Hookworms

I've been on a little bit of a psych-rock tear lately, so it's quite convenient that i come across Leeds act Hookworms.  Listen to the epic, sprawling "Away / Towards" below from their upcoming "Pearl Mystic" LP due this September on Weird World.  Slow builds of ever increasing noise and feedback, screaming, yelling, hollering through a wall of Velvet Underground-inspired fuzzy crunch.  This is the sound of staring into the sun for too long.  Listen and download below.

Conspiracy of Owls

Listen to the psych-garage-rock wonderfulness of "The Lesson" from Conspiracy of Owls below and go pre-order the flexi 7" from the always fun and dependable Burger Records.

Yamantaka // Sonic Titan

Canadian experimental-rock-opera-metal-no-wave-avant-garde act Yamantaka // Sonic Titan get the reissue treatment from Suicide Squeeze later this month, with the lovely release of their album, "YT//ST."  It's a really cool blend of styles that makes the group sound familiar, yet totally in a nitch by themselves.  Listen to "Queens" below.

La Luz

Enjoy the 60's-inspired, girl group, summer vibes of Seattle's La Luz.  "Brainwash" comes from the upcoming 7" on Suicide Squeeze Records.  Listen below.

Bobby Jealousy - White Rabbit

I'm tired and i've got nothing today, so here's a pretty rad cover of "White Rabbit" from Austin's own Bobby Jealousy.

Jagwar Ma

It's Independence Day, and we should all be outside, hanging out with friends, family, and loved ones, grilling food, eating too much, drinking too much, and handling dangerous explosives.  And what better way to soundtrack your day of patriotic shenanigans than with some psyched-out, bloodshot jams from Australian duo Jagwar Ma.  Listen to "The Throw" below and try not to hear the Mad-chester influence.  Get the "Howlin" LP from Marathon Artists.

Found Vinyl: Synergy - Sequencer

I've never really been sure what it is about the synthesizer and the compositions created for the instrument that just grab me by my ears and brain and won't let go.  In some ways i think it's linked to my enjoyment of classical music (which i credit solely to years and years of watching old cartoons scored with classical compositions).  I also think that being a movie person (even as a little kid), and growing up in the 80's when synth-scores were the norm (before their more recent revival), just warped my brain to where nothing sounds quite as good as an old analog synthesizer.  And so we have the works of musician and composer Larry Fast who spent over 10 years cranking out albums as Synergy.  The 1976 album "Sequencer" is a lovely work of art, a canvas of synthetic sounds that create a blinking and moving landscape.  Take a listen to "Sequence 14."



Nice stuff.  The whole record is really just a classical composition as performed by robots.  I love it.  Listen to "S-Scrape."



And finally, here's "Cybersports."  Oh yeah.


Happy 4th of July!  Enjoy some nice synth-jams, and remember, this is what the future was supposed to sound like.

Classixx

A little bit of disco, a little bit of 80's synth-pop, a little bit of R&B, and a whole lot of funk, groove, and shaking of asses, and suddenly you're neck deep into "Hanging Gardens" from LA production duo Classixx. Listen to the head-bobbing, hair-whipping, hand-clapping electro swing of "All You're Waiting For" below, featuring an assist from LCD Soundsystem's Nancy Whang, and grab the record from Innovative Leisure.

Blondes

The analog synth and electronic arrangements of Blondes are readying their new "Swisher" LP for release in August via RVNG.  The duo have kindly provided a stream of the entire album with accompanying visuals for your enjoyment.  Watch and listen below.

Dressed in Streams

Black metal mixed with ominous reverb and sci-fi synth and laser effects?  Yes please.  Check out an excerpt from Dressed in Streams' "The Search for Blood" cassette.  "No Atonement" is both brutal and harmonic.  The cassette is sold out, but you can still get digital copies from Colloquial Sound Recordings.