UFO – UFO 2: Flying – One Hour Space Rock

Yo dudes. So I know this post might be going a bit out of the loop of where we’ve been lately, but I just can’t stop listening to this stuff in the car (oh yeah – I don’t think I’ve ever mentioned this here – if you haven’t noticed, I get most of my listening done while driving around town delivering pizza in my lovely car). This album is by a band called UFO from England, and they’re actually still active today. I think I first came across this stuff in my Facebook news feed one day when a guy from the Tequila Sunrise record store in Philadelphia was posting videos to their music. This looks like it was their second full-length album, and it came out back in 1971 (the same year as my favorite Pink Floyd album “Meddle”. Hopefully I get around to posting that up here some day). This just goes to show all the great psychedelic records that were coming out around that time period, and this album goes a hell of a long way to prove that statement.

This LP is five tracks long, with the final track “Flying” nearly reaching a half-hour in length. Altogether the album clocks in at just about an hours worth of time, as promised by the title. They also promise space rock, and they’re certainly not joking around. This album is psychedelic-space rock at it’s finest, coming from possibly the best time period for this style of music, so if you haven’t heard any of this stuff yet, stick around and listen to the songs at the end of the post. Unfortunately for us, there seems to be absolutely no chance of us snagging this LP for ourselves without spending a nice chunk of money, but hey, I’m sure it would be worth it. If I ever come across one you can be sure I’m going to buy it. I think it’s time you stop listening to me – check out these invigorating, electrified, guitar heavy jams right below. Try starting with “Silver Bird”. Shortly after you’ll fall in love.

Silver Bird –

Prince Kajuku –

My Rating: 9/10
Genre/ Tags: Psychedelic, Space Rock, Alternative
UFO 2: Flying – One Hour Space Rock: Tracklist:
1.) Silver Bird
2.) Star Storm
3.) Prince Kajuku
4.) The Coming of Prince Kajuku
5.) Flying

UFO on Wikipedia
Definitely can’t buy this one, long OOP – yr best bet is eBay
Find more info. on this record right here – I ❤ Discogs.

Woven Bones – I’ve Gotta Get 7″

Got something today that I feel like some of you may already be familiar with. Their name would be WOVEN BONES, hailing from the seemingly endless population of bands coming from Austin, Texas, and I’ve got their brand new 7″ from Hardly Art to share today.

But hold on, if you haven’t heard of Woven Bones just yet, let me give you a quick fill-in. Since their inception (not sure when that was, sometime in 2007?) these guys have had quite a nice handful of different releases from different labels, even splitting their debut 7″ record with our friends the Jacuzzi Boys. Alongside of that one they’ve had another single from Needle Recs, two other 7-inchers from HoZac and Sweet Rot, an EP from Zoo Music, and last but certainly not least would be their full-length LP, also coming from the HoZac imprint. So hopefully you’re all caught up now on Woven Bones. I also didn’t realize that these guys already had a full-length out there…this sounds like it’s a MUST have. Will check it out.

Now that you’re up to speed on the Woven Bones, let’s talk about their new 7″. It comes from the Hardly Art label (who I have been giving quite a lot of love lately…stay tuned on that) and it comes pressed in an edition of 1,000 copies, with 500 on translucent red wax and the remaining 500 on black wax. In the description on the band’s Hardly Art page, they give us some exciting news that they will be releasing a full-length LP with Hardly Art sometime in 2011. Definitely would be lying if I said I wasn’t psyched for that one. It’ll come soon enough, and hopefully it’s jam-packed with these raunchy, murky sounding tracks that this 7″ has to offer.

A-side “I’ve Gotta Get” features an infectious, ground-shaking guitar riff that’s bound to wrench your soul, and if this one doesn’t keep you coming back for multiple listens, maybe you’re checking the wrong blog. These guys do the whole garage/noise/psych rock thing quite well, and it shows with this song. Flip on over to the B-side for a more poppy sounding track that’s still buried under layers and layers of dirt and trash that you gotta find your way through before it all makes sense. There’s a nasty guitar solo worked into the noisy-psych-pop mix about halfway through the song, so please check out the two songs from the 7″ below. Trust me when I say you’ll be reeeeally glad you did.

PS – Don’t forget to follow me on my new Twitter and Tumblr accounts!!

I’ve Gotta Get –

Hey Kid –

My Rating: 8/10
Genre/ Tags: Lo-Fi, Garage Rock, Noise, Psychedelic
I’ve Gotta Get 7″: Tracklist:
1.) I’ve Gotta Get
2.) Hey Kid

BUY the 7″ from Insound – Only 1,000 pressed!
BUY all other Woven Bones releases that Insound has to offer!
Woven Bones – Official Website
Woven Bones on Myspace
Woven Bones on Facebook

New Tumblr and Twitter Accounts!

Hello. No new music today, but I’ll be back on track with that for tomorrow. I’ll be stocking up on some new stuff today for the upcoming week instead. In the meantime, you guys should check out and follow my two new accounts: Twitter and Tumblr.

The idea here is simple. I made this Tumblr account for more short and straight-to-the-point posts so you can always get a quick idea of what’s going on here at the Drone. If you want to get on an even more personal level, I’ve made my own Twitter account as well. I won’t necessarily always be talking about music on this new Twitter account, but you should definitely stop on by sometimes for a word or two from myself. I’ll tweet about stuff like what records I just bought, any new shows coming up, or about the new Nike releases coming out…pretty much anything. So get followin’, and be sure to come back for more tomorrow. You might be able to figure out what that’s gonna be too.

FOLLOW ME ON TUMBLR, YO

FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER, YO

tooth ache. – Skin 7″

Making her way around the blogosphere these past few weeks would be the sole member of Vermont’s own TOOTH ACHE. Her name: Miss Alexandria Hall. This looks to be her first official release, and it comes from the brand new Father/Daughter Records label (who have been doing a hell-of-a-job getting their name out there since the release of their Family Trees 7″ last June). So this is the second official release from Father/Daughter records, but if you were expecting something in the same vein as Family Tree’s, then I think you have another thing coming…

Tooth ache. is definitely way far off from where they left off with Family Tree’s (especially when tooth ache. self-describes her music as “downer pop”). But don’t let that crush all your hopes and dreams just yet. “Downer pop” frankly doesn’t make this stuff sound all that inviting, but once you get into it you’ll discover that these songs are actually quite addicting (and depending on the listener, far from the ‘downer’ side of things, too). At times sounding increasingly gospel-like, Miss Hall acts as our guide through the 7″ as she blissfully takes us through the buzzy, acetic, synth-laden jams that this suddenly awesome single has to offer.

After checking out her Myspace, I couldn’t help but wonder if the sounds we are hearing are directly influenced from a human condition known as bruxism (and judging by this obsession with bruxism and the name of this project, I don’t think it’s as far-fetched as it seems). She’s even got a set of links labeled as “breakfast. lunch. dinner.” that all send you to pages with descriptions about bruxism, further proving the fact that either this girl deals with this shit on a daily basis (hence breakfast, lunch, and dinner), or just likes/thinks about the idea of bruxism on a daily basis…or the idea of music influenced by bruxism…hell I dunno, figure it out for yourself. For all I know this could just be entirely up for interpretation. Leave a comment if you have some other ridiculous idea…and be sure to check out “Skin” (and “Lazarus”) right below. ~~If you can find a place to listen to the B-side “Lazarus”, you really should. It’s a head-bobbing ‘downer’ jam that is bound to get stuck under yr skin.~~

Skin –

Lazarus –

My Rating: 8/10
Genre/ Tags: Electronic, Experimental, Pop
Skin 7″: Tracklist:
1.) Skin
2.) Lazarus

PREORDER the 7″ – Ships on or before Aug. 17th! – Limited to 400!
tooth ache. on Bandcamp
tooth ache. on Myspace

Christmas – Metal 7″

Yo, I’m posting from my brand new place today that currently has a spotty internet connection, so this post is probably going to be a bit short. In the meantime you can be sure I’ll work something out so I can get a better internet connection going here, but for now this will have to do. Remember Christmas from the other day? Of course you do!! Well I have their other 7″ called “Metal” here for you today. It’s just as uneasy and unsettling as the other 7″, complete with all those freak outs and spastic elements that made the other 7″ such an awesomely surprising listen. Emily Beanblossom howls away in both tracks, going from one extreme to the other with her voice in the matter of seconds, hereby proving that this girl (and this band) lay it all on the line when it comes to their music. And it certainly works out in their favor, just listen to the song “El Colorado” below. Head on over to their Bandcamp page to hear the rest of the 7″.

El Colorado –

My Rating: 8/10
Genre/ Tags: Noise Rock, Lo-Fi, Experimental
Metal 7″: Tracklist:
1.) Pies
2.) El Colorado

BUY this 7″ from their Bandcamp page
BUY their other 7″ directly from Insound
Christmas on Myspace
Christmas on Bandcamp

Unnatural Helpers – Sunshine/Pretty Girls 7″

UNNATURAL HELPERS are a four piece rock band hailing from Seattle, Washington. Dean Whitmore, Kimberly Morrison, Brian Standeford, and Charles Gebhardt make up the band, and together they play these quick, guitar-heavy tunes, almost always getting their point across before the three minute mark. This 7″ was their first release to come from the Hardly Art label, and it was released right at the end of March. A month later after the single came their full-length effort “Cracked Love & Other Drugs”, and since then I’m sure these guys have been touring relentlessly. Check out a song from both sides of the record right below, the self-depreciating lyrics of “Sunshine/Pretty Girls” or the heavy rockin’ in “Shakes”. Definitely some nice guitar work in there. Keep an eye out for their full-length too.

Sunshine/Pretty Girls –

Shakes –

My Rating: 7/10
Genre/ Tags: Punk, Alternative, Garage Rock
Sunshine/Pretty Girls 7″: Tracklist:
1.) Sunshine/Pretty Girls
2.) Did the Lawn Get Mowed?
3.) Shakes
4.) Waiting Such a Long Time

BUY the 7″ directly from Insound – Limited to 500!
You can also buy their full-length LP from Insound
Unnatural Helpers on Myspace
Unnatural Helpers on Last.fm

Christmas – Scenic Beauty 7″

Going by Last.fm, there seems to be a lot of bands using the name CHRISTMAS. The topic of our interest today would be the Christmas straight outta Olympia, Washington. Before today I had only heard of these guys, so when I had an e-mail in my inbox today from their label Highfives and Handshakes, I didn’t waste any time getting familiar with Olympia’s own Christmas. “Scenic Beauty” is their first 7″ from H&H that came out this past June, and then they put out a second 7″ just this month (also from H&H). Before both of these they put out another 7″ that came from the Endless Latino label, and you can buy it right now over @ Insound (it’s only $4.40!).

So for starters, this 7″ is quite the limited release. Apparently there’s only 57 copies pressed out there, and they come on clear, hand cut, flexi 7″ records. It doesn’t really get more limited than that either, folks. Starting off this 7″ is a song called “The Whips of Love”, and if it’s your first time listening to these guys, you might want to hold on to your seat. You’re immediately launched into a sea of spiny guitars and sprawling, quirky freak-outs led by lead singer Emily Beanblossom – who is almost always heard screaming and carrying on over the tense, jangly mess. Flip over to the B-side and your met with a springy bass line complemented by spaced out, squawking guitars that suddenly turns into a frantic freak-out with Emily yelping all up in our grill. This is the perfect example of a “freak-out” if there ever was one. They’re coming at us with full power from beginning to end on this 7″, and that’s pretty clear considering they just plow through both of these songs with almost no breaks at all and without any remote acknowledgment of the destruction that just took place whatsoever. Please listen to “Punch In” right below for some added excitement to your day, and please stay tuned in the near future as I’m definitely going to have that other 7″ up here in due time.

Punch In –

My Rating: 8/10
Genre/ Tags: Noise Rock, Lo-Fi, Experimental
Scenic Beauty 7″: Tracklist:
1.) The Whips of Love
2.) Punch In

BUY the 7″ from their Bandcamp page
BUY their other 7″ (Endless Latino) directly from Insound!
Christmas on Myspace
Christmas on Bandcamp

The Unwed Teenage Mothers – Blonde Girls

Hello, hello. I originally planned on having this LP posted a bit sooner, but then I stumbled across that Lord Huron stuff over the weekend and my plans totally got destroyed. You can probably figure out why too – I wanted to share that stuff as soon as possible. I’m still having a tough time listening to other music right now too because that single is like the Nazi of my portable music device.

If you’re stuck on Lord Huron like me still, well, I got some bad news for ya. The Unwed Teenage Mothers are certainly not far off on the addiction scale. The songs on this LP are short little pop-punk outbursts that I’m sure will crawl under your skin, therefore forcing you to play them over and over again before you’re finally satisfied. Which brings me to my next point – it was a superb move by the Play Pinball! Records dudes to press the same songs on both sides of this “Blonde Girls” LP. If you’re confused on what that means, read this album description. Basically this LP has the same nine songs on both sides of the record, hereby doubling the life of your brand new record! It’s definitely a unique way to go about it too. I don’t think I’ve ever seen/heard of this before. It’s almost like buying two of the exact same record.

They pressed 420 copies of the vinyl total, with 100 on ‘blonde’ vinyl, 300 on black, and 20 on blue (apparently you have to talk to the band to get a blue copy), but they definitely still have plenty of copies of the blonde edition available, and I suggest you get on that right away before it’s too late. No matter which route you choose, you’ll still be happy though, because these Unwed Mothers are just great. It’s good, honest pop-punk with a bit of the lo-fi scuzz mixed in, and chances are the frenzy is only just beginning with these guys. Get on it now while it’s still early. Said best by the Play Pinball! folk, “The Unwed Teenage Mothers are gonna knock you down and then knock you up,” so please check out these songs from the record below. Happiness shall ensue. Hopefully not pregnancy. Enjoy.

PS – They updated the layout of my WordPress theme. What do you guys think? Give me some feedback, leave a comment on the post!

Uh Oh –

Wait (I Don’t Wanna Be Alone) –

No One Wants To –

My Rating: 8.5/10
Genre/ Tags: Pop, Punk, Lo-Fi
Blonde Girls: Tracklist:
1.) Little Allie
2.) Change Your Mind
3.) Uh Oh
4.) Baby You’re Dying
5.) Do You Wanna Be My Girl
6.) I Am a Ghost
7.) Wait (I Don’t Wanna Be Alone)
8.) That’s My Man
9.) No One Wants To

The Unwed Teenage Mothers on Myspace
BUY the LP directly from Play Pinball! Records – Only 100 of the ‘blonde’ edition!

Lord Huron – Into the Sun

Been loading up on some extra stuff lately. This gem here especially caught my ear over this past weekend as I’ve had a tough time keeping it off in the car. It’s the first single from the Los Angeles based LORD HURON, and it’s a hell of a debut. If you were hoping for a trip to the tropics this Summer but you just can’t get there, Lord Huron’s “Into the Sun” might be the closest you’re gonna get. This stuff is bound to bring you to that state of mind when you’re relaxing on a beach without a care in the world and the sun in shining in a cloudless sky. As long as these songs are playing, it’s summertime. Check out the self-titled song right below while you can check out the other two uplifting tropical-pop gems on the Lord Huron Bandcamp page.

Into the Sun –

My Rating: 8/10
Genre/ Tags: Folk, Pop, Tropical
Into the Sun: Tracklist:
1.) Into the Sun
2.) The Problem with Your Daughter
3.) We Went Wild

Lord Huron – Official Website
Lord Huron on Myspace
You can now BUY this EP on 7″ vinyl!! Sick!! or on Bandcamp still

Dead Ghosts – That Old Feeling 7″

Hey guys, let’s welcome a new band to the Styrofoam Drone today. Their name is DEAD GHOSTS and they hail from Vancouver in British Columbia, Canada. They’ve had a successful run in the 7″ game, releasing a string of at least four different singles (one of them being split with Chicago’s own Smith Westerns), and they just continue to keep moving up the scale. They’re in the process of releasing some more material, only this time they’re going all-out and releasing a full-length record, and apparently it’s due out sometime this September from the Florida’s Dying label. I take this information directly from their Myspace page, wherein their headline reads “LP out in September on Florida’s Dying”. So after learning that, you’ll probably hope September comes around much sooner than you did before.

This is their most recent 7″, and it was released in quite a unique fashion. Three different labels had the liberty of releasing this great single, with each releasing a different quantity including a different cover art from each label. Goodbye Boozy released 105 of them, Krimen Records released 100 of them (cover art pictured), and Ghost Records released 95 of them. That’s 300 total, and each set of singles comes hand numbered from each label, and like I already said, each also has their own, unique cover art.

With this release the Dead Ghosts add three new songs to their constantly growing catalog, and they’re as gritty and noisy as you would expect them to be. A-side “That Old Feeling” becomes an instant classic, immediately roping you in with that twangy guitar hook and the relentless pound of the snare drum. By the time the end rolls around you’ll be lost in a sea of cacophony as the noise comes full force with an electrified guitar lick, hereby sealing the deal that you will want to play this song again and again. Flip on over to the B-side to reveal two more grainy garage jams including “Blak Kat” and the chantey “Comanche”, which both include some nasty guitar freak outs (“Comanche” especially). Hear “That Old Feeling” and “Comanche” below. You can check out “Blak Kat” on the Dead Ghosts Myspace!

That Old Feeling –

Comanche –

My Rating: 8/10
Genre/ Tags: Garage Rock, Lo-Fi
That Old Feeling 7″: Tracklist:
1.) That Old Feeling
2.) Blak Kat
3.) Comanche

BUY the 7″ from Play Pinball! Records (they’re selling it, t00)
More info. on the 7″ at the Goodbye Boozy Myspace
Dead Ghosts on Myspace
Dead Ghosts on Facebook