Leeds, UK trio Cowtown evoke SST Records and ’90s Southern noise rock on their powerful fourth full-length.
After two failed albums, Los Angeles new wavers The Heaters felt disenfranchised by record labels, producers, studios and the industry in general.
Come to the Edge finds Tumbler more assured and confident than ever; it also happens to contain some of their best songs yet
Grand Rapids, MI trio Heaters return with an excellent second offering that perfectly blends Nuggets psych and raw Hawkwind spacerock with just a touch of surf for proper propulsion.
“Matt wrote and recorded the rough demos of over 50 songs and sent them home to friends to tell the story of what he was going through, who would then send back the songs with overdubs as a sign of support.”
“Fans of soft, gently wafting psych and Syd Barrett styled music will enjoy this trippy offering from this long running Finnish group.”
Renowned and imaginative performance artist/musician Rachel Mason releases a striking single, and video for, “Tigers in the Dark” off of upcoming album Das Ram.
On their third full-length, Long Island’s A New Bug expand their scuzzy, fuzzy psychedelic onslaught for their most diverse release to date.
The Magic is an album by a great American band that both embodies and defies everything that came before them.
The New Breed is a high mark in Jeff Parker’s substantial catalog.
Following the unprecedented darkness of their previous effort, The Barbarellatones lighten up a bit for an album that most clearly defines their unique outsider sound.
Jane in Space, out August 19th on Aion Records, is a record that has been carefully crafted with a sharp attention to detail and the instincts to execute their vision flawlessly.
Saxophonist/experimental composer Lea Bertucci follows her extraordinary collaboration with cellist Leila Bordreuil with a trio of spacious tracks that reside within the realm of Dante.
In 2016, there are few records as lyrically and musically rich as Anagrams.
Though not heralded as a bastion of underground music, the college town of Lawrence, KS actually sported a close-knit DIY scene through the ’80s that centered around The Embarrassment and The Micronotz, whose entire discography gets digitally reissued, as part of Bar/None Records’ 30 year anniversary celebration.
Influenced by 90’s alternative, singer Sarah Pech’s intimate, breathy vocals call to mind Aimee Mann or Kim Deal, and the grungey guitars and fuzzy basslines are reminiscent of The Breeders as well.
Long-standing, Mancunian psychedelic rock/folk band Politburo drops an epic, retro-60s hybrid lead single.
Portland, Oregon-based electronic/shoegaze band Vibrissae enchants on its stylistically varied debut album.
At nearly an hour in length, Hobbitozz is an ambitious rock opera/fairy tale, which this San Francisco prog-rock quartet claim is the “first in a multi-part series of psychedelic sci-fi/fantasy rock albums.”
“The magic, merry-go-round keyboard washes remind the listener of fun times and maybe just a hint of The Chills, alternating between the somewhat downcast lyrics and bright, swirling melodies. It’s this dichotomy that makes this band and its forebears so fascinating.”
Among his contemporaries, Little Richard was an icon.
Into The Light scores those countless ever-changing landscapes Anderson can’t or won’t let go of.
After last year’s highly impressive debut, London/Bristol fuzzmongers The Fireworks return with a four song EP that shows their sound evolving.
Tenor saxophonist Albert Ayler was an innovator beyond his contemporaries, though his earliest known session with bassist Gary Peacock and drummer Sunny Murray most clearly defined his futuristic sonic path.
This is particularly true on the the the brilliant B-side “Summertime,” which any fan of female-fronted noise-pop will spin over and over again.
London’s Cosines return with four songs that show the group growing at an exponential rate.
“An Italian shoegaze band with a cinematic sensibility to their art, and a barrel of creative ideas and visions to elevate your listening experience far above the typical ‘gaze band.”
“Listening to them is like stepping out of time and being suspended in golden sunshine, eyes closed against the dazzling brightness and feeling comforted by the beauty of this music.”
Thought to be just a rumor for nearly fifty years, some digging into the Columbia vaults has uncovered the legendary sessions for Betty Davis’ unreleased first album, produced by then-husband Miles Davis and featuring musicians from his and Jimi Hendrix’s bands, alongside some earlier recordings made with her previous beau, Hugh Masekela.
“All Move fans should own these, as well as any fan of late 60s English psychedelic pop with baroque flourishes, so jump on these while they’re still available.”
In January of 1980, a relatively unknown post-punk quartet from Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, UK (a town just 24 miles northwest of Greater London) called Funboy Five released their debut – and only – 7”, “Life After Death” b/w “Compulsive Eater.”
U.K. musician/songwriter/artistic collaborator Barry Snaith flies high with his new electro-rock single “Bold Ego Fledgling” featuring Ang Kerfoot on vocals.
Brett Sullivan and cohorts of anti-folk/punk band American Anymen deliver an explosive, expletive-filled politico-socio-economic rant on “Selectively Stupid”.
Influenced by the theatrics and atypical dynamics of Kate Bush, My Unwinding State feels like a set of compositions just dying for choreography.
“You can look at C87 as a sequel of sorts, celebrating the 30th anniversary of the original C86. Neil Taylor once again does the honors, contributing extensive liner notes on top of a substantial booklet featuring illustrations of original record sleeves, flyers, and so forth. There are more than 70 tracks here, ranging from well-known artists to obscuro musicians making their debut on CD. None of the tracks here have been available on any of Cherry Red’s recent compilations either. So you can view these three disks as a treasure trove of period music.”
Steve Kilbey of The Church and Frank Kearns of Cactus World News collaborate on a captivating, atmospheric dream-folk/electronic album.
Unlike NYC roots-rocker Mark’s previous seven with longtime backing mates The Van Dorens, Stowaways veers from the group’s signature barroom blues and country-rock style.
A Temporary Human Existence_ is an album that occasionally struggles and fails to find its footing, but it also shows a band with a lot more to show and an identity that will only solidify with further releases.
Veteran Stereolab keyboardist, Morgane Lhote, turns more toward the light on her sophomore single as Hologram Teen.
Nancy, France’s Slit Plasters return with a brief blast of their signature psychotic fury on a limited one-song flexidisc.
“It’s this filtered brightness and pain that make this music so compelling. Emily’s beautiful voice trembles with feeling, though she keeps the listener at a distance. It’s like watching life through dirty lenses, you squint to see everything, but reality is only partially revealed. It’s this mystery I like so well and what makes Emily stand apart from her contemporaries.”
Given its occasional schizophrenic nature, it’s possible this could have worked better as a long-ish EP, but the album nevertheless remains the product of a lot of forward trajectory from a still young band.
A shocking amount of ideas and themes are tackled over the course of a very short EP that undoubtedly leave the listener with even more questions about Native Ground then before.
Joys and Horrors is the natural and perfect continuation of the themes and moods first put forth by Joy Division in the late ’70s.
Eric Anders is a singer/songwriter from the Bay Area, who has been releasing consistently compelling and ethereal music since the turn of the century.
Like its predecessor, II is a short but sweet mash-up of classic genres that oozes confidence and flair.
Long before “Walk Like an Egyptian” soared to number one in the late ’80s, The Bangles were a group of girls playing melodic garage rock as part of LA’s Paisley Underground movement.
‘Together’ finds The Explorers Club continuing to reign as today’s Beach Boys.
