öOoOoOoOoOo - Fucking Freaking Futile Freddy

öOoOoOoOoOo, also known as Chenille, is a collaboration between Asphodel, the former vocalist of avante garde metal act Pin-Up Went Down, and multi-instrumentalist Baptiste Bertrand. Based in France, this act was founded in 2013 and their music, while frequently catchy, is also highly experimental with constantly shifting stylistics and moods. Their influences seem vast, ranging from The Sugarcubes to extreme metal with plenty of forays into disparate genres such as R&B, jazz and gothic rock.

On October 21, 2016 the group released their first album, Samen via Apathia records, which also features Aymeric Thomas from the experimental metal act Pryapisme as the session drummer. Featuring a moniker which forms a caterpillar, öOoOoOoOoOo is certainly worth checking out for fans of acts such as Diablo Swing Orchestra and Mr. Bungle. This is pretty cheeky mindboggling stuff, as you should expect from the name of the band and album. There is a metal side to this, but it's not metal from beginning to end or even most of the time. Rather, heavy stuff pops up suddenly at some point in most songs and is sometimes wound down again before the listener knows it. A number of songs are metal dominated, but they come with the occasional interruption in other directions. Heavy can mean slow and fast, power and death, they do it all. Certainly they don't shy away from stark contrasts. Suddenly we get catchy art rock or even mainstream rock (No Doubt could be a reference), then again playful experimental stuff a la Mr. Bungle (probably the closest association) with funk elements and theatrical elements, brought together with a RIO-like attitude to defy expectations as soon as they could occur. A major selling point of this album is the female vocalist Asphodel. She is extremely flexible, she can do seductive, melodic rock, sharp, cheeky, evil, authoritative, sassy, rebellious, screwed up, arrogant, girly, opera, energetic, and heavy, all very convincingly. Her at times multilayered vocal arrangements are well crafted and adventurous. Her vocal work is supported by male bandmate Baptiste Bertrand in this role, who also contributes a remarkable number of styles including death growls. The instrumentation is very competent and inventive (particularly violin is used to good effect although I'm not quite sure whether it's sampled - it's hard to tell these days) if maybe a bit too perfectly polished. For all its craziness the music is pretty controlled and there is no space for improvisation. Overall this is an astonishing album full of good ideas and striking contrasts. I recommend it to anyone who likes to be surprised and who wants to discover an extremely versatile and confident female singer. Those who rather want their music to be organic and homogeneous, stay away! Oh, I should maybe add some information: They hail from France, and are pronounced "chenille", which means caterpillar, and the official written form of the band name is just that.  From: https://www.progarchives.com/artist.asp?id=9968

Big Scenic Nowhere - Murder Klipp

Anyone familiar with the terms “Stoner Rock” or “Desert Rock” have surely heard the names Fu Manchu or Yawning Man. If you’re a die hard fan of the genre, or a causal observer, you know that both bands have been dishing out quality material since the beginning. While stylistically different, both bands occupy legendary status. Fu Manchu’s sun-drenched, stratospheric, fuzz worship sound and Yawning Man’s ethereal, ambient delay have never been crossbred until now. It’s certainty a good time to be alive if you’re a fan of either band. We bring you Big Scenic Nowhere.
Like many of the best things in life, the root collaboration behind Big Scenic Nowhere between guitarists Gary Arce of Yawning Man and Bob Balch of Fu Manchu started with tacos. Specifically, Del Taco. Founded in 1964 in the Mojave Desert in California, the fast food chain has stores throughout the Golden State and the Southern US, but it remains a SoCal institution. Arce, just back from a tour with Yawning Man and celebrating the comforts of home, posted on social media of his triumphant return to his local Del Taco. Balch responded with his usual order – a regular red burrito with extra cheese and sour cream – and a band was begun. 
Of course, it’s never really so simple. Bob and Gary have been acquainted since the ‘90s, when Fu Manchu would practice in the garage of the house Gary lived in with other members of the desert scene. Gary remembers coming home from his construction job at the time, working outside in the desert summer, ready to kick back and crack a beer, only to be unable to watch television because Fu Manchu were so loud. They’d bump into each other over the years periodically and Bob eventually brought Gary in to film a piece for his instructional guitar series, PlayThisRiff.com. After the above-mentioned Del Taco post, it was Gary – whose collaborative efforts have been myriad in outfits like WaterWays, Zun, Ten East, etc. – who finally called Bob to jam. While the project would grow soon enough to encompass players like Tony Reed (Mos Generator), Mario Lalli (Fatso Jetson, Yawning Man), Per Wiberg (Spiritual Beggars, ex-Opeth), Bill Stinson (Yawning Man), Nick Oliveri (Mondo Generator, ex-Kyuss, etc.), Lisa Alley and Ian Graham (both of The Well), Alain Johannes (Them Crooked Vultures, Chris Cornell, Eleven) and Thomas V. Jäger (Monolord), Big Scenic Nowhere is founded on Balch and Arce tossing guitar riffs and leads back and forth, piecing together song parts one movement at a time. Jamming. Sharing music. Developing a chemistry to build something new based on their individual experiences. In this way, Big Scenic Nowhere is the heart of what collaboration should manifest. Something that grows stronger for the cohesion between those who make it happen.  From: https://www.heavypsychsounds.com/bands/big-scenic-nowhere.htm

A Formal Horse - Bee

The band "A Formal Horse" from the United Kingdom has been dilly-dallying around since 2014, and in that time has released 4 EPs. Finally, after 5 years at this, they released their first full-length in November of 2019, the intriguingly titled album "Here Comes a Man from the Council with a Flamethrower". Over the time they have been together, only the lead singer has changed. The band currently consists of Hayley McDonnell (vocals), Benjamin Short (guitars and vocals), Russell Mann (bass), and Mike Stringfellow (drums).
The album has an interesting track listing with 16 tracks in all. The overall run-time is around 45 minutes. None of the tracks quite reach the 4 minute mark. Sound intriguing? It should, especially with tracks that are named "Magazine Zooey Deschanel", "I Just Called to Say I Like You", "Last Track on Side Fun" and, of course, the title track. The band calls itself an "avant-rock quartet", but the music tends to be a blend of Belew-era King Crimson with the thoughtful, yet heavy attitude of Black Mountain. You will see what I mean as the music shifts around as it moves from one track to another, connecting the tracks together, but making it very obvious when one song changes to another. There are often some excellent complexities in the rhythm and heavy guitar exchanges that makes it obviously progressive. The songs, even though they are short, are well developed and each one has a lot going on in it, but each single track is focused on its own purpose, not a miasma or confusing mish mash of style so much in each individual track, yet there are still changing moods and meters within most of them.
Haley's vocals are quite good and fit the musical style perfectly. She is able to adjust her style and sound to match the ever changing musical style of each track. Just listen to "Bee", the 6th track, and you'll also hear her amazing phrasing and range as she jumps smoothly around octaves and interesting intervals with the grace of Joni Mitchell. Sometimes, its hard to believe that the instrumentation is as basic as it is; guitar, bass, drums. Regardless of that, the organic, dynamic sound is quite impressive, spot on, and often can fool you into thinking the band is much larger than what it is.
The melodies for the tracks are not made out of the typical "verse-chorus" structure, but are more complex than that, yet they remain fairly accessible, kind of. The angular guitar work can explode at a second's notice into a complex KC-like pattern with the impossible meter shifts, only to soon pull back to a more melodious style, but the overall feel is a little on the dark side, yet that often shifts also. A great example of this is on the dynamic track "Lonely Doe Young Doe" that manages to touch on all of their styles while staying cohesive in a track that still manages to stay under 4 minutes. If you like what you hear there, then you will love the rest of the album. It is probably one of the most amazing individual songs of the year.
Ok, so we have established that the guitarist and the vocalist are amazing, what about the rest of the band? Take a listen to the title track and the following instrumental "Unison One" and even it's sister instrumental track "Unison 3", and you will get an idea with the complex bass and drum lines that support the crazy guitar, and you'll be convinced that this is a band that knows who it is and what they are doing. It's quite a display of dynamic mastery and technical prowess. And, what a way to end the album with the explosive "Anyway". Just perfect!
So, you can chalk up another one for the best albums of 2019, at least for my list. It is definitely one of the best that I've heard, and I've heard a lot of them this year. Those that loved the sound of "Bent Knee" on their recent release "You Know What They Mean" should also be impressed with this release. Think of that album with even more dynamic and mood shifts with many leanings toward KC's later sounds, then you'll know what you will be getting into with this amazing album. This is definitely another band to watch out for. Don't miss this one and make sure to leave room for it on your best of 2019 lists, because I think a lot of people would be impressed with it.  From: https://www.progarchives.com/album.asp?id=63927

Balduin - Which Dreamed It

The DJ and production duo Balduin was united in 2015 and has been fascinating fans of Electro Swing and familiar genres with their original sound ever since. Over 11 million people have listened to their Original Songs and Remixes on Spotify, Youtube and Soundcloud. The two minds behind the project are like Yin and Yang, lightning and thunder, light and shadow: While the eccentric multi-instrumentalist Benedikt Kuhn likes to fascinate the crowd with his live sax and clarinet performance, Martin Straka, the introspective sound designer, tries to advance towards his vision of the perfect sound in the studio. These awesome vibes get the crowd on their feet in no time. For some time, Balduin has worked together with Wolfgang Lohr, one of the big players of Electro Swing. The high quality productions of this Frankfurt-Berlin connection, which are released on the in-house Label Balduin Music are sure to delight any connoisseur of Electro Swing music. These collaborations are mixed in between other selected hits of the genre during the live shows.  From: https://estlink.de/balduin/

Heart - The Second Ending - Live at KWSU TV 1976

‘Live On Air’ with Heart is a real wet dream for any fan of the bands early material. This is a recording with the band from very early days when the original line-up was still intact and the band were first breaking out, before they were a household name. This was recorded live at the KWSU-TV (A public TV station out of Washington State University) in Feb-March 1976 and the show was called Second Coming, right before the release of the debut album ‘Dreamboat Annie’. This is a terrific show, taped in front of a small audience. The set featured 9 songs at an approx 55-minute show and I’m doubtful anyone left disappointed even though probably none realized they were witnessing the beginning of a superstar career. The Second Ending was a show that was broadcast somewhat irregularly in the Pacific Northwest beginning in early 1976 and ran for at least 2 years. If you go through the Archives Department at WSU you will find that this show was aired on Saturday the 9th of April 1976 at 10:30 pm with a re-run on Sunday they 10th of April at 6:30. Many newsletter clips from student magazines at the time refer to the group as ‘Hart’ and that they are from Canada. This really proves how unknown they were at the time. The director of ‘The Second Ending’ series Michael J. Costones would actively seek out local artists to showcase on the series. The studio is very small and held between 50-75 people, mostly WSU students. On this date for the Heart performance, it is clear the majority of the crowd had never heard of the band and are visibly blown out by this unknown band from the Pacific Northwest. This show is a real treat to hear. The sound quality is better than most Live On Air series albums I've bought before. Very listenable considering the performance, which is excellent. It even has Roger pulling out the bow and doing a Dazed And Confused type thing on his Les Paul. The tracks are all from Dreamboat Annie except for ‘Heartless’ and ‘Devil delight’ that were written around the same time and would appear on the album ‘Magazine’ that was delayed and released first in 1978. The productions and rarity of the show makes it a must have for any old time Heart fans. British label Plastic Head has during the last ten years released a lot of re-issue under their side labels Back on Black and Rock Classic records. Now they have found a ‘copyright gap’ when it comes to American live radio broadcasts. Radio broadcasts that are under the public domain in the States are legally public domain even in the UK. They started a new side label called Southworld to release this kind of material. I have seen people saying these are bootlegs because the bands which music they release have nothing to do with them. However the gap in the copyright law seems to make these legal. The might look cheap on the cover and lacks any fancy booklets as the label can’t use the bands’ real logo and they can only use photos for which they can get the copyright too. Even though the discs looks ‘cheap’, the music in many cases is splendid and features unique live material from an era in the band’s history which might not have been released on any other official live albums.  From: https://tpl.se/music/heart-live-on-air-1976/

Zoot - Eleanor Rigby (Beatles cover)

For the release of Zoot's inaugural single, "You Better Get Going Now," the band draped themselves, as well as the gaudy Berties discotheque venue, in bright pink. Pushing the slogan "Think Pink - Think Zoot," the band would later burn their pink suits and bare their backsides in an act of defiance that ultimately was unable to resurrect their forever pink-stained careers.
Forming in Adelaide, South Australia, in 1966 and calling themselves "Down the Line," a soon re-badged Zoot achieved local fame on the dance scene before moving to Melbourne in 1968. Shortly after their pink-fuelled launch, their second single, "One Times, Two Times, Three Times, Four," peaked at number 32 on the Melbourne charts and the band began playing the Melbourne TV show Uptight regularly. Their next single, "Monty and Me," hit number one in Brisbane and the band, along with local contemporaries the Valentines, the Flying Circus, and New Dream, developed a strong teen following with their blend of disposable pop. Replacing guitarist Roger Hicks with Rick Springfield saw the band's sound begin to mature, and they toured with the cream of Australian pop on the national Operation Starlift Tour in September 1969. They ended the year by being voted Top Australian Group in Go-Set magazine's Pop Poll.
Despite burning their former pink outfits for the cameras and baring their backsides for Go-Set, their next single, "Hey Pinky" (April 1970), failed to chart. Nevertheless, the band placed second to the Flying Circus in Hoadley's National Battle of the Sounds final in July 1970 and released their debut album, Just Zoot, the following month. The band achieved their biggest hit with their next single, a cover of the Beatles' "Eleanor Rigby," which peaked at number four on the national charts in March 1971. The single later achieved gold status after being re-released by EMI in 1979 and Zoot formed a reputation for performing heavy covers of well-known songs. Zoot's next single, "The Freak," failed to achieve chart success and, still haunted by their former teen-star status, the group disbanded in May. Several of the band members continued successful careers in music and film, including Rick Springfield, who went on to achieve international success as a singer and actor in the U.S.  From: https://www.allmusic.com/artist/zoot-mn0000813009#biography  

The Story - So Much Mine

The Story’s debut Grace in Gravity no doubt escaped many folk-pop lovers, but The Angel in the House made its presence felt subtly at adult album alternative stations across America. Syncopated percussion and bossa nova rhythms mark the sound of the Story's second album, while a more formed feminist, and at times metaphysical, sensibility permeates the lyrics. Virginia Woolf inspired the album's title, and liner notes explain the other literary thoughts (from Germaine Greer, Horton Foote, et al) that underscore individual songs. Angel concerns itself with the psyche of womankind - how woman is affected by the struggle to find herself, to find love, and to hold on to both. At times, it's a dark process. "The Barefoot Ballroom" begins with Brooke stating, "sometimes I'm happy. mostly I'm not. I like to be alone a lot." The beautifully arranged "At the Still Point" features shifting time signatures and percussive nuances such as hand drums; "Missing Person Afternoon" uses congas. The a cappella opening of "In the Gloaming" is breathtaking; a piano comes in on the second verse, and the two women sing lyrics inspired by playwright Harold Pinter.  From: http://jenniferkimball.com/cds/f/The_Story