A gift from the Duke Spirit.

It pays to pledge your support.

I discovered earlier this year that one of my favorite bands, The Duke Spirit, had a PledgeMusic campaign to support their new album, Kin (review coming soon).  Apart from buying a digital download or physical copy of the record, they had other fun perks such as guitars, drums, one-of-a-kind notebooks handmade by lead singer Liela Moss, and lyric sheets hand-written by Ms. Moss.  The notebooks were sold out, but I was happy to discover the lyric sheets were not and also at a stunningly affordable price.

This arrived in the mail yesterday.

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I must admit that I hesitated to open it, because I knew the song I had chosen.  It was the title track off the Duke Spirit’s first album – “Cuts Across the Land.”

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You ask why I hesitated to open something I’d bought, had shipped from England, and eagerly awaited to frame and hang on my wall?  It’s because “Cuts Across the Land” nearly made me weep when I first heard it.  It’s not because the song is maudlin or reminds me of a past relationship or the loss of a loved one.  It’s because the song is so damned good it almost made me cry.

I’m fairly certain I first heard “Cuts Across the Land” on the greatest radio station on Earth – BBC 6 Music.  I remember that I stopped doing whatever I was doing at the moment and just listened.  I was transfixed.  It was perfect mindfulness.  I realized after the first chorus that I was misty-eyed.  I thought, “Where has this band been my whole life?”

So I got misty again when I opened this and read it.  I will always treasure this because it is not only something made by one of my favorite bands, but it reminds me of how music can move us and take us out of the ordinary.

Keep your mind open.

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The Blind Owls – Say Goodbye

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Bop, mod, and rockabilly aren’t dead, despite what you might think, because Corpus Christi’s The Blind Owls (Josh De Leon – guitar and vocals, Jesse De Los Santos – guitar and vocals, Carlos Garcia – bass and vocals, Dylan Romel – drums and vocals) are not only keeping it alive, they’re blaring from the clubs to the house across the street.

“Goodbye” shows off the band’s obvious early Beatles influences, but don’t dismiss that wicked surf guitar in it and almost punk styling on the chorus. “This Ain’t True” has Buddy Holly-like vocals and guitar work, and “Don’t Bother” is a bellowing mod-rocker with a bass lick so good from Garcia that it’s probably gotten him laid numerous times.

“Hypnotized” brings psychedelia into the mix, which is always cool with me. “That Girl Is Mine” has great guitar work from all three axe-men and Romel’s tick-tock drumming shows how sometimes simple techniques are best. “Come On” is pure fun power pop that would make Buzzcocks proud. The bluesy rock of “Unwanted Man” gets better with each listen, and “Cold Hearted Woman” has Romel cutting loose with some of his best chops.

The Blind Owls are keeping a sadly neglected genre of rock alive while others in their age bracket are whining about how terrible the Warcraft movie is.  Keep at it, lads.

Keep your mind open.

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Rewind Review: Vaadat Charigim – Sinking as a Stone (2015)

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It’s intriguing that Israeli shoegaze trio Vaadat Charigim (Yuval Haring – guitar and vocals, Yuval Guttman – drums, Dan Bloch – bass) would make an album about boredom that is actually mesmerizing. Sinking as a Stone is about various types of boredom and ennui felt by young people living in Tel Aviv (work, life, relationships, waiting for coffee, etc.), but the album is so lush and dreamy that you can’t be bored by it.  It’s a panacea for its theme.

For example, the opener, “Neshel,” is almost eleven minutes long – about the time you’d wait for a halfway decent chai – but it swirls around you with such ghostly guitars and vocals that the song goes by before the barista has your order ready.  “Hadavar Haamiti” is power shoegaze in the vein of the Jesus and Mary Chain and will have you tapping your foot at the bus stop while you wait for your ride to work.

“Klum” takes you out of your doldrums by lifting you into orbit with precision drumming and spaced-out vocals.  “Ein Li Makom” has gothic touches, but not so many that they overpower the rock hooks (of which there are plenty).  “Imperia Achrona” floats so well that it’s almost like a Slowdive track.  The guitar comes at you from several angles, but it stays peaceful the entire time.  It also has a great switch in the middle that almost makes it two songs in one.  “At Chavera Sheli” combines Joy Division and Modern English into a dream-rock gem.   The organ at the end of it drifts into the beginning of “Hashiamum Shokea,” which is a great slice of shoegaze and a powerful end to the record.

It’s not boring at all.  Vaadat Charigim’s Sinking as a Stone is a journey down a lazy river with its shoegaze drone grooves, yes, but the boat is crewed by angels, mystics, shamans, and aliens.  You’re too fascinated by it to be bored.

Keep your mind open.

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Bayonne – Primitives

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Roger Sellers, otherwise known as Bayonne, is an electro artist from Texas who makes great soundscapes of sunrise synths, dance club beats, and drifting cottonwood vocals. He’s a one-man show and his beautiful Primitives album is inspiring. It will make you consider, as LCD Soundsystem once put it, selling your guitar to buy a synthesizer and starting your own music career. I know I am…and I don’t even have a guitar.

“Intro” has a simple title for the first track, but it’s far from simple. Big drums combine with pulsing synths and distant vocals. The percussion keeps building until it cuts to a sparkling wall of sound. It flows into “Appeals,” a peppy song with racing electric piano bringing a happy sound to a tune about a lost love.

“Spectrolite” is not only one of the best electro songs of the year, it’s one of the best songs of the year – period. Sellers sings vocals that barely push out of the background from his synth bass and bouncy tones while his pal Matt Toman lays down house music drums. This should be on your summer playlist if it isn’t already there.

“Marim” is thumping bass and clockwork beats with more vocals that almost disappear. I love how Sellers doesn’t let his vocals overpower his soundscapes on most of the tracks. He knows when to back off the vocals and let the sounds take the song in the right direction. He also knows when to put the vocals in front, like when he sings about his yearning for someone far from him on “Waves.”

The beginning of “Steps” reminds me of the beginning of “Baba O’Riley” with its repeating synth motif. “Lates” is a beautiful ballad with simple piano chords, beats, and synths wrapped in lush reverbed vocals. The beats build to a simmer and then a rolling boil. It’s delightful.

“Omar” starts off quirky but soon morphs into a pulsing, toe-tapping, shimmering song about shattering one’s illusions. It’s ideal for the first rays of daylight coming into your car after a long drive all night.

Primitives is quality stuff. Don’t be surprised if you see Sellers headlining music festivals before too long. Sounds this rich can’t stand hidden for long.

Keep your mind open.

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Gary Wilson’s new album now available for pre-order.

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Avant-garde music master Gary Wilson‘s new album It’s Friday Night with Gary Wilson is now available for pre-order on his Bandcamp page.  The full album is due out in mid-July.  The first single, “Linda,” is available for your listening pleasure there.  It’s great, but would you expect anything else from Mr. Wilson?

The new record is available for pre-order on vinyl ($20.00) or a digital download ($9.00 for thirteen tracks!).  I know where part of my paycheck is going this Friday night.

Keep your mind open.

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DJ set list for May 29, 2016

Thanks to all who tuned in for my latest show at WSND.  Here’s my set list from last night.

  1. Elastica – Waking Up
  2. Imarhan – Addounia Azdjazzaqat
  3. Baby Jesus – Nothing’s for Me
  4. Feels – Close My Eyes
  5. Calibro 35 – Notte In Bovisa
  6. MIDIval Punditz – Drifting
  7. The Besnard Lakes – The Plain Moon
  8. Clutch – X-Ray Visions
  9. Greys – No Star
  10. John Carpenter – Fallen
  11. Chelsea Wolfe – Carrion Flowers
  12. Bo Ningen – Henkan
  13. Radio Cult – Saturday Midnight Double Feature
  14. House of Large Sizes – Half-Breed
  15. Running – Reclaimed Would
  16. Motorhead – Tear Ya Down
  17. Tancred – Pretty Girls
  18. Deep Throats – Eyes
  19. Bad Religion – Don’t Sell Me Short
  20. Yuck – Hold Me Closer
  21. Kalyanji-Anandji – Cabaret Dance Music
  22. Malachai – Snowflake
  23. Rann – Sunset
  24. Beck – Nausea
  25. Beck – Soldier Jane
  26. Creedence Clearwater Revival – Hey Tonight
  27. Creedence Clearwater Revival – Run through the Jungle
  28. Gary Numan and the Tubeway Army – Bombers
  29. Ennio Morricone – Death of a Soldier

I’m back on air June 19th.  I’ll be doing a “Best of 2016 So Far” show, so send me your votes.

Keep your mind open.

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Wrecka Stow: Friends of Sounds Records – Austin, TX

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As you walk up South Congress Street in Austin, Texas, you will (hopefully) notice the sign for Friends of Sound Records at 1704 South Congress.  It’s a vinyl lover’s dream.

The entrance is around the back of the building in the alley.

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Walk up that ramp, hang a left, and you’ll see this.

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Inside you’ll find boxes and boxes of vinyl from every genre you can imagine (and some you’ve forgotten).

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John Lee Hooker, Radiohead, and the Cramps all on the same wall equals a win.  The store consists of two rooms packed to the gills with records.  They were playing some cool vintage R&B when I was there in April during Levitation weekend.

The second room is on a (slightly) lower level and has most of the house music, electro, and disco.

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Even the cash register desk has stuff around and on it to entice you, not unlike candy bars at a grocery store.

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It’s a crate digger’s paradise.  Don’t miss it if you’re in Austin and hunting for good vinyl.

Keep your mind open.

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The Rough Guide to a World of Psychedelia compilation

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This collection of psychedelic world music from the 1960’s to modern times is nothing short of outstanding. It has fine grooves from around the world ranging from Asia to South America.

Cambodia brings us tinny, freaky grooves on Ros Seresyothea’s “Jam 10 Kai Theit (Wait Ten Months More)” and a Yos Olarang garage-psych cut (“Cyclo”) that was probably heard buzzing from jukeboxes in little bars all over the country in the 1960’s.   I’ve been intrigued with 1960’s and 1970’s Indian music lately, so Ananda Shankar’s “Dancing Drums” is a welcome killer track with a beat (and flute solo!) made for an Indian hitman’s newest playlist. Indian singing legends Asha Bhosle and R.D. Burman weren’t immune to the thrill of psychedelic music in the 1960’s. “Piya Tu Ab To Aaja” is sensational, with James Bond-theme guitars, soaring strings, and sexy (yes, sexy) vocals from Bhosle.

Down in South and Latin America, Brazil’s Laranja Freak brings hard psych-rock with “Alergico De Flores.” Anarkia Tropikal’s “El Silbido Del Tunche” is like a lost Goat track if Goat was formed in Columbia. The guitar on it sizzles alongside percolator beats. Juaneco Y Su Combo from Columbia bring more cumbia-psych on “Perdido En El Espacio.” Wal Sant’Ana’s “Que Vide E Essa” is more delightful psych-samba that will get you moving, and M.A.K.U. Soundsystem’s “Canto Negro” is solid modern psych-cumbia with a heavy dose of trippy synths. It reminds me of old Morcheeba tracks. Iuri Andrade’s “Folia No Vento” is psych-samba and Bacalao Men’s “Japones” is psych-salsa. Ray Perez y Su Orquesta’s “Recordando Los Soneros” has these great muted horns, backward tracks, and other oddities underneath fun vocals. Traffic Sound’s “La Camita” has loud, fuzzy guitar any psych band from anywhere in the world would love on their record. Mix it with groovy Latin beats and you have a winner.

Africa isn’t left off this compilation either. Celestine Ukwu brings beautiful guitar work on “Obialu Be Onye Abiagbunia Okwukwe.” Mlimani Park Orchestra’s “Taxi Driver” is good, perky Afro-psych. Kalyanji – Anandji’s “Cabaret Dance Music” is almost a freaky psychedelic nightmare with screams, action movie percussion and horns, and orgasmic moans. Victor Uwaifo’s “Guitar Boy” is an Afro-psych classic from 1966 with crisp yet slightly fuzzy guitars.

This is a good primer for psychedelic sounds, both new and classic, crafted outside the U.S. and the U.K. Snag it if you can find it and start exploring.

Keep your mind open.

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Fort Wayne’s inaugural Middle Waves festival already has a killer lineup.

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Fort Wayne, Indiana’s first alternative / psych / multi-genre music festival, Middle Waves, will be held in Headwaters Park in downtown Fort Wayne September 16-17, 2016.

The initial lineup announcement is stunning: The Flaming Lips, Jeff the Brotherhood, Beach House, Doomtree, Either/Or, Metavari, and Heaven’s Gateway Drugs.  More bands will be announced as summer rolls along.  There will be three stages, food trucks, art installments, and a host of all-ages events.  Get your tickets now before early bird pricing sells out.

Keep your mind open.

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DJ set list for May 22, 2016

Thanks to all who listened to my latest show on WSND last night.  Here’s my set list:

  1. Golden Dawn Arkestra – Osaka
  2. Julian Cope – Adam and Eve Hit the Road
  3. Julian Cope – I’ve Got Levitation
  4. Suuns – Translate
  5. M83 – Do It, Try It
  6. Frank Zappa – I’m the Slime
  7. Sisters of Your Sunshine Vapor – Long Lovers Sun
  8. Strange Lot – Superium
  9. Screaming Females – It All Means Nothing
  10. The Coathangers – Perfume
  11. Tancred – Bed Case
  12. Nirvana – Been a Son (live)
  13. The Lumberjerks – Trailer Trash
  14. The Dickies – Stuck in a Condo (with Marlon Brando)
  15. Bogg Hog – Sick
  16. The Smithereens – Time Won’t Let Me
  17. The Heavy – Since You’ve Been Gone
  18. Bleached – Wednesday Night Melody
  19. Hi-Fi and the Roadburners – Hellride
  20. Flat Duo Jets – My Life My Love
  21. Johnny Cash – In My Life
  22. Glint – Daydreamers
  23. Les Baxter – Meeting Katia (from the Black Sunday soundtrack)
  24. The Police – Spirits in the Material World (live)
  25. Klaus Johann Grobe – Liebe am Strand
  26. Errors – Barton Springs
  27. Rustie – Workship
  28. David Starfire – Shimla
  29. DJ Rolando – Jacquar (Derrick May mix)
  30. Bayonne – Spectrolite
  31. Junior Brown – Gotta Get Up Every Morning

I’ll be back on air this Sunday May 29th at midnight EST.  Give me a listen if you’re up late (or early, depending on where you are in the world).

Keep your mind open.

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