Plush - Fed (US lost ork-pop masterpiece 2004)

Chicagoan Liam Hayes has been performing as Plush since the early 90’s, beginning in 1994 with the near-perfect single ‘Three-Quarters Blind Eyes” b/w “Found a Little Baby”. Four years later a full-length consisting mostly of piano ballads, More You Becomes You, was released. For the follow-up, Fed, Liam went over the top, running up a huge studio bill with massive arrangements and LA session players. Unfortunately, this pushed the cost for the release rights far too high for any US independent label to pick up making it one of the great lost albums of our time. Fed was eventually released only in Japan on the After Hours label and may currently be out of print. Hayes still hopes to see Fed released in the US one day. Meanwhile, Drag City released the cassette demos in 2004 as Underfed, an interesting contrast to the original album that stands up pretty well on it’s own in some spots.

Fans of Burt Bacharach or Jimmy Webb should not pass this one up.

Plush - Fed

Exuma (US voodoo/psych/folk/soul 1970 - 1972)

It’s extremely difficult to describe the sound of Exuma. This article from Perfect Sound Forever explains it all far better than I could. After reading it check out his first four albums here.

Exuma (part one)
Exuma (part two)

Forever Amber - The Love Cycle (UK Psych-Pop, 1969)

Forever Amber must have worn out the grooves on their copy of the Zombies' Odessey and Oracle. Their rare 1969 LP, The Love Cycle, emulated the late-period Zombies rather well with its classically influenced melodies and careful harmonies. A very derivative album, but a good one, bound to please listeners who regretted the Zombies' split after Odessey and Oracle. The Zombies aren't the easiest group to clone, but Forever Amber do a good job with their deft melodies and harmonies, as well as the classically patterned keyboard arrangements. "Bits of Your Life," had it gained wide distribution, had obvious hit potential, and rates as the best Zombies imitation ever (admittedly not a wide field). It was reissued on CD in the 1990s, although the re-releases are themselves hard to find in the US. ~ Richie Unterberger, All Music Guide

Forever Amber - The Love Cycle

Jandek For Dummies

Jandek is the kinda artist that's more heard about than actually heard from. I won’t waste your time going into his already well known tale, though like other obscuro acts like Joe Meeks or The Shaggs I gotta admit that his music sure ain’t as interesting without first knowing the back story on it. This here is a fan compiled (I think?) greatest hits collection that’s a great introduction to Jandek and might even be all you’ll ever need from him.

Jandek For Dummies

Mady Gula BLUE HEAVEN - 0 (Japanese girl group in space 1995)

This will be a quick one ‘cause I really don’t know anything about this band other than former Acid Mothers Temple synth player Cotton Casino is listed as a member. According to the label’s website this was their second release and the limited pressing of 1,000 is way sold out.

Mady Gula BLUE HEAVEN

Kendra Smith - The Guild of Temporal Adventurers (US psych 1992)

Throughout the 1980’s Kendra Smith was involved with some of the best contemporary psychedelic music to emerge from the west coast. Following stints playing bass and occasionally singing on the best works by the Dream Syndicate and Rain Parade she formed Opal with guitarist Dave Roback. After the far-out Happy Nightmare Baby and the excellent Early Recordings collection she made her solo debut in 1992 with this Eastern influenced psych/folk EP. A full-length, Five Ways of Disappearing, came out in 1995 and was disappointing only in comparison to the tripped-out sounds presented here.

Guild of Temporal Adventurers

Kaneko Jutok - Endless Ruins (Japanese psych/noise 2001)

Kaneko Jutok is probably the least well known of Japan’s black clad and shade wearing guitar gods. His main band, Kosokuya, is one of the more NY No Wave influenced bands in contemporary Asian psych coming off like a Lydia Lunch fronted Black Sabbath. For this 2001 solo outing Kaneko appears alone with his instrument on four cuts of raw crash and burn guitar torture and howling vocals. The two other cuts add Takuya Nishimura (Che-SHIZU) on bass, and Koji Shimura (White Heaven, Mainliner) on drums for further explorations into dark heaviness.

Kaneko Jutok - Endless Ruins

Tar Babies - No Contest/Honey Bubble (US 80's underground)

During the 80's I was a huge fan of the ugly atonal sounds coming out of the Midwest. The one band I could never quite wrap my ears around was Madison, Wisconsin’s Tar Babies. I’m certainI caught them live a few times, but have no recollection. I own some of their records mainly because I heard a song that I dug, would play only that track after bringing the LP home, then file it away forever after using the tune on a mixtape. Always up for reassessing the past, I snatched up their second and third SST releases when I spotted them last week in my local used CD store's cheapo bin and have been digging them since.

By the late eighties most of my fave bands were dropping the three-chord polkas and dipping into interesting sonic-hybrid experimentations. Though I haven't listened to it in nearly twenty years, I recall the Tar Babies' first SST release, Fried Milk, as still retaining the velocity of their skate punk origins while adding some slap bass and scratch guitar. Sorta where the Minutemen were heading on their last album. No Contest and Honey Bubble slow things down a bit, occasionally veering towards a Red Hot Chili Peppers white boy funk sound, but never in a sucky way (if that’s possible). There’s also some fantastic pre-post-rock like the instrumental Wisdom Drill. In fact, drummer Dan Bitney would later help refine this sound as a member of Tortoise and Isotope 217.

The band's website says that there was one more LP after this (which I’ve never heard) and that some members still play Madison as the Bar Tabbies. Pre-SST Tar Babies releases can be found on Lexicon Devil Records, a cool label outta Australia that has inexplicably been reissuing the best 80's underground sounds from America's Dairyland.

Tar Babies - No Contest/Honey Bubble

Les Rallizes Denudes

Les Rallizes Denudes was the vehicle for guiterrorist Mizutani Takashi’s psychotic feedback drenched overdrive from 1969 – 1996. Tales of intense light shows, association with radical politics and one member’s involvement in an airline hijacking surround them. Existing in the shadows of the Japanese psych scene and releasing no official recordings have turned them into mysterious legends. All of this also makes them a sonic freak’s wet dream and their music seems to only be found now amongst file-swappers and bloggers. I’ve seen the excellent Heavier Than a Death in the Family and the recent reissue of ’77 Live make appearances on other sites, but never this 7” given away with Etc. magazine in 1996. Fallin’ In Love is one of Mizutani’s more restrained moments (and that’s not saying much, actually) with a gorgeous drone that stops me dead whenever I hear it. The flip, Now Eternally sounds like it's edited from a larger piece. More typical of the Denudes sound, it starts out in the red and pretty much stays there as the rhythm section lays down a heavy krautrock groove for Mizutani to blast his trademark shards over, then it's all over too soon.

http://rapidshare.de/files/33622772/les_rallizes_denudes.zip.html

Zal Yanovsky

Without guitarist Zal Yanovsky The Lovin’ Spoonful woulda been just another boring folky 60’s pop band only recalled through boomer marketed Time-Life compilations. Unfortunately, that seems to be how the Spoonful are remembered today anyways. That’s too bad ‘cause I love Zally’s melodically spacey twang. After splitting from the Spoonful and being deported to Canada following a well documented pot bust Zally recorded his only solo LP, Alive and Well In Argentina (And Loving Every Minute of It). The trademark guitar sound is there, but goofy covers and too much stoner silliness kinda kills it for me. The best cuts are the instrumentals, especially the closer L.T. Schtinckhausen.

It’s no surprise then that my favorite showcase for Zally’s playing is the soundtrack to What’s Up Tiger Lily?, a comedic English language dub of a Japanese spy movie that was sort of Woody Allen’s directorial debut. It was entirely AIP’s idea to have the Spoonful provide the music and to pad the film out with an appearance edited into it. Woody Allen was so outraged by the studio’s decision that he threatened to sue. Fortunately, the flick was a hit and Woody backed off, but not without vowing to use the same crappy jazz score in every one of his subsequent films.

Zally & the Spoonful

Does the world need another music blog?

Hard to believe, but even after my daily rundown of favorite music sharing sites there’s still some stuff that I think should be out there. I’ll probably be leaning towards obscure psych, proto-punk and 80’s US underground. Mostly the kinda stuff I’d spin while entertaining a room fulla fellow record-geeks. If you like what you hear please join the party by dropping a comment.

coming soon!