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viewing 1 To 10 of 10 items
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LP
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FTR 552LP
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"Much needed vinylization of an amazing live set, previously issued as a CDR in an edition of 100 by the fine Borley Rectory label. Finally, for the good of all mankind, the music from this great night, opening for Robyn Hitchcock at London's Betsey Trotwood in October 2018, is turntable ready. A Place to Hide begins with the album's one new original tune 'My Reflection Once Was Me.' The song brims with harmonium-iced vocals that cannot fail to bring a certain German-born chanteuse to mind. Built over a lovely droning base, and slow, martial pulsing, the song answers a rarely asked question -- what might it have sounded like if Tim Buckley had written a tune for Nico to do on Chelsea Girl? I think you'll be damn happy with this reply. About half the album is made up of songs from their then-newly-released masterpiece, All That Remains. But the way they attack those tunes here has an additional shroud of moodiness drawn over it, adding a whole 'nother layer of dark richness. This is not always the tone the band shoots for in a live setting, but it's a truly otherworldly treat when they do. Because they really nail it, with a feel that makes me recall early work by the legendary Opal. The same is true on the two cover tunes. The traditional 'Young Girl Cut Down in Her Prime' (done so memorably by Shirley & Dolly Collins on Love Death & the Lady) is a tune the duo previously recorded for the Ptolemaic Terrascope's great 2016 comp LP, Paper Leaves. But precious few copies of that one managed to get into the right hands. And this version is perfect -- stark, haunting, electric. The other cover is a revelatory take on 'Splash 1,' from The Psychedelic Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevators. The Left Outsides gently lift up one of the most beautiful songs the Elevators ever did, turning it into something even more charmed and wistful than the original. And that's it. A truly beautiful album from start to finish. And a great place to start exploring the band's sound if you've not done so yet. Don't be afraid to play catch up. There's plenty more to come." --Byron Coley, 2020
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LP
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FTR 531LP
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Cardinal Fuzz and Feeding Tube Records bring forth Munehiro Narita's cranium busting Live P.S.F (Psychedelic San Francisco). Recorded live at the Hemlock Tavern (by PSF worshiper Ethan Miller). Munehiro Narita, the original "psychedelic speed freak", is for many people the undisputed king of the motorcycle fuzz guitar. Active since the late '70s, Narita is a Japanese psychedelic underground legend. After playing in cult bands like Kyoaku no Intention, he founded the brutal heavy-psych power trio High Rise in the '80s and more recently Green Flames with his furious guitar playing, which involves lethal doses of fuzz-wah at ear-splitting volume. Narita was lucky to be in the right place in Tokyo to see many performances by one of the most out of control guitar players ever to handle six strings in Takashi Mizutani (Les Rallizes Denudes) as well as taking in wild performances from Keiji Haino, Gaseneta, and their take no prisoner maelstrom is a style that Munehiro holds dear too. When Munehiro Narita needed a band for playing four west coast dates in 2017, Steve Krakow knew that LA acid punk David Jasso (OGOD) would be the perfect musician/foil for Narita (it should be noted that David released Green Flames on his Assommer label). David in turn knew drummer TJ. Six tracks were quickly nailed in rehearsals -- a selection of High Rise (four) and Green Flames (two) tunes were then played over the four dates. The shows left audience stunned (listen to the reaction from this show) and by the time of the San Francisco show they were on fire. Luckily, Ethan Miller was there to press record and document this feral in the red paint peeler of a gig as Munehiro Narita peels off wah soaked fireballs on top of the primal throb and groove that David Jasso and TJ lay down. Another of the hopefully famed Cardinal Fuzz bootleg style releases, Narita's guitar playing out front in the mix distorting and warping time and space The whirlwind take on closing number "Pop Sicle" perfectly captures the wild fury of all three musicians creating an energy that is impossible to sedate. Ethan Miller somehow managed to capture and record some of the most brutal playing in prime tape saturated / in the red glory for you know to relive. The positivity of these shows eventually led to all three members forming P.S.F. and their debut LP was released on Black Editions in 2019 (BE 1003LP). Full size/color insert; includes download code; edition of 500.
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LP
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FTR 517LP
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Cardinal Fuzz and Feeding Tube Records present the napalm blast that is the forthcoming new Banshee record, Livin' In The Jungle. Hailing from Boston and blazing red hot cinders through your eyes Banshee channel widescreen, kick out the jams motherfuckers psyche-rock-a-rama with a singer doing his best to channel both Alice and Iggy. Yes, they rock like crazy and play with the fired-up fury of The Stooges, MC5, and The Alice Cooper Group as they let their freak flag fly. On Livin' In The Jungle, Banshee detonate over 11 tracks of pure diamond arrangements that will lay you out flat and have your head swirling from the wallop of the sleazy voodoo racket that Banshee have created. Informed in equal parts by the intensity of '60s Detroit and The Alice Cooper Group and with a rhythmic underbelly the calls on in parts the funk explosion of War. From the opening Intro of "Genesis" amid a barrage of bells, chimes jungle sounds, and a group feeling the funk they lay straight into "The Law" where without missing a beat and over a blast of guitar riffs, dive bombing bass lines, thunderous drums and a voice that spits out and caterwails with a vengeance you find Banshee freewheelin' into what will become your favorite rock'n'roll LP for the year 2020. The engine has started and the whole record is executed at a breakneck pace that is a furious rollercoaster ride to sweet oblivion. On the final epic sprawl that is "Caged Birds" which starts out with a garage like "Sister Ray" bump'n'grind chug before descending into a glorious meltdown of fuzzed-up wah-wah guitars and glockenspiels before everything finally fades back into the jungle. Livin' In The Jungle is one rabid rock'n'roll animal of a record.
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2LP
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FTR 515LP
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The Eighteenth Day of May were a six-piece, London based group. Originally formed as an acoustic trio consisting of American Alison Brice (vocals, flute), Swede Richard Olson (acoustic guitar, harmonica, sitar), and Ben Phillipson (guitar, mandolin), they combined elements of traditional and contemporary folk with a psychedelic jangle. They spent the summer and autumn of 2003 bonding over Fairport Convention, The Incredible String Band, Steeleye Span, Sandy Denny, and Trees all blending in with the psychedelic music they already loved which was feeding into their home demo recordings. In early 2004 they went electric adding the rhythm section of Mark Nicholas (bass), and Karl Sabino (drums, autoharp) and then lastly ex-Saloon player Alison Cotton (viola). It was after appearing on a cover mount disc for the much missed It Comes With A Smile Magazine that Andy Childs (Head of Hannibal Records/RYKO) fell in love with the band and continued the path of fellow legendary Hannibal head Joe Boyd's policy of signing eclectic artists. Back in 2004 it felt like no one was making music like this -- old weird folk songs, Americana, original psych folk, minimalist drones via great melodies, and eclectic instrumentation. The result was a joyous, unfettered, fluid sound that in one moment could conjure up flashes of The Byrds or Fotheringay and then minutes later the spirit of The Velvet Underground would drift though the music. Live they would even cover artist from Spacemen 3 and The Brian Jonestown Massacre to Buffy Saint Marie to traditional folk songs and would not be afraid to stamp their own identity on them. When it comes to recording their first (and only) LP, they were teaming with ideas and enthusiasm, buoyant from the attention of artists like Robyn Hitchcock and Peter Buck with whom they toured. The LP some 15 years later has not dated one bit, as with all good music its qualities and resonance have matured and endured, its subtleties have become more apparent and beguiling. maybe 2005 just wasn't ready for a band playing contemporary English folk music. Added onto to this retrospective release are several excellent extra tracks, some of which were recorded for a second album that they were never able to complete. Hard to imagine it would have been even better than the first but listen to the tracks recorded and you can only feel sadness that it never happened.
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LP
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FTR 498LP
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"Massively ripped sophomore LP by this Portland OR psych sextet. Half of the line-up has shifted in the two years since their great debut album, but the same berserk stack of musical elements remains on the table. A lot of bands who fly the psych banner these days have a minimalist view of the music, and choose a sort of post-shoegaze lassitude to present their 'vision.' This can be astoundingly great, of course, but it also fails to address the central gobble-crazed nature of true psychedelia. Many of history's greatest psych outfits were hewn from bizarre hybrids of disparate parts. Frankenstein monsters in search of sacred ecstasy. One gets the same vibe off of Abronia. Totally unexpected bits pop up amidst their rhapsodic jamming, conjuring shards of memory as disparate as Relf-era Renaissance, Joseph Byrd's United States of America, and even (at least in spots) real early Siouxsee. These are just a few examples of how wide Abronia cast their net. Their instrumental brunt moves from neo-prog to folk rock to thunderheads cast in the same mold as the Sensational Alex Harvey Band's (I shit you not!). Taken together, these freakishly disparate elements mange to create a gorgeous and simmering whole. If you aren't tripping to Abronia now, I suggest a change of lifestyle." --Byron Coley, 2019
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LP
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FTR 496LP
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"A new reissue of this masterpiece by the Left Outsides, originally issued on cassette in 2015, then first put to vinyl in 2017, as the long-format follow-up to the classic The Shape of Things to Come LP. The current edition is demarcated by a glossy cover and metallic gold printing. Its music remains as timeless a gust of dark autumnal wind as any you'll ever hear. Some of the music here was written as part of the soundtrack to Gus Alavrez's 2009 noir-pastoral short, Stand and Deliver, but the songs evoke their own host of images. The band, consisting of Alison Cotton and Mark Nicholas (once of the beautifully Fairport-tinged, 18th Day of May) blend vocals and stringed instruments in a way that recalls more traditional UK folk artists as much as it does their more acidic contemporaries. Their songs feature gorgeously plain melodies that emerge as though they have always existed, before disappearing in a swirl of primeval mist. The surprise cover they do, "Civil War Lament" (originally by Go-Betweens side project, Jack Frost), is of a piece with these originals. And the layered guitars of the last track, "The Creeping Fog," take the record out on waves of drone and feedback stretching from dusk until near dawn, at which point, Alison intones a poem of shadows. There Is a Place is a gentle monster of a record, and will well reward your careful attention." --Byron Coley, 2019 45rpm; Edition of 300.
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LP
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FTR 415LP
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Paradisiacal Mind, Dire Wolves' tenth (or possibly twelfth?) full-length since 2008, conjures a floating stellular kraut Americano with quite a lot to pull you in to the mix and then drift you right back out again. Following two simultaneous 2017 releases -- on Feeding Tube Records and Beyond Beyond Is Beyond -- that explored out-of-body experience, this latest work turns decidedly inward. Psychic rock that guides your vision to heaven, and heaven is in your mind. When cover artist Kyla Quigley asked the band to draw from the tarot to inform her new work, the card was The Star, a renewal of hope and strength to carry on. And so it all came together -- acute, right, and obtuse, all at once. A portion of the record was recorded in Oakland by Zachary Watkins (Black Spirituals), who helped set the atmosphere to capture the festival consciousness vibes. The remainder was realized on Bernal Hill, celebrating the 50+ year tradition of San Francisco psychedelic intensity. Additional players include Laura Naukkarinen (Lau Nau), Taralie Peterson (Spires That In The Sunset Rise), and Michael Whittaker (Jackie-O Motherfucker). Recommended to the open minds that celebrate such sounds as the punk-hippie crossover scene of mid '80s SST records, as well as listeners of Scandinavian/Teutonic communal motorik vibes. And those into spiritual jazz, meditative and primordial minimalism, and scratched Environments LPs from the dollar bin. For the heads.
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2LP
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FTR 420LP
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Feeding Tube Records and Cardinal Fuzz announce, at last, the long-awaited Sunflare album, ON. After three previous releases of brain-frying, high volume, pedal-to-the-metal freak-outs, Sunflare are at last back to bring some serious brain-buzzing, primitive punk scorch to a prevailing M.O.R. psych scene in need of some serious face melting. Hailing from Lisboa, Portugal, Sunflare are a scorchin' power trio specializing in high-energy Psychedelic Speed Freak wipe-outs. ON is here to fry minds with a driving rhythm section that brings new meaning to the word relentless and a guitar player that is perpetually freeform feedback soloing over every second committed to wax via the gnarliest of fuzz and wah-wah pedal abuse. Over two sides of vinyl there is never any let up as Sunflare deliver a blazing eruption of ear-piercing sound. With ON also comes a second LP of the long out-of-print "C30 - Red Tape" release (only ever available as a cassette back in 2010). As soon as you put this on, you will see why both Feeding Tube and Cardinal Fuzz were so desperate to include this as part of the ON package and commit it to vinyl at long last. If you like High Rise, Comets On Fire, and drinking petrol, then this is the band and record for you. ON is presented in a 320gsm wide spine card sleeve; comes with a download code.
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LP
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FTR 426LP
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"Back in the early Oughts, there was a great UK folk rock combo called The Eighteenth of May. They did one album and cut out. Trimdon Grange Explosion is that band, minus two members, and their debut LP kicks up one of the finest blends of UK folk and West Coast psych since the glory days of Fairport. Alison Cotton and Mark Nicholas (also of Left Outsides) comprise half the band, alongside guitarist Ben Phillipson and drummer Karl Sabino. And their vibe is akin to a classic Witchseason production. Ringing layers of psychedelic guitars, backed by throbbing rhythms, and stacks of small sonic events, topped with gorgeously folk-flecked vocals. There are flashes of everything from the Velvets to the Byrds woven amongst the sounds, but the bulk of it will make you feel like you're playing an album that might have been ZigZag's Record of the Year back in 1971. The band's name refers to a coal mining disaster in a town up near Newcastle in the 1880s. Martin Carthy and the Mekons both did good covers of the tune Tommy Armstrong wrote about it. But none of them did anything approaching the grandeur of this band's album (originally issued as a CDR last year by Borley Rectory). Take up the nearest stethoscope and walk. Now!" --Byron Coley, 2018
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LP
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FTR 424LP
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"Vinylization of the second cassette released by UK string player Alison Cotton. We first ran into Alison's work in its more overtly folky guise, as a member of Left Outsides. Then we caught the scent of an amazing tape she did with Michael Tanner (aka Plinth) that displayed her more avant garde leanings. All Is Quiet followed the same lines, albeit in solo fashion, blending long dark viola and harmonium lines with vocals drawn straight from the clouds. The effect resembles Tony Conrad in places and John Cale's work with Nico in others, while remaining trademark Alison Cotton throughout. And as nice as the tape was, it's even nicer to has this music on an LP, since it's an archival format and will outlive all of us if properly cared for. Just as the music of Alison Cotton feels as though it was designed to last through the ages. Beautiful stuff." --Byron Coley, 2018
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