Fusioon - Absolute Fusioon Spanish prog/psych band Fusioon make no attempt to hide their intentions with a name that blatant. The sound is absolutely a jazz/rock fusion that brings to mind jazz proggers Egg with more than a few elements of Goblin or Emerson Lake
and Palmer slipping in via some of their more organ heavy tracks. This was the first of three albums for the Barcelona four piece. They went on to follow it with Fusioon II and Minorisa, a collector's fave that combines three long tracks leaning heavily into King Crimson territory. As usual Finders Keepers has dug up a sorely overlooked gem and put it back into the world once again. The Finders Keepers / B-Music label was hit fairly hard by the recent PIAS warehouse fire so be sure to support them with some sales below so they can keep reissuing the best underground psych. Download: [MP3] Fusioon - Cyclos Support the artist. Buy it: HERE

Co-Premiere :: Jovontaes

Kentucky’s not necessarily the place your mind goes when the term Krautrock is thrown around but lurking in Lexington’s vibrant skate/garage community there’s a strong undercurrent of the German Progressive movement alive and kicking in the form of Jovontaes. Recorded mostly at Small’s Void Skateshop in Lexington, their debut brings whiffs of Guru Guru, Ash Ra Tempel and NEU! to the air but with a decidedly meditative core; chugging down rhythm like cheap PBR one minute and nebulous as ash on the wind the next. The band’s debut is set to come out on October 11th from Woodsist sister label Hello Sunshine.

Listen:
Jovontaes - Mountain Pass


Support the artist. Buy it: HERE (Oct. 11th)

Keith Freund

Constant Comments is a startlingly beautiful but bittersweet record that sees the guitarist wrapping field recordings into his cloud flecked patches of guitar in a way that bubbles with ennui. With its sounds of children playing and water lapping underpinning Freund's slow drip plucking; the album begins to feel like a parallel for the American suburban dream. Gazing out over endless expanses of cookie cutter subdivisions filled with playgrounds and conveniences and realizing that somewhere along the line the dream of comfort left a hole too big to be filled inside you. Though the album is languid and for the most part calm, there's a restlessness between the notes that feels unsettled. Its easy to see why Freund has been tapped as a collaborator for fellow Ohioan Mark McGuire as his ability to channel the guitar into an instrument of texture definitely seems on par with the Emeralds member.

Download:
[MP3] Keith Freund - From Balch Street

Support the artist. Buy it: HERE

Woods / Kurt Vile – Summer 2011 Tour Split 7" In preparation for their summer tours, featuring a few dates in which they appeared together, Woods and Kurt Vile laid down this split 7" featuring three tracks from Vile and two from Woods. There seem few

acts that could have formed a more perfect pairing and the single captures both bands in both their more experimental and song-oriented guises. Vile lays down a bit of a classic cover and two tracks that lean towards his pre-Matador, lonseome road sparseness. On the flip, Woods lay down a buzzing folk-rocker that lays evenly in line with thier Sacred Bones single then follow it up with a skeletal breakdown that strips things back to their early days. Go see either band on tour and pick up a copy. Listen: Woods - Skull Support the artist. Buy it on tour.

Wooden Wand

Its always a good day when there's a Wooden Wand update on the horizon and this one is a fairly fully plate. JJT's Kickstarter campaign to bring the Wooden Wand and the Briarwood Virgins LP to fruition was a rousing success and on first listens the new LP is everything that was promised and more. The most rock oriented Wand release since Second Attention graced our speakers, Briarwood delves even further into whiskey odes and road worn tales than Toth has in the past. The album feels rooted in the 70's crossover of country and rock that birthed great albums by The Band, Neil Young, Rolling Stones and Byrds. The production is full, with The Virgins forming the kind of seasoned session band that Wooden Wand has long deserved. Little of his folk past sneaks in but Toth's troubadour's voice is always present, turning life into gospel with a honeyed rasp and twanged strings.

Elsewhere Toth's tireless nature remains evident. He's just released a solo Wooden Wand LP release on the Great Pop Supplement label, called My Week Beats Your Year which serves as a follow-up to Born Bad. Plus he's part of a massive 4xLP box set from Three Lobed that includes contributions from Sonic Youth, Sun City Girls, Bardo Pond, Comets On Fire, D Charles Speer & The Helix, Eternal Tapestry and Steve Gunn. Then he rounds out the year with a 6xLP box of archival material on People in a Position to Know, titled Archives Volume 3 that will come in an actual wooden box! Damn fine year for the Wand.

Listen:
Wooden Wand - "Motel Stationary"


The intial vinyl run of Briarwood was available only through Kickstarter but Fire records will release the CD in November.

Support the artist. Buy it: HERE

Bad Sports

Goddamn! That's probably the most encapsulating expression that can be applied to Bad Sports newest platter, Kings of the Weekend. The follow-up to their eponymous 2009 record is such a burner that its impossible not to move erratically from the first moments the stylus hits the wax. The fidelity crackles with electricity and somehow the Marked Men's Mark Ryan, who recorded this one, was able to translate the band's undeniable magnetic energy to tape in a way that I haven't felt since Nobunny's First Blood hit me last year. Brimming with bubblegum hooks, scoundrel smirk and the kind of swagger they used to avert cameras from. This is just further testament that garage is ruling 2011. Needless to say, your turntable is begging for this.

Download:
[MP3] Bad Sports - Teenage Girls

Support the artist. Buy it: HERE

RSTB Records' Debut Release: Gross Relations

Brooklyn foursome Gross Relations have been kicking it through one self-released 7-inch and a handful of digital singles and now they make their 12” vinyl debut as the inaugural release for the newly minted Raven Sings The Blues Records. The band has taken its pop-wrestling approach, rooted in fuzzy leads and woozy keys, and blown it out to new highs for this excellent EP.

In Gross Relations’ world choruses clamber into your brain and take root; bridges kick like second winds, fueled by cheap whiskey and cathartic sweat and the default setting is locked at shambolic. Every song on this slab is covered in a thick corrosive resin that melts your stack of latter day garage faves like Flight and Nice Face into a puddle on top of your Guided by Voices and Beat Happening LPs. The concoction pits the brute fuzz and energy of the former with the from-the-hip songwriting and delivery of the latter.

GR come barreling at you like a pop hangover that wells up last night’s regrets with a soundtrack of hazy anthems built for letting them all go. The band has rolled out their best work yet and RSTB couldn’t be happier to unleash this beast on the world.

Pre-Order the Come Clean 12" from Insound.

Tracklist:
1. Blame The Records
2. Come Clean
3. My Sight Wasted
4. When You Go Down
5. Insel Mainau
6. Life Is Faded

Download the track "When You Go Down" below.
[MP3] Gross Relations - When You Go Down

More information at RSTB Records. Plus you can now follow us on Twitter (@RSTBRecords) or Facebook and keep connected with Raven Sings The Blues and RSTB Records.

Ganglians

RSTB faves Ganglians make the jump from Woodsist/Weird Forest to Lefse, smoothing out a few of the kinks in their disjointed pop in the process but never losing the warm glow that makes their music shimmer. Still Living leans on the crisp vocals harmonies that have typically inhabited Ganglians' world, now buoyed by a cleaner production element courtesy of producer Robby Moncrieff. The band come close to the cacophonous glory of Monster Head Room but they seem to have struck upon a bittersweet tide that's tempered the flail of sticks and snap of strings that reared when the band showed their teeth. "Blood on the Sand" still remains as one of the highlights of their catalog, relegated to an essential pre-album single but their are moments here that show the glint of reckless trouble that glosses over their eyes in the heat of pop ecstasy. This is a simmering side to Ganglians and that tension is a welcome offering, though a part of me is still waiting for them to boil like I know they're capable.

Download:
[MP3] Ganglians - Call Me

Support the artist. Buy it: HERE

Black Gum

Austin's Black Gum roll some sand into the garage, blending surf tones with lo-fi moves and catchy as hell choruses for a rather fun introduction. Their self-titled first cassette comes via Monofonus Press, who've been responsible for some great releases from The Rebel, Sun Araw and Diagonals of late. Raw and ragged but it feels like any spitshine would only tarnish up the band's hip slung fun; which tends to come off something like half a crowd pogoing at once and the other half trying to do The Swim drunk. Needless to say its a damn good time. Pick up the cassette, pop open your walkman and hit the skateboard for this one.

Download:
[MP3] Black Gum - Single Life

Support the artist. Buy it: HERE

Veronica Falls

This one's been high on the anticipation list, with Veronica Falls nailing a few early 7"s with their mix of jangly British rock and reverb-heavy latter day indie vibes. Fans of those early singles will find some familiar territory as the A-sides show up here, rounded out by some excellent new material that falls perfectly in line with their sweet and spooky style. That combination is really what makes Veronica Falls such a pleasant surprise in a sea of jangly soundalikes. The songs have the kind of haunted, grey-eyed delivery that underpinned bands like The Mama's and Papas and in similar fashion they cut the dreariness off at the knees with sugar laced coos that keep each new chorus as memorable as the last. Slumberland has really built their newfound roster into a formidable force of indie pop these days and Veronica Falls have stepped right to the top of the ranks with their self-titled debut.

Listen:
Veronica Falls - Bad Feeling


Support the artist. Buy it: HERE

	Autosalvage - Auto Salvage Formed in New York in 1966 and shortly after befriended by The Mothers of Invention, Autosalvage enjoyed a brief glimmer on the consciousness of the psychedelic era before abandoning their musical journey in the wake of this, their
sole album. One listen to their quirkily disjointed mash of sunny folk harmonies, blues skronk and off-kilter rhythms and its easy to see how Zappa and co. could have been sympathetic. The band had a few musical ties, with bassist Skip Boone hailing from a family who included The Lovin' Spoonful's Steve Boone. Elsewhere guitarist Rick Turner turned up on guitar duties for equally hidden gems Ian & Sylvia. The album's probably not going to bowl over any fans instantaneously but if your tastes run to the Zappaphidelic then this is a bit of a gem and curio in one. The band slipped from the scene as quickly as they landed with members Skip Boone and drummer Darius Davenport going on to appear on the even more obscure 1968 album by Bear before taking their leave altogether. Download: [MP3] Autosalvage - Good Morning Blues Support the artist. Buy it: HERE

Blasted Canyons

To end up as one of the fuzziest bands on the Castle Face roster is something of an honor but it seems that SF's Blasted Canyons have done the trick. Coming off an inclusion on Castle Face's recent Group Flex Vol. 1 we were rather interested to check this one out and we're happy to report that the album more than lives up to those initial expectations. Lest they need more pedigree, their self-titled debut was recorded by Sic Alps' Matt Hartman who has definitely taken his own band's approach to fidelity in mind when recording this gnarled fuzzbucket. Blasted Canyons have no shortage of talent in their own ranks with Heather Fedewa having done time in an earlier incarnation of Bare Wires and Hunx and His Punx plus fronting her own Wax Idols while Matt Jones has rounded out Jonesin' and Master Slash Slave. It seems that Castle Face can do no wrong and Blasted Canyons is just further proof of that.

Download:
[MP3] Blasted Canyons - Death and a Half

Support the artist. Buy it: HERE

The Routes

In the late 60's a garage and psych wave spread across Japan and gave the world hidden gems like The Mops, Jacks and Apryl Fool. In the tradition of that same Eastern slant on the Brit/American idiom The Routes explode through eleven fiery garage tracks that evoke the howl of The Sonics and the rasp of The Seeds. Rather than obscuring their sonic scrawl in layers of hiss and effect the band takes a clean line shot at the original '66 garage tone, pulling off a rather fitting emulation while cranking out some tunes that keep up with frantic pace of many current U.S. counterparts. When you get down to it this is just a fun record for any one with the Nuggets boxes sitting on their shelves. Out now on the UK's Dirty Water Records.

Download:
[MP3] The Routes - Do What's Right By You

Support the artist. Buy it: HERE

Mazes

You know over the year it always seems like there are releases that you forget about that totally deserve a nod. Mazes LP snuck into my rotation a few months ago when it came out but has totally avoided its share of the Raven love. For a bunch with an off the cuff recording aesthetic and minimal take, live to tape techniques A Thousand Heys sounds plenty polished. Though that may just be the sparkle reflecting off their smiles, because the best thing about this record is how much fun they seem to be having playing it. Its easy to see how their brand of DIY indie-pop could come off effortlessly extatic live but its always hard to translate that sense of joy to tape. Every inch of this one sounds like a there's a crooked grin bursting through the speakers but without ever tiptoeing into saccharine territory. One of the most enjoyable recs since last year's sorely overlooked Hanoi Janes platter. This has definitely taken a climb to the top of the Raven stack. If you haven't picked it up, its about time.

Download:
[MP3] Mazes - Most Days

Support the artist. Buy it: HERE

Paavoharju

Finnish enigma's Paavoharju return after a lengthy hiatus with a new EP featuring rare alternate versions of a few old favorites and some long awaited new material. The EP includes different mixes for 'Kevätrumpu' and 'Aamuauringon Tuntuinen' interspersed between some lush and hauntingly sparse new material that cools off some of their overactive cut-ups and static foaming tendencies to rely on the eerie cool of their otherworldly recordings. The title track even trades in something akin to straight songwriting, with its yearning folk and somber piano only occasionally bumping against the mechanic grind of percussion and ghostly ambiance. Beautiful as ever and always a feather in Fonal's sterling cap.

Download:
[MP3] Paavoharju - Ikkunat näkevät

Support the artist. Buy it: HERE

	The Wolfhounds - Lost But Happy The Wolfhounds 1986 - 1990 Plenty has been said about C-86 - the compilation, the movement and the bands that enjoyed success from association with the movement. Most of the bands on the original tape fall into the
kind of sprightly jangle-pop that's becoming a touchstone for more than a few Captured Tracks / Slumberland alumni. However, on its release The Wolfhounds stuck out as a stylistic departure from the bounce and jangle of their compiled compatriots. In fact it seems odd that a band often noted for smashing together The Smiths, VU and The Fall even made it onto those celebrated spools at all. Following their inclusion the band made three records that, unlike many lost classics, weren't so much critical darlings as they were ardent fan favorites. That those fans weren't all that overwhelmingly numerous may have lead to their eventual dissolution. Singles like "Cruelty" (woefully absent here) and the crackingly ahead of its time "Anti-Midas Touch" became bedroom anthems in their own right. The band put together this compilation of singles, band favorites and a few rarities sums up their career quite nicely, though its worth tracking down their excellent first album Unseen Ripples From a Pebble as well. Cherry Red has done the world a service wrapping this one together and its easy to say that no 80's playlist is complete without a few of these. Download: [MP3] The Wolfhounds - Anti-Midas Touch Support the artist. Buy it: HERE

Emuul

Seattle's Kyle Iman has been a fixture on the tape circuit for a few years; releasing densely layered, shimmering works under the Emuul name on Stunned, Sweat Lodge Guru and others and now he makes his vinyl debut for Digitalis. Emmul's songs have a fragile quality that resides somewhere between crystal, vapor and heartache. Built on repetitive cycles of synth lines that shift, erode and evolve into gorgeous lanscapes of sound. Iman's prowess lies in his subtlety, there are no big moves here on a microscopic scale but by the time The Drawing of the Line closes, very little in its path has not been moved emotionally.

Download:
[MP3] Emuul - Love Theme

Support the artist. Buy it: HERE

The Twerps – She Didn't Know 7" Australian wanderers The Twerps lay down a companion piece to their earlier single on Underwater Peoples. This time around the band run through an amiable round of scraggle and strum that comes close to The Strange Boys' yowl on the A-Side, while cooling

things off with a bit of jangle-pop shuffle on the flip. The boys seem to still be finding their stride but the sounds are showing serious promise. Bubbling under those American influences is a heart that beats with AU/NZ pop principles and its clear that The Twerps have jumped into a long line of Southern Hemisphere bards. Download: [MP3] The Twerps - She Didn't Know Support the artist. Buy it HERE

Tunnels

Landing miles away from his roots in Eternal Tapestry and Jackie-O-Motherfucker and even from the earlier works of Tunnels itself, Nicholas Bindeman has wandered a darker and yet more melodic path for his latest release under the moniker. Treading in waters inhabited by Gary War, Pureto Rico Flowers and Silk Flowers; Bindeman lays the gauze of coldwave and post-punk atop rhythms spiked with mental patient fervor and narcotic disco pulses. Crystalline Synths shatter and reform around noise sketches that slowly grow legs and work their way into a manic dance while Bindeman works his way from mumble to incantation in lyrical fits. A far bleaker side to Tunnels than we're used to seeing around here but definitely an interesting ride from ticket to exit.

Download:
[MP3] Tunnels - Crystal Arms

Support the artist. Buy it: HERE

RSTB August Picks Coupon!

Hey guys. So in the spirit of saving a little $$ we've hooked up with Insound to pick out some of our favorite records from the past couple of weeks and you can save 10% on them with this coupon: rstbaugust10 all through August. Grab some vinyl and save. Sounds good to us.

RSTB August Picks

Jacuzzi Boys

This is one of those 2011 albums that couldn't land fast enough. Since its announcement anticipation has been palpable around the RSTB HQ and now at long last we've gotten a chance to check out Glazin' in all its neon Floridian glow. From quick outward appearances the band seems to have smoothed some of their weirder tenancies; with this one lacking any crocodile wrestling odes or beach-orgy cover art, but don't think the boys have gone soft on us just yet. Still crackling with the off-kilter sense of swamp twang that's always made their records so instantly addictive, Glazin' packs hooks that dig at the skin and refuse to let up. Jacuzzi Boys have always represented the seamy side of the Floridian experience, off-kilter humor built at townie bars, caked with rusted pinball cool and greased easy with plastic palm oil. When the tempos burn there's no denying the band's easy prowess but just as they've always managed, the album pulls a soft punch at the end that knocks twice as hard. Top to bottom this one is the kind of record that returns to the turntable year in and year out.

Download:
[MP3] Jacuzzi Boys - Cool Vapors

Support the artist. Buy it: HERE

Bare Wires

It’s a damn fine year for garage here in 2011. There already stand a couple of greats on the table from The People's Temple and Night Beats; Mikal Cronin and Jacuzzi Boys are just around the corner and now, after the release of that bountiful Group Flex Vol. 1 Bare Wires prove that their latest is in the running for 2011's most fun as well. Matthew Melton's been an RSTB fixture for years with Snake Flower 2 and earlier incarnations of Bare Wires always set to impress and now, with the addition Tennant McCabe from Maybe Baby on Bass and Omar, lead singer of Apache, on drums the band have entered their most exciting period yet. Launched off the shoulders of the "Don't Ever Change" single (whose title track starts things off here) Melton and the boys have cranked out a potent mix of garage swagger and power pop crunch that always seems to go down right. At their best when the drums pound heavy in your ears and they crack the sugar and sweat vibe of the best Yellow Pills period, Cheap Perfume's only fault is that once its short runtime ends you want to swing the stylus right back to the beginning. The album lands September 20th via the always trustworthy Southpaw (Ty Segall, Snake Flower 2)

Download:
[MP3] Bare Wires - Cheap Perfume

Support the artist. Buy it: HERE

	Autumn - Synthesize Formed in Belgium in the late 70's, the band began releasing synth singles and tapes around 1980. They started as the duo of Peter Bonne and Geert Coppens before eventually expanding out to a trio in '82 with the addition of Peter Koustaal. The
band had a love for syncing their tense electro with visuals, scoring a classmate's film and eventually going on to write an unsolicited soundtrack to Fritz Lang’s Metropolis. They performed screenings with the latter until an official soundtrack was released shortly after and they lost the rights to perform with film. Minmal Wave has collected many of the band's best tracks onto Sythesize whose title track was a modest hit for the band in European clubs. This is a great collection of 80's synth and definitely a lost classic to American ears. Download: [MP3] Autumn - I Say You Hello Support the artist. Buy it: HERE

Fungi Girls

Texan youngsters Fungi Girls popped onto the scene with a free download of an album and an excellent pair of 7"s for HoZac and Group Tightener. They return to the realms of psych-laced garage on their latest album Some Easy Magic. Hooks are plentiful but a bit obscured under the mounds of hiss and fuzz though this just adds a nice coloration to the band's easy charm and past-leaning songwriting. Again the trio land in the hands of HoZac who have quickly (along with Trouble in Mind) made Chicago the new garage Mecca. There's a long lineage of Texas garage-psych to live up to at this point but these boys make a valiant entry into the form.

Download:
[MP3] Fungi Girls - Velvet Days

Support the artist. Buy it: HERE