KRIMEWATCH - Demo

Wooden Indian Burial Ground - How's Your Favorite Dreamer?

S to S - S to S

Prag - S/T EP

Tokyo Storm Warning - High Times at the Black Eye

Tree Blood - I Am A Disgusting Pig

Strange Hands - Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things

French sneering garage band Strange Hands are back with another 12" after a 2 year wait from their debut album "Dead Flowers". From the first 30 seconds of "Tombs of Walkyries", it's easy to tell that something has changed in the SH camp. It still has the Strange Hands feel to it but with a much darker and heavier sword swinging around. "Tombs of Walkyries" is an instrumental track that opens the album but in no way feels like an intro track as much as it feels like a viking march into battle. "Buried" comes in strong with this stoner/doom style guitar lead mixed with the signature 60s keyboards we've come to love from Strange Hands. The track evolves into a slow doom groove that really drives the song before it's joined by a psych freakout at the end of the track. "Golden Arrows" brings back the more pop influenced side of the band that was prevalent on their debut. "Sudden Death" is a fuzzy little piece of rhythm & roll a la King Khan & BBQ or Black Lips mixed with that California beach swag everyone has come to know and replicate. "Realm of Dawn" is another guitar driven piece that pulls you into the rhythm of the track and lets you focus on the music as the band only sprinkles in a couple of rounds of 'I feel fine' or what sounds like 'I feel dead, occasionally. Though, I don't consider this a true full length since there are only 6 tracks, it's still a welcome addition to the Strange Hands brand of garage rock and will definitely be getting stuck in your head for weeks to come.

Different Skeletons - Devils

Different Skeletons have been churning out catchy garage rock tunes consistently for 3 years now. They've returned with their new album, Devils. As was evident on their sophomore album Without Country, Different Skeletons is a band that seem to improve with each release. Devils shows the band removing a lot of the reverb found on Without Country and transitioning, as most garage rock bands of late seem to be, from noisier production to one more akin to The Fresh & Onlys sound. Whereas, some bands seem to lose their edge by making this change, Different Skeletons have changed for the positive. This doesn't mean, however, that they've gotten soft. "No Easy Task" shows the band reaching back into the darkness for a haunting spaghetti western influenced track that perfectly accents the bands clear yet not quite hi-fi sound. For fans of Different Skeletons, this album should be a happy addition to your collection and it seems the band is coming close to being pushed further into the lime light of the underground.

Al Lover - Sacred Drugs

San Francisco producer Al Lover, along with help from Harvey Leisure, has just released his new album Sacred Drugs and it is everything we were hoping for. Al Lover combines tribal music and hip hop ideology with garage rock, psych rock, psychedelia and whatever else he gets his hands on. He has done collaborations with tribal drone band Goat and had a single featuring Tim Presley better known as White Fence. On his new album, however, he is really honing in on his craft. Sacred Drugs plays out as an escalating piece of music that is being created as one track gives way to the next. "How Are Things On Planet Earth" and "The Orange Dot" begin the album and are calm building tracks that lead to the flowing idea. "A Shaman's Hand Is Infinite" and "Jupiter Birth" bring in some of the psych aspect into his flow before he dips into a pulsing dub in "Sun From the Jungle". "Super Strength (Power Plants)" features Morgan Delt, who's amazing tape last year gained him a sturdy fan base and his sound is perfectly in line with what you find on Sacred Drugs. Here's to hoping we see a full Al Lover/Morgan Delt collab album in the near future. Sacred Drugs is a brilliant production from an artist who is just gaining his stride.

Futuro Terror - S/T

Tossing themselves into the realm of California Garage Punk all the way from Spain is Futuro Terror. With a demo that only existed briefly on bandcamp and a split with Fantasmage, this is the first full-length for these high energy garage rockers. While this album isn't exactly groundbreaking and does seem to stick to a rigid formula, there is great promise to be found on these tracks. Sticking to a brand that favors the modern California Garage Punk scene, Futuro Terror bring a slightly darker, grittier edge to a familiar sound. Songs like "Que Sensacion" and "Toda La Noche" present a tougher punk side that is nicely contrasted by more power-pop oriented songs like "Su Lamento" or the jamming "Por Miedo". The overall flow of this album works really well as they seem to balance speed and melody over 12 tracks in what is sure to be only the beginning for a promising band. Stream and/or download the album and see if you don't find "Toda La Noche" and "Atracción" spinning around your head for weeks to come.