Trouble In Mind is back with a pair of hot new releases to warm up yer cold winter nights: the latest long player from Greg Ashley (of Gris Gris and The Mirrors) and a killer 45 from Switzerland's rising stars, Klaus Johann Grobe. You probably already know you need them both, but go ahead and read on -
"Greg Ashley has been melting minds since he was a teenager growing up in central Texas; first in his paint-peeling garagepunk band The Strate-Coats, then in lysergic psych band The Mirrors, and finally to great acclaim in his highly influential quartet The Gris Gris. If that weren’t enough, Ashley has peppered multiple solo albums in between all of these releases tracing along a path that veers to & fro from heady psychedelic freakouts to sensitive, folky tunesmithing. “Another Generation of Slaves” is a bold step off that acid-soaked artery, the nine tunes herein are Ashley’s most directly poetic suite of songs both melodically & lyrically. “Another Generation...” FEELS different. Recorded in 2013 with a cadre of jazz musicians, the malleability of his players belies dizzying results, allowing Ashley to focus on communicating the feeling of the tunes in addition to playing them. Lyrically, Ashley has never been one to mince words, but the songs are almost joyously direct. Songs like “Brother Raymond” & “Prisoner #1131267” are character studies, while somber cuts like the folky opener “East Texas Plain” & the sultry “Patterns Of Days” are extremely insular tunes, unquestionably personal & beautifully unfolded. Ashley’s grown so comfortable in his ability to craft songs, that even the breezy “Awkward Affections”s brazenly honest lyrics don’t feels forced, but like another piece of the puzzle here. The stories fit together like Ashley’s own version of “Songs Of Love & Hate” or “Trouble Is A Lonesome Town”. A collection that doesn’t work unless the listener is fully immersed in it’s world, shackled to it’s narrative.
The first vinyl edition of 500 is pressed on randomly mixed 150-gm vinyl, includes a printed inner sleeve with lyrics & a download code. All other pressings will be on basic black."
RIYL: Kurt Vile, Lee Hazlewood, Leonard Cohen, Nick Cave, Bill Fay, Mikal Cronin" - Trouble In Mind
Greg Ashley's been occupying our turntables for years now, and after a string of excellent psych pop albums for Birdman and Guitars & Bongos, he's finally found his home on Trouble In Mind with "Another Generation Of Slaves." Backed by some jazz musicians with serious chops, this is Mr. Ashley's most intense and artful set of songs yet! "Another Generation Of Slaves" is perhaps half way between the desperate folk of Townes Van Zandt and Syd Barrett's warped pop vision, with might we add some haunting orchestration worthy of Van Dyke Parks. Yeah this is that Sunday morning hangover record you Lee Hazelwood, Fred Neil, Nilsson and Leonard Cohen junkies need and will go back to over and over again. Powerful and soul stirring songs that could've been recorded by some lost iconic songwriter of the 70s, but instead were put to tape by one of our favorite contemporary rockers. Another smash hit from Trouble In Mind and TOTALLY RECOMMEDED!!!!!!!
7in - Klaus Johann Grobe - Traumhaft b/w Nicht zu stoppen (Mixed vinyl - Ltd to 500) - $5.99 - BUY
- LISTEN 
- LISTEN Trouble In Mind is back with a pair of hot new releases to warm up yer cold winter nights: the latest long player from Greg Ashley (of Gris Gris and The Mirrors) and a killer 45 from Switzerland's rising stars, Klaus Johann Grobe. You probably already know you need them both, but go ahead and read on -
"Swiss duo Klaus Johann Grobe have been mysteriously doling out their hypnotic brand of floor-filling electro-krautrock for a couple of years now, turning heads overseas with their s/t 10-inch EP & the followup single “Traumhaft” originally released in an edition of 300 copies by UK label Sunstone Records. Most copies never made it outside Europe (much less the UK), so TiM is reissuing this 2-song banger in anticipation of the release of their debut full-length (also soon on Trouble In Mind) this Spring. Both tunes are awash of a time just after the organic experimentation of krautrock’s heyday & the icy grip of the post-punk that would follow.
“Traumhaft” rockets of the A-side with it’s loping bass line, fully intent on making sure you MOVE, it’s rippling synth lines building into a gurgling climax as the pop majesty of the chorus cascades out of the speakers & lodges itself inescapably from your noggin. On the flip, “Nicht zu stoppen” plunges headlong into a motorik, spacey, head-bopping kraut-groove with echoed-vocals layered o’er an insistent, addictively percussive cowbell - heck, this single could be the very definition of a double A-side!
The “Traumhaft” single is pressed on randomly mixed vinyl, includes a download code & is limited to 500 copies!
RIYL: Moon Duo, Blank Realm, ESG, Horrid Red, Neu!, Kraftwerk, Grauzone " -Trouble In Mind
HELL FUCKING YES!!!!! Get ready for a Swiss Invasion cuz that's what is about to happen with Klaus Johann Globe. Mining two of our favorite eras of music, krautrock and post punk, this Swiss duo just plain knocks us out of our chairs with this new single. Definitely hypnotic and movement inducing as well as being kosmische in its own twisted pop way, Klaus Johann Globe picks right up where Neu and La Dusseldorf left off. Fans of the extendo motorik jams of Cave and Moon Duo as well as those more inclined for some acid-soaked and hazy dance jams from Liquid Liquid to ESG might not be able to contain themselves after one spin of "Traumhaft" or "Nicht zu Stoppen." This 45 is a teaser for a forthcoming TiM lp, so make sure you can say you were there at the beginning. Another smash hit from Trouble In Mind and TOTALLY RECOMMEDED!!!!!!!
LP - Cult Of Dom Keller – The Second Bardo - Oxblood/Bottle Green 2 Color Swirl Vinyl - Import - $21.99 - BUY - LISTEN
- LISTEN We got another psychedelic slab from the mighty Cardinal Fuzz label and this time it's the KILLER follow up to Cult of Dom Keller's totally amazing debut. Titled "The Second Bardo", this platter of fuzzed out psych-rock is chock fulla head nod heaviness and entrancing swirls of reverbed revelry. Cult Of Dom Keller are taking the brooding slow burn psych-rock vibes of The Black Angels, Bardo Pond and The Heads and blending in some shoegaze textures to create a subtly shifting sound all their own. These dudes are definitely channeling the spirit of Brian Jonestown Massacre, Spacemen 3 and even a little "Souvlaki"-era Slowdive while upping the heaviness and bringin' a fresh slant on this classic sound. If you dug their self-titled debut, then you're gonna love The Second Bardo" as it is showcasing a band at the height of its powers that is steadily progeressing. Wicked Recommended.
Time to hop on yer hog and hit the highway cuz Mock Records just unleashed this wind in yer hair affair by Jesus Sons and it is a cruuuuuuuiiisssserrr! But don't just take our word for it, have a look-see what the fine minds at Impose Magazine had to say about this stellar self-titled LP here:
"LA's Jesus Sons have come to save your tattered souls. Some folks spend their lives in front of the keyboard, type writer and Moleskins trying to write the great, all-American novel, story, tale, or whatever they want it to be. In that same vein, former member of The Spyrals' Brandon Wurtz, with Shannon Dean, Bert Hoover, Chance Welton, and Erik Lake have made the all-American sound. The Sons soak their chords from the dense and uptight urban environments to the riffs that rock the rusted biblebelt interstates the tie in the Southern salutes, to tightening up each coastal sea to shining sea. With a first to Jesus Sons' self-titled, the progeny of patriarchs, patriots and outlaws curate a western sound that instills envy in the hearts of all European sons. With their self-titled available January 28 from Mock Records, get in on the inside savior scheme here.
The messianic progeny make music more like rock and roll prodigies, on the opening number, "All These Furs". The guitars are tried, tested, and aren't messing around with any sweet talk. Hitting up the honky-tonks, is the whiskey steeped "Who's Around" that makes the rounds while trying to round up a posse of a few good men, or just a few cool Sons. The sleaze and sure-fire sidewinder percussion and beer gut guitar rolls out the best transgressive romanticism, with the pick-up line invitational of, "I Wanna Be Your Man". The bar room amour turns the table with the slow country western twang and turn instrumental desolation of, "You Put a Spell On Me". Desperation and destitution never sounded so at home and comfortable, than on the soul grabbing, "Don't Wanna Die".
The home on the range away from home living keeps on keeping on with, "Ain't Talkin' Homesick". Jesus Sons take the down, out, and derelict situations and spin it around to be a debaucherous celebration of howls, hisses, and all the grimy attitudes they can muster up. "Out of Time" runs around, out of mind, out of place, hanging out anywhere they want in "the age of the young". "Melt" provides an interlude instrumental moment where percussion mimics rattlers and the other dangers that lie in wait and lurk about the prairie. Bringing down the house, "Going Down" embodies the rollicking ride down the highway to perdition, with Brandon and the gang loving every moment. Closing up their self-titled, Jesus Sons consume themselves in the cautionary delights and rewrite their own Gospels according to their own bourbon soaked doctrines."
Jesus Sons have the swagger, 'tude and strut of "Exile On Mainstreet", the fuzzed out blues rock and harmonica know-how of the Paul Butterfield Blues Band, the swamp choogle of CCR, the caveman stomp of the Black Lips, the bratty snarl of the Strange Boys and the repeato-riff debauchery of the Velvet Underground. Jesus Sons are makin' some damn fine jean jacket and shades psychedelic rock and this debut full length is start to finish hazy gaze west coast Americana bliss out. If you're searchin' for your mainline, look no further, just like Sister Ray said… play on! Mega Recommended.
AWWWWWW YEAH! White Fence's masterful "Cyclops Reap" LP is back in print and this time it's on colored wax! Here's a lil' ditty from the folks at Castle Face:
"A whole new LP from TIM PRESLEY, will be sure to please fans of last year's Family Perfume Vol.1 + 2. Heavy on the warp, mellow to the yellow, with perhaps even more earworms this time around, shoe-strung together and laced with adenoidal whimsy as only Mr. Presley can pull off."
Mister Presley never ceases to amaze - we're astounded at how he can keep tossing off tunes imbued with as much dead-cool swagger as we're hearing in "Cyclops Reap". His warbly, treble-y psych-folk poetry lulling us to sleep like a sleeping pill washed down with a shot of whiskey! Much like the teaser single, the fidelity is kicked up a notch, allowing the TUNES to shine here, un-obscured by any "lo-fi" trappings, but still retaining the mercurial weirdness that is White Fence. Presley has many cloaks in his songwriting wardrobe, all of which are shorn from the same fabric, but painted with different patterns - a little Dylan, a dash of Syd, some Fall, and even a bit of Byrds for good measure but all sewn and retooled to fit Presley's mold. A dazzling record and one of the best of 2013! KEEP ONE EYE OPEN, 'cuz this one is RECOMMENDED.
The Modern Tapes and Spielzeug Muzak labels have teamed up to bring us this spell binding affair by Froe Char. Get the full details from the labels here:
"Froe Char aka Italian/Parisian Christina Lauro is also known as 1/2 of the duo Illustration Sonore who has an amazing Lp being released by the fantastic Medical Records label. There have been a pair of previous Froe Char releases of dark beautiful ambiance but with “Fossils” she takes the distorted haze and murk of her prior work and uses it as a texture amid percolating synths and minimalist rhythms. “Fossils” is the sultry minimal synth record for the experimental crowd or the noisy bleak record for the coldwave kids. I once heard someone say “you can’t dance to pain” but this record really proves otherwise."
We loved the Illustratrion Sonore on Medical Records, so we knew we had to score this Froe Char LP ASAP. Luckily Modern Tapes is headquartered in Chicago and was more than happy to bring some by the shop. If you like the dark minimal synth sounds of the Medical Records and Minimal Wave rosters or the blurry night moves of acts like The Knife, Stacian, Gel Set, Matchess or Linea Aspera then you should really grab yourself a copy of "Fossils" for sure. This is pure pitchblack bliss; we're talkin' blood red candles and tear streaked cheeks. Super Recommended.
Our pals over at Lion Productions have made a name for themselves by reissuing the creme de la creme of underheard jams from the Sixties &
Seventies ranging from the softer to the harder ends of the spectrum. First they unleashed the Jerusalem record a couple years back, now prepare thyself for Scottish dungeonmasters IRON CLAW. Heed the roar of the Lion:
"Sixteen pulverizingly heavy early masterpieces of dirty doom metal, this is a can't miss package for all fans of heavy psych, proto-metal and the early days of doom rock." - The Ripple Effect. "This Scottish band are just ridiculously heavy and I think it's a travesty that the sixteen songs they wrote around 1970/1971 never got an official release until 2009. This whole album is just breathtaking." - Terrorizer. Official heavy-duty gatefold double album of early 70s Scottish underground heavy rock from Iron Claw, a band who were stomping around the UK with the likes of Black Sabbath, Hackensack, Pink Fairies, Juicy Lucy and others, but who never released a proper album. Iron Claw started their career in 1970 as (more or less) the world's first Black Sabbath tribute band: they incorporated the entire first Black Sabbath LP and single into their live set! And as it happens, it was Iron Claw bassist Alex Wilson who unearthed the oldest known concert recording of Black Sabbath, a 1969 gig recorded by Wilson in Dumfries, Scotland! As time progressed, Iron Claw's live sets started to include many originals, as well as covers such as 'War Pigs,' 'Fairies Wear Boots,' 'Wicked World,' 'Green Manalishi' and 'Lady Whisky.' This collection of sixteen original studio tracks documents Iron Claw's existence from 1970 thru 1974 and includes extensive liner notes, lyrics and photos inside the gatefold and on a 12" insert; also includes an 11x17 poster. For fans of Tear Gas, Leaf Hound, Jerusalem, Ancient Grease, Toad, Incredible Hog, Elias Hulk! Newly re-mastered for vinyl and sounding better than ever!! •First ever vinyl issue, taken from the original tapes •Old-style tip-on gatefold jacket + insert + poster •Newly re-mastered for vinyl and sounding better than ever!!"
Iron Claw rages pretty hard & heavy right from the needle drop, exploding outta the speakers in a puff of green wizard's smoke. Doom & gloom are the prevailing moods from song to song, cueing heavily from the Sabbath playbook, but eschewing all those sensitive piano ballads for MORE SONGS ABOUT EVIL SHIT. Absolutely killer & essential. If you like your riffs pummeling & sinister then allow u sto introduce you to your new favorite band. This baby is pressed up on two vinyl albums in the blackest of black vinyl , housed in a sweet looking gatefold jacket & includes not only an informative insert, but also an 11x17 poster! The grip of the Iron Claw may feel rough, but it'll never sound sweeter than this. TOTALLY FUCKING RECOMMENDED.
