Weekend Music Roundup

Back in full force this week, listening to a dizzying amount of fantasticness. I dove into the depths of my never-ending wishlist and fished out some longed-for records. So much amazing fuzzy warbles spilled out of the system this week that I had a lot to choose from to present to you all. Instead of taking all of the same-same kind of albums, I chose to put forth a collection that has something for everyone. Oh yeah, and I made a Roundup logo...just for fun.

Harlem - "Hippies": I was very skeptical coming into this one. To be honest, I thought it looked like it would be total crap. But it just goes to show you can't always judge by a cover (only sometimes). This is a great little garage rock album. Falling just on the right side of lo-fi, it reminded me of the great sounds filling the air in the summer of '01, reborn for the spring of '10 (when this officially is released). 

Greenland is Melting - Our Hearts are Gold, Our Grass is Blue: This is a pretty cool combination of alt-country/ blue grass...but it's also a garage sound album. Reminded me of early Lucero. Nothing revolutionary, but if you like that country twang to your garage albums, this is worth picking.

Paloma Faith - Do You Want the Truth or Something Beautiful?: This is a genre I typically avoid, but after hearing Paloma sing a few lines on Nevermind the Buzzcocks, I was curious. Her voice was amazing. The album is much more on the pop side I usually drift, falling squarely in the trend of British blue-eyed soul that has been happening since Amy Winehouse and Lilly Allen's success. But that said, this is easily the best I've heard in the genre. Incredibly catchy beats and an amazing soulful voice make this is worth a listen. I'm loving it. 

Demetori - Shout at the Devil: Yes, the cover art and the title nod to Motley Crue certainly influenced my curiosity in this album. It's a decent example of the Japanese style of power metal being played this past decade (think Boris). A kind of metal that isn't really being played so much in the States anymore (everything here either shifted to death metal or stoner drone). Solid enough instrumental fast-paced effort from 2006.

C.A. Quintet - Trip Thru Hell: This psych-rock album from 1968 is very reminiscent of the Floyd albums from this era (More, Obscured by the Clouds, Atom Heart Mother) which are among my favorite Floyd albums. It's a great story album, ranging from epic instrumental tracks to lo-fi acoustic hippy moments. I was happy to discover it.

Spirogyra - St. Radigunds: The bands '71 debut album is a treasure of the progressive folk scene. While many of the albums from that era drift too far away into the corny for my tastes, this album stays on the serious and sad side in its mood. Very Bowie-esque in many parts, very Fairport Convention in others. A perfect rainy day kind of album. 

Wu Tang vs. The Beatles - Enter the Magical Mystery Chambers: This was passed on to me by my good friend and fellow music aficionado, the dANIMAL. It's easily one of the most impressive albums I've heard in quite some time. A mash-up of the Beatles and Wu-Tang seems unlikely, but somehow, it sounds as if it were always meant to be. Two innovative bands meet to create something as equally original as the source material. Available for free download here ... get it NOW. 

Rodriguez - Cold Fact: Also given to me by the dANIMAL, this is Detroit singer/songwriter's '70 psych-folk album is like an angrier, grittier Donovan. Pretty great stuff.

The Crazy World of Arthur Brown: I admit to not knowing of this late '60s British psychedelic rock band until this week while watching a wonderful documentary called Rock City. There was a live performance by them doing "I Put a Spell On You" regaled in total freak paint. It was breathtaking. Apparently, they were a Marilyn Manson of their time, scaring the daylights out of middle class parents. The album has a San Fran sound and does it well. Interesting sidenote: there's a song that references Rossetti's Goblin Market (which I wrote about last week). 

Trees - On the Shore: Another lost artifact of London's psych-folk movement, this 1970 album owes a lot to The Incredible String Band. If you're in the mood to get your freak folk vibe on, I think you could do a lot worse than to spin this once or twice.

Follow up to last week's Pink Floyd album. After some comparisons, it seems the Amsterdam '69 concert is the best quality of "The Man" & "The Journey" performances. It's widely available on several different bootlegs. That's the one to to go for though. Truly perfection.