Buffalo Tooth are the San Francisco based trio of Greg Downing on guitar and vocals, Eric Kang on bass, and Sean Grange on drums. Gardeners of the Devil’s Lettuce is their debut full length.

This is seriously high octane Psych-Thrash that’s like Acid Mothers Temple meets Motorhead with a dash of Link Wray and a dose of the 80s band X. The songs are short, typically in the 2 minute range, and pack a monster punch to the gut. Nearly every song is loaded with steroidal, tripped out and punked out guitar solos, which I love. These guys are manic but tight as a knot. They can really play. The 13 song set is barely 30 minutes long but it’ll leave you feeling like you’d just run with the bulls. What really impressed me was Buffalo Tooth’s ability to create brief, compact, blitzkrieg tunes that actually have quite a lot happening. That is, tightly wound constructions that make comfortable room for the song and rip-roaring instrumental segments and solos. On the occasions that they stretch out to 3+ minutes the songs almost become multi-themed. There’s variety too. Bank Job charges along like a hard rocking Psychobilly cheetah, before transitioning to stoned, yet amped up Black Sabbath mode. A little hed relief from the relentless onslaught. Ditto for Wet Circumstances, which rocks hard but veers into periodic Psychedelic forays. I dig the blend of 60s Surf, Psych and Punk on Smells Like Jello. And I like the spacey wigged out finale to Greenbacks. Yeah baby… Psych, Punk, Surf, Thrash, Hard Rock, Psychobilly… it’s Rock ‘n Roll!

For more information visit the Captcha Records web site at: http://www.captcha-records.com

Reviewed by Jerry Kranitz

If Thousands are the Duluth, Minnesota based duo of Christian McShane and Aaron Molina. I’ve not heard anything by these guys in years and the promo sheet says this is their first album in nearly a decade.

The experience of this 13 track set is simultaneously Psychedelic and Ambient. It’s minimal, yet melodic. The music is typically played at a drugged, droning pace, yet is also meditative and inspiring. The acoustic instruments and haunting organ are hypnotically dreamy and I like the way they combine with soundscapes and drones to create a flowing wave of slowly evolving Ambient-Psych. A variety of influences inform the music – Eastern/Indian, mind-bending avant-Mediterranean, at times I detected a stripped down Velvet Underground dissonant quality, as well as meditatively drugged acoustic/soundscape/drone passages, Valium dosed Country-Folk, and one part brought to mind a droning Bluesy yet Psychedelically surreal John Fahey. A trumpet on 9 was slowly jazz gyrating against spacey atmospherics. And I like the pulsating drones on ten that create a foundation for trippy guitar and the drum bashing that provides an oddly interesting contrast. There’s also a cinematic quality, both musically and the way the music flows, that reminds me of the soundtrack to the Jim Jarmusch film Only Lovers Left Alive that I was so taken with earlier this year. And it’s all beautifully recorded, making for a luscious headphones experience. Quite a pleasant journey indeed.

For more information and to download visit the Silber Records web site at: http://www.silbermedia.com

Reviewed by Jerry Kranitz

Finnish band Deep Space Destructors are back with their third album, a 5 track 45 minute set of kick ass Space Rock. Beyond The Black Star kicks things off, being a rocker with a swinging groove plus acid Psych and Hawkwind Space Ritual effects. Spaceship Earth rocks hard in Hawkwind circa Electric Teepee space and has a punchy Alan Davey styled bass that makes my head want to BANG. About halfway through this 9 minute track the music transitions to an easier paced melodic rocking section with one slowly soloing and one strumming guitar, before launching into a stoned yet still spaced out Hard Rock blast that leads to the finale. Lots happening on this tune. Cosmic Burial is also in the 9 minute range and is a blend of cosmic Black Sabbath Stoner Space Rock and trippy deep space dreamy excursions with a narrative sense that a story is being told. The narrative development continues on the 15 minute An Ode to Indifferent Universe, which evolves through heavy Space-Prog and cosmic Hard Rock constructions. This track reminded me a lot of early Darxtar. Nothing sits still for long as the Destructors continually shift gears and the track is loaded with non-flashy yet cool and interesting dual guitar work. Finally, Ikuinen Alku has a high powered Hawk rocking vibe similar to Spaceship Earth. Deep Destructors switch to their native Finnish for this one (lyrics on the rest of the album are in English). Overall a damn good set of potent Space Rock.

To stream and order visit the Deep Space Destructors Bandcamp site at: http://deepspacedestructors.bandcamp.com

Reviewed by Jerry Kranitz

New albums from Brooklyn, New York based Sky Picnic are always a treat and Her Dawn Wardrobe is yet another winner from this Psychedelic trio. This may be the band’s third full length, but they’ve also released some EPs and contributed to compilations, including several on the Fruits de Mer Records label.

Songs like Upon Further Reflection convey a trippy dreamy 60s Psycyedelic feel, though it’s by no means retro. June Sunshine is similar and includes a nice combination of acoustic and electric guitars and some pleasantly melodic spacey acidic solos. I See You Saw and Most Of A Box Of Winter both have a jazzy Psychedelic vibe and rockin’ jam segments, the former being particularly spaced out. Lady Of The Moon consists of mystical magic carpet ride Folk-Prog-Psych with heavenly Mellotron-like orchestration. Ode To… and Her Dawn Wardrobe are similar, the title track being a more purely acoustic song. Where The Memories Stirred continues down this path but is more intensely acid rocking. But my hands down favorite, and possibly my favorite Sky Picnic song to date is Earl Grey, which sounds like a Psychedelic outtake from King Crimson’s In The Court Of The Crimson King. It’s got classic Prog sweeping Mellotron waves, delicate vocals and acoustic guitars, crushing molten lava solos, and alternates between pastoral and majestic powerhouse sections. Absolutely freakin’ awesome. It’s always great to hear a band who just keeps getting better.

To stream sample tracks and order, visit the Mega Dodo Bandcamp site at: http://megadodo.bandcamp.com
Visit the Sky Picnic web site at: http://www.skypicnicmusic.com

Reviewed by Jerry Kranitz

Sauer Adler are the Polish duo of Kacper Wojaczek on keyboards and vocals and A.J. Kaufmann on guitars and vocals, with assistance from Agata Grzeskowiak on vocals. Their latest album, The Trips and Dreams of Stephen Adler, continues in the spirit of last year’s debut album, Revelation.

In my review of Revelation I made such analogies as Syd Barrett circa Mapcap Laughs and lo-fi Peter Hammill. We’ve got that and more on the new album. Selections that highlight the variety across these dozen songs include Dance Of The Rainbow Elephant, with its intense Van der Graaf Generator styled Doom-Prog and Psychedelic edge. Lucifer’s Herb is one of my favorite songs of the set, being a damn fine bit of 70s Hard Rock and Prog. Addiction has a Medieval-Folk feel, with male/female vocals, piano and orchestration. Megacity is a solid song that’s colored by swirling spaced out effects and alien synth melodies. Song For A Drummer features dreamy 60s inspired Psychedelia with a Prog infusion. Like A Child goes in a different direction, being a bouncy electro-pop tune, but with a Mellotron-ish backdrop. Summer Dreams is a classic 60s Sunshine-Pop dittie. Herba Gramen has an interesting combination of Prog and Pop-Psych. After a trippy intro, Hi Tech Inferno launches into one of the darkest and most intense Prog stompers of the set. And Distant Clusters is another one of my favorites, consisting of intense Prog-Psych with a drugged droney vibe, really good instrumentation and arrangements, and a tasty melodic fuzz guitar solo.

I’ve come away from this new album with the same feeling as my last review, which is that Wojaczek and Kaufmann are doing an impressive lot with a little, writing really good songs and kicking them up a notch with damn fine Prog-Psych instrumental arrangements. Check ’em out.

For more information visit the Sauer Adler Bandcamp site at: http://saueradler.bandcamp.com

Reviewed by Jerry Kranitz

The latest from Welsh Psych-Folk-Prog alchemists Soft Hearted Scientists (SHS) is a 24 track “song cycle” divided into 4 parts and consisting of songs and often very brief but strange and fun transitional bits.

The album opens with melodic acoustic guitar and spacey electronics, and quickly moves into a dreamy organ led segment, and from there the trip takes off. The transitional tracks simultaneously tie things together, break things up, and just generally add fun variety. SHS frequently flex their experimental muscles a bit on these tracks.

We’ve got some great songs too. Drifting Away is a classic example of what I’ve come to recognize as a trademark SHS sound, where a mystical and beautifully melodic brand of Psychedelic minstrel Folk-Prog traverses through multiple segments and is enhanced by all manner of zany alien space electronics. Nothing sits still for very long on an SHS song. The Ups and the Downs is a playfully head-bopping ditty that sounds like its being performed in some cosmic pub. I like head scientist Nathan Hall’s description of the album as “homemade and spooky and innocent and timeless”. You can feel the homemade part, but these guys are studio craftsman and masters of incorporating effects into songs that most others would keep stripped down so that the song can speak for itself. For example, Away is a beautiful song given a magical quality with a ghostly, almost cavernous sound, and peppered with whooshing effects, haunting organ, and more. I like the floating away feel of the cosmically pastoral Psychedelic Folk-Prog tunes Sonar Rays and Cobra Clouds. For You is a somber yet lovely tune with a luscious mix of acoustic instruments and simple yet effective keys. I love the sci-fi salsa swinging to a Casio beat Robots Remember. Cwm Cadian is a bouncy and hypnotically lovely acoustic guitar and keys instrumental. And there’s so much more.

The vocals and harmonies are a huge part of what SHS are about, and the lyrics are deeply personal and often quite surreal. Of all the SHS albums to date, The Slow Cyclone may well be the most complete full album experience; you really must hear all 24 tracks from beginning to end. Now that I’ve been immersed in the SHS catalog for a couple years I’m convinced that there’s no way to adequately categorize this band, and analogies to others are tenuous at best. They’re like a Proghead’s idea of marrying 60s Psychedelia, traditional minstrel/pub styles, and Karlheinz Stockhausen, and then shoving it all down Alice in Wonderland’s rabbit hole. If you like both magic and fun, then SHS are for you. Highest recommendation!

For more information visit the Soft Hearted Scientists web site at: http://www.softheartedscientists.com

Reviewed by Jerry Kranitz

Al Simones is a NE Ohio based musician who privately released 4 LPs on his own Purple Phrogg label between 1992-2009 (Purple Phrogg was also a record store Simones owned for 22 years). Simones has been described as the U.S. answer to The Bevis Frond, a fair analogy given his penchant for both acid minstrel songs and dirty tripped out psych jams. I’ve heard three of the four albums and they have a homemade lo-fi charm, though they’re well recorded and chock full of fun effects and Simones flies his freak flag HIGH.

In 2012 Headspin released a box set of the 4 reissued LPs and through them Fruits de Mer Keith contacted Simones about producing this single. Both songs are from Simones’ 1999 released Balloon Ride LP. Majic Ship is a raw psychedelic rocker that alternates between trippy melodic song and absolutely ripping acid-psych guitar solos, though we’ve also got peacefully pleasant acoustic solos. Seize the Moment is equally trippy and psyched out, with phased guitar and killer molten lava acid laced solos. Very cool and without a doubt will appeal to Frond fans. Simones is definitely an artist deserving of more widespread attention.

The single will be available late September, and as usual this is vinyl ONLY, no CDs or downloads. If interested you better hurry because Fruits de Mer releases sell out QUICK!

For more information visit the Fruits de Mer Records web site at: http://www.fruitsdemerrecords.com

Reviewed by Jerry Kranitz

7 and 7 is is a box set from Fruits de Mer Records containing 7 vinyl singles featuring 8 contemporary artists covering songs by 1960s US psych bands. Here’s the run down on all…

The Bevis Frond Salomonize two songs from Clear Light’s sole 1967 LP. We’re treated to monster guitar on both Night Sounds Loud and Sand, and Nick amps up the originals with some powerhouse organ.

The Higher State take the 13th Floor Elevators’ Wait For My Love and give it an even more energetic jangly but rockin’ pop-psych feel, while the guitar remains tastily acid-fuzzed. And their cover of You Don’t Know has a dead ringer 60s feel.

The title of this boxed set is a song from Love’s Da Capo album, but The Chemistry Set’s single covers two from Love’s 1967 Forever Changes. A House Is Not A Motel starts off similar to the original in acoustic driven Folk-Rock style and then blasts off into a killer psych jam. Nice touch on the acoustic finale. Ditto for Live and Let Live, which is faithful in spirit to the original and has lovely acoustic instrumentation and an explosive finale.

The United States of America has long been recognized for their use of avant-garde electronics in rock music and Sendelica tackle two from their 1968 LP. Sendelica’s cover of Hard Coming Love has, not surprisingly, some ultra-monster rocking psych guitar, but also inject fun freaky electronic effects. Going in a completely different direction, Sendelica take the gently pastoral Love Song For The Dead Che and make it even more 60s orchestral and electronically strange than the original. Very cool.

King Penguin similarly orchestrate The Byrds’ She Don’t Care About Time, though the trademark Byrds guitars are there as well as some psychedelically surreal solos. Nice. But they really go into the stratosphere with 5D (Fifth Dimension), with a swirling droning sitar and ethnic percussion Indian vibe, while never straying from the spirit of the original. This is one of my favorite covers of the entire set.

The Gathering Grey take two by Moby Grape into interesting directions. I Am Not Willing has a surreal, drugged feel, embellished with alien electronic effects and a nifty Beatles-like backward guitar solo. Ditto on the freaky factor with Sitting By The Window. The core song is faithful to the original, and quite beautifully played and arranged, though augmented by fun spaced out effects.

The final single is a two band split. Black Tempest give Spirit’s Nature’s Way a fuller, somewhat orchestrated feel. Finally, The Seventh Ring of Saturn turn the Grateful Dead’s Cream Puff War into a heavier psychedelic rocker with cool ripping acid guitar.

The boxset will be available late September, and as usual this is vinyl ONLY, no CDs or downloads. If interested you better hurry because Fruits de Mer releases sell out QUICK!

For more information visit the Fruits de Mer Records web site at: http://www.fruitsdemerrecords.com

Reviewed by Jerry Kranitz

Reading the promo sheet I can see that Michael Shanahan has a musical resume that dates back to the 1980s, though I first became aware of him through his participation on the 2011 released Negative Space album by Chester Hawkins’ Blue Sausage Infant project. His first album as Reanimation was Giants Hide Among Us, also from 2011. Pat Albertson reviewed that one for AI but I’ve been revisiting it alongside the new Reanimation effort, Under the Last Tree on Earth.

The first album is an intriguingly varied set of Space-Prog, Teutonic Kosmiche, somber Psychedelic song, rocking Pop songs, and more. What struck me most is Shanahan’s flair for being accessible… even Pop accessible… while doing so with adventurous music created with interesting instrumentation and arrangements. Under the Last Tree on Earth continues in this spirit. And while Giants Hide Among Us was recorded with some assistance from other musicians, the new album is a genuine solo effort, with Shanahan playing all instruments.

Dead Heart Souvenir opens the set and is a deceptively accessible rock song. It’s got a standard beat and catchy melody. But there’s lots going on, including spacey soundscapes and effects, hypnotic flute melody, crunchy guitar blasts, throbbing yet cool grooving bass, and a sense of Psychedelic angst. Abigail’s Ashes Came Home Today begins with an extended introduction of melancholy horn and piano melody, church bells and voice samples. It’s not until nearly the 4 minute mark that the vocals kick off the song portion of what becomes a lightly grooving, and once again melodically catchy Psychedelic rocker. Yet it’s still largely instrumental, and I like how the trippy guitar and tinkling piano contrast yet sound so good together. Surprise Hitchhiker is a high energy Space-Pop rocker with a punky edge. The Space Between Words goes in a different direction, being an ambient and soundscape driven Kosmiche excursion with ethnic percussion and a playfully experimental vibe. After a while it takes on an Amon Düül II improvisational feel, though the guitar is different, corrosively winding a droning, bubbling path through the proceedings. I like the avant-Psychedelic Pop intensity and dervish-like backdrop swirl of And You. Growing With the Growing Light is a spirited Pop rocker that sounds like it could have been a hit in the 80s. Opiate of the Hoi Polloi is a Space-Pop instrumental with noise-drone guitar, freaky alien synths, and intermittent samples from a religious TV/radio ad. The Serpent Fire (Everything Fades) consists of cosmic, jazzy, psychedelic, dreamy yet intense Prog-Pop. And She Never Sleeps is a powerhouse yet acoustically subtle and dissonant rocker, in some ways bringing to mind a modern Velvet Underground.

Both Reanimation albums have lots of variety and I can imagine some listeners feeling Shanahan could stand to tighten his focus a bit. Fair enough I say. Regardless, he nails every track. I don’t remember the last time I heard music that is so accessible yet challenging. I probably used the term “Pop” more than any review in recent memory. And yet the spacey, Psychedelic, and Progressive Rock elements abound. If you’ve made it this far and are intrigued, then get ye forth to the Reanimation Bandcamp site where you can get instant gratification and hear for yourself.

For more information visit the Reanimation web site at: http://www.reanimationtheband.com
Stream, download and order at the Reanimation Bandcamp site: http://reanimationtheband.bandcamp.com

Reviewed by Jerry Kranitz

I’ve been following California based musician Ernesto Diaz-Infante since the early Aural Innovations days. Ernesto can always be counted on for a very different musical setting, due in no small part to his multiple collaborations with musicians of varying stripes. In fact, I think this might only be the second solo effort of his I have, the previous one being the Solus set of piano solos from 2000.

wistful entrance, wistful exit is a solo acoustic 12 string set, featuring three 15 minute guitar meditations. The music is minimal, melodic, and subtle. I wouldn’t call it dreamy, though it has a somber yet peaceful quality. I noticed in the promo sheet that Ernesto conceived of these pieces during a period of time when he was dealing with a death in the family and was temporarily left alone, and I pictured the musician playing away with his thoughts to himself. The acoustics of the room are important to this recording, as the sustain of each strum lingers, creating a hypnotic atmosphere that makes this just as much a set of ambient music as it is contemplative solo acoustic guitar. Pleasant… trance inducing…

For more information visit the Kendra Steiner Editions web site at: http://kendrasteinereditions.wordpress.com
wistful entrance, wistful exit is available for $8 postpaid in the U.S. and $11 postpaid everywhere else. Paypal to: django5772@yahoo.com

Reviewed by Jerry Kranitz