The Third Power – Believe Farmington Hills' The Third Power came up in the same fertile Detroit underground that produced The MC5, Stooges, Bob Seger and fellow overlooked fuzz rockers SRC. The power trio fashioned themselves in the vein of Cream and often covered
the band's "I'm So Glad". Live, the band was deafening, though that quality doesn't really translate to the album. Instead the band focuses on production and vocalist Jem Targal's croon. As with many albums of its era, low distribution and a failure to translate live acclaim into radio crossover kept the band from reaching the acclaim they probably deserved. It was originally recorded for Vanguard Records but the label dropped the band when it was decided the album was too heavy for their current direction. Members of the band went on to play live with Bob Seger for some time after their demise, and guitarist Drew Abbot would go on to join Seger's Silver Bullet Band. Download: [MP3] The Third Power - Gettin' Together [MP3] The Third Power - Persecution Support the artist. Buy it: HERE

Premiere: Nobunny and Jacuzzi Boys - SAV Grarage Single

That two of RSTB's favorite bands of the last couple of years have teamed up for a single seems almost too good to be true. Nobunny's First Blood has been on constant rotation since its release earlier this year and I think the needle may have just about run through the grooves on No Seasons, Jacuzzi Boys highly underrated LP from '09. Now this double A-side slice of garage, brought to light by Scion's garage 7" series, has arrived with two new songs that could have easily laid side by side with the best tracks on both those albums.

Nobunny breaks out the acoustic, adding a few jangly strums to his candy and fur coated garage pop assault. On the flip, Florida's finest crank the tempo for a shout along stomper that's a perfect follow-up to their Mexican Summer single from earlier in the year. There could be no perfect pairing in our eyes and the double slayer comes just in time to squeeze onto some end-of-year-best lists. The single is out tomorrow on Scion A/V.

Download:
[MP3] Nobunny - Someone Else's Brain
[MP3] Jacuzzi Boys - Coral Girls

Support the artist. More info: HERE

Demdike Stare

The last piece of the Tryptich puzzle is unveiled and its just as intiguing as the first two vinyl releases from Demdike this year. Voices in the Dust follows this year's Forest of Evil and Liberation Through Hearing to create a trio of the most spectral hauntology to come out anywhere this year. As with its predecessors, this is a deep emersion in dub bass, flecked with samples from Sean Canty's vast collection. The record seethes with sacrificial altar vibes, racining like a heartbeat one minute and dissipating into eerie silence the next. Very few artists can combine the asthetics of Burial and Svarte Greiner into one seamless package, but the Stare succeed where others would flounder. Along with the previous two vinyl releases this will be culled together into one CD called Tryptich, to be released by the end of the year.

Download:
[MP3] Demdike Stare - Desert Ascetic

Support the artist. Buy it: HERE

ARP & Anthony Moore

RVNG Intl's FRKWYS series of 12" EPs have a way of bringing together great artists that represent several generations of talent, and who might otherwise never cross paths. In the past they've hooked up Excepter with members of Throbbing Gristle and Foetus, Psychic Ills with Gibby Haynes and members of Faust and on the latest they've bridged the connection between ARP and minimalist composer Anthony Moore. The result is one of the most beautiful of the series and the two find common ground in compositions dedicated to Arthur Russell and Robert Wyatt. The tone is both pastoral and celestial, music of nature and music to move heavens. The pair have an uncanny ease that swells with emotion, its calming and then suddenly overwhelming in only the way the best compositions can be. Limited but there are still scattered copies, they won't last long though.

Download:
[MP3] ARP & Anthony Moore - Spinette
[MP3] ARP & Anthony Moore - Wild Grass I (for Arthur Russel)

Support the artist. Buy it: HERE

Ultralyd

Well it only stands to reason that there should be some strange overlap between doom and free jazz and the latest incarnation of Ultralyd has found that charred ground. Moving on from their longer, drone based compositions, but not necessarily edging back to their unhinged free jazz beginnings; the band have created a dark and rhythmic record that hinges on doom bass, propulsion and a foreboding howl of baritone sax. Somehow the results end up very cinematic, but in a chaotic chase scene sense of the word rather than the picturesque vistas that usually come associated with that term. There's an urgent growl storming over the entirety of Inertiadrome and it’s only whipped to a fury by the chaotic drumming of Morton Olsen who propels each song as if he's manically synced to explode. This one's definitely finding a slot amongst the best of my Smalltown Supersound / Rune Gramophone rotation.

Download:
[MP3] Ultralyd - Street Sex

Support the artist. Buy it: HERE

Magic Lantern / Ben Nash

The Lantern already have a great LP out on Not Not Fun that perfectly bridges heavy, psychedelic stomp with mantra-like vocals and spacey plunges into watery depths; but now they've teamed up with British string slayer Ben Nash for a split 12". Here Nash collaborates with Cam Deas, John Marshall of Hunter Gracchus and Rob Lye of Chora; heading in a more pristene, shimmering drone direction than he has in the past. On the flip Magic Lantern is right on form, opening up their side with a waterlogged track that bobs in the fumes of their psychedelic glow before letting loose into a huge, heavy headtrip recorded with the aid of veteran NNF board-smith Bobb Bruno. The split's out in limited quantities on Blackest Rainbow and still hanging around reputable outlets.

Download:
[MP3] Magic Lantern - Mosquito Coast

Support the artist. Buy it: HERE or HERE

Lê Almeida – Transporpirações If your Portuguese is a bit rusty, the music of Lê Almeida may well have flown under your radar. The Brazilian band has released a handful of EPs and now a single for the label Transfusão Noise Records and each is a compact nugget of experimentation

that takes huge power pop ques from the likes of Apples in Stereo and rolls them together with a Guided by Voices like affection for short song sketches and melodic interplay. Transporpirações is actually one of the band's longer songs, clocking in at a full 2:42, and its packed with fuzzy guitars, psych swirls and more than a few melodies that lodge themselves in every crannie of your brain. The single is a taste of an upcoming full length titled Mono Maçã (Mono Apple) but if you can't wait until that's finished, this single and the rest of the EPs can be downloaded for free at Transfusão Noise's site. Download: [MP3] Lê Almeida - Transporpirações Support the artist. Buy it HERE

Gärden Sound

Its a beautiful thing when a couple of our favorite bands decide to join forces and when news came in that Barn Owl were merging with the better part of Eternal Tapestry, needless to say the excitement was pretty damn high. Consisting of both Porras and Caminiti from Barn Owl and Dewey Mahood and Jed Bindeman from Eternal Tapestry, the group comes off as a perfect storm of heavy sludge and desolate, blackened-Earth devastation. Bindeman alternates between hypnotic and crushing, aided perfectly by the guitar maelstrom created by the remaining members. The idea of supergroups flew out the window with the last vestiges of the 70's but if there were still such a thing within the heavy psych spectrum then this would probably be the first qualifier. Unfortunately, just as with Barn Owl's Conjurer LP, Black Summit has quickly sold out from the label, but there remain copies at distros and probably a few sharp buying local stores as well.

Download:
[MP3] Gärden Sound - Beast of Burden

Support the artist. Buy it: HERE

Zond

Around here the connected phrases "Australian Rock Band" bring to mind the terse garage of Eddy Current or maybe even the taut experiments of Fabulous Diamonds, but ear-splitting shoegaze doesn't seem to crop up as often in that corner of the globe. Thankfully Zond have dredged their self-titled album from the darkest heart of amplified nihilism and sprung it on a hungry public. The album twists through dark corridors of sound, worn clean from the constant erosion of amplifier blast and inked with the rumbling echoes of fluid bass lines. Zond go in for aesthetic over message, burying any trace of discernible vocals in a fury of hiss and grit and squall, but as the record progresses it becomes glaringly apparent that the chaos of the squelch is the message. Just from the sounds of things, this promises to be a live beast and so hopes remain high that they'll land the storm stateside sometime soon. For now though, R.I.P. society has brought their fire to the album format.

Download:
[MP3] Zond - Stupid Gods
[MP3] Zond - Choam

Support the artist. Buy it: HERE

	Moses – Changes Setting up this album feels kinda like that scene in Wayne's World where they're magically whisked away to... Delaware. Great lost proto-metal albums have resurfaced from Japan, various corners of the U.S. and Britain and even some
corners of Germany but for some reason the words Danish rock don't spark instant enthusiasm. Well thankfully the diggers at Shadoks have torn through Danish bins only to uncover the brilliant debut from Moses. With a heavy influence from Sabbath and Blue Cheer, the album typifies the quality that Shadoks is constantly uncovering. Plodding bass and ferocious leads with the majority of the album sung in English, it seems like it had crossover written all over it but alas it was not to leave Danish shores for many years. Though members of the band went on to play music elsewhere none of the others attained the collector's status of Moses. Shadoks has also uncovered a few other Danish gems recorded for the same studio, Spectator Records that explore a similar vein and are also worth looking into. Download: [MP3] Moses - Changes [MP3] Moses - Skaev Support the artist. Buy it: HERE

Sean McCann

Until recently, if you wanted to drift in the wake of Sean McCann's blissful drones you'd need to break out the tape player and you'd need to be mighty quick to snap one of the limited tapes up before they went out of print. With the help of DNT, Sean make's the transition from the melted spools to his first piece of vinyl, a stunner of a record called Chances Are Staying. Opening things up in grand fashion with the sidelong drop into the abyss, "Labyrinth", things only get headier from there on in. McCann's usual guitar formations are augmented with loping violin and sax waves that compliment his crystalline tones and even move into relatively raucous territory for the veteran drone shepherd. This one's a little less scarce than his previous output but by no means abundant so move fast!

Download:
[MP3] Sean McCann - The World He Left Behind

Support the artist. Buy it: HERE

Kid Congo Powers and the Pink Monkey Birds / Hunx and His Punx – Scion A/V Garage 7" So far Scion's garage singles series has netted quite a few RSTB faves including Bad Sports, Cheap Time and The Dirtbombs but this pairing yields one of the most compelling

yet. On the A-Side Kid Congo Powers and his Monkey Birds take a high gear ride through the dark rockabilly route he's often found careening down. The track leans as much as ever on his history in The Gun Club and The Cramps securing him a lasting place in the garage legacy. Its the flip, though, that really shines through. Hunx, in one of his first tracks outside of last year's singles explosion, nails this carefree pop single. With the additon of some spot-on female backups and sauntered drum snaps, this one is probably the catchiest bit of fun we've heard from Hunx yet. If this is the direction that the upcoming Hardly Art LP is taking then consider us very very intrigued. Download: [MP3] Hunx and His Punx - Dream On (Little Dreamer) Support the artist. Buy it HERE or HERE

Ensemble Economique

Brian Pyle's Ensemble Economique has plowed through some of RSTB's favorite labels; hopping from Digitalis to an entry in Amish Records' Required Wreckers series and now landing with a release on Not Not Fun. Each record has built his sound into more expansive territories and with the release of Psychical Pyle's taken a turn to the dark side of the synth. Where Standing Still, Facing Forward explored the beauty of the California coast, this time Ensemble Economique is all about mining the darkness of the depths of the soul. It’s a headlong journey into frightening night, drones looming in the distance and voices calling out of the ether. Twists of guitar flay skittish drums all atop the constant panic of drone that lies heavy in the pit of your stomach. Definitely a nice counter point to the lightness of his other work this year and a seemingly perfect fit for the current crop of Not Not Fun creepers that came out recently.

Download:
[MP3] Ensemble Economique - Forever Eyes

Support the artist. Buy it: HERE

Co-Premiere :: Bass Drum of Death - "Heart Attack Kid"

Inflated Records sent over this brand new fuzz bucket from the upcoming record by Bass Drum of Death. BDOD is a new project lead by John Barrett who has ties deep into Mississippi's Cat's Purring Collective, who've fostered releases from Dead Gaze and Dent May to mention a few. Pretty much anything awesome happening in and around the Mississippi garage base is happening within contact of those cats. Anyone with a good eye and a properly prioritized schedule during this past CMJ might also recognize Barrett as part of the full on touring extravaganza that is Flight, he makes up a third of the deadly three-pronged guitar army they bring on the road. It's easy to see why he was tapped to shred with that unit as there are some serious red-lined similarities between Flight and BDOD. But, here John's no sideman and on "Heart Attack Kid" his brash delivery and amplifier smoke smolder with a personal intensity. John's joined in the attack by Colin from Unwed Teenage Mothers on drums. The track is slated to appear on an album for Inflated that should be completed around February. (co-premiere with Altered Zones)

Download:
[MP3] Bass Drum of Death - Heart Attack Kid

More info: HERE

	Bow Wow – Signal Fire Oh man its been quite some time since a great new Japanese reissue has surfaced in these pages but thanks to Rock Candy Records and their dedication to the catalog of mid-70's Japanese proto-metal band Bow Wow, the time is at hand
again. Honestly Bow Wow has to go down as one of the worst 60's/70's band names since Bubble Puppy but the name notwithstanding the band's second album has a lot of thick guitar debris to offer. Most of the album lies in meaty, up tempo guitar scorchers that revolve around a hammmer-on technique that immediately brings to mind Eddie Van Halen but mixed the 70's sludge of Sabbath and even a bit of Rainbow or Leaf Hound. The flashy guitar works in the same way that early Halen felt propulsive and fiery but coupled with the heft it pushes the album into a distinctly Japanese fusion territory that rightly mixes the influences at hand into an amalgam that feels completely familiar yet wholly unheard. Download: [MP3] Bow Wow - Silver Lightning [MP3] Bow Wow - Rainbow of Sabbath Support the artist. Buy it: HERE

Jefre Cantu-Ledesma

Having spent time in both Tarentel and The Alps, not to mention co-founding RSTB favorite label Root Strata, Jefre Cantu-Ledesma already has enough high clout to gain instant praise around here; but add to that his solo work that drags My Bloody Valentine's shoegaze noise palette through Grouper's discordant haze and needless to say something special is happening. Love is a Stream starts with the noisiest growl of shoegaze feedback and uses it to slowly crumble the gauzy film of dream pop's fragile center. Then, just as his compositions begin to shape up as torrents of seismic clatter, they break into waves of shimmer that recall Fennesz and Tim Hecker at their most deafeningly gorgeous. This is certainly not a record for mass consumption, but for those with ears tuned to the right kind of universal vibration it's possible that little else will sound as beautiful this year.

Download:
[MP3] Jefre Cantu-Ledesma - Stained Glass Body
[MP3] Jefre Cantu-Ledesma - River Like Spine

Support the artist. Buy it: HERE

White Hills – Stolen Stars Left for No One 12" White Hills follow up an already outstanding album with three tracks that reach further into the ether of amplifier smoke and feedback glimmer. Opening the 12" up with the slow burning "Drift Away", the

band works up from the ground with deep swirls of smoke until igniting the last remaining minutes with their trademarked psych devastation. The B-Side splits its time between the Krauty, space-jam "Nothing Less" and "Don't Touch Me I'm Bleeding" which again taps into the band's ability to build walls of molten sound. Unlike the A-Side burner though, this one seems to build steam and then evaporate just as quickly. The whole 12" works amiably as a coda to their work earlier this year, proving just how close to the current pinnacle of the space-rock the band truly is. The packaging is a great homage to 70's bootleg art that more than fits the aestetic going on here. Download: [MP3] White Hills - Nothing Less Support the artist. Buy it HERE

Wooden Wand

In another life the faded troubadour still exists, Nashville still has a soul and songs are worth their weight in pain. But in this life pain and truth, poetry and soul aren't even commodities; they're liabilities. To this end it remains that James Jackson Toth, Wooden Wand, Wand and the flame that burns behind those names will always play to underfed crowds. There are some artists that we'll never seem to lose touch with around here and with each record that scratches out from behind the Wooden Wand table, the dedication grows stronger. Through turmoil and celebration Toth has wound a world of idioms and ghosts, personal vocabulary and universal truths. There are some that will never connect with these songs, but for the rest of us, coming home to the boot dust and whiskey hits every time like the heavy sent of a favorite bar. Some records just smell like wood soaked in beer and Death Seat is definitely one of those few good friends.

Download:
[MP3] Wooden Wand - Servant To Blues
[MP3] Wooden Wand - Tiny Confessions

Support the artist. Buy it: HERE

Idle Times

Brian Standeford has eked out a reputation with his first two singles on Woodsist and HoZac, the latter acting as a part of their inaugural Hookup Klub series; though we still know him around here as one of the first singles ever to get the RSTB review treatment when he was in a short-lived band called Tall Birds. Still kicking out a potent mixture of jangle and fuzz, Idle Times' debut LP (also on HoZac) boils with squalling fizz careening underneath pop snagged hooks that recall Guided by Voices and Chavez among other 90's contemporaries with a penchant for weaving noise through the threads of pop. Given room to spread over ten tracks, Standeford applies healthy touches of twang, blues and even the occasional swash of glam to his barage of amplifier fray. A solid first offering and one that should certainly be getting more press at the moment.

Download:
[MP3] Idle Times - Do You Hear Those Bells?
[MP3] Idle Times - I Don't Believe It/X-Tina

Support the artist. Buy it: HERE

	The Soft Boys – Underwater Moonlight Often cited as an album that launched a thousand others, somehow The Soft Boys’ masterful swan song still seems to evade a majority of listeners. Despite being reissued several times in the last
thirty years, the album remains more of a critic’s darling and oft name-checked influence than an essential part of most listeners’ collections. Recorded after yet another lineup change in Robyn Hitchcock’s seminal group, the album proved to be the last they’d ever record under the name and yet its update of jangled 60’s melodies with a touch of punk sneer proved to catch hold of a burgeoning college-rock underground. With R.E.M., The Replacements and quite a few other bands of the next few years citing the album as an influence, it becomes evident that despite its lack of commercial success at the time it was something of a hit in its own right. Reissued again on its old home at Yep Roc Records. Download: [MP3] The Soft Boys - Kingdom of Love [MP3] The Soft Boys - Insanely Jealous Support the artist. Buy it: HERE

Timmy's Organism

While most records tend to cultivate the sound employed best by a band, Rise of the Green Gorilla mines an aura and aesthetic of derangement that allows Timmy's Organism to wander around several idioms of loner culture and stitch them together into a rich tapestry of biting mania. Timmy Vulgar, known elsewhere for his work in Human Eye and Clone Defects, wrangles together a trio of similarly minded degenerates who work their way through dismantled punk, space-blues and debris sodden noise with deft ease. There's definitely a line that can be traced from the Organism back to like-minded deconstructionalists like Zappa and Beefheart but Timmy and crew are a new breed; muckraking through the plight of the beast in ways their forbearers began to touch on and covering them ever-deeper with the putrid silt of the cultural swamp they swim in. As with almost all Sacred Bones releases this comes with a ringing endorsement and pairs well with the fringe releases they've served up in the past like The Rebel or, naturally, the Timmy's Organism single from a while back.

Download:
[MP3] Timmy's Organism - Give It To Me Babe
[MP3] Timmy's Organism - Oafeus Clods

Support the artist. Buy it: HERE