Harmaa Getto - Suomimorsiamen pyhä tie (2009)

This shit is damned spooky. Harmaa Getto is a Finnish electronic rock and hip hop band that features the recently shared musician Joose Keskitalo. I ran across this band when I found his music but put off downloading and listening to it for a bit as I didn't really know what to make of the idea Finnish hip hop. Truth be told, listening to it doesn't really make it any easier to figure out. However, if you're willing to suspend that feeling that something is wildly out of place with the general conceit of this project, you may find it quite enjoyable. There have been crazy mash-upped and blended styles in the past that have done remarkably well like Matisyahu's Jewish reggae/hip hop. I should note that music is pretty disincentive from any references I might make. It really needs to be heard to even being to understand, and the massive eccentricity from song to song makes it even harder to get a bead on. I think Harmaa Getto falls somewhere between novelty and innovation, but certainly the uniqueness alone was enough to provoke my interest

To be had here:
Harmaa Getto - Suomimorsiamen pyhä tie [192 VBR kbps]

Videohippos - Unbeast The Leash (2007, Monitor)


Windy & Carl - Songs For The Broken Hearted (2008, Kranky)

Girls Names - You Should Know By Now (2010)

I'm pretty super-jazzed about this band. I know I tooted a rather loud horn about Ghost Animal, which I completely stand by still. Well, this must be the music blogging equivalent to a winning streak, not to dismiss anything else I've posted, for if I didn't think it was good and had merit I wouldn't shill it. Girls Names is a Northern Irish band based in Belfast that got signed by Brooklyn's awesome record label Captured Tracks. Although originally an duo, they've grown into a three-piece and they make some gorgeous noise pop. You Should Know By Now is an EP and their initial release in the US, but hopefully more will follow soon. I wish I could provide some really solid comparisons, but pulling a references from the depths of my music archive is remarkably difficult for me. Anyhow, my best shot at the moment is Crystal Stilts, Suicide and Fungi Girls, yet something in me says there is a very obvious something I am forgetting, Jesus & Mary Chain most likely. They're sneaky and omnipresent. No matter the references, Girls Names are spot on for what I am currently looking for musically, and I've got to bet you'll like them a whole lot too.

To be had here:
Girls Names - You Should Know By Now [256 VBR kbps]

Ra Cailum - Leaving EP (2010) & Walkabout (2010)

More of this glo-fi, or chillwave as I've seen it alternatively referred to, that has intrigued me. Ra Cailum is the moniker for a Midwestern electronic musician, taken from the popular anime show Gundam as far as I can tell. The music is synth-heavy and involves liberal samples of vocals and retro-sounding effects. Almost seems like the sort of music one might here in a Gundam-like show or a old sci-fi film but made far more appealing through deft composition. Ra Cailum does seem to be on the mellower side overall, at least compared to bands like Beat Connection or Neon Indian. Leaving EP fits well as a set up to the longer ablum, Walkabout. In fact, a track called "Evergreens" on the EP was a titular follow up on the full-length in "Evergreens (pt. II)." This makes sense, as they were release quite close to one another and contain the same mood throughout them. I know that Walkabout is being given out for free by the artist on last.fm and other places. I assume the same is the case for the Leaving EP but throw him a bone and see him live should you get a chance if it ain't too much trouble.

To be had here:




Leaving EP [320 kbps]













Walkabout [256 VBR kbps]

Ghost Animal - Summertime In Heaven (2010)

You don't realize how much you love the wall of sound until you haven't heard it in a bit. Indeed, this is how I felt when I heard Ghost Animal (and I did notice the frequent use of "ghost" and "animal" band names). Another is the linage of bands that bridges the space between shoegaze and garage rock, Ghost Animal reflects the current trends just as previous groups like the Raveonettes showed the more poppy garage rock sound of the earlier part of the decade. Shoegaze for fans of the Moonhearts, Ty Segall, Bare Wires or Tyvek is a good way to think of it. It is loud, fuzzed out and lo-fi while keeping the droning background that makes shoegaze so fantastic. Although I know I am prone to hyperbole, and hey, why get down on musicians that make something genuine? Nonetheless, Ghost Animal has made a real fucking amazing album with Summertime In Heaven. Holy Moses you need to get off your duff, or stay right on it, and get this album and hear it now.

To be had here:
Ghost Animal - Summertime In Heaven [320 kbps]

Slow Animal - Demo EP (2010)

Bumping around on the dark Internet I found Slow Animal. From what I can figure it is some youths from New Jersey who've gotten some gumption to make garage rock. Really, that is about all it takes in my book and think this EP adorable. It is only ten and half minutes long, so I just got it and have already heard it three times. Really catchy right off the get-go and doesn't let up in energy at all. And another bonus is that I don't have to upload it anything, for they're already sharing the EP on bandcamp for the low low price of free in any manner of digital format.

To be had here:
Slow Animal - Demo EP

Beat Connection - Surf Noir EP (2010)

I'll begin with my disclaimer, I can't remember how I got this album. Just know it was near the top of my recently added songs, and after giving in a listen I was sure it needed to be posted. I mean, how could one pass up such a thing as an EP called Surf Noir? Luckily, the music lives up to the name. Beat Connection has succeed in making electronic music that provokes imagines of a beach side party that wouldn't have Corona. Not too long ago I posted a similar description of Candy Claws, and it is true that the two bands are quite alike. If anything Beat Connection is more dance-orientated and a bit less ethereal than Candy Claws. Another reason I was all worked up to post this band is that it was the first time I saw the term "glo-fi" and those of you that have been regular readers might recall that I think new genre names are fun and cute. Indeed, glo-fi is a good as term as any string of terms I might assemble for what Beat Connection sounds like, especially if you read the good description of glo-fi on last.fm. More or less it is lo-fi electronic music that infuses a good deal of retro or nostalgic elements into it. If Beat Connection is any indication of what this route can yield, I'll be clamoring for more.

To be had here:
Beat Connection - Surf Noir EP [320 bkps]

Tim Cohen

This is pretty much what I have spent all my waking time at my computer listening to for the past 2 days. Tin Cohen is some sort of magic user, who is the lead singer of the Fresh & Onlys and involved in any number of other projects. Still he find the time and creativity to make solo albums that are radically different than most of his group work. Unlike the garage rock of the Fresh & Onlys or the metal of AmocomA that he makes, this is lo-fi chamber pop/bedroom pop tunes. It changes it up enough that finding references to similar music is a bit of a mental work out for my sleepy brain. Best I can summon is James Ausfahrt's less electronic songs, the recently posted Spook House's less guitar laden songs, and so on. Basically the albums are simple and then out of nowhere they feel complex, but I don't know what that means so maybe it isn't good to write down. Basically, trust me on this one: Cohen is a genie in man's skin and beard.

To be had here:




Two Sides of Tim Cohen (2009) [224 VBR kbps]













Laugh Tracks (2010) [224 VBR kbps]

Magnus, Robot Fighter

I know that this is a music blog, however after an alcohol-fueled night at the local bathhouse with my brother I have gotten the idea of making Spacerockmountain a bit more "multi-media," as he put it. To be honest, I haven't been able to keep up with my pace of posting of albums, I was a bit built up and spent most everything I had plus all I was currently listening to in November. So I thought perhaps Spacerockmountain pilgrims might enjoy one of the several series of comics I read while I listen to all the music I post on here. Magnus, Robot Fighter is the series I've been reading lately, although it is from the mid-sixties. It is rather strange to read coming from a modern point of view, but accepting the different expectations and experiences of previous eras the series isn't that outlandish. The basic premise is that Magnus is a human trained by a really nice robot in how to seek out and eliminate robots that commit evil. Where it gets juicy is that in this future, the year 4000 to be exact, humans have surrendered nearly everything to robots, including all sorts of labor, policing and maintenance of society. If you're the sort to look at stories in a socio-political context, Magnus is a stereotypical conservative/libertarian hero that stands up to the corrupt and dishonest system. Though this libertarian conceit is irrefutably at the heart of the comic, it makes for a romantic tale and unlike the socialistic ideal I am more inclined to side with politically libertarianism has a very storybook quality to it. On a less intellectual level, it is awesome just because it is has a man karate chopping robots apart, who actually declare "DESTROY ALL HUMANS," while wearing what seems to be a dress.

First issue to had here:
Magnus, Robot Fighter #1 (Feb, 1963)

P.S. a good program I use to read .cbr and .cbz files that works for mac, PC and linux computers is Comic Book Reader Pro. It is full screen all the time, but doesn't interfere with music listening, plus best of all is works completely for free, though the creator might have inserted something that begs so for a donation. This is easily ignored if you are the type to not paid for shit however.

Wetdog - Frauhaus! (2009)

This is another band that was wisely (as wise as an algorithm can be) by last.fm. Anyhow, I suppose if it works that is why I keep using the site. While being another all female comprised band, I think that is a minor note but the one that lead me to them probably, through Frankie Rose and the Outs and Trash Kit most likely. They do bear a certain resemblance to both of those groups, but aren't quite the same as either. In fact a band that Wetdog reminds me more of is They Shoot Horses Don't They. The strange, intermittent beats and the slightly distorted, chanting vocals are quite eccentric indeed. At times Frauhaus! summons images of a haunted carnival or a wildly bizarre like that. They make post-punk leaves me not only stracthing my head but thoroughly enthralled.

To be had here:
Wetdog - Frauhaus! [192 VBR kbps]