Dead Luke

Dead Luke's American Haircut was one of our favorites from last year and in quick order he's followed it up with the equally engaging Meanwhile... In the Midwest. Where Haircut was a densely layered psychedelic creep, the follow-up peers its head above the haze. For the first time since we've had Luke on our radar, his voice is clear and free from the murk of heavy processing. The album is full of early morning space-blues and rising sun jams with the man himself prosthelytizing out front like he means it. Being from Madison, WI, Luke was around for the political turmoil that unfolded recently and the album's lyrics reflect the struggle and unrest of the Midwest climate. Though not necessarily the route we saw him taking, the Woody Guthrie under the Brightblack Morning Light sound he's dug into is definitely working. Let there be no confusion though, this is still very much an album wandering through the psychedelic creek. His voice may be crisper but musically the album is run through a quivering heat haze of open space grooves, heavy handed strums and electronic ambience that floats like smoke rings. Definitely an essential one!

Download:
[MP3] Dead Luke - Paranoia Is a Flower of the Mind

Support the artist. Buy it: HERE

Premiere :: Bare Wires Video

Its been no secret how much we love Bare Wires around here and the imminent arrival of their Cheap Perfume LP has done nothing to stem the tide of accolades we'd love to heap on them. Now the band, along with Rob from Southpaw, has filmed a video for the album's wistful cut "Never Gonna Change." Check it out above and be sure to get your pre-order in for Cheap Perfume. You're gonna want one of these as soon as possible. Your turntable will thank you.

Buy Cheap Perfume HERE.

Wax Idols

Heather Fedewa's got quite a legacy in the current garage-punk pantheon. She's held past and current tenure in Bare Wires, Hunx and His Punx and Blasted Canyons, all favorites around these parts. A few months ago we got a listen at her new band Wax Idols and the initial single left quite a bit of anticipation for her debut full length. Well No Future has arrived and it definitely lives up to expectations. Built on 90's indie girl snarl and early punk grit, the album would do well for fans of Super Wild Horses or even Sleater-Kinney. Though comparisons fall short because Fedewa's proving to be an excellent songwriter in her own right, with hooks in her back pocket and plenty of attitude clenched tightly in her fists. Add to the concoction backing help from Sic Alps' Mat Hartman and a couple of members of The Splinters and this one is hard to resist.

Download:
[MP3] Wax Idols - Gold Sneakers

Support the artist. Buy it: HERE

Ty Segall - Singles 2007 - 2010

The past few years have seen a glut of limited singles flowing out of the U.S. garage punk hubs, from Memphis to San Francisco to Chicago and on down to Florida. And as the popularity of artists rises in inverse proportion to the availability of those early slabs, it only seems natural that rounding up the out of print tracks onto a compilation should ensue. With everyone from Jay Reatard to Thee Oh Sees already having their collections bound back to vinyl it does seem that Mr. Segall is in line for a set of his own. Goner has combed through a stack of out of print 7"s and limited compilation tracks for the upcoming Singles 2007 - 2010. Previous RSTB faves like Ty's cover of Simply Saucer's "Bullet Proof Nothing" rear their heads alongside forgotten nuggets like "I Think I've Had It" which saw light on the Yeti 8 comp. Both sides of the rougher, original "My Sunshine" single for Trouble in Mind appear alongside the covers split with Thee Oh Sees and even a few songs that haven't seen the light of day for good measure. The only omission seems to be the "Universal Momma" single but I'm not going to shed any tears. It seems like a well built overview of what you may have missed from Segall.

Download:
[MP3] Ty Segall - Bullet Proof Nothing

Support the artist. Buy it: HERE

Wooden Shjips - Lazy Bones Video

Black Dice have created a video for Wooden Shjips' album cut "Lazy Bones" that's one of the most lysergic things we've seen in a while. Like tumbling through a solarized fever dream the clip is a pretty good match for the Shjips' psychedelic fury. Check it out above and be sure to pick up a copy of West if you haven't already.

Buy West HERE.

	Don Gere - Werewolves on Wheels B-Music has a penchant for finding the gems amongst the cultural rubble of b-movie soundtracks and 60's and 70's psychedelic hangovers. Their latest find, the soundtrack to the cult biker werewolf movie Werewolves on Wheels is
definitely no exception. The soundtrack was composed by Don Gere, a country devotee who became entranced in the pools of psychedelic ephemera that were just beginning to wane when this film was released in 1971. His take on the genre mixes groove heavy, Krautrock leaning instrumentals with a loner-psych bit of folk and country that serves the picture's desert setting. The result is a massive chunk of unheralded psychedelic soup that seems to lend itself well to the b-grade shtick of bikers and Satanists and werewolves that monopolize the screen. Download: [MP3] Don Gere - The Devil's Advocates 2 Support the artist. Buy it: HERE

Circuit Des Yeux - Twenty & Dry Video

A gorgeously raw video from Circuit Des Yeux to accompany her recent record Portrait out now on De Stijl. The bedgragled immagery in "Twenty & Dry" fits Haley Fohr's world beaten tale like a filthy lace glove. We highly recommend checking it out and, if you haven't already, picking up Portrait on LP and shutting all the blinds for a reflective afternoon.

Buy Portrait HERE.

Yussuf Jerusalem

Its been a while since Yussuf Jerusalem's first record quietly crept into consciousness. Wrapped in lo-fi pop and folk but with that odd spot of black metal at the front, it was definitely an unexpected joy when it hit our ears back in '08. Benjamin Daures has backed down much of the soft focus nostalgia in favor of crisp concoctions with a dusted country touch. There's still a blast of metal to rock your moorings before the record gets moving (seems to be his calling card) but from there things even out into some genuinely fine troubadour moves. Good news is that time doesn't seem to have affected Daures' ability to craft a catchy hook and Blast From the Past is full of a few but supplanted with a newfound sense of grit, snarl and roadwear that feels like a natural progression from his first record. Coming at you courtesy of the folks at Florida's Dying once again.

Download:
[MP3] Yussuf Jerusalem - At The End Of The World

Support the artist. Buy it: HERE

Jacuzzi Boys - Automatic Jail Video

Check out the new Jacuzzi Boys vid for the album cut "Automoatic Jail." A nice POV piece in which a mutt pulls a reverse shaggy dog by tripping out on some antifreeze. Which is exactly what happens when drinking antifreeze... its just science. Needless to say he gets a date just by wearing an ill gotten Jacuzzi Boys tee and cruises around NYC.

	Sic Alps – Battery Townsley 7" There haven't been a ton of singles that have really ignighted us this year but Sic Alps' run of post-album 7"s has been one to watch. As we mentioned before the band tend to use their short format recordings to explore past the simple fuzz blues and the
acoustic strummer on the A-side here is no exception. The flip's called "Cambridge Vagina" and that should be all you need to know, but if you're aching for details it runs further back towards the blown out terrain of classic Alps. Its a two shot that should be an essential pickup for 2011 along with that Breadhead single. Listen: Support the artist. Buy it HERE

Bill Orcutt

There have been a fair number of acoustic, fingerpicked albums on RSTB and though most of them run through the territories that would run experimental on most listener’s charts, for the most part they're pretty melodic sons of bitches. Bill Orcutt has never been a man accused of lulling anyone into melodic territories. His history in Harry Pussy is a testament to free rock chaos and the subsequent solo work on Editions Mego was an assalt on the acoustic guitar and the idea of what sounds might coming out of it. His follow-up, How The Thing Sings, again on the Editions Mego imprint is a frantic, possessed record that tears a rift into the histories of acoustic blues and feeform noise. It’s a ball of frustration and expression and exuberance and anger and joy. Orcutt's playing feels like a trapped animal allowed freedom only if it can express its pain through a guitar thrown into its cage. From the sound of things it’s damn well time to let that man free.

Download:
[MP3] Bill Orcutt - Til I Get Satisfied

Support the artist. Buy it: HERE

OBN III's

You'd think with one great album from Bad Sports already under his belt this year Orville Neeley would be spent, but it seems that Mr. Neely's a tireless sort and thus we're treated to the debut full length from his OBN III's project as well. Acting sort of like the more raucous, rebellious little brother to Bad Sports, The One and Only strips away some of the glossier bits of power pop from Neely's songwriting palette and leaves the gritty, sweat-soaked leather and denim crunch of punk with a Stooges swagger and a glint of mischief in both eyes. Decidedly higher fidelity than the rash of pre-album singles but still stripped to the bare essentials. This one's for those who dig their urges primal and their rock ripped to the teeth. A damn fine rock record indeed.

Download:
[MP3] OBN III's - New Innocence

Support the artist. Buy it: HERE

	JW Farquhar - The Formal Female This is one of those odd rarities that seem to make sense how it could have become lost to the ages, but its resurrection is more than welcome. Farquhar recorded this acid dampened opus on Teac four track in his apartment, sealed off
from the noisy streets below by soundproofing foam. The album acts as a disjointed rock opera centered around Farquhar's recent messy divorce. As such the album is full of bitterness and quite a bit of misogyny but at the same time proves to be quite an enthralling spiral into darkness and outsider psych. There are definitely times on the record when you can see that the dude is losing it, but you just can't look away. Backed by primitive beats that loop like an early drum machine and foreshadowing everyone from R. Stevie Moore and Bobb Trimble to even farther reaches like James Ferraro's hot glued rants. This is definitely not for mass consumption but for the right kind of ears its definitely a unique listen. Download: [MP3] JW Farquhar - Where Have You Been Support the artist. Buy it: HERE

Omma Cobba

Omma Cobba peaked some interests around these parts due to their connection with Canadian fuzzsters Omon Ra and an early single on Craft Singles. Now Dan Miller has taken Omma Cobba to the long format with an LP for Sweet Rot. Full of hangover blues and bedraggled folk maneuvers, the album rides the same Sic Alps/Skip Spence axis that showed up in early inklings. Recorded on the road in Europe; the album is soaked with the sound of road weary, late night rumblings that burn themselves clean under bare light bulbs in back rooms. Each listen peels away another layer from the toasted canvas of Miller's songwriting and reveals the weary catharsis beneath his lo-fi film. As with most gems on Sweet Rot, this is limited (to 300) so hesitation will only leave you wanting more.

Download:
[MP3] Omma Cobba - Some People Say You're No Good

Support the artist. Buy it: HERE

Bleached – Carter 7" I've really been enjoying some of the newest batch of Art Fag releases but this single from former Mika Miko members Jennifer and Jessie Clavin. Like their former project this stays true to punk's heritage but it certainly softens the blow from

their MM days, wandering into bubblegum and classic pop territories in a way that instantly sticks in your head. The A-side's the ballsier of the two cuts, with a head-bopping back beat and some crunch on the guitars. The B-side could easily supplement for the lead off on this one with sunny harmonies and dreamy pop pacing paired with the kind of hooks that inspire thousands of teens to jump around in their bedrooms with hairbrush microphones. This pair is one to watch. Download: [MP3] Bleached - You Take Time Support the artist. Buy it HERE

Ricardo Donoso

Those who only know Donoso's name as a member of avant-metal peddlers Ehnare may find his solo work a bit of a departure. Following in the same trend as many of the current analog resurrectionists he's crafted Progress Chance into a bubbling, atmospheric monolith that's on par with anything that Emeralds, OPN or Mist has put together. Heavy on the atmospherics but also intriguingly rooted in dance, Donoso's compositions tend to feel as if the air's been sucked out of massive dance party leaving only the burbling high ends and the dubbed out feeling of beat nudging the back of your ears. The record's atmospheres lend it a foreboding nature that brings to mind the ominous soundtrack works of Vangelis or John Carpenter. Definitely not one to miss out on!

Download:
[MP3] Ricardo Donoso - The North Quadrant (Ascension)

Support the artist. Buy it: HERE

Royal Headache

In the past few years there's been a lot of garage that's ebbed into the punk and noise and pop territories but there have been scant few releases that really tap into the garage-soul basis that permeated quite a few early 60's bands and reared its head in the previous wave of revivalists like The Dirtbombs and The Detroit Cobras. Well apparently all eyes on Detroit and Chicago should have shifted their gaze to Syndey as Royal Headache have brought plenty of AM radio soul back to the garage fold. Produced by Eddy Current's Mikey Young, which always acts as a seal of quality, the band's debut record is just further proof that the Aussie punks have definitely got a good thing going and R.I.P. Society, who've put out the album, are right in the midst of it.

Download:
[MP3] Royal Headache - Girls

Support the artist. Buy it: HERE

	White Heaven - Out Last week's review of Miminokoto gave me reason to revisit this classic of Japanese psychedelia and if this is one you don't own then let this be a wake up call. Formed around 1984 White Heaven was a heavy mainstay in the Japanese live
psychedelic explosion that began crystallizing around the same time, reviving the tenants that were built up from the late 60's. The original lineup featured a revolving cast of players and a live release titled Electric Cool Acid available on cassette at the time. After that release the band recruited Michio Kurihara, known to most as the man behind Ghost. Kurihara along with founder You Ishihara manned the guitar duties on this, their most widely acclaimed album (in close standing with its follow-up Strange Bedfellows which does not feature Kurihara). The album is a prime example of the soft, Velvets inflected talking blues style mixed with white squall guitars that's become a sort of touchstone in the latter day Japanese psychedelic scene. This is PSF records at its best and like I said before, if you don't have this its probably about time to fix that. Download: [MP3] White Heaven - Blind Promise Support the artist. Buy it: HERE or HERE

Charalambides

Charalambides is a name we haven't heard from in a while and its a welcome return to have them back in these pages. It’s been five years since their last album Likeness was released on the tail end of a psych-folk revival that began sweeping its way through in the early aughts. Now, in 2011 Tom and Christina Carter's brand of haunted drone-blues are more essential than ever. No longer lost amongst a sea of pale imitations Exile proves that the duo have always been heirs to the tower built by the likes of Loren Conners and Keiji Haino. Christina's voice looms spectrally over a sea change squall of noise that swings from subtle to chaotic. The two core members of the group haven't lost a step from the time they've started this institution of shamanistic incantation. This, of course is due to the pair's high volume work ethic in the intervening years, squeezing out solo and collaborative works for respected labels like Three Lobed, Digitalis, Blackest Rainbow and Important before returning to their home on Kranky for this proper return. Though it’s clear, even though their time apart was well spent, they saved the best for Exile.

Download:
[MP3] Charalambides - Before You Go

Support the artist. Buy it: HERE

Gross Relations - Come Clean Video

RSTB Records signees Gross Relations have worked up a video for the title track off of their Come Clean EP. The video is based on scrambled adult channels that were popular on pay per view in 80's and 90's. If your workplace skews puritanical this one's probably going to be a bit NSFW but you should check it out when you get home.

The boys are also on tour this month so if they swing through your town, definitely go and check them out. Tour dates are below.

Thu-Sep-15 Philadelphia, PA - DFWC
Fri-Sep-16 Pittsburgh, PA- Garfield Artworks
Sun-Sep-18 Cleveland, OH - Now That's Class**
Mon-Sep-19 Chicago, IL - Panchos
Wed-Sep-21 Toronto, CA - Rancho Relaxo
Sat-Sep-24 Montreal, CA - Quai des Brumes (Pop Montreal)
Sun-Sep-25 Boston, MA - TT the Bear's*
Wed-Sep-28 New York, NY - Glasslands (Record Release Show)*
Sat-Oct-29 New York, NY - Pianos

*w/ Gringo Star
**w/ Grass Widow

Download:
[MP3] Gross Relations - When You Go Down

Pre-Order the Come Clean 12" from Insound.

More information at RSTB Records.

Weekend – Red 12" Between their excellent Slumberland debut Sports and an upcoming follow-up, Weekend have seen fit to tease us with a gem of an EP that packs six gauzy, chaotic, beautiful tracks onto two sides of vinyl. In much the same vein as the album

but with marked improvement in the band's ability to master the ebb and flow of hazy hooks and violent feedback. The band proves that their grasp of the noise pop canon is approaching enviable levels. They sculpt sonic debris into pop candy in its barest forms, often wielding their best hooks around songs that are little more than floating choruses. Honestly there's nothing wrong with that. Chalk another up for Team Slumberland. Download: [MP3] Weekend - Hazel Support the artist. Buy it HERE

Total Control

Despite the Eddy Current and UV Race connections, something failed to grab me on Total Control's early singles but after a few listens to their debut long player Henge Beat it’s clear that those early judgments were made in haste. The album wraps the Suppression Ring's past gazing energy in a blitz of squirming keys, post-punk distance and rhythms fraught with teeth. It’s hard to package an album like this into any box, like the best of its modern contemporaries it slices the bits it fancies from a cross section of genres leaving hints of the original forms hanging like sweat on the air. In this tradition Total Control manage to force a few disparate influences into misshapen molds and make them admit they like it. With a lyrical bite that borders on sneering and borders on nihilism the band feel like a perfect fit for 2011, they're self-aware without ever giving an inch. Henge Beat feels like a necessary accessory to making it through this year.

Download:
[MP3] Total Control - Retiree

Support the artist. Buy it: HERE

Miminokoto

For a modern Japanese psych band, carrying the pedigree of an ex-White Heaven member in your ranks is quickly catches the eye of RSTB; throw in ties to LSD-March, Broom Dusters, High Rise and Acid Mothers Temple and we're pretty much sold. In the vein of all of the above, Mininokoto's latest takes the PSF psych route combining Velvets-styled downtempo strums with moments of eye-of-the-hurricane guitar squall that one would expect from some of its members' connections. Hitoyogiri, the band's first for Important Records, is a doom laden trip sountracked by the disciples of space blues, with many of the tracks starting out somber and reserved before erupting into torrents of feedback and fuzz. In other words, just what you've been looking for.

Download:
[MP3] Miminokoto - Midsummers End

Support the artist. Buy it: HERE

	Marie "Queenie" Lyons - Soul Fever The past few years have seen a flood of lost gems unearthed in the funk and soul genres; from the wide-eyed country soul of Bettye Swann to the hard sass of Candi Staton and Betty Davis. In the same tradition comes Marie "Queenie" Lyons' lost classic,
Soul Fever. Hired as one of James Brown's "Funky Divas", Lyons then cut this album packed with heartbreak, soul and the kind of fire that's not usually lost on listeners. However, shortly after this masterpiece was released Lyons slipped from view, never resurfacing on the scene and allowing her only album to slip away from public consciousness as well. Thanks to Vampisoul though the album is back in its rightful place alongside some of the most accomplished soul of the period. Download: [MP3] Marie "Queenie" Lyons - Your Thing Ain't No Good Without My Thing Support the artist. Buy it: HERE

Leyland Kirby

James Leyland Kirby has been incredibly busy this year, with the start of his Intrigue & Stuff 12" series, a beautiful album under his Caretaker moniker and now a proper follow up to Sadly, The Future Is No Longer What It Was under his own name. Gorgeously somber, with Kirby's trademark bits of debris and age clouding the filter, Eager To Tear Apart The Stars lays into your heart, burrowing deep into the most carefully guarded stockpiles of ennui your subconscious has to offer. His deceptively minimalist pieces carry more heft and emotion in one track's subtle shifts of tone than most pop songs can convey in whole albums. It’s easy to see why some circles have rallied around Kirby as a master of the form and his latest only solidifies that reputation.

Download:
[MP3] Leyland Kirby - The Arrow of Time

Support the artist. Buy it: HERE

Sic Alps – Breadhead 7" Sic Alps seem to use the short format to spread their stylistic wings a bit and their latest single for Drag City is no exception. Decidedly smoother than their latest long player but not quite ebbing into the pop territory that their 7" for Slumbland covered;

this one is a four shot of Sic Alps at their best. The title track, along with the following two gems, ride that same rough edged blues quality that they've perfected. The final track pulls in some Bay Area all stars to the table, with John Dwyer, Ty Segall and Matthew Melton all pitching in on a cover of Bob Marley's "Can't You See". If you're a Sic Alps fan already then you definitely need to add this to your pile. Download: [MP3] Sic Alps - Breadhead Support the artist. Buy it HERE

Something Fierce

Texas seems to be one of the many new sources for garage-punk that hearkens back the 70's heyday of the form (see also: Chicago, Memphis, Australia). Though Austin and Denton have gotten plenty of coverage it seems that Houston has slipped through the cracks in terms of entering a contender in the race, until now. Something Fierce have modeled their third record on the expanding sounds of late 70's British punk, just before the real experimentation set in but while the seeds were definitely bubbling. Think The Clash before they hit reggae rhythms or early outing from The Jam. To complete the homage, the band are also inclined to send their lyrics on a political bent, resulting in the kind of anti-war songs that still retain a sense of movement over outright anger, at times approaching downright danceable. This one's unleashed on Dirtnap, the same blokes who brought you Bad Sports' latest. Gonna have to keep a closer eye on that camp.

Download:
[MP3] Something Fierce - Afghani Sands

Support the artist. Buy it: HERE