Twenty-seven years after its initial 1988 release on Virgin, the lone studio album by Last Exit, the free jazz supergroup comprised of guitarist Sonny Sharrock, saxophonist Peter Brötzmann, bassist/producer Bill Laswell and drummer Ronald Shannon Jackson, emerges from history to influence a new generation of improvisation enthusiasts.
“For those familiar with the band’s majestic debut, you will be extremely happy with the gorgeous layers of lush dream pop (the phenomenal “No Happy Day”) contained herein. Think Cocteau Twins and Slowdive for a start, but expect the band’s shimmering, original take on this heavily mined genre.
Baltimore-via-Chicago duo, Wume, expand further into the universe with a second release of hypnotic “kosmische musik.”
A London trio mine some of punk’s greatest heroes in this debut LP.
The Underground Railroad to Candyland is a gloriously democratic, technicolor chaos machine.
““Diamond Girl” is my favorite track on the EP, maybe because it reminds me of what Engineers would sound like from a post rock perspective. It is a tripped out masterpiece with all the cool fx you can imagine, shoegaze with a prog sheen to it.
Bassist Dana Schechter (Bee and Flower, Angels of Light) delivers a powerful debut full-length as Insect Ark, her one-woman experimental doom project.
“Wow, what a treat! A split EP from two of my favorite psych bands, timed for release with the change into full summer. The EP title is fitting, as are track names from “dawn” to “meadowsweet” to “sunshine in my head”. Everything is lowercase, from the band names to song titles, but the music is UPPERCASE with a bang!”
“England’s Presents for Sally is reassuringly great whenever they find the time to release music.”
Delaware’s Teen Men offer a debut that draws from ’80s atmospheres for inspiration.
“All that matters is the music, and rest assured that it’s wonderful. I look forward to hearing a lot more from this up and coming band.”
“But I already have this stuff,” you say. Guess again, Billy.
Indonesian psychedelic gods, Napolleon, deliver an astounding debut of heavy, effects-laden mind bending.
Former guitarist for Medway, UK’s The Dentists, Bob Collins, offers a debut solo album that owes as much to his psychedelic garage background as to power pop.
St. Louis, MO garage rockers, Bunnygrunt, return with another loud, fuzzy concoction hoping to shed the “twee” tag once and for all with Black Sabbath references and even forays into krautrock.
Four skater kids from Baltimore create a bunch of loud, dumb fun on their debut.
Originally released in 1982, the first “deep trance electronic album” by Texan minimalist composer, JD Emmanuel, gets a remastered reissue that includes two bonus tracks cut from the original LP.
Germany’s (and possibly the world’s) premiere electronic Medieval fantasy band, QNTAL, use Romantic literature to expand their scope on the group’s seventh full-length.
This Brooklyn quartet make loud garage rock for fans of breathing oxygen (and maybe a little nitrous).
The Shoe Birds, from Mississippi, offer an eight song debut born from the Southern experience.
Lyricist Stephen Kalinich (Beach Boys) and songwriter/producer Jon Tiven (Alex Chilton, The Jim Carroll Band, Frank Black) team up for their third album of psychedelic soul, continuing the partnership they began with 2012’s double album, Shortcuts to Infinity/Symptomology (MsMusic).
Former Prefects/Nightingales guitarist, Joe Crow, released his debut solo 7” on Cherry Red in 1981. Now expanded to five tracks and remastered, this reissue shows the Birmingham, UK musician coming into his own.
Originally released in 1978 on his own Oblique Records in London, the seminal synthpop debut by Thomas Leer (Act) finally sees an expanded remastered reissue including two bonus cuts.
Under his more common nom de plume, Time Moth Eye, dark folk minstrel Timothy (Stone Breath) delivers a massive work of music and art that fully displays the depth of his talent and passion for rebellion.
California psychedelic pop that hits the sweet spot from former Fling frontman Dustin Lovelis.
Tetra’s voice, like her music, is soulful and bluesy, a feat rare in a genre notorious for regularly being devoid of both.
The Chicago legend returns with his most accessible (and best) solo album yet.
Controversial Shanghai, China freakout art punks, Round Eye, finally deliver their long awaited full-length debut and, yes, it was worth the wait.
Osaka, Japan’s freeform improvisational ex-pats, Out of Dust, return with a sophomore release that shows them growing into an even more cohesive unit.
New York City’s Video Beast emerge with an explosive debut that nods heavily to ’90s grunge and alternative rock, but without nostalgia.
Du Blonde are coming at ya with a brass pair to remember.
My Love is Strong is an incredibly welcoming record, inviting the listener to immediately fall head over heels in love with the band and their music.
New York City’s Little Lesley & the Bloodshots boldly defy the rockabilly status quo with a new EP of original songs that properly deliver roots rock with a punk rock attitude.
Osaka, Japan’s premiere ex-pat free improvisation group, Out of Dust, debuts with an astonishing collection of wholly spontaneous music.
Folk singer, Tom Chapin, celebrates his 70th birthday on his 24th album, further cementing his well-deserved legendary status.
Austerlitz, NY’s Pigeons have undergone many changes, both in sound and lineup – a flexibility that has allowed them to deliver a masterpiece of genuine psychedelia on their eighth full-length.
While battling brain cancer that finally ended his life at the age of thirty in 1988, German punk, Thomas Eicke, aka Tom Diabo (Envelope, X-112 for Dancing, Western Force), recorded a series of extremely personal songs to 2-track that chronicled his thoughts on life, death and the short time he had to live.
On his sophomore album, baritone saxophonist Jonah Parzen-Johnson continues pushing the boundaries of jazz, folk and electronic music to create a unique, mesmerizing sound.
If you want straight up, raw-edged rock songs, Torres has got ‘em.
The band has a remarkable quality of being able to dance from sound to sound and genre to genre without ever coming across as fickle or schizophrenic.
Canadian folk music brings you a little faith in humanity.
Warning. You must wear big black shades while listening to this album.
Elephant 6 alumnus, Andy Gonzales (ex-of Montreal, The Music Tapes, Mind Brains, returns to his Marshmallow Coast moniker for the latest chapter in his prolific musical career.
Queens, NY-based soft rock duo, Frog, offer their sophomore release, a bona fide full-length that should garner the group more notice than their largely overlooked eponymous 2013 EP (Monkfish).
Friends for thirty-five years, Massachusetts songwriters David Greenberger (Men & Volts, The Duplex Planet) and Chandler Travis (The Incredible Casuals, The Chandler Travis Philharmonic, The Catbirds) deliver a compilation that documents their multifaceted collaborations over the past two decades.
The final album from Rhode Island’s Brown Bird send the group off with a bang.
Two years after their debut, Northampton, MA trio, Colorway, hone their sound with a solid, no-frills sophomore release.
“I snapped up the vinyl the week it came out and played the crap out of it going forward. And you know, that classic guitar, bass, drums sound never goes out of style when it’s played this well.”
The songs here reach into the darkest corners of psychedelic and classical music, combining, stretching, and distorting the two to the point where you wonder if this is really music at all.
