I seached on youtube and it was true!

They even toured Europe on June-July. Here’s the footage of their performance on June 30th at TIVOLI, UTRECHT

I wish I could meet them someday. In real life…

Reviewed by Rekti

I need to warn you : THIS BAND IS FUCKING HEAVY!!!

I don’t want to use the word ‘fuck’ lightly. When I say fuck, I really means fuck. If what the rock historian say about the origin of rock music is true, then this is the ultimate example of recent exponents. This is the music that could make the ancient men wanna dance to, pray to, and fuck to.

According to Julian Cope, tribe music was essential for the life and society because usually used in their religious ritual. You have to understand that religious ritual in ancient time, including paganism involved singing verses along with rhythmic drums and often with noises. That includes some sexual intercourse, because for them sex is very important element of life. They also lose themselves into the music and reaches trans condition (or you could call it high). These days, this ritual usually accused to be or quoted as barbarism by many. While in those age, it was consider holy and noble, as a prayer to God, a symbols of gratefulness.

Many artist, musician a like had screwed their mind and mentality with ; acidic substance; alcohol; free sex and music commercialism, only to lost themselves in the “Sex, Drugs and Rock and Roll”. That sentence has mislead the true meanings of sexuality, higher conscience, and music. While the meaning was there all along in our souls.

But “Avatar” is the closest thing you can get to feel the vibe of those ancient era. By experiencing this album, you could describe Comets On Fire as the most sincere artist, the band that appreciate life, human being and religion, the most.

Comets On Fire – Dogwood Rust [.mp3]

Comets On Fire – Lucifer’s Memory [.mp3]

Comets On Fire – Holy Teeth [.mp3]

Reviewed by Rekti

Firstly, I have to point out that I hate Emerson, Lake & Palmer; Rick Wakeman’s solo albums; and slightly disowned post-Syd Barret Pink Floyd. These are because I grew up in the punk rock environment. Somehow I could sense difference between intensity and pretentiousness. Later usually could be seen on mega show of progressive rock band, who later will inspire super mega boring guitar shredders. Even though Andromeda was formed around that golden age of prog rock era, these guys are the different shit.

Secondly, the fact is that they disbanded after one album (to join Atomic Rooster later on) is so punk rock. I mean no one even noticed them at the time even to this day. Selling out was the least thing they could hold in mind for sure. Definitely, they were just about dropping some acid, crank the amp up, having some good laugh, and then went home for another job – for another day. Except for one guy who joined Atomic Rooster, he might’ve been tasted a lil’ bit of cock rock glories. But of course you could still argue that Atomic Rooster is so much better than ELP. Then again that’s a bit of different story, sorry.

Andromeda – Turn To Dust

words by Rekti

Some might say digital technology kills the music industry. With mp3′s rapidly replacing conventional phonograph, major labels and big time music businessmen still searching ways to obtain huge amount of money they once earned. But is it true what people saying about the internet, file sharing and all other gadget that they accused for killing music industry? Are they really a disaster for us? Should we call them a enemy?

Certainly not.

Whole bunch of kids now days are only into spending their parent’s money for metal bands T-shirts, tight jeans, tattoos, McBeth and eyeliners rather than collecting records and spending hours in front of the jukebox. They don’t even have a sense for research, what they favor are only what they have on their iPod which from their hipster friend they got the playlists from (Shit, too many they in on sentence).

What people doesn’t realise is that there’s a whole new adventurous possibility brought to you by the virtually unlimited world of internet. Thank god for the existing vinyl junkies and geeks that evolves them selves and their exponent from the younger generation. What they do is not too different from what they did for Led Zeppelin, when they hide the tape recorder inside their boots and talked all day about the band among their friends. This word of mouth culture still obviously preserved well not only by the former geeks but mainly by the whole new generation who share the same feeling for the love of music.

Since MTV is not access-able anymore these days, youtube could be the new way of promoting music videos, in a tradition of bootlegging of course. Bellow are the example of what they do. They might wear sneakers rather than boots and use cellphone rather than tape recorder. But they still are the bootleggers. These kids are the saviour. This century’s chirstined warrior with internet as their weapon.

I’d like to say the music industry may die, and I might even not caring about those limo riding CEO’s. But the music will be here and there forever until the end of the world.

Reviewed by Rekti

The City of San Francisco has been associated with ‘Summer of Love’ along with ‘wear flower in your hair’ cliche for over 30 years now, it’s citizen apparently getting used with middle aged tourist wander around in the streets trying to find Grateful Dead’s head quarter for a typical photographic souvenir.

These cliche too, what made young musician alike whose paving their way in the music industry desperately tagged as ‘Psychedelic Rock Revivalist’, and made Jefferson Airplane feels like a slight bitter taste on their throat after vomiting in the morning, every time they compared to the name. Especially for Darker My Love, who is actually came from Los Angeles, CA.

Comparisons to the likes of Jeffersons (or other late 60′s band that affiliated with that Summer of Love) is not only too obvious but unobserved. It is an important fact that Tim Presley (duitar/vocal) and Andy Granelli (drums) are formerly a member of the band The Nerve Agents and Andy formerly plays drum for The Distillers, which fairly explain why I could slightly sense proto-punk element in Darker My Love sounds. What they have in conscience is apparently more of The Stooges than The Doors. And the group’s sound is often compared to bands such as Can and My Bloody Valentine which totally make sense.

Other fact which also amuse me a lot is that in Spring 2006, Presley and Barbato (bass/vocal) became members of Manchester (U.K.)-based group The Fall. They both are featured prominently on The Fall’s most recent album, Reformation Post TLC. This could be an indication of their broad musicianship and artistry.

Their self titled debut album is a combination of sleazy ambient pop with blistering fuzzy stomper. Their emotion flood fluently through several mood changes between songs. Some tracks are lazy and others are sometime extremely furious. That changes even happen in one song, if you listen to it firmly it could make you want to check in to the mental institution voluntarily. Their songs are not in the tradition of monotonic stoner rock of The Warlocks. They sounds ethereal but has a very compressed meanings in someway.

My personal favorites are ‘Fall’ and ‘Summer Is Here’. You could barely hear what Presley and Barbato singing about but it does make sense perfectly as melodic message rather than literal. It’s exactly the same feeling that you feel when you listen to ‘Touched’ by My Bloody Valentine.

You can download their S/T album for free :

Darker My Love – Darker My Love (album) [.zip]

Darker My Love – Summer Is Here (Video)

Reviewed by Rekti

I was first introduced to this band by accident through my friend in a local indie music magazine. He’s one weird fellas who plays in a free jazz band. He often pissed other people in the office by playing commonly unfavorable music like Captain Beefheart, which was pretty fine by me since I have an affection to slightly similar Mark E. Smith’s The Fall (whom inspired by Beefheart). His musical taste does always catch my attention. Once he played me an obscure recording of a Indonesian woman singer from Dutch Colonial years, who was apparently accompanied by Kecapi. That eerie sound of her voice and noise from the vinyl (this one I heard was converted to mp3) kept in my mind and to this day I keep asking him where he stored the file since I never found the location of the mp3, and so does my weird friend. It probably lost or deleted, who knows.

Anyway, when he played The Shaggs in the office hour, everyone started to complained about their obscurity and band’s lack musicianship. What they were complaining about were all true. Hacked-at drumbeats, whacked-around chords, chords being played on out-of-tune-pawn-shop-quality guitars, etc, etc. In short word, they’re junk. The only reasonable reason to play this sort of music is, if you’re kinder garden kids or mentally challenging person. But then, do we need these kind of reason when it comes to sincerity? Beside, sincerity only comes from kids and mentally challenged people these days. In fact there’s an innocence to The Shaggs and their performances that’s both charming and unsettling. And that’s what matter most.

The Shaggs were formed by Dot, Betty, and Helen in 1968 on the insistence of their father, Austin Wiggin, who believed that his mother foresaw the band’s rise to stardom. The band’s only studio album, Philosophy of the World, was released in 1969. The album failed to garner attention, though the band continued to exist as a locally popular live act. The Shaggs disbanded in 1975 after the death of Austin.

Musically, The Shaggs seem to have a idiosyncratic approach to melody, harmony, and rhythm. The songs use highly irregular verse structures, which are emphasized by the melodic structures, which typically accord one note per syllable: the guitar accompaniment attempts to reproduce this pattern as well. Most of the Shaggs material is made up of eighth- and quarter-notes.

Posthumously, the band gained notoriety and praise for their unconventional style, lack of musical talent, and lyrical honesty after Frank Zappa named Philosophy of the World one of his favorite records. The late Lester Bangs even described the importance of The Shaggs by stating Better Than The Beatles in one of his article.

It’s clear that so many bands now days, owes a big bow to this largely underrated band. Even Helen, drummer, had to suffer from depression for the relative success her father once insisted. But still so many people out there thinks The Shaggs are the worst musical disaster. They couldn’t understand The Shaggs, nor even tried to.

The Shaggs – Philosophy Of The World [.mp3]