The Fat Angel Sings

This collection draws from the neo psychedelic movement that took hold in California during the early to mid 80’s, one that melded the psychedelia, country, garage rock, avant-garde and pop of the 60’s with the DIY ethos of the then burgeoning punk scene, a hypnotic amalgamation of sound that came in staunch contrast to the blown out sonic excesses of the time.

Futurismo proudly present a celebration of the Paisley Underground scene with “Twisted Dream Machine – The Paisley Underground / California’s Psychedelic Renaissance: 1982-1986“, the next volume in their Altered Vision compilation series.

“Twisted Dream Machine” takes you on a trip from the city to the desert, as the kaleidoscope of noise drifts from the The Dream Syndicate’s Velvet Underground inspired take on Crazy Horse and The Three O’Clock’s chiming baroque powerpop, to Rain Parade’s dreamy Beatlesesque melodies and the Bangles hook-laden Love inspired pop.

Also featured are the wondrous sounds of Green On Red, The Long Ryder’s, Game Theory, True West, Thin White Rope and others highly worth your attention. If you are not familiar with some of the bands here, you will surely question how that is possible. The Paisley Underground, if anything, encapsulated a certain musical mindset, an outlook where the past and the future would collide in the moment. This thread would bond the bands, yet each honed it’s own sound in a twisted incarnation of the seeds planted two decades earlier. Whilst the ‘scene’ did remain contained, its influence did in fact spread throughout mainstream culture as the Bangles stuck a chord into the heart of MTV, whilst Prince took inspiration from the movement in his own songwriting and the naming of Paisley Park, as well as signing The Three O’Clock to his label and writing one of the Bangles biggest hits.

As you listen to the tracks on “Twisted Dream Machine” you will be reminded that there is still music left to discover and inspire, this compilation is aimed to hopefully delight longtime fans, as well as ignite a passion for those new to the bands. The Paisley Underground was the sound of neo psychedelic rock, it was subterranean pop…in the classic sense, it was alternative rock before the term existed, a distillation of the fundamentals present at the dawn of rock ‘n’ roll, with a twist. The bands of the Paisley Underground may have been writing out of their own time, but as you listen to them in today’s context these songs should be heard as landmarks, rather than throwbacks. After all, nothing this good should stay underground.

1. The Three ‘O’ Clock – Jet Fighter, 2.   The Rain Parade – Don’t Feel Bad, True West – Lucifer Sam, 4.   Bangles – Going Down To Liverpool, 5.   Thin White Rope – Down In The Desert, 6.   Game Theory – 24 , 7.   The Dream Syndicate – Definitely Clean, 8.   The Long Ryders – Too Close To The Light, 9.   Green On Red – Illustrated Crawling, 10.  28th Day – Pages Turn, 11.  The Dream Syndicate – That’s What You Always Say, 12.  The Pandoras – In And Out Of My Life (In A Day), 13.  The Long Ryders – Ivory Tower, 14.  The Three ‘O’ Clock – With A Cantaloupe Girlfriend, 15.  Bangles – All About You, 16.  The Rain Parade – Talking In My Sleep, 17.  The Three ‘O’ Clock – Her Heads Revolving, 18.  True West – Shot You Down, 19.  Wednesday Week – If Only, 20.  Thin White Rope – Exploring The Axis, 21.  The Rain Parade – Mystic Green, 22.  Green On Red – Lost World

After four years of work, we’re thrilled to announce that our new album, The New World, will be released worldwide on July 31st.  It’s a globe-spanning adventure for your ears, made with the wildest ensemble we’ve ever assembled.  

To whet your appetite, we’re releasing two tracks today: the grand “Daydream Unbeliever,” and the ethereal “More and More.” They were recorded in Dripping Springs, Brooklyn, London, and Berlin by Dan Duszynski, with additional engineering by Leo Abrahams and Boris Wilsdorf, and mixed by Danny Reisch. 

“Daydream Unbeliever”, from the upcoming album “The New World”, out July 31st

Four years ago, The band Ought broke up. This was heart breaking for me personally, as someone who’s been obsessed with “Sun Coming Down” for years. But Cola, the trio Tim Darcy and Ben Stidworthy have been running with drummer Evan Cartwright since 2022, is a pretty damn good mollifier. It’s a somewhat different proposition than Ought—still post-punk, but tighter, sparer, rough edges a little smoothed down—and “Cost of Living Adjustment”, their third record, might be my favourite of theirs yet.

The album is technically self-titled: Cola, C-O-L-A, which the record’s full title turns into an acronym referring to the wage adjustments workers are nominally owed when inflation rises. As concepts go, it suits Darcy’s songwriting perfectly; he’s always had a political streak, but here it comes attached to a very of-the-moment kind of gallows humour that couldn’t fit him better.

The music is the loosest and noisiest Cola have sounded yet, more willing to let the seams show, but never losing that quality of feeling entirely deliberate—every choice made on purpose, every piece exactly where it belongs.

From Cola’s new album “Cost of Living Adjustment” out May 8th on Fire Talk

Father John Misty has returned with a new song called ‘The Payoff’. It follows January’s ‘The Old Law’, and it’s noisy and grandiose in all the right ways. Josh Tillman co-produced the song with Drew Erickson, who’s recently done beautiful work with Lana Del Rey and Mitski.

The new single, “The Payoff,” this week. It’s out now on Sub Pop. There’s no official word if it’s a single from a forthcoming new album or EP or just a standalone track. Father John Misty is on tour this summer.

The song could be about a politician or administration conning their base voters while convincing them everything is actually going okay, when it’s clearly not. Or perhaps, with the cover art depicting what appears to be a military graveyard, it’s sung from the perspective of an official trying to justify a war. “Why bother getting pissed off when there’s / There’s nothing you can do,” Tillman sings as the song crescendos.

Michael Harris mixed and engineered the track at Fivestar Studios in Topanga, CA.

His last LP, “Mahashmashana“,

In 2024 Father John Misty also released a best of album, “Greatish Hits: I Followed My Dreams and My Dreams Said to Crawl“. His studio album prior to that was 2022’s “Chloë and The Next 20th Century”.

“Something Worth Waiting For” arrives as the follow-up to Friko’s exciting debut, “Where we’ve been, Where we go from here“, as well as all of the hype that record drummed up for the Chicago up-and-comers in the indie scene. It also arrives as the first effort written as a full band, as the duo of frontman Niko Kapetan and drummer Bailey Minzenberger officially expanded to include guitarist Korgan Robb and bassist David Fuller.

The result is a more cohesive, realized collection of Friko’s guitar-driven, emotional anthems. Full of charmingly human production and killer hooks that expose Friko’s beating heart, “Something Worth Waiting For” is almost too easy to love.

With their second album, the Chicago band sheds their tough noise-pop exterior to reveal a more delicate sound—and emotional truisms to match—as they grow more confident.

Friko have shed their tough noise-pop exterior to reveal a bolder sound along with the more delicate emotional truisms that come with youthful idealism’s exposure to a more kaleidoscopic world view. Hunkering down into the sweet reminiscences of transitory experiences, the record grapples to paint a living sonic portrait of the band, with jittery rhythms meeting cathartic lyrical passages that deepen their songs’ colorful themes of solace and release. Early single “Choo Choo” explodes with frenetic energy as Niko Kapetan’s anxieties pull at the edges of his vocal range like a canvas fitted to the perfect frame.

The title track sits close to the angsty millennial indie-folk moment defined by Neutral Milk Hotel and The Shins, only it feels distinctly modern—sharp, swift, and emblematic of the extravagant atmospherics that suddenly become within reach once a band has erupted into a swarming global presence. “Seven Degrees” even echoes The Beatles’ late-career stardom, bolstering a lush premonition for the path which lays ahead. 

For their second record, Burlington act Robber Robber aimed to get a little weird with it, maybe even a little uncomfortable. Their promising 2024 debut, Wild Guess, already showed the band had a knack for compelling, combustible soundscapes and off-kilter, hypnotic grooves. With Two Wheels Move the Soul“, they fully lean into their most instinctual impulses.

“Two Wheels Move the Soul”, for all of its controlled chaos and sounds that are “defined by a couple pieces of extremely cheap gear that [Robber Robber] value highly,” manages to hold itself together with a warped but consistent internal logic. Some tracks pummel you with repetition and distorted tones, others revel in contradiction, and at least one originates from a structural idea that made the band chuckle. And yet, they all contribute to the record’s overall attitude and impact, ultimately resulting in some of our favourite indie rock tunes of the year so far.

Their promising 2024 debut, “Wild Guess“, had established the band’s knack for compelling, combustible soundscapes and off-kilter, hypnotic grooves. Now, on “Two Wheels Move the Soul”, the band fully leans into their most instinctual impulses, resulting in one of the most impressive indie albums of the year so far.

“We tried to challenge ourselves and make songs that excite us, often starting with ideas that push our comfort zones,” . “When making decisions, we try to steer towards things that make us laugh (out of humour or joy) or make us uncomfortable or make us feel something as opposed to just checking some sort of other box that we’ve imposed on ourselves.”

That outlook was initially previewed via a handful of killer singles, manifesting in the saturated wake-up call that is the opening title track, the ever-mutating instrumental and detached vocals of “Watch for Infection,” and the moody, melodic, methodical “Pieces.” Deeper album cuts only serve to prove that the formula has yet to be exhausted, with tunes like “Avalanche Sound Effect” or “It’s Perfect Out Here in the Sun” being every bit as creative and ear-grabbing.

Robber Robber’s new album, “Two Wheels Move the Soul“, out April 3rd on Fire Talk

In the latest issue of MOJO, we have an exclusive in-depth sit-down with Paul McCartney, where he divulges the full story of his extraordinary new album, “The Boys Of Dungeon Lane”, and dives into key moments in his musical and emotional past: The Beatles, Wings, meeting Dolly Parton, and more. Also in this issue: Eagles at their height; New Order air their linen; Rickie Lee Jones revisits “Pirates”; ’80s King Crimson resurrected; Can’s Irmin Schmidt opens up; Soul Train’s TV revolution. Plus: The Spencer Davis Group; Throwing Muses; Taj Mahal; Cream; Motörhead; The Lemon Twigs; unseen Bob Dylan; Northern Soul; Gang Of Four; Peter Frampton; Shoes; Yes; Dave Mason, and more.

Plus! This month’s covermount CD is Can & Irmin Schmidt Replay 1968-2026, featuring fifteen gems and rarities from the Can vault compiled by Irmin Schmidt exclusively for MOJO!

The new issue of MOJO is on sale Tuesday May 12

Wooden Shjips’ rise to prominence from the psychedelic underground to the rock and roll overground has been a steady sojourn. With each new release, the band has found new ways of transforming heady psychedelic rock into minimalist masterpieces, bridging the gap between the woozy freeness of Les Rallizes Denudes and Crazy Horse and the simplicity of Suicide and the Velvet Underground.

Wooden Shjips, are a quartet from San Francisco heavily influenced by the experimentalism of psychedelia, classical minimalism, and garage rock excess, started as an experiment in rhythmic primitivism and group improvisation. This album’s roster brings a more structured rock approach to its performances, utilizing a traditional line-up of drums (Omar Ahsanuddin), bass (Dusty Jermier), organ (Nash Whalen), guitar (Erik “Ripley” Johnson), and vocals.

The band released two acclaimed records in 2006, beginning early in the year with a self-released 10-inch, Shrinking Moon for You. The record quickly sold out, after capturing the attention of well-regarded tastemakers, such as Tom Lax and Byron Coley, who penned rave reviews on Siltblog, and in Wire magazine, respectively. A 7-inch followed on the Sick Thirst label, and received similar praise from music bloggers, as well as from veteran scribe David Fricke in Rolling Stone.

“Wooden Shjips are from San Francisco, but the concentrated ferocity of the freakouts on their two very-underground releases—a white-label ten-inch EP (the band gave away the first 300 copies) and a clear-vinyl single (“Dance, California”)—arrives via the ’70s Germanic-guitar lunacy of Guru Guru and the confrontational repetition of VU.”
—David Fricke, Rolling Stone

“..tight-wound repeato psych guitar raunch with spoony (maybe even imaginary) percussion, surprisingly Rev-like keys, and vocals buried under burning driftwood.”
—Tom Lax, Siltblog 

released October 9th, 2007