Nope, it's not Ride, it's the Ropers!

The Ropers were one of the many Shoegaze/Dream Pop bands to come out of the early 90s, but unlike My Bloody Valentine and Ride (a band they clearly borrow a great deal from), these lads came out of Baltimore. Doug Bailey and Mike Hammel were the key drivers behind the group, and were students at the University of Maryland when the short lived British Shoegaze movement roared across college campuses. They put out a few records and then called it quits, and here is a free download to one of their better songs.

("I don't mind")

Space Hip-Hop from Steve Spacek

Steve Spacek cut his teeth releasing records with his London based band Spacek, but he eventually packed his bags and headed to LA and put out one of the best records of 2005. “Space Shift” was arguably an r&b/Hip-Hop record, but its freaked out and disjointed approach placed it just outside popular radio's grasp. It was championed by folks like Mos Def and Shafiq Husayn, and crossed over into more than one musical community. A truly awesome record, and here are two tracks to prove it.


("Dollar" - fet. Jay Dilla)


("Slave"

Chris Isaak - Baja Sessions

Everyone knows the Chris Isaak hit from the 90s titled Wicked Game. A beautiful, sun-drenched song that played well to a David Lynch film, and featured the beautiful and seductive Helena Christensen. But Isaak has had plenty of great records that unfortunately did not earn the respect they deserved. His Baja Sessions was one of those records that deserved more attention than it earned in its day. Recorded on tour and in-between sets, this collection of songs best encapsulates the surf-heavy focus of Isaak's music, and presents some of his best work that deserve your attention today. Allmusic has this to say about the record:

"Returning to the calmer but still potent romantic angst and celebration familiar from his earlier records, Isaak and his core band, with new recruit Hershel Yatovitz on lead guitar, tackle a slew of cover songs, some re-recordings of older material and a few new songs as well. It's a much more relaxed outing in comparison to his previous work, by no means raw or rough, though -- Erik Jacobsen, Isaak's producer from start to end, or so it seems, keeps the focused, sweet sadness of Isaak's singing and music as pure as one could ever want it. The emphasis is on mostly acoustic performances with soft drumming from Johnson, usually with brushes. The calm, gentle flow of the band's work here means the new versions of older Isaak cuts like "Back On Your Side" and "Two Hearts" sound especially lovely, having a serene, relaxed sparkle to them.

Pretty Girls Don't Cry


Back on Your Side

Castle Oldchair becomes Japatucky

It is always good to hear from folks involved with the music we post here. We had a post focusing on Castle Oldchair some time ago, and we were blessed with info about the frontman's current projects. He has apparently been playing with the Indiana group known as Japatucky, and we have some of there music bellow as well as places you can download it for yourself.

Thursday

Sinforiano Diaz and some pretty acoustic music

Sinforiano Diaz is a solo project from Thomas Diaz and is reminiscent of the layered acoustic sounds I grew accustomed to while living in Connecticut. I guess this record was never officially released, but has had legs in the internet realm since its recording three years ago. Mixed Vegetablez has a copy of the record to download for free.

Congregation


Theme from the Tracks

Algernon Cadwallader will Twinkly that shit up

A friend turned me onto these kids out of Philly, and who are just about to drop a brand new record and go out on an epic tour across the US and A. I will be checking them out in San Francisco, and you should see them when they come to a town near you. For anyone who likes Cap’n Jazz inspired bands and late 90s Emo, these guys are for you. I hear they put on a great show, and while you will be able to pick up copies of their newest record (Parrot Flies) at their shows, they were kind enough to make it available free to download.

Pitfall


Springing Leaks

Wish Key - Orient Express

Summer has started around these parts, but since a good chunk of us out here are unemployed/underemployed there may not be a whole lot to celebrate. Good thing the internet exists to give us free tunes to bob our heads too.

Wish Key were an Italo Disco group fronted by Massimo Berti. I don’t know much about them, but I found one of their records in the 50 cents bin at the local record shop a week or so ago, and it was well worth the price.

Storm the Gates Riff Rawk Cassette

Ethan Miller from Howlin Rain and Comets on Fire is one of my favorite rock guitarists and front men. The first time I saw Comets on Fire at a house show in Santa Cruz in early 2003 it changed my life. I still consider it the greatest rock show I have ever attended, and the fact that it was shared by a meager 50 folks for over 3 hours didn't hurt. The psychedelic-hardcore Comets on Fire pioneered is still some of the most sonically awesome music I have ever heard, and something tells me if you picked up their recent records on Sub Pop, you would agree.

Now that I am finished gushing, Ethan has a music blog on Blogpost as well. He posts outtakes and live shows from his various bands, but has also taken to posting mix tapes and compilations of Riff Rawk that should be heard by all music aficionados. He recently posted a Galactic Zoo Dossier cassette club tape that contains “explosive rock.” He has it free to download at his blog, and I have a sample of what you can expect from this awesome compilation below.

(Stack Waddy - With One Leap Dan Was By Her Side, _Muriel_ He Breathed)


(Smile - Blag)

Swimmers Ear

I loved Tina Kaffeyah's EP that they put out last year, but it appears the band has gone on a hiatus. Sam from the group has started another band called Swimmers Ear, and they have a free cassette to download. Driving, rocking shit that should be enjoyed by anyone who likes music.

Download the cassette here.
01 Bags! Bags! Bags! Help Me! by Swimmers Ear

Boxcutter - "The Dissolve"

From the new Boxcutter record, "The Dissolve." Planet Mu has this to say about it:

"Barry Lynn has already dropped a couple of albums that looked at dubstep from fresh angles before everyone else started to do the same. This time around, on "The Dissolve", things are different, and he’s taken off in a direction that leaves dubstep behind entirely.

The title is a reference to a common video art effect, where one image gradually transitions to another. The album has an unpolished hue to it, created with keyboards, drum machine, echo and tape and sometimes even electric guitar. It sits in a world of its own, but with a stronger affinity to things like Theo Parrish's productions or hypnagogic pop than the latest fashionable electronics created on the newest software - the devil is in the details with this album, it’s rich in twists and turns."

Gets my thumbs-up.