Weekend Music Roundup

Welcome to the weekend! This week I take a look at some new albums that I've been listening to. It's mostly rock on here, but with one hip hop release that I'm excited about. I had other reviews all ready for this post but the internet gods have forsaken me and they vanished from their saved place. So, next week should be interesting as I try to re-capture some thoughts on other albums. Enjoy these and hopefully there's something here you'll want to hear.

Black Rainbows - Pandemonium: This the newest album from the Italian heavy rock band that is a bit of a mash up of all the heavy rock sounds of the time. Part stoner rock, part heavy psych, part space rock, it all comes together to form something that is quite enjoyable. It's been nearly a decade since they began releasing records and have worked hard to get their groove just right. "Sunrise," "The Sacrifice," and "The Abyss" are standouts.

The Choppy Bumpy Peaches - Sgt. Konfuzius and The Flowers of Venus: The debut album from the Luxembourg psychedelic space rock band is a quality effort in the genre. It blends 60's sunshine psychedelic with a space theme and the mixture works nice. The softer vocals are a nice touch to a genre that is dominated by aggressive vocals. "Spacetravel," "Red Velvet Cake," and "Juska" are my personal favorites.

Jean Grae X Quelle Chris - Everything's Fine: One of the best and most unheralded hip hop artists of the past two decades, Jean Grae returns with another album of rhymes that are intelligent, relevant, and delivered with expert timing. The addition of Quelle Chris makes for a great pairing of styles. As always, Jean is asking you to put your thinking caps on, urging everybody who is listening to wake up and pay attention to the shit going on around...never more so than with this concept album that takes on the institutionalized complacency that exists in modern society.
 

Dead Moon - Stranded in the Mystery Zone: For whatever reason, this garage rock band from Oregon never made it bigger in the States despite a slew of amazing albums released in late 80's and early 90's. This is their forth album, released in '91 and it's a good ten years ahead of the curve. This would have been HUGE in 2001. It's scruffy garage rock that would later take over the music scene, but was shrouded by the edgier punk sound of contemporaries. A fantastic album that I recently found used on vinyl.