The Myrrors are from Tucson, Arizona. I knew nothing about them when I received this and a Google search turned up an interview where I learned that the band formed in 2007 when the members were just out of high school and was the first band for most of them, which is impressive given how really good this album is. Burning Circles In The Sky was recorded in 2008 and released in a limited run of only 50 copies, and has now been reissued on 180 gram vinyl by Rewolfed Gloom Records.

Mind’s Eye opens the set and is a template for the core Myrrors sound. It’s melodically grooving and totally trippy acidic, droning, psychedelic folk, with just a wee bit of tasty edged dissonance. Plateau Skull continues the melodically grooving, acidic droning elements, but instead of a folk feel we’ve got a dark and doomy valium paced tune. I like how the rhythm section thuds along at a drugged march, led by gorgeously psychedelic guitar licks. Burning Circles In The Sky is similar, and I love the hypnotic strumming acoustic guitar and rhythmic march foundation against which the singer almost chants the lyrics and the electric guitar plays its somnolent acid leads. Warpainting continues along this path but includes some cool spacey electronic embellishments, and in the last minute I was surprised by a ripping acid guitar explosion which was an intense counterpoint to the rhythmic pace retaining its drugged march. And then we’ve got the 16+ minute Mother Of All Living. It starts off very spacey dreamy, with soundscapes, acoustic guitars, cosmic pied piper harmonica, and guitar leads that are both spacey and acid-angst wailing. A throbbing repetitive bass pattern develops that anchors the music and sounds great combined with the acid guitar. Just after the 7 minute mark the music recedes back to the spacey dreamy soundscapes, drifting along for a bit before returning to the main theme, though this time the guitar has a late 60s San Francisco psychedelic feel. The whole thing is moodily trippy and surreal, and I felt like I was on a hypnotic droning folk-psych in space excursion.

I love the spacey droning folk inflected psychedelic quality of The Myrrors and was drawn repeatedly back to this album. Check out the links below to hear this and other releases by the band.

To stream, download and order the LP from Europe you can visit: http://rewolfed-gloom-records.bandcamp.com
For US purchases AND to check out other releases by The Myrrors you can visit http://themyrrors.bandcamp.com

Reviewed by Jerry Kranitz

Polska Radio One are from the Ural city of Yekaterinburg in Russia and Cosmos Inside is their first album. The band are a guitar, bass, electric tampura (a sitar-like instrument), keyboards, drums, vocals quartet, with guest sitar on two tracks. The vocals are in Russian on some songs and English on others.

The Final Mantra opens the set and is a trippy but heavy driving psychedelic rocker. There’s a repetitive Om-chant vibe that lives up to the promise of the song title’s mantra, though it’s darker and more intense than your average meditation. The Fractalized Sky is a psychedelic rocker that measures up to the heavier end of the pop-psych axis. It’s very much in the Vibravoid realm, though we’ve also got some killer looped, snaking guitar that recalls The Beatles’ Tomorrow Never Know, and these sound even better accompanied by the droning tampura licks. Time-Eternity is one of the tracks with sitar, and along with ethnic percussion it injects the expected Eastern vibe into the music, though the guitar, tampura and keys are prominent in the mix, giving the music a trippy but full sound. The Rolling Stones at their most psychedelic, particular the song Child Of The Moon come to mind on this one. Shangri-La starts off with a similar feel, though played at a slowly lazy drugged pace. Later the keys lay down repetitive and completely hypnotic cosmic lines while the drums groove along slowly but assertively, and the guitar alternately solos and crashes. Morosim (2 C-P Dub) is a spaced out, Dub-infused piece, with a Beat jazz inspired cool to the cosmic grooves the band create. To The Delta Of Aquarius is another heavy intense rocker that reminds me of Vibravoid at their most space rocking psychedelic. I love the combination of fierce drumming, swirling 60s styled keys, soaring space synths, and liquid psychedelic guitars. Launch #93 features mission control-astronaut moon landing transmissions, backed by strumming acoustic guitar and shimmering soundscapes. This track is only 3 minutes long but sets the stage for the monster title track, a 10 minute slab of relentlessly hard ‘n’ heavy psychedelic space rock that’s like Vibravoid meets Tribe of Cro plus Polska Radio One’s penchant for 60s influences. Wow, absolutely smokin’ HOT! I was left feeling drained, but Polska Radio One know how to gently apply the balm, with one final song – Rhymes & Armonies – a totally trippy tune that sounds like a companion piece to the earlier Time-Eternity.

In summary, I’ve probably listened to this album a dozen times and it continues to grow on me. The musicianship and production are outstanding and we’ve got song and instrumental workouts in equal measure. Polska Radio One are a psychedelic band but can be completely spaced out, and they liberally apply 60s influences without in any way being retro. Looking at the band picture inside the CD, these guys look pretty young, so I can imagine great things in their future as they learn and grow. Highest recommendation! And kudos to Alexander and Vlad at Trail Records for continuing to find such great bands.

For more information visit the Trail Records web site at: http://trailrecords.us
The LP is available from Clostridium Records at: http://www.clostridiumrecords.com

Reviewed by Jerry Kranitz

Charles Rice Goff III is a veteran of the homemade musician underground, with a massive and varied body of work that dates back to the late 1970s. Black And Decker Q Tips is Volume 39 in the “Uncooked” series, and in the Uncooked spirit, all the music is performed solo, without the addition of effects or overdubs. The 3 track, 40 minute set was recorded on October 25, 2013 and are all unrehearsed improvisations. Charles utilizes loops to create multiple layers of accompaniment, jamming away on his Stratocaster, aided by various phaser, distortion and wah devices. He also inputs a microcassette recorder (with original tape recordings), music boxes, vibrators and toys into the guitar pickups. And to ensure you have fun at the hootenanny, he uses the following as guitar string preparations: Metal Slide, Sea Shell, Beaver Jaw/Teeth, Plectrums (Acetate, Felt, Metal), Fishing Lure, Vibrators, Marbles, Meat Tenderizer, Arrow Heads, Playing Cards.

Cordless Cerumen opens the set, with Charles jamming away in an acid-rock solo style, and this serves as the core for all the freakier spaced out soundscapes and avant-lysergic effects that slip, slide and glide along with it. Anitmicrobial Carbide Teeth starts off with an eerie, warbling fuzz-drone and spacey effects, soon joined by Frippertronic inspired guitar. But Charles’ take on Frippertronics includes other elements, the whole being an oddly pleasant and melodic, as well as slightly harsh and distorted, guitar and effects excursion that occupies one of the more experimental points on the space-psych axis. Random Orbit Swab struck me as being like an acid-fuzz-drone soundtrack to an avant-garde sci-fi film. It really does have an image inducing narrative quality. Charles creates waves of steadily weaving worm-like fuzz-scapes, along with anguished whining acid mind-fuck licks and other fun effects, the whole glom causing throbbing phase shifts in my brain. And for the last minute Charles goes off into what sounds like a freakout nod to Hendrix. Recommended to psychonauts who like experimental guitar improvisations that are deep in psychedelic space.

Black And Decker Q Tips can be downloaded for free at: https://archive.org/details/BlackAndDeckerQTips
If you are interested in a CD, email Charles at: padukem@sbcglobal.net
For a mind boggling array of information and catalog of releases dating back over 30 years, visit the Taped Rugs Productions web site at: http://www.tapedrugs.com

Reviewed by Jerry Kranitz

On November 29, 2013, the trio of Charles Rice Goff III, Michael LaGrega, and Allan McGinty converged on LaGrega’s studio in Leawood, Kansas for what would become the 4 track, 74 minute Basement Of Extra Power. Goff is a veteran of the home recording underground, having been creating music, songs and experimentations for over 30 years, and also produces the Lo Finest radio show, celebrating the homemade music cassette culture of the 1980s-90s, hosted here at Aural Innovations. I’ve been immersed in Goff’s music for years, and am acquainted with LaGrega’s work through his collaborations with Goff, and both LaGrega and McGinty through their participation, with Goff, in the River Cow Orchestra. Basement Of Extra Power is quite an avant-space trip with LOTS happening simultaneously throughout. It’s difficult to describe, which makes it all the more fun to try, so check out these descriptions of my experience of the album:

As Unregulated Ventilation begins, the bass lays down a plodding jazzy groove, while an array of spaced out synths and electro melodies trip along playfully. The bass periodically shifts to a sort of manipulated cello mode, and there are Mellotron-like waves that add a space-prog vibe, which sounds really cool along with all the flittering alien electronics. Just past the 10 minute mark the guitar starts to rock out and goes into acid-Fripp mode as the atmosphere intensifies. But things soon settle down and the music transitions to a dark and ominous yet strangely dreamy ambience, while the guitar and bass continue their tension-laden sound and melodic sculpting. Throughout this 20+ minute piece the effects and sound formation come fast and furious; multi-layered and continually evolving, and all together it’s like an avant-garde mish-mash of The Residents and the more freaked out moments from Hawkwind’s Space Ritual performed in a smoky jazz lounge cum chamber music hall.

Liquid Assets is grim and doomy, like the avant-acid-prog soundtrack to a film set on some barren alien planet. At just over 4 minutes this is the shortest track of the set, but it’s got an accompanying video created by Goff. I’ve seen lots of Goff’s videos and he has a creative flair for visuals, in this case making a fun and trippy collage of still shots and video taken in eastern Kansas and western Missouri.

Strobe-O-Scoptic Tic Tic lays down a steady hip shakin’ jazzy alien chill-out groove, accompanied by pleasantly ambient synth waves and other electronic fun. We’ve got quite an interesting blend of influences here, including 60s Exotica, floating space-ambient drift, Shaft-in-space funk, and Fripp-on-acid guitar.

If you’ve listened to the first three tracks and still enjoying yourself, then hold on to your hats for the 36 minute Black Friday. It kicks off with deep space soundscapes, against which the bass and guitar noodle about, quickly starting to gel as the bass takes on a throbbing ambient rhythmic quality, and the guitar is variously focused on effects and freakouts. This piece is about atmosphere and a lysergic sense of thematic development, though wrapped within we’ve got freeform jamming bits, a parade of UFO effects, oddball rhythms, and soundscapes galore.

In summary, this is a challenging yet good fun and highly rewarding set for those who can set aside time for an attentive headphones listen. Analogies are tough, but this will appeal to space rock fans who also have a fondness for The Residents.

Basement Of Extra Power, including the Liquid Assets video, can be downloaded for free at: https://archive.org/details/BasementOfExtraPower
If you are interested in a CD, email Charles at: padukem@sbcglobal.net
For a mind boggling array of information and catalog of releases dating back over 30 years, visit the Taped Rugs Productions web site at: http://www.tapedrugs.com

Reviewed by Jerry Kranitz

The Cosmic Arc is headed up by German musician Tibor Fredmann, who I had previously been acquainted with through his duo project with Sigi Hümmer, The Cosmic Garden. On Feed Your Head, multi-instrumentalist Fredmann utilizes synths, mellotron, sitar, electric and acoustic guitars, piano strings, percussion, drums, voices, and field recordings, along with assistance from saxophonist Michael Hornstein and UK singer Mia. The promo sheet describes the music as combining “the influence of the pioneers of German electronic music (Kraftwerk, Can, Tangerine Dream, Popol Vuh, Amon Düül) with ambient, art-rock and space rock influences”. That’s a pretty good description but doesn’t begin to communicate the variety of influences that come together all at once on this album.

The title track opens the set, sounding like a more rock oriented take on the early Tangerine Dream sound, plus Kraftwerk styled robotic electronics and melodies against an icy electro rhythmic pulse. Radiant Meteor Explosion starts off as 1980s minimal electro-pop with a deep space symphonic edge, later adding a cool funky groove. When The Days Get Dark features heavenly drifting and swirling keys, winding and wailing efx’d guitar lines, jazz-in-space sax, and Mia’s impassioned chants, against robotic dance rhythms. Sun King sweeps the listener off into dreamy, droney, meditative, yet rhythmic floating space, with celestial symphonics, ethnic percussion, and blissful song-like guitar leads. Organic consists of multiple layers of hypnotic space waves and drones, seductive wailing guitar lines, rapid-fire, off-kilter yet strangely rhythmic electro patterns, and Mia’s cavernously efx’d chants. Into The Matrix traverses through multiple intensely cinematic deep space themes. Ammersee is a quietly understated sax driven spaced out lounge-jazz piece. Achtung Baustelle is simultaneously tribal and robotic, rhythmic and dreamy-drifty, like Kraftwerk in floating electronic space with a dose of trippy grooving tablas plus chill-out grooves. And Transmission Love is a harmonious blend of jazz-in-space, avant-world music, and high powered dance floor rush.

The beauty and allure of Feed Your Head is the diversity of influences that all come together so seamlessly. This is one of those albums that can only be absorbed over multiple listens, as it reveal new bits, pieces and treasures with each subsequent spin.

For more information visit The Cosmic Arc at: http://thecosmicarc.bandcamp.com, http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/thecosmicarc, and https://soundcloud.com/the-cosmic-arc

Reviewed by Jerry Kranitz

From Spring Valley, Illinois, Gushing Cloud’s follow up to his debut 2010 EP Prism Shelter is a fascinatingly varied patchwork of colors, ideas, and musical character spread over realms of electronic, ambient and noisy/experimental/progressive rock music.

MARCHING OUR YONDERS: The music comes down from high space etherealness and then becomes funky boogie rock. Transcendent rock music without being this or that… just is-ness. A largeful sound of is-ness! Some gremlin child-like vocals. The boogie and woogie is relentless. WITNESS: Yes, I’m witness to the marvel that is Gushing Cloud, more sideways rock ‘n’ space music. Now the sax… but not so much sax as to disrupt the righteous roll and rockness cruising down the bobbing culverts of High On Space Rock!!! Yup, it’s gettin’ down time with Gushing Cloud! PRISON SWELTER: Yes, the big Badass riffage. Still no discernable vocals or lyrical message, which is fine with me! Yes, give us more and louder. BEAT WINGS IN VAIN: The wings are fluttering gently around the smokey room looking for a soft couch to descend upon, but then alights itself to a moderate rock gruuvness, and then what!? I have to wonder if this is something that can be translated into a live venue situation or mainly studio trickery… does it matter? No?! TURNFLEW: Starts to conjur Zappa jazz rock studio tan other worldliness. I have to admit that I appeciate that there are no sensitive world weary male vocals about seals or trees or the oceans turning to blood etc. NOT TO DREAM: Just pure D weirdness, just like the Goddess always wanted rock ‘n’ roll to be! Please don’t worry about the pin heads working the bar down at the club or your fickle confused friends or even the jaded too many mescaline enema reviewers at AI. Yes, just make yore fucked up weirdass rock music for all eternity to enjoy! RETURN TO HUNGER: Yes, Gushing Cloud has given me the hunger to devour the groovoid rock mana from High On. Yes, up on this stage with the wind of hawks I feel so high and mighty… let’s go on a crime spree for Ajna and Tisra Til! GESTURING STREAM: My wife Sharon sez “It has that phat Jah Wobble bass sound, that’s why I like it so much!” And that jus about sez it all!! Yes, this CD leaves out all the non-sense and non essentials that muck up most rock music releases and just concentrates on the good stuff real shit that music is supposed to be! Can any reviewer say anything more positive than that!?!?! Yes, I’m Gushing on the Cloud!! Starts to sound like Mardi Gras on three hits of Owsley Sunshine!!!! DIRT BEAM: More skewered sideways rock, done in majestic Gushing Cloud mode. Oh, it’s Uber over the top GC’ness. I have the music turned up so loud that I can understand the words that the cats are saying to me…. and the beat goes on…

For more information visit the Intangible Cat web site at: http://intangiblecat.com
Stream and download at: http://gushingcloud.bandcamp.com

Reviewed by Carlton Crutcher