The Lascope - Red Rough Fur (2015)

A few years back, I dug deep into the psychedelic sounds of Germany in the 60s and 70s. While the country is not the first to come to mind when considering the acid soaked genre, a fair share of classic bands came out of the country and influenced future sounds on the continent. The Lascope sound more like a bunch of American gents sitting around Santa Cruz to my ear, but the sound they create is worth a listen to even a passing fan of psych music. Just check out the title track; what starts off as an ethereal country ditty goes full on prog in its second half. Drunk motorcycle gangs grinding up lines of coke come to mind when the rustic bluesy riff of Speech for the Owls drops, and the outlaw status is completed when the distortion is turned up to 11. I would mix the vocals deeper into the rack if I were recording this bad boy, but it earned more than a few listens this morning. 

Get it here:

The Lascope - Red Rough Fur (2015)

The Oxford American Southern Music CD No. 12

I apologize for the reduction in frequency of posting lately, there is a lot of family functions to attention around this time of the year and no time to sit on my ass means no posting music. Luckily for everyone though the holiday did yield something relevant for a blog such as this. The Oxford American, a Southern culture magazine published by the University of Central Arkansas given to me by my brother, does an issue about Southern music. Included is a compilation CD that has a collection of tracks from from across recorded musical history that hold some valuable cultural heritage in the minds of their writers. This year is an assemblage of songs from Alabama in particular and range in date of original release from 1949 to 2010. Beyond being chronologically expansive the compilation stretches across genres liberally, featuring blues, country folk, funky rock and roll, to a contemporary indie pop number. There are some real gems on that they cover in beautiful detail in the issue, and for those articles alone it is well worth purchasing. Like the history of the song "Matchbox" and Ralph "Soul" Jackson's version of it that made it onto the compilation. As well there are wonderful singing voices I feel like I've been missing out on for my whole life such as Lil Greenwood and Dinah Washington. Even has a fantastic funky, organ-drenched gospel track by Robert Brown And The Sons Of The South. An astounding examination of the amazing music that can produced by a place that many give precious little thought to in other parts of the world.

To be had here:
The Oxford American Southern Music CD No. 12