Futuropaco : Futuropaco

There’s a serious groove that permeates each track on Justin Pinkerton’s debut record as Furturopaco. Not the typical groove, though. This album has an aged vibe to it that makes it feel both like some lost, sweaty acid-fueled Ennio Morricone score; as well as some Goblin recording session fueled by a night of over consumption […]

Wooden Shjips : V.

It’s been five years since Ripley Johnson and Wooden Shjips set sail with their last LP titled Back To Land. Five years in this day and age feels more like a lifetime, so the announcement of the California psych rockers return was a much welcomed thing. Not that Johnson was just sitting on his laurels […]

Unknown Mortal Orchestra : Sex & Food

Ruban Nielson, from the beginning of Unknown Mortal Orchestra, has dabbled musically in darker terrain. There’s always a sense of groove and a funky nature to the music he creates, but even on the lightest days the songs sound as if they were aged in a time capsule and then dipped in some kind of […]

Landing’s “Nod” is Out Of Sight

I came to Connecticut’s Landing by way of Denmark. We met up in a pub called El Paraiso Records, had a few pints, got to know each other, and now they are fast becoming a favorite ghost that haunts my skull. Thanks El Paraiso for introducing us. I have to say I’m a bit embarrassed […]

Holy Wave : Adult Fear

There’s a dusty, ‘road trip to nowhere good’ vibe to Holy Wave. They make the kind of grainy, 8mm-type of garage rock that feels like one of those gloomy yard sale finds. Searching through a damp cardboard box of LPs marked “.50 or best offer” you find various copies of Herb Albert & The Tiujana […]

Voodoo Psych : Revisiting Psicomagia

The first album I ever bought from the Danish record label El Paraiso was the debut album from skronky psych jammers Psicomagia. They were a collaboration between bands Astra and Radio Moscow, two prolific bands in their own right. With Psicomagia they combined the groovy psych escapism of Radio Moscow’s buzzing sound and Astra’s booming […]

Earthless : Black Heaven

I think one of the worst things that can happen as a fan of a metal band is when that band softens their sound. There’s really nothing more disappointing than when your favorite metal band drop the rough edges and darker vibes for a slick production, bluesy riffs, and bloody ballads. Metallica comes to mind […]

Carlton Melton : Mind Minerals

Carlton Melton write and create on another level. They seem to reside not outside in the elements, but somewhere deep inside. They make a kind of subconscious psychedelia. The sound of blood rushing from your body to your brain, or the whooshing you occasionally get inside your ear as if air is escaping your skull, […]

Carlton Melton : Hidden Lights

Whenever you drop the needle on a Carlton Melton album you can almost always expect to be taken on a journey. Their albums are these sonic doorways into alternate realities that are sometimes serene and sometimes gritty. The musical world of Carlton Melton is an often gauzy trip into hazy synths, swaths of guitar, and […]

Papir : V

The Danish trio Papir have always sounded much larger than you’d expect three guys to sound. With just the guitar/bass/drums rock trio standard set up, these guys make a mountain of sound. At times brash and fuzz-covered, other times dreamy and atmospheric, Nicklas Sørensen, Christoffer Brøchmann Christensen, and Christian Becher Clausen cover terrain as diverse as […]