quête:dead band

Pop/rock singer, songwriter, and guitarist Albert Hammond Jr. is the lead & rhythm guitarist and songwriting member of the GRAMMY® and BRIT Awards-winning band The Strokes. He has released 4 solo albums to date, most recently the acclaimed “Francis Trouble” in 2018 which spawned the radio single “Far Away Truths”. In the 4 years, since then, The Strokes released their US Top 10 charting GRAMMY® nominated rock record “The New Abnormal” and toured the world extensively. Albert also began the songwriting process for his 5th solo album “Melodies on Hiatus”, a 19-track album, crafted in a most experimental style. Albert teamed up with his writing partner, Canadian songwriter, and poet Simon Wilcox (whom he never met during the process) and had lengthy conversations via the telephone; Simon would jot down notes from Albert’s stream of consciousness, and draft the lyrics on her typewriter, and drop them into his letterbox! Albert then added the lyrics to the melodies he had already crafted. The songwriting process became a long distant “anonymous love affair of ideas & lyrics.” The album covers themes of childhood, surviving adolescence, adulthood, vulnerability, fame, relationship with self and others, and is Albert’s “deconstructed broken down ego reaction” to “Francis Trouble.” The album also features songs with GoldLink, Matt Helders (of the Arctic Monkeys), Steve Stevens and Rainsford, and was mixed by Tony Hoffer (known for his work with Beck, Air, M83, The Kooks, Fitz and the Tantrums, Metric, Chromeo, etc.) and mastered by Dave Cooley at Elysian Masters (Paramore, Spoon, Tame Impala, Jimmy Eat World, Peanut Butter Wolfe).

Nine Pound Hammer, die für ihre raue, überdrehte Mischung aus Punkrock, Hardrock, Country-Musik und Hillbilly-Ikonographie bekannt sind, waren eine der prägenden Bands der Cowpunk"-Szene, die in den späten 80er und frühen 90er Jahren den Weg für Alt-Country ebnete. Kanppe sechs Jahre nach ihrer ursrünglichen Auflösung spielten Scott Luallen, Blaine Cartwright, Matt Bartholomy und Bill Waldron im Jahr 2000 ein paar Reunion-Shows mit Nine Pound Hammer, und 2004 schließlich beschlossen Luallen und Cartwright, dass es an der Zeit sei, die Gruppe noch einmal loszulassen. In neuer Besetzung kehrten NPH mit "Kentucky Breakdown" auf die Bildfläche zurück. Das fünfte Album der legendären Band aus Lexington zeigt die Band um die Original Mitglieder Scott Luallen und Blaine Cartwright, der zwischenzeitlich mit NASHVILLE PUSSY beachtliche Erfolge feiern konnte, wieder in bestechender Form. Das liegt laut NINE POUND HAMMER daran, das "...das wahre Leben uns zu rauheren, verbitterten und durchgeknallteren Typen gemacht hat..." und das heutzutage "...so viele Crap Rock und leichtgewichtige Alternative Country Bands draussen sind, wir sind echt sauer und zeigen denen wie es gemacht wird!". "Kentucky Breakdown" wurde von Dave Barrick produziert und zeigt vor allem eins: NINE POUND HAMMER - oft kopiert, nie erreicht!!! Vinyl Reissue des Comebackalbums der Cowpunk-Urgesteinen NINE POUND HAMMER zum 20sten! Mit den Originalmitgliedern Scott Luallen und Blaine Cartwright (Nashville Pussy). Gepresst auf transparent-gelben Vinyl mit schwarzem Splatter. Limitierung 500 Stück weltweit, enthält einen bisher unveröffentlichten Bonustrack! Für fans von Nashville Pussy, Supersuckers

Wunderhorse is the alias of British musician Jacob Slater Jacob fronted The Dead Pretties, a London band who arrived in a haze of hedonism and hype, bowing out before the dust had time to settle. Blink and you'd have missed them. Time- stamped yet timeless. If there's any justice, he'll soon be played out live in sticky basement rooms up and down the country, limbs everywhere, sweat dripping from the walls. An absolute mess, but what a beautiful one.

Alpha Beta Gamma Delta Plus' endlich auf Vinyl, als expanded Doppel-LP in Gatefold. Die 13 Original-Tracks von 'Alpha Beta Gamma Delta', plus 9 Bonus-Tracks, die zuvor auf Single und alternativen Akustik-Tracks veröffentlicht wurden, auf einem denkwürdigen Album von unfehlbarem Inhalt: zeitgenössischer, aufregender, dunkler und gefährlicher Rock & Roll. Alpha Beta Gamma Delta, von der Band im September 2022 selbst veröffentlicht, war das erste neue Material der legendären britischen Rock'n'Roll-Gruppe The Godfathers seit fünf Jahren. Das während der obligatorischen Pandemic-Pause aufgenommene Album wurde von den Fans in den höchsten Tönen gelobt und erhielt einige der besten Kritiken in der gesamten Karriere der Band. Peter Coyne, Leadsänger und Frontmann der Godfathers, nannte es ,eine klangliche Tour de Force". Alpha Beta Gamma Delta ist eine brillante, aktuelle Sammlung von Rock-'n'-Roll-Songs, die perfekt mit dem konkurriert, was The Godfathers in der Vergangenheit gemacht haben, und Spannung in eine Welt bringt, die nicht mehr die Welt ihrer Anfänge ist. Sie behalten ihre Identität bei, aber der Gesamtsound ist etwas anders. Zur Wut der Vergangenheit gesellen sich Gesangsharmonien ('Bring on the Sunshine'), Gitarrensoli, Melancholie und eine Reihe neuer Referenzen, die auch ihre eigenen sind. Dead in Los Angeles", ein Song über einen Spaziergang im Mondlicht, könnte von einigen mit The Doors verglichen werden, und ,Tonight` ist sehr Iggy Pop. Die Godfathers machen auch leisere Nummern, wenn es nötig ist, und so ist Peter Coynes Baritonstimme auf dem sensiblen, honigsüßen ,There Is No Time" zu Hause. You Gotta Wait" ist ein melodischer Punkrock-Klassiker, der das Montagsgefühl auspackt, bei dem das Wochenende eine Million Meilen entfernt scheint... Kurzum, dreizehn Tracks solider und abwechslungsreicher wütender Rock'n'Roll für eine neue Ära. Darüber hinaus enthält Alpha Beta Gamma Delta PLUS drei Tracks, die auf der Originalausgabe des Albums nicht enthalten waren: 'Wild and Free' (zuvor als Single zusammen mit 'I'm Not Your Slave' veröffentlicht) sowie 'When the Cowards Fall' und 'Fade Away' (enthalten auf ABGDs Vorab-EP 'Midnight Rider'). Außerdem sind sechs akustische Neuinterpretationen der Titel enthalten, die während der Studio-Sessions eingespielt wurden. Alpha Beta Gamma Delta Plus ist ein melodisches, reifes und abwechslungsreiches Album, auf dem The Godfathers weiterhin ihr wütendes Wesen in einer anderen Ära, in einer anderen Welt zeigen, in der sie sich immer noch weigern, Rock 'n' Roll als Routine zu akzeptieren.

Hometown Crew ist eine fünfköpfige Youth Crew/Hardcore-Punk-Band aus Weert, Niederlande. Seit ihrer Gründung im Jahr 2014 spielt die Band Shows in ganz Europa und arbeitet daran, ihren einzigartigen Sound zu perfektionieren, der Einflüsse von Bands wie Go It Alone, Bane, Modern Life is War und Carry On vereint. Ende 2015 veröffentlichten sie ihr selbstbetiteltes Demo, gefolgt von der EP "The Score" im Jahr 2017 und ihrem mit Spannung erwarteten Debütalbum "Nothing Lasts Forever" im Jahr 2020. Nach der Veröffentlichung von "Nothing Lasts Forever" tourte die Band durch ganz Europa, wobei der Höhepunkt die Rebellion Tour 2023 mit Madball, H2O, Drain und Hazen Street war.

Possible Damage (Lisa (vocals), Jan (drums), Timo (guitar, vocals)) is a three-piece powerviolence/grindcore band from Oldenburg/Münster (Germany) with members of Svffer, Unrest and Atomkrieg. The band formed in April 2021 and released their first demo in May 2022 by Mackys Law. After many shows, festivals and several tours Possible Damage will release their entire self-titled LP on Holy Goat Records (Germany) and Loner Cvlt Records (Belgium) in December 2024. The album was recorded, mixed and mastered by Fabian Schulz @Sunsetter Recording Studio / Bremen in February 2024. The cover artwork was done by Panik Plum @Grimoire_dsg. So_ if you like bands like Insect Warfare, The Swarm, Lycantrophy or Deathtol 80k you've come to the right place. Expect 17 high speed pure fucking Powerviolence/Grindcore destruction, kick ass shit songs! Album comes as regular black LP or in purple coloured vinyl, including 12" lyric sheet.

Possible Damage (Lisa (vocals), Jan (drums), Timo (guitar, vocals)) is a three-piece powerviolence/grindcore band from Oldenburg/Münster (Germany) with members of Svffer, Unrest and Atomkrieg. The band formed in April 2021 and released their first demo in May 2022 by Mackys Law. After many shows, festivals and several tours Possible Damage will release their entire self-titled LP on Holy Goat Records (Germany) and Loner Cvlt Records (Belgium) in December 2024. The album was recorded, mixed and mastered by Fabian Schulz @Sunsetter Recording Studio / Bremen in February 2024. The cover artwork was done by Panik Plum @Grimoire_dsg. So_ if you like bands like Insect Warfare, The Swarm, Lycantrophy or Deathtol 80k you've come to the right place. Expect 17 high speed pure fucking Powerviolence/Grindcore destruction, kick ass shit songs! Album comes as regular black LP or in purple coloured vinyl, including 12" lyric sheet.

14 songs deep and proudly devoid of gimmicks or distractions, Slaughter On First Avenue is a riveting and raw account of Uncle Acid in full flight. From early classics like I'll Cut You Down and Death's Door (both from Blood Lust), to more recent works of lysergic aggro like Shockwave City (from Wasteland) and sinister epic Slow Death (from The Night Creeper), this amalgamation of two fiery and unforgettable live shows has a mesmerising momentum all of its own. A throwback to the days when live albums were magical things, rather than cynical stopgaps, Slaughter On First Avenue is a jolting dose of dark electricity and psychedelic terror. Swollen with the greatest of riffs and performed with grit, power and haughty disdain, it loudly confirms that Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats have the raw, fuzzed-out power to drag everybody into their bewildering, bewitched vortex of doom. A dazzling, devilish squall to mark the beginning of a new chapter, Slaughter On First Avenue also clears the decks for this band's next malevolent move. Don't say we didn't warn you. "Yes, There will be another record which will hopefully appear at some point without warning or explanation," Kevin Starrs avows. "It will be completely different to anything else we've done. You can think of it as a late-night detour. Its appeal will be extremely limited but that's OK... 'When you're slapped, you'll take it and like it!'".

Die Songs auf der EP erscheinen in der Reihenfolge, in der sie geschrieben wurden. Sie wurden in dem kleinen Gästezimmer seiner Wohnung in West Philadelphia direkt auf vier Spuren aufgenommen. Es ist ein Bogen von vier Liedern, ein gespenstischer Durchgang, ein kurzes und fließendes Werk, das von der schwermütigen Eröffnung von „Mountain Dew Hell“ bis zu den hochgepitchten Vocals von „Pain Meds“, einem winzigen Lied, das in der Unermesslichkeit der Trauer schwankt, zusammenhängt. Die Erfahrung des Durchhörens ist wie das Aufwachen aus einem halb erinnerten Traum, ein Schatten in der Zimmerecke, eine seltsame Einsamkeit, ein zeitlicher New Yorker Herbst mit grauem Himmel und nackten Bäumen. Aber während die Veröffentlichung spärlich und spontan ist, ist sie taktil und verzehrend, ein Einblick in die schönen, einsamen Welten, die im Kern eines Greg Mendez Songs leben.



Jeder Aspekt von Mendez' Welt trägt etwas Handgemachtes in sich. Das Cover von „First Time / Alone“ ist eine Sammlung von Sternen aus dem Skizzenbuch eines Freundes, die Mendez mit Ölpastellkreiden ausgemalt hat - jeder Strich fühlt sich schwer an, drückt sich von der Seite ab und lebt von einer menschlichen Note. Das Gleiche könnte man über das Cover des selbstbetitelten Albums sagen, eine Farbstift-Illustration einer verzweifelten Mutter Maria, gezeichnet von Mendez und seiner Frau und Bandkollegin Veronica; in dem Porträt sind ihre massiven Augen nach oben gerichtet, die Hand ausgestreckt, Gnade entweder angeboten oder weggenommen.



Mendez ist ein intuitiver Songwriter, dessen Melodien durch den Äther gejagt werden, ein Geschichtenerzähler, der in seinem Katalog von Gewalt und Instabilität berichtet, aber auch von Liebesliedern, von Oden an die Freundschaft, an wahre Hingabe, an die Dinge, die einen durch das Schlimmste hindurch tragen können. Mendez hat die Angewohnheit, diese Dinge zu bemerken, das Licht zu finden und selbst aus den düstersten, beschissensten Situationen Poesie zu machen. In seinen Liedern gibt es eine angeborene Fähigkeit, Härte mit Sanftheit auszubalancieren, Grausamkeiten durch übernatürliche Süße umzuschreiben, ein Herz, das unaufhörlich, zuversichtlich, durch die Dunkelheit pocht.

Musikalisch gesehen ist „Shadowreaper“ der logische Nachfolger von „The Black Stream“ und legt direkt mit ‚Into The Evergrey‘ los, das mit
geschmackvollen Akustikgitarren beginnt, um dann in ein treibendes Monster überzugehen. Das folgende ‚The Horrors Of Endlessness‘ wirkt wie eine
unerbittliche Warnung vor der Idee der Ewigkeit. Während NIGHT IN GALES das Tempo insgesamt recht weit oben halten, schaffen sie es auch, den
Fuß vom Gaspedal zu nehmen, um z.B. in ‚The Nihilist Delta‘ sanfte Momente durch all die anhaltende Dunkelheit hindurchscheinen zu lassen.
Während ‚Spirals‘ einen unwiderstehlichen Groove erzeugt, ist es ‚Sculptures And Defleshed‘, welches alle Stärken der Band in perfekter Manier
bündelt. Das abschließende ‚Walk Of Infinity‘ lässt den Hörer in völliger Dunkelheit zurück - kein Licht in Sicht.
Und doch sind bei „Shadowreaper“ einige Dinge anders. Nachdem sie vier Alben in Folge mit Dan Swanö gemacht haben, wurde die Produktion dieses
Mal Fredrik Nordström anvertraut, dem Mann, der in den Neunzigern in seinem berüchtigten Studio Fredman die großen prägenden Klassiker des
Genres geschaffen hat: „Slaughter Of The Soul“ (AT THE GATES), „The Jester Race“, „Whoracle“ (IN FLAMES) und natürlich „The Gallery“ (DARK
TRANQUILLITY). Das Endergebnis klingt für NIGHT IN GALE-Verhältnisse extrem brachial sowie ungeschliffen und vermittelt das so sehr begehrte
‚Live-Feeling‘. Es ist fast so, als würde man die Tür zum Proberaum oder zur Konzerthalle öffnen und sich direkt dem Geschehen und der riesigen
Soundwand aussetzen.
TERRITORY: Deutschland, Österreich, Belgien, Schweiz, Tschechische Republik, Frankreich, England, Italien, Irland, Niederlande, Polen

Gelb/Orange/Olive/Weißes Spot-Splatter-Vinyl. Limitiert auf 500 Exemplare. Gatefold. Wenn das Gefühl für Raum und Zeit verschwindet... Psychedelische Sounds fusionieren zu einem endlosen Klangteppich, wirklich zuordnen lässt sich hier nichts mehr. Muss ja auch nicht, lieber den Kopf ausschalten. Nur selten erscheinen Platten wie "ada" (Release: 06.12.2024), die scheinbar endlose Möglichkeiten zum Wegträumen bieten - weil so viel Geschichte in ihnen steckt: "Das neue Album ist so etwas wie die Essenz aus über 30 Jahren Electric Orange", erklärt Dirk Jan Müller, der das langlebige Projekt schon 1992 in Aachen gestartet und später zu einer großartigen Band ausgebaut hat. Electric Orange sind eindeutig im Krautrock der Siebzigerjahre verwurzelt (und nutzen teilweise auch das Equipment dieser Ära), so erinnern viele Tracks an die altbekannten Legenden des Genres: Can, Tangerine Dream, Amon Düül - eine Mischung aus all dem, was die Bandmitglieder lieben. In dieser Welt ist jeder Groove noch besser, wenn man ihn minutenlang durchzieht. Die Musik von Electric Orange entwickelt sich durchgehend weiter, sphärische Klänge kommen dazu und gehen wieder... oder werden von experimentellen Wah-Wah-Gitarren abgelöst. Weltall-Soundeffekte? Film-Samples? Yes! Electric Orange legen eine weitläufige Welt offen und führen den/die Hörer*in dann hindurch; ihre Musik ist treibend und verträumt zugleich.

For the first time in their diverse second act, they allow themselves to be a rock band, freed of adornment and embellishment. As much as Carlson’s guitar has always been the focal point of EARTH’s music, it’s been surrounded by consistently diverse instrumentation. Here the dialog between Carlson and Davies drumming remains pivotal, underpinned by the sympathetic bass of Bill Herzog (Sunn O))), Joel RL Phelps, Jesse Sykes and the Sweet Hereafter) and thickened by additional layers of guitar from Brett Netson (Built To Spill, Caustic Resin) and Jodie Cox (Narrows). Perhaps the largest left turn on Primitive And Deadly, though, is the prominence of guest vocalists Mark Lanegan and Rabia Shaheen Qazi (Rose Windows) who transform the traditionally free ranging meditations of EARTH into something approaching traditional pop structures.
On “Rooks Across the Gates,” a song stylistically the closest to the folk inspired modality of Angels Of Darkness, Carlson stretches out into some of his most lyrical playing to date, creating an almost symbiotic relationship between his performance and the vocals of old friend Mark Lanegan. “From the Zodiacal Light,” meanwhile, takes the late 60s San Franciscan/freaked-out jazz-rock transcendence of The Bees Made Honey In The Lion’s Skull and quickly re-appropriates that sound into a musky torch song for the witching hour.
This contradictive tension between a band pushing itself ever-forward whilst surveying their history is reflected in the albums twin recording locales. The foundation of the record was laid in the mystic desert highlands of Joshua Tree, California where EARTH recorded hour after hour of meditations on each track's central theme at Rancho de la Luna. Upon returning to Seattle these were edited, arranged and expanded upon at Avast with the help of long-term collaborator Randall Dunn (who was previously at the helm for the Hex, The Bees Made Honey In The Lion's Skull and Hibernaculum sessions).

ON SAND COLOUR VINYL FOR FIRST TIME

Post-Punk? Indie-Rock? Post-Hardcore? The Van Pelt walked between all these worlds. Spoken/sung vocals, anthemic pop hooks, fiery guitars and a tightly wound rhythm section made them stand outs of the DIY basement scene they emerged from.
RELATED TO: The Lapse, Native Nod, St Vincent, Blonde Redhead, Enon, Jets to Brazil, Vague Angels.

ABOUT “STEALING FROM OUR FAVORITE THIEVES”:
90s NYC indie heroes The Van Pelt have had a lasting power far greater than so many of the other once bigger bands of that era have had. The sort of interest that has neither waxed nor waned over the decades since they disbanded, yet just mysteriously continues on despite their discography being out of print since the end of the last millennium. So what is it that sets them apart? Too soft to have ran with the AmRep or Touch and Go crowds, not hip enough to have made sense on Matador or Merge, ernest yet not histrionic enough to make it onto the “best emo bands” lists, not weird enough to be on bills with Arto Lindsay and Thurston Moore, etc. In a sense, their outsider status comes not from the wings, but from the dead center eye of the storm. The 90s were happening all around them, they were witnesses thereof, yet they emerged transcendent of it all. You Follow? Maybe it’s worth having a listen to see what I mean.
Barcelona’s La Castanya records is treating us with the first ever rerelease of the two Van Pelt albums to mark the 20th anniversary of Sultans of Sentiment, their benchmark album. They teased us in 2014 that this might be on the docket with the release of Imaginary Third, a collection of singles and unreleased Van Pelt tracks which were originally intended to have been the components of their third album, including the alt-famous “Speeding Train”. Now we’ll finally have access to their entire discography. The first album, Stealing From Our Favorite Thieves is an explosion of anthems belted out as if the war was already lost yet they were hoisting that tattered banner anyhow until there wasn’t a shred to salvage. The momentum coming out of that album had every major label in the States salivating at the possibility of turning them into the next Nirvana. Instead, The Van Pelt followed it up by pulling the van into the garage, leaving the engine running, funneling the exhaust into their lungs, and blissfully deciding to bow out of the race with the epic Sultans of Sentiment. Of course as the story goes, their intended financial flop was the exact opus that jettisoned them into the history books. Buy both albums. You’ll need them both.

BRAND NEW VINYL PRESSING ON GREEN VINYL FOR FIRST TIME

Recorded in 1996, the second album from this NYC quartet featured a new line up & sound. Clean, warm, spacious guitars paired with repetitive, hypnotic songs showcased the band reaching a new peak. Beloved by those initiated, it continues to find new devotees.
RELATED TO: The Lapse, Native Nod, Blonde Redhead, Enon, Jets to Brazil, Vague Angels

90s NYC indie heroes The Van Pelt have had a lasting power far greater than so many of the other once bigger bands of that era have had. The sort of interest that has neither waxed nor waned over the decades since they disbanded, yet just mysteriously continues on despite their discography being out of print since the end of the last millennium. So what is it that sets them apart?
Too soft to have ran with the AmRep or Touch and Go crowds, not hip enough to have made sense on Matador or Merge, ernest yet not histrionic enough to make it onto the “best emo bands” lists, not weird enough to be on bills with Arto Lindsay and Thurston Moore, etc. In a sense, their outsider status comes not from the wings, but from the dead center eye of the storm. The 90s were happening all around them, they were witnesses thereof, yet they emerged transcendent of it all. You Follow? Maybe it’s worth having a listen to see what I mean.
Barcelona’s La Castanya records is treating us with the first ever rerelease of the two Van Pelt albums to mark the 20th anniversary of Sultans of Sentiment, their benchmark album. They teased us in 2014 that this might be on the docket with the release of Imaginary Third, a collection of singles and unreleased Van Pelt tracks which were originally intended to have been the components of their third album, including the alt-famous “Speeding Train”. Now we’ll finally have access to their entire discography. The first album, Stealing From Our Favorite Thieves is an explosion of anthems belted out as if the war was already lost yet they were hoisting that tattered banner anyhow until there wasn’t a shred to salvage. The momentum coming out of that album had every major label in the States salivating at the possibility of turning them into the next Nirvana. Instead, The Van Pelt followed it up by pulling the van into the garage, leaving the engine running, funneling the exhaust into their lungs, and blissfully deciding to bow out of the race with the epic Sultans of Sentiment. Of course as the story goes, their intended financial flop was the exact opus that jettisoned them into the history books. Buy both albums. You’ll need them both.

The last couple of years have seen a renaissance for West Coast singer-songwriters. LA-based youngsters such as Drugdealer and Sylvie have attracted considerable attention releasing warm and mellow records tonally reminiscent of the early 70s. Most fans of this new/old sound are unaware of Bart Davenport's early explorations in the same sonic territory. His now 20-year-old "Game Preserve"album should gain an appreciative new audience with its first ever vinyl release.

In the year 2000, Bay Area troubadour Bart Davenport and several other musicians were recruited by a major tech corporation in Seattle to work on an algorithm-based music matching/search engine. It was what looked like the beginning of a promising career. After a year, however, the project was shelved. Bart and his colleagues were laid off with a healthy severance package... on the 12th of September, 2001. Not only had the musician's life changed, so had the world. Rather than blow the money on a holiday or new car, Bart knew he had to make a record. A proper album that meant something.

Back in Oakland, he entered Wally Sound Studios with former Kinetics bandmate Jon Erickson at the controls, and a swathe of talented local musicians. "With Game Preserve," Bart explains, "Jon and I really wanted to knock it out of the park. I wanted to utilize people from my old bands like Loved Ones drummer John Kent. I also invited my newer indie-pop friends from Call & Response, and a young Nedelle Torrisi. Harmony singing by The Moore Brothers was an essential ingredient on Game Preserve as well."

Both Erickson and Davenport fondly recall growing up in households where the music of The Carpenters, Joni Mitchell and The Eagles soundtracked their young lives. By the early 00s they were ready to reconnect with what is often referred to as the "Laurel Canyon" sound. "I'd buy used tapes at garage sales and play them in the car. "Ladies Of The Canyon" by Joni and Jackson Browne's first album were both in heavy rotation. Jon Erickson was getting deeper into the Steely-Mac-Doobie yacht-rock sound in earnest. A certain amount of childhood nostalgia led a lot of us back to that part of the 70s. I'd flirted with classic soft-rock on my first album, but that record was pretty scattered esthetically. I wanted my next one to be more focused. Jon and I made some ground rules: no electric guitars (except on 'Bar-Code Trees'). No synths. Most importantly, all the songs have an air-tight, super dead, close mic'd drum sound. Putting these sorts of limitations on the sessions will give your record a specific quality. In the case of "Game Preserve"it's mostly about tight drums, acoustic instruments and analog production. We used a 24-track, two-inch tape machine for tracking, then ran the mixes through an analog board straight to a 1/4 inch master tape."

While the album's sonic palette may be firmly planted in 1970, Davenport's songwriting covers a sizable landscape of moods and reflections. From the quasi-flamenco intro of 'Sweetest Game' to the somber Wurlitzer of 'Nowhere Left To Go', to the 12-string shimmer of 'Intertwine', "Game Preserve" tells a story of young love, lost innocence and redemption, crossing borders and oceans along the way.

Released in 2003 on family-run Oakland label Antenna Farm, the ultra-analog sounding "Game Preserve" was only made available on digital formats, including CD. Copies were later pressed by labels in Germany and Spain; the latter being one country the album actually did well in, establishing Bart Davenport with a small but loyal fanbase he still enjoys today. Two European tours as support for Kings of Convenience also helped gain a foothold on the continent. Back in the US, however, Davenport and his sophomore album remained quite obscure.

Limited promotion meant it did little, but for the music lovers that heard it, the album undoubtedly remains a classic of the era, deserving far more. Twenty years on, it now finally receives its vinyl debut. "I personally think it holds up well," says Bart of the album two decades later. "The idea was to make something that could be an homage to late 60s/early 70s West Coast pop but hopefully timeless as well. Years on, I hear it as just that. It was a colorful and brief period of my life that felt at times like it could last forever. I discovered the joy of working in a proper studio with a perfect cast of characters. I'm still very close with all these people and still play music with many of them."

CARNIVORE is an American crossover / thrash metal band from Brooklyn, New York founded by singer and bassist Peter Steele, and was formed out of the breakup of the Brooklyn metal group FALLOUT in 1982. The first CARNIVORE album was heavily influenced by the contemporary New York metal scene. It also drew inspiration from BLACK SABBATH and early JUDAS PRIEST, whereas the second album had significant crossover influences. The "post-apocalyptic" theme that dominated the first album and was carried onto parts of the second album was apparently inspired by a dream Pete Steele had and which became the basis for the lyrics of "Predator", the first song from the original album. The lyrical theme was then expanded on to describe human society ( or the lack of one ) between imaginary World Wars III, IV and possibly V (as referenced in the song "World Wars III & IV"). Other lyrical themes included nihilism, anti-religious sentiment, cynicism, and explicit but tongue-in-cheek depictions of gore and despair. Song titles such as "Jesus Hitler", "Race War", "Thermonuclear Warrior" and "God is Dead" reflect these themes. In August 2017, it was announced that CARNIVORE would officially be reformed as CARNIVORE A.D., featuring original drummer Louie Beato and guitarist Marc Piovanetti along with secondary drummer Joe Branciforte sharing drum duties and also introducing new member Baron Misuraca as the bassist/vocalist. The band then made their live festival debut at the 2018 edition of Hellfest. CARNIVORE's "Retaliation" is a legendary and authentic metal/hc crossover album and an admittedly very heavy devastating wall of music with very much tongue in cheek lyrics. It became an absolute classic in the metal genre. It has remained unreleased for too many years and has now become very much in demand, now available again in Deluxe exclusive Limited edition 2LP vinyl and Digipack with no less than 3 bonus tracks ! ESSENTIAL CLASSIC !

CARNIVORE is an American crossover / thrash metal band from Brooklyn, New York founded by singer and bassist Peter Steele, and was formed out of the breakup of the Brooklyn metal group FALLOUT in 1982. The first CARNIVORE album was heavily influenced by the contemporary New York metal scene. It also drew inspiration from BLACK SABBATH and early JUDAS PRIEST, whereas the second album had significant crossover influences. The "post-apocalyptic" theme that dominated the first album and was carried onto parts of the second album was apparently inspired by a dream Pete Steele had and which became the basis for the lyrics of "Predator", the first song from the original album. The lyrical theme was then expanded on to describe human society ( or the lack of one ) between imaginary World Wars III, IV and possibly V (as referenced in the song "World Wars III & IV"). Other lyrical themes included nihilism, anti-religious sentiment, cynicism, and explicit but tongue-in-cheek depictions of gore and despair. Song titles such as "Jesus Hitler", "Race War", "Thermonuclear Warrior" and "God is Dead" reflect these themes. In August 2017, it was announced that CARNIVORE would officially be reformed as CARNIVORE A.D., featuring original drummer Louie Beato and guitarist Marc Piovanetti along with secondary drummer Joe Branciforte sharing drum duties and also introducing new member Baron Misuraca as the bassist/vocalist. The band then made their live festival debut at the 2018 edition of Hellfest. CARNIVORE's "Retaliation" is a legendary and authentic metal/hc crossover album and an admittedly very heavy devastating wall of music with very much tongue in cheek lyrics. It became an absolute classic in the metal genre. It has remained unreleased for too many years and has now become very much in demand, now available again in Deluxe exclusive Limited edition 2LP vinyl and Digipack with no less than 3 bonus tracks ! ESSENTIAL CLASSIC !

Howlin Rain’s grand 3xLP archival statement and untold story, written over nearly two decades in invisible ink between the lines. Features never before heard songs from The Russian Wilds, The Dharma Wheel, The Alligator Bride, Mansion Songs, Live Rain and the lost Ethan Miller Band sessions. With a broad cast of musical characters including Rick Rubin (Producer/American Records), Luther Dickinson (North Mississippi Allstars), Scarlet Rivera (Bob Dylan’s Rolling Thunder Revue), Joel Robinow (Once and Future Band), Isaiah Mitchell (Earthless/ The Black Crowes) and many more. Includes songs by The Rolling Stones, Grateful Dead, Leon Russell and Neil Merryweather. “I wanted to compile the record so it would have impact like our grandest, wildest, most unabashed studio album. I left out home demos, and songs from quiet corners, sketches, etc, in favor of fully formed, fully finished, studio level tracks from front to back. Lost at Sea is intended to be something that you can pour yourself into and get swept away in.” — Ethan Miller (Founder, bandleader)

BRUJERIA is an extreme Mexican-American metal band founded in 1989 in Los Angeles. Under cover of pseudonyms, its original members were the guitarist Dino Cazares ( FEAR FACTORY ), Jello Biafra ( DEAD KENNEDYS ), the drummer Pat Hoed, bassist Billy Gould ( FAITH NO MORE ) and singer Juan Bruno. BRUJERIA first appears as a terrorist group having kidnapped the bosses of Roadrunner Records in order to be able to release a record. This joke having been denied, the group appears as a parallel project that is characterized by the themes of satanism, terrorism, sex, rebellion, and politics. The group forges a reputation of psychopaths by playing on stage , with hooded or masked with scarves, titles called "Marijuana" or "Brujerizmo ( the word "Brujeria" which means "witchcraft" ). BRUJERIA is Mexican hence the name and lyrics in Spanish. Dino Cazares ( exFEAR FACTORY ) was the guitarist. The musicians of BRUJERIA keep their identities secret but it is known that ex-FEAR FACTORY's Dino Cazares, FEAR FACTORY's Asesino and Raymond Herrera, as well as Billy Gould, ex-FAITH NO MORE, have worked on guitar, drums and bass, Nicolas Barker ( ex-CRADLE OF FILTH etc ) takes also part of the butchery, just to name a few...

BRUJERIA is an extreme Mexican-American metal band founded in 1989 in Los Angeles. Under cover of pseudonyms, its original members were the guitarist Dino Cazares ( FEAR FACTORY ), Jello Biafra ( DEAD KENNEDYS ), the drummer Pat Hoed, bassist Billy Gould ( FAITH NO MORE ) and singer Juan Bruno. BRUJERIA first appears as a terrorist group having kidnapped the bosses of Roadrunner Records in order to be able to release a record. This joke having been denied, the group appears as a parallel project that is characterized by the themes of satanism, terrorism, sex, rebellion, and politics. The group forges a reputation of psychopaths by playing on stage , with hooded or masked with scarves, titles called "Marijuana" or "Brujerizmo ( the word "Brujeria" which means "witchcraft" ). BRUJERIA is Mexican hence the name and lyrics in Spanish. Dino Cazares ( exFEAR FACTORY ) was the guitarist. The musicians of BRUJERIA keep their identities secret but it is known that ex-FEAR FACTORY's Dino Cazares, FEAR FACTORY's Asesino and Raymond Herrera, as well as Billy Gould, ex-FAITH NO MORE, have worked on guitar, drums and bass, Nicolas Barker ( ex-CRADLE OF FILTH etc ) takes also part of the butchery, just to name a few...

BRUJERIA is an extreme Mexican-American metal band founded in 1989 in Los Angeles. Under cover of pseudonyms, its original members were the guitarist Dino Cazares ( FEAR FACTORY ), Jello Biafra ( DEAD KENNEDYS ), the drummer Pat Hoed, bassist Billy Gould ( FAITH NO MORE ) and singer Juan Bruno. BRUJERIA first appears as a terrorist group having kidnapped the bosses of Roadrunner Records in order to be able to release a record. This joke having been denied, the group appears as a parallel project that is characterized by the themes of satanism, terrorism, sex, rebellion, and politics. The group forges a reputation of psychopaths by playing on stage , with hooded or masked with scarves, titles called "Marijuana" or "Brujerizmo ( the word "Brujeria" which means "witchcraft" ). BRUJERIA is Mexican hence the name and lyrics in Spanish. Dino Cazares ( exFEAR FACTORY ) was the guitarist. The musicians of BRUJERIA keep their identities secret but it is known that ex-FEAR FACTORY's Dino Cazares, FEAR FACTORY's Asesino and Raymond Herrera, as well as Billy Gould, ex-FAITH NO MORE, have worked on guitar, drums and bass, Nicolas Barker ( ex-CRADLE OF FILTH etc ) takes also part of the butchery, just to name a few...

Sardinia-based heavy psych and power stoner
rockers Bentrees’ sound is a vibrant mix of fuzzy
power blues and hard rock influences, drawing
from the 70’s and wrapped in the glory of 90’s and
early 2000’s stoner rock.
 Bentrees create a wild ride of addictive and heavy
riffage into psychedelic wonderlands. They have
been continuously looking for an authentic and
genuine formula, often represented by
introspective lyrics - a reference to their homeland
and connection with nature.
 Following the band’s 2017-debut, ‘Psychollage’,
and countless live shows with acts such as
Yawning Man, Black Rainbows, The Cosmic Dead
and The Spacelords, Bentrees are now ready with
their new opus, ‘Two Of Swords’.
 For fans of Lowrider, Celestial Season, Atomic
Vulture, Kyuss, Nebula, Spirit Caravan, Monster
Magnet, Acrimony, King Buffalo.
 LP pressed on blue vinyl.

Black vinyl 180g made only in 100 numbered copies.

This record is different. It is different from what might be expected of Jan Emil Mlynarski by those who know him, from sold-out shows and platinum albums of his bands – Jazz Band Młynarski – Masecki and Warsaw Dance Combo, as an old-timer, curator and reenactor of pre-World War II Warsaw's plush dancehalls and backyards folklore. Quite likely they may not recognize him until the last song, when he removes his shaman mask and bows down: Yeah, that's really me, folks, your good ol' Jan Emil, the entertainer. They might not have even known that he ever played drums because in his flagship bands, clad in a white tux in the former or in a Peaky Blinder hat in the latter, he sings and plays mandolin banjo. In fact, Młynarski has been a drummer for a lot longer than a singer. He stands clear of the jazz mainstream but is active on the progressive scene. A record he contributed to, trumpeter Tomasz Dąbrowski's 2022 release The Individual Beings, was recognized by Downbeat magazine as "excellent" and awarded the highest rating of five stars.

However, this is the first instrumental record to bear his name. As an album by a drummer, it stands out from other records, especially as it features drums as the principal content rather than the performance by a band with a drummer as the leader. It's all about drums, there is neither an articulate melody – because the melodies that are there are only micro-linesencased in ostinato modules – nor is harmony as an intentional chord progression – because whatever harmony-wise there is, is rather a product of the counterpoint of overlapping voices. All sounds other than the drums make only a riverbed through which runs a raging stream of rhythms. And indeed, this record took off just with this stream. At first all the drums were recorded live onto an analog tape, all at once, without overdubs or editing. After that, synthesizer riffs were added, and the record was ultimately assembled on tape without the use of computers or complex postproduction, which sets it apart from most releases today.

Młynarski the drummer acknowledges that he follows the trail beaten by Art Blakey, Max Roach, Roy Haynes, and Billy Higgins, but he walks it in his own strides. He treats the jazz drumming with specific reversed engineering by decompiling the jazz drum kit originally compiled by the pioneer jazz drummers from an array of instruments that had made their way from a jungle to New Orleans, first to Congo Square and then to street brass bands.

This takes him back to the jungle, his drums don't sound like jazz drums, the snare is rare, and the hi-hat and ride aren't there at all. Instead, there are drums and bells from Nigeria, Ghana, Burkina Faso, and Côte d'Ivoire. He doesn't sound like a jazz drummer either, but like a gang of drummers, each playing their own rhythm, and it's hard to believe that all this is the work of one man.

Not only his drumware comes from the jungle, but also the software – his approach to rhythm and time. Its essence is polyrhythm and ostinato. The polyrhythmic matters were unveiled to Młynarski and Piotr Zabrodzki, his creative partner in many projects and co-composer/producer of this album, by the legendary eccentric veteran-drummer Władysław Jagiełło, who introduced them, aged thirteen, to his concept and practice of "17 Latino rhythms at once". Ostinato, an obstinate repetition of a phrase or rhythm, "arrests" time, turning its linear course into cyclical in-place rotations. This is specific not only to African music but also to cultural music of other regions and differs from Western artistic music in that it does not "run" to fulfil an aesthetic intention but "stays" to provide the framework for recurrent routines of communal proceedings.

So, this record is different. And, if you are different too, this is the record for you.

Crankers of amp, torturers of fuzzbox and denizens of small-hours salvation, Thee Alcoholics dished out a rancorous and righteous debut in their decent `Feedback' - one that filtered gnarled riffage and motorik malevolence through a uniquely debauched prism in pursuit of some extremely ill-advised audial dystopia. Thee Alcoholics may have started life as the home-birthed brainchild of Rhys Llewellyn (Hey Colossus/Acidliner/Drmcnt) yet an evolution since has proven the ultimate form of this beastly creation to be the live arena. In assembling cohorts to turn these visceral jams into something to shake rafters and rattle pint-glasses, new frontiers of ornery intensity have made themselves manifest, and such is the form of the monstrous Bear Bites Horse Sessions, a live-in-the-studio document recorded with Wayne Adams at Bear Bites Horse studio in Haggerston, London, chronicling a band breathing life into a Stoogian paradigm, and doing so apparently whilst barely breaking a sweat. Taking essential elixirs of in-the-red mania, hypnotic repetition and deathless swagger, these twelve jams walk a crooked path that neighbours the nihilistic vortex of Loop, the saturnine lurch of The Fall and the deadpan derangement of The Heads but remains possessed of a maverick charisma and mischief all its own. Lovers of lysergic heaviosity and the sound of a Marshall 4x12 violently spluttering its last will find much to satisfy here, but moreover Bear Bites Horse Sessions is a testimony to sonic punishment as a gateway to new horizons, audial excess as a path to wisdom, and answers, right or wrong, being found in the bottom of a glass.

THE 4TH ALBUM BY ENGLISH FOLK ROCK SONGWRITER

A COMPLETELY UNINHIBITED PLAYGROUND WHERE PSYCH-FOLK DANCES WITH FREE JAZZ AND SOUL

English musician Nick Wheeldon has been on the starting blocks in Paris since 2012, churning out bands and albums at breakneck speed, from 39th and The Nortons, Os Noctambulos and The Necessary Separations to Sex Sux. In 2021, he got off to a flying start with his first solo LP, Communication Problems (2021) followed by Gift (2022) and Waiting For Piano To Fall (2024) just a few months ago. Today he brings you Make Art, his 4th solo album, a masterful, imposing work. For Nick Wheeldon aficionados, there's the same characteristic: always the same flickering, bright light. The tracks follow one another: tunnels, dead ends, nocturnal drifts. Days in the sun, lost paths, dark roads, all engraved on 4 sides of vinyl. Make Art offers a totally uninhibited and varied playground, where free jazz and soul dance together. Mixtures hitherto unknown to Nick Wheeldon. With Make Art, you're in the middle of a psychedelic-folk funfair. The musical avenues open to Nick Wheeldon widen and are likely to sweep away even the slowest and most resistant of you. Recorded with Julien Ledru, Thomas Carpentier and Paul Trigoulet.

There are few hidden gems that we can find on the different streaming channels, and it is precisely our job to have them for you. This Saturday we want to bring you a Chilean band that is born from transversal rock and its variants. We talk about The Cruel Visions. The Cruel Visions is the name that Pablo Giadach (founder) proposes to imagine a luminous and nostalgic interior landscape, expressed in songs of subtle composition and evocative beauty. The guitarist and musician in the bands Casino, Trancemission and The Ganjas, brings with him an album weathered by the passage of time in nightly improvisations and his recording studio, influenced mainly by the sounds of the early 80's, new wave, paisley underground, post punk and dark wave. The Cruel Visions was born from the idea of grouping together different recordings that Pablo made in parallel to his work with The Ganjas between 2015 and 2017 at different times and formats. Most of the album is a collection of demos and improvisations with a Rickenbacker 12-string guitar, an echo chamber and a drum machine, which were then worked on for almost 3 years in the free time at Estudio Lautaro, where he also performs. as an engineer and producer. His authorial present discovers the ethereal and light sounds that bands like The Cure or The Jesus and Mary Chain decanted, who left the initial rawness to give way to a more atmospheric and personal repertoire, which, although luminous, maintains traces of the darkest noise of the post-punk era. This time the path taken in other formations where Pablo provides precise sounds, completed with effects such as reverb and distortion, gives shape to a more personal list of songs that sails with the wind in its favor through foggy waters, already known to listeners of English 80's alternative music. Vocals and some arrangements were done at Woodbine St Recording by John A. Rivers, who has produced records by Love and Rockets, The Specials, Nikki Sudden, Close Lobsters and Dead Can Dance, among many others

LINKIN PARK—Mike Shinoda, Brad Delson, Phoenix, Joe Hahn, alongside new members Emily Armstrong of critically acclaimed band Dead Sara as co-vocalist and Colin Brittain songwriter/producer for G Flip, Illenium, One OK Rock as drummer—share their first brand new music in seven years.

The iconic band shared a new single “The Emptiness Machine,” which is also the herald for the arrival of LINKIN PARK’s first album since 2017, FROM ZERO, on November 15.

About the new era, Shinoda stated, “Before LINKIN PARK, our first band name was Xero. This album title refers to both this humble beginning and the journey we’re currently undertaking. Sonically and emotionally, it is about past, present, and future—embracing our signature sound, but new and full of life. It was made with a deep appreciation for our new and longtime bandmates, our friends, our family, and our fans. We are proud of what LINKIN PARK has become over the years, and excited about the journey ahead.”

Right out of the gate, “The Emptiness Machine” channels the DNA of LINKIN PARK, harnessing the band’s explosive energy and retaining the hallmarks of their instantly identifiable and inimitable sound. A chameleonic and catchy anthem, Shinoda’s hypnotic melodies hand off to Armstrong’s blistering chorus, over distorted riffs and head-nodding drums.

Ultimately, with FROM ZERO, the band is looking to harness the purest energy of their past, present, and future. The new era has officially begun.

Violator wurde 2002 in der brasilianischen Hauptstadt Brasília gegründet und hat sich zum Ziel gesetzt, eines der Aushängeschilder der postmillennialen neuen Welle des Old-School-Thrash-Metal zu werden. Die vierköpfige Band entstand aus der gemeinsamen Vorliebe der Mitglieder für genreprägende Acts aus der goldenen Ära der Szene in den 1980er Jahren. Sie mischten den unerbittlichen Stil der frühen Pioniere aus ihrem Land (Sepultura, Korzus) mit der amerikanischen Tradition (insbesondere den Genre-Titanen Exodus) und einer Prise Hardcore-Crossover. High Roller Records sind stolz darauf, vier Schlüsselveröffentlichungen der Gruppe auf Vinyl neu aufzulegen, wobei „Violent Mosh“ 2004 ihr erstes professionelles Werk auf dem brasilianischen Label Kill Again Records war. Nach einem Demo und einem Vierer-Split gab die Sechs-Track-EP den Ton an für das, was zwei Jahre später auf Violators Debütalbum „Chemical Assault“ folgen sollte. Beide Titel fangen die energiegeladenen Live-Shows ein, die sie sowohl alleine als auch als Support von internationalen Größen wie Destruction spielten. Apropos, auf der „Annihilation Process“-EP von 2010 konnte Sänger/Bassist Pedro Arcanjo nicht mehr nur den deutschen Frontmann Schmier oder Kreators Mille imitieren, während die Musik reifer wurde und Songs wie das ausgefeilte „Futurephobia“ haufenweise Potenzial erkennen ließen. Mit ihrem zweiten Album „Scenarios of Brutality“ (2013) löste die Band dieses Versprechen ein, indem sie ihren mittlerweile unverkennbaren Sound voll zur Geltung brachte, der das Flair eines neuzeitlichen Genre-Klassikers verströmt. Riff-lastig, mit intensivem Tempo und glaubwürdig Zorn und Wut durch etablierte Themen ausdrückend, die von gesellschaftspolitischem Bewusstsein und Doom-Mongering bis hin zu schlichter Thrash-Selbstreferenzialität reichen und mit rohen, aber kraftvollen Produktionen aufwarten, sind diese vier Platten äußerst wichtige Ergänzungen zum Genre-Kanon - Let the Violation Begin!

Mastered for vinyl by Christoph Brandes at Iguana Studios

Violator wurde 2002 in der brasilianischen Hauptstadt Brasília gegründet und hat sich zum Ziel gesetzt, eines der Aushängeschilder der postmillennialen neuen Welle des Old-School-Thrash-Metal zu werden. Die vierköpfige Band entstand aus der gemeinsamen Vorliebe der Mitglieder für genreprägende Acts aus der goldenen Ära der Szene in den 1980er Jahren. Sie mischten den unerbittlichen Stil der frühen Pioniere aus ihrem Land (Sepultura, Korzus) mit der amerikanischen Tradition (insbesondere den Genre-Titanen Exodus) und einer Prise Hardcore-Crossover. High Roller Records sind stolz darauf, vier Schlüsselveröffentlichungen der Gruppe auf Vinyl neu aufzulegen, wobei „Violent Mosh“ 2004 ihr erstes professionelles Werk auf dem brasilianischen Label Kill Again Records war. Nach einem Demo und einem Vierer-Split gab die Sechs-Track-EP den Ton an für das, was zwei Jahre später auf Violators Debütalbum „Chemical Assault“ folgen sollte. Beide Titel fangen die energiegeladenen Live-Shows ein, die sie sowohl alleine als auch als Support von internationalen Größen wie Destruction spielten. Apropos, auf der „Annihilation Process“-EP von 2010 konnte Sänger/Bassist Pedro Arcanjo nicht mehr nur den deutschen Frontmann Schmier oder Kreators Mille imitieren, während die Musik reifer wurde und Songs wie das ausgefeilte „Futurephobia“ haufenweise Potenzial erkennen ließen. Mit ihrem zweiten Album „Scenarios of Brutality“ (2013) löste die Band dieses Versprechen ein, indem sie ihren mittlerweile unverkennbaren Sound voll zur Geltung brachte, der das Flair eines neuzeitlichen Genre-Klassikers verströmt. Riff-lastig, mit intensivem Tempo und glaubwürdig Zorn und Wut durch etablierte Themen ausdrückend, die von gesellschaftspolitischem Bewusstsein und Doom-Mongering bis hin zu schlichter Thrash-Selbstreferenzialität reichen und mit rohen, aber kraftvollen Produktionen aufwarten, sind diese vier Platten äußerst wichtige Ergänzungen zum Genre-Kanon - Let the Violation Begin!

Mastered for vinyl by Christoph Brandes at Iguana Studios

Double black vinyl LP available for the first time via Cargo. Stories Don't End is the third studio album by American folk-rock band Dawes, originally released in 2013. At Rolling Stone, David Fricke proclaimed this release to be a "quietly gripping, deceptively gleaming record." Bud Scoppa of Uncut evoked that "the sound is glossier, beefier, less wistful" on the release because the change in producers. // Stories Don't End is a game changer for Dawes and one that's more than likely going to work. Don't be surprised if you find this album propping up the shelves of your local supermarket soon as they leave behind their indie roots for world domination. By the end of the year Dawes are going to be everyone's favourite new band”. Echoes And Dust.

"VOLUME 1" ist eine denkwürdige Einführung in die Welt von MRCY. Ihre Vision von Soul lässt sich von den Größen der Kindheit (SAM COOKE, MARVIN GAYE) bis hin zu Genre-verschmelzenden Modernisten wie KHRUANGBIN oder SAULT inspirieren - "it's like hearing a distant memory," sagt Barney, "but one that speaks to where you are now". Auf ihrem Debüt blickt der Sound von MRCY tiefer nach innen und weiter nach außen: Die Debüt-Single "Lorelei" war eine ätherische, jenseitige Geschichte über eine Liebe, die in einer Katastrophe enden sollte, während "Flowers In Mourning" Afrobeats und Northern Soul in einer ergreifenden Meditation über Familie und Verlust zusammenbrachte. Das Album wird von einer auffälligen, visuellen Ästhetik begleitet, die in Zusammenarbeit mit Harris Elliot entstand und KI, Adinkra-Symbolik und britische Ikonografie zu einem Look - und Sound - verbindet, der bereits unverkennbar MRCY ist. Auch wenn MRCY sich mit einer ausgereiften Vision präsentieren, haben sie auch hart daran arbeiten müssen. Barney, der inmitten der Schmelztiegel-Kultur von Huddersfield aufgewachsen ist, hat sich als einer der gefragtesten, eklektischsten jungen Produzenten Großbritanniens etabliert; von einem Ivor Novello Award für seine langjährige Zusammenarbeit mit Obongjayar bis zu Mercury-nominierten Künstlerinnen wie Joy Crookes und Olivia Dean. Der in Süd-London aufgewachsene Kojo verdiente sich seine Sporen in der Kirche und sang mit ebenso illustren einheimischen Künstlerinnen wie Cleo Sol und Little Simz. Nachdem sie sich während der Pandemie über Instagram kennengelernt hatten, trafen sich MRCY zwischen den Abriegelungen in Brixton, wodurch sich der Sound der Band - und ihre Verbundenheit - vertiefte. Und obwohl das soziale und politische Chaos unweigerlich in ihr kommendes Projekt einfließt, geht es bei MRCY auch um das Bedürfnis nach einer gemeinsamen Basis: universelle, aber höchst individuelle Erfahrungen mit Klasse, Gemeinschaft und der Qualitätsmusik, die gute Menschen schon immer zusammengebracht hat.

1985 war das Jahr, in dem der Grundstein für die Karriere einer Band gelegt wurde, die auch fast 35 Jahre danach noch genau so aktiv ist,
wie am ersten Tag. Die Rede ist natürlich von RAGE, die zunächst als AVENGER gestartet sind, bevor es dann zur Umbenennung kam.
Nun werden die Alben der Herner Metal-Legende mit Bonus-Material mit etlichen Demoversionen (inkl. bisher unveröffentlichten Titeln) auf
Doppel-Vinyls neu veröffentlicht.
Ein absolutes Muss für alle RAGE-Heads!

There is NO LIGHT at the end of this tunnel! BROWN ACID: The Nineteenth Trip fires ten more savage nails deep into the coffin of ‘60s psychedelic idealism. This series is THE premier top dog journey into the rarest and most wasted early local eruptions of heavy rock, unleashed at a time when harsh reality, human nature and disillusionment drove prevailing underground rock glimpses of a ‘better’ world into ever darker selfabsorbed comedowns. Mind expanding ’60s love energies transform into toxic aggression right before your ears! The great thing is that these moves are totally justified, ‘we are all one’ is cosmically good in theory but ‘get it while you can’ ends up perhaps better advice in the light of human history. Both of those angles of awareness can coexist, some of these bands deliver unrelenting sideways positive energy but they aren’t over-thinking it, they are youthfully driven by hunger for life and satisfying the undeniable urges their DNA thrusts upon them. Sonically, the results in the BROWN ACID series never fail to breathe hot and heavy, the guitars kill it every time, the variety of approaches these tracks take keep the scenery shifting into new places. The key element that makes this stuff so potent is that THEY (the bands) are in control. Captured genuinely with no compromise, right out of the gate. No doubt they had ambition with high hopes for the future when they laid down these primal efforts, the fact that they captured their energy so vividly at a moment in time when the only direction imaginable was UP creates a hard hitting life affirming subtext to the proceedings. That is the core energy of blues and rock and roll, dealing with the struggles of existence by flipping a gigantic ‘what the fuck’ high energy bird right in the face of the moronic defective reality these bands were born into. If you take this stuff too ‘seriously’ you are utterly missing the point, it is beyond analysis, it is life itself! No amount of thinking will get you there quicker! BROWN ACID: The Nineteenth Trip is scary... the bottomless pit of deranged vintage heavy rock the series presents continually expands over time... one deadly dose too many and you might be trapped in the bad trip loop forever... enjoy it or lose your mind!

The debut album by much-loved Yorkshire band, Shed Seven, Change Giver released on vinyl for the first time since 1994, this reissue faithfully replicates the original Polydor UK pressing and is pressed on high-quality 180gm vinyl. Change Giver was released on Polydor Records in September 1994, on the leading edge of the Britpop movement and established the group as one of the most successful and cherished of the era. Although not garnering the headlines and controversy of other acts of the time, Shed Seven vocalist Rick Witter, guitarist Paul Banks, bassist Tom Gladwin and drummer Alan Leach - established a trademark sound and a fervent fanbase, resulting in a lengthy career and a string of hit albums. Formed in 1990 (and named after a railway shed) after making a name for themselves in their hometown of York, Shed Seven played London, gaining a reputation for their fearsome live shows an came to the attention of influential BBC Radio One DJ Steve Lamacq. After a bidding war, the group signed to Polydor in 1993, and group recorded what was to become Change Giver with producer Jessica Corcoran. First single, Mark/Casino Girl was released in March 1994 ahead of the album, and with each subsequent single release, the group pushed higher into the UK charts. Released as Britpop was accelerating, Change Giver was described by Melody Maker as "a chipper, cocky collection of brassy Northern pop songs." The album reached the UK Top 20,and established the band to be one of the most popular acts of the final years of the 20th Century. Listening to the album today, the bravado of youth combined with strong melody and powerful lyrics put the album on a par with early works of The Jam and Blur.

In the eternal city of Rome, where the whispers of cryptic ecclesiastical hierarchies still linger, FELDSPAR emerges as a musical enigma, delving into the shadows to unravel, with a certain dose of irony and creativity, the clandestine threads of power. Named after a mineral purportedly worn by a covert Roman clergy, this entity consists of six eclectic souls working tirelessly to expose the elusive puppeteers who have shaped the lives of millions of people since the beginning of time. Formed in late 2023 and based just a stone's throw from the Vatican, the Godless folk two blocks from the Pope, FELDSPAR's journey begins with the legendary Andrew Mecoli, founder of the iconic Growing Concern, Mecoli's guitar riffs echo the peculiar spirit of Italian hardcore. Joining him is Stefano Casanica, a prolific songwriter and producer, whose musical odyssey spans decades with undertakings in Undertakers, Craiving, Crude, and collaborations that transcend genres. Casanica's production magic is immortalized in Noyz Narcos cult classic 'Non dormire', a cornerstone of Italian hardcore rap with millions of streamings so far. Old City, New Ruins," the debut album of Feldspar, takes its title from Rome, the city where the band is based. It depicts the contemporary ruins of the capital, yet it's merely a pretext to expose the complexities of everyday life common to Western societies and their major cities, foremost among them.

Punk pioneers Crass continue their vinyl reissue series, repressing their limited releases by adjacent artists through Crass Records, in association with One Little Independent. 1983's 'Multi-Death Corporations' broke new ground by addressing, in the lengthy liner notes and artwork, the growth of corporations and the violent suppression of leftwing politics in Central America. The Austin-based band released material through ex-Dead Kennedys singer Jello Biafra, cited influences such as Black Flag and D.O.A, as well as working with Crass Records. Penny Rimbaud tells us; “MDC were one of the first American bands to follow the political mantle set by Crass in the UK. Straight-edge purist to the last mouthful of sprouted grass, MDC were equally fierce with their polemic and uncompromising politics. Sharp as a blade, they cut through the crap. ‘They meant it, ma’am’, and some.”

Plastic Crimewave Syndicate returns with one collective foot in overdriven space-biker scuzz rock, but the other bigfoot kicking upward into new galaxies of synth punk, no-prog, and freek funk. Yes, dare we say it, the new PCWS LP, Tales From the Golden Skull, GROOVES--but from the perspective of the Japan n' Kraut/Eurorock undergrounds, coated in some nasty Windy City grime. Aided by the Chicago Cosmonaut Couriers Crew, ala famed renaissance man Mac Blackout (synths/horns/electronics), Przemyslaw Krys Drazek (trumpet) of longtime zone-jammers Drazek Fuscaldo/Mako Sica, Will MacLean on Moog keytar (!-- of local Silver vocoder-ed Apples lovin' treasures Protovulcan), plus the oldest-school synthlord Bil Vermette, who's been modulating since the 70s. We'll call Tales From the Golden Skull a near-concept lp (aren't they always?) that looks back at fallen friends and collaborators, and then into the unwritten golden future (as PCW himself hit the golden 50). The sonic journey dips into dark textural valleys, and chugging riffs rising to thee fiery heavens, as the thundering-but-subtle rhythm section of Jose "Beast but Best" Bernal and Rob "Dead Feathers" Rodak know when to crash and when to burn (one). Sir PCW lays down his trademark big muff-blastage and echo-cries, to channel the despair and feral bark of the mighty Vega/Hammill/Iggy/Dickie P/Haino/Mojo-Risin/Mizutani, but also knows when to shut up for some layered instrumental Embryo/Harvester/Fausty trance rock and dabbed/dubbed out "not-quite-shoegazin" calmness in the eye of the Ur-storm. This might be the most expansive, detailed yet furious PCWS LP yet, recorded at Rec Room studios with Eric Block, who has done all from a band with Sonic Youth's Steve Shelley to recorded Rhys Chatham 100+-peeps guitar orchestras. So strap the headphones on and absorb the tales of this spaced ritual-rock opus. Artwork - Steve Krakow

Second release on Robert Pollard's new Splendid Research label is a vinyl & CD reissue of a 1984 demo cassette by Children's Crusade, post-punk teenage band of Guided By Voices' Doug Gillard. The Cleveland guitarist went on to record for Scat, Homestead and Restless Records with the bands Death of Samantha, Cobra Verde, My Dad Is Dead, and Gem, before joining GBV (1996-2004), then Nada Surf (2010-2016), then rejoining GBV (2016-present), as well as playing on albums by Richard Buckner, Neko Case and others. 1980s Cleveland was a hotbed for indie rock, following in the Northern Ohio footsteps of Pere Ubu, The Dead Boys, The Styrenes, Mirrors and Devo. "Children’s Crusade was a fleeting blotch on the wild, mid-80s Cleveland underground music scene, slowly seeping through like a drop of oil on the uniformly black jeans of that era – noticeable only after it settles, spreads, and you realize it won’t come out in the wash."

Solid Yellow Vinyl, limited to 150 copies. Comes with a sticker sheet. The 'Lightless' EP sees AS FRIENDS RUST confronting existential and cosmic loneliness with intensity, imagination and, of course, hooks. Picking up where 2023's Any Joy LP left off, and now joined permanently by bassist Andrew Seward (Against Me!), the band presents five urgent rockers that rage through both inner and outer space, leaving only earworms in their wake. Writing for Lightless began immediately upon the band's return from their tour of Europe in support of 2023's Any Joy LP. Picking up where the album left off, the Lightless EP is a massive, catchy work focusing largely on cosmic loneliness -- a theme echoed in its airbrushed, 70s/80s sci-fi artwork. The EP was mixed by long-time collaborator James Paul Wisner (Further Seems Forever, Paramore, Dashboard Confessional), and mastered by Will Killingsworth at Dead Air, and will be released on November 1st, just days ahead of the band's tour supporting QUICKSAND and HOT WATER MUSIC. 'Lightless' will be strictly limited to 500 copies across five vinyl variants, each including a sci-fi/spaced travel sticker sheet. The exclusive END HITS RECORDS/EVIL GREED variant will feature a limited patch, perfect for your 80s satin bomber jacket or heavy metal jeans vest.

On How It Ends (?), slinky melodies snake through nocturnal atmospherics, drawing you into a world built on poetic, painterly lyricism. Night Crickets, a long-distance groove affair that materialized during the drawn-out days of lockdown, has emerged once again to soundtrack our waking dreams.

David J (Bauhaus, Love & Rockets), Victor DeLorenzo (Violent Femmes) and multi-instrumentalist Darwin Meiners spearhead a loose collective of like-minded creative souls whom, through sheer tenacity and a burning desire to collaborate and create, transcend the restrictions of space and time. Audio files shared from Los Angeles to Milwaukee, from London to the San Francisco Bay, and the ghosts of Candlestick Park shimmer through the fog, coalescing in a glorious ‘gesamtkunstwerk’ that draws from the past, the present and the imagined future.

Declaring Bauhaus, Love And Rockets, and Violent Femmes iconic, foundational bands in the history of alternative music would receive little pushback from those in the know. San Francisco born artist Darwin Meiners is a fan of all three. A chance meeting with David J grew into a friendship, and Darwin not only became a bandmate, but his manager. After reaching out to Victor DeLorenzo through e-mail, Darwin met the Violent Femmes drummer after their set at Coachella. Soon, after the three collaborated on Darwin’s 2014 release Souvenir.

As the pandemic took hold, Darwin was looking for a new project to occupy the lock down time and approached Victor, who was keen to proceed and suggested that David join as well. The musical trust established between these three was immediate and Night Crickets were born. Within weeks a global process was initiated between them, the recordings eventually forming the album, A Free Society.

Following that release, inspired by how well – and quickly – they all worked together, the trio kept up their collaboration. “We are each free to discover musical connections that could only exist in an ideal creative setting” explains Victor. “We are very lucky to have three musicians who write, sing and play various instruments in one trio… our egos seem to melt into one when we face musical decisions, so our expeditions are always filled with pure discovery, humor and drive!”

How It Ends (?) was crafted with the same collaborative spirit as A Free Society. Each member contributed contributed unique elements to spur their collective creativity—whether a drum pattern, a lyrical concept, or a musical idea—and together, they expanded these initial sparks into the finished work. True to their approach, much of what you hear was captured in the first take, reflecting a genuine, unfiltered moment.

The music on the How It Ends (?) is a true evolution of the debut album. It is deeper and darker. Having said that, the dark tone is alleviated by a healthy measure of the buoyant, bouncy and melodic. “Much of the new material is very psychedelic and the contrast between this heavy, dark psychedelia and the more uplifting pop elements puts me in mind of The Beatles’ ‘Revolver’ album to some degree,” tells David J. “The recording process for the new album was exactly the same as the first in that we all recorded remotely, taking turns to share files and reacting spontaneously to the previous track, overdubbing then passing on once again until we all felt that the track was done.”

“While we didn’t start with a specific theme, the album emerged as a contemplative exploration of endings” says Darwin. “It touches on the loss of individuals, the shifting of ideas, and the fragility of systems. Beneath this sense of darkness and finality, however, there are threads of beauty and glimpses of hope. We invite you to immerse yourself in the album and experience the journey we’ve embarked upon.”