CINDY LEE - 'MODEL EXPRESS'

Formats

• W25-09 - LP

  857661008209

Details

Model Express a collection of B-sides and lost hits, first appeared as a self-released edition of 100 gold cassettes. The arch, filmic drama of Cindy Lee's songwriting – realized with keyboards, guitars, aching voice and collaged, lo-fi production – traverses a wide range of emotional and sonic terrain. The red velvet psych-pop of "What Can I Do" gives way to the fluid "Diamond Ring" like radio bursts from space. Model Express finds Flegel at both their most experimental and immediately melodic, and this first-time vinyl release recognizes the collected tracks as a pillar in the Cindy Lee catalogue. 

Tracks

1. Kromax (Theme from Kromax
AKA Real State)
2. A Cold Fog Is Still Descending
(KCP Sound Collage)
3. Model Express
4. Who You Want I?ll Be
5. What Can I Do
6. What I Need (Alternate Version)
7. Dry Dive 8. Burning Candle
9. Left Hand Path
10. Are You Lonesome Tonight?
11. Don?t Let Me Down
12. Diamond Ring
13. Be My Shining Star (Instrumental)

Press

Audio & Video

CINDY LEE - 'ACT OF TENDERNESS'

Formats

• W25-04 - LP

  855985006802

Details

Cindy Lee is the diva alter-ego of singer / guitarist Patrick Flegel, the one-time captain of heralded Canadian experimental guitar pop act, Women. In Flegel’s working on / as Cindy Lee exclusively over recent years, their songwriting makes a move toward high atmospherics, often achieving a mysterious sweetness rooted equally in beauty and ache. As Cindy Lee’s third long-form statement, Act Of Tenderness makes use of antipodal themes to create a living sound: static with grace, distortion and sugar, all masterfully arranged with crooked nods toward pop classicism. The layered vocal on “Power And Possession” creates a palpable haunt, bringing historical girl-group lament to choir-esque heights. The feedback shriek and industrial grind of “Bonsai Garden” provides near-operatic damage, yet never stumbles into the irrevocably grave. These snowy pieces give the album a decidedly cinematic feel, albeit one bent more towards Eraserhead. Originally released in a scant private edition in 2015, Superior Viaduct’s imprint W.25TH is pleased to give Act Of Tenderness its deserving wide release.

Tracks

1. Act Of Tenderness
2. Power And Possession
3. What I Need
4. New Romance
5. The Last Train's Come And Gone
6. Operation
7. Quit Doing Me Wrong
8. Fallen Angel
9. Bonsai Garden
10. Miracle Of The Rose
11. Wandering And Solitude
12. A New Love Is Believing

Press

Audio & Video

MOLLY NILSSON - 'AMATEUR'

Formats

• LSSN105/DSA065 - LP

  5061041821400

• LSSN105CD/DSA065CD - CD

  5061041821417

Details

The word "amateur" originates from the Latin word "amator," meaning "lover" or "admirer". This Latin term is derived from "amare," which means "to love". The French adopted "amateur" from Latin, and the English then borrowed it from French, initially retaining the sense of someone who loves or is devoted to something. Over time, the English usage of "amateur" also developed a meaning related to a lack of professional skill or experience. How did a word derived from love become a slur? Is love really so defenseless? They say love conquers all, but in reality isn’t love quite ridiculous? It has no intention, no motive, no agenda. How could it possibly prevail? It can’t be bought or sold, or so they say. Its mere existence can't be proven or even measured. What an impossible thing. Trying and failing, time and time again, no wonder cynicism always seems to win. I see “amateurism” as a delighted, even foolish, protest. Protest against everything. Of what’s expected of someone, or expected of someone to desire or strive for. To be elite, to be expert, to be professional, to be a master, to excel and succeed. Where’s the joy in that? I just want to have fun. I want to want. I want to love. And keep doing it, forever. I want to have fun, even when it’s tiring and sometimes even heaven is boring as hell. I want to be bad. I want to do my own thing. “I want to be alone”. I want to be someone so dedicated to their passion that it starts to seem like there’s something wrong with them. All the way. We can take it all the way, and never get it back. - Molly Nilsson Amateur is the 12th studio album by Molly Nilsson. Deep in the teeth of a career that threatens to tip into something resembling a “legacy,” Molly Nilsson celebrates with an album recorded instinctively, quickly and bursting with so many moments of emotional brilliance and clarity it may be her greatest yet. Hers has been a career spent reaching out, perennially powerful in her earnestness, a warrior ridiculously defenceless and armed with a glittering sincerity. Shearing herself of the machinations of the music industry, recording at home, writing direct to the heart. Amateur is a jubilee for losers. A treatise in 13 songs, Amateur states clearly that we should live our life with eternal curiosity, offers us an open hand of comradeship out of the rat race. The songs on the album are both some of the most personal of Nilsson’s career and the most anthemic. First single How Much Is The World asks us to re-evaluate value in the face of a Neo-liberal system squeezing the life out of our loves. Pulsing opener Die Cry Lie satirises the commercialisation of emotion in the form of a shout-along diss-track. With a pounding rhythm track held down by gorgeous chord changes, heartbreaker Valhalla carries the torch for the main themes of the album: never growing up, making mistakes with kindness, moving on. When the drums crash in on the line “It’s going to get better now, you’ll see, going to be much better off without me” there is a world of feeling swirling about in the vocal delivery. One reading of the track might be that it’s a break up song but the subtext is classic Molly Nilsson: by living truthfully, making mistakes, we’re active agents against the myriad oppressions of the world. All The Way takes the theme for a run into the eternal sunset. It’s a manifesto for living fully. “Take it all the way, and never get it back” - it’s the process that’s the important point. The journey not the destination. Big Life, follows on like a part 2: An ode not only to Molly Nilsson’s career of endless gigs, endless connections with people, it’s a massive ode for following your dreams, doing it yourself. Closer The Bitter End is a powerful anthem for friendship, another definition of love infused in Nilsson’s work, A beautifully poignant ode to comradeship til the end, it seems to be the songwriter approaching aging, approaching life’s inevitability with the same vigour and earnestness, the same love of life she enjoyed at the onset of her career. There are moments on Amateur shrouded in reverb, slightly out of focus, forcing the listener to step deeper into the Mollyverse.. Nilsson’s open-armed beseeching to the world permeates every beat, every chord. These are songs exploding with life: the chunky, aggressive bassline on the punker Get A Life can’t hide its massive, catchy chorus. The sweeping Swedish Nightmare might be a tongue-in-cheek self-reference, but at its heart it’s a song about the duality of living life large, what is a dream, what is a nightmare? Molly Nilsson says you can’t have one without the other, and why would you want to? Here’s to making mistakes.

Tracks

Tracklist 1. Die Cry Lie 2. Valhalla 3. Swedish Nightmare 4. Classified 5. Long Time No See 6. Fatal Distraction 7. Get A Life 8. Joe Hill's Last Will 9. How Much Is The World 10. Creeping Beauty 11. Big Life 12. All The Way 13.The Bitter End

Press

Audio & Video

ZOMBINA & THE SKELETONES - 'IN SINISTEREO'

Formats

• NXN040LP - LP (COLOURED)

  0632556093375

• NXN040CD - CD

  0632556093382

Details

**LTD BLOOD RED VINYL W/ 8 PAGE LYRIC BOOKLET** **JEWEL CASE CD W/ LYRIC BOOKLET + 2 BONUS TRACKS** A decade after its original digital-only release, we bring you Zombina and the Skeletones’ four-part cult horror-pop saga; “In Sinistereo”. To mark its 10th anniversary, this long-requested fan favourite is now finally physically available on CD and blood red LP vinyl for the very first time. Known for their infectious mix of garage rock, doo-wop, punk, and B-movie theatrics, Zombina and the Skeletones have spent over 20 years as underground icons of the UK DIY scene. In Sinistereo captures the band at their wild, weird, and wonderful best — dripping with campy sci-fi, twisted romance, and hooks to die for. RIYL: Horror Punk, Garage Rock, Surf Pop, The B-52s, The Damned, Blondie, The Cramps, The Misfits.

Tracks

Press

?Electrified party punk for ghouls with ADD.?
(Rue Morgue Magazine)

?Frat-party startin? Day-Glo rock n? roll that grins in the face of the all-encompassing trend for portentous, pretentious, ?important? music.?
(Shindig! Magazine)

Audio & Video

CINDY LEE - 'CAT O' NINE TAILS'

Formats

• W25-16 - LP

  857661008414

Details

Originally released as an edition of 50 lathe-cut LPs housed in silk-screened jackets in 2020 (fast on the heels of What's Tonight To Eternity), Cat O' Nine Tails has long intrigued die-hard Cindy Lee fans with its combination of the classic songwriting that would dominate Diamond Jubilee a few years later and an actual suite of classical songs under the title itself. Opening with the gothic soap opera theme of "Our Lady Of Sorrows" into the manic exploration of "Cat O' Nine Tails," onto the dusty western walk through Patrick Flegel's lovely guitar work on "Faith Restored," the album seems to soundtrack the coolest movie the late '60s ever produced. All of this builds to the lush and sweeping ballad of bruised hearts that introduces that beautiful voice via "Love Remains." Side Two sees 2024 live show closer "Cat O' Nine Tails III" complete the suite to epic effect, before introducing the absolute showstopper that is "I Don't Want To Fall In Love Again." It is tender and fragile in that way that only Flegel can make both familiar and unique. Closing with the ethereal soul shuffle stomp of "Bondage Of The Mind," the album showcases nine songs from an essential time in the Cindy Lee evolution. W.25TH is proud to bring this collection to the larger audience it deserves.

Tracks

1. Our Lady Of Sorrows
2. Cat O' Nine Tails
3. Faith Restored
4. Love Remains
5. Cat O' Nine Tails II
6. As I'm Stepping Through The Gates
7. Cat O' Nine Tails III
8. I Don't Want To Fall In Love Again
9. Bondage Of The Mind

Press

Audio & Video

CINDY LEE - 'MALENKOST'

Formats

• W25-03 - LP

  855985006819

Details

Cindy Lee is the brainchild of singer/guitarist Patrick Flegel. While some may know Flegel from his time spent in Canadian experimental indie band Women, Cindy Lee has spent the past four years crafting songs that push and pull in opposing directions – from tales of tragedy laced with haywire distortion to moments of breathtaking beauty. On Malenkost, Flegel combines everything that makes Cindy Lee so essential: heart-wrenching romantic pleas, rough shards of noise and twilit ballads. Featuring the lo-fi pop single “A Message From The Aching Sky,” Malenkost sounds like Deerhunter playing The Supremes or vice versa. Superior Viaduct’s imprint W.25TH presents the first of many Cindy Lee releases. Spectral and timeless, the music of Cindy Lee is hauntingly familiar yet of another plane, a magical collision of Brill Building hooks and uncompromising No Wave. “Cindy Lee is intensely dark and cathartic, an eerie fever dream of fleeting, utterly heartbreaking classic girl-group melodies … one of the best things we have heard all year.” —Gorilla Vs. Bear

Tracks

1. No Worth No Cost
2. Always Lovers
3. Hopeless In A Trance
4. Cash Money
5. I've Seen His Face Before
6. Gallows Smile
7. A Message From The Aching Sky
8. Coroner Of The State
9. Claim Of Vanity
10. Prayer Of Baphomet
11. Death Sentence
12. Hash Angel

Press

Audio & Video

PARIS 1942 - 'PARIS 1942'

Formats

• SV104 - 2xLPs

  857661008513

• SV104CD - 2xCDs

  857661008520

Details

“Difficult as it may be to imagine, there was a time when Sun City Girls did not exist. Prior to the Bishop brothers teaming up with drummer/shaman Charlie Gocher to form SCG’s classic trio lineup, there were various ad-hoc assemblages of local Phoenix-area freaks and weirdos—groups which existed only long enough to play a single gig, open mic or house party before disbanding without a trace. Hatched from this milieu was Paris 1942, a short-lived band formed by guitarist Jesse Srogoncik that included Alan Bishop, Richard Bishop and former Velvet Underground drummer Maureen Tucker. “Paris 1942 would play only four shows in as many months, but between April and August of 1982, the band would gather several times a week in Tucker’s living room, where the group feverishly wrote and rehearsed with a kind of quotidian discipline. While P42 didn’t release anything during their brief tenure, a 7” EP and LP (both self-titled) surreptitiously surfaced on the Majora label in the mid to late ’90s. Until now, those two titles—as well as an appearance on Placebo’s Amuck comp in late ’82—would be the only documented evidence that this improbable, serendipitous and magnificent band ever existed. “While those expecting P42’s music to sound like a tantalizing combination of Sun City Girls’ iconoclastic hoodoo havoc and the Velvets’ primal drug-chug certainly won’t be disappointed, Paris 1942 more often than not transcends even these nearly impossible expectations. Srogoncik’s songs, in particular, are a revelation, displaying as much in common with the exuberant raunch of The Gun Club and the chapbook punk of Peter Laughner as they do any of the more obvious touchstones. “The group’s foresight to document and capture this meeting of musical minds—a meeting as unlikely as it was short-lived—provides a missing link between the Velvets and the Voidoids, between the Dead Boys and the Dead C, between ESP-Disk’ and DNA. Far more than a historical curiosity, Paris 1942 provides a fresh perspective on an embryonic and sadly vanishing US underground. It is music that blinks at the past and anticipates a thousand possible futures.” — James Toth (excerpt from the liner notes)

Tracks

1. Paris 1942 2. Hex 3. Headhunter 4. Radar 5. Damon 6. Ancient Time Foretold 7. Animale 8. Move Out of Wichita 9. Catherine 10. Life Is A Killer 11. Conversation with My Girlfriend 12. Voodoo Blues 13. Pontius Pilate 14. Lions Paw 15. Boy From The North Country 16. Fossil in My Pants 17. What I Think I Mean 18. Lisa?s Whip 19. Southwind

Press

Archival release of lost Phoenix, AZ band from 1982
Featuring former Velvet Underground drummer Maureen Tucker and members of Sun City Girls

Audio & Video

GUIDED BY VOICES - 'THICK RICH AND DELICIOUS'

Formats

• GBVI124LP - LP

  657628454816

• GBVI124CD - CD

  657628454823

Details

Robert Pollard: “I’m a student of hooks. That perfect combination of a lyric and a chord pattern that gives you that chill up the back of your spine.” Thick Rich And Delicious overflows with hooks. It plays through front-to-back like a power pop classic, but don’t misconstrue pop for soft. The basic tracks were cut live and hot to tape and are presented with minimal overdubs. The band recorded in a Brooklyn studio at extreme volumes, conjuring the spontaneity and electric energy of their legendary live show. Complimenting Pollard’s lead vocals, harmonies are sung by Grammy-nominated Bobby Bare Jr and Pollard (aka “The Self-Righteous Bros”). The sound delivers on the album’s titular promise—thick, rich and delicious. Pollard combines a new batch of songs with a basket of unrecorded gems dating back to the band’s nascent years. The chorus of “Oxford Talawanda” contains a never-used hook that Pollard has been singing for nearly his entire life. With Thick Rich And Delicious, you can get that satisfaction.

Tracks

1. Babies And Gentlemen
2. (You Can?t Go Back To) Oxford
Talawanda
3. Phantasmagoric Upstarts
4. Lucy?s World
5. Our Man Syracuse
6. Mother John
7. Dance Of The Picnic Ants
8. Xeno Urban
9. A Tribute To Beatle Bob
10. Replay
11. Siren
12. The Lighthouse Resurrection
13. A. Glum Swoboda
14. Ozark Ivanho
15. Captain Kangaroo Won The War

Press

Audio & Video

VARIOUS - 'BROWN ACID: THE TWENTY FIRST TRIP'

Formats

• EZRDR214 - LP

  737879948682

• EZRDR214CD - CD

  737879948699

Details

**ON RANDOM RE-GRIND COLOUR WAY** Here we are again in 2025, Brown Acid The Twenty-First Trip arriving right on time as the world at large degrades further into disorienting self-absorbed isolation and chaos. Ten powerful early hard rock brain benders, primal energy exploding sideways out of the ash heap of '60s idealism, rocking the darker side of human nature in style! Raw and unfiltered, no compromise, blasting gnarly sound perfectly sequenced to take you on one helluva ride! Territory populated with dicey characters, perilous women, predators, bad relationships… anti-social alienation delivered with smoking guitars, real people ripping it with no self-defeating namby-pamby finesse sabotaging their brutal energy. Every track sounds fresh today because Brown Acid is the real deal when it comes to what matters in music… communication! Life itself sonically sneering across time! Opus Est - “Maggie Johnsons” kicks it right out of the gate, taking only a minute and a half to do you in with brash proto punk attitude. Tight and savage riffing shifts gears with an ascending backup vocal hook right out of the twilight zone. The singer sounds disoriented, he can’t get away from Maggie quick enough! Power trio from Belgium in 1974 nail it to the wall and then the whole building collapses. Freedom North - “Losing You” seamlessly alternates gutsy female vocal ranting with trippy floating guitar passages. Singer Franki Hart sounded psychedelic dreamy on their debut 45 “Doctor Tom”, here she sounds like her throat is gonna fly right into your face. Gnarly lead, harsh dry metallic guitar sound, score one for the ladies here, the dude’s a loser and she dumps him. Canadian band from 1970 cranked out four singles and an LP that year… this is their killer. Accents - “Friendly Stranger” serves as an ominous warning for the girls. That seemingly charming guy you just met may be more Ted Bundy than Romeo… do not get in his car! Gushy organ, dark buried fuzz guitar, terrific post-psych catchy vocal arrangement. The band formed in Rhode Island in 1966 and cut this dark killer in 1969 in L.A. issued on the Gazzari label, associated with the legendary rock venue. Brother Love - “Rock N Roll Band” takes the popular theme of being on the road to a new prequel type zone, the guy is headed to New Orleans to start up a band. Great details about wieners and beans, limousines and Cajun Queens, terrific fuzz riff groove like a sideways blend of “Satisfaction” with “Jumping Jack Flash”… best move is the innovatively crude way the lead guitar works a Chuck Berry approach into new territory. Trio led by the Pettito brothers out of Cleveland circa 1970. Perfectly placed break from the darkness on the previous tracks. River Styx - “Bike Writer” out of Beverly, New Jersey in 1971 gets right back to woman trouble with lyrics as mysteriously inscrutable as the bizarre song title. Non-stop acidic fuzz guitar action all thru, weaving around but coming in for nasty little bites at just the right time. Vocalist rants with hallucinatory twisted Sky Saxon level intensity, searing distorted guitar burning it up on the extended fade-out. Maxx - “200 Years” was originally issued out of Lansing, Michigan on the local Signal label and picked up for national release as a promo-only by Mainstream Records. The theme is the original USA ideal of ‘land of the free’ becoming utterly doomed by greed and corruption. Menacing light-touch Stooges style rhythmic groove with watery wah-wah action on the intro into dirty bad trip sheets of psychedelic fuzz guitar, this dark beast functions as a bleak epitaph for civil society, as pertinent now as in 1969! Pump - “Kinda Like” is kinda like outrageous with it’s combination of askew vocal swagger over a churning groove veering into a ridiculously cool chorus about a young girl hanging out with an old man because he makes her feel safe like an old umbrella. Wait until his hand comes into the picture and try not to crack up! Fab primitive guitar lead rides you out and any song with the phrase ‘Nagasaki perfume’ in it is speaking my language! Left-field 1970 winner out of Newark, Delaware on the Dwikey label. 
29.9 -“You Got Me Floating” takes the Hendrix song deep into the garage. Way loose vocal, serendipitously crude guitar add to the vibe in a way no virtuoso could top. Led by the Harrison brothers John and Doug out of Pittsburgh but recorded in late 1969 at a band communal party house in Wellesley Hills, Massachusetts. John later scored films for George Romero, and used 29.9 track in his own horror classic “Effects”. Wakefield - “Here I Am” is a mini-epic with rudimentary progressive rock moves Sioux Falls, South Dakota style from 1979. Opens with a slinky start and stop stalking groove, vocal has the singer up on the stage but feels like a cage, the crowd isn’t really getting where he’s coming from. Extended break goes into double time with flying guitar leads and shifts gears into to a dreamy vibe with synth mimicking airy mellotron skies saying “you’ll find an answer someday”. Fat chance, you’re in Brown Acid Land!
Peacepipe - “Lazy River Blues” completes Trip 21 in deep psychedelic blues territory with lurking danger in the sinister chord changes, eerie effect dosed vocals, mournful acid guitar leads… makes you feel like you’re getting cornered by something scary you can’t see. Obscure heavy trio led by John Uzonyi from L.A. circa 1969, originally issued on the custom Accent label. The creepy vibe sticks with you like a phantasmic nightmare!

Tracks

1. Opus Est - Magie Johnsons 2. Freedom North - Losing You 3. Accents - Friendly Stranger 4. Brother Love - Rock N Roll Band 5. River Styx - Bike Writer 6. MAXX - 200 Years 7. Pump - Kinda Like 8. 29.9 - You Got Me Floatin 9. Wakefield - Here I am 10. Peacepipe - Lazy River Blue

Press

Audio & Video

lilo - 'BLOOD TIES'

Formats

• DR1108LP - LP (COLOURED)

  5070002789178

Details

**ECO MIX COLOURED VINYL** 'Blood Ties' is the debut album by London duo lilo (Helen Dixon and Christie Gardner), released earlier this year to much acclaim. An intimate yet powerful exploration of friendship, heartbreak, and identity, the pair intertwine soft harmonies, stripped-back moments and bursts of raw intensity in a way that mirrors their long-standing bond (having met in secondary school, they’ve been inseparable since). The album also captures their deft ability to tell stories, turning personal experiences into something universal, delivering with a remarkable clarity and warmth. To coincide with their UK tour and having previously only been available on vinyl as a long sold-out, deluxe Dinked Edition, they are making ‘Blood Ties’ available again, this time pressing on ecomix vinyl.

Tracks

1. Crash The Car 2. Cycling 3. Blood Ties 4. Used To Be 5. It's Not The Same In Winter 6. Leo 7. Better Conversation 8. Nevada 9. Step 10. Closing Time

Press

"Beautifully arranged songs."
- Rolling Stone

"Superb. Fans of Big Thief and Lana Del Rey will find much to enjoy."
- Uncut 8/10

"Hugely impressive? There is so much to unpack here."
- Clash 8/10

Audio & Video

ROBERT POLLARD - 'EAT 21'

Formats

• GBVIEAT21 - MAGAZINE

  657628454120

Details

Volume 21 of Robert Pollard's masterful and recognizable collage work, reproduced in full color.

Tracks

Press

Audio & Video

LAURA BAIRD - 'UNDER BLUE'

Formats

• BING244CD - CD

  600197024423

Details

Following up her 2017 release, I Wish I Were a Sparrow, multi-instrumentalist Laura Baird returns with Under Blue, an intimate depiction of grief tied to the mourning of her father. The album is anchored by folk guitar and banjo, as well as Baird’s strong lyricism and serene harmonies. Under Blue showcases Baird’s most authentic self as both a musician and creator, painting naturalistic images of her childhood and adult life to explore themes of change, relational depth, and finding peace. Under Blue is as much an ode to her father as it is to herself, while serving as an homage to nature, which fuels her creative process. Baird’s writing for this solo project began in 2012, during the recording of Sparrow, and continued after 2018 when she returned to her childhood home in southern New Jersey, near the Delaware River. “My father died and I went to help my mom out and keep her company. I was focused on her, but then the pandemic came and I started writing more again. I sat with these songs for a long time,” Baird said of the timeline of Under Blue and its early onset. Baird shares the value of sitting and processing ideas with her sister and trusted collaborator, Meg Baird, with whom she performs as The Baird Sisters. “Taking your time, letting things go, and letting something bloom before you go into the next thing is something I learned from Meg.” For the arrangement, Meg suggested that Laura add more instruments to the intro of her opening track, “Days of Blue” to set the tone of the LP. “I told her I would put my banjo sprinkles in there, I had fun with that.” During her mother’s first listen, Baird recounts that she swayed with a soft smile only a moment after she put headphones on. She added that Meg told her she’ll be listening to this whenever she is feeling homesick. Meg was one of a few trusted voices to hear Laura’s early recordings. “My sister always influences me. We influence each other. I don’t try to emulate the people I play with, like guitarist Glenn Jones, but they are in my corner,” Baird says of her most treasured influences. Despite the talent surrounding her, Baird relies on her own musical instincts, as well as the natural world that shaped her childhood and adulthood. Under Blue is not only a confessional of Baird’s exploration of family, environment, and selfhood. It presents a nuanced pairing of melancholy and joyful rediscovery.

Tracks

Press

Audio & Video

BILDERS - 'NEVERLASTING'

Formats

• GY15-2 - LP

Details

Bilders new album, Neverlasting is a mix of psychic adventures, hard psychedelia and commentary with a bite. Bilders have always sung outliers with a heap of empathy—exploitation of migrants, unmitigated killing and the state of our depleted planet. This album maintains an analog feel with technical finesse as it casts a cold eye on uses and abuses of power in the higher echelons. It is pure Bilders. Surprise collaborations bring in fresh tangents of colour and emotional edge. “We are the Neverlasting renter-squatters of Earth exhausted”. The band is once again the voice/guitar of Bill Direen, bass of Matt Swanson and near everything else by Alex McManus, with guesting by former Bilders. It’s the same lineup as last year’s acclaimed Dustbin of Empathy, released by Grapefruit and Sophomore Lounge, and the first ‘core’ Bilders lineup to remain constant for more than one album. The new compatibility shows. It’s an album that builds on current strengths. Notable guestings include Athens Georgia lights Claire Horne of 1980s BBQ Killers, and Curtiss Pernice, guitarist of heavy vanguard Porn Orchard, with a snook-in from experimental and electronic prince Todd Gerber. Two never-released tunes by vintage Bilders (Stu Page and Greig Bainbridge) sit perfectly with the new material. This is quite simply the strongest Bilders album ever.

Tracks

Press

Audio & Video

GINGER BEEF - 'S/T'

Formats

• BING255 - LP

  600197025512

Details

Tijuana Taxi, Classical Gas, Soul Bossa Nova — they topped the charts over 50 years ago, but you could probably still hum these instrumental classics. With their ambitious self-titled full-length debut, Ginger Beef aims to singlehandedly breathe life back into this all-but-extinct instrumental pop genre. “If evoking emotion is the goal of music, then lyrics are cheating,” It’s a hot take from MSG (aka Warren Tse), producer and one half of Ginger Beef. His thesis for the album: “Classical and film music prove that you don’t need words to resonate with listeners and stir up feelings. Why can’t we do the same thing with pop?” In 2021, flutist Jiajia Li was asked to present a music video for the Camp Sled Island event in Calgary. She ended up collaborating with the veteran multi-instrumentalist/producer/Calgary Flames organist conveniently living under her roof (she’s married to MSG) to cook up “Flashback”, an energetic track seasoned with anachronistic synths, slap bass, and traditional Chinese elements — and no singing. Unintentionally, this one-off track whetted the crowd’s appetite, which gave Ginger Beef’s snowball a push downhill. Spurred by the warm response to their first and only song, the couple wrote new material, joined forces with heavy hitters from the local R&B and Gospel scene, and thrilled Calgary audiences with their explosive live performances. When their new fans all but demanded a recording, Li and MSG locked themselves in their basement studio and painstakingly crafted Ginger Beef’s first album. They ordered up a small run of CDs and released the album independently. To their surprise and delight, their home-cooked debut was immediately met with critical acclaim and was nominated for a Juno award. All this validation made it clear that the album deserved greater distribution and reach than they could ever manage with their own limited DIY resources. Now signed with Providence-based Ba Da Bing Records, Ginger Beef is poised to drop their celebrated album on unsuspecting music fans everywhere in a brand-new vinyl re-release!

Tracks

Press

Audio & Video

DEMIAN - 'S/T'

Formats

• EZRDR210LP - LP

  737879948668

Details

"The Bad Seeds and Zakary Thaks were mid ‘60s Texas garage rock bands formed in the wake of the British Invasion, influenced by The Rolling Stones, Kinks, Yardbirds and others, becoming top local live attractions at a time when the 13th Floor Elevators and Moving Sidewalks were leading the way into psychedelia. In late 1966 Rod Prince on guitar and Roy Cox on bass from Bad Seeds joined up with David Fore from Zakary Thaks on drums to create a new band out of San Antonio featuring two lead guitarists. Todd Potter filled out the quartet on second guitar and they chose the name Bubble Puppy, taken from Aldous Huxley’s 1932 dystopian novel Brave New World. Huxley was an early advocate of LSD, appropriately. In 1969 Bubble Puppy scored a top 20 hit single with “Hot Smoke & Sasafrass” which led to their LP “A Gathering Of Promises”. International Artists, the legendary Texas label that previously had unleashed mind expanding classics by the Elevators, Red Crayola, Golden Dawn and others was a perfect fit. After the LP and additional 45s didn’t repeat the success of “Hot Smoke & Sasafrass” the band hooked up with Nick St. Nicholas of Steppenwolf as their new manager and moved to Los Angeles. A new band name was in order, Nick St. Nicholas chose Demian, title of the 1919 novel by Herman Hesse. His books were popular with the counterculture at the time and had provided Steppenwolf with their new name after they changed it from the Sparrow and hit it big. Demian recorded the LP live in the studio at the Record Plant in one midnight to six session. They had their arrangements fully realized, allowing them to combine live show energy and economy with to-the-point delivery suitable for repeated listening. No doubt they were aiming for pop hit success, using proto hard rock skills in a radio friendly way without compromising the heavy guitar moves. The vocals have echoes of the earlier Bubble Puppy style in spots but are more melodic with vibrant harmonies reminiscent of Moby Grape, Buffalo Springfield, James Gang… at times flashing on Steve Stills/Richie Furay westcoast without being too sweet about it. It works terrifically when the radio friendly voices top off killer hard guitar ensemble action. Early hard rock that is too bluesy flashy can get tiresome with repeat listening, especially if overdosing on guitar solos with the band relegated to the background… Demian keep it interesting with inventive song structures allowing all four players to integrate constantly into an ever changing but focused whole. This LP is a grower, despite the basic two guitars, bass and drums lineup and no frills production you reach a lot of different places during the ride. Demian is deadly hard rock, a perfectly organized vibe straddling live energy and crafted itinerary, amongst the first obscure major label killers that commanded premium $$ with collectors even way back in the late ‘70s. It gets you there every time, even half a century later!"

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