Cool Ghouls

San Fran fools Cool Ghouls have harvested a laidback, echoes and dust garage air for their great new record A Swirling Fire Burning Through The Rye (out now through Empty Cellar Records). This record may have some bare bones affinity with the garage rock set that are their geographical brethren, but missing is the frenetic energy and in its place a more ruminative, studied approach that can nonetheless be electrifying. There is something intrinsically American about the reverb laden fare that evokes the down home revelry and bonhomie that the likes of Creedence Clearwater Revival exulted in. Seeing as CCR have a hell of a lot of stone cold classics up their snakeskin boot, you can understand why I share such a soft spot for this record then.



Buy A Swirling Fire Burning Through The Rye here.

Get Me Some Pi!

I stumbled over this Texan thrashy garage psych band a couple months ago, they're called π (pronounced Pi) and they have whipped out two EPs since September. The latest one came out in March, it's called Ubik, and it wails all over the place. Surely must be Hendrix heathens, lovers of the Leddest of the Zeppelins, Creedance creepoids, Black Sabbath worshippers...and are probably librarians. You can get their gear for the price of genital warts, if you knock on their trailer door - or for free, if you go here.

π - Unfortunate Son
π - The Fool

Friday Cover Up - Look Look Look...

Once again Sonic Masala's 'day jobs' have got in the way of the Friday Cover Up actually ending up on Friday! So here it is on Monday.

Creedence Clearwater Revival are an intrinsic part of my childhood, and of my musical infancy. Its such a shame that John Fogarty thinks he's better without em... Anyway, so last week I spent a fair bit of time down at Kilburn's The King's Head. They have a brilliant jukebox down there, 'hosted' by Rough Trade Records and ACE Records. We had a lot of fun on Friday and Saturday night, tried to differ our playing lists both times. However I inexorably found myself punching in the number for this one, CCR's take on Screamin' Jay Hawkins' 'I Put A Spell On You', one more than a couple of occasions. Sure, it sounds easy, and its one of the most covered songs of all time. But this one rings a bell in my head every damn time I hear it - that I love music. LOVE it. And damn if Fogarty didnt have one of the best voices in down home rock n roll history...

Creedence Clearwater Revival - I Put A Spell On You