Strange Lot- "Gods & Clods"
The debut album by Strange Lot, Another Mind, still stands up as one of my favorite pieces of psychedelic rock, local or otherwise. "Gods & Clods" is the title track for their highly anticipated sophomore effort, set for release next week. This particular tune has more of a "Phoenix" sound to it than the first single, "Born." This isn't a bad thing, but on this
Soft Deadlines - "This City Is Hell"
I feel like I've been listening to Go Dark on repeat since its release in the last moments of December. It's an album that grows on you until you start to crave it. It starts by playing the whole album from beginning to end, then the next day you're listening to a track here and there, or another spin through the whole thing, but you still need just one more taste. No matter how many times I've listened to
Phantom Party- "Tunnel of Love"
Last year I was totally psyched by everything that Phantom Party had planned. They were actually the first band I saw live in 2016, so I kept my ears open with great expectations. They put out a nifty cassette that apparently will never see the light of day online or in any format beyond its limited run. Still, that wasn't what I was waiting for, and 2016 was actually pretty quiet for them other than a growing reputation for being a great live band and good people. "Tunnel of Love" was released appropriately on Valentine's Day with a trippy, kitschy video to accompany it. It's the first single from the soon-to-be-released full-length Hundred Skeletons. If this single is any indication the 14-track album will be on heavy rotation for the entire spring/summer/fall pool-going season we have here in Phoenix. The dreamy quality of the recording, deeply steeped in reverb, bends your mind in time with the melody. So they've got the intoxicating indie surf sound down without fail, but it's clear that during the time they were in hiding, they were working on their songwriting chops. While the "desert surf" sound they established on their debut is still intact, the musical depth they achieve with this release is impressive. Phantom Party will release Hundred Skeletons on March 4 at 51 West with support from Paper Foxes,
Blank Waves - "Dream Palace"
I was finally able to catch Blank Waves live a month or so ago. If I hadn't checked in at that show, their new single "Dream Palace" would have seemed to come completely out of left field. I did go see them and I was stunned by the live renditions of their Syd Barrett-soaked debut record. But I was more surprised by the
Devil Grass- "St. Joes's Spitting Image"
A little less than a year ago I was pretty stoked on Devil Grass' most recent single enough that I went so far as to say, "I'll be very interested to see what Michael Roberts, Joshua Motley, Bernard LeVautour, and Craig