Roy Montgomery / Grouper Split

Roy Montgomery / Grouper
(December 1, 2009 - Root Strata)

Do you like "year-end lists?" I don't either. Therefore, I won't do one. But if I did, this....THIS would be on it. I'm so excited this came in the mail today. It's a split 12" with Roy Montgomery and Grouper.
Roy Montgomery pays homage to the late, great Sandy Bull by playing Fantasia On a Theme. This is a live track that was recorded at St. Lukes in Christchurch on March 19, 2009.

On the flip side, Grouper gives us 4 new tracks--highlighted, in my humble opinion, by "Hold the Way." Dark, moody, atmospheric and just down right awesome. Listen to this now.
And just for kicks, the packaging is great and it comes with a print of Liz's artwork.

Tracklist:

1) Fantasia On a Theme By Sandy Bull (Slight Return)
2) Hollow Press
3) Vessel
4) Hold the Way
5) Pulse

Download The Split

Grouper - Hold the Way from Weston Currie on Vimeo.

Dreamt On

Bobb Bruno
Dreamt On - EP
(February 17, 2009 - Vosotros)

This dude rules! In an attempt to be lazy, I googled (I love how that's a word--googled) Bobb Bruno so I can just cut and paste whatever someone else had already written about him. Sadly, there isn't much info about him.
Well, this dude is in pretty much every cool band out there today--Pocahaunted, Sun Araw, Best Coast, and Magic Lantern to name a few. Like all good EPs, this one ends too soon.

Tracklisting:

1) Night Lights
2) Dreamt On
3) Fairy Tale Ending
4) 14k
5) Psychics
6) Microloop

Download Dreamt On

Magic Mountain

On a musically-unrelated note....
I'm going to Magic Mountain tomorrow!!!! I can't wait to ride this one, again!
"Summer breeze makes me feel fine, Blowing through the jasmine in my mind."




Check out this video...pretty much sums up the experience.

Calistonia Dreamin' Sessions

Pearl Harbour
Calistonia Dreamin' Sessions - CD-R

I had this waiting for me when I got back from Yosemite and I've pretty much been listening to it everyday since. Pearl Harbour are Sky and Piper (stoner names if I've ever heard one) and they put forth some pretty groovy jams. In an effort to post more I'm probably going to write less. So, hopefully you'll just take my word for it and listen to some of these.
Oh, and they've got something coming out on Mexican Summer in October.

Tracklisting:
1) Sunburn
2) High Road
3) Vapor Girls
4) Lost@Sea

Download Calistonia Dreamin' Sessions

Crystal Stilts

Crystal Stilts
Love Is A Wave - 7"
(March 31, 2009 - Slumberland Records)

I just got this 7" in the mail today from Slumberland Records. The Crystal Stilts put out one of my favorite albums of last year and this follow-up single does not disappoint. A perfect two-minute pop nugget.

Tracklisting:
1) Love Is A Wave
2) Sugerbaby

Download Love Is A Wave


Crystal Stilts
Alight Of Night
(October 28, 2008 - Slumberland Records)

Moody, dark, brooding, garage rock at it's finest. Their heavily reverbed sound may be nothing new, but the good and simple pop writing is what makes this album so repeatable. That and the organs. The organs! Oh, and these dudes are from Brooklyn. This album is actually new recordings from older songs from their self-titled EP, as well as new material.

Tracklisting:
1) Dazzled
2) Crystal Stilts
3) Graveyard Orbit
4) Prismatic Room
5) Sinking
6) Departure
7) Shattered Shine
8) Verdant Gaze
9) Bright Night
10) Spiral Transit
11) City In The Sea

Download Alight Of Night

Twinsistermoon

I don't know much about this other than that it is the solo work of Mehdi Ameziane, one half of French ambient/folk/drone duo Natural Snow Buildings. Apparently, their stuff is SUPER-DUPER limited and hard to find. One album saw them release 20 copies, while another 30. So unless you are related by blood, chances are you've never heard it. Ironically, I found some dude from Garden Grove selling a copy on eBay.

MP3: Twinsistermoon - Bride of the Spirits

Tony Conrad

The SF Art Institute is having a three-day special engagement with Tony Conrad. I don't feel like writing too much about Tony Conrad but he was an early member of the Dream Syndicate, or Theater of Eternal Music, which included the likes of John Cale and LaMonte Young.
Tony Conrad is a pioneer of the school of minimalism. His weapon of choice is the violin. He is also an avante-garde filmmaker, which I assume he will incorporate into his live performance.
You can read more about the show and buy tickets here.
Dates are April 3-5.

More conventional posting when I have the time. Enjoy the weekend!!!

Tonight @ Cafe Du Nord

Jeremy Jay does his thang at Cafe du Nord.
Should be good.
I don't have time to upload his album so this teaser will have to do.

MP3: Jeremy Jay - Love Everlasting

True Story of Abner Jay

Abner Jay
True Story of Abner Jay
(March 2009 - Mississippi Records)

There isn't much I could find on the obscure, one-man band known as Abner Jay. He described himself as, "the last great Southern black minstrel show."
This was a description from the Mississippi Records Wikipedia page:

Compilation culled from Abners' self released LPs & 7"s featuring hits such as 'I'm So Depressed,' 'Cocaine', 'Vietnam,' & 'The Reason Young People Do Drugs.' Abner Jay was a one-man band singer/songwriter deserving of a wider listening audience than he received in his day. This is the first vinyl release of his material since the 1970s. Great soulful folk & R&B music. Most (but not all) copies of the LP include a press photo of Abner, transcriptions of his spoken word pieces, a reproduction of an informative pamphlet about Abner & a press statement penned by Abner himself.

The music sounds very soulful and genuine. "Cocaine" is one of my favorite songs--I never knew someone could love cocaine so much. For breakfast!!!! Why didn't I think of that!?!

Download True Story of Abner Jay

Here is a video of him playing his last gig in NY.

Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti

Sorry for the overkill on this lo-fi pop shit. I can't promise there won't be more to come but I promise I will post something different next time.

This is the newest release from Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti called Oddities Sodomies Vol. 1

Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti
Oddities Sodomies Vol. 1
(January 2, 2009 - Vinyl International)

This is a collection of odds and ends (hence the title) recorded from 1997-2004 and it ranks right near the top of his recorded oeuvre. This record is just so fantastic, the sort of record that's perfect to have spinning in your bedroom or living room on those days you just wanna lay around all day and get lost in the alternate universe in which these songs swim and splash and frolic.

Perhaps an intro would be nice. This is the album that got me hooked on this cat and most of his contemporaries. If anything give this one a thorough listen. It still ranks as my favorite.

Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti
House Arrest
(January 24, 2006 - Paw Tracks)

Let's pretend that Ariel Pink isn't Animal Collective's pet artist. That he's not unabashedly L.A. and doesn't get off on tickling our FM culture pleasure areas. That he doesn't deliberately sculpt his Brian Wilson/California weirdo-songwriter mythology to a T. That he doesn't pretend he invented genre-bending lo-fi. Got all that? Good, here's the kicker-- House Arrest is just another slightly above average album from Pink; controversy and fanfare be damned.

This last paragraph comes from Pitchfork as they proceed to give it a 6.2 on their almighty scale. They are so overrated. "Animal Collective's pet artist" because he was the first person signed to their label? That's fucked up.

Download Oddities Sodomies Vol. 1
Download House Arrest

Just for fun:
One of my favorite songs off his Worn Copy album.
MP3: Ariel Pink - “Life In L.A.”

God Is Saying This To You...

Kurt Vile
God Is Saying This To You...
(March 3, 2009 - Mexican Summer)

This came in the mail yesterday along with a few other things from Mexican Summer, but this is the real deal. I'm still kicking myself for not having gone to see his show at Amnesia last week when I had been anxiously looking forward to it. I was just getting sick though so I might have had a miserable time but I should have at least attempted. Well, this description comes straight from the label:

More than a mere odds-n-ends collection, Kurt Vile's latest LP is a compilation of tracks from Overnite KV, a tour-only CDR made in conjunction with a European tour of Kurt's other project (The War on Drugs), along with a handful of extra tracks recorded specifically for this release. Here we find Kurt solo, four-trackin' as usual, and blowing minds with his mix of bluegrass guitar, blazed singer-songwriterisms, and the knowledge of how to balance these contexts out with laidback precision. Psychedelic to its core, these twelve tracks speak to the will of the casual perfectionist, honing his craft with effortless aplomb. You'll be hearing plenty more from this Philadelphian wizard in the months to follow, and we're happy to keep the ball rolling with God Is Saying This to You.

For fans of Ariel Pink, Gary War, John Maus, Night Control, etc...

Tracklisting:
1. God Is Saying This To You
2. My Sympathy
3. Red Apples
4. Beach On the Moon (Recycled Lyrics)
5. Can't Come
6. Overnight KV
7. Prom King
8. My Best Friends (Don't Even Pass This)
9. Songs For John D
10. White Riffs
11. Doctor Orgatron
12. Frip Job

Download God Is Saying This To You...

Nite Jewel

Nite Jewel
Good Evening
(March 17, 2009 - Gloriette)

Galactic Sounds is back by popular demand. My two adoring fans have been insistent that I resume, and who am I too refuse them? I have a million things I want to put up so I hope people actually download and listen.

So, without further ado...

This has been slaying me lately. Lo-fi shit with a dark-80s twist. Something like that. Band members are Ramona Gonzalez and Emily Jane. Totally solid from start to finish. The last song, "Lover," is a Roxy Music cover and it's so rad. Check out Nite Jewel's myspace page for a couple extra tracks that are not on the album.



Tracklisting:

1. Bottom Rung
2. Suburbia
3. What Did He Say
4. Weak For Me
5. Heart Won't Start
6. Universal Mind
7. Artificial Intelligence
8. Let's Go (The Two of Us Together)
9. Chimera
10. Lover

Download Good Evening