Various Artists - Head Rush 3LP + CD

Fruits de Mer Records / Strange Fish (strange fish twenty-two) 

 

Fruits de Mer continues their very popular Head series this time with mostly tracks by modern artists that are highly inspired by the motorik style of early 70s Krautrock of NEU!, Kraftwerk, Harmonia and Can. And what a marvellous, massive package of goodies this is! We are already familiar with talented artists and bands like Jay Tausig, The Lost Stoned Pandas, Moon Goose and The Legendary Flower Punk, but this tribute 3LP + CD features lots of Fruits de Mer debutants, which is always interesting. Many spaceheads of course already knew acts like Tara's Bulba, Sonic Trip Project, Culto al Qondor, Psychic Lemon etc. since they present the cream of the present underground psych scene. Anyway, I learned a few new names and I'm sure you will too!

Many of the tracks are pretty faithful to the early 70s kraut ethos but some also have a bit more modern take on the motorik what comes to sound and instrumentation. I think that is a good thing to have some variation. It's also nice to have a good balance of instrumentals and songs with (at least some kind of) vocals. There are 22 tracks in total, seven on the bonus CD. All others are original takes on the krautrock tradition but the CD is finished with a 30-minute live version of Harmonia's "Watussi". I won't even try to pick out any favourites since Keith has done such a great job choosing the tunes here that there are definitely no fillers included, just pure killers! I'm sure this amazing various artists album will be spinning a lot at appreciating homes around the world this summer, let's hope the last 100 or so copies missing in transit will soon also be found!

www.fruitsdemerrecords.com/headrush.html

Dark Bottle ‎– Krautbilly Freakout

 Hulina Records (hulina-022)

Krautbilly Freakout is the latest album by Tampere based punk-folk/psych-country and doombilly band Dark Bottle. You might remember my review of their debut Five Euro Pizza picture LP looking just like a pizza I reviewed five years ago. The band has (luckily) gone into a bit more psychedelic and darker, harder direction. This CD album includes just four long tracks and our old friend Scott "Dr. Space" Heller plays modular synths on two of them.

The slow, moody and dark Irish traditional "Molly Malone" starts off the album in an almost doomy atmospheres. Heavy stuff with a droney ending! Then it's time for an original sung in German. "Die Bibliothek von Babel" is a nice folk song and Scott's windy synths add a cool spacey layer. I really like the vocals on this one. The track was originally recorded by Don's old experimental post-folk duo The Fractal Cauliflowers. "The Sun only Shines when I Leave" rocks out more and has funny lyrics based on truth about Don's work trips. Cool guitar solo! "Make Finland Rake Again" is the fastest song and and makes you want to have a beer or ten and boogie along. Spacey synth makes it a bit like space rock which is cool! Definitely the most psychedelic track here and my favourite. All in all, this is a nice and cool little album worth checking out if you want to hear something a bit different.

darkbottle.bandcamp.com

 

And Then You Die - Electric Uterus

 Skithund Records

 

Hailing from Vaasa, Finland, noisy and dirty industrial band And Then You Die celebrates its 30 year birthday with a new album called Electric Uterus. The album includes seven cold, nihilistic, harsh and dark new tracks that will make your soul turn black.

The short "Dodesmarsch" starts off the album with screaming sirens and gloomy vibe. "Fuck Your Sacrifice" is perhaps my favourite song. It has droney synths, pounding industrial drums and hypnotic guitar patterns as well as ice-cold vocals. Great! "Postum" is boogieing in the bit minimal,  harsh industrial style. "On the Rim" has some treated spoken word at the beginning and then a groovy beat starts. I'm somehow reminded of Sweatheart, a bit of Americana vibe but all done in an experimental, noise rock style. Next is the more electronic and bit dreamy "Shit That Floats". I like the way the track grows towards the end. Without the distorted vocals this might be Depeche Mode or something, a cool song. "Right Now" is a dark and experimental soundscape that later turns into groovy, pounding alternative/industrial rocking. The album is finished with the weird and sad "Stairway to Disappointment". At the moment the album is only available on streaming and download services but there are plans to also put out a limited CD edition, so watch out for that!

www.skithundrecords.com/artist-pages/atyd/