Psych

New album: ROY || Roy’s Garage

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Canadian psych rocker Patrick Lefler, who makes music under the moniker ROY, declares “I’m not afraid to be a freak” and “it’s time to love myself”, and in doing so his new full-length album Roy’s Garage acts as a statement. Last year’s conceptual LP Peace, Love and Outer Space was filled with stories of alien enlightenment, its successor contains tales of personal vision. This is exciting and varied 60’s inspired ambient psychedelic pop that will leave you confused: Where Did My Mind Go?. Out now digitally and on 12″ Vinyl LP via Idée Fixe Records. RIYL Brian Wilson, 13th Floor Elevators, The Doors, Cool Ghouls.

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New album: TEKE::TEKE || Shirushi

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Get ready for an explorative and spiritual psychedelic trip. You can get lost in Shirushi‘s Dali-style cover art alone, but its cinematic and eclectic music is even more enchanting and mystic than that: a mix of classic Japanese balladry, surfy post-rock and folky psychedelia, with poetic Japanese lyrics melodically and conjuringly sung or whispered. This is the impressive debut album by TEKE::TEKE, a Montreal-based 7-piece featuring traditional Japanese instruments and a trombone alongside fuzzy guitars and a rhythm section to create a sound reminiscent of 1960’s / 70’s era psychedelic Japanese soundtracks. ‘Shirushi’ means ‘signs of great changes to come’, and that could just be the case for this band after this release. Out now digitally, on CD and vinyl LP trough Kill Rock Stars. The video for Meikyu gives you an idea of what to expect, but I advise you to immerse yourself in the full album.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Discogs || Kill Rock Stars

New singles: Formal Wear || Suffer Today & Germ House || Record The Mistakes

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Last friday, Chunklet Industries released not one but two singles that I am exited about. Both will be hard to get as they are limited to 45 and 50 copies.

The first single is from yet another project originating from the pandemic: Formal Wear. The A-side is called Suffer Today, which is just perfect for imagining the next time you’ll be wearing formal wear. It is an awesome garagepop tune where the vocals sequence nicely with the central guitar lick. The flipside (Timekeeper) is another goody with a repetitive chorus that gets under your skin. Perhaps I’d be less surprised by the strength of this single, If I’d read before that Formal Wear consists of Eli Kasan and Ryan Oxley from The Gotobeds and Wicketkeeper respectively.


Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

The second Chunklet single is from one-man band Germ House. Based out of Rhode Island, Justin Hubbard has been releasing music since 2014 or so, and I definitely recommend diving into his back catalogue with Germ House. This new two song single is the latest illustration of the catchy garagepop with post punk leanings Germ House produces. Both songs are excellent, but I am particularly impressed with Record The Mistakes which surpasses the 4:30 minute mark (I apologize for my short-attention span), but remains interesting throughout.


Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New album: Electric Looking Glass || Somewhere Flowers Grow

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The Californian baroque pop band Electric Looking Glass is a collaborative effort between four kindred spirits (multiple vocalists, multi-instrumentalists and songwriters). Self-producing in their own analog, technicolor wonderland, Arash Mafi, Brent Randall, Johnny Toomey, and Danny Winebarger pay loving homage to the kaleidoscope pop of 1967 with attention to detail in their uplifting songs, Monkees-esque music videos, vintage clothes, and colorful cover art. Very well done. You can smell the flowers through the jangly guitars, whistling organs, and vocal harmonies. Their long awaited, psychedelic full-length debut album Somewhere Flowers Grow is out now digitally and on vinyl LP via We Are Busy Bodies (the first pressing is sold out, but there will be a repress with appropriate purple, red, green, blue & yellow variants). Sgt. Pepper, here are visitors for you.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Discogs

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New album: Electric Looking Glass || Somewhere Flowers GrowRead More »

New single: The Embrooks || It’s Time You Realised

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The Embrooks are garagepop & freakbeat legends from the UK. With the exception of several hiatus, they’ve been releasing timeless music since the late nineties. Their most recent one is a two song single for Spinout Nuggets & State Records. The A-side is the mono version of Human Living Vampire, a song from their 2018 LP We Who Are – I think this song works even better in the mono version. The B-side is It’s Time You Realised, a perfectly executed cover of the ’66 punk classic by the Morlochs.


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New EP: ọRIọNE || Astral Paramnesia

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The raw energy and improvisations of the Italian psychedelic / garage rock band ọRIọNE come out best in live shows, but as we all know that has not been possible for 16 months as a result of the current circumstances. Astral Paramnesia is an EP born from the need to make music as a band without having the opportunity to play on stage, the result of a series of demo exchanges between the members of the band, structured in a home recording regime and ended up in a studio. When you hear the first notes of opening track Deja Vu you think that Thee Oh Sees are operating under a new name again, but after 10 seconds Alessandro Vanni (guitar / vocals), Massimiliano Bruno (bass / vocals), Andrea Torre (keyboards), and Tommaso Marraccini (drums) take a turn and then they show their own faces. These are five songs that are already very worthwhile digitally, but hopefully can also be experienced live in a sweaty pub soon.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New single: Prisoner / Witchcake || Split

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Dead Broke Rekerds have a high standard for their releases – at least I believe they do. Outpatient (who we recently covered), Laika’s Orbit and Notches are just some examples of bands on their roster with the intangibles to make them  stand out of the punkrock pack. This latest release, a split 7″ (limited to 350 copies, of which 100 blue/white swirl) with Prisoner & Witchcake is no exception. Prisoner (ex-Dude Jams) play futuristic garagepunk.Ten Years Done could be a Mark Ryan song (Mind Spiders, Marked Men), and that’s a good thing. On the flipside, Witchcake (ex-Grumpies/Dead Dog) offer garagerock that is slightly pop and psych oriented. Satellite is an infectious track with hit potential, and the band’s second song is a pretty great cover of The Rats’ Can’t Stand Back.



Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New album: Confio En Tus Amigos || Rapida Comida

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Next up in the category “I don’t understand their lyrics, but I do like their songs,” we have Confio En Tus Amigos. The band from Chile just released their second album Rapida Comida, which, if I’m not mistaken, translates to Fast Food. It’s a well chosen title for a record that offers 11 bites you can gobble up in 16 minutes. And unlike the cover suggests, the menu is more varied than you’d expect. Confio En Tus  Amigos have no issue bouncing around garage, psych, punk and even Latin influences. I don’t know about you, but I am having seconds!


Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

New album: Mike Edison & Guadalupe Plata || Devil Can’t Do You No Harm

By / / Blues & Roots, Psych / 1 Comment

I’ve been looking for an affordable version of their awesome 2008 debut EP for years – it’s about time for another repress, please! – but luckily Guadalupe Plata releases new records with some regularity. On the new LP The Devil Can’t Do You No Harm, the Spanish psychedelic blues rockers work together with the renowned American writer / musician Mike Edison (vocals). The songs are slightly less raw and possessed than what we are used to from the band, but the gospel, rhythm and folk inspired blues is still just as mesmerizing. There are traditional songs that date back to before the American Civil War (notably the religious song-turned-protest Oh Mary Don’t You Weep is great), the reinterpretation of Bob Dylan’s Make You Feel My Love is almost unrecognizable, and the original compositions include the plea for forgiveness of Who Ya Gonna Call, a hit on my playlist (watch / listen below). The album is out now digitally, on CD and vinyl LP through Everlasting Records.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp || Discogs

New album: Layten Kramer || Dear Apathy

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“Constant rearrangements // All this strange displacement // It’s so hard these days // To understand” – the lyrics and sound of Layten Kramer’s Strange Displacement are a fitting soundtrack to the strange times we live in. It’s one of the standout tracks from his new full-length album Dear Apathy, out now via Oscar St. Records. The Canadian singer / songwriter / multi-instrumentalist makes music that can be described as psychedelic western indie pop, dreamy and atmospheric. Let yourself drift away to these melodies. RIYL: Mac DeMarco, Jon McKiel, Cut Worms, Sam Cohen.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp

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