King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard - "Hot Wax" Video

Can't resist the urge to post some more King Gizzard whenever the opportunity presents itself. The video for "Hot Wax" takes a tumble down the animated psychedelic portal, pretty much summing up the melted pop sandwich that the band lays down for three minutes. They've been hitting up the states for a little while now and if you missed 'em there's one more chance during Northside. If you haven't picked this up yet, what the hell are you waiting for? Tops of 2014.

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Paco Sala

A favorite from early 2012, Paco Sala's debut was an ethereal, desolate synthpop album that posed a very strong debut for Anthony Harrison. A limited tape followed shortly after but its Put Your Hands On Me, the proper sophomore follow-up, that really brings the focus back onto Paco Sala's stunning, smeared mascara dreamscapes. The majority of Harrison's world exists in the moments, when overheated from dancing, a lone patron steps outside and night steams off of the top of the head in sidewalk/streetlamp repose; both unfathomably hot and refreshingly cool. It’s a clear child of trip-hop but without the cheesy trappings, just the icy soul that crystallizes in the center of slightly dubbed beats and foggy ambiance. That icy cool is in no small part due to the breathy, enveloping vocals of Birch, who remains somewhat of Paco Sala's secret weapon beside Harrison's slinky production. Its not quite humid enough just yet to really appreciate the sweat trickling impact of Put Your Hands On Me but once the humidity kicks in, a soundtrack to summer is born.

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Total Control

After a Sub Pop single, a split with Thee Oh Sees and some well worked up anticipation, Total Control follow up Henge Beat with an album that's twice as strong and hits even harder. They still take their tastes all over the map of influences but this time they seem to find a natural flow from the hard gnashing peaks of post-punk grit to the gloss of synth pop and a few dosed-out wanders through the valley of Benzedrine pop. Typical System turns corners not so much at a whip snap but rather at a cautious creep, peering around a well thought out maze of knuckle tough back alleys throughout its course. The band's always been a veritable who's who of Aussie talent but they all seem to have gelled a vision of bile soaked, black neon coated restraint. The album proves that the ideas just bubbling through on their previous album, and beginning to distill by the time they hit that split with Oh Sees, have now taken root and grown hold in vines that seek to strangle behind the beauty. And there is plenty of beauty here, tinged with darkness yes, but the shimmer in "Flesh War" and "Safety Net" is definitely more refined than I'd ever expected of the band. This vaults itself into the essential corners of 2014 for sure.

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The Skygreen Leopards

For those of us waiting, and lamenting each passing summer that goes by without a new Skygreen Leopards album, the past five years have been rather long. Sure it hasn't been a dry well,Glenn Donaldson has released the Art Museums album and a few singles, Donovan Quinn's been busy with solo work and an excellent collaboration earlier this year with Ben Chasney as New Bums, hell they even eked out a one of for a Woodsist compilation, but its nice to see the old California Sunshine peeking through the curtains once again. Family Crimes picks right up where Gorgeous Johnny left off, still poking at the nerve of sunshine folk as seen through the heavy lidded eyes of daydreamers and soothsayers and doing it better than most could ever hope. The album is loose and unconcerned, drifting with the clouds and spreading an easy smile on the lips of the listener after just a few songs. Its the kind of album that lives in a mood, like summer air trapped in amber. The pair have been popping up here since the cd-r heydays of The Jewelled Antler collective and since then I've often referred to them as overlooked but perhaps with this move to Woodsist (as fine a home as any for them) it seems the right ears have been listening all along. They were never overlooked just cherished by those who needed a quick dose of sun the most.

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The Babe Rainbow - "Evolution 1964" Video

Gonna follow up yesterday's foray into psychedelic tropes with another one, this time from Aussies The Babe Rainbow (not to be confused with a Canadian producer under a similar name). The video is all brightly colored 60's pastiche but it works with a spot on psych-pop thrummer that can't help but sway you just a little bit. The band has been dropping singles for King Gizzard house label Flightless for a little while but here's hoping perhaps there's an album in the works down the line.

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The Soundcarriers

Ghost Box seems to exist in an alternate reality where the sepia-toned 70's world of The Virgin Suicides stretches on forever. A world where the members of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop meet Wes Anderson to go shopping for vintage Eames chairs everyday at lunch. That world of rich analog sound and crisp design rears up once again on their latest addition to the family, The Soundcarriers. The band has existed in some of the same nostalgia circles for some time but the pairing of their aesthetic with that of Julian House seems to have crested in a wave of Formica and fondue induced creativity. The album is rife with swirling organs that swell in climate controlled perfection while the voice of Leonore Wheatley jars the listener clean out of time. Chuck in a rhythm section that can click n' chug with motorik perfection and a spacey, filmstrip voice over from Elijah Wood (perhaps channeling his Ice Storm days?) and the album is cocktail party ready. If you needed another reason to dip into Ghost Box, which you really shouldn't, then this album is to be placed on the must list next to Belbury Poly and The Focus Group.

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Rat Columns

Another one this week for the Aussies, though to be fair Rat Columns' David West has bounced between San Francisco and his native Australia for this one so its got a leg in both territories. Produced by Kelley Stoltz, though skewing from his usual garage rock pastiche and featuring contributions from Mikey Young, but sliding more to the dream pop / jangle crux than that preface would normally entail as well, the album is a pink-clouded ramble through Sarah records territory with plenty of nods to the Aussie janglers that came before him. Young and West both wind up on this years' forthcoming Total Control album as well, so both have been quite busy; but that's not kept this from emerging into a hazy, drizzled pop album that inspires days in bed staring at the slow rotations of a ceiling fan. But its not necessarily an album for the mopers and shut-ins, there's a restrained hope curling under West's songs, a bittersweet ray that lets the sun shine in through the cracks in the blinds with a hopeful healing tugging at its core. The album arrives via Aussie powerhouse R.I.P. Society and its certainly another one to add to your wishlist for 2014.

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	The Flesh Eaters - A Minute To Pray, A Second To Die Superior Viaduct has a habit of picking some perfect gems from the vaults for reissue and they hit the classics yet again with a reissue of The Flesh Eaters' A Minute To Pray, A Second To Die. The group, formed by Chris Desjardins,
featured a revolving lineup that hit its peak on this release with John Doe and DJ Bonebrake from X and Dave Alvin and Bill Bateman from The Blasters along with Steve Berlin from Los Lobos on Sax. The result was a record that traversed the worlds of post-punk, roots, punk and rockabilly. Its one of those records that truly captures the directions that bands at the time were feeling out in the wake of punk and at the same time its a seminal L.A. Record right up there with X's Los Angeles and The Gun Club's Fire of Love. Its scorched riot run through the streets of the city's dirtiest corners with a Beefheart soul and a musical backbone run on engine grease and sewer water. Desjardins would prove endlessly restless and following this album and the band would splinter lineups and eventually dissolve altogether with his move to form the Divine Horsemen. Listen: Support the artist. Buy it HERE

Eastlink

Seems like a no brainer this one would end up here. Eastlink have roots with Aarght Records and this one is popping up on In The Red for a US release. The band's roster includes members of Total Control and UV Race. Plus, their dirtcaked repetitious punk hits square in the RSTB heart like Slug Guts covering The Fall. The record is brittle and battled on the uptake, right through the break of "Dinnerchat" which slows things down to a murky psychedelic crawl through the Australian desert, blurred like heatstroke and sunburn. Then the record picks back up for another dose of primordial pummel that peaks with the city leveling power of "Overtime." Like so many records coming from their region these days, it’s not easy to pin to the wall. There's plenty to love for the jagged punk hedonists and just as much for the noise addled zone out crowd as well. The testament to Eastlink resides in their ability to stitch the two styles of squall together into a caustic tapestry of storm-clouded chaos.

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(note: not sure why this is labeled "Mosquito" on their Soundcloud. Its called "Overtime" on the album.)

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	Michael O. - Face The Facts 7" Fruits & Flowers is a new label endeavor spearheaded by Glenn Donaldson (Skygreen Leopards, Art Museums) and Chris Berry (Soft Abuse), a combination of interests that's clearly in the Raven wheelhouse if I ever heard one,
add to that an inaugural release by Michael Olivares from The Mantles and its a done deal. His first single under the name Michael O. is a stripped and straightforward affair that eschews some of Mantles' psych trappings for a jangle-pop take on West Coast summer sun that's easy to fall in love with. The single ropes in two originals that seem fit to be sandwiched between Smiths b-sides and Go-Betweens classics on your crushworthy mixtape, then Olivares rounds it out with a Scorpions cover on the b-side. Limited to 300 and well worth keeping your eyes pegged to this space and Skygreen Fans take note, the band is back with a long overdue and highly anticipated new records on July 8th, check out a taster over here. Listen: Support the artist. Buy it HERE

Bloods - "Want It" Video

Good news from the South Hemi these days, Bloods have a proper album on the way and as the band is always generous with the videos and singles, the first track from said album is "Want It." As effervescent as anything they've released, the song begs eager anticipation for the follow-up to their Golden Dawn EP. You can even download it for free at Soundcloud below.

Outer Space

Outer Space have grown into a duo and with their move from Spectrum Spools to Editions Mego they prove that not only is their chosen moniker apt, but that there are no bounds on how deep and dark their exploration of cosmic sound can fathom. The two track EP, Phantom Center, starts off with the more rhythmic "Arrival and Assessment" culling in some Blade Runner vibes, dark and pulsing and with a foreboding chill running in its veins. Its a marked progression for John Elliott though not surprising given the final throes and direction of Emeralds. The flip of this is where the descent really begins, a cavernous spacewalk through the kind of sensory deprivation synth psych that Elliott has been known for. It seems that this is just a taste of what might be coming down the line from Outer Space, but as it stands the duo are proving that there's great reason why Emeralds and its offshoots line themselves up at the forefront of cosmic psych.

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	Wreckless Eric - Le Beat Group Electrique Coming into fame in the late 70's as part of the Stiff Records stable, Wreckless Eric released a string of often boozy, often overlooked records that never really found their place in punk. Following a
few hiatuses from music, some reconfigurations and a stint in a mental hospital Eric moved to France to record Le Beat Group Electrique. Hooking up with Andre Barreau and Catfish Truton as a backing group, he recorded the record in his apartment, against the suggestions of pretty much everyone at the time. The small space constraints began to shape the direction of the group as the apartment wouldn't allow for drums or large amps, so they used practice amps and a cardboard box for a drum kit. The result is a record that has a crackling charm, laid back and locked somewhere between the Velvets and Jonathan Richmond. Despite all the resistance at the time the record stands up much better than any could have guessed, especially in an age when home recording is commonplace, but these are some of the forefathers of the movement for sure. Fire issued this one for Record Store Day but copies can still be had both physically and digitally, I highly recommend picking one up. Listen: Support the artist. Buy it HERE

Denney and The Jets

Rotating through their ranks The Jets have had members of Pujol, JEFF the Brotherhood and Natural Child; all bands that have broken out to bigger things than Chris Denney and his crew themselves. But now the band has, thanks to Burger and Limited Fanfare, wrangled out a full length of ten tunes that clearly shows they're still in the running. In fact Natural Child's latest is a good touchstone as DATJ have the same sort of domestic brews in the sun all day, high powered country-rock all night type of vibe about them. The record lodges itself in its Stones via Let It Bleed / Beggars years vibe and there's more than a little salt of the earth delivery present on this one. Though they're breaking no real molds or fresh earth, they fill a hole of good ole, unfiltered, sweat-caked rock n' roll that's always going to be in need.

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	Mary Monday - I Gave My Punk Jacket to Rickie 7" Hozac's archival series always straddles the line between the re-released and singles features but since its technically a 7" its going here. Reissue of Mary Monday's firecracker single from '77
that may as well serve as a AA side stomper. A favorite of John Peel and a reputation as opening for The Ramones on their first San Francisco gig give Monday some weight for sure but even without such historical context these two tracks would rip the doors off of plenty of imitators around today just trying to capture half the frenetic energy that exists in these two tracks. Mary Monday has a yowl like the best of them and she comes across like Poly Styrene with a poutier delivery. Not necessarily part of the typical punk canon but this one should be slotted into collections and mixtapes alike for years to come. Listen: Support the artist. Buy it HERE

Nun

Featuring members of Woolen Kits and Constant Mongrel, Nun wraps in the creeping horror of John Carpenter with a synth punk force that's equal parts goth dance and demonic possession. They don't ease in at all on this one, opening with the scraping nightmare of "Immersion II" before letting in the synth twitch with first single "Evoke the Sleep." From there the record bounces through subterranean synth-punk, ink black and slowly lapping at the mind with disjointed images from 70's horror films, torn pages from the occult section of the library and foggy mists of spirit photography. Despite the dark shroud the band adorns, it can't help but pound the Gothic ephemera into a catchy pulse that inspires just as much dancing as brooding. This one's been bubbling up for some time now and its been well worth the wait.

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Martyr Privates - "Something to Sell" Video

New track from the upcoming Martyr Privates full length on Bedroom Suck. The track's a sonic step up from their Bon Voyage 7" from 2012 and has the band sounding full force and rumblin' with a good dose of swagger pushing things forward. Excited to see how the record forms but for now check out the band in a few live settings and with a heart wrenching ending.

Ninos Du Brasil

Ninos Du Brasil is the Italian pair of Nicolò Fortuni and Nico Vascellari, a duo whose backgrounds in punk and performance art collide into an explosive live show that attempts to capture the vibrancy of Brazilian carnival music. But that's all just explaining away the influences here; the album certainly has a glowing, vibrant underlay of propulsive drums that can't help but invoke some movement amongst listeners but there's also a crisp techno minimalism that feels at odds with the vibrancy of some of the rhythms. Its often like constantly flipping a switch between throwing a party in a museum and looking at pictures of street parties on the walls of a museum. The record feels academic but only until the walls of constraint seem to tumble around the Ninos and a diorama of chaos erupts through the speakers, whisking away any concerns for analysis for the moment. Hospital Productions has a habit of picking thinking person's records for their roster but this time they've found a good balance between what sounds good on paper and what sounds good in the crowd.

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