Siena Root (2017) -A Dream of Lasting Peace

Artist: Siena Root

Albums: A Dream of Lasting Peace

Release date:  2017

Quality:  mp3 CBR 320

Size:   101 MB

“Similar to its predecessor, A Dream of Lasting Peace is a good record that takes the best out of the hard rocking early '70s to create a strong listen. Undoubtedly, Siena Root are one of the most capable bands in this genre and continue to craft lovely music that both older and younger generations will truly enjoy. To some it might mean a lot of nostalgia, whereas to others (like myself) can act as a gateway to past classics (especially to these guys' best moments). Nevertheless, at the end of the day, this is simply a damn fine LP which deserves at least a couple of spins.”. - full review  @  Sputnikmusic

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Liquid Laughter Lounge Quartet - 3 albums

Artist:  Liquid Laughter Lounge Quartet

Albums: Yonder...Chickens Get Lonely / Liquid Laughter Lounge Quartet / May You Always Live With Laughter  ‎

Released:  1999 / 2001 / 2004

Quality: mp3 VBR / CBR 320

Size: 73 / 70 / 100 MB

"The Liquid Laughter Lounge Quartet plays cocktail music, a bitter-sweet liquid concoction that sticks in your throat leaving an aftertaste that is somewhere between pretty and pretty ugly. These four gentlemen of Freiburg borrow, alienate and counterfeit country and western, Rockabilly, an immense blues rendered with austere arrangements and an emotive and often hysterical voice. Anyone who finds themselves thinking about David Lynch films has hit the nail squarely on the head. With upright bass, drums. guitar a voice and a suitcase stuffed with sounds, Liquid Laughter Lounge Quartet are just as much a part of the furniture as the dilapidated sofa in the corner at The Heartbreak Hotel. And, the music matches the decor: pretty but also quick to unsettle and in places somewhat divergent and diffused, its contours washed smooth in deep swathes of red and blue. Ghosts whisper to rockabilly skeletons; this sotto voce country and western accompanied by a besotted Brian Ferryesque refrain. The far-flung and two-left-footed tango receives a jolt and a wry blues shuffle is danced until the glasses become stuck to the tabletops. The ice has long melted and the drink now tastes more bitter than sweet- just like the memories. Lyrics about angels, drugs, strange neighbours, forgetting and disappearance are morbid yet tender. The songs often hang in the air in much the same way a photograph from better days hangs on the wall.".

©

  

TRACK OF THE DAY - Tom Waits

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The Sufis - two albums

 

Artist:  The Sufis

Albums: The Sufis / Inventions

Release date:  2012 / 2013

Quality:  mp3 CBR 320

Size:  120 MB

“Imagine you have just popped round to mum and dad’s to help them clear some stuff from the attic. You stumble across a very old looking cardboard box marked; ‘dads trip kit’ and you have a peek inside. You find he has a bag of questionable looking vitamins, a strange picture book, a marathon bar (to keep the party going) and a record called the Sufis.

 This may puzzle you considering this album is not out until June 2012, but that’s where it was born in the past. It’s a brilliant album that needs to be praised all over."

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Jacco Gardner (2013) -Cabinet of Curiosities

Artist: Jacco Gardner

Albums: Cabinet of Curiosities

Release date:  2013

Quality: mp3 CBR 320

Size:  110 MB

”Jacco Gardner's debut album, Cabinet of Curiosities, is an impressive re-creation of late-'60s pop psych, especially coming from someone who's only in his mid-twenties. The Dutch studio wiz plays everything but the drums, and his music is full of harpsichords, organs, flutes, and Mellotron, taking in elements of the Left Banke, Sagittarius, the Zombies, and a thousand oddly named bands with at least one guy sporting a frilly mustache. The first track alone is like an encyclopedia entry for the sound -- "Clear the Air" is a frilly trifle with swooning Mellotrons, twinkling harpsichords, lyrics that take in ecological distress, war, and trippy dislocation, swirling background vocals, and minor-key melancholy. For extra psych points, Gardner uses the trick of singing in a deep, stilted voice in the chorus just like the Strawberry Alarm Clock might. The rest of the album follows suit with Gardner crafting pristine versions of gently pastoral psych that lend themselves to a healthy round of "spot the influence," but have enough of his own vision involved to turn out to be more than just pale imitations of a bygone era. The songs are more like Left Banke album tracks or cuts buried deep on a later volume of Rubble: they have the sound down perfectly and are mysteriously intriguing, but lack the hooks necessary to make the them stand out the way "Pretty Ballerina" or "She's Not There" do. That's a pretty tall order, though, and it's no mark of failure to say that Gardner isn't writing hits that will linger in brains and ring up sales. It's enough that he's made an album that sounds so good and authentically psych-like, and one that wraps the listener up in a warm embrace of misty melodies and cobwebbed arrangements. Play Cabinet of Curiosities back to back with a Nirvana (the paisley-clad U.K. version, of course) album and it will sound just right. That seems to be what Gardner is aiming for, and he succeeds. All he needs now is a mustache to go with the top hat he sports in the fuzzy photo that adorns the inside of the album." ~ by Tim Sendra @ allmusic.com

                                                                          

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds (2013) -Push The Sky Away

Artist:  Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds

Albums: Push The Sky Away

Release date:  February 2013

Quality: mp3 CBR 320

Size:  99 MB

Describing Push the Sky Away in the album's press release, Nick Cave said: "if I were to use that threadbare metaphor of albums being like children, then Push The Sky Away is the ghost-baby in the incubator and Warren's loops are its tiny, trembling heart-beat." The songs on the album were written over the course of twelve months and "took form in a modest notebook" kept by Cave. The notebook contained notes on the album's songs, which were composed from "Googling curiosities, being entranced by exotic Wikipedia entries 'whether they’re true or not'. "According to Cave, the songs illustrate how the internet has influenced "significant events, momentary fads and mystically-tinged absurdities" and "question how we might recognise and assign weight to what's genuinely important." ©

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

Salome No Kutibiru (2010) -Koi To Ai Torenai Ni Tsuite

Artist: Salome No Kutibiru
Album: Koi To Ai Torenai Ni Tsuite
Released: 2010
Quality: mp3 CBR 320
Size: 112 MB

”…As we inch towards the 50th anniversary (yep, that's one half century) of the Beatles' appearing on Ed Sullivan, the moment when (musically, anyway) the 60s well and truly kicked into high gear, there's still a profound fascination with hippies, psychedelic music, pop art, etc. that far surpasses nostalgia for any other time period. I suppose you could blame the demographic bulge of the Baby Boomers, and their neverending appetite for reissues, reassessments, and general nostalgia for a time when people might actually have wanted to see them run naked through a field. Still doesn't explain the fixation the Japanese underground has on the period, though: Group Sounds (i.e. GS) has what amounts to a minor religion going in the clubs and record stores of Tokyoland.

GS wasn't just a Merseybeat rip, though. It quickly flowered into a strong scene that took clear inspiration from the West, but wasted no time in creating its own distinct personality in terms of scene culture (even if seemingly every record from the time period had a Beatles cover.) Enter Salome No Kuchibiru (i.e. Salome's Lips,) a 60s "copy band" if there ever was one. Led by multi instrumentalist Satoshi Mizuno and the unsettlingly flawless vocalist Kyoko Tachibana (seriously, the picture on the band's site doesn't convey…live, she looks like an animated doll,) they're simultaneously pure pastiche and weirdly original, much like GS itself. They even have go go dancers.” ~FULL REVIEW

TRACK OF THE DAY - Dexter Romweber Duo

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Samsara Blues Experiment (2011) -Revelation & Mystery

Artist: Samsara Blues Experiment
Album: Revelation & Mystery
Date of release: January 13, 2012
Quality: mp3 CBR 192
Size: 67 MB

”The record should be listened to without any interruption anyway. Running over 45 minutes, you can listen to it attentively without getting bored at all. If you are, you did something wrong. Samsara Blues Experiment again definitively did not: An intense bastard of a psychedelic record, which has to be part of every good collection.” READ FULL REVIEW

Tom Waits (2011) -Bad As Me

Artist: Tom Waits
Album: Bad As Me
Date of release: October 24, 2011
Quality: mp3 CBR 192
Size: 63 MB

A new Tom Waits album is an event and his seventeenth outing released after a few years is no let down. It starts with the gravel voiced troubadour yelling ‘all aboard’ and instantly you are transported into his fantastically surreal world of strange characters, pounding rhythms and clanking sounds as Waits hollers about a magically seedy underbelly of a long lost America of tattooed tear brawlers, snake oil charmers, broken hearted losers and faded grandeur, a world of seedy dance halls and long lost smoky bars.

The songs are, as ever, of the highest standard- squeezing melody from the stoniest of terrains, finding heart breaking tunes in the most clanking of soundscapes, there is dark humour and hollering blues, heart breaking ballads and zig zag wandering blues madness. Waits is king of all he surveys, every song is 3D, a movie on it’s own, close your eyes and you’re on a trip. FULL REVIEW

Various Artists (1999)-For Adults Only

Artist: various
Album: For Adults Only
Released: 1999
Quality: mp3 CBR 192
Size: 103 MB

”The 25 tracks compiled on this single-disc compilation have been issued under a plethora of titles since the '80s -- most notably in the digital domain as Raunchy Rock & Roll (1995). Many of these dirty ditties have become legendary in frat houses and barrooms across the world, despite their initial obscurity due to excruciatingly poor under-the-counter circulation. A more sociological vantage point reveals a broad scope of musical styles, ranging from doo wop ("Don't -- Around With Love") to redneck country & western twang ("Pussy Cat Song"). However, there are a few pop music genres that seem to artistically lend themselves to the unadulterated and overtly sexual intonations -- some intentional, others quite serendipitous. Among the most authentic are the '50s rhythm & blues and doo wop styles which inform tracks such as "Derby Town" and "The Rotten Cock Suckers Ball" -- both of which became infamous platters for the Clovers. The latter title was revived by Frank Zappa as "Cock-Suckers' Ball" and issued on his live Does Humor Belong in Music? multimedia project from the mid-'80s. Likewise, there are '50s sock-hop ballads such as "It's So Hard to Say I Love You" and "Sit on My Face," and even rockabilly ("Yo Yo"). There are also garage rockers ("Baby, Let Me Bang Your Box") and a funky (literally!), randy reggae reading of Rare Earth's hit "Get Ready," which is subtitled "French Style." More modern rock & roll contributions include "-- Off" by, appropriately enough, the Dildos, as well as David Trout's double-entendre-laden "Fast Food Song." Other notable inclusions are Screamin' Jay Hawkins' R&B hoodoo "Bite It" and "Constipation Blues," as well as the incendiary coupling of Jackie Wilson and LaVern Baker on a wild take of "Think Twice," which was decidedly toned down for the legit 45 rpm (b/w "Please Don't Hurt Me") for Brunswick in 1965. Also in the mix are a few sides -- such as "Did He Eat Your Titty" and "Stickball" -- that defy category. For Adults Only is a refreshingly self-indulgent artifact that reflects the decidedly more carnal and base aspects of popular music. Potential enthusiasts should be aware of the sound quality, which vacillates from track to track. While not unlistenable, there is copious surface noise to deal with on a majority of the recordings.” ~ by Lindsay Planer, allmusic.com

TRACK OF THE DAY - Центр

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Jonathan Kane (2005 / 2009) -February / Jet Ear Party

Artist: Jonathan Kane
Album: February / Jet Ear Party
Released: 2005 / 2009
Quality: mp3 CBR 320
Size: 111 / 125 MB

”Kane’s modus operandi is quite simple. He starts with a bluesy riff, a short chord progression (or the illusion of a chord progression), a bit of melody, and a shuffling rock’n’roll beat, and then repeats it, and repeats it, and repeats it, gradually accreting new material as the song progresses, building a sense of anticipation until all the pieces all the elements align in an exuberant climax about three-quarters of the way through the song.“ ~ by Dan Ruccia, Dusted Magazine

Dex Romweber Duo (2011) -Is That You In The Blue?

Artist: Dex Romweber Duo
Album: Is That You In The Blue?
Released: 2011
Quality: mp3 CBR 160
Size: 47 MB

" Dex Romweber is nothing less than an icon of the American music underground. Pioneering the template for the stripped to the essentials guitar/drums duo format in the world famous psycho-surf-rockabilly-garage-punk combo Flat Duo Jets, so often emulated, so rarely duplicated, Dex continues his resurgence with the new album Is That You In The Blue? With sister Sara on drums, the Dex Romweber Duo is a potent combo that’ll get your leg twitching with the beat and your heart racing, and sometimes breaking with the feral excitement of music.

With a mix of originals and obscure nuggets from rock and roll’s dusky back closets, the DRD romps through the sweaty cinder block studios of Memphis of the 50’s, channels street corners on the wrong side of town with existential blues and instrumentals that’d find a home in a Tarantino spy flick." ~musicdirect.com

Tame Impala (2010) -Innerspeaker

Artist: Tame Impala
Album: Innerspeaker
Released: 2010
Quality: mp3 CBR 320
Size: 126 MB

Innerspeaker is a psychedelia-heavy outing that toys with paisley pop, stoner vibes, and an expansive array of swirling guitars.
On first listen, Innerspeaker provides a lot of dots to connect: There are patches of late-60s American psychedelia, buzzy Motor City riffage, and decades of British pop, ranging from the pastoral pop of the Kinks to the vivid expansiveness of the Verve to the narcotic warmth of the Stone Roses. Frontman Kevin Parker shares an eerie vocal similarity with John Lennon, both in tone and in the way he allows his voice to soar with each melodic turn or rhythmic surge. Though most of the album is a little restrained lyrically, Parker's rapturous phrasing conveys the meaning. Mixed by Flaming Lips collaborator Dave Fridmann, each component is here is set on an even plane, allowing bass lines and delay-swept guitar bursts to melt into one another, cultivating a uniform feel that's vintage, far-out, and irrepressibly cool. more on Pitchfork.com

TRACK OF THE DAY - Guadalupe Plata

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Various Artists (2009) -Sevilla Calling

Artist: various
Album: Sevilla Calling
Released: 2009
Quality: mp3 CBR 192
Size: 97 MB

A tribute to the 30th anniversary of "London Calling" album released by "The Clash" in 1979. Local bands of different styles from Sevilla, Spain, reconstruct the album by their own versions of the tracks.

Various Artists (2004) -We Ain't Housewife Material

Artist: various
Albums: We Ain’t Housewife Material – An International Collection Of All Girl Punk, Rock & Garage
Released: 2004
Quality: mp3 CBR 256
Size: 102 MB

A compilation of 20 girl fronted bands doing 1 song each. Though most of the bands are in the punk / alternative / hard rock genres they don't have much in common other than that they're all at least partially female. Some of the bands suck and shouldn't be on any compilations whatsoever, while most of them are good enough to be treated like a real band rather than a novelty ''girl band'' act. MORE INFO