Gallowbraid - Ashen Eidolon

Northern Silence Productions, 2010

This is fucking killer! This is maybe even better than the new Agalloch! Don't get me wrong, Marrow of The Spirit is a great album, but to me this sounds like the true successor to Ashes Against The Grain. Tho its only an EP length and really only 2 tracks of metal....

"Ashen Eidolon is the long awaited debut mini album of this exceptional one-man act from the USA. Gallowbraid plays a dark, melancholic but also dynamic sort of (Black) Metal with slight Folk influences. On top of that Jake Rogers, the man behind Gallowbraid, is able to perform excellent clean vocals and adds these throughout the songs which enriches the already brilliant material even more. And the cream on the cake are very sparsely used ephemeral female vocals of the most beautiful kind. We do not exaggerate when stating that Gallowbraid is among the best and most promising newcomers we encountered in the last decade ...and, having heard most of the songs from the upcoming full length, we can promise that this fantastic MCD is merely the beginning, with much more to come! for fans of Agalloch, Fen, October Falls, Häive, early Ulver and Emprium as well as Wolves In The Throne Room!" - Northern Silence
Website : Myspace : dl

Nocte Obducta - Sequenzen Einer Wanderung

Supreme Chaos Records, 2008

Not much info on this band. at least not recent info. I gather this is their last album. A fantastic prog metal journey. This review explains more. I'm too tired to write more...

LIYL: Novembre, Opeth, Alcest, Agalloch, Ameosoeurs, In The Woods, Ulver, Edge of Sanity, Disillusion
Website : Myspace : dl

The Main Street Gospel - Love Will Have Her Revenge

Tee Pee Records, 2010

I fucking love the tracks Fool's Gold and Ready To Shine. I listened to them so much over the summer. They flow perfectly and sound timeless. The whole album is pretty great. As are the other albums I posted today. Enjoy!

"The Main Street Gospel is a Columbus, Ohio trio who mix psych-infused classic rock with dusty country vibes and dirt-stained blues. The band was born in 2005, when Barry Dean–former tambourine shaker for the Brian Jonestown Massacre–began writing songs with longtime friend Ryan “Tito” Ida. Adam Scoppa joined the band on drums the following year.

Dean grew up around music, as his grandfather was a touring and recording guitarist for acts like Roy Rogers & The Sons of the Pioneers and The Georgia Crackers. It’s safe to say that passion for country music was passed on to his grandson. Tito grew up listening to Hank Williams and Bob Dylan and also paved his musical path early on. Scoppa takes his back beat cues from vintage Chicago blues and '60s garage.

Together, the band has a strong sense of understanding and respect for the true roots of rock n’roll. Their sound recalls elements of folk giants The Byrds and Neil Young, while at the same time retaining the modern aesthetics of revivalists like Spacemen 3 and Black Rebel Motorcycle Club." - Tee Pee

LIYL: Neil Young & Crazy Horse, The Byrds, The Black Keys, CCR, Tame Impala, Cream, Assembled Head In Sunburst Sound, 13th FLoor Elevators
Website : Myspace : dl

The Soundcarriers - Celeste

Melodic, 2010


"The Soundcarriers are hard to pin down. On the one hand, the Nottingham quartet seem offputtingly po-faced: vinyl anoraks steeped in obscure 1960s/70s library music, soundtracks and jazz, who state in their sleevenotes that "the reverb used on these recordings is 100% natural". (Celeste was recorded on tape in the band's own studio and mixed in a disused warehouse.) On the other hand, they are cheeky enough to title Celeste's opening track Last Broadcast, in reference to their debut album, 2009's Harmonium, being compared to Broadcast by all who heard it. That influence lingers, especially in Leonore Wheatley's chiming vocals and the billowy melodies of Step Outside and Long Highway. But again, the Soundcarriers wrongfoot you: while Wheatley sings of escapism and hiding away, drummer Adam Cann and bassist Paul Isherwood puncture the dreamy mood with bold, strutting rhythms straight out of Can. The result is an album at once free-floating and tethered tight." - Maddy Costa, The Guardian

LIYL: Stereolab, Dungen, Broadcast, Neu!, Time and Space Machine, Electrelane, The Doors, Jefferson Airplane, Black Mountain, Can
Website : Myspace : dl

Wolf People - Steeple

Jagjaguwar, 2010

"England’s Wolf People are back with their first proper LP, Steeple. They actually released a clusterfuck of an album called Tidings (which I liked), but this release is much more accessible.

Lead singer Jack Sharp recorded Tidings on his own, but for Steeple he put together a full band and, my God, do they jam. This an album for people that loved that British, bluesy, psychedelic sound of the early 70′s. It was recorded in an old chicken barn on the grounds of a 17th century Welsh mansion and the sound lives up to the picture in my mind. I am fully convinced that paisley shirts and floppy hats were worn. You can’t tell me otherwise.

“Tiny Circle” is a timeless song complete featuring a chugging rhythm section entwined with a tasty flute lick. The song pounds you into submission before veering off intermittently to let guitarist, Joe Hollick, show off his chops. And whereas on Tidings those moments of brilliance were surrounded by demos and only scratched at the surface of Wolf People’s potential, Steeple keeps them coming fast and furious. “Morning Born” into “Cromlech” will knock you on your ass. The tones that come from the guitars are amazing as the rhythm section plows forward.

This isn’t an album to listen with the wife and kids while enjoying a frittata. It’s best listened to with your bros while killing some cool ones and reminiscing about how cool you were when you had a mullet and snuck booze from parent’s liquor cabinet." - Woody

LIYL: Blue Oyster Cult, Tame Impala, Doors, Eloy, Captain Beyond, Dungen, The Animals, Black Sabbath, Black Mountain?, Budgie, T2, Jethro Tull, Guess Who
Website : Myspace : dl

The Heavy - The House That Dirt Built

Counter Records, 2009


This album goes all over the place, switching between hard funk, retro-rock, soul, reggae, blues, indie and more. “How You Like Me Now?” is a killer track and the rest of the cd is pretty good!

"Every band benefits from a well-defined sense of purpose. Even if you aren’t a big fan of the Heavy’s music, you’ve gotta love their mission. The Bath, England, quartet bash their way through classic soul, funk, and rock with a visceral, apocalyptic intensity that means to right all the musical wrongs Lenny Kravitz has committed over the past 20 years. Rarely has a band been so appropriately named. It’s all heavy with these guys. Heavy soul. Heavy funk. Heavy rock. Even the breezy folk-pop numbers and the ballads mean business." - PopMatters

LIYL: James Brown, Shawn Lee, Black Mountain, The Sonics, Jimi Hendrix, Black Keys, Clutch, Rolling Stones
Website : Myspace : dl