1. Chuck Johnson – Calamus – Balsams (2017) (0:00)
Recently, a friend posted something about the ambient artist Harold Budd, which triggered me do look into his catalogue. As I was diving into it, a particular track – “Afar” from his 1980 release The Serpent (In Quicksilver) – caught my attention. It’s a short piece prominently featuring a pedal steel over an ambient backdrop, but the mix of sounds was something that really grabbed me. I was curious if there was something more like this out there, so I simply googled “ambient music with pedal steel,” and Chuck Johnson was the first thing that came up. Balsams is a nice little album from a few years ago that runs with that same idea. The seamless rise and fall of the instruments sound plays perfectly into smooth spacey soundscapes. It’s an intersection of ambiance and Americana – perhaps it’s the future soundtrack of exploring the cosmic frontier.
2. Radio Birdman – Descent Into The Maelstrom – Radios Appear (1977) (05:06)
Radio Birdman were at the forefront of the Australian punk scene, and while they didn’t achieve much commercial success, their influence can certainly be heard in groups like Misfits and Dead Kennedys. Radios Appear is a cross between classic rock and the proto-punk of bands like MC5 and The Stooges. Smart, catchy choruses collide with big guitar solos and bluesy rhythms, all played with an aggressive attitude.
3. Scales Of Motion – Winter Heart – Nocturnes (2011) (09:26)
The third track on Scales Of Motions Nocturnes, “Winter Heart,” is where the album starts to pick up some steam. Scales Of Motion play a take on nineties emo/indie rock with a post-hardcore feel to it, and this track is probably the best example of that. The frenetic drumming and twangy guitar tone of its opening section leads way into a delay-drenched, bass-heavy break that features a hardcore style spoken word passage. The track builds up dramatically behind a chorus of vocals only to drop back out into its refrain – it’s an oddly satisfying moment that showcases the creative writing that makes Nocturnes so intriguing.
4. Casualties Of Jazz – The Wizard – Kind Of Black (2004) (14:22)
Casualties Of Jazz are an organ trio playing jazz renditions of Black Sabbath songs. Kind Of Black is loaded with all the favorites from the classic Sabbath lineup – “War Pigs,” “N.I.B.,” “Iron Man,” and even “Black Sabbath.” But I actually think “The Wizard” works best in this setting - its bluesy swing is perfect for a jazz interpretation. Backed by a killer rhythm section, the Hammond B-3 alternates between Iommi’s riffs and Ozzy’s melodies, with some slick solo runs. Bill Ward was practically a jazz drummer in a rock band anyway, so the drums are a pretty seamless transition into this swingier groove. It’s an idea that sounds great both on paper and on disc.
5. Alasdair Roberts – The Cruel Mother – No Earthly Man (2005) (19:13)
Alasdair Roberts is a Scottish folk singer who came up as part of the Drag City Records roster playing under the moniker Appendix Out. Around 2001, he switched over to using his real name, just as he really started to develop his own sound. Roberts plays a lot of traditional folk songs, and his own originals are so authentic sounding that it’s often hard to tell which are which. “The Cruel Mother” is a traditional English number, and like many traditional songs it has shown up in various versions under various names. Roberts actually first released this song in 2002 on a collaborative 7” with Jason Molina under the title “Carlisle Wall,” but this version, with it’s haunting percussion and string arrangement, is the one I turn to most. It’s a dark and mysterious recording, one that adds to the tone of the song, which is about a mother who is damned to hell by her children whom she murdered. Do the British know how to party or what.
6. The Mystick Krewe Of Clearlight – Swamp Jam – The Mystick Krewe Of Clearlight (2000) (25:57)
Jimmy Bower has achieved legendary status in the metal world. As guitarist of sludge-masters EyeHateGod and drummer of New Orleans supergroup Down his legacy is firmly cemented. And, oh yeah, he was in Crowbar and Superjoint Ritual also, no big deal. The Mystick Krewe Of Clearlight shows another side of Bower, though. It’s a less oppressively dark side. Bower - here playing guitar - is accompanied on drums by former EyeHateGod member Joey Lacaze (RIP), who provides the right groove for this psyched-out jam band. With a wash of organ leading the way, The Mystick Krewe Of Clearlight take the murky blues sound that runs throughout the New Orleans metal scene and feed it straight into some swamp rock. This record is as much Allman Brothers as it is Black Sabbath.
7. Toby Driver – 470 Nanometers – They Are The Shield (2018) (34:32)
Toby Driver may be best known for his louder bands Kayo Dot and Maudlin Of The Well, who are themselves extremely diverse in sound, but the musician has compiled a catalogue of music outside those groups as varied in style as anyone. They Are The Shield, his fifth solo album sounds like a cross of his dramatic violin-centric project Tartar Lamb with his synth experiments on Kayo Dot’s Coffins On Io. Arpeggiated guitar chords serve as the bed for a duo of violinists and a dreamy synth to build upon. Driver, in a low whispery voice sings like David Gilmour as the song pushes underneath with layers of serene textures. This may be some of Toby Driver’s most beautiful work.
8. Be-Bop Deluxe – Sister Seagull – Futurama (1975) (40:22)
Axe Victim, Be-Bop Deluxe’s debut album is a fantastic British glam-rock record. It’s loaded with flashy guitar solos and memorable hooks, but David Bowie had a monopoly on the market. Not that Axe Victim sounds like a David Bowie rip-off but it’s close enough in style that the comparison, though perhaps a lazy one, was certain. Unhappy with this, singer/guitarist Bill Nelson started over with a new band on their second record, Futurama. It shows a clear movement into proggier territory, one that would continue on subsequent releases leading up to their Kraftwerk-esque fifth and final record Drastic Plastic. But on Futurama, Nelson and company were working with a completely fresh palette. The glam influence is certainly still there, but a more psychedelic and progressive approach is taken, giving a song like “Sister Seagull” a wide variety of sounds, complex enough for the prog crowd while staying easily approachable.
9. Motorpsycho – Grinder – Lobotomizer (1991) (43:58)
In the past thirty years, this unclassifiable Norwegian group has put together about the same amount of albums, spanning a wide variety of genres. From indie to psych to prog rock, going through Motorpsycho’s catalog is a daunting task. They even did a country album just for fun. I recommend starting with the live records, but here we have one of their earliest tracks. On their first album, Lobotomizer, the group was more closely associated with stoner rock and metal. “Grinder” also has a distinctly AmRep noise rock feel to it as well. It’s loud, it’s obnoxious and it’s loaded with fuzzed out bass.
10. King Black Acid & The Womb Star Orchestra – Headfull – Sunlit (1996) (47:38)
At its base, King Black Acid is a single musician named Daniel Riddle, who records his albums with a rotating collective of musicians. Other than that, I really don’t know a whole lot, but I really like this album. “Headfull” is a meandering psychedelic grunge track that takes a headier, more cerebral approach to the 90s rock style. This might be what those Seattle bands sounded like if they did LSD instead of heroin.
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