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Chime School is the project of San Francisco musician Andy Pastalaniec. Endlessly charmed by 80s indie and its 60s forbearers (and any record with a 12-string guitar), Andy cut his teeth as a drummer with SLR labelmate Odd Hope in their early group Pink Films; later with shoegazers Cruel Summer, and currently with indiepop outfit Seablite. But it wasn't until he was gifted a cassette 4-track portastudio "almost as a dare," that he came out from behind the kit to write and record his own material. Aptly named for its autodidact roots, Chime School pays homage to the formative jangle of The Byrds by way of early Primal Scream and The Springfields; the production and pop sensibility of the Biff Bang Pow and The Razorcuts; and the spirit of great singles labels like Creation, Postcard and Sarah. From the dreamy album opener "Wait Your Turn" to the driving jangle of "Dead Saturdays" and the lush, epic "Gone Too Fast" we can see that we're in the presence of a very talented writer indeed, someone with a lifetime's worth of pop fandom just waiting to burst out in song.

They’re wild and young and free, someone would say.
FREEZ are a bunch of italian 18 years old guys that write great garage-pop songs.
They already toured Europe and had a track from their debut made it to a FatCat Records compilation.
Always Friends is a solid alternative rock record, written by Michele Bellinaso in his bedroom in his mother's house and
then recorded it with his bandmates Nicolò and Stefano at Fox Studio (Venice) with New Candys' member Andrea
Volpato. The whole album is split in two parts that reflect two di erent moods: the happier one filled with romantic
choruses screamed in the microphone, adolescences themes and “falling in love” stories, then the more emotional part
with even more distortions on it, that accompanies the sad vibes of the record, based on friends leaving hometown, the
need of having someone beside you and choosing what to do with your life.
FREEZ is an up-and-coming garage rock band from Schio (ITA). Michele, Stef and Nicolò make up one of the youngest
actively touring band from northern Italy. FREEZ sound like they were born and raised on the California coast, unapologetically
taking their echo-drenched, surf-punk vibe straight out of Oakland, San Francisco and Long Beach.
While music magazines hails them as the new voice of Italian Slacker-rock, FREEZ have been hard at work.
With no signs of slowing down they already have done several tours around Italy, France and Switzerland on their “Do
Nothing Club Tour”.

Black feminist punk band Big Joanie have announced their upcoming second album 'Back Home', set for release 4th November on Daydream Library Series in the UK and Kill Rock Stars in the US. The brand new album 'Back Home' follows on from last month's one-off single 'Happier Still', and the release of their 2020 single 'Cranes in the Sky', a cover of Solange Knowles released on Jack White's Third Man Records. Recorded at Hermitage Works Studios in North London, 'Back Home' was produced and mixed by Margo Broom (Goat Girl, Fat White Family) and features violin courtesy of Charlotte Valentine of the experimental art rock project No Home, who recently collaborated with the LA-based artist Sasami. 'Back Home' is a dramatic leap forward for the band; the band build on their tightly knit, lo-fi punk formula to bring forth a collage of blazing guitars, down tempo dance punk, and melancholic strings that evoke the full depth of the band's expansive art punk vision. The album title references a search for a place to call home, whether real or metaphysical. "We were really ruminating on the idea of a home and what it means," explains Stephanie. "It's about the different ideas of home, whether that's here in the UK, back in Africa or the Caribbean, or a place that doesn't really exist; it's neither here nor there." The band worked with multidisciplinary artist Angelica Ellis to design the striking embroidered cover art, which is a depiction of Chardine's nephew at the barbers. The artwork is a reference to the embroidered wall hangings popular in Caribbean homes post-Windrush that were a callback to the homes they left behind. The album's strength lies in the band's bold and varied new sound. Album opener 'Cactus Tree' is an eerie, gothic folk tale that tells the story of a woman waiting for her lover while a wall of euphoric harmonies and screaming feedback roll in the background. Lead single 'Happier Still' is a driving, Nirvana-influenced track that grapples with the idea of wanting to push through a depressive episode. Inspired equally by the melodic rock of Hüsker Dü and the mystical sensibilities of Stevie Nicks, closer 'Sainted' brings the club-ready sentiment of the 2018 single 'Fall Asleep' to its natural conclusion.

Black feminist punk band Big Joanie have announced their upcoming second album 'Back Home', set for release 4th November on Daydream Library Series in the UK and Kill Rock Stars in the US. The brand new album 'Back Home' follows on from last month's one-off single 'Happier Still', and the release of their 2020 single 'Cranes in the Sky', a cover of Solange Knowles released on Jack White's Third Man Records. Recorded at Hermitage Works Studios in North London, 'Back Home' was produced and mixed by Margo Broom (Goat Girl, Fat White Family) and features violin courtesy of Charlotte Valentine of the experimental art rock project No Home, who recently collaborated with the LA-based artist Sasami. 'Back Home' is a dramatic leap forward for the band; the band build on their tightly knit, lo-fi punk formula to bring forth a collage of blazing guitars, down tempo dance punk, and melancholic strings that evoke the full depth of the band's expansive art punk vision. The album title references a search for a place to call home, whether real or metaphysical. "We were really ruminating on the idea of a home and what it means," explains Stephanie. "It's about the different ideas of home, whether that's here in the UK, back in Africa or the Caribbean, or a place that doesn't really exist; it's neither here nor there." The band worked with multidisciplinary artist Angelica Ellis to design the striking embroidered cover art, which is a depiction of Chardine's nephew at the barbers. The artwork is a reference to the embroidered wall hangings popular in Caribbean homes post-Windrush that were a callback to the homes they left behind. The album's strength lies in the band's bold and varied new sound. Album opener 'Cactus Tree' is an eerie, gothic folk tale that tells the story of a woman waiting for her lover while a wall of euphoric harmonies and screaming feedback roll in the background. Lead single 'Happier Still' is a driving, Nirvana-influenced track that grapples with the idea of wanting to push through a depressive episode. Inspired equally by the melodic rock of Hüsker Dü and the mystical sensibilities of Stevie Nicks, closer 'Sainted' brings the club-ready sentiment of the 2018 single 'Fall Asleep' to its natural conclusion.

Hævner is a Copenhagen-based post-punk band formed in 2020 by current and former members of Motorsav, Kold Front, Metro Cult, Moth, Sunken and St. Digue. Their sound is dark, chaotic and stabs the listener like a frozen dagger. With biting guitars, ice-cold synths, throbbing bass, hard-hitting drums and desperate screams, Hævner forces you into a distorted dimension where 2 + 2 is 5 and the exit is only wide enough for one of you.

Alwanzatar is a one man (Krizla from Norwegian cult heroes Tusmørke) musical project creating extraterrestrial world music, with flute, incantations, synthesisers and electronics. Kosmisk skrekk is a gloomy sound track for space travel aboard grey, dusty interplanetary crafts. Beware of space pirates with hooded lanterns sneaking up behind an asteroid as you lay frozen in your sleeping capsule! The sounds on Alwanzatars fifth album are generated from a hundred years of synthesizers, including the theremin, Buchla Music Easel and Eurorack, accompanied by flutes, 808 drums and analogue mixing console screams. In many ways a lockdown album, it is a bleak travelogue of studio excursions into madness and altered reality.

Colour in Color Vinyl, white in transparent blue. Limited to 300 copies.The Magnificent are eight Hollywood rock-scene veterans who have previously hidden their secret love for powerhouse rhythm and blues, but now reveal it to the world in a savage show. The band's songbook is loaded with deep-in-the-crates soul gems from the mid-sixties to the early seventies. Playing choice selections from the likes of Solomon Burke, Rex Garvin and Big Mama Thornton, the band rearranges the songs to showcase their individual specialties, while keeping the essentials of the material in place, particularly the non-stop danceable rhythms.The Magnificent's full length release "Monolithic" includes original material alongside covers from the likes of Eddie Floyd, Janis Joplin, and the Knight Brothers. Recorded at Kitten Robot studio in Historic Filipinotown with Paul Roessler (Screamers, Twisted Roots), the tracks were mastered by soul veteran Rodney Mills at his Masterhouse lab in Atlanta. Rodney's track record includes sessions with soul godfathers such as the Meters, James Brown and George Clinton.With two frenetic front men backed by a six-man wrecking crew and two torso-twisting go-go dancers, the Magnificent are a revue to be reckoned with, a red-hot retro blast of shotgun soul.Mighty Manfred (of The Woggles, The Professor of Rock `n' Soul)Nathan Long (The Deacon of Kokomo) Kent HolmesSL "Duck" Duff (of The Streetwalkin' Cheetahs) Erik Szabo Todd Westover (of the BellRays)Joe Jennings Geoff Yeaton of The Streetwalkin' CheetahsMoana Santana (of Lucha va Voom) Diane Christensen (of Lucha va Voom)

The Magnificent are eight Hollywood rock-scene veterans who have previously hidden their secret love for powerhouse rhythm and blues, but now reveal it to the world in a savage show. The band's songbook is loaded with deep-in-the-crates soul gems from the mid-sixties to the early seventies. Playing choice selections from the likes of Solomon Burke, Rex Garvin and Big Mama Thornton, the band rearranges the songs to showcase their individual specialties, while keeping the essentials of the material in place, particularly the non-stop danceable rhythms.The Magnificent's full length release "Monolithic" includes original material alongside covers from the likes of Eddie Floyd, Janis Joplin, and the Knight Brothers. Recorded at Kitten Robot studio in Historic Filipinotown with Paul Roessler (Screamers, Twisted Roots), the tracks were mastered by soul veteran Rodney Mills at his Masterhouse lab in Atlanta. Rodney's track record includes sessions with soul godfathers such as the Meters, James Brown and George Clinton.With two frenetic front men backed by a six-man wrecking crew and two torso-twisting go-go dancers, the Magnificent are a revue to be reckoned with, a red-hot retro blast of shotgun soul.Mighty Manfred (of The Woggles, The Professor of Rock `n' Soul)Nathan Long (The Deacon of Kokomo) Kent HolmesSL "Duck" Duff (of The Streetwalkin' Cheetahs) Erik Szabo Todd Westover (of the BellRays)Joe Jennings Geoff Yeaton of The Streetwalkin' CheetahsMoana Santana (of Lucha va Voom) Diane Christensen (of Lucha va Voom)

In the midst of crises, world war scenarios and madness, Vibravoid float on their own cloud and tell o...

Western Massachusetts musician Stephen Pierce has used Gold Dust as a means for exploring his next journey, slowly piecing together songs that held the fragile wonderment of the Grateful Dead, the weary beauty of Elliott Smith, the melancholic twang of the Byrds, and the otherworldly density of My Bloody Valentine while always reaching for hope and connectivity in a way that was universal. Neither the slow-to-form creative process of the first album nor the ambling pace often taken by Pierce’s thoughtful, dreamily damaged psychedelia points to rapid evolution, but that’s exactly what’s taking place on second album The Late Great Gold Dust.

The themes of isolation and self-doubt that floated on the first album have sharpened, and the language around these difficult feelings have taken on a new clarity. Pierce’s songwriting has always held a distant sadness, but with The Late Great Gold Dust, the melancholy cuts through, feels more present and alive within the songs. There’s a muddy narrative arc to these twelve songs, getting more harrowing throughout the album’s second half as screams echo in the void until an exhausted sigh that sounds something like acceptance rises out of the murk.

The Late Great Gold Dust steps into new dimensions musically as well. Pierce continues the layers of jangle, fuzz, and sunny vocal harmonies that made the first album equal parts tender and strange, but takes new risks with production, texture, and instrumentation.

Pierce played every instrument and sang every vocal on the first album, and while he still handles the lion’s share of the performances here, he brings in several friends to add new angles to the tunes: guest vocals, moody Fender Rhodes, Hammond organ, damaged synth, and J Mascis (dinosaur JR.) lending his instantly-recognizable guitar with a “Maggot Brain” level solo on “Larks Swarm a Hawk,” the track that closes out side one. Eloquent weirdo Sean Yeaton of Parquet Courts contributes a short story for the liner notes, narrated from somewhere between the natural world and all the psychedelic computerized kitchens of the future.

Cold Gawd is the flag under which California-based multi-instrumentalist Matt Wainwright creates stormy, wounded shoegaze music born of open tunings and R&B melodies. His second collection, God Get Me The Fuck Out Of Here, took shape in the winter of 2020 while working long solo shifts at a coffee shop in Chicago. Fueled by dreams of returning to his hometown of Rancho Cucamonga and reconnecting with old friends from past hardcore bands, Wainright holed up with his coveted pink Jazzmaster, an array of FX pedals, and a laptop, and wrote the entire album in a month. In March of 2021 he made the move, heading back west to the Inland Empire, where he booked sessions with Gabe Largaespada at Open Ocean to track and mix. Despite recording every instrument himself, the results have the lived-in feel of a practiced live band (which Cold Gawd now are, fleshed into a sixpiece). Cascading walls of guitar churn, surge, and ripple, framed by sunken rhythms and Wainright's distant, defeated voice, veiled in violet haze. He cites the thematic common ground between shoegaze and R&B as a central muse, both obsessively fixated on love, lust, and longing, in forms alternately grandiose and minor key. Lyrically the album sways between oblique and desperate, yearning and resigned - with the exception of "Comfort Thug," a brooding, largely improvised spoken word piece inspired by the notable lack of black musicians in shoegaze. Cold Gawd is here to change that. God Get Me The Fuck Out Of Here channels malaise and melancholy into gauzy, galvanized anthems of escape, change, and introspection. The crushing closing cut, "Passing Through the Opposite of What It Approaches," heaves and hovers like looming storm clouds, beneath which Wainright sings (and bandmate Arturo Ramirez screams) as close to a mission statement as the album offers: "leave what you know / and get grown / everyday / remember / why you left."

Cold Gawd is the flag under which California-based multi-instrumentalist Matt Wainwright creates stormy, wounded shoegaze music born of open tunings and R&B melodies. His second collection, God Get Me The Fuck Out Of Here, took shape in the winter of 2020 while working long solo shifts at a coffee shop in Chicago. Fueled by dreams of returning to his hometown of Rancho Cucamonga and reconnecting with old friends from past hardcore bands, Wainright holed up with his coveted pink Jazzmaster, an array of FX pedals, and a laptop, and wrote the entire album in a month. In March of 2021 he made the move, heading back west to the Inland Empire, where he booked sessions with Gabe Largaespada at Open Ocean to track and mix. Despite recording every instrument himself, the results have the lived-in feel of a practiced live band (which Cold Gawd now are, fleshed into a sixpiece). Cascading walls of guitar churn, surge, and ripple, framed by sunken rhythms and Wainright's distant, defeated voice, veiled in violet haze. He cites the thematic common ground between shoegaze and R&B as a central muse, both obsessively fixated on love, lust, and longing, in forms alternately grandiose and minor key. Lyrically the album sways between oblique and desperate, yearning and resigned - with the exception of "Comfort Thug," a brooding, largely improvised spoken word piece inspired by the notable lack of black musicians in shoegaze. Cold Gawd is here to change that. God Get Me The Fuck Out Of Here channels malaise and melancholy into gauzy, galvanized anthems of escape, change, and introspection. The crushing closing cut, "Passing Through the Opposite of What It Approaches," heaves and hovers like looming storm clouds, beneath which Wainright sings (and bandmate Arturo Ramirez screams) as close to a mission statement as the album offers: "leave what you know / and get grown / everyday / remember / why you left."

After five years of radio silence Sweden's most accomplished cinematic post-rock ensemble EF return with a stunning comeback studio album which channels the band's raw emotion and aptitude for melancholia, capturing their signature sound in unprecedented clarity and richness. We Salute You, You and You! is the picture capturing a thousand words, like the first light of day falling on your face or the exuberant smile of a young lover_ it is the dance of eternity in the single moment: a warm "welcome back!" for long-time fans and a resounding "nice to meet you!" for those who yet have to get to know the great four-piece from Gothenburg. For over 20 years EF have been bridging the divide between the sublime and the fragile with magistral compositions characterised by moments of emotional catharsis and marked human frailty. Combining the indie rock mannerisms of Explosions IN THE SKY with the hardcore attitude of Mogwai and the orchestral approach of Godspeed YOU! Black Emperor, EF capture the magic of post-rock around the turn of the millennium, when the genre was still young and freshly exciting. Their 2006 debut album Give Me Beauty_ Or Give Me Death! is an underrated post-rock classic that marked the start of a storied career with many seminal studio albums ahead of them. However after 15 years that fabled career seemed to come to an end as: after one last performance at Pelagic Fest in Berlin in 2018, the members of EF became quiet and little was heard of them since. Mastered by Magnus Lindberg, We Salute You, You and You! is a veritable celebration of the grandeur of post rock. From the giant ringing piano intro of album opener Moments of Momentum to the massive syncopated bass lines of Wolves, Obey! all the way to the enchantingly beautiful lone horn break on Apricity and the intricate union of horn section, strings and band in the climactic build-up of Chambers. Sprinkled throughout the record are countless instances of these little grand moments and gestures. EF have opened their treasure trove to show what's still in it, and it is full of riches. But We Salute You, You and You! is not just induging in past glory, it is also transcending the narrow realm of instrumental rock: almost all tracks on the album have vocals this time around, and even screamed vocals make a debut in EF's discography here. "We've previously had pretty heavy aggressive parts in songs, but we've never screamed," explains A°strom once more. "With this album we've tried to be more direct, more consistent. Maybe take it back a few notches to rhyme better with our youth as hardcore musicians. The screaming just came naturally." EF have tremendously broadened their sonic palette with this album, while at the same time staying true to their charismatic formula of sound which we love them for. With a host of immediately memorable melodies and truly sublime compositions, the four from Gothenburg have once more delivered an overwhelming experience of glorious wistfulness and melancholia - an album which is right up there with the classics that have inspired them.

"Originally from Tuscon, N8NOFACE made his way to LA to double down on hte visual, audio, and live expression naturally running through his veins. While his influences range from Suicidal Tendencies to Stones Throw compilations of minimal wave music, his sound can be uniquely classified as the past, present, and future heartbeat of the real LA. A dirty melding of 80s/90s nostalgic synthpunk combined with the amalgamation of chaos heard in grimy soundcloud rap tapes.
N8NOFACE screams for those left behind, presenting the hard truth of police brutality, mental health, and the untold stories of the voiceless. His 1-2 minute minimalist distorted dark synth movements challenge every listener to accept what the real world sounds like, and dares the complacent to be shocked out of their musical safety net of never-ending sameness."

Screaming suburban blues straight from the pages of HeartattaCk magazine, Current exploded out of the early-'90s Midwestern emo scene in a fit of D.C. hardcore-inspired rage. Spread across three LPs, Yesterday's Tomorrow Is Not Today compiles the quartet's lone album, two EPs, split 7"s with Indian Summer and Chino Horde, miscellaneous compilation debris, and nine previously unissued alternates, including the infamous Klxu radio show. Remixed and mastered from the original tapes, Current's complete discography is annotated in Leor Galil's exhaustive survey, illustrated with period photos, flyers, and cut-n-paste sleeve art across 24 pages. - "Your parents would like this." _TimYohannan, Maximumrocknrol -

Screaming suburban blues straight from the pages of HeartattaCk magazine, Current exploded out of the early-'90s Midwestern emo scene in a fit of D.C. hardcore-inspired rage. Spread across three LPs, Yesterday's Tomorrow Is Not Today compiles the quartet's lone album, two EPs, split 7"s with Indian Summer and Chino Horde, miscellaneous compilation debris, and nine previously unissued alternates, including the infamous Klxu radio show. Remixed and mastered from the original tapes, Current's complete discography is annotated in Leor Galil's exhaustive survey, illustrated with period photos, flyers, and cut-n-paste sleeve art across 24 pages. - "Your parents would like this." _TimYohannan, Maximumrocknrol -

After a string of smash hit records on Hozac, Screaming Apple and Secret Mission, Cozy are back with a brand new single on Surfin' KI Records!!! "Denim Child" may just be the best tune Cozy has released to date!!! From it's floor shaking verse to its insanely anthemic singalong chorus, "Denim Child" is an instant hit that will be stuck in your head for months!!!!! "Cutie Catcher" on the b-side is an infectious, moog-laden bubblegum romp which showcases Cozy's playful side to spectacular effect!!!

"Electric Elite" is the second studio album of Riot City from Canada and this is the perfect follow-up to their highly acclaimed "Burn The Night" debut of 2019. The debut album was Album of the Month in Germany's Deaf Forever magazine and was voted by many media as one of the best albums of its year. Riot City was also voted as one of the best newcomers by various media, while metal fans also supported the release and the band that already has completed two European tours and many festival appearances with many more to follow supporting "Electric Elite".Following "Burn The Night", Riot City are keeping their ripping and screaming heavy metal but with "Electric Elite" they're also going one step further adding US heavy and power metal elements to their heavy-speed Judas PRIEST-and-NWOBHM-inspired metal.

If you’re looking for a band that embody everything hardcore punk should be, then you’re looking for Birds in Row. Sonically, they’re fearless. Lyrically, they’re as poetic as they are recusant. And live, they’re a ruthless force, matching the power of their music with boundless, must-see energy. After debut album You, Me & the Violence sparked listeners’ imaginations, 2018 follow-up We Already Lost the World was an unyielding inferno of brazen ideas. Metal Hammer UK called it “intelligent, poignant art,” writing that “this downward spiral changes pace and weight at every turn.” It screamed for mutual respect in a world of increasingly extreme political divides, and used the vehicles of punk, post-hardcore and post-metal to carry its cries. Now comes Gris Klein. Birds in Row’s third full-length album is their most genre-bending and timely declaration yet. “Water Wings” opens, its scraping guitar strums a ticking clock, counting down to the inevitable barrage of hardcore to follow. “Noah” revs up over its six gargantuan minutes. Its singing slowly spirals into apoplectic screeches. “Trompe l’oeil” is half folk, half punk, and “Winter Yet” has no qualms about busting out seismic metal guitars at its climax. It’s an amorphous beast of an album: always unpredictable, but never out of character for this creative collective. Gris Klein’s lyrics were sculpted by the Covid-19 pandemic, eloquently summarizing the cruel and sometimes nonsensical nature of mental illness. “Trompe l’oeil”, for example, sings, “Most of the times I feel lonely are when my friends are around.” “This is the exact moment where you should feel like you’re surrounded by people you love and you’re not alone,” the band add. “It asks, ‘If I can’t feel loved in this specific moment, then when can I feel that?’” Gris Klein is a portrait of a world enduring its most chaotic era in a generation. Yet throughout, the Birds in Row manifesto is the same as it’s always been: love each other. “We really want people to know that they’re not alone, and that they can count on each other,” they say. “The way we treat each other is political. It’s OK to trust each other. All the movies about catastrophes show people turning against each other, but that’s not what would happen. When people are in the shit, they help each other. That’s what we’re trying to transmit with this record: hold each other’s hands.” Not even a world-shaking pandemic could damage Birds in Row’s invention, compassion and brutality. Now three albums in, they remain the model portrait of punk. – Matt Mills, May 2022

US heavy psych masterpiece from 1969. Powerful sound and recording with thunderous drums, piercing fuzz guitars and the incredible vocals of Steve Morgen. Formed as Morgen’s Dreame Spectrum in 1967 in NY, Morgen were one the first bands signed to ABC’s offshoot Probe Records (home also of Soft Machine in the US). Fuelled by the chemistry between ace guitar player Murray Shiffrin and creative songwriter/singer Steve Morgen, they recorded their self-titled album in 1968 but, much to the band’s dismay and frustration, it wasn’t released until December 1969. Morgen included seven impressive tracks, all of them written by Steve Morgen. You can hear subtle influences of Hendrix, Stones, Who, Doors or Donovan but Morgen’s sound is clearly a beast of its own kind. The mysterious gatefold cover featured Edvard Munch’s iconic 1893 composition The Scream on the front. Welcome to the Void! *Original gatefold artwork. *Repro of the elusive poster insert. *New color insert with cool photos and detailed liner notes by Mike Stax (Ugly Things) *Audiophile restoration / remastering by Ezra Lesser.

The Lipstick Killers released just one single in their life time – the perfect ’79 Deniz Tek-produced pairing of “Hindu Gods of Love” and ”Shakedown Usa” on their own Lost in Space Records and Greg Shaw’s Voxx Records - but a posthumous live album and a couple of archival releases followed. It was all incredible. All that material is included here, as is a plethora of additional stuff, all from the best-available sources (mostly original tapes).

The Lipstick Killers’ enigmatic and high-energy sound – heavily inspired by the Stooges and the ‘60s psychedelic punk sounds of bands like the Thirteenth Floor Elevators and the Chocolate Watchband – bridged the gap between Radio Birdman and subsequent Sydney groups like the Sunnyboys (whose first-ever show was opening for the Lipstick Killers), Lime Spiders, Hoodoo Gurus, the Screaming Tribesmen and the Psychotic Turnbuckles. And of course they anticipated generation after generation of other bands with similar things in mind, right up to today’s ‘60s-inspired freaks like The Straight Arrows, The Living Eyes and Thee Oh Sees.

Lars Finberg, confirmed genius guy and poet laureate of sunken 21st century Rock, acts as manager in perpetuity of THE Intelligence, primary vehicle for his prolific creative swirl and a project that has taken on new shapes across myriad trials and shifts. The project began in his Seattle bedroom—a lad and his Tascam cassette 8 track—with the classic Boredom & Terror and has now landed in his Los Angeles studio apartment—an urchin and his Tascam digital 12 track—with Lil’ Peril, a new album that finds Finberg 1000% back at the controls. Over the course of 11 albums (!), The Intelligence has established a backbone that boogies through revolutions, allowing each jam-crammed dispatch to feel and sound admirably unique. The angular sharp shocks heard in earlier years have steadily evolved into the ballooning grooves heard on more recent releases (including Finberg’s recent solo work). Lil’ Peril is a dreamy gamble that captures this current bubbling penchant in The Intelligence’s inaugural homemade mode. With inspirational templates as far-flung as Les Paul, The Specials, Lee Perry and Mary Ford, Lil’ Peril pulls off the absurd shift “from ‘No-Wave Santana’ to ‘Screamers recorded by Jon Brion”. Playing shoulder parrot to studio engineers has no doubt informed Finberg’s approach to home recording, specifically in how much further he can go without wincing budget-minded eyes staring him down. This is immediately sensed on the opener “Maudlin Agency,” which begins with canned minimal bleep and closes with a full recreation of the “Brass Monkey” hook. These surprise-attack conclusions are a running current throughout the Lil’ Peril’s program and demonstrates that the main lesson Finberg has learned in The Intelligence is to never reel it in. Centerpiece banger “My Work Here Is Dumb” ranks among the finest Intelligence moments existent and an apex in Finberg’s songcraft, boasting a bonkers arrangement and a thematic gnaw that is both brutal and playful. The collection closes with the epic “Soundguys,” a suite cut-up that fuses Can and Steely Dan into one of the most dastardly tunes available for consumption in the plague age. As Finberg himself states, “They may say this is ‘lo-fi’, but I say it’s ‘no-CGI’”. Pressed on red vinyl.

In the middle of the wonderful sludge that was coming out of Seattle in the late 80s/early 90’s, Love Battery pierced through with something different to offer. They were more psychedelic, more tuneful, and even more...dare we say...British sounding than what Sub-Pop was releasing at the time. We were listening. The results are crystal clear on the record Jackpot Records is reissuing, ‘Dayglo’. And like many of the Sub-Pop records of the day, this has not been available on vinyl in the U.S. Until now.

On 'Dayglo', inventive and underrated guitar wizard Kevin Whitworth and vocalist/guitarist Ron Nine slash and burn through 10 songs that would give bands like Blur, Swervedriver, and yes, Nirvana, a run for their money. It doesn't hurt that the focused driven energy of drummer Jason Finn (soon to be of The Presidents Of The United States) and ex-U-Men bass monster Jim Tillman add more than their weight to the sonic mystery of these songs.

From the melodic battle cry of opener 'Out Of Focus' with its slippery, infectious chorus, it's obvious that Love Battery had an incredible knack for hypnotic hooks, cryptic lyrics, and propulsive grooves--ones that record obsessives still drool over when the needle hits the turntable. The record is as mysterious as early R.E.M., with equal hints of 13th Floor Elevators and Screaming Trees sprinkled throughout.

"Pure psychotropic madness." A screaming head on fire penetrated my chest, jolting me from the universal plane back to earth." Guitarist/Singer/Sonic Alchemist Dave W's vivid fever dream ignited The Revenge of Heads on Fire, WHITE HILLS' latest release, which harnesses the energy of ferocious, hedonistic rock with blissful passages of dark ambience. Exploring themes of mortality, transformation and rebirth, the band reveals a spiritual depth unparalleled in previous works. The roar of fire, swirling of oceans and hallucinogenic visions can be heard throughout the 75-minute journey. From the intrepid prelude "The Instrumental Head" to the closing punk blaze of "Eternity", the album ebbs and flows, smoldering and seething in the middle with the 21- minute mammoth opus "Don't Be Afraid". "'Don't Be Afraid' alone makes this an essential listen for fans of contemporary psychedelia." -All Music The Revenge of Heads on Fire consummates Dave W's prototype for the 2007 release on Rocket Recordings, Heads on Fire, later picked up by Thrill Jockey. Six rediscovered songs accompany re-mixed versions of the original material, fulfilling the master arch of the pyre lit long ago. Recorded during the band's tumultuous early years, the music vibrates with the energy and volatility of a sonic boom. The album will be released on Heads on Fire Industries, distributed worldwide via Cargo Records UK.

'Fast Stories...from Kid Coma' is the debut studio album by the American rock band Truly, released in 1995. The album was put out by Capitol Records' Revolution imprint, while the vinyl edition was handled by Sub Pop. And now it is being reissued by Bang! Records.Members of the band: Robert Roth (vocals, guitar), Hiro Yamamoto (bass guitar - SOUNDGARDEN), Mark Pickerel (drums - SCREAMING TREES).'Fast Stories...from Kid Coma' is loosely a concept album, about a comatose kid "reliving a past summer of grandeur". The Encyclopedia of Popular Music called the album "a hard-hitting, insistent record that occasionally overreached in its attempts to distance itself from its contemporaries". Trouser Press wrote: "Heavy but never bludgeoning, melodic but never cheesy, excessive but never ridiculous, Fast Stories is an extended trip into several of rock's outer dimensions".Loudwire ranked the album at twenty-sixth in their list of "The 30 Best Grunge Albums of All Time".Kerrang! wrote that Fast Stories...from Kid Coma "remains a genuinely vital album, and quite possibly the [grunge] genre's swan song".Louder Sound named the album in their list of "10 obscure but absolutely essential grunge albums".MTV called it "the great psychedelic hard rock rush of the year".

"Pure psychotropic madness." A screaming head on fire penetrated my chest, jolting me from the universal plane back to earth." Guitarist/Singer/Sonic Alchemist Dave W's vivid fever dream ignited The Revenge of Heads on Fire, White Hills' latest release, which harnesses the energy of ferocious, hedonistic rock with blissful passages of dark ambience. Exploring themes of mortality, transformation and rebirth, the band reveals a spiritual depth unparalleled in previous works. The roar of fire, swirling of oceans and hallucinogenic visions can be heard throughout the 75-minute journey. From the intrepid prelude "The Instrumental Head" to the closing punk blaze of "Eternity", the album ebbs and flows, smoldering and seething in the middle with the 21- minute mammoth opus "Don't Be Afraid". "'Don't Be Afraid' alone makes this an essential listen for fans of contemporary psychedelia." -All Music The Revenge of Heads on Fire consummates Dave W's prototype for the 2007 release on Rocket Recordings, Heads on Fire, later picked up by Thrill Jockey. Six rediscovered songs accompany re-mixed versions of the original material, fulfilling the master arch of the pyre lit long ago. Recorded during the band's tumultuous early years, the music vibrates with the energy and volatility of a sonic boom.

"Pure psychotropic madness." A screaming head on fire penetrated my chest, jolting me from the universal plane back to earth." Guitarist/Singer/Sonic Alchemist Dave W's vivid fever dream ignited The Revenge of Heads on Fire, White Hills' latest release, which harnesses the energy of ferocious, hedonistic rock with blissful passages of dark ambience. Exploring themes of mortality, transformation and rebirth, the band reveals a spiritual depth unparalleled in previous works. The roar of fire, swirling of oceans and hallucinogenic visions can be heard throughout the 75-minute journey. From the intrepid prelude "The Instrumental Head" to the closing punk blaze of "Eternity", the album ebbs and flows, smoldering and seething in the middle with the 21- minute mammoth opus "Don't Be Afraid". "'Don't Be Afraid' alone makes this an essential listen for fans of contemporary psychedelia." -All Music The Revenge of Heads on Fire consummates Dave W's prototype for the 2007 release on Rocket Recordings, Heads on Fire, later picked up by Thrill Jockey. Six rediscovered songs accompany re-mixed versions of the original material, fulfilling the master arch of the pyre lit long ago. Recorded during the band's tumultuous early years, the music vibrates with the energy and volatility of a sonic boom.

Emotional Rescue returns to what it does best by unearthing musical gems of the British post punk scene with a double pack compilation of Bristol's short lived Recreational Records. Teaming up with Bristol Archive Records, 10 songs are remastered, reissued and cut loud for DJs and collectors. What is most striking is, although created in the space of just two years, with a disparate collection of artists, musicians and producers coming together, the music holds a considerable cohesive sound. Set up in 1981 by Bristol based shop, Revolver Records, Recreational was formed as an independent label with its own distribution, as part of the co-operative, Cartel. The label was a natural progression from the shop's punk's DIY aesthetic, acting as a hang out and inspiration for local artists from Mark Stewart to later staff member, Daddy G. 'Get It Right' starts with a one-off project in Scream + Dance, who similarly, alongside local bands Glaxo Babies, Maximum Joy and Rip Rig & Panic, explored post-punk with funk and jazz all underpinned with heavy tribal and dub influenced rhythms. 'In Rhythm', with its infectious groove, acts as a call to arms for the compilation, coming in two parts, the latter dropping away to explore the links with dub. Next is possibly the label's biggest band in Talisman, going on to be active up to today, their release 'Run Come Girl / Wicked Dem' are both featured in long 12" mixes that explore the classic 'discomix' of vocal and dub in longform. Animal Magic lead with the pack's title, 'Get It Right' a short-driven punk funk burst that captures the label's sound to perfection. However, much of the compilation is given over to the more experimental side of the bands, with a high percentage the B sides where they headed to the mixing desk for echo chambered dub inspired versions. X-Certs' 'Untogether; Electric Guitars' 'Don't Wake The Baby' and Animal Magic's 'Trash The Blad' are culled from the flips of various 7" singles and all are a fusion of percussive rhythms, studio trickery and dub inspired techniques, played out against the "Do it Yourself" aesthetic of the time. To complete is London based, soukous, kwela and afrobeat inspired collective, Ivory Coasters' 'Mungaka Makossa' and two rhythmic curveballs by Scream + Dance in 'Giocometti Wicked Mix)' and their riotous (and short) closer, 'In Pink & Black'. "Get it right this time, get it right!".

Naomi Alligator is fed up. She’s sick of trying to make relationships work that have already run their course, and tired of sitting in a wintry apartment waiting for her life to kick into gear. On »Double Knot«, the modern folk singer/songwriter from Virginia attempts to unwind her life from all that is holding her back. In a way, it’s a coming-of-age record about shedding what no longer serves you and, ultimately, finding something like deliverance.

On the opening track, “Seasick,” Naomi Alligator is already in the midst of a sort of awakening. Right off the bat, she sings, “I don’t know what’s happened to me / It’s like I turned 16 / It’s like I grew to be 6-feet tall.” This is the announcement of a wide-eyed artist coming out of hibernation and into their own. Still, Naomi’s vocals ache with guilt and longing, belying the track’s playful catchiness. Longing for what? Maybe attention from a crush, but mostly a sunnier place to call home.

Naomi Alligator began writing Double Knot while living in Philadelphia during the height of the pandemic and the deterioration of a longterm romance. “I scream: How’d the hell I end up here? / I’m 1-inch tall, it’s crystal clear,” she chants on “Neighborhood Freak,” returning to height and size as an emotional barometer. When asked though, Naomi rejects the notion that Double Knot is a breakup album, or autobiographical at all. Moreso, she says, it’s a personal reckoning in which, “the minute before you make a big decision, you tally up the reasons why you don’t want to do what you’re doing anymore.”

That desire to turn the page expands to the production of the album as well. Naomi Alligator generally houses her narratives in beds of minimal, home-tracked instrumentation—influenced by the stripped-down poeticism of Joan Baez and Liz Phair’s Girly-Sound tapes. Double Knot finds Naomi continuing to hone the winning combination of guitar and banjo she established on 2021’s Concession Stand Girl EP. For Double Knot though, Naomi wanted a fuller, more dynamic sound: more instruments, more harmonies, more layering, more, more, more. Inspired by the impressionistic melodies of Animal Collective and Mgmt, Naomi peppers in computer-generated synths throughout the album, most notably on the song “Burn Out.” These electronic flourishes augment the more grounding string instruments, arriving somewhere more ethereal than Naomi’s earlier work while still maintaining her warm songwriting.

If anything, Double Knot is a reminder that you can always pack up your bags, try something new, and change your life. As for Naomi Alligator herself? She moved west, to California.