Moon Duo "Stars Are The Light (Sacred Bones)"
If you are in the mood for some exceedingly bubbly, psychedelic disco good times, then look no further than the newest release from Moon Duo. Stars Are The Light (Sacred Bones) finds the duo indulging every danceable instinct they’ve ever left off of their prior LPs. The mesmerizing result is a wavey, trippy celebration of grooves and grooviness. I know, this isn’t exactly what we’ve come to expect from Moon Duo, but what fun is being predictable? A heady mix of the aforementioned disco, throw in some 90s rave music, and mix that with their signature guitar lines, and this is a guaranteed good time. Check out the head-nodding “The World And The Sun.”
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.”
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”.
David Kilgour & The Heavy Eights "Bonnie’s A Girl (Merge)"
Imagine being 4 decades into your career and still surprising people? No–I don’t mean like an office prankster that keeps finding new ways to hide a cupcake at your desk (though i’d happily welcome such a co-worker with open arms and a mouth full of cupcake). I mean David Kilgour! His latest, Bonnie’s A Girl (Merge) is a gentle, pastoral collection of mostly acoustic ‘60s inspired psychedelica. For a full-time jangle-rocker… well, count me as surprised. Also, count me as delighted. What a lovely album this is! Check out the Stereolab meets Neil Young sounds of “Looks Like I’m Running Out.”