New from The Black

We’ve already given you one track by The Black from their album Sun In The Day, Moon At Night, but to celebrate the official release of the album they’ve given us a second, titled Throwing Away. The album, their second, is a beguiling mix of rockabilly, blues, swamp, and folk songs with an awareness of many other styles. Visit their MySpace here. Download The Black … Continue reading New from The Black

Introducing…Surf City

Updating the psych haze of Spacemen 3 with the circular drone of Animal Collective and the off kilter melodies of The Clean with the drive of Interpol, Surf City is the perfect mix of everything you loved about the early 80s New Zealand jangle and the 60s blur of Velvets and Zombies with the shapeshifting songwriting of today. So if it’s jaw-dropping, Kiwi guitar buzz … Continue reading Introducing…Surf City

Mad Mackerel Recommends…Cowlick

Canadian three-piece Cowlick’s second album Wires was released back in August – we’ve only just got hold of a copy, but it has been well worth the wait. They, like many before them, describe the album as wildly unpredictable, forceful, bursting with ideas. They, unlike many before them, are absolutely right! Reminding us of everything from The Gorillaz to Massive Attack to Queens of the Stone Age … Continue reading Mad Mackerel Recommends…Cowlick

Introducing…The Black Knights

A bit like desert murder ballads, anything coming into our in-box calling itself ‘voodoo trash blues’ is going to get our attention. And so it was with The Black Knights, a due hailing from Salford in the north of England who recently released their debut album Sickle Cell Saturday Night. With influences from The Birthday Party to Jon Spencer to The Dead Weather, theirs is … Continue reading Introducing…The Black Knights

Morning Benders Cover Dylan

We are loving this hypnotic cover of Outlaw Blues by the Morning Benders, which comes from a compilation titled Subterranean Homesick Blues: A Tribute to Bob Dylan’s ‘Bringing It All Back Home’. A quality line-up features J.Tillman, Laura Veirs, Castanets, Sea Wolf and William Fitzsimmons amongst others and the album is faithfully recreated right down to five outtakes from the original recording sessions. The album was … Continue reading Morning Benders Cover Dylan

Generationals release New EP

In this their second release, the simply titled Trust EP (out via Park The Van Records), New Orleans natives Generationals have become a band that is audibly transitioning from a jangling, sun-kissed sound in the vein of Aztec Camera or Felt to pop drones distinctly more hypnotic, textured, and far more challenging to conjure accurate comparisons for. The shimmering hooks, girl-group choruses, and late-summer breeziness of impressive debut … Continue reading Generationals release New EP

Mad Mackerel Recommends…Salesman

When a song arrives that is described as “It’s the desert-rock murder ballad of a dancing girl and her two boyfriends at a strip club called Deja Vu Showgirls in Colorado Springs, CO, near where I grew up”, I cannot imagine a song I would want to hear more. The song, So Much Faster, is by a band called Salesman. It is the previously unreleased … Continue reading Mad Mackerel Recommends…Salesman

The War On Drugs Offer up Second Track from new EP

In just under two weeks on October 26, The War On Drugs new EP Future Weather will be available in stores in the U.S. (and early 2011 in the U.K.). However, you can pre-order the album today and you’ll get an instant download of the record. In celebration Secretly Canadian are releasing a second single from Future Weather, the closing track The History of Plastic. … Continue reading The War On Drugs Offer up Second Track from new EP

Giant Sand Return – One For Angus!

Here at home, in our very small Cotswold town, the only other Giant Sand fan we know is Angus – and so he will be rejoicing today as we have a brand new track to download. Arizona-based musician Howe Gelb has remained the sole epicenter and creative force behind the ever-fluid configurations of Giant Sand for over a quarter century. 2010 marks the 25th anniversary … Continue reading Giant Sand Return – One For Angus!