Tuba Skinny (2012) -Rag Band

Artist:  Tuba Skinny

Albums: Rag Band

Release date:  2012

Quality: mp3 CBR 320 

Size:  138  MB

“ It is apt that Tuba Skinny’s new release has the word “Rag” in it. The music here goes back beyond Dixieland to the early days of jazz when it was better known as “ragtime,” and those who played it called it “ragging” (or syncopating) the beat or song. It also indicated an informal, down-home take on the music. The seven member-strong Tuba Skinny collective definitely has that going for them. This is shake your booty with a cold-one in your hand music. Their take on rarely recorded songs such as the sly come-on “Papa’s Got Your Bath Water On” or Skip James’ cold-blooded murder ballad “Crow Jane” are poignant, yet fun. Occasionally, the beat wanders or not everyone is in tune, but the general energy and joy of the music makes the listener forget such anomalies. And kudos to Tuba Skinny for getting some of the great yet lesser-played songs of the New Orleans repertoire (particularly the Jelly Roll Morton tunes including “New Orleans Bump”) back into action.

Nobody needs to hear another version of “Muskrat Ramble” these days. The only problem with this recording is that sometimes it takes the informal too far. I like my music raw, but the audio quality of this disc sounds at times more like a field recording and less like a studio one. The music can always be heard, but sometimes the vocals are a little difficult to make out, and instruments that should be more prominent fall into the background. Again, that doesn’t take away from the overall feel of Rag Band. Put it on for your next party and see how low everybody can do the “New Orleans Bump.”

  ~ by David Kunian

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Those Poor Bastards (2012) -Behold The Abyss

Artist:  Those Poor Bastards

Albums: Behold The Abyss

Release date:  2012

Quality: mp3 VBR

Size:  73 MB

“Tribulation Recording Company proudly presents its first ever album-novel set! The book (sold separately) is entitled "The Terrible Tale of Edgar Switchblade," and tells the story of a religiously obsessed and mentally disturbed bounty hunter born with cloven hooves. Together with his faithful horse Old Red, they befriend and destroy werewolves, ghosts, prostitutes and other strange creatures.

The accompanying album, "Behold The Abyss," explores the themes of the novel and expands upon several key events. The instrumentation is sparse, broken and filled right up to the brim with misery and ugliness.

When combined, the book and album present a brutal and hopeless picture of humankind's lonely pursuit of spiritual and earthly desires.” ©

Kinoco Hotel - two albums

Artist:   Kinoco Hotel
Albums:  Marianne No Yuutsu / Marianne No Koukotsu
Release date: 2010 / 2011
Quality: mp3 CBR 320
Size: 72 / 98 MB

Kinoco Hotel (キノコホテル) is an all-female Japanese indie rock quartet, inspired by the Group Sounds movement of the 60s, formed in 2007. Showcasing matching short “Sgt. Pepper”-esque military style dresses and knee high boots, their music can be classified as a mix of vintage psychedelic rock and post shibuya-kei.

My Sleeping Karma (2012) -Soma

Artist:  My Sleeping Karma

Albums: Soma

Release date:  October 2012

Quality: mp3 CBR 192

Size:  107 MB

”MY SLEEPING KARMA`s fourth alum "Soma" follows the band’s own individualistic and atmospheric path towards enlightenment. Following the meaning of the album title ("Soma" is the intoxicating drink of the gods), the instrumental Psychedelic Groove Rock of the German quartet enhances the consciousness in a truly hypnotic and bewitching manner. The multilayered compositions move skilfully between heavy rock riffs and enchanting melodic parts with a high level of calmness and beauty. "Soma" is visually complimented by Sebastian Jerke’s artwork that is filled with astonishing details and beauty.  "Soma" offers the perfect movie soundtrack to everybody’s own inner journey. Just be warned, you may never want to leave again!” . (c) My Sleeping Karma

Big Bad Voodoo Daddy (2012) -Rattle Them Bones

Artist:  Big Bad Voodoo Daddy

Albums: Rattle Them Bones

Released:  2012

Quality: FLAC

Size:  334 MB

”Since hitting it big in the '90s during the swing revival, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy have stuck to their retro-guns while finding ways to explore new ground. To these ends, 2003's Save My Soul found the band delving into New Orleans rhythms and R&B, while 2009's How Big Can You Get?: The Music of Cab Calloway featured the music of the legendary Hi-De-Ho man. That album brought them deeper into a hardcore jazz sound and most likely helped them in signing with the Savoy Jazz label for 2012's similarly jazz-inflected Rattle Them Bones. Once again centered around the sweet and lyrical lead vocals of guitarist/songwriter Scotty Morris, the album features a mix of new material, jazz covers, and even an unexpected take on Randy Newman's "It's Lonely at the Top." These are crisply produced, urbane, and always swinging tunes that often have an old-school big-band sound. This impressive large ensemble sound comes via the longtime core rhythm section of pianist Joshua Levy, bassist Dirk Shumaker, and drummer Kurt Sodergren, as well as such featured players as trumpeter Glen "The Kid" Marhevka, and saxophonists Karl Hunter and Andy Rowley. With all arrangements by Levy, the band is also complemented by a bevy of stellar studio musicians who round out several cuts here. Also featured here is vocalist Meaghan Smith, who duets with Morris on the romantic midtempo ballad "It Only Took a Kiss." Longtime fans of the group’s neo-crooner jazz sound, as well as anybody who digs solidly crafted and always swinging traditional jazz and pop, should find much to enjoy here. ~ by Matt Collar, allmusic.com

Various Artists -The In-Kraut:Hip Shaking Grooves Made In Germany 1966-1974 Vol.1-3

Artist:  various

Albums: The In-Kraut: Hip Shaking Grooves Made In Germany 1966-1974 Vol.1-3

Released:  2005 / 2006 / 2008

Quality: mp3 CBR 192 / 320

Size:  79+140+144 MB

”Marina Records proudly presents The In-Kraut - handpicked soul, beat, now sound, mod and soundtrack gems from Germany -- all recorded between 1966 and 1974. Among them many Kraut-pleasin' obscurities and long-forgotten nuggets that appear now for the very first time on CD. While the musical climate in Germany of the late '60s and early '70s was clearly dominated by horrible Schlagers, nevertheless, records of outstanding class were cut with Teutonic precision….  The guys behind these productions were usually slick jazz players and studio musicians from the tightest orchestras of the country. Somehow these middle-aged men knew how to move the Kraut and adapt their skills to the swinging sixties.

©

 

Christian Bland & The Revelators - 2 albums

Artist:  Christian Bland & The Revelators

Albums: The Lost Album / Pig Boat Blues

Released:  2011 / 2012

Quality: mp3 VBR ~ 250

Size:  64 / 84 MB

 “…It’s a colorful collage of vintage sounds, recalling innovators like Syd Barrett and the more sprawling sonic textures of the 13th Floor Elevators, but in a modern atmosphere…”

~ © Kristen Berry

TRACK OF THE DAY - Kazuki Tomokawa

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Various Artists -The Big Itch Volumes 1-8

Artist:  various

Albums: The Big Itch Volumes 1-8

Quality: mp3 CBR 192

Size:  62+67+61+64+54+63+62+61 MB

  An awesome compilation of rare garage, surf and rock’n’roll bands from the sixties.

 

Pristine (2011) -Detoxing

Artist:  Pristine

Albums: Detoxing

Released:  2011

Quality: mp3 CBR 320

Size:  126 MB

”Pristine is a Norwegian, Psychedelic, Blues Rock band. Heidi Solheim is the captivating front woman, with her memorable long red hair and striking eyes. This band offers a significant sound, incorporating Soul, Funk, Blues and Rock. Their debut album, Detoxing, is full of passionate, Fusion songs.

The first, named “Damned If I Do” has heavy Jazz and Blues elements, including a catchy chorus. The atmospheric start includes a scratching dark organ sound, a basic hi hat beat and gradual building vocals, which results in a heavy climax, a climbing guitar solo, and an emotional vocal conclusion. However this comes to an abrupt stop halfway through; (musical stops like this can be extremely effective, as they are unexpected). While “Damned If I Do” and “You Don’t Know” are brilliant songs, the sudden stops are in danger of ruining the flow of the rhythm.

One of the stand out tracks is “Breaking Bad” as this song identifies the beauty of simplicity, and the wonder of Blues Rock at its best. The band sounds tight and powerful, providing catchy Blues riffs with strong female vocals. “Damage Is Done” is mainly a funk track that again highlights the talents of Heidi’s voice, as she elegantly switches from passionate Classic Blues Rock to emotional, soulful vocals. “The Last Day” is a soulful ballad, showing the versatility of Heidi’s enchanting voice; this slow paced reflective song really outlines the ease of her vocal delivery and her poetic, yet catchy lyrics. The albums self-titled song, “Detoxing,” shows the psychedelic features of this band, incorporating their influences of both Hendrix and Zeppelin.

This album is one to reach for on those lazy days, where you require passionate vocals, with uplifting Blues guitar riffs, interesting musical arrangements and varying Fusion genre songs to ease you into the day.”

~ © Blues Rock Review

Les Triaboliques (2009) -Rivermudtwilight

Artist:  Les Triaboliques

Albums: Rivermudtwilight

Released:  2009

Quality: mp3 CBR 320

Size:  129 MB

”Les Triaboliques are Ben Mandelson, Lu Edmonds, and Justin Adams—guitar players who began their popular music careers during the British punk era playing with bands like Magazine and The Dammed, or in the case of Adams, as sideman for people like Sinead O'Connor. They are the first to admit that American music of the twentieth century was the first and major influence on their music, but unlike others their musical voyage didn't stop there.

Perhaps it's only fitting that Justin Adams has become well known for his work with the Tuareg nomad band Tinariwen just as he, Edmonds, and Mandelson have been musical and literal nomads. Wandering the world from Siberia to North Africa and stops in between, each of them has absorbed a variety of influences that has broadened their musical horizons far beyond what we normally find in popular music. It seems only natural these three wanderers would eventually end up together when the winds blew them back home to Great Britain—where they all originally hail from—pooling their talents and experiences to make this recording.

The eleven tracks on the disc not only represent their multiple influences, but also the huge variety of instruments that each of them have taken up. Brilliantly, what they've decided to do is not wed an instrument to its country of origin—i.e. have an oud solely play Turkish music—but have used them where they fit best and feel most appropriate irrespective of an individual piece of music's background. Naturally, some of the results might sound a little startling to your ears, especially until you get used to the sounds of the various instruments, but if you can put aside any preconceived notions on how a song is supposed to sound you're in for some delightful surprises..”

~ READ FULL REVEW

Vibravoid (2012) -Gravity Zero

Artist:  Vibravoid

Albums: Gravity Zero

Released:  2012

Quality: mp3 CBR 320

Size:  171 MB

”…For the uninitiated, the band, helmed by guitarist/vocalist Christian Koch, have a mission statement that consists of bringing the great era of ’60′s and early ’70′s psychedelic rock into the present. In doing this, they are eager to draw a line in the sand between their brand of psychedelia and that which comes under the varying labels of heavy psych/stoner/doom rock. Although no stranger to lengthy live jams and improvisations of their own (check out their awesome live version of Can’s Mother Sky on youtube), Vibravoid place a strong emphasis on song craft, either of their own design, or interpretations of classic psych covers from the past. Zero Gravity contains three such covers, all previously released by the band but exceedingly hard to get hold of, plus eight originals (two of which are CD-only bonus tracks) across almost 60 minutes of music. Most of the tracks are relatively short, with the album bookended by a couple of excellent extended pieces.”   READ FULL REVIEW

TRACK OF THE DAY - Dead Combo

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TRACK OF THE DAY - Камни

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Left Lane Cruiser & James Leg (2012) -Painkillers

Artist:  Left Lane Cruiser & James Leg

Albums: Painkillers

Released:  2012

Quality: mp3 CBR 320

Size:  83 MB

”In case you wondered whatever became of the tradition of the blues jam, it was alive and kicking for a few days in Detroit when raw and rootsy guitar-and-drum duo Left Lane Cruiser headed into a recording studio with James Leg, the keyboard player and vocal howler from the Black Diamond Heavies, to lay down a set of high-octane cover tunes. Producer Jim Diamond sat in on bass and Harmonica Shah stopped by to blow some harp, and the result is Painkillers, a loud and rowdy collection of bluesy wailing for the 21st century. Like plenty of bands on the punk-blues axis, both Left Lane Cruiser and James Leg approach their music with the ferocity of a starving dog that's been tossed a bloody steak, and if you're looking for anything approaching subtlety, Painkillers is not for you. But the musicians on this date all seem to be on the same page -- they want to get loud and boogie like they're expecting to be taken to jail in the morning, and for a makeshift band, these performances are surprisingly tight and emphatic. Leg's trademark "Tom Waits with a sore throat" growl is as over-the top as it's always been, but in this context, it suits the material just fine, and his swirling organ and thickly distorted electric piano are rich and satisfying, while the manic slide guitar of Frederick "Joe" Evans IV and hard-stomping drumming of Brenn Beck are as greasy as a good burger and just as tasty. Diamond's rock-solid bass work and full-bodied engineering is just the right icing on this particular cake, as are the primal harp blasts from Harmonica Shah, and if the set list -- a list of blues and blues-rock standards ranging from Muddy Waters and John Lee Hooker to the Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin -- isn't especially imaginative, these guys attack like the best sort of bar band, and the version of Bob Seger's "Come to Poppa" suggests they were embracing the Detroit experience to the fullest. Painkillers suggests an overdriven, punk-infused variation on Canned Heat's old formula, and if they're never going to get to cut an album with John Lee Hooker, at least they have the good sense to see that their boogie isn't endless, and for 35 minutes, this is a house party worth a visit.” ~ Mark Deming at allmusic.com

TRACK OF THE DAY - Shape Of Despair

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Various Artists (2009) -Psych Funk 101: 1968-1975

Artist:   various
Album: Psych Funk 101: 1968-1975 A Global Psychedelic Funk Curriculum
Released: 2009
Quality: mp3CBR 192
Size: 104 MB


”With a growing interest in -- to use a term very loosely -- "world music" and all its very permutations, heralded in part by the work of Luaka Bop and series like Ethiopiques, it makes sense that the compilation Psych-Funk 101: 1968-1975 A Global Psychedelic Funk Curriculum was sold on the Stones Throw website. Madlib and brother Oh No have both put out compilations sampling various countries' records (Indian, for the former, and Turkish, Greek, Italian, and Lebanese funk for the latter), and the underground funk scene has certainly gained a strong following in metropolises worldwide. And the compilation, put out by World Psychedelic Funk Classics, for its own part, should help inform the discussion of psychedelic funk (or, as the liner notes point out, the related but unique genre funky psychedelia), as it provides a very interesting and in-depth look at how English and American musical traditions made their way into the rest of the world. Despite its title, however, and informative liner notes, Psych-Funk 101 is not a primer in the genre, as the majority of the artists included are obscure, even in their own countries, and none of the songs have been reissued before. Still, musicians like South Korean guitarist Shin Jung Hyun ("The Man Who Must Leave") and Italian composer Armando Sciascia ("Circuito Chiuso") are both included, along with recognized artists like Ennio Morricone, Mulatu Astatke, and Omar Khorshid, doing work that may be less recognizable (Morricone, for example, as part of the Group, or Il Gruppo di Improvvisione Nuova Consonanza, the experimental composers circle of the '70s, and playing trumpet on the noise-and-effects-driven "The Feed-Back"). There are a couple of unfortunate missteps here -- Staff Carpenborg & the Electric Corona sound exactly like their name: slipshod, and the nearly two-minute introductory tack-on of Strauss' "Also Sprach Zarathustra" before Metin H Alatli's otherwise satisfying "Mevlana Boyle Dede" is completely pointless, to the point of detraction -- but the compilation is still one of the better ones out there. The tracks are funky and experimental and cool enough to appeal to a music fan looking for new sounds, but obscure enough to teach even a seasoned crate-digger a couple of things.” ~Marisa Brown, allmusic.com

John Surman (2012) -Saltash Bells

Artist:  John Surman

Albums: Saltash Bells

Released:  2012

Quality: FLAC (tracks)

Size:  303 MB

”…Saltash Bells is Surman's first solo recording since 1995's A Biography of the Rev. Absalom Dawe, though he's been far from inactive, releasing the quartet-based Brewster's Rooster (2009) and Rain on the Window (2008)—a sublime duo set with organist Howard Moody recorded at Ultern Kirke in Oslo, where Surman now resides with wife/singer Karin Krog—in addition to two non-ECM recordings: Cuneiforms's marvelous archival find, Flashpoint: NDR Jazz Workshop—April '69 (2011), and the large-ensemble The Rainbow Band Sessions (Losen, 2011).

 Credits for Surman's previous one-man efforts cited them taking place during the course of a month; Saltash Bells, in contrast, was recorded over just two days in 2009 and one more in 2011. Surman adds tenor saxophone, and alto and contrabass clarinets to his core arsenal of soprano and baritone saxophones, bass clarinet and synthesizers...even harmonica, for the first time, on the epic "Sailing Westwards," gently layered so seamlessly with his synth patterns as to feel like a unified voice.

 Loops, synthesizer sequences and multi-tracked horns suggest preconception, but in Surman's sphere these remain a means of using improvisation to create further improvisational contexts, whether it's building foundations or soaring over them, as he does towards the end of "Sailing Westwards," his soprano responding to the various layers that combine to shape this hypnotic closer of cinematic proportions.

Saltash Bells is not all layered constructs, however. The pensive "Glass Flower" features Surman a capella on bass clarinet, while baritone saxophone is the sole voice on "Ælfwin." Elsewhere, "Triachordum" is a trio baritone piece, Surman's improvisational voice adding the shifting vertical harmony to two horns separated by fifths throughout, even as he fashions melodies in the moment over the course of nearly four minutes. Surman's soprano saxophone on "Dark Reflections" seems to be on a course that orbits around a series of shifting lines more buried in the mix, while baritone and soprano saxophones evoke both lyricism and unrelenting pulse on "The Crooked Inn."

Saltash Bells is an intended reference to Surman's birthplace in Tavistock, a scenic location on the River Tavy, which runs through West Devon to the English Channel. Sounds of church bells and seagulls echoing over the landscape are but two touchstones that imbue the charmingly pastoral Saltash Bells, an album that confirms you can take the man out of the place but you can't take the place out of the man.“ John Kelman, allaboutjazz.com

Robert and the Roboters - 4 albums

Artist:  Robert and the Roboters

Albums: Faroese Islands… / Wilde Orchidee / Caniche Royal / Beate

Released:  2000 / 2003 / 2005 / 2009

Quality: mp3 CBR 320

Size:  75 / 111 / 116 / 116 MB

Dresden's Robert and the Roboters merge a little surf, some traditional European melody stylings, go-go keys, unusual beats, and creative arranging. While it's definitely a sidetrip for a surf fan, it is nonetheless an enjoyable music with  fine instros to capture your attention.

Orca Team - 2 albums

Artist:  Orca Team

Albums: Let It Go / Restraint

Released:  2010 / 2012

Quality: m4a VBR ~ 224 / mp3 VBR ~224

Size:  40 / 50 MB

”Orca Team is a 1960s Post Punk Beach Party from the confusing waters of the Pacific Northwest. They make the music of a punk  trio if everyone in the band decided to keep their volume low and their tones clean. Each song is short, sung with a lonesome croon, equipped with a melodic bass line, and drenched in reverb. Influences include The Flamingos, Pylon, Jan & Dean and The Smiths”   ©