Tuesday, September 23, 2014

Permanent Records Update 9.23.14

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LP - Aphex Twin - Syro - 3xLP - $29.99 - BUYbuy - LISTEN listen

Warp Records brings us the mighty return of Aphex Twin; get the full story here:

"After years of speculation fuelled by sporadic Aphex interviews (remember “I’ve got six albums ready”?), lost albums leaking and, yes, the odd prank by idiots like us, Warp launched an Aphex-branded blimp in London last weekend. On Monday, details of the album were discovered via the deep web, and now the label have officially announced Syro.
In typical Aphex style, the press release for Syro was flung back and forth on Google Translate before RDJ added some swearwords, so we’re left with sentences like “area of various musical score, James Analogue Booblebath was released in 1891 and “That same year, James Acid shithouse to promote the song”.
Syro will be released on September 22/23, on triple-vinyl, CD and digital formats." - vinylfactory.com" - Warp Records

After 13 years of patiently waiting, we can finally spin new tracks by the one and only Aphex Twin!  Syro is 3 LPs of Aphex Twin's signature glitch-twitch electronic mayhem ready to fry yer brain and off set yer heart beat.  We've been anticipating this one with bated breath and now its here and comes with our highest of Recommendations!

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LP - Shellac - Dude Incredible - $21.99 - BUYbuy - LISTEN listen

New Shellac? Check. On Touch & Go? Check.  Do you really need any more convincing?  If so read on for the full back story directly from T&G:

"This is Shellac’s fifth LP. Recording took place sporadically over the past few years at Steve's ELECTRICAL AUDIO studios in Chicago. The record was mastered by Steve Rooke at ABBEY ROAD."

It's been like four years since the last Shellac record, which is four years too many in our opinion, but now that we have this new one in our grubby wittle mits we can rejoice and crank it up!  It's gonna make you wanna dead lift a monkey while walking your excellent italian greyhound that's terraforming 1000 hurts at action park cuz seriously, Dude its Incredible! Totally Recommended.

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LP - Rats - Rats - Reissue - $13.99 - BUYbuy - LISTEN listen
BACK IN PRINT!!!!

HELL YES!!!!!!! Mississippi Records just pressed up more copies of Fred and Toody Cole's pre-Dead Moon punk band, the Rats; both their first s/t record and the follow up "Intermittent Signals"!!!!!!  STOKED doesn't quite describe how excited we are, or Mississippi for that matter -

"First LP, recorded in 1979 by Portland punk legends - the Rats.  Fred and Toody Cole of Dead Moon, Pierced Arrows, The Range Rats, The Weeds, The Lollipop Shop and a million other bands along with Rod Rat present a punk rock masterpiece.  Stripped down and lo fi. The record has a slight psychedelic edge and some definite roots in early rock and roll.  The record that started to define the aesthetic that would later inform what Fred and Toody accomplished with Dead Moon.  Nuts and bolts great songwriting on songs such as Teenagers, World war 3, Social Indigestion and more." - Mississippi

DUDES we're not gonna bother with hyping these Rats albums cuz they're flat out FUCKING ESSENTIAL.  Just as we all expect from Fred and Toody.  And since originals of these lps fetch top dollar and Mississippi didn't press enough to go around, yer gonna want to grab 'em both NOW.  THE HIGHEST RECOMMENDATION POSSIBLE.  

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LP - Rats - Intermittent Signals - Reissue - $13.99 - BUYbuy - LISTEN listen
BACK IN PRINT!!!

HELL YES!!!!!!! Mississippi Records just pressed up more copies of Fred and Toody Cole's pre-Dead Moon punk band, the Rats; both their first s/t record and the follow up "Intermittent Signals"!!!!!!  STOKED doesn't quite describe how excited we are, or Mississippi for that matter -

"Second LP, recorded in 1980, by Portland punk legends - The Rats.  Fred and Toody Cole of Dead Moon, Pierced Arrows, The Range Rats, The Weeds. The Lollipop Shoppe and a million other bands are joined on this one by Sam Henry of the Wipers, Napalm Beach and a million other bands.  A very eclectic LP with elements of Punk, new wave, art rock, psychedelia and early Rock and roll.  Great nuts and bolts song writing.  A true punk rock classic." - Mississippi

DUDES we're not gonna bother with hyping these Rats albums cuz they're flat out FUCKING ESSENTIAL.  Just as we all expect from Fred and Toody.  And since originals of these lps fetch top dollar and Mississippi didn't press enough to go around, yer gonna want to grab 'em both NOW.  THE HIGHEST RECOMMENDATION POSSIBLE.   

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LP - Sainte Anthonys Fyre - Sainte Anthonys Fyre - Reissue - $11.99 - BUYbuy - LISTEN listen

WHOAH. We got more copies of this holy grail, hard-rockin' masterwork from New Jersey devils Sainte Anthony's Fyre!  Gonzo, hard-rockin' madness! We're DEFINITELY feeling this one - it's like Marty McFly time-travelled back in time and created a band that was executed per our exact taste! The "Hard Stuff", with a hint of bluesy rockin, but with a definite proto-punk attitude and swagger that elevates this above your typical Seventies hard stuff. These guys had to have had their ears on the Motor City back in the day - we're hearing the unmistakable testosterone-fueled influence of the MC5 or The Rationals, as well as the sinister oil-caked, cabaret feel of Alice Cooper too. These dudes were apparently courted by the bigs back in the day (Felix Pappalardi even offered to produce, but ultimately wanted too much moolah) and was a hair away from signing with Atlantic, but ultimately facing restrictions that would dictate their sound, decided against it, and recorded/released this one themselves. Fuck yeah! The "rough" sound of the record really is an asset to the overall feel and probably ups the aggression and sinister feel overall, with the guitars fuzzed out and pushing the red zone to the maxx, bro. If you dig Pentagram, Blue Cheer, Grand Funk, or even newer, backward-looking bands like Graveyard, Witchcraft and FUZZ, then prepare to feel the HEAT from the FYRE!


Tuesday, September 16, 2014

Permanent Records Update 9.16.14

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LP - Earthling Society - England Have My Bones - Import - $24.99 - BUYbuy - LISTEN listen
KILLER NEW PSYCH-ROCK ON RIOT SEASON!!!

Riot Season has unleashed a best of a release with the latest from UK's Earthling Society; get the full story directly from the label:

"Earthling Society are a kosmische quartet that hail from the most un-kosmische areas of North West England, Fleetwood. A town so bleak you literally can't drive through it; sticking out of the British Isles like a crippled dick into the murkiest part of the Irish sea. Here, Earthling Society built their lo-fi studio in an old deserted glass factory and since 2004 have recorded a number of albums under the influence of mushrooms, cheap speed and cheaper beer, hoping for a few minutes to transport themselves from the reality of where they really live. Along the way they have hitched rides with Julian Cope, Hawkwind, Damo Suzuki, Guru Guru and Blue Cheer. England Have My Bones is their latest album of fuzzy space-rock offerings with a dedication to their Coltrane idols in a freaked-out version of "Journey in Satchidananda." Limited edition translucent green vinyl."

Earthling Society's alchemical psychedelia is a thing of majesty and England Have My Bones is scorched space blues and fuzzed out cult kosmische from beginning to end.  And be sure to check out their take on Alice Coltrane's Journey In Satchidananda for an interstellar ride of spiritual intensity!  Cosmically Recommended.

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LP - Ouba - Ouba - Reissue - $25.99 - BUYbuy - LISTEN listen
STELLAR PSYCHEDELIC REISSUE FROM OUT-SIDER!!!

Out-Sider Records brings the goods with this boss reissue of this acid freak rock improv classic!  Get the deets from the Out-Sider pros:

"Canadian rarity from 1968, recorded under the influence of hallucinogenic substances by a bunch of underground musicians: Michel Pagliaro, Tony Roman, Denis Lepage and Andy Shorter. The album consists of just one long freak-out jam divided in two sides: raw basement sound, acid guitar, stoned vocals, keyboards and loud drums, similar to early Soft Machine, Pink Floyd at their most free-form phase, or Can. Newly-remastered sound, insert with photos and liner notes."

Drop the needle and hold on to yer hats folks, cus this single incendiary jam cut across two sides of wax is nothing short of jaw dropping!  We’re talking manic drum frenzies, ripping organs, stoned guitar attacks and feral yelps and chants for the ages!  This is 60's freak rock down and dirty and as raw as they come!  Suuuuuuper Recommended.

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Tape - Kraus - Interior Castle - $6.99 - BUYbuy - LISTEN listen
NEW ZEALAND LUNACY ON MONIKER RECORDS!!!

New sonic sorcery from New Zealand Futurian Kraus on the one and only Moniker Records.  Get the full scoop directly from the label:

"NZ’s iconoclastic Kraus—hailed as a ‘national treasure’ by the New Zealand Listener—has always been an intrepid explorer of sonic scenery, and Interior Castle finds him on the move again, following up his acclaimed Supreme Commander LP (2013) with another highly adventurous outing. Borrowing recklessly from various epochs—stone-age drums meet futurist synths; slot-machine electronics are layered, perversely, over what sounds like a plucked lute; warbling flutes vie with blown-out guitar—his time-traveling brand of exotica stomps playfully through medieval set-pieces and b-movie locales, conjuring mindscapes and dreamworlds at once familiar and strange. While much of the current Kiwi crop tends toward loud and gnarly, Kraus’ inquisitive approach has more in common with mavericks like Arthur Lyman and Joe Meek. A founding member of onetime space-punk legends the Futurians, Kraus continues to broadcast sublime, singular weirdness from his corner of the southern hemisphere." - Moniker

Nab this cassette pronto cuz it is mega limited!  100 copies worldwide with 50 to New Zealand and 50 to the USA!  Permanent Records is the only place to grab this stateside outside of Moniker Records directly so act fast friends!

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LP - Fuzz - Fuzz (Includes download) - $15.99 - BUYbuy - LISTEN listen
BACK IN THE BINS!!!

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!

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LP - Flower Travellin Band - Satori (2012 Repress) - $22.99 - BUYbuy - LISTEN listen
ESSENTIAL LISTENING BACK IN THE RACKS!!!

AMAZINGLY ENOUGH, we've never featured "Satori" the crowning achievement of The Flower Travellin' Band's pretty stellar oeuvre (and quite possible the greatest Japanese rock and roll album, well - EVER), and since it just got reissued by Phoenix Records (again), we figured we'd give it the "star-treatment" it so deserves! First we'll let Phoenix fill you in on the particulars:
 
"2012 repress. Deluxe LP format; 180 gram pressing. Reissue of the second Flower Travellin' Band album, originally issued by Atlantic Records in Japan in 1971. Satori is a conceptual hard rock/psych album driven by Hideki Ishima's furious guitar licks which erupt and explode over the harmonic heart beat of the drums and bass. Yamanaka's banshee-like vocal style turned him into an occidental Iggy Pop or Robert Plant while the band itself was rapidly becoming Japan's answer to Led Zeppelin. Satori is a huge album in every way. From power chords to Eastern-tinged North African six-string freak-outs and crashing tom-toms, the band flexes its collective muscle from start to finish. In short, this is a real rock classic of the type they simply don't make any more."

STOP. If you haven't already purchased this record, DO IT NOW. We'll wait.... OK - got it? Let's begin. "Satori" is a full-tilt RAGING demon of a record that ebbs and swells like a psych record, but ROCKS as hard (if not harder) than any metal/hard rock record from 1971. Think about it - by 1971, Sabbath only had two albums out and this record SMOKES both "Black Sabbath" and "Paranoid". Might sound blasphemous, but it's fucking true. Up to this point The Flower Travellin' Band's output had been rooted in the blues-based traditions of bands like Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple, but with "Satori" (their second album proper) they completely obliterate any comparisons to The Zep or their mudsharkin' contemporaries. Explosions of freaked out, Eastern-tinged guitar soloing that erupt from the tunes like molten lava, while the rhythm section stomps and writhes like a two-hearted monster from the gates of Hades. It's muscular, it's sweaty, and hell - it's fucking SCARY. Comprised of five suites ("Satori" Pt's 1-5) that are mostly instrumental, with vocalist "Joe"s minimal vocal stylings - dropping in a few verses, wails and "Whoah-oh-oh-ohs" here and there with a full-throated roar that sounds like a call towards Armageddon! (Do you get the feeling we like this one, yet?) Ranked at #1 by Julian Cope in his "Japrocksampler" book's Top Fifty albums, so if that's not an endorsement we don't know what is! It's also TOTALLY ESSENTIAL in our books as well, so what are you waiting for? FUCKING GET IT.

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7in - Bubble Puppy - Days Of Our Time b/w Thinkin About Thinkin - $11.99 - BUYbuy - LISTEN listen
RARE ORIGINAL STOCK!!!

We scored a scant stack of original stock copies of this rare promo version of Bubble Puppy's 1969 single Days Of Our Time b/w Thinkin About Thinkin.  These Texas bred gents dish out the dual lead guitar driven psychedelic rock here and both sides are non-LP cuts!  Grab 'em quick like before they vanish into the ether.

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7in - Headstones - Snake Dance b/w Buying Time - $19.99 - BUYbuy - LISTEN listen
RARE ORIGINAL STOCK!!!

Another week at Permanent Records means more thrilling finds of original stock copies of rare rock from days gone by!  This time we're supplying OG copies of 70's heavy rock the Headstones Snake Dance b/w Buying Time single on Rome Records outta Colombus, Ohio!  The a-side Sanke Dance is driving instrumental jam with a guitar lead melody and the b-side Buying Time is prime cut of 70's hard rock with a soulful vocal, fuzzed out bass, and blistering guitar work.  This one's a total ripper gang so grab 'em while the grabbin's good! 

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7in - Lazy - Party City b/w Silence In Crisis / Boys In The Girlsroom - Clear Wax Repress - Edition of 300 - $6.99 - BUYbuy - LISTEN listen
REPRESSED ON CLEAR WAX!!!

Hold on to your hats! Our buds over at Moniker Records are pumping out the hits at a quick clip!  Here's what they're tauting on their latest:

"Lazy explode as a refreshingly direct ball of energy straight from the Heartland. These Kansas City collaborators play punk rock equal parts smart and gritty. Catchy, buzzing anthems evolve from jagged rhythmic chaos, as dark drones and found sound snippets populate percussive, gang-vocal boy/girl rave-ups.    On Moniker's first vinyl release from Lazy's 2012 "Obsession" sessions, Lazy capture punk that could come from anywhere -- "Party City, U.S.A." -- yet few match their immediate intensity. The group's art impulses and collages suggest that anything goes in the course of these brief, emphatic statements. Then there's that inspiring, trebly clatter, a grittiness that ensures this is as real as punk gets. Lazy smash it into a million pieces then tie it all back up, in three minutes or less."

Lazy's "Obsession" cassette on Manic Static flew out the door like a tornado across the plains and now finally some vinyl to temper our own obsessing we've been doing over this underrated Kansas City game changer of a band.  Oh the energy!  Lazy provide a rip roaring single of high octane power pop with just the right amount of grime and attitude, laying out three lightning-fast punk stompers that fly by like a dust storm!  Like the Zero Boys on Red Bull, Lazy (a total misnomer if you ask us) are busy setting the standard for up and comers, pony up and feel the frenzy.  Recommended.

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7in - Meatbodies - Mud Gals (limited color vinyl) - "Rotten" b/w "Mud Gals" - $5.99 - BUYbuy - LISTEN listen
SAVOR THE FLAVOR OF THE BODY OF MEAT FROM IN THE RED!!!

Meatbodies are back with another dose of fuzz coated, psychedelic sludge garage for yer listening please entitled "Mud Girls" released by the fine folks over at In The Red.   This new double shot is all but causing a riot at both P-Rex locations (you'll soon know why!) and let's just say WE CAN'T F'ING WAIT for the debut Meatbodies lp to drop later this year.  HOLY SHIT if yer into heavy hittin' / bone crunchin' primal psych garage from the classics (Blue Cheer / Jerusalem / Bent Wind) to the current blown-out mind melters like Fuzz, Wand and Zig Zags, you definitely need some "Mud Gals."  SO DROP WHAT YER DOING AND GRAB THIS ONE NOW!!!!  WAY RECOMMENDED!!!!!  

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7in - Meatbodies/Wand - Void (split 7-inch - limited color vinyl) - $5.99 - BUYbuy - LISTEN listen
CRUCIAL SPLIT SINGLE FROM IN THE RED!!!

In The Red is about to have one of it's most exciting LA-centric years ever.  Zig Zags debut LP and 45 came out with a bang last month and LPs by Wand and (don't call 'em Chad & the) Meatbodies should be out this fall.  To whet your appetite for destruction, the fine folks over at ITR have unleashed a stunner of a split single between two relatively new LA bands.  These incestuous monsters surely share each other's dugouts and at least one member, the man who happens to be the mastermind behind the art, layout, and design of this here sleeve, Cory Hanson.  If you dig the heavier side of modern garage psych, you're gonna love both sides.  "Feed The Void" then "Take Me Back To The Void" then do it again.  Just don't avoid the void or you'll end up annoyed (that you missed out on this crucial document of the contemporary LA music scene).

Tuesday, September 9, 2014

Permanent Records Update 9.9.14

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7in - The Todd - Mystifying Me b/w Be My Lover Tonight? - $19.99 - BUYbuy - LISTEN listen

Another day, another killer slab of rare original stock rock n roll for yer listening pleasure, this time from Youngstown, Ohio's The Todd and their searing single, "Mystifying Me b/w Be My Love."  Equal parts driving garage rock and super infectious power pop, this single should've been enough to catapult these guys onto the national scene.  Maybe The Todd was just a little too ahead of its time for mid 70s eastern Ohio?  But not for us!!!  Fans of hard to find garage rock, private press RnR and midwestern power pop a la Numero's "Buttons" comp, need to get MYSTIFIED TONIGHT!  SUPER RECOMMENDED!!!!!!!

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7in - Zeus - On The Street b/w Don't Ask Me - Original 1976 Stock - $6.99 - BUYbuy - LISTEN listen
ORIGINAL 1976 STOCK ON FABLE RECORDS!!!

The Permanent Records vinyl archivists have unearthed another gem! We scored a batch of original stock copies of these rare Zeus singles directly from Austin, TX based Fable Records, the fine folks who released them in 1976!  Zeus are pumping out killer glam tinged r'n'r with absolutely fantastic production.  Both singles are supplying ultra catchy cuts on both sides with scorching guitar work and some damn fine vocal harmonies.  Fans of Ohio Express, 1910 Fruit Gum Co. and the Buddha Records roster take note. These come in the original sleeves, which are hand numbered!  So if you need another dose of hard hitting rock and roll and you’re looking to add to your ever growing pile of rare 45's then grab these pronto!  We have limited quantities of these primo singles so act fast amigos!

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7in - Zeus - You Got Me - Take A Ride - Original 1976 Stock - $6.99 - BUYbuy - LISTEN listen
ORIGINAL 1976 STOCK ON FABLE RECORDS!!!

The Permanent Records vinyl archivists have unearthed another gem! We scored a batch of original stock copies of these rare Zeus singles directly from Austin, TX based Fable Records, the fine folks who released them in 1976!  Zeus are pumping out killer glam tinged r'n'r with absolutely fantastic production.  Both singles are supplying ultra catchy cuts on both sides with scorching guitar work and some damn fine vocal harmonies.  Fans of Ohio Express, 1910 Fruit Gum Co. and the Buddha Records roster take note. These come in the original sleeves, which are hand numbered!  So if you need another dose of hard hitting rock and roll and you’re looking to add to your ever growing pile of rare 45's then grab these pronto!  We have limited quantities of these primo singles so act fast amigos!

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7in - Zilker Sunday - Goose Creek b/w Wrong Time - Original 1973 Stock - $6.99 - BUYbuy - LISTEN listen
ORIGINAL 1973 STOCK ON FABLE RECORDS!!!

Besides pressing up those high octane Zeus singles, Texas independent Fable unleashed the one and only single from Austin's Zilker Sunday.  Naming themselves after a weekend afternoon in a local park, this is definitely a refreshing take on psych tinged, soulful prog / fusion.   Some burning-the-frets guitar solos, some funky breakdowns, some outta control organ and horn arrangements and a whole lotta brain melting jazz / progressive rock to tingle yer hi-fi.  Fans of Manfred Mann Chapter Three, Chicago Transit Authority, Funkadelic, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Colosseum and the like must have this double shot stat!   Seriously this single is a ripper!  WAY RECOMMEDED!!!!

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LP - Melkbelly - Pennsylvania - Hand Numbered Edition Of 500 - $14.99 - BUYbuy - LISTEN listen
NEW ON AUTOMATIC RECORDINGS!!!

Chicago's newest label, Automatic Recordings, just dropped off copies of their inaugural release, the debut lp from rabble rousers Melkbelly!   Veering between melodic twin guitar rock goodness and unhinged noise punk mayhem, Melkbelly woos us with both sides of their raucously sweet and thrashy DIY RnR.   Couldn't tell you whether its their effortlessly catchy songs or their outright gnarly freakouts that we love most?!?!  But Melkbelly are definitely one of our new favorite up-and-coming local bands, slaying us every time we see them.  And thanks to Automatic Recordings, who was able to get all their live energy pressed onto wax, we have repeat listens ahead!  Fans of Chicagol DIY go-tos Toupee, Ne-Hi and the Funs, as well as junkies for noisy underground rock, need to take this trip to "Pennsylvania" NOW!  TOTALLY RECOMMENDED!!!!!!

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LP - Ty Segall - Manipulator (2xLP - RANDOMLY INSERTED RED VINYL) - $21.99 - BUYbuy - LISTEN listen
BACK IN STOCK!!!!

Our good buddy Ty Segall is BACK IN ACTION in a solo capacity, unleashing his (by our count) NINTH proper solo record since 2008, the EPIC double album "Manipulator"! Released once again by local yokels Drag City, so listen up:



"The Segall has landed. And it’s fully loaded, with everything that TY SEGALL are gonna need in the world to come. Sticking his hand deeper into the machines all around him, Ty is reaching ever further to the outer limits of inner space orbited throughout Twins and Sleeper. And now more than ever, the chunks of the world that came before are like asteroids formed in his image. Still fighting the power with all the energy that a determined mind-patriot can conjure, Ty’s a fighter who loves, a surfer, a spaceman, and yeah, a casualty—like you, he’ll never be free. But unlike you, he knows it—and when he goes down and his head cracks in two, out pour the multi-colored manias that make up Manipulator. Sour-sweet declarations featuring freaks and creeps alike: “The Singer,” “The Faker,” “Mister Main,” “Susie Thumb,” the “Connection Man,” and “The Crawler,” to name but a mutant fistful. To see these peeps, to realize their dreams and visions, Ty kept working, kept writing, laying down more tracks than ever. New musical expressions pop and surprise relentlessly throughout all the knockout tunes of Manipulator with many sounds in the mix — but most of all, SO many guitars! There’s so little time, and a LOT to say. In order to ensure that he got it all out, Ty called a few friends to fill in special parts on certain songs. He got great touches from CHRIS WOODHOUSE (piano, synth & percussion), SEAN PAUL PRESLEY (vocals), BRIT LAUREN MANOR (vocals), STEVE NUTTING (drums), IRENE SALZER (violin), JESSICA IVRY (cello), MATTHIAS MCENTIRE (viola) and the TY SEGALL BAND (MIKAL CRONIN, CHARLES MOOTHEART, EMILY ROSE EPSTEIN). Plus, Mikal arranged the strings—and everyone played awesomely."


Man, it seems like an eternity since we've held a new Ty Segall album in our grubby mitts, and while only a year has passed SO MUCH seems to have happened sonically in Ty's world. The squalling waves of feedback and shedding that marked "Slaughterhouse" and his other project Fuzz are all here, alongside the acoustic pop-smarts of "Sleeper" and the weird pop sensibilities that peppered "Twins" but whittled down to their core essence. There's a comfortable assurance to "Manipulator" showing us that Ty's really seems to have a handle on EXACTLY what he wants to do and how to do it. Dude took a year to write and record it, and from what we know about Ty that must have seemed like an eternity! The two tunes from the teaser "Feel" single are here (albeit in somewhat different versions), but the rest of the album is all-new. This one has all the elements to FINALLY break our boy into some well deserved mass appeal, the hooks are sharper and the production is better than ever (but still not "too good") so who knows? Are stadium tours next? Probably not, but if he wasn't already in the pole position, "Manipulator" has him poised for stardom. Regardless, the album is TREMENDOUS and (dare we say) the best one yet. Worthy of the hype? You 'betcha. RECOMMENDED - heck we already had a spot reserved in our Top Tennner list for 2014, so GRAB THIS ONE ASAP!