SEE & HEAR: Vampire Blow - "He's Alright"

I swear the Nordic countries are doing garage rock better than anyone these days. Take Copenhagen's Vampire Blow for example. Their latest single "He's Alright" has '60s free spirit rock 'n' roll at heart, but it's been fed a diet of '70s hard rock, metal you could even say, as evidenced by the bridge, the band's self-proclaimed tribute to Black Sabbath. The classic psych-tinged melody will hook you in, but the pummeling rock 'n' roll along the way will pin you down and make you hungry for more.

The band also released a video for the song in which two dudes vying to be the life of the party become the best of friends after an intergalactic journey together. Yep. See and hear both below.

It's October, So Here's Some Spooky Surf Rock

Yeah, I don't believe it either. BOO! It's October as of today, or, if you're a dude, Octobeard. Anyways, it seems only appropriate to share with you one of the best modern day surf rock bands, one that falls under the category of Halloween. The Ghastly Ones are an instrumental surf/garage rock band from Van Nuys, CA, and their 1998 classic, A-Haunting We Will Go-Go, is one of the best surf rock records of recent memory -- especially for its incorporation of campy horror. I think one of the best concoctions of all time is the mix of surf rock and Halloween, and The Ghastly Ones do it so well. Scope the video for A-Haunting We Will Go-Go's "Haulin' Hearse" below.

LISTEN: The Shamefaced Sparrows - "Ride That Seastorm!"

The Shamefaced Sparrows - "Ride That Seastorm!"


When your father is Link Wray and your mother is a Frech Ye-Ye girl, you have a lot going for you. Imagine the melodic hypnotism of yé-yé thrown into a vat of scuzzy garage rock, and, after simmering for some time, you'll come up with something along the lines of The Shamefaced Sparrows. With hints of surf rock cool, their sound is filled with enough instrumental and lyrical melodicism to avoid drowning in a sea of fuzz. It plays out like a film noir, with mystery -- or better yet gloom -- hanging around like a dense fog as our main character tries to keep some semblance of himself. Everything that's good and safe seems worth risking for the temptation of what lies beyond that corrupt, ignominious decision. No one said the ride would be easy, but that's why it's worth it all.

The Shamefaced Sparrows are a duo out of London. More on SoundCloud.

SEE & HEAR: The Waxing Captors - "The Trip"

Oh no, it's Monday. Well, if it feels as though you're living inside of "Office Space," then you could probably go for a serious pick-me-up -- you know, something to really get the week started off right. So here's a wonderful, buzzy tune called "The Trip" from Ipswich five-piece The Waxing Captors. It's the sound of power pop attempting to knock down the walls of rock's garage, and it's bound to wake you up with all this energy.

LISTEN: My Goodness - "Blackout Baby"

My Goodness - "Blackout Baby"


The first time I heard this song, I thought it was some lost MC5 b-side. But the MC5 were never this bluesy, and they never did sound this Southern fried. "Blackout Baby" has that raw, sort of guttural punch that sounds big and hits even harder -- like the MC5 meets Led Zeppelin. It only takes one electric guitar, a drum kit, and a howling set of pipes to stir up this storm of bluesy rock 'n' roll, and that certainly says a lot about the conviction and talent of this Seattle band. My Goodness, rock 'n' roll is alive and doing quite well (sorry, I couldn't resist).

LISTEN: The Midgetmen - Loud Enough LP

No, this isn't a small person tribute band to The Minutemen -- in case you happened to be wondering such a thing. No, this Austin-based band of self-proclaimed "slop-punk" is a six-pack of the good times. The same sort of rough, loud, and honest sounds that gushed out of '90s underground rock bands such as Guided by Voices, Dinosaur Jr., and Sebadoh is present here, like a time capsule of the best memories. The Midgetmen's latest LP, Loud Enough, is stuffed with crunchy, fuzzy, rattling, buzzing guitar riffs, shout-along verses and choruses, and even hits of jubilant horns that make this one enjoyable ride.

LISTEN: Major Dolby

Major Dolby - "Marcello, come here!"


Remember the ‘60s? I know I sure don’t, but that’s because I wasn’t born until years later. And while I might not have been a resident of those years of change and evolution, I can say with certainty that Major Dolby would have fit right into the musical landscape of the era. With surf rock guitar leads and psych’s hypnotic mystique, this French duo plays instrumental music that is too authentically old school to be considered an emulation or tribute to the past.

Garage and psych generally possess a particularly rough edge to their respective sounds – not sloppy so much as loose and excited in presentation. Major Dolby are not at all rigid, but they do manage a smoother, snappier, and more fine-tuned style that exudes a level of casual cool that charismatic folks like James Bond usually project. What’s more, they add layers of brass instrumentation that liven up their sound and only strengthen their brand of stylized, instrumental ‘60s surf-meets-French pop-meets-psych music.

"Marcello, come here!" is from Major Dolby's new four-track EP, out now on French label Kizmiaz.

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IN THE GARAGE, VOL. 4: Thee Ludds

Talk about authentic garage rock. This is raw, unforgiving music that punches into your ears and flows through your veins; this is infectious. Blaring, distorted electric guitars and bass, a drum kit that sound like it consists of buckets and trashcan lids, the piercing punch of organ, and snarling, basically unintelligible vocals.

Thee Ludds are a band out of Leicester, UK consisting of Daniel (organ, guitar, vocals), Robin (guitar), Jack (bass), and Emily (drums). The band is a relatively young one, but they sound like they've been around for ages. The spirit of garage rock is what gives them life, but it's the conviction of punk that gives them their true grit and attention-snatching attitude. Check out two tracks after the jump as well as a live performance filmed on 16mm.

LISTEN: White Laces - "Motorik Twilight"

via this isn't happiness

White Laces - "Motorik Twilight"


Waves and waves and waves and waves and waves and waves and waves -- hear the flex of the vibrato arm. The undertow of the constant tremolo pulls you deep into the ocean of notes, underneath the motorik twilight. It's constant, consistent, but unique -- fitting for a surging wave of swirling psych. On the ebb and flow of the vibrato arm, it's almost effervescent, but still full of bite and distorted crunch. Close your eyes and float away; take a mental swim in the waves.

White Laces craft dreamy psych garage rock with "Motorik Twilight." In between the haze of psych, room is made for the winding instrumental passages of math rock. The band never leans too hard on any one genre, making the song exciting and all the more intriguing.

White Laces' self-titled debut EP is out January 18, 2011 via Whole Ghost/Shdwply.

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LISTEN: Sex Beet

MP3: Sex Beet - "Sugar Water"

"Sugar Water" is a quite telling title for a song that pairs the reverb jangle of surf and the fuzz and grit of garage rock -- all played underwater. Initially all the noise comes across as rather cacophonous, but swimming deeper into the sea of fuzz reveals a sugar-coated pop hook. It's a blast of '60s garage rock glory, searing distortion and all. It makes for a beautiful racket that, through its tornado of noise, captures the frustration of love and lust. At one point, it even sounds as though the whole thing is about to explode out of your speakers -- and that's just raucously awesome. For a band that started as a drunk private joke, Sex Beet are competent garage rock torchbearers.

If "Sugar Water" is a bit too rough for you (or you need more Sex Beet in your life), you can download the band's "I'm In Love With You (So Shut The Fuck Up)"/"Cocaine Dan" single below. Much like "Sugar Water," these songs are fun, honest, and rambunctious.

DOWNLOAD: Sex Beet - "I'm In Love With You (So Shut The Fuck Up)"/"Cocaine Dan"

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LISTEN: Secret Colours Offer Up 2 New Songs for Free Download

Chicago psych rockers Secret Colours just released a new two song single/EP entitled In The Absence for free download. I'm particularly fond of the title track for its perfect balance between psych and pop. Some psych bands can really lose their heads inside the kaleidoscopic sounds of their music, making the songs lose their cohesion and direction. But on "In The Absence," Secret Colours pair psychedelic guitars -- and what sounds like a sitar -- with a strong pop hook. The melody is relaxed and understatedly confident, working a Britpop influence into the band's psych blood. It's a brooding tune that takes flight on its waves of psych. Hear and download "In The Absence and the acoustic, more upbeat second track "Carry My Soul" below.

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LISTEN: Byrds of Paradise - "Barefoot Generation"

MP3: Byrds of Paradise - "Barefoot Generation"

Rupture. Chaos. Fury. Unbridled enthusiasm. Energy. Unstoppable. Freedom.

“Barefoot Generation” is a total loss of control – the kind that carves smiles out of indifference. It’s a blast of garage rock that’s about letting loose and killing off inhibitions. With buzzing electric guitars, wild drumming, and sonic aggression, it packs quite a kick. On the surface it’s a mess; after repeated listens it’s like being a passenger in the middle of a tornado. It’s a fun ride that’s not easily reigned in or grasped, because the point of the matter is just to live in the moment, with no apprehension. Listening to this song is the sonic equivalent of standing on a mountaintop, screaming until all the air has exited your lungs.

BUY: "Barefoot Generation" is from Byrds of Paradise's forthcoming debut LP, out January 2011 on Don Giovanni.

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LISTEN: My Pet Saddle

By Danny Krug

The summer sun is a spotlight for a great many things; there are a lot of things one can only find under the sun. The fondest of memories are birthed in the summer months -- some are even what give us the warmth that carries us through the chill of winter. The warm summer days are bold, beautiful, crazy, exciting, inspiring, joyous, and, most of all, memorable. In a garage somewhere off some major road, the doors are all closed and a tight-knit group of friends all bob their heads up and down. Feet leave the ground in a pogo of enthusiasm; hair flicks all around; and faces crack smiles to release the surplus of glee.

With the vocal harmonies of Dr. Dog, the rickety tones of The Strange Boys, and the old school spirit of Black Lips, My Pet Saddle kick out a hearty brand of garage rock. And where plenty of bands in the genre are all about speed, aggressively strummed chord progressions, and raw attitude, My Pet Saddle display a welcomed sense of control and some serious guitar chops. Working from a pool of reverb, the band gives their sound some added bounce with elements of surf and folk. Taking these styles and cooking them over the hot grill of garage rock gives My Pet Saddle a sound that's direct, earnest, and timeless. They might wear their influences on their collective sleeve, but they've obviously managed to cook up something special for themselves -- and us.

IN THE GARAGE, VOL. 3: The Romancers

The Romancers were a garage rock band that existed during the pivotal '60s era of garage rock. They apparently hold the distinction of being the very first East L.A. Chicano band to lay music to tape. The band's first album, Do the Slauson, was completed in a mere five hours. Band leader, primary songwriter, and rhythm guitarist Max Uballez was not only instrumental in crafting his band's sound, he also played a major part in helping to form the sound of the East L.A. scene. Uballez became a sort of local star in his own right, releasing music under his name with The Romancers serving as a backing band. He was sometimes mistaken as Ritchie Valens, pioneer and a forefather of the Chicano rock movement (dude wrote "La Bamba" c'mon!), which no doubt helped raise his, as well as the band's, profile quite a bit.

LISTEN: New Mexico (The band, not the state)

Anyone who knows me, or reads Mixtape Muse, knows that I'm a sucker for garage rock (I mean, I made a feature on the site just to talk about it). And while I'll generally warm up to anything that's rough around the edges, pushes up against the speakers, and attacks with hot, buzzing tube amplifiers, I've certainly come across practitioners of the genre that have lacked the attitude and obvious passion for the music to leave much of a lasting impression. Garage rock isn't just about great songs, or hooks, it's about conviction. For example, (Iggy &) The Stooges may be widely held as pioneers of punk -- a protopunk band to most -- but they were and are, at their core, a garage rock band who took off on the conviction that poured out of Iggy Pop.

New Mexico (formerly Apes of Wrath) do it for me. They aren't straight up garage rock, as they mix in perfect amounts of post-punk. With every chord strummed; with every hi-hat and snare hit; with every bass riff that ascends and descends the fretboard, you can sense the presence of the band's passion for what they're doing. In the jangle of guitar and chug of bass, it's evident they aren't half-assing anything. New Mexico stroll nonchalantly, appearing cool and composed one moment. Then, before you know it, they're making a pleasurable racket with cymbals crashing and furiously strummed electric guitar. And if my words aren't convincing you (some people are more visual than others), then you can check out a live performance of a song from their brand new EP after the jump.

You can also check out a few songs from said EP and stream/download it after the jump.

LISTEN: Las Robertas - "Back To the End"

Guitar amps gargle a mouth full of distortion as this all-girl, Costa Rican quartet offers up an infectious cut of garage rock. Deep beneath the thick sea of distortion, it sounds as though there is an undercurrent of doo wop -- making it seem rather smooth despite its raw sound. It's the sound of teenage dreamers riding down the boulevard with the top down, sunshine spotlighting every move. In the bright melody, blare of guitars, and tom drum-heavy beat, you can't help but picture yourself in the back of a convertible, tracing the shoreline with best friends. It's a delicious cup of fuzz-topped rock 'n' roll that's well-aged and refreshing.

Las Robertas are Lola Miche (vocals), Monserrat Vargas (bass/vocals), Mercedes Oller (guitar/vocals) and Ana M. Valenciano (skins).

BUY: "Back To the End" is from the band's new album, Cry Out Loud. It's available through Art Fag Recordings on vinyl, limited cassette, CD, and digitally here. You can also pick it up on Amazon.

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White Denim Offer Up New Album for FREE, Download It Now

Austin, TX-based rock outfit White Denim are offering listeners the chance to download their new album, Last Day of Summer, for free (no, not even an e-mail address is required). Call them crazy, but I'd like to think they're just being insanely generous. The album is actually more a collection of songs that the band has been holding onto for a while. It's not the band's official third LP; this is more of a special treat to tide us over until the release of album number three, which they are currently chipping away at. Nevertheless, we're talking about 12-tracks of great music here: there's the fast-paced twists and turns of the classic rock-indebted "I'd Have It Just the Way We Were"; the bluesy "If You're Changing"; and the jazzy instrumental "Light Light Light." You can read a letter by band vocalist/guitarist James Petralli about Last Day of Summer and download the album after the jump.

LISTEN: No Age - "Fever Dreaming"

MP3: No Age - "Fever Dreaming"

It's swelling within the confines of your skin. You feel the throb, and you feel the heat covering your body in a warm sweat. Everything seems to be in order one moment, and in the next, it all starts to unravel; every little noise and every little sound makes it seem as though the world is crumbling and you're the next one to fall apart. In a delirium, it's all distorted -- wild but eventually something rather beautiful.

With a bit a fuzz and a distorted chord progression that hits like a hammer, "Fever Dreaming" moves fast and sounds as though it's about to self-destruct. It's precise and yet wholly rambunctious, boiling over with a mass of punk energy. A distorted wail slices through the verses with ease, like a sonic whip keeping the song in line. It frays and pulls itself together, again, until it finally casts itself off into the final moments of euphoric haze, a sonic texture of ambient/shoegaze.

BUY: "Fever Dreaming" is from No Age's excellent new record, Everything In Between, out now on Sub Pop. Pick it up on iTunes, here on Amazon MP3, here on CD, or here on vinyl.

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LISTEN: Nobody Wave - "These Girls"

Nobody Wave - "These Girls"


The unbridled jangle of an electric guitar is much like the unbridled enthusiasm of a man -- it's hard to keep either in check. Girls are exciting, and girls are frustrating. Beautiful girls are bound to stir up a certain enthusiasm in a man, if only because man makes them out to be untouchable. Man bends over backwards trying to catch their interest, or leaves it up to fate for the girl to suddenly realize what she's been looking for all along is right in front of her. Such enthusiasm for girls is usually predicated on just thinking about the girls: what they do, what they think about, who they think about, or what they think about you. The excitement about these girls lies in not knowing much at all about them -- a lot of it falls on guess work. So for all the man knows, she'll never be into him. But hey, that's why there's music to educate people. In a fine mix of j-pop, garage rock, and surf rock, Nobody Wave wrangle in these emotions and thoughts with such charm. Where was this song at the start of the summer?!

"These Girls" is from Nobody Wave's latest album, Headgeared. Hear and download it here.

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LISTEN: White Dress

"Magnificent Ruin"

"The Kill"


"Five Feet of Road"


"No Solid State"


At night, what is there? The sky has the moon, but what do we have here on the ground? At night, there's a certain mystery that permeates the air. There are always more questions in the dead of night than there are in the bright comfort of the daytime.

White Dress is the question and answer. Fuzzed out just a pinch, singer/guitarist Arum Rae seduces in a wash of '60s echo chamber-style reverb with songs that elucidate the emotions buried deep inside her heart. It feels like Rae's sharing something so personal, with the only thing sparing the listener from feeling the brunt of her emotional weight being that fitting veil of fuzz. It's nothing too complex, though. It's rather minimalist in a Black Keys-type of way with just raw electric guitar, drums, and a bucket of reverb to round out the sound. White Dress are a mix of blues, garage rock, and lo-fi; a band that can do a lot with just a little. Sparse instrumentation allows Rae's vocals and emotions to shine, and, sometimes, punch through that thin wall of fuzz. Can you feel it? Now you have your answer.

White Dress is a duo from Austin, TX featuring Arum Rae Valkonen (vocals, guitar) and Grant Van Amburgh (drums).

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