Valet

January 30, 2008

Honey Owens continues to round up Portland's best and brightest to collaborate under the Valet moniker and she's no slouch herself; doing time with RSTB past faves Dark Yoga and JOMF as well as heading up Yarnlazer with Adam Forkner. Her latest record, Naked Acid blends more of her ghost dream psych noodles with an ever increasing amount of high plains incantations that threaten to tear loose and dissipate into the surrounding hills. The space blues vibe is heavy on the edges of this one but with Valet, Owens burrows these leanings back deep down into the earth. With every moment she seems about ready to let loose from the atmosphere, a fireball of barn toasted guitar snatches her back down into the dust; the push and pull of dirty etheralism washing over every inch of this album. Seems like some ears were perked up with the last Valet record and I'm damned certain that with this one quite a few more are going to be as well. Download: [MP3] Valet - Kehaar [MP3] Valet - Babylon 4 Eva Support the artist. Buy it HERE

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January 29, 2008

More reckless fun from a whole host of long lost garage classics; a dash of snotty ragged rockers with just enough melody to make 'em stick. Enjoy! [MP3] The Great Society - You Can't Cry Another great track from San Francisco's The Great Society. A laid back groove that pops into a burst of drums and guitar on the chorus. Disaffected garage at its best right here. [MP3] The Caravelles - Lovin' Just My Style A real stomper cut through with swells of organ and a frantic beat pushing it along. The track pulses and pulls then spills over into a mess of a bridge before roping itself back into a tight wound groove of youthful abandon. [MP3] Rain - ESP Loud and furious, this track is just a short burst and then its all over in a flurry of sweat and tension. The action never lets up; with some call and response chorus and pummeling drums this is garage rock catharsis. [MP3] The Caretakers - East Side Story A barrel of fuzz and an off kilter beat anchor this one to the floor, then tear loose with soaring vocals and thumping bass barrage. Can't recall another Caretakers song but this one more than proves there mettle. [MP3] Serendipity - Through With You Round out the set with this British psych stomper that all spacey organ and a passel of effects. Great melodies that tip the cap to prog's future but stay firmly rooted in garage-psych.

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Howlin’ Rain

January 28, 2008

Ethan Miller and Co. take their Comets side project further with a new album and an unexpected move to American Recordings. Still mining the same laconic 70's boogie rock vibe that permeated their debut, Magnificent Fiend further washes the fiery remnants of Comets influence away from the project. Miller really lets his melodic side shine through and carries his Creedanc/ Allman torch high with working man's blues, a tumble of piano and the smoothe sheen of horns that wash the album down like domestic draft. I've gotta admit that the debut grabbed me harder with its balance of fire and melody but Magnificent Fiend is nothing if not the natural progression from that album and Miller's attention to stylistic detail makes this less derivation than pure reinvention of the gritty sound he emanates. Best news of all in addition to this album being available on wax, American and Birdman are chipping in to re-release the S/T album in all its vinyl glory, which I've been waiting for since its release. Download: [MP3] Howlin' Rain - Dancer At The End of Time [MP3] Howlin' Rain - Lord Have Mercy Support the artist. Buy it HERE

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January 25, 2008

	Growing - Disconfirm b/w Horizon Drift 7" More skitter and twitter resembling the new sound of Growing. Again this is very reminiscent of the new sound of Black Dice but with Growing's own twist on the twisted electrics. Hey since I was a fan of the last Dice LP,
I'm definitely not one to complain about band's following suit in this form. The A-Side burbles and chugs with delight while the B-Side of this stays true to the "Drift" part of its title; very low key with some digital crunch thrown on for good measure.Download: [MP3] Growing -Disconfirm Support the artist. Buy it HERE

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