This week brings us 2 new releases from Hypnotic Bridge records. Devoted to the 7-inch, vinyl, 45-rpm format, the label specializes in bringing glorious psych-pop singles to fans, DJs, and collectors of psychedelic artifacts. Records are pressed in limited-edition quantities of 500 per single and often represent a band’s most psychedelic, 1960s-inspired sounds. The Black Watch: “Crying all The Time!” b/w “One Hundred Million Times Around The Sun” & “Much of Muchness” The Black Watch have been creating their unique blend of post-punk psychedelia for nearly 3 decades. This latest single from Hypnotic Bridge is a testament to their sound. The A side is “Crying All The Time!” (psych mix),…
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New lineup and new songs from King Black Acid
Portland psych-rock outfit King Black Acid has gone through many forms over the past 20+ years. Daniel Riddle has remained at the band’s core since its formation in the early 90s, and continues to be the band’s driving artistic force. Last Thursday, August 15th, KBA took to the stage at Holocene in Portland OR for their first show in a year, debuting both a new lineup and new material. According to Daniel: “This is our first show out with a whole new set. We’ve moved Gabby up from backing vocals and acoustic guitar to singing co-lead vocals and electric guitar. When both keyboard players left we took it as a…
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New Week, New Release: Redd Kross’ “Beyond The Door”
Redd Kross has been a part of my life for literally as long as I can remember- born in 1990 to extremely hip parents, my dad was a Redd Kross fan even before my time. My parents saw the band play with The Go-Go’s in Oakland a few months after my birth, and throughout my entire childhood the promotional poster for the Neurotica album was up on our living room wall and Redd Kross tunes were constantly on the stereo. In high school, my brothers and I covered “Annies Gone” in our band, though we were never quite as cool as brothers Jeff and Steven Mcdonald. Jeff and Steven Mcdonald…
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King Khan Re-Khan
POW/WCSB King Khan is no newcomer to the garage psych revival, but his new release, Turkey Ride (Khannibalism / Ernest Jenning) is sleek peek into his auspicious origins. Turkey Ride is the work of then kid, King Khan, recorded some 18 years ago in Europe. But the kid King is not playing on Turkey Ride. This is a perfectly produced, 13-song gem, packed with wah-wah pedal rockers, punk ravers, and soul-soaked psych-outs. Think Black Lips versus Elephant Stone in a James Brown bareknuckle rockdown. In short, I dig it. King Khan is known for his stage-packed, clowning send-up revue, but Turkey Ride is a serious rocker, even if replete in madcap madness.…
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New Week, New Release: Omicron J Trauma
I’m a sucker for cute young guys making good music. Alright, mostly I’m just a sucker for good music, but cute guys are also a plus. As I absent-mindedly searched through new releases tagged “powerpop” on Bandcamp, I happened across a cool looking album cover by a band with a weird name, and well, here we are. Omicron J Trauma are 2 young guys from Dallas (plus a veteran drummer/producer) who have just released their first album, You Should Have Thought About That. Here’s why it’s worth your time The first track on the release, “Good Conversation”, has been stuck in my head for several weeks now. Catchy, straight forward…
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POW MAGAZINE GOES TO THE WATERFRONT BLUES FESTIVAL
On this Fourth of July weekend, POW MAGAZINE attended Portland, Oregon’s Waterfront Blues Festival for the very first time. The Blues is not POW’s regular music focus. However, in this instance POW MAGAZINE was invited to the Waterfront Blues Festival to provide media coverage of the Vintage Trouble Band. Vintage Trouble was scheduled to perform two shows, one on the main Beaverton Blues Stage and then in the Marriot Hotel Ballroom after hours venue. They also appeared at a meet and greet session at the Music Millennium tent where their devoted fans could meet them in person and purchase CD’s and LP’s and have them autographed. POW was able to…