Ad`Absurdum - Many Stories One Take and Hail LP (Acoustic Disaster Records)

Ad`Absurdum are quite an old band form Switzerland and they have 7 releases dating back to 1997 before this limited edition vinyl of only 300 copies. I first heard the band on myspace, where I was totally blown away by the space rock jam that started their music player. Anyway, the LP has all instrumental 6 tracks on it. The first two tracks, Sie Suchen #2 and Flowers (features some very beautiful violin), the music is in this post rock vein like Mono, God is an Astronaut and God Speed you Black Emperor style but they like to get a little more spaced out and Flowers gets quite heavy at the end. Ernakulam Junction ends side 1 and is over 10 minutes. It begins with some very nice piano before the rock groove kicks in and the track really takes off. The way the organ is played at the end reminds me a lot of Brainticket! Rush Hour Daydream, begins with mostly piano and is indeed very dreamy, but then the dream takes a weird turn half way through the 9 min track and the band really take off into some kraut style space rock sounds. Awesome stuff.. L’Acienne Poste begins very slowly and features organ instead of piano, as most of the tracks have and it also builds up but is not quite as spaced out but has a pretty heavy distorted guitar sound. It feels like bodily bones are shivering like leaves in the wind, ends this pretty cool LP. This track is quit strange and features banjo but it is a nice way to end the record. I hope I can hunt down some more of this bands music but all their releases are sold out except for this one and some have been released in as few as 50 copies!

http://www.acousticdesasterrecords.ch.vu
If you dig: Brain Ticket, Mono, God is an Astronaut, Post Rock-Psych

Scott

All Shall Perish – The Price of Existence CD (Nuclear Blast Records/VME)

At Nuclear Blast, the European mother label of extreme metal, they’ve found out they might as well try their hand at the metal core that rules the world of skater teens that’ve outgrown MTV fodder and are ready for something with nerve. At last the metal and hardcore crowds get to mingle, as they always should have. 10 or 15 years ago, I wouldn’t have been able to imagine a mix of symphonic metal and NYHC style metal core, but here it is, thanks to bands like Unearth and Born From Pain that bridge the gap and meet bands like our own HateSphere on the other side of that once great divide. It’s not awfully clever, it beats its chest so much it hurts, and it takes itself way too seriously a lot of the time. I’m sure my own life has been a walk in the park compared to those of these guys, but still all those feelings poured forth can’t help suffocate me. Where’s that Cirkle Jerks record I left under the latest bunch of Alveran releases? Oh, this record, All Shall Perish? It’s good, if a bit much – there’s some good stuff in there, it’s just surrounded by so much music it’s hard to get at it.

http://www.nuclearblast.de
http://www.allshallperish.com
If you dig: Unearth, Morbid Angel

Jon A

Daevid Allen - Magick Brothers CD (Bananamoon Obscura)
Daevid Allen - Altered States of Kwisp CD (Bananamoon Obscura)
Daevid Allen - Radio Art CD (Bananamoon Obscura)

These CDs are part of an official release series of 20 Cds, each limited to 1000 copies. The Magick Brothers is a show recorded at the Assembly Rooms in Glastonbury Town in 1998. The Magick Brothers are Mark Robson (didgeridoo, keyboards, vocals, and programs), Graham Clark (violin and guitar), Daevid Allen on vocals and Glissando guitar. I saw this band in the USA in 1992 and they were really pretty damn cool. Some of this is very cool and spaced out like the opening number Nowhere to Everywhere but far too much of the record are very personal piano bar music by Mark Robson, which I did not care much for. The Daevid Allen tracks are the best for sure. The earlier live record is much better than this one. Great sound on this though.

Altered States of Kwisp is very fucking strange stuff and was put together using Chaos Math (whatever that is) by Daevid Allen with the help from Walter Funk, Reid Johnson, Lore Varga and Cork Marcheschi on some of the tracks. Daevid does all the loops, drones, gliss guitar. This is impossible to describe as it is very experimental sound sound-space scapes that move in one direction but then go somewhere you don’t expect the next. Far out!!!!!!!!!

Radio Art is Volume 14 and the coolest of these 3. This is a one hour radio program in the form of a cool tape collage that Daevid created on a Revox and Teac 4 track tape recorder. This is actually just one of 12 that Daevid did for 2NCR in New South Wales in Australia. There are people you will recognize like Gilli and Thom the Poet. It is split into 11 parts but this was really cool to listen to and very enjoyable. It is very strange but it flows in a cool way. I liked this one a lot.

http://www.voiceprint.co.uk
http://www.planetgong.co.uk
If you dig: Daevid Allen, Magick Brothers, Far out tapes loops and drones

Scott

The Atomic Bitchwax - Boxriff EP (Meteorcity Records)

This is a pretty damn cool deluxe release with 3 new songs and a live concert with a DVD! Very good value for the money! Why did it take so long to come out though? This was all recorded in November 2005. The new material starts with STD and this is pretty standard high energy melodic hard rock with a bit of Queens influence. So come On is a more foot stomping style 70’s rocker, including hand clapping! Cool heavy riff and killer drums Keith. He really is an awesome drummer that drives this band hard. Turn Me On starts as a blues track but then really changes into a very complex track that really rocks out big time but then goes back into the blues. Next up, is yet another version of Kiss the Sun… I really don’t understand why they recorded this song again. Finn, the guitar player he sung this song on the first Core record but Koznick sung it on the first TAB record, and now they record it again with Finn singing it. The arrangement is basically the exact same, so I don’t get it. Why not rerecord one of the other cooler Core songs??? Ok.. Now onto the live concert, this is straight up kick ass Bitchwax. If you have seen the band live, then you know what you have here. They play most of the popular numbers and also include a pretty cool version of the Deep Purple song, Maybe I’m a Leo. I was surprised by the opening, very short version of Shine on You Crazy Diamond by Pink Floyd! The video is shot with 2 cameras right up in the front so you never see the audience but really feel like you are in the front row. The only lights in the club were red, so the film is almost always red and the guy who edited was really into switching back and forth between the two cameras all the time, which sometimes is a bit annoying. But this is great stuff and fans of the band must have this!

http://www.meteorcity.com
If you dig: Core, Queens of the Stone Age, Black Nasa, Nebula

Scott

Attrition - Something Stirs - The Beginning 1981-1983 CD (3Gods)

Attrition is the brainchild of Martin Bowes. This band began in 1981 and had it’s first release in 1982 (Death house). The band was part of the underground cassette tape culture and all of the material you hear is from those early cassette tapes and stuff the band produced on their 4 track recorder. You also get 3 live tracks live from 1981 (with the only drummer they ever had!). The band has a lot of line up changes but the music produced here is mainly Martin (drum programming and effects), Julia Waller (vocals), and Ashley Niblock (Synthesizer). The music presented here is mostly gothic, electronic darkwave stuff and quite experimental. Coil fans will like this as well. The last 3 tracks are the live tracks which feature Martin on bass, Robo on Drums (only Domus) and Ashley on synthesizer. A strange gothic post-punk vibe to this stuff for sure. Julia was an intense vocalist. A very interesting compilation CD.

http://www.voiceprint.co.uk
http://www.attrition.co.uk/
If you dig: Test Department, Coil, Legendary Pink dots

Scott

Balero- One Planet Short of the Sun (Balero Music)

This is the 2nd CD-EP by the Pennsylvania based Balero band. As with the first CD, all the tracks are instrumental and hard hitting balls out stoner rock. I can see from the bands web site they are looking for a singer now though, which is good as some of these tracks would be better with some killer vocals.
Anyway, Captain starts the CD off with the music in the distance but before long the riffs blast out of the speakers as the bass and drums slowly get louder. I really dig the sound these guys have. The grooves are killer but come on guys, how about some guitar solos to mix things up a bit???? Bonzai has some cool wah guitar and another great riff. The band keeps it up with Inertia. This track would be great with some vocals. IT will come. The Mangler really has got a Nebula vibe for sure. Resolution ends this hard hitting stoner fest. I think fans of Nebula will really dig this CD. You can buy the 18 minute Ep from the band for $5!

http://www.balero.net
If you dig: Nebula, Atomic Bitchwax, Karma to Burn

Scott

The Bamboo Kids - Feel Like Hell CD (Empty Records)

”Feel Like Hell” is a bit of a letdown after their sensationel debut album. It’s still catchy r’n’r with flavors of powerpop and ’77 punkrock, there just ain’t as many memorable songs as last time, too much filler material. Highlights are ”Heartattack”, ”USA Out Of NYC” and ”Ain’t No Fun”.

http://www.thebambookids.com/
http://emptyrecords.com/
If you dig: Ramones, Johnny Thunders, The Boys

Jens

Barcode – Ahead of the Game CD (Scarlet Records/Target)

Ahead of the game, Barcode are not, but they’re definitely in it, and they go for the ball. It’s no secret that a ton of records like this, metal core in the vein of Hatebreed and Terror, are released every month, and if the best of them, among which we find Barcode, make for great exercise music, they don’t really push boundaries the way bands like Converge or Dillinger Escape Plan do. Not that that’s their intention in the first place: This is music that stays so true to its roots you know what you get, everything works the way it’s supposed to do, and “Ahead of the Game” is perfectly executed. The appropriate number of heavy mosh parts, fast-paced thrashers to keep things moving, and even Lou Koller of the mighty Sick Of It All guesting the album. It’s better than Hatebreed’s latest album, more hardcore, less metal, and in the genre, it’s up there with Terror’s “Always the Hard Way” in this year’s releases.

http://www.barcodehardcore.dk
If you dig: Hatebreed, Terror

Jon A

Basil and Friends - Equations Concrete (Self Released)

John Basil, I know him from the band Heru Avenger, who released 2 great CDs in the early 2000’s. John is a fantastic and creative guitar player. After the two Heru Avenger CDs, he released one called Non-Stop- Paris to Berlin, which was quite different but very cool as well. Then he disappeared. I hunted him down recently and received this project Basil and Friends that was released in 2005 on his own. He is joined by Brendan Dunn on percussion, Craig Teigen on drums (he played on the Heru Avenger stuff), Jason Harrison Smith on Fender Rhodes. John plays all the guitar, bass and some minimal electronics. The CD consists of 3 11 min pieces and one 13 min piece. The music is all instrumental jazz rock. Mary Jane is pretty straight up with some amazing playing but Biagio, the band really starts to take off a bit more and the music becomes more strange and cool as some electronics percolate in the background. The track slowly fades out with mostly piano and strange sounds for the last several minutes. Nice. Victoria’s Garden is next and the bass is much more prominent in this track than the previous two and also acts like a lead instrument in some ways. The guitar is very much jazzy and I like the way the guitar builds up and each member plays into each other. Soft Spiral ends the CD and starts with some electronic sounds and percussion for the first 5 minutes before the full band comes into the picture and the jam takes off with more intense playing on the keys and guitar than previous tracks. Some of this is a bit too much the same but it is well played instrumental jazz rock by great musicians. A very nice sound production as well.

basilea67@earthlink.net

scott

Benitez and Nebula - Night Life/Essence of Life CD/LP (Vampisoul)

This is a re-release of two records that were released in the 70’s. The first is Nightlife, which came out in 1976! The band Nebula was formed by guitarist Eddie Benitez when he was 13 years old. He has quite a long history in music with several bands and this is all described nicely in the liner notes in this nice packaging. As for the music, well it is very well played Latin flavoured rock-soul music. The first record (Night Life) I liked quite a bit more as the 2nd, the disco-soul flavour was creeping into some of the tracks and this is not at all my style of music. Santana is a huge influence on this music but it says much more laid back, pretty much all the time but still features some great guitar playing (although he could never play like Carlos!). If you are a fan of Santana and like Latin music, you can’t go wrong with this as it is played by great players and has very good songs.

http://www.vampisoul.com

Scott

Bombshell Rocks - The Conclusion (Combat Rock Industry)

From Finland Bombshell Rocks attacks the world with their high octane, fast paced punk rock. Thirteen songs on this album, and probably a lot of sweat, blood and tears along the way making it. The guys sure can play fast, and they do like three-chord songs (with no time for solos) a lot. But the music approch lacks personality, and I miss the good, catchy tune and a variation in the beats-per-minute department – with a few exceptions. The songs simply reminds too much of each other, I sorry to say, and they’re all built on the same formula, which makes it hard to remember a potential hit after hearing the full album. The vox-work is way over the top built on Green Day-kind of thing ripp offs with a main vocal shouting and two/three guys backing up with responding shouts (eg. “ Teenagers! We were teenagers!”). Come on, don’t be afraid to experiment a bit more with the college-punk sound!

www.bombshellrocks.com
If you dig: College-punk rock

Foxy

Born From Pain – War CD (Metal Blade Records/Target)

Will you check out the guest appearances on this one: Barney from Napalm Death, Lou Koller from Sick Of It All, members of Gorefest and HateSphere – these guys know their networking. They’ve been in this since ’97 as well, so they’ve earned their props, and “War” is their 4th album. However much the press release try to big them up for their integrity, honesty, and iron will in a metal and hardcore scene it deems “stagnant”, Born From Pain aren’t gonna change a thing. They sound very, very similar to their label mates Unearth in my ears, which is necessarily such a bad thing, there’re just a 1000 other bands sounding like this at the moment: Some Slayer-riffing, some Agnostic Front mosh parts, extremely aggressive, über macho, quite groovy. It’s a fine metal core record, there’s just not much to set it apart, even if it’s all executed with skill and good songwriting.

http://www.metalblade.de
If you dig: Unearth, Hatebreed, Earth Crisis

Jon A

Robert Calvert – Hype - Songs of Tom Mahler CD (Voiceprint)

This has been out of print on CD for quite a long time. I think the last pressing was in the 90’s on Cleopatra records, if I am not mistaken. Robert wrote a novel called Hype which described the story of Tom Mahler, who was shot to fame by unscrupulous moguls of the music industry. Several Hawkwind members and associated people (Simon House, Nik Turner, and Michael Moorcock) appear on the record. IT contains a few songs that Robert played in his live sets like Evil Rock and Lord of the Hornets. This CD version also includes 3 bonus tracks. Over my Head (the CDs opening track) as a rough demo, Hanging out on the Sea Front (diff lyrics) and Flight 105 an instrumental version. If you are a fan of Calvert’s solo stuff and you missed out on this one, then this is worth checking out!

http://www.voiceprint.co.uk
If you dig: Robert Calvert, Michael Moorcock, Nik Turner

Scott

Robert Calvert- Revenge CD (Blueprint)

These four tracks were originally recorded as backing tracks and instrumentals by Pete Pavil in 1981. Pete met Bob via Simon House when Bob was looking for a cello player for his album Hype. He played these tracks for Calvert and he liked them and decided to write some lyrics for them. He returned a few days later and had lyrics and melodies complete. They did the vocals one afternoon and then nothing happened with this music for 10 years. IT was released on 200 cassette tapes on Adrian Shaw’s Cyborg Record label but that was it. So what did they record?? The music is all recorded by Simon House (Violin), Pete (Piano, Guitars, drum machine) and Bob on vocals. Revenge is a nice track with a quite laid back vocal by Calvert. It has the sound like it was recorded in someone’s bedroom but that is ok… Revenge is sweet.. Next up is Fascism/Futurism and this has a very interesting multitrack guitar over which Calvert does his spoken word lyrics. The lyrics are taken from the Futurist Manifesto of 1909. Bugatti features just guitar, drum machine and vocals. Strange Violin solo seems to have snuck its way into the mix that suddenly gets cut off at the end. Isadora starts off quite Beatles like and then it takes its own flavour… There is a very strange repeated chant track that last 10 minutes on the end of the CD. No information about the origin of this but it could easily be Calvert, he was a strange guy, didn’t you know?

http://www.voiceprint.co.uk
If you dig: Calvert

Scott

Robert Calvert - Rehearsals 1987- Radio Egypt (Voiceprint Records)
Robert Calvert - Middlesborough 1986- The Right Stuff (Voiceprint Records)
Robert Calvert - Cardiff 1988- Ejection (Voiceprint Records)
Robert Calvert - Manchester 1986- In Vitro Breed (Voiceprint Records)

All of the above CDs were released as part of a series of Robert Calvert rare live recordings. All of these recordings are taken from cassette tape recordings from the audience so the quality is quite variable and sometimes not all the good at all. These are meant for the true Calvert fans. Quite a few Hawkwind songs are performed. The best thing about the live CDs is that often Bob is in quite a good and very talkative mood and says some very funny or relevant political commentary. Let’s start with the rehearsals. The CD is not tracked well as there are 16 tracks listed but only 11 tracks on the CD. Pretty decent sound but the drums and vocals are not very clear but you get to hear the band rehearsing and some of these songs did not actually enter into the live set, so it is cool to hear stuff like (Only) the Dead Dreams of the Cold War Kid, Aerospace Age Inferno, Sprit of the Age and Ejection. The CD ends with a very funny blue version of Silver Machine, which I have never heard before! Cool. You hear a lot of the rehearsal banter in between tracks as well.

The Middlesborough 86 show is the worst sounding of all the shows but Calvert is really funny and brilliant at this show. All the songs on this CD are also on the Manchester 1986 double CD (it says it was recorded in October 1987 in the liner notes!) The Manchester show features the Hawkwind tracks Quark Strangeness and Charm, Paranoia into Ejection, Spirit of the Age and Sonic Attack, so the majority of the double CDs is a good selection of solo stuff. There are quite a lot of interesting tracks on this double CD though. Calvert had quite a lot of political songs in his bag at this time and played songs from Test Tube Conceived as well.

The Cardiff show was one of the last ever by Calvert and it was probably released because of that as there are some flaws on the tape and the sound is less than great. You get 18 tracks, most of which were on the Rehearsals 1987 CD but Bob is in good spirits and performs excellent. Overall, if you were a big fan of the works of Bob Calvert, then some of these are worth picking up for sure and if you saw the man live in concert at this time you are sure to revive some cool memories. These are mostly for the collectors and I think they are only printed in 1000 copies.

If you dig: Robert Calvert, Bob Calvert, Hawkwind

Scout

Billy Childish - My First Billy Childish Album CD (Damaged Goods Records)

A “Best Of” with Headcoats, Buff Medways, Mighty Caesars etc. is a complete no-brainer, since all the tracks are fuckin’ brilliant in that unique Childish lo-fi punk/r&b way. An excellent introduction to the magic of Billy. Not much for us who’s got most of his stuff, but it’s still a great collection of the most productive rock’n’roller in Britian the last three dacades. The vinyl version has one extra song.

http://www.damagedgoods.co.uk/
http://www.theebillychildish.com/
If you dig: Headcoats, Buff Medways, Mighty Caesars

Jens

Dennis Coffey – Big City Funk LP/CD (Vampisoul Records)

Sometimes, after a long afternoon of writing out reviews of an endless stream of metal records that even to your finetuned ears all sound like a ton of other bands, this is the kind of record you want to put on once the wife comes home and you start preparing dinner. Big, heavy slabs of guitar of funky breakbeats, it’s the perfect soundtrack to some imaginary 70’s police movie, which is indeed what is was made for: This collection compiles tracks from the 3 records Coffey made in the early 70’s to get into the whole soundtrack business, which he subsequently did, scoring “Black Belt Jones”, among others. This is the sound of carchases, sleazy dens, drug deals in alleyways, shoot-outs, and loose women – and it’s all played by a complete white boy nerd with blonde bangs and family man glasses. It’s all instrumental, and most of the 15 tracks are written by Coffey himself, except a cover of Lalo Schifrin’s “Theme from Enter the Dragon” and Led Zep’s “Whole Lotta Love”.

http://www.vampisoul.com
If you dig: The Pulp Fusion series

Jon A

Crescendolls - Superman/Wild Ones CDS

The vocals is a bit Josh Homme-ish, especially in ”Superman”, and the music tries to fuse Queens Of The Stones and Swedish hardrock ala Hellacopters. Not bad, lotsa potential, but the next release better show some progression towards a sound of their own.

http://www.crescendolls.com
If you dig: Queens Of The Stone Age, Hellacopters

Jens

Dark Sun and the Rising Telepaths - Astral Visions II (Self Released)

Dark Sun is back with their 2nd archive release. This includes mostly soundboard recordings of live concerts from 2000-2005. It is limited to only 150 copies and has some amazing artwork. Nik Turner from Hawkwind is featured on a number of tracks. The band has always played a lot of Hawkwind covers in their set but in my eyes the best material on this CD is the original songs. The first CD begins with a very spaced out electronic piece that goes into Tobor, quite an upbeat original track not on any of the bands albums. Next up is the Chrome track, Heart beat. A cool version. The oldest song from the bands catalog, Black Spires is featured next. Man, this stuff is really great and shows how amazing and underrated this Finnish band is. Next is a long version of Psi Power. Iskariot, one of the bands best unreleased tracks is next and you get to hear the band space out! A pretty far out version of Brainstorm is next and this goes into 9 seconds, a very melodic space rock track. Crimsonaut, another new song and one of the ones recorded from the audience but with good sound. I like the organ and quite funky space groove on this track. A pretty cool (but less than perfect) version of Motorway City, from what sounds like the same gig is next. I had never heard them play this track before, cool. The CD ends with the amazing Dream Circuit! Ready for another 70 minutes??

CD2 begins with 4 tracks from the soundcheck from a gig with Nik Turner in Helsinki, where the actually recording did not turn out so all they had was the soundcheck! It is interesting to hear Nik perform the Pink Floyd track, Set the Controls for the heart of the Sun and then the Hawkwind tunes, Master of the Universe, D-Rider, and Orgone Accumulator. The best music begins after with Electrified! This soundboard recording is really excellent.. Our Man Inside, another old classic is great to hear! Next up are 3 covers songs, Lucifer Sam (Pink Floyd), Pictures in my Mind (Magic Mushroom band and sung by Santtu!), and My White Bicycle (Tomorrow). All are performed extremely well but the take on Lucifer Sam is really cool. Not sure why this Welcome Jam was included as it does not really fit with the rest of the stuff on the CD?? Anyway, two more unreleased original tracks (Stow Away and Zenith) and two more Hawkwind covers, Zarozenia and Psychedelic Warlords, ends this very cool and professionally put together rarity… Remember only 150 copies! Great space rock stuff.

http://hop.to/darksun
If you dig: Hawkwind, Farflung, Litmus

Scott

The Dead - ... Hate the Living CD (Ratpack Records)

The Dead’s debut album, “Anthems for World Domination” (LowCut # 24), was a charming old school hardcore album that I really dug for its brutal simplicity, its sympathetic political stance, and the fact that they had a song against karate slammers. Florian, the guitarist, is a really nice guy as well, so it’s a double disappointment that this second album just isn’t very good. The production is cleaner this time, and The Dead have focused more on the songwriting, but to me they’ve lost the intensity, and a lot of this album sounds forced and like it’s desperately trying to have fun and be lightheaded. Only this album doesn’t sound like it’s earnest, it doesn’t sound like The Dead are having fun, it sounds like they’re fumbling for an identity here. There’s some good stuff on here, sure there is, but the impression I’m left with is a lot of shouting “fuck you” over and over again, and that’s not really enough, is it? With a total playing time one minute shorter than the first Cirkle Jerks album, I’m not sure if this counts as an album, so maybe we should just wait for their real follow-up to “Anthems”? They get one extra point for the elaborate sleeve notes, which are, once again, very sympathetic.

http://www.myspace.com/thedeadtrueasfuck
If you dig: D.R.I., Ratos de Porão, Agnostic Front

Jon A

Deluge Grander - August in the Urals CD (Emkog Records)

I just want to say that this is a totally amazing CD, both the music and the artwork. I love the whole concept. If you like progressive rock, then this is the one CD you MUST buy in 2006. IT is that fucking good. This band was formed out of the Baltimore area group, Cerebus Effect and is lead by Dan Britton (keys, some guitar and vocals). He is joined by Dave Berggren (guitars), Patrick Gaffney (Drums) and Brett d’Anon (bass). Lastly, you must mention Frank d’Anon, who plays a little of everything. The booklet features 5 fantastic pictures, each to go along with the five different tracks. The CD begins with the amazing mostly instrumental track, Inaugural Bash (27 minutes!). This is a fantastic journey and features a lot of killer keyboard playing as well as sax, trumpet, flute and loads of guitar! August in the Urals is nearly 16 minutes and probably my favourite track on the CD. I really like the vocal style (not too high pitched and quite pleasant spoke word style, nearly). This track really builds nicely and even features oud! Abandonded Mansion Afternoon (12 mins) has a very eerie dark feel to it but is also nicely melodic and again features just amazing playing by everyone. A Squirrel is an all instrumental track, which allows the entire band to show off. The Solitude of Miranda reminds me of Jethro Tull’s instrumental style music at the beginning of the track and it features some interesting vocals as the track keeps an intense mood and playing until the very end. Amazing CD. Buy it today!

http://delugegrander.com
If you dig: Gösta berlings saga, Yes, Ad Infinitum, King Crimson

Scott

Destruction Unit - Death To The Old Flesh CD (Empty Records)

Like raging martians zonked out on crystal meth this trio comes at ya, one relentless laser attack after another. Imagine Gary Numan & Tubeway Army’s electronic new wave getting rhinobanged by angry speedpunk, simply amazing! Led by Ryan Wong (ex-Wongs & Reatards) and Jay Reatard & Alicja, also in the somewhat similar Lost Sounds, Destruction Unit is the best damn electro-punk band I’ve ever heard. Synths, guitars, real drums, and superpissed vocals – 10 desperate tracks of utter mutated brilliance! ”Death To The Old Flesh” (a hint to David Cronenberg?) is their 2nd album.

http://www.myspace.com/destructionunits
http://www.emptyrecords.com/
If you dig: Lost Sounds, Devo, Screamers

Jens

Didymos - Grief Distance (Elodraama)

Didymos is Tommi Haavisto from Vantaa in Finland. Grief Distance is his second full release, on his own label. The music is all composed on synthesizers, in this case, almost exclusively software synthesizers. The music he creates is dark, droning but also beautiful. Some of this could easily be used in horror or psychological thriller movies. Tommi is quite a master of creating mood. Don’t get me wrong, not all the music is dark and mysterious. The sound is very lush and rushes right over you (especially in headphones). I am quite impressed and if you are a fan of synthesizer based music like Tangerine Dream, you will quite enjoy this stuff. I think it is quite amazing.

If you dig: Trip Tech, Tangerine Dream, Klaus Schultze
http://www.elodraama.com

Scott

The Distance – The Rise and Fall and Everything In Between CD (Abacus/Alveran Records)

It’s a month of every diverse records from Alveran Records: On the one hand there’s Righteous Jams harking back to the salad days of hardcore, on the other there’s The Distance who sum up a lot of what’s wrong with modern hardcore in the eyes of the old schoolers – eyeliner, Britpop hair, pop hooks. For chrissakes, there’s a Vocoder on track 3! This is melocore, this is modern emo, and it’s hard to stomach – not that there aren’t good things on this record, good hooks, pictures of sunny afternoons on skateboard ramps, but it’s nothing you can’t see on MTV all the time.

http://www.alveranrecords.com
If you dig: Gorilla Biscuits, Set Your Goals

Jon A

Djevara - Third World War Cast the First Stone (Genin Records)

This is one angry record but you know I quite liked it. A lot better than the rest of the metal stuff I have got the last few months. The band is angry and the hardcore comes out in their sound but they also have a lot of Tool influence in the way they use melodic voice and not in the way the music is put together. The music is more simple, but not as simple as punk rock. They have some quite strong songs that really keep pulling you further into the record. The band also goes for long songs with most on this record over 5 minutes. I did not hear the bands first album, God is White, but it might be worth looking into. This is fucking good stuff.

http://www.genin.co.uk
If you dig: Tool, Refused, Rage Against The Machine, Oceansize, Therapy?, Nirvana

Scout

DollSquad - Fast Girl 7” (Cherry Bomb Records)

I love these Aussie ladies, which now have become a 4-piece since their excellent ”Retro Dolls From Hipsville” EP. Totally irresistible 60s garagerock/girlpop is expertly fused with late 70s powerpop, this is sweet sweet candy for the ears! “Fast Girl” and “Claudette Jones” on the a side are the best tunes, their bold attempt at “Find It” on the flip from the immortal “Beyond The Valley Of The Dolls” Russ Meyer classic is pretty good, but not up to the drive of the original. I would sure love to see a full length album from this band from all these wonderful teasers!

www.myspace.com/cherrybombrds
If you dig: Pandoras, The Brood, Nikki & The Corvettes

Jens

The DT’s - Nice ’n’ Ruff – Hard Soul Hits Vol. 1 CD (Get Hip Records)

The 2nd album from Dave Crider (Estrus boss, ex-Monomen) and Diana Young-Blanchard, and this time it’s an all cover record with songs of the likes of Eddie Floyd, AC/DC, Al Green, Roky Erickson, Wilson Pickett etc. As expected it’s valid mix of soul and hardrock, kinda like grittier version of Detroit Cobras. It’s not groundbreaking or anything, just a perfect party rock’n’soul record graced by bigass riffs and Diana’s forceful voice. I like it! 35 minutes of no-bull entertainment, now shake your rear!

http://www.myspace.com/thedts
http://www.gethip.com/
If you dig: Detroit Cobras, Dirtbombs, Monomen

Jens

Dusteroid - Albedo Zero (promo cd)

From London four-piece band Dusteroid calls out for us to let down the long hair and to start headbanging. This is a five track demo cd, that the band recorded in Athens, Greece back in 2004 and which by mistake lands here in DK almost two years later. The sound of Dusteroid is agressive heavy/rock/stoner with a solid attack, a wall of guitar, a deep and wild, powerful male vox (on the first three tracks) and a very hard-kicking drummer to keep up the pace. Good riffs, skilled musicians, a convincing doomy approach to the final part of the song called “The Rolling Head”. Track four, “Dealing Bones” and track five “Captivating Culture” are a bit too hysteric for my taste – especially due to the vocals - but then again I’d like to hear some more fresh material from this band, cause they have a lot of potential if they manage to focus their sound a bit more. Forget about that screaming punk-vocal, guys and go for some real singing!

www.dusteroid.com
If you dig: El Caco, Havana Heat Club, Stonegard

Foxy

The Esoteric - Subverter (Prosthetic Records)

Never heard of this Kansas based band but according to their web page they seem to spend most of their life touring… In addition, they have released like 11 albums, Eps, and split CDs, with loads of bands. They are a five piece band that plays hardcore punk influenced heavy metal music. Very angry screaming vocals and heavy guitars but the melody is there. A few songs like Science is Sexy have guitar riffs quite like Slayer but the music is no where near as cool and you get quite tired of the singer screaming in your face all the time. Language is a Virus is a short 40 second experimental piece, one of the coolest things on the record actually, before the band blast back into Shipyards of Foreign Cities, which starts very melodic and is one of the most melodic on the record. Clone Culture and the Cut Up method ends the CD and has some pretty cool guitar playing while the singer continues to scream at you… Special music for special people but I ain’t one of them…
I should not forget to mention that the artwork in the middle of the CD is pretty damn cool.

http://prostheticrecords.com
http://www.the-esoteric.com/
If you dig: people screaming at you….

Scout

Fallen Men - 4 Track Ep (Helicopter Records)

Wow, man: Far out! Mr. Leonard Davies is the secret alias artist behind this outstanding masterpiece pressed on 10” vinyl, released by always well-respected Helicopter Records. What a nice surprise to put this record on. Four tracks all pressed on the same side of the vinyl. This is minimalistic lo-fi noice with an impressing amount of personal approach and a lot of dedicated heart and soul. Continous beats on first track “I am a Prostitute” sets out the scene for a journey into strange sounds and bizarre guitarwork on the edge of being totally insanely out of tune. In “Lying in the Mud” we’re dragged deeper into the sonic filth, and Davies drags the crazy guitar even further. Feedback carries out “Whoops a Daisy” and “The Surgeon” is a great psychedelic final. Respect, man! This is both interesting and fucking cool!

If you dig: Spacemen3 meets Sonic Youth meets obscure psychedelia.

Foxy

Glass Casket – Desperate Man’s Diary CD (Abacus/Alveran Records)

With all the metal core Alveran Records are pumping out to satisfy the kids these days, you sometimes forget they’re also a pure metal label, and not a bad one at that. Glass Casket belong in the death metal section with label mates Purified In Blood, and just like the latter they incorporate a metal core touch to what they do. That’s evident in the spoken word part that makes up the outro of the record after half an hour of unrelenting extreme metal, where, accompanied by piano, singer Adam Cody bares it all like a young Henry Rollins. It works well, Glass Casket play like pros, and they employ just enough melodic parts to make the whole thing endurable. One of the better metal albums of the year.

http://www.alveranrecords.com
If you dig: Morbid Angel, Pestilence, Unearth

Jon A

Gob Squad - Far Beyond Control (Cph-Sound)

Copenhagen based Gob Squad has existed since 1999 and the band released their debut album, “Call for Response” back in 2004 followed by “Far Beyond Control” in 2005. Danish label Cph-Sound now releases both albums, but it’s the later that we’re dealing with here. Gob Squad has toured a lot during the past few years, and they’ve gotten a good deal of experience on the road. A very well-playing and tight band with a rocking punkrock/young metal style that should guarantee the band a lot of devoted followers. Very straight and economic riffs and a college-style shouting vocal. One thing that bothers me is however the production of the bass-drum. It sounds way too flat, too loud and too cardboard-like with too much clicking punch in it to fit the remaining sound of the band. Turn it down and give a bit more richness and colour, please! I’m sure the band rocks live...

http://www.gobsquad.dk
If you dig: Fast college-punk/metal...

Foxy

Gong - Acid Mothers Gong - Live in Tokyo (Voiceprint Records VP382CD)

Acid Mothers Gong is quite an intense line up. In many ways, Acid Mothers Temple and Gong are well made to meet in a musical melting pot and you can certainly hear that Daevid is having a lot of fun making crazy music with the intense Japanese folks! The CD opens with a very strange and funny invocation. Crazy Invisible She features the gliss guitar and Gilli doing her spoken words piece before the mayhem is unleashed! The Killing of Octave Docteur Da 4J soon takes us off into the magical GONG meets AMT. Spaced out and away we go. A lot of the tracks from the Acid Mothers Gong record are performed as well as a few GONG classics like the Isle of Everywhere (underwear) and The Om Riff as well. It is really the Ze Teatpot zat Exploded that really is a major freakout. Quite a special CD and a great recording. If you are a fan of Acid Mothers Temple you will dig this for sure. Pure GONG fans, this might be a little too far out but I loved it! Great release..

http://www.voiceprint.co.uk
http://www.planetgong.co.uk
If you dig: Acid Mothers Temple, Circle, GONG

Scott

Gong - Live in the Seventies CD (Voiceprint Records)

This is an interesting archive CD of live tracks and rehearsals recorded in the early 70’s (72-74). On most of the tracks, the classic line up of Hillage, Blake, Allen, Smyth, Malherbe, Moerlen and Howlett is featured. There is quite a lot of very strange stuff on these CDs and weird versions of songs you have heard before as well. I think this was recorded in a period when the band was doing a lot of LSD. The sound quality is fine but the band is pretty damn spaced out. The Om Riff has the band really flying and Hillage ripping off some amazing solos! The band gets very strange with tracks like I been stoned before, Long Shanks and O Mother before Holy Mystery begins and you have great Tim Blake synths and Hillage singing! You can hear the embryonic sounds of what Steve’s solo stuff would head into soon after this was recorded. These first 9 live tracks are the best material on the CD. Next up is a studio rehearsal of Tropical Fish with Pip Pyle of drums and Christian on bass but gone are Hillage, Blake, Howlett and Moerlen. Tracks 11-13 bring back the classic band though. A pretty cool archive CD. I hope they have more of this stuff lying about…

http://www.voiceprint.co.uk
http://www.planetgong.co.uk
If you dig: Steve Hillage, Mother Gong, Hieronymous Firebrain

Scott

Hawkwind - The Weird Tapes No. 8 CD (Voiceprint Records)

I am really not sure why it took years for this, the last Weird tape to be released, but it is out now. The other 7 Volumes were released in 2000 and some became quite hard to get and are out of print, I believe. Anyway, this features some of the earliest stuff and although it is called Hawkwind, it is actually Dave Brock playing with some of his pre-Hawkwind blues bands. There is indeed some really great stuff from the early 70’s Lemmy era Hawkwind with an alternative version of Space is Deep from the 1973 Space Ritual Tour, which starts this CD off. Down on her Knees is next and it says location and date is unknown but the sound is hard to place but it does not sound like Huw on lead guitar and there are two guitars so it could be the 1970 line up with Mick Slattery on guitar? Next up is Live and Let Live, live from the US tour 1973, it appears. A very spaced out piece of stoned music. The middle portion of the CD is the blues stuff recorded between 66 and 68’. The last two tracks are in mono and recorded in 1971 (Dreaming and Shouldn’t do that), both audience recordings it appears. This is for the Hawkwind collectors for sure.

http://www.voiceprint.co.uk
http://www.hawkwind.com
If you dig: Hawkwind…….

Scott

Heavy Heavy Low Low – Everything’s Watched, Everyone’s Watching CD (Ferret Records/Target)

A name like that makes you suspect some evil drone stuff in the black vein of Earth or Sunn O))), but in fact this is both light-footed and high-pitched. Heavy Heavy Low Low from San José, CA, play rabid, jazzy avant-garde metal, that takes a cue from Fantômas’ absurd experiments, but lends it the skater-chic accessibility of Deftones’ “Adrenaline”. The vocals even sound remarkably like a younger Chino Moreno, drifting in and out of key, growling, screaming, sighing, singing. It’s a bit testing, to be honest, and Heavy Heavy Low Low haven’t quite got the material to match the weirdness, but given their young age – 19 in average – and this being their debut, we’re giving them an extra point for making the effort and keeping an eye out for the follow-up to this one.

http://www.ferretstyle.com
If you dig: Himsa, early Deftones, Dillinger Escape Plan

Jon A

Heresy of Thieves – The Code CD EP (Thirty Days of Night Records/Target)

“Psychologically punishing metal”, anyone? Hey, I understand music that aims to cause serious damage to your senses and health, but I fail to see how this rather formulaic tech death is supposed to hurt me bad. Heresy of Thieves sound like I recall Atheist sounding in the early 90’s: Fusing the base brutality of death metal with complex song structures and jazzy time signatures, an idea that Dillinger Escape Plan has since taken to a whole different level with great artistic success. Heresy of Thieves aren’t re-inventing extreme metal here, but what I like about this EP is that they steer clear of so many of the clichés that abound in modern death metal, all the classic metal melodic parts and metal core influences. They stay true to the original early 90’s sound, and in a way, that’s refreshing.

http://www.thirtydaysofnightrecords.co.uk
If you dig: Morbid Angel, Pestilence

Jon A

Simon House with Spiral Realms - Solar Wind CD (Voiceprint Records)

Simon House is an amazing violin player who has played with many artists but most famously, David Bowie and Hawkwind. The music on this CD was released originally some years ago in the USA but has been long out of print. The music is all live and it was recorded on the US tour in 1995, when the band opened several shows on the Nik Turner’s Space Ritual Tour. The band here is Len Del Rio (synths), Del Dettmar (VC3 synth) and Simon House (Violin). The music is all totally take a trip to outer space music. The first 5 tracks are all originals from the bands two Spiral Realms studio CDs, while the last tracks include a strange improvisation by Del Dettmar followed by the Forge of Vulcan that Simon wrote when in Hawkwind. The CD ends with Interstellar Overdrive by Pink Floyd. Really cool music if you are in the mood to just trip out…

http://www.voiceprint.co.uk
http://www.hawkwind.com

Scott

Hypnos 69 - The Eclectic Measure CD (Elektrohasch Records)

Hypnos 69 were, yes, were, the band have disbanded, from Belgium. The band put out 4 records, each one quite different from the one before it. This being the most distant from anything they played before but also the best they ever did, in my opinion. This takes us back to a Pink Floyd meets King Crimson sound but with the cool Hypnos vibe. This is quite an impressive piece of work with amazing artwork and the whole CD tells a story as well. The title track is very Pink Floyd inspired (Wish you were here era..) but with a King Crimson style vocal. Forgotten Souls is a very moody piece, while My Ambiguity of Reality is a more hard rocking Hypnos style rocker but the early 70’s Crimson sound is very present. If there is one weak point on the CD, it is the horn playing, it is in the right places but the players just don’t take the music to another level with their playing, while the rest of the band are phenomenal. Wow.. Halfway to the Stars is a bit Motorpsycho like and a nice ballad track that leads into I and You and Me (II), a nice acoustic track, before the very cool King Crimson Red era track (Ominous) that is very influenced by 21st Century Schizoid Man! The Point of No Return is one of the best tracks on this brilliant CD and great composition. Deus Ex Machina ends this amazing CD, sadly the last one by this band. I hope this will be released on vinyl as it deserves it. Fantastic artwork and music. Another Elektrohasch winner….

http://www.hypnos69.tk/
http://www.elektrohasch.de
If you dig: King Crimson, Pink Floyd, Motorpsycho

Scott

Hypnos69 - The Electric Measure (Elektrohasch Records)

This is the definitive last album from Begium masters of musical atmoshpere and orchestration, Hypnos69. The band has unfortunately decided to break up leaving a long line of excellent releases behind them. It’s an album full of mythical references, beautiful songs and fine details all the way through: A worthy end to an impressing career as a dedicated band! Steve’s soft vocals blend perfectly in with his dynamic and excellent guitar playing; Dave’s drumming underlines every impotant point of the music, Tom’s bass combines beats and melodies and Stevens work with Hamond, mellotrone, clarinet, sax etc adds a lot of atmosphere to the expression. Hypnos69 will remind the new listener somewhat about Pink Floyd, but the band has maneged to develop and refine their own specific sound to perfection over the years. Artwork made by Malleus is by the way really beautiful. This is a band that will be missed – check it out!

http://www.hypnos69.be
If you dig: Pink Floyd, Syd Barrett chilling out

Foxy

Kazalok - Chandrasekhar Limit 12” (Shake Your Ass Records)

In spite of the somewhat strange name of this band and the even stranger title of this 12”/ six track lp, the band origins from the States, and the album was recorded in Memphis, Tennessee, which is also the location of the band. This is a cool blend of psychedelic garagepunk, some folk-influence and a dark New York sound not unlike Velvet Underground. Kazalok was formed in 2005, but there’s no indication soundwise that they haven’t been around way longer. The guys have managed to find their own sound and expression within this fairly short time. This is indeed a very nice release containing reverse guitar, a scruffy/authentic sound and some really good catchy tunes featuring a cool organ, tambourine, accoustic guitars, strage noices and more. Bonusinfo: Kazalok hold the Guiness World Record for being the second tallest rock band around... I’d like to see that act live!

http://www.myspace.com/kazalok
If you dig: Syd Barrett, Velvet Undergrund

Foxy

Loop Guru - Elderberry Shiftglass (Loop Guru)

This UK band has a long history and has made a lot of dance music but the duo really have taken a jump in a new direction with this, their 13th release! The music is very Beatles inspired 60’s psychedelia with beats and strange samples (that start nearly every track). You get 20 tracks in one hour of music on this very cool CD. Very nice art and a great sound with loads of far out psychedelic titles to go along with the blast to the past. You can tell they had a lot of fun making this record. If you are expecting to hear the world music dance stuff the band has done, don’t look here. This is quite cool 60’s inspired psych music, without the rock. Is that possible??

http://www.elsewhen.org.uk
If you dig: Beatles, Banco De Gaia, FSOL

Scott

Low Budget Orchestra - Extraordinary (Low Budget Music)

This is the one man project of Mikko Muranen. This is very much a guitar based record but in the progressive rock vein but with all electronic drums. Besides some very cool guitar it features some fantastic keyboard soloing as well. Mikko is quite an accomplished musician. Mikko has written a very extensive web page describing a lot of details of his thoughts on each and every song and certain elements that went into the project. There is a lot of lead guitar and certainly he is influenced by people like Steve Vai, Frank Zappa, and Eddie VanHalen. The guitar sound is quite heavy metal at times but that is fine. He has a long list on his web site. In many ways, this all instrumental music is begging for some vocals. The long stretches of guitar riffing over and over create a perfect structure of a vocalist. There are 10 tracks averaging around 5 minutes each. I have really enjoyed this record a lot and if it had real drums, I would give it 5 out of 5 as the music is excellent and I enjoyed taking each and everyone of Mikko’s musical journeys!

http://www.lowbudgetmusic.com

Scott

James McCann - Last Night I Met The Devil CD (Bang! Records)

Fans of Australian swamp blues and American roots rock should check this fella out. ”Last Night I Met The Devil” is pretty varied, from beautiful soulful country rock songs that recall Neil Young and Paul Westerberg to violent sonic fuzz eruptions (the 20 mins long ”She’s Intermediate/Hoodoo Joe”) of Stooges’ ”Fun House” dimensions, McCann guides us expertly through the memorable tunes. With members of The Drones (James was a founding member), Crow and Bloodloss.

http://www.munster-records.com/
www.myspace.com/jjmccann
If you dig: Drive-By Truckers, Beasts Of Bourbon, Neil Young

Jens

Mary’s Kids - Destroy 7” (Bootleg Booze Records)

My first thought as I put this piece of wax on the stereo, ”This sure sounds like Mensen”, and as I looked closer on the back sleeve, it IS Mary Currie of Oslo’s Mensen on vocals and geetar! Less hardrock-ish, and more poppunk/powerpoppy, this is solid rockin’ stuff with memorable hooks. But I think I prefer Mensen because Mary’s Kids doesn’t really stand out that much compared to other female fronted Scandinaivan rockbands. The lyrics of ”Destroy” complains about the state of punkrock nowadays, but sounds a bit too forced I think. Still, a pretty decent 3 track release and a neat Ike & Tina Turner cover (”I’m Fed Up”).

www.myspace.com/maryskidsmusic
http://www.bootlegbooze.com/
If you dig: Mensen, The Donnas, Saharah Hotnights

Jens

Mercy Killers - Bloodlove CD (Hellcat Records/Target)

Man, it’s been centuries ago anything remotely exciting has been released on Hellcat Records, and this is more of the same boring bland punkrock without any identity, balls or soul. Zzzzz. Hellcat/Epitaph, try listen to vital rowdy trash punk like LiveFastDie or Reatards instead of stale Rancid wannabes. You’re stuck in a rut, stop putting out crap like this, you’re digging your own grave!

http://www.hell-cat.com/
If you dig: Lame streetpunk with an emo feel

Jens

The Mighty Gordinis - Fueled On Fuzz CD

Belgium instru surf’n’roll that combines elements of trad. surf and garagerock. Plenty of b-movie soundclips (”Dolemite” etc.) break up the twang, and there’s some tasty bongo drumming going on at times. Adult cocktail music for rock’n’rollers? I like it, but it’s nothing out of the ordinary in the surf genre, like Los Plantronics.
http://www.mightygordinis.com/
www.myspace.com/cherrybombrds
If you dig: Vice Barons, Coffin Daggers, Man Or Astroman?

Jens

Misery – A State of Suffering CDS (Thirty Days of Night Records/Target)

Ever struck you that black metal just isn’t very scary most of the time? Even sounds a bit ridiculous at times? Morbid Angel’s early stuff, Bathory’s ditto, I can dig that, love it, but a lot of the stuff that continues to be released in the genre just sounds dumb to me – why would anyone continue playing music like this? I’m probably reactionary here, but to my defence, I’m not that into the genre, so I’m excused for not really understanding it. Misery only formed in March this year, and maybe they could’ve spent some time working on the music, but on the other hand, it adds some freshness to the music that I suspect they might lose interest in after a while. They stay very true to the mid 80’s standards of the genre, probably wear bullet belts as well, but to me, Sodom’s “In the Sign of Evil” is more earnestly fun.

http://www.thirtydaysofnightrecords.co.uk
If you dig: early Morbid Angel, early Sodom, early Bathory

Jon A

Misery Signals - Mirrors (Ferret Music/Target)

Misery Signals are part of the whole scene of bands that are mixing hardcore with melodic metal. For me, it just does not work. I think the clash or styles are too hard. I like atmospheric music but with these angry screaming vocals all the fucking time, it just drives me away. People are raving about the record and maybe these guys will be the next big thing with Mastodon but I just don’t get it. Certainly, these young guys can play very well but the music just does not speak to me. Luckily you get the lyrics as it is very hard to understand what the guy is screaming about… Anyway, if you like this style of hardcore meets melodic metal (no guitar solos), go for it. Cool booklet and artwork.

http://www.miserysignals.net
If you dig: Mastodon, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Unsane

Scott

Mountain - Canadian Festival Express 28 June 1970 Vol. 10 (Voiceprint Records)
Mountain- Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles 7 March 1970 Vol 12 (Voiceprint Records)

These are two of the latest volumes in the series of archive live Mountain CDs being released on the Voiceprint label. The label has released show as early as 1969 and as recent as 2005 in the series. These two are quite interesting as Mountain was heading up to the peak at this time, less than a year after they played at Woodstock and Jimi Hendrix had been talking about Leslie West… Let’s take the March 1970 show first. Both of these are audience recordings, with the LA one being the best quality. Anyway, the LA shows starts off with Long Red and Leslie has a great tone and the bass is thumping. The band play pretty straight up versions of Theme for an Imaginary Western, Dreams of Milk and Honey (is fucking great riff) and Leslie really rips it up on this one, starting with a guitar solo. The band really stretches out on the 11½ min Stormy Monday. There take is very slow and totally different than say the Allman Brothers. Mississippi Queen is another great number. The Woodstock dedicated number, For Yasgur’s Farm, is cool. I love the riff on Never in my Life but was surprised but the song is faded out at the 2 min. The CD ends with blues track, Dirty Shoes. Has a very ZZTOP like riff.

The Canadian Festival Express is really a very different show. First off, the sound is not that good and the drums and vocals are a bit low and you can almost not hear the organ player at all. Despite this, the band rocks like hell and really spaces out and jams and you can always here the all important guitar! The CD starts off with 3 songs not on the other CD (Blood on the Sun, Silver Paper and Hellhound on my Trail). Now the CD starts getting really interesting. Leslie begins Dreams of Milk and Honey with a long guitar solo and just kicks ass at the end. Next up is a really long 19 minute version of Stormy Monday, where the band sort of gets lost and just space out.. Everyone is soloing.. The CD ends with the classic Mississippi Queen. Great stuff.

http://www.voiceprint.co.uk
If you dig: Leslie West, Cactus, Gov’t Mule

Scott

Needle and the Pain Reaction – Pheromone CD (Kinky Star Records)

Back when LowCut started out, we used to receive a ton of records from Belgian label Kinky Star Records, and I slaughtered each single one until they stopped sending us records. That’s how we made our peace, but now they’re trying again, and it’s up to yours truly to keep them at bay once again – and take that sickly sweet beer with you, will ya! Employing his heaviest artillery, the label boss has brought out his own band, Needle and the Pain Reaction, whose previous album I killed off in issue 11, and though I can’t honestly remember what that one sounded like, back then I wrote that they were aiming for the Go-Betweens vibe. Assuming I didn’t just guess to avoid having to listen to more indie dross at that time, at least they’ve changed tactics this time around, opting for the slacker rock thing that I seem to recall most of their roster traded in. Nonetheless, it sounds like shit, albeit in a new way, apparently. Stay away from our Northern shores, or we’ll have to exhume the corpse of Quorthon himself to drive you university rockers back behind your dams!

http://www.kinkystar.com
http://www.needleandthepainreaction.com
If you dig: Sebadoh, Pavement

Jon A

Odelia - Songs for a Clownfish (Goodnight Poseidon Music)

Odelia are a band from California and this is their 3rd CD since 2001. They are four members who together create a very dream filled music willed with gentle rippling emotions. The music the band makes is largely improvised and composed on the spot only taking in the feelings of the music created at the time. Most of the music is quite laid back but they have the same concept as a lot of these post rock bands and many of the songs reach a sonic peak as well. The CD begins with the 10 minute Feet that Never Heal and this track demonstrates most all the elements you will find also elsewhere on the CD. 4 Feet of Snow starts with drums straight away and some nice delay guitars as the melody builds. The music is basically guitar, bass and drums with some strange sounds (all kinds of instruments including xylophone) and things mixed into the background that occasionally bubble through the soundscape. The next track, Bicycle Prophet sounds like it was recorded live or in a warehouse of sorts and is very raw in both its sound and the way the sound becomes more focused before the hifi sound kicks in. This track gets very intense at the end. Under the Porchlight returns to the land of dreams but has more intense drumming as the track builds up with the sound shimmering in the background.
2000 Miles of Locust is only the 2nd song on this record to feature vocals. Tanisha begins with slowly fading in sounds and some backwards stuff as well before the organ kicks in. First time on the CD you really hear the organ clearly but this track reaches a very intense peak after which the vocals begin and the track slowly fades out. Nice.. He knew me when I used…. Is one of the cooler tracks on the CD. I just like the more haunting sounds in the background that go against the melodic guitar. 12 Sleeping ends this CD. I think if you are a fan of bands like Mono and Mogwai, you will dig this as well.

Oh yeah, I should mention, I like the idea that the band often has a guy named John Hagan who joins them on stage, only to paint! He also did the artwork for the CD. Cool…

http://www.thegaiaproject.com
http://www.odeliamusic.com
If you dig: Mono, Godspeed you Black Emperor, Mogwai, Explosions in the Sky

Scott

One-Eyed Mule - Hobo On The Land Of Love CD (CPH Sound/Target)

This is a pretty decent Danish stab at ’Americana’ or roots music as I prefer to call it. Bluegrass, country, blues, folk, honky tonk and a bit of r’n’r are thrown into a dusty stew that celebrates the mythical rural music of the US of A. These twangsters are ambitious and talented, but maybe a bit too young and innocent to make it work 100%. ”Hobo On The Land Of Love” shows lotsa potential, looking for forward to the next one.

http://one-eyedmule.dk/
http://cph-sound.com/
If you dig: Ralph Stanley, Hank Williams Sr., 16 Horsepower

Jens

The Peers - Rock!t Repeat CD (Trash 2001 Records)

Don’t know what’s more annoying, the extreme blandness of the music or the headache-inducing accent on the stupid vocals. This brand of punk/rock’n’roll was already stale 10 years ago. Trash 2001 Records is usually a lot more reliable than this worthless release might indicate.

http://www.trash2001.de/
If you dig: AC/DC, Ramones, Gluecifer

Jens

Pere Ubu - Why I Hate Women CD (Smog Veil Records)

I have to say it has been a long time since I heard any Pere Ubu but this record is really excellent. The strange vocals (a bit like Mick Farren at times), cool analog synth sounds, weird moods, and strange rockers.. This record has it all. The one common thread through out the record is, strange… It is all strange. Believe it or not, this is the bands 15th record since their inception in 1975 out of the ruins of Rocket from the Tombs. The record was recorded in 2005 and produced by Pere Ubu genius, David Thomas. Some of the special sound this record has is due to the engineer Paul Hamann, who uses a lot of special microphones and home made effects. The whole record tells the story that David thought should have been written by Jim Thompson (Pulp Fiction) but never was. If you got to the press release on the bands web site for this record you can get an indepth explanation of the record. Anyway, the music here is very cool, moody and sometimes it is dreamy post rock like (Babylonian warehouses) to strange rock and roll numbers (Two Girls (one Bar), Flames over Nebraska), space rock punk (Caroleen), to strange synthesizer drones songs (Stolen Cadillac, Synth Farm). You will not get bored listening to this record…that is for sure..

This is a really enjoyable and cool record. Fantastic!

http://www.smogveil.com
http://www.ubuprojex.net
If you dig: David Thomas, Capt. Beefheart, Rocket from the Tombs, Mick Farren and the Deviants

Scott

Phideaux - Doomsday Afternoon (Bloodfish Music)

This is the coolest record of all the ones that I received to review in the last month. I am hooked on their sound and songs! The singer has a great voice and writes excellent psychedelic rock songs. The band is considered a prog rock band in some circles but for me this is just damn good psych rock with influences from the Beatles, early David Bowie and Alice Cooper, and more.. But with a modern sound. You hear just about every instrument you can imagine on this great record hear and there from sitar, trumpet, dulcimer, organs, piano, synths, cello and autoharp! A fantastic band he has. Phideaux is an amazing songwriter and has a great voice and is very expressive with the cool lyrics. I would go through all the songs but some that really blew me away were You and me against a world of Pain, which I have heard 25 times in the last couple of weeks. Why can’t this be the huge hit on the radio instead of the crap we get out there?? This is real music… the depth of the sound, the lush instrumentation and the emotion of great melodies. Amazing record, buy it at once if you like the Beatles, Hieronymus Firebrain, or old David Bowie!

http://www.bloodfish.com
If you dig: old David Bowie, Beatles, old Alice Cooper, Hieronymus Firebrain, Dent

Scott

Pyramids on Mars - Pyramids on Mars (POM Music)

What is Pyramids on Mars? This is a project that grew out of the band Damidge, a space rock punk band. It features several members from Ozric Tentacles (Rad, Seaweed current at this time, Roly (original bass player and brother of the founder, Ed Wynne) as well as Alex Pym on guitar and female vocalist, Kate. In the summer of 1995, the band entered into the Ozric Tentacles studio, The Mill and laid down these tracks of free form jamming. The CD contains 13 jams of very Ozric Tentacles inspired space rock. It is mostly instrumental but Kate adds space vocals like Gilli in Gong but also does real singing of lyrics on a number of songs. Sometimes you get a bit tired of the vocal though. The mix is quite strange though as the drums and bass are very much in the front and the guitar and especially the synths pushed to the back. If there ever was a guitar player who could sound like master Ed himself, it is Alex. Wow.. he really is Ed sometimes. The music here is really going back to the vibe of Ozrics when they were jamming in the forests back in 1985-86 era… Seaweed plays some cool sounds but is only playing less than half the time it seems on a number of tracks. We have spaced reggae (Take your Time), heavy metal space rock (Seeing through the Underground Overground) and pure jamming space rock bliss. Alex is pretty much soloing almost all the time in these free form jams as he has such a great solid bottom with Roly and Rad. If you are a fan of old Ozrics, Gong, Dream Machine, then this is a must own rarity! Space is the place… It was engineered and produced by Ed Wynne.

In order to buy this limited edition CD, send £19 via paypal to: claudia@niterider.fsnet.co.uk

If you dig: Ozric Tentacles, GONG, Dream Machine, Øresund Space Collective

Scott

Righteous Jams – Business as Usual CD (Alveran Records/Target)

I’ve been trying to avoid reviewing this record for over a month now, passing it on to other members on the staff, but I keep getting it back, so here goes: This is not a very good record. It’s great that Alveran try to go beyond the sometimes formulaic metal core and emo they release tons of in their hardcore department, and this record is definitely different from that. It’s just – not very good. A big part of the blame lies with the vocals, courtesy of Joey Contrada (ex-Invasion/Stop and Think), who sounds like he’s terribly constipated. Righteous Jams have a rock-vibe going on in the vein of Black Flag’s “Slip It In”, which would’ve been a nice touch, but this record just fails to do much for me.

http://www.alveranrecords.com
If you dig: Black Flag

Jon A

Rusty Cage - Never Friend CD(demo)

Rusty Cage are a new Swedish band (Guess they never heard of the German band with the same name??) from Malmö, Sweden. The bio says that they play hard rock with a touch of grunge but are inspired by Creed, Metallica, Alice in Chains and Pink Floyd. So what about the 5 tracks? The title and opening track shows the singer sounded like a mixture of James Hetfield (to start) and later, Mr. Vedder.. Why can’t he try to sing like himself?? It is a 2½ minute hard rock track that never really goes anywhere. Very Pearl Jam influenced. Hello, is next and Mr. Vedder meets Mr. Hetfield once again for a melodic Pearl Jam like track but with a more Alice in Chains style guitar riff. If Only begins as a ballad but becomes a Nirvana song, with the singer sounded very much like Cobain. Under a Spell sounds just like Pearl Jam, including the vocals for the first part and then it radically changes into a Metallica song, where they steal the riff from Search and Destroy.. Another World ends this 18 minutes of music and begins with piano and is a pretty straight up ballad. Nice guitar solo.

These guys can play ok but they have nothing original to give and should make a radical change or play Pearl Jam covers in the bars in Malmö.. Sorry guys….

http://www.rustycage.se
If you dig: Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains, Nirvana

Scott

Ruthless Blues - Live at the Torrington CD (Mystic Records)

Ruthless Blues are a UK Blues band that have been around since like 1979 but contains no original members (Tony leads the band, having joined in 1985!). Anyway, this is really well played down and dirty blues. The CD starts off really great with Help Me/Walking Blues with some great jamming. Next up is Little Sister ( by Ry Cooder) and features guitarist Martyn Taylor. Next the band plays a few original tunes, Break my Back and Rolling Drunk. Break my Back is quite a moody track. Rolling Drunk is just fun shit. Bad is Bad is a harmonica foot stomping rocker. Killing Floor (Howling Wolf) is not that great a version but still fun. Tie me Up (I think I love you) has this 80’s style hard rock guitar that is quite funny to hear. Awful stuff… Wang Dang Doodle is really jammed out and quite a good version here. Fine Fine Fine is an old school rock and roll number. They end their gig with a not very good version of Gloria but the crowd is having a good time and you should to! Fun blues rock with a entertaining singer and harmonica player. Every town needs a band like this!

http://www.mysticrecords.co.uk
If you dig: Blues Rock…straight up…

Scott

Dan Sartain - Join CD (Kick Music/One Little Indian/Swami)

I really enjoyed Mr. Sartain’s previous album ”Vs. Serpientes” which had a unique garagerock vibe, ”Join” offers a slightly different musical approach. Here rockabilly and C&W get the very personal Sartain touch that gives tunes a quirky freshness as both spaghetti western and punkrock are infused in a highly original cocktail. There’s something for everybody here; it’s hardhitting yet romantic, gutsy yet smooth, and the clever lyrics recall Jonathan Richman. Alabama born and bred, Dan Sartain is insanely talented and deliver the tunes as a seasoned pro, but he’s only 23! Come join the r’n’r crusade!!

http://www.kick.dk/
http://www.myspace.com/dansartain
If you dig: Jonathan Richman, Rev. Horton-Heat, Johnny Cash

Jens

Eddy Senay - Soul Preachin’ – Hot Gutter Funk From Detroit CD (Vampisoul Records)

Never heard of this cat before, so mucho cudos to Vampiri Soul for releasing this hip comp of instrumental tracks recorded in 1972/73. Some tracks recalls the vintage funky blaxploitation movie tunes we know and love, ”Just Feelin’ It” reminded me of Bobby Womack’s ”Across 110th Street”, while others are more soul jazzy. Sexy and groovy guitardriven fonk that makes you wanna wear some swanky polyester clothes and get naughty with a foxy hot mama! The cd digipack has 16 tunes, while the 180 gram vinyl has 10.

http://www.munster-records.com/
If you dig: Issac Hayes, Curtis Mayfield

Jens

Shook Ones - Facetious Folly Feat (Revelation Records)

Shook Ones are from Seattle and this debut album was recorded in the almost historic Studio Litho and Red Room where bands like Mastodon, Isis, Pearl Jam and Murder City Devils to mention a few have all recorded. Not that there are many similarities to the before mentioned bands. Shook Ones plays very fast paced (yes, again!) college punkrock with references to hardcore. Full speed from beginning to end of this 11 track release. A lot of agression. Straight riffs and very tight drumming. Hard to tell one song from the other. But the vocal by Scott Freeman is horrible! And I don’t care if he is ever so praised back home in the States or a big hero on this scene– it sucks. No tone to his voice whatsoever. Monotone to the point where I have to take this album out off my cd-player... And that’s why I can only give this:

http://www.plastichead.com
If you dig: Having your ears tormented by a crap voice...

Foxy

Snake Flower II - Turn Back Time (Shake Your Ass Records)

Snake Flower II is the outcome of Matthew M Melton’s relocation in San Francisco where he settled after leaving Memphis and the first Snake Flower behind – they moved along with Melton to California, but the band broke up short after. “Turn Back Time” is a 4-track vinyl 7” release. This is old school folk’ish psychedelia with a lot of atmosphere and beautiful songs featuring accoustic guitar, minimalistic drum playing on an obscure bohemian crash-pad and genuine tape sound. The songs were recorded to a four-track tape recorder, and the result is very succesful. According to the press sheet it’s furthermore all recorded in one-takes. I really dig this release, and you would probably too, if you’re into this kind of scene – and if can get your hands on this single!

http://www.myspace.com/snakeflower
If you dig: Folk-psychedelia 1966-69

Foxy

Soft Machine Legacy (Moon June Records)

Soft Machine lasted a long time. Well, they are not dead actually but they are not called Soft Machine Legacy. Although, they did not perform all the time since their inception in 1966, they did produce a lot of music and this is the very last record with Elton Dean, lead sax player, sadly passed away in February this year. But this is the real deal with Hugh Hopper on Bass, John Marshall on drums, Elton Dean on saxes and John Etheridge on guitars. This is jazzy instrumental rock music with a lot of flavour and space for all the members to show their chops and drive the songs in new directions. Ratlift is a very cool long track that demonstrates this well. Great guitar! 12/12 starts quite slow and spacey before building up, first with a long solo by Elton followed by John Etheridge. New Day is like old school piano jazz but then it gets a bit more wild… short song.. I really liked Grape Hound a lot. The cool guitar sound and slightly funky bass line. Overall, if you like instrumental jazz, then you can’t go wrong and this is the last you will hear of Elton Dean, so savor it. He was an amazing player and he is now replaced by the great Theo Travis.

http://www.moonjune.com
If you dig: Allan Holdsworth, John McLaughlin, Pierre Morelin’s GONG

Scott

The Stilettos - Stimulusblackboxresponse CD (Stardumb Records)

Their previous album, ”Making History By Repeating It”, was a tight iron fist of in-ya-face punk’n’roll, this (their 3rd) is a bit more varied, and the songs are superior. The Stilettos have, dare I say it, grown! We get the usual testosterone ragers, but a track like ”Dragging Me Down” effortlessly mixes harmony ’n’ raw energy like never before. So it’s basically The Stilettos as we know them, but in an improved version. Kinda like the difference between ”For A Few Dollars More” and ”The Good, The Bad & The Ugly”, if you know what I mean? A monster release from Utrecht’s finest! Here’s my interview with the trio in last issue: http://www.lowcut.dk/039_lc/interview/5.asp

http://www.stilettos.nl/
If you dig: Pagans, New Bomb Turks, Columbian Neckties

Jens

Street Dogs - Fading American Dream CD

This Boston combo sports members of Mighty Mighty Bosstones and Dropkick Murphys, and the album has appereances from Pogues and Flogging Molly. The music is your average sing-along streetpunk/hc with political and blue collar lyrics, but no folksy influences. Pretty catchy stuff, but not terribly interesting. Fans of the abovementioned bands might want to check it out.

http://drt-entertainment.com/
If you dig: Dropkick Murphys, Stiff Little Fingers, Reducers SF

Jens

Twelve Tribes – Midwest Pandemic CD (Ferret Music/Target)

Each in their own way, Sepultura and Deftones are two great bands to me, especially Sepultura, whom I’ve liked since “Beneath the Remains” up to and including the post-Max stuff and even Soulfly. But I’ve yet to hear a good band that sounded like any of those two bands: For some reason, it always ends up sounding terribly nü-metal, in the very worst meaning of that word. That’s metal reduced to an over-compressed wall of down-tuned guitars, heavy tribal drumming, with singing on top of it. Twelve Tribes are one of those bands: Through most of the album, they have a halfway decent Sepultura vibe going, but they pepper it with these melodic parts that they just aren’t very good at getting to work for their won good. I saw them live a few weeks ago (see livereviews, this issue), and it was the same thing: A bit contrived, not very catchy, not very energetic. Shame.

http://www.ferretstyle.com
If you dig: Sepultura, Deftones

Jon A

Ukrudt – Ukrudt CDS (Ukrudt)

What would happen to punk and hardcore if we didn’t have crust bands? There must be some kind of natural balance created as an antidote 80’s pop that means we need crust core to remind us of just how ugly music can sound. Or you might argue that bands like Ukrudt’s main raison d’etre is to make everyone else sound good. Hey, I’m fine with Ukrudt: They may not be out to revolutionize hardcore, but their intentions are good, I can relate to their lyrics, and they’re so old school, I’m surprised this even came out on CD, and not cassette.

http://www.myspace.com/ukrudt
If you dig: early Napalm Death, Discharge

Jon A

Village of Dead Roads - Dwelling in Doubt CD (Meteorcity)

This US band, previously released a split CD with Spiritu on the Meteorcity label but this is the bands first full length record. Quite cool artwork on this CD and some pretty killer riffs and vibes but too much of the screaming death vocals and not enough of the nice voice. The opening track (Fugitive) has a killer riff and I like the intensity that the organ gives the track. It is cool that all the tracks on this CD were recorded live in one take. The CD contains the main tracks but then is interspersed with shorter tracks around 1 minute in length. The band for sure has some monster riffs but I tire of the shouting angry vocals (a lot like Carnivore, remember them???). Blind Albino is one of the moodiest songs on the CD and has some intense lyrics. Between Grace and Delusion is a powerful number and has the atmospheric qualities of post rock the way the guitar sound is during the melodic start. Hemmingway Solution is very angry and one of the more uptempo tracks a bit like slower Slayer stuff. . The 8½ minute Cold New World ends the CD, and is one of the more melodic tracks to start off but pounds back with ferocious power.

This is a CD you have to hear a few times to get into it. I really liked the tracks on the split CD with Spiritu but this CD has some great stuff to offer as well. Godflesh meets Carnivore meets ISIS.. Eat it up!

http://www.villageofdeadroads.cjb.net
If you dig: Isis, YOB, Neurosis, Godflesh

Scott

Andre Williams - Aphrodisiac CD (Vampisoul Records)

After 50 years in the business what would Mr. Rhythm release; 50/60s style greasy r&b, country, or Mick Collins garage sleaze mayhem? ”Aphrodisiac” and the backing band, The Diplomats Of Solid Sound, have a 70s funk feel going on, sadly it’s a bit polished and not as vital as previous Williams records. There’s some great tracks like ”Three Sisters” (about the Katrina disaster) and ”I’m Not Worthy”, but songs like ”Do You Remember?” simply doesn’t cut it. Andre seems to be in a more sentimental, less sleazy mood, which is fine by me, the man is 70 and can’t be a crazed horny motherfucker forever, haha. Diehard fans should get the new album, other should start elsewhere because ”Aphrodisiac” lacks the sweat and heart of previous releases of the Black Godfather. The album is to be released in Europe on Spanish Munster Records.

http://www.myspace.com/68691228
http://www.munster-records.com/
If you dig: Funkadelic, James Brown, Rufus Thomas

Jens

Church of Misery/Sourvein - Split 7” (Calculon Records)

Wow… We just saw Church of Misery and Sourvein on the European tour and that was great. Church of Misery did not play this amazing song, sadly. They do a totally mind blowing psychedelic version of the old May Blitz tune, For Mad Man Only. Wow… just killer.. Sourvein, well, they play their tuned down DOOM from Hell heavy fucking shit… what more can I say??? A damn cool collectable 7” record on white vinyl pressed in only 500 copies.

http://www.calculon.co.uk
If you dig: Dark doomy Sabbath inspired heavy shit….

Scott

V/A - Anti-Capitalism - Anarcho Punk Compilation Vol. 4 CD (Overground Records)

This is one of the finest compilations of this sort I have ever seen. It has great starting liner notes and then each band has a picture and nice write up about its history, past and current and its political views. There are 23 bands and the only ones that I have music by in my collection are: Conflict, Crass, Rudimentary Peni, Cravats, Anathema, Antisect, and Culture Shock. Some of the other bands included are Atomic Filth, Cold War, Legion of Parasites, Epileptics, Tears of Destruction, Dominant Patri, Slaughter of the Innocent, Freeborn, Hex, Committee, Nic Toczek, Kulturkampf and a few others.. Excellent compilation!

http://www.overgroundrecords.co.uk
If you dig: UK punk rock with political lyrics

Scott

V/A - The Truth About Blackpool Vol. 2 CD (JSNTGM Records)

I really liked last year’s vol. 1 which was on Blackpool’s 30 year punkrock history. Vol. 2 is all new bands; poppunk, emo, hardcore, indie, folk, MTV pop, PIL-like new wave, rock’n’roll etc. Not much is happening now in Blackpool I reckon, it’s all pretty bland...in fact, it’s like time stood still musically since 1989. Thank god there’s no ska songs on the comp, but still, not one of the 26 tracks connected with me. I sure as hell hope that vol. 3 is better than this sad (requiem?) comp.

http://jsntgm.com/

Jens