The music of El Ten Eleven has been described as “meditation in motion,” which seems apt. To fully realize this descriptor the band worked with an outside producer for the first time in their 16-year career, teaming up with Sonny DiPerri and moving into the incredible confines of Panoramic House on the beautiful Northern California coast. “Phenomenal Problems” is the first single from El Ten Eleven’s new album ‘Banker’s Hill’ – out now on Topshelf Records.
The result is Banker’s Hill This is our tenth record. Thank you so much for coming along on this ride with us. It’s an album that explores the paradox of beauty in anxiety, the importance and effect of family and the fleeting possibility of satisfaction.Made up of Kristian Dunn (bass, guitar) and Tim Fogarty (Drums), they utilize multiple looping pedals to create songs that sound as though they are being played by at least six people. Most first-timers to an El Ten Eleven show are stunned that the band is a duo. It’s a refreshing sight in this age of letting the computers do all the work.
Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever’s debut full-length Hope Downs, was released just over a month ago, and the critics seem to agree that it’s one of the best of the year. In fact, it’s currently sitting at 84 on Metacritic, making it the 39th best album of the year according to aggregate scores. This included big love from The AV Club, Rolling Stone, Pitchfork, Paste, SPIN, Uncut, Mojo, Under The Radar, and more. Luckily, the fans agree, which led to a big opening week for the band and a virtually sold-out US tour back in April.
The band is gearing up to return, and in advance of this, they’re sharing a new Austin Wilson directed video for their brief-but-wonderful song “Time In Common.” It captures a band on the move, a group of friends rolling up their sleeves, touring the world, and putting in the work (with no small measure of fun, of course).
Fri. Oct. 19 – Manchester, UK @ Manchester Academy 2
Sun. Oct. 21 – Leeds, UK @ Stylus
Tue. Oct. 23 – Brighton, UK @ Concorde 2
Wed. Oct. 24 – Portsmouth, UK @ Wedgwood Rooms
Thu. Oct. 25 – Oxford, UK @ 02 Academy
Mon. Oct. 29 – London, UK @ Koko
Road warriors Frankie Cosmos have spent the better part of 2018 on tour in support of their latest and greatest,Vessel, available now worldwide via Sub Pop Records. The band currently have a handful of overseas dates in August including an appearance at the UK’s Green Man Festival on August 19th.
Then on September 13th, Frankie Cosmos will then begin a 20-date North American run with shows in Baltimore, Durham, Atlanta, New Orleans, Austin, Detroit, Pittsburgh, returning to their hometown of New York, playing area shows at White Eagle Hall in New Jersey on October 5th, Music Hall of Williamsburg on October 6th and The Bowery Ballroom on October 7th. These shows will mark the bands first headlining dates in NYC since the release of Vessel.
In celebration of the bands impending tour dates, Frankie Cosmos have delivered a new video “Duet” which was directed by Eliza Doyle. The new visual stars Greta Kline and depicts a CPR Training video, one in which she becomes completely smitten with an object, and a one-sided romance is born.”
Iron & Wine are following up their 2018 Grammy-nominated full-length Beast Epic with the aptly titled EP,Weed Garden available worldwide on August 31st. Having gone over three years between releases prior toBeast Epic, Weed Garden arrives in short order, but right on time for Iron & Wine fans.
The six-song EP features material that was part of the writing phase for Beast Epic, but for various reasons went unfinished. The term “weed garden” could easily imply that which doesn’t belong, for principal songwriter SamBeam, it was more about getting more “into the weeds” on a creative process to finish the material. Weed Garden serves as the perfect companion piece to last years full length.
While on tour last fall, the final pieces fell into place and a sense of urgency prevailed in bringing these songs to fruition. Space was created at the top of the year to return to The Loft recording studio in Chicago with the band behind Beast Epic – Joe Adamik, Jim Becker, Rob Burger and Teddy Rankin-Parker. The collection of songs range from urgent (“What Hurts Worse”) to fun (“Rock and Roll Heroes”) to personal (“Talking to Fog”). The tones and themes all feel part of the larger narrative that presented itself on Beast Epic bringing this collection of characters full circle.
Weed Garden also includes the fan favorite “Waves of Galveston”. Widely bootlegged, but never officially released until now, this track is the oldest song on the EP. It first appeared as an online performance video as part of The Onion’s AV Club“State Songs”. The Weed Garden artwork also features a series of original paintings from Iron & Wine’s principal songwriter Sam Beam. This cover joins the ranks of previous album covers, Endless Numbered Days, The Shepherd’s Dog, Kiss Each Other Clean and In the Reins that feature his paintings or drawings.
“Tomorrow on the Runway” Written by Karen Peris and Don Peris / The Innocence Mission (BMI)
From the film “Irreplaceable You” directed by Stephanie Laing available exclusively on Netflix. The original version of the song appears on The Innocence Mission album, “Befriended” (Badman Recording Co.)
The Babe Rainbow from Australia released their first track three years ago, it was a gentle guitar kissed , flirting with a sprinkle of drum pitter patters, dotted with a sequence of gentle chimes and whispers. Completely engaged with its distinctive rhythm and sensory experience, it was one of those tracks that really struck a chord; one to hold onto for years to come. So with a little digging, the three long-haired men responsible were found
Since the release of that debut single ‘Love Forever’, the boys have made us want to dance on lilypads, feel the warmth of the sun on our bare naked bodies and view life through kaleidoscopic filters. A psychedelic nirvana promoting love and harmony, the boys make it stick as it is a vision adorned with genuine integrity. None of what they do is an aesthetic, trend or scam; they literally just go about their way peacefully and happily whilst being crazy talented musicians and mood invigorators.
Falling a little quiet since their self-titled EP in 2015, The Babe Rainbow jumped out of the ocean and into the recording studio to gift us their first full-length album, Packed with good intention that has been shaped by an abundance of happy-go-lucky soundscapes, the wall of sound is complemented with rough edges. It’s charismatic feel and sound is just simply fun, and has been released on limited coloured wax through Flightless Records the label set up by fellow psych styled King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard .
Snow Roller are an indie garage rock band from Portland. We were big fans of their anthemic debut LP, 2016’s What’s The Score, as well as last year’s follow-up XXL. They will soon release their third album Y2K, and this week they dropped a fantastic new single called “Bus 23.”
Coming off the heals of “Kings of Hartford,” the album’s sweeping first single, “Bus 23” is a steady uptempo rocker featuring rollicking guitar riffs and singer Collin Kritz’s direct, assured vocals. Meanwhile, Snow Roller’s newest member, bassist Sarah Hall, harmonizes beautifully with Kritz over the track’s catchy, heartfelt choruses. The song reminisces about a childhood friend who Collin lost contact with, and wonders whatever became of him. “Tried to say that I’m sorry to him but/ He wouldn’t accept it,” they croon together, pangs of regret and nostalgia seeping through in each vivid lyrical line. Also, the closing section of the track reaches a dramatic, stripped-down breakdown in which Hall and Kritz trade off the lines: “I wonder if I’ll ever see him/ I wonder if I’ll ever see him ever again.” It’s a cathartic conclusion to a single that waxes nostalgic on the embarrassments of youth, and a total triumph for Snow Roller.
The son of Mexican immigrants, Alejandro Escovedo mines his own backstory for “Sonica USA.” Featuring the MC5’s Wayne Kramer on lead guitar, the punky track finds him looking back on his childhood days as a Chicano punk-rocker in the American Southwest. Escovedo covers similar ground on his upcoming album, The Crossing, a concept record revolving around a pair of migrant musicians
Alejandro Escovedo has one of the most fascinating career paths in music and his upcoming album is another example of his singular vision. The Crossing, due out this September, is a suite of songs that chronicle the stories of two young immigrant rock and rollers, Salvo from Italy and Diego from Mexico, as they meet working in a Texas restaurant while each pursuing their vision of the American Dream.
The albums’s version of that dream is soundtracked by punk pioneers The Stooges and MC5 and populated by people who read both Mexican philosopher-poet Octavio Paz and the beat poets of the 1950’s. In fact, that’s very much the story of Alejandro Escovedo and this song cycle is a return to his punk roots as much as it is an exploration of the themes of cultural identity.
“Sonica USA” is the first single off the upcoming album and the track is a loud and boisterous reflection — featuring Wayne Kramer of MC5 on guitar — on Escovedo’s youth growing up in Austin when he and his brother Javier played in a punk-before-it-was-punk band called The Zeros.
Jason Pierce has spent most of his career damaged. Through Spiritualized’s nearly-bulletproof catalog, he’s been lovelorn, strung-out, recovering from freak medical catastrophes. So to fight back against his music’s more ragged, defeated passages, against the free-jazz nervous breakdowns, he’s often sought salvation. He’s looked for transcendence via pristinely overblown widescreen psychedelia or healing via the eternal promises of gospel.
The new Spiritualized album is called And Nothing Hurt, and the songs we’ve heard so far even while being very much of a piece with the rest of his career may rank as his most consistently gentle. His most consistently peaceful. There might still be demons lingering in “Here It Comes (The Road) Let’s Go,” but the notes are pure beauty. They are pure possibility, taking the proclamation of the track’s title/chorus and rendering them literally: not imagining a space-age escape but locating wonder in the scenes and forms right here on Earth, the ones you’ve always known.
Who knows how Pierce’s inner life is different these days, but in the past a Spiritualized album called And Nothing Hurt would’ve registered as some bleak sarcasm. But when you put on a song like “Here It Comes (The Road) Let’s Go,” those words ring true. The pain washes away.
Spiritualized ‘And Nothing Hurt’ will be released on 7th September 2018 on Bella Union + Fat Possum Records.
It’s been eight years since Mountain Man’s excellent debut Made The Harbor. Today, the Vermont trio — comprising Amelia Meath of Sylvan Esso, Alexandra Sauser-Monnig, and Molly Sarlé — announce the forthcoming follow-up album, Magic Ship, along with three new songs.
The album’s opening track “Window” is 55 seconds of bare-bones, solo a cappella. “Rang Tang Ring Toon” is like a lilting campfire song. “Stella” is rich in its simplicity. “We all have this secret access to each other’s feelings, whether or not we’re singing. That is what creates the alchemy when we are singing together,” Sarlé says in a statement.
Everybody’s favorite source for the hard stuff is back in business, with ten more lethal doses of rare hard rock, heavy psych and proto-metal! Hard to believe we’re seven Trips in and we haven’t lost any steam since the get-go. As usual, we’re laying the heaviness on you in the most legit way possible. These obscure tracks have all been licensed, the bands have been paid, and the sources are all analog. The quality of tracks seems to increase along with the number of Trips and this cohesive collection comes outta the gate with both guns blazing! Pegasus recorded one single in Baltimore in 1972 and they made it count. “The Sorcerer” is a throbbing ripper that prior to this was basically unknown. However, it doesn’t seem too far fetched to speculate that Black Flag lifted the riff for “No Values” from this track eight years later. Unlikely, but possible, especially considering how big a Black Sabbath fan Greg Ginn is. Pegasus was lauded back in the day for “how much they delivered that Black Sabbath feel.”
You may read the track title for the Nobody’s Children 45 and start thinking, “OH NO, the guys behind Brown Acid have given up on bad trips.” Fret not, “Good Times” was originally written as a joke, but when Ron Chapman of the Sump’N Else TV show heard it he passed it along to the folks behind GPC records and they quickly pressed 100 copies. Unfortunately, the evening it was slated to be played on the local Dallas radio station KLIF, Robert Kennedy was murdered and the premiere was pre-empted by a Classical music tribute to JFK’s slain brother. The song has since been bootlegged numerous times and even covered by the Butthole Surfers, but this is the first time it’s ever been fully licensed.
Youngstown, Ohio is the most commonly referenced city of the entire Brown Acid series. This town of just under 150,000 people may’ve had the highest (literally and figuratively) per capita output of heavy 45s. Blue Amber recorded this monster in 1971 at Gary Rhamy’s analog Mecca, Peppermint Recording Studios. This two-riff boneheaded banger sounds like a caveman protest song with an extraordinary amount of delay on the vocals. No wonder this 45 fetches three-figures on the rare occasion it comes up for sale.
Batting clean-up, we have Negative Space, the only LP sourced track on this album. This crunchy jam comes off the band’s 1970 record entitled Hard, Heavy, Mean, & Evil. At over six and a half minutes, “The Calm After the Storm” is the longest track included on this volume, but it never gets dull. Fun fact: before changing the name to Negative Space, Rob Russen called his band Snow and released the “Sunflower” 45 in 1969 — you might recall that groover from the First Trip.
We generally stick with American artists for this series, but every now and again something foreign grabs us and shakes us to the core. One example is this Swedish 45 by Zane.These crazy Swedes did one incredibly damaged (hence the title) record on the MM label in 1976. These proto-punkers relied heavily on synth for this tune and mixed the drums so obnoxiously loud, you might think the kit is in the room with you. This is a weird one that somehow sounds like Zolar X covering Wicked Lady. Brown Acid material all the way!
B must be short for Bangers, ‘cuz this Side is full of ‘em! The flip of this Trip begins with a virtually unknown Oklahoma record from 1973. Blizzard was Rod McClure’s high school band, but you couldn’t possibly guess that teenagers recorded this heavy slab on the Token (should’ve been Toking) label. It’s one of the best we’ve comped and it sounds like a hypothetical MC5/Hendrix collaboration. The “Under the Ice” level drum fills will knock your socks off if the heavy shred doesn’t first.
OOOOk-lahoma, where the wind comes sweepin’ down the plain and apparently where the fuzz goes seepin’ in your brain! Third World is the second Okie inclusion on this Trip and we couldn’t be more stOOOOked to be sharing this very obscure single with y’all. If the heavily distorted two-note riff doesn’t grab ya, the apocalyptic Grand Funk vibes will. Once they get their mitts on ya, Third World will take you back to 1971 and leave ya there. Can we hitch a ride too?
Ever heard of Virginia, Minnesota? We hadn’t either until we got in touch with Calvin Haluptzok and got the back story on his band Sweet Wine. This bitchin’ one-off 45 must’ve melted the snow off the roofs of the households brave enough to play it when it came out in 1970 and it’s still red hot nearly 50 years later. This vino may be sugary, but it packs an incendiary punch! Sadly, Calvin passed before we could get his music re-released, but it was nice to have reached him before it was too late. The Sweet Wine legacy lives on thanks to the Brown Acid archivists. C.T. Pilferhogg wins the award for most puzzling band name in our series. What’s not puzzling is how righteous both sides of their self-released 1973 single are! Featured here is the A-side “You Haul” which is one of the best examples of a poor man’s Deep Heep (Deep Purple meets Uriah Heep) we’ve ever heard and the demonic Echoplex-laden laughs mixed into this track are out of control. The band was touted as “Southwest Virginia’s Finest Boogie Band”, but don’t let that fool ya. They could bang heads with the best of ‘em.
The closer on the Seventh Trip is one we hold very near and dear. Not only is this record the one that’s taken us the longest to secure the rights to, it’s also one of the very best examples of heavy psych you’ll ever hear. The track rings your bell (literally) straight out of the gate and the dank psychedelic vibes kick in immediately. “The Darkness” was recorded in a basement studio in Kansas City in 1969 when the lead guitarist was only 16. The band was from a rural Missouri town, played only one impromptu gig in Clinton, and pressed only 125 copies of this, their only single. It should come as no surprise that it sells for hundreds of dollars when it’s offered. That’s a small price to pay for such greatness.
