DOWNLOAD: of Montreal - Dour Percentages
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Psychedelic masterminds of Montreal just released their eleventh full-length album with the psych-glam insanity of Paralytic Stalks. Frontman Kevin Barnes’ David Bowie tendencies are particularly evident here on the album cut “Dour Percentages.” It’s hard to exactly characterize the bizarrely compelling instrumentals that accompany Barnes’ wail, but there’s an Dionysian flair that holds it all together.
DOWNLOAD: The Pharmacy - Dig Your Grave
Seattle psych-rock band The Pharmacy has released three albums since its 2002 inception. “Dig Your Grave,” a swirling garage-rock number, is the title track of a new EP. Produced by Brandon Eggleston (Modest Mouse), the track is freewheeling and whimsical despite its dark title. Plus, the raucous number is a teasing predecessor to the band’s upcoming new full-length, Stoned & Alone, which will be out later this year.
DOWNLOAD: Mike Wexler - Pariah
(Photo: David Black)
The woozy psychedelia of "Pariah" shows that Brooklyn songwriter Mike Wexler is coming out to play on his Mexican Summer debut LP Dispossession. With a funereal pace, organ drones away while guitars feign the blues on the way to a much darker atmosphere. The vocals, steeped in breathy psychedelia, seem that of an unreliable tour guide, but one you want to follow into danger just to take a look around. Dispossession arrives March 6.
PREMIERE: Stephen Paul Smoker - Green City
Incessant stomp, gutter guitar that evolves to squall, psychedelic canyon vocals and elements of disco all appear in "Green City" by Chicago act Stephen Paul Smoker. This is dirty music for dirty times, and it comes on their upcoming debut LP entitled Ripe Fruit. Hear more on March 20 via Kilo Records.
DOWNLOAD: Cairo Knife Fight - The Origin Of Slaves
Christchurch, NZ duo Cairo Knife Fight initially started as a solo project for musician Nick Gaffaney. Now the band is fleshed-out with guitarist Aaron Tokona and have a new EP entitled II. “The Origin of Slaves” is the EP’s flagship single – a psych-tinged rocker that recalls Led Zeppelin and Foo Fighters (which the duo has opened for). It’s unpretentious modern rock that sort of makes you want to headbang.
DOWNLOAD: of Montreal - Wintered Debts
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Seems strange to turn up to work Friday morning with what is essentially a seven-minute mercy plea to the atheist god of hangovers. But you know what you get from of Montreal: unpredictability, and you can hear that in the music as it segues from indie-rock to Bowie's plastic soul to tinkling piano drift. And besides, maybe we should all sit down, take a long, hard look at ourselves, and learn to appreciate "Wintered Debts" for its pre-emptive qualities – maybe we all won't go out and inflict damage upon our bodies, minds and souls this weekend. After all, I'm pretty sure Kevin Barnes hasn't touched a drop since he wrote this song. of Montreal's eleventh (!) album Paralytic Stalks arrives February 6 through Polyvinyl.
DOWNLOAD: Seventeen Evergreen - Angels
Seventeen Evergreen takes its name from a King Crimson lyric, which makes sense when you hear the San Francisco duo’s psychedelic rock songs. The band, formed of singers and multi-instrumentalists Caleb Pate and Nephi Evans, released a new EP, Psyentist, this week – a follow-up to its debut album Life Embarrasses Me On Planet Earth. “Angels” is an atmospheric electro-rock burner that reveals complex layers of fuzzed-out instrumentation. It sounds familiar but not derivative, comfortable yet singular.
DOWNLOAD: Pontiak - Lions Of Least
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Virginia trio Pontiak make the good brand of psych rock – the kind that's more bad trips and motorcycle getaways than holding hands and eating gooballs. "Lions Of Least," the first preview from the group's upcoming Echo Ono LP, has a heavy blues snarl with deep, rifftastic bass and trippy vocals that it make it seem like you're discovering a secret Budweiser-strewn ceremony in The Stooges' honor. Hear more on February 21 via Thrill Jockey.
