I’m loving this song from Crocodiles. I don’t know much about it other than the obvious 60′s surf pop sound with a twist of 80′s goth, but it’s pretty good. They sound a bit like Surfer Blood and the two dudes that make up the band were apparently in both Some Girls and Dum Dum Girls
Is it just me being a harbinger of music to come or is this a trend that the masses are influencing? I find myself being drawn to more music with overt 60’s derivations. Bands like Best Coast and Cults on the pop side then Tame Impala and new Smashing Pumpkins (see the latest “Spangled,” “A Stitch in Time” or “Astral Planes”) on the psychedelic front.
San Francisco’s The Love Dimension oozes retro-rock glory. “Dark Night of Your Soul” floats on a cloud of organ notes, weed, and love grounded by fuzzy guitars and lead by Jimmy Dias’s vocals – a sort of Eric Burdon tinged with Jim Morrison. In fact, TLD comes across like The Animals resurrected through the vessel of BRMC. “Living in Atlantis” continues the garage barrage with a touch of The Strokes coursing through it.
“I Found Gold” adds a subtle twist to the psychedelic party by harkening the journeyman sounds of Johnny Cash with a quick strumming guitar and a drilling snare cadence whipped by brushes. It makes you feel like you’re on the open road or walking into a Quentin Tarantino scene.
The Love Dimension walk a very thin line between derivative late 60’s flower rock and nuanced hat-tipping to a bygone era with their slavish attention to genre. The token sounds of tambourine, Hammond organs, and fuzzed-out guitars loaded with reverb could, in the wrong hands, evoke the term, “knock-off.” TLD manage to pull it off with grit and passion while re-introducing new ears to a straight-forward interpretation of rock n roll – something to be admired and noticed in a market of squawking electronic indie music.
Listen and Download The Love Dimension
Check out The Love Dimension’s YouTube Channel
Fuck! I’m either completely out of the loop (impossible!) or The Crowes did nothing to promote this show at HOB. I just learned about it yesterday and, sadly, cannot attend. But you 
should! The BC’s are relentless rock n roll machines and can arguably be noted as one of the greatest American rock bands of the last 20 years. To me, they are a “jam band” with the jangle of the Allman Brothers, the sweep of the Dead, and the heavy swagger of Zeppelin. It’s fun to hear them jam because they have great songs at the core, some funky, some sweet, some rock, but nearly all deliver and they have the power and authority to drive them nearly anywhere they want.
The songs are catchy and powerful on their own, but you add the rock crunch of drummer Steve Gorman, possibly the best rhythm guitarist (a lost art) in the biz with Rich Robinson, southern / blues style lead guitar mastery of Luther Dickinson (who replaced virtuoso, Marc Ford), the golden pipes and panache of Chris Robinson and you have a real rock n roll band. A band that can expand and contract, swell and surge with more power and rock glory than most “jam” bands – real rockers, not sandal shaking noodlers.
Some live video I found. The following are not Kisses and Noise concert video …
A new dixie-land style version of Southern Harmony’s “Hotel Illness”
“Non-Fiction” from Amorica
“Descending” a sweet ballad that ends Amorica. I can’t believe they are playing this now.
A pretty, sauntering version of Three Snakes and One Charm’s “Bring On, Bring On.” Kind of an experimental ballad on the album, the live version brings this winding, elegant intro and build straight into the song. Nice.
I’m not sure how new this song is. “Never Say Never” was included on disc 2 as part of the Rated R 10 Year Anniversary re-release in August. Most of the songs are on other rarity collections, but this song was not present in my vast QOTSA library. It’s sultry and dark like most of Queen’s work, but has a modern, almost indie twist on the visceral, buzz saw attack they champion.
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Check out Queens of the Stone Age concert video from The Tabernacle in Atlanta
Am I crazy or is this song awesome? Never has the sacred and profane phrase, “fuck you” been delivered with such alacrity and wit (OK – Eddie Murphy, George Carlin, Bernie Mack, Redd Fox, Robert Deniro, nevermind) – well maybe with such funk and soul? Cee-Lo shapes classic funk grooves that The Mar-Keys would be proud of and drops vocals that would make Al Green smile on the catchiest fuck off message ever recorded. I apologize if any young ones get a hold of this because if they were shielded from the mother of all curse words prior to this video it will be indelibly burned into their brains now.
San Francisco based artist, Chelsea TK, has her first official full-length release in Terra Attero. It is a boisterous and swirling amalgamation of style and soul infused with layers of instrumental loops, driving drum work, clever electronic bits, and Chelsea’s expansive, entrancing vocals.
TK glides from soul diva to alt rocker from track to track and sometimes within the same song. “No Man’s Land” opens with a simple guitar intro – almost like a “Cat Scratch Fever” on qualudes - followed quickly by her vocals singing over layers of her own soulful backing tracks. The acute groove is accompanied by gliding organ strokes in the verses, while the bridge builds mightily to the chorus, creating a great sense of build and release.
“Exciter” fights with “No Man’s Land” for strongest single in the collection. “Exciter” (Not to be confused with the KISS song of the same title) combines the same intense drum work and the weaving rhythm guitar present on nearly all the tracks while adding precise, big sounding horn lines and trippy electronic interludes.
This album is mostly the work of Chelsea and producer / drummer Rick Perez. Chelsea is currently gigging with a complete band, The Tzigane Society (Ugh, a silent “T” and a “z”!) that is sure to invigorate the textured layers of looped instruments found here – breathing even more life while adding some edge to the presentation.
Terra has touches of neo-soul and indie rock peppered with electronica and world music, with dashes of jazz and 60’s psychedelic beat poetry (especially on “Your Voodoo”) and a twist of 80’s goth sexuality – like the slinky sensuality of “Tender Call.” Efforts to label Chelsea’s work and draw comparisons has me chasing names like Florence and the Machine, Beth Orton, and late Radiohead, but not finding an exact fit, asserting the notion that something very original is unveiling itself on Terra Attero.
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Learn more about Chelsea TK and The Tzigane Society’s music
The earlier album review noted that this song is like Blondie meets Siouxsie Sioux and now I’d like to throw a dash of Bjork in there. It’s the driving disco bass drum mixed with the goth-y synth and the pixie-ish vocals that conjure the comparisons. “Sprawl II” could be my favorite song on The Suburbs, but I do know it’s a hell of a Friday song.
The Canadian Army is lookin' a little raggedy
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