Efterklang with The Danish National Chamber Orchestra

At some point I would have thought that Efterklang's music couldn't get any more grand, anymore robust, any more sweepingly cinematic but I would be wrong. Shortly after recording their beautiful album Parades in 2007, the band was invited to perform with The Danish National Chamber Orchestra. New arrangements were written and the huge group took the stage at the Koncerthuset in Copenhagen. The results are just as one would expect from a band that plays hauntingly utopic music straight from their hearts. Each nook of Performing Parades is filled with delicate sounds, epic sounds and impossibly moving sounds. Thankfully the performance was not only recorded but also filmed and both the CD and LP packages for these are accompanied by a disc documenting the performance. Efterklang has long ached to sound this full and brimming with cooperative life, now they've finally have the chance to fulfill that dream.



Download:
[MP3] Efterklang - Mirrador (Live)
[MP3] Efterklang - Caravan (Live)

Support the artist. Buy it: HERE.

Teepee

Some of the most digestible jams we've heard yet from Eric Lopez-Zareno who aside from his one man meanderings as Teepee is also known to record with Electric Bunnies and Melted Sunglasses. The last few drops from the Teepee camp have been bogged down in drone coated molasses but this time Eric opts for the simplicity of synth-punk and scarred acoustic odes ground through a familiar lo-fi filter. Skittering along on dime store beats, taped together with noise and remnant guitar strings, Morals bashes a nice collection of dour seizures through the wringer of cheap recording and splays them out through cheap speakers. Definitely eking out a personality for himself on this longplayer and getting me more pumped for that HoZac single that's set to drop in the Hookup Klub later this year. Limited and put out on Lopez-Zareno's own label. Grab one while you can.

Download:
[MP3] Teepee - I Told You So
[MP3] Teepee - Philippines

Support the artist. Buy it: HERE.

Curtis Harvey

Curtis Harvey plays with the soul of a man beaten and beleaguered by time but never broken. His blend of acoustic folk and roots seems to pull out the most restless elements of the lonesome troubadour; rambling soft but never complacent. Often times Harvey hits just between the wearied delivery of Tom Petty's Americana divorce anthems on Wildflowers and the stark realities of his new labelmate Tom Brosseau. Not bad company to reside in, truth be told. With his humanism rolled up smartly in his sleeves, Harvey imparts a feeling of somehow listening to an old friend and at the same time looking into the face of a stranger. It'd easy to find the differences between Harvey's former work in Rex and Pullman and remark on how yet another of rock's players has embraced folk as the twinge of age besets him. However, Harvey wears the skin of folk so well that his professional past takes a backseat to his personal past as told through this collection of dusted originals.

Download:
[MP3] Curtis Harvey - Seen
[MP3] Curtis Harvey - Across The Sea

Support the artist. Buy it: HERE.

Yoga

From the issued descriptions of Yoga, I'd expected more straightforward Evil to be injected into their sound, and though the band does emit a fair amount of creepy, poltergeist channeling static; they're more embryonic than demonic it would seem. Amidst the lost radio broadcast tones and sweeping energy there are a few surprising and chillingly calm moments that touch on Rosemary's Baby-esque creepiness, for instance the serene float of "Dreamcast". Now maybe I'm not sensing the demons because I spend a good deal of my time listening to bands who invoke the "channeling purgatory" vibe through oscillated noisescapes, but still Yoga do a fair job of layering abstract static into a blanket of hushed and harshed tones in equal measure. The vibe comes off as damaged nostalgia of black metal tapes, the fogged memory of the angst of youth rather than transmissions from the growling source. It's a well constructed web of gauzy skuzz though, even if it doesn't spend any real time hovering around the 7th layer of hell.

Download:
[MP3] Yoga - Encante
[MP3] Yoga - Dreamcast

Support the artist. Buy it: HERE.

Jacuzzi Boys

So it's finally come to pass. The Jacuzzi Boys have broken out of a sea of singles to bring forth their full length album No Seasons. Thankfully resisting the urge to repurpose too many of those aforementioned singles (with the exception of the killer "Island Ave") the band lays out eleven new songs that fulfill exactly what we were hoping for all year. No Seasons churns out a jangled, mangled, heavy, heady and downright catchy bunch of tracks begging to be played on repeat day and night. Keep in mind that old adage about never judging a book by its cover because even though the No Seasons artwork may lump them onto a few "worst cover" lists, there are more than enough charms contained within. And who cares anyway because this thing isn't leaving your turntable for a good long while, all you'll see are fat black groves spinning while you move.

Download:
[MP3] Jacuzzi Boys - Smells Dead
[MP3] Jacuzzi Boys - Planet of Dreamers

Support the artist. Buy it: HERE.

CoCoComa

The hits keep-a-comin' on Goner this year and the second release from Chicago's CoCoComa is no exception. With their brash garage rock spilling over with pop charm, this is no lo-fi bit of scuzz and fuzz but a fully formed force of rock n' roll. Things Are Not All Right brings a bit of epic, fist-pumping fun back to the forum and it doesn't let up through any of its 10 tracks. It's everything you could possibly be looking for in under 30 minutes; clanging guitars, huge choruses and a roll of organ swelling like a seasick call to arms. Goner always leads and never follows, digging up the most authentic scraps of garage culture from the heartland to Australia and filtering it all through that down and dirty Memphis ear of theirs. Get on board or get left behind, suckers.

Download:
[MP3] CoCoComa - Suspicious
[MP3] CoCoComa - Alright, Alright, Alright

Support the artist. Buy it: HERE.

OM

Saw OM with Six Organs of Admittance last week and though my interest in the post-Sleep project had never really dissipated it may have stagnated a bit. That is until now. The addition of Grails' Emil Amos has done nothing to diminish the band's sound, and in fact his more rhythmic style has made the live show more propulsive and visceral than the band has ever been. On record, their latest album God is Good is as heavy and devastating as ever, with the only weak link being of course Cisneros' rather cringe-worthy lyrics which have dogged the band from the beginning. Still they seem to make the most out of the drum and bass (with a bit of Eastern influence mirroring Amos' work with Grails) aesthetic and continue to creep like a storm front across the unsuspecting plains with each new album that's birthed from their amplified core.

Download:
[MP3] OM - Meditation is the Practice of Death

Support the artist. Buy it: HERE.

While there's a sea of groups today mixing the brash delivery of garage with the blue-eyed soul of 60's girl groups, it wasn't such a crowded field back in the original garage wave. Though the boys dominated the field of pouty lipped rockers and fuzz-toned romps, the girls could do it just as well as any tight-trousered lads. These girls paved the way for quite a few of RSTB's current faves. Big love to Romulan's Girls in the Garage series here. Collect the whole set if you're down.

[MP3] The Belles - Come Back
Kicking off with a thick slab of bass then switching to a sweet jangle of garage pop, this track by The Belles is a standard garage rocker with just a hint of girl-group in the vocal interplay. Seems the girls are much nicer about ex flames than the boys, asking for forgiveness rather than issuing scorn.

[MP3] The Models - Bend Me, Shape Me
Throwing a bit of psych style on top of this 60's staple, The Models have fuzz in check and a great source of swing. The effects start to get a bit over the top towards the end but they're far from the first group to take studio trickery one step to far. A joyous version of this well worn tune.

[MP3] Kim and Grim - You Don't Love Me
Proving their male counterparts don't have a lock on garage blues either, Kim and Grim bring the twang and rumble with a down and dirty blues riff topped with their dichotomy of accusatory/apologetic vocals. This one swings more 60's psych-pop in the vocal department than girl group but it's still got that twinge of sweetness under the surface.

[MP3] The Blue Orchids - Oo Chang a Lang
Not to be confused with the 80's post-punk group of similar name, The Blue Orchids rip the fuzz and keep things down and dirty. No there's a blast of sneered delivery? This is the template for brash girl groups to come, no more pleading, just fiery garage action.

[MP3] Karen Verros - You Just Gotta Know My Mind
Verros brings the thick vocals on top of a swinging, twangin' garage rocker that can't help but move those feet. Sugar and spice on this one, as the vocals cool down the heat from the guitar solo and the drums pepper along the way.

[MP3] Crazy Girls - Hey Hey Ha Ha
We'll leave things off on a light and fun note with this simple rocker that's not much in the lyric department but the guitars cook in prime garage fashion. Tie those laces tight and get ready to move!

Demdike Stare

From the twisted minds of Miles Whittaker and Sean Canty comes Demdike Stare. While Wittaker's roots like in the Manchester electronic acts like Pendle Coven and MLZ, Canty is a renown record collector with ties the the Finders Keepers label. The building blocks of Demdike's sound truly lie in Canty's collection, which spans everything from Turkish and Iranian psych to Finnish Drone and minimal techno. The pair cull samples from every corner of Canty's archive and weave them together into haunted landscapes that writhe and seethe with dark instincts. Samples are fused with the caustic, airy ambiance that surrounds many latter day dubstep releases causing the music to feel as if it inhabits no particular time and place; it's as primal as it is futuristic. Tracks pulse with disjointed rhythms and touches of African melody, dub washes and deep heretical drones; but ultimately occupy none of those bodies completely. Each listen gives way to a further study in sound and darker recesses of the record's soul. The whole project is carefully laid down by Dubplates & Mastering, the house responsible for Moritz Von Oswald, Basic Channel and other purveyors of brilliantly layered soundscapes giving it the crisp sound such an endeavor deserves.

Download:
[MP3] Demdike Stare - Jannisary
[MP3] Demdike Stare - Ghostly Hardware

Support the artist. Buy it: HERE.

While Christmas Island's debut album fully lived up to the promises laid down by their initial 7" and gauntlet of influences referenced in print prior to its release, it seems there's no stopping them there. The band lays down a 7" for Captured Tracks and seemingly outdo themselves all over again.

	Christmas Island – Nineteen b/w Twenty Nine 7" Concept albums come and go, and usually they go and go and drag on too long. However a concept 7" seems about the right speed for the coneceptualist on the go. Christmas Island offers up a pair of tracks that
shed light on two of youth's pivotal ages and the decade that lies between. The A-side, "Nineteen", jangles and shuffles through down and out summer bummers of drinking, boredom and restlessness. It's earnest ambling is the perfect fit to suburban wanderlust. The track is as stripped and raw as the nerves of any recent graduate with a spiteful distaste for their surroundings. On the flip the band runs through the dead end feelings of dashed expectations and goals unfulfilled. The production gets a bit denser and the pace slows to a bittersweet saunter. Each line drips with a mid-life desperate restlessness that's more earned than the former track's youthful impudence. The band nails each age perfectly and this comes off as one of the more well executed singles of the year. Download: [MP3] Christmas Island - Twenty Nine Support the artist. Buy it HERE

Naam

Naam follow their excellent Kingdom EP with an epic metal masterpiece that proves that prog hasn't been lost to the quest for the riff in these times. Not that the band can't hit a groove and work it, Naam play Sabbath styled rockers like they were born into it. But like the best of early Sabbath, the band knows how to weave in elements of space and texture amongst the heavy basalt blasts of pure volume and amplifier fallout. Feeling like the natural born sons of Hawkwind, King Crimson and of course Black Sabbath; the band has their history down without sounding like they're just tracing the pictures of the yesterday's greats. The recording, done on a farm in upstate New York, is uncluttered and crackles with an analog electricity that fits like a tattered trench coat over the framework of Naam's sinewy songwriting. Down to the artwork itself, this album has the makings of a metal masterpiece. It's one of Tee Pee's best of the year and the reason they're always a label to watch.

Download:
[MP3] Naam - Skyling Slip
[MP3] Naam - Tidal Barrens

Support the artist. Buy it: HERE.

Leyland Kirby

James Leyland Kirby is better known to the world as The Caretaker but under his given name he delves no less into the haunted recesses of nostalgia and memory than he has under that longstanding alias. His latest album, Sadly, The Future Is No Longer What It Was is a cinematic sweep into the recesses of melancholy; the way it affects our lives and our connection to things physical and emotional. Over the course of three discs, Kirby's music washes over the listener in gentle waves that gradually eat away at the hardened exterior that protects one against the ravages of longing and the fleeting tendencies of memory. Kirby reminds us that time will always win in the fight to keep moments locked in amber, that the corrosive qualities of age will always triumph over the most strident archivist. But it seems, in the instant the tear is shed, you've already forgotten why you shed it.

Over the course of the album Kirby seems to see both sides of this dilemma, with some tracks twinging with a queasy sense of lost panic, scrambling ever so uselessly to hold onto the eroded pieces of life. Other tracks become calm, which may be more unsettling than the former pieces. The struggle ends because the listener has already forgotten what the fight was for. Easing back into acceptance and never really remembering what all that fuss was about anyway.

The album's not quite as sinister as this would imply, there are beautiful moments when Kirby nails the overwhelming bliss of easing into the past, letting go and remembering when the cold wasn't so sharp and the faces not so hard. Kirby's provided a full map of the terrain of emotions that like in wait for all those who tread into the recesses of nostalgia and that in itself eases the pain of inevitable loss.

Download:
[MP3] Leyland Kirby - Don't Sleep I'm Not What I Seem, I'm A Very Quiet Storm

Support the artist. Buy it: HERE.

Brilliant Colors

A very impressive follow up to the band's lo-fi singles earlier this year, Introducing is surprisingly crisp, clean and seriously fun. Honestly after seeing the band live earlier this year and hearing those initial singles, I wouldn't have expected this album to turn out as anything more than a radio crackled shout from across the room but sprinkle on some of that Slumberland pop bounce and polish up the knobs on their amplifiers and the band shows their true spirit can outshine any genre aesthetics. Flinging a huge dose of jangle into the mix along with the requisite fevered spray of distortion and that cheeky girl-group charm that goes a long way to move feet and soften hearts, Brilliant Colors have the right elements working overtime. Sure they're going to get a tough run of comparisons to similar entries into the female garage trio pantheon of late but they've certainly got enough tunes to backup their claim.

Download:
[MP3] Brilliant Colors - Absolutely Anything
[MP3] Brilliant Colors - Short Sleeves At Night

Support the artist. Buy it: HERE.

	The Godz - Third Testament Much has been debated (in small circles at least) about the importance of The Godz within the context of modern music. Lester Bangs' experience with their first album is probably the most telling. For well over a year he considered
it (and thus told people it was) the worst album ever made, but eventually he would grow to love it so much he'd become one of the band's main champions. And he's right in saying that they are one of the most inept, but also one of the most interesting bands of the late 60s. Interesting because though they played like they'd just found their instruments in a dumpster outside the studio; they also played with exuberance and unpretentious honesty. So much can't always be said of many band's of the late 60s who following their first taste of acid, found truth and decided to tell the world they'd found it. The Godz have made possible some of the most discordant, distraught and distressed sounds that emerged later in rock. Much like a cagier Shaggs (whose obliviousness is often their greatest asset) The Godz shine because they don't necessarily try to. Anybody could play it but most wouldn't have the follow through to do it stupid enough. Third Testament stands as the last taste of the early band before they somehow got the impulse to actually learn to play and both sides of their persona are on view here. Although Bangs himself thought they lost their spark after Godz 2, this still retains some of that fire that made them what they were. Still it's the older material that really seems to stand the test of time, so I suppose this stands as a momentous shift from groundbreaking to just broken. Download: [MP3] The Godz - Womban [MP3] The Godz - Ruby Red Support the artist. Buy it: HERE

Woven Bones

Austin's Woven Bones follow up several hot blooded 7"s with a 4 track EP on Zoo Music, and its chock full of the same venomous, sweat stained rock that made us fall in love with their singles. The boys have a knack for distilling the heavier side of shoegazey psych ala Spacemen 3 and sandblasting it through a heavy shower of fuzz, a pummel of rudimentary drums and kicking the lyrics chock full of enough sneer and swagger to make a young girl blush. It seems as the records get longer, the band just gets better, with "If You're Gold, I'm Gone" inching its way alongside their other A-Sides to become an endlessly repeated listen around here. The EP's just a taster though, as we're pretty sure that full-length on HoZac is gonna rip the doors off of anything it touches.

Download:
[MP3] Woven Bones - If You're Gold, I'm Gone

Support the artist. Buy it: HERE.

Captured tracks lays another batch on a clamorous public and as expected its chock full of killers. Ganglians continue their reign as one of the greatest exports California's got going for it.

	Ganglians – Blood On The Sand 7" A double shot of the pop side of Ganglians on this 7" as the band eschews their noisier experimentations for the pure echo bliss of Cali waves. The A-Side's all gooey vocals and sinister stomp, making for a nice yin-yang of a
track that fills all your aural needs. The flip amps up the sweetness and strips back the reverb just a bit but still has plenty of pop charm to fall in love with. An absolute double punch of greatness from a band that appears to not have any plans for resting on their way to greatness. If they keep 'em coming like this, there will definitely be no stoping them. Download: [MP3] Ganglians - Blood on the Sand Support the artist. Buy it HERE

Emeralds

More nebulous, craggy energy from Ohio's greatest export, Emeralds. The band's S/T album amps up the synth work, occasionally putting them in the very same headphone euphoric headspace that the most recent Oneohtrix Point Never album seems to creep into. Carving out sea caves with lasers, the band washes over the listener in equally muted and crisp tones, a faded photograph of a 60's ideal of the future perfect. By now it seem almost a given that whatever comes out of the Emerald camp, be it McGuire or Hauschildt solo albums but more especially the group proper, will be of the utmost quality. Dive in and let the mind wander amongst Emeralds' deep sonic caverns. Each minute feels like tidal breath, letting the darkness seep into the lungs and brain just a bit further. Relax, don't struggle and it won't hurt a bit.

Download:
[MP3] Emeralds - Diotima

Support the artist. Buy it: HERE.

Moon Duo

Wooden Shjips axeman Ripley Johnson follows up his debut 12" flying under the Moon Duo moniker perfectly with this EP on Sacred Bones. Killing Time finds common ground between his work with the Shjips and the long, winding, static pocked, Krautrocked jams that he laid down earlier this year. Replacing a bit of the hiss and fizzle with a steady booted beat and even a bit of recognizable vocals slipping through the mix. As with any great EP, Ripley leaves you aching for more as the blurred visions of the A-side peak with "Speed" and then give way to slower mindscapes on the flip that burn low and practically beg to pick back up into a fevered beat. Hopefully Ripley's solo ventures won't end here because these entries to the psych cannon are getting just too sweet to dissipate now.

Head on over to Pukekos where you can download a bonus Moon Duo live track, "Bopper's Hat Jam" and check out the accompanying video.

Download:
[MP3] Moon Duo - Speed

Support the artist. Buy it: HERE.

Sonny & the Sunsets

More sunny California pop from Sonny & the Sunsets, following up nicely on that 7" that piqued our interest earlier this year. Both of said 7" tracks appear on Tomorrow is Alright, and the tracks that bookend them are equally compelling in their breezy, quirky, skittish humor. With Sonny there's no telling whether the joke's on him or the joke's on you, tongues are poked firmly in cheek while at the same time being so confessionally honest that it catches you off guard. Johnathan Richman and Brian Wilson clasp hands and stumble down hillsides to laugh in the sun and cry in the shade and somehow main Sunsetter Sonny Smith pulls it all off with the charm and conviction of a wizened soul shaking his head at those young bucks that'll never listen and hardly learn. Couldn't hurt a bit that a few RSTB faves show up to help Sonny on his journey; Shayde Sartin, Tim Cohen and John Dwyer all contribute to this fine pop cauldron. Vinyl is limited to 500 pieces; you'd be a fool to sleep on this one.

Download:
[MP3] Sonny & the Sunsets - Too Young To Burn
[MP3] Sonny & the Sunsets - Death Cream

Support the artist. Buy it: HERE.

	The Night Shadows - The Square Root of Two Originally branded Little Phil and the Night Shadows, the band's roots go way back to early garage groups from the late 50's, far before many of their contemporaries. Despite this longstanding history in garage
rock the band didn't really garner attention until 1968 when they were swept up in the psychedelic movement and subsequently released The Square Root of Two. They re-record a few of their earlier singles and pile on fuzz plus add quite a few new rumblers to their repertoire. Not surprisingly for a band delving into the psychedelic movement for the first time, there are a few self-indulgent moments and tell tale studio trickery that comes off hammy but when The Night Shadows cook it down right their practiced playing helps them pull it off in style. Though this seemed to be their last ditch effort, it stands as a fun and occasionally great fuzz flecked garage album. Download: [MP3] The Night Shadows - So Much [MP3] The Night Shadows - Anything But Lies Support the artist. Buy it: HERE

Turbo Fruits

When Be Your Own Pet first stumbled onto the scene people made a big deal about their age. Sure they were young and they sounded it but they weren't exactly reinventing garage pop. What they were doing was perfectly distilling the "fuck it all" attitude of youth into a ridiculously fun concoction of pop and three chord, fist pumping riffs. Sure some of that had to do with the brash persona of Jemina Pearl, who incidentally also has her own album coming out shortly, but a lot of what made the band cook was the boys in the background. Well unblur the photo, because Jonas Stein and John Eatherly have finally come for their own due. Their first album was a bit uneven, fun, but uneven. They've returned with Echo Kid to take pop, garage and punk and boil those elements down to their wide smiled common ground; then they proceed to shove them in your face and walk away laughing all the while. Not since Cheap Time has an album so perfectly distilled the folly of youth. Also big bonus points for spoofing one of the most ridiculous album covers in classic rock history. Fat Possum, do the right thing and issue this on vinyl.

Download:
[MP3] Turbo Fruits - Trouble!
[MP3] Turbo Fruits - Naked With You

Support the artist. Buy it: HERE.

The Yolks

The air is crisp but as the summer winds down there's still more time for more 60's pocked garage. Keeping things breezy and decidedly easy, Chicago's frayed and frazzled Yolks fall right along the current Shattered/Goner garage fuzzfest that's kept the last year lo-fi and unbearably fun. Round up the usual three chord suspects and dash a bit of brash pop, a freckled tumble of organ and the recipe seems pretty much set for jangled bliss. From chord one its hard to sit still while the Yolks are on the scene. Shirts are sweated, sole's are worn thin and souls are lifted but that's all just part of the equation as far as The Yolks are concerned. This one's limited so don't miss out on that fat black lacquer. You know you'll regret it if you snooze.

Download:
[MP3] The Yolks - Jane
[MP3] The Yolks - Rambling

Support the artist. Buy it: HERE.

MV & EE

Matt Valentine and Erika Elder return to Ecstatic Peace and bring J. Mascis and Jeremy Earl with them. Following up their looser Drone Trailer with a bit of a return to the form that made them staples of the Ectstatic Peace stable, Matt & Erika don't quite rope in the full acoustic blues that they laid down with The Golden Road but they seem to have eked out a bit of a compromise of the styles. Fully indulging their love of the jammier side of the late 60's and early 70's, its unsurprising to hear them mention names like Grateful Dead and Hot Tuna when ticking off influences for Barn Nova. Though mostly new fare, one older CD-r fave "Get Right Church" gets a bit of a heavier, bluesier make over smoldering right along the rest of the late night bonfire jams that make up the album. More sunburnt goodness from the Northeast and just what we've come to expect and love from the duo.

Download:
[MP3] MV & EE - Get Right Church
[MP3] MV & EE - Feelin' Fine

Support the artist. Buy it: HERE.