Various Artists - Chains and Black Exhaust (Memphix, 2002)

Various Artists - Chains and Black Exhaust
(Memphix, 2002)

Compilation of obscure psych funk 45s from the seventies. It's very good (of course).

Preview (Click to hear): Cynthy Ruthy by Back Merda, Potted Shrimp by Brothers Jackson

01. Prologue
02. Yeah Yeah (Blackrock)
03. Cynthy-Ruthy (Black Merda)
04. Mama, Here Comes the Preacher (Doug Anderson)
05. Showstopper (Iron Knowledge)
06. Dancing in the Light (Frankinsense)
07. Blind Man (LA Carnival)
08. Life is a Gamble (Preacher)
09. I Believe I Found Myself (Sir Stanley)
10. Potted Shrimp (Brothers Jackson)
11. Paper Man (Jade)
12. Get High (Grand Am)
13. The Devil Made Me Do It (Curtis Knight)
14. Alladin Story (Slim Haskins)
15. What's Good For the Goose (Hot Chocolate)
16. Who Am I (Tiny Tex & The J. Jones Connection)
17. Epilogue
18. Crystal Illusion (Creations Unlimited)

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Shinki Chen - Shinki Chen and His Friends (Polydor, 1971)

陳信輝
Shinki Chen - Shinki Chen and His Friends
(Polydor, 1971)

Heavy Psych. Fuzzy Bass. Echoes in a cave vocals. As long as we're in the habit of comparing these lesser known folks to the big names, this guy is oft referred to as "Japan's Hendrix." Very chill, very good. Click it and dig it. Skip over the first track and I won't hold it against you because I tend to skip to the good stuff myself.

Preview (Click to hear.): Requiem of Confusion

01. The Dark Sea Dream
02. Requiem of Confusion
03. Freedom of a Mad Paper Lantern
04. Gloomy Reflections
05. It Was Only Yesterday
06. Corpse
07. Farewell to Hypocrites


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Broadcast - HaHa Sound (Warp,2003)

Broadcast - HaHa Sound (Warp,2003)

LAME -V0 (vbr)
Includes: Front cover

The first comparison Broadcast is usually subject to is that of Stereolab (whose own Duophonic label released "Living Room", one of Broadcast's first singles) due to their similar experimental/psychedelic breed of electronica, and there's a few good reasons for that. Several tracks to me sound like a blend of Silver Apples and Stereolab, and it's actually pulled off pretty well. Throw in some deadly beautiful singing courtesy of Trish Keenan, and you've got their own version of Lætitia Sadier.

Normally I tend to skip right over just about everything labeled with "Electronica", but after seeing it listed in B-Music's "A-Z Essentials", I had to give it a shot. Not to mention that the endorsement was from Andy Votel himself:

"Angelic vocals float over honey-coated basslines, and aero-light drumbeats punctuate digital distortion and musique-concrete tape loops. This is how Birmingham's Broadcast create some of the most painfully authentic 60's psychedelia this side of the millennium while still turning out some of the most melodic, contemporary pop music of our time. Imagine a young Ennio Morricone conducting the Radiophonic Workshop at Andy Warhol's 'Exploding Plastic Inevitable'."

Favorite Tracks: Pendulum, Man Is Not A Bird
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The Deviants - The Deviants 3 (Sire, 1969)

The Deviants - Deviants 3
(Sire, 1969)

This 1969 release was The Deviants' third album. Sometimes it's referred to as "The Deviants 3," or "#3," or simply "The Deviants." Three of the four Deviants ditched the lead vocalist to become the "Pink Fairies" shortly after this album. You can read up on The Deviants more here. Some sites say this is inferior to the albums which came before. I don't know about all of that, I just know that there are some thoroughly enjoyable tracks on this one and I think that is some of the damned sweetest cover art I've seen in a long time. I will say that I am left a bit unsatisfied by "Death of a Dream Machine." It's such a solid tune, rolling right along and then it ends in one of those hugely anticlimactic fade-outs. Snag this thing, give it a listen, and make up your own mind about it, friends. 'Til next week, enjoy!

Note: The tags are kind of whacked out on this. I forgot to fix them before I uploaded. If you don't know what I'm talking about then you won't notice or care anyway and if you do know what I'm talking about, then it'll only take you a few seconds to fix them. Feel free to berate me in the comments section. ;)

Preview Tracks (click to play): The People Suite, Broken Biscuits

01. Billy the Monster
02. Broken Biscuits
03. First Line (Seven The Row)
04. The People Suite
05. Rambling B(l)ack Transit Blues
06. Death of a Dream Machine
07. Playtime
08. Black George Does It With His Tongue
09. The Junior Narco Rangers
10. Lets Drink To the People
11. Metamorphis Explosion

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Sunburned Hand Of The Man - Earth Do Eagles Do (Manhand,2007)

Sunburned Hand Of The Man - Earth Do Eagles Do
(Manhand,2007)

224 cbr
Includes: m3u, front cover

Anyone even remotely interested in the whole "Neo-Psychdelia" craze that's been going pretty strong over the past several years are no doubt familiar with the Sunburned folks. They've amassed more than 100 albums amongst their dozens of offshoot bands (around 30 releases in 2007 alone!) on several different labels (including the likes of Fuck It Tapes, Ecstatic Peace, Smalltown Supersound and their own Manhand label) and have a sound that touches on experimental, psych, folk and beyond. With each new release, you never quite know what you're going to get - but you can guess that it's gonna be one helluva trip.

Earth Do Eagles Do is my personal favorite (that I've heard so far anyway, which really isn't all that much compared to all of the stuff they've done) - as it tends to stick to a more traditional psych rock oriented style. This album in particular is from a live show (recorded in Finland, though I don't know the year) and the energy as well as the groove are definitely present, not to mention there are vocals on most of the tracks as compared to several of the other albums I've heard where they're pretty scarce.

As with probably 80% of their material, this is long sold out as far as I know so this is probably one of your few chances to give it a listen.

Favorite Tracks: Don't Get Burned, Gateway Circle

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