The ever-amazing Numero Group tosses their hat into the heavy rock reissue game with their 'Bonehead Crunchers'-style compilation of unknown Seventies 'Dungeon Rock' called "Darkscorch Canticles"! Doth thy cloak of protection from spells and roll the twenty-sided die - Numero's the dungeon master on this quest:
"With Warfaring Strangers: Darkscorch Canticles, the impacts of Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath on US shores and heartlands is revealed as a bludgeoning previously undescribed. In this collection, medieval Bonham< thunk and febrile Iommi guitar leads crowd out the bluesy Americana that foregrounded those bands, replacing hippie pastoralism with mythology, armored conflict, sorcery, and doom. From legions of occult-obsessive 1970s bonehead teens, we summoned a horde of 16 bands, cloaked in eons of tortured obscurity, whose sole release amounts to a blistering chapter ripped free of rock’s lumbering mythos."
BY THE GODS! This comp totally SLAYS! Conceivably closer to 'Bonehead Crunchers' than any comp we've heard yet, but definitely more closely curated and erring on the side of loincloth wearing, pagan-worshipping dungeon rock than anything else. It's clear that many of the bands herein worshipped at the altar of Page and Iommi (and that's just FINE with us) and since many of these bands were self-recorded and self-released, there's a scrappy urgency and power in the low-to-mid-fi sound of the recordings. The power shines thru though and if you're not aching to slay dragons by the time you hear "Slave of Fear" by Stone Axe or "Warlord" by Wrath, then all is lost for you. Pressed up on glorious 2xLP and housed in an AMAZING looking gatefold with band logo's "Hand drawn" in purple foil "Trapper Keeper" style! Another contender for reissue of the year! KUDOS to Numero once again - this one grabs you by the canticles and doesn't let go!! RECOMMENDED!!
John Dwyer of The Oh Sees isn't taking it easy during his band's recent sabbatical, not only is he ramping up Castle Face Records with a new release every week but now he's unleashing a solo synth-bent electro psych lp under the name Damaged Bug. So no worries all you Dwyer addicts out there, "Hubba Bubba" is that next fix you need !!!!
"Recorded at home in the fall of 2013 with a variety of synthesizers, drum machines and assorted handmade electronics, Damaged Bug is Oh Sees mastermind John Dwyer’s latest bit of cracked pop alchemy. The project is the cure to the ailment of too much guitar for too long. Fizzing and sputtering like a glowing, temperamental cockpit control panel, Dwyer bunkered deep in a blinking laboratory, penning songs about the long arc of our travels across space and time. Propulsive beats and synthetic veneers coat laser-guided melodies reflecting off shiny metal surfaces while instrumental interludes pop in and out like breaks in the asteroid belt. A far-out side of our main man—nocturnal, hard-wired, and chrome-plated. Hubba Bubba features original artwork by Deirdre White." - Castle Face
From Pink and Brown, Coachwhips, OCS and through Thee Oh Sees we've always been more than stoked to give John Dwyer a spot on our turntables. And now with his new outfit Damaged Bug we get a whole new experimental side to the engrossing psychedelic songwriting of Mr. Dwyer. "Hubba Bubba" is the sound you get after spinning Martin Rev, Cabaret Voltaire, Neu!, Chrome and Depeche Mode nonstop and then locking yerself in a small studio with nothing but casio keyboards, drum machines, tape loops, circuit bent / homemade synths, an old Wurlitzer and a few other noise making odds and ends. YES, that sounds like an album that's right up our alley. Damaged Bug is at times dancy, other times experimental and menacing but for sure an engrossing, wild ride through the lysergic late night hours. Experimental synth junkies, krautrock fanatics and Oh Sees record collectors all have a new jam to spin their way outta this winter. So yeah THIS ONE'S SUPER RECOMMENDED !!!!!!!
ORIGINALS HAVE GONE FOR OVER $3000!!!!!
Utterly AMAZING psych-rock hailing from the Great White North! Bent Wind blazed bright for a short time in the late Sixties, self-releasing this rager in 1969 before burning out in a cloud of left-handed cigarette smoke. Luckily the SAINTS at Ugly Pop Records have taken it upon themselves to officially reissue this private-press masterpiece for our lucky ear-holes! Read the ugly truth from Ugly Pop right here:
"The Holy Grail of Canadian rock, this raw, murky slab of heavy psych was released by local indie label Trend in autumn 1970 and immediately sank without a trace. Over the decades, however, obsessive fans and collectors of the era's unsung greats gradually came to recognise the obscure Toronto band's genius, the now impossible-to-find original LP eventually trading hands for $5000+ plus in the rare vinyl market. After years of bootlegs, compact discs and pricey European pressings, this mythical Canadian LP is finally available at home in its intended format for the first time in 44 years. Fully authorized high quality pressing licensed direct from Marty Roth. "
Make no mistake - "Sussex" is an absolutely KILLER record that deftly toes the line between Blue Cheer/Sabbath heavy rock-ness and the dark, minor-key, acid-soaked excursions of folks like The Index or The Bachs. These guys really could have been big with some backing (or motivation - whichever was lacking). If you dig wailing guitars and heavy riffage, then this one rightly deserves a spot on your record shelf - we can't stop listening to it!! If you HAPPENED to even see an OG of this one, you'd have to take out a second mortgage just to buy it, but Ugly Pop have made this available again for a pittance, so grab this one now - TOTALLY essential and RECOMMENDED!
BACK IN PRINT!!!
We don't repeatedly listen to a whole lot of singer/songwriter stuff around here, but this one's been a shop fave ever since it's release back in 2006 on Orange Twin. It's the kind of record that'll send chills up your spine and gives you goose pimples on your forearms. Reportedly the tunes were recorded in the early 70s at home on reel-to-reel and weren't shared with anyone until three decades later when her son dubbed some copies for family members. Somehow, a copy fell in to J Mascis of Dinosaur Jr.'s hands and it was finally released on Orange Twin in 2006. It, like the Jeff Mangum solo record, has been out-of-print for years, but thanks to American Dust, the same label who released "Live At Jittery Joes", it's been given a second wind on wax. Here's the label's description:
"Recorded in the early '70s in her home on a reel-to-reel tape deck, SIBYLLE BAIER's Colour Green paints intimate portraits of life's sad and fragile beauty. Baier and her music appeared in the 1973 Wim Wenders film Alice in the Cities, but her recordings were never released, and only shared with family and friends. It's said that "Remember the Day," the first song she ever wrote, was inspired by a road trip to the Alps with a friend during a dark period in her youth. Upon return, Baier pulled out her reel-to-reel and preserved these intimate thoughts and feelings on tape. Though she eventually chose family and motherhood over a music career, the bare, hushed folk songs on Colour Green, first released in 2006, have elevated her to the realm of revered cult performers such as Vashti Bunyan, Nico and Bridget St. John. After an extremely limited initial pressing (copies of which have fetched large sums via online auction sites), Colour Green is finally available again on vinyl."
"Colour Green" is a perfect morning time record. The songs will catch your ear upon first listen and stay with you for years. It's one of our favorite all-time singer/songwriter folk records and arguably the best record in the genre. No joke. It's captivating and timeless. Highly recommended, especially for folks who dig Nico, Vashti Bunyan, and bleak, simple, mellow singer/songwriter stuff.
BACK IN STOCK!!!
The Timerocker Records imprint in conjunction with Mississippi Records has brought us this must own compilation of uber obscuro oddites culled from the deepest basements and dankest garages of the 60's to create "Anxious Color". We'll let the Timerockers tell the tale:
"Amazing compilation of basement and garage dwelling stranger than fiction psych rock recorded between 1966 and 1967. The real underground sound of the 1960's as you've probably never heard it before. People making music by their own rules and influenced more by the spirit realm and the heavy weight of being alive than the pedestrian drug experiences that informed much of the 60's popular music. A bit dark and a bit intense and a bit Lo-Fi but such is life. Trust us when we say this one is essential. From the same folks who brought you "Six Feet Under"'
Featuring the legendary "Leaving My old Life Behind" cut by Jonathan Halper (originally recorded for a Kenneth Anger film) and a bevy of bleak, blown out underground weirdness by the likes of The Royale Coachmen, The Savages, Vicki Lynn, Yesterday's Obsession, WWH, The Bohemians, Frut of The Loom, The Perils, Feebeez, Jim Olsen and Little Willie and The Wonders, "Anxious Color" plays out like some morbid soundtrack to a Jim Thompson novel. Some of the tracks seem "poppy" on the surface and you can surely cut a rug to some but delve deeper into the lyrics and truly dark and demented things begin to seep through. This collection also features an insert with some background info about each track. With track titles like Killer Of Men, Don't Break My Heart, Tell Me Why People Don't Like Me, One Hand In The Darkness, Hate, and Last Drop Of Wine clearly this ain't no "love in", this ain't no Happening! Highly Recommended.
BACK IN STOCK!!!
Big Wedge Records in association with Mississippi Records have compiled a must-own lp collection of early rock, country and rockabilly obscurities entitled "Six Feet Under." And as you might guess from the name, this comp is chock full of whiskey soaked, sordid rippers sure to make music fans of all types jump at the chance to throw this one down on their turntable. Here with the straight facts is Big Wedge:
"Compilation of unbelievable rockabilly, country and early rock instrumentals. All obscure and hard to find and not a loser in the bunch. A mind blower for fans of the Cramps, Lee Hazelwood, real deal rock n' roll and out there country. Songs about graveyards, misery, trains, ghosts and so on. We highly recommend this one."
Collections like "Six Feet Under" are more than necessary cuz otherwise we'd have no way to hear these nearly lost, super collectable, unheard gems from artists like Johnny Fortune, Mystery Trio, Ramblin' Rebels and oh so many more. Fans of Sun Records, Wanda Jackson, Hasil Adkins, Link Wray, the aforementioned Lee Hazlewood and those Songs The Cramps Taught Us comps, as well as any fans of true down and dirty Americana, will absolutely fall in love with this collection. We sure have. "Six Feet Under" is just the touch of backwoods twang and moonshine jolt that'll make any day seem brighter. And we definitely all see more songs about ghosts, misery, trains, graveyards and heartbreak in our collections. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!!
Dark, frantic punk from this Columbus, OH trio! We scored a few copies of their s/t debut direct from the band themselves when they stopped thru town - released on Bloomington label Let's Pretend Records, read what they have to say:
"Dark, anxious, paranoid, manic, obsessive, melodic, misanthropic, gothy, punk, punk from Columbus, OH. Like if Wipers, X, and Dead Moon were somehow one band. But forget comparisons, Nervosas is their own animal. 18 bangers...like 18 ender enders. These songs ooze talent and precision, ranging from break-neck hardcore skate punk tempos to a few mellow rockers to surprise ya just when you think you got it all figured out. Don't sleep on this!!! Go skate to this shit!!! (500 Double LP's pressed on clear wax! w/ screen print on the D side. Double sided screen printed inserts)"
Nervosas come out kicking with 3 sides of dark, scuzzy & agitated punk rock in the vein of The Wipers, 45 Grave or (early) Christian Death with desperate male/female harmonies piercing the cacophany. These guys keep it lean & mean, with concise, & memorable hooks too - Midwest punk (filtered thru the Northwest) at it's finest! This is the clear vinyl second pressing - still has the insert as well as the killer screened 4th side! Grab this fast, cuz it's likely to vanish quick-like - RECOMMENDED!
