Permanent's 17th label release!
Heater is a three-piece Columbia, Missouri super group, if such a thing exists. Heater's guitarist and lead singer, Zach "Zz" McLuckie, used to be a member of CAVE and Sneakers (both have released records on Permanent Records), among others. Heater's bassist / second guitarist, Jeremy "Jerusalem" Freeze also plays guitar in Jerusalem and the Starbaskets and both he and Heater's drummer, Jon "Wujj" Wujick, formerly jammed together in California Raisins (their only release was a split 10" with CAVE also on Permanent).
Now that you have the band history, we might as well get into the sounds confined within, Heater's first widely distributed release. "God and Hair" is a super upbeat, melodic pop record in essence, but as I mentioned before, these guys come from a very DIY background. It's got some fast repetitive lo-fi punk rock jams with reverb enhanced vocals similar to those found on the Sneakers "Children Into People" EP, and some Clean-esque pop elements, but it's also got tracks with a great laid back summertime '90s alt-pop vibe not too dissimilar from the least noisy '90s moments of Sonic Youth and Sebadoh. All of these elements come together and make for a unique sound (thanks to a little help by Cooper Crain of CAVE's analog production techniques) and make for one hell of a summertime DIY pop jammer. Here comes the summer (of pop)!
There are only 500 copies of this limited edition LP and it may never be pressed again.
Permanent Records' 23rd label release!
Psyclones are an obscure 80's artpunk band equally influenced by Devo, Chrome, and Cabaret Voltaire. They released LPs on Subterranean and RRRecords along with numerous cassettes on their own label, Ladd-Frith, throughout the 80's. They played shows with many legendary punk groups such as X, the Lewd, Hüsker Dü and appeared on "The Gift Of Noise" comp in 1983 alongside No Trend, F/i, Senseless Hate, and Smersh. They're a self-proclaimed INDUSTRIAL POP group.
The Psyclones' "Different Thinking People" LP on Permanent Records contains all previously unreleased material from the bands formative years. The full-color printed inner sleeve features vintage show flyers, lyrics, and discography album art. Limited one-time pressing of 500!
From Option's Review of Psyclones "Psyclones" LP (Subterranean):
"The Psyclones are one of those rare, highly creative bands... this is an album of creative, almost playful explorations within a rock and roll/experimental framework."
From Sound Choice's Review of Psyclones "Psyclones" LP (Subterranean): "Pop, progressive, industrial, and Chrome-like psychedelia."
From Unsound's Review of Psyclones "Psyclones" LP (Subterranean): "Psyclones fuse minimalism, post-punk, avant-garage, musique concrete, sensibilities, via guitar, electronics, synthesizers, trumpets, rhythm boxes, tapes, typewriter, clothes hamper, and who knows what else."
7in - Nothing People - Enemy With An Invitation b/w Reinstall - Regular Black Vinyl - $2.99 - BUY
- LISTEN 
- LISTEN
Permanent Records 11th label release!
Nothing People, like Wooden Shjips, are one of our generation's great bands, that doesn’t tour much. Unless you live in or around their hometown of Orland, California or you happened to pick up one of their excellent releases on S-S or HoZac, you may not have ever heard of them, but those who have, love them. On previous releases, they’ve blended influences such as Chrome, Hawkwind, Roxy Music, and obscure proto-punk bands like Twinkeyz into a sound that’s all their own. This new limited edition 7”, housed in a texured glue pocket sleeve with gold foil stamping on the exterior, is the first release featuring former Monoshock member Doug Pearson! This release includes two of their most rockin’ numbers to date. Limited to 100 white vinyl copies and 500 black copies!
Permanent Records 5th label release!
The fifth jam in the Permanent Records label discography is also our first 7in the Sneakers Children Into People EP. Sneakers consists of Rex (Caves drummer) and Zach (former Cave bassist) and Children Into People is their debut vinyl release. The grooves within contain some of the catchiest weird punk jams youll ever lay ears on. Head on over to our myspace page and check out Chick Freaked Out if youre not already sold and see for yourself. Limited to 500 copies yall. If you live in Chicago swing on by and pick up your copy today.
We here at P-Rex love discovering new bands that we've never heard of, but fit our somewhat discerning tastes like a snug, leather glove! We scored some copies of Kansas City noise-niks Bloodbirds' debut long-player "Psychic Surgery" after they played the Los Angeles shop on their recent tour - they blew us away and now we're passing on the goodness to you! Comprised of married couple Mike and Brooke Tuley (formerly of Ad Astra Arkestra) and bassist Anna St. Louis, Bloodbirds deliver a prickly set of guitar-fueled squelchers from the darker side of the pop spectrum. Ragged rockers mix in nicely with moody burners that churn and sway - not quite post-punk, but not noise rock either. Think somewhere near the realm of abstract guitar expressionists like Broken Water/Sonic Youth/Mission of Burma, but with the gnarly low-end of an AmRep blaster (Hammerhead comes to mind). A great set of earnest and interesting guitar-based tunes that really delivers upon repeated listens - like the subtle harmonies on mid-album highlight "Patterned Sky", or the sly, nicked riff from Warsaw's "At A Later Date" on epic album closer "Time Battle"! Grab this one quick - word has it that these might be some of the last of the first pressing, and catch 'em live too! Bloodbirds bring it! RECOMMENDED!!!!
BONUS 7" INCLUDES PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED MATERIAL!
ORIGINALS HAVE SOLD FOR OVER $200!
ORIGINALS HAVE SOLD FOR OVER $200!
Here again, don't judge this band by it's terrible name. They're French, give 'em a break. The ridiculously rudimentary drawing on the cover wouldn't lead you to any conclusions as far as the sound of this record, either. Total head scratcher, until the needle is dropped. Then it becomes abundantly clear that the "don't judge a book by it's cover" cliché is a good rule to follow. Here's the story behind this from Born Bad, who just re-banded the Rob Jo Star Band:
"Comes with a 7"" featuring two unreleased tracks. Official reissue of one of the weirdest records ever released in France in the early '70s. Stoned psychedelia. Garage punk under the influence of acid. Fantastic sci-fi spaced-out psych with astonishing lysergic fuzz distortions, drenched with crazy electronic noise effects. Though French underground rock in the early 1970s French underground certainly things to offer (mostly headaches and yawns) it was quite unexpected to stumble across a truly good album coming out of that scene. As often with those discoveries, one must thank the bootleg Cosa Nostra for this return from the grave. Beside a few collectors, Rob Jo Star Band managed to stay under the radar all these years. It all started in late 1972, in the Montpellier area in the south of France. Michel-Robert Sahuc aka Mick (bass) and Robert Castello aka Chris (guitar) had been friends since 1970, and after a couple of years in a non-formal band, they decided to move on one step further with new accomplices. In January 1973, they met Alain Poblador aka Penny. He was from Avignon, had been playing electric guitar for 12 years and had spent the '60s in local bands. None ever made a record. With Roger Vidal aka Cedric from Perpignan on drums, the original line-up of the RJSB was soon in place. After doing covers to get their act together, Penny and Mick, with occasional help from Chris, started writing original material in May 1973. Glam rock was happening and Bowie, Lou Reed, and The Velvet Underground were RJSB's muses. ""Our musical philosophy was to go back to the roots of psychedelic rock, both soft and trash, simple yet with experimental leanings, finding inspiration in contemporary music, with intellectually-oriented lyrics."" They chose to sing in English, but ""in a very French way, as we were not trying to hide our French identity."" In July 1973, they met Serge Soler aka Bryan, a sound and electronic engineer, who soon joined the quartet along with his ""wave generators"" (home-made prehistoric synths which were incorporated in a mix board). They now thought of themselves as something like The Velvets meets Pierre Henri, ""trying to create some kind of a 'Messe pour un temps présent' for outsiders and junkies."" The album came out in 1974 in a limited edition of 1,500 copies. The main influences included: Man Who Sold the World and Ziggy Stardust-era David Bowie, Roxy Music, Brian Eno, The New York Dolls, MC5 and The Stooges, Damo Suzuki, Agitation Free, Amon Düll II, Neu!, Hawkwind, Van Der Graaf Generator, and King Crimson. It wasn't easy for bands back then in France, even more for outsiders like RJSB. So it all came to an end. At least, they had recorded a few more songs as demos, including two in French, ""La Cigale"" and ""Le Démon du rythme,"" that you'll find here as very special bonus tracks. "
That's quite a laundry-list of influences up there, but we can say that once you hear the record it all makes sense. Aquarium Drunkard described the RJSB album as: "an incoherent, uber-primitive Velvets or Simply Saucer collaborating with Pierre Henry – what with all the freaky synth doodlings and such.” and we feel that's pretty on-point. The aforementioned synth is BANANAS, too - mixed so loud that it sounds like an alien spacecraft landing right in the middle of the recording session! GODDAMN we love this record and raved about it to everyone who'd listen a few years back when it was pressed up, but this better sounding, better looking reissue from Born Bad ups the anté by including a BONUS 7-INCH of two unreleased tunes! If you love private-press weirdness, sci-fi proto-punk and scorching guitar get this RIGHT NOW. You certainly won't sound cool when you run to your friends raving about the "Rob Jo Star Band" LP you just picked up, but you will be raving and anyone who knows anything about anything will hear this record and rave on as well. Originals are VERY scarce and have sold for over 200 bills, so don't miss your chance to grab an affordable version of this masterpiece. Yes, we said it - MASTERPIECE. Recommended.
Captcha Records continues their onslaught of all things forward thinking and amazing with this nifty little tour EP by Guadalajara, Mexico's Lorelle Meets The Obsolete. After stunning us with debut head swirler "On Welfare" and then following that up with the absolutely sublime sophomore offering "Corruptible Faces", both of which have been getting plenty spins round P-Rex HQ, we get this awesome live EP just in time for the groups massive US tour of 2013. Lorelle Meets The Obsolete seem to be one of today's most consistently touring acts as well as one the most consistently ever evolving groups. With each new platter dropped off for public consumption Lorelle Meets The Obsolete's desertscape shoegaze majesty seems to soar ever further into more interesting realms and this 6 song teaser of live tracks is another choice release to add this groups excitedly growing catalog. It finds the groups modern psychedelia in it's rawest form and showcases a group working as a unit and laying down tight and taut far out psychrock; played with a group mind musicality from constant touring and live outings. Super Recommended.
The mighty Fall never stay away for long and here they are with their latest Cherry Red Records released "Re-Mit". Get the whole story direct from the Cherry Red folks:
"Since their formation in 1976, The Fall have released 29 studio albums, and more than double that number of live albums, compilations and other packages, redefining British punk rock in the process. A natural progression from 2011's Ersatz GB and featuring the same line-up of Mark E. Smith (lead vocals), Peter Greenway (lead guitar), Keiron Melling (drums), Elena Poulou (keyboards, vocals) and David Spurr (bass), Re-Mit, their second for Cherry Red Records, is awash in bass and drum lead grooves, off kilter modern psyk and tense guitar pop, and includes some of Smith's most arresting deliveries to date.
In the ever sardonic words of visionary Mark E Smith, "I would say five songs on the last record were bad, but I will make it up...Re-Mit is going to terrify people. It's quite horrible. The Fall have had enough and we're coming for you."
"[The Fall's Re-Mit is] a dense, unwieldy tangle of rockabilly rhythms, 60s proto-punk petulance, krautrock thrust, musique-concrete spoken-word splatter, and sci-fi synth-tones salvaged from 70s bargain-bin prog. It’s messy and menacing in equal measure, a bar fight that ends in broken glass and slippery floors, but not before landing a few killer strikes. In particular, the soccer-riot melee of “Sir William Wray,” the morse-code motorik drive of “Victrola Time” and the wobbly-kneed boogie of “Loadstones” are the ones you’ll be dragging onto your ongoing post-millennial Fall playlist." - Stuart Berman, Pitchfork"
The Fall have continually re-invented and rearranged what punk could be or mean and they're still up to their old tricks on "Re-Mit". Mark E. Smith's snarky barks are out in front spewing is ever idiosyncratic insights and tirades. The sounds are some sort of mutated post-punk with rhythmic assaults, mesmerizingly catchy keyboard passages and the jarring guitar we've known to come and love from The Fall. The Fall is one of those unique groups where one knows what to expect yet it seems with each new release (and they a have a ton of them!) expectations get subverted and Mark E. Smith and gang have found a way to twist their always challenging "formula" into new and whacked out territory further proving their dominance in the music world, not to mention their longevity and constant search for newness. Totally Recommended.
LIMITED TO 700 COPIES
Yes! More sci-fi/fantasy supremacy from this wife and husband team has arrived with latest archival collection of spaced out synthesizer greatness. The Dead-Cert label behind this glorious release has all the thrilling details here:
"Extant in Florida from 1978 until Bob's untimely passing in 1989 at the age of 34, the husband/wife duo of Bob Stohl and Kat Epple were among the first to DIY blend synthesizers and acoustic instrumentation in a studio equipped with an Arp 2600, Mini Moog, EML Synkey, Roland RS202 String Ensemble, and Electro-Harmonix Vocoder (audio processor), plus a range of woodwinds -- both Kat and Bob were trained flautists, making colorful use of Bill Bernardi's innovative Lyricon I, a hybrid flute/synthesizer -- with some guitar assists here and there by friend and co-composer, Barry Cleveland. As lovers and collaborators, the couple created a rich and vivid parallel dimension of new age music borne from the '70s prog scene and probably best referred to as ""space music."" Throughout their unfortunately curtailed career, the couple earned a noble crust creating music and mood-pieces for planetariums and nature programs, most notably for the legendary Carl Sagan, under the Emerald Web aegis (hear more of this on Finders Keepers) while continuing to issue numerous tapes to friends and fellow musicians. Following contact with Kat Epple -- who still plays concerts at venues ranging from MoMA to Ground Zero -- Dead-Cert were made privy to Kat and Bob's private tapes circa 1980-1982, drawing for five pieces ranging from brooding deep space scapes to shimmering, gaseous sonics and impressionistic sound murals streaked with progressive traits and an alien, yet pastoral nature. Beautifully mastered by Matt Colton at Alchemy. Limited edition pressing of 700 copies only. "
Some of you may recall us gushing over a record back in 2012 by the name of Emerald Web…. Well these are the folks behind that mind-altering album of new age-y/synth-arific hypnosis and 70's fantasy soundtrack sonics. And now the Dead-Cert label has mined some of the duo's deepest cuts of space-y atmospherics, swirling proggy psychedelia and galaxy travelling kosmische and put together this essential collection of music for hungry ears. This collection is an absolute treasure of way out soundscapes and thrilling early electronic experimentation. Supremely Recommended.
ORIGINAL MONO COPIES HAVE SOLD FOR NEARLY $3000!
FINALLY. After year and YEARS of crappy sounding (and worse looking) bootlegs, we're treated to a pristine version of the 13th Floor Elevators CLASSIC sophomore album "Easter Everywhere", considered by many to be the best representation of the Elevators TRUE sound. This is an apparent legit-reissue from International Artists themselves, but before WE chime in, read a lil' history from Allmusic:
"On their groundbreaking debut album, the 13th Floor Elevators sometimes sounded as if they were still learning how to work with the strange beast of their own creation known as psychedelic rock. But their second set, 1967's Easter Everywhere, found them a great deal more comfortable and confident with their loose and hypnotically trippy approach. Easter Everywhere doesn't have an out-of-the-box classic cut like "You're Gonna Miss Me" or "Fire Engine" from The Psychedelic Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevators, but in many ways it's a more cohesive and consistent work, and the subtle but effective structures of the longer tracks grow and develop through repeated listenings, while rockers like "She Lives (In a Time of Her Own)" and "Levitation" pack a surprisingly visceral punch. Stacy Sutherland was never a blazing guitar hero, but his concise aural punctuations on the epochal "Slip Inside This House" and a superb cover of Dylan's "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue" are perfectly suited to the material. In addition, the rhythm section of Dan Galindo on bass and Danny Thomas on drums locks these songs into place with confidence and skill. The strange patterns of Tommy Hall's electric jug playing are as gloriously bewildering as ever, merging the music of the spheres with an alien attack, and Roky Erickson's vocals make even the most acid-damaged poesy sound passionate, graceful, and wildly alive. And Roky and the Elevators never sounded sweeter and saner than they did on the penultimate tune, "I Had to Tell You," with Roky seemingly offering a postscript to his many sad years to follow with the words "If you fear I'll lose my spirit/Like a drunkard's wasted wine/Don't you even think about it/I'm feeling fine." Even if less influential than The Psychedelic Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevators, Easter Everywhere is every bit as compelling and a true benchmark of early psychedelic rock -- not bad for an album produced by Kenny Rogers' brother."
We really hope we don't have to sell you on this one and that it's already in your shopping cart, but DAMN do we love this record. It's probably our favorite Elevators album and the one where you can truly hear the sounds that influenced the Haight-Ashbury scene (the Elevators are credited with essentially inventing psychedelic rock after their sojourn to San Francisco in the late-Sixties, blowing the minds of everyone from Jefferson Airplane to Moby Grape). The mysterious rumblings bubbling up from the depths of tunes like the yearning "She Lives (In A Time Of Her Own)" and the slinky "Slip Inside This House" make this record sound like nothing else before or after it - a bright shining moment in American musical creativity. Plus their version of Dylan's "(It's All Over Now) Baby Blue" (titled here simply "Baby Blue") is one of the best Dylan covers ever recorded. NO LIE. This is one of the most essential albums of the Sixties, and if you don't already own it PLEASE believe us it is ESSENTIAL to your collection. Recommended? FUCK YES.
YEEEEESSSSS!!!!! Finally someone stepped up to the plate (thank you Munster Records) and is reissuing Gun Club's classic debut blues soaked punk LP "Fire Of Love." Holy shit, we couldn't be more excited to have one of our favorite records of all time back in the shop to share with everyone!!!!!!!:
"2013 repress; Jeffrey Lee Pierce -- reggae enthusiast, heroin addict, and former president of the Blondie fan club -- suffered a lonely, depressing death on March 31st, 1996 of a brain hemorrhage, after untold years of drug use and alcoholism. Why this event mattered much to anyone lay in a fantastic record his band, The Gun Club, recorded 16 years earlier: the masterful Fire Of Love. A visionary and fierce moment in time when The Gun Club took the raw, dripping meat of shopworn delta blues and infused it with the energy and fire of the LA punk rock scene. Inspired by bands like X, Television and the Cramps, he met Kid Congo Powers (who later played with Nick Cave and Cramps) and they formed the Creeping Ritual in 1979, soon to be renamed The Gun Club. Pierce was already a notorious drunk, exhibitionist, poet and fanboy. The Gun Club were quickly a dangerous new spoke on the spinning wheel of dynamic LA alt-culture. By 1980, Jeffrey Lee had moved into a deep reverence for Mississippi delta blues. The Gun Club paid more than passing homage: they wholeheartedly swiped complete riffs, words and attitude from the masters. Pierce participated in the great blues singer tradition by cobbling together distinct lines from other people's songs to create new ones. Snatches of Blind Willie Johnson, Blind Lemon Jefferson and Robert Johnson can be heard throughout this debut LP -- released in 1981 on Slash's Ruby Records. What makes Fire Of Love such a brilliant listen long after its time is that this blatant homage to the blues was amplified, energized and kicked into overdrive -- in a new style that combined the ghostliness of the original model with a FAST, unwound and supremely energetic beat. The engineering feats of Pat Burnette contributed to that sound: he wielded his Quad-Teck studios like a weapon, and mastered some of the greatest sides in LA music history (such as Germs' GI). Pure fullness of sound and the raw hot throb of records that were made to stand the test of time. From the immensely dark and aggressive sexuality of "Sex Beat," Gun Club's most recognizable number, to the fetishistic salute to fellow traveler Poison Ivy of The Cramps in "For The Love Of Ivy," including the hellfire classic "She's Like Heroin To Me," a 2:33 masterpiece in which everything comes together; Fire Of Love is pure perfection. It stands among the greatest classics of rock history, and shows the genius of the great Jeffrey, whose haunted singing has never been replaced. It proved out to be one of the most influential records of the '80s, with countless musicians declaring their love for the Club. "
To call Gun Club influential is an understatement. Everyone from the Gories to the Flat Duo Jets and almost everyone else that's put a killer punk, garage or rock n roll album out since "Fire Of Love" hit the shelves back in '81 owes Jeffrey Lee Pierce and Co. a huge thank you. Gun Club paved the way for what became the Crypt and Sympathy For The Record Industry sounds, as well offering a solid template to anyone who wanted to create a wild unruly rock n roll racket. Many a band road this LP's coattails to success sadly that Gun Club never achieved.
Ask around at the shop, and "Fire Of Love" will definitely make more than a few of our top ten albums of all time. So the fact that Munster repressed this cult favorite for scores of fans, new and old alike, makes it like Christmas. Once the needle drops on "Sex Beat" or "She's Like Heroin" you'll be hooked forever like us too.
Do not miss out on the chance to pick up this classic on the cheap, CUZ IT COMES WITH THE HIGHEST RECOMMENDATION WE CAN GIVE AN ALBUM, ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL!!!!!!!!!!
After whetting our whistles with recent reissues by Francoise Hardy and the newest volume of the Swingin' Mademoiselles compilation (you grab that? HOT DAMN), this compilation of sides by Ye-Ye chanteuse Clothilde, compiled by our mainline to the French underground - Born Bad Records! Ecouté!:
"Comes with a four-page insert. Clothilde, queen of the ""Swingin' Mademoiselles."" Why Clothilde? Why not that more star-worthy, internationally-acclaimed Françoise Hardy, or the more akin to the sub-genre, France Gall? Because she's the most characteristic, archtypical French mademoiselle, that's why! Christine Pilzer, even Jacqueline Taïeb before her, both may have been rediscovered first in this style unique to French '60s pop, and Stella also may have been the most out and out ""anti-ye-ye"" with her slightly anti-establishment and derisive lyrics countering the pop system and establishment, but Cleo's all about text, not that much as a whole production. As such, Clothilde takes the crown. Not only has Clothilde the most natural (albeit unknowingly) disposition as a chanteuse, singing such subversive lyrics with as much second degree detachment as possible but also, the music itself is highly original: inventive arrangements including French horn, musical saw, church bells, barrel organ, marimba, brass fiddle, woodwinds, and busy fuzz guitar amidst all that slapstick comedy-like audio bric-à-brac. Almost avant-garde in concept, it was imagined and produced by Clothilde's impresario, manager and indeed creator, legendary Disques Vogue A.D. Germinal Tenas. This could've only come out of France. "
First off - if you dig Ye-Ye in any capacity, you're bound to love this, BUT just as the icing on the cake, let us testify to the greatness in these grooves! Clothilde operates within the general framework of all the Ye-Ye princesses, but the beauty of these tracks is the KILLER arrangements by famed producer Germinal Tenas that weave in downright weird sounds like fuzz guitar, sitar, harpsichord and french horn in such an interesting way that we were hooked from track #1! Clothilde's got one-up on her contemporaries - this stuff frickin' ROCKS with raging guitars and HEAVY pounding drums (not unlike a Dutronc tune) and we feel like that alone will keep us coming back again and again! Grab this one quick! RECOMMENDED!!
The Southern/Outer Himalayan gang returns with yet another mind melting reissue from the one and only Rudimentary Peni. After peeling back our skullcaps with the recent reissue of "Pope Adrian 37th Psychristiatric " LP these lovely folks have all the pressing details on their latest here:
"180 GRAM BLACK VINYL VERSION. Clocking in with 30 tracks at 43 minutes, "Cacophony" is a concept album from Rudimentary Peni, originally released in 1989, now REMASTERED and REISSUED after being unavailable for 15 years. LP version comes in gatefold jacket with poster, download and 8pp LP sized booklet."
On Rudimentary Peni's follow up to the draw dropping anarcho-punk lunacy of their debut "Death Church" the group unleashes 30 tracks inspired by the literary works of H.P. Lovecraft. And on "Cacophony" one will find noisey punk brashness, unhinged rhythmic experimentation and vocalist Nick Blinko pushing the boundaries ever further into new and terrifying realms and extremes. Rudimentary Peni is one the UK's most original and challenging groups to come out the early 80's anarcho-punk scene and especially one of the most artful and daring. Hugely Recommended.
UNBELIEVABLE Zamrock madness from Salty Dog, reissued on the Strawberry Rain label - grab a seat and lend an ear to what they have to say about this fuzz-filled rarity:
"Having formed during the height of the Zamrock period, Salty Dog was a three man band modeled after the Jimi Hendrix Experience. Wanting to base the band around the concept of the force of life, Salty Dog was chosen for the band's name because it is a slang term for 'sperm.' The eighth release on the Zambezi imprint, Salty Dog is one of the most obscure Zambian titles from the era having failed to achieve the success of some of their peers like Witch. The self-titled release is a combination of psychedelic rock, blues, and folk, with all English songs. Really good from start to end, essential for collectors of African rock and insanely rare as an original. Comes with a 7"" of the non-LP single that was released before the album titled Sunday Morning Sunshine."
If you dig other recent reissues of this ilk like Witch's "Lazy Bones", Blo "Phase II", or Ngozi Family, but wished the rocked a LIIIIIIITTLE bit harder, then consider your prayers answered! Salty Dog come on like the true heirs to Hendrix's fuzz face'd crown, with pounding drums, thunderous bass and full-on psychedelic guitar licks! A real treat, and a SOLID listen all the way through - we've loved this Zamrock stuff for years, but this one really is the cream of the crop and we wonder how this one's escaped our earholes for so long! Welcome home, Salty Dog... welcome home. RECOMMENDED x 100000000!!!
Born Bad Records wants to introduce you to yer new favorite French band, La Femme, and their debut double LP "Psycho Tropical Berlin":
"French indie-rock band La Femme is a conundrum -- an episodic band with various faces. La Femme was born during the X years in Biarritz, France, when Sasha and Marlon started composing music on their guitars and recording it onto Garage Band. Together they ride surfboards, pianos and synthesizers as they explore various styles from '60s yé-yé French pop to California surf music. Marlon moved to Paris, and there he met Sam, who played bass. Together, they formed SOS Mademoiselle along with Olivier Peynot, and played vintage French rock, as Sasha was practicing his scales in reverb surf band Les Redoutables. Sasha then joined his friends in Paris, where they discovered French cold wave and synth pop, Marie et les Garçons being one of their favorites. They polished a style that could be described as one of the following: surf-wave, bizarre-wave, strange-wave, weird-witch-wave, silly mental-wave or psycho-tropical Berlin. Joined in 2010 by drummer Noé and female singer Clémence. La Femme formed its first live roster in a few days and took shape that same year with its first anthem, ""Sur la planche,"" a song that was made to be hummed and whistled while riding a surfboard. Later on, La Femme released their second EP, Paris 2012. Soon joined by fancy rhythm drummer Nunez Ritter von Merguez aka La Sauterelle and singer Clara Luciani, as well as a whole roster of female singers, they now present their debut album Psycho Tropical Berlin where rock, pop, rococo Bauhaus, as well as influences from Kraftwerk and Elli and Jacno conjoin just to please you. Printed innersleeves."
We're constantly scouring the world for the freshest and/or weirdest of sounds to bring you every week, and we're always amazed out how strange, out-there and killer the French rock n roll scene continues to be. From Cheveu to Feeling Of Love, we're definitely Francophiles, and La Femme is just one more outsider psych rock band to add to our list of GO TO French bands. On "Pyscho Tropical Berlin" they channel everything from post punk to yeye, from tropical vibes to the iciest and darkest of synths, and it makes for one entrancing, kaleidoscopic spin. La Femme drifts back and forth between syrupy krautpop electro and dancy fake punk giving their bizarre rock all sorts of twists and turns to keep you on yer toes. Fans of Liminanas, Stereolab, Umberto, Volt, Scorpio Violente, Air and Magnetix will certainly fall deep into the grooves of "Psycho Tropical Berlin." We sure are. This one's WAY RECOMMENDED.
The Questions And Answers label has issued this fantastic album of hypnotizing space rock and here are their answers to your questions:
"Abstraction best defines the concept of Before F After C. The album consists of four, self-indulgent, psychedelic instrumental tracks, with abstract guitar riffs, explosions of noise, repetitive rhythms and a nothing but sparse use of distorted sounds. The result is pretty unique, most reminiscent of a rediscovered version of '70s space rock. " For fans of: Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Kasabian, Spiritualized, Spaceman 3 and Union Carbide Productions."
"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 metioned Spaceman 3 and has the lurching ominous almost industrial sublety 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.
The mighty De Stijl Records has pressed up this boss reissue of a Kiwi classic so we'll let the knowledgeable folks at De Stijl fill you in on the back story:
"Peter Jefferies’s extraordinary debut solo album, The Last Great Challenge in a Dull World, first saw life as a cassette via the Xpressway label of Port Chalmers, New Zealand, in 1990. As a result of some international underground acclaim in fanzines and mailorder catalogs – for both the album and a striking 7-inch, “The Fate of the Human Carbine,” released around the same time – it soon appeared on LP and CD as well, through the Ajax label of Chicago. Within a handful of years it slipped out of print and out of sight. Roughly 20 years later that situation is being amended by De Stijl with a vinyl reissue that includes the songs from the attendant single and no amount of remastering whatsoever.
Though no one’s gotten around to writing a book on it yet, The Last Great Challenge in a Dull World nonetheless stands as one of the singular singer-songwriter albums of all time, existing on a sparsely populated plane with Pink Moon, I Often Dream of Trains, Blues Run the Game, Our Mother the Mountain and not many others. In a sandy voice that soothes and slashes, Jefferies offers a compassionate, piercingly lucid view of the endeavor of life, all our pain and small glories rendered in tones both harrowing and tender. On piano, drums and percussion, he pounds out melodies that roar, sweep and lilt, accompanied on many songs by the serrated guitars of a variety of players. Featuring a small team of South Island heavy-hitters – all three members of the Dead C as well as David Mitchell (3Ds), Alastair Galbraith, Kathy Bull (Look Blue Go Purple, Cyclops), Nigel Taylor and Robbie Muir (who’s cobilled on the single) – Last Great Challenge provides a pivot point in Jefferies’s formidable recording career, which included two bands he shared with his brother Graeme in the ’80s, Nocturnal Projections and This Kind of Punishment, and four further solo albums, as well as stints in bands here (Mecca Normal, Two Foot Flame) and there (Plagal Grind, Cyclops, and collaborations with Shayne Carter, Jono Lonie and Chris Smith).
This immediate and affecting album has been a comfort and a guide for me since it came out. Sit a spell and see if it doesn’t speak to you as well.
~ Mike Wolf, NYC, 2013"
Mike Wolf, representing De Stijl, more than sums up the glorious contents of this amazing record. If you've been digging all the recent reissue mania of the stuff coming out of New Zealand and Australia, then grab this immediately. It is not to be missed! Extremely Recommended.
LP - King Tuff - Was Dead - Reissue - $16.99 - BUY
- LISTEN Burger Records reissues the 2008 LP that launched Kyle Thomas, a.k.a King Tuff into the general consciousness and lit up thousands of record players worldwide (at least, for as long as those first few editions on 'The Colonel' Records were in print) Burger commissioned 'The King' to put some thoughts onto paper about "Was Dead" - here's the skinny straight from the King's pen:
"It's always seemed as though Was Dead kinda came outta nowhere. Even for me, I don't remember writing the songs and I barely remember recording them. I do know that they came from the purest part of my heart and they were made with a mischievous little smile on my face.
I think it was 2006. I recorded mostly late at night, in a giant dirty ballroom called Vegetable Street, in my hometown of Brattleboro, Vermont. My days were filled with endless cups of Mocha Joe's coffee, black, sitting on the stoop with my friends, and spazzing out on my guitar. Looking down at the streets of Brattleboro below and out at Mount Wantastiquet and beyond. I didn't have a cell phone or a computer and the only way to find me was either to call my mom, Lil' Smashy, who was probably already too busy cooking me something really delicious, or spot me in the corner of the coffee shop spying on people and drawing them in my sketchbook. They were very chill times.
I wanted Was Dead to be a pure Vermont Rock and Roll record, fueled by extra sharp Cabot cheddar cheese and hot, grade-A fancy maple syrup poured over crisp white snow and served with a pickle and a cider donut. You sit down on the shitty concrete in the parking lot and you slurp it all up. I had already made a few King Tuff albums in the early 2000's and had laid the project to rest around 2003. But something told me to resurrect King Tuff, hence the title Was Dead.
This album changed my life in so many ways, as it slowly trickled out into the world. I never expected anyone to hear it, let alone connect with it. I never would have left Vermont, never met the boys at Burger Records or any of the other insane, beautiful, cartoonish characters that now populate my life in the best way. It’s an expression of my infinitely teenage heart and soul, and I'm really proud of it. So here it is again, thanks to Burger Records. These songs belong to the Strutters and the Stutterers, the Headbangers and the Stoop Hangers, the Ruthies and the Gold Toothies, and of course, the A-N-I-M-A-L-S... "
MAN, we jammed this one TO DEATH when it came out - SO much in fact that we thought it might've been physically glued to our turntable! "Was Dead" was like a shot in the arm to garage and pop in 2008 and we're happy to report it still sounds fresh as a newly picked daisy! The King's addictive concoction of garage-goulash is just one of those records that sounded iconic from the first spin - it's marriage of garage/glam/punk/pop/and a dash of slacker-psychedelia is a recipe still being cooked up in many a musical kitchen to this day - heck one could even point to it as "patient zero" for the Burger Records' "sound". We dug it then and are still diggin' - here's hoping "Was Dead" keeps on kickin' it long after we've shuffled off this mortal coil - RECOMMENDED!!!
YES! Now-Again Records has compiled a "best of" collection of tracks from the plethora of interesting musical ("musical"?) curiosities presented in the recent "Enjoy The Experience" tome! Cop a squat and read their explanatory exposition:
"Gatefold double LP with a 20-page booklet of extensive liner notes. "Selections from the Sinecure Books publication Enjoy the Experience: psych, funk, folk, jazz, lounge, boogie and straight-up-weirdness from American private press albums. Enjoy the Experience: Homemade Records 1958-1992 is the inaugural offering from Sinecure Books. (The hardcover book version: SI 105BK) is the most comprehensive overview of the American 'private press' movement from the latter half of the 20th Century that could possibly be assembled. Now-Again Records is pleased to distribute a 2LP anthology of psych, funk, folk, jazz, lounge, disco, boogie and just-plain-weirdness culled from the the book's selections. Take note: this is not a novelty freak show. Contained in this anthology are examples of some of the most highly regarded rock, soul, jazz, funk and singer/ songwriter albums from the '60s through the early '80s. From the awkward-yet- talented to the genius-yet-bizarre, one thing unites all musicians presented here: they sincerely hoped to become stars, they committed themselves to record, and they left themselves vulnerable to an industry not understanding of nuance, not appreciative of character. While Enjoy The Experience the book details a forceful American cultural experience that stands in juxtaposition to the mainstream even as its creators attempted to infiltrate it, Enjoy the Experience the album shows the breadth of American creativity in a compelling, start-to-finish listen. Not all of it is easy to digest, but this music is essential to the 20th century American experience." Artists: Circuit Rider, Gary Wilson, Jade, Heitkotter, The Invaders, The Muzzy Band, Carol-Leigh and Hank Mindlin, Gary Schneider, Joe E., Medico Doktor Vibes, Ray Harlowe and Gyp Fox, Arcesia, Boa, Michael Farneti, 33 1/3, Silk and Silver, Russ Saul, Dennis The Fox, Bob Harrison and Vinny Roma."
We were slack-jawed at Johan Kugelberg's book "Enjoy The Experience" when it arrived on our doorstep on Record Store Day 2013 - it's exploration of outsider musicians (or "real people" records as they are referred to in the book itself) is as fascinating as it is extensive. This 2xLP cuts to the meat of the matter and compiles a "greatest hits" of the more interesting artists featured in the book. Heavies like Circuit Rider and Gary Wilson nestle in real close to odd-ballers like Silk and Silver and Dennis The Fox and paint a very vivid portrait of this all-encompassing niche genre! The tunes range from oddball whacked-out pop, to chord-defying calypso, to late-nite hotel lounge muzak, to hard funk (the break-beat plentiful "Spacing Out" by The Invaders). A thrilling, if head-scratching listen that comes unequivocally RECOMMENDED! (buy the book too!)
LIMITED TO 300 COPIES!
FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK YES. Welcome to your new favorite band! East Link released a criminally limited cassette last year (which we managed to score a few copies of) that blew our ears off! NOW they make their vinyl debut from - where else - Aussie mega-label Aarght Records (home of Ooga Boogas, Total Control, UV Race, ECSR and more!). Aarght sums it up nicely here:
"Al UV drums and sings while either three or four other guys play guitar. The two best songs taken from their cassette release of 2011. Really fucking good. Working on an LP now."
REALLY FUCKING GOOD indeed! Both tracks are ragged, post-apocalyptic death punk, with riffs raging into the sunset - repetitive and caked with the mud and blood of every Aussie rocker from the dawn of rock and roll! Fans of the current brave new world of dystopian Aus-someness like Exhaustion, UV Race, and Total Control, or their American brothers-in-chains A-Frames, Intelligence or Nothing People will definitely have their whiskers tickled by this 2-sided banger! Don't sleep on this one, ya slackers 'cuz at 300 copies, this one may have you spending yer own 'blood money' like a ravenous 'wild dog', and we KNOW you wanna say 'you were there first' when their debut long player is released on In The Red in the very near future! What would our highest absolute recommendation be? Well whatever that is, consider it bestowed upon this MASSIVE slab of wax! RECOMMENDED!
LIMITED TO 250 COPIES WORLDWIDE,
A P-REX EXCLUSIVE !!!!!!!
We got the chance to see South Africa's noisemakers Make-Overs twice while they were in town, once at Blackout Fest and once hosting an in-store for them at the Chicago shop, and both times they blew our minds!!! So when they set a stack of self released eps on the counter, we grabbed 'em all. Pressed up on their KRNGY imprint and sadly limited, "It's Unnatural" is a ferocious ride through the feedback punk explosions of Martinque (drums / vocals) and Andreas (guitar, vocals). Sludgy, yet melodic, Make-Overs blown out take on underground rock n roll sounds like it sprung up one warehouse away, not from the far away wild streets of South Africa. Make-Overs strip down their trashy pummeling rock n roll making it even LOUDER and IN YER FACE than you'd expect from just a two piece. Maybe that's cuz they're done their homework, borrowing from the Touch and Go and AmRep greats as well as the garage punk classics, making "In Unnatural" a crazy trip we'll take over and over again. SUPER RECOMMENDED!!!!!!!!!
NOW AVAILABLE ON CASSETTE VIA GOLDEN CLOUD TAPES!!!
Permanent Records' 34th label release!
Fans of Terry Riley, Kraftwerk, Conrad Schntizler, and Kosmische Musik in general take note! Bitchin Bajas has returned to Permanent Records (following their split single with Moon Duo) with a brand new record of side-long transcendental synth workouts. This is Bitchin Bajas most accessible and autobahn ready delivery to date!
Bitchin Bajas began as a side project, but Cooper Crain of CAVE and Dan Quinlivan formerly of MAHJONGG have been spending as much time, if not more, with Bitchin Bajas as they have with the aforementioned groups and they've been progressing very quickly. In just two or so years, Bitchin Bajas have released three critically acclaimed LPs (one on Important Records and two on Kallestei Editions), two incredible splits (one with Moon Duo and the other with the Peaking Lights- related Faceplant), and one very limited edition cassette tape.
The two side long pieces on this nearly 40 minute EP were written on their 2012 European tour and recorded and mixed over three days by Bitchin Bajas at Minbal Studio in Chicago, Illinois.
Features eye-popping cover artwork by artist Jeremy Kannapell.
500 copies pressed: 350 on black vinyl available for wholesale. 150 on colored vinyl available exclusively from Permanent Records.
"A whole mess of cats in the drone-age try to spiral upward to the heights of Bitchin Bajas, but few nail the sacred combination of Harmonia/Neu! and Steve Hillage circa Rainbow Dome Music with the same air of confidence." - Tiny Mix Tapes
