Bridget St John-Songs for the Gentleman

Kind of weird that several old folk sirens have gained some retroactive accolades. Vashti Bunyan was deemed cool enough now to record with Animal Collective (fuck that band), Sibylle Baier is supposed to have a new album out soon, even the more obscure like Karen Dalton and Anne Briggs are getting hipster points (I think I heard Steve Malkmus talking about them). I’m sure St. John gets credit by those in the know, but I never hear anyone talking about her. And she’s one of my favorite astral goddesses. She’s got this haunting and rich voice that makes me feel like she’s singing directly to my soul. And the arrangements on this record are simply fantastic. Honestly, this is close to perfection.

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United Bible Studies-Huntly Town

There’s plenty of people currently trying to sound like some ancient band of minstrels. Some even goes as far as to sport codpieces and leggings and prance around like the fools that they are (like in that fantastic Mighty Boosh send up). But leave your merkin at home since that stuff normally gets pretty boring pretty quick. I say avoid it unless you’ve got a time machine and know how to use it. United Bible Studies must be aware of this. They are able to capture the essence of lost cultures but it still sounds thoroughly contemporary. Fairly sparse arrangements offer plenty of room for your mind to wander, but not too far. That’s not to say that this is some kind of wallpaper music but that the spaciousness makes the performances even more intimate. So get cozy snuggle bunny.

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Andy Zwerling-Spiders in the Night

This looks like a million other records that came out during this era. Just a pretty average looking dude relaxing on his roof. And I’m sure plenty of people assumed that it would be like all the other records it resembles. But if they happened to flip over the sleeve and read a few of the song titles like “Knife Man” (followed by “Slicing”), “Turtles vs. the Green Ants,” and the eponymous track would hint at the weirdness and charm of this album. It does have that folky, singer-songwriter vibe, but that’s matched with that cellar dwelling, creepo psychosis too. A nice a relaxing piece of dementia. And just what is he doing up on that roof?

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Rote Kapelle-The Big Smell Dinosaur E.P.

I really wanted to post this because I want this album cover to appear somewhere on this site. How can deny the awesomeness of some coloring book dinosaur art? It's a trick question because I know it is impossible. Covers aside, the content is also post worthy. Containing members of bands such as the Shop Assistants, the previously posted Fizzbombs, and Jesse Garon and the Desperadoes you know that pedigree would only produce beautiful babies. Further evidence that Scotland was always producing some of the best music.

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Grace Slick-Manhole

Here’s another album from the pile that people tend to scoff at but have never really listened to. When not going on drunken rants about Nazis (youtube it) Grace Slick was once capable of crafting some really impressive music. <>. I’m sure that over familiarity with Jefferson Airplane has left many psych heads to neglect their back catalog, and that’s a major mistake since they have some truly remarkable moments (Crown of Creation possibly being their crowning achievement). I won’t say that I love this as much as some of their works, but this has some really unexpected and memorable tracks. At only 6 tracks the album seems like just the appropriate dose.

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Pure Hell-Noise Addiction

If you look at this cover and still don’t want to download this, then I have to seriously question your taste. It’s funny that I can distinctly remember seeing people walk down the street wearing nearly identical outfits. It just all seems so long ago and my memory is getting about as bad as my mother’s. Some will call this proto-afro-punk, but I think it’s simply just some great, fun rock music. Pretty simple really, but it’s a formula that people seem to continuously get wrong. Here what you rock bands need to remember: keep it simple and stupid and you’ll be fine. There’s nothing wrong with that. I'm sure I've written this before but I can't really remember.

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The Tree People

Well, I posted the Trees Community recording recently and that seemed to get some downloads so I might as well continue the trend and post this. Up front you should know that this isn’t the pre-Built to Spill Doug Marsch band. They don’t have a space in their name. Instead this is more psychedelic inflected folk. I imagine that they recorded this is some Keebler elves style tree house but that might not be the case. It certainly sounds like it could have been however. It’s warm and sunny here today and the new job prospect has left my in a decent mood today (unusual I know), and this is a great album to play as you fly your kite. Mine is in the shape of a flamingo.

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