Vinyl Friday

Name: Shooting Guns
Origin: Saskatchewan, Canada
Album: Flavour Country
Year: 2017
Links: Bandcamp,
Label: Easy Riding Records

 Shooting Guns - Flavour Country Test Press

This week I have something a bit special! This I set before you is a Test Press of the forthcoming album by Shooting Guns that is not due for release until August.

 I have mentioned them here a few times before. They are a Canadian psych band that holds up in Saskatchewan. They have released a number of albums, split LPs and a score to a film, Wolf Cop. I believe there is a sequel to come in the not to distant future.

Getting back to the future release Flavour Country. The label put up 40 of these test presses for release a couple of weeks ago. I believe they still have a few. They can be got here at Easy Riding Records

Here's what the label says about the release, "Canadian sextet Shooting Guns is known (and oft-nominated) for their film soundtrack work, but Flavour Country is more like a collection of anthems for your jettison from this universe into the multiverse. While they’re known for heavy and saturated sounds befitting crazed horror-comedy flicks like Netflix hit WolfCop, Flavour Country features some of the band’s fastest, heaviest and most visceral material to date. Yet, it also features some of the band’s most atmospheric sounds as well.

At times there are slight hints of Ennio Morricone’s Spaghetti Western twang amidst the looping Meddle-era Pink Floyd heavy psych and driving drone reminiscent of Bobby Beausoleil’s belladonna laced soundtrack to Kenneth Anger’s Lucifer Rising. But for the most part here, Shooting Guns is out for blood, regardless of tempo."

I've had 3 listens to it now and I'm not exaggerating that it's right up there with their finest. I can't post up any YouTube clip cause I have this that early. You will not be disappointed if you ever get a chance to grab a copy!

You can preorder black or the limited Clear vinyl from Easy Riding Records or I believe Norman Records will have them for sale at some stage. Just had a look at their site and they have two of their albums on vinyl for sale at £12.99. Bargain if you ask me!

Classic

Name: Kikagaku Moyo
Origin: Japan
Album: House In The Tall Grass
Year: 2016
Links: Bandcamp, Sulatron Records
Label: Guruguru Brain

Limited to 500 copies on clear vinyl with a blue blob

People of the universe stop what you are doing and let me imprint Kikagaku Moyo onto your brain! This album, 'The House In The Tall Grass' is my favorite of 2016 and one of my favorite albums in many a year. It was so nearly not the case, as I disregarded it for quite some time. Why? I was a musical snob! I thought to myself, 'music from Japan, sure that's not for me!' I kept seeing it posted every other day with people raving about it. This also coincided with their summer tour to the UK last year, again, people were going mad for them Live too!  I wondered what all the fuss was about and had a listen on their bandcamp page and to say my musical world changed right there, is an understatement! It just so happened that I know somebody who was going to see them in Glasgow that very evening. I was straight on to her and put my name down for the beauty you see above. I was very lucky indeed as the band were running out of them by the time they got to Glasgow. You will pay a pretty penny for this version now, in fact, you'll need an extra mortgage if you want any first press by Kikagaku Moyo such is the demand for them. I'm glad I was on the ball that day!

Full Album

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Name: Kikagaku Moyo
Origin: Japan
Album:  Self Titled
Year: 2014
Links: Bandcamp, Sulatron Records
Label: Captcha Records

Limited to 300 copies on ultra clear with deep red splatter vinyl

Full Album

As soon as my love affair started with Kikagaku Moyo started, I went back into their discography to see what else I could pick up. Sadly, if you don't pick up these albums when they go on release, you end up paying a fortune for them, like I did. Fortunately for you though, this album has had a reissue recently on Guruguru Brain. Sadly Captcha Records who originally released it ceased trading.

This album is their debut from 2013. The version I have is a reissue from 2014. The sleeve is a thing of beauty. The print is silver on mat black. Probably one of the nicest sleeves I own. This album doesn't quite reach the highs of House In The Tall Grass, but is a close second.

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Name: Kikagaku Moyo
Origin: Japan
Album: Forest Of Lost Children
Year: 2014
Links: Bandcamp, Sulatron Records
Label: Beyond Beyond Is Beyond Records

Repress, Olive & black splatter

Forest Of Lost Children is the third album by Kikagaku Moyo. This was released On BBIB in 2014. I got lucky with this one knowing somebody who had a couple of spare copies hidden away, so I didn't end up spending a fortune on this one. This also has has a reissue recently coinciding with there US tour that is finishing up at the moment. The vinyl is clear with a black blob and can be bought over at BBIB as we speak. The only one That I'm missing now is Mammatus Clouds and hasn't as yet had a reissue since the year it was released in 2014. Fingers X that might happen soon with the popularity of the band at the moment.

The art on this sleeve is done by  Go Kurosawa the drummer of the band. For ages I though it was by Nik Rayne of The Myrrors. Similar to his style and is well connected with BBIB.

Smoke And Mirrors

Vinyl Friday

Name: Electric Moon

Origin: Germany

Album: Stardust Rituals 

Year: 2017

Links: Bandcamp, Sulatron Records

Label: Sulatron Records

Blue marbled, limited to 1000 copies

I haven't had much time of late to do any posts, so here's three on the bounce. All 3 albums have a link between them. 

First up is the new album by Electric Moon called Starburst Rituals. This is just one of the projects Dave Schmitt (AKA Sula Bassana) and Lulu Neudeck are involved in. Others include Zone Six, Krautzone,Interkosmos and of course  Dave's solo project Sula Bassana.

This album sees them tune into a series of spaced out rock songs. I have to say, this is one of my favorite albums of the year. I've been meaning for a long time to fill my collection with a few Electric Moon albums. Most of the albums they have are all live recordings so it's nice to finally get a studio album from the band. I can tell you, it is very hard to locate Electric Moon albums, You need a wallet full of cash cause they are so sought after. I think this album is already sold out so I was lucky indeed to get a copy. 

Electric Moon - Stardust Rituals (Full Album)

Name: Papir

Origin: Copenhagen, Denmark

Album: iii & iiii

Year: 2016

Links: Bandcamp, El Paraiso Records

Label: El Paraiso Records

Next up is a band I mentioned when I posted Causa Sui .Papir are a three-piece from Copenhagen, Denmark  They are on the same label as said band, El Paraiso. This is a double album featuring both albums iii & iiii. If you like Causa Sui then you will like Papir. Similar vibe going on, All songs being instrumentals. As you can see their is new art for the double. I mentioned before that Jakob Skøtt does all the artwork for the label. iii originally came out in February 2013, iiii in February 2014.

Papier - iii (Full Album)

Papir - iiii (Full Album)

Name: The Papermoon Sessions

Origin: Germany/Denmark

Album: Papir Meets Electric Moon live at Roadburn 2014 

Year: 2016

Links:  Sulatron Records

Label: Sulatron Records

Limited to 500 on clear vinyl

And finally The Papermoon Sessions. This band is a collaboration between both bands Electric Moon & Papir. This is a live performance at Roadburn 2014. They did do an album together as well which is an orange sleeve with the same design. I should point out that Lulu Neudeck creates all the artwork for Electric Moon etc. This album has 2 tracks which I believe are all improvised.

Papermoon Sessions Live at Roadburn (2014) Full album

Vinyl Friday

The New album by Slowdive is utterly stunning! No question! You Know it's stunning when it does the same thing as their previous albums, spine tingling with the hairs standing up on the back of your neck. 22 years was a long time to wait. Worth it? Absolutely!

Vinyl Friday

Name: king gizzard and the lizard wizard
Origin: Melbourne, Australia
Album: Flying Microtonal Banana
Year: 2017
Links: Flightless, ATO
Label: Flightless, ATO

I was going to post another Swedish band today in the form of The Janitors who have just released an album this week, however I've posted quite a few from Sweden in the last few weeks so we are heading out of Europe and on to Australia to discuss a band that has gone from strength to strength in the last few years. From Melbourne I give you King Gizzard And The Lizard Wizard. The name alone would make you take notice for at least a second! The album that you see before you is their current offering called Flying Microtonal Banana which was released on February  2017. It's hard to keep up with these guys as they plan to release 5 albums this year. The have one up for preorder as I speak called Murder Of The Universe which is out in June. 

Open Water

Back to their current album.....this sees the band delve into their first-ever experience in microtonal tuning, which features intervals smaller than a semitone and not found in customary Western tuning octaves. The band members were given $200 each to go off and buy instruments and turn them into microtonal instruments. Then they set about recording and album which resulted as Flying Microtonal Banana. 

If you are familiar with King Gizzard then this album doesn't stray too much away from their previous couple of albums except for the use of a turkish horn called a Zurna. 

The edition I have is the US ATO Records Highlighter Yellow Vinyl with limited edition gold-accent jacket and scratch-n-sniff sticker + zine. 

Melting

 I first came across them I stumbled across a live version of Head On /Pill. The energy they gave in that performance raised my eyebrow! That led me to buy the Float Alomg - Fill Your Lungs /Oddments double. I'm glad I bought it back then cause it goes for a fortune on Ebay and Discogs. In fact any release before that requires and extra mortgage! They have kept my pockets busy ever since!  

Head On /Pill

Vinyl Friday

Name: Julie's Haircut
Origin: Reggio Emilia, Italy
Album: Invocation And Ritual Dance Of My Demon Twin
Year: 2017
Links: Rocket Recordings
Label: Rocket Recordings

Julie's Haircut - Invocation And Ritual Dance Of My Demon Twin

We are only just over 3 months into the new year and there seems to be an endless number of new releases this year so far. My favorite album so far is by an Italian band called Julie's Haircut. Rocket Records sent out an email to all subscribers detailing an imminent release by them. I had never heard of the band before, but was intrigued as it's being released by Rocket Records. (Note to self: always take notice of a Rocket Records release!) It had a video link to the song 'Salting Traces'. Not one to beat around the bush, I went straight in for a look! Unsurprisingly I thought it was great. With a bit of discussion amongst  psych circles, it was agreed that a preorder had to be made pronto. Thankfully I did. There were only a few left.

Julie's Haircut - Salting Traces

It's not often I buy an album on the strength of one song, but I'm glad I did. The album is mesmerizing in it's entirety.  It's one of those albums that you can play if you've had a long day and just want to chill out for the evening! Needless to say I've played it every evening for the past few weeks!
The album consists of 8 tracks and starts off with a track called 'Zukunft' which eases into a steady groove and picks up the pace as it glides through to the end. Next 'The Fire Sermon' continues in the same vein with added vocals whispering eerily into your ear to keep you on your toes. Normally I'm not one for a jazzy saxophone in a band but it works beautifully in a number of songs on the album.

Julie's Haircut - Gathering Light

On further investigation of my new favorite band, I did a bit of digging to find more about them. To my surprise they have been around since 1994 and have released several albums and numerous singles and EPs.  They are definitely on my 'to see list' at this years Liverpool Psych fest.

Split #4

Name: Shooting Guns/ Hawkeyes
Origon: Canada
Album: Brothers Of The Nod
Year: 2015
Label: Pre-Rock Records
Links: Shooting Guns Bandcamp, Hawkeyes Bandcamp

Brotherhood Of The Nod Limited to 60 copies on Blue vinyl

A number of weeks ago I posted an album by Canadian band Shooting Guns. Today I give you a split with fellow Canadians Hawkeyes. Both these bands follow in the same vain so if you liked the initial post, then this is for you. Both these bands are heading a big psych scene in Canada along with 'The Band Who's Name Is A Symbol, Moths & Locusts, Betrayers, Backhomes and The Radiation Flowers to name but a few. In fact Hawkeyes and The Radiation Flowers have a split due for release anytime now.

Shooting Guns - Mega Volcano

This split sees both bands include 3 tracks each with side A blasting out tunes by Shooting Guns.  More people would be familiar with Shooting Guns having released quite a few albums whereas Hawkeyes have only released their debut called Poison Slows You Down. I believe they have an album along with the split due for release this year.

Hawkeyes - Hotter Than Ten Hundred Suns

This split has had a number of reissues due to it's popularity. My blue version is limited to 60. Apparently this version was meant to have an orange swirl in the blue but mine doesn't seem to have any. Guess that makes mine ultra rare! 

Full Album

Vinyl Friday

Name: The Orange Revival
Origin: Sweden
Album: Futurecent
Year: 2015
Links: Fuzz Club Records
Label: Fuzz Club Records

Limited to 500 copies on 180g orange vinyl

The weekend is nearly upon us which means one thing, it's time for your weekly Vinyl Friday post. This week we won't be travelling anywhere which means that this weeks band is from Sweden!! I know, I know! At this stage I could change the name of the blog to 'Turn on Your Swedish Vinyl Player' I'm posting this particular one as it arrived in the post a number of days ago, along with their reissued debut album on Fuzz Club Records. This one is on sale so I said to myself, I'll kill two birds with one stone and buy both albums! 

The Orange Revival - Saturation

The band in question is The Orange Revival. If you like Spacemen 3 and The Brian Jonestown Massacre then you will love this. I first came across this band when I was recommended a split 7" by a member of The Radiation Flowers which had The Orange Revival on the flip side. Having liked a lot of what The Radiation Flowers were putting out, I thought I'd go for it. Needless to say, I was hooked on another Swedish band!

The Orange Revival - Lying in the Sand

The title of the album is Futurecent and has a banana on the sleeve which looks similar to a couple of famous album covers. Two of note being The Velvet Underground and The Dandy Warhols - Welcome to the Monkey House which looks very similar.

The Orange Revival - Carolyn

The version I have is the transparent orange vinyl limited to 500 copies. There is also a deluxe version on transparent blue vinyl limited to 100.  Their debut album Black Smoke Rising as I mentioned earlier was reissued last week which is also very good.

Vinyl Friday

Name: Hills

Origin: Gothenburg, Sweden.
Album: Alive at Roadburn
Year: 2017
Links: Rocket Records Bandcamp
Label: Rocket Records

Hills - Alive at Roadburn limited cream & beer transparent Vinyl

My apologies folks for the lack of posts in the last couple off weeks. It's been a bit hectic. The good news is, there has been plenty of in-comings since. The first of which is the latest Rocket Records release. The band in question is one of my favorite in the past few years. The band being Hills from Sweden. It's not intentional, but a lot of the music I like at the moment are Scandinavian. There seems to be hell of a lot of good music coming from there in the past few years.

Hills - Frigörande Musik

Hills have released 2 albums this year so far. The first being a repress of their brilliant debut album on Cardinal Fuzz at the start of the year. This current offering is 'Alive at Roadburn'. You can assume this is a live album that was recorded at the Roadburn Festival in Tilburg, Netherlands. This festival is a kind of mecca for Psych bands, many who have released live albums too.  

                           

Hills - Och Solen Sänkte Sig Röd

Hills have released 6 albums, 3 of which are live recording so it is safe to assume that they are a quality live act. The songs on this album are loose versions of recorded songs on their other albums. Some might say the live versions are even better than the recorded ones!! The band get into a groove so much that you can hear a member say they had planned to play six tracks but can only fit four into their slot.

Full album

This is a double LP with one track on each side. The copy i have is the  limited edition colour vinyl, record 1 is solid cream and record 2 is transparent beer. When these went on preorder, they sold out in a couple of hours. I just had a look on their bandcamp page and there are 2 copies of black vinyl left. The sleeve was designed by Nik Rayne, he being the lead member of The Myrrors.

Vinyl Friday

Name: Causa Sui
Origin: Denmark
Album: Return To Sky
Year: 2016
Links: El Paraiso Records Website
Label: El Paraiso Records

Causa Sui - Return to Sky 'First Edition'

Another week has flown by, which means only one thing. It's Vinyl Friday once again!! We are back in Europe again this week with a band from Denmark. The album in question is 'Return To Sky'. The album itself was released last year. For some reason it bypassed me until this year. This is my most played album by a mile this year. It is so addictive! I can't stop playing it, and never tire of it. The band consists of 4 members and when listening to them, they sound like such a tight unit. All members willing each other on throughout.

Causa Sui - Dust Meridian

El Paraiso is run by Jonas Munk & Jakob Skøtt in Denmark. Both these are members of this band but there are many bands on the label as well. Another one of my favorite bands on this label is Papir. If you get a chance, check them out. Who knows, they might even feature in an up and coming post!

One of the cool things about this label is, all the artwork for all the albums released by all the bands is done by Jakob Skøtt himself. Another good reason to collect from this label with each album being a work of art (besides the music, that is!)

Causa Sui - Mondo Buzzo

No fancy editions on this album, just straight black vinyl. Although it has a sticker on the front saying 'First Edition'. I'm afraid the vinyl version has sold out only recently so if your looking for a copy Discogs I'm sure have a few on sale.

A couple of weeks ago a preorder went up for the release of a Live boxset which includes a 3 lp and limited 10". I thought about it for a while, trying to hold off! it was a lot of money for a single release. In the end I couldn't resist. My will power is rubbish! You only live once, right?? Just as well I suppose as they sold out in extra quick time. That's the thing about a lot of the psych bands. they are pressed in such small quantities that if you don't buy from the preorder, you run the risk of selling out very quickly. The live boxset is due in the middle of March. 

Full Album