Juliana LaChance - Thunder Dragon

One of the best and completely out-of-nowhere submissions I've gotten in a while. Juliana is a solo act out of Hamilton, Ontario that conjures absolutely gorgeous folk tunes with the help of her Ukrainian string instrument called a "bandura" and her hypnotic vocals. Nico and Joanna Newsom came to mind on my first spin through, but she's probably going to get sick of hearing those comparisons real soon. Stream the whole record over at her bandcamp and then give her your money and/or find her a label!

- Dan

Gloria - Gloria In Excelsis Stereo

Sometimes some albums can just be judged by their cover. 60s French all girl pop/psych excellence. CD and vinyl out now on Howlin' Banana Records.

- Dan

Glintshake - Oesch Magziu

Female-led Russian avant-garde/no wave/punk/every damn genre. Limited to 100 cassettes on Hamburg's La Pochette Surprise Records.

- Dan

The Staches - Total Commitment 7"

Another killer release from The Staches and Six Tonnes De Chair Records. High energy lo-fi female-led garage/punk from Geneva. One of many amazing 7"s coming from STDC. Stream it below and head over to bandcamp to pick up a copy of the 7"(limited to 300 copies).   

- Dan

Similar Prisoners - False Flags

Excellent fuzzy psychedelic garage tunes with some Britpop leanings out of Miami. Dreamy hooks and lush instrumentation will have you taking an immediate second spin through the EPs 6 tracks. Co-released by Cheap Miami Records/Melochromania Records. Pick up the sweet reflective foil cassette over at the Cheap Miami Records bandcamp asap.

- Dan

Holy Monitor - Golden Light/Aeolus on Ongakubaka Records!!

Next up on Ongakubaka Records! Hailing from the sun-baked Mediterranean shores of Greece, Holy Monitor seamlessly blends acid-drenched, neo-psychedelia with krautrock to create dreamy, groove-heavy soundscapes. This release brings together the groups two self-released digital EPs for the first time, creating the perfect summer album for turning on, tuning in and dropping out. It's available to stream/download over at our bandcamp page, with cassettes (limited to our usual 100 copies) shipping out July 16th. 

- Dan

VIDEO: The Lost Souls - Desolation

Debut track from a brand spanking new band out of Cape Town, South Africa. A saucy instrumental beachside romp that will have you shaking your hips and hoping they'll pump out some more tunes soon. Download the track for free over at their bandcamp page. 

- Dan

Slackers - не буду этого помнить

A trio of dudes with all the right influences making catchy garage punk/lo-fi bedroom pop out of Moscow. Available as a free download via the Dopefish Family bandcamp.

- Dan

Swutscher - Wahnwitz

Catchy and jangly garage folk EP out of Hamburg. Limited cassette is out now on La Pochette Surprise Records. Head over to bandcamp to snag a copy.

- Dan

Walrus - Goodbye Something

Mosey on down the pathways of your mind to the latest EP from Halifax foursome, Walrus. Excellent  sunshiny psychedelic pop tracks to help me get through this rainy week here in Richmond. Head over to the their bandcamp to pick yourself up a cassette, and catch them on their upcoming Canadian tour:

04 May - Toronto, ON - CMW (Dundas Video) 

04 May - Peterborough, ON - Garnet 

05 May - Toronto, ON - CMW (Silver Dollar Room) 

 05 May - Hamilton, ON - Baltimore House 

 06 May - Toronto, ON - CMW (The Garrison) 

 06 May - Toronto, ON - CMW (Chocolate Lab) 

07 May - Toronto, ON - CMW (Rivoli) 

 09 May - Gatineau, QC - Le Minotaure 

 10 May - Montreal, QC - Divan Orange 

 11 May - Québec, QC - Le sous-sol du Cercle 

 12 May - Trois-Rivières, QC - Ti-Petac 

 14 May - Sherbrooke, QC - La Petite Boîte Noire 

 21 May - Saint Andrews, NB - Paddlefest 

 27 May - Charlottetown, PE - Fishbones 

28 May - Sackville, NB - Thunder and Lightning 

 03 June - Moncton, NB - Claude's House 

 04 June - Halifax, NS - Seahorse Tavern 

 30 June - Toronto, ON - Gladstone Hotel 

08-10 July - Halifax, NS - Gridlock Festival  

- Dan

Heat Death - 9 Steps to a Happier Life

If there's one band that's managed to perfectly capture the dour bleakness of Midwestern living, it's Milwaukee-based trio Heat Death. 9 Steps to a Happier Life manages to find a noisy, no-wave sweet spot somewhere between the brooding restraint of Detroit's Protomartyr and the smarmy middle-aged punk angst of Pissed Jeans. Stream the album below and make sure you pick up a limited edition cassette from the group's Bandcamp page. 

- Steve

The Ocular Audio Experiment - Laughing Dreams

The Ocular Audio Experiment is back with a brand new record of textbook psychedelic tunes à la The Bran Jonestown Massacre/Spacemen 3. "Mountain is Tall" is absolutely flawless. Amazingly, the record is being offered up as a name-your-price download through bandcamp. Give it a price.

- Dan

Blown Out - Supernormal 2015 - Live Transmissions iii

Heavy swirling space psych out of Newcastle. Epic jams recorded live at Supernormal 2015. Stream the first track below and head over to Evil Hoodoo's site to snag a vinyl copy. 

- Dan

VIDEO: Druggy Pizza - Like Pigs in a Slot

From their split 12" with Peace & Love Barbershop Muhammad Ali. Out now on Stolen Body Records. Pick up a copy of the lovely green/clear split vinyl HERE. As usual, another killer video from The Attic Video.

- Dan

Suzies - Bub

EXCELLENT garage tunes from Grand Rapids, Michigan supergroup (members of Haunted Leather/The Omecs), Suzies. Going to need to hear more from these dudes asap. Stream it below and name your price over at bandcamp.

- Dan

Dénudés/Veiny Hands - Split

Cheap Miami Records is back after a year long hiatus with an excellent split cassette featuring two killer fuzz-loving bands out of Florida. Hard to choose a favorite on this one. Stream it all below and head over to bandcamp to pick up a copy of the limited edition cassette.

- Dan

Augenwasser ‎– Drones & Love Songs

Debut release from the newly formed Geneva label Bonjo Joe Records. Excellent lo-fi loner Amen Dunes-ish folk psych for your next rainy day. Augenwasser "...is reminiscent of the musical meanderings of Skip Spence, Syd Barrett, Red Krayola, Spacemen 3 and Beck’s One Foot in The Grave." LP is limited to 300 copies and available via the Bonjo Joe Records bandcamp. Looking forward to hearing more from the label.

- Dan

Lou Breed - Locus of Control

Thanks to a successful Kickstarter campaign, the latest LP from Los Angeles' Lou Breed will be getting the vinyl treatment sometime later this year. I was blown away when Jeremy sent me the link to these tracks months ago and was excited to see where the record would lead. These are some perfectly crafted tunes, and I hope the LP continues to reach the larger audience it deserves. Dive into a modern American classic and stay tuned for more info on the vinyl release over at Lou Breed's Facebook page.

- Dan

Harsh Vibes - You Left Me Far Behind

The first vinyl release from Philly's Harsh Vibes. I was looking forward to hearing more after coming across their cassette from a few years back, and their latest full-length certainly doesn't disappoint. Heavy kraut/shoegaze/stoner jams. Light one up and take the ride. Out now on Dirty Pillows.

- Dan

Best Albums of 2015

Welcome to the 9th (and hopefully not the last) OngakuBaka Top 10 albums of the year list. Before we jump right in to our picks, we’ll explain the guidelines for the selection process. 

 1. These records are in no particular order. 

 2. No live records, “Best of” collections, box sets, or re-issues. The albums chosen had to be material released in 2015. 

 3. This is a collaborative effort between the two of us, and if we didn’t agree that an album deserved to make the cut, it didn’t make the list. 

 4. There are plenty of full-lengths we never got a chance to listen to, forgot about, or never had time to fully digest, so don't freak out if you don't see your personal favorite in our list.

5. Ongakubaka Records releases are not eligible despite being some of our absolute favorite and most-listened-to records of 2015. 

 With that said, here are our honorable mentions for 2015:

Jamaican Queens - Downers
Czarface - Every Hero Needs a Villian
The Icarus Line - All Things Under Heaven
Thee Oh Sees - Mutilator Defeated At Last
Fuzz - II
Dead Sea Apes - Spectral Domain
Ancient Ocean - Blood Moon
Minami Deutsch - s/t
The Myrrors - Arena Negra

And now, without further ado, our top 10 records of 2015:

1. Damaged Bug - Cold Hot Plumbs

2. D'Angelo and The Vanguard - Black Messiah

3. Jacco Gardner - Hypnophobia

4. Kamasi Washington - The Epic

5. Sonic Jesus - Neither Virtue Nor Anger

6. Wild Moth - Inhibitor

7. Health - Death Magic

8. Kendrick Lamar - To Pimp a Butterfly

9. Protomartyr - The Agent Intellect

10. Rectal Hygienics - Ultimate Purity