The Brown Acid series is full of rare and obscure hard rock, heavy psych, and proto-metal tracks primarily from the late-60s and early-70s and is the missing link between Nuggets and Killed By Death (or Pebbles and Bloodstains). For the most part, the bands included on Brown Acid, released one 45 back in the day and broke up, never to be heard from again. The archeology of the project has only just begun when the record is discovered. After that, the long and sometimes very arduous process of tracking the surviving band members is where the real work begins. These days, anyone can put together a good playlist. Getting the rights to do it legitimately from the artists themselves is the part of this job that I’m most proud of. Getting to hear the story of the band firsthand and be the first person to offer these people compensation for their mind-blowing contributions to RocknRoll history is priceless.
Here’s more of the nitty gritty on this particular volume:
Lucky number 17? You better believe it. We here at Brown Acid have been scouring the highways and byways of America for even more hidden stashes of psych/garage/proto- punk madness from the so-called Aquarian Age. There’s no flower power here, though—just acid casualties, rock stompers and major freakouts. As always, the songs have been officially licensed, and all the artists get paid.
Kicking off this trip, Grapple’s “Ethereal Genesis” is a heavy psych gem from 1969 written by J. BruceSvoboda, a.k.a. Jay Bruce, formerly of The Hangmen and The Five Canadians (who were actually the same San Antonio band). The latter’s 1966 garage favorite “Writing on the Wall” has been endlessly covered, but Grapple were never heard from again.
With a guitar riff that blatantly rips off Sabbath’s “Black Sabbath,” Image’s mostly instrumental lysergic obscurity “Witchcraft ’71” (originally unveiled that very year) also boasts a horror-movie organ intro, a voodoo drum break and some championship chanting.
Private press heads might recall late Image drummer John Beke from his ’80s reemergence with country rockers Crossfyre. Stone Hedge were a seven-piece rock band out of Michigan that featured three brothers—Joe, Jimmy and Paul Cipcic. “Smokey Bear” is their 1972 tribute to the official mascot of the U.S. Forest Services—not to mention the A side of their sole single—and it recalls the kind of organ-drenched swamp jam that soundtracked many a Burt Reynolds flick back in the day. If you think being a Southern rock band from Milwaukee doesn’t make much sense, that’s probably why Crossfire changed their sound along with their name—to Bad Boy—after signing with United Artists. Bad Boy’s severely underappreciated second album, “Back To Back”, is a 1978 hard rock jewel, but you can hear their boogie-woogie roots on this rare 1975 single.
With a band name like Primevil and song title like “Too Dead To Live,” you probably expect some gnarly proto-metal riffage. Instead, you a get a harmonica-drenched, soul-infused rock rave-up from 1972. Primevil would release their sole LP two years later: Entitled “Smokin’ Bats at Campton’s”, it’s a reference to their trusty singer, harp player (and bat smoker?), Dave Campton. Brown Acid regulars already know Pegasus from their appearance with “The Sorcerer” on our Seventh Trip.
“Ready to Rave” is the flipside to that 1972 single, in which they explain how they like their whiskey cold and their women hot. It’s another killer glimpse of what might have been if these one-and-done Baltimore hard rockers had been able to keep it together.
One of two obscure singles released by Texas musician Bobby Mabe in 1969 (the other appears under the name The Outcasts), “I’m Lonely” delivers a heavy dose of vocal soul to the otherwise psych-garage presentation. Fans of fellow Houstonians the Moving Sidewalks—whom Bobby and his Outcasts may well have gigged with—will especially dig this one.
Cedar Rapids, Iowa, may not be known as a cultural mecca, but they did give us Truth & Janey. This deadly hard rock trio delivered their holy grail full-length, “No Rest for the Wicked”, back in 1976. “Around and Around” is a Chuck Berry cover that originally appeared on a 1973 single the band released under the earlier name Truth.
Originally released in 1973, “High School Letter” is the debut single from San Diego rock squad Glory. This infectious bonehead cruncher features future Beat Farmer Jerry Raney and the original rhythm section of Iron Butterfly in bassist Greg Willis and drummer Jack Pinney. Glory is what they got up to after their former bandmates left for L.A.’s garden of Eden.
“Jack the Ripper” is a mercilessly bootlegged Cleveland classic from 1978 with a serrated punk edge and vocals that recall Mick Blood of Aussie savages the Lime Spiders. Or maybe it’s the other way around—the Lime Spiders formed the year after Strychnine carved off this lethal paean to the infamous Whitechapel slasher of olde.
Neil Young returned to his old stomping grounds, The Roxy in West Hollywood, Calif., to celebrate the long-admired venue’s 50th anniversary. Notably, Young and the Santa Monica Flyers served as the opening band during the club’s start, and the original sets were turned into“Roxy: Tonight’s The Night”. Beckoning to their shared history, Young and company returned to the location last night, delivering a complete run-through of two famed studio LPs, “Tonight’s The Night” and “Everybody Knows This IsNowhere”. Most of the musicians who backed Young in 1973 returned for the 50th anniversary show, including drummer Ralph Molina, bassist Billy Talbot and multi-instrumentalist Nils Lofgren, who was originally supposed to be on tour with Bruce Springsteen before the Boss was forced to postpone dates.
Many of the songs Young performed at the Roxy hadn’t been played live in decades, or, in one case, ever at all. Naturally, “Mellow My Mind” unfolded before “Roll Another Number (For the Road)” and “Albuquerque.” The group of rockers landed on “New Mama” and then “Tired Eyes,” ultimately returning to “Tonight’s The Night” to close out the first part of the show.
After working through all the songs on the 1975 release album, Young and the band went back in time, picking 1969’s “Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere” as their follow-up.
The line-up of musicians included Young, Micah Nelson, Nils Lofgren, Billy Talbot, and Ralph Molina. Prior to Wednesday night’s show, Young teased what was to come, adding a brief clip of the band delivering just a snippet of “Down By The River.” The night began with the title track off “Tonight’s TheNight“. It continued to present material in the same order it came on the initial record, leading into “Speakin’ Out” and “World on a String,” followed by “Borrowed Tune” and “Come On Baby Let’s GoDowntown.”
Just as the material appeared in the original song list, “Cinnamon Girl” kicked off the set,” followed by the title track and a special moment with the arrival of “Round & Round (Won’t Be Long),” which represented a debut for this unit of players.
A jammed-out eight-minute rendition of “Down By The River” came before “The Losing End” and “Running Dry (Requiem for the Rockets).” For the night’s final song, the band ran through fan favourite, “Cowgirl in the Sand.”
Neil Young & Crazy Horse The Roxy – Los Angeles
September 20th, 2023
Set:[Tonight’s The Night] Tonight’s The Night, Speakin’ Out, World on a String, Borrowed Tune, Come On Baby Let’s Go Downtown, Mellow My Mind, Roll Another Number (For the Road), Albuquerque, New Mama, Lookout Joe, Tired Eyes, Tonight’s the Night
[Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere] Cinnamon Girl, Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere, Round & Round (I Won’t Be Long)+, Down By The River, The Losing End, Running Dry (Requiem for the Rockets), Cowgirl in the Sand
In an exciting comeback, the Jack Antonoff-led ensemble Bleachers have unveiled their latest musical offering, “Modern Girl.” The release is now available through the band’s new label, Dirty Hit and comes with an accompanying music video. Hours before its release, the song was cryptically teased by Antonoff over three messages on Twitter; he wrote, “ok ready?” followed by “missed you horribly … been waiting so long to say this …..” and finally, “BLEACHERS ARE FUCKING BACK.”
The official announcement for “Modern Girl” offers a glimpse into what lies ahead on the forthcoming Bleachers album, which is currently shrouded in mystery, awaiting its official unveiling.
Notably, the accompanying music video for this track has been masterfully directed by Alex Lockett.
The upcoming release follows Bleachers’ LP, “Take the Sadness Out of Saturday Night”, which was released July 2021. Since then, in recognition of his exceptional musical prowess, Antonoff secured the prestigious Grammy Award for Producer of the Year, Non-Classical, not once but twice.
Additionally, since the debut of Bleachers’ last full-length project, Antonoff has embarked on an impressive journey of collaboration with some of the music industry’s brightest stars. He has graced projects by the likes of Taylor Swift, Lana Del Rey, the 1975, Florence and the Machine, and Maren Morris. Additionally, he also played a pivotal role in crafting the soundtrack for the animated sensation Minions: The Rise of Gru.
BLEACHERS Jack Antonoff Mikey Freedom Hart Evan Smith Michael “Riddles” Riddleberger Sean “Hutch” Hutchinson Azemobo “Zem” Audu
Crumb and Melody’s Echo Chamber have teamed up for a new single entitled “Le Temple Volant.” The psych-pop bop features the former group’s signature blend of dusty drum loops and jazz-inspired spontaneity, while Melody Prochet offers up a delightful near-falsetto that gives the song the feeling of floating through the clouds. Later on, Crumb vocalist Lila Ramani provides melodic support.
The song was co-written by Melody and the band, and is accompanied by a DIY home video-inspired visual directed by Phil McGill which, funnily enough, documents the first face-to-face meeting between Crumb and Melody (they recorded their performances for the track separately).
Both acts reflected on the collaboration, with Melody having said, “I remember the first time I heard Crumb’s music, it was the song ‘Locket’ that blew my mind.” The band added, “[Melody’s] music feels deeply nostalgic and so intertwined with that tender period of first starting the band.”
Despite the individual song writing powers exhibited time and again by its three members, nobody could’ve predicted the year boygenius has had since releasing their debut record “therecord” back in March. In addition to the increasingly stadium-filling—and increasingly antic-filled—tours Phoebe Bridgers, Julien Baker, and Lucy Dacus have embarked on, one member has now been featured on two separateLPs by The National in 2023, one was briefly enlisted by Turnstile, and the other has directly addressed former President Obama as a war criminal when he listed “Not Strong Enough” on his summer playlist.
The trio are hitting the road for one last set of headlining shows alongside pals like MUNA, Sloppy Jane, and Palehound. Before then, though, they’ve shared an animated music video for their song “Cool About It” is a beautifully melancholic and piercing song that puts words to feelings often unexplained,
the video’s director Lauren Tsai shared. “It is an absolute dream to collaborate with the genius that is boygenius. I made animated videos on YouTube when I was 11 and I cannot imagine something I’d lose my mind over more if I could go back in time and tell myself.”
Jenny Owen Youngs has released the third single from her forthcoming album, “Avalanche“, out September 22nd. Jenny Owen Youngs’ staggering new album “Avalanche”, the songwriter dives into stories of trauma and heartbreak, recovery and new love. The songs on “Avalanche” are deliriously catchy, with singles like “Knife Went In” almost betraying the seriousness of their subject matter thanks to Youngs’ ability to spin an earworm hook.
“’Everglades’ is concerned with the truth, and lies, and whatever grey area might exist in the cracks between the two,” Youngs offers of the song. “I wrote this song with Christian Lee Hutson when I was living in Altadena, the most Narnia-esque neighborhood in L.A. County. I had a home studio in my basement with a hobbit-sized door that led out to the driveway. I liked to work with the door open and just the screen closed, for the breeze, and it wasn’t uncommon for the neighborhood troupe of peacocks to swing by and stand just outside, honking and clucking.”
It’s an album of intense intimacy that still works on a macro level because of Youngs’ ability to aptly describe moments of individuality in relatable language. Beneath her voice lies ramshackle instrumentation, loosely tied together like the best homespun records are.
1. “Avalanche”
An avalanche is an extreme force—it can cause great harm, and when it’s over, you can be certain things will be different than they were before. When it came time to name the album, this song leapt forward as the title track because the unifying theme of this body of songs, to me, is the idea of moving from destruction to restoration, traveling through pain to possibility.
I wrote it with Madi Diaz, an incredible artist and songwriter. The first time we met, we sat down to write and instantly found ourselves on the same wavelength. The writing is mostly a blur, but I remember it feeling easy, natural, like the song wanted us to find it. At the time I was standing in the light at the end of a very long tunnel, having undergone some massive life changes (divorce, falling in love again, relocating from Los Angeles to a small town in coastal Maine, getting married again) and basking in the relief of coming out on the other side, somehow still in one piece. It is a prayer of thanks for my wife, and for the ability to start over.
2. “Knife Went In”
Common ground is the backbone of human relationships; the easiest things to understand about another person are the things that you share in some way. There’s nothing quite like the feeling of meeting someone and discovering that their scars match your own, so to speak; this can create the opportunity for accelerated intimacy. This song is concerned with reveling in that closeness.
When we started recording this one, Josh Kaufman created a drum loop that became part of the first layer of the song, and I played nylon-string guitar; those became two of the recurring elements that helped form the sonic palette of the album. I also tracked my guitars and vocals at the same time on almost the entire album, which was something Josh suggested and something I’d never really done. I was pretty nervous about it at the beginning. But it got easier as we went along, and I think the album breathes in a really lovely way because of that.
3. “Goldenrod”
This is one of the oldest songs on the album; I wrote it around 2014, but held off recording it, waiting for the situation to feel just right. Sometimes a song needs a very particular environment and set of circumstances to bloom correctly. When I sent Josh a batch of worktapes and demos to check out in advance of our recording dates, this was the first song he singled out as one that sparked for him. That was thrilling to me, because Josh “getting” this song made me feel even more sure that he was the right person to produce the album. We kept the arrangement simple; my acoustic guitar is the backbone, with Josh weaving in and out on a couple different guitars, bass, and piano.
It’s also one of the rawest songs on the record, one of two that deals directly with death. I wrote it about a friend who was killed suddenly in a terrible accident. He was someone I’d been close with, then estranged from, then reconnected with shortly before he died. He’d turned me on to Cat Power, Pavement—a lot of music that was formative for me. I don’t like funerals; I mean, who does? They’ve never felt like the way I want to say goodbye. This song is my attempt at finding another way.
4. “Everglades”
People say there are three sides to every story: your side, my side, and the truth. I’ve discovered through trial and error that further subdivisions can emerge when you’re not entirely honest with yourself. “Everglades” is concerned with the truth, and lies, and whatever gray area might exist in the cracks between the two.
I wrote this song with Christian Lee Hutson when I was living in Altadena, the most Narnia-esque neighborhood in LA County. I had a home studio in my basement with a hobbit-sized door that led out to the driveway. I liked to work with the door open and just the screen closed, for the breeze, and it wasn’t uncommon for the neighborhood troupe of peacocks to swing by and stand just outside, honking and clucking.
5. “Bury Me Slowly”
This one is an exhumation song in which I dig up the decaying past and put it under the emotional microscope before laying it to rest permanently. I grew up with an alcoholic stepdad, who grew increasingly violent over the course of his time in my life. It’s not something I ever wrote about until I was very much an adult. I’m not sure why; maybe distance made it easier, maybe my footing became more solid as I grew up, maybe I had to figure some things out before I could commit this part of my life to song. Whatever allowed me to finally write it, I’m thankful for the musical exorcism. This house is clean.
Matt Barrick plays drums on this song, as well as the rest of the album. When Josh and I were having a pre-production talk in advance of getting together to make the album, he suggested Matt could be a great person to bring, describing him “the saddest drummer [he’d] ever heard.” That pitch sold the hell out of me, and Matt absolutely lived up to the mournful hype.
6. “Next Time Around”
When I started writing this song, I was partially inspired by an episode of The X-Files in which Mulder and Scully discover through hypnotic regression therapy that they’ve known each other—and been importantto each other—across many different lifetimes. It made me think about the people in my life, and what it could mean to know them later, or to have known them before. It feels like the tree falling in the forest; if you knew someone in a previous life, but you don’t know that you did, does it have an impact? Can it mean anything? If there are infinite parallel universes stretching out to the right and left of us, how are my relationships configured therein? Who are the people that remain close and vital to me across various realities? The mind reels!
About halfway into writing the song, my tires got stuck in the mud, and I turned to my friend and frequent collaborator Bess Rogers to help get me unstuck. Bess is incredible at seeing songs from angles I’ve missed entirely, and together we found our way to the end of the story.
7. “It’s Later Than You Think”
I wrote this song with Peter Silberman of The Antlers. When we got together to write, I was feeling particularly preoccupied with my relationship to my phone, social media, and the internet in general. It was the summer of 2021 and the world still felt a ways off from returning to any semblance of social normalcy. I had also moved away from the city where most of my friends lived to a quiet coastal town on the opposite side of the country. My phone felt like my tether to life as I had known it. But scrolling is a slippery slope and it’s easy to overdo it; it’s engineered that way. This song is a reminder to myself that my time on this planet is finite and precious, and that I want to spend it wisely on what matters. (Most of the time.
8. “Salt”
This is a deep, dark break-up song, a song for terrible rendings and harrowing disentanglements. It’s the third song I’ve written with Christian for one of my releases, alongside “Everglades” on this album and a song called “Living Room” on my EP “Night Shift”. It’s always an adventure with Christian; there’s a certain geographical or locational element that seems to work its way into songs that we write together. This song spans the eastern half of the United States.
When Josh listened to the demo I’d made of this song, he recognized Christian’s voice right away. It turned out Christian had played some guitar on the first Bonny Light Horseman record. We asked him to record some harmonies remotely after we’d wrapped principle tracking, and they came out eerie and beautiful. In what had begun to emerge as Kaufman’s grand tradition of getting me to try (and inevitably embrace) things outside of my comfort zone, we ended this song on an extended instrumental section which ultimately fades out nice and slow.
9. “Set It on Fire”
I wrote this song with Mikky Ekko on the day we met. In a way, it’s the dark sister to the title track “Avalanche.” The latter song is about coming out the other end of a trial and stepping back into the light; “Set it On Fire,” on the other hand, is the jumping-off point, the beginning of the quest. It’s my soundtrack for leaping into the abyss. It was Mikky’s idea to subvert the melody in the second verse, which I love so much, and which feels right in line with the foundational idea of the song, that sometimes you have to change course in order to stay true.
10. “Now Comes the Mystery”
When I got together over Zoom with S. Carey to see if we might be able to write a song together, I had recently lost a family member. It wasn’t a surprise, as she’d been dealing with a number of health struggles for years, but it was still a shock. Sean and I sifted through these feelings of loss and grief together. It felt futile to write about death (which offers zero answers, just endless questions) but also impossible not to. Writing a song together is always an intense way to get to know someone, but this one in particular was a wild, vulnerable ride.
I wasn’t sure this song would make the record. Josh and I didn’t decide exactly which songs we’d record before we started; we took it a song at a time. When we had around seven or eight songs cooking, we started looking for any that felt very different from what we had up to that point. This one fit the bill. We kept it spare, and given the finality of the subject matter, it felt like the right way to close out the album.
Jenny Owen Youngs – the album “Avalanche” out 22nd September on Yep Roc Records
Following on from the release of their highly-praised 2020 LP “Darkness Brings Wonders Home”, which was applauded by the likes of Mojo, Clash Magazine, Q and many more, alt-folk duo Smoke Fairies return once again to release their sixth studio album “Carried In Sound”. Continuing to pursue more of that warm and ethereal aesthetic the pair have cultivated since their earliest beginnings, lead cut “Vanishing Line” makes for a wonderfully warm and emotive introduction to their next full-length release.
Accompanied by a cinematic video, the new offering tackles the difficult and intimate feelings loss and grief can have on a person and those around them.
A sense of inner strength dominates the new record. In keeping with the times that bore it, ‘Carried In Sound’ isn’t afraid to discuss darkness – but everywhere there is a longing for light. “Although the album has themes of sadness on there, it’s looking at those things from a place of strength,” says Jessica.
On “Carried In Sound” the duo prove themselves to be utterly self-reliant, moving through a pandemic, home recording, and true independence to forge something completely faithful to their ambitions. Recorded in a terrace house with the volume dialled down to protect the neighbours, the results have a curiously intimate, hushed appeal. A record that feels remarkably self-contained, ‘Carried In Sound’ is truly special, marked by audio invention, and a desire to speak nothing but the truth. A break from their former work, the album carries a very unique form of magic.
“We’re really excited to announce a new record, carefully home crafted to represent our core sound, with notes of reflection, grief and joy, we hope you find it an emotive, rewarding experience to listen to.” To celebrate the release of ‘Carried In Sound’, Smoke Fairies will also embark on an intimate five-date tour across the UK taking in spectacular churches and ruins.
Smoke Fairies UK Tour Dates: 21st Nov – Portsmouth, Square Tower [Sold Out] 22nd Nov – Nottingham, Metronome 23rd Nov – London, St Matthias Church 24th Nov – Leeds, Hyde Park Book Club 25th Nov – Manchester, St. Michael’s
Lime Garden are a Brighton four-piece who, whilst growing into adulthood together, are writing coming of age indie-rock with the influence of the modern pop culture that surrounds them Horrifying and brilliant in equal measure, Lime Garden’s video for new single ‘Love Song’ dropped earlier this week at your peril! Last week, the band announced that their debut album ‘One More Thing’ will be released next February and they’ll be going on a big ol’ UK tour so they can bring all your favourite newbies to life.
The debut album “One More Thing” is the band’s love letter to the indie music they surrounded themselves with in their formative years, as well as a statement of love, fear, gratitude and embracing imperfections.
The songs on this album challenge societal norms, breathe life into the mundane and they dream big. “One More Thing” is ambitious in its song-writing as well as its themes. Lime Garden welcome new technologies to help their traditional guitar sounds flourish into pop songs for the here and now.
The Breeders have shared a previously unreleased version of their “Last Splash” song “Divine Hammer,” featuring Dinosaur Jr.’s J Mascis on vocals, fittingly titled “Divine Mascis.” It will appear on their 30th Anniversary reissue of the seminal album, which comes out this Friday, September 22nd, via 4ADRecords.
“At the time, J Mascis was the guitar god… we sent him the tape to put guitar on, so when it came back and he’s got rid of our voices and just put his vocal on, we were like, ‘Wha?!’ But it’s really cute,” Kelley Deal told Uncut. “There’s a freshness to it, and it’s just so weird. I like his voice and the idiosyncratic way he sings and delivers lines. So I thought it was really neat.”
Kim Deal, Kelley Deal, Josephine Wiggs and Jim Macpherson played their first show together on Friday 19th June, 1992, in a snooker hall behind Warrington Rugby Club in the north of England. Two days later, they supported Nirvana in Dublin and Belfast, and then played at Glastonbury. Back in the US, after playing 27 sold-out shows, they made their way to San Francisco to record “Last Splash”.
Released on August 30th 1993, reviewers described “Last Splash” as, “effervescent,” “blistering,” and “incoherent.” At its centre is the infectiously appealing, instantly recognisable ‘Cannonball’. Propelled in part by the video directed by Kim Gordon and Spike Jonze, the song was voted Single Of The Year by NME. “An alt-rock classic” (Pitchfork’s Top 100 Records of 1990s) upon release, the album quickly attained Platinum status in the UK and the US.
For the reissue of “Last Splash” which has been remastered from its original analogue tapes, and it arrives with two unearthed archival songs, including “Go Man Go.” Back in 2013, the Breeders rang in the 20th anniversary of the LP with the LSXX reissue. To commemorate the 1993 album’s big year, the Breeders are playing the record on tour with support from Belly, Screaming Females, and Horsegirl. Once that wraps up, the Breeders are to perform eight shows with Olivia Rodrigo on her Guts World Tour,
The new version of “Divine Hammer” appears on the band’s 30th anniversary reissue of “Last Splash”
Since his recording debut as Choir Boy in 2016, Adam Klopp mined a sound swirls 1980s synth noir with captivating, cinematic songs sweeping with pensive sorrow and glowing hope. As a former member of the Mormon faith, Klopp spent his youth both in the pews of his place of worship, but also churning through DIY punk venues, before leaving the sect in the thick of a mission in Tahiti. The duality of faith and fiction are central to the lush explorations on his debut album “Passive With Desire”.
Recorded at Studio Studio Dada, the album’s tracks permuted as bedroom sketches, awash with camp, the sting of loss, and allusions to halcyon days of nocturnal, electronic driven pop. Retaining elements of Klopp’s original demos, “Passive With Desire” was recorded with a full band and polished with trumpet, strings, as well as archival samples calling back to Klopp’s hazy youth.
Engineered by Klopp, Bret Meisenbach, and Stephen Cope, “Passive With Desire” is the entry point to Choir Boy’s world of emotive wit, novella kissed lyricism, and bouncy, synth-forward takes on traditional song writing bound by the universal themes of loss, desire, evolution, and exploration.
We’re pleased to announce the Autumn repress of Choir Boy‘s celebrated album “Passive With Desire” is up for preorder on new limited colorway and restocked on black. Shipping November 13th.
