EDITION OF 300 ON WHITE VINYL
Moniker Records has been on an unholy terror in 2012 releasing recommended killer wax from artists all around globe by the likes of Yva Las Vegass, Hot and Cold, Kraus, Stacian, and Lazy. This time Moniker brings it home to Chicago in releasing the first new record in over a quarter-century by legendary Chicago experimental art-punks ONO! Moniker has yet to release a record out that they weren't intimately attached to which is why you should read what they have to say about ONO's "Albino" LP:
"To non-locals, ONO's stunning Albino might have fallen from the sky, but to an enlightened and ever-growing bunch of Chicago heads the band is already full-on legend, and the release of their first recorded music since 1986 is a majorly epic landmark that needs no introduction. For the rest of y'all: ONO is a unit of transcendent noise-making now in its fourth decade. Both notorious and neglected in their early years, ONO's unholy bitches' brew of noisy snarl, avant-garde R&B, gospel-heavy blackness, queer sensibility and extravagant, performance-art theatrics (they once played a concert at Navy Pier in which singer travis was dragged through the audience in a steel cage, naked but for a jockstrap) was in a whole 'nuther galaxy from the macho Chicago punk scene that spawned them...."
Thankfully as ONO reemerged from that dark corner of the universe that they were hiding in all these years to wreak havoc once more, Moniker was there to help birth one of the craziest and most necessary LPs of the year into existence.
In the 80's ONO's sound was so truly outsiderly and honestly unique, not to mention, legitimately ahead of its time that even their vintage releases on Joe Carducci (yep, of SST fame) and John Bouchard's Thermidor Records ("Machines That Kill People" followed by "Ennui") sound just as fresh and relevant today as ever. We imagine listeners' ears will whisper the same message of "Albino" in the year 2038.
So YES, "Some deep-listening shit—beyond recommended" couldn't hold more truth.
BEYOND RECOMMENDED!
Oh Boy! Oh Boy! Oh Boy! Italian label Noise Not Music has gone and reissued Rudimentary Peni's first studio album "Death Church" and we're flipping the fuck out about it! Rudimentary Peni were an anarcho-punk/deathrock group from the early 80s hailing from the UK. "Death Church" was originally released on Corpus Christi Records in '83 and is by far their definitive release showcasing RP's utterly unique take on dark tinged UK punk. Rudimentary Peni had released earlier EPs on Crass Records and were definitely affilated within the anarcho/suat scene of 80's UK punk scene. Corpus Christi Records was a Crass side label set up with engineer John Loder that released records by UK Decay, Icons of Filth and Crucifix. Rudinemtay Peni songs deal with macabre rants of sociopolitical issues and autobiographical woes of desperation and their albums feature singer/guitarist Nick Blinko's hand drawn artwork of dark and twisted forms adding to the psychotic feel of the band's overall approach. Long considered as one of the classic UK punk bands, Rudimentary Peni pulled no punches, as in their scathing track "Rotten To The Core", an indictment of John Lydon and Joe Strummer being hypocrites. This here reissue comes with original artwork and a printed innner sleeve with lyrics. Mulva? ...OHHHH! ...Delores!!!
Long out of print, totally essential and epically Recommended.
The Axeman Cometh, INDEED - WATCH OUT!! Heavy, Heavy, HEAVY psychedelic rock coming thru! The mighty minds at Guerssen have really outdone themselves by releasing the complete recorded works of legendary UK power trio WICKED LADY!
You know when you read the label descriptions of albums and you think to yourself, "there's no way that it sounds THAT great"...well - believe us - IT DOES. Full-bore DOOMY, psychedelic rock created in the most fertile period for that stuff: 1968-1972, and this is the first of two volumes - each one a double record set! WHOAH! Black Sabbath, Blue Cheer and Deep Purple are all most likely jumping off points for these guys, but sonically they are more firmly rooted in the UK Underground of bands like T2, Leafhound, Jerusalem, and The Groundhogs! The band never got a record deal, so no official recordings were ever released - these tracks were all recorded straight to a 4-track tape machine as demos, but you would never guess! Absolutely perfect in every way! Riff after DOOMY riff explodes off the vinyl, courtesy of the "Axeman" himself, guitarist Martin Weaver, who would later go on to form Dark (of "Round The Edges" fame). His six-string odysseys are truly exploratory, using the song as a springboard to launch himself into the stratosphere, with a tone so incendiary, you're gonna need a fire extinguisher! TRULY great, GREAT stuff and one we keep spinning in the shop again and again! The first pressing of these albums went OOP so quickly that we didn't even have time to properly feature them in an update - well THEY'RE BAAAAAAAAAAAACK and we're ready to unload the GREATNESS onto you! If you have even the slightest bit of faith in us here at PRex - trust us. You're gonna want to grab these ASAP.
Well worth the sticker price and totally ESSENTIAL and RECOMMENDED.
WATCH OUT!! Heavy, Heavy, HEAVY psychedelic rock coming thru! The mighty minds at Guerssen have really outdone themselves by releasing the complete recorded works of legendary UK power trio WICKED LADY!
DUDES. Seriously how could a band this great go under the radar for so long?!?! The second volume of Wicked Lady tracks (all culled from sessions in '72) is just as great, if not better than the first! We love us some psychedelic guitar rock over here at PRex, so we were all OVER these two volumes, but were unprepared for the mighty MIGHT riffage contained therein. We don't think it's "overkill" - KEEP 'EM COMIN'! Completely murderous guitar slinging from axeman Martin Weaver, who really demonstrates why he's so regarded in the heavy rock community - dude SHREDS from the first solo until the record(s) come to a close. We haven't heard anything this great since the Jerusalem record reissued last year on Lion Productions (do you have that one?? BETTER GET IT), and that record was on a few PRex staffer's "Best Of"s from 2011. TOTALLY essential, troglodyte doom rock. RECOMMENDED for all you longhairs! (Please note: short-hairs will get just as much enjoyment from the music - but will have a harder time HEAD-BANGING) Enjoy!
Third essential volume of folk-pop tunes from Afghanistan by Ahmad Zahir, courtesy of the deep digging efforts of the always quality minded folks at the Pharaway Sounds label! For those unfamiliar with Ahmad Zahir - brace yourself. Volume 3 finds Zahir continuing in the post psychedelic 70's mode out the hits and was a major star in Afghanistan, recording 22 albums in 15 years (all of which bubbled with ripping tablas, wah-wah guitars and organ swells) and was at the height of his popularity at the time of his death in 1979. Many believe Zahir's rising popularity and influence contributed to the theory that the increasingly militant Afghan government had him assassinated. Pretty grim ending for the Afghani Neil Diamond! Great stuff - keep the volumes coming!! RECOMMENDED!
LIMITED TO 500 COPIES
Subliminal Sounds from Sweden has reissued the mother of all outsider country records - Peter Grudzien's "The Unicorn" from 1974 (along with the 'odds and sods' collection from his cassette releases; "Garden Of Love") in a sweet double LP pressing!
The Unicorn (and by proxy Garden Of Love too) is a long, strange trip of mutant country ramblings, knob-twisting avant-lullabies and Alien Americana. Imagine, if you will - a drug-addled Porter Wagoner-wannabe writing kid's music for Alien children, while sweating out a mushroom-induced mind trauma in front of an analog synth with his broken acoustic.
Yep - it's that weird. Our main-man Peter's clearly working some stuff out, here - lyrics hint at identity frustrations and like any true outsider artist, he lays it all out on the table in an amazing and unfiltered way. At times Grudzien's tunes remind us of the folky "song poems" written by guys like Rodd Keith or even the warped country of Texas' 'enfant-terrible' Jon Wayne. AMAZING and one of a kind record. You'd be hard pressed to hear another like it.
RECOMMENDED, but get it now - at 500 copies, it will not around forever!
Amazing late Sixties Swedish psych by The Baby Grandmothers - reissued by the fine folks at Subliminal Sounds!
Sprawling and expansive guitar-based psych here people! Guitarist Kenny Håkansson was widely referred to as the Swedish Jimi Hendrix - an unfair misnomer, as he avoids the blues trapping of Hendrix's playing and launches the band's jams into a more spirited, UK-based direction, pulling from Eastern scales and English folk chords arching and diving in and out of the song's structure. The rhythm section's locked in tight - you can tell these guys spent MANY a day just JAMMING and seeing what happens and it shows. At it's core, we're reminded of fellow Swedes Parson Sound and Trad Gras Och Stenar, whose exploratory, free-form improvisations were widely influential in the Swedish scene (at least to those paying attention!)
Originally reissued in 2007, but repressed in 2012 this double LP is a must-own for all you "heads" out there - hell, sides B and C are side long jams pushing the 19-min mark - WHOAH! Includes a 16-page booklet detailing the bad's history and origins by Dungen guitarist Reine Fiske!
THIS IS ONE HEAVY TRIP THAT IS HANDS DOWN RECOMMENDED!
2xLP - Rodriguez - Searching For Sugar Man - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack - $25.99 - BUY
- LISTEN 
- LISTEN
LIMITED WHITE VINYL PRESSING - INCLUDES HUGE POSTER!!!
RE-FEATURED! DELAYED DUE TO MANUFACTURING ERROR BUT NOW WE'VE GOT THE LIMITED GOODS!
RE-FEATURED! DELAYED DUE TO MANUFACTURING ERROR BUT NOW WE'VE GOT THE LIMITED GOODS!
The tale of the career and life of Rodriguez portrayed in the critically acclaimed documentary "Searching For Sugar Man" is a freakin' amazing story - the promising genesis of his career, and subsequent commercial indifference that eventually led to his rediscovery three decades later seems like a storybook fable. Light In The Attic was originally responsible for re-introducing Rodriguez's two studio albums in 2008 to the general populace and they've compiled the soundtrack to 'Sugar Man' with music by, well - Rodriguez, duh!
It's sincerely heartwarming to see a tale of "old-school" record company mishandling and neglect come full circle and a talented and sincere artist receive his due. "Searching For Sugar Man" is filled with Rodriguez's socio-politically charged melange of Dylanesque folk, lush, string-laden psych (the arrangements remind us of the strings on the first two Nick Drake albums) and laid-back, armchair funk. This double LP is a "greatest hits" of sorts that compiles tunes from his two albums "Cold Fact" and "Coming From Reality", sequencing them in a way that unfolds his musical tale in a similar fashion to sequence of the film itself; starting with his signature tune, "Sugar Man" and ending with the 'Cold Fact' album closer "Jane P. Diddy". It's a tremendous suite of tunes, warranting the career re-examination and resurgence, as well as the repeated accolades that have been heaped upon it. Haven't heard Rodriguez yet? Here's an excellent place to start. These copies are the limited first press edition (already OOP), housed in a beautiful tip-on gatefold, and pressed on 180gm WHITE vinyl. Plus it includes a huge poster too! AMAZING stuff - RECOMMENDED!!!
"Emotional Planet" is a collection of modern lysergic troubadour tall tales of the real world. Gently sung vocals accompanied by nothing more than guitar and some swirling effects making everything floaty and serene. A sublime laid back listen that warrants many a repeated spin is what you'll find of Robust Worlds latest, so do yourself a favor, take a load off, drop the needle and let Robust Worlds take you on a guided tour of Emotional Planet.
Robustly Recommended.
Man this is one fantastic album of hypnotizing space rock brought to you by the fine folks at Questions and Answers.
"Before F, After C" is like the fuzzed out guitar bliss of Wooden Shjips combined with the sparse motorik click of Moon Duo drum machine kosmische. Repetitive droning heavily tremeloed guitar riffs spiral into the cosmos and induce a trance like state reminiscent of the above mentioned Spaceman 3 and has the lurching ominous almost industrial subtlety of Walking Timebombs.
Complicated Universal Cum are definitely deconstructing krautrock influences, stripping things down to their essence, sprinkling in some sparkling oscillations and reworking them into a modern interpretation. Woah now! Recommended.
We love it when modern day groups channel the aesthetic of the past and totally nail the production value. "Personality Crisis" sounds like it stepped right out of a 1982 fog filled danceclub. Featureless Ghost has taken the synth pop genre and owned it, drawn a line on the dancefloor daring others to top it. It is always amazing when music evokes a retro-futuristic paradox and this one does it all night long. Can't wait to hear what comes next from these folks. Recommended.
Another synth-tastic release from the preeminent Night People label has arrived in the bins. We're stoked NP made the move to press this previous cassette release to wax.
Goldendust do a knock out job of balancing well crafted minimal synth new wave roboto pop with Numan-esque vocals and then splattering some circuit bent squibbbling electronics into the songs adding a very distinct and recognizable sound that sets them apart from the other acts mining this sound.
This duo takes the blight of our bleak future dystopia and adds a glimmer of hope with its cinematic synth pop nuggets. Recommended.
After hearing rumors about this reissue for a couple of months, it's nice to know the time is nigh and Woz can comfortably sit atop everybody's turntable!
A totally bizarre collection here, running the gamut from demented dreamscape acid visions to paranoid freakouts to library vibes that sound like they mated with later Herbie Hancock synth boogie. We were expecting some freaky stuff here based on its high accolades but we never expected it to be this nutty. The genius that shines through is one that can only be accomplished through a privately released effort -- with no real corporate goals,
Woz expands the limitations of what a song can encapsulate. If you dig anything truly esoteric and leftfield, this release has your name written all over. Or if you've dug anything that's come out recently running the airy side of synth tunes (ranging from the lighter Sensations Fix material we saw a couple months ago to the bedroom electronic soul from Numero's impeccable Personal Space compilation) then we couldn't more highly recommend this record. Don't sleep on this one!
If you've ever witnessed the mayhem of the Black Lips in person, you know it's an experience you wanna repeat over and over again. For those not so lucky, Third Man Records has come to the rescue with a new LIVE LP from our favorite Atlanta rock n rollers.
Recorded earlier this summer live at Jack White's now famous record shop / live venue, the Black Lips turned their infectious jangle punk up to 11. They ripped through all their killer jams, picking some of their most classic tracks off their six awesome studio albums. And there's even a Lollipop Shoppe cover on the B Side, just waiting for you to devour.
Black Lips rock through their set like it's the last night they'll ever play together, and it's a fucking great time. This is psyched out garage punk at its best from one of the most consistent bands in the scene. TOTALLY RECOMMENDED.
Throw this LP on and the party will start immediately. We promise.
STOKEDDESCRIPT
The mighty Dischord continues its ongoing offensive of releasing remastered editions from its gloriously influential back catalog, this time Rites of Spring get the reissue treatment.
These 6 songs burst with unbridled energy and they fly by in a furious flash. Rites Of Spring set world aflame with its unwieldy power and limitless enthusiasm that is yet to be matched. This 10" is an awesome companion piece to their essential self titled LP and All Through A Life EP. It shows a band working towards honing their chops that would soon be blowing minds during their now legendary live spectacles of passion and destruction. Recommended.
HOOOOOOLLLLLLYYYYY MMMMMEEETTTTTTTTTAAAAAAAALLLLLLL BATMAN !!! It's Indian Handcrafts !!!! You don't hear very many bands bringing the power sludge like this anymore. Maybe it's because other bands just haven't figured out how to rock this hard and in yer face. But for sure Indian Handcrafts' debut LP Civil Disobedience For Losers is just the right mix of aggro AM REP thrashing, stoner metal ripping, and all out melodic riffage not seen on your turntable since the last Pentagram long player.
You will totally lose control of yourself while cranking Indian Handcrafts, just like the first time you heard Motorhead or Slayer. Civil Disobedience is chock full of high caliber devil horned metal rocking goodness. Think Iron Maiden mixed with the Melvins, um yep that good. Bang your head all the way over to the shop and grab this one now. It's super loud and super RECOMMENDED. In fact you might wanna buy it on both CD and Vinyl, cause metal albums this good don't come out every week.
LIMITED TO 350 HAND-NUMBERED COPIES
Hey Clone Records Fans, we've found another Rubber City Rock Gem you're gonna need yesterday. This time it's from Bold Chicken, Buzz Clic's (of Rubber City Rebels) first band. Causing havoc around Akron before the town was over run by the punk explosion of Devo, the Bizarros, Tin Huey along with many others, Bold Chicken melted rock n roll down to its dirty charred core during their short existence.
This is four songs of some crazed raw primitive proto-punk stomping, and we just can't get enough of it. Bold Chicken ranks up there with the Testors and the Gizmos as lost links in the annals of rock history, punk or otherswise. Kinda like a demented mash up of the New York Dolls and Alice Cooper playing evil twisted stripped down bluesy garage rock, Bold Chicken were intent to break all the fucking boundaries and thus this recently issued 7-inch "A Fellow's Lament" is MORE THAN RECOMMENDED. MC5 and Iggy Pop would've been proud to share a stage with the Bold Chicken and their irreverent mutant rock destruction back in the day...yes they were that good.
So maybe with this new 7-inch on Lysergic Sound, they'll finally get their due. But at least you'll get a rowdy fun listen, that much is for sure.
350 hand numbered copies are gonna fly of the shelves of record shops around the globe, cause you know, Akron was the punk rock capital of the world for more than just a minute in the late 70s. We love the Rubber City and so should you.
7in - Cheap Time - Macbeth b/w Going Out The Way You Came In (Third Man Live 6-11-2012) - $6.99 - BUY - LISTEN
- LISTEN Cheap Time blew the doors off the Chicago shop when they swung through town in the fall of 2012, so we know that a LIVE 7-inch from these garage punks is gonna be rockin'. Third Man Records culled two tracks from a recent gig at their very own store, opening for the Black Lips, and this single is the most excellent result. If you don't know about Cheap Time yet, it's never too late to get hooked on their infectious punk jams.
Awesome two minute blasts of rock n roll debauchery and one helluva band you need to feed to your turntable's platter. If you've grabbed any of their previous efforts, particularly their LP "Wallpaper Music" from early 2012, you're gonna dig this one for sure.
This "Live at Third Man" single has one new killer track not found anywhere else, and one super boisterous cover of John Cale's "Macbeth". Recommended for those of you who love powerhouse garage labels such as In the Red and Goner Records. Hell this recommened for fans of anything that gets tagged PUNK or GARAGE.
Grab the new single now and have a Cheap Time show anytime you want.
LIMITED REPRESS OF 200 ON RICHIE / LITTLE BIG CHIEF
At the end of 2011 when Negative Guest List dropped the latest cuts by Permanents favorite Philly Skull Rockers, Watery Love we were so over-joyed we had this to say:
You all prolly remember how we recently gushed over Watery Love's previous single on Siltbreeze. We shoulda known these guys would end up with a vinyl release on Negative Guest List sooner or later. It's like the scum rock planets all aligned to make reality out of our dreams. And seriously? You guys, they did a CRAMPS cover! Sorry we just peed our selves a little bit. We might as well get a new turntable to play other records on cuz we are wearing out our current set up constantly flipping this gem.
We're having trouble breathing at the moment cuz all the serious dorking out going on round here what with this thing just owning the airwaves.
Fundamentally Recommended.
