SOME TOP SHELF JAMS DEC 23

 

ACID ROOSTER/ IRRLICHTER

2021

CARDINAL FUZZ/ LITTLE CLOUD/ SUNHAIR

My lord, this one is a winner. Cut from the same cloth of groups like Wooden Shjips/ Spacemen 3/ HILLS, et al, Leipzig's Acid Rooster go for the gold on this collection of Floydian rippers, great energetic jams and star weirding guitar workouts. Definitely a notch above most of the current crop of sike/space crews going (is fashion-psych a real thing now?), this now sold out album is worth tracking down and blaring out. This one is gonna stick around, and be (re) discovered for quite some time, methinks. Yeah its from 2021, but I only recently really listened hard. TOP! 

https://acidrooster.bandcamp.com/album/irrlichter 

ELEVATOR/ VAGUE PREMONITION

1999/ REISSUE 2022

BLUE FOG RECORDINGS

Going back lots to this one as of late. I got to open for them on this tour (I think??) with a band I was in back in 2000, my memory is hazy, as the say. They killed it infinite and were the nicest people you'd ever want to meet as well, taking pity on us and our nervous snoozegaze. A force of nature live they were, heavy as fuck and light to the touch as well ( a combo few can pull off successfully). This reissue came out last year and I jumped immediately, mostly cause I lost my CD and there is an extra LP of sessions and such (on Blue Fog Recordings).

Rick, Tara and Mark (with all respect to Eric's Trip) are one of my all time favorite Canuck groups, no doubt. They brought a whimsical psychedelia to their echo-plexed mind-expansion, sounding like few other bands of their time (or now for that matter). The acoustic tracks on this one are all killer, Sydish folky wanders (well, they do detonate Syd's No Good Trying on this, prob one of the best Syd covers ever, HEAVVEEE), impressionistic lyrical paintings, maybe a bit of Love/ Skip Spence styles in the mix. And the rocking tracks on here soar. The Only See To Thought is hard rock, how it should be, sparkling, airborne and free. SO many highlights here. hit the link below and check it! Tape collages/ ass ripping space jams, they check all the boxes!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZnfxriCQbs 

https://bluefogrecordings.bigcartel.com/product/elevator-through-vague-premonition-extra-2xlp

GROVER WASHINGTON JR/ LIVE AT THE BIJOU (2LP)

1978

KUDU RECORDS

One of those "dollar bin done me good" type albums. Sweet and blazing funk caught live at the Bijou Club in Philadelphia during a residency in the month of May in 1978. Stretching out and jamming easy, easy like lighting a cigarette. A tenor sax god who sold more than a few copies on the the more pop/ smooth jazz side of things in the late 70's/ early 80's, this one is pretty chilled and verging on "lite" (not a bad thing in my living room) but has the bite and sweat of a tight AF live group working it out and, yes, GROOVIN. Joined by John Blake on electric violin, Tyrone Brown on bass, Leslie Burrs on flute, Leonard Gibbs on percussion, James Simmons on keys, Richard Steaker on guitar and Millard Vinson on drums, they pile through 4 sides of smooth vibes, dancing lightly when need be, and also getting down on some stank when the mood is right. The track Lock It In The Pocket says it all. Millard beats the drums like money is owed, and he is here to collect. So yeah, 4 sides of soulful jazz funk, it's not wild and fusioned out or anything, but is an absolute pleasure to listen to and miles better than most records of its ilk (and most of Grover's other one if I'm being truthful. But he does have a another slammer on Kudu, 1972's Inner City Blues is a solid banger, no doubt). Treat yourself and relax with a winner folks!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYpNUoCpOFA&list=PL8ISe0LkZlKKYdP46R-I3W1rOFd0jWxLM 

 

PRAIRIEWOLF/ S/T

CENTRIPETAL FORCE

2023

A wonder of mellow goodness on display here. A drum machine ticks away in the background, and Stefan Beck, Jeremy Erwin and Tyler Wilcox weave some buttery magic over top with keys/ guitars and deep bass strokes that recall the quieter end of exotica/ blunted Americana wafts, insular space rock and mountain-side streams. When you got song title such as Technicolor Dream Hearse, Return to the Lonesome Prairie and Slow Thrasher, a person just knows it's time to light up the signals, close the drapes and open that ol' third eye for an expansive treasure hunt of the interior. I hear some nice Mancini-esque film themes floating near the ceiling and any track from this could be easily used to enhance a movie's vibe, especially if that vibe is eternal wonder. To all those heads that need a cleansing and/or a cosmic realignment, step up. 

 Prairiewolf | Prairiewolf (bandcamp.com)

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 CARLTON MELTON (2LP)

TURN TO EARTH

AGITATED

2023

K, maybe it's just me, but are CM one of THE most under-rated groups of the last 10-15 years? I think so, most def. Theirs is an exquisite catalog that takes in ambient drift and hard hitting pure riffage with equal aplomb and skill. And this newest offering on the always quality AGITATED Recordings label is my favorite one yet. Opening track Turn To Earth appears from nothing and builds up to the crushing riff and band interplay of Cloudstorming, always turning and twisting to ever greater heights and full on bash. You can take most of your by-rote stoner rock bands and flush em, this band is the real deal. They have been for a long time now, and the reason they don't get near any of the love or buzz they deserve is becuae they are interested in and adept at colour and shade on their albums and live shows. No mere straight bludgeoning and half rate Sleep worship masquerading as heaviness here.  A track like Cosmicity is a celestial wander through time that is up there with prime Tangerine Dream whilst sounding nothing like them. Which is my point exactly. At this point in their existence as a group and recording concern, they really just sound like themselves. Unconcerned with what everyone else is doing, they just get on with it and go forth. Enjoy them while they are around and still doing it. Damn, this is one fine album.

Turn To Earth | CARLTON MELTON (bandcamp.com)

FREAK HEAT WAVES

MONDO TEMPO

MOOD HUT

2023

Gig of the year for me here in Saskatoon was surely the double punch of the amazing Cindy Lee and these beat heads Freak Heat Waves at ye olde Amigos Cantina. Having evolved from a noisy/ post punk/ indie-ish scree to where they have arrived at with this release has been super cool to see. The current FHW intent is aimed right at the dance floor and all the better for it, in my opinion. Not to say that I didn't like what came before, it's just that this album is so strong in its execution and effect. For me, echoes of Soul 2 Soul/ Neneh Cherry, New Order, Arthur Russell and Massive Attack merge with a minimal funk approach that pays off big time. Big melodies are to the forefront, especially on the track In A Moment Divine (featuring Ms Cindy Lee on vox). Not a duff song on this one. Along with the Tony Price LP, one of the best things to come out of Canada this year.

Mondo Tempo | Freak Heat Waves (bandcamp.com)