Here’s two brilliant 7″ from Brooklyn based Florida.
Both put out by Shdwply Records
Florida are hard to pigeonhole, to me they sound a little like Haunted Graffiti. Check their Myspace.
- Lewis
Since 2007, Cameron Stallones has been crafting elaborate psychedelic drone compositions under the pseudonym Sun Araw. His music is often described as having it’s own essence or aura. Truly, this is an artist who’s work emotes a sense of spirituality and tranquility. It took me far too long to get into this and I’m kicking myself for it now. Located here is everything he has put out to date with the exception of Geneva Hits, which hasn’t yet surface online.
The Phynx (2007)
Boat Trip (2008)
Beach Head (2008)
Predator Vision Split LP (2009)
Leaves Like These (2009)
Heavy Deeds (2009)
In Orbit (2009)
Buy his stuff from Not Not Fun
- James
I downloaded this album a few days ago from one of our favorite blogs on the web, WE FUCKING LOVE MUSIC, but figured I would pass on this slab of excellence. For those of you who enjoyed the Nigeria Special compilation, here is some more African music, though this pretty far removed from the funkiness of those afrobeat jams. Terkaft play a style of African music known as “desert blues” and feature some founding members of Tinariwen, one of the greatest African desert blues bands ever. Here you will find snaky, weaving guitars, tribal drums and African chant-like vocals which come together to form a hypnotizing mix of blues, psychedelic rock and world music.
-Max
Last week, I received several more emails from bands submitting their albums (3, for those of you counting!) and this was the first one I’ve heard so far. Their press release described their sound as shimmering psychedelic pop with soft, ethereal vocals set against a lush soundscape. That pretty much sums it up perfectly. This reminds me of some of that chillwave/browave/hypnagogic pop along the lines of Memory Tapes, as well as the tropical drone-party sound of Universal Studios Florida. The final track on the EP, “Everything Will Be Alright” is rapidly becoming one of my “jams.”
Note: I could not find a link to purchase the album. Check for their debut LP soon!
-Max
Le Loup’s sophmore release leaked about two weeks ago, but is being officially released today. The psyched-out folk sounds of this band are imaginative and fresh. With airy vocals, a wide range of acoustic instrumentation, and an ear for harmony, this band has sucessully improved their sound. The average band struggles with their sophmore release, but Le Loup is anything but average.
- James
Neon Indian is Alan Palomo, who also uses the alias Vega. On October 13th, he will release this album on Lefse Records. The album is a mix of electronic pop and beefy psychedelic guitar overtones make for the perfect dance beat. Imagine if Ratatat got really fucking blazed with Berlin-era Bowie and they decided to make a mix-tape for a club. This is that album. The artist has already received nods by Pitchfork and Stereogum. The good thing is that the album actually does live up to the hype, so download this shit, invite some friends over, and have a party.
This album is scheduled to be released by Lefse Records on October 13, 2009.
- James
El Guincho is what would happen if Noah Lennox (Panda Bear) and Bradford Cox (Atlas Sound) had a latin love child. Though this album was released in 2007 I just got wind of it a few months ago and have been struggling to work my mind around the works of this artist since. However, it’s a much welcomed struggle. This album hits harder than so many of the things I have been exposed to in recent weeks and it’s just what the rock doctor ordered. All of the vocals are in spanish, but the harmonies more than make up for their lost semantics.
- James
There isn’t really anything that can be said about The Flaming Lips that hasn’t already been said. With the release of every new album, I prepare myself for the first bad Flaming Lips album, but my preparations are never needed. Judging from the 3 songs here, the new double album, Embryonic, is looking to be no exception, with Wayne Coyne and Co. continuing in the vein of their post-The Soft Bulletin work, though veering away from the more accessible style of At War With The Mystics. I know at least one guy here at Shock Mountain who cannot wait until December 29 for the release!
THIS ALBUM WILL BE [supposedly] RELEASED DECEMBER 29, 2009
-Max
I’m sure you’ve all heard albums like this: released with little to no commercial success, positive reviews, fading into obscurity, treasured by those fortunate enough to find it. While this isn’t exactly an obscure gem, it definitely is a drastically underappreciated highlight of the entire post-punk genre. The second album from Robyn Hitchcock and Kimberly Rew’s The Soft Boys, Underwater Moonlight stands as one of the most consistent, enjoyable and overall best albums of the post-punk variety. Taking influence from The Beatles, Bob Dylan and Syd Barrett-era Pink Floyd, Underwater Moonlight is filled with 60’s psychedelia, timeless jangle pop, a whimsical post-punk attitude and Robyn Hitchcock’s humorous lyrics, which range from absurdities within English culture to the surreal. And for those of you who aren’t convinced yet, take a look at some of the artists vocal about the influence of The Soft Boys: Pavement, Guided By Voices, Yo La Tengo and the Pixies. If you still aren’t convinced, the track “Positive Vibrations” features a (very short) sitar solo! I have uploaded the original album, though it has been reissued with a second disc …And How It Got There, which I did not include because it’s mostly bonus tracks and rehearsal tapes. If you are/become a die-hard fan and really want the tracks, leave a comment and I will gladly upload them for you.
-Max
While I haven’t been huge on this whole beach/tropical pop trend as of late, this release has shocked me. The description had me expecting another Ducktails, but no, I was in for more of a treat. Combining elements of already mentioned beach/tropical pop, drone, ambient and even a little bit of tribal music, the gentlemen in Universal Studios Florida (and I thought Woods were hard to Google!) have created an album that isn’t too far off from one of the decade’s arguably best albums: Panda Bear’s Person Pitch. A vast array of sounds cascade upward, building a wall of sound, drifting the audience off into a sun-soaked outer space. I know that made no sense, but that’s the only way I can describe this album. Their MySpace describes their sound as “Dense tropical percussion with golden, shining synth lines in an ambient valley where big beat drops are just around every corner.” I know I say this a lot, but this is rapidly becoming one of my favorite albums of this year, wonderful for those who enjoy Panda Bear, High Places, Ducktails or music perfect for summer evenings.
-Max
First things first: yes, that is the name of this band and no, it is no a soundtrack to some new pornographic film. Instead, this is the second album from Seattle-based collective, which features members/collaborators of Sun City Girls, Earth, Sunn O))), Secret Chiefs 3 and Grails. This albu, definitely comes across as a clusterfuck of the styles of the mentioned acts, mixing psych-rock, drone and tribal world music, this sounds like the peyote-fueled ragas of a scuzzy desert cult searching for water and the Fountain of Youth. Seriously, if you are a fan of psychedelic rock, drone or anything with a tribal atmosphere, this very well may be your album of the year.
-Max
A few weeks ago, I stumbled across the excellent 12″ by these guys put out by my new favorite label, Woodsist, and was blown away. Coming home from Bonnaroo, I was delighted to find that their full length was finally on the internet, so I snatched it up immediately. Once again, Ganglians have proven to be one of this year’s best new groups, with a sound drawing from psychedelic freak folk, lo-fi noise pop and sunny Beach Boys-esque pop. This is already one of my favorite albums of this year, reminding me of labelmates Woods and Kurt Vile, as well as last year’s Women. Ganglians have very fittingly described this album as pure naive headphone acid pop to drive to”.
-Max
Way back in February, I only had 2 songs by Acid Mothers Temple on my computer, but I loved them so much that I copied a friend’s AMT music folder onto my hard drive, and suddenly, a band who I was barely familar with was occupying 2.23 GB of space through 25 albums. Since then, I have been slowly working my way through the very small portion of their discography which I have and this album has proven to be my favorite as of late. While I initially preferred their psychedelic sonic freakouts, after seeing them live a month ago, I have fallen in love with their psychedelic, stoner/doom metal output, with this album being the prime example. Consisting of 2 tracks, one 34-minute mammoth psychedelic, groovy stoner anthem and a scorching Japanoise ditty, clocking in rather short for AMT at 5 minutes, SABBS will completely blow your mind in all it’s grooving, scorching space-y glory. Taking it’s name from both King Crimson’s Starless and Bible Black as well as Black Sabbath’s self titled, this album is one of the two best places to start exploring the massive world of Acid Mothers Temple, so download, press play, light up and lose yourself.
Also, for those of you very concerned with tags, you will have to re-tag as Acid Mothers Temple & The Cosmic Inferno, I have it tagged as just Acid Mothers Temple, making it easier to group all of their albums since the group has like a million fucking names.
-Max
This is the album that you put on and it instantly becomes the soundtrack to your day. Starting of with an exciting optimism and stopping for nothing. This is the album you listen to as you tell yourself that everything in the world will soon be right. That your problems aren’t quite as bad as you might think. It’s incredibly reassuring, cathartic, and relaxed. I’m talking of course, about the new album by Black Moth Super Rainbow. They came into the scene a couple of years back and are known to be one of the most enigmatic bands around. Though they are often called an electronic band, it couldn’t be further from the trust as the band only uses analog instruments. They are creating the music that people make with sequencers and laptops with anything but. This being their third album, they are much more confident and it definitely shows. The new album is definitely the most accessable thing they have put out to date, yet the quality doesn’t suffer at all. If you’ve heard them before, you know what to expect and won’t be dissapointed. If you haven’t heard these guys before, DOWNLOAD THIS ALBUM! It leaked a couple of hours ago on the internet. So, if you haven’t gotten it yet, be sure to do it right now. I’ve added album artwork and the rip is VBR, bitches! Grab this before it get’s taken down. When it does, and it will, I’ll re-upload.
Enjoy.
-James
This album is scheduled to be released on 05/26/2009.
The latest from Kid Congo Powers really does fit it’s title, calling to mind the dark, yet campy, vampire films of the 50s and 60s. Then again, what would you expect from Powers, who has been a member of Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds and The Cramps, both known for their dark, yet sexy sounds. This album finds Congo crafting a set of garage rock tunes sounding as if they could only come from a psychedelic jungle somewhere in Transylvania. Jumping from wild Nuggets style garage rock to psychedelic voodoo-punk to acid-drenched biker funk, this album has something for everyone. Already one of my favorites of this year.
-Max
