ROT FASTER

The Deep - Psychedelic Moods

2012-03-05T14:09:00.005-08:00

Ah the glory days when slapping the word psychedelic on your record moved 10,000 more units. this is definitely not the best album to come out of that golden age, nor the weirdest. I actually can't tell if they were serious about this at all or it was just the suits trying to cash in on all the sunset strip* kiddies that had suddenly turned on and dropped out and in a post-alternative world where everyone wears their irony on their sleeve this ambiguity TERRIFIES ME.

*the band is actually from Philly

The Outsiders - CQ

2012-02-28T22:52:00.007-08:00

the cover makes it look like a cool jazz album. its not. its loud and dark and too fast to dance to. the whole thing is unhinged and some of the songs are the punkest pre-punk tunes I've ever heard. they got banned from most venues in their native Netherlands pretty early on for playing too berserk. after CQ was released the band ceased to exist cause it only sold a few hundred copies.
The Clash were going to name themselves the Outsiders until they got hip to this band's existence.
it was out of print for years but it was just re-released at the beginning of last year on RPM Records with a few bonus tracks from a CQ era concert and they're even more fulfilling than the studio versions. this band was cooking with explosives.

Come To the Sunshine: Soft Pop Nuggets From the WEA Vaults

2012-02-20T20:25:00.000-08:00

a good companion piece to the Hallucinations comp that I posted last week. it's not quite as good as that one, lacking some of the obvious '60s psych production touchstones but most of the songs are still quite good.

Hallucinations: Psychedelic Pop Nuggets From the WEA Vaults

2012-02-15T23:05:00.000-08:00

one listen to this and you'll start hallucinating immediately. big budget pop experiments pushing the limits of studio technology. balding middle aged producers who were told "dope is in, man" so they slapped some phase and tremolo on everything. no such thing as too far out. all of the lyrics seem to be about a drug trip or a lover, but they're both described in the same rainbow flower terminology so it's difficult to tell which they're singing about.
your enjoyment of this comp probably relies on your tolerance for the abuse of raga stylings prevalent in the 60s, but even if you let that keep you from hearing these songs as anything other than novelties, at least they're never boring novelties. the inventive production keeps your ears on edge throughout.
oh wait, eat this tab before you press play.

Rangarang: Pre-revolutionary Iranian Pop

2012-02-09T14:32:00.000-08:00

sounds like Motown jams from another planet. I'm not versed in middle eastern pop AT ALL in any way shape or form, so this whole compilation has a weird alternate dimension quality running throughout everything. all the arrangements are great and in most instances the strings and orchestration are what make the song. of course I can't understand a single word so I can't comment on the lyrics but there's excerpts of the English translations in the liners and most of them seem to run along the lines of the typical love found/love lost/why don't you love me. at first I was assuming this was only good for posterity's sake and if you weren't there when it happened, hearing them in this context wouldn't make you a fan. I guess that's still mostly true, but I've actually grown to enjoy quite a few of these tracks on their own merits even if I can't appreciate the nuances of the language. the musical diversity is really astonishing, seemingly every rock and pop genre is attempted over the course of the more than 25 tracks.
this is a good companion piece to the Pomegranates compilation that came out in 2010, although the stuff on there gets way further out.
Vampisoul's always rescuing worthy tunes from the vaults, check them out.

The Music Machine - The Ultimate Turn On

2012-02-02T23:39:00.001-08:00

so Sean Bonniwell died over a month ago and I didn't hear anything about it from any source. apparently no one cared which is too bad cause him and his band made the best American garage rock record of the '60s. this edition came out a few years ago and finally re-releases the mono mix which renders the stereo completely obsolete. its got a whole extra disc of demos and reheasals that pack more punch than the official versions.
maybe I'm preaching to the choir but seriously this album is track for track some of the rawest beat music ever.

Siddhartha - Weltschmerz

2012-01-29T14:30:00.000-08:00

mid ’70s zonked out German prog rock recorded in a gothic cathedral during the witching hour. this was their only album.
the cover’s not much to look at, but don’t judge a book by its cover or something like that….

Epitaph - Epitaph

2012-01-23T21:10:00.001-08:00

heavy progressive rock recorded in Germany in '71. not too much info on their early years, they apparently became much more famous toward the mid-70s after they'd changed their sound to be more rock n roll and less hard rock jamming. this record's pretty solid though. the songwriting leaves something to be desired and the the whole 9 tracks don't so much hold your interest all the way thru but its definitely got a lot going for it and worth checking out if you're into prog-ish rock from this era. some really decent mellotron playing too.

Sonic Youth - Rather Ripped

2012-01-16T21:17:00.000-08:00

seems stupid to say anything about sonic youth if you're already into them. really only posting this because its the Japanese edition appended with the Helen Lundeberg/Eyeliner single plus an alternative psychedelic mix of Do You Believe In Rapture.
I hated this album when it 1st came out and haven't listened to it since then but I just recently started really enjoying it. its worth another shot, or any shot at all really..

Tiger B. Smith - Tiger Rock

2012-01-11T20:05:00.000-08:00

heavy. really heavy. heavier than a bong in the hand. looks like third rate glam rock knock offs judging from the cover but heavier than sabbath and zeppelin combined and a lot more fun. with the exception of the terrible blues jam at the end there's not a song under 6 minutes and tiger roar sound effects abound. too bad they only lasted for like 3 years, they could've been great.
one reviewer who will remain nameless describes this album as "...akin to like Joy Division attempting a blaxploitation version of 'Dead Souls' as a three-piece". I don't know what that means but it sounds accurate.
watch this video of them performing on German TV in '74.

Explode Into Colors - Quilts

2012-01-03T20:06:00.001-08:00

fuck blogging cause everyone's already said it before and better. but this album is still really great and someone's said that before me and better than me but I'm saying it again. these girls were a 3 piece from Portland but despite their small ranks, their sound prods your dormant paranoia of the impending apocalypse until it gets pissed and rears its ugly head and starts gnashing its teeth. but that drum sound! you can summon some demons with it.
they broke up last year but released a few 7"s before that. this combines most of those songs with some xtras and came out in a limited run after the break up but I think it might have just been self-released cause the label doesn't appear to actually exist.

Balam Acab - Wander/Wonder

2011-12-26T19:06:00.000-08:00

I went to the record store a few days ago to finish up some xmas shopping and after an hour of browsing the only thing I walked away with was a copy of this LP for myself. I was avoiding it for a while because, you know, witch house, but fuck that baggage, this is a great album.
on the surface, I've heard this a million times before: infinite reverb, chopped stuttering female vocal samples and oppressive bass hits, but the whole is definitely greater than the sum and the tension created with these pieces is almost unbearable even if the constant running water sounds make you want to pee by the time the record's over. this is the soundtrack to a cave diving trip.
this version of the album includes the bonus EP with 4 extra tracks. none of them are great but they fit the feel of the album proper.

Sleep ∞ Over cassette / Boy Friend EP

2011-12-18T16:19:00.000-08:00

these are perfect for nights like these. your eyes tend to glaze over while listening to these songs and they make it easier to breathe. sounds like an evil beach house on opiates by candlelight.
sleep ∞ over's cassette came out last year on Night-People and then 2/3 of them left and formed Boy Friend who released this EP earlier this year. check out their bandcamp page to buy it and lots of other stuff. also buy Sleep ∞ Over's new LP on Hippos In Tanks.

Bambara Mystic Soul: The Raw Sound Of Burkina Faso 1974-79

2011-12-12T23:16:00.000-08:00

Analog Africa hasn't ever released a bad compilation ever. if you're at all into afrobeat or highlife or mbalax you should definitely give this a listen. most of the songs have a pretty heavy funk/r&b flavor which gives it an extra kick.
check out Analog Africa's blog for a good write up about this compilation and some more downloads and info about past releases. its all worth checking out.

Flying Lotus - Shhh!

2011-12-06T22:53:00.000-08:00

white label from '08 with a bunch of remixes that for obvious reasons couldn't actually be "released". (why did I put that in quotes?) nothing as impressive as what he usually puts out, but its all interesting and worth listening to. the Lord Quas by way of Madvillain remix is wonkyyyy as fuck and the promiscuous remix is spot on.

Kevin Ayers - Joy of a Toy

2011-11-27T23:10:00.000-08:00

“Kevin Ayers’ talent is so acute you could perform major eye surgery with it.”
- John Peel

Kevin Ayers once said the only reason the Soft Machine asked him to join was because they needed someone with longer hair in the band.

after contributing to their first album, he split for a solo career. I was always under the assumption that this subsequent career was moot in the face of his classic work with the Soft Machine, but I was proven wrong. incredibly wrong. Kevin Ayers is a musical genius. his ‘69 album Joy of a Toy (excuse the name) ends up sounding like Syd Barrett if he’d been an incredibly skilled musician and arranger and had opened up his cute British soundworld to incorporate a full band with a horn section and strings instead of just plodding through some demos like an autistic 3 year old.
Ayers and Syd were friends and Syd even played guitar on an unused outtake of a single. the members of Soft Machine also appeared as the backing band on most of the tracks.

The Chameleons - Strange Times

2011-11-23T21:28:00.001-08:00

I bought this album based solely on the cover and the fact that a friend of mine once said that he thought they were "pretty good" like 5 years ago. but mostly the cover. I mean, look at it.
anyway I was going to post this 2 days ago when it was rainy and overcast cause it fit the mood of that sort of weather but I waited too long and now its sunny out again.
this, at its least interesting, sounds like the Smiths trying to cover Pornography with the Edge guesting on some tracks. and it has the best produced '80s drums. as in (I never thought I'd say this) the drums still have that '80s sound but the producer made that '80s sound sound good. so this producer did the opposite of what Phil Collins' producer did. actually come to think of it, this album is the exact opposite of a Phil Collins album in almost every way.
the original came with a bonus 7" and some CD reissues omitted one of these bonus tracks but this is the version w/ all of them present.

EDIT: I was listening to this album while writing the review and it hit me that sometimes it sounds like the Killers so try not to let that ruin it.

The Pretty Things - S.F. Sorrow

2011-11-20T21:37:00.000-08:00

my introduction to this album was seeing it performed in its entirety by a cluster of 60+ year old men who called themselves the Pretty Things and maybe included one or two of the original members at a festival in southern england I was at as a tagalong for another group. I ended up at this stage cause I'd heard alot about this "cult" album and I'm surprised that I still decided to check it out after seeing that performance.
but it's incredible and pairing it with Piper at the Gates of Dawn and The Move's self titled album, is an unbeatable cross section of British psychedelia. it's supposed to be the 1st rock opera, and there were chapters printed in the original liner notes that told the story, but you can't figure out any narrative from the lyrics.
this 2003 stereo remaster features the preceding 3 singles, which are even better than anything on the album, and an acetate jam of Defecting Grey.

A→Austr - Musics From Holyground

2011-11-15T22:39:00.000-08:00

stylistic confusion. this record's all over the place, folk but not/rock n roll but not/psychedelic but not/they obviously played whatever they wanted without regard for continuity and it almost hangs together like a compilation instead of a single band's performances. A Curse On You is one of the most chilling songs ever recorded.
the Penguin GuideTto Rare Records says this is "the most sacred UK LP there is." there were only 99 pressed originally in 1970 and it wasn't rereleased on CD until '95 on with 2 very alternate versions as bonus tracks. you can buy it and a million other ultra rare reissues from the Holyground site.

Forge Your Own Chains: Heavy Psychedelic Ballads & Dirges 1968-74

2011-11-11T20:01:00.000-08:00

the key words here being "heavy" and "psychedelic". this is flat out one of the best compilations I've ever heard, it covers a lot of ground from garage rockers to funky psych jams to pseudo prog slammers from all over the world (thailand, norway, africa, massachusetts) and the best part is, I haven't heard of most of these bands.
the liner notes have tons of pics and are an interesting read but I haven't had a scanner since I moved so you'll have to buy it to read them.

The Move - The Move

2011-11-08T23:20:00.000-08:00

yeah this is like one of the best albums of the '60s, maybe the most perfect pop record of the whole decade but its also really heavy. Ace Kefford's bass is SO LOUD. plus they smashed TVs and sledgehammered cars on stage so always bonus points for stuff like that.
I really can't say enough good things about this album. all the songs are about being in love, going crazy, or the end of the world, which makes sense as one usually leads to the others, although I'm not sure in what order.
it was remastered in 2007 with the album and singles in mono on the first disc and a few alternate takes, unreleased, and recent stereo remixes on disc 2. this post is a really good overview of the Move remasters with some band history.

Caravan - Caravan

2011-11-06T16:34:00.000-08:00

this album sounds more psychedelic than anything recorded after it. at some point they turned into a prog band but not yet. this is really good, has dashes of Soft Machine and Syd's Floyd but more understated and with better musicianship than either.
they were the 1st band signed with Verve in the UK but then got dropped after the release of this album because someone at the office had no taste.
this is the remastered edition and it includes the album in both its mono and stereo versions. the disparities are shocking, at some points they sound like two different songs. I'm more mono but make up your mind and choose for yourself.

Valium Aggelein - Hier Kommt der Schwartze Mond

2011-11-02T17:54:00.000-07:00

I have a friend from the Pacific NW who listens to a lot of post-rock (sorry for being redundant) and I had a terrible dream about him one time where he was in mortal danger and I had to convince everyone that he needed to be saved but no one would believe me and I was freaking out thinking my friend was gonna die and it would be all my fault.
so I called him the next morning just to make sure he was OK and we got to talking about life and whatever and he mentioned this band I should check out called Duster. I looked them up and found out about a side project they started called Valium Aggelein which is even more spacey than Duster proper.
their 1st album Dweller On the Threshold is available for free download at the Static Cult Label website but it took me forever to find their next album anywhere on the internet and my curiosity was only piqued further by this emusic article by Mark Richardson which was the only thing that came up for a while whenever I googled the title.
so I finally found it and it definitely sounds like the black moon and more than a bit like Pink Floyd, but not in the way you think I mean that. it's best listened to at night, by yourself, in the dark.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

2011-10-31T16:07:00.000-07:00

a collection of some of their early singles, compilation tracks, and other stuff. more of a thrash feel than anything on Sleep In S
Safety. it took me a while to find it so if you're still looking for it too, here it is.

Klaus Schulze - Cyborg

2011-10-27T19:09:00.000-07:00

you're gonna wanna be high for this one. comprised of 4 suites composed on multiple synthesizers and other assorted electronic effects, it’s the soundtrack to something like this:

but that’s underselling it. I’m a sucker for this kind of stuff despite the fact that there’s no discernible melody or even structure. play it at your next blacklight party.

Klaus Schulze - Irrlicht

2011-10-25T18:04:00.000-07:00

Schulze split Tangerine Dream after their 1st album although you couldn't figure out why from listening to this album because it sounds almost exactly like TD's output at the time. maybe he thought Froese was "selling out" or there was a heroin problem or he slept with his girlfriend or something (these being the most common reasons bands break up, right?).
Schulze later got famous for sprawling synthesizer epics but there's not a single synth on this entire album. the whole thing is a modified organ featuring a sample of an orchestra run through 100 effects and broken amplifiers. and the last track is run backward.
this is the 2006 remaster with an extra bonus track.

Tangerine Dream - Sunrise In the Third System: The Pink Years Anthology

2011-10-23T19:00:00.000-07:00

this is as good an album as any for my first post. the most cosmically inclined band ever. EVER. one listen and you're so far out you're not coming back. EVER.
this is a European comp released earlier this year and its the best selection of TD in one volume I've ever encountered. it covers their first 5 albums and first single when they were still on the German Ohr label before Virgin snatched them up and made them all....new age....
the liner notes, (the real reason to buy most reissues featuring previously remastered music you've already got) are actually incredibly interesting and told me way more than I thought I needed to know about the formative years.
apparently they chilled with Dali (see photo below).
Esoteric Records also release accompanying anthologies covering the Virgin years and the later blue years when they moved back to Jive.

WELCOME

2011-10-21T19:17:00.000-07:00

I was on tumblr for a while but decided to switch over because I was getting lazy and just reblogging stupid pictures and videos. it's not such a good format for extended personalized reviews of albums that other people have their own opinions about anyway, so hopefully I'll now be more inclined to write about good music instead of scrolling through teenagers' witchhouse pages until I go glass-eyed.
and I'm gonna try to get some guest posters on here too at some point in the near future for variety.