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Valet

admin — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 06:16:00 +0000

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

admin — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 06:19:00 +0000

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.

Howlin’ Rain

admin — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 06:09:00 +0000

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

admin — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 05:50:00 +0000

Shock and Awe, another great release tumbles out of the Social Registry Social Club 7" series. This time its from Growing, sounding here much in the same vein as their upcoming EP for Soc Reg.

	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

Graveyard

admin — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 05:46:00 +0000

Graveyard owe a considerable nod to the ghosts of Classic Rock's past but as with many of their Swedish brethren, they've found a way to not only replicate the furiously muscular throb of the 70's blues explosion but to also impart it with the scattered ashes of folk and pscyhedelia that made the best examples of this period iconic. With a powerful vocal strain that burn with requisite tension and echoes of Blue Cheer and Flower Traveling Band fueling the constant rhythmic undercurrent, the band reign like a lost transmission picked up by odd atmospheric rifts in time. Graveyard slot themselves along a new breed Swedish heavy metal that has birthed Witchcraft and Dungen and their Self-Titled epic poses yet another argument squarely in favor of laying down albums on vinyl. This one's already out in Europe but Tee Pee records is bringing it stateside where it'll certainly find a good home nestled between Witch and The Warlocks in their roster.

Download:
[MP3] Graveyard - Thin Line
[MP3] Graveyard - Blue Soul

Support the artist. Buy it HERE

Excepter

admin — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 14:21:00 +0000

Excepter unleash another skewed assault on the senses, this time via the grace of Paw Tracks. Debt Dept. moves the collective even further away from the disjointed noise cloud of their beginnings and continues to mine the beat addled cough-syrup disco that Burgers and Tank Tapes laid the groundwork for. Not to say that the band has become all out digestible, far from it, but the fevered incantations and swarms of sample grease that the band has been known for now sport a pulse. Like the unholy spawn of dub and noise left to fend for itself, Excepter come from all sides chanting, pulsating and writhing with exultant pain. Keep you ears perked for this on mid-March.

Download:
[MP3] Excepter - Kill People
[MP3] Excepter - The Last Dance

Support the artist. Buy it HERE

Changeling

admin — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 14:26:00 +0000

Roy Tatum is a damned busy man. Under his Changeling alter ego he's got releases out on at least 3 or more labels right now (Abandon Ship, Not Not Fun, Sick Head, etc.) and the quality is striking. This double side of shimmering drone trickles, entitled Absolutely Free is probably the best bit of Tatum's work I've heard to date. Both halves, labeled pt. 1 and pt. 2 shine like thick pink pearls underwater; murky and elusive with an undeniable ability to hold you in rapture as long as they're playing. Effortlessly simple but at the same time these two pieces flow like a natural link to something so universally other. Its at times hard to tell whether these two pieces are filled completely with despair or with hope, but maybe that's the beauty of them; that the two feelings are so closely tied that Tatum is able to skim lightly the exact dividing line between them. I suppose whichever feeling makes you absolutely free is the correct answer. Package in beautiful collage work by Bethany of Pocahaunted. Download: [MP3] Changeling - Absolutely Free Pt.2 Support the artist. Buy it HERE

admin — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 14:42:00 +0000

Primarily remembered as the first band formed by Todd Rundgren, the Nazz' first two albums a solid reminders of great rock that fell between the cracks.

	The Nazz - Nazz Much indebted to the wave of British Music crossing in the U.S. at the time, the first Nazz album takes the British Invasion sound for a ride through the American garage. Combining the polish of pop and the
heart and soul of snot nosed garage-punks, this is the most solid incarnation of the band and the songs here prove it. This is definitely one of the albums that shows the burgeoning of American hard-rock, even if it is through a British influence filter. This is absolutely classic and if you don't have it, track this sucker down! Download: [MP3] The Nazz - Open My Eyes [MP3] The Nazz - Wildwood Blues Support the artist. Buy it HERE
	The Nazz - Nazz Nazz The Nazz' follow up is no slouch of a record either. Still combining hard driving melodies with powerful guitar, this album hints at bits of glam and hard-rock to come. The band follow their successful forays into production on their first
album (they produced two songs) by producing this entire follow-up. This becomes increasingly evident in the move away from just synthesizing their influences, as they had on the first album, and into a sound of their own. This album pretty much marked the end of the band, as the follow-up was largely culled from leftovers from these sessions. And for my tastes, Todd Rundgren's solo work just didn't have the power that came along with Nazz records. Again if you don't have this one pick it up quick. Download: [MP3] The Nazz - Forget All About It [MP3] The Nazz - Rain Rider Support the artist. Buy it HERE

Dead Meadow

admin — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 21:00:00 +0000

Dead Meadow return with their 5th album and honestly the band have never felt more comfortable. As partial as I am to the band's heavy, Blue Cheer inspired past there's just something about the world-weary effect of Old Growth that feels like the band has finally found their true stride. Pretty much all of the shoegazy haze that enshrouded Flowers has been burnt away. Instead the band take a slower, mellower but not necessarily complacent road; boiling with a weariness and dust in throat wisdom that seems much more natural than the haze ever did. Old Growth merges the band's former murk and growl into a finely tuned balance; finding a way to maintain restrained spacey effects and guitar punch with a much cleaner approach and a heavier emphasis on the acoustic guitar. The results of the balance leave this as the band's most complete album to date even injecting a shamble of pop into what was once a frustrated haze. Keep your eye out for the album in all its double gatefold glory early next month. Download: [MP3] Dead Meadow - Down Here [MP3] Dead Meadow - What Needs Must Be Support the artist. Buy it HERE

admin — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 15:08:00 +0000

Yet more trickles from the Sic Alps camp. This one comes out on RSTB favorite haven Woodsist and a righteous chunk of scuzz it is.

	Sic Alps - Strawberry Guillotine 7" The A-Side is a washed out pop capsule that thumps along with a chug and vigor that could only be Sic Alps. The harried vocals and easy beat of "Strawberry Guillotine" are a sharp contrast to the noise blister that takes shape on the B-side in
the form of Ratroq. Then they cap it off with a quick rock shimmy-shamble called "The Drake". Every time I get a new piece of the Sic Alps puzzle in my hand it makes me love them more. Download: [MP3] Sic Alps -Strawberry Guillotine Support the artist. Buy it HERE