Pocahaunted

Somehow, though they've amassed a huge catalog that would be enviable amongst even the most prolific contenders, every time Pocahaunted unleash another record on the world we're always a bit rapt with attention. The records themselves have always been a poor substitute for the live show, but it seems that with Make It Real the band have finally made the studio environment work for them. This may be in large part due to the fact that the lineup for this recording includes heavy input from Cameron Stallones; he of Sun Araw, and no stranger to using the studio as an instrument. Stallones had been playing live with the band for the months preceding the album as well as on the previous album, Passage, and these songs bear the full mark of his fluid and absorbing guitar style. Its a pity that this will be his last record with the band but we'll all sleep a bit more lucid knowing that this album exists to soundtrack the swampy pre-dawn moments of our most confusing dreams.

Download:
[MP3] Pocahaunted - All Of Is Of

Support the artist. Buy it: HERE

Announcing RSTB Presents: Volume 2

Its that time again, we've finally completed the second installment of what's becoming our annual compilation series. Again this one was many months in the making but totally worth it as we got great submissions from so many of our favorite bands for Volume 2. Click on the poster above, the cover below or HERE to download this Raven Sings the Blues exclusive compilation that we're pretty sure you're going to love! I mean we do but I suppose in this case we might be just a shade biased. Check out that roster on the poster above and if you're so inclined, let us know what you think.

Dirty Beaches

Dirty Beaches have been rumbling around on the Raven tapedeck for a little while now but for some reason or another its taken a while for them to appear in these pages. Largely a one man show that revolves around loops and electronics but just as with fellow Night People alums, Peaking Lights, its all in how you arrange things that counts. Alex Zhang Hungtai has a knack for imbuing these sparse elements with an element of distance and a strange, disembodied longing for pasts that may or may not have happened to you. An ennui for empty hotel rooms from the 70's that you only saw on television, a longing to return to a beach you've only encountered on a post card; somehow in the pulsing, half-dozed pop that winds its way through Hungtai's world these are the glimpses that run past your eyes as if through a viewfinder snatched suddenly away. The only thing left is the taste of salt air on your tongue. Perhaps its up to you to decided if the throbbing memories are a Robitussin nightmare or a noir-doped dream. Dirty Beaches seem to have a packed schedule in the coming months; chief among the upcoming releases is an LP for Night People (always reason for excitement) and a 7" for Zoo Music. Keep your eyes on those outlets for these to appear.

Download:
[MP3] Dirty Beaches - Like Dreamers Do

Support the artist. Buy it: HERE

On the eve of the release of their collaboration with the Bonnie Prince, The Cairo Gang release a 7" on Empty Cellar that bears a bit his influence or at the very least makes clear the reasons for the two artists to cross paths. Plus a new single from the good folks over at HoZac, taking another great slice of French garage pop. Not as scuzzy as that Shake Shake Bolino 7" that appeared here a few weeks ago, but just as fun.

	The Cairo Gang – Holy Clover 7" Sounding a bit more electrified and certainly more fleshed out, The Gang has shed some of their stark acoustic past in favor of widescreen, country-tinged rock that bears the mark of the Byrds tipping into their bleaker moments and naturally a touch of
their most famous of recent collaborators as well. The entire B-side delves into vocal harmonies that sway over the slow twang of guitar and the steady throb of drums; echoing characteristics that have become chief among the Prince's repertoire. This isn't to say that the band have lost themselves to the influence of others. Though the close-miked rawness has been tempered a bit, the sentiments and scope behind the newer recordings remain just as bracing. Emmett Kelly's voice is still the driving force of the band and on top of a richer palette it only enmeshes itself deeper into your heart. Pick this limited release up from the good folks at Empty Cellar. Download: [MP3] The Cairo Gang - Holy Clover Support the artist. Buy it HERE
	The Liminanas – I'm Dead 7" The A-Side's full of disaffected charm, pounding out the huge shake and jangle of 60's pop with a big sound ala our boy Phil Spector. The hint of French accent hanging on the English vocals only makes their morbid message all the more laced
with sugar sweet aloofness (can aloof be sweet? It is here). On the flip they take things back to their native tongue with "Migas 2000" - as close as you're gonna get to French talking blues - with a stomping riff and that cool charm over the top. Definitely peaked to hear more from these guys and it seems I won't have to wait long. Following up this 7" is another on Trouble in Mind and hopefully more on its way. Download: [MP3] The Liminanas - I'm Dead Support the artist. Buy it HERE

The Daily Void

Rounding out the new batch of Sacred Bones EPs is a vile (in the best sense of the word) scrap of punk from Daily Void. The band's littered singles all over small labels like Florida's Dying and HoZac; and this EP runs through the same shit covered, death obsessed, violent tempered revue they've become synonymous with. The perfect soundtrack to scowling on the bus or standing in line at the post office; Daily Void feed on a kind of human misery that can only be observed in places like these. Rusted guitars that scratch out nothing even close to hooks, just brutal Death Punk that begs to incite destruction. The band's Mac Blackout is a busy guy, what with the Voids, his own solo work and the perfect inverse to Daily Void's glum persona, the glam-punk outfit Mickey. Definitely a man to keep tabs on.

Download:
[MP3] Daily Void - Psychic Violence

Support the artist. Buy it: HERE or HERE

Hanoi Janes

German music has been a lot of things over the years, usually leading ground in the experimental, psychedelic and rehashed American actor varieties but a wellspring of indie pop it has not been. That is until the (mostly) one man project of Hanoi Janes began building a Spector Wall of Sound up in Brian Wilson's sandbox; throw in some swagger and a smile and the classic blocks are set for building. Year of Panic tumbles from one catchy hook to the next while picking up enough glockenspiel debris, sunshine strums and background croons to smack a smile on the most ardent sourpuss. Deftly answering the mandate laid down by his earlier Captured Tracks 7", you'd be hard pressed to find a slow spot or speck of filler on the soon to be released full length. Jumping to the top of our pop list this year and rarely leaving this sanctity of our headphones it's one of the most fun releases you're likely to hear all year.

Download:
[MP3] Hanoi Janes - Beach Kids
[MP3] Hanoi Janes - Surfin' KMC

Support the artist. Buy it: HERE or HERE

Dylan Ettinger

Despite what appears to be a screenshot from Ghostbusters on the cover of his latest release, New Age Outlaws, Ettinger thankfully eschews the growing trend to fixate on the mid to late 80's through a frosted lens and, more specifically a form of after school special/PSA bed music wrapped in Saved by the Bell pinks and yellows and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle meditation. Instead Ettinger joins the ranks of Onehotrix Point Never and Steve Moore in resurrecting pure analog synth tones to their consciousness splitting rightful focus. This cassette works on repeated patterns that feel like the soundtrack to some noir tale of dark alleys and constantly encroaching peril; and the fact that these synthscapes skew much harder to Vangelis than Faltermeyer speaks to Dylan's prowess within the medium. Not to drag "hypnagogic pop" into the equation but there's a way to creep through the psychosis of the past and then there's trying to recapture the sugar high of breakfast cereals. Thankfully we have folks like Ettinger to point us down the former path. Pick this up and keep an eye out for an LP soon on Digitalis.

Download:
[MP3] Dylan Ettinger - Rico's Pawn Shop

Support the artist. Buy it: HERE

	Arthur Brown's Kingdom Come - Galactic Zoo Dossier It takes quite a feat to follow an album that proclaims "I am the god of hellfire!", but Arthur Brown did it as only he could, by going deeper and more experimental than his leftfield hit ever had. Though much
of his fame sprang from the band's electric and insane live performances, much of that ecstatic mania is caught on tape for Galactic Zoo Dossier which began to embrace the emerging prog rock impulses that sprang up around the time of its release in '72. Sythesizers take off like spacecraft and guitars cut jagged edges in time while Brown orchestrates the whole affair from on high like a shaman of his own making. The album would prove to be too obscure for even those who were able to wrap their heads around his debut but it's definitely not without its devoted band of followers, chief among them being Plastic Crimewave Sound's Steve Krakow who named his always intriguing psychedelic zine after the album. Recent reissues have included a wealth of bonus tracks but unfortunately little information about them. Still a great piece of the psychedelic puzzle. Download: [MP3] Arthur Brown's Kingdom Come - Internal Messenger [MP3] Arthur Brown's Kingdom Come - Space Plucks Support the artist. Buy it: HERE

Broken Water

Crusted with the debris of the northwest rock tradition owing to their Olympia roots, Broken Water pluck subdued melodies out of murky rock touchstones. The band, comprised of two former members of Oly band Sisters and one member of Celebration, nail the smoldering grind that washed over the Northwest output in the mid nineties. Though they do so without ever treading the same footsteps as those that came before them, rather paying homage and moving into a new era of crushing female pop. This marks yet another great vinyl release from Night People, who seem to be slowly catching the wax releases up to their fervent waves of excellent tape output. The classic Shawn Reed design on the cover only makes this all the more desirable.

Download:
[MP3] Broken Water - Dead Light
[MP3] Broken Water - Web

Support the artist. Buy it: HERE

Mattias Gustavsson's Dungen side project has always tended towards the softer side, eschewing a bit of his guitar prowess but with the pressing of this live favorite to official wax he re-embraces his inner 70's guitar god.

Life on Earth! – Blomkraftens Frukt 7" Stacked on any compilation Blomkfraftens Frukt would easily be mistaken for a rare, lost gem from years past. It has the perfect pacing, raw edge and requisite drum solo to be cut from most classic '69 - '72

power trios' catalogs. Hell, it could almost seamlessly sit on the Charlie & Esdor reissue that came out a few years ago. Paired with a downtempo acoustic b-side that plays up emotion over power and the inquisitive interlude that closes out the single, this is one of the all around strongest releases Gustavsson has put out. Down to the weathered artwork, every bit is seamlessly in place making us all the more interested for Life On Earth! to embrace their classic side or Gustavsson to impart these impulses into another raw take from Dungen themselves. Rather essential in our books either way. Download: [MP3] Life On Earth! - Blomkraftens Frukt Support the artist. Buy it HERE

Terrors

This new C20 from Terrors, the one man Baltimore bedroom entity who has shared tape space with Savage Young Taterbug and Infinite Body, is an exercise in quiet contemplation. The tracks hiss with a warmth that stains the windows wet from perspiration. Tying sauntering guitar to the subtle hum of analog drone and a voice that sighs under the quiet crush of emotion, Ceasless Fall traffics in the kind of songs etched without inhibition. In both form and execution, Terrors' songs seem to echo a long lost time, burned to tape and waiting to be found by a sole lucky listener browsing thrift store shelves, waiting to share his experience. Luckily this edition is such that more than one haphazard soul will be able to share that feeling. Bathetic has printed an edition of 50 that won't stick around too long.

Download:
[MP3] Terrors - Withdrawing

Support the artist. Buy it: HERE

Ya Ho Wa 13

Originally released in 2008, Sonic Portation was the first album recorded under the Ya Ho Wa 13 name since the late 70's. Now Prophase has issued this triumphant return on limited vinyl, making it all the more desirable. If you've read these pages before you'll know the story of Father Yod and his band of disciples/restaurateurs. Now Yod is long gone but three of the faithful have picked the name back up and oddly enough time has only strengthened them musically. Original Yod Family members Djin, Octavius and Sunflower pick up the improvised reigns and not only do they play like no time has lapsed but they execute heavy psych better than most of their modern contemporaries. The album seethes with energy, whether cosmic or not remains to be seen but they push spirituality through their music and into meditative grooves so good it's a shame it took them as long as it has to return. The group has now recorded a few follow-ups and embarked on a full-scale tour that marks their return to form, but this is the spark that ignited the flame. Limited to 500 on blue swirled vinyl.

Download:
[MP3] Ya Ho Wa 13 - Raga Nova

Support the artist. Buy it: HERE

	Bill Fay - Time of the Last Persecution British songwriter Bill Fay's second album was coldly received by reviewers and listeners alike at the time of its release. Focusing his stark lyrical sense on social consciousness issues as refracted through an exposition
of the book of revelations; Fay proved too complicated a figure for most to absorb themselves in even at a time of rapid social change and introspection. The album is much more rock oriented than his previous efforts thanks in large part to guitarist Ray Russell who lends an evocative hand to the album. Fay's songwriting began to ebb after the release of this album but it has built up a much more substantial cult following in the years since its release, finally giving him some of the praise he deserved. By no means an album full of singles but definitely a welcome companion to rainy days and dark times. Download: [MP3] Bill Fay - Release is in the Eye [MP3] Bill Fay - Time of the Last Persecution Support the artist. Buy it: HERE

More and more the new dark pop resurgence shows up on our radar and though the field is getting crowded, The Soft Moon hurtles to the front.

The Soft Moon – Breathe the Fire/Phantoms 7" The sinister whispers of "Breathe the Fire" echo a long line of lush, dark pop bands that sprouted out of the tail end of 80's post punk and shoegaze. The Soft Moon pick up the very best elements of those

movements and craft a sound that's not unlike anything we've heard before but rather a welcome scent that brings memories flooding back like old friends. The flip side continues with drawn shades and streaked rain, a world of grey skies that only mirror the desolation of city streets. This is only the first taste and from tidbits up on the band's myspace there's more great work on the way. Also we're total suckers for the band's well crafted visual aesthetic which we display in more detail in the Features Section. Download: [MP3] The Soft Moon - Breathe the Fire Support the artist. Buy it HERE

Roll The Dice

A super limited release on the ever stunning Digitalis label, this record pairs film composer Malcolm Pardon with Fever Ray collaborator Peder Mannerfelt in an overt love for the analog synthesizer. Their S/T album brings to mind Onehotrix Point Never and Emeralds among other forerunners of the new psychedelic synthwave with its cascading waves of buzzing tones and eerie ambiance. Echoes of dub and creeping cinematic tones (courtesy of Pardon no doubt) round out the album to feel more than just an analog workout of arpeggiator sweeps. A dank, moldiness fills every corner of Roll The Dice's underground kingdom, feeling somehow both earthen and futuristic in a Vangelis/Harold Faltermeyer sense of the term. These are scarce to almost non-existent but there are a few copies below.

Download:
[MP3] Roll The Dice - The New Black
[MP3] Roll The Dice - Guadeloupe

Support the artist. Buy it: HERE

Ulaan Khol

Stephen R. Smith brings his Ulaan Khol trilogy to a close with the release of III. This time the tone is still dark, but the execution more sinister. Desolate ambiance has been replaced with a brutal edge of dust-dry passages that at their core bring to mind Neil Young's work with Jim Jarmusch on Dead Man. The creeping pace of I and II is often swept away in a torrent of amplifier rage. This is the culminating moment we've been waiting for, the full breadth of Smith's guitar chops put to use and laid bare over the course of one blistering disc. The series complete is a work to behold but this final piece acts as both a closing argument and a stand alone work that remains one of the most engaging of Smith's career. Word is Soft Abuse will also wrap the whole series up in a box available in limited quantities. If you haven't made the move to begin your Ulaan Khol collection yet, now is definitely the time.

Download:
[MP3] Ulaan Khol - Untitled 2

Support the artist. Buy it: HERE

MV & EE

At their heart, MV & EE have always been a live act. Don't get me wrong, they've certainly put together excellent lineups for proper albums, and the studio's never really prevented them from getting their honey-soaked blues through to eager ears. But the real MV & EE experience isn't tethered to time or pre-conceived notions of song. They thrive within the walls of lengthy, blissed-out drone poems and Home Comfort is one of the first "official" releases to showcase their live experience from the taper's pit. Woodsist culls together several live tapings from shows in and around Brooklyn and NY and weaves them together into a mix of hushed blues and extended slide ceremonies. The latter inclusion is made up of three pieces labeled "Environments" on the album and though not all recorded at the same time as the surrounding tracks, the album flows together like one long show. The band have a veritable wealth of live tapes that, were any intrepid traveler so inclined, could be poured over with a comb befitting an ardent dead head. However, for the rest of us Home Comfort provides a perfect encapsulation of MV & EE's live spectre.

Download:
[MP3] MV & EE - Home Comfort

Support the artist. Buy it: HERE

	Ngozi Family - 45,000 Volts Much like the Witch album we reviewed a few weeks back, Ngozi Family were a part of the lifeblood of the Zambian "Zamrock" sound. In fact probably more than any other, Ngozi Family exemplified the styles that would come to fall under that
banner over time. The fuzzy leads, the heavy rhythms, the flashed of Hendrix and Sabbath filtered through an Afrobeat lens; they all made up the various pieces of 45,000 Volts. The Ngozi Family were also the backing band for another favorite of the Zamrock scene Chrissy Zebby Tembo who's My Ancestors was also recently reissued. Here, however they stand solid in their own right, ripping through heavy fuzz that sounds as if it was captured live in the studio. The songs gun the gamut down British psych influences but end up something entirely their own and an essential piece of 70's hard rock. Thankfully No Smoke has reissued this lost classic! Download: [MP3] Ngozi Family - Nizaka Panga Ngozi [MP3] Ngozi Family - Night of Fear Support the artist. Buy it: HERE

Zola Jesus

A few things have changed since we first encountered Zola Jesus around here. She's still a dark siren wrapped in the guise of shamanic chanteuse; however, the debris that fell over her early songs has been cleared away. The film that corroded her soaring voice on those early singles has been wiped clean and she's come into her own in striking clarity. The undercurrent that ripples through her songwriting is no less harrowing but seems to have become more epic in scope. Even more than on The Spoils, Stridulum seems to be the first true Zola recording, a full embrace of her power and potential as an artist. Naturally it remains a vibrant part of the Sacred Bones family and an essential fourth installment into their EP series. It seems we're no longer alone in our praise of Zola Jesus, and this is a very good thing.

Download:
[MP3] Zola Jesus - I Can't Stand

Support the artist. Buy it: HERE

A straight bolt of garage from France from this Cheveau side project that leaves us begging for more.

Shake Shake Bolino – Don't Lose Your Friends 7" Gritty French post-punk band Cheveau is often drenched in darkness and anxiety, but guitarist Etienne sheds his dark side and embraces loose, shaky garage as Shake Shake Bolino. Together with

drummer Marie Bolino, he stomps through two cuts that twang like they were straight out of the Memphis gutters and given a slight twist of accent under that pound and a half of distortion. The A-side's pure mixtape gold and shakes and stomps with the full force of a blown tube. The B-side actually picks up the pace and ravages strings in a non sequitur pony ode epic that blows out the blues in ways Cheveau never seemed capable of. Definitely a fun single and hopefully a preamble to an album. Download: [MP3] Shake Shake Bolino - Don't Lose Your Friends Support the artist. Buy it HERE

Spectre Folk

Pete Nolan, a fixture in such RSTB faves as Magik Markers and Yellow Swans, also forms the core of Spectre Folk whose psych-dirge swells cool the Marker's frantic squelch and reign in the Swans' blanket of noise. On Compass, Blanket, Lantern, Mojo the skies turn pink and wide with an ominous dusting of smoke in the distance, surely a sign of some misfortune, but probably not yours just yet. The pace thickens like wading through sand; guitars kick up as if a buzzing drone of bees then cool to distant echoes of Morricone westerns heard across alleys from neighboring windows. The drums pound in deliberate, native plods but with no hint of war, only the late August psychedelic porch vibes that keep feet rooted and heads cooled. My only regret is this record comes to me too early in the year, but have no fear, this one will creep repeatedly onto the table come mid-summer when the sickly heat almost would make it a chore to flip the record, were it not the perfect cure.

Download:
[MP3] Spectre Folk - Sat Around For Peace (This Time)
[MP3] Spectre Folk - Ages Have Passed

Support the artist. Buy it: HERE

Nothing People

Nothing People continue to traverse the wormhole of sci-fi punk that stems from Chrome through the Twinkeyz and into 2045. Their first album brought the harsh side of weird and then the tempers mellowed a bit for Late Night, but fear not the jagged edge of Orland, CA returns again to gut carcass of punk. Signaling the saucer with a squelch of static that only seems innocent to untrained ears, Nothing People twist the wires and tap into the high density vibes of radiating unease. They become anxiety and then turn it on its head into jittery celebration. Soft Crash is definitely the band at their best and in such short succession from their debut a few years prior. On the inimitable S-S records, which should act as a beacon of necessity in itself.

Download:
[MP3] Nothing People - Marilyn's Grave

Support the artist. Buy it: HERE

Psychic Reality / L.A. Vampires

Two kindred California drone spirits hookup for a vinyl collab on Not Not Fun and create, well, just the kind of record we've come to expect from NNF. Purveying dub baked in the desert sun and run through the dustiest of tubes both women scratch deep into the kind of blurry, swampy done psych that the label has become known for, immediately putting both artists on our "to watch" list in the process. L.A. Vampires hit the humid dub impulses and slowed tape sequences square on target, mixed with some beaten and battered percussion, the only thing that could impress us more than the sound is the label's promise of future collaborations with Zola Jesus and Sun Araw! On the flip Psychic Reality's Leyna Noel spreads out slower and a bit more ethereal than her cohort, drying some of the dampness laid down by the L.A. Vampires. She becomes more enamored in noise and wraps it around herself like a thick, dark cloak; resulting in a breathing, wheezing vocal sound that floats on top of disembodied synths and disjointed beats. Both sides are equally entrancing and together they form one of the most cohesive splits we've come across in ages.

Download:
[MP3] L.A. Vampires - What is Woman? Magnetic
[MP3] Psychic Reality - Elle/Elle Beat

Support the artist. Buy it: HERE

	Stone - OST Biker Films are an especially revered division of the B-Movie Culture. One of the most celebrated is the Australian made Stone which precedes Mad Max in outsider glory. The film paralleled another classic of the time Psychomania which
incidentally straddles two B-Movie divisions in becoming both a biker film and a zombie flick at the same time. Stone on the other hand dives into the same outsider, counter-cultural psychsploitation affectations that have made Easy Rider, Head and Zabriski Point such cult favorites. The soundtrack melds a particular brand of heavy psych-funk with a much more experimental bent that drives this soundtrack much further into a concept album territory. Composer Billy Green brought in bits of Easter, Prog and Krautrock as inspiration for the film's expansive score. The result is not a typical or straightforward soundtrack, but instead feels like a journey itself outside of the movie's context. As usual Finder's Keepers has spared no detail in the accompanying liner notes and historical context. As the trailer says - "Stone is a trip". Experience it for yourself. Check out the Stone original trailer HERE. Download: [MP3] Billy Green/Stone - Stone [MP3] Billy Green/Stone - Gravediggers Support the artist. Buy it: HERE

Nice Face

RSTB singles fave Nice Face finally delivers a full length LP and it far exceeds our expectations for this fuzz laden one man project. Building off the sinister distortion and driving force of his 7"s on HoZac and Sacred Bones, the project has proven that there's still more life in redlined lo-fi and Nice Face is leading that lifeline. From slow crawl motorik beat laden creepers to explosive fuzz punk, Nice Face has covered a lot of ground on Immer Etwas and that's exactly what keeps it from getting ground down too far into the sound rut that can sometimes plague the new lo-fi. The addition of seasick keys and spiraling guitar effects ward off too much fuzzcake and lift the album to classic status. Packaged in usual Sacred Bones longplayer styled sleeve but for those of you into the digital side, the CD and digi versions come with bonus tracks that wrap up some of the early singles.

Download:
[MP3] Nice Face - I Want Your Damage
[MP3] Nice Face - Nobody's Dead Here

Support the artist. Buy it: HERE or HERE