Pop & Rock Vinyl New Releases - News

OH! GUNQUIT are a London-based 'rumble-bop trash freak-a-billy' five-piece that formed in 2011 after neighbours Tina Swasey and Simon Wild met each other while frequenting a North London vinyl-only sweaty cellar club DJ night. After an energetic pogo competition they decided to create a group blending their love of wild garage punk, exotica, raw rhythm'n'blues and surf-trash. They have played shows, festivals and events in the UK and around Europe alongside acts such as Black Lips producer King Khan with his Shrines, Fat White Family, Public Service Broadcasting, Andrew Weatherall, Keb Darge, the director of Danny Boyle's Shuffle Film Festivals, and survived a crazed impromptu stage invasion by eccentric '80s pop-punk prince Adam Ant. The group have also done two live sessions for London's only independent art radio station, Resonance FM, and the singles have had frequent airings on BBC Radio 6 (Steve Lamacq, Gideon Coe, Lauren Laverne) Huey Morgan's BBC Radio 2 show and XFM Exposure with John Kennedy. To date, they have put out two limited edition selfreleased seven inch vinyl singles distributed through Rough Trade, the second being single of the week in Artrocker magazine, and also have a track featured on a Japanese compilation of garage rock'n'roll with the all-girl 'Woo Hoo' hit-makers The 5,6,7,8s. Last December saw the release of a brand new single 'Sinkhole' backed with the instrumental 'Stampede' via new One Little Indian imprint Winwin Records. Altsounds.com says, They are a sight to behold with bags of personality and an endearing amount of humour. Their music and performances appear effortless, with lyrics that are macabre and kitsch and a live performance that is better than any art-punks out there at the moment. This is retro pop at its killer best. You know that this is a band that, in years to come, people will be arguing over which cramped Camden basement they saw them in first. Live on stage, the fiery, exotic sound on Eat Yuppies And Dance has been described as a cross between The Cramps and The B-52's, a unique blizzard of horns, spirited howls, buzzsaw guitars, hula hoops and fun, riotous rock'n'roll abandon, a crazy road trip of B-movies, freak shows, twisted carnivals, and adventuring

"Suicaine Gratifaction" is the third solo album by the former Replacements front man and songwriter Paul Westerberg and was originally released in 1999. Suicaine is an introspective, somber recording with a relaxed vibe, even on the few rockers that sprinkle the album, while the simple and low key production by Paul and Don Was puts the focus on another great batch of songs by PW. Highlights include "It's A Wonderful Lie", "Born For Me", "Lookin' Out Forever" and "Sunrise Always Listens". On 180 gram vinyl in a gatefold sleeve with an insert. First time ever released on vinyl!

Here is the 25th anniversary edition of Sun Dial's incredible 1990 debut psychedelic opus and released on the legendary Tangerine label! Original copies from 1990 on Tangerine fetch £75+ these days!

To commemorate the 25th anniversary we have reissued the album
pressed on eye popping black and white splatter vinyl housed in a PVC folder
with obi strip sealed with a sticker.

All copies are strictly numbered edition of just 500 copies only!

"SUN DIAL BLOWS THE DOORS OFF THE F**KING UNIVERSE. KABOOM"
- BYRON COLEY ROLLING STONE

"THE BEST PSYCHEDELIC RECORD YOU'VE NEVER HEARD" - MOJO

"THAT OTHER WAY OUT STILL SOUNDS FRESH YEARS LATER IS NO MIRACLE. IT WAS MADE TO SOUND LIKE A CLASSIC AND THAT IS HOW IT HAS REMAINED" - EDWIN POUNCEY

"SUPERCHARGED PSYCH ROCK ANTHEMS LIKE FOOD FROM THE GODS"
- THE WIRE
This is an indispensable psych classic!

A sound that's equal parts aggressive and odd, with killer riffs and, occasionally, a horn solo. It's post-modern punk music, unpredictable and consistently intriguing. Here's what the press is saying about it: "They create this sound that's equal parts "aggressive" and "odd", with killer riffs and, occasionally, a horn solo. It's post-modern punk music, unpredictable and consistently intriguing" - Pitchfork // "Teenanger toil in garage-inflected post-punk, keeping the proceedings loose enough to give character, but never soft." - Noisey // "'Hot Rods' is a loser anthem perfect for when you're smoking cigarettes in the alley, complaining about all the
yuppies and jocks." -Consequence of Sound // "Melissa Ball sings with a Kim Deal sigh, as her band's metal-on-metal lurch sticks to her like migraine in a tarpit. " - Chartattack // "Vocalist Chris Swimmings keeps the anger burning against guitarist Jon Schouten's wall of fire and raw fury. " - Impose

2 vinyl editions, one blue, one orange both on 160 gm vinyl, both include downloads. Whether their muse lies in 60s sci-fi soundtracks, The Radiophonic Workshop, the prototype electronic sounds of The United States Of America, the retro-futuristic edge of Broadcast, the dream pop ambience of Angelo Badalamenti/Julie Cruise, or the shimmering shroud of Mazzy Star, will doubtless be raised in countless interviews. But what matters more is that Death And Vanilla have woven a stunning tapestry that envelops all that preceded them, into a literally head-turning album, of kaleidoscopic proportions... Formed in Malmö, Sweden by Marleen Nilsson and Anders Hansson, Death and Vanilla utilise vintage musical equipment such as vibraphone, organ, mellotron, tremolo guitar and moog, to emulate the sounds of 60s/70s soundtracks, library music, German Krautrock, French Ye-ye pop and 60s psych. They revel in the warmth of older analogue instruments to create a more organic sound, each loose wire and off-kilter noise adding to the rich atmosphere. After a handful of successful releases including a debut EP in 2010, their self-titled LP in 2012 - which sold out on pre-order - and a beautifully designed 7' single, the experimental pop duo were invited to compose a live soundtrack for the classic horror film, Vampyr (1932), for the Lund Fantastisk Film festival in Lund. Now, newly signed to Fire, the band return with 'To Where The Wild Things Are.' Named after the Maurice Sendak children's book, the album is comprised of pop music with a wild, dreamy and experimental edge, celebrating imagination and the ability to travel to stranger recesses of the mind. 'Where the Wild Things Are' starts off with some of the most pop' songs they've ever recorded, typified in the sweet and melodramatic Arcana', and the classic pop inspired Time Travel'. Like Sendak's book of the same name, the album then proceeds into stranger and stranger territory, resulting in some of the most experimental material Death and Vanilla have produced, such as the six minute Something Unknown You Need to Know' and the machine-like, surf-guitar track The Hidden Reverse'. The band recorded the new album themselves in their rehearsal space, using just one microphone - a 70's Sennheiser - which they bought at a flea market for a tenner. It is this unconventional recording process that gives Death and Vanilla their unique personality, using a trial and error approach to recording has rewarded the album with a strangeness that would not have otherwise been achievable. Creating deliciously enticing soundscapes, full of moody moogs, swirling melodies and breathless vocals, their influences on 'To Where the Wild Things Are' are apparent and diverse, ranging from Ennio Morricone to Scott Walker, Tom Dissevelt to Norman Whitfield, The Zombies to Sun Ra, and Bo Hansson to The BBC Radiophonic workshop. // Death and Vanilla's sound is like an elaborate dreamscape composed of foggy visions and mind-altering notions.' Redefine Magazine // Death And Vanilla are a Swedish haunted-pop duo who have found themselves caught in the vortex of retro-futurism circa 1969... they've got a good grip on the baroque psychedelia of the United States Of America and Free Design,' Aquarius Records //

When the Brazilian band Os Canibais went into the studio to record its second album, they left the Jovem Guarda (the country's answer to beatlemania) days behind and came out with a new name, Bango, and a new sound - that comprised psychedelia, hard rock, pop, soul and even Brazilian country music. Bango's only LP was released in 1970 but besides being well recorded and having an inspired repertoire, had little success.

After a few concerts, the group broke up and the record went into obscurity (later, some of the band members became notorious producers for Brazil's biggest record companies). With the years, Bango self-titled album (the band's name is an old slang for money but also a plant used to make hashish) became a legend in its own right and started to gather attention. The reason is obvious: songs like Inferno no mundo and Motor maravilha are killer tracks with amazing use of fuzz and wah-wah, gritty Hammond organ sounds, loud drums, catchy chorus and crazy moods that listeners will dive in even if they don't understand the (Brazilian Portuguese) lyrics. And, of course, its beautiful monstrous cover art.

On the other eight songs of the LP, the band goes from hard psych to soft ballads, from irreverent to phantasmagoric, from Heaven to Hell. If you like bands like Os Mutantes and the lost Brazilian bands from the late 1960s/early 1970s like Spectrum, Liverpool and A Bolha, you will definitely dig Bango! This forgotten gem have been re-released once by a German label but was out of stock from years. Portugal's Groovie Records is now putting Bango's LP out with an exclusive and never before released bonus track, a cover of Elephant's Memory Mongoose.

This 9LP boxset brings together the eight albums released via Warners between 1979 -
1999.

Pretenders (1980), Pretenders II (1981), Learning To Crawl (1984), Get Close (1986),
Packed! (1990), Last Of The Independents (1994), The Isle Of View (2LP) (1995), and Viva
El Amor! (1999) are all pressed on 180-gram heavyweight black vinyl, the latter 2 released
for the first time on the format.

All 8 albums feature original issue artwork replications and expansions, cut from the latest
digital remasters and housed in a rigid slipcase.

Bruce Springsteen AKA The Boss was a singer songwriter signed to Columbia records in the early seventies. Having recorded two critically well received albums( Greetings From Asbury Park and The Wild the Innocent and the E Street Shuffle) he broke through commercially worldwide with the album Born To Run which was released on the 25th August 1975. Whilst the album broke Bruce his relationship with his manager had soured to the extent that he was subsequently embroiled in litigation for two years and unable to record for over twelve months. This gave Bruce and the band the opportunity to hone their craft by playing extensively across the USA and also a well-documented appearance in the UK. This recording is the complete performance from a stint at The Roxy in Los Angeles in October 1975. The set was broadcast on radio and is considered to be one of the great live performances featuring songs from the recently released Born To Run album and also key songs from his previous two albums alongside some covers which he made his own in new arrangements. - This album contains a radio performance of Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band from The Roxy Los Angeles - Includes complete Performance from the early Show at The Roxy - Proven Sales Record for Live Bruce Springsteen material - Rarely Seen Photographs - Liner notes by Broadcaster/Author Jon Kirkman Track Listing

LIMITED EDITION CARD SLEEVE CD, LIMITED TO 500 FOR THE WORLD

Henry Blacker's second album 'Summer Tombs' was initially launched on vinyl only for Record Store Day 2015. This CD edition follows and comes as an expanded fifteen song disc featuring all eight tracks from the bands acclaimed 2014 vinyl only debut album 'Hungry Dogs Will Eat Dirty Puddings' as an added bonus.

HENRY BLACKER have been up and down the country and into Europe relentlessly for the past 18 months, three times playing twice in a day, slamming heads in doors, raging left and right. Touring their debut, 'Hungry Dogs Will Eat Dirty Puddings' (Riot Season, 2014), and road testing the new tunes that have made up LP #2 'Summer Tombs'. Recorded in one brutal day, one voice-box shredding day. Westminster Brown (Part Chimp) at the desk, South London, back in September 2014. Tunes are more complex, more speed, more frustrated, with the same vocal mangle and rhythmic splat. Seven tracks, 29 minutes, SET TO CRUISE CONTROL AND RIDE.

In May they head out on tour with Torche in the UK, and other dates around it. ONWARDS.

01. Cold Laking
02. Million Acre Fire
03. Shit Magus
04. The Grain
05.Landlubber
06. A Plague
07. Summer Tombs
08. Crab House
09. Pullin' Like A Dray
10. Your Birthday Has Come And Gone
11. My Majesty
12. Scumblood
13. Pearlie
14. A Bone & A Thistle
15. Temple Controls

Aufnahmen aus den Jahren 1965-1967, bevor Hendrix zum Superstar avancierte, zeigen ihn als brillanten Begleitmusiker Diese Collection umfasst 14 Tracks, die während Aufnahmesessions in den Jahren 1965 und 1966 (ein Song stammt aus dem Jahr 1967) entstanden und wird als CD und 150g-Vinyl-LP am 20.03.2015 auf den Markt kommen. Diese Aufnahmen der Knight/Hendrix-Sessions für PPX und RSVP sind ein wichtiger Bestandteil von Jimi Hendrix' außergewöhnlichem musikalischen Erbe, denn sie halten den Moment fest, als der Ausnahmekünstler noch in einer Nebenrolle agierte. Und sie zeigen, welch unglaubliche Technik und brillante Fertigkeiten er bereits entwickelt hatte, bevor Chas Chandler ihn im Café Wha entdeckte und ihn vom Sideman zum Superstar beförderte.

limitierte Vinyle Single, colouredcVinyl

The latest issue in our Record Store Day exclusive Picture disc series, this is a fully licensed, limited, hand-numbered edition of 1000 copies only 7' with two classic Joy Division tracks. Our little contribution to the celebration of vinyl and indie record stores and a nice souvenir you can both listen to and frame on your wall!

With a slew of spooked, sultry tracks emerging online late last
year, Francesca Belmonte slowly but surely emerged as one of
the most fascinating new talents out there today, trafficking in
her very own distinct vein of freaked pop which seamlessly
blended in R n'B, soul, club, electronica, avant-garde and much
more to hypnotic effect. Now, with her debut LP 'Anima',
Belmonte finally unveils that distinctive vision in full, with a vast
and shimmering collection of tracks.
Although Belmonte first got her start singing with legendary
experimental artist Tricky, appearing on his 'False Idols' and
'Adrian Thaws' albums and now signed to his own False Idols
imprint, 'Anima' sees her develop her own uniquely singular
persona. The sombre honest tones in her vocals are wickedly
broken up by the beats, synths and electronica of her key colla-
borator, with the result being a powerful and highly expressive
LP filled with passion.

With a slew of spooked, sultry tracks emerging online late last
year, Francesca Belmonte slowly but surely emerged as one of
the most fascinating new talents out there today, trafficking in
her very own distinct vein of freaked pop which seamlessly
blended in R n'B, soul, club, electronica, avant-garde and much
more to hypnotic effect. Now, with her debut LP 'Anima',
Belmonte finally unveils that distinctive vision in full, with a vast
and shimmering collection of tracks.
Although Belmonte first got her start singing with legendary
experimental artist Tricky, appearing on his 'False Idols' and
'Adrian Thaws' albums and now signed to his own False Idols
imprint, 'Anima' sees her develop her own uniquely singular
persona. The sombre honest tones in her vocals are wickedly
broken up by the beats, synths and electronica of her key colla-
borator, with the result being a powerful and highly expressive
LP filled with passion.

Here is the second single from New Street Adventures' debut album release No Hard Feelings, which was released late October, 2014.

Edition of 300 copies, incl. mp3
Presented here is the next chapter in the history of Faruk Green's keyboarder and founding member JEFF ÖZDEMIR... a compilation of soulful, pop & electronic inspired music. Jeff Özdemir, multi-instrumentalist, composer, producer and owner of the "33rpm Store", an independent record shop in Berlin Kreuzberg, also runs the label 33rpm Records with some of his musician friends. This compilation is an eclectic and unique album for people who like jazz-funk, indie, the German language, strings, record stores, vinyl, movie soundtracks, Moogs and pop vocals


















[S] 19. Scheisse [

Strut continue their acclaimed 'Next Stop Soweto' series in March 2014 as they return to the rich archives of South African music to spotlight the fertile era of the late '70s and early '80s.

The latest release by the Parisian label is thanks to a fluke find by an Antinote family member, who by pure chance, unearthed an unreleased guitar and synth musical jewel from Italy circa 1984. An until now unknown collaboration between a guitar maestro, composer of contemporary dance scores with a gifted electronic music composer.
Melodic complexity and rhythmic sonic beauty embrace to create a unique and timeless classic that has already achieved cult status among the few who have heard it. Obvious comparisons can be made between the Paki - Visnadi record with the softer ambient side of vintage German electronic i.e. Gottsching, Schnitzler, Cluster etc. but that would be too easy, as this recording stands alone with its uniquely Italian atmosphere of sophisticated and complex simplicity.

This now rediscovered session was recorded by two Venetians: Paki Zennaro (then working with René Aubry for Carolyn Carlson) and Gianni Visnadi (an experimental composer) who met one evening over a glass of vino and decided to work together for the first time with the intention of recording contemporary music to be used by dance schools for study and exercise. Recording on reel to reel tape using electronic equipment (Seq.Circuits Pro One, Prophet 5, TR 808, Roland guitar synth) with an acoustic 12 string guitar gave birth to IMAGINARY CHOREOGRAPHY. When finished and mixed, a few BASF LHextra cassette copies (maybe 6 or 8 only) were sent out to a few friends with a homemade photocopy insert, complete with hand written track names and production details.

A chance find in a Paris market of one of these original demo cassettes led to this wonderful lp finally seeing its first release. This now famous BASF tape was found one lucky morning by Johanna Heather Anselmo (filmmaker, photographer and musician) while searching for musical surprises in a box of tapes that had probably been at that same flea market for 20 years or more. Mademoiselle Johanna is used to rummaging in boxes of dusty tapes, being the girlfriend of Antinote artist Iueke who has the unusual habit of hiding tapes all over their flat. A bit of searching by Iueke lead him to finding contact information for Maestro's Zennaro and Visnadi who were happy to oblige with releasing this almost forgotten 1984 session. Master tapes were sent to paris for immediate transfer and mastering, while the Check Morris team worked with usual class on adapting and reworking the cassette tape artwork for a vinyl issue. We and the people at Antinote are eternally grateful for this lucky find, as i'm sure you all will be too after listening to this musical discovery. Open a bottle of vino and sit back.

Universal Road is the new album by Robin Guthrie (Cocteau Twins) and Mark Gardener (Ride). Their former bands work ought to give hints as to where a collaboration between the pair might lead, but this remarkable new album has it's own chemistry and is an unexpected treasure from the two well established artists. The pairing of Guthrie and Gardener might, at first glance, be expected to deliver a very particular brand of guitar-driven euphoria, however, Universal Road, defies expectations across ten tracks whose diversity is one of the album's great strengths. This is a most harmonious collaboration, at times affirming - 'Yesterdays News', exuberant - 'Dice', reflective - 'Sometime', striking - 'Old Friend' and quietly epic - 'Blind'. Gardener's vocals have rarely sounded better than they do on Universal Road, his layered harmonies are a particular highlight. Guthrie's lush sound and alluring guitar arrangements and melodies are seamlessly interwoven throughout, deftly accentuating the emotional content of the songs.
01 universal road
02 dice
03 amnesia
04 old friend
05 yesterday's news
06 cry for survival
07 sometime
08 triumphant
09 reason
10 blind

m 17. März ist es soweit: Nach ihrem Debüt-Album, dem Chartstürmer Megalitic Symphony, stellen AWOLNATION ihr mit Spannung erwartetes neues Studioalbum mit dem Titel Run (Red Bull Records) vor. RUN wurde vom musikalischen Architekten Aaron Bruno verfasst, gespielt und produziert und im hügeligen Hinterland von Malibu in Kalifornien aufgenommen. Das neue Album ist der Höhepunkt von Brunos Erfahrungen nach dem Durchbuch ihres Debüt-Albums Megalithic Symphony. Das Endergebnis ist ein feinst abgestimmtes musikalisches Meisterwerk, das sich manchmal - und urplötzlich - expansiv atmosphärisch, übermutig, ernst und verfeinert gibt und von Momenten des typischen aggressiven Unbehagen punktiert ist. "Auf dieser Platte ist jede einzelne Sekunde sorgfältig zugeordnet", erläutert Bruno. "Jedes einzelne Element dient einem Zweck".
Neben der ersten Single "Hollow Moon (Bad Wolf)" fallen besonders das cineastische "Jailbreak", die erhebende Hymne "I Am", der Titelsong "Run", das euphorische "Windows", das schmerzlich verwundbare "Headrest for My Soal" und die atomare Rebellion von "KOOKSEVERYWHERE!!!!" auf.

The Italian psych-fuzz trio Black Rainbows sound like the bastard offspring of '70s hard-rock swagger and '90s stoner-groove; hints of Black Sabbath, MC5 and Hawkwind fuse with liberal pinches of Monster Magnet and Fu Manchu. Since 2007 the band have released three full-length albums, coupled with split releases with bands such asWhite Hills, Naam and Farflung, and finally the recently highly acclaimed Holy Moon Ep. They have also been regulars on stages across the world having now performed over 300 gigs. Their new album Hawkdope is a perfect mix of MONSTER MAGNET - HAWKWIND - FU MANCHU; a psychedelic, lysergic storm of heavy space-rock containing nine brand new tracks.

The Italian psych-fuzz trio Black Rainbows sound like the bastard offspring of '70s hard-rock swagger and '90s stoner-groove; hints of Black Sabbath, MC5 and Hawkwind fuse with liberal pinches of Monster Magnet and Fu Manchu. Since 2007 the band have released three full-length albums, coupled with split releases with bands such asWhite Hills, Naam and Farflung, and finally the recently highly acclaimed Holy Moon Ep. They have also been regulars on stages across the world having now performed over 300 gigs. Their new album Hawkdope is a perfect mix of MONSTER MAGNET - HAWKWIND - FU MANCHU; a psychedelic, lysergic storm of heavy space-rock containing nine brand new tracks.

limited edition violet LP

Recorded at the Winterland as a Benefit Concert to raise awareness and funds for prisoners. Crosby and Nash had just finished recording their first album 'Crosby & Nash' which was released a week after this concert on April 5th. The benefit concert was broadcast by KSAN Radio of San Francisco and has become a classic recording with the surprise appearance of Neil Young who joined the duo onstage to sing four songs from his latest album 'Harvest'.

The 6th Slade album, originally released in 1976, got a mixed reviews in press because of its moving to "California-oriented pop-rock" sound instead of "good old screaming glam-rock". However, "Nobody's Fools" is still a one of a favourite albums for Slade fans.

A great selection of the most important hits from British glam legends. Includes extra track "Love Is Like Oxygen".

(April Cargo Collective Title) Limited pressing deluxe 180 gm double gatefold edition with a free poster and album CD included inside: 750 copies clear with blue with black marble and 250 random black vinyl. Holy Vacants, the fourth album from Trophy Scars, sees the New Jersey quartet deliver their magnum opus as they continue to evolve their sound. The album was initially worked up as a 35-page screenplay by vocalist/lyricist Jerry Jones and is even more ambitious than 2011's Never Born Never Dead, which took reincarnation as its theme. Holy Vacants uses as its springboard a bizarre cocktail of mythology, ancient religion, and conspiracy theory surrounding the Nephilitic gene. The album revolves around Jones's tale of two lovers who have discovered not only that the blood of angels contains the fountain of youth, but also the formula for Qeres. This ancient Egyptian perfume is claimed to be the only substance that can kill angels and Nephilites, who are the supposed offspring of angels/human unions. Armed with this knowledge, the couple embark on a killing spree, drinking spilled Nephilitic blood to stop growing old. The narrative may be conceptually out-there, but it doesn't fence the album in and stands as a metaphor for far simpler and more widely recognized issues - the idealization of youth, loss of identity and corrupted innocence. It's also Jones' personal way of drawing a line under an intense past relationship: 'The album was about being so in love with somebody that they literally destroy you,' he explains. 'I had to write the album as a way of exorcising this person from my mind and soul. I wanted a Bonnie and Clyde-type story, because I've always loved that. There's something beautiful about the idea of rebelling together against something and losing yourself in the rebellion to the extent that it destroys your life. It's the doomed romanticism thing.' Holy Vacants was intended the band's final album , but instead constitutes a complete rebirth. 'I thought we had one more record in us and we wanted to go out with a bang',says Jones. Guitarist Ferrara, who Jones calls 'an unbelievable composer', sent the singer some bare-bones riffs and he found himself connecting with them immediately, hearing how they might work with strings here, a Moog and organ, maybe some brass and an all-girl choir there. And listening to the likes of opener 'Archangel' and 'Qeres', with its free-wheeling but complex and cathartic, psychedelic blues, it's obvious the band have moved light years away from their post-hardcore early years. They reveal their admiration for fellow New Jersey son Springsteen, circa Darkness on the Edge of Town with 'Crystallophobia', 'Everything Disappearing' and 'Extant', and for Jimi Hendrix via 'Hagiophobia', while elsewhere there are echoes of Guns N' Roses and The Mars Volta. But what might sound like an unworkable agglomeration of disparate parts is an intense and cohesive, hugely compelling whole, with powerful contrasts that make for a visceral immediacy. UK press: Hermana.

Three tracks from the Meanwhile Gardens Sessions not available on the forthcoming album.

Emerging in the heady days of 1990, Levitation's arc was intense and brief. Formed By Terry Bickers after leaving the House of Love, Bic Hayes was recruited from Cardiacs, and the other members fell into place. After several singles and a mini album comprised of live tracks and singles, they managed a lone album, Need for Not, before spectacularly combusting onstage at the Tufnell Park Dome in 1993, when Terry Bickers left the band, saying he couldn't continue. With their masterpiece second album, Meanwhile Gardens already recorded, they searched for a replacement, but final choice Steve Ludwin failed to capture the energy and they disbanded. Three of the members went on to form Dark Star, who shone brightly, if briefly towards the end of the decade.

Meanwhile Gardens only ever gained a commercial release on CD in Australia, for some unknown reason, but that version released had Steve Ludwin's vocals replacing Terry Bickers' and the result was disappointing - despite this, that CD of this now sells for over £100 online.

The members of Levitation have always felt that the original version deserved a proper release, and their fans feel the same. A facebook page was set up to encourage the release of the original album and serves as a focus for fans of the band.

After an abortive attempt at releasing it in 2006, all hope seemed lost until Flashback Records stepped in to offer a proper release. The band were enthusiastic, archives were trawled for the original analogue mixes and a track listing decided as the definitive Meanwhile Gardens. Sadly, three unreleased tracks much loved by faithful were omitted from this, so it was decided to release these as a limited edition 12' single for Record Store Day, 2015.

Levitation's music never fell easily into a category. Immaculately played, the complex structures seemed effortless, with Bickers' emotive vocals forming a counterpoint to unique drummer Francolini's staccato snare hits, underpinned by fluid bass from O'Keefe. Hayes and White provide texture and lyrical lines which weave through this amazing music. At the time, their contemporaries were The Verve and the Shoegaze scene, but Levitation always had more focus and power than their contemporaries. Had they managed to stay together long enough to release Meanwhile Gardens, their name would be revered in the same context as Radiohead and the Verve.

What might have been then is finally realised now.

Im 21. Karrierejahr legen die DONOTS mit "Karacho" ihr vielleicht bestes Album vor. Es ist ihr erstes in deutscher Sprache.

Die DONOTS haben Konzerte auf der ganzen Welt gegeben. Sie waren mehrere Male in Japan, den USA, tourten vielfach durch Europa und waren auf Einladung von den Toten Hosen, Die Ärzte, Billy Talent, Anti Flag und anderen befreundeten Bands immer wieder unterwegs. All diese Erfahrungen haben sie zusammengeschweißt, sie dahin gebracht, wo sie heute sind. Das größte Abenteuer der Bandgeschichte kommt aber erst jetzt: Mit "Karacho" legen die DONOTS zum ersten Mal in ihrer Karriere ein komplettes Album auf deutsch vor.

Geplant war das Album in dieser Form allerdings nicht, ganz im Gegenteil. Aber es machte plötzlich riesigen Spaß. Alles fühlte sich frisch und neu an. Die Musik ballerte unbeschwert nach vorn. Deutsche Texte, für alle direkt verständliche Worte. Nichts zu verlieren. Go-for-it-Attitüde.

Deutsch ist nicht unbedingt die ideale Popsprache. Es wird ganz schnell ganz unangenehm. Zu verkopft, zu kitschig, zu steif - die Fallstricke der deutschen Sprache sind im Zusammenhang mit Punkrock mannigfaltig. So blieb die Last vor allem an Sänger Ingo Knollmann hängen: In nächtelangen Sessions näherte er sich seiner eigenen Sprache und Ausdrucksweise. Nicht zuletzt hörte er in einer Art Schocktherapie viel von dem, was er auf keinen Fall wollte, um Klischees und Kitsch zu vermeiden: "Ich hab mir freiwillig im Radio so Sachen wie Pur und Rosenstolz angehört. Einfach, damit der Shit-Detector geeicht ist".

Die Donots sind sich einig, dass der Wechsel der Sprache ungeheure Kreativität beim Songwriting freisetzte. Die neuen Songs mit den deutschen Texten - das sei so gewesen wie nach Hause zu kommen und gleichzeitig neu anzufangen. Im Frühjahr geht's mit den neuen Songs auf die Straße, dann kommt endgültig die Stunde der Wahrheit. Mit »Karacho« haben sie sich praktisch neu erfunden, ohne sich neu erfunden zu haben. Ein wichtiges Album, das eine Lücke schließt, die dringend geschlossen werden musste. Die besten DONOTS aller Zeiten sind bereit für die nächsten 20 Jahre.

01. Out To Get You
02. Sometimes (Lester Piggott)
03. Dream Thrum
04. One Of The Three
05. Say Something
06. Five-O
07. P.S.
08. Everybody Knows
09. Knuckle Too Far
10. Low Low Low
11. Laid
12. Lullaby
13. Skindiving
14. Laid
15. Sometimes
16. Five-O
17. Say Something (The Saying Nothing Mix)

Kyuss, Slo Burn, Unida, Hermano, Vista Chino - wo auch immer John Garcia seine Finger im Spiel hatte, stellte sich alsbald Erfolg ein. Stets verstand es der 44-jährige, diesen Bands einen eigenen Stempel aufzudrücken und etablierte sich damit als die wohl markanteste Stimme der gesamten Desert/Stoner-Rock-Szene. Mit Vista Chino musiziert Garcia sehr nahe an seinen Kyuss-Wurzeln, auf diesem Soloalbum hier wagt er zusätzlich auch einige Experimente - und überzeugt dabei auf ganzer Linie. Diese Platte ist gespickt mit erstklassigen, sehr eingängigen Rocknummern, die gleichberechtigt zwischen klassischem Hardrock und prägnanten Stoner-Elementen pendeln. Ist man erstmal mit wundervollen Ohrwürmern wie My Mind oder 5000 Miles in Berührung gekommen, dann breitet sich dieses Album wie eine Infektion im Körper aus - und man ist gerne bereit, sich auch auf den kurzen und knackigen Riffrocker Saddleback oder dem stark im Blues verwurzelten Confusion einzulassen. Oder auf den ultra-lässigen Rausschmeißer Her Bullets Energy auf dem der legendäre Robby Krieger (The Doors) an der Gitarre zu hören ist. John Garcia hat hier ein facettenreiches und ausgesprochen intensives Soloalbum abgeliefert, das mehr Staub aufwirbeln wird als ein Sandsturm in der kalifornischen Wüste. Dass Danko Jones, Die Dwarves-Recken Tom Brayton und Mark Diamond sowie Garcias alter Kyuss-Kumpane Nick Oliveri hier als Gastmusiker auftauchen, wertet die Sache nur noch zusätzlich auf.
Das Solo-Debüt der Desert Rock Legende.

01. My Mind
02. Rolling Stoned
03. Flower
04. The Blvd
05. 5000 Miles
06. Confusion
07. His Bullets' Energy
08. Argleben
09. Saddleback
10. All These Walls
11. Her Bullets' Energy

Brilliant new single taken from the forthcoming new album, due mid May. A ltd (2k) orange coloured vinyl featuring the exclusive B side "Handsome Reimagined" (Dave Fridmann edit). Recorded/mixed by Fridmann (Flaming Lips, Tame Impala, MGMT) & Cole MGN (Beck). Upcoming UK tour dates in March-April. Single playlisted across R1 (Zane Lowe's Hottest Record, Single Of The Week, Track of the Day) 6Music, XFM, Absolute, ILR. Video plays across MTV network. Ads, features, reviews.

"Bricks Are Heavy" was the third album by L7 originally released in 1992. Produced by Butch Vig "Bricks Are Heavy" is somewhat poppier with more focused songwriting than their previous LP's and was the bands breakthrough album fueled by the success of the single "Pretend We're Dead". L7 was often associated with the then raging Grunge movement (even though they were from L.A.) and it's not hard to see why as the album features abrasive, sledgehammer guitar riffs and plenty of heavy rockers with the songs "Wargasm", "Slide", and "Everglade". The group emphasized their feminist and Riot Grrrl side with "This Ain't Pleasure" and "Diet Pill". First domestic release on vinyl for this early 90s alternative classic.