Bitchin Bajas

Cooper Crane returns to the helm of Bitchin Bajas, this time lending his Kosmiche drones to the score of a remake of the Peter Greenaway film Water Wrackets. Crane conceived the score after seeing only a 30 second clip of the film, fleshing out six tracks of mostly blissful harmonious headspace. Though he does nudge into the rhythmic side on the score's fourth track, which returns him to the bubbling percussiveness he explored on Tones and Zones. The original film consisted mainly of shots of swirling waters and calm, mist covered ponds coupled with "documentary-style narration about the history of a fictional tribe in the distant past (or is it the far future?)" Seems like fitting territory for Crane's pieces to me and a welcome reason to get some more Bajas on vinyl.

Download:
[MP3] Bitchin Bajas - Water 4

Support the artist. Buy it: HERE or HERE

Jonas Reinhardt

Jonas Reinhardt join Not Not Fun's ever growing stable of synth wizards and psych navigators. The trio's latest LP, Music For The Tactile Dome, burrows deep into the haunted night visions of analog synth and Krautrock. Unlike some of their more ethereal contemporaries, Jonas Reinhardt's sound feels rooted in the dust of the earth. There's a lonesome drawl that while still mining the quasi-futuristic sounds that the synths bring to mind, also roots itself in trenches of dystopian cities rather than evoking space in all its infinite expanses. Perhaps these are the songs for those unfortunate enough to be stuck under the dome, always waiting to break free from its protective and yet persecuting hold.

Download:
[MP3] Jonas Reinhardt - The Tactile Dome

Support the artist. Buy it: HERE

The Caretaker

We warned you that James Leyland Kirby was a busy man and now, just moments after his first in a series of EPs under his given name is out of the gate, he returns after two years of silence to his Caretaker role. The album plays with the perception of memory, more specifically with the ability of Alzheimer's patients' to recall memories of songs from their past. An empty bliss beyond this World is in fact source from a collection of 78's that Kirby has amassed over the years and he's brought these floating snippets into soft focus, shuffled against the gears of time and age. There's a profound sadness in the comparison of degradation of sound source and the degradation of the mind's abilities to recall them. The album, aided by the deft mastering work at Dubplates and Mastering weaves a potent mix of sound selection and social commentary that one would only expect from the hand of Kirby. The vinyl run on this is limited, but highly worth tracking down and its one of the most crushingly beautiful releases of the year.

Download:
[MP3] The Caretaker - Tiny Gradiations of Loss

Support the artist. Buy it: HERE

	White Boy and the Average Rat Band - White Boy and the Average Rat Band This Toledo, Ohio band had but one release to their name and it marks one of the odder and more interesting metal releases of its time. The band mix Ginsu-sharp
metal licks with the odd sci-fi sensibilities of Ozzie or the Twinkeyz. The band's twisted sensibilities pummel them through an album's worth of fuzz and rumble that landed them in the lauded pages of the Acid Archives and thankfully back onto wax for this reissue by Roach. There's occasionally a touch of Motorhead in the vocals and they've certainly got a similar intensity, though they do slow it down for one slower blues creeper. Don't let the name put you off, White Boy and the Average Rat Band is one of those rare gems that makes you glad someone else was paying attention to the good stuff and is doing the right thing by getting it back in print. Download: [MP3] White Boy and the Average Rat Band - Maybe I'm a Fool Support the artist. Buy it: HERE

Ty Segall

Segall's latest comes with an air of anticipation in the wake of Melted's fairly universal critical praise and he more than meets the challenge at hand. Goodbye Bread is a slightly more mellow affair, packed with more slow burn moments than its predecessor, but there's still time for a little amplifier fry to sneak its way in there too. The songs were worked out in the studio this time and the process seems to have bumped the fidelity up a notch while still retaining the ragged urgency that permeates all of Segall's work. Ty has a knack for focusing melodic fury into the kinds of youth rallying anthems that move the most apathetic crowds. Goodbye Bread just added a few more club rattlers to his already stuffed arsenal.

Download:
[MP3] Ty Segall - You Make the Sun Fry

Support the artist. Buy it: HERE

The Art Museums – Dancing With A Hole In Your Heart 7" The combination of Slumberland and The Art Museums seems almost too perfect. Donaldson and Alper still have a stranglehold on the pastel swirls that their brand of paisley pop via post-punk DIY strummers evokes. The title track

inspires just as much sunny day dancing as their standout single "S.H.O.P.P.I.N.G." from last year (which has just recently made its way to vinyl as well). Rounding out the single with a couple more cuts that don't stray far from the happy valley of 80's jangle bliss, this is an essential single for 2011. Plus the digital version's a bonus track to boot. Consider us sold. Check out the faded charm of the videos for "Dancing" below. Download: [MP3] The Art Museums - Dancing With a Hole in Your Heart Support the artist. Buy it HERE

Mist

Following closely on their Glowing Net EP, John Elliott (Emeralds) and Sam Goldberg (Radio People) are back in the analog valley for some more synth bliss and arpeggiated tension. House is more euphoric, undulating tone work that brings together the best of what you'd expect from the duo's individual impulses. The tone of the album swings from carefree ambience to the edge of anxiety, sluicing down the inroads of dystopian soundtrack work that so many of their analog peers have touched upon. The genius of Mist is how to stitch the two together into a uneasy peace. This one comes direct from Spectrum Spools, the new and increasingly intriguing new sub label from Editions Mego.

Download:
[MP3] Mist - Twin Lanes

Support the artist. Buy it: HERE

K-Holes

After hammering out their shape over a spread of many months and many shows K-Holes have emerged with a HoZac full length under their belts and it rings like an eight month hangover. The band's debut is dirge-punk at its haziest, scummiest and rustiest. Underpinned by an unforgiving throb of bass, the majority of the songs wail from the shadows with a heatsick twist. Through the sneers the trills of a post-punk sax can be heard landing one foot in the shout along 80's and the other in the art obsessed 70's punk camps. K-Holes seem to exist in a realm that's more visceral than anything, though. These songs are calling out for movement and violence rather than contemplation or coherence. Its a good snapshot of the deeper Brooklyn mentality these days; shambolic and sweaty and pulled together on a few hundred dollars worth of equipment.

Download:
[MP3] K-Holes - Werewolf With a Tan
[MP3] K-Holes - Meat Man

Support the artist. Buy it: HERE

	Thunder and Roses - King of the Black Sunrise Heavy blues rock influences spread rapidly across the U.S. and U.K. in the 1969 and many a power trio was forged in the wake of this wave but one of the best undersung gems came from Philadelphia's Thunder
and Roses. The Hendrix and Cream comparisons are certainly warranted, as Chris Bond's guitar and voice both do fair interpretations respectively but the band was able to vault off of these touchstones and add something of their own to the heavy rock canon. The album pounds through some blistering originals and a pretty hefty cover of "Red House" before slumping to the floor in a pool of sweat and strangled catharsis. Its been a few years since this was out on the market but thanks to a new reissue by Kismet first time listeners get a shot at this lost in time classic. Download: [MP3] Thunder and Roses - White Lace and Strange Support the artist. Buy it: HERE

Co-Premiere: Nodzzz

Nodzzz return to the fold with their longest release to date, packed full of their delightfully itchy brand of jangle-pop. Adjusting their horn rims securely on their noses, the boys pick out 12-string nerd rock odes to therapy, relationships, second hand clothes and anxiety that squirm comfortably in their power pop shoes. Its hard not to be charmed by Nodzzz, they seem the most unlikely of rock stars and that familiarity is exactly what draws them closer on each listen. They get in, get out and get stuck in your head all under 2 minutes.

Download:
[MP3] Nodzzz - Heyday Past Heyday Due

Support the artist. Buy it: HERE

Leyland Kirby

Leyland Kirby has brought to tape some of the most essential deconstructed ambient music to date. This is exactly what's surprising about the first entry to a new series he's entitled Intrigue & Stuff. The first of four 12" release, Vol. 1 delves into analog synth tones, skittering beats and even a John Denver reinterpretation? Sure it’s a departure but Kirby lends all these idioms his ear for divining sadness and capturing the crumbling edges of emotion. It's some of his most ambitious recordings yet and he proves that no matter what angle he tackles, Kirby is among one of the top electronic musicians of his day. These are limited and will be going fast so pick one up! Plus keep on the lookout for Kirby this year as the man is mighty busy. He's got two albums on the way under his Caretaker moniker, an album under Leyland Kirby and of course this set of 12s.

Download:
[MP3] Leyland Kirby - Ruined Visions

Support the artist. Buy it: HERE

The Wax Museums

Wax Museums pump out another record that's just as young, loud and snotty as their last... and honestly we couldn't ask more of them. OK, truth be told on Eye Times they may have matured a little bit. The lyrics have a tinge of depth that pulls them out of ruminations on glass figurines and squalor, but it still leaves enough levity for double entendres about breakfast and sex. The fidelity gets a nice bump as well, and whether we have Trouble in Mind or the band to thank for that remains to be seen. Still this is a record for the sweaty kids who want to pogo, wear their leather jackets in 90 degree heat and throw cheap beers at the stage. Its a love letter from Wax Museums to Wax Museums and it sounds pretty damn sincere at that.

Download:
[MP3] Wax Museums - Mad Gasser
[MP3] Wax Museums - Tunguska

Support the artist. Buy it: HERE

The Feeling of Love

The Feeling of Love first popped into view of RSTB on a compilation for SDZ records. Their song "Dissolve Me" (also featured on this album with the same name) was a standout among some pretty strong French punk and they don't disappoint with the full length follow-up. The band builds off of the terse, rhythmic sound they crafted over the course of OK Judge Revival; adding some touches of melody that flirt with flagrant catchiness before delving right back into the sinister snarl that made us love them in the first place. Dissolve Me wields woozy keys and snarling guitars into a new wave kicker with the heart of Krautrock. Kill Shaman again handles the LP release and its well worth a pickup.

Download:
[MP3] The Feeling of Love - I Am Right, You Are Wrong

Support the artist. Buy it: HERE

Video Premiere: Mountains - "Blue Lanterns on East Oxford"

Mountains' new record Air Museum has spent a lot of time on the RSTB speakers so far this year, so we're pretty excited to debut the new video for "Blue Lanterns on East Oxford" shot by the band's own Koen Holtkamp and edited by Amy McGrath. The video's nature immmersed imagery perfectly compliments the slow drift of Mountains' ambient tones. Pretty hypnotic stuff. Check it out above.

Air Museum is out today at Thrill Jockey

	Les Rallizes Dénudés - Great White Wonder This massive live set, from one of the Japanese underground's primary influences, has been issued previously on CD but finds its way back to vinyl for the fist time since these live recordings were laid to
tape. The collection documents the feedback architects in fine from 1974-1977, the height of their destructive power. The band was one of the first to translate the power of American rock to their native country and they infuse the power and volume of Blue Cheer with the experimental fortitude of The Velvets to great success. These same influences, along with a few British impulses to imitate the blues seemed to form the backbone of the Japanese heavy psych sound and most bands seemed to learn at least a little something from Les Rallizes despite their impulses to release mostly live recordings on rather underfunded labels. The band's involvement with leftist politics and The Red Army led to their output and live appearances dwindling over the years but they picked back up for a final show in '96 and have enjoyed quite a healthy surge of interest in their reissues. This package is one of the best, and certainly one of the bulkiest in their fragmented history. Download: [MP3] Les Rallizes Dénudés - Field of Artificial Flower [MP3] Les Rallizes Dénudés - Otherwise Fallin in Love With You Support the artist. Buy it: HERE

Evan Caminiti

The men of Barn Owl must never sleep, at least that's what their release schedule seems to imply. Following on an impressive year in 2010 that included releases from Barn Owl, Garden Sound and a solo record and an early 2011 that already chalks up a Higuma release, here the guitarist yet again digs into the smoldering turmoil that informs the majority of his work. It seems that most of Caminiti's songs exist in a world that shares the ominous looming doom of Cormac McCarthy's opus The Road. It’s that kind of futile, scratching dystopian tone that weighs on each note of When California Falls Into the Sea. The calm moments seem only like respites between bouts of peril and creeping unease and Caminiti is a master of this kind of heavy, soundtrack-like divination of tones. Its hard to recommend any Barn Owl related project highly enough, but just know that this is as solid and breathtaking as any in their catalog.

Download:
[MP3] Evan Caminiti - Burning A Hole Through The Sky

Support the artist. Buy it: HERE

Wax Idols – All Too Human 7" HoZac picks up another great debut, this time from Heather Fedewa, formerly of Bare Wires and Hunx & his Punx, now going under the name of Wax Idols. Raw and propulsive, both sides of this single ride on a pummel of drums and Fedewa's sweet and

savage coo. Hell it seems nothing can launch itself out of San Francisco these days without a touch of awesome riding along side it and this debut single has certainly peaked our interest in Heather's next move. To make matters all the more solid, her current live band is made up of a rotating cast of scene characters that includes Matt Hartman from Sic Alps and a couple of ladies from The Splinters. Not too shabby! Check out the video for "All Too Human Below." Download: [MP3] Wax Idols - All Too Human Support the artist. Buy it HERE

The Sandwitches // Cookies + Demos

The Sandwitches return with yet another delightful record that's by turns both dark and breezy. The trio has always inhabited the witchy crevices of folk's cupboards but they seem to tighten their hold on the some of the more brooding aspects of their oeuvre here. On the other hand, the ladies still pack quite the carefree punch when they're want to, and there are definitely some breezy moments that stick themselves squarely in the crook of your brain on Mrs. Jones' Cookies. It's this dichotomy that has always been the allure of the band; sweet with an undercurrent of sour, and equally adept songwriting on both sides of the fence. Check out the sweet ode "Lightfoot" below plus the label sent us over a couple of demos from Cookies that show the band fleshing out the ideas that would eventually solidify into one of the year's most charming albums.

Download:
[MP3] The Sandwitches - Lightfoot

Demos:
[MP3] The Sandwitches - Lightfoot (demo version)
[MP3] The Sandwitches - Black Rider (demo version)
[MP3] The Sandwitches - Joe Says (demo version)

Support the artist. Buy it: HERE

Yours Truly + The Soft Moon

from Yours Truly on Vimeo.

Yours Truly has begun a new video series, The Neighborhood; intimate interviews with local musicians and the music scenes in their neighborhoods. This week they talk with Luis Vasquez of The Soft Moon, check it out above.

Religious Knives

It's been three years since The Door throbbed its way into the world and Religious Knives have been sorely missed in the interim. Making an obvious jump to Sacred Bones, the band releases one of their most unshakeable albums yet; walking the line between Krautrock's hammered pace and psych's fractured shadows. Smokescreen is a fitting title for the Knives' latest, obscured in ripples of mercurial psychedelics, it’s almost easy to underestimate the leaden punch that the band packs. Anchored by Maya Miller's organ and the submerged buzzsaw of Michael Bernstein's guitar, the album writhes with life just below its foggy exterior. Add to the package one of Sacred Bones' best covers yet and this one jumps to the essential list fairly quick.

Download:
[MP3] Religious Knives - The Message

Support the artist. Buy it: HERE

Ryan Garbes

Garbes worked his way through some familiar names (Wet Hair, Raccoo-oo-oon) before striking out under his given name with releases on Arbor and NNA Tapes. Now, Woodsist's little sister label Hello Sunshine brings his first full-length creation to light; a collection of Velvets brewed haze-pop that's heavy on summer evening vibes and trades dissonance and groove in equal favor. There's a homespun, shambolic vibe that runs through Sweet Hassle, reflecting Garbes' Iowa, college town exile. Its an album delightfully stuck in its own head, mashing together the convergent threads of a dozen malleable influences and slicing out new forms from the discord.

Download:
[MP3] Ryan Garbes - Boys Are Back

Support the artist. Buy it: HERE

	Träd, Gräs och Stenar - Gärdet 12.6.1970 Träd, Gräs och Stenar was a cornerstone of the Swedish psychedelic scene that has since found many fans in the reissue circuit. The band worked on a platform of hard psych rolled
through raga and into extended jam territory and their live recordings are highly sought after to this day. Gärdet was a Swedish music festival, often likened to Woodstock, though, unlike that festival is was held more than once (yeah I’m not counting ’94 or ’99 for obvious reasons). This recording, taped by a fan in the front row on some rather decent equipment considering its 1970 timestamp, has seen reissue in the past but now returns to vinyl with the addition of a new sidelong track. This release catches the band before their S/T debut and is easily as essential as the band's recorded work. It shows them in their element, writhing on the stage in a cloud of fuzz and rumble and teaching all those American jam bands just what it means to experiment. Download: [MP3] Träd, Gräs och Stenar - Satisfaction Support the artist. Buy it: HERE

Night Beats

Its always great when a band shows promise on a debut, then completely eclipses that promise on their follow-up. The Night Beats first EP for Trouble in Mind perked ears around here but it needed something more; a little more fidelity, a little more snarl. Fear not, the band has brought snarl, a nash of teeth and a whole history of Texas psych kicking through the mud with them on their self-titled debut. RSTB is wholeheartedly a sucker for bands that have been name-checking some long lost 60's gems these days, and its hard not to love a band channeling Golden Dawn (highly underrated). The bump in fidelity has these guys hitting all the right garage-psych notes and of course it never hurts that vocalist Danny Rajan has a knack for conjuring late night psilocybin visions of Roky Erickson each time he saunters to the mic. All in all, just another great addition to the grit-psych canon this year.

Download:
[MP3] Night Beats - Ain't Dumbo
[MP3] Night Beats - Dial 666

Support the artist. Buy it: HERE