Rewind Review: Rupa – Disco Jazz (2019 reissue)

Falling in a delightful place between disco and Bollywood music, Rupa Biswas‘ often forgotten EP, Disco Jazz, is a fun record originally released in 1982 that unfortunately was released around the same time as Nazia Hassan‘s massive disco hit – “Aap Jaisa Koi.” As a result, Disco Jazz fell into obscurity until it was rediscovered by DJ sets a few years ago.

Thank heavens it was, because the EP is a blast. Teaming with a bunch of crackerjack Canadian studio musicians in Calgary, Rupa and her crew waste no time in getting you moving with “Moja Bhari Moja” – which translates to “Fun, great fun, fun.” Don Pope throws down a wicked solo while John Johnston matches him with one of the best disco bass licks you’ve heard since, well, 1982, Aashish Khan ups the ante on his sarod, and Robin Tupts‘ drum beat keeps the whole thing locked into a super groove.

“East West Shuffle” is an instrumental that has everyone grooving, especially Pranesh Khan on tablas. “Aaj Shanibar” is a bright track with Rupa doing acrobatic vocals alongside Aashish Khan’s sarod before Geoff Bell‘s synths take center stage for a shining solo. The closing track, “Ayee Morshume Be-Reham Duniya” showcases Rupa’s vocal talents (and a solo by Pope that seems effortless) even more and is a song about desiring to leave a world that suppresses love and joy to find one beyond it.

This EP is a treasure, and that it’s been unearthed after so many years is a blessing to music lovers around the world.

Keep your mind open.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0Uf1j3aJh0

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Rewind Review: Frankie and the Witch Fingers – ZAM (2019)

Frankie and the Witch Fingers had put out plenty of material before their 2019 release, ZAM, but it might be fair to say that they were in a full sprint when they released it. The album is almost non-stop energy and bangers from beginning to end.

Starting with the trippy “Dracula Drug,” the album gets off to what you think is a heady, Nang Champa incense-sniffing start, but it soon bursts into a full-blown rock song with guitars that hit like axes through a piece of firewood. “Work” takes off like a funny car at a green light and never employs the parachute to slow down as the band sings about, you guessed it, work and who’s really the boss and who’s really the employee. “Realization” is a blast (especially live) with its driving beats and bass. It instantly gets your toes tapping, if not pogoing around your room, office, or the coffee shop where it happens to be playing. It drifts into a psychedelic mind-bender so you have time to take a sip of tea before “Pleasure” (“Everybody wants it. Everybody needs it.”) comes along with its killer bass line, synth-organ riffs, and bad-ass swagger.

The title track is over eight minutes of psych-rock jamming that almost overwhelms you. “Cobwebs” and “Dark Sorcerer,” apart from being good inspiration for Dungeons and Dragons campaigns, are fun tracks that combine psychedelia with garage rock. “Purple Velvet” could’ve been a Velvet Underground track in an alternate timeline, and the short “I Am” sounds a bit like swamp rock at first and then morphs into a desert rock gas pedal-stomper that makes a hard left and becomes “Underneath You.” It’s no accident, I think, that those two titles complete a sentence, and it’s no accident that “Underneath You” shifts that muscle car into fifth gear so it can race down a road partially covered in drifting sand dunes. The album ends with “Head Collector,” a straight-up psychedelic track that takes its time to languish in a warm sun alongside a stream.

ZAM is a great place to jump onto the Franke and the Witch Fingers train if you’re looking for a place to start. Listen to it loud.

Keep your mind open.

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Rewind Review: Donald Fagen – The Nightfly (1982)

The liner notes of Donald Fagen‘s 1982 masterpiece, The Nightfly, state, “The songs on this album represent certain fantasies that might have been entertained by a young man growing up in the remote suburbs of a northeastern city during the late fifties and early sixties, i.e., one of my general height, weight and build.”

It’s tempting to call this a Steely Dan album, since Fagen is the lead singer on the album and many of the studio musicians he assembled for it played on multiple Steely Dan records, but the album is truly all his own. After all, it’s about him growing up in that remote suburb and dreaming of a bright future, such as the one described in the instant hit “I.G.Y. (International Geophysical Year)” in lyrics like “Here at home we’ll play in the city, powered by the sun. Perfect weather for a streamlined world. There’ll be spandex jackets for everyone.” Fagen’s synths and the entire horn section (Randy Brecker, Dave Tofani, Michael Brecker, Ronnie Cuber, and Dave Bargeron) gel so well that it makes your jaw drop.

Speaking of jaw-dropping, Chuck Rainey‘s bass work on “Green Flower Street” is a thing of wonder (and Larry Carlton‘s guitar solo is no slouch). “Ruby Baby” has Fagen professing his love for a woman who doesn’t love him, but he’s determined to win her heart. “Maxine” is a tribute to another woman Fagen knew when he was in school (“We’ve got to hold out till graduation. Try to hang on, Maxine.” The song is a sweet ballad (with jazz piano from Greg Phillinganes), with Fagen telling his paramour that one day they’ll jet to Mexico City or move to Manhattan to escape the urban sprawl…but you’re not sure if it’s just wishful thinking. Michael Brecker’s tenor sax solo is top notch on it.

“New Frontier” is a fun tribute to summer parties in the fallout shelter built by Fagen’s dad (“We’ve got provisions and lots of beer. The key word is survival on the new frontier.”), one of which is attended by a blonde who has “a touch of Tuesday Weld.” Fagen immediately tries to make time with her, claiming he’s moving to the big city “to learn design and study overseas” and that they’re both into Dave Brubeck. Starz Vanderlocket‘s percussion on the track is so hip that it’s almost criminal.

The title track is a slick ode to the late night jazz and talk radio Fagen heard growing up in the NYC suburbs. “The Goodbye Look” is a sultry tale of either a break-up or a professional hit – possibly both – as Fagen sings about “a small reception just for me behind the big casino by the sea. I know what happens. I read the book. I believe I just got the goodbye look.” The hand percussion, bass, and vibes bring in a Caribbean flair and Carlton’s guitar solo is so groovy that it makes you want to drink a cocktail with an umbrella in it. Fagen saves some of his best organ chops for the closer, “Walk Between Raindrops,” a fun, jazzy number with a killer bass line from Will Lee. The whole song sounds like it was a blast to record.

The whole album does, really, and the sound quality of it is astounding. Every note is perfect.

Keep your mind open.

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Rewind Review: King Buffalo – Orion (2015)

Orion, the first album from Rochester, New York’s psych-space-doom trio King Buffalo is a stunning debut. The album covers a lot of ground…in outer space, along misty mountain paths, and across desert plains.

The title track opens the album with David Gilmour-like guitar from Sean McVay and builds to a thundering echo rolling down from a lost Greek temple high on a hilltop. McVay’s guitar becomes the Silver Surfer racing across the cosmos while Dan Reynolds‘ bass and Scott Donaldson‘s drums are the engines of Galactus’ ship behind him.

“Monolith” adds some Velvet Underground guitar styling to their repertoire while McVay sings about cosmic things that cause more fascination than fear. It drifts (melts?) right into “Sleeps on a Vine,” a song about a mysterious woman who may or may not be real. Donaldson’s beats almost take the forefront through the whole track, becoming the heartbeat of the man intrigued by the woman (mirage?). It becomes a heavy jam not unlike some All Them Witches tracks, which is no surprise as the bands are friends and ATW is even thanked in the liner notes of the album.

Reynolds’ bass gets “Kerosene” off to a groovy start, and McVay’s guitar sounds like a distant calling vulture at some points in it. Other times, it sounds like a nest of yellowjackets. “Down from Sky” has a countrified sound, complete with slide guitar, setting up the mammoth sounds of the next two tracks – “Goliath” (parts one, the instrumental track, and two, the mind-blowing rocker that opens your eyes and melts your face).

Reynolds and Donaldson hit their instruments so fiercely in spots during “Orion Subsiding” that it sounds like they might break. The album ends with the mind-expanding “Drinking from the River Rising.”

It’s a powerful debut, making you want to track down everything else they have out there. Cosmic rock like this is always fascinating, and King Buffalo do it well.

Keep your mind open.

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Rewind Review: Wanda Jackson – First Lady of Rockabilly (2012)

Spanning several years in a little over two hours, the First Lady of Rockabilly collection of Wanda Jackson‘s material is a great compilation of her work and further cements her place in rock and music history as one of the premier voices to ever play the game.

Jackson’s influence on rock and country is massive, counting Jack White, The Cramps, and two ElvisesPresley and Costello – among her many devotees. Presley was also her paramour until he split to make movies in 1957.

The collection contains so many hits that I don’t envy whomever had to choose what to put in and what to leave out. “Let’s Have a Party,” her first big hit, was a no-brainer for inclusion, of course. “Fujiyama Mama” is a wild one about how much of a bad ass she is. “Funnel of Love” is another one of her biggest hits, and includes wild elements of exotica and monster surf rock. “Riot in Cell Block Number 9” is, if you ask me, a better tune than “Jailhouse Rock.”

“You Can’t Have My Love” is the first straight-up country track on the compilation (and her first single, which cracked the country charts Top 10 list in 1954), with Jackson strutting her stuff and shooting down a potential suitor who offers her silk and satin, but is soon frustrated by her ignoring him. “I Gotta Know” keeps up the country swing flair. “In the Middle of a Heartache,” a song she co-wrote, proves she had the vocal chops to compete with Patsy Cline when she wasn’t belting out risqué rockers.

“Right or Wrong (I’ll Be with You)” is another Jackson-penned country ballad. Jackson’s voice is so strong and fun that it’s sometimes easy to overlook how good of a songwriter she is. The compilation is loaded with songs she wrote or co-wrote, such as the not-so-subtly naughty “Savin’ My Love,” the sexy growler “Mean, Mean Man,” the swinging, floor-filler “Baby Loves Him,” the witty “Who Shot Sam?”, the solid hit “Rocky Your Baby,” and the slick as Bryl-Creem “Cool Love.”

“Hard-Headed Woman” includes a solo from legendary country performer / guitarist Roy Clark that will make your head spin. Her cover of Billy Crudup / Elvis Presley’s “My Baby Left Me” has extra bite to it considering Jackson’s relationship with the King of Rock and Roll. The drum beats on “Sticks and Stones” are hot as a griddle. Her covers of Neil Sedaka‘s “Fallin'” and “Stupid Cupid” are fun, hip-swaying rockers.

“There’s a Party Goin’ On” starts off the second half of the set with a great, rollicking floor stomper. “Hot Dog! That Made Him Mad” is a groovy story about Jackson having dalliances with other lovers to make her man appreciate him more – a story about FemDom when such a topic was taboo. Jackson’s vocals on “Cryin’ Thru the Night” would give Hank Williams a run for his money.

“It Doesn’t Matter Anymore” and “I’d Rather Have You” are lovely country ballads, and “Tears at the Grand Ole Opry” is a barely disguised tale of sexism at the iconic music venue. “Long Tall Sally” brings everyone to the dance floor and the collection closes with the appropriately titled “Man, We Had a Party.”

The whole collection is fun, and it works well as an introduction to Jackson’s work or as an addition to anyone’s collection of her records.

Keep your mind open.

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Rewind Review: Hüsker Dü – Savage Young Dü (2017)

“Savage” is a mild way of putting it.

Savage Young Dü from Hüsker Dü is a four-LP / three-CD compilation by Numero Group of early tracks from the band, spanning 1979-1983. It’s jam-packed (69 tracks, 47 of which have never before been released, and there are scores more they could still put on another compilation – let’s hope so) with demos, live cuts, B-sides, and remastered cuts of their first singles and EPs. It’s essential for any fan of the band, or early 1980s punk rock, and completely bonkers. The booklet inside the set is a wealth of information, too, with interviews and stories from the band members (Grant Hart – drums and vocals, Greg Norton – bass, Bob Mould – guitar and vocals) and many of their friends and early engineers / producers.

The first track is a demo version of “Do You Remember?” and it’s an instant classic with Norton’s chugging bass and snotty, bratty vocals from Mould while Hart tries to knock down the walls of the record store basement where they recorded it. “Sore Eyes” could’ve been a Buzzcocks track, and it’s neat to hear the band trying different musical styles and exploring multiple influences in these early tracks before settling into their “go like hell and blow out the speakers” sound. “Can’t See You Anymore” has Hart telling a girl he can’t date her anymore because she’s wants to much sex.

By the time we get to “Do the Bee” a couple tracks later, the band is already going nuts and screaming from the basement floor (while writhing around on it, according to the story listed in the booklet). Their cover of The Heartbreakers‘ “Chinese Rocks” is delightfully sludgy. A “rehearsal” version of “Data Control” has Norton’s bass tuned so heavy it could sideline for a doom metal band.

The live version of the fun “Insects Rule the World” ends with Mould proclaiming, “We’re not the most professional band in the Twin Cities,” but Hüsker Dü would go on to become one of the big three powerhouses of that area (along with Prince and The Replacements). The live cut of “Sexual Economics” has a cool post-punk edge to the rusty knife sound of it, and Mould’s solo is great.

“Statues” and “Amusement” are two early classics. The venue where the live version of “Walk within the Wounded” was recorded can barely contain the song. “I’m Tired of Doing Things Your Way” sounds like a fist fight is going to break out at any second. It probably did during “All Tensed Up” – a blistering cut. “Don’t Try to Call” goes by so fast that you barely have time to breathe before “I’m Not Interested” starts. Mould screams, “Fuck you!” to the small crowd at the end of a live version of the furious “Let’s Go Die.”

Grant’s drumming on a live recording of “Private Hell” is somewhat Devo-like, and his drum work on the following track, “Diane,” sounds like it inspired Dave Grohl. “In a Free Land” is one of many politically charged Hüsker Dü tracks. “What Do I Want” has so much angst that it makes you want to smash a wall with a hammer. “M.I.C.”, on the other hand, makes you want to smash the whole damn house. “Afraid of Being Wrong” is like being at the wrong end of a dodge ball game and the message is still resonant today.

Their cover of Donovan‘s “Sunshine Superman” is a fun inclusion, with Hart’s vocals and drum work both a hoot. By the time we get to “Everything Falls Apart,” we can hear hints of the future sound of the band. The collection ends with six loud, raucous live tracks, including a somehow even faster version of “Do You Remember?”, a Norton-heavy version of “It’s Not Funny Anymore,” and a version of “It’s Not Fair” that sounds like a 747 taking off in a hailstorm and closes with a minute of bass and guitar feedback before someone at the club shuts off their amps and calls them “one of the greatest hardcore bands in the country.”

This thing is a treasure trove, and not for the timid. It might flatten the unwary. In other words, it’s amazing.

Keep your mind open.

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Rewind Review: The Smithereens – Live in Concert! Greatest Hits and More (2008)

Recorded over the course of four nights at The Court in New Brunswick, New Jersey, Live in Concert! Greatest Hits and More by The Smithereens was a great return to the band’s home state and a familiar venue to a raucous crowd.

The album captures the band’s raw, rock sound well. Consider yourself lucky if you got to see them live in their heyday. They were one of the best touring bands in the United States (and a new iteration of them still tours with Marshall Crenshaw on lead vocals, no less).

Opening track “Behind the Wall of Sleep” still punches hard, and “Drown in My Tears” somehow hits even harder. Jim Babjak and Pat Dinizio‘s guitars are a tremendous one-two punch throughout it (and the whole album, really). “Miles from Nowhere” builds like a strong, chugging engine in a hot rod warming up before a drag race down a long stretch of highway. Dennis Diken‘s drumming propels the track, and he sneaks some jazz swing into the mix.

“Room without a View” slows things down just enough for you to catch a breath, but not by much. “Only a Memory” keeps your toes tapping, and Severo Jornacion‘s bass work on it is a solid groove that keeps the band locked in tight. “House We Used to Live In” rocks as well as you remember. It’s always better live, and this captured version doesn’t disappoint. It drifts into a bit of psychedelic territory about halfway through the track (which is almost an eleven-minute version) and gives everyone ample opportunity to stretch their muscles and show off their chops (especially Diken).

The slow, lovely “Spellbound” is almost shocking after the previous track, but it soon wraps you in its warm blanket and has you swaying like a reed in the wind. The album contains two new (for the time) tracks, and the first is the haunting, strong “Since You Went Away” – a great example of Smithereens songs about lost love. “She’s Got a Way” is a great example of another type of Smitheerens song – power pop.

“Yesterday Girl” is another power pop gem, with Diken and Jornacion combining their rhythmic powers for all of your benefit. “Well Alright” is nearly a Dinizio solo effort with his acoustic guitar and strong vocals, until the drum fill kicks the song up a couple notches. The version of “Especially for You” on the album has a bit of a bluesy swagger to it that I like. “Any Other Way” is the second new track on the album, and it’s a hip tune about (you guessed it) Dinizio finding and losing love.

“Top of the Pops,” one of their biggest hits, sounds a little extra grungy here, which I don’t mind at all. Their cover of “Time and Time Again” is a blast and always a wonderful salute to one of their biggest influences – Paul McCartney. The album ends with three classics: “Blood and Roses” (with a downright furious solo from Babjak), an eight-minute version of “A Girl Like You,” and – a welcome addition and a salute to their old school fans – the theme to the Batman TV show from the 1960s (which was a staple of their early live sets).

It’s a fun album and a great reminder of why The Smithereens are one of the best American rock bands of their era (or any other, really).

Keep your mind open.

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Rewind Review: The Rolling Stones – Sticky Fingers (1971)

Widely considered one of the best Rolling Stones albums ever and one of the best rock albums of all time, Sticky Fingers is a dirty, grungy, sweaty, horny record. I mean, how could it not be with that title and that infamous cover?

It’s full of mega-hits, to boot. The opener, “Brown Sugar,” is an instant classic recorded in the famous Muscle Shoals studio in Alabama and brazenly covered taboo subjects in that part of the U.S. – interracial sex, heroin, slavery, and cunnilingus among them. The album goes from what sweaty blues rocker to the slower, fuzzier “Sway.” Mick Taylor‘s guitar work on it is outstanding (and his lack of a writing credit on it would be among his reasons for leaving the band down the road).

“Wild Horses” is one of Mick Jagger‘s many songs about being emotionally fragile after a breakup (and about missing home while being on the road). Keith Richards‘ Nashville-style playing is so subtle and masterful that it’s easy to overlook. “Can’t You Hear Me Knocking” is one of the best one-take tracks in rock history, with Richards’ open-tuned guitar laying down sharp fuzz, Charlie Watt‘s pristine beats, Jagger’s pleading vocals, Taylor’s wild, jamming riffs, and Bill Wyman locking everything into place with his bass. The greatest part of it is the extended jam, which wasn’t intended, but started when Taylor decided to keep playing and everyone joined in with him…resulting in a wild, psychedelic trip that includes great saxophone playing from Bobby Keys (who almost makes the song his own), sweet conga from Ricky Dijon, and Billy Preston‘s outstanding organ work.

“You Gotta Move” is their version of the African-American spiritual standard, and Richards and Taylor crank up the fuzz and grit on it. “Bitch” is another instant-classic rocker with the bold horn work from Keys and Jim Price (on trumpet), and, as the story goes, Richards came up with the riff while eating a bowl of cereal. “I Got the Blues” is pretty much a Stones tribute to Otis Redding.

The title of “Sister Morphine” denied it airplay and release in the United Kingdom when the original version was first released by co-writer Marianne Faithfull. The Stones’ version is full of dangerous guitar from Richards and Taylor. “Dead Flowers” is one of the Stones’ many forays into country music…and it’s also a song about heroin. “Moonlight Mile” came about after a long night session between Jagger and Taylor and is an ode to love and sex…and possibly cocaine.

Sex, drugs, rock and roll…It’s all here. It’s all what you’d expect from vintage Stones, and it comes in an Andy Warhol-designed package. What more could you want (apart from a vintage vinyl copy with the working zipper on the cover)?

Keep your mind open.

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Rewind Review: Shonen Knife – Adventure (2016)

It’s amazing how relevant Shonen Knife‘s 2016 album, Adventure, is to a world emerging from a pandemic in which we were shut in our homes. Shonen Knife have always been one of the most optimistic bands on the planet, and I’ve always believed it’s impossible to be sad if one of their songs is playing. That enthusiasm is everything everyone needs as we leave our cocoons and get back to baseball games, the Dairy Queen, and hugging each other.

The album opens with “Jump into the New World,” with Naoko‘s lead guitar and bouncy vocals encouraging us to “Feel a bright light, yeh, yeh, with a happy song in your heart.” and “Challenge yourself, yeh, yeh, with a happy song in your heart.” “Rock ‘n’ Roll T-shirt” (with guest background vocals by Naru) is an ode to band shirts, and it’s amazing no one else before Shonen Knife thought to write a song about them. Naoko proudly declares that she wears them to bed, at shows, and everywhere else. “Calabash” has a great bass walk from Atsuko, and a saucy solo from Naoko.

“Dog Fight” (with Ritsuko on guest bass) is a story of Naoko visiting a beach and walking into a scene with two dogs engaged in a brawl. The beat and rhythm are too peppy to be depressing. “Wasabi,” with Atsuko on lead vocals, is one of many Shonen Knife’s songs about food; and, like so many others, it shreds. Risa (who is an absolute beast behind a drum kit) puts down a wicked surf beat and, thanks to Atsuko, I’ve learned that wasabi is good with avocado. Risa takes the lead vocals on “Green Tangerine (Kabosu),” which, on its face, is about eating the fruit, but, below the surface, is about embracing an unknown future.

“ImI (emoji)” is a salute to the “devil horn” sign of metal (“They say that it was created by DIO a long time ago. Keeping us away from evil harm. Now! You’ve got the power.”), and it appropriately rocks. Naoko sings about her dream vacation on “Hawaii” – a song that blends psychedelic surf guitar with Risa’s beach cook-out drums. Naru picks up the bass on “Tasmanian Devil,” another fun Shonen Knife song about a cute, furry animal that can be quite vicious. The album ends with “Cotton Candy Clouds” (with Ritsuko on backing vocals) – a lovely track about wanting to eat clouds because they look like the delicious fair food.

It’s a fun record, as is par for the course with a Shonen Knife album. They continue to make fun music and live the high life. We should all be so lucky to have an adventure like that.

Keep your mind open.

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Rewind Review: My Bloody Valentine – EP’s 1988 – 1991 (2012)

Released almost a decade ago, but sounding like it could’ve come out yesterday, My Bloody Valentine‘s collection of EP’s and rarities, appropriately titled EP’S 1988 – 1991, is a two-disc wallop of sound that collects the band’s four, rare EP’s and multiple bonus tracks.

The first five tracks on disc 1 come from 1988’s You Made Me Realise. The title track, with its punishing drums and bass, opens things with enough fuzz for an entire album (and reveals the massive influence MBV had on A Place to Bury Strangers). Debbie Googe‘s heavy bass propels “Slow” while Kevin Shields‘ guitar sounds like he left it in the sun too long. “Thorn” more than doubles the speed of the previous track and has some of Shield’s clearest vocals, which almost seem odd to hear when you’re used to so many tracks dripping with reverb and distortion. “Cigarette in Your Bed” does a neat balancing act with Bilinda Butcher‘s ethereal vocals and Colm Ó Cíosóig‘s voodoo drumming. “Drive It All Over Me” is one of MBV’s most upbeat tracks and makes you want to road trip with your friends.

The next four tracks are from the Feed Me with Your Kiss EP (also from 1988) . The title track also appears on their Isn’t Anything album from the same year. It’s a wild track with Shields and Butcher trading vocals while all four band members bounce around the room like a punch-drunk boxer intent on destroying everything in his path. “I Believe,” with its pounded piano keys, seems to indicate a love of The Stooges. Shields’ vocals on “Emptiness Inside” have a bit of a punk sneer to them, and Googe’s bass spares no mercy throughout it. “I Need No Trust” could’ve been a Velvet Underground track in a previous life.

MBV returned in 1990 with the Glider EP, and the lead single, “Soon,” became one of their biggest hits. It’s no surprise. The song is a shoegaze delight with Cíosóig’s beats sounding like early rave riffs, Googe’s hip-shaking bass, and Butcher and Shields’ twin wall-of-sound guitars and soft vocals. The EP’s title track sounds like it’s made up of parts of “Soon” played backwards. “Don’t As Why” brings in acoustic guitars to mesh with the fuzz and is a song Oasis probably wishes they’d written. “Off Your Face” has a bit of a psychedelic bend and some of Butcher’s loveliest vocals on any MBV track.

Disc 2 starts with the Tremolo EP from 1991, and the first cut, “To Here Knows When,” also appears on their classic Loveless album from the same year. It’s a swirling, fog-like track that seems to envelop you with its fuzzy, bright warmth. “Swallow” has Middle Eastern touches in its percussion and even adds a flute to the mix. “Honey Power” again puts Butcher on lead vocals and deftly moves back and forth between shoegaze pop and shoegaze power. “Moon Song” begins like some sort of death dirge, but soon turns into an incense smoke mind trip.

What follows are rare tracks and previously unreleased material. “Instrumental No. 2″ (the mellow one) and Instrumental No. 1” (the scorching one) are from a bonus 7-inch single released with Isn’t Anything. The full version of “Glider” (from 1990’s Glider E.P. Remixes) is over ten minutes of psychedelic drone. “Sugar” is from a rare 1989 split 7-inch flexi-disc and sounds like a Nine Inch Nails song if Trent Reznor were a lot happier in 1989.

The last three songs are the previously unreleased ones – “Angel” (seductive shoegaze with lead vocals by Butcher), “”Good for You” (a high-speed fuzz-fest), and “How Do You Do It” (a dangerous track with everyone playing their instruments like a professional hit squad). All of them are great treats to hear.

This stuff is essential if you’re a fan of MBV, shoegaze, noise rock, drone rock, or guitar rock…or even just rock in general. MBV are still a powerhouse and a band with whom you should not trifle. Approach with caution, but you’ll love them if you embrace the power.

Keep your mind open.

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