Skogen Brinner

1970's inspired stoner rock is a live and well in Sweden.  Skogen Brinner's debut LP "1st" is available now from Subliminal Sounds and pairs the down-tuned guitar tones of Black Sabbath with some of the crunchier classic rock vibes.  Think Black Foghat Sabbath.  Yeah.  Watch the video for "Pundarvarning" below (it translates to "Junkie Warning").

White Poppy

Last month i posted about the ethereal and dreamy sound of wonderful that is Canada's White Poppy.  The band have a new self-titled full-length LP out on Not Not Fun right now, and it's a beautiful reverby and shoegazey daydream of an album.  Get it here and listen to "Wear Me Away" below.

Disco Doom

Part Dinosaur Jr guitar fuzz, part 70's glam rock grandstanding, the new jam "Ex Teenager" from Swiss band Disco Doom is two minutes of pure sonic bliss, a lo-fi love letter to the masses.  Keep an eye out for the band's upcoming new album on Exploding In Sound, and listen to the jam below.

LX Sweat

Fog machines and strobe lights blurring out sections of an ancient and weathered city, as dirty and sweaty city dwellers move and bump and collide among one another, a gathering of Eurotrash despair.  Germany's LX Sweat provides the soundtrack to the slithering masses with their cocktails and designer drugs and S&M bars.  The little 90's raver living inside me is just dying.  Take a listen to "V.I.P. L.I.F.E." from the new "City of Sweat" LP out now on Not Not Fun.

Found Vinyl: Jan Hammer - The First Seven Days

Long before there were mountains of cocaine and the "Miami Vice" theme song, composer and musician Jan Hammer used his considerable talents...and probably a little cocaine...to write and record the 1975 album "The First Seven Days."  The record is a grand mix of old school synthesizers, guitar wankery, and overt new age mumbo jumbo.  It's the perfect blend of cheese and awesome.  Needless to say, i love it.  But enough with the formalities, here's some music.  Album opener "Darkness/Earth in Search of a Sun"...



"Oceans and Continents"...



And finally, here's "The Animals"...



Enjoy your cheese for the evening.

Russian Tsarlag

Warbled and dirty lo-fi recordings of longing that sound like they were recorded in a dumpster about sums up the newest album by Providence's Russian Tsarlag, "Gagged in Boonesville."  If the preceding sentence wasn't enough to win you over, then i'm afraid we're on different wave lengths my friend.  Take a listen to the lonesome sounding title track below and get the record from Not Not Fun.

Darkside

Following their excellent reworking/re-imagining of Daft Punk's "Random Access Memories" earlier this summer, electronic duo Darkside (Nicolas Jaar and Dave Harrington) are back with a new album of original material in October called "Psychic."  Bits of static and computer fuzz give way to a trance-like beat and pulsing bass and synth tones, ending in a crescendo of warped vocals on album opener "Golden Arrow."  Get hypnotized with the video below and keep an eye out for the album on Matador.

Russian Circles

I have been digging on the heavy metal lately.  I'm not sure why.  It's probably something to do with the economic and political climate of the moment.  Anyway, reason or not, i'm finding all kinds of excellent music on the horizon, like the new one from post-metal instrumental juggernauts Russian Circles.  Listen to the driving and crunching "Deficit" from the forthcoming "Memorial" below and look for the record soon on Sargent House.

Horseback

Chapel Hill experimental metal band Horseback just released a three-disc compilation of rarities and one-offs for Relapse Records called "A Plague of Knowing."  It's amazing.   The half decade's worth of material on this comp finds the band taking on elements of a number of different genres and molding them into a unique sound all their own.  Black metal, drone, stoner metal, doom, psych rock, krautrock, and Americana all make appearances in this sprawling and excellent mix of jams.  They even do us a solid and cover The Stooges.  I highly recommend it.  Take a listen to the slow burning "Heathen Earth" below.

Awesome movies currently streaming on Netflix

Phil Nobile Jr writes an excellent column for the always entertaining Badass Digest.  His monthly "Big Streaming Pile" compiles awesome films currently available to watch on different movie streaming services.  You should read it.  But first, you should read my blatant rip-off.

Here's four films you should watch on Netflix right now.

Upstream Color - Shane Carruth's second feature is a trippy love story about...well, i think it's actually best to go in cold on this one like i did.  It's a beautiful, thought-provoking film that feels like Terrence Malick courting Philip K. Dick.

It's A Disaster - The debut (i think) feature from Todd Berger about a brunch.  A brunch among friends who are all hiding things from each other.  A brunch among friends who are hiding things from each other while a terrorist chemical weapons attack goes on outside the house.  This movie is way funnier than it has any right to be.

Prohibition - You really should watch every Ken Burns documentary.  They're all excellent.  This three-parter about the Prohibition era is a lot of fun and exhaustively researched.

Once Upon a Time in the West - Ending with a classic, this is probably my favorite Sergio Leone film, my favorite Ennio Morricone soundtrack, and my favorite spaghetti western period.  It's beautifully shot, acted, scored, and on and on and on.  If you've never seen it, you owe it to yourself to check it out.

Okay, so go and watch these now.  You've got a great Sunday ahead of you.