Tshirt - Grim Reaper - Black Tshirt w/ White Ink - Small - $14.99 -
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Tshirt - Grim Reaper - Black Tshirt w/ White Ink - Medium - $14.99 -
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Tshirt - Grim Reaper - Black Tshirt w/ White Ink - Large - $14.99 -
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Tshirt - Grim Reaper - Black Tshirt w/ White Ink - XLarge - $14.99 -
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LIFE IS SHORT, BUY MORE RECORDS!
Designed by Ryan Duggan (of Loose Dudes/Basic Cable). Ultra soft - Many sizes available!
LP - Basic Cable - I'm Good To Drive (Beer Wax, Ltd 100) - $14.99 -
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Permanent Records' 39th Label Release!
Our buds at the Empty Bottle penned this little bit about
Basic Cable for our 7th Year Anniversary party and we think it sums
these snide booze fueled bad vibe bringers up very fucking nice:
"Channeling bad vibes, worse hangovers and a general
life-keeps-shitting-on-us attitude, Chicago's BASIC CABLE find a way to
have fun as they commiserate with each other, and their listeners.
Fairly new to "the scene," their blown out guitars, shouted, monotone
vocals and punishing rhythms make for a noisy, punk-as-fuck attack that
tingles our dingles in ways we can barely comprehend." – Empty Bottle
Review snipets from split flexi single with Endless Bummer on Notes and Bolts / Eye Vybe Records:
"Basic Cable, formed by ex-Loose Dudes, Heavy Times, and current Running members,
is a thrashing two minutes of caterwauling vocals, and instruments that
sound like they're going to fall apart at any moment." – Notes and
Bolts / Eye Vybe Records
"Basic Cable, comprised of some Chicago's assorted
noteworthy maniacs from various other quality acts mentioned above, lean
in thick and mean with a paranoid rocker that pummels a riff into the
ground while some terrifying laser sound sets its sights for your soul.
It's all over waaaay too soon, so here's hoping we're getting more
material from BOTH acts in the near future. Savagely Recommended." –
Permanent Records
RIYL: Cows, Jesus Lizard, Pissed Jeans, METZ, Watery Love, Fang, AmRep
LP - Various Artists - Who's A Punk - The Very Best Of British Punksploitation - $14.99 -
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First came 'Je Suis Punk", a collection of unheard French
Punk "punksploitation" obscurities (i.e. band's who were created to - or
changed their sound in order to cash in on the burgeoning "punk fad"),
and now comes "Who's A Punk?" - the British counterpart to those finicky
Francs. LOADED with razor-sharp riffs and catchy as hell melodies
designed to make you pogo your safety pins right off! We dug "Je Suis
Punk" and are jammin' hard to these 14 tracks - RECOMMENDED, but act
fast - it's surely limited and won't stick around too long!
"Track Listing:
RICHARD NEWMAN – Juvenile City
RADIO ACTIVE – Alltime Needletime Loser
TELESCOPE – Bye Byes (Ain’t Nice)
STEVE VOICE – Schooldays
GYPPO – High Rise Love
WOZO – Punk Rock
HORRORCOMIC – Jesus Crisis
SEPTIMUS – Do You Wanna Touch My Safety Pin?
AIRSHIP – Gimme A Can Of Spray Paint
YELLOW DOG – Down At The Vortex
COLIN LLOYD BAND – Badly Bruised Slightly Stoned
JOHNNY DU CANN – Throw Him In Jail
THE MONKS – Johnny B. Rotten
ALBERTO Y LOST TRIOS PARANOIAS – Fuck You"
LP - White Fence - Live In San Francisco - $19.99 -
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LIMITED LENTICULAR COVER / CLEAR VINYL DELUXE EDITION!
It's amazing to us that what started out as a
home-recording project by former Darker My Love/Fall/Strange Boys
guitarist Tim Presley has evolved into a fully-functioning hot-shit live
band! Presley's pitched tent recently over at his SF-homies' label
Castle Face Records - read the straight dope from Tha 'Face:
"The first in a series of live albums from the Castle
Face stable gets you TIM PRESLEY and company tearing it up over two
nights (March 30th and 31st) at San Francisco’s Amnesia club. Thirteen
songs that show a different side of the band than their studio output,
recorded straight to Tascam 388 by engineers CHRIS WOODHOUSE, ERIC
BAUER, BOB MARSHALL and JOHN DWYER. LP includes a download. Everyone
with any degree of hearing loss knows that, at its best, the loose and
shaggy beast of a band balancing on the crest of their capabilities is
the ideal, the firefly that all records aspire to capture in a jar for
your repetitive pleasures. The live record promises better, but somehow
most fall flatter than the painstakingly refined and honed tones of a
studio creation. Who better to try to right this wrong than a bunch of
home friers, 4 track freaks, and DIY gear-cookers? John Dwyer had the
idea of recording our friends live with his Tascam 388 and it rapidly
galvanized into a real crew of heavy hitters and voila, we come bearing
the fruit of that unholy union... WHITE FENCE throw a fork in the light
socket with their blistering live set, captured in all it's ragged
glory to tape on Thee Tascam 388 under the sternly masterful yet tender
care of low-budget luminaries Eric Bauer, Chris Woodhouse, Bob Marshall,
and of course, our own John Dwyer. They were screaming out of the
speakers that night and we kept it safe in a jar for you, undiluted and
unsullied. This and the whole series will be packaged in handsome but
simple trappings - a thick gloss jacket featuring black and white photos
of the evening (shot to film!) that you can marvel to in envy as the
jams pour out of your speaks and into infinity. However, this being the
first of (we hope) a long and fruitful series, we're offering a limited
colored vinyl edition that will feature an alternate lenticular cover,
catching the band eternally between two instants of an amazing night at a
tiny club full of sweaty, lucky souls."
Dubba-dubba-whaaaaa??? This record is a scorcher! White
Fence RIP thru what's essentially a greatest hits collection of their
material from "Swagger Vets and Double Moon", "The Pool", "Baxter
Corner" and cuts like "Pink Gorilla" from their most recent album
"Cyclops Reap", sporting a TRIPLE guitar lineup including Presley's
brother Sean-Paul. The live setting really gives Presley time to shine -
he's an excellent and inventive guitar player, whose real chops seem to
get buried or lessened on White Fence's proper albums. This album
marks the first in a series of "Live In San Francisco" albums Castle
Face is doing (we hear a Fuzz one isn't too far behind), recorded by
John Dwyer, Eric Bauer (the man behind the decks of Ty Segall and Mikal
Cronin's albums) and engineer du jour Chris Woodhouse, so you KNOW this
puppy sounds GOOD. Get this while the gettin's good - Live free or die
hard, motherfuckers. RECOMMENDED.
LP - Fuzz - Live In San Francisco - $13.99 -
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Fuzz has taken everyone by storm in 2013 - spitting out
three killer singles and their undeniably SHREDDING debut album on In
The Red, but WATCH OUT DUDES. We know you thought you could end 2013
unscathed, but Fuzz is back on the block with this HOT SHIT scorcher of a
live album on Castle Face Records. Pay attention:
"Behold—when we introduced this live series, we spoke
of lightning in a jar—this here’s a thunderstorm. TY SEGALL’s new stoner
thrashers FUZZ not only totally murdered this set at San Francisco
leather-daddy hangout The SF Eagle, but it was Ty’s birthday and he blew
out his birthday cake candles mid-song, didn’t miss a beat, and that
moment is forever etched into this record (we took a photo, too). “The
place was insanely packed and they sound like the agile wolf-men they
are up close and personal—Ty, mic wailing through a guitar amp and
dominating drums like it’s the easiest thing in the world; CHARLIE,
guitar set to Hendrix-meets-Hawkwind melter-mode; and ROLAND, keeping
his bass firmly lodged in the groove—the jams are thick and wooly, we
got some great photos of the night—man, this was one to remember and
we’re super excited we captured such a freakishly good performance. As
always, captured hot to tape, and mixed and massaged by our crack team
of speaker-freakers (CHRIS WOODHOUSE, ERIC BAUER, BOB MARSHALL and JOHN
DWYER) and shot to nicely grainy (real) film by BRIAN PRITCHARD.”
BELIEVE US when we tell you that as great as the Fuzz album
is, the best way to experience FUZZ is in a live setting. If you
haven't yet, then this album should get pretty damn close. Recorded like
a live-wire direct t tape by master audio-alchemists Chris Woodhouse,
Eric Bauer, Bob Marshall and John Dwyer, Fuzz is practically sweating
thru these grooves pushing out the tuneage by force and jamming them
into your earholes. The controlled chaos of the tunes in their recorded
version is blown apart in these four jams herein - the band is tight as
fuck and Charlie shreds - SHREDS like a man possessed! Live album
stigma be damned this one is WELL WORTH your attention and is full to
the brim with more cauldron bubbling evil than conveyed in the pic of a
smiling Segall and Dwyer holding birthday cake on the back cover.
RECOMMENDED, but act fast - if Fuzz's previous sales history tells us
anything is that these WILL NOT be around long!
LP - Liminanas - Costa Blanca - $11.99 -
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OUI!!!!!! Our favorite French rock n rollers, Limiñanas,
are back with their third long player, "Costa Blanca", on Trouble In
Mind!!!!
"The Limiñanas are back on Trouble In Mind with their
third album, “Costa Blanca”! Once again recorded at their home in the
south of France by Lio himself, “Costa Blanca” pushes the envelope of
their signature Franc-o-phonic sound; the coloeur café cool of
Gainsbourg, the hypnotic drone of VU-era Cale, and the spiky fuzz of
Davie Allan. This time around the band laces the tunes with a dramatic
flair of French New Wave soundtracks and the percussive sonic accents
found in Morricone’s work in Il Gruppo, particularly “The Feed-Back”
whose funk-laced tracks incorporate elements of avant-classical and
experimental sonic elements.
Fans of the band will no doubt hear familiar passages;
melodic themes that appear and disappear not only over the course of
this album, but that also reference The Limiñanas’ entire oeuvre -
melodic “jump-cuts” that are sonic echoes of previous tunes and future
melodies. Thematically, “Costa Blanca” is an insular record, with
subjects that reference Lio’s youth growing up in Spain in the 1970’s
near the Mediterranean Sea and lyrics which are nostalgic odes to the
music, films, girls, books and cars that shaped his world. “Costa
Blanca” includes a printed inner sleeve, and a download code.
RIYL: Sérge Gainsbourg, Velvet Underground, Kim Fowley, Ennio Morricone, Stereolab, Stereo Total"
On "Costa Blanca" the Limiñanas have hit their hypnotic
stride!!! Hazy melodies waft through the air, sexy vocals twist and
turn around the droning psych, fuzzed out ye-ye morphs into garage
jangle and then vanishes into thin air. "Costa Blanca" is a place
you've never been before, a new wave French film you've never seen, a
good memory that's gonna repeat itself, a dream you spend all day
revisiting and remembering, an aural journey you're gonna want to take
over and over again. No French band going these days swirls together
such an addicting mix of Gainsbourg and VU like the Limiñanas. So grab
yer sunglasses and yer pack of Gauloises, and head out for the "Costa
Blanca." It's where you need to be. Vous besoin de cela. Très
recommandé!!!!
LP - Simple Circuit - Simple Circuit - $15.99 -
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Edition of 250
The Austin Texas onslaught continues with Simple Circuit's
art damaged self-titled self-released debut!!!!! Fighting for
notoriety in a city already overflowing with killer bands, Simple
Circuit's brand of catchy fuzzed out, angular garage punk definitely
puts them at the top of our lists of bands to watch out for. Fans of
fellow Texans rock n rollers Video, Spray Paint, OBN IIIs and Gospel
Truth as well as junkies for shop faves like Intelligence, Thee Oh Sees
and Tyvek might've just found your new go-to record. Forget the second
tier garage punker bands kicking around and grab this killer debut
album now. "Simple Circuit" is SUPER RECOMMENDED!!!!!!!!
LP - Yuri Gagarin - Yuri Gagarin - Import - $19.99 -
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BACK IN STOCK!!!
Get ready to blast off in to the stratosphere with Sweden's
newest cosmic adventurers, Yuri Gagarin, and their self titled debut
album on zine-turned-label, Levande Begravd !!!! Here with some words
for the occasion is our friends over at Terminal Boredom:
"Debut LP from Swedish space-rockers named after a
Soviet astronaut. Whereas the real life Gagarin was the first man in
space, the band named after him is another in a very very long line of
spacerockers and psychedelic cosmonauts dating all the way back to
Hawkwind, the band YG are obviously the most influenced by. Nothing
wrong with some wind hawking, especially when it's done as heavily and
respectfully as these guys do it. Swedish rock might not be a very
original scene, but they replicate other locales and genres very very
well. Two massive instrumental tunes per side, and I was at first
worried that there were no vox, but after soaking in this for a few
spins I'm glad there's no voice to distract me from the hypnodrone. Two
guitar attack, one doubles up with the bass for propulsion and the other
is the explorer venturing out on solo missions. The real key here is
the synths/FX guy who makes the whole outerspace trip work with ring
modulators, multiple synth layers and drones, squeals and lasers, and
whatever machine makes that deep space whoosh sound that is in the
background on every one of these songs. I'm going to call it an orgone
accumulator. It's a pretty cool tone and essential to space travel
emulation on record. This thing doesn't go in for any of that doom-rock
or stoner Sabbath worship, they just stay on mission and traverse the
outer reaches of the galaxy for a good hour or so, like a heavier modern
update of 'In Search of Space'. They keep it crisp and smart and don't
fall victim to the dum-dum moves that makes bad stoner rock bands a dime
a dozen (and again, this thing it not stoner rock, although I imagine
it would be conducive to the puffing of some herb). A very good genre
piece, and a fantastic record to zone out to. Artwork looks like a
collaboration between Moebius and Roger Dean ripped from the pages of
Heavy Metal. It certainly does the trick. (RK)"
Man oh man it's difficult to return to earth after one side of
Yuri Gagarin's debut album, even more so after the whole LP. A heady
mix of Amon Duul II / Hawkwind meets Loop / Monoshock cosmic travelling,
"Yuri Gagarin" fits right in with all the kraut obsessed space rock
bands we can't get enough of here at the shop. Guitars explode, synths
swirl, lysergic grooves suck you deep into the outer realms of the
universe, where you might never return from, and that would be fine by
us. Junkies for Mind!, Tjutjuna, Wooden Shjips, Our Solar System, White
Hills and Oscillation might just have a new favorite band. Levande
Begravd couldn't have picked a better album to start their label
with!!!! COSMICALLY RECOMMENDED!!!!!!!!
LP - Verlaines - Hallelujah All The Way Home - $13.99 -
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It's a veritable convent full of Flying Nuns ovah here!
Captured Tracks has dropped more FN-bombs, mining the creme de la creme
of the roster with two, count-em, TWO new Verlaines reissues! Read on:
"The Verlaines 1985 debut album, Hallelujah - All the
Way Home defined both the Dunedin band''s style and the ''Flying Nun
sound''. Grounded in songwriter Graeme Downes’ innate and inventive
sense of melody, at the heart of these 8 songs are magnificent tales of
drunkards and romantics all punctuated by guitar blasts and instrumental
flourishes. Re-issued in its'' original gatefold format along with a
replica album release poster from the time.
Out of press since its release, all tracks have been
remastered and each gatefold LP includes a digital download and replica
of original poster."
UNSEEN on vinyl since it's domestic issue on Homestead in
1989, "Hallelujah All The Way Home" finally makes its way back onto our
turntables, and if you ask us - 24 years has been way too long. Between
The Clean and The Chills, The Verlaines helped to define the Flying Nun
sound of smart pop hooks laced with a healthy dose of reverb and jangle.
"Hallelujah..." was many people's first taste of what these guys had to
offer and it garnered them some serious fans along the way, including
Superchunk, who covered "Lying In State" in '92 for the Aussie
'tour-only' "Hit Self-Destruct" 10-inch. There's a real debauched but
scholarly elegance to many of these tracks, like a gaggle of learned
drunkards jamming in your grandma's living room - good thing there's
plastic on the duvet! A TOP-TIER reissue sneaking in JUUUUUST before the
end of the year - good thing we haven't finalized our "Best reissues"
list yet! RECOMMENDED!
LP - Verlaines - Juvenilia - $13.99 -
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It's a veritable convent full of Flying Nuns ovah here!
Captured Tracks has dropped more FN-bombs, mining the creme de la creme
of the roster with two, count-em, TWO new Verlaines reissues! Read on:
"Juvenilia is a compilation of the Verlaines’ brilliant
early singles and EPs. First released in 1987, and reissued in 1993
with bonus tracks it documents the band’s early history and is the
perfect introduction to one of New Zealand’s great bands.
Opening with the irrepressible ‘Death and the Maiden’, a
song that for many is archetypal of the group’s deft ability to wield a
pop hook. The album also features their first two tracks, ‘Angela’ and
‘Crisis After Crisis’, recorded on Chris Knox’s four track and released
on the infamous Dunedin Double EP.
Juvenilia, complete with orchestral and brass
flourishes, is a constant display of the unstoppable songwriting skills
of vocalist/guitarist Graeme Downes. From single ‘Doomsday’ through to
their perfect love song ‘Joed Out’, Juvenilia is a compilation filled
with all the elegant and often magnificently moody elements of the
Verlaines."
THIS is what we're talkin' about - between The Clean and
The Chills, The Verlaines helped to define the Flying Nun sound of smart
pop hooks laced with a healthy dose of reverb and jangle. This is
ground-zero for Verlaines' music; here's your gateway record. LOADED
with hits starting with their signature tune "Death and The Maiden" and
not even coming close to stopping after that. If you've been looking for
the first place to start your Flying Nun obsession (or Verlaines
obsession - an easy one to acquire), you could do a lot worse than
'Juvenilia'. FUCKIN' A. Recommended to the MAXXX.
2xLP - Various Artists - The Ecstasy of Gold: 26 Killer Bullets from the Spaghetti West Vol. 4 - $23.99 -
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LIMITED TO 750 COPIES!
Semi-Automatic Records offers up volume number 4 of their
amazing Spaghetti Western compilation series, here's the details
directly from the label:
"Volume four in this essential and peerless series.
Selected from one of the most complete Spaghetti Western audio archives,
this five-volume series showcases the most inspired tracks in this
legendary genre. Digging deep to excavate a treasure trove of obscure
and rarely-heard tracks by some of the genre's greatest composers and
vocalists, Ecstasy of Gold is the definitive series for aficionados of
Euro-Western films and the music that they created. Loud gunshots with
reverb and echo appear with the first image of a lawless killer riding a
horse... a punchy and trebly bass guitar seeps into your brain as he
draws his pistol, a hair-raising scream half-melodic, half-banshee spews
forth from the speakers as blood splatters yet again onto the desert
floor. The audio soundtrack to the Italian version of the American West
is flamboyant, brutal, intense, and unforgiving. Songs composed for the
Italian Westerns of the 1960s and 1970s have become a genre all unto
themselves. There were hundreds of European Westerns during this period
and the majority of them were made by Italian directors and scored by
Italian composers. Crying trumpets, exploding surf guitars, thundering
drums, droning organs, dramatic vocal performances, and innovative
special effects were woven into a wild and violent desert backdrop
creating that undeniable Spaghetti Western sound heard on this record.
The most famous of all the Italian soundtrack composers is Ennio
Morricone and his music for the Italian Western is guaranteed to inspire
and amaze until the end of time itself. But there were many other great
and legendary maestros who scored their share of Westerns and this
compilation presents transcendent, brilliant and challenging tracks from
the likes of: Bruno Nicolai, Gianni Ferrio, Francesco De Masi, Marcello
Giombini, Luis Bacalov, Stelvio Cipriani, Alessandro Alessandroni, Nora
Orlandi, Nico Fidenco, Piero Umiliani, and many others. 2LP gatefold in
a limited edition pressing of 750 copies."
This 4th volume is further proof of the thrilling sounds
coming out of Italy in the hey-day of Spaghetti Western productions. 26
more heart pounding, mood setting pieces rife with tension to perfectly
compliment the image. 26 more examples of how when great score music
is composed by some of the most talented composers going, the image
becomes unnecessary as the sounds more than stand on their own. This
compilation will more than deliver with its 26 cuts of cinematic
soundscapes, but we recommend tracking down all 4 volumes for the full
experience. Heavily Recommended.
LP - Ryley Walker - The West Wind EP - $12.99 -
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Chicago folkster Ryley Walker ups the platter size for his
12inch debut and it's on the always solid Tompkins Square label no
less! We'll let the Tompkins Square folks get you started:
"Ryley Walker’s debut 12″ EP featuring
three songs : “The West Wind” from his forthcoming album, due in April;
“A Home For Me”; and “Sweet Little Betsy”, an instrumental guitar duet
with Daniel Bachman. (The latter two songs are exclusive to this EP and
will not appear on the album, or anywhere else, online or otherwise).
The EP is audiophile quality 180g vinyl at 45rpm."
After dropping our jaws with that 7inch single on Addenda,
Ryley Walker is back with another spirit lifter. Like a man from
another time, Ryley Walker's gentle workings of acoustic guitar
intricacies are simply sublime sounds. This little teaser EP, which
features 2 exclusive tracks as well as track from his forthcoming LP, is
the perfect little ear pleaser for fans of well crafted folk music in
the vein of Nick Drake, Bert Jansch, Tim Buckley and Richard Thompson.
Supremely Recommended.
LP - Stone Garden - Stone Garden - Reissue - $25.99 -
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Hard 'n' heavy jammmmmmz reissued by Spanish label
Out-Sider Music of this Idaho quartet! Out-Sider's got the IN-side scoop
on these long-hairs:
"Stone Garden were a heavy psychedelic band from the
Midwest, famous releasing in 1969 one of the best heavy-psych 45s ever,
“Oceans inside me”, for the same label as the legendary Fraction
(Angelus). Between 1969 and 1971 they also recorded a bunch of tracks
which never saw the light of day until the mid-90s, when the great
Rockadelic label issued them in a limited edition vinyl album. Out of
print for many years, we present a new edition of the Stone Garden album
featuring new artwork and insert with lot of pictures and liner notes.
Furious, ultra-primitive hard-psychedelic rock in Sabbath and Blue Cheer
vein, highly recommended to anyone into obscure 70s doom and hard-rock
sounds."
HOLY HELLFIRE! These dudes are firing on all-cylinders
straight from track one! "Oceans Inside Me" is the obvious hit here,
packing a punch reserved for other bands of greater notoriety; this tune
should have made these guys as big as Blue Cheer, Cream, Groundhogs or
at least Bloodrock fer chrissakes! The rest of the tunes pack nearly as
serious a whallop (check the serious jammer "Woodstick" on side 2!),
basing their melodies in the blues, but skyrocketing into the
stratosphere until their faces turn "Cherry Red" (if ya know what we
mean). There's a serious whiff of proto-punk too - the single version of
"Oceans" even has some Steve McKay-style saxophone rockin. If you dig
any of the aforementioned bands, grab this MONSTER of an LP before it
gets scarce... seriously we've not heard an archival release this savage
since perhaps the Jerusalem reissue - GET THIS OR DIE TRYING.
Recommended!
LP - Thundertree - Thundertree - Reissue - $25.99 -
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Murky, moody psych-rock from this Minneapolis quintet!
Thundertree recorded this lone album in 1970 for Roulette and politely
sank without a trace! Guerssen lovingly reissued this mustachioed
monster for the rest of us to enjoy, so plant those roots and read on:
"Coming from the same Minneapolis 60s scene which
spawned bands like The Litter, Thundertree evolved from garage band The
Good Idea. In 1970 they released their sole album for the Roulette
label: a perfect example of the transition from psychedelia to hard-rock
and early progressive sounds. Killer fuzzed out guitar, organ, powerful
vocals…Including hard-psych classics like “In the morning” or “Room at
the top of the stairs” along with the monstruous 17 minute long “2025”
suite. For this, the first ever legit vinyl reissue of Thundertree,
we’ve included two previously unreleased tracks: “Pepper Palace” (a
great psychedelic number) plus a storming cover of “Sixteen Tons”, which
was the signature song on Thundertree’s live shows. Both tracks were
recorded at UA Studios, Minneapolis, in 1970. An insert with lot of
pictures and bio notes by Billy Hallquist (Thundertree, Persephone
Billy) is also included. 24-Bit remastered sound."
Laced to the gills with stinging fuzz leads and some heady
organ swells, Thundertree take you on a truly cosmic odyssey culminating
in the sidelong "1225" suite, a journey of it's own consisting of six
musical movements playing out like an acid-fried freakout version of "A
Quick One"... damn! These guys skirt the line of "flower power" ever so
deftly - there's some soft psych harmonies and even some progressive
flute-flourishes here and there, but overall it's some seriously hirsute
heady jams! Psychedelic lumberjacks need not apply. Guerssen has
sweetened the pot by adding a couple of killer unreleased bonus cuts too
- We can dig it! It's our happening and it's FREAKING US OUT ~
RECOMMENDED.
LP - Glaxo Babies - Nine Months To The Disco - Reissue - $15.99 -
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The Superior Viaduct label continues to own 2013 with its
unrelenting reissue campaign of everything essential and her yet again
they are offering up this stone classic by the Glaxo Babies. Read on as
the label tells you what lies ahead:
"After the abrupt departure of singer Rob Chapman,
Bristol’s Glaxo Babies moved into more improvised and electronic-based
territory. Their early demos (as compiled on Put Me on the Guest List,
also available from Superior Viaduct) only hinted at such exotic sounds.
Other bands from Manchester and New York were spiking post-punk with
dance beats, yet Glaxo Babies were brimming with fun and spontaneity,
spearheading England’s death disco movement in the process. Reportedly
recorded in a single day, Nine Months to the Disco originally appeared
on Heartbeat Records in 1980. Glaxo Babies’ sole proper album veers
between wiry electro à la Liquid Liquid (“Free Dem Cells”), piano-based
free jazz burners (“Seven Days”) and progressive post-Krautrock jams
that would make even This Heat blush, culminating in the mutant funk
masterpiece “Shake (The Foundations)” (which was regularly covered by
The Pop Group in their live set). Nine Months to the Disco is a monster
statement, equal parts ballroom bangers and dancefloor clearers.
Released domestically for the first time ever, the album is available on
vinyl and CD with liner notes by The Pop Group founder Mark Stewart and
band members Dan Catsis and Charlie Llewellin."
Uhm, yes yes yes… what they said times a million! Those
hints of Liquid Liquid, This Heat, progressive post-Krautrock and mutant
funk are all spot on. And liner notes from the Pop Group's Mark
Stewart! Yep. We're sold completely. Superior Viaduct is killin' with
all these amazing reissues and this Glaxo Babies LP is just as
essential as the rest of their catalog. "Nine Months To The Disco" is a
freaking fun filled blast from end to end and comes with our most
enthusiastic Recommendation!
LP - Life Stinks - Life Stinks - $12.99 -
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HOO BABY - S-S Records just won't quit! Soriano's back with
two heavy hitter's just comin' in under the wire of 2013, one being
this debut MONSTER of an album from San Francisco band Life Stinks! Grab
a beer and read what S-S is spewing:
"As Robvertogo of Terminal Boredom wrote, Life Stinks
is "San Francisco's last punk band." Firmly standing in the puddle
created by Crime, Flipper, Fang, and the Fuck-Ups, Life Stinks is the
proper negative reaction to the rapid take over of San Francisco by
cyber douchebags. Cool, dark, bad attitude with a groove (and a nod to
Velvet Underground). They have a single on Totally Punk which is aces, a
nice slap in the face. Producers Mikey Young and Kelley Stoltz have
taken that face slap and turned it into a gut punch. Blow for blow, this
is one of the best punk rock and roll albums to come out of the Bay
Area in at least a decade."
Life Stinks features former Outdoorsmen singer/guitarist
Chad Kuwamara and shares that band's chaotic scumfuckery, however Life
Stinks comes 'atcha with switchblade drawn like some back-alley
scuzzball with ice in his veins and a thirst for blood. There's a
healthy dose of treachery and menace that's been sorely missing from a
lot of rock'n'roll and punk these days, and to our ears the warped tunes
spewing from this platter sidle up and push you around like the unholy
collision of Fang, Flipper, Modern Lovers and the Velvet Underground
(particularly on the 16 minute closer "My My My", a tune we wish would
never end every time we hear it). This is music made for miscreants,
mutants and malcontents, so if you're jonesin' for some nihilism grab
this one ASAP. Guaranteed to bum out yer friends before side one is
over. This party-killer is RECOMMENDED.
LP - Spray Paint - Rodeo Songs - $12.99 -
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Austin, TX's Spray Paint are BACK buds and they're back
with a vengeance. "Rodeo Songs" is their second full-length this year
and it's on S-S Records again, Soriano's got the low-down on these
chaps, so perk up, young buckaroos:
"We released Spray Paint's first full length at the
beginning of 2013 and it quickly sold sold. Did a repress and it keeps
selling. Why? Because not only are these guys a great band, playing an
updated mix of Wire/100 Flower/Lake of Dracula/A Frames - style
punk/post punk, but they regularly tour (and like to do so). They've
played SXSW a few times, Cropped Out, Gonerfest, and a couple stages at
Fun Fun Fun. They have played live on WFMU and KDVS and get good
rotation at college stations across the US. They have an increasing fan
base in Europe, Australia and Japan. In 2014, they have their sights set
on touring Europe and the West Coast. Their second album Rodeo Songs is
even better than their first, so we expect no drop off in response to
this Austin trio."
It's only been nine months since Spray Paint's eponymous
debut album was released and in that time they've gestated this mutant
masterpiece in their respective wombs. "Rodeo Songs" skitters and
scrapes like a shuriken-stocked ninja tweakin' on joy-juice, upping the
ante on the debut by exuding not only a firmer grasp on their musical
vision, but also a dizzying confidence is the power of silence and
space. The songs push and pull on each other, radiating a tension and
menace we haven't had the pleasure of hearing since the last time The
A-Frames graced our turntables! There's ample amounts of cacophonous
No-Wave guitar scree all over this platter, but the band uses it with
precision, only drawing the blade when necessary (which makes it's
impact all the more jarring) This is a TERRIFIC one-two punch from S-S
by one of the best and most alluring bands out there right now - GRAB
THIS ONE NOW before you get lost in the dust, cowpoke. RECOMMENDED and
destined for Top Tenner status fer sher.
LP - High Speed And Afflicted Man - Get Stoned Ezy - Reissue - Import - $25.99 -
BUY -
LISTEN
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHH SHIT! "Get Stoned Ezy" is HERE. We
are so stoked. As you might have guessed we are HUUUUGE Afflicted Man
fans here at the shop (we reissued "I'm Off Me 'Ead" fer chrissakes!)
and the very sight of 'Get Stoned Ezy' in our record racks has us doing
backflips! Reissued with love from the heavies o'er at Guerssen Records -
here's the low-down on this low-brow, psych-punk JAMMER:
"In 1982, the mysterious Steve Hall, a self- proclaimed
hippie- punk who had previously released a couple of D.I.Y basement-
punk albums with his band Afflicted Man, recorded one of the most
obscure, underrated and KILLER heavy- psych albums of all time. Credited
to High Speed and Afflicted Man, Get Stoned Ezy consists of three long
tracks of late 60s / early 70s influenced psychedelic hard- rock. A
fuzz- wah assault of epic proportions in the style of other guitar-
damage Gods like Human Instinct, Wicked Lady, Hendrix, High Rise,
Sabbath, Stooges, etc, all played with a real acid- punk attitude.
We present the first ever legit reissue of this lost masterpiece, licensed by Steve Hall.
Remastered sound, insert with detailed liner notes by Chris Stigliano (Black To Comm) and rare pictures.
"High energy post- Stooges, wah- guitar brain- melt of
the highest/lowest order. One of the great lost albums of the 80's.
Fucking essential."
Ripley Johnson (Moon Duo / Wooden Shjips)
What is Steve Hall? He's the pinnacle of psych! Chris
Stigliano (Forced Exposure / Black To Comm) Too freaked out for punks,
too punked out for freaks, 'Get Stoned Ezy' is a bloodbath of pedal
stomping carnage - Tom Lax (Siltblog)"
If the testimonial from Siltbreeze head-honcho Tom Lax
isn't enuff for you, then TAKE IT FROM US - "Get Stoned Ezy" is one of
the greatest (and misunderstood in it's time) psych-punk records EVER
MADE. Weird that by looking to the past, Steve Hall was too far ahead
of his time for 1982! This is straight up Ron Asheton circa
'Funhouse'/Hendrix/Wino circa 'Obsessed' guitar scree! Hell "Sun Sun"
(which occupies ALL of Side Two) could easily be mistaken for a Butthole
Surfers outtake! IT'S JUST THAT GOOD. WHY ARE YOU STILL READING THIS?
BUY THIS NOW. Hell, buy two 'cuz you're guaranteed to wear out your
first copy! OG's of this bad-mutha are SCARCE, so don't count on finding
one at as reasonable a price as this. RECOMMENDED times INFINITY.
GET STONED EZY MOTHERFUCKERS...
LP - Night Beats - Sonic Bloom - $14.99 -
BUY -
LISTEN
Seattle's Night Beats blew our collective noggins off with
their s/t debut album on Trouble In Mind a couple years ago - a
dizzyingly refreshing take on reverb'd out, Texas-tinged, acid-fried
psych-garage! The trio is back with their newest long-player 'Sonic
Bloom' on The Reverberation Appreciation Society - sit back and take a
whiff off this Pflower:
"The Reverberation Appreciation Society is proud to announce the release of the new Night Beats record, Sonic Bloom.
Recorded in a Tacoma, Washington warehouse, Sonic Bloom
is an explosion of reverb soaked rock and soul blended with sharp drone
numbers and classic rhythm-and-blues founded tracks. From the haunting
psychic groove of 'Seven Poison Wonders' to the sparse Zombies
influenced 'Playing Dead' to the squealing ruckus of 'Rat King', Sonic
Bloom harkens back to the outer corners of rock and roll radio of yore.
The Seattle-based band have spent the past few years
relentlessly touring in over 20 countries. The trio -- featuring Danny
Lee Blackwell on guitar/vocals, Tarek Wegner on bass/vocals, and James
Traeger on drums/vocals -- will keep up the pace, touring this fall in
support of Sonic Bloom."
The years on tour have definitely solidified these road
dogs as one of the tightest-wound units playing! "Sonic Bloom" swishes,
sways, shimmys and sashays across the turntable, exuding the left-handed
smoke of tweakers bred on pounding, savage garage stompers and
sun-baked, psychedelic sonic explorations. This time around The Night
Beats keep it a little closer to the chest, with most of the tunes never
straying too far "out" (save the 7-minute mind-jamming closer "The New
World"), and they temper some of the acid-freakouts that peppered their
s/t affair in favor of a more varied palette; jazzy tunes, barrelhouse
piano, and sitar mantras resonate fluidly across the album's 52 minutes,
almost sounding like a distillation of their killer live set - pop hits
that you can shake your ass to. Guitarist Lee Blackwell continues to
shine here, with his scorching lead work continuing to set the tunes
ablaze o'er the top of one of the tightest rhythm sections since Thee Oh
Sees started pluckin' their plectrums. We're definitely fans of these
boys and "Sonic Bloom"s got the goods - what are you waiting for? Grab
this one quick - RECOMMENDED!
LP - George Brigman - Jungle Rot - $16.99 -
BUY -
LISTEN
YEEESSS!!! The Obscure Oxide label has gone and reissued
this legendary album of punk blues. Take a quick look see at the
thrilling story below and grab this sucker like yesterday cuz its not
gonna leave your turntable for a spell:
"Released in 1975 by Baltimore teenager George Brigman,
"Jungle Rot" was a self-produced slab of molten fuzz that had no chance
of gaining an audience before the punk revolution. Conceived as a
tribute to British psych-blues band the Groundhogs and their leader Tony
McPhee, the album takes that bands' acid-fried boogie and warps it with
primitive recoding techniques and the fevered isolation in which
Brigman worked. The title track alone with its fuzz-damaged guitar pan
and punishing four-on-the-floor rhythms is worth the price of admission,
yet the rest of the album delivers equally inspired wallops of
technical brilliance and blown-out acid shred. Predictably, the few
hundred copies of the album that Brigman pressed quickly fell through
the cracks and were promptly forgotten—until a music collector found a
copy at a flea market in Maryland and started making noise about it.
Reissued on disc for the first time in 2005, this is not only a lost
classic, it’s one of the loudest, rawest, and most uncompromisingly
great albums of the 70′s. Brigman might have been a
self-confessed Groundhogs fan, but this buzz saw concerto sounds like it
was created by Iggy Pop’s more demented younger brother. Sparkling new
vinyl version from the original tapes, mastered by John Golden; the
sound quality exceeds the original (poorly mastered and pressed) release
in every way. Comes with a color insert, and exact copies of labels and
cover art. Hear Brigman sing—with an ear-to-ear sneer from beneath an
avalanche of distortion—"Remember what your father said / When the
weather’s hot / Talking about all the young girls / Beware the jungle
rot”, and you'll wonder why Jungle Rot hasn't been shouted from the roof
tops in every Blue Cheer, Groundhogs and Stooges-loving ghetto the last
three decades.
"The music is as advertised: gutbucket 1975 energy
crisis blues, awash in FX and teenage hormones... (Brigman's) punk/blues
approach also prefigured the White Stripes to whose fans Jungle Rot
will appear to in particular.. it deep-mine(s) a moment that, because it
has not yet been referenced to death, remains startling and vital."
—Jon Savage, Mojo Magazine
"George Brigman has been popular for decades among
underground music fans. he has an amazing voice full of snarl and venom,
and uses layers of murky fuzz and phasing in the background. Jungle Rot
is an original work that contains elements of psych, hardrock, and
1970's proto-punk, and it has garnered fans in all three fields. The
lyrics hit the same renegade vibe as the music." —Patrick Lundborg, Acid
Archives" - Obscure Oxide
We've long hailed "Microminiature Love" by Michael Yonkers
as one of Permanent's all time faves and if you dig that one then this
will be right up your alley. Fans of the Bonehead Crunchers comps take
note as well, George Brigman's unsung outsider masterpiece is one for
the ages. Gobs and gobs of fuzzed out distorto blues that just bleed
with honesty and hard earned authenticity is what Brigman is bringing
and his blistering psychedelic punk is as pure as it gets. You can hear
the long hair and feel the dirt under the fingernails as blazing guitar
clatter spikes your eardrum like a prison shank hell bent on revenge
and escape. If you dig blown out bizarro gutter jams with layer upon
layer of fuzz and a frenzied voice baring his soul then cop this
Baltimore born rip-roaring classic now. Absolutely Essential and
Supremely Recommended.
LP - Eidetic Seeing - Against Nature - $13.99 -
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BACK IN STOCK!!!!
We just got a batch of the latest album from Brooklyn, NY's
Eidetic Seeing called "Against Nature" and boy is it a doozy. 5 cuts
of fuzzed out, down-tuned psychedelic space rock that bobs and weaves
from slow burn head nod blues tinged doom, acid damaged stoner grooves
to hyperdrive feedback drenched speedfreak powerhouses. There's touches
of Earthless, Heads, White Hills, Earth and some classic Sabbath
worship at play here, but Eidetic Seeing are blazing their own lysergic
path of psychedelic crunch and "Against Nature" is further proof of the
time put into song craft and countless hours spent experimenting with
dynamics and pushing ever forward into further reaches of the cosmos.
There is some serious musical chops on display here with nuanced yet
frantic guitar playing, bass moves that slither while rattling yer
insides and some damn fine drumming going on. This is self-released and
comes with a complete download of the album as well as our heaviest
Recommendations.
LP - Chrome - Half Machine from the Sun: The Lost Tracks '79-80 - $29.99 -
BUY -
LISTEN
PRex shoppers outta know by now that we are massive,
MASSIVE Chrome fans over here at the shop, so when we caught wind that
Helios Creed was compiling unreleased tracks recorded during the band's
classic and most fertile period of 1979-1980 we just about soiled our
spacesuits! King Of Spades Records are the lucky ones tapped to release
these lost treasures into the world, and here's Helios himself
pontificating on Chrome and this release:
"Tracks recorded by Helios Creed and Damon Edge in '79
and '80, during the Half Machine Lip Moves and Third from the Sun
period, but never released. About this era Helios recently wrote: 'We
were into Iggy and the Stooges, and punk shows started happening at the
Mabuhay Gardens in 1976 which was right there in North Beach too, at the
end of the Broadway strip. It was the most fun era of my life. The punk
scene had an incredible energy and fire. Then the Sex Pistols came out
with Never Mind the Bullocks in 1977 and we released Chrome's second
album Alien Soundtracks the same year and the whole punk thing exploded.
Next we released Half Machine Lip Moves in 1979 and it and Alien
Soundtracks took over in the punk world. Our record covers filled the
windows of record stores and I was in awe. We weren't really a
traditional punk band. Nobody else sounded like us. We were more of a
psychedelic band, but a punk version of psychedelia, acid-punk. But I
was influenced by the punk scene, because the music was experimental and
free, but still hard and solid. punk's guitar was fucked up and without
rules. So it was a great scene to keep developing my sound and my
approach to guitar. Damon and I were both into expanding the
possibilities. We fed off of each other in our experimentation and as we
created we'd both like the same things. There was this thing that Damon
and I called 'the Chill Factor' where if its really good you get goose
bumps, and we used to get the 'Chill Factor' at the same time. We shared
concepts about how to approach music and we pushed the limits and that
is how I guess we became known as proto-industrial, because we expanded
the possibilities of what music at the time could sound like and people
were influenced from there. Damon's and my meeting had become a catalyst
for the birth of a whole new sound.'
We gotta say - the prospect of listening to unreleased
Chrome tracks from the CLASSIC fucking lineup had us licking our lips
and this double LP does NOT disappoint! EVERYTHING you'll wanna hear is
here; Helios Creed's brain-busting guitar squall sounds like an
intergalactic transmission coming from the inside of a space demon, and
Damon Edge's abstract synth-screes conjure up visions of soul-sucking
cosmic banshees! It's frickin' great - if you're a Chrome fan AT ALL
you definitely NEED THIS. Pressed up onto sun-baked orange vinyl and
remastered/mixed by Jay Tausig under the supervision of Helios himself
this makes it practically undeniable!!! These WILL NOT last long, so if
you're on the fence at all, just go ahead and get it. This one comes
with our highest (and HIGHEST) recommendation. GET THIS.
2xLP - John Carpenter - The Fog - $41.99 -
BUY -
LISTEN
BLAKES GOLD EDITION!
The Death Waltz folks unveil another drool worthy release
with this deluxe edition of The Fog soundtrack by horror legend John
Carpenter. We'll let the Death Waltz peeps fill in the gaps:
"Death Waltz is set to release a double vinyl album of
The Fog which includes the original movie score as released in 1984,
along with a bonus vinyl including all of the original movie cues which
have never been made available on vinyl before. The Fog was JOHN
CARPENTER’s first film after the low-budget success of Halloween, and
tells the story of a small North California fishing town terrorized by a
glowing supernatural fog containing the vengeful ghosts of six murdered
lepers. Like most of Carpenter’s films, the score was written by the
director himself, and built on the more simplistic piano melody and
synthesizer combination of the iconic Halloween score, to create
something much more abstract and foreboding. Album cover art is by DINOS
CHAPMAN—yes the Dinos Chapman: as an internationally renowned solo
artist, and together with his brother Jake, Dinos Chapman makes
iconoclastic sculpture, prints and installations that examine, with
searing wit and energy, contemporary politics, religion and morality.
The Chapman's have exhibited extensively, including numerous shows at
White Cube, Tate Britain, and Tate Liverpool."
Horror movie soundtrack fans best grip this one immediately
as it is a classic amongst the genre. Goosebump inducing synthesizers,
menacing bass tones and eerie piano melodies pervade throughout the
entirety of this soundtrack and the second LP contains all the movie
cues, which have never been on vinyl ever! Can you say collector's
item? These records have been lovingly assembled with the greatest care
and attention to detail, seriously once you feast your eyes on these
beautys in person you'll see that these truly a work of art. Fans of
Goblin, Umberto and Ensemble Economique will definitely want to take
note, but you prolly already knew that since John Carpenter is the OG
when it comes to terrifying and beautiful soundtrack music. Super
Recommended.
10in - Sea Of Shit - Sea Of Shit - $11.99 -
BUY -
LISTEN
Like bringing a gun to a knife fight, Chicago's Sea of Shit
are slaying ALL with their blistering brand of power-violence
vengence. 15 cuts, burns and slashes of sadism pressed up in an edition
of 500 out now on Diseased Auido.
7in - Way To Go Genius - Egg - $4.99 -
BUY -
LISTEN
LIMITED TO 300 COPIES ON "UNCLEAR" WAX AND COMES WITH A SALT AND PEPPER PACK FOR EXTRA FLAVOR!!!!
Upcoming and coming LA garage punks, Way To Go Genius, are
back with a brand new / heavy hittin' 7 inch, entitled "Egg." Fans of
the stripped down, extra mean variety of PUNK RAWK like the Drags,
Supercharger, New Bomb Turks and the Humpers will absolutely start
bouncing off the walls when the needle hits the wax on "Egg." There
might even be circle pits and shotgunned beers in yer near future. But
one thing we now for sure is Way To Go Genius know how to keep rock n
roll LOUD DIRTY and FUN AS FUCK. And that'll always get our HIGHEST
RECOMMENDATION!!!!!!!!
NOW AVAILABLE ON CASSETTE FROM EASY RIDER RECORDS!!!
Hey you, stop counting the days, cuz FUZZ IS IN THE
BUILDING. Three teaser singles didn't satiate us, so thank god we
finally have the self-titled debut by Fuzz to crank all the way up til
the neighbors complain. YES! Take from here In The Red:
"Fuzz is Ty Segall (drums / vocals), Charlie Moothart
(guitar / vocals) and Roland Cosio (bass). They’re heavy rock
lifers—three California-bred dudes who have been refining their riffs
and getting weird together since high school (which wasn’t that long
ago, actually). If you are not already aware of Segall, well, what’s
up? He’s one of garage rock’s most prolific sons. He said he was going
to take it easy this year, but by the time you finish reading this, the
onesheet for his next record will have already arrived in your inbox.
Moothart plays guitar in The Ty Segall Band and was also a member of The
Moonhearts, which included Cosio on guitar. Way back in the early ’00s,
all three played in the Epsilons. Fuzz was formed a couple years ago
as a collaboration between Segall and Moothart, but only recently did
the pair have sufficient time to guide the band out of side-project
limbo and into a recording studio. Since then, they have released two
singles, “This Time I Got a Reason” (Trouble In Mind) and “Sleigh Ride”
(In The Red). Around the time of the latter, Cosio joined on bass.
They are not dabblers or dilettantes. Fuzz flipped
through used bins, hard drives and record collections of the world,
seeking out the finest weirdo cuts. The band’s self-titled debut LP,
which was recorded by Chris Woodhouse (Thee Oh Sees, The Intelligence),
dives deep, drawing inspiration from the more esoteric reaches of heavy
metal pre-history. There are Sabbath and Hendrix nods, obviously, but on
“Sleigh Bells” you might also catch a whiff of UK progressive blues
business like The Groundhogs, particularly when the song quits its
10/4-time intro and reboots into full-bore choogle. Maybe you’ll even
glimpse the ghost of Australian guitar legend / sharpie guru Lobby
Lloyde sniffing around “Raise.”
The mood is not light. The songs project a state of
perpetual paranoia and eroding mental health. And as it should be, you
know? It’s a record for the burners."
"This TIme I Got A Reason" grabbed us by the ears and
wouldn't let go. Then "Sleigh Ride" 7 inch turned us into junkies. And
then came the "Sunderberry Dream" single which, as far as we can tell,
has whipped up a frenzy from coast to coast. So here it is, no riots,
there's enough Fuzz to go around!!!!!! We're not sure exactly what
happens when Ty, Charlie and Roland get in the same room, magic maybe,
but the words "power trio" don't do it justice. Get ready to journey
through halls of RnR most unruly forefathers, from the garage rock
unknowns to the psych rock warriors and on through the proto metal heads
and into the cosmic realms of anyone who dared to take guitar riffs and
RnR pummeling to whole new levels. HOLY SHIT THIS ALBUM IS OUT OF
CONTROL GOOD. But don't let us try and convince you. Let yer ears walk
your through the checkout line. THIS ONES MEGA RECOMMENDED!
Tape - Quingo - Quingo - $4.99 -
BUY
LIMITED TO 50 COPIES!!!!
Mysterious sonic evil from members of ET HABIT!!!!!!! Need we say more? RECOMMENDED!!!
