THE SONICS – THE INSTITUTE, BIRMINGHAM. 28th JULY 2015

You would think that when you hit your early seventies life would be full of more leisurely activities; grandkids, tending the garden, Caribbean cruises etc. etc. etc………..Not these guys!!!! The Sonics are back with a new album (the first one for nearly 50 years) and are hitting the road hard, playing shows and festivals all over America and Europe throughout 2015. Along with early 60s contemporaries like the Kingsmen, the Wailers, the Dynamics, the Regents, and Paul Revere & the Raiders they helped set the template that would influence and inspire future generations of Garage, Punk and heavy Rock bands and the first two Sonics albums are now considered to be Garage Punk classics. With three members of the band from the classic line-up that recorded the seminal Here Are The Sonics back in 1965, guitarist Larry Parypa, sax player Rob Lind and Jerry Roslie on keyboards are joined by Freddie Dennis on bass and former Lita Ford/Dick Dale drummer Dusty Watson, The Sonics are still playing primal Garage Rock that is louder, harder and faster than anything by Garage/Punk bands half their age.

One of the uncertainties of going to see any “classic” band from the 60s/70s is that they may be shot to bits and sound shit……….there are no such worries with The Sonics as they still sound great. Sharing lead vocals, Roslie and Dennis are in good voice (Jerry Roslie still yelps and screams like a sexually frustrated teenager), Lind blows a mean sax and an even meaner mouth harp while Parypa coaxes a beautiful ugly noise from his guitar. Driving this forward at maximum velocity is the best drummer you have never heard of before……Dusty Watson was epic. From the opening bars of ‘Cinderella’ there is no let up from a barrage of the finest classic Garage Rock/R&B you are likely to ever hear………..with a set list taken mainly from the Here Are The Sonics and Boom albums, the Sonics mid 60s repertoire of original tunes and covers have set the standard for any aspiring Garage/Punk band ever since. You really can’t go wrong with a set that includes ‘Have Love Will Travel’, ‘Money’, ‘You’ve Got Your Head On Backwards’, ‘Boss Hoss’ and a ferocious ‘You Keep A Knocking’. The songs from the new album are also very good………..the formula has not been messed with and the old maxim “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” has been fully observed, they fit seamlessly into the set and stand up well against the classic tunes with ‘Bad Betty, their cover of The Kinks ‘The Hard Way’ and a reworking of the classic ‘I Don’t Need No Doctor’ (once covered by The Chocolate Watch Band) all exceptional. There was a lot of love in the room for The Sonics and they responded by playing one of the best shows we have seen for quite a while…...these guys are totally loving what they do. The band tear through ‘Louie Louie’ before finishing with ‘Psycho’ saving ‘Strychnine’ and ‘The Witch’ for the encore……..three tunes that any mid 60s band would have killed for.

The Sonics are back……………still as cool as fuck, still playing harder, faster, louder and still one of the most important bands from the 60s……the tag “legend” is used far too much nowadays but this band are the real deal. If you get the chance, go see them live…….you really don’t know how long are gonna be back for.

THEE PSYCHEDELICATESSEN    

V/A - ROCK BACK FOR NEPAL Vol. 1 - 3 (Patetico Recordings CD, D/L)

Rock Back for Nepal is a 3-part series of disaster relief compilations being released by U.S. indie label Patetico Recordings. The label is partnering with nearly 60 independent artists and several small indie labels around the globe to make this happen. They have all come together in order to raise funds for victims of the recent catastrophic earthquakes in Nepal. All money raised will go directly to the relief efforts.

The compilations are being supported by several luminaries of the independent rock and shoegaze scene, among others. "Whenever Tom Lugo reaches out to his musical family, you know it's for a crucial and essential cause. The Rock Back for Nepal CD compilation is no exception," explains Dean Garcia of seminal shoegaze bands Curve and SPC ECO. "I'm proud to be part of this relief effort / fund raiser for anyone affected by the recent earthquake disaster in Nepal and if I can help or contribute in some way to aid support and assistance to the many displaced people, I will without question. Please support this cause and donate as generously as you can.” 

Perhaps one of the most renowned personalities in the shoegaze / noise rock spheres, Oliver Ackermann (A Place To Bury Strangers, Skywave) has also lent his support to the cause. “It is a horrible tragedy this destruction of culture and life. I feel lucky that I can use my craft and contribute a song to this fund to help them raise money for relief. If we can all do something to help and give relief for the people of Nepal we should do it now.” 

"It's great to be among this sparkling array of brilliant artists, taking action in support of a great cause," says Marc Joy of Welsh outfit Lights That Change.  Alexx Kretov of Canadian-Ukrainian duo Ummagma is also hopeful."May the common freebie attitude fall to the wayside for this project. We really hope that people will support a higher cause by spending a few dollars and spreading this music far and wide." 

All three volumes are being released at the same time, and will be available through Bandcamp and Amazon.com exclusively, both digitally and on CD.The album artwork and design is by Gardy Perez.

The concept of the Rock Back compilation series was born in 2011 when disaster hit Japan and Tom Lugo, owner of Patetico Recordings, acted on his empathy for charitable causes and non-profit organizations by reaching out to the community of artists in his network. They collectively put together a compilation and the profits were donated to relief efforts. The response was overwhelming, with over 100 artists from across the globe joining in the efforts. What was to be a single CD compilation grew into the 8-disc compilation Rock Back for Japan. The compilation series hit the top 10 Indie Rock releases on Amazon.com’s chart for several weeks, with certain volumes holding the number 1 spot.

VOLUME 1 features

SPC ECO (UK), A Place to Bury Strangers (USA), Ummagma (Canada-Ukraine), Lights That Change (UK), Sounds of Sputnik (Russia), Stellarscope (USA), The Manhattan Love Suicides (UK), Clustersun (Italy), The One2s (USA), Panophonic (USA), Death Valley Rally (USA), The Virgance (UK), Purple Bloom (Japan), Arirang (Italy), The Artificial Shadow Band (Puerto Rico), Kitsch (Panama), and Revolution, I love you (USA).

VOLUME 2 features

Malka (NYC-Peru), Asalto al Parque Zoologico (Argentina), Stella Diana (Italy), Chatham Rise (USA), Tape Runs Out (UK), Under the Wire (USA), Psiconautas (Puerto Rico), Car Crash Sisters (Mexico), Last Remaining Pinnacle (USA), The Narentines (Switzerland), Human Colonies (Italy), Sueño con belugas (Puerto Rico), Blackfeather Jane, Dead Parties (Spain-Australia), Estrella Oscura (UK), Mayflower Madame (Norway), and Los Sub (Argentina).

VOLUME 3 features

Novanta (Italy), Lunar Twin (USA), Joaquim Barato (Portugal-Peru), Withershins (USA), Un-Reason (Italy), The Long Knives (USA), Lazarus (USA), Salvia (Chile), This Forever Sky (UK), Clarence Mayhew (USA), Corrosive Water (USA), Sonora Coisa (Brazil), The Paper Road (Portugal), Hijos de Paul (Argentina), Drass (Argentina), Cthulhu Martini (USA), Fovea (USA), Matotumba (Puerto Rico), Bergegas Mati (Indonesia), and Get Lost, Wire Avenue (Slovakia)

All 3 volumes are now available to download for $5 each (that's just over 3 quid in real money) from the Patetico Recordings Bandcamp page which can be found here http://pateticorecordings.bandcamp.com/ and are also available to download from Amazon. There will be CDs available....check Patetico Recordings website/Facebook page for more details.

MAFF – MAFF EP (D/L, CD)

Although strictly more of an Indie band than a mind bending Psych outfit there is still enough of a psychedelic edge to the debut EP from Chilean guitar band Maff to interest the discerning head. Taking inspiration from Indie/Noise bands The Jesus and Mary Chain, The Pixies, Ride, Sonic Youth, and My Bloody Valentine there is nothing startlingly original or challenging about Maff’s blend of Shoegaze, Alt Rock, Noise Pop and Indie verging on Grunge, however there is plenty of craft and invention that elevates this band above the ever growing amount of tedious early 90s British/US Indie Rock copyists.

Although this record is somewhat unfocussed, repeatedly jumping from genre to genre (sometimes in the same song), there are some really cool tunes here……. ‘Walking On Fire’ and the instrumental ‘Act 1’ are particularly good, but the standout track has to be ‘Someday’ which has all the grace of classic Slowdive. For a debut EP this is a pretty accomplished record and there is lots to love here for fans of Alt Rock bands like Husker Du, Pavement and Dinosaur Jr.

The Maff EP is available now as a download from iTunes, Amazon and the Maff bandcamp page at https://maffmusica.bandcamp.com/releases where there is also very limited edition CDs available.

THEE PSYCHEDELICATESSEN  

THEE PSYCHEDELICATESSEN promo piece.....RYAN'S GIG GUIDE July 2015

RYAN'S GIG GUIDE JULY 2015

Big thanks to Ryan's Gig Guide..... for more info about this gig, go to https://www.facebook.com/events/1551719435089196/

DOLORES – PEACH FUZZ (D/L). TASHAKI MIYAKI – UNDER COVER VOL. ll (D/L). CROWN LARKS – BLOOD DANCER (Spacelung/Landbreathing Records LP, CD, D/L, Already Dead Tapes Cassette). BELLY HOLE FREAK – SUPERFREAK (Black Vagina Records LP, D/L).

Continuing our on going quest of hunting down recently released Bandcamp freebies for your delight and delectation, we have some more cool stuff for you to check out.

Suppose one of the consequences of calling a Blog site “Strange Things Are Happening” is that we get sent a lot of ……er…….strange things to listen to (which we think is very cool indeed…..psychedelia is a broad church) but we also are big fans of good old 60s influenced psychedelic sounds…… so imagine how blown away we were when we stumbled across Peach Fuzz, the fantastic new album from Wisconsin psych-heads Dolores. Mainly influenced by new psych-rock acts like Tame Impala, Pond and Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Dolores also add some classic Psych sounds and 70s Power Pop to their psychedelic stew

After sixty seconds of the ambient swirl of Peach Fuzz, the album kicks off proper with 'Oh No', a track reminiscent of the early Wondermints records and going back even further to 60s bands with a sweet West Coast sound like the Turtles……..this track sets the tone for the rest of the record, an album tightly packed with lush Psych Pop tunes and not a duff track in sight. The stand out track has to be ‘Next Stop’, six minutes of neo-psychedelic bliss that you would need a heart of stone not to love.

If you think that the latest Pond album was disappointing compared to their earlier stuff you need to check this out. Peach Fuzz is available as a “name your price” download from the Dolores Bandcamp page at https://mydolores.bandcamp.com/. This truly brilliant record is our Pop Psych album of the month.

Radically reinterpreting songs is as old as popular music itself……….nearly 50 years ago The Byrds and Gram Parsons were bringing old folk/country tunes to the attention of a groovy audience by adding Rickenbackers and rock drums, inventing Folk Rock and Cosmic Country Music in the process and Jimmy Page was meanwhile reworking blues tunes in his secret Satanic lair and taking all the credit for himself. Although taking a classic pop/rock/indie tune and stripping it down to the bare bones has become a bit of a cliché nowadays and tends to be the soundtrack to a million TV adverts, when done well a reworked cover version can be as compelling as the original (for example the Cocteau Twins reimagining of Tim Buckley’s ‘Song To The Siren’). For LA based Dream Pop outfit Tashaki Miyaki this is their second foray into the cover version album, having previously released Under Cover Vol. l a few years ago and like that record Under Cover Vol. ll has the same eclectic mix of songs…….. Tashaki Miyaki take on artists as diverse as the Kinks and The Association from the 60s, Punk icons The Buzzcocks, 80s power balladeers Berlin, Funk/Soul legends Prince and Ann Peebles and also take a shot at the old standard ‘I Only Have Eyes For You’ which must have been covered somewhere around a hundred times.

The opening track is an excellent Dream Pop deconstruction of ‘Ever Fallen In Love (With Someone You Shouldn't've)’ which brings out the true essence of the song revealing it to be one of the finest pop songs ever (but we are sure you already knew that!!!). Influenced by the likes of The Jesus and Mary Chain, Cults, Best Coast, Spiritualized and Mazzy Star listening to this album is a bit like listening to oldies radio half-awake with very heavy eyelids……their subtle covers of the Kinks ‘This Time Tomorrow’ and The Association’s easy listening classic ‘Never My Love’ are pretty close to the original versions however their reverb heavy versions of ‘Take My Breath Away’ and ‘I Only Have Eyes For You’ have the feel of a Angelo Badalamenti/Julee Cruise collaboration with Tashaki Miyaki sounding like the house band of a very weird cabaret club in a Lynchian psyco-drama. Sometimes more somnolent than dream like (but never comatose) this album is well worth a listen, we would loosely compare this fine record with the more mellow parts of the excellent album that Peggy Sue released where they covered all the songs included in the Kenneth Anger movie Scorpio Rising and at a push the album of Stones covers by Alt-Country bands called Paint It Black.

Under Cover Vol. ll is available as a “name your price” download from the Tashaki Miyaki Bandcamp page at https://tashakimiyaki.bandcamp.com/.

Strange things are happening in the Windy City. Crown Larks are children of the Chicago post-rock underground scene that once birthed bands like Tortoise and Slint………… there is no doubt that they are a psychedelic band, but not in any way in a serene, transcendental kind of psychedelic but more in a dropping loads of acid and running round a festival naked, crazy and covered in baked beans kinda way (those that know will know!!!!). Meeting somewhere at the junction that psychedelic Post-Rock/Prog Rock crashes into free jazz and the launch pad for avant-garde explorations, Crown Larks are pretty far out.

Following a EP released in 2013, Blood Dancer is the first long player from Crown Larks…….mixing together a myriad of influences from 60s Free Jazz Fusion, Krautrock (Faust mainly), 70s Prog/Jazz (Soft Machine???), the primal, shamanistic grooves of bands like Goat to the trippyness of neo-psychedelia, Crown Larks are Post-Punk, Post-Rock…………..Post-Everything really and there are not enough letter keys on a laptop to accurately describe their music……….we suggest that you download this seven track album from their Bandcamp page and make your own mind up. It’s not going to be to everyone’s tastes but is a record that demands to be listened to.

Blood Dancer is available as “name your price” download from the Crown Larks Bandcamp page at https://crownlarks.bandcamp.com/album/blood-dancer where you can also buy the album on vinyl, CD and cassette. Lysergic acid diethylamide 25 is available from your local hippie burn-out (possibly).

And finally…….more strange things from Italy. Fans of Captain Beefhart, Howlin Wolf and Tom Waits will really dig the demented lo-fi psychedelic Blues/Dixieland hybrid from Belly Hole Freak who’s new album Superfreak is now available on Black Vagina Records (not making any of this up….honest). Image if Seasick Steve was not as bland as fuck but born under the bad sign of a dirty blues crazy wind and you would still be nowhere near the weirdness of Belly Hole Freak, a one man band who is influenced by delta blues, early swing, Dixieland and inspired by giants such as Howlin’ Wolf, Captain Beefheart, Robert Johnson, Tom Waits.....I doubt if this crazy mutha is going to be invited onto Jools Holland’s smug shitfest of a show anytime soon.

There are some great tunes on this record…….. Amongst nine wonderfully deranged songs the three that are possibly the standout tracks are ’Wow’  a boogie number straight outta the Mississippi Delta, ‘Catfish’ is psychedelic Dixieland jazz and ‘Woodoo Soup Monkey’ is……er….souped up Howlin’ Wolf. This is a mighty fine record……..check it out, there is a lot to love here.

Superfreak is available as a “name your price” download or on vinyl from the Black Vagina Records Bandcamp page at http://blackvaginarecords.bandcamp.com/album/superfreak.......File under WTF. As we said earlier……..strange things are happening People.

THEE PSYCHEDELICATESSEN

LA CASA AL MARE – THIS ASTRO EP (CD, D/L).

25 years on the influence of Creation Records late 80s early 90s “golden age” of innovative guitar bands now seems to be more evident than it as ever been..... what was once a snide jibe aimed at callow youths trying to pick out effects pedals on a darkened stage and mocked as “The Scene That Celebrates Itself”........ Shoegaze is back and this time it’s not going to go away in a hurry. The last few years has seen many of the bands from the original scene reform to play to a brand new receptive audience around the globe and in some cases are probably now more popular than they ever were back in the day……… It’s like Brit Pop never happened.

One of the great new bands that have been heavily influenced by the original UK Shoegaze scene are Italian Shoegaze/Noise Pop trio La Casa al Mare, on their recently released 7 track EP, This Astro (a collection of previously digital only releases and 3 new tracks), they so expertly recreate the My Bloody Valentine dense, twisted wall of noise you would think that Kevin Shields is considering getting on the phone to his lawyer. La Casa al Mare have lovingly crafted a set of songs of pure beauty that mix together the essence of the best parts of classic Shoegaze albums like Loveless and Souvikia and although you can hear their influences loud and clear, the sheer class of this EP transcends any accusations that they are mere copyists. The songs on this EP are a mix of heavily distorted classic MBV like drone attacks…. ‘I Don’t Want To’, the stand out track ‘Sunflowers’ and sounding something like MBVs ‘Blown A Wish’ on steroids, the excellent ‘M’...... with the more neo-psychedelic swirl of Slowdive with tracks like ’CD Girl’ and the stunning ‘Tonight Or Never’ having a lighter feel about them. This EP is essential listening for fans of the classic Creation bands and is also one of the best Shoegaze records to be released this year……give it a listen, you will not be disappointed (you will however feel the need to dig out your MBV and Slowdive records and give them a spin after hearing this).

This Astro is out now and is available as a limited edition 7 track CD or a 6 track download from the La Casa al Mare Bandcamp page. The CD is also being distributed in Japan by Hands And Moment records.

Watch Sunflowers video here

THEE PSYCHEDELICATESSEN  

BIG MOUNTAIN COUNTY – BREAKING SOUND (Gas Vintage Records CD, D/L). GO!ZILLA – SINKING IN YOUR SEA (Black Candy Records LP, CD)

More strange things from the burgeoning Italian Garage/Psych scene…….. There must be something in the water (????), the amount of really great new bands that hail from Italy is astounding.

First up is a fantastic new record from Big Mountain County (BMC) who play wild and dirty psychedelic Rock n Roll and the bands debut album, Breaking Sound, is nine tracks of some of the best Psych Rock we have heard all year. BMC have assembled all their really cool influences on one record, while the title track is a very groovy slice of psychedelic Surf Rock much of this record has a 80s Paisley Underground vibe where the best 60s psychedelia was infused with a Post Punk sensibility……..’I'm Satisfied’, ‘About A Clown’, ‘What Do You Think?’ and the epic ‘Farewell’ all have the mood of the early Rain Parade/Dream Syndicate recordings. There is also a big late period Velvet Underground influence (when they were more of a straightforward Rock ‘n’ Roll band…..John Cale had left the band taking with him his avant-garde weirdness and Nico had moved on a few years earlier taking with her…..erm...weirdness) both ‘1945’ and ‘Make a Move’ have a Lou Reed feel about them. This is a truly great psychedelic record and we recommend you check it out……there is a lot to love here.

Breaking Sound is currently available as a download from either iTunes or the BMC Bandcamp page…..check it out here https://bmcbigmountaincounty1.bandcamp.com/album/breaking-sound. Check out the Gas Vintage Records online store for a copy of the CD.

Sinking In Your Sea is the second full length album from fuzzed up psychedelic Garage/Punk trio Go!Zilla, with a sound finely honed from a ton of touring over the last few years. Taking inspiration from the classic 60s “Nuggets” bands, late 70s Pop Punk and 90s Grunge bands, Go!Zilla are kindred spirits with bands like Thee Oh Sees, Night Beats, Apache Dropout and White Fence, playing the kind of explosive music that that would have come out of Seattle circa 1991 if powerful hellucigenics had been the drug of choice and not smack and cheap speed. Finely balanced between blistering guitar rock and mind bending psychedelia, Sinking In Your Sea has been described as “Grungedelic” and as stupid as a genre name this sounds it is actually weirdly correct……… there is nothing startlingly original going on here but it is a really good record nevertheless, think twisted Mudhoney but nowhere near as angsty. The two outstanding tracks here are a couple of the more subtle psychedelic tunes…… ‘Looking In The Mirror’ has a groovy Nuggets/Pebbles 60s feel to it and ‘Xilitla’ is a far out, bendy mind fuck that is no doubt one for the heads.

 Sinking In Your Sea is out now on Black CandyRecords (Italy) and available from the Go!Zilla Bandcamp page on either vinyl or CD………Check it out here https://gozilla.bandcamp.com/album/sinking-in-your-sea. This record has also had a limited release in France on Beast Records, on Lolipop Records and GNAR Tapes in the USA and by Algo Records in Chile……..we suggest you check these labels websites or your local record emporium for availability.

THEE PSYCHEDELICATESSEN