Gravelroad - Shot The Devil (2008)

This album, 'Shot the Devil' by Seattle-based threesome Gravelroad, has a sound so dark and dirty it kind of oozes out of the speakers and into your ears much like the mud of a Mississippi swamp.

This is my last post this week/year, I'm going seawards tomorrow (31/12). I hope you have discovered a lot of good music last year on this blog. I wish you all a healthy, hopeful & succesful 2010. Have fun!

Federation X - American Folk Horror (2001) and X Patriot (2003)

American Folk Horror

X Patriot

I admit, I'd never heard of these guys before, but what a mindblowing mixture of blues, stoner and metal! Everyone who has eclectic tastes or likes the Melvins, Killdozer and Jesus Lizard stuff, should give this a spin. Hail to the Sludgeswamp for turning me into this!

If you like your blues rock dark and sludgy, Federation X is the band for you. These guys have an off-kilter swagger similar to Jesus Lizard mixed with a bit of the "sick hick" shtick of Killdozer. They also occasionally tread on Sabbath-y sonic territory. There is never any soloing though, and this keeps the music more sinister sounding and prevents it from crossing the line into metal territory.

The music is heavily steeped in blues rock and has a raw, primal sound, and a rusty, post-modern edge keeps it from getting anywhere near boogieville. Things are kept even grottier and more guttural by the fact the trio is made up of two guitarists and a drummer. The songs are dark and black. This is some scary-ass shit.

(Both reviews from all.that.is.heavy)

American Relay - Corn and Oil (2008)

Wow, WTF, here's another thrilling guitar driven boogiepunk blues band which I've discovered on the Deep Blues Festival line-up. American Relay, consisting Nick Sullivan on guitar and Alex Hebert on drums, bring a sort of whiskey- and fuel-injected fuzzy delta blues between the late R.L. Burnside, Hank III and Deadboy & the Elephantmen's Dax Riggs, if you dig the Black Diamond Heavies, Left Lane Cruiser and the Pack A.D. , than you'll embrace this Denver-based duo as well.

Camaros - Glad, Evil and Bad (2005)

Camaros are a three-piece formed in 2001 in Halden (Norway). Camaros have released two (studio) albums so far ('Romantique' & 'Glad, Evil & Bad'). 'Glad, Evil & Bad' is a damn fine and catchy rock'n'roll album, deeply drenched in the Mississippi-swamps, filled with a infectious hammond. They shared the stage with Ricochets, Hellacopters, Flaming Sideburns, Mustasch among others, and they did a Scandinavian tour with On Trial.

Camaros sadly broke up a few years ago (thx carlcoconut for the info).

Luther The Devil - Nothin' Worth Doin' (2008)

Minneapolis based Luther the Devil is rooted in the Mississippi Hill Country and Delta blues traditions, but, also mixes in elements of punk and rockabilly to create their own unique sound. Since 2006, LTD has been bringing their music to the masses, playing everywhere from cramped corner bars to festivals. Defined by their riff-based grooves, LTDs smoky licks and pulsing rhythms are helping characterize the genre of punk-blues...(Wall Street Journal)

The Neckbones - Souls On Fire (1997)

Started as a trio in 1992, this Mississippi-based combo recorded their first release in 1993, which was available on cassette only. After they became a quartet they've recorded a couple 7 inches (a self-titled 7" and Pay The Rent 7"). 'Souls On Fire' was their first full-lenght CD, released on Fat Possum-label ( the 'blues' label of R.L. Burnside and Junior Kimbrough). They broke up in 2000, before that they braught us one full-album ('The Lights Are Getting Dim'), two 7 inches ( 'Hit Me/Bad Boy' and '64 Days/We’re All Winners') and an EP, entitled 'Gentlemen Vinyl' (all three were available as vinyl only). Thx to Trash Garage.

Cuban Heels - Sweet and Lowdown (2003)

Hopefully you all enjoyed your diners, parties and such..., anyway, let's get on with it. Here's 'Sweet & Lowdown', the first release by Cuban Heels, and its sounds like it's risen straight out the swamps of ... Twente.

They blend their Garage Blues with a raw soul power in the vein of the great soul and gospel shouters. Influences range from blues greats such as Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf and Little Walter, through soul legends as Otis Redding and Ray Charles to garage rockers as The Stooges and The Sonics. (from their Last fm-page)

Thx to Ron for sharing this.

Paper - An Object (2009)

So, here's my today's gift with 'An Object', Paper's highly anticipated debut album. Paper is a hypnotic kraut-punk band and featuring members of Audionom. Of course you will hear the Audionom influences, but Paper's sound is a bit more punk related. It's definitaly a great piece of kraut-postpunk. Enjoy.

Best wisches for a merry X-mas, may your X-mas be filled with joy and happiness. Grtz Pascalito.

Spindrift - Songs From a Ancient Age (2007)

Spindrift, a 9-piece combo featuring current and former members of the Brian Jonestown Massacre and the Warlocks, brings us a mixture of hallucinogenic 'spaghetti' western and psychedelic rock. Imagine a kind of hazy psychedelic shoegazing pop desert sound, they absorb and reinterpret all these influences into a sound which can easily be described as the missing link between Velvet Underground and Ennio Morricone.

Ikons - Ikons (2009)

Someone has asked me if I could recommend a band which sounds like Audionom, I have told him to check Bailter Space (or Bailterspace), but here's Ikons, also from Sweden, and they have just their first album out. They were formed in 2005 and their influences include everything from Neu! and earlier JAMC to Morrissey and Joy Divison, Audionom, Bailterspace, 1999... it's a brilliant fusion between krautrock, new wave, post-punk and psychedelica. Highly recommended stuff!

Low Point Drains - Low Point Drains (2004)

I was searching this for a long time, but now the 'Mojo' has fulfilled my request, thx Bubba. Now, who the f**k is Low Point Drains ? They started as a duo in '98 consisting Mr. Point (guitar/vocals) and Mr. Drain (drums) and hailing from a place called 'HELLevoetsluis' (the Netherlands). In 2005 they were assisted on bass by ... of course Mr Low. They will kick your ass with 17 filthy trash-garage and sleazy bluesy tracks, and as you already all know, such a gritty, noisy and bluesy reverb-filled garage punk makes me very happy. As far I know, this is their only full-lenght they have released, followed by two 7 inches (Bottle 'O' Whiskey in 2005 and Slovenly 45-series in 2006), I'm even not sure they still exist. And once again, a big thanks goes to the Musical Mojo blogspot.

All credits to 'Bubba'

The Mess Hall - Notes From A Ceiling (2005)

Sydney-based 'The Mess Hall' is a two-piece drums and guitar combo, they bring a kind of raw, edgy bluesy rock. The band consists of Jed Kurzel (vocals/guitar) and Cec Condon (drums/vocals). 'Notes From a Ceiling' was their third offer, it's an impressive album and suprisingly is the density of the sound that's given by such a two-piece band, danceable beats (listen to Disco1 or Disco2), a fuzzy guitar and reverb plastered cymbals varied with simple acoustic guitar and a lonely voice, yep, this cocktail I will not refuse. The Mess Hall is an outstanding band, a gritty down to earth garage/blues rock band and one of my favorites, that's for sure. Enjoy.

Cuban Heels - Morphine Mama (2002)

Cuban Heels, whose band name refers to a famous brand of cowboy boots, is a five-piece garage blues band from the Netherlands. Cuban Heels have released 3 albums so far, 'Sweet and Lowdown' (2001), 'Morphine Mama' in 2002 and 'Getbucketmusic' followed 3 years later. 'Morphine Mama' is an explosive cocktail of 'The Red Devils' and 'The Fabulous Thunderbirds' well stirred on a Fatpossum-way, it is a raw, dirty and sleazy blues album, this is the perfect music you want to hear in a smoky club on a Saturday night.

Thx to Ron for sharing this.

Black Diamond Heavies - Alive As Fuck (2009)

Here's another little gem I'd like to share with you, the Black Diamond Heavies, one of the coolest heavy, sweaty growling two-man punk-blues duo around. They recorded this live album on a hot July-night at Johnny Walker's (Soledad Brothers / Cut In the Hill Gang) flat in Covington, Kentucky.

Have a nice weekend.

Fiub - :::U::: (2008)

And here's another bluesrock duo, Fiub, hailing from Italy and consisting Gabriel Ferrer (vocals and guitar) and Pierangelo Mecca (drums). They met each other in 2003 at a Misfits gig. In 2004 they released their first EP 'The Brown Stripes', which was sold out in no time,. In May 2006 they released their first full-lenght 'Ciubirismeicheuan', which got good critics, both from press and public. Their follow up, entitled ':::U:::' ( in fact it's a 10") was released in April 2008 on vinyl and as free download. On side A ( the Jesus side) you will hear mostly acoustic blues, on Satan's side you get powerful electric riffage, groovy stonerlicks and drifting psychedelic post-punk.

Post Stardom Depression - Ordinary Miracles (2003)

It seems that no one ever has heard of this cool band, Post Stardom Depression. I present you their first (and best ?) full-lenght, hoping they get the attention they deserve. 'Ordinary Miracles' is a rockin', blues-influenced, post-punk explosion, opening with "Monster", where the lead singer is proclaiming "sometimes I just wanna fuck", so you know you're in for a good time, partying, hard rock record that will fulfill even the most jaded of rockers. The whole album keeps you rocking, the buzzing guitars, loud rhythm section, and deep, dark vocals are the perfect combination to keep things tight, energetic and ultimately fun. This Tacoma-based foursome has released one EP ( Sexual Uno, produced by Chriss Goss) and two full-lenghts, 'Ordinary Miracles' and 'Primetime Looks A Lot Like Amateur Night'.

Manual Zombie - Autumn (2009)

First of all, I want to thank the guys (and girl ?) from Manual Zombie for sending this in. Manual Zombie is a promising new band hailing from Brooklyn, New York. On their new (homemade) album, which is scheduled for release on December 25th, you'll hear a variety of styles, going from The Velvet's psychedelia to garage, and Sonic Youth's distortions to blues. Here's a nice review I found on their Myspace-page.

Manual Zombie is a New York/Brooklyn-based psychedelic band (like Sky Picnic), a duo of two guys: Ahmad and Ben. Compared to Sky Picnic, their music is more sinister and far less influenced by 60ies/70ies psychedelic rock. Manual Zombie's sound is at least to some degree rooted in the 90ies grunge, post punk and metal sound (though on tracks like "automatic people" some Sweet-Sister-Ray-VU-Punk is greeting). I'd also say I hear some Black Flag influences, and I especially love that excellent distorted guitar playing. Their other main weapon is the voice - often spooky and menacing with strange spoken word passages:This is a trip to the dark realms of psychedelia. Enjoy!

You wanna make a journey into the music history of the past 40 years, take 'Manual Zombie' as your guide and let them lead you into 60's psychedelia, 70's punk, 80's lofi and 90's grunge era. Enjoy your trip.