April 1, 2013

Seasons change...

Big changes are in the works in my terrestrial life - I hope to be pulling up roots to replant them in the same general proximity, and it's a little unsettling to say the least - but the celestial treasures just keep on coming. No matter where I end up hanging my hat you can always find me here, dishing up the space rock by the platter full. This month's set features a dollop of what we've been tasting recently and a satisfying portion of some new flavors, topped off with a surprise garnish of savory cover songs.

First, a sweet random found freakout for you:



Chills, no?

Okay then. Another track from the Fairies, this one extolling their modus operandi. And another from the Trail of Dead, showing us they can still get manic. Speaking of manic, how about another from Thee Oh Sees, the SRC's band of the year for 2012? Cloud Nothings got all kindsa old school indie cred, updating the 'Our Band Could Be Your Life' early 90s ethos but psyching it the fuck out.

So... MBV. Reactions were mixed, first "album" in 22 years, everything from meh to ecstatic. My opinion on it is right in the middle: not blown away, but happy to have it. Honestly if you want to know where MBV should be now, then listen to Nadja out-bloody the Valentines on this cover. And as long we're getting HEAVY and dropping some cover versions, Kylesa was MADE for this Pink Floyd cover.

We haven't heard from Gravenhurst in a while, but this track makes up for it. Another track from Stacian illustrates their postpunk Spacemen 3 reverence. Lower Dens seem to have the Scandinavian chill-psych thing down - a real pleasure from a very esoteric band. Going back a ways, Laika channeled the polyrhythmic krautrock of Can through a 4AD filer. Miss those guys. Keeping the psych-funk going are Measles Mumps Rubella, a sick dose of nu no wave.

Then we have a seriously mixed-up melting pot of spacey styles: a collaboration between Long Beach solo psycher Sun Araw and partner in crime the avant garde experimentalist M. Geddes Gengras who together conspire with the illustrious roots reggae traditionalists of the Congos, taking lower dub to new heights; throwback postpunk gothrockers Soft Moon bring the sharp and angular while Mugstar brings the nebulous fuzz; then a drifty, droney yet dymanic journey through the soft focus psych of Flavor Crystals, the proto prog-metal of Golden Void (featuring members of Earthless and Assemble Head In Sunburst Sound), the vintage garage-psych daze of Naam, and, ultimately, the slow burn, building to the ecstatic spiraling riffage, of Carlton Melton.

Sorry for the truncated descriptions, but I'm a busy, BUSY spacerocker these days. Just LISTEN, man.

For you traditionalists who don't mind streaming from this site, the following tracks should appear in the first player below:

The Spacerock Continuum Theme - bRambles
Never Never Land - Pink Fairies Never Never Land
Catatonic - ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead Lost Songs
Chem Farmer - Thee Oh Sees Carrion Crawler/The Dream
Wasted Days - Cloud Nothings Attack On Memory
Who Sees You - My Bloody Valentine MBV
Only Shallow - Nadja - When I See The Sun Always Shines On TV
Set The Control For The Heart Of The Sun - Kylesa - From The Vaults Vol. 1
Circadian - Gravenhurst - The Ghost In Daylight
I Froze - Stacian - Songs For Cadets
Brains/Stem - Lower Dens Nootropics
44 Robbers - Laika - Silver Apples Of The Moon
Hollow Bodies - Measles Mumps Rubella Fantastic Success
Happy Song - Sun Araw, M. Geddes Gengras, The Congos Freakways Vol. 9
Want - Soft Moon - Zeros
Inearth - Mugstar - Axis
Milky Way - Flavor Crystals - On Plastic
Atlantis - Golden Void - s/t
The Starchild - Naam - The Ballad Of The Starchild
Nor'easter - Carlton Melton - Photos of Photos



But don't forget, you also have the option of spacerock to go:



1. Click on the Divshare logo instead of pushing the play button in the player above.

2. Click "download" when redirected to the Divshare site (put it on your desktop for easy access).

3. Once downloaded, drag it to yer iTunes and sync it with yer pod.

And I must reiterate, this is the way to take your spacerock mix to go! You can DOWNLOAD it! It's YOURS now! It's an mp3 mix that pops right into your iTunes - it couldn't be simpler.