Lothar and the Hand People - Presenting Hands down on of the best band names of the 60's and though they may only be remembered in passing, this reissue documents some of their best moments. Lothar was actually the name of the band's
Theremin, which was used fairly often on tracks that bear a resemblance to the Mothers' style. Most of the "psychedelic electronic effects" that rear up on Presenting are used as icing rather than incorporated as say, the United State of America. The rest of the album is a bit more laid back and tuneful and there are certainly some choice cuts on this debut album. Also included are a handful of early singles which follow more of the pastoral psych style and are a very welcome addition to the package, documenting the band's early evolution. The band made a second stab with Space Hymn which garnered a little bit more attention before splitting. Still this one stands as, if nothing else an interesting listen and very "60's" leaning album. Download: [MP3] Lothar and the Hand People - This May Be Goodbye [MP3] Lothar and the Hand People - L-O-V-E (Ask For It By Name) Support the artist. Buy it: HERE

WAND

Considering the amount of personal turmoil that preceded this recording, I half expected this to be an extraordinarily dark affair. That's not to say that there isn't pain in James Jackson Toth's newest incarnation as WAND; there are certainly moments that reveal hurt but more often than not Toth is able to mix these with his soft charisma and easy humor to let the darkness go down smooth. Born Bad is by no means as polished as Waiting in Vain but rough edges fit Toth's country-blues like a favorite shirt just picked up off the floor. Mostly its James and a guitar, sounding like closing time; wafts of beer, cheap whiskey and smoke floating in the air. Though there is an occasional bit of distortion here that was noticeably (and purposefully) absent from the major label sheen of the last album, this is by no means a return to the Wooden Wand days. This is instead a new corner turned; both troubadour and vagabond, sinner and saint. It's one of the most honest and heartfelt releases of his career. There's more to come in the future, with a return to Ecstatic Peace and needless to say I'm excited for that as well.

Download:
[MP3] WAND - Resuscitation Distillery Blues
[MP3] WAND - The Forgiveness Factory

Support the artist. Buy it: HERE

So as bummed as I was to have somehow missed the Sub Pop singles club this time around (I'll catch the highlights on eBay I suppose) I'm that much more thrilled to have gotten in on the HoZac Hookup Klub in all its fuzzy lo-fi glory. First round is as sweet as can be and I'm now salivating for the next installment.

	Woven Bones - HoZac Hookup Klub 7" From the first note of this single you can hear just why these boys get along well with RSTB fave Jacuzzi Boys. Swampy garage pscych that puts the damp in shirt is the main fare here and it doesn't come
much better. A raging buzzaw of guitars and pummel of skins works its way through the A-side leaving you gasping just enough breath to simmer down for the sickness that rumbles out of your speaker cones on the B-side. Look out for these boys to tear up a split with the aforementioned Jacuzzi's shortly. Download: [MP3] Woven Bones - With You Alone Support the artist. Buy it Sold Out
	Dum Dum Girls - HoZac Hookup Klub 7" Well by now this "band" probably needs no introduction as her Captured Tracks 12" has been burning up playlists and her collab with Blank Dogs as The Mayfair Set isn't exactly keeping her off radars at the
moment. Well this single should do nothing to stem the tide of praise, flying down the same roll of influences that make boys and girls alike swoon for the Girls de Vivian; the guitars are crunchy, the melodies airy and sweet and the drums pepper the tracks like firecrackers. Three solid tracks that make the ensuing HoZac debut record seem pretty enticing. Download: [MP3] Dum Dum Girls - Mercury Mary Support the artist. Buy it Sold Out
	Idle Times - HoZac Hookup Klub 7" Making his Woodsist 7" seem lethargic, Brian Standeford's keeping the Idle Time name in good standing here. The A-side rips through a garage punk racket that's got more than a few whiffs of melody on a
chorus that mixes a bit of aerosol and butane into quite the fire. As he has in the past, the B-Side cools of any A-side heat with a slow simmer of psych-blues that makes Standeford a bit of a double threat. Plenty to love on this single and hopefully the output won't end here. Download: [MP3] Idle Times - Million Miles Away Support the artist. Buy it Sold Out

Thee Oh Sees + In The Red = Gold

John Dwyer's Oh Sees simply can't be stopped. Starting with last years The Masters Bedroom the band has been on a scuzzed up prolific streak that hits the soft spots in our love for garage with just the right amount of melody and rumble. Tomlab never seemed an obvious label for the band, however In The Red (who also it seems cannot be stopped lately) seems to fit like a frayed and well worn glove. Help continues on the same train as Master's and ties up some of their limited releases last year with an album inclusion of "Peanut Butter Oven". Frazzled and frantic with Dwyer's pitch perfect yelps careening over the top of the garage door shuffle; you know just what you've come to expect from an Oh Sees record by now. This one might not have as much of the 50's dragstrip smell of oil plastered all over it but it's certainly got the moves to make you kick your feet and shake at least one or two hips.

Download:
[MP3] Thee Oh Sees - Ruby Come Home
[MP3] Thee Oh Sees - A Flag in the Court

Support the artist. Buy it: HERE

Vampire Hands

What with the explosion of creativity in Columbus, the bewildering psych scene in Kansas City and a hotbed of garage in Memphis it seems that the coasts don't have a lock on talent these days. Further proving this point is Minneapolis' Vampire Hands. Building songs around a heavy yet not overbearing rhythmic backbone the band adds layers of atmospheric texture that cushion the listener in sonic fog. At moments they'll heave towards classic rock guitar tones but instead of a beer soaked croon weighing it down into mundane territory they'll inflict a breathy and vamped (no pun intended) vocal over the top; giving the track the right amount of swagger vs. style. The band has a few overlapping releases floating around now well worth picking up. Me and You Cherry Red is out on CD and digital with the addition of Cuz It's a Beach Funeral. Tracks from both releases also appear on the immaculately packaged vinyl only Two EPs on Nero's Neptune.

Download:
[MP3] Vampire Hands - Safe Word
[MP3] Vampire Hands - We Widows

Support the artist. Buy it: Me & You Cherry Red (reissue) ||| Two EPs

Shogun Kunitoki

Very excited to see Finland's Shogun Kunitoki return with another album this year. The band keeps their sound rooted in a vortex of organ fury with no shortage of rhythmic chaos flailing underneath. With the first track the band eases you into their world before exploding sound into vivid color and flashing lights. Buzzing like some hive mind come to envelop your soul for good, the band are the perfect mix of Krautrock and demented circus. I'd say this was up for the best Finnish release of the year but then again I don't underestimate Fonal and I see that Risto also has a release scheduled for '09. Nontheless Vinonaamakasio is an impressive accomplishment fraught with the kind of visceral psychedelia most bands could only aspire to. I'd highly recommend this to any fan of music, Finnish or otherwise, just don't make me try to pronounce Vinonaamakasio out loud.

Download:
[MP3] Shogun Kunitoki - Riddarholmen
[MP3] Shogun Kunitoki - Ratalintu

Support the artist. Buy it: HERE

As an extra added bonus the LP version of this album is a picture disc that features two 16 frame animation loops that can be viewed using a ~10Hz strobe. And if you don't happen to have a ~10Hz strobe, you're in luck because the band is selling a nifty kit you can solder together on this rather adorable owl screened circuit board. Don't say a band never tried to boost you're musical experience. The Finn's are working overtime.


Click HERE to check out the kit.

A very garage-blues heavy Jukebox this week that's packed full of the fuzz you know you love. Plenty of tunes lamenting over bad women. Funny how that seemed to be a prevailing 60's garage theme huh? Listen to enough of these tracks and you'd think a relationship in the 60's never ended due to a cheating man. Nah that could never be the case, right?

[MP3] The Authentics - Climbing Through
A rough-edged blues bit with a garage flavor here. The Authentics rumble the bass and let loose with some nice harmonica on this family oriented cut. Not exactly the most rebellious of fare but it does the trick.

[MP3] Wayne Gibson & Dynamic Sounds - Baby, Baby Baby Pity Me
On the other hand Wayne Gibson takes the blues to more desperate lengths with some nice fuzz tone and a pounding beat. The tracks rips into a pretty rough but unfortunately too short solo but its Gibson's pleading that keeps this one fresh anyway.

[MP3] The Unrelated Segments - Where You Gonna Go
Moving away from the garage-blues for a minute the unfortunately named Unrelated Segments get a nice bouncy strum goin, bolstered by a youthful howl and some white-boy soul on the background vocals. Sprinkle in a few odd effects here and there and this track is certainly memorable.

[MP3] Tonto and the Renegades - Little Boy Blue
Tonto and his Renegades cut a page out of the Animals scrapbook with plenty of energy and the requisite amount of fuzz. Tonto (if that is your real name) brings the yelpin fury to this odd love song. I'm not sure how rebellious you can make a nursery rhyme reference but I guess the renegades make as much of it as possible.

[MP3] The Tree - No Good Woman
Now The Tree know how to make it sound fierce. A heavy blues cut with vocals that are really more "talking in rhythm" than singing but the whiskey soaked voice and down and dirty blues guitar make this a pretty sweet slice of 60's garage if there ever was one.

RTFO Bandwagon

Columbus' lo-fi arsenal just got a little bit of country charm injected into it. RTFO spit a pretty nice shot of fuzzed out lo-fi pop but what's impressive is that they can also put on a bit of simple folk-country grace that hits like a last call barroom closer. The A-side of this shines like gold sifted out of the dusty western riverbed; 4 songs that show their full range and play up the sweet dynamic floating back and forth between male and female leads. The B side of the LP brings back the fuzz pop and reprises the title track "Dums Will Survive" in a lengthy destroyed alternate take. The band is definitely working out some kinks but nonetheless show a hefty amount of promise once they figure out how to mix their influences as seamlessly as the first half of this record.

Download:
[MP3] RTFO Bandwagon - Dums Will Survive
[MP3] RTFO Bandwagon - Like a Dan Shearer Over Troubled Water

Support the artist. Buy it: HERE

As always Sacred Bones dished out a great batch of singles. I'm not sure how they're keeping the quality and the schedule so excellent over there but I'm certainly not complaining about the results.

	Spirit Photography - Time is Racing 7" This is one of the best releases SB has put out yet, both visually and sonically. The band includes members from RSTB fave Christmas Island, but their menacing take on UK post-punk is a far stretch from Christmas Island's kiwi stroking rock. A definite
step away from the traditional SB melted-synth expectations here, rain clouds gathered and streaking the entire single in hues of gray and black, the guitar tones as crisp and cold as November wind. Visually this is a stunner, clear overlay on top of silver screen-printing. Very Nice. The band has a bunch of things on the horizon so hopefully we'll be hearing more of this in the very near future. Download: [MP3] Spirit Photography - Into the Heart of Support the artist. Buy it HERE
	The Pink Noise - Gold Light 7" Dare I say The Pink Noise has found a bit of fidelity here. The A-Sides the closest they've ever come to pop, with a bouncy beat that's a blurry take on garage shuffle and a catchy little, "bop-bop" cadence. The B-side brings the darkness with a
deadlocked beat and some clock chime keys over the top that can't help but bring to mind Blues Control's "Frankie's Problem" Still pretty impressed by Pink Noise and this only bolsters my earlier interest. Download: [MP3] The Pink Noise - Gold Light Support the artist. Buy it HERE
	Gary War - Zontag 7" Still trying to get a handle on Gary War over here. Last years New Raytheonport LP had whiffs of several blurred underground contemporaries but still some odd bit of soul that some of the other bedroom synth-punkers have lacked or just not come as close to. Here
there's a not so distant bubble of dub underneath the A-side but not a discernable lyric in sight. A great grove that suddenly collapses at the finale. Then on the flip he hits the warbled pop that puts him squarely back in the Ariel Pink corner. Further listens keep revealing more layers, which I think is part of the Gary War charm. Definitely a grower. Download: [MP3] Gary War - Zontag Support the artist. Buy it HERE

Pygmy Shrews

Despite their diminutive name, Pygmy Shrews pack a pretty heavy wallop of brutality. Blown out scuzz rumblin straight outta your speakers for the full duration of their Big Time cassette on fledgling label Work To Death. Splitting vocal duties between bassist Tia Vincent and guitarist Ben Greenburt, the band fares a bit better when Tia's screaming on the mic. Her tortured nuance gives a slap of vitality to their dump truck arsenal of feedback blasts that tends to get lost when Greenburg steps up. Meaty guitar slabs aplenty with the meters sitting way in the red, leaving a trail of gravel and grit in your ears even after one listen. Still not a bad little shot of Brooklyn aggro assault here.

Download:
[MP3] Pygmy Shrews - Catheter

Support the artist. Buy it: HERE

Pocahaunted (+Cameron Stallones & Bobb Bruno)

Well the world's been blessed with many a Pocahaunted release in the past couple of years, not to mention some offshoots but one more couldn't hurt right? On this release Bethany and Amanda are joined in their spectral divinations by Sun Araw's Cameron Stallones and veteran drone maker Bobb Bruno making this one of their most fully formed releases since the split with Robedoor. The front women are still firmly entrenched in primitive howls best listened too by moon/firelight but the addition of Stallones and Bruno gives this release a dense beauty that's previously eluded the duo on past releases. Of course I'm totally biased as I love pretty much everything that Stallones lays his guitar down on but still if you're wondering which of their many releases you need to own this one would be pretty high up there. Yet another great release in Troubleman's latest bout of small batch (500 pressed) LPs.

Download:
[MP3] Pocahaunted - Dusk

Support the artist. Buy it: HERE

Zola Jesus

Zola's Sacred Bones 7" made our year end list of best singles and left us with the question, "Can she keep it up for a full length?" Well Zola's not one to disappoint it seems as she's got two new releases that undeniably scream, "yes" to that question. First up, a LP on Troubleman consisting of mostly new tunes and one recycled from a Die Stasi compilation. Tsar Bomba is brimming with Nika Danilova's hauntingly soulful vocals that provide the slightest anchor against the chaotic swells that rage underneath, threatening to consume both her and the listening at the same time. Danilova's classical training shows through in her power and grace and its the contrast of this beauty with the dystopian instrumentation that makes her releases all the more enjoyable. Also on the table is New Amsterdam a CD on Sacred Bones that collects 4 tracks from a previous WNYU session and 6 new ones. Both releases are essential documents of Zola's incredible talent.

Download:
[MP3] Zola Jesus - Sea Talk from Tsar Bomba
[MP3] Zola Jesus - Nativity from New Amsterdam

Support the artist. Buy it: Tsar Bomba ||| New Amsterdam

	Fifty Foot Hose - Cauldron Floating somewhere out in the San Francisco Bay, just beyond the likes of Ivory, Jefferson Airplane and the more closely rooted United States of America, lies Fifty Foot Hose. The band, like USofA attempted to fuse electronic experimentation with
psychedelia and jazz influences. The combination often left them woefully off fans' radars; their only single was reportedly played once at a local San Fran radio station before being cast aside. Though the band was signed for this sole album, their lack of critical and commercial acclaim affected the band financially and they eventually disbanded with most of the members going on to make up the original musicians to accompany HAIR. Recently, following a few reissues their electronic experimentation has been recognized for its ingenuity. This is certainly one of the more polarizing releases of the late 60's as the electronic experiments may not necessarily appeal to psych enthusiasts and their bouts with psychedelia weren't exactly for the true avant garde lover. On the other hand I think that the two happen to sit quite nicely alongside each other. Download: [MP3] Fifty Foot Hose - Rose [MP3] Fifty Foot Hose - Cauldron Support the artist. Buy it: HERE

Woods

One of the mainstays of RSTB, Woods have begun to elevate their popularity in recent years to that of their other halves in Meneguar. Their latest release Songs of Shame is probably the most accessible they've ever been, with lilting dusk odes and even a few sunny afternoon vibes shaking off their usual 4 a.m. tape session aesthetic. The evolution from night whispering bedroom duo to their current psych-pop stronghold is pretty much complete with this release. Mixing the charming pop of At Rear House with the expanded rhythm section they began on Woods Family Creeps, its obvious that the band has finally come into their own with this lineup. The real clincher is the addition of Jarvis Taveniere's guitar, which adds a stronger texture to many of the songs. Throw in a great Stephen Stills cover ("Military Madness") and a longform psych romp with Pete Nolan and you'd be hard pressed to find another album this solid in their catalog.

Download:
[MP3] Woods - To Clean
[MP3] Woods - Rain On

Support the artist. Buy it: HERE

You know I never was a fan of Fucked Up. Think it had something to do with not growing up a hardcore kid and therefore not having any sense of nostalgia tied to the band but this release by Ben from FU serves up a healthy dose of garage punk that I can get down with.

	Young Governor - Virginia Creeper 7" With a pretty catchy outlook and some seriously scuzzed up guitar, this 7" from Young Governor has added itself nicely to the garage-punk canon of late. A-side burns with intensity and buries the needle in the red all the way though. The B-side adds some
breathing room at first and a almost a bit of jangle but still keeps the emotions burning on the chorus. Not sure if this will appeal to fans of his mainstay or if its too straightforward. Either way a pretty decent little single that makes me curious to hear more. Download: [MP3] Young Governor - Vigina Creeper Support the artist. Buy it HERE

Infinity Window

This album sounds pretty much exactly like the cover would lead you to believe it does; which is to say a 70's kraut nodding, blissed drone kingdom. Not since Tarkus has artwork so summed up what you're about to hear and Dan Lopatin (Oneohtrix Point Never) and Taylor Richardson (Prehistoric Blackout) know just how to swing their influences into a dreamy album full of isolated drone-scapes. The three tracks that make up Artificial Midnight slowly mutate from sweeping synth wind tunnels into burbling streams of brain wave transmissions. Not a far stretch for either musician if you're familiar with their previous projects but the combination of the two has certainly magnified what I've liked best about both in the past. The release is out on Arbor and as with most of their catalog it's extremely limited (500).

Download:
[MP3] Infinity Window - Internal Compass

Support the artist. Buy it: HERE or HERE

LSD March

It's been a while since LSD March has appeared on this site but not for a lack of material. Under Milk Wood follows closely on last years collaboration with Kawabata Makoto and a few others, though this is the first proper LSD album that's really hit me since Empty Rubious Red. For the most part made up of their sparse, lonesome folk, with foreboding overtones reverberating in the air all around it. It would be an understatement to say that Shinsuke Michishita's world seems bleak; sunlight never seems to enter the shuttered rooms of his soul, though paranoia seems to seep in through every inch of the woodwork. Just as with Rubious, amid the desperate acoustic tracks lies one scorching and pained guitar burner; giving a glimpse of the greatness that Michishita has lying dormant. He really needs to spend one album focusing his despair into electric cries, just one heavy testament, no more of this one off track teaser crap. Though there does seem to be more of an emphasis on the electric guitar here, its mostly subtle hues of feedback shading, which is welcome but I know he's got more in him. All in all a pretty solid LSDM album and well worth it for you Japanese Psych fanatics.

Download:
[MP3] LSD March- Bisyonure No Kimi
[MP3] LSD March - Dare Ga Hoera

Support the artist. Buy it: HERE

Peaking Lights

More shimmering psych nuggets from Madison's Peaking Lights. Following up their previous cassettes on Night People with a full length LP/Cassette on Night People and Not Not Fun respectively, the duo are fully immersed in the kind of gauzy synth throbs and analog brain squelch that the world needs more of. The duo have hunkered down in a bunker of tape hiss, dub hits and rudimentary beats while Indra Dunis keeps the séance crooning in full check. An element of pop lies dormant somewhere under their 17th generation tape duplication aesthetic but it too is often sacrificed to the ether. The LP is wrapped in classic SD Reed artwork as with all Night People releases but this time on the grand scale, which makes me glad that he's doing LPs now. The NNF cassette editions are presented in full J-card artwork by Amanda of Pocahuanted. Another great addition to the '09 noise army.

Download:
[MP3] Peaking Lights - All the Good Songs Have Been Written
[MP3] Peaking Lights - Owls Barning

Support the artist. Buy it: Vinyl ||| Cassette

	Chrome - Alien Soundtracks The Twinkeyz album from last week got me in a mood for obscure sci-fi goodness and naturally led me to dig out a few Chrome releases: a band that always deserves going back to. What sets this apart from the band's first album and really brings it into
its own is the addition of guitarist Helios Creed. His much more aggressive style mixed the harsh attack of punk with a more experimental approach filtered down from progressive and psych. Coupled with Damon Edge's equally weird / creepy vocals and an early love for sampling television and other found sources, the band filled a much needed gap in the experimental scene in the late 70's. From all reports the songs were originally intended to accompany a live sex show before they eventually transformed into Alien Soundtracks and considering their nature, that doesn't sound too implausible. Chrome never really received their due while they were active and have definitely gained more press in the early nineties and recently following two rounds of reissues. The latest reissue on noiseville is quite nice but as per usual I'd me more than happy to see this one properly reissued on vinyl. Hopefully someone out there is working on it. Download: [MP3] Chrome - Chromosome Damage [MP3] Chrome - Pygmies In Zee Dark Support the artist. Buy it: HERE

AFCGT

Combining members of A Frames and Climax Golden Twins, this limited CD-r from last year has recently been issued on vinyl in still limited quantities but enough so that a few more than 75 might actually score one. The album brings elements from both camps - bits of noise-punk from the A Frames and a looser structure from the Twins - the results are a chaotic clatter of a record that's a welcome addition to both bands' legacies. Though its the overt nihilism of the A Frames that really comes seeping though in the overall aesthetic here; from the monochromatic color schemes to the emotionless vocals. Unavoidable waves of paranoia and fear permeate from the edges of the AFCGT universe but amidst the noise the band occasionally lock into a pretty decent groove, that though motorik, still has some semblance of dystopian funk buried in it. The vinyl reissue on Uzu Audio is much appreciated, pressed on white vinyl and limited to 500 copies.

Download:
[MP3] AFCGT - Old Spy
[MP3] AFCGT - Return To Thundernest

Support the artist. Buy it: HERE

Brian Standeford's previous band Tall Birds was one of the first singles ever to appear in this feature. It was a promising little slice of indie-garage but then the band up and disappeared it seemed. Thankfully Brian's returned a littler lower-fi but no worse for wear.

	Idle Times - Get Your Feet Off The Ground 7" Still not straying too far from the garage sound he's mined before, but as Idle Times Standeford ups the loner pscych angle and drops any trace of sheen that Tall Birds might have offered. The A-side's got some guitar punch and a decent
enough hook and the b-side shines as a laid back fuzzed gem with an underbelly of pop. Definitely looking forward to the next single due soon on the previously mentioned HoZac Singles club. Download: [MP3] Idle Times - Get Your Feet Off The Ground Support the artist. Buy it HERE

El Jesus De Magico

The scattered bits of noise filtering out of Columbus gather more each day and lost amongst them is El Jesus De Magico. Their recent release on Columbus Discount Records sees the band moving away from some of their psych-punk roots and into spacier, noisier, Amon Duul psychic noise jam territory. And you know what? I like it. The band has really come into their own with noise and fury in tow. The LP is book ended by two lengthy gems that both build and dissolve into squall with voices breaking through to mutter dust rants before vanishing back into the passive aggressive screech of fuzz. Elsewhere they mix media with kraut lapped drums and static pulses scanning for distant life. Evidence here suggests that the band can only build on this new basis of noise and just as it begins Scalping The Guru seems to end too soon. So hopefully the group will follow in their Columbus brethren's footsteps in terms of prolific production.

Download:
[MP3] Crazy Dreams Band - Ancestor Worship-The Scope

Support the artist. Buy it: HERE

The Strange Boys

In The Red continues to keep the garage vital this year with yet another great release. The Strange Boys keep it loose and surprisingly clean shaven as far as snotty young garage goes. Tipping more nods to their mid-60's precursors than any current contemporaries (save maybe The Weakends), the boys have taken to heart the lessons that the best of their forefathers learned; taking the swing out of R&B and giving it a rough edge. The band's been a fixture in their Texas scene for a while despite their young ages but this more than welcome full length, while being a completely satisfying listen all the way throughout, only leaves listeners wanting more. This is some backyard barbecue type of jam, real sweat-stained dancing and jumping shit. With all the best garage coming out of the sweaty south, its becoming glaringly apparent that I need to uproot and get out where people dance to guitars.

Download:
[MP3] The Strange Boys - This Girls Taught Me a Dance
[MP3] The Strange Boys - Poem Party

Support the artist. Buy it: HERE

Crazy Dreams Band

Somehow the outcome of this feels like it doesn't mesh with the players that make it up. I mean hearing the names Lexie Mountain and Nate Nelson (of Religious Knives/ Mouthus) would instantly conjure up thoughts of experimental noise and dark havoc not so much classic rock, funk or soul. Now there are definitely some noisy bits contained within the Crazy Dreams Band's universe but more surprisingly there are some really pop moments as well. The pop never sticks around long enough to really knock this up to any radio frequency and it's often gobbled up by the aforementioned havoc, but the band have found this amazingly fragile balance between post-punk iciness, soul and squall. The resulting album tears a hole between 77, 69 and infinity. Lexie's not usually a straight-forward singer but here she takes the affectations of classic rock's strongest voices and applies them to a frayed and twisted takes on a funked up and free-noised outpost of rock. She still takes a dive off the reality cliff every once in a while showcasing her vocal gymnastics but the anchor of pop weighs strangely upon her. Somebody get these guys and Vibes in the same room for a psych-funk super session!

Download:
[MP3] Crazy Dreams Band - Four Winds of the Owl

Support the artist. Buy it: HERE

	The Twinkeyz - Aliens in Our Midst (Complete Recordings 1977 - 1980) This is by far one of the great lost albums of the 70's (with a few extras thrown in for fun). Honestly once I heard the few tracks filtering around the internets, I
was so hooked that I began a feverish search for this out of print gem. The band released three singles prior to this album, originally titled Alpha Jerk. Though the band weren't heard much outside the Sacramento area during their tenure, their influence has continued to inspire even to this day; influencing bands like Nothing People and The Flaming Lips (in their wonderfully early acid punk days, not the soft robot/age battling days of late). They fused disjointed power pop with strange inflections of sci-fi weirdness; their lyrics centering around aliens, alienation and E.S.P. They had a sort of Velvets looseness and the band's Donnie Jupiter definitely owes something to Reed's delivery. But there's something else, even in the early b-sides which were decidedly more pop than the album turned out to be, they come from such a weird angle that could only be matched by a band like Chrome; though unlike Chrome they have a better handle on how to balance weird and pop. Alpha Jerk has been reissued twice, once in this incarnation on CD and again a few years later as Cartune Land without the b-sides and live tracks, which is regrettable as the b-sides definitely stand up to the album tracks. Both were put together by Anopholes, who really needs to get these tracks into digital circulation if not a more consistent reissue. This is one of those releases that makes my day every time. Download: [MP3] The Twinkeyz - Aliens in our Midst [MP3] The Twinkeyz - Little Joey Support the artist. Buy it: HERE (best start hitting the eBay now)

Magic Lantern / Hop Frog Kollectiv

Yeah its true there's been a lot of Magic Lantern related posts around here but it can't be helped that the band and its members are so prolific. Next up is a split LP with the Hop Frog Kollectiv and it's a pretty mellow piece compared to the Lantern's usual frayed ruckus, but not exactly unexpected. Both sides are single track, side-long meditations that harness the beauty of space and the subtlety of pluck and drone. Magic Lantern channel their inner raga sensibilities with a piece built around Ukulele, Guitar, Flute, Piano, Bells, Hand Drums & Voices. While on the flip the Kollectiv have recorded a piece based on Silvertone and Hammond organs with the usual Hop Frog ephemera of eclectic instrumentation chiming in at the edges. This is, as usual with these two artists, fairly limited (300 copies) and packaged in superb artwork.

Download:
[MP3] Hop Frog Kollectiv - SOMA (sample)
[MP3] Magic Lantern - Underwater Dynasty (sample)

Support the artist. Buy it: HERE