Outer Minds – Bloodshot Eyes 7" Finally settling on the name Outer Minds after a few lineup shakeups and name mishaps, the group, which consists of members of Lover! and Baseball Furies, cranks out a great 60's inspired 7". The tracks on this pop nugget just get better as the

single moves forward, with A-side rocker "Bloodshot Eyes" laying a good base but being shrouded by the organ stabs that knock throughout "Ordinary." Then, once the whole trip is flipped over, the Minds show their uncanny ability to encapsulate the best of the 60's in a single track with "Until You're Dead" a buzzing, high harmonizing track that culminates in a killer coda and makes the plea for a whole album of this type of thing to surface very soon. Download: [MP3] Outer Minds - Until You're Dead Support the artist. Buy it HERE

Dylan Ettinger

Dylan Ettinger has kept me continually entertained this year with two releases of symbiotic synth sliders on Not Not Fun and Digitalis. And though the Digitalis album, Cutters, was excellent; it was the quasi-futuristic float of New Age Outlaws that really caught my attention and kept the tape player on constant rotation for the past few months. Still it seemed like a release practically begging for the vinyl format. So now Dylan's made the move, with a re-release on Not Not Fun that not only recaptures the original brilliance of the album on wax, it updates this ethereal album with a new track, reshuffled track order added transitions to help the whole thing flow together in a seamless sweat. Double the excitement with some excellently spot on sci-fi/new age cover art. If somehow you missed out on this one earlier in the year, it's definitely time to reassess. Check out "Shandor's Dream" below which is a re-recorded and extended cut of "Long Day" from the original and sounds superb in its new incarnation.

Download:
[MP3] Dylan Ettinger - Shandor's Dream

Support the artist. Buy it: HERE

Tyvek

Tyvek has never been one to make grandiose opuses of the musical kind. They're brief incarnate, banged out in fuzzed shotgun blasts through cardboard speakers; and honestly nothing could conjure up images of the Detroit urban wasteland/suburban sprawl dichotomy with more accuracy. Bored, twitchy and chaotic, they continue to file through the bars of sanity and brevity on their latest, Nothing Fits - now paired up with In The Red, which is probably the most fitting musical partnership since they teamed up with Siltbreeze last year. They do expand their musical arsenal a bit on this platter, adding some psychedelic deluge to the end of "Outer Limits" but for the most part its Tyvek to the core; ragged and catchy and splitting at what little seams they've thought to install.

Download:
[MP3] Tyvek - Underwater 2
[MP3] Tyvek - 4312


Support the artist. Buy it: HERE

	A Bolha – Um Passo A Frente Normally, at least as is the case around here, the notion of Brazilian rock conjures up images of Tropicalia; shades of Os Mutantes and Gilberto Gil, and in their infancy A Bolha were a part of this movement. They formed under the
name The Bubbles and performed at the time as Gal Costa's backing band. But a trip to the Isle of Wright Festival in '71 charged them with a sense of British heavy rock and they began to let in the wave of guitar bombast that came with bands like Humble Pie, Cream and especially in their organ arrangements, Deep Purple. They changed their name shortly after to A Bolha and in '73 they released Um Passo A Frente, which though regarded by collectors as a pinnacle of South American hard rock, eventually became a rarity. Poor promotion and distribution lead to its disappearance for quite some time but thankfully its been reissued in its original gatefold glory. Download: [MP3] A Bolha - Razão De Existir [MP3] A Bolha - 18.30 - Parte 1 Support the artist. Buy it: HERE

Running

Running play a brutal psych/noise hybrid rooted in tendencies of hardcore, but without any of the masochist jocularity. Maybe play is too light a sentiment, they knock and chisel sound from their instruments like sculpture torn from rock or bent from metal. There's an underlying plan amid the chaos on their S/T EP but its constantly in danger of entropy taking over the reins. The band has clad this cragged chunk of shorn Earth in painstakingly crafted covers, the process of which can be seen in the video above. Another release from the Permanent stable knocking things far out of the park this year.

Download:
[MP3] Running - #1 Dad
[MP3] Running - Little Fucker

Support the artist. Buy it: HERE

Not Not Fun has been absolutely slaying the releases this year. Between their Bored Fortress singles series and a constant rotation of genre-defining long players they've also managed to sneak out a few great 7"s of their own making. Here Amanda bids a forcefull swansong to Pocahaunted and Britt proves that Robedoor are quickly becoming kings of the short format.

	Pocahaunted – Threshold 7" Seems odd that it takes the final bow of a band to get them into a proper studio, but that's just what it would seem has happened here. Recording these two songs with a full five piece band at Louder in San Francisco, Pocahaunted has rarely sounded
clearer or more vivid. Both tracks still spin in a haze of pre-dawn psychedelic ephemera, but where before a cracked grime of basement recording lay its aura over the top of things, now each piece seems slotted precisely into place. The A-side barrels through a heated dance of fire and light with typically muted vocals swimming between bass hum and percussion clatter. On the flip its slowed down for one last shimmering saunter through the Pocahaunted valley. Its been an eventful trip but with L.A. Vampires going strong, I have no fear that good things are on the horizon and... dare to hope, perhaps something new from Vibes will surface soon. Download: [MP3] Pocahaunted - Threshold Support the artist. Buy it HERE
	Robedoor – Pacific Drift 7" Traditionally Robedoor have spent whole sides of LPs unfolding their dark chaos. Concise is not usually a word that would ever be associated with Britt Brown's trope of scorched earth wanders but this year they contributed a track to the Bored
Fortress series that played on the limitations of space provided by the 7" format and absolutely nailed a track that summed up their huge sound in a relatively short amount of space. With the release of "Pacific Drift" they repeat the feat, unleashing three short spirit divinations that swim in the vast watery grave once left open by Sabbath's "Planet Caravan". The shorter works still tie together into an overall arc of temperament, but they don't feel as invested as the marathon movements of most of their back catalog. It'll be interesting to see if Robedoor stay on this path and perhaps even craft a whole album in the vein of these shorter works but whatever happens they've released four brilliant tracks this year. Download: [MP3] Robedoor - Pacific Drift Support the artist. Buy it HERE

Umberto

Our familiarity with Matt Hill around these parts stems from his involvement with Expo 70; which, though it shares a darkness of heart with his solo work, is a far cry from Hill's recordings as Umberto. Steeped in the eerie creep of 70's synth work that popped up in the now lauded Italian horror genre, Umberto also mixes in more traditional compositional structure and a haunted ambience that lends itself well to his uneasy pieces. The real surprise with Prophecy of the Black Widow is Hill's ability to mix in heavy doses of electronic pulse and rhythm alongside the more traditional classical elements, giving the record both a cinematic feel and something akin to soundtracking an updated version of Castlevania. Definitely a fun record and one that's disappearing fast, given its limited pressing. Pick it up where you can!

Download:
[MP3] Umberto - Someone Chasing Someone Through A House
[MP3] Umberto - The Temple Room


Support the artist. Buy it: HERE

Date Palms

Gregg Kowalsky already has a pretty sterling reputation around these parts, putting out albums on Root Strata and Kranky in the past that teem with the haunted ambience of drone. On his new project Date Pams, the duo he's begun with Marielle Jakobsons, that same ambient specter looms large but it's also accompanied by delicate exotics and a pulse of bass that splits personalities between somber and sensual. The pair augments the skeletal template of cosmic psych with a smattering of violins, glass-tinged plucks, languorous synths and wavering drones; but still it’s the all encompassing bass throb that makes the release so satisfying. It's the driving force of the record while at the same time seeming very calm about the destination it's driving towards. Nothing in Date Palms' world is rushed; rather it opens up slowly like a canopy of stars. A gorgeous release you'd be remiss to miss out on.

Download:
[MP3] Date Palms - Psalm 5

Support the artist. Buy it: HERE

	Yama & the Karma Dusters – Up From the Sewers Yama and the Karma Dusters originally formed under the name Euphoria Blimpworks Band as a reaction to the Kent State massacre. This original moniker referenced the name of the
commune many of the members lived on in Chicago. Now the combination of a communal origin and anti-establishment leanings may instantly conjure up folk-picking hippies, that's not exactly the direction the band swung. While there are a few acoustic gems on the album, its apparent how much the Chicago blues of their hometown and the early electric period of Dylan ultimately had on their sound. The lyrics skew to the protest fodder without becoming overly precious or whiny but it’s the band's ability to mix these tendencies with a guttural rock recorded in surprising fidelity that really make this one of the overlooked gems of the period. Unfortunately this reissue remains only on CD for the moment but its nice to have the songs back in print again regardless. Download: [MP3] Yama and the Karma Dusters - Wouldn’t' it Be Funny [MP3] Yama and the Karma Dusters - Evolution Support the artist. Buy it: HERE

Plus check out the RSTB guest post this week at Soundscreen Design, more details in the features section.

Purling Hiss

Just finally getting a chance to wrap my brain around Mike Pollize's latest slab as Purling Hiss. This "side project" now threatens to eclipse Mike's main duties in Birds of Maya, but that's OK with me as both serve titanic tidal waves of fuzz. Just as red-lined as the debut, the four burners on Hissteria crackle with ozone from burnt tube amps and reverberate with the heavy bombast of basement pysch. There's something pure and classic about Pollize's psychedelia; it’s ripped straight from the guitar god school of thought, played from the hip and wrapped in a gauze of smoke and light. However, Hissteria is no stadium rocker, its spontaneous outdoor freakout psych, subterranean psych, the kind that never messes with pretense only thick slabs of grit-ridden riff. Needless to say this ups the stakes for that upcoming LP on Woodsist and heightens the expectations around RSTB even further than they already were.

Download:
[MP3] Purling Hiss - Passenger Queen

Support the artist. Buy it: HERE

BK's Gross Relations scrape through two cuts of fuzz rumbled garage pop that hinge on a powerful mix of driving guitar and woozy keys. Their first 7" is on the way, limited as all things these days and definitely worth picking up.

Gross Relations – Fuzzy Timelines The A-side kicks in with a shock of drums and wallop of keys setting the standard that the GR boys stick to like an M.O. They lay back into the groove with an off kilter swagger until things shift bolt upright into the kind of bright pop breakdowns they

just don't make anymore. On the flip they really shine with those seasick keys charging in full bore and a nice touch of fuzz on the vox. The hook sticks in your head like a whiskey coated knife, rearing its head again and again just when you least suspect it. Live, the band will inevitably be branded with the lo-fi tag but with subtle pop touches and the barreling guitars of "You Don't Know Me", the tag may soon be lifted. Can't wait to see where these guys go next. Download: [MP3] Gross Relations - You Don't Know Me Support the artist. Buy it HERE

RSTB @ CMJ w/ Hardly Art

Raven Sings the Blues is proud to announce that we'll be teaming up with Hardly Art (along with Insound, KEXP and Todd P) to present The Great All Nighter during CMJ week in NYC. The show is on Thursday, October 21st at Shea Stadium in Bushwick. The show starts at 9PM, $7.00 (no CMJ badge required) and its all ages! Check out the lineup below and mark your calendars!

[MP3] Woven Bones - Tussin Blues
[MP3] Golden Triangle - Cold Bones
[MP3] Fergus & Geronimo - Girls With English Accents
[MP3] La Sera- Never Come Around
[MP3] Circle Pit - Another Trick
[MP3] Xray Eyeballs - Egyptian Magician - Let's All Get High

Expo '70

Justin Wright, with some help here from frequent collaborator Matt Hill, laid down another massive swath of kosmiche landscapes in the form of Where Does Your Mind Go?. The fact that the four, side-long epics traverse some of the most sonically fluid vibes Wright has yet to catch on tape would be impressive enough, but that he recorded these four epics plus enough material for a companion piece (Journey Through Astral Projection to also be released on Immune) in one night is downright astounding. This marks one of the first times Wright has strayed out of his own studio to record; and with the famous Black Dirt Studios as the location and with Jason Meagher from No Neck Blues Band at the helm, this seems like as right a time and place as ever. Expo '70 has truly captured the ethereal wonder of modern kosmiche, taking the reigns with deft precision from Schulze and co. and working calm pools of sound into tapestries of astral vibration. But unlike the 70's set Wright's sense of the cosmos is never all serene, it's rife with the unknown and a sense of otherworldly unease; and this is what moves him far beyond his influences and into the pantheon of cosmic masters.

Download:
[MP3] Expo '70 - Close Your Eyes And Effortlessly Drift Away

Support the artist. Buy it: HERE

	Vulcan – Meet Your Ghost Some lost treasures just resurface at the right time and after years of preparation in fuzzed psych acceptance; from Wooden Shjips to Purling Hiss and back through Afflicted Man and a whole catalog of Acid Mothers Temple, it seems its
about time for Vulcan to shine through. With a serious affinity for Hendrix apparent from the opening strains of the "Prelude" which takes notes from "EXP"-style psych, preparing listeners for an explosion of homespun fuzz and guitar acrobatics. The recent reissue rounds up Vulcan's full 70's album along with a second LP of "lost" tracks. The whole project swims in Lyle Steece's shadowy image, stylizing himself as the stranded son of an Alien race and running the arsenal of guitar effects full bore with his otherworldly prowess. Add to the LP an interview with Steece detailing ghostly encounters with Jimi's ghost, his alien past and affinity for tarot and the package is well worth the sticker. Limited to 600 vinyl copies and sure to be a collector's item the second time around as well. Download: [MP3] Vulcan - Lightning [MP3] Vulcan - Noname Support the artist. Buy it: HERE

Brain Idea

Chicago's Brain Idea traffic a type of fuzzy Kiwi pop that's a calmer but no less fuzzy counterpoint to the garage-punk quickly becoming synonymous with the city thanks to labels like HoZac and Tic Tac Totally. Here, another of the city's staunch makers of taste, Permanent Records, picks up Brain Idea for a release that works through the band's hazy, Clean-influenced brand of pop. Many of the tracks here popped up on a short-lived cassette demo version of the LP but have reappeared with a more reverb soaked approach that cuts nicely between psych leanings and scrappy DIY pop. Seems the band has also spent some time sidelining in a CCR cover band and produced the Noi! tape (Krautrock-style covers of Oi! punk tracks). The latter seems to mesh nicely with the vibes on this record, the Creedance, not so much but that's kind of awesome anyway!

Download:
[MP3] Brain Idea - The Heat
[MP3] Brain Idea - One More Time

Support the artist. Buy it: HERE

Things have been busy around Raven and though there are still plenty of singles ripe for the listening, it seems we've been a bit remiss in sharing any of them with you. First up a couple of great new singles from Trouble in Mind.

	Wounded Lion – Pointed Sticks Wounded Lion kick it out with a glam beat, all kick drum and handclaps before lowering the boom of shout/sung vocals that have become a standard of theirs. The song's a catchy piece of their catalog and is only enhanced by the touching/confusing
ode to Muppet Babies that pops up on the b-side. They temper the spangle and thump from the a-side for a sweet but completely bonkers ode to those Jim Henson animated tikes from your childhood (well my childhood at least), wrought with jangles and strums. Download: [MP3] Wounded Lion - Pointed Sticks Support the artist. Buy it HERE
	The Wrong Words – What Went Wrong The Wrong Words burst out of Frisco with a vintage blast of power pop soul that's sunny with just the right dose of syrup on top. Sounding like the best moments of The Quick and maybe even a little Shoes thrown in, both of
these gems could have easily landed themselves on the Yellow Pills compilation had they emerged thirty years earlier. Looks like the band have a full length scheduled for release on Trouble in Mind as well and it definitely seems like one to look out for from the sounds of things here. Download: [MP3] The Wrong Words - What Went Wrong Support the artist. Buy it HERE

Pop. 1280

Pop 1280 (named after the bleak crime novel by Jim Thompson) lay down uneasy vibes of grit and grime centering around a disheveled future inhabited by 80's visions of cyberpunk and post-Orwellian visions of decay. There are very few songs on The Grid EP that couldn't conceivably back up a Snake Plissken knife fight or Robocop shootout. They've taken all of the queasy fumes of corporate takeover/civilization crumbling conspiracy theories and melted them together into a gang fight mosh pit circa 2099. As vital and essential as any in the rapidly expanding Sacred Bones EP series.

Download:
[MP3] Pop. 1280 - Step Into the Grid

Support the artist. Buy it: HERE

Wooden Wand

James Toth suffers the burden of being an evocative troubadour in an era when no one's buying truths any more. In his journey from Vanishing Voice to solo Wand with a brief and tragic slide through his given name; he's encountered more brilliance and bullshit than most souls can handle. Now back with the moniker that made his stake, he's eked out a quiet release on CD-r (Mad Monk) and LP (Blackest Rainbow) that recaptures the wounded storyteller in full Wooden Wand regalia. Wither Thou Goest, Cretin burns with the cinder of truth that's marked all of Toth's releases and should act as a nice primer for another proper full-length (Death Seat) scheduled soon on Young God. Though that may be a bit fuller sounding, this one is pure voice and guitar. Just the sound of a man and his hopes, his demons and his truth laid out on tape.

Download:
[MP3] Wooden Wand - I'll Start Living
[MP3] Wooden Wand - The Fly

Support the artist. Buy it: HERE or HERE

	Ted Lucas – Ted Lucas Ted Lucas fully embodies the spirit of an artist who was once so vital and yet somehow slipped through the cracks of the history of popular music. Once employed as the "exotic instruments specialist" by Motown, he was an accomplished
sitar player (studied with Shankar) but also a great songwriter in his own right. His self-titled 1975 LP is split between styles that touch on Skip Spence/Gary Higgins style loner-folk and the Fahey/Basho axis of raga inspired stringwork; though the later half delves further into Lucas' Eastern leanings with touches of tambura and sitar. Ultimately it was his determination to self-publishing and self-promotion that led to his relative obscurity, a problem that seem almost unfathomable today but plagued many independent minded artists of the previous decades. Of note is the fact that the cover art for this album was by Stanley "Mouse" Miller and is an adaptation of a design he'd originally intended for Jimi Hendrix' unfinished last album. The album has now, thankfully been resurrected and reissued by Yoga/Riverman. Download: [MP3] Ted Lucas - Now That I Know [MP3] Ted Lucas - Sonny Boy Blues Support the artist. Buy it: HERE

Sword & Sandals

Though the connection's not without precedent, John Dwyer's name isn't usually synonymous with free jazz. When I see Dwyer's name attached to a release I scoop it up and usually it's a sign of some fuzzed out garage fury to be unleashed on these ears; but that's forgetting that John's an equally accomplished drummer in addition to a guitar slayer. Lately Thee Oh Sees frontman has been moonlighting stick-side with Sword & Sandals, whose ranks also include Randy Sutherland (Vholtz, Wigg Waum, Freak Out Tapes), and artist Shaun O'Dell (Beak, Corn Silo of Skulls). Good and Plenty weaves its way through seven untitled pieces wrought with jagged sax fire and moments of languid bliss. Riding the vein of ESP-disk long players, the album walks the line between cathartic explosion and chaotic noise; never quite reaching riff territory but always moving with fluid and fervent purpose. Limited pressing in a beautiful cover by Shaun O'Dell.

Download:
[MP3] Sword & Sandals - Untitled #1

Support the artist. Buy it: HERE

Herbcraft

Matthew Lajoie's Herbcraft project returns with a new tape on Woodsist sister label Fuck- It Tapes. Whiles Papers may not have the deep seated back story that underpinned Discovers The Bitter World Of Agartha, it shares its same burnt vibe of 70's psych-folk indulgence that first drew us into Lajoie's world of haze and caverns. The tape is a mixture of five new and two live, rehearsal tunes all imbued with Herbcraft's haunted, spirit shaking nuance. Of course if you're familiar with the words Fuck-It tapes and limited you'll know that despite just being released, copies are already getting scarce - grab one quick if you can!

Download:
[MP3] Herbcraft - One Thousand Papers
[MP3] Herbcraft - Highway Jivers (live)

Support the artist. Buy it: HERE