Black Mountain - In The Future

A while back former philistine Nick "the hair" Johnson tipped me towards Canadian apocolyptic rockers Black Mountain--suggesting that they'd appeal to the soft spot of my "jammier" side. Well, it took me forever to finally get around to giving their early 2008 record In The Future a proper listen, but Nick was more than right: this record is awesome.

The band's musical stylings are steeped in canonical prog, metal, and psych influences, incoporating the dark, netherworldy guitar riffs of Black Sabbath, the mysticism and nods to English folk of Zeppelin, and a Pink Floyd-sized ambition for extended, shapeshifting songs that evoke the dramatic weight and movement of an epic poem. Yet somehow they pull it all off, holding things together with inventive, solid songwriting. Two of my favorite tracks are up for listening below. However, if you've got the stomach for it, go check out the whole record. Two songs alone are a poor stand-in for the full attack of the album.

HILOTRONS - Happymatic

My last post ended with a musing on forgotten records, a nod to the unknown classics by bands that nobody's heard of because for whatever fill-in-the-blank reason they never got their aural due. Hence, it's with a bit of hope that time and musical justice will prove otherwise for HILOTRONS and Happymatic, a fucking awesome band and what I think is no question one of the best and most overlooked records of the year.

The second half of that last sentence may seem a little grandiose, but I don't think so. Just give these pop-geniuses a good listen, and then compare it to their media coverage. For instance, try searching the band name on Pitchfork (the veritable big brother of the independent music world) and nothing comes up. Which is a real shame, as the HILOTRONS have got it going on with their catchy, sinuous pop that's as danceable and fun as it is smart and well-crafted. Also, they hail from Ottawa, Canada--which has gotta count for something, right?

There's alot happening within the band's deft interplay of pipeline guitars, punchy rhythms, and touches of synth; stuff that rewards repeat listens. For the sake of posterity go check them out.

A few songs are posted below and/or you can stream the full album: here

Rodriguez - Cold Fact

I love buying vinyl, only it can get pretty expensive, and unlike it's digital counterpart there's more of an all-or-nothing threshold to cross: Should I fork out almost twenty bucks for this whole album, or would it be more prudent to just buy or pirate the mp3s? Usually, I won't buy a record unless it's one I know front to back and never really tire of. But what's musical discovery without a little risk? Insular and no fun---so sometimes exceptions have to be made.

A great example of one of these whims paying off is the Rodriguez's Cold Fact LP I blindly purchased last Sunday. Originally released to meager success in 1973, this overlooked and largely forgotten gem of soulful, sometimes psychedelic, singer/songwriter tunes was just re-issued by Light In The Attic. Rodriguez's voice is magnetic in the same way that Dylan's or Albert Bell's is, and his gritty, poetic songs about the everyday struggles of Detroit street life are just as appealing with their timeless feel. Check out "Inner City Blues" below.

The fact that this record somehow managed to remain neglected for so long makes me wonder about what other potential classics are out there gathering dust in dereliction.

Pretty & Nice - Get Young

Hardly Art has only been around for a year and a half, but the folks over there sure are wise beyond their talent-scouting age: proving once more with their latest release that the lable just can't miss. The record I'm cryptically raving about? Get Young, from Boston dude-trio Pretty & Nice. Part urgent falsetto-pop, part brash post-punk--all jams--these guys pack a ton of jerky, hairpin-ing melodies into an infectious, breakneck sound that their one-sheet aptly describes as "sharp-toothed, heavily-armed, snappish pop." Think Of Montreal with less disco and more garage.

The Pretty & Nice website currently features a link where you can stream the full record (do this!), and you can listen to (and download) the track "Tora Tora Tora" below.



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