24 March 2011 - 0 Comments

WAGON CHRIST – TOOMORROW – CD 

The one and only Luke Vibert returns to the fray under his most celebrated and wondrous moniker, Wagon Christ (to clarify, he is not under a wagon. Nor on one.

Nor is he, strictly speaking, Christ, though we can’t rule out his messianic status). The king of stoned exotica, ridiculous vocal samples, toothsome puns, swinging rhythm and the psychedelic groove, Vibert has never been one to take himself too seriously, but his music continues to delight.

With recent releases on both Planet Mu and Rephlex, Luke Vibert remains one of the key players in the scene that developed out of Cornwall and the West Country in the mid-nineties. “Toomorrow” is a funny, clever, swinging, moving reminder of why.

For Fans of: Coldcut, Mr Scruff, Luke Vibert

DOOBIE BROTHERS – WORLD GONE CRAZY CD/DVD – CD

There’s no separating the unparalleled legacy of the Doobie Brothers from their HOR Records release World Gone Crazy – not that anyone would want to. Nevertheless, the new album may be most remarkable for the extent to which it stands completely on its own. Yes, World Gone Crazy is another chapter in one of the great American music stories, but it’s neither comeback nor nostalgia. An exhibition of aggressive and emotional performances, evocative storytelling, unapologetic attitude and world class musicianship, the collection is its own justification.

In a sense, World Gone Crazy is an analogy for the Doobie Brothers as a whole. With founding members Tom Johnston and Pat Simmons, and 30 year-plus veterans John McFee and Michael Hossack, the Doobies have perfectly honored the band’s legacy with an offering that grows in unexpected new directions.

For Fans of: Steely Dan, Steve Miller Band, Chicago

VARIOUS – CITY LOUNGE 7 – 4 x CD

Four CD collection. City Lounge 7 is the next installment in this cult series which has already sold thousands of copies worldwide. This compilation promises to be one of the best of its genre, welcoming lounge music new talents coming from the fancy cities of New York, London, Paris and Berlin.

This new generation of easy listening artists have fun mixing genres (Nu Soul, Nu Jazz, Electro, Folk and Pop). Includes tracks from Wax Tailor, Nouvelle Vague, Mayer Hawthorne, Jill Scott, Cocoon, Jamie Lidell, Jazzanova, DJ Vadim, Aloe Blacc and many others. 60 tracks in total, it’s a bumper collection!

For Fans of: Jamie Lidell, Nightmares on Wax, Aloe Blacc

HOLY GRAIL – CRISIS IN UTOPIA – CD

After basking in the glory of last year’s critically acclaimed Improper Burial EP, HOLY GRAIL have finally unleashed their full-length debut, Crisis In Utopia.

The title comes from a short story that Luna found in a 1930s-era sci-fi mag. Inspired, he transposed the tale’s apocalyptic theme to the band’s L.A. stomping grounds HOLY GRAIL are heavy metal personified, possessing a seemingly infinite arsenal of mind-blowing riffs, skyscraping vocal melodies and devastating drum dynamism.

Not mention the kind of six-string acrobatics and straight-up power-shredding that would make Yngwie Malmsteen chuck the proverbial goat in sweep-picking solidarity.

“We shred and we’re serious about it,” Luna offers. “This is not a tongue-in-cheek thing. It’s not throwback or retro. HOLY GRAIL is a modern band with a new twist on the best of old-school metal with death metal riffs, modern breakdowns and power-metal singing. We just tried to pick stuff from all our favorite bands and make the best blend of metal we could.”

For Fans of: Three Inches of Blood,Iced Earth

RADIO BIRDMAN – RITUALISM – CD

January 1996 saw the reformation of Radio Birdman after an 18 year hiatus. Ritualism contains 10 new versions of standard Radio Birdman material as well as two new tracks.  

The session was recorded over a six hour period at Seed Studios in South Melbourne on a day off between Melbourne shows. A small but lively audience of 25 hardcore fans attended, these being the winners of a Triple R phone in competition. They were stuffed into the corridor and control room of the studio where they were randomly captured by an overhead mic.

The production was recorded fully live and without overdubs. No efforts have been made to cover up mistakes or doctor the performances. If it sounds like a dozen people yelling at the end of the song, that's because that's what it is. Two days were spent on mixing the tracks with Wayne Connolly engineering the session. Only two songs didn't make it onto Ritualism giving some indication of the playing prowess of the group.

For Fans of: MC5, Stooges, The D4

VARIOUS – LOVELY REPRISES – CD

Claude Challe is the mastermind of the Buddha Bar CD collections. Managing a series of clubs in Paris from the mid 70’s til the late 90’s, the club/restaurant became the catalyst for the Buddha Bar CD’s.

Lovely Reprises is an 18 track collection compiled by Claude CHALLE and DJ Khalid. A mixture of assorted covers, it follows in the Buddha Bar tradition of grooves and sounds.

Covering classic tracks from Pink Floyd’s ‘Another Brick in the Wall’ to Edith Piaf’s ‘La Vie En Rose’.

For Fans of: Buddha Bar Series

Thanks to www.border.co.nz for this story.

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