Here are some more tracks from 2019-2020 era, most of which were on the CD that came with the Monorail Records (Glasgow’s most sacred record temple) edition of “Uncommon Weather” in 2020. I remixed most of them for this digital release because I have some new gear I have used on everything since then. I am weirdly happy with this little six-song EP for some reason, I hope you like it. It’ll be on Bandcamp on Friday and hopefully on all the other dumb streamers. In addition, there are two albums of mostly brand new material that are basically done, at least one of them will be on vinyl, but that takes so long, it will be old songs for me.
This system is not working for me. I hope to play some festivals and shows in 2023, send your dream offers my way. Here I am living my broken dreams. Hope you are too
For people the world over, January 6th, 2021, was a day dominated by feelings of disillusionment and anger, watching helplessly as a violent mob swarmed the U.S. Capitol like ants at a picnic. South London-born and Athens, Greece-based Westerman channelled those and other feelings into “Idol; RE-run,” It’s his first new single in two years, which he co-produced alongside James Krivchenia from Big Thief. Over finger-picked acoustic guitar, skittering percussion, serene piano and synth, and contemplative trombone, Westerman considers what he calls “the compulsion towards the pedestal [and] the need to scapegoat and revere without logic,” immortalizing the sheer human suffering (“All the pain / The doubt”) that crashes against the bulwarks of society, provoked by leaders who wield outsized power in both our lives and minds.
The song’s jazz-inflected folk gains momentum as it goes, while Westerman takes repeated aim at the cheap facades these figureheads erect for themselves: “There goes a juggling bear / There’s always going to be another,” he sings, mocking the falsehood of political theater without losing sight of its price: “People die waiting / For the lighting to come back / This way.”
Can’t get enough of the hauntingly beautiful melodies from Maia and Susanna — all while being solidly backed by Max on the drums. The Bay Area rock trio Sour Widows are back with their second new single of the year, out now alongside an animated lyric video. Like this summer’s “Witness” before it, “I-90” was produced in collaboration with Oakland-based engineer Maryam Qudus (Toro y Moi, SASAMI, Spacemoth). Sour Widows’ Maia Sinaiko says of the song, written in 2017 after their partner’s tragic passing: “The endlessness of grief supersedes the normal passage of time and the people we lose remain in places we can never go back to. It’s magic and terrible all at once; that is what this song is about.”
“I-90” is the latest single from Sour Widows, out now on Exploding in Sound Records. Animation by Cole Montminy
Sour Widows build a characteristically dynamic memorial to those lost moments on “I-90,” the instrumental marching forward unafraid, much like Sinaiko journeying back into their precious, painful memories. The band’s luminous slowcore expands and contracts like a lung, with steady bass from Will Bohrer and atmospheric synth from Qudus expanding its dimensions. Meanwhile, Sinaiko’s songwriting shines: They zero in on the kind of details that make it feel like you’re right there in the backseat, singing, “I wonder what it felt like asleep in that car / While I drove by all the cold cattle / Could you feel them breathing?” Crashing choruses let the track’s passion shine through, as do a hauntingly beautiful instrumental bridge and an explosive climax: “I’m all emptied out / Like the freeway / You keep driving down,” Sinaiko sings just before the track explodes into distorted electric strums and a vocal shout-along, one last gasp.
Dry Cleaning guitarist Tom Dowse once said, “I’m not really interested in being a technical guitarist, I’m much more interested in how much I can communicate emotionally through a guitar.” His playing on “No Decent Shoes for Rain”—the fourth (and presumably final) single ahead of the band’s sophomore album “Stumpwork”, due out next week—is perhaps his most expressive yet, setting the track’s blearily downcast tone alongside Florence Shaw’s bummed-out vocals. Like the unfortunate, ill-prepared pedestrian its title implies, the song finds Dry Cleaning assuming the perspective of someone emotionally unprepared for what life has thrown at them—this is rooted in truth, as the quartet made “Stumpwork” after having lost both bassist Lewis Maynard’s mother and Dowse’s grandfather.
The result, on “No Decent Shoes for Rain,” is unlike anything in the band’s burgeoning catalog: Dowse, Maynard and drummer Nick Buxton lay down a groove that warps and blurs like wet newsprint, while Shaw’s knowing non-sequiturs (“I’ve seen a guy cautioned by police for rollerblading”) cover, but can’t quite obscure the cold, hard truth: “My poor heart is breaking.”
Released as the fifth and final single ahead of their new album “Blue Rev”, “After The Earthquake” finds Alvvays picking up the pieces after disaster. Molly Rankin and Alec O’Hanley intertwine their exhilarating jangle-pop guitar riffs over drummer Sheridan Riley and bassist Abbey Blackwell’s thrumming low end, all in service of “a rapid fire recital of drive-thru breakdown, tectonic breakup and boyfriend in a coma brake failure,” as the quintet describe it.
The racing song screeches to a halt in its bridge, bringing Kerri MacLellan’s solemn keys to the forefront, as well as Rankin’s plaintive considerations of the painful fallout of loving and losing: “Why would I ever fall in love again / When every detail is over the guardrail?” Before you know it, the track is back at full throttle and beyond, fearlessly moving forward into its uncertain future.
Standout favourites of Riding Easy Records’ Brown Acid compilation series (curated by Permanent’s owner, Lance Barresi), White Lightning’s stellar discography of rare and under-appreciated heavy psych, proto-metal rock gets a vital revival for new generations to learn how swinging, swaggering and often blazingly fast rock’n’roll is done.White Lightning was formed in Minneapolis, MN in 1968 by guitarist Tom “Zippy” Caplan and bassist Woody Woodrich after leaving garage psych band TheLitter (themselves popular standouts from the Nuggets and Pebbles series of garage rock rarities.) Originally a power trio, the band later expanded to a 5-piece in 1969 while shortening its name to Lightning. The quintet’s brilliant and rare 1970 self-titled album on Pickwick International’s P.I.P. imprint provides 6 of the 10 tracks on “Thunderbolts of Fuzz”.
The original White Lightning trio only released one 45-rpm single “Of Paupers and Poets” during their existence (on local Hexagon label in 1968, later reissued by major label ATCO Records in 1969.) A long out-of-print posthumous album released in 1995 gathered unreleased recordings, 3 of which are found here. This rounds out this collection of recorded highlights from the band’s rocky history.
Taking their name from a particularly potent type of LSD, White Lightning laid out from the start that it was not cute and cuddly 70s rock. In fact, the band’s aggressive tempos are like punk rock way before punk. However, their dirty blues groove and musical prowess shows the band was more than unrefined ne’er-do-wells, they had true versatility.
Drummer/lead vocalist Mick Stanhope later relinquished his drum throne to take centre stage as lead singer of the expanded line-up. Throughout its initial 1968-1974 run, the band had 10 different lineups, with Caplan, Woodrich and Stanhope the most consistent members — though the band points out that no one member has played in all 11 incarnations of the group. For more facts and information visit thelitter-lightning.com.
“Lo and behold, The Fifteenth Trip is upon us, and it’s another mind-melting dose of brilliant long-lost, rare, and unreleased hard rock, heavy psych, and proto-metal tracks from the ’60s-’70s. Our crate-digging mining expeditions, and growing network of the original artists keeps on giving with more and more incredible discoveries every time we go back for more. Like we’ve done throughout this series, all of these tracks were painstakingly licensed legitimately and the artists were paid. Make yourself comfortable and prepare for yet another deep, deep dive into the treasure trove of dank, subterranean, wild-eyed and hairy rock ’n’ roll of yesteryear.”
The Zoo’s“444” is a 1969 single out of Michigan that’s exactly the brand of rolling, grooving MC5/Stooges/Bob Seger System made famous in the Motor City. And this anthem slams as hard as the best of those well worn classics, which begs the question — whither The Zoo’s day in the limelight? We can only imagine that these animals were too wild to tame in the studio.
As usual, this Trip opens strong, as “Take The Time” swaggers along with switchblade stabs of guitar twang and frantic drumming that sounds like Nick Cave’s 80s post-punk barbarians The Birthday Party on this 1969 single from the mysterious Boston area band The Looking Glass (not to be confused with the 70s soft-rock one-hit-wonders of “Brandy [You’re a FineGirl]” fame.) But, as one might expect of a band this ahead of their time, the Looking Glass were soon to disappear down the rabbit hole.
Black Hawk was a trio out of Long Beach, CA who frequently played the SoCal club scene. Their lone 1971 single “Little Suzie Looker” features stomping pop hooks driven by some mean soundin’ Leslie West style guitar riffing. Originally named SMG for the members’ initials Sam/McCoy/Giles, the new name assigned by their management failed to take wing, and this Black Hawk was down permanently.
Truth & Janey might be familiar to you from their 45-only “Midnight Horseman” single heard way back on the Sixth Trip, and/or their incredible 1976 LP “No Rest For The Wicked“. But their super-driven soul leaning cover of “Under My Thumb” gives the track more of a “lean in” to the descending riff than the original, which adds to its power. It’s almost like The Who had penned the track, with relentless drums, jackhammer rhythm guitar and near-falsetto vocals.
Negative Space toil in the dark web of The Seeds, and dwell in the mystic haze of working class suburbs in Camden, NJ circa 1970. Their angry, nasty guitar sounds and frustration-bogged frontman Rob Russen ensure that the aggro fueled “ForbiddenFruit” — in which he confesses his love for his sister-in-law — will hit you right in the face. Russen self-financed and hand-stamped the otherwise plain white sleeves of their sole LP, proving that DIY aggression predates punk rock by several years.
Scrapiron, out of Carteret, NJ provided history with only this 1971 lone single, “Roxanne” backed with “Poopsie.” The quartet’s over-the-top wailing vocals and warbling sounding guitars and organ give the sexually-charged paean a hint of (Crazy World of) Arthur Brown’s mania, mixed with early Deep Purple’s free-flowing style.
White Lightning returns to the series here, last heard on The Twelfth Trip, and their blazing theatrical drumming, sizzling melodic riffs and Jim Dandy howls of “Under Screaming Double Eagle” perfectly sums up the raison d’être of this series. The Minneapolis band formed by guitarist Tom “Zippy” Caplan after he left garage psych heroes The Litter, later shortened its name to Lightning. The group only issued one proper album before disbanding in 1971. However, with the late 1990’s reissues and revival of The Litter, Lightning’s bevy of unreleased recordings also surfaced as a self-titled LP and “Strikes Twice 1986-1969” CD compilation.
Crazy Louie remains to this day a celebrated novelty rock act in their Rapid City, South Dakota home, reuniting from time to time to ensure that the insanity defense remains intact in the band’s psych ward files. “My Pants” is a chugging bit of tongue-in-cheek bravado that would do Bonn Scott proud. The release date of this B-side to “What The People Say” is unknown, but predates their “Intro Into Craziness” album from 1982.
We’re not sure if they chose their name after the popular British cider or otherwise, but Strongbow’s “Change” is an ultra-slick and tight tune, anchored around a shimmering Hammond B-3 organ riff reminiscent of The Edgar Winter Group’s “Frankenstein” meets Ted Nugent’s “Stranglehold.” The 1975 B-side to the single “If You’re Goin’ To The City” is a fun dose of throw-everything-at-the-wall prog rock outta Columbus, OH.
Closing out this wild psych sesh is the hooky, heavy funk groove of Detroit’s Robert Stark. Fully credited to Robert Starks & The Geniuses this dose of lysergic Hendrix worship is summed up nicely by its title, “Space Traveling (Part 2).” The lo-fi recording adds to the haunted vibe of this deep Mississippi swamp blues jam, replete with Exuma-esque drum breakdowns. We recommend listening to “Space Traveling (Part 2)” not necessarily stoned, but… beautiful.
Jack White shared some sage wisdom with a live video of “A Tip From You To Me”. Recorded on the singer/guitarist’s Supply Chain Issues Tour, the track appears on “Entering Heaven Alive”, one of two albums White has released this year.
This footage of “A Tip From Me To You” is especially exciting considering phones are not allowed at White’s concerts. The sparing videos the former White Stripes bandleader has posted himself comprise the only fleeting footage readily available.
The snapshot shows White, fittingly bathed in blue light, performing the track at several different concerts as his outfit changes throughout. The clip edited by Brad Holland, weaves together footage from numerous stops on the Supply Chain Issues Tour where “A Tip From Me To You” is apparently in heavy rotation.
Watch Jack White perform “A Tip From You To Me” from the Supply Chain Issues Tour
The footage arrives as White gears up for an international leg of the ongoing tour, making stops in South Korea, Vietnam, Thailand, New Zealand, and more in November.
Indie-rock unit Yo La Tengo announced its first full-length studio album in five years. The follow-up to 2018’s “There’s a Riot Going On“, the forthcoming collection has been dubbed “This Stupid World” and is slated to be released on February 10th via Matador Records. As a preview of what’s to come, the ensemble delivered the first listen by sharing the single, “Fallout,.”
The group’s self-produced sixteenth album is a set of reflective songs which embrace a collective feel through the tracking and instrumentation of the new material. In a press release describing the impending LP, author and journalist Marc Master wrote: “At the base of nearly every track is a trio playing all at once, giving everything a right-now feel.”
Honing in on a live sound captured in a studio setting, Yo La Tengo’s Ira Kaplan, Georgia Hubley and James McNew deliver an indistinguishable intimacy that permeates the tracking list and comes through on their single, “Fallout.”.
Apart from new music, Yo La Tengo will partake in their annual Hanukkah run in December. Then, after a month off the stage, the band will return to the road for an extensive U.S. and European tour.
London group The Tubs return to Trouble In Mind with their hotly anticipated full-length album entitled “Dead Meat”. The band were formed in 2018 from the ashes of beloved UK post-punk band Joanna Gruesome by former members Owen ‘O’ Williams and George ‘GN’ Nicholls. By incorporating elements of post-punk, traditional British folk, and guitar jangle seasoned by nonchalant Cleaners From Venus-influenced pop hooks and contemporary antipodean indie bands (Twerps/Goon Sax, et al).
“Dead Meat” is resplendent in hi-fidelity strum & thrum, incorporating fleeting elements of post-punk and indie jangle, but the group’s penchant for trad British folk & Canterbury folk-rock takes a noticeable, caffeinated step forward. Echoes of Fairport Convention’s decidedly English chime cross swords with singer Owen Williams’ lyrics directing Bryan Ferry’s “thinking man’s libertine” persona into a more dolorous outlook. Many songs (like “Round The Bend” and “Duped”) soar with an urgent strum under Williams’ acerbic lyrics, recalling a younger fiery Richard Thompson. They languish in an aching, bitter resignation (of both the situations described & the protagonist’s place in it), particularly near the album’s second half. Others like the previously released “I Don’t Know How It Works”, “Two Person Love” and “Illusion” (re-presented here as “Illusion Pt. II” and all rerecorded from their original 7-inch versions) up the urgency, implying that the journey for the person described in each tune is not over & may be even more desperate than before.
The band has never been tighter & more dynamic, often imperceptibly ratcheting up the tension, an extra guitar strum overdubbed, a barely audible organ/synth cranking under a chorus or bridge, or unexpected backups from current Ex-Vöid (and ex-Joanna Gruesome) vocalist Lan McArdle. The Tubs are poised to take over your stereo – there’s no point in resisting.
“Dead Meat” is released on CD, cassette & LP (a limited “British Steel” silver vinyl version is available while supplies last) on January 13th, 2023.
