OK everyone, here is my latest Mixtape review (yes I am celebrating myself, if you have a problem with it then maybe you should celebrate me more) , and I felt I needed to out do my last one and boy I think I did just that, almost to the point of agony. Plus not to get personal, but focusing on music for at least 8 ½ hours is how I work through my problems, as I always say down with the Guns and up with the Puns. Believe me I know that was not funny at all.I have named this mix-tape “I Kill Therefore I Am”, because Phil Ochs rules I hope you all enjoy it. It will be available in our Mix-tape swap bin this weekend, so come by and drop one off and pick up my magnum opus (I think I used that right).1. "Last Summer" – The Troggs – Trogglodynamite w/ Bonus Tracks (Repertoire)Also, no matter how many reviews that trash the first track on the re-issue "Last Summer", are you insane? This song is perfect, I just listened to it 3 times in a row, you don't see me doing that with The Hold Steady, which I have filed right between dog pee soaked paper towel and a ramen package in my trashcan. "oh No" is another of the highlights of this Supurb Collection of Performances by the Troggs, Originally Released in 1966. It Typifies the Group's Mixture of Musical Aggression and Saucy Humor that Helped Make them a 60s Pop Sensation. We Hear the Troggs, Fronted by Singer Reg Presley, in Action on 14 Dynamite Numbers that Include a Spirited Version of Chuck Berry's "Little Queenie" and Bo Diddley's "Mona" as Well as Reg Presley Originals, Notably "i Want You to Come Into My Life". This CD Includes Eight Bonus Tracks featuring a and B Sides of Such Singles as "Any Way that You Want Me" and "Give it to Me". 2. "Walking With Jesus" – Spacemen 3 – Taking Drugs To Make Music To Take Drugs To (Bomp)The first Spacemen 3 single, oddly enough, appeared after Sound of Confusion's release rather than before it. Motivated in part by dissatisfaction over that album's version of the 13th Floor Elevators' psych classic "Rollercoaster," the band went in to rerecord it — and that they did, whipping up a monstrous 17-minute blast of aggro feedback and repetitive-and-all-the-better-for-it stomp. Samples at the beginning and end of an actual rollercoaster ride might force the performance a bit, but the result is sheer brilliance through and through. The title track itself, one of the oldest ever Spacemen 3 tunes, gets a quick-pace readthrough, in line with the similar demo on the Taking Drugs to Make Music compilation, making its slow, drowsy take on Perfect Prescription so striking in context. Similarly, another Perfect Prescription cut also surfaces here first: "Feel So Good" is rougher and with less orchestration, but still has the same blissed-and-gone feeling. 3. "Rude Awakening #2" – Creedence Clearwater Revival – Pendulum (Fantasy)Before the real review, I am going on the record saying that even if he does not know it Ben Chasny would not have started Six Organs without hearing this one.During 1969 and 1970, CCR was dismissed by hipsters as a bubblegum pop band and the sniping had grown intolerable, at least to John Fogerty, who designed Pendulum as a rebuke to critics. He spent time polishing the production, bringing in keyboards, horns, even a vocal choir. His songs became self-consciously serious and tighter, working with the aesthetic of the rock underground — Pendulum was constructed as a proper album, contrasting dramatically with CCR's previous records, all throwbacks to joyous early rock records where covers sat nicely next to hits and overlooked gems tucked away at the end of the second side. To some fans of classic CCR, this approach may feel a little odd since only "Have You Ever Seen the Rain" and maybe its B-side "Hey Tonight" sound undeniably like prime Creedence. But, given time, the album is a real grower, revealing many overlooked Fogerty gems. Yes, it isn't transcendent like the albums they made from Bayou Country through Cosmo's Factory, but most bands never even come close to that kind of hot streak. Instead, Pendulum finds a first-class songwriter and craftsman pushing himself and his band to try new sounds, styles, and textures. His ambition results in a stumble — "Rude Awakening 2" portentously teeters on the verge of prog-rock, something CCR just can't pull off — but the rest of the record is excellent, with such great numbers as the bluesy groove "Pagan Baby," the soulful vamp "Chameleon," the moody "It's Just a Thought," and the raver "Molina." Most bands would kill for this to be their best stuff, and the fact that it's tucked away on an album that even some fans forget illustrates what a tremendous band Creedence Clearwater Revival was. 4. "Blossom (Got To Get It Out) – Komeda – Kokomemedada (Minty Fresh)Released in the U.S. a year after it was issued in the rest of the world, Komeda's long-awaited fourth album, Kokomemedada, doesn't quite match the heights of What Makes It Go?. However, it does deliver more of the band's fun and occasionally surprising pastiches of rock, pop, disco, synth pop, and whatever else catches their fancy. After more than a decade of their music, it's still pretty remarkable how often Komeda's collage pop turns out to be greater than the sum of its parts. "Blossom (Got to Get It Out)" is a fine example: the song was originally on Powerpuff Girls: Heroes & Villains in a more frantic, chopped-up rendition, but here, it has a chugging groove and funky low end that borrows liberally from Krautrock and soul. Usually, resurrecting a previously released song is a sign of trouble, but by sampling themselves, Komeda once again make "Blossom (Got to Get It Out)" a highlight of the album on which it appears. In turn, the song seems to have inspired the sassy bounce of a couple other Kokomemedada tracks. "Reproduce" borrows some of "Blossom"'s choogle, along with the melody and bassline of Canned Heat's "On the Road Again," while the U.S. bonus track "Check It Out" jumps and shakes like a wind-up toy as its backward backing vocals and bleep-bloopy synths give it an appealing trippiness. "Victory Lane"'s sexy fusion of new wave and disco makes it a standout track, and the same can be said for the sparkling pop of "Elvira Madigan," an homage to Bo Widerberg's 1967 film. Kokomemedada's poppy songs pull the listener into the album immediately, but its quieter tracks grow more interesting with repeated listens. "Nonsense" opens the album on a low-key but intricate note, its slightly glitchy psychedelia moving from sad to happy and back to sad again. "Fade In Fade Out" and "Dead" also add some delicacy to the album, with layers of chilly synths, strings, and Lena Karlsson's vocals. The album loses a little momentum after the Magnetic Fields-like "Catcher," and while it isn't as captivating overall as Komeda's best work, Kokomemedada is still a strong addition to the band's discography. 5. "Cyclone Eyes" – Pajo – 1968 (Drag City)After his recent series of EPs released while he was on tour with Zwan, and then an album that I had largely forgotten about comes this masterpiece, Pajo es Mi Hermano.Cut from the same cloth as his self-titled 2005 release, David Pajo's 2006 album, 1968, floats in-between the same pastoral, electronic-tinged intimacy and restrained, pop/rock bounce that he explored on his first full-length debut. Pajo is an artist who requires more than a cursory scan of the disc to really get a grasp on what he's up to. One song into 1968 ("Who's That Knocking") — it's a dark and static-y D.I.Y. affair. Three songs in ("Foolish King" and "We Get Along, Mostly") it feels like a smart, bouncy, driving pop/rock record, which just happens to have a dark opening track. If you eschewed the track order, and just dove in on track six ("Wrong Turn"), the impression would be that of a hybrid electronica project — all percolating blips and bleeps over an intimate bed of organics. Leave it playing, and the following tune, "Cyclone Eye," has you reaching for the jewel case to make sure it's not some alternate version of Led Zeppelin's "Rain Song" — the acoustic intro mapping a similarly Gallic melancholy — but ultimately achieving a greater intimacy, thanks to Pajo's gentle but uber-present whisper. Track eight shifts gears yet again, this time finding Pajo returning to the Simon & Garfunkel template that he utilized so well on past efforts (like "Manson Twins," from his first full-length) — taking "Walk Through the Dark" to an emotional, if not dramatic, crescendo. If all this seems like a recipe for album-wide schizophrenia, it's not. Somehow, Pajo keeps it all glued together. It's probably that subdued-yet-in-your-face vocal delivery, or the rustic-high-tech of his recording style but, whatever the case, David Pajo manages to impart a great sense of cohesiveness throughout this impressively diverse album. 6. "End Of My Dream" – The Clean – Anthology (Merge)The Clean were one of the most influential New Zealand bands of the post-punk era. The band formed in the town of Dunedin in 1978, when Hamish Kilgour (drums) and his brother David (guitar) recruited David's school friend, guitarist Peter Gutteridge. Soon afterward, they opened for New Zealand punk rockers Enemy.The Clean were one of the first bands in the country to play original material. They carved out a distinctive noisy but melodic sound, distinguished by David's screeching, distorted guitar. When the Kilgour brothers decided in 1979 to relocate the band to Auckland, Gutteridge had already left the lineup. The Clean played with a rotating bassist before David quit the band and moved back to Dunedin. Once he was back home, he was introduced to bassist Robert Scott and the two started playing together; news of his brother's new musical relationship prompted Hamish to move back to Dunedin and begin the Clean again.In early 1980, the group began playing around town in earnest. In early 1981, a fan named Roger Shepherd began Flying Nun Records to release a single by the Clean, "Tally Ho!" With its jagged guitar, sweet melody, and persistent organ, "Tally Ho!" reached number 19 on the charts.As they prepared to record their first album, they discovered that the small amount of New Zealand engineers didn't care for the band's material. The Clean didn't fight — they backed down, deciding to record on a four-track under the guidance of Chris Knox and Doug Hood. In November, the Boodle Boodle Boodle EP was released; it surprised every observer by climbing to number four on the New Zealand charts.Boodle and the 1982 EP Great Sounds Great captured the quirky sides of the Clean's sound, since they did not have the technology to replicate the band's roaring live sound. Later in 1982, the group released their loudest single yet, "Getting Older." Soon after its release, David Kilgour exited the band, moving back to Dunedin. Robert Scott left after David's departure, forming a band of his own, the Bats. Hamish Kilgour moved to Christchurch — where Flying Nun Records was located — and bought his own four-track. After Hamish had begun writing and recording, David came up to Christchurch to help finish up the solo tracks, as well as to record some Clean songs. The resulting music, released under the name the Great Unwashed, was collected on the album Clean Out of Our Minds. The music was a departure from the Clean's punk-injected sound; instead, it was folkier and more acoustic.To promote the record, the Kilgours reunited with Peter Gutteridge while still using the name the Great Unwashed. On the ensuing tour, the band concentrated on Gutteridge's backlog of material; at the beginning of 1984, they recorded an EP called Singles. Singles earned quite a bit of airplay and sales. Bassist Ross Humphries was added so David Kilgour and Gutteridge could both play guitar, yet the Great Unwashed wound up breaking up within a year. Hamish Kilgour formed Bailter Space with guitarist Alister Parker, Gutteridge began developing a new band called Snapper, and David stopped playing for a few years.The Clean — the lineup featuring Robert Scott — reunited in 1988 for two concerts in London; a five-song EP culled from the shows was released a year later. The members of the band were encouraged by the results and decided to embark on a world tour. After the tour ended, the band recorded a new album, which was more straightforward and pop-oriented than their previous material. The record, Vehicle, was released in the spring of 1990 and the band supported its release with a world tour. After the tour's completion, the band split again. David Kilgour formed Stephen, Scott returned to the Bats, and Hamish Kilgour was inactive; the group reunited in 1994 to record a new album. Modern Rock was released in late 1995, followed by Unknown Country in 1996. Getaway appeared in 2001 on Merge, but went unnoticed. Two years later, the definitive Clean collection was captured on the Anthology release. 7. "Dust" – 13th Floor Elevators – I Have Always Been Here Before (Sony/BMG)If Roky Erickson had vanished from the face of the earth after the 13th Floor Elevators released their epochal debut single, "You're Gonna Miss Me," in early 1966, in all likelihood he'd still be regarded as a legend among garage rock fanatics for his primal vocal wailing and feral harmonica work. But while Erickson has become something of an icon among fans of rock at its edgiest, far too many regard the man as some sort of acid casualty who peaked with his first record and has been babbling about movie monsters ever since. Though Erickson's first two albums with the 13th Floor Elevators are watershed works of the early psychedelic movement (especially the wondrous Easter Everywhere), his later solo releases (recorded after a stay in a Texas mental hospital took a fearsome toll on Erickson's psyche) contain many moments of brilliant, bare-wired rock & roll despite their freak-show reputation, and his occasional forays into folk-rock (especially on the lovely All That May Do My Rhyme) possess a gentle wisdom and mesmerizing beauty that are genuinely inspiring. Erickson's body of recorded work has long merited an intelligently assembled critical overview, and thankfully Bill Bentley, a longtime Erickson partisan who assembled the 1990 multi-artist compilation Where the Pyramid Meets the Eye: A Tribute to Roky Erickson, has created just such an album with I Have Always Been Here Before: The Roky Erickson Anthology. Beginning with Erickson's first single (a magnetic 1965 side with his early band the Spades), I Have Always Been Here Before swings into a well-chosen ten-song overview of Erickson's tenure with the Elevators (and while the liner notes claim the version of "Slip Inside This House" is a rare single edit, it's actually the full-length album cut). Even more importantly, the bulk of I Have Always Been Here Before sorts the pearls from a number of poorly assembled collections of Erickson's solo recordings, and the switchblade proto-punk rock of "Click Your Fingers Applauding the Play," the twisted pop of "Creature With the Atom Brain," and the plaintive folk-rock of "You Don't Love Me Yet" make clear that Erickson's talents went in a number of different directions, but his bright, clear vocals, fine songs, and sharp rhythm guitar work shine like a jewel in any context. I Have Always Been Here Before: The Roky Erickson Anthology confirms what a handful of fans have long known — that Erickson is a major talent who has created a remarkable body of work — and this is easily the most comprehensive and satisfying collection of his music assembled to date. If you have any interest at all in Roky Erickson's music, this is easily the best starting point to investigate his work, and unlike many Erickson collections, the artist will actually get royalties for this one. 7. "Taste Of Cindy (Acoustic)" – Jesus & Mary Chain – Barbed Wire Kisses (Warner)Taste of Cindy" is brief — just under two minutes — and even on the deliberately reductive Psychocandy, almost comical in its near-moronic simplicity. And that's why it's the only album track on the Jesus and Mary Chain's debut that measures up to the punk-pop perfection of the singles "Just Like Honey" and "Never Understand." "Taste of Cindy" is a miniature tribute to the Ramones, slowing da brudders' speed-freak rhythms down to a more measured stroll but otherwise aping the sound of the Rocket to Russia era perfectly, right down to the British Invasion-esque hiccup at the end of the chorus. Of course, the ever-present feedback links the song back to the rest of the Reid brothers' early oeuvre, but it's nice to hear an acknowledgement of one of the Jesus and Mary Chain's most obvious early influences. 8. "Don't Look Back" – Freeheat – Back On The Water (Planting Seeds Records)The dissolution of the Jesus and Mary Chain didn't mean an end to music-making for the Reid brothers, though Jim Reid and fellow JAMC refugee Ben Lurie found themselves unable to release a full album during the existence of their subsequent band, Freeheat. Appearing at the same time as the JAMC reissues in the middle of 2006, Back on the Water is therefore simultaneously new and retrospective, a catch-all of various studio EP tracks recorded in 1997 and live songs taken from a date at Amsterdam's legendary Paradiso venue in 2003. The differences between Freeheat and its more famous forebear are, unsurprisingly, pretty minimal — whatever differences caused the Reids' split, they don't appear to have been musical (song titles like "Dead End Kids" and "Down" further make the point). Hearing Reid's familiar yowl right from the start on "Keep on Truckin'" set against a big guitar riff/pop hook blast establishes where Freeheat goes from there, in particular suggesting the Stoned & Dethroned era. There's more country/folk-as-such songs such as "Shine on Little Star" that could have been on said album, while some songs like "Down" and "Everything," with its slinking strut and tense guitar break, are winners in their own right. The live tracks, scattered throughout the disc, happily don't duplicate the studio songs outside of "Shine on Little Star," given an electric guitar based arrangement. In concert the group sounded a touch looser than in studio to not bad effect — if the songs were working from the same familiar obsessively monolithic template of melody/noise, the drums sounded less overpowering and the mood on songs like the title track and "The Two of Us," a duet with Romi Mori, sprightlier. (Though admittedly "The Story So Far" is one of the more turgid songs either Reid brother has done.) In the end Back on the Water is an interesting curio for those already appreciative of the JAMC, but beyond that is more enjoyable enough than noteworthy. 8. "The Drill" – Polvo – B-side on Vibracobra 7" – MergeHere Is A Funny Old Cor-Crane Secret Review!!!!AMERICAN Rock is dead. Apart from a few valiant avant-garde voyagers (Mercury Rev, Pavement), diligent footnote-adders (Buffalo Tom, 360's) and radical idealogues (Nation Of Ulysses, Cop Shoot Cop), you can safely turn your ears elsewhere these days without fear of missing much. And, personally, I've never forgiven them for cruise missiles. So who the fuck are Polvo, why have they such a stupid name, and why should I let them through my cultural customs barrier?Everything about Polvo seems to be shrouded in anonymity. Cor-Crane Secret arrived with no press release and no explanation, silently dropped into my hands by Mueller with a smug look of "Hah! Now you've got the lurgies!" The only clue is a thanks on the sleeve to Soo Young Park (him out of Bitch Magnet/Seam). Aha! Now I understand: products of a supergroup culture! (It's a little-known fact that with a population of 260 million to draw on, the American alternative scene is supported by rotating membership of only 20 musicians. Thus every "new" band is made up of the drummer from Sebadoh, the bassist from the Afghan Whigs and the guitarist from Superchunk.)Even the titles ("Ox Scapula," "Vibracobra," "The Curtain Remembers") are so impenetrably obscure as to suggest nothing more than a vague aura of artiness. Which is the first real hint of what Polvo are about. If Cor-Crane Secret leaves me dumbstruck (why else haven't I been able to even mention the music yet?) it's because Polvo are the first new American guitar band I've heard for months who owe no debt to the fuck-art-let's-rawk Sub Pop aesthetic (Perhaps the reason Polvo appeal is that they sound so Europhile).Most of Cor-Crane Secret appears as heard through a dust haze: a skewed, near-antirhythmic sense of dynamics somewhere on a line between Pixies and Shudder To Think, an effortless command of the more vibrant hues of the Nineties guitar spectrum (from Mecury Rev's bee-in-a-jar buzz to the Valentines' erotic, aerobatic swoon), and a way with a yearning, plaintive riff that rivals Buffalo Tom's "Taillights Fade" or Swervedriver's "Never Lose That Feeling." Most importantly, in an age when bands feel a compulsion to fill every space with reassuring grunge, Polvo are unafraid of silence, and comprehend its power. If Disco Inferno had grown up on Husker Du rather than Joy Division, they might have come up with something like this.I still reckon the Yanks are fucked. But one more exception won't hurt.Simon PriceMelody Maker 9. "Civil Savage" – The Old Haunts – Fuel On Fire (Kill Rock Stars)THE OLD HAUNTS are an amazing swamp rock trio from Olympia, Washington.They draw on influences from early rock 'n' roll, country, garage, psychedelia, punk and blues. But this is no retro pastiche! This is 21st Century Rock 'n' Roll! The Old Haunts formed in 2001 and gained a reputation for their butt-kicking live shows. They signed to KILL ROCK STARS and released their first album, 'Fallow Field' in 2005. Their sophomore album, 'Fuel On Fire' features a solidified line up with the return of original drummer CURTIS PHILLIPS (EXCUSE 17, REAGAN YEARS) to the ever-constant duo of CRAIG EXTINE (guitar, vocals) and SCOTT SECKINGTON (bass, piano). 'Fuel On Fire' was recorded with the legendary producer/engineer JOHNNY SANGSTER (THE BRIEFS, MUDHONEY, THE MAKERS, etc) at AVAST! STUDIO in Seattle. As the title of the album suggests these guys are not afraid to cause a bit of chaos! They have received favourable comparisons to THE ANIMALS, TELEVISION, SCREAMIN' JAY HAWKINS, THE SONICS, THE MODERN LOVERS and more contemporary artist like THE WHITE STRIPES, THE GREENHORNES and THE VIOLENT FEMMES.Licensed exclusively for Australia and New Zealand to Inertia's inhouse imprint ROGUE RECORDS, home of THE HOLD STEADY, COCOROSIE, CARIBOU, PINBACK, etc.The Australian edition features a previously unreleased bonus track, a killer album session recording called "Over And Under". 10. "Cold Gin" – KISS – KISS (Casablanca Records)Kiss' 1974 debut is one of hard rock/ heavy metal's all-time best releases, chock full of rockin' classics — "Strutter," "Deuce," "Firehouse," "Black Diamond," and, of course, "Cold Gin." The song was guitarist Ace Frehley's only composition on the debut, and it has become known in later years that Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley lent a hand with working out the song structure (although they didn't receive credit). "Cold Gin" is an early sleazy classic for the band, which sums up perfectly what the young band must have been going through when they were struggling and penniless, passing around a bottle of alcohol to keep warm in their frigid rehearsal loft in New York City. And although Frehley penned the song, he did not yet have the confidence to sing his composition — Simmons handled the vocal duties (even though Simmons has claimed to have never been drunk or high in his life). One of the debut's lengthier compositions, there's an instrumental breakdown section in the middle that's comparable to the breakdown contained in their future anthem " Detroit Rock City," and the original version's tempo is considerably slower than the subsequent live version that appeared a year and a half later on 1975's Alive! Even after Frehley would leave the band in 1982, Kiss would still perform "Cold Gin" in concert (as evidenced on their 1985 home video Animalize: Live Uncensored). **And don't forget the killer cover of "Cold Gin" by Death Angel in 1988, here is their hit "Bored" as an un-needed flash from the past. 11. "Ninety-nine and a Half" – Creedence Clearwater Revival – Creedence Clearwater Revival (Fantasy)Released in the summer of 1968 — a year after the summer of love, but still in the thick of the Age of Aquarius - Creedence Clearwater Revival's self-titled debut album was gloriously out-of-step with the times, teeming with John Fogerty's Americana fascinations. While many of Fogerty's obsessions and CCR's signatures are in place — weird blues ("I Put a Spell on You"), Stax R&B (Wilson Pickett's "Ninety-Nine and a Half"), rockabilly ("Susie Q"), winding instrumental interplay, the swamp sound, and songs for "The Working Man" — the band was still finding their way. Out of all their records (discounting Mardi Gras), this is the one that sounds the most like its era, thanks to the wordless vocal harmonies toward the end of "Susie Q," the backward guitars on "Gloomy," and the directionless, awkward jamming that concludes "Walking on the Water." Still, the band's sound is vibrant, with gutsy arrangements that borrow equally from Sun, Stax, and the swamp. Fogerty's songwriting is a little tentative. Not for nothing were two of the three singles pulled from the album covers (Dale Hawkins' "Susie Q," Screamin' Jay Hawkins' "I Put a Spell on You") — he wasn't an accomplished tunesmith yet. Though "The Working Man" isn't bad, the true exception is that third single, " Porterville," an exceptional song with great hooks, an underlying sense of menace, and the first inkling of the working-class rage that fueled such landmarks as "Fortunate Son." It's the song that points the way to the breakthrough of Bayou Country, but the rest of the album shouldn't be dismissed, because judged simply against the rock & roll of its time, it rises above its peers. 12. "(She's Got My) Shotgun" – The Cuts – From Here On Out (Birdman)These days, the world is full of misguided youngsters who love the 1970s for all the wrong reasons (regrettable clothing, bad television shows, cut-rate animated cartoons), but the Cuts are one band of twenty-somethings who clearly understand what was right about that benighted decade — rock & roll. Listening to the Cuts' third album, From Here on Out, one hears flashes of the power pop genius of Big Star and the Scruffs, the glam rock swagger of Slade and Sweet, the hard rock punch of Cheap Trick and Mott the Hoople, a handful of forgotten soft rock visionaries produced by Curt Boettcher, and the proto-punk speed jive of early Blondie and the Mumps all bubbling in their gumbo of guitar, drums, and keyboards. This might suggest that the Cuts are more than a bit derivative, but From Here on Out doesn't sound that way — it sounds like the work of five guys with great taste and strong record collections who've fashioned their obsessions into a sound that's their own, and best of all they have the energy and the chops to match their role models. Ben Brown and Andy Jordan's guitars ring out like raunchy church bells, Garrett Goddard and Carlos Palacios are a powerful and imaginative rhythm section, Dan Aa's keys add the right dash of color to the proceedings, and Jordan and Aa's vocals peal like scrappy schoolboys ready to shout the power of rock & roll to the world. And whether these guys are rocking hard on "Out Here in Space" and "Stop Asking" or letting their softer side show on "Next to Nothing" and "One Last Hurrah," they sound inspired, tuneful, and passionate on every tune. From Here on Out is a great album from a handful of music fans who have learned their lessons exceptionally well; if everyone understood the 1970s as well as these guys, the leisure suit might have been wiped from the collective consciousness by now. 13. "I Heard A Voice" – The Deadly Snakes – Porcella (In The Red)The Deadly Snakes shed their garage rock skins on the very impressive Porcella, their fourth album. While keeping their spunky and often thrilling core intact, they lower the volume and add all sorts of instrumental accoutrements like horns, strings, toy pianos, Mellotron, and harmony vocals, touches that add dimension and depth to their sound and lift the record out of the garage ghetto the band was often unjustly lumped into. That's not to say that the bandmembers have forsaken the high-energy rock & roll that got them noticed in the first place; the wall-shaking "Sissy Blues," "The Banquet," and acoustic romp "By Morning, It's Gone" take care of that aspect of the group. The rest of the record explores very melodic pop ("Gore Veil"), off-kilter acoustic blues gospel ("Let It All Go"), dramatic orchestral pop ("200 Hundred Nautical Miles"), art-damaged balladry ("High Prices Going Down," "A Bird in the Hand [Is Worthless]"), and nocturnal blue-eyed soul ("So Young & So Cruel") with a heart full of soul and a razor-sharp sound. Indeed, the band is tight and understated throughout, never letting the new style of arranging get in the way of laying down some seriously fiery music. The vocals are vastly improved on Porcella, too — Age of Danger's deep and yearning tones are nicely offset by Andre Ethier's bratty whine. Having two vocalists as distinctive and entertaining as they are is a real plus for the band. There are obvious influences at work on the record — at times the group (especially Age of Danger's voice) sounds like Nick Cave's rambunctious cousin, sometimes like a less arty Tom Waits (on "Work"), and sometimes like a time-traveling indie rock Stones, but the group blends its influences masterfully and with great imagination. Porcella is the work of a group hitting its peak in terms of songwriting, performance, and production. It is a fine record with a masterful combination of drama, melody, excitement, and emotion. As good as indie rock got in 2005. 14. "It's All Over Now" – The Rolling Stones - 12 x 5 (ABKCO)"It's All Over Now" was the first British #1 single for the Rolling Stones, and while it wasn't nearly as successful in the United States, it did help break them to a wider audience as their third chart 45 in 1964, reaching the Top Thirty. The original version of the song had been recorded by the early soul group the Womacks, who included Bobby Womack and recorded for Sam Cooke's SAR label. The Rolling Stones, always on the lookout for interesting blues/R&B/soul songs to cover in the days before they started writing most of their material, were turned on to the song by famed New York disc jockey Murray the K. While some who favor original R&B versions over White rock group covers may disagree, for most listeners, the Rolling Stones' cover was substantially better and more exciting. In its original version, the song was a catchy but somewhat sluggish number, with a far more jaunty approach including almost country-influenced guitar and bells. The Stones, as was their wont, made the song far more guitar-rock-oriented, starting with the memorable, grandly echoing interweaving guitars of the instrumental intro. The far more jangling verses gave Mick Jagger his chance to sing the lyric of revenging a two-timer with a spiteful venom missing in the original. The group really launched into the chorus exultantly, with well-placed low growly guitar riffs after key lines emphasizing the sense of triumph. The guitars got a lot raunchier and bluesier in the break, with a high-amped freneticism suggesting a jilted lover let loose on the town to declare his freedom. The instrumental fadeout, again stressing those low booming guitar riffs, jangles on a little too long, helping to establish the Rolling Stones' tradition of using long fadeouts on their singles. There's some uncertainty about a potentially controversial lyric in the song; some hear the line "half-assed games" (which was quite risque for 1964), while others hear the milder "high class games." "It's All Over Now" has been covered a lot since the Rolling Stones and the Valentinos did it, some of the more high-visibility interpreters including John Anderson, Dirty Dozen Brass Band, the Chambers Brothers, Ry Cooder, the Grateful Dead, Rick Nelson, Molly Hatchet, Charlie Rich, Rod Stewart, and Johnny Winter; there was also a solo version by one of the Valentinos (and one of the song's co-writers), Bobby Womack. The evolution from blues to rock accelerated with the Rolling Stones' second American LP. They turned soul into guitar rock for the hits "It's All Over Now" and "Time Is on My Side" (the latter of which was their first American Top Ten single). " 2120 South Michigan Avenue" is a great instrumental blues-rock jam; "Around and Around" is one of their best Chuck Berry covers; and "If You Need Me" reflects an increasing contemporary soul influence. On the other hand, the group originals (except for the propulsive "Empty Heart") are weak and derivative, indicating that the band still had a way to go before it could truly challenge the Beatles' throne.[The Rolling Stones' London/ABKCO catalog was reissued in August of 2002, packaged in digipacks with restored album artwork, remastered, and released as hybrid discs that contain both CD and Super Audio CD layers. The remastering — performed with Direct Stream Digital (DSD) encoding — is a drastic improvement, leaping out of the speaker yet still sounding like the original albums. This is noticeable on the standard CD layer but is considerably more pronounced on the SACD layer, which is shockingly realistic in its detail and presence yet is still faithful to the original mixes; Keith Richards' revved-up acoustic guitar on "Street Fighting Man" still sends the machine into overdrive, for instance. It just sounds like he's in the room with you. Even if you've never considered yourself an audiophile, have never heard the differences between standard and gold-plated CDs, you will hear the difference with SACD, even on a cheap stereo system without a high-end amplifier or speakers. And you won't just hear the difference, you'll be an instant convert and wish, hope, and pray that other artists whose catalog hasn't been reissued since the early days of CD — Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Neil Young, especially the Beatles — are given the same treatment in the very near future. SACD and DSD are that good. The reissue of 12 X 5 includes a notable bonus by using the "long" version of the great instrumental "2120 South Michigan Avenue," which runs for a good minute and a half longer (including a fiery guitar solo) than the version used on the original LP, and was previously available only on a German LP and bootlegs.] 15. "Absolutely Cuckoo" – Magnetic Fields – 69 Love Songs (Merge)As the sprawling magnitude of its cheeky title suggests, 69 Love Songs is Stephin Merritt's most ambitious as well as most fully realized work to date, a three-disc epic of classically chiseled pop songs that explore both the promise and pitfalls of modern romance through the jaundiced eye of an irredeemable misanthrope. A true A-to-Z catalog of touchingly bittersweet love songs that runs the gamut from tender ballads to pithy folk tunes to bluesy vamps, the sheer scope of the record allows all of Merritt's musical personas to converge — the regular use of guest vocalists recalls his work as the 6ths, the romantic fatalism suggests the Gothic Archies project, and the stately melodies evoke the Future Bible Heroes. The whole is much greater than the sum of its parts, however — for all of Merritt's scathing wit and icy detachment, there's a depth and sensitivity to these songs largely absent from his past work, and each one of these 69 tracks approaches l'amour from refreshing angles, galvanizing the love song form with rare sophistication and elegance. Naturally, given a project of this size there's the occasional bit of filler, but all in all, 69 Love Songs maintains a remarkable consistency throughout, and the highlights ("I Don't Believe in the Sun," "All My Little Words," "Asleep and Dreaming," "Busby Berkeley Dreams," and "Acoustic Guitar," to name just a few) are jaw-droppingly superb. Also available as three individual releases, 69 Love Songs was nevertheless conceived as a whole and is best absorbed as such, with all of its twists and turns taken in stride; despite its three-hour length, the music boasts the craftsmanship and economy that remain the hallmarks of classic American pop songwriting, a tradition Merritt upholds even as he subverts the formula in new and brilliant ways. 16. "Blow" – The Mattoid – Eternifinity Supernatural Scandinavian being the Mattoid knows how destructive his dark powers have become, so in a rare display of compassion he has chosen to ease the gentle public back into his terrifying and simplistic world with a six-track EP. Eternifinity doesn't stray too far from the infectious Velvet Underground-meets-Martin Denny-swing of his full-length debut, Hello, but there's a newfound sensuality to the whole affair that finds the perpetually hard-partying heathen moved by the invisible bonds of friendship, while still driven mad by the carelessly parted hips of love. Beginning with "Joy," a late-night rumination on both subjects, the Mattoid ponders his good luck with concentrated restraint before unleashing his signature throat-singing, a guttural war cry that conjures up the image of Louis Armstrong and Grover from Sesame Street chasing each other around a turnstile with hammers. "Crazy Muthas" mirrors Hello's sunnier moments, focusing on the Mattoid's enviable — and unbending — positive outlook in the face of emotional and physical strife, growing more and more confident with each repetition of the mantra "I'm a crazy mutha on my way to the sun." "Tinkli Vinkli" and "Little Surfer" are both amiable little rock & roll nuggets in the vein of Ween — without the wink — and the not-so-subtle love song "Blow" ("every time you blow it makes me feel so...yeah") gives every indication that the Mattoid has lost none of his nihilistic verve. Eternifinity closes with a re-recorded — heavier on the "sango" — version of Hello's "Happiness," and its' long refrain of "happy, happy, happy," sung desperately over a minor key finally reveals the Mattoid for what he is: a modern day practitioner of the Portuguese fado in the guise of an Elvis-loving, culturally displaced, goatee-adorned Finn living in the most heartbroken city in the world, Nashville Tennessee. 17. "Belfast Converse Blues" – Bugs Eat Books – Happy Happy Birthday To me Vol. 3 (HHBTM Records)Bugs Eat Books are very old. In fact, they met during a particularly fierce and controversial round of bingo at a Georgia retirement home. After the violence subsided, the four became fast friends and ate their gently blended meals together. But, they soon realized that the Heavenly Hills Happiness Home would not be a very conducive environment for their musical endeavors. As such, they engineered a great escape, which involved a submarine, a bag of bees, a magical spoon and one angry Spaniard. Out on their own, without any access to their retirement funds, they decided to start waiting tables at Chili's by day to pay for their rock and roll lifestyles at night.Even though they are very old, the Bugs did not do anything interesting before that fateful game of bingo. 18. "When Her Brow Curls" – Butterglory – Are You Building A Temple In Heaven (Merge)Butterglory had the misfortune to emerge at the same time and (originally, at least) from roughly the same geographical region as Pavement ( Vidalia, CA). This is a case of two groups developing independently, and of their own accord, along the same lines. Unfortunately for Butterglory, the more famous Pavement has become a touchstone for indie rock comparisons. Even more unfortunately, it's hard to get over the fact that Butterglory sounds uncannily like Pavement — no matter how much one would like to appreciate the group on its own terms. Nowhere is this more apparent than on Are You Building a Temple in Heaven?. Matt Suggs' slackerish vocals even sound remarkably like Pavement's Stephen Malkmus, whether he be settling into the lazy, hazy groove of "The Halo Over Your Head" or rising coyly up into a shaky falsetto on the bouncy, pretty "She's Got the Akshun." That having been said, Butterglory writes top-notch, sloppy pop gems, and often outdo Pavement at their own game. As such this album, is better than such mediocre Pavement albums as Terror Twilight. 19. "The Sun In The Afternoon" – Masters Of The Hemisphere – I Am Not A Freemdoom (Kindercore)I Am Not A Freemdoom is the second album by Masters of the Hemisphere, released in 2000 on Kindercore Records. The album as a whole, is based around a rather complicated (and occasionally somewhat confusing) storyline and concept, and features a comic book as accompaniment, as an attempt to straighten the album's rather twisting plot threads. It was perhaps this element of the record which led to the album's generally mixed reception in the music press, but it is truly an indie pop masterpiece, that is if you like to have a good time and not cry to music (hello EMO kids, pick it up and try smiling) 20. "Roman Holiday" – Camera Obscura – Lloyd, I'm Ready To Be Heartbroken single (Merge)More than 50.000 copies sold to this moment are good prove of CAMERA OBSCURA's ascending career. The first single out from the new album, "Lloyd, I'm ready to be heartbroken", is a country soul track with a fantastic ending part where Tracyanne manages to sing up to six choruses! As for the exclusive B-sides, "Phil and Don" (a tribute to the EVERLY BROTHERS?) is a country duet with great guitar work and some harmonica thrown in for good luck. And "Roman holiday" has a bossanova beat and a vibraphone arrangement that give it the perfect stylish touch for a song too good to be just a B-side. If these are their B-sides, imagine how good is the album!The band recorded the album track in Sweden with the help of producer Jari Haapalainen (Ed Harcourt, THE CONCRETES) and a great team of people with whom they've worked in the country's best studios: some of the string musicians have recently toured with Brian Wilson or Arthur Lee & LOVE; the song was recorded in the same studios where Neneh Cherry or Robyn have previously recorded, and it was mixed at the same place used by THE MAGIC NUMBERS or Per Gessle from ROXETTE fame. Among the contributors to these songs we find Victoria Bergsman from THE CONCRETES, singer-songwriter Brita Persson or members of Swedish pop bands such as THE TOURETTES, LAAKSO or SPEEDMARKET AVENUE. 21. "Prostitutes In Town" – Holiday – Ready, Steady, Go! (March)A significant improvement over its predecessor, Holiday's second album Ready, Steady, Go! retains the twee pop affectations but finds more room for great guitar hooks, squiggly synths, and an altogether sprightlier outlook. Once again produced by Dave Trumfio with help from the band, Holiday's sophomore effort is peppered with references to groups as varied as the Cars and New Order, but such shameless tips of the hat would only be a problem if the songwriting wasn't strong on its own merits. "Prostitutes In Town" begins as a homage to New Order's "Love Vigilantes" before a cathedral-ready organ enters to great effect, transforming the track from a minor ditty to a more moving mini-anthem. "Here We Are Again" and "The Likely End of Our Best Days" have their way with the classic Stax sound and British Invasion pop, respectively, both songs complete with horn charts courtesy of Dave Max Crawford, while "Still In Love" handily sums up everything that made the Cars so cool, in less than two minutes. If singer/songwriter Josh Gennet still seems to favor wimp pop to rock, the album's more adventurous embellishments bolster the sometimes wispy melodies, making Ready, Steady, Go! more pleasant, fun, and catchy than it could have been. 23. The Princess Turns The Key To Cubist Castle (Curtain Call Pt. 1 & 2) – Olivia Tremor Control – Dusk At Cubist's Castle (Cloud)Not the Beatles, but an incredible facsimile: on their sprawling 27-song debut opus, Music From the Unrealized Film Script, Dusk at Cubist Castle, the Olivia Tremor Control manage to summon not only the sound of the White Album-era Fab Four, but also the unfettered creativity. The soundtrack to an unmade film about a pair of women named Olivia and Jacqueline and a massive earthquake dubbed the California Demise, the album incorporates a slew of influences and textures (including Beach Boys-flavored pop, psychedelia, Krautrock, noise, and folk-rock) and synthesizes them into a distinct homebrew of shimmering harmonies, guitar drones, backward tape loops, and inventive effects. As an added bonus, the first few thousand copies came with a bonus CD of ambient "dream sequences" — titled Explanation II — which, when played simultaneously with the first disc, realizes true quadraphonic sound. Amazing. 24. "Jeserene" & "Rudy Got Soul" – Desmond Dekker – Rudy Got Soul (Sanctuary/Trojan)Rudy Got Soul: The Complete Early Years 1963-1968 chronicles Desmond Dekker's first single from 1963, "Honour Your Father and Mother," through his enormously successful Jamaican hits recorded in the mid- to late '60s with the Aces. The disc highlights the outset of rocksteady with the tracks "Hey Grandma," "Music Like Dirt," "Rudie Got Soul," "Sabotage," "Rude Boy Train," and the James Bond-inspired "007." These are the tracks that initially made him a star in Jamaica, then the U.K., and finally emerging as an internationally celebrated artist who hit it big in the U.S. with the Israelites in 1969. Highly recommended. 25. "Selfish" - Andrew Kaffer aka Kissing Book – (s) (Magic Marker)On (s), Portland, OR's Kissing Book toned down the majestic and festive indie pop sound that won the band critical acclaim for their 1999 debut, Lines and Color. Andrew Kaffer's gentle vocals lead the pace on the first two tracks, "Hey Kids" and "Selfish." Kaffer's sincere lead vocal had always been at the forefront of the band's song, but with the laid-back instrumental approach on (s), his vocals began to stand out in a new way. The jazzy "Set of Numbers" is followed by the tender tones on "Of Nativity." On "Your Melancholy Ways," Kaffer thoughtfully croons a sobering set of somber lyrics over the band's increasingly inventive instrumentation. The resonant instrumental "Another Set of Numbers" includes Ryan Wise on clarinet. The disc ends with the marriage of one song to another, with the haunting "Natural Raft" starting off the last track, followed by the bright and soft "Don't Forget Me." The band's startling metamorphosis was orchestrated by Kaffer, Adam Bayer, and Drew Cramer. A healthy amount of guest musicians add texture to the trio's groundbreaking recordings on (s). And for all you Murfreesboro kids, this track was recorded in Murfreesboro with Bingham Barnes and former Glossary members Jason & Maggie Manley. 26. "Ready Ok" – Spent – Songs Of Drinking And Rebellion – MergeI love this song so much, it is really good all the way through, but just wait to the end, and try to get that melody out of your head. It has been in mine for 11 years, and I have loved every minute of it. The debut full-length album from this Jersey City, NJ-based super indie rock band, while perhaps not as consistently satisfying as the 7" singles that preceded it, does a fine job of capturing the group's intense, alternately delicate, and furious triple-guitar/vocal attack. Sonically, Spent admires the music of Yo La Tengo, Superchunk, and the New Zealand scene with a quasi-religious fervor, in the process trying so hard that they transcend these bands' influence. Although all the songs are credited only to Spent as a whole, it seems clear that three distinctly different singer/songwriters are at work. Annie Hayden is by far the most talented vocalist, her gorgeous, half-spoken phrasing on "Bottled Mouth" simultaneously recalling the best work of both Stevie Nicks and Moe Tucker. Joe Weston writes the best, most sincere songs, his "Brewster Station" tidily capturing the whole gamut of romantic longing in the first verse alone. Although in many ways seemingly Spent's spiritual leader, John King often suffers from (or perhaps aspires to) the self-conscious "look — I'm writing a clever lyric" syndrome that makes Pavement so wonderful to some and so unbearably pretentious to others. That said, he is undeniably a master of the perk-up-your-ear turn of phrase and a wonderfully forceful rhythm guitarist to boot. Overall, Songs of Drinking and Rebellion is, although completely cohesive, like a smorgasbord of all the best things about pure, unadulterated indie guitar band-ness and should contain something to appeal to any and all fans of the genre. 27. "Becuz" – Slumber Party – Musik (Kill Rock Stars)Slumber Party's simply named fourth album, Musik, builds on the ambitious changes Aliccia Berg began on 3, taking the band — of which Berg is the only original member — in some very different directions. A heavy synth pop influence colors Musik, and the "k" in the title could easily stand for Krautrock, based on the motorik grooves, analog synths, and fabulously cheap drum machines of "10-9-8-7-6-5-4" (which may be the band's liveliest song), "Boys/Girls," and "Thin Is Wide." However, Berg hasn't completely done away with Slumber Party's narcotic haze. "Deconstruction/Construction"'s slow-motion sparkle is the musical equivalent of a sunbeam with bits of dust dancing in it, while the languidly lovely "Becuz" will probably be the song most Slumber Party fans gravitate to first. Berg's songwriting carries Slumber Party through Musik's eclectic sounds, making the straight-ahead pop of "Madeupmind" and vulnerable " Electric Cave" and "Electric Ocean" work equally well. She brandishes an icy, and particularly feminine, wit on the breakup song "So Sick," where she sings, "Lost my purse/Now I carry a curse," and gives it a sweeter spin on "Hey Hey China," telling her sweetheart to "change your name somehow/I'll call you Mao." All in all, Musik feels like a transitional album for Slumber Party, but it's still a rewarding listen for fans who are willing to give the band's changes a chance. 28. "Moon Shot" – Britta Phillips & Dean Wareham – L'avventura (Jetset)The pairing of dream pop godfather Dean Wareham with the voice of Jem from Jem and the Holograms, singer/bassist Britta Phillips, yields a heady mixture of sex, style, and '60s kitsch on the collaborative L'Avventura. A collection of originals and covers, the 11 duets feature the two trading flirtatious come-ons and wistful laments over a deluge of Tony Visconti strings. Unfortunately, they climax on the opening track, leaving an empty bed of ashtrays and broken promises in its wake. "Night Nurse," despite its melodic simplicity, revels in intellectual dirty talk, replacing the standard carnal proposition with the wicked "I am the visitor/You are the host." It's a great single that warrants a great record, or at least a solid EP. Nothing on the record is bad. In fact, if it weren't for the lofty standards set by the opener, the capable tracks that follow would glow much brighter. "Out Walking" and "Knives from Bavaria" give the licorice-throated Phillips a chance to shine, and a spacious cover of the Doors' "Indian Summer" — Wareham has a fetish for the subject matter, evidenced by Luna's 1993 rendering of the Beat Happening song of the same name — is lent new credibility by his soft and sinister cadence. There's a classy feel to the whole production, and despite misfires like the Madonna snoozer "I Deserve It," the songs feel like standards for the new jet set. If anything, L'Avventura is evidence that the indie community can age gracefully. 29. "It Won't Last Long" – Patti's Groove – Girls In The Garage V. 3 (Romulan) All Girls in the Garage comps are awesome, get them all!!! This track is my favorite from and at any volume. Now check out some videos that hardly anything to do with this song, but I love Lil Scrappy and how he rolls and of course being part Korean I am a huge fan of Lil' Crappy Kids videos. 30. "Dubbing In The Backseat" – Upsettters – Shocks Of Mighty – (Attack) (someone gave this to me on , go figure, a mix tape, and I love them for it, and remember reggae music only really sounds right when it is recorded in Jamaica) Shocks of Mighty collects some interesting tracks (along with their dubs) produced by Lee "Scratch" Perry between 1969 and 1974, and though it is a bit random (and features some annotative errors and track reversals), the end result has a surprisingly accumulative and cohesive tone. High points include the infectious opening track, "Pound Get a Blow," by the Soul Twins (mistakenly credited to the Upsetters alone in the sleeve notes), Leo Graham's bizarre "Three Blind Mice" (followed by its dub,"Three Times Three") and the big band reggae jazz of the Upsetters on "Dark Moon," which is actually a version of the Rodgers & Hart classic "Blue Moon." 31. "Disillusioned" – Small Stone – Smallstone (Bomp)Here's an axiom that usually applies to records: if you can't find much to say about it, it's quite possible that the musicians themselves don't have much to say. What, though, can you say about Smallstone, especially since the web site they give in the liner notes refused connection? Well, they're certainly indebted to 1960s rock: sunny Beatlesque melodies and harmonies without much of the minor chords and nuances that made the Beatles great, some British psychedelia of the bright kind so prevalent circa 1967, some garage, some mod, and so on. British psych usually has the upper hand, but not always. There's a touch of Merseybeat on "Without Reason" and something of an occasional power pop sheen to the production that you wouldn't have heard in the 1960s themselves. The bassist is obviously enamored of McCartney-style lines circa "Rain," a song that "Anomie" too closely recalls. It all washes over you as unmemorable and unobjectionable, the pleasant upbeat mood and revivalist-type psychedelic touches leaving little to hold onto, and failing to provoke a hunger for more. Anton Newcombe of the Brian Jonestown Massacre adds organ to a couple of songs. 32. "Don't Forget Your Love" – Jerk With A Bomb – Pyrokinesis (Scratch)Formerly a two-piece combo, Vancouver, Canada's Jerk With A Bomb have fleshed out their unconventional rock by adding a third, multi-instrumentalist member for third album, Pyrokinesis. So now the folksy melancholia of Smog can meet Queens of the Stone Age's proggy, bottom-end stoner rock on a level playing field. Jerk With a Bomb draw the listener in with comfortable lilting melodies only to twist them, sharpening the edges, so that the song is reborn as something new and unexpected. Pyrokinesis showcases a band crafting songs with confidence, laying low in stark, simple rhythms and then storming ahead with guns blazing. And through it all, the drawling, yelping vocals paint a mined lyrical landscape torn asunder by the complicated politics of love, apathy and misdirected passions. Black Mountain rises from within the Vancouver-based fiefdom of Stephen McBean, the hazy-toned singer and meandering songwriter who also headed up Jerk With A Bomb and now his side project Pink Mountaintops. Both groups languish in a fog of psychedelia and sexual release. But while the latter opts for arty avant folk, Black Mountain lives up to its name with a heavier foundation. The self-titled debut on Jagjaguwar (its eight-song count and subdued cover art are a dark mirror to Pink Mountaintops) busts open half-lidded Velvet Underground fetishisms with squalls of Blue Cheer guitar, and further channels the heady sounds of the late '60s with a moodily dwelling organ. McBean shares vocal duties with Amber Webber throughout, but she becomes an especially important factor on the twosome that closes Black Mountain, since her stoned and elegiac vocals make them something more than simply idling jams. "Heart of Snow," for example, flutters like a warped and ancient recording of "Space Oddity" as Webber draws out the syllables in lines like "Heart of snow/Let go let go/But your sad wings/Won't fly you home"; feedback and pounding drums periodically join in. It's a damaged blues sound comparable to that of Jennifer Herrema's Royal Trux outgrowth RTX, but McBean's vaguely mystic lyrics also dovetail Black Mountain back into Pink Mountaintops territory. "Modern Music" and "No Satisfaction" rock a White Light/White Heat tumble that's nevertheless well done, particularly on the former, which features some spectacular sax assistance from Vancouver area player Masa Anzai. The remainder of Black Mountain positions stoner rock chording over swirling vintage keys and the ever-impressive vocals of McBean and Webber. It's a referential sound, to be sure. But there's enough weight to Black Mountain's mojo to make it more than worthwhile. 33. "Farewell" – Boris – Pink (Southern Lord)On first listen to Boris' Pink (domestically issued on Southern Lord), longtime fans of the Japanese heavy metal trio would be pressed to say that they crafted it for American audiences. This is significant to be sure. On the opening track, "Farewell," one can hear so many un-Boris-like traits — a bit of Ride and My Bloody Valentine here, a bit of Isis (who were influenced by Boris!) there, a trace of Sigur Rós, Nadja, and Jesu, too — that one wonders if this is a send-up spoof that's proof that they can do it better. Even if that's so, it's only a part of this glorious slab of din and rock-is-power's puzzle. Takeshi (bass, vocals), Wata (guitar), and Atsuo (drums, vocals), have not followed in the footsteps of their younger countrymen Mono in crafting dramatics and dynamics, as evidenced by the title track which follows. If anything, this is raucous, riffing speed metal married to the garage rock trash aesthetic of Guitar Wolf. Here is where Atsuo's rim shots match in triple-time the low-string, down-tuned, freakzoid riffing of Wata's and the pure squalling throb of Takeshi's bass wail. Fuzzed out, ripped and torn and shredded riffs and propeller kit work take Boris to an entirely new level of "heavy." The rootsy metallic thrash of the band outdoes anything they've done before — "Woman on the Screen" sounds like Iggy Pop fronting the MC5 of Kick Out the Jams in the Sunn 0))) era — all in two-minutes-and-thirty-eight seconds. Speaking of Sunn 0))), "Blackout," a crawling, plodding, menacing scree of distorted bass and bluesy high-string electric guitar, is a track reminiscent of their earlier records, like Absolutego from 1996 — and may have influenced their American counterparts. "Pseudo-Bread" is in-the-red in everything: distortion, speed, high-rocktane metal. The 18-plus-minute "Just Abandoned My-Self" employs everything used in the album to the moment. Beginning as a pure thrash metal burner, it begins its exploration of texture, noise, and sonic murder at a slower tempo in six-and-a-half minutes. It's like Acid Mothers Temple only more focused, and slower to evolve. Wata's guitar playing feels incidental to Takeshi's propulsive bass crunch and drone, which becomes pure controlled noise abstraction at about 122 minutes, and takes it out until only the sound of microtonal feedback remains, blasting everything into silence. Pink is easily the most cohesive, adventurous, and straight-ahead rocking recording of their 12-year career. If indeed the set was consciously made with Americanski audiences in mind, good; then more power to them. Boris are the kings who have set the metal bar very high on Pink. It's an album to be reckoned with. 34. "At The Mountains Of Madness" – H.P. Lovecraft (Sundazed)Blessed with one of the best live recording qualities one can hear from '60s efforts — especially considering that H.P. Lovecraft was never a major success — Live May 11, 1968 provides a reasonable alternate way for the curious to find out what the shouting was all about. Split almost evenly between first and second album material, and featuring then-new bassist Jeff Boyan (brought in to replace Jerry McGeorge), this release shows that the quintet certainly had something. If there are plenty of moments where the addictive blend of garage jamming and mindblown psychedelia seems on the verge of collapsing into noodling or bad Doors imitations, there's enough of H.P. Lovecraft's own particular approach to justify a listen by anyone into exploratory late-'60s rock. Certainly once or twice the band ends up sounding remarkably prescient — the opening of "Wayfaring Stranger" calls to mind the blend of propulsion and trance Can would shortly make its own in Germany, with Tegza's tight beats leading the way. Plenty of other examples can be noted, with the transferred tape itself further suggesting the European group's approach — check the midsection of "The Drifter," where only Michaels' keyboards steer away from the driving rhythm. Edwards and Michaels' lead vocals work great together live — their training and earlier studio experience showing well — and the whole band tackles the spirit of the times to a T. Two standout performances are the one-two punch of "The White Ship" and "At the Mountain of Madness," both of which also make for the perfect tribute to the original Lovecraft himself. Occasional introductory comments surface from Edwards, but otherwise the five just get it all together and take off — and do so quite well. 35. "Ice In The Sun" - Status Quo – Picturesque Matchstickable Messages from the Status Quo (Pye/Castle)Status Quo's debut album featured none of the band's better-known boogie rock of the mid-'70s. Picturesque... is a psychedelic effort that tries to imitate the sound bands like the Bee Gees or the Beatles were doing at the moment. With this record, Status Quo surprisingly had its first (and last) hit in America, the single "Pictures of Matchstick Men," which peaked at number 12 (it reached number seven on the British charts). Other highlights from the album are the second single, "Ice in the Sun," and the Bee Gees cover "Spicks and Specks." Even if this is not the most representative album from Status Quo, it is a good psychedelic pop exercise that sometimes includes very imaginative guitar phrases ("Ice in the Sun"), and some brilliantly unusual sounds (the epic "Paradise Flat"). 36. "Secrets Of The Golden Shrine" Bubble Puppy – Psychedelic States (Texas In The 60's) (Gear Fab Records) Outside the confines of the California state line, Texas had arguably the most significant — and unconventional — psychedelic circuit in the whole of '60s America, tied up as it was with Tex-Mex border music, modified country accouterments (as evidenced by the 13th Floor Elevators' electrified jug), and that vast, boiling wasteland of oil derricks, longhorn cattle, good ol' boys, and, undoubtedly, a particularly potent genus of psychotropic cactus. This first Texas edition in Gear Fab's ongoing Psychedelic States series scales back on the number of songs (just 18 this time around) and also, for the first time since the initial volume in the series, includes a number of recordings from relatively well-known artists (Roy Head, with an awesome, if uncharacteristic, rave-up) and bands (Bubble Puppy, which had a 1969 Top Ten hit with "Hot Smoke and Sassafras") that have previously been compiled on past LPs. The album benefits from both circumstances. This is by a far shot the leanest