BABY WOODROSE
Blows Your Mind! (Pan Records; CD)
Money For Soul (Bad Afro Records; CD)
     Now this is what we've been waiting for! Something powerful. Something that sounds a lot like all of those great garage-psych discs we adore, yet won't lead modern crowds and buyers thinking "comic book stripey panted Archie '60s cartoon band". 
     Blows Your Mind arrived here last year, and I played it and played it yet stupidly forgot to review it. I didn't have a clue who the band were but loved The Lollipop Shoppe meets 13th Floor Elevators style, cool singing and psych touches. It was clear that the minds and hands that created these songs knew about the music, and felt passionately about it… I then discovered that the band was Danish, and in fact solely the product of Lorentzo Woodroose nee Guf Lorentzen of Dane Stoner rockers On Trial. Lorentzo played all of the instruments and blew the minds of the minority that heard his stunning homage of the music he loved. 
     Jump forward in time and Lorentzen recruits two band members: Anders Skjødt of On Trial on 4-string guitar (is it a bass?) and Anders Grøn, drummer of an early carnation of The Ravonettes (a band the UK press are covering greatly). Money For Soul (the outcome of their recent recordings) is a jaw dropping set of songs. The psychedelia is still very much in place, but the pastiche element is far less. This is the garage-music of 2003. Not more Hives/White Stripes wannabes! These guys are way above that. For a start Lorentzen sports long hair and a beard letting his "freak flag" fly and proving that he love Blue Cheer, The Bevis Frond and heavy psych as much as punky garage. The musicality uses primitive garage riff like '99th Floor' and 'My Brother The Man' (used to great effect on 'Never Coming Back') yet infuses them with a heavier rock slant ala mid period Marble Orchard and even a tight soulful slant. There's plenty of string bending and psyched out guitar noodling, but yes the Elevators and Lollipop Shoppe still figure strongly. Single side 'Carrie' is a melodic hippy ballad that recalls Irish/US combo The Steppes approach to the genre, and it's also rightly been released as a single. 
     If Blows Your Mind is a staggering neo-garage/psych album Money For Soul is its perfect successor that furthers the first in all ways, yet maintains Lorentzen's initial philosophy.
     This trio are the best of the current bunch of 21st century garage-rock' 'n' rollers - a man who sings "suck my nipples" ('Volcano' - Woodrose's 'Earthquake' needs fair praise!)
www.babywoodrose.com
Jon 'Mojo' Mills

BIG MIDNIGHT
Everything For The First Time (Alive; CD)
     The Richmond Sluts: what a confused group they were. From San Francisco, but with an image and sound straight from Max's Kansas City circa 1973, they released one great record a couple of years back that sounded like the lost 3rd album The New York Dolls were too addled to make. And now they're reappeared as... errrr... Primal Scream. Shurely shome mishtake? This time, Shea Roberts and Chris Beltran are operating under a new (and not very good) band name and with a new (and not very good) album that sounds just like Bobby Gillespie and company's Give Out But Don't Give Up. Which in turn was a lily-livered and unconvincing rehash of 1972 vintage Stones. Carbon copy of a carbon copy, yeah, that's an inspired way to go. Not. There's nothing wrong with attempting to rewrite Exile On Main Street, but it helps if you've actually got cool songs to go with the bleached bits in your rooster haircut, and Big Midnight haven't. If you want to hear this kind of Stones/Faces type rawk done properly, check out Sweden's superb Diamond Dogs instead. 
www.bomp.com
Betty Chienne

THE BLACK LIPS
The Black Lips (Bomp; CD)
     Kind of a peculiar album to find on Bomp!, a label which is usually a guarantor of quality. The Black Lips labour under the misapprehension that they're sleazy, bluestastic and thoroughly rawkin', but this seems to be entirely down to having whacked up the compression dial on the mic whilst feeling a bit depressed. Actually, they've got some reason for that sentiment now, as unfortunately the guitarist was killed last year in a car crash. Which makes one loathe give the poor guy's record a complete slating, but really it ain't that great.
     Like a less convincing Compulsive Gamblers or Angry Samoans on Mogadon, and as spotty as the debagged arse on the sleeve.
www.bomp.com
Betty Chienne

BLIND JACKSON
Boastin', Braggin', Cussin', Slaggin' (Dead Skool; CD EP)
     Well, you wait for a band with the word 'Jackson' in their name, and then two come along at once. Both are in roughly (very roughly) the same musical territory, but The Sleepy Jackson are from zeitgeist-friendly Australia and have started getting major press coverage first, so it's a bit of a concern that Blind Jackson might get overlooked. I REALLY hope I'm wrong, because they're that rare thing, a British band (from London?) that matches anything coming over from Scandinavia, Spain or the Anzac territories. Describing them is a bit of a task though. They're somewhat garage on 'All Our Yesterdays' (enthusiastic Meg White-style drumming and Farfisa), somewhat psych-pop on 'Identify' and 'I Got Fever' (singalong choruses and stop/start rhythms a la early XTC), and somewhat country-rock on perfectly formed little gem 'Sometimes' (what a tune! what a tune!), the best song on this excellent four track EP. The thing that really makes them stand out is the singer's voice, which is a high-pitched nasal warble like Joey Ramone inhaling helium. They got melody, they got wit, damn, even the CD sleeve is a primo piece of design! Oh, and they've even got a link to The Cherry Valence on their website, which in my book is pretty much conclusive proof of their jolly good egg status. Quick Batman!: to the record shop!
www.blindjackson.com
Jane Farrell

THE BOOGALOO INVESTIGATORS
Sleep Walk / Let's Work Awhile (Defunkt; 45 )
     Richard W Rinn and crew return with two slabs of hypno-funk, both sides pretty much sticking to the one groove. 'Sleepwalk' kicks off with a little spacey guitar play, a chug-a-lug drum pattern and insistent bass groove. There's plenty of light and shade as the band take the level right down (which takes more control than playing at full tilt!) several times. Rinn scats over the pulse before the levels are pushed back up again courtesy of a flourish of some nice Hammond keys and whilst Rinn reminds us that we're 'doing the sleep walk'. 
     'Let's Work Awhile' features a good syncopated rhythm and has a 'part two' feel to it, but with a little more deviation from the main riff in places than 'Sleep Walk'. Rinn asserts the work ethic in his urgings to "get yourself out on the floor and work awhile". And with a tight pattern like this there's no excuse not to! These are both great club-friendly numbers and are part of that particular design for living. Good, authentic sounding and tightly played funk which should please your baaad self no end!
richard@boogalooinvestigators.com
Paul Martin

THE CHAINS
On Top Of Things (Get Hip; CD)
     The best new "garage" band isn't from America, Australia or Sweden. Nope, nor even Denmark, Norway or any other Scandinavian region either... The Chains hail from Montreal, and they are the best "proper" '60s styled band I have heard since The Strollers. This quintet has it all! The cool R&B-tinged vocals of Alexandra Boivin veer from snotty arrogance to sincere heartfelt soul (somewhat like a slightly gruffer Mick Rowley of The Smoke) and the tight group backing vocals allow these guys to actually sound as good as their heroes. Their threads appropriate exactly where they're coming from, they play great instruments and most importantly write top tunes. (The inclusion of 'Baby What Do You Want Me To Do' (ala Sons Of Fred) and 'Fortune Teller' are unnecessary when considering the magnitude of the originals...although a rousing rendition of Eddie Cochran's 'Nervous Breakdown' works admirably). In fact, these guys could be the rightful heirs to the throne of The Ugly Ducklings! Their stew of R&B, fuzzed garage and melodic pop/beat contain all of the same crucial ingredients! 'Look The Other Way' cops the riff from Los Buenos' 'Groovy Woovy' and then changes course into the most soulful psych-tinged segment of garage-pop since The Prisoners, whilst 'It's Not The End' is a wondrous beat ballad worthy of a '65 chart position! These are "real" songs! The masses may be more impressed by the minimal blues angst of a certain Detroit duo but The Chains are sure to be huge faves with those who prefer their music less bleak, less fashionable and a lot more enjoyable.
www.gethip.com
www.the-chains.com
Jon 'Mojo' Mills

THE CRYPTICS
Kill A Punk For Rock 'n' Roll (Twist; CD)
THE JENERATORS
Mystery Man (Twist; CD single)
     Twist go punk… These wouldn't sound out of place on Get Hip, Dionysus or Estrus… vocals are angst ridden and the music flits between '70s punk and the modern day garage tendencies that favour the MC5 and Stooges. If ever there was an audience for Twist now is the time. Both bands have a similar edge and if they break from the Channel Islands (the R&R capital of the world where they are based) they could clearly pick up some press, although they must remember now is the time to strike. Snotty R&R will soon be yesterday's news as far as the masses are concerned. Now go for it and generate this deserving label some bucks before the fashion changes.
www.cionlne.com/twist
Jon 'Mojo' Mills

DEE RANGERS
Pretty Ugly Beat (White Jazz; CD)
     Cripes, the singing is horrid! What a din! This guy should not be let near a mic... let alone a studio! Worst bits aside... well, hold on... Are there good bits? Musically (!) the album travels from R&B and beat (Billy Childish school of thinking) onto surf, but it grates badly. No tunes stick, and it never really gets off the ground.The Toe Rag production is as always magnificent, but even Parsley's organ and the appearance of Downliner Don Craine don't save it. By no means is this a highlight of the bountiful Swedish garage scene. The title says it all...
I. P. Freely

THE EMBROOKS
Jack / Dawn Breaks Through (Circle; 45)
     'Jack' flies off the grooves in a technicolured woosh of sound. It's their finest cut emblazoned with the musical knowledge that Mole, Al and Lois possess. The spirit of London '68 is captured via a decent song about a nervous man called Jack, Liam 'now minor celeb' Watson's layered production and some stupendous fuzz, wah-wah, hints of piano, Mole's impassioned vocals and a meaty, but poppy chorus. This dear friends is the dog's bollocks. A decent version of The Barrier's classic 'Dawn Breaks Through' graces the b-side, and it's a faithful rendition done in the usual Embrooks style, but I do somehow wish they included another corkin' original instead.
     The Embrooks are still at the top of the pile… move over rover… and let Mole, Al and Lois take over.
www.circlerecords.co.uk
www.embrooks.freeserve.co.uk
Jon 'Mojo' Mills

FREDDY & THE FOUR GONE CONCLUSIONS
Wigged Out Sounds (Get Hip; CD/LP)
     Freddy & the Four Gone Conclusions (love the double entendre!) is the new combo led by Freddy Fortune, formerly of Fortune & Maltese. Fortune definitely knows his way around an authentic garage tune, as he and the boys do it up right on Wigged Out Sounds, a disc with 14 cool songs that will make you look twice at the jacket to make sure you're not holding something from the '60s (okay, if you're listening to the CD version you'd know, but you get the idea). Knickerbockers fans will especially love poppy tunes like 'Today' and 'Cry In Shame', while the lustier among you will go ape for the dance shaker 'Stranded', the sing-a-long rave-up 'Fell From Grace', and the snotty fuzz of '(Come On Over) To My Side' and Animal-esque covers like 'Ball & Chain' and 'Shattered'. Other standouts include a nice take on Del Shannon's 'Stand Up' (featuring original Shannon keyboardist Max Crook for another slice of authenticity), 'I Can't See You', which could have fit nicely on the first Love LP with its frenetic guitar licks, and 'Little Purple Bird', a sort-of-answer record to 'Little Black Egg'.
     There's not too much originality goin' on here, but that hardly matters as we Shindiggers love this kind of stuff when it's done as well as these guys do it. Check it out!
www.gethip.com
David Bash

THE KNIGHTS
In Progression (Lance; CD)
     Jeez, this is what happens when a '60s surf vet (father and Lance records founder, Dick Stewart) and son, Jason Stewart (modern (!) guitar) get together and try and weld surf and metallic prog-rock together. 
     An abomination!
I P Freely

NEIL'S CHILDREN
St Benet Fink / Silence Being The Only Sound (Circle; 45)
     I saw this band a few years back and they were without doubt one of the worst things I'd ever seen. Yet I couldn't help smile at teenage frontman John Linger going through the motions. I didn't want to admit it, but I could see a lot of him in the younger me strutting the stage and believing I was the king of the world. Confidence is half of it. Yet they were another dressed up mod-garage band throwing in the standard for-beginners covers and the act was comical. A few years on and they have a following, they look groovier post-modern retro with long hair, flares and tight tees and John has now taken to singing in a London accent. Punk, The Attack and Hendrix wah seem to be their sound… Does it work? Well, it's still snotty. It's arrogant. And if this is what being a youngun is about, sod it. Good on 'em. But I can't say I'm a fan.
www.circlerecords.co.uk
Oliver Simpson

VARIOUS ARTISTS
The European Pop Punk Virus Vol.2 (Stardumb; CD)
     Punk? I hear you exclaim! Well, put the emphasis on the pop, as this slew of short, sharp bar chord barnstormers are little more than a plectrum's strum away from the more familiar power pop stylings beloved by many a Shindigger. This set boasts 28 songs by 28 bands who hail largely from Germany, Holland and Italy with a smattering of Brits, Spaniards and Scandinavians for good measure. Indeed, Scotland's The Ritalins put in a good punchy number with 'Too Good For Me' whilst England's Zatopeks sound distinctly '80s with their mid-paced and harmonic 'Devil In A '55'. Germany's Sonic Dolls never fail to please and their contribution here 'The Teen Age' is a real loud power chord winner on this set. 
     Realistically, whilst all these bands no doubt have their own distinctive characters, the CD is best taken as a sound wash of tuneful power chords and (variously bellowed, chanted and sung) harmonies which I found very energising and positive. Whilst the overdriven power chords all have a pretty uniform distortion sound to them there are a variety of sub-styles present which vary from the cheery Summer power pop of The Travoltas ('Oh Suzy') and Sweden's The Flakes ('She's So Natural'), to the punkier attack of the Netherland's Coffin Kids ('Everybody's Chickenin' Out') and Italy's Retarded ('You Gotta Go')). This is a bright and bristling collection of short sharp pleasure shocks and if you consider yourself a power pop fan, you'll not be disappointed with this collection. Check out Vol.1 (2001) which also features a number of the same bands and has the same styles.
www.stardumbrecords.com
Paul Martin