CRYSTAL SWELLS- HARSH SIDE/SLUDGE FREAKS 7"

This is the perfect acid-fried, garage-pop, speed-trip for your summer! Four jams in seven minutes, oodles of reverb on the vocals, drums that sound like Chuck Biscuits backing Dick Dale and some truly killer guitar playing! This band has been at it for a few years and they always rule! You can download the individual tracks on the bandcamp... ohh, just got to track three and it's a fucking anthem! this band is too good!

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13th FLOOR ELEVATORS- THE PSYCHEDELIC SOUND OF

This album is a perfect example of why garage-rock has already been done to death and why you and your skinny-jeans-wearing, trust-fund-living bros really shouldn't start a garage-rock band. This came out in 1966 and was already turning conventional garage-rock on its head by adding all the acid-fried weirdness of Roky Erickson and his band to the mix. That's right, 1966. It was that long ago that people saw garage-rock as something stale enough that a new direction was warranted entirely. In case you haven't read other posts on the blog, I hate garage-rock and especially the thousands of shit eaters who have decided in the last ten years that they should start a garage-rock band. It's FUCKING OLD. Seriously. Even if you just want to pay tribute to the genre, a real rarity these days since most schmucks' idea of classic garage is the Black Lips, the Gories did it better than anyone else ever could have so maybe it's time everyone stopped trying???

Anyway, I don't want to take away from the greatness and innovation that is this LP. This is one of the first psychedelic albums and it's awesome! The songwriting is incredible, the guitar playing is the catchy little bit of sugar that keeps it from descending into absolute weirdness and Roky Erickson's voice is perfect for these songs. If you don't like music from the 60's as a rule or if you like garage-rock and haven't heard this then you must click the link!

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THE LOLLIPOP SHOPPE- JUST COLOUR

Heard this for the first time the other day and oof... this is what garage rock should sound like. Dripping with fuzz and stoned-angst while being sung by someone who can scream like a banshee as well as seduce you with a haunting croon. Oddly enough, the singer for this here band is none other than Fred Cole of Dead Moon! Cool hey! Guy is in obscure one-and-done sixties garage band then goes on to form one of the most prolific and well-loved garage/punk/DIY bands of all time! Not that I'm saying Dead Moon are on everyone's shelf or anything but I've never met someone that didn't like 'em!

Anyway, lot's of goodness here. Great guitar playing, songs, jams and singing. Cole sounds fantastic too! Shades of what was to come with Dead Moon but also a singing style that at times sounds like Greg Sage... probably just a wee lad in Portland at the time but clearly he heard this before he started the Wipers.

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PUSSY GALORE- GROOVY HATE FUCK

Jon Spencer, Neil Haggerty. Blues Explosion. Royal Trux... Even though for all intensive purposes this is Spencer's band, this is the blueprint for everything Haggerty would go on to do. i.e. music that kind of sucks but is labeled as cool and/or interesting so you MUST love it.

This is a whole lot of pretentious bullshit by assholes who likely had no idea what they were doing or at the very least, could fake being awful. Now don't get me wrong, this is raw, hateful, steeped in a love of rock n' roll and all that but It's just such pretentious music. Four douchebags in Rolling Stones t-shirts walk into a bar... PUSSY GALORE! Cool music for people who care about cool music

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THE GORIES- HOUSEROCKIN'

The Gories emerged from the mean streets of Detroit in the late 80's and released some of the most badass garage-rock records this side of the late 60's. Warbly, minimal, catchy and hair-raising. All the qualities of genre classics by The Sonics and The Wailers. Mick Collins would go on to form The Dirtbombs, but really, this is where its at. No garage band will ever be this good again.

p.s. If you're thinking of starting a garage-rock band, don't.

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