Live Review: The Gories @ The Echo 09/08/10

Just when you thought it was safe to turn your back and dwell in pop oblivion, the Gories are back from the grave to feast on your feeble brain and reanimate your behind on the dance floor.
The Gories finished their three show stint in Los Angeles at the Echo last night, their first ever tour on the West coast. A crowd of restless natives huddled around the stage, ready to be hoodooed by the Gories’s footstompin’ riff rock.

Mick Collins and Dan Kroha did a call and response on their six strings while and Peggy O’Neill did a Bo Diddley stomp on the tom toms. Their signature anthem, “Hey Hey We’re the Gories” was an invocation to their glory days, and the hits kept comin’. Highlights included a raucous “Thunderbird ESQ,” a howling and entendre laden “Sister Anne,” a feedback drenched cover of Suicide’s “Ghost Rider” and a bumping and grinding take of Eddie Holland’s “Leavin’ Here.”

The crowd was high, tight and rowdy, with beers flying and arm flailing; like a mob possessed by the gris gris of a thousand years. Back on stage, guitar strings were breaking as Mick and Dan hollered and whined their back catalogue at the congregation of the Gories faithful, as Peggy coolly pounded one out on the drums, peering though dark shades of indifference.

It was as if no time had passed since the Gories’s former incarnation, which broke up in 1992. This was by far the best reunion show this intrepid journalist has ever witnessed, a sacred rite of joy resurrected.

Eyad Karkoutly

Live Review: Sweater Girls, Procedure Club & Wild Nothing @ Part Timer Punks- The Echo 09/12/10

The evening started out innocently enough. The Sweater Girls brought a self styled naivety to their diary entry turned song book style of twee pop, reminiscent of Comet Gain or Tiger Trap. With a warm charm and a calculated chastity, Sweater Girls could thaw the chilliest of the jaded. They apparently have a new seven inch out, which should more than satisfy the singles club.

Part Time Punk’s Michael Stockton appropriately paired his DJ set list for the evening with treasured obscurities from indie pop groups such as Trixie’s Big Red Motorbike and The Field Mice. It is so cool to see people dance to good music on the dance floor, which is reason enough to come to Part Time Punks each and every week.

Procedure Club (Slumberland Records) took the stage with more members than the Allman Brothers Band. They were really fucking loud! Andrea’s vocals reverberated through the Echo like a wailing widow trapped in the hull of a sinking ship, forlorn and chamber-esque. The rest of the New Haven six piece seemed to be mostly playing the same note and kind of unrehearsed onstage, which was fine, but a bit superfluous. Extra points for attendance, I guess. Although it was pretty punk how much they were just having fun and not giving a shit about the audience.

Wild Nothing, on the Captured Tracks label, were magnetic and majestic. The four piece’s sound recalls the twilight pop sound of earlier bands like the Wake or the Chills, but Wild Nothing are not ape-like in their debt to this ancestral heritage. Guitars were clean and lanky, the approach was minimal and subtle. Few bands create so much atmosphere with so little. Chief songwriter Jack Tatum's wistfully maudlin sound is given vitality onstage with the pulsing bass, cascading synths and driving percussion of his Wild Nothing band mates. Songs like “Summer Holiday” and “Chinatown” have true anthemic potential, and the crowd was ready for an anthem. It was one of those elbow-to-elbow evenings at the Echo where everyone came to actually hear the band, attentive and grateful. Wild Nothing are something definitely worth checking out.

Eyad Karkoutly

One Man Beatles -Emitt Rhodes Documentary

Tonite is the US premiere of what looks to be an amazing documentary about Emitt Rhodes, entitled One Man Beatles. Should be amazing night, featuring an Emitt Rhodes tribute band as well! http://www.cinefamily.org/calendar/thursday.html#onemanbeatles

Go to Cinefamily.org for more information on the Don't Knock The Rock Film and Music Festival.

The Yummy Fur/ Neverever @ Part Time Punks (The Echo) 1/17/10

FROM LARECORD.COM

Yummy Fur and Neverever @ The Echo- Part Time Punks 1/17/10
Truth be told, most reunions shows usually suck. Who wants to watch some oldster relive former glories while dipshit kids sing along to lyrics that they weren’t out of diapers for the first time around? Yet this is hardly a steadfast rule, and I am happy to report the exception was the Yummy Fur’s glorious reunion show on Sunday Night at Part Time Punks.
Michael Stock started off the night right, as he always seems to do. I love walking into a night club and hearing the Shop Assistants being blared at top volume. We, the people of Los Angeles, really are blessed to have a night like this, where else you gonna go to dance to Blurt and Section 25?
The opening act, Neverever, came on strong and slick, like a Roxy Music send up of a doo-wop 45: Blondie does Dion in day-glo design. There was a serious Chiki Ti-Ta up front in a letterman sweater and panty hose, cooing like a mocking bird. The backup was workmanlike and locked in. I was reminded of The Long Blondes or Music Go Music and I was into it.
People started tripping in the door, two by two, and man was it a stylin’ crowd. Fred Perry and stove pipe pants were just as meticulous and the hair do’s. The Yummy Fur, who were obscure in the 1990s, seem to have found an audience ten years after their break up. This was their first ever tour of the good ol’ US of A and people were stoked to be there. As they fell onto the stage and began trading barbs with the crowd, their Glasgow charm was whisky soaked and affable. “We are going to play a long set, because when do the Yummy Fur play Los Angeles? Next you’ll tell me it’s raining outside.” John McKeown plucked the opening riff of “Career Saver” and up jumped the crowd like a bag of Jiffy Pop. Paul Thomson smiled wryly through the gap in his teeth and managed to give a wink to every lady in the crowd, while simultaneously pounding a drumbeat with a Belmondo swagger. Songs such as “Kodak” and “Plastic Cowboy” were gorgeously shambling around repetitive riffs that Mark E. Smith would disdainfully wag a wrinkled thumbs up to. Ever the showmen, jokes of the evening included doozys like ‘Why can’t Stevie Wonder see his friends?…Because he’s married! (rimshot).
The song “Policeman” brought guitarist Brian McDougal to the mic, chanting “Policeman” as John sang “You’re working for the government, that uniform is excellent.” Scotland apparently loves cops as much as we do.
At the tail end of an hour and a half long set, they broke into “Department,” which effectively communicates the Yummy Fur mission statement as well as anything else: “She asked for makeup tips, not my department baby, why don’t you ask your lady?...I’ve got my own department, Rock and Roll!”. A clichéd term for any other band, but Yummy Fur play with such a “who gives a shit” attitude that they really do rock, without all the trappings and studied poses that usually come with such a misnomer. Instead of an Axl Rose, you get a Pete Townsend.
The Yummy Fur stumbled offstage, after a jubilant encore of “Chinese Bookie,” to no doubt be plowed by whiskey n’ gingers and dance around until the keys in their backs wound down and they passed out on somebody’s couch, in true “rock and roll” fashion.
Eyad Karkoutly

Nite Jewel and Cold Cave @ the Echo 12/6/09

A Live review for LARECORD.COM:
The long queue outside was crazy cold to get in to see Cold Cave. This 4 foot tall girl in front of me was totally trashed, weaving and wobbling, while her guy friends inhaled a parade of cigarettes, discussed Deuce Bigalow, past episodes of the Simpsons and their favorite LA weed dispensary…I shit you not. Once inside, the familiar funk throb of a Part Time Punks obscuro minimal synth jam got the heart beating as anticipation rose for what promised to be an interesting evening of music. Tim Burgess of The Charalatans fame was guest DJing the evening, along with PTP regulars Michael and Ben. Their music selections were rarified, electronic ingots of pleasure, most of which would probably fetch serious coin on Ebay.
Nite Jewel began their performance and it really sounded alright, but Ramona and Emily seemed unable to hear themselves onstage and begin directing the sound man to tweak this and turn up such and such E.Q. level between almost every song, which kind of dispelled the magic of their performance frankly, especially since it sounded fine to the audience in the first place. Their frustrations were channeled inward and the set vastly improved as they found their rhythm and a new song was debuted. “What Did He Say” was delivered with a cool confidence, the closest thing to a hit in the Nite Jewel songbook. Processed sounds went warm and analog tones trickled into an amateurish charm of lustful regression, a bass thumped, vocals trilled and Ramona declared “ I really am enjoying myself…seriously.”
Cold Cave cut an arresting image upon the Echo stage. Three full size, beautiful synths featured front and center, including a Moog and an Arp 2600. Wes Eisold, Dominick Fernow (Prurient) and Caralee McElroy (Xiu Xiu) were clad in black attire with a striking intensity and stillness. The approach was succinct and precise, dance music at once beautiful and aggressive, lulling and pounding. Audience communication was minimal, as was the music, and righteously so. Their sound was reminiscent of early New Order gone digital and distorted. Lyrically direct and existential, they sang of isolation, uncertainty and angst. My friend remarked that their sound reminded him of early “Being Boiled” Human League. The crowd was mesmerized and moved to dancing, no small feat in Los Angeles. Songs like Love Comes Close and Cebe And Me were broken down to their basic elements, delivered with an iceflow of synth-waves and just enough sunlight to cast a shadow. The brevity of Cold Cave’s set definitely left you wanting more, not to be greedy. Their jubilant brand of gloom was fitting for the evening that brought the first winter rain that sunny Los Angeles has experienced in a long while.
Eyad Karkoutly

HEALTH- Get Color (Album Review)

Reposted from LA Record


Watching flames chew up the hills of Los Angeles, I’m struck by the fear and rapture that washes over me as I watch a beautiful orange glow under alien skies. As I listen to Get Color, the latest release from HEALTH, I find myself experiencing a similar sensation. Drums pound on your frontal lobe and high frequency tones wash over you as a guitar shifts its shape and a synthesized choir of vocal reverberation pans from left to right—and you can dance your ass off to this shit. This is a very sophisticated distillation of underground music’s best: My Bloody Valentine’s Isn’t Anything, Public Image Limited’s Metal Box and Olatunji’s Drums of Passion joined together as an era realizes that it is falling into decline. HEALTH is striving to reinvent—to rise above. There is a tension between hazy melody and speed metal that lulls and arrests the listener. Track 1—“In Heat”—leaps out at you fully formed, looking for a home inside your body. “Death +” disorients with mooger-foogered ferocity and atonal laps around the familiar. “Eat Flesh” is appropriately titled: traditional song structure is eviscerated with stabs of keyboards and pummeled with mallets like a drum head. HEALTH engages in simultaneous acts of deconstruction and creation, birthing a modern classic in the process. Get Color is both startlingly original and comfortably fucked up. What is most surprising is just how driving and focused the chaos of this album is. HEALTH takes aim at the horizon with “We Are Water” and fires off a lysergic warning shot with “In Violet.” The overall effect of Health’s second album is a heightened sonic awareness of environment—everything is suddenly seen with new eyes that change color and glow in the dark. This is modern music.

—Eyad Karkoutly

Jimmy Campbell - Half Baked

Mark David Chapman once stated that he targeted John Lennon because he thought he was "phony and insincere." Perhaps his insanity would've been soothed by the music of Jimmy Campbell. While watching contemporaries like the Beatles achieve massive success in an era where anything from Liverpool or London was rabidly consumed by the record buying public, Campbell never found his place in the pop music glitterati. He started with the Merseybeat boom as part of the Kirkbys, whose singles included It's A Crime, an upbeat riff rocker in the vein of the Stones's Satisfaction. His musical path reflected the ups and downs of the fickle pop singles game, from Merseybeat to psychedelia. Another project of Campbell's, the 23rd Turnoff, produced the song Michel Angelo, a haunting admonition for the folly of dreaming rather than doing, a cautionary tale it turns out. It is apparently one of Will Seargent's favorite songs, and rightly so.

The death of his mother is a crushing blow to his state of mind, and his first soo lp, Son Of Anastasia is not exactly an upbeat affair.

His second solo LP, Half Baked is a work of staggering heartbreak and beauty. It was released in 1970 on the Vertigo label in the U.S. and features Billy Kinsley and Tony Crane of the Merseybeats, Pete Clarke of the Escorts and Joey Molland of Badfinger. The orchestral arrangements are reminiscent of Nick drakes Five Leaves Left. Dylan and Lennon are evoked on the tracks "Green Eyed American Actress" and "don't Leave Me Now," but the overall sound is wholly his own. Campbell sings of missed opportunities, cheating girlfriends, loneliness and love unreturned. Yet, there is an acceptance of his situation, an almost wry glee expressed by his lot in the songs. Campbell seems to be sincerely singing his life. None of the disparity that Chapman saw in Lennon's multi millionaire reality versus his professional everyman persona. Campbell presented his heartbreak to the world eloquently in these beautifully crafted songs. It really is a crime that his work is not better known, especially the Half Baked material. EBay seems to be your best bet of tracking it down.

For every sacred cow, there is a sacrificial lamb. It almost seems that with each success of John Lennon's, Campbell suffered another professional setback. Yet his music survives him, and is ripe for reappraisal.

http://rapidshare.com/files/297641932/JIMMY_CAMPBELL_-_Half_Baked__1970__www.lajso-lajsosoundltd.blogspot.com.rar

Harumi - self titled

This is one of my all time dollar bin scores. Harumi was a young man from Japan who traveled to the U.S. in the mid sixties. Upon arrival, he somehow managed to get an double album produced by Tom Wilson on the Verve Forecast label, which was released in 1967. This album is a psychedelic pop masterpiece that definitely becomes more and more enjoyable with every subsequent listen.

The opening track, "Talk About It", is like a lost Magical Mystery Tour track sung by Damo Suzuki, with phased horns and drums. "First Impressions" bears a similarity to the lighter pop sound of the Velvet Underground. The bright funk of "Sugar in Your Tea" and "Hello" are both kaliedoscopic and groove inspiring. "Hunters of Heaven" almost recalls early Genesis or the Grass Roots with a really fascinating string arrangement and a driving rhythm. "Hurry Up Now" has the positivity and bounciness of a Brenton Wood song or up-tempo track by the Impressions. While all of these influences seem disparate in writing, they all come together to make for a fairly cohesive and extremely enjoyable listening experience.

The second LP contains one song on each side, each hovering around 20 minutes in length. The first side features the track "Twice Told Tales of The Pomegranate," which is about as ridiculous as it sounds, but has its charm. Imagine Timothy Leary narrating a vibraphone exploration of the meaning of life, with all the frivolity and kitsch that comes along with such a thing. Side two is comprised of a pretty crazed 24 minute freak-out entitled "Samurai Memories." The similarity of sound here to the Velvet Underground is not surprising, considering that the album was helmed by Tom Wilson and was also on the Verve label.

Some detractors, such as Julian Cope have commented that there is little happening here that can be classified as authentically Japanese. However, such critics miss the charm of the slightly out of tune singing as well as the incredible horn and string arrangements that accompany these thoroughly catchy and charming pop songs. Please enjoy, >ありがとう<

http://www.zshare.net/audio/537049302fabeab7/

Lieutenant E.

DEATH- self titled LP

This one has been hidin out, waiting to rock you out for 33 years. Recorded in 1976, the Hackney brothers, Danny, Dannis and Bobby lay down some seriously heavy music as DEATH.


After seeing local Detroit faves the Stooges play a concert, these guys got turned on and almost immediately started playing their own unique brand of melodic, funky and punky music. They managed to catch the eye of Clive Davis, who agreed to record them for the Columbia imprint. About seven songs into the recording process, Clive Davis began to insist they change their name from Death. The Hackney brothers were not havin it, and Davis dropped them from the label. So they started their own label, Tryangle Records (cool name , huh?) pressed five hundred 7 inch records and gave them away gratis at their concerts.


Then they kind of faded into the ether for awhile, their memory kept alive by crazy record collectors, groovin on their own private DEATH trip.

Many years later, Bobby Hackney's kids went to a party in LA and heard the single being played ("that's my dad!"). Bobby then dusted of the master tape and played it for 'em.

I guess that got the ball rolling 'cause Drag City records just put out a seven song EP taken from the Columbia sessions, and man is it cool. DEATH does their own thing, they bounce from genre to genre, funk, psych, punk...just music. check it out, you'll be glad that you did.

Thanks to Rob and Andy for turning me on to this one.

The Horrors- Primary Colors

Well I never thought I would be writing this, but I have to say the new LP by the English group the Horrors is pretty amazing. Their sound has evolved considerably from their earlier releases. I was curious when their Strange House album came out in 2007, as they name checked interesting influences like The Sonics, Joe Meek and the Birthday Party, yet their own music didn't really sound that special to my ears. I kind of wrote them off as bland Birthday Party copyists; that was then...

This newest release is a vast improvement over their previous efforts. If I were to speak of it in comparative terms, groups like the Chameleons, Neu!, My Bloody Valentine, Interpol and Joy Division come to mind. The album is impeccably produced by Craig Silvey and Geoff Barrows of Portishead fame. The Farfisa has been traded up for vintage synths, the reverberated guitar reminiscent of the Seeds has been swapped for Kevin Shields-esque guitar alchemy. Standout tracks include Three Decades, Scarlet Fields Who can Say and Sea Within A Sea. Check out the clip below:




Impressive. Not the most original sound ever, but I am sure this album will be very popular over the next few months, and deservedly so.

Lieutenant E

THE VASELINES- Live 5/10/09

The perfect pop of Eugene Kelly and Frances McKee was on display last night when the Vaselines played the L.A. date of their U.S. tour, promoting the release of the Enter the Vaselines compilation on Sub Pop. Frances joked with and thoroughly charmed the crowd with playfully perverse asides, like a child hearing a dirty word for the first time. Eugene's grumpiness only made their performance all the more endearing. Two new songs were played, both were incredible. The live band, including Stevie Jackson and Bobby Kildea of Belle and Sebastian were incredibly tight and innovatively translated the songs for live performance. All your favorites were played, including Dum Dum, Dying For It, Son of A Gun and You Think You're a Man.

Here's a sample from a recent performance:




Best show I've seen in ages. Do not miss the Vaselines if they come to your town. They are apparently releasing a new album later this year, so they will hopefully return to a town near you!

Snowy Red- The Right To Die

Snowy Red was the one man synth project of Marcel Thiel, aka Micky Mike. 1982's The Right to Die is his darkest, most synth heavy LP, bearing a resemblance to work by The Normal, John Foxx or early Gary Numan. Highlights include the tracks Euroshima (Wardance) and Lies In Your Eyes.

Basically, all of your Bret Easton Ellis soundtrack dreams come true....

http://www.zshare.net/download/53416214d101ce58/

Another Day At The Office...

Edan- Beauty & The Beat

Edan Portnoy is quoted as attempting to "put Syd Barrett's face on Biz Markie's body" with Kool G. Rap's brain" On his 2005 long player, Beauty & The Beat, he synthesizes these disparate influences to create a psychedelic masterpiece. Edan is the both the producer and rapper here, managing to create music with a playfulness, wordplay and savvy sampling not seen since The Beastie Boys's Paul's Boutique. Some of the artists sampled here include Iron Butterfly, Harumi, the Hollies, Pink Floyd, Lee Austin, The Small Faces and The Dells. The style is fast rapping, from the glory days of Prince Paul, Run DMC, Big Daddy Kane and Kool G. Rap, but through a kaleidescope of coloured smoke, arriving at a sound that is wholly unique. Edan's delivery is a fantastic and boastful style, comparable to the genre's forefathers like Sport or Prince Paul.

Collaborators here include Insight, Percee-P, Dagha and Mr. Lif. some vocal samples include dialogue from Rudy Ray Moore's The Human Tornado and an early sixties interview with David Bowie. The album is worth checking out just for the track Rock And Roll, basically Sabbath meets hip hop, I dare you to find a heavier hip hop track that doesn't suck (think Judgment Night OST rather than Korn or some bullshit). You will not be able to stop listening to this.


http://bardoscolombia.blogspot.com/2008/05/edan-beauty-and-beat-2005.html

RECORD STORE DAY

For you vinyl freaks:




Tomorrow 4/18/09 is National RECORD STORE DAY!


check your local indie record shop for participation:
http://www.recordstoreday.com/Venues?state=CA

They definitely appreciate your patronage.

Here is a list of exclusive releases for Record Store Day:

ARTIST	TITLE/FORMAT	NOTES/OTHER STUFF TO KNOW
Arthur Russell	"Love Is Taking Me" 2LP	2LP (RSD exclusive)
Black Kids	Wizard of Ahhhs 10"	first time on physical format
Black Moth Super Rainbow	Born on a Day 7"	Two tracks from the forthcoming studio recorded album, Eating Us
Blitzen Trapper	"War is Placebo/Booksmart"	7" - two exclusive tracks w/die cut sleeve
Bob Dylan	7"--"Dreaming of You"/"Down Along the Cove"	tracks recorded live at Bonnaroo; packaged in clear sleeve with 3x5 photo
Booker T	"Warped Sister/Reunion Time" 7"	7"
Bruce Springsteen	7" "What Love Can Do"/"A Night With The Jersey Devil"	packaged in clear sleeve with 3x5 photo
Camera Obscura	"French Navy" 7"	7" (RSD exclusive)
Chicha Libre & Dengue Fever	Primavera En La Selva / Genjer Genjer (Split 7" Single)	exclusive RSD Release
Cold War Kids	Live at Fingerprints	Live at Fingerprints 5 song EP
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young	Deja Vu Live 2LP	Companion vinyl to the DVD
Dead Weather	Hang You From the Heavens 7"	Jack White's new band! The debut release from both the Dead Weather and Third Man Records
Def Jam 25: Volume 1 and 2	4 LP gatefold history of Def Jam, only physical version of this piece is for indies	4 LP gatefold history of Def Jam, only physical version of this piece is for indies
Depeche Mode	7" "Wrong"/"Oh Well"	7"
Dr. Dog/Floating Action	Split 7"	7" - exclusive
El Grupo Nuevo de Omar Rodriguez Lopez	“Cryptomnesia”	Limited Edition Vinyl for RSD (3,000 pieces)
Elvis Costello*	"Complicated Shadows"/"Dirty Rotten Shame" picture disc	"Dirty Rotten Shame" is exclusive track--previously unreleased
Flaming Lips/Black Keys	split 7" "Borderline"/"Her Eyes Are A Blue Million Miles"	7" Borderline/Her Eyes Are A Blue Million Miles
Flight of the Conchords	"Pencils In The Wind"/"Albi The"	7" - two exclusive tracks w/die cut sleeve
Grateful Dead	T-Shirt	exclusive design for Record Store Day
Grizzly Bear	Live on KCRW 7"	two tracks, "While You Wait For The Others"/"He Hit Me"
Guided By Voices	Hold On Hope LP	Three bonus tracks
Jane's Addiction	7" "Mountain Song" / "Standing in the Shower…Thinking"	7" Mtn. Song/Standing In The Shower- Packaged in original replica picture sleeve
Jenny Lewis/Elvis Costello	7" --"Carpet Baggers"/"Go Away"	Never before available in the US
Jesus Lizard	9 x 7" pack	A pack of nine 7"s
King Crimson	40th Anniversary Tour Box	exclusive for Record Store Day
Leonard Cohen	7" "The Future/"Suzanne"	tracks recorded live in London, packaged in clear sleeve with 3x5 photo
Lykke Li/El Perro Del Mar	7" "After Laughter (Comes Tears)" / "At Your Best (You are Love)"	Made exclusively for Record Store Day featuring two unreleased cover songs.
Mastodon	T-Shirt	exclusive design for Record Store Day
MC 5	7" "Kick Out The Jams"/"Motor City Is Burning"	Packaged in the original rare picture sleeve, first time available since 1969
Metric	"Help I'm Alive" 7" Picture disc	"Help I'm Alive"/"Help I'm A B-Side"
Misfits	Walk Among Us LP	Pressed on 140 gram vinyl
Modest Mouse*	7" --"Satelite Skin"/"Guilty Cocker Spaniels"	both tracks are brand new
New Order	7" (live)	"Temptation" / "Hurt" - as and A&B side.
Neil Young	Sugar Mountain Live at Canterbury House 1968 2LP	The special vinyl package
Oasis	Falling Down Remix LP	Falling Down Remix LP
Obits	"I Can't Lose/Military Madness" 7"	7" - two exclusive tracks w/die cut sleeve
Pavement	"Live in Germany 1988" LP	unreleased show from 1988
Pretenders	"Break Up The Pavement"/Love's…" 7"	7" - one unrelased track, and track from new album on red vinyl
Queen EP	Queen's First EP	Limited Edition, Numbered CD for the first time in the US
Rivers Cuomo	Live @ Fingerprints CD and CD/DVD Combo	Live @ Fingerprints CD and CD/DVD Combo
Russian Circles/These Arms Are Snakes	Split !2	Previously Unreleased songs on Clear Vinyl (1,000 pieces)
Silversun Pickups	Pikul 12"	exclusive release ahead of their new album
Slayer	7" single "Psychopathy Red"	packaged in special X-Files-style, "confidential" packaging
Sonic Youth/Beck	split 7"	split 7" (RSD exclusive)
Sonic Youth/Jay Reatard	split 7"	split 7" (RSD exclusive)
Talking Heads	77 LP [reissue]	Pressed on 180 gram vinyl
The Decemberists	7" "The Rake's Song"/"East India Lanes"	B-side, "East India Lanes" is unreleased
The Smiths	7" "The Headmaster Ritual" /"Oscillate Widly"	Never before available in the US as a 7" single.
The Stooges	7" "1969"/"Real Cool Time"	Packaged in the original rare picture sleeve
Tom Waits	"Live from the Glitterdome" 7"	7" - live tracks from Atlanta & Edinburgh
Various artists	Records Toreism LP	tracks from Mountain Tortoise, Trans Am, White Hills, Double Dagger
Various artists	So Indie It Hurts: ROIR Rocks! Vol. One	exclusive RSD Release
Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs	It’s Blitz LP	vinyl version of forthcoming Yeah Yeah Yeahs CD

Lee Austin: Screwdriver

This little gem is a piece of funk from James Brown's hairdresser (!), Lee Austin.
Let your soul glo...

The Left Banke: Walk Away Renee/ Pretty Ballerina LP

The Left Banke – Walk Away Renee/ Pretty Ballerina
"Thoughts that raised my mind, just pushed aside
All the chances there, that we once had"
The Left Banke's first LP, 1967's Walk Away Renee/ Pretty Ballerina has the dubious honor of being one of the most haunting, well orchestrated and melodious albums of the 60's; while being consistently overlooked as the compelling and rewarding listening experience the album offers as a whole.
The Left Banke are best remembered for the lush, ornate sound of their first two singles, which their debut LP is named for. Yet Walk Away Renee/ Pretty Ballerina is rarely celebrated as a whole listening experience, with most sixties music fans being at a loss when asked to recall non-title tracks from the album. Today, albums such as The Beach Boy's Pet Sounds and Love's Forever Changes are critically hailed as required listening from beginning to end. Both Brian Wilson and Arthur Lee have enjoyed recent successes with their Pet Sounds and Forever Changes tours, respectively, yet the Left Banke are confined to the remembrances of obscure blog pages and back issues of pop magazines. Yet comparisons to both Love and the Beach Boys are also unavoidable.
The Left Banke's principal songwriter and arranger, Michael Brown (née Michael Lookofsky), was a driven young prodigy who created perfect pop arrangements, employing the use of instruments and concepts unique to pop music; including harpsichord, a string quartet and minor keyed melodies coupled with traditional rock music instrumentation to create a singular new sound. Vocalist Steve Martin Caro's vibrant, unpretentious and soaring approach to singing was also an unmistakably vital contribution to what makes the Left Banke sound so special. One of the most remarkable things about the maturity and depth of the songs on the Walk Away Renee/ Pretty Ballerina album is the youth of the Left Banke's members, Michael Brown was merely 15 years old when he wrote both the Walk Away Renee and Pretty Ballerina singles.
Yet the potential of the group to fully reap the success of their melancholy, pocket symphony pop sound was hampered by internal struggles within the ranks; caused by disagreements with other band members over the merits of touring and the presence of Michael Brown's father, Harry Lookofsky, as their manager (Brian Wilson anyone?) Toward the end of the group's existence, there were two different incarnations of the group calling themselves the Left Banke, the Michael Brown camp and those disgruntled with Lookofsky having relegated them to sidemen rather than members of an equal partnership.
The Left Banke developed their sound during an uncommon period in the music industry, where pop music was still open to musical experimentation and risks could still be taken. A sort of mini-movement coincided with their short stint on the upper end of the pop chart, labeled "baroque pop." Other practitioners/ peers in this new field of pop included such canonized acts as the Zombies, The Turtles, The Association, the Byrds and even the Beatles.
Walk Away Renee/ Pretty Ballerina LP's influence on other musical groups is undeniable, and their many fans include R.E.M., Jans Leckman, Air and The Flaming Lips. The Left Banke's Walk Away Renee/ Pretty Ballerina deserves to be recognized as on of the truly great albums of the late 60's, alongside with other such celebrated albums as Pet sounds, Forever Changes, The Notorious Byrd Brothers, Revolver and the like.

Les Sinners- Vox Populi

Vox Populi translates as "Voice of the People," but most of the people aren't hip to Les Sinners...which is unfortunate. It isn't the most psyched out, the most out there, or the coolest 60's record....but there is something about it. Imagine The Who's Sell Out LP, francophone style. It is very pop, but there are plenty of fuzzed out guitars and hypnotic pulses that take it out of the realm of, say Herman's Hermits. The majority of the Vox Populi LP is sung in French,but is pretty far above most French music at the time, exceptions being Michel Polnareff, Jacques Dutronc and early Serge Gainsbourg. What's really interesting is that Les Sinners aren't even French, but are from Quebec. How many Quebecois psych pop bands do you know of? (The Haunted and The Ugly Ducklings are actually two more amazing Quebecois psych groups.)

The first track, C'est L'Espoire D'une Vox Populi (It's the Hope of the People) seems to actually be a section from what can best be described as French "raga rock," kind of a trancey, repetitive song commenting on the everyday and how different types of people react to their surroundings (I know, deep!). The song is cut into segments and is peppered in between the songs on the album. These interstitial tracks are probably the most "psychedelic" part of the record.

One standout track is Le Fou De Roi (The King's Fool). which is just amazing. It is the best parts of the early Who, Kinks, great drum fills, amazing vocals, really upbeat, sounds good, right?

The other killer track is Devoir Partir (Don't You Run Away); killer fuzz guitar, great arrangements, almost sounds like Clinic or (again) early tracks by The Who like "I Can See For Miles" or "Jaguar." There's an underlying melancholy, but it is totally upbeat and driving. Other similar bands that come to mind include Q65, The Outsiders or The Yardbirds.

What is really great about the Vox Populi album is that almost every song is really solid, which was rare at this point in the sixties, where the majority of albums wee driven by singles, with filler to fill up the rest of the LP. This album was part of a trend to change that, with albums like Pet Sounds and Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band obviously at the forefront of this change in the way albums were conceived. There are some more ballad-esque songs like Depuis Longtemps Deja (The Days Are Gone), which are great, similar to more mellow tracks from The Outsiders or an early Dylan goes electric type of sound. Then there are songs like "Monsieur Ding Ding," a real bouncy, humorous song about some really cool fellow named Mr. Ding Ding, who everybody apparently needs to meet. Their main songwriter/singer Francois Guy has a really cool voice and a really unique outlook on the subject matter of his songs. Guy totally projects this almost adolescent innocence to his singing and lyrics while at the same time being very clever and satirical.

Anyway, do yourself a favor and listen to Vox Populi by Les Sinners. There are vinyl copies on ebay, but they can be kinda pricey (mine costs a little more than I'd like to admit ;))

There are a couple of sites online with download links, like these:

http://mza-garage.blogspot.com/2008/09/les-sinners-vox-populi-can-1968.html

or

http://chocoreve.blogspot.com/2008/01/les-sinners-les-sinners.html


I am NOT condoning using these sites for a download, I'm just sayin..

Until next time, Allons y Alonzo!

Lieutenant E.