TWO NEW GREAT RECORDS ON Alive Naturalsound

1) DATURA4 - Demon Blues

Datura4, from Fremantle, Western Australia, brings together Dom Mariani (frontman of legendary Australian garage band The Stems and Power Pop favourites DM3) and Greg Hitchcock (You Am I, The Kryptonics, The Monarchs) along with Drummer Warren Hall (ex-Drones) and bassist Stu Loasby.

They’ve been around for quite a while but “Demon Blues” is Datura4’s debut on Alive-Naturalsound. And what a debut it is: You dreamed of it and they made it! A psychedelic/heavy-blues band that is not just about jamming but can  actually write incredibly loud and great SONGS WITH HOOKS A PLENTY. 

The saturated and overdriven guitars are absolutely stunning. The freaked out wha-wha guitar solos will melt both your ears and your speakers. AND  the vocals are brilliant as well.

The opening track, “Out With The Tide”, is worth alone the price of admission.The guitars hit hard and at the same time the pop chemistry Dom Mariani is so famous for operates on the spot. This is actually the best of both worlds.

Of course you will hear traces of early ’70’s Australian Psych/Blues/Boogie from the likes of Buffalo, Coloured Balls or the latter era Masters Apprentices, but when i listen to a tune like “You Ain’t No Friend Of Mine” i can't help thinking about the heydays of BLUE OYSTER CULT either. 

For those who you who don't know it, Datura is a genus of nine species of poisonous vespertine flowering plants belonging to the family Solanaceae.  They are known as angel's trumpets. All species of Datura are poisonous, especially their seeds and flowers.The beautiful psychedelic cover art, done by Joshua Marc Levy/Asheville Art Family, depicts the said plant in more ways than one.

Buy this at any cost. This is certainly in my TOP 10 of the 2015 albums. One will never thank Patrick BOISSEL enough for releasing such amazing albums on his label. 

RELEASE DATE : 10th of JULY 2015 Pre-order it here: http://www.alive-records.com/artist/datura4/

2) Left Lane Cruiser - 'Dirty Spliff Blues'

Left Lane Cruiser began in Fort Wayne, Indiana as a two-piece band comprised of Frederick Joe Evans IV on slide guitar and Brenn Beck on drums. After the departure of former drummer Brenn Beck, Freddy J IV has joined forces with new members Joe Bent, who plays bass and an electrified skateboard fixed up with guitar strings and new drummer Pete Dio.

"Dirty Spliff Blues" is Left Lane Cruiser's 5th album for Alive Naturalsound, and the first one as a trio. And it is certainly their best effort so far.  They have expended their take on bad-ass blues with an even bigger sonic sound and a deeper end and it will appeal not only to the usual LLC fans but will also gain them a legion of new followers.

"The core group of songs on this record were written at soundchecks during a nine-month period of touring the U.S. and Europe," wrote Freddy J IV. "After a long drive, we would get to the club. Burn one down. Fuckin' jam at soundcheck. Then we had a new tune. It went on like that for a while. This album was written entirely under the guidance and influence of marijuana. No dirty spliffs (joints with a mix of tobacco and pot) were used in the making of this record."  

The album art for Dirty Spliff Blues was created by William Stout. 

Purchase it here: http://www.alive-records.com/artist/left-lane-cruiser/

The Bad Losers - Easy

The Bad Losers (vox: John McLean - guitar/keys: Iain Weir - bass: Cliff Gee - drums: Pat Evans) formed in 2004 due to a shared love of 60s Garage, R'n'B and Freakbeat. 

Their recordings are made in a garden shed where the band have settled down to a long period of home recording in search of capturing an appropriate lo-fi sound. Their debut LP ,called “Easy”, was recorded strictly in analog with often temperamental vintage equipment, very fitting for their 60’s garage sound. 



The record of these fine gentlemen from Bristol, UK, was released earlier this year by Equation Records, a label located in Sommerville, Massachusetts, and the album is filled to the rafters with 15 killer tracks, like "Want You Now", "She's Coming Home" or "Gonna Find Her" that bring to mind the likes of The YARDBIRDS, BARRY AND THE REMAINS,  Roger McGUIN, The CYNICS, The Thanes or The LEN PRICE 3.



The LP comes in a very limited Edition of 215 copies (95 on SPLATTER / 95 on BONE-WHITE / 25 on BLACK)

Purchase it here : 
http://thebadlosers.co.uk/

or here : 
Equation Records
http://www.chronoglide.com/equation.html

FIRST BASE (Japanese release)

Once again our good friend Yuki at SP-RECORDS has come up with the best Power Pop Punk treat ever: the twelve tracks of Toronto's FIRST BASE debut album + all of their singles and EPs that pre-date the record! 27 tracks in all, melting in your ears like the sweetest candy in your mouth. A pure moment of sugarly delight. If you dig the Yachts, the Pointed Sticks or the Yum-Yums, then you're going to be in heaven.



In order to find out who's behind Canada's best kept secret, here is a little interview of Fraser (guitar, vocals and mastermind of First base) and Mike (Bass) 

Fraser, it is my understanding that in the beginning FIRST BASE was you alone in your room using windows sound recorder. Can you tell me about that period? How long did you do this on your own?

Fraser: Yeah, it started with me alone recording stuff in my bedroom. I had just moved to Toronto and wanted to start a band but I didn't know any musicians. I started writing songs and recording them on what little equipment I had, so that was Windows' "sound recorder"on my computer which was barely working. I don't think it could have handled recording software any more advanced.

 I would record back and forth between two "sound recorder" windows, each time adding a new layer of guitar/vocal/whatever. I kind of developed a style of recording based on that weird method, trying to record quietly in an apartment, and having hardly any equipment. That lasted a couple of years until the computer I was using finally died, so I upgraded to a Mac with Garage Band. I still write and record all the songs by myself in my bedroom before we do them as a band.

When did FIRST BASE actually become a "real" band? And who plays what in the band? Can you introduce the band members? 

Fraser: I met some people at work that were musicians and they offered to join me so we could play live. That was maybe a year after I started making the songs. So Shinnosuke joined on drums and Shota joined on guitar. At our first show together, I met Mike, who offered to play bass. Over the years some people have moved away or changed instruments in the band, but now the current lineup is: me on lead vocals and guitar, Nick on guitar, Mike on bass, and Connor on drums. 


How did things happen: did you wake up one morning thinking now i'm done with playing alone in my room, i wanna play with other guys?

Fraser: Well my original intent was to play in a band with other people, but I just went ahead and did it by myself. Eventually everything with the band just fell into place.

Are you still the main composer or does everybody contribute?

Fraser: I write all the songs and record them myself before we play them together. So if I make a new song, we all learn it and try playing it together. Everyone kind of makes changes to their parts and sometimes to the larger structure of the song. We'll end up with something that suits us better as a band than what I originally recorded myself. So that's what we play live and eventually record again.

What are your favorite topics to write about in a song?

Fraser: Pretty much anything dealing with relationships or girls. It's not even that it's a "favourite" topic, I just write pop songs and sort of think they should be about that kind of stuff. Part of the whole aesthetic we're going for. Other topics don't really work for us.

The Difference in sound is quite amazing. On the first singles, everything was monophonic and quite tiny and now it has evolved into a much deeper, wider and warmer sound. Did this come naturally or was this something you real aimed for?

Fraser: I think the sound we're getting now when we record as a band is what I would have done originally if I could have. The first singles were just me, done on "sound recorder" or in Garageband. The sound of those were a result of figuring out what sounded best when I recorded songs by myself. Getting a "big" sound that way was just impossible, so I guess I intentionally went the other direction. Our LP  and the "You've Got A Hold On Me" EP from Hosehead were both recorded In Ottawa with Yogi at the Meatlocker. The sound on those just came naturally. They're pretty straightforward recordings, and other than the keyboards and layered vocals, I think they're good representations of what  the band sounds like live. The meat of all those recordings is live off the floor.

The latest E.P., "You've Got A Hold On Me" was released in January of this year. Can we expect a sophomore album in the near future? Will the songs of the E.P. be on this full length?

Fraser: Right now we're working on new songs and fixing up some old ones. Gathering enough material for the next LP. I think the "You've Got A Hold On Me" EP might just be left as it's own thing. The next LP should be mostly unreleased songs. The recordings could just turn into some more singles though. We'll see. 

Your mail address is an obvious nod to the four gone brothers, but as far as I'm concerned i'd say FIRST BASE is closer to the POINTED STICKS, THE YACHTS or The YUM YUMS. Can you agree with that?

Mike: It’s not too far off. I’m not too sure if Fraser was initially into those bands when we first started or not. I was always into power pop. Being from Canada I was always a giant Pointed Sticks fan too. I weaseled my way into the Horseshoe Tavern to see them when they came to Toronto last because I was underage and got to talk with all of them. Nice guys.

What are FIRST BASE plans for 2015?

Fraser: As I said, working on some new songs for future recordings, possibly an LP. Other than that, just keep on playing shows and having fun. 

Anything you wanna add for the viewers of the blog?

Mike: We’ve got a new 45 coming out on La-Ti-Da Records based out of Vancouver. So watch for that. Should be out late summer, early fall, if I had to guess.

PURCHASE IT HERE : https://sprecords.bandcamp.com/album/first-base



By the way, while you're at it check also all the other goodies on SP RECORDS: 

http://sprecords.bandcamp.com/

DEPARTURE KIDS - On the Go: Garage / Power pop from Marseille.  Their music is way better than their ugly front cover!

THE SWEATSHOP BOYS -  The Great Depression : This quartet from Israel cranks out quite a hodge podge of garage, power-pop, '70s rock and punk with a twist of new wave thrown in for good measure

PEACH KELLI POP III : Third full length effort of Peach Kelli Pop, best known for her catchy and tongue-in-cheek songs inspired by video games, Chinese food and conspiracy theorists.

THE CONNECTION - LABOR OF LOVE

Let's face it guys, these are hard times for rock'n'roll. 

Rock'n'roll doesn't pay off anymore. 

These days, you don't get rich or get all the girls by playing rock'n'roll. 

These days, rock'n'roll is a commitment. 

It requires dedication. 

And I give you a dedicated man: Lou Mansdorf. 

And I give you a dedicated label : RUM BAR Records. 

And I give you the last of the dedicated rock'n'roll bands: THE CONNECTION!

And when this dedicated man and this dedicated label and this dedicated band decide to work together, what you get is LABOR OF LOVE. 

The last of the rock'n'roll records!

PRE-ORDER IT NOW: 

https://rumbarrecords.bandcamp.com/album/labor-of-love

THE SPASTICS HEARTS - No girls no fun

THE SPASTICS HEARTS, one of the best punk rock bands in the USA,  featuring Jay (Vox/guitar), Mikey (Lead Guitar/Vox), Angi (Bass/Vox), and Casey (Drums) have come up with their Sophomore effort, "No girls no fun" a while ago. 

What you have here are 12 new songs of super catchy, fun, addictive, powerful pop punk with great vocals, driving guitars and an ever pulsating rhythm section. Fans of  The Teen Idols, The Huntingtons, or Teenage Bottlerocket gonna love this....

In order to find out a little more about THE SPASTIC HEARTS, here's a small interview with lead guitarist MIKEY .

How did the 4 of you meet and how long have you been playing together?

MIKEY: Back in the early 2000's i played in a band with Casey our drummer, and briefly played drums for one of Jay's band's before Casey actually took over playing drums full time for them. Angi and I moved to Florida for college years and played in a band called The Hi-Life (2005-2010). We moved back to Ohio in 2010 and began The Spastic Hearts with Jay and Casey shortly after.

Is there a main composer in the band or does everybody contribute? What are your favorite topics to write about in a song?

MIKEY: For our first album, S/T, Jay had most of the tunes written and we then put them together as a band. For the second album I wrote a couple of the tunes in addition to Jay's tunes. We mostly write about girls, partying etc. The fun parts of being alive!!

Do you guys have any video out? 

MIKEY: No videos at this time, hopefully one day! If anyone wants to make a video for us DO IT!

What are THE SPACTICS HEARTS plans for 2015? Any chance to see you in Europe soon?

MIKEY: We are unsure of any set touring dates for 2015, the coming year is a busy one! We would love to come to EU again someday. As for now I'd like to work on another record.

Anything you wanna add?

MIKEY: Thanks for reaching out to us!!!  xoxoxox

Purchase it here : https://sprecords.bandcamp.com/album/no-girld-no-fun (CD)
or here : http://www.jollyronnierecords.com/#!records-and-tapes/c128x (vinyl!)



https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Spastic-Hearts/293415424090397