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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New Week, New Release: Juju’s “Maps & Territory”
It’s very rare that I’m sent a release that I have great difficulty writing about because I just can’t put what I’m hearing into words accurately. However this is the exactly the situation I’ve been put into with Juju’s Maps & Territory, out this Friday May 31st on Fuzz Club records. These 7 tracks are something I can crudely describe as atmospheric, exotic stoner rock- yet reducing the music to simply that is doing it a great disservice. Maybe I’m out of my element here. But trust me when I say that Maps & Territory is worth a listen- so spend your Monday off kicking back, maybe sparking up a…
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New Week, New Release: The Woolly Bushmen “In Shambles”
You guys, The Woolly Bushmen are so cool. I mean it, these 3 guys just have it going on. They’re fun, and talented, and I just want them to play every house party I host. They’re the most fun thing to come outta Florida since Disneyworld. Last years sophomore release from the band, Arduino, was one of my favorite and most played releases of the year, and with In Shambles (out this Friday, May 10th) The Woolly Bushmen have gifted us another slab of killer rock n roll that I’m sure I’ll be spinning all year long. The album opens up with “What Yer Doing To Me”, catchy, straight up…
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New Week, New Release: Shana Cleveland’s “Night of The Worm Moon”
When I was a teenager, much to my parents’ chagrin, I painted my bedroom walls black. To contrast the blackness, I strung up Christmas lights around the room and installed a rainbow colored ceiling fan- each of it’s blades was a different color. I discovered that while the colors of the spinning blades were indistinguishable when the fan was on, by turning on a mini strobe light, each strobe flash would freeze an individual blade color, creating a really groovy effect. I spent many of my nights stoned, laying on my floor and listening to music while staring up at the stroboscopic rainbow spinning above me. Shana Cleveland’s sophomore solo…
