Psych

New album: Gus Baldwin and The Sketch || The Sketch

Formidable debut LP full of melodic guitar brutality

Buckle up! Austin singer/songwriter Gus Baldwin (formerly of Acid Carousel, but also active as a solo artist and collaborating with numerous other outfits) and his band The Sketch are wasting no time. They kick off their first joint album with a hefty salvo of raucous garage noise in three parts, as if to scare off any casual listeners, only to then show that they have more in store. What follows is still explosive, with fast riffage, stomping rhythms and emotionally raw vocals, but injected with a dose of psych, a sense of melody and even occasional whoo-hoo harmonies, alongside relatable lyrics. It sounds spontaneous and inspired—25 astonishing minutes.



The Sketch—all lyrics by Gus Baldwin; engineering, mixing and mastering by Joey Oaxaca—is out now digitally, on cassette and vinyl LP, through Permanent Teeth Records. Featuring Gus Baldwin (vocals, guitar), David Rawlinson (guitar, vocals), Lucas Martins (bass, vocals) and Trey Gutierrez (drums).

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New album: Pink Chameleons || Harmony

Hypnotic psychedelic rock goes sun-kissed dreamwave

Finnish garage-psych trio Pink Chameleons makes a welcome return. Let frontman Paltsa-Kai Salama explain what we can expect from their sophomore full-lengther: “Harmony leans more into psychedelia than our more punk inspired debut album, 2021’s Peace and Love. The overall sound of Harmony is dominated by mellotron, hypnotic tremolo and electric sitar along with repetitive bass riffs and percussion.” I would like to add that the animals, rain and death have made way for more sunny themes and a laid-back atmosphere, and that suits them well. Telling song titles like Wrong Future and Colors Seem to Fade immediately appeal to the imagination, the execution more than lives up to that. This is music to dream away to, unique in its atypical instrumentation that is used to optimum effect. Soothing but anything but boring.



Harmony, written & recorded by Paltsa-Kai Salama, is out now digitally via Soliti. Featuring Paltsa-Kai Salama (vocals, guitars, electric sitar, organ, mellotron), Antti Sauli (bass) and Ville Hopponen (drums, percussion), with Jussi Hurskainen (saxophone), Tytti Roto (backing vocals), Silja Massa (vocals) and Iiro Tulkki (percussion) on select tracks.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

Dusted || The 10 Best Cover Songs Of January 2025

Not all new music is really new, as many artists cover songs. Sometimes these are songs by their favorite artists, eg as a tribute to such a musical hero for a special reason, or they simply feel that a song deserves to be dusted and polished to reacquaint fans with great songs from the past. Other times, bands cover songs as a parody. Regardless of intent, some of those cover versions are so good or so much fun, we’d like to put a spotlight on them. Chosen from a wide range, here are – in random order – ten of our favorite covers from last month – links to the pages where you can add them to your wantlist included.

In January we already wrote about new releases with covers of Love & Happiness (Al Green) by Boogie Rockafella, The Hunt (New Model Army) by The Daniel James Gang, Boys Don’t Cry (The Cure) by Baby Combat, Running Away From You (The Rats) by Total Whine and Strychnine (The Sonics) by Walter Daniels, but let’s highlight some other choice cuts here.

This Strange Effect || Cover: Laundromat Chicks || Original: Dave Berry
It’s brave to start your album with a cover as well-known as this 1965 classic written by Ray Davies, but in the case of Laundromat Chicks’ intriguing Sometimes Possessed LP (Siluh Records), it does a great job of setting the tone for the original songs that follow. The four-piece from Vienna, Austria deliver a half hour of charming jangle pop that they claim is like a fever dream, coming from somewhere far away or almost forgotten. I’ve been listening to this record a lot in the wake of David Lynch’s passing, so it’s become something of a soundtrack to my memories of the iconic filmmaker’s idiosyncratic work for me—both the subject matter on this album and the atmosphere the songs breathe fit in very well.

New album: Santa Maria Death Trip || Lili’s Garden

RIYL: The Limiñanas, Babe Rainbow, Allah-Las, Mystic Braves, Ghostwoman, Night Beats

Santa Maria Death Trip is a Southern French garage psych outfit featuring Jérôme Dayon (guitars, vocals, glockenspiel), Emmanuelle Dayon (vocals, tambourine), David Migaud (guitars, keyboard), Marc Drulot (bass) and Pat Preacher (drums). After two EPs—Instrumentals (2019) and Seabeds (2021)—and a contribution to the mighty Perpignan Burning compilation (2024), they now take us on a colorful journey through the sumptuous debut full-length Lili’s Garden. We are taken along ten surfy but quite varied tunes—including a quirky sequel to their original version of Història—full of fuzz and reverb, with sun-kissed vocals, perfumed guitar motifs and suggestive harmonies. Although you can label the sound as vintage, it is not dated anywhere, rather refreshing and energizing.



Lili’s Garden, written, recorded and mixed by Jérôme Dayon, is out now digitally and on limited edition vinyl LP through Staubgold / Cougouyou Music.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Discogs

New album: Shakuhachi on the Minipops || Telepathic Waves from Sahara

A colorful and surreal journey through love, war and minipops

The versatile musician/artist Pavel Grachev (Arash & Quasar, Apollon Telefax, Tanzibar) has a new project, with the curious name Shakuhachi On The Minipops. You probably will expect a colorful and surreal world, debut album Telepathic Waves from Sahara does not disappoint in confirming that. It starts with a cinematic intro, followed by nine sun-kissed psych songs with imaginative titles such as Muse In Chocolate Mousse, Fantasm Bugglegum and Zephyrian Shuffle, full of vivid characters and emotional tales on love and hate. It’s groovy and jangly, smooth and dreamy, fascinating and uplifting. And did I mention it’s colorful and surreal?




Telepathic Waves from Sahara is out now digitally via Nice Guys.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New album: The Cong || Bally Broads

How the synergy of craft and technology leads to a unique sound

Eight months have passed since we introduced you to The Cong, the anonymous trio of musicians—disguised as monkeys—who dare to admit that they use AI as a tool for time travel experimentation (this is the short summary of the extensive explanation of their creative process that I got first hand: the composition, structure, chords and lyrics are all organic, then filtered through AI systems to sound more like the era and genres they want to sound like, then re-edited, re-mixed and mastered—it’s basically a big hybrid that takes a lot of work). In the meantime they’ve shared 19 other releases—76 songs, if I counted correctly—that are interesting, exuberant and versatile to say the least, which certainly also applies to the video arena they’ve moved into.

Enough reasons to turn the spotlight on last month’s Bally Broads LP, where Jungle Jim, Ursus and Bubbles perform psychedelic and progressive rock in an imaginary circus from bygone times. Whatever you think of the underlying method, the result is idiosyncratic, original and colorful, an entertaining listen full of crazy surprises.



Bally Broads is out digitally and on 12″ vinyl through Slimecore.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New EP: The Penrose Web || It’s​.​.​.​.​The Penrose Web

Allan Crockford and Ian Button bring out the best in each other on colorful debut 45

The Penrose Web is not just any band, but a new project by Allan Crockford (The Galileo 7, The Prisoners, The James Taylor Quartet, etc.) and Ian Button (Papernut Cambridge, Swansea Sound, Death In Vegas, Thrashing Doves, etc.). With names like that, expectations are high, but they are effortlessly met on their debut EP It’s​.​.​.​.​The Penrose Web. The two British singer-songwriters/multi-instrumentalists wrote, recorded and produced these four psychedelic pop/rock songs, which enchant with layered orchestration, groovy melodies and warm harmonies. Standout track I Dreamt I Woke Up Dead is an ultimate example of the power of synergy.

Good news for those who, like me, want to hear more: their full-length album The Least Of Our Concerns will follow later this year.


It’s​.​.​.​.​The Penrose Web is out now digitally and on 7″ ecovinyl through Fool’s Paradise / Gare du Nord Records. Featuring Allan Crockford (vocals, bass, guitar and keyboards) and Ian Button (vocals, drums, guitar and keyboards), with Viv Bonsels (backing vocals, percussion) and Janey Donnachie (backing vocals).

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp 

Dusted || The 10 Best Cover Songs Of December 2024

Not all new music is really new, as many artists cover songs. Sometimes these are songs by their favorite artists, eg as a tribute to such a musical hero for a special reason, or they simply feel that a song deserves to be dusted and polished to reacquaint fans with great songs from the past. Other times, bands cover songs as a parody. Regardless of intent, some of those cover versions are so good or so much fun, we’d like to put a spotlight on them. Chosen from a wide range, here are – in random order – ten of our favorite covers from last month – links to the pages where you can add them to your wantlist included.

Da Doo Ron Ron || Cover: The Peawees || Original: The Crystals
First the good news: Italian punk rock band The Peawees have finally released a studio version of their cover of this Phil Spector classic—always a highlight in their live shows—on 7″ vinyl, as the flip side to their self-penned song Drive (taken from this fall’s One Ride LP). The inevitable bad news: the single was a present for the 300 attendees of the Wild Honey Christmas Party, that reportedly never will be reprinted. A cold comfort: you can download it for free.

New album: The Nude Party || Live at Sam’s Town Point

How the New York septet performed their best in a hot Austin show

All those people who had to declare that they could keep their clothes on, can now provide evidence of where they actually have been. New York rock ‘n’ roll collective The Nude Party hit Sam’s Town Point in Austin, to play a selection from their catalog (including crowd favorites like Records, Sold Out Of Love, What’s the Deal?, Chevrolet Van and Ride On), plus some seamlessly fitting covers of Texas classics (Texas Tornados’ Little Bit Is Better Than Nada, Dr. John’s Somebody Tryin’ to Hoodoo Me) and Gary P. Nunn’s London Homesick Blues)—that 19-song show is officially released. The sympathetic musicians serve their signature warm stew of country-tinged psychedelic rock with hints of blues and surf, controlled but passionate. This is an authentic, intimate live show with skilled, layered interplay, a pure mood lifter—apparently so hot and sweaty that clothing wasn’t necessary.



Live at Sam’s Town Point, engineered and mixed by Jonathan Tyler, is out now digitally and next month also on vinyl 2-LP. Featuring Patton Magee (vocals, guitar, harmonica), Shaun Couture (guitar, vocals), Alec Castillo (bass, vocals), Don Merrill (organ, piano, vocals), Jon ‘Catfish’ Delorme (pedal steel), Austin Brose (percussion, vocals) and Connor Mikita (drums) with Billie Buck (saxophone) as special guest.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || The Nude Party

Music Year-End List || Niek’s Favorite Albums of 2024


2025 is banging on the door, so in the slipstream of Dennis’ amazing and eclectic list of last Tuesday, let’s take a final look at the musical year that was. What’s been on my mind a lot is that currently more music drops in a single day than in all of 1989, making this both the best and worst time to run a music blog. Curating and sharing the good has never been more important—or more demanding. By 2030, we could see nearly 200 million music creators—triple today’s number. Combine that with the fast emergence of A.I. use in music (I got fooled at least once) and growing economic challenges for artists (especially in the underground guitar music scene we covet), and the musical landscape feels on the verge of exploding or imploding.

With that in mind, all the efforts of musicians and labels to keep producing art that enriches our lives becomes even more impressive. So I’d like to send my sincere gratitude to them—you know who you are. Thank you for the goosebumps, the energy boosts, the hi-fives and stagedives, the throat lumps and raised fists, and the dopamine rush of discovering something new and amazing every couple of days. You make it all worthwhile.

Compiling and ranking my favorite records of the year was brutal yet awesome. Many darlings were killed, but after many hard choices I’ve landed on a list that reflects what moved, surprised, and delighted me the most in 2024. Check them out below, buy their stuff(!), share your own favorites in the comments (what did I miss?), and spread the word if you enjoy this site—because there’s so much more coming in 2025. Take care, happy holidays, and with the exception of the occasional post in the remainder of 2024, see you next year!

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