Bec Sandridge "Try + Save Me (Gaga)"
Woah. Is there anything more fun than discovering a new artist on their fully formed debut? Going from not existing in your mind to new favorite. It’s the best. Well let the debut from Bec Sandridge Try + Save Me (Gaga) wash over you and turn you into an instant fan. Synth-heavy, bass pounding electro-pop, accompanied by her theatrical, singular vocal style. For a little idea on what is in store, think Kate Bush meets B-52s meets modern pop music. Yeah, this is a total blast-full of perfect production, epic builds, and… you know what? Just check out the driving “EYES WIDE” and learn for yourself.
Minor Pieces "The Heavy Steps Of Dreaming (Fat Cat)"
If you are the kind of person that says things like “I wonder what the mega-talented singer/composer Ian William Craig is up to right now?” have I got some news for you! First off, may I suggest the internet for such queries. Nonetheless, I have news from the music fronts for you! The debut of Minor Pieces is here! The Heavy Steps Of Dreaming (FatCat) finds Ian teaming up with singer/multi-instrumentalist Missy Donaldson to create what I am calling “otherworldly, experimental ambient folk.” Taking cues from bands like Mazzy Star, Portisehead, and My Bloody Valentine, and mixing it with post-rock and modern classical music-the result is a simultaneously beautiful and chilling collection. Check out the crackling majesty of “This House.”
Peter Jefferies "Last Ticket Home (Ba Da Bing!)"
Last Ticket Home (Ba Da Bing!) is an Odds and Sods of sort, collecting mostly unreleased material by legendary New Zealand psych-rocker Peter Jefferies (Nocturnal Projections, This Kind Of Punishment). The material here is from as long ago as 1991 and as recently as this year, so the jams are as varied as you think they are gonna be-from instrumental rave-ups a la YLT to hissy alt-country a la Red Red Meat to garage blasters a la the man himself. Check out the bouncy, piano-led instrumental chug of “Westgate Exit” from a 1999 7”.
Brian Cook "This World Just Eats Me Up Alive (Ba Da Bing!)"
It has been a long time since we heard a solo-album from New Zealand psych rocker Brian Crook (The Terminals, The Renderers) but The World Just Eats Me Up Alive (Ba Da Bing) erases any time in between with an emotional, noisey, psych garage wonderland. Hushed vocals, Velvet Underground-esque band chugging along, with adventurous, alien guitar lines up front. This is the real deal. Check out the unnerving “Dragged Both Ways.”