Cotton Mather - Kon Tiki

Kon-Tiki is one can't-get-it-out-of-your-skull pop song after another, interspersed with bursts of tape collage and random studio noise. "Vegetable Row," for example, sounds like a hard-candy circa-'66 Dylan outtake before it ends with a few seconds' splice of a completely different song, which is rudely chopped off in time for the organ-driven "Aurora Bori Alice." Variety is the watchword on Kon-Tiki. The wildly overdriven feedback-fest "Church of Wilson" leads straight into the gently swirling keyboards and acoustic guitars of "Lily Dreams On," which immediately makes way for the classic harmony-filled jangle pop "Password." The amazing thing is that, despite the wild mood and style shifts, the album doesn't sound fragmentary in the least; the pieces all fall into place. Brad Jones' production features studio chatter, audible edits, remarkably loud clicks, and yet the overall sound is enormous, filled with amazing sonic depth. Lo-fi this ain't. Song titles like "Camp Hill Rail Operator" or "Animal Show Drinking Song" might recall Guided By Voices, and the audio-verite "Prophecy for the Golden Age" wouldn't have sounded out of place on Pavement's Westing (By Musket and Sextant), but neither band could possibly come up with a song like the instant classic "My Before and After," three minutes worth of non-stop hooks grounded with a percussive low-register piano part that makes it sound like a lost outtake from Revolver. In an album's worth of non-stop pop delights, "My Before and After" is a clear masterpiece. -AMG

Get it: HERE

STANLEY ROAD - CLASH CITY COOTERS EP.

I have been informed that copies of this single have nearly run out, so if you want to get your hands on one.............

You can contact the band by e mail at: stanleyroadband@gmail.com to buy a single or tshirt, or both, and you can listen to the great tunes at stanleyroadoriginal@myspace.com you can also find them on facebook.

Fantastic Stanley Road T - Shirt

THE SOLARFLARES - Look What I Made Out of My Head

Third album from The Solarflares who feature ex The Prisoners and Prime Movers members. Recorded and mixed on the band's own eight-track machine in vocalist / guitarist Graham Day's garage.
Everything you would expect from music that has anything to do with Graham Day, the man with the golden touch when it comes to writing and delivering a classic piece of pop!

A web review:
This is the third offering The Solarflares, now with Parsley full time on organ duty and where the first album (Psychadelic Tantrum) was brilliant, the second (That was then and so is this) even better, this belter blows them both out of the water.
The album kicks off with 'State of mind', think of the Fleur de Lys or Fire and you approach the power of this song, superb! This is followed by 'Feet the wrong way round' a wry look at one mans feelings about the embarrasment of trying to dance. The other highlight on side 1 (I have the vinyl copy not c.d.!) is Girl In A Briefcase (think Man in a Suitcase and you'll get it) an excellent instrumental for a 60's spy show which never existed outside Graham Days mind.
Side 2 starts with 'You Want Blood', the current single, again the power of the vocals and musicans shines through, these really are men on top of their game. Highlights on this side include You Hear Drums & Reflections. There really isn't a poor song on this album. No fans of the Prisoners or Prime Movers who are unfamiliar with The Solarflares will be disappointed. The same musical influences are there, The Who, Small Faces, Doors and a plethora of 60's punk outfits, even Pink Floyds Piper at the Gates of Dawn album can be sensed in a couple of numbers. Big Beat could've given a money back guarantee on this. My advice buy two copies in case you lose one!

Get it:here

THE SHAZAM - GOD SPEED THE SHAZAM

Taking cues primarily from early Cheap Trick and Electric Light Orchestra, The Shazam mold hard rock that, initially, sounds out of place on the Not Lame label, which focuses entirely on power pop. However, on repeat listens it becomes obvious why this group is so often lumped in with fine pop acts; their hooks are remarkably strong and melodic. While they're clearly out of step with the times (The music here is entirely steeped in the late '70s, and while it may have sold millions then, it is unlikely to go past "cult" status now), Godspeed the Shazam is an excellent hard rock pleasure. Many of these songs sound like lost classics, especially the excellent "Super Tuesday" (an anthemic rocker on the lament of the loser of a presidential election) and "Gonna Miss Yer Train." The Shazam also occasionally dip into glam, especially on "Sunshine Tonight" and "The Stranded Stars" and, not surprisingly, they make that work too. It all amounts to yet another gem on the Not Lame label.
Jason Damas

01. Super Tuesday
02. Sunshine Tonight
03. The Stranded Stars
04. Sparkleroom
05. Some Other Time
06. RU Receiving
07. Chipper Cherry Daylily
08. Calling Sydney
09. City Smasher
10. Sweet Bitch
11. A Better World
12. Gonna Miss Your Train

Get it: SHAZAM 

A SEASONAL FREE INDIE POP COMPILATION - FREE DOWNLOAD

If you just can't take another year of Cliff crooning Mistletoe and Wine, try this neat little seasonal slice of Indie Pop Christmas themed tunes!!!

Get it : HERE

HIGHS IN THE MID SIXTIES

The Highs in the Mid-Sixties series is a group of 23 compilation albums of garage rock and psychedelic rock recordings that were issued by Archive International Productions Records in the mid-1980's. This series is a companion to the Pebbles series of similar music; the title is technically preceded by "Pebbles Presents:". The title sounds like it might have come from a weather report, although "Highs" intends to mean "the best" (and is also an apparent drug reference), while the recordings on these albums were originally released in the mid-1960's.

Unlike the Pebbles series – which has been released over an extended period of time by several record labels and in a variety of formats – the 23 albums in the Highs in the Mid-Sixties series were released only as LPs and in a short time span of 1983 to 1986.

Volume One:HERE 

If you enjoy this album, click on the "COOL" button below and I will get some more of this kind of thing up.

THE CHALLENGERS - Surfbeat

Los Angeles based surf band, famed for the best selling surf album of all time SURFBEAT[sold 200.000 copies]. One of the first that brought surf from California to the rest of the world. Formed by drummer Richard Delvy after he left the Bel-Airs, who had recorded one of the first surf singles, "Mr. Moto." A classic 60's surf group with hits like K-39, Mr.Rebel, Channel 9, Tidal Wave, Kami-Kaze. They also did some fine covers of instro. classics Telstar, Wipe out, Pipeline, Out of limits.  

Get it: Surfbeat