times really echoes the Laurel Canyon influences that the group seemed to
be in the midst of; bits of Neil Young and The Band spring to mind. Some of the band's releases are so disparate that its often hard to believe that the same group of people produced them all. This, in comparison with Penetration or some of the groups more hippie oriented chanting seems to be the work of unfocused yet very talented people. Shortly after this album was recorded Yod sold the Source health food shop and tried to pull up roots and move the group to Hawaii in search of paradise. They were turned away at first due to Yod's somewhat pluralist tendencies but were able to gain a place to build their community on another return. Yod passed away after a hang gliding accident in '75 but the members of the core band remain and are now in the process of preparing a tour which should be very interesting indeed. Download: [MP3] Ya Ho Wa 13 - Fire In The Sky [MP3] Ya Ho Wa 13 - Red River Valley Support the artist. Buy it HERE Only available as part of the God and Hair box set right now. Some other physical releases are available here too.

The Black Angels

The Black Angels return with a fury! Directions to See a Ghost, the band's second album finds them mining familiar territory but since hot-greased repeato shredded psych is pretty good footing to stand on that's never a bad thing. Though the basis remains the same blistering wall they're known for, the band have added a few distinct changes to Ghost. In amongst the blurred and charred remains of the Texan sun, there are classic eastern touches with sitar-like string work and the heated throb of organ. Elsewhere the beat of the Angels is heavy, drenched in a thick syrup of distortion and twisted into knots of urgent, sweating vocals. They even stretch out the brutality with one track hitting the 8 minute mark and a closer that pushes past 16. The band are again releasing this on Light in the Attic and hopes are high that the label will put as much care into the packaging as they did with Passover.

Download:
[MP3] The Black Angels - Doves
[MP3] The Black Angels - Deer-Ree-Shee

Support the artist. Buy it HERE

Kria decides to put the tape machine in forward on this release for the small Japanese label Afterhours, with some excellent results.

	Kria Brekkan - Wildering 7" Following the reactions to Kria and Avey's album last year (befuddlement, disappointment, outrage, malaise) this 7" sees the former Mum-ster in full form again. Steeped in creepy ambience with her otherworldly voice floating in
nothingness above the din, "Wildering" is a true weird gem of a track. Followed up by the almost interlude-like "Pickup Sleepy" and backed on the flip by "Go¨mul vi´sa um vorid" a charmingly icy lullaby that's haunting and delicate with just the right amount of spookiness to keep it from becoming too precious. Hopefully this is the start of Kria's solo outings and from the sound they could be quite interesting indeed. Download: [MP3] Kria Brekkan - Wildering Support the artist. Buy it HERE

White Rainbow

An extension of the great work Adam Forkner lays down on Prism of Eternal Now, this five song EP secures his place as the Northwests foremost purveyor of kraut-dipped psych. Propulsive and burbling with synths and pedal drenched guitars, Sky Drips Drifts is as impressive as anything in Forkner's catalog. The repetitions become mantras drifting you in and out of awareness of the music and sometimes even consciousness; making this one perfect for late nights, early mornings or ominous storm watching. All the noises in Forkner's palette swirl in dizzying patterns, but in warm, intense almost giddying flashes, never in a way that would nauseate. Sky Drips taps into a childlike preoccupation with repeated sounds, like humming to yourself incessantly as a 4 year old and spinning around until your balance unhinges in a delightfully uneasy way. Pick this one on its own from Portland's Marriage Records, or with the vinyl version of the aforementioned Prism of Eternal Now.

Download:
[MP3] White Rainbow - Sand Sift

Support the artist. Buy it HERE

Fern Knight

Another beautiful piece of dark magic from Philly's inner circle. Fern Knight is the guise of songwriter and gossamer voiced singer, Margaret Wienk. This is the most fully formed and devastatingly potent album she's done under the Fern moniker yet. Her voice hangs unobscurred and terribly assured above the harmonic scrabble of sun baked guitars and harrowing strings, played amiably by a group that includes Jesse Sparhawk, Jim Ayre and James Wolf. Recorded by PA-Folk ringleader extraordinaire, Greg Weeks and put forth by VHF, this certainly has all the right pieces to the puzzle. Despite the cast and crew that bolter this production though, it really is Wienk's voice and songwriting that shine on this eponymous album. When the tone is somber, her voice captures you in its sadness but never lets you feel pity and when the mood turns light, it pulls the sun from every corner of the room like drawing a shade. So far its been quite a fair year for folk but this is definitely the strongest folk release, and more to the point one of the strongest records I've heard all year. This is definitely one to anticipate. Fern Kight's S/T is out May 6th.

Download:
[MP3] Fern Knight - Bemused
[MP3] Fern Knight - Loch Na Fooey

Support the artist. Buy it HERE (link forthcoming, check back soon)

Monotonix

There's been some well deserved hubbub around Tel-Aviv's Monotonix. The band has grabbed heavy support from Will Oldham whom I'm sure had a hand in their landing on Drag City. Their latest molten shot of thick garage fuzz is is the Body Language EP which is out in late April but I've got a feeling this may get a little more anticipated since the band just tore up Austin last week. The band's sound is comes straight from the blood-stained garage but every once in a while just dipping their guitars into the ghosts of Metal's past. They have a reputation for heated live sets and its easy to see how the songs translate into chaos on that level as they barely hold to the rails on record. Aside from the relative talent, intensity and charisma coming out of every orifice of this band; singer Ami Shalev sports one of the best rock mustaches seen since the hey day of David Crosby. If this is just a taste of the beast that is Monotonix, I can't wait for a full-length.

Download:
[MP3] Monotonix - No Metal

Support the artist. Buy it HERE

Come On Out Friday

If you're in NYC this Friday head on out to Soundfix Lounge, located behind Soundfix records on N. 11th in Williamsburg. Plenty of Garage-psych jumble and cheesy 60's psychsploitation for all. This month I'm screening Barbarella and Beyond the Valley of the Dolls on top of a swarthy mix of tunes. The weather's warmer so no excuses. Starts between 10 and 10:30.

I've long been a fan of fingerpicked guitar and while Fahey, Basho and Kottke might get all the acclaim there are others who played before and alongside them who's efforts seems to have been overshadowed.

	Suni McGrath - The Call of the Mourning Dove The mention last week of Suni's recently issued 7" on Tompkins Square set me back to listen to this gem from '69. As I've mentioned it was Suni's unpretentious and melodic playing that were the
show stoppers here. Where some of his contemporaries would get wrapped up in the technicalities of playing, Suni let the songs' contemplative mood and beautiful melodies be the centerpiece. The songs on The Call of the Morning Dove are begging for a proper reissue. Current stations such as WFMU here in NY and some print attention following his inclusion on the Tompkins Sq. releases have shed a bit of deserved light on Suni but he's due a formal comeback if anyone is. Download: [MP3] Suni McGrath - He Led Me Out Of The Darkness [MP3] Suni McGrath - The Call of the Mourning Dove Support the artist. Buy it HERE Gonna have to try Ebay on this one because like I said nobody's reissued it.
	Dick Rosmini - Adventures for 12 String, 6 String, and Banjo This is the steel sting album that kicked off the lot. Rosmini is known to have been influential to Kottke and Basho and though this album may lack some of the showmanship of their work, Rosmini could find
beauty in the simplest folk tunes. It's of course a bit dated now but when Rosmini finds his bearings he can make his fingers sing, which must be exactly what Kottke and Basho heard in his work. Simple rags and plaintive blues sit nicely alongside Banjo picked mountain songs placing the guitar at center stage, exactly where it needed to be. This is another album that has been long out of print and is in bad need of a reissue for the historical value if nothing else. Download: [MP3] Dick Rosmini - 900 Miles to Go [MP3] Dick Rosmini - Casey Support the artist. Buy it HERE Again, Gonna have to try Ebay on this one because nobody's reissued it.

Cloudland Canyon

Cloudland Canyon are swiftly moving themselves up in the psych ranks. Though i wasn't all that into their first release, their second Silver Tongued Sisyphus was quite impressive and their split with Lichens was more than promising. Now with their second venture for Kranky Lie In Light they've damn well asserted themselves as a forceful entity in the growing noise-psych hierarchy. This one is steeped in Krautisms, Amon Düül mechanics and Faustian tonality. The record shimmers with a light that befits the title but the most impressive factor is the power displayed in tracks like the album opener, "Krautwerk". The record buzzes and writhes with stynths full of bees and liquid stringed guitars melting into the hazy machinery of the 20th century ghost in the machine vocals. The whole thing as menacing and as beautiful as a cloud of wires and heat lightning that looms ominously in the West. I think its safe to say that this is the record in which Cloudland Canyon have found their niche and are quickly carving it wider. This is definitely one to watch in '08 as coming quickly on the heels of this record the band are putting out a split with RSTB fave Mythical Beast on Not Not Fun.

Download:
[MP3] Cloudland Canyon - Krautwerk
[MP3] Cloudland Canyon - You & I

Support the artist. Buy it HERE

Tompkins Square sheds light on this overlooked 70's steel string wizard, with his works popping up on their wonderful "Imaginational Anthem" series and this masterful 7"

	Suni McGrath - Seven Stars b/w Fantasia 7" Suni released three albums on the small Adelphi label between '69 and '72 and then pretty much went unhead of until recently when Tompkins Square (which is quickly becoming the modern day Takoma)
featured some of his work on Imaginational Anthem, a compilation of fingerpicked guitarists. This 7" was originally issued around the time the first compilation came out but you can get one now with the current edition of Imaginational Anthem Vol. III which continues in the same vein as the original comp. Suni's playing is technical but very warm and not overly showy, which can sometimes derail the intimacy of fingerpicked work. Both tracks on this 7" are sunny and unpretentious and I'd highly recommend this or any work from Suni. Download: [MP3] Suni McGrath - Seven Stars Support the artist. Buy it HERE (get it free with Imaginational Anthem Vol. III)

Guapo

With Elixirs, Guapo finally complete the triptych stared with Five Suns and Black Oni. Following the loss of member Matthew Thompson, it was inevitable that some change would occur, however Elixirs is almost completely lifted out of the heavy drone of Guapo's past and into rhythmic Eastern tones and a cinematic tension that plays like the score to a ragged, twisting noir film. Pulsing from disparate jazz tinkerings to heavy Prog organs and fierce walls of guitar, this album not only shows the band embracing a new direction but sounding better than they ever have in the past. The band add nicely to the dark overtones by enlisting the help of Ex-Swans vocalist Jarboe, who adds a her usual brand of haunted vocals to "The Selenotrope". If you've never been into Guapo in the past, I'd say now's a nice time to start listening.

Download:
[MP3] Guapo - Arthur, Elsie And Frances

Support the artist. Buy it HERE

Cursillistas

Following up some small press recordngs and an album on Time-Lag, Portland, Maine's Matt Lajoie kicks out his first widely available release. On Wasp Stings the Last Bitter Flavor he's joined by Time-Lag head Nemo Bidstrup and Sparrow Wildchild both of whom add equal amounts of dank spectral hiss to his work. Eerie vibes twist between cave mouth alchemy and field recording ambience, creeping at the edges of darkness. While there's a true element of folk at the roots, Lajoie imbues his songs with dense textures of subtle clatter; woven into lonesome night odes that creep through the ridges in your spine. Head over to Digitalis and grab one of these, its part of their continuing Arts & Crafts edition series and the packaging is beautiful and fittingly dark.

Download:
[MP3] Cursillistas - Caves Carved in Golden Light
[MP3] Cursillistas - Moccasin Tramp

Support the artist. Buy it HERE

Donovan Quinn & the 13th Month

It's probably no secret around here that I love the output in and around the Jeweled Antler Collective and I'm sorry if I've posted endlessly (sorry doesn't mean I'll stop) about Glenn Donaldson Side Projects. This time though its fellow Skygreen Leopard, Donovan who's splitting off into tangents. Within the Leopards it always seemed that Quinn played straight man to Donaldson's bushy bearded countenance, looking himself a bit like a stranded 15 year old. Though I suppose no one associated with the Antler could really be called a straight man, especially not one who'd self-inflict the name Skygreen Leopards. Anyway... Donovan's hooked up with a few in the circuit, including Jason Quever (of the Papercuts) and Karl Bauer (of Axolotl) and on October Lanterns he proves that he can stand out of Donaldson's shadow and warble with the best of them. Very much in the Leopards' pastoral earnest tone, his songs seem a bit more driven and a bit darker than his work in the past. Whereas the Leopards seem to relish the sun and ease into the day, Donovan's candor is just a bit more urgent. Though, this urgency doesn't keep him from seeming to enjoy himself and hit those skewed psych-folk vibes that spread out like clouds over the most desolate hills. I'm definitely interested to see where Quinn goes next.

Download:
[MP3] Donovan Quinn & The 13th Month - One Thousand Matchsticks
[MP3] Donovan Quinn & The 13th Month - The Guttering Flame

Support the artist. Buy it HERE

A quadruple shot of garage pop, with the emphasis leaning on melody this week; capping the post off with one of NY's premiere proto-prog bands. The jukebox plays on!

[MP3] A Passing Fancy - I'm Losing Tonight
Great song from this Canadian group that fizzled after only one album. This track was a regional hit but from the propulsive drumbeat and shuffle beat guitar this could have been much bigger. Melodic garage from the North at its finest.

[MP3] The Montanas - That's When Happiness Begins
This is becoming one of my favorite lost gems of late. Don't know much about the Montanas other than they released a few singles on Pye in the 60's but this tracks makes any surrounding information irrelevant. A catchy chorus and alternating bright upbeat guitar and snarling fuzz with soaring harmonies and hooks that you can shout along to. This is what made the 60's great!

[MP3] Music Emporium - Nam Myo Renge Kyo
This is a collectors band that has gotten some more recognition following the reissue of their sole album but for most this SoCal psych band would fall on deaf ears. Great organ driven West Coast psych with a spooky and incoherent chorus that could only be a product of the late 60's.

[MP3] Lothar and the Hand People - Sister Lonely
A later period track from the band with the best psych era name ever! The band's first album and early singles garner more attention mostly due to the inclusion of a Theremin on most songs, but this track off of Space Hymn breaks their usually light mood and gets into some excellent psych-tinged blues. Long live Lothar!

[MP3] Odyssey - Angel Dust
Searing late 60's psych from this New York band who relied on heavy fuzz and an Organ sound that heralded the rising of prog. This one is a true dose of psych excess as the driving track gives way to an extended drum solo that gives way to a bass workout! Seriously when was the last time a band laid a superfluous drum solo into a track today? A classic nonetheless.

Mount Eerie

There has always been a certain amount of dissonance in Phil Elverum's work; he's no stranger to noise, but volume, that's another story. Since he moved out of The Microphones banner and into the land of Mount Eerie his tastes have run more to the line of folk than rock. So it does seem a bit of a, well the word isn't shock but pleasant surprise maybe, to hear Phil push the volume and crank the tempo a bit on his latest release, Black Wooden Ceiling Opening. It still revels in the dark moodiness that marks all of Elverum's work but this time when the tensions peak, a crush of guitar surges through the feedback and breaks loose in crusted savagery and good old fashioned catharsis. Hell there's even a few songs that are downright catchy. In light of the upcoming reissue of The Glow Pt. 2, this seems like a perfect time for Phil to throw himself back into the tattered fray of rock, and I for one am glad he has.

Download:
[MP3] Mount Eerie - Domesticated Dog

Support the artist. Buy it HERE

News + Calendar

So in light of the upcoming (or Impednding however you see it) SXSW festival I've updated the calendar section to refelect some tours in the next coming months. And since the long languashing "Features" section up there in the navigation bar just seems extraneous, I've turned it into a news section to highlight noteworthy items that strike our fancy (or something like that). Anyway check 'em out.

The first U.S. rumblings from the Boris camp hit stores and as expected its well worth the wait. I saw the band play some of the new stuff live this week and I'll be damned if that isn't one of the best shows I've seen in a long time.

	Boris - Statement 7" So the first single ends up being "Statement", which was posted here under the rough translation from the Japanese import as "Message" earlier last month. The single version chops the long intro and cuts right to the fiery core of the beast, glad to see
the jaunty Whoo-Whoo's got left in at the end there, though. B-side, "Floor Shaker" starts out delicate but quickly lives up to its name as a real epic Boris rocker. Can't beat the sleeve design on this one but I'm still bummed about the artwork change for the U.S. LP. Ah well, can't win 'em all. Seriously if they're playing near you its worth more than the price of admission. Get off your ass and get a ticket. Download: [MP3] Boris- Statement (7" Version) Support the artist. Buy it HERE

Nessmuk

Kevin Moist lays down some transcendental guitar vibrations on his Flies Free 3" from Abandon Ship. With only three tracks worth of space to assert himself, Moist locks into some serious storm cloud vibrations and channels wet thunder through the strings. The songs range from free-out improv to hints of structured groove, but the looser Moist lets things run the more he taps the natural growl of the Western sky. More sparse than anything he's released in his tenure in The Clear Spots, but the talent he's shown among their ranks is given full license to breathe in the form of Nessmuk. Yet another release that asserts Abandon Ship as divining rod for great underground ephemera.

Download:
[MP3] Nessmuk - The Diamond Hard Grindstone of Heaven

Support the artist. Buy it HERE

Ulaan Khol

Longtime RSTB favorite Steven R. Smith is already back in these pages. Not one to sit still long, Smith's second release of the year hits the shelves March 4th. Having just exorcised his acoustic visions on Owl and kicked out the free-noise jams with Thuja, Smith turns to what seems only a natural progression in sound. Angling his solo guitarisms out of the eastern psych realm and into the maelstrom of feedback and white heat that burns around Fushitsusha, the new album touches on another side of Smith's work. Floating blind in a sea of strangled strings and a nebulous covering of drone so thick it's difficult to tell which way the tracks are headed, Smith leaves little doubt to his mastery of the guitar. I, however is only the tip of this squelch laden iceberg, as it is the beginning of a trilogy called "Ceremony" to be released in full later this year and possibly into the next. II is scheduled for release this autumn also on Soft Abuse. A daunting undertaking at best but from the quality displayed on this entry into the series I think I'll be glad to let Smith take his time.

Download:
[MP3] Ulaan Khol - Untitled 2
[MP3] Ulaan Khol - Untitled 6

Support the artist. Buy it HERE

The Goslings

Saying that the goslings revel in sludge is somewhat of an understatement; Max and Leslie Soren produce a brain altering static cesspool that threatens the very fabric of society within 3 meters of any performance of their work. Quite a few of their songs approximate what I imagine the lasting din that tears through your mind on the way out of the Black Hole sounds like. That said, it's somewhat hypnotically melodic too. Somehow this Floridian duo has woven the universes harshest elements into a beautiful darkness; smooth as a pebble on the outside and violently chaotic at its center. Seeing them team up with the folks at Not Not Fun seems downright fitting and their latest album Occasion is probably the band's best work since Grandeur of Hair. Do yourself a favor and pick up this brutal gem.

Download:
[MP3] The Goslings - Mandy
[MP3] The Goslings - Vitium

Support the artist. Buy it HERE

A double shot of psych from South of the Border; representing the fertile rock scenes that sprung up all over South America in the late 60's.

	Bango - Bango Though the Brazilian rock scene may have been more well known for the impact of Tropicalia, Bango offer the heavy counterpoint to that scene's pop textures. Just as with artists in the trop scene, Bango
let their country's natural rhythms mix with the impact of Western pop music to form a wicked hybrid, but instead of spritely samba-pop numbers, Bango took the fire and squelch of hard rock and mixed it with an amalgam of funky organs, light acoustic touches and the exuberant spirit that tends to permeate all great Brazilian music. The acoustic diversions have their moments but when Bango, rock they leave very little in their wake, and these are the tracks where the band truly shine. A great release on the always interesting Shadoks label. Download: [MP3] Bango - Motor Maravilha [MP3] Bango - Rock Dream Support the artist. Buy it HERE
	Aguaturbia - Psychedelic Drugstore If any country could have echoed the tumultuousness of the American Rock scene in the late 60's it was Chile, and Aguaturbia's lone album is a testament to the intensity their culture could add to the form. With
an almost spot-on cover of "Someone to Love" opening this album its almost hard to believe it was recorded outside of the U.S. but underneath the maelstrom of fuzz and the heavy blues that envelop like a heat-wave, Aguaturbia's restless spirit and funky rhythmic bent take this otherwise straight hard rock album into unique territories. Aside from a strong focus on blown out guitars, the other great focus of this album are the vocals of Denise (no last name listed) who delivers power and grace in equal measures. An essential album for fans of South American psych. Download: [MP3] Aquaturbia - Rollin' 'n' Tumblin' [MP3] Aquaturbia - I Wonder Who Support the artist. Buy it HERE Gonna have to try Ebay on this one.

Woods Family Creeps

Well not much better news could come down the pipe than another record from the Woods/Meneguar/Shepherds camp. This time Woods make room for one more in their tent, expanding to a trio in the form of Woods Family Creeps. Still riding the bedroom vibe high, the band are the current kings of lo-fi. Constantly on the balance of din and pop, when the tempos are pushed a bit into pop territory some brief and shining moments emerge but just as you settle in the melodies evaporate into the night. But the thing about Woods is that when those beautiful moments elevate themselves out of the pots and pans percussion and close mic-ed 4 a.m. clatter, they are some of the most heartfelt moments being laid to tape around. This time though WFC is hoisting the psych flag high. The burn of tape-hiss and detuned excursions into dusk-dawn fever swirl around the scattershot catchiness, shifting like moments of lucidity in dream. Damn fine stuff if you ask me.

Download:
[MP3] Woods Family Creeps - Twisted Tongue
[MP3] Woods Family Creeps - Sleep Sleep Sleep

Support the artist. Buy it HERE