Foxygen - Take The Kids Off Broadway [USA psychedelic 2012]

Foxygen, the bi-coastal duo of Olympia Washington's Sam France and N.Y.C.'s Jonathan Rado, don't make songs in the traditional sense as much as they mash every possible sonic reference point into schizophrenic micro-albums, cramming so many constantly changing sounds into their compositions, the songs threaten to overwhelm themselves. "Abandon My Toys," the six-minute opus that kicks off the group's first widely available release, Take the Kids Off Broadway, merges raw and wistful interpretations of '60s rock influences like the Kinks and Loaded-era Velvet Underground with some of the kitchen-sink freak folk of early Beck albums. Without ever repeating a chorus or verse, the song somehow keeps a plot that connects with the listener. "Abandon My Toys" has a hard time sitting still, but it's just a pace-setting first look into the album's frantic world of sound. "Make It Known" filters every era of Rolling Stones into a compact space, interjecting short, blasting horn sections and ending abruptly in a swell of electronics. The title track channels Bowie's glammy moments for a verse or two before making a series of sharp left turns into faux-girl group, blue-eyed soul, and back again. Much like the short-lived genius of the Unicorns, Foxygen's songs are bedroom symphonies, chock-full of precisely placed shifts so deliberate and chaotically orchestrated they risk sounding like alienating gibberish. The ten-minute plus "Teenage Alien Blues" runs an exhausting gambit of Suicide-esque vocal shouts to Jagger-meets-Reed snippets, borrowing melodies directly from each frontman's respective band before wandering into an inexplicably fuzzed-out bass section for a few seconds before moving on. Take the Kids Off Broadway is without a doubt a seemingly impenetrable beast, and it takes a moment to build up a filter from its ceaseless shifts and non-stop references to isolated moments from the history of classic rock. Despite its dense and initially off-putting nature, the seven songs become more than collages of favorite moments from the duo's record collections. Music this overbearingly organized and stuffed with spirit is no small feat, and repeat listens flatten out some of the insanity to reveal well-constructed if intentionally overwrought pop gems. Much like Of Montreal's self-analytical constant key-changing, or Olivia Tremor Control's homespun masterpieces, Foxygen has made something that reaches out for so many possibilities it ends up reverting inward, ultimately sounding insular, like a highway of endlessly firing synapses in someone elses' brain.

Foxy

Bettye LaVette - Do your duty [USA soul 1969-70] Sundazed

Although it produced two medium-sized R&B hits ("He Made a Woman Out of Me" and "Do Your Duty," both on this compilation), Bettye LaVette's time with the Silver Fox and SSS International labels in 1969-1970 was short, yielding just four singles. That's not really enough for a good-value CD reissue compilation, so Sundazed sensibly gathered all eight of the tracks, plus three that were unreleased at the time, onto this 11-song vinyl LP anthology. It's more dependably earthy soul than excitingly groundbreaking, but it's solid material that matches Southern and edgy Detroit styles, though it tilts a little more toward the former in sensibility. Imagine if Erma Franklin were crossed with Carla Thomas and you get a little idea of how this comes off, though it's not obviously imitative of any singer in particular. Sundazed designed the LP to make it look very much like an album that could have been issued in 1970 (down to the brief exuberant liner notes), making this truly the Bettye LaVette Silver Fox/SSS International long-player that could have been issued, but never was.

LaVette

RICARDO RAY ORCHESTRA - Let's Get Down to the Real Nitty Gritty [USA latin soul 1968] 2002 Vampi Soul

A very wild album from Ricardo 'Ritchie' Ray - sort of a mix of Latin soul styles in the mode of work by Mongo Santamaria, but a lot more messed up! The album's got a number of 60s soul covers -- but they're done here by Ricardo in kind of a party Latin mode, touched with a bit of garage soul vocals, in a way that makes the whole album quite upbeat and playful throughout -- filled with non-stop groovers that keep on delivering the goods! 

Ricardo

FAST CARS - Well...You Started It [UK revival mod] 2007 Detour Records

Hailing from Manchester, The Fast Cars were very under rated and never got the breaks they so deserved, often been likend to The Undertones and many punk related bands, judge for yourself, Punk, Mod, New Wave or even Indie! Who cares? They sound f'ing awesome!, thinking back to the good old days your mind always seems to link The Fast Cars with their awesome tune "The Kids Just Wanna Dance", well pass by anything else from that period and listen to this new offering from the powerpop kings! 

Formed way back in October 1977 after following their punk counterparts, The Buzzcocks, The Drones & Joy Division the quartet of Steve Murray--vocals, Stuart Murray--bass guitar, Craig Hilton--guitar & Tony Dyson on drums released their first single way back in 1979 and have rightly so, grown from strength to strength to such a level that their are more popular now than they ever were with fansites on the net all over the globe! And the highest accolade newer bands of today cite them as Influences! Up steps the remarkable undisputed king of Revival, Dizzy and his Detour Records crew to conjour up this album featuring classic tracks from the 70`s that have been lost in time and now re-recorded for our listening pleasure!
 
This new album (2007) from Manchester's excellent FAST CARS features not only new tracks but also five of their classic songs from the 70's that have been re-recorded and holy shit is it 
overflowing with enthusiasm and energy.

Fast Cars

JOKERS WILD - Liquid Giraffe [USA garage psych 1967-69] Shadoks Music 159

Jokers Wild recorded three singles between 1967 and 1969 in Minnesota but the complete Liquid Giraffe was never released. Starting as a five-man band, most of the material was recorded by three main members: Lonnie Knight, Denny Johnson, andPete Huber. Lonnie Knight later became the guitarist for The Litter, but only for a while. He eventually returned to Jokers Wild. What a powerful band this is. Huge amp stacks guaranteed a "wall of sound" on stage, and they had a double bass drum and cool outfits. Damin Eih, A.L.K., And Brother Clark wrote: "In '67 I saw two local bands that again amped up the juice, The Litter and Jokers Wild. Both bands played original music and had excellent psychedelic-raved guitar players, Zippy Caplan (Litter) and Lonnie Knight (Jokers Wild). That brought everything to a new level." Heavy underground rock with great composed songs, fuzz guitars, speedy drums, and tight bass lines. If you like The Litter, you should listen to Jokers Wild.

complete

LOGOS - Firesides and Guitars 1974

Firesides and Guitars is the sole output of mysterious folk group Logos, a trio of three siblings from Kansas that produced this instantly vanishing private pressing of their gentle, home-recorded folk tunes in 1974. Logos were one of thousands of aspiring artists pressing small editions of their songs in the early '70s. Most of these acts faded into the ether, but some benefited from being just strange enough, tuneful enough, or somehow ahead of their time to be rediscovered by future generations. Firesides and Guitars presents 12 tunes of soft, semi-hip folk sung effusively by 16-year-old songwriter Steve Epley with help from Chris and Cindy Williams. Hippie sentiments come through on the anti-war ruminations of "If I Wanted To," and post-Beatles melodies show up on strong, optimistic tunes like "Slow Down" and the breezy, CSNY-like "What We Say (Everyday)." The album, absent of drums and probably recorded in a family den on a dusty reel-to-reel machine, glows with warmth and sincerity. The sound is decidedly private press, but Firesides and Guitars ranks among other obscure acid folk gems of its era like Deep Night by the Sixth Station or Linda Perhacs' classic psych folk wonder Parallelograms.

Logos

the Barracudas - Live big gap 1978-1981

The Barracudas are an English based Anglo-Canadian band formed in the late 1970s. The band's original lineup consisted of: Jeremy Gluck (vocals), Robin Wills (guitar & vocals), David Buckley (bass & vocals) and Nick Turner (drums). They are notable for their summer 1980 hit Summer Fun, which started with an excerpt from a spoof 1960s advertisement for the Plymouth Barracuda, in which one of the announcers has difficulty pronouncing the word barracuda. The single reached number 37 in the UK singles chart. The original LP was Released Coyote Records in 1984 and is a very scarce item.

big gap