BABY WOODROSE
'I'm Gonna Make You Mine' / 'Information Overload' (Crusher, 45)
     Opening the planned series of five limited edition singles, featuring three songs overall from the recent Chasing rainbows album, along with outtakes from December 2006 sessions, the captain of the tryp, Lorenzo Woodrose, proves once again that he knows exactly what should be done, to make things so un-hip that it becomes almost just as hip as Moby Grape used to be (... and Shindiggers are generally considered to be hip enough to know what I mean). This Seedy corker of an A-side, with the electric piano being replaced by Farfisa is superb! As for the B-side, most of the information it's being overloaded with comes from the ballsier side of late '60s 'Stones, fuelled with some dirty Motor City oil. Make it yours!
www.crusherrecords.com
Garwood Pickjon

THE HIGHER STATE
'And In Time'/ 'If We Don't Realise' (State Records; 45)
     This is my single of the year, without a doubt. The Higher State go from strength to strength with this folk-rock/garage-psych two sider, picking up from where they left off on their mighty fine debut LP. Just listen to the mix of clattering drumming, fuzz, jangle and harmony, not to mention the time change at the end of 'And In Time' or the more restrained approach to the incredible moody folk-rock gem 'If We Don't Realise' and you too will understand the importance of this group in the entire garage/psych canon. This 45 would sell for megabucks if people thought it was from the '60s. As it is, it's just as good as any lost gem! And better still these chaps play live. Absolute perfection!
http://www.myspace.com/thehigherstategaragepsych
Jon 'Mojo' Mills

THE RIPPERS
'Stop Me If You Can'/'Why Don't You Leave Me Alone' (Kuriosa; 45)
     The Rippers – from Sardinia, Italy – have that snot-nosed garage/R&B-punk thing off pat. As '80s garage left the mid-'60s influences behind, it became a very different beast, soon dissolving ... thankfully for the legion of Shindig! readers that worship this now seminal era of music and crave for more, these guys do it perfectly... it's not mature, clever or melodic, but it has the very same spirit that made the-cartoonish-over-doing-it-all '80s garage bands so much fun! It's somewhat like the Q65 or Pretties x 100!
kuriosarecords@yahoo.com
Jon 'Mojo' Mills

SCHIZO
EP (Red Lounge Records; 45)
     A well freaked-out and super heavy mother originally issued in France circa 1971-72, but this here modern edition comes courtesy of the great Red Lounge imprint, with full authorisation from Richard Pinhas, the group's founder, lead guitarist, producer and general pioneer of French experimental electronic/rock music. Schizo execute a frightening juggernaut of sounds: wailing distorto lead, wah wah overload, with synth fx screeching and bubbling away for added menace and velocity.
     Lead-in cut 'Schizo (And The Little Girl)' disturbs the peace with its psychodelik nightmare vision, and this unsettling mood continues over another four minutes with 'Paraphrenia Praecox'. The singer (Pinhas? or maybe Pierre Roussel?) is reminiscent at times of Sam Gopal-era Lemmy. 'Le Voyageur' on the flip--an extra bonus here as it wasn't included on the original release--is a slow ominous crawl, but still retains the intensity of the top deck. This must've been quite an eye-opener back in the day, as indeed it is now.
www.redloungerecords.de
Lenny Helsing