Thursday, March 24, 2022

'Brown Acid: The 14th Trip' compilation of rare/lost 60s-70s pre-metal singles shares Moog-frenzy tune "I've Been You"

 


"So rare that diehard fuzz junkies say you'd have a better chance of winning the lottery than finding a physical 45 rpm single by one of the bands featured on their latest installment." -- Dangerous Minds


"Will do for hard rock, proto-metal and heavy psych what Nuggets did for garage rock, and bring it to a wider audience of collectors and music fans." -- The Guardian


"Mining the surprising rich reserves of heavy rock and proto-metal from the '60s and '70s, these collections have been crucial to understanding the history of a subgenre of rock that had far deeper roots than most fans realize." -- Paste Magazine




The forthcoming latest edition of the popular compilation series featuring long-lost vintage 60s-70s proto-metal and stoner rock singles, Brown Acid: The Fourteenth Trip will be released April 20th, 2022. Today,

Ultimate Classic Rock shares a new track "I've Been You" the 1973 Moog-frenzy by Mijal & White HERE. (Direct YouTube.)


Metal Injection recently launched the 1969 raging lead track "Fever Games" by The Legends HERE. (Direct YouTube.)


The Brown Acid series is curated by L.A. label RidingEasy Records and retailer/label Permanent Records. Read interviews with the series curators via Paste Magazine HERE and LA Weekly HERE


About The Fourteenth Trip:


The Legends’ “Fever Games” is a 1969 fever dream of heavy psych on par with Blue Cheer at their heaviest, featuring an incredible intro with whammy-bar gymnastics through an Echoplex. This Harrisburg, PA power trio, featuring Dan Hartman (Edgar Winter Group, et al) and his brother Dave, also name-checks Jimi Hendrix Experience in the midst of the song’s most blatant Hendrix rip. Perhaps that’s how Fever Games work? Whatever the case may be, this stunning rocker is the B-side to “High Towers,” the band’s second single out of four released over 5 years. 


Next up, another banging track driven by wild sound effects. In this case, Mijal & White serve up some Moog run rampant on their lone 45 from 1973, “I’ve Been You.” Runaway oscillators and modular synths spurt and sputter over some Tommy James & The Shondells bubblegum garage psych. The duo was a Detroit recording engineer (Mike Mijal) and a local musician (Mike White) tinkering with new technology with magical results. Could this heavy lysergic pop gem have inspired Meco’s “Star Wars Galactic Funk” just a handful of years later?


Liquid Blue bring us back to the era’s strong meat ’n’ potatoes blues-rock with this 1969 Texas Rocker “Henry Can’t Drive.” Sure, Henry can’t, but this blazing track sure can drive. This 1969 single on the Texas Revolution label is the band’s only release, with this A-side being penned by brothers Hal and Ted Hawley, also of Lone Star State psychedelic rock unknowns Glory. The dueling guitar solos and the way the band erratically shifts gears makes this one as valuable as liquid gold.


Hailing from Olivet, Michigan, the San Franciso Trolley Co.’s name may be misleading, but their ripping rager “Signs” has all the answers you seek. Their extremely rare 1970 A-side, backed with “Rainbow Heaven” is a blitzkrieg workout of frantic drums and a wailing guitar lead that spits fire and brimstone. Not exactly the Flower Power love-in one might expect given the name, but thankfully these youngsters sound like a hard rocking 13th Floor Elevators meets the MC5. 


Blue Creed was never a real band. That is, the West Virginia group never performed publicly. The band was the brainchild of coal miner & songwriter Bill Rexroad who paid all of the pickup musicians and financed all of the recordings himself. “Need a Friend” indeed. Rexroad sought an original sound by putting guitar speakers in oil drums (an illustration of which became the logo of his label Mo/Go records) and perhaps never having showed off that kind of showmanship on stage doomed Blue Creed to obscurity. 


Transfer’s velvet smooth groove has an almost proto-punk feel like a mashup of the Velvet Underground and The Flamin’ Groovies. But the lyrics referencing tokin’ reefer and the twanging surf lead situate them closer to their heavy rock brethren. This very rare 1974 self-released 45 is this lone archive of the band’s existence, who, we assume just kept right on playin’ it cool into oblivion. 


The cowbell lead-in announces that you’re in for a good time before Appletree’s “You’re Not The Only Girl (I’m Out To Get)” even begins. And when it all kicks in, this Grand Funk adjacent headbanger features silky guitar leads, sweet high vocal harmonies and stomping drums to drive the point home. Apppletree was led by songwriter Gary Apple, who also penned the single’s curiously titled A-side “The Ballad of Pencil.” The date of the band’s sole release is believed to be 1971, but where Appletree took root remains unknown.


Cox’s Army deploy the grungy rocker “I’m Tired” which sounds like if Jimi Hendrix fronted Mudhoney. Yes, please! Though they hailed from Aurora, IL, it sounds like there’s definitely some Pacific Northwest in their blood. Particularly in the gritty production, which hints at The Sonics’ “bustin’ outta lo-fi” style, and the bluesy shuffle rhythm that’s thwacked out on what sounds like a cardboard box. “I’m Tired” b/w “She’s a Fool” is their only known release. 


Not much is known about the enigmatic Columbus, OH musician known as Raven, whose “Back to Ohio Blues” closes this edition. Upon completing his damaged-biker Back to Ohio Blues 5-song album in 1975, he gave away most of the few hundred copies that were pressed and vanished from public eye. The mantra-like droning riff of this 8-minute jam is a “Black To Comm” style epic, driven by Raven’s hostile, no-bullshit diatribe until it all busts open for an insane 2-minute long drum solo soaked in odd effects that sounds like it was copped from a Melvins album. It ends with a droning acoustic guitar coda, in which Raven repeatedly wails, yells and yelps, “lets go make some more love.” It’s easy to understand why this album has been a cult bootleg favorite until its 2021 reissue on our own Permanent Records. 

About the Brown Acid series:


Some of the best thrills of the Internet music revolution is the ability to find extremely rare music with great ease. But even with such vast archives to draw from, quite a lot of great songs have gone undiscovered for nearly half a century -- particularly in genres that lacked hifalutin arty pretense. Previously, only the most extremely dedicated and passionate record collectors had the stamina and prowess to hunt down long forgotten wonders in dusty record bins -- often hoarding them in private collections, or selling at ridiculous collector's prices. Legendary compilations like Nuggets, Pebbles, ad nauseum, have exhausted the mines of early garage rock and proto-punk, keeping alive a large cross-section of underground ephemera. However, few have delved into and expertly archived the wealth of proto-metal, pre-stoner rock tracks collected on Brown Acid


Lance Barresi, owner of L.A.-based Permanent Records and the Permanent Records Roadhouse has shown incredible persistence in tracking down a stellar collection of rare singles from the 60s and 70s for the growing compilation series. Partnered with Daniel Hall of RidingEasy Records, the two have assembled a selection of songs that's hard to believe have remained unheard for so long. 


"I essentially go through hell and high water just to find these records," Barresi says. "Once I find a record worthy of tracking, I begin the (sometimes) extremely arduous process of contacting the band members and encouraging them to take part. Daniel and I agree that licensing all the tracks we're using for Brown Acid is best for everyone involved," rather than simply bootlegging the tracks. When all of the bands and labels haven't existed for 30-40 years or more, tracking down the creators gives all of these tunes a real second chance at success. 


"There's a long list of songs that we'd love to include," Barresi says. "But we just can't track the bands down. I like the idea that Brown Acid is getting so much attention, so people might reach out to us."


Brown Acid: The Fourteenth Trip will be available everywhere on LP, CD and download on April 20, 2022 via RidingEasy Records. Pre-orders are available for digital at Bandcamp, physical pre-orders at RidingEasy Records




Artist: Various Artists

Album: Brown Acid: The Fourteenth Trip

Record Label: RidingEasy Records

Release Date: April 20, 2022


01. The Legends “Fever Games”

02. Mijal & White “I’ve Been You”

03. Liquid Blue “Henry Can’t Drive”

04. San Francisco Trolley Co. “Signs”

05. Blue Creed “Need A Friend”

06. Transfer “Play It Cool”

07. Appletree “You’re Not The Only Girl (I’m Out To Get)”

08. Cox’s Army “I’m Tired”

09. Raven “Raven Mad Jam”






Thursday, March 17, 2022

Wrack (ex-Totimoshi, The Mass) post-metal math-doom hybrid streaming upcoming album early



"Spinning, crushing death metal." -- Metal Injection


A much stronger point of view and a more detailed, grittier sound from Wrack speaks to broad interests in tone and texture, serving its dread in an eclectic blur over various sub-genre lines.” -- Grizzly Butts



Bay Area post-metal artist Wrack is streaming their forthcoming Repulsive Gravity mini-album today ahead of release via New Noise Magazine. Hear and share Repulsive Gravity HERE. (Direct Bandcamp.)


Metal Injection previously shared the title track "Repulsive Gravity" HERE.


Wrack is a one-man metal band formed in 2009 by Bay Area producer and multi-instrumentalist Tyler Cox. The music of Wrack at times recalls the aggro post-metal of early Isis, the patient math-riffing of Nothing-era Meshuggah, or the grandiose soundscapes of proggier Enslaved. But make no mistake, Wrack is steadfastly its own entity. Cox exploits his singular control of the project to express a holistic vision of heavy riffs, menacing vocals, doomy atmospheres, and organic, no-bullshit production. 


Tyler Cox broke into the underground Bay Area music scene in 2000 when he formed the jazz-punk quartet The Mass (Crucial Blast records) on drums. The band made waves locally and internationally with its unique blend of mathy, angular thrash, hardcore, free jazz, and a shifting, genre-defying approach to songwriting. 


In 2004, Cox joined Oakland heavy rock trio Totimoshi on drums and toured the US supporting acts like High on Fire, Melvins, and Helmet. In 2011, he branched out on bass, joining Noah Landis (Neurosis) and Wes Anderson (Idiot Flesh) in a power trio called Young Lions. He is currently playing bass in the wiry, modern post-punk Oakland band Thought Leaders.


Repulsive Gravity is the third Wrack EP, following 2018’s Hollow Sun and 2009’s Graveyard. Conceived and meticulously produced over a two-year period of pandemic-induced solitude, Repulsive Gravity is the heaviest and most cohesive Wrack release to date. The 3-song, 26-minute EP fuses the aggro ferocity of Hollow Sun with ominous, simmering doom first heard on Graveyard. A suffocating, dread-soaked atmosphere permeates, gluing dissonant riffs, churning polyrhythms, and raw, bellowed vocals into a cinematic, apocalyptic musical journey.


Repulsive Gravity is the culmination of Tyler Cox’s twenty-plus years’ dedication to refining his artistic vision and musical skill. Its uncompromising, honest approach to metal will appeal to fans who crave an authentic, forward-thinking, and crushing musical experience.


Repulsive Gravity will be available on CD and download on March 18th, 2022 via King of Sticks Records






Artist: Wrack

Album: Death By Comfort

Record Label:  King of Sticks Records 

Release Date: March 18, 2022


01. Repulsive Gravity

02. Abyss Within

03. No Body


On The Web:

wrack.bandcamp.com

instagram.com/wrackaudio














Wednesday, March 16, 2022

N8NOFACE shares "On My Side" video from upcoming album, touring w/ Ho99o9 in April-May


"Has the short and sweet hookiness of the Ramones or the Descendents, the rigid minimalism of Suicide, the playful, gooey synths of chiptune and a splash of hip-hop delivery in the vocals, which are deceptively catchy and full of character." -- Revolver Magazine


"This artist is tapped into a creative that is free from anyone else’s expectations, which is why his music is so rad! Imagine if Atari Teenage Riot, Wu-Tang Clan, Devo, and Joy Division decided to create a group together the outcome might sound like N8NOFACE.” — CvltNation


"His abrasive melding of everything from synthpop to industrial to new wave to other points in between can probably best described as 'synthpunk,' but whatever you call it, it's catching on." -- No Echo



L.A. via Tucson singer N8NOFACE shares the video for "On My Side" today from his forthcoming album Homicide. Watch and share the gory video via CvltNation HERE. (Direct to YouTube or jump to all DSPs and physical preorders via Linktree HERE.)


N8NOFACE also recently announced Spring '22 tour dates with Ho99o9. Please see all dates below. 


Revolver Magazine recently launched the video for lead single "A Joy in Death" HERE. (Direct YouTube.) Watch a mini-documentary about Nate HERE. No Echo hosted "Hate Me When I'm High" alongside an interview HERE


The intense, hypercranked aggression of Homicide, the new full length by N8NOFACE is a stark contrast to the introspective and almost indie rock leanings of his 2021 album Bound To Let You Down. Although the two were written and recorded in close succession, the screaming hardcore synthpunk of album opener “Burn This MF” aptly sets the tone for this album’s about-face and brutal catharsis. 


“While my previous album Bound To Let You Down was mostly about me coming to grips with my addiction, Homicide is me in the ‘ready to face the fight’ mode,” N8 says. “Once I was getting clean and no longer in a state of regret (as Bound To Let You Down was really about) I was no longer feeling sorry for myself. So it’s like: homicide time, ready to kill it! I do feel this is part two to my last album being they were all songs I made during that time of my life.”


N8NOFACE has been described as a Chicano Flannery O’Connor playing chiptune Ministry, the Sleaford Mods of the American Southwest, Suicide for the 21st Century and Ghostmane meets darkwave synthpunk dashed with early Ween’s glue-huffing pop. Lyrically, his sometimes romantic, oftentimes violent storytelling tunes lean toward Narcocorrido, the bloody ballads of Mexican drug cartels. It sounds dark on the surface, but really N8NOFACE’s music is a lot of fun, and as exciting as the birth of punk rock and hiphop. 


He’s been making and posting glitchy synthpunk since the days of MySpace, when he first gained attention in chiptune duo Crimekillz. Even before the demise of that band, however, N8NOFACE was disseminating his dadaist lo-fi rants online, recording them on the cheap on his home computer setup. “Even to this day, everything I do is recorded in my closet,” he says. “I’ve never recorded at a studio.”


N8NOFACE has to date released 4 proper albums (available on vinyl) — Bound To Let You Down (2021), Just Here To Die (2020), Synth Up The Punks (2019) and True Story (2018) — and a slew of singles, mixtapes and collaborations, many of them with sprawling double-digit track listings. Before relocating to Long Beach, CA around a decade ago, he owned a graffiti & record store in his hometown of Tucson, AZ. It was here that he developed his vast musical taste from grimy hiphop beats to seminal aggressive synth punks The Screamers


“I grew up around some guys living outside the lines of the law,” N8 explains. “When I first started doing this I called it Narco Punk. I’m not glorifying it, I’m giving both sides of the story. Telling the heartbreaking side of the dark side.” Coming from a hiphop and border town culture, he found it difficult to share his esoteric tastes with friends. “How do I make my friends enjoy this music?” he wondered. “I’ll take some Suicide music and twist it to get my friends to listen to this.” 


Throughout, Homicide is guided by greasy synths pushed all the way to the max, lo-fi drum machine beats and N8’s charismatic vocal delivery that draws the listener in and elevates his dark lyrical themes. The claustrophobic mix and stripped down instrumentation really drives home the singer’s isolation and anger. “Fala” is a breakneck electro-hardcore love song. “F U N U N U” (say each of the letters slowly) is a chirping hook-filled mantra, “fuck anyone who ain’t ever believe in you.” Elsewhere, “Hate Me When I’m High” revolves around a bass synth line pushed to the brink of clipping while N8 remorsefully sings, “baby I'm a lost cause, this is true/ A real rock’n’roller this is true/ Hate me when I’m high.” Album closer “On My Side” is the most unabashedly synthpop tune, with an infectious, repetitive bass hook as N8 intones, “I’d kill anyone you asked me to/ Yeah, I”m here to ride/ As long as you’re on my side/ It’s a homicide, homicide, homicide.” 


Homicide will be available on LP, CD, cassette and download on May 6th, 2022 via Blackhouse Records. Pre-order physical HERE, digital HERE



N8NOFACE W/ HO99O9 TOUR 2022:

April 15 - Los Angeles - Echoplex

April 16 - San Jose - The Ritz

April 17 - San Francisco - August Hall

April 19 - Santa Ana - Constellation Room

April 21 - Phoenix - Valley Bar

April 23 - Denver - Marquis Theater

April 25 - Minneapolis - Varsity Theater

April 26 - Chicago - Subterranean

April 27 - Detroit - The Sanctuary

April 29 - Washington D.C. - Songbyrd

April 30 - New York City - Bowery Ballroom

May 1 - Boston - Brighton Music Hall

May 2 - Philadelphia - Underground Arts

May 3 - Durham, NC - Motorco

May 4 - Atlanta - The Masquerade (HELL)

May 6 - West Palm Beach - Respectables

May 7 - Orlando - Henao

May 9 - Nashville - Exit/In

May 10 - Memphis - Growlers

May 12 - Dallas - The Loft

May 13 - Austin - SS Oblivion @ Cheer Up Charlies

May 14 - Houston - Satellite Bar







Artist: N8NOFACE

Album: Homicide

Record Label: Blackhouse Records

Release Date: May 6th, 2022


01. Burn This MF

02. Fala

03. Kill The Killer

04. F U N U N U

05. Doesn’t Count Here

06. Down One

07. A Joy in Death

08. Pushing The Line

09. Poor Dom

10. No Dead Found

11. Yea

12. Hate Me When I’m High

13. I Was Aye Aye Aye

14. lfflugcvj (Ain’t No In Between)

15. Lost That Found This

16. On My Side



On The Web:

linktr.ee/n8noface

n8noface.bandcamp.com



Thursday, March 10, 2022

Touched By Ghoul share "Lost At The Costco" video via Big Takeover Magazine



“Mullenhour's vocals rise to heated roars worthy of stardom, which lend themselves perfectly to Touched by Ghoul's brand of rock that is loud and heavy..." -- Gaper's Block


“The chaotic whirlwind of anger, intelligence and energy that defined the Chicago punk/hardcore scene in the 80s is alive and well in the form of the city’s own Touched By Ghoul.” — Rock & Roll Globe

"Sounds like some long-lost ferocious ’90s punk cult hit, like the unholy love child of Bratmobile and The Lunachicks...A record that starts strong, and only gets better from there." -- The Onion AV Club


Chicago quartet Touched By Ghoul share a new video today from their recently-released sophomore album Cancel The World via Big Takeover Magazine. Watch/share "Lost At The Costco" HERE. (Direct YouTube.)


Big Takeover adds, “while the band’s sound is often of the finger-snappin’, fast-paced variety, the song in Touched by Ghoul’s new video captures them in a deceptively breezy mood. But while 'Lost At The Costco' is easy on the ears, the song’s lyrics are actually terrifying.”


Rock'n'Roll Globe also recently hosted the "Better Than Me" video HERE. (Direct YouTube.) Hear and share Cancel The World at Bandcamp, Spotify and Apple Music.

Funny story: Chicago’s quartet of weirdos Touched By Ghoul recorded their sophomore album Cancel The World at Steve Albini’s Electrical Audio in July 2019 with the title already in place. They mixed it in January 2020, and then the world was actually cancelled. After idling for months, the album was sent for pressing the vinyl to support tour dates. Tours were again cancelled. And, the pressing plant’s press was broken. Cancelled once again.


Of course, everyone’s been through the wringer over the past couple of years, and some much more severe than this. But, Cancel The World may just be the forbidden music so many artists have sought to make. Ironically, the album finds the band taming its aggressive Birthday Party / Babes In Toyland noiserock attack ever so slightly in order to embrace melodies and allow their tousled cynicism to truly shine on songs like “Better Than Me”, “Lost At The Costco” and the title track. but that doesn't mean their acerbic wit isn't on full display. 


Touched By Ghoul is fronted by former Sybris singer/guitarist Angela Mullenhour, along with guitarist Andrea Bauer and the rollicking rhythm section of bassist Alex Shumard and drummer Paige Sandlin. The intrepid group made its debut with 2016’s Murder Circus album (also on Chicago imprint Under Road Records) and for a while things were going pretty great pre-pandemic: TBG played some awesome shows (supporting Foo Fighters at Wrigley Field, Wayne Kramer's MC50, Local H), received great press and built up a small army of zombified followers. 


At last, with nothing more than this album on the horizon for the time being, Touched By Ghoul are here to undo whatever star-crossed curse they’ve brought unto the world, one gloriously weird, catchy song at a time.


Cancel The World is available on LP, download and streaming as of December 3rd, 2021 via Under Road Records. Orders are available HERE






Artist: Touched By Ghoul

Album: Cancel The World

Record label: Under Road Records

Release Date: December 3rd, 2021


01. Better Than Me

02. God Hospital

03. Quick Question

04. Lost at the Costco

05. Sitcom

06. Cancel The World

07. Suicide Space Camp

08. Yacht Problems

09. Cancel The World Redux




On The Web:

touchedbyghoul.com

underroad.com

twitter.com/touchedbyghoul

instagram.com/touchedbyghoul

facebook.com/touchedbyghoul







Tuesday, March 8, 2022

Announcing: 'Brown Acid: The 14th Trip' compilation of rare/lost 60s-70s pre-metal singles, hear first track "Fever Games"

 


"So rare that diehard fuzz junkies say you'd have a better chance of winning the lottery than finding a physical 45 rpm single by one of the bands featured on their latest installment." -- Dangerous Minds


"Will do for hard rock, proto-metal and heavy psych what Nuggets did for garage rock, and bring it to a wider audience of collectors and music fans." -- The Guardian


"Mining the surprising rich reserves of heavy rock and proto-metal from the '60s and '70s, these collections have been crucial to understanding the history of a subgenre of rock that had far deeper roots than most fans realize." -- Paste Magazine




The forthcoming latest edition of the popular compilation series featuring long-lost vintage 60s-70s proto-metal and stoner rock singles, Brown Acid: The Fourteenth Trip will be released April 20th, 2022. Today, Metal Injection shares the 1969 raging lead track "Fever Games" by The Legends HERE. (Direct YouTube.)


The Brown Acid series is curated by L.A. label RidingEasy Records and retailer/label Permanent Records. Read interviews with the series curators via Paste Magazine HERE and LA Weekly HERE


About The Fourteenth Trip:


The Legends’ “Fever Games” is a 1969 fever dream of heavy psych on par with Blue Cheer at their heaviest, featuring an incredible intro with whammy-bar gymnastics through an Echoplex. This Harrisburg, PA power trio, featuring Dan Hartman (Edgar Winter Group, et al) and his brother Dave, also name-checks Jimi Hendrix Experience in the midst of the song’s most blatant Hendrix rip. Perhaps that’s how Fever Games work? Whatever the case may be, this stunning rocker is the B-side to “High Towers,” the band’s second single out of four released over 5 years. 


Next up, another banging track driven by wild sound effects. In this case, Mijal & White serve up some Moog run rampant on their lone 45 from 1973, “I’ve Been You.” Runaway oscillators and modular synths spurt and sputter over some Tommy James & The Shondells bubblegum garage psych. The duo was a Detroit recording engineer (Mike Mijal) and a local musician (Mike White) tinkering with new technology with magical results. Could this heavy lysergic pop gem have inspired Meco’s “Star Wars Galactic Funk” just a handful of years later?


Liquid Blue bring us back to the era’s strong meat ’n’ potatoes blues-rock with this 1969 Texas Rocker “Henry Can’t Drive.” Sure, Henry can’t, but this blazing track sure can drive. This 1969 single on the Texas Revolution label is the band’s only release, with this A-side being penned by brothers Hal and Ted Hawley, also of Lone Star State psychedelic rock unknowns Glory. The dueling guitar solos and the way the band erratically shifts gears makes this one as valuable as liquid gold.


Hailing from Olivet, Michigan, the San Franciso Trolley Co.’s name may be misleading, but their ripping rager “Signs” has all the answers you seek. Their extremely rare 1970 A-side, backed with “Rainbow Heaven” is a blitzkrieg workout of frantic drums and a wailing guitar lead that spits fire and brimstone. Not exactly the Flower Power love-in one might expect given the name, but thankfully these youngsters sound like a hard rocking 13th Floor Elevators meets the MC5. 


Blue Creed was never a real band. That is, the West Virginia group never performed publicly. The band was the brainchild of coal miner & songwriter Bill Rexroad who paid all of the pickup musicians and financed all of the recordings himself. “Need a Friend” indeed. Rexroad sought an original sound by putting guitar speakers in oil drums (an illustration of which became the logo of his label Mo/Go records) and perhaps never having showed off that kind of showmanship on stage doomed Blue Creed to obscurity. 


Transfer’s velvet smooth groove has an almost proto-punk feel like a mashup of the Velvet Underground and The Flamin’ Groovies. But the lyrics referencing tokin’ reefer and the twanging surf lead situate them closer to their heavy rock brethren. This very rare 1974 self-released 45 is this lone archive of the band’s existence, who, we assume just kept right on playin’ it cool into oblivion. 


The cowbell lead-in announces that you’re in for a good time before Appletree’s “You’re Not The Only Girl (I’m Out To Get)” even begins. And when it all kicks in, this Grand Funk adjacent headbanger features silky guitar leads, sweet high vocal harmonies and stomping drums to drive the point home. Apppletree was led by songwriter Gary Apple, who also penned the single’s curiously titled A-side “The Ballad of Pencil.” The date of the band’s sole release is believed to be 1971, but where Appletree took root remains unknown.


Cox’s Army deploy the grungy rocker “I’m Tired” which sounds like if Jimi Hendrix fronted Mudhoney. Yes, please! Though they hailed from Aurora, IL, it sounds like there’s definitely some Pacific Northwest in their blood. Particularly in the gritty production, which hints at The Sonics’ “bustin’ outta lo-fi” style, and the bluesy shuffle rhythm that’s thwacked out on what sounds like a cardboard box. “I’m Tired” b/w “She’s a Fool” is their only known release. 


Not much is known about the enigmatic Columbus, OH musician known as Raven, whose “Back to Ohio Blues” closes this edition. Upon completing his damaged-biker Back to Ohio Blues 5-song album in 1975, he gave away most of the few hundred copies that were pressed and vanished from public eye. The mantra-like droning riff of this 8-minute jam is a “Black To Comm” style epic, driven by Raven’s hostile, no-bullshit diatribe until it all busts open for an insane 2-minute long drum solo soaked in odd effects that sounds like it was copped from a Melvins album. It ends with a droning acoustic guitar coda, in which Raven repeatedly wails, yells and yelps, “lets go make some more love.” It’s easy to understand why this album has been a cult bootleg favorite until its 2021 reissue on our own Permanent Records. 

About the Brown Acid series:


Some of the best thrills of the Internet music revolution is the ability to find extremely rare music with great ease. But even with such vast archives to draw from, quite a lot of great songs have gone undiscovered for nearly half a century -- particularly in genres that lacked hifalutin arty pretense. Previously, only the most extremely dedicated and passionate record collectors had the stamina and prowess to hunt down long forgotten wonders in dusty record bins -- often hoarding them in private collections, or selling at ridiculous collector's prices. Legendary compilations like Nuggets, Pebbles, ad nauseum, have exhausted the mines of early garage rock and proto-punk, keeping alive a large cross-section of underground ephemera. However, few have delved into and expertly archived the wealth of proto-metal, pre-stoner rock tracks collected on Brown Acid


Lance Barresi, owner of L.A.-based Permanent Records and the Permanent Records Roadhouse has shown incredible persistence in tracking down a stellar collection of rare singles from the 60s and 70s for the growing compilation series. Partnered with Daniel Hall of RidingEasy Records, the two have assembled a selection of songs that's hard to believe have remained unheard for so long. 


"I essentially go through hell and high water just to find these records," Barresi says. "Once I find a record worthy of tracking, I begin the (sometimes) extremely arduous process of contacting the band members and encouraging them to take part. Daniel and I agree that licensing all the tracks we're using for Brown Acid is best for everyone involved," rather than simply bootlegging the tracks. When all of the bands and labels haven't existed for 30-40 years or more, tracking down the creators gives all of these tunes a real second chance at success. 


"There's a long list of songs that we'd love to include," Barresi says. "But we just can't track the bands down. I like the idea that Brown Acid is getting so much attention, so people might reach out to us."


Brown Acid: The Fourteenth Trip will be available everywhere on LP, CD and download on April 20, 2022 via RidingEasy Records. Pre-orders are available for digital at Bandcamp, physical pre-orders at RidingEasy Records




Artist: Various Artists

Album: Brown Acid: The Fourteenth Trip

Record Label: RidingEasy Records

Release Date: April 20, 2022


01. The Legends “Fever Games”

02. Mijal & White “I’ve Been You”

03. Liquid Blue “Henry Can’t Drive”

04. San Francisco Trolley Co. “Signs”

05. Blue Creed “Need A Friend”

06. Transfer “Play It Cool”

07. Appletree “You’re Not The Only Girl (I’m Out To Get)”

08. Cox’s Army “I’m Tired”

09. Raven “Raven Mad Jam”