Mojo Brothers - Don't Lie To Me/Marie Ann (7”)

Garage brudders debut 7” - OUT NOW!

Currently taking pride of place on my turntable is this stomping 7” from Mojo Brothers, a two-piece garage band outta Germany. While a claim to be the world's smallest garage band may be disputed by The White Stripes, The Black Keys, Cowbell et al, they may well be the loudest! And unlike The White Stripes they can truthfully claim to be siblings. In your face Jack White!

Raucous fuzzy soul is the order of the day on the single's A-side, all pounding beats, snarly guitar and the pair's trademark harmony vocals. Imagine if the Everly Brothers had been punk rockers and you get the idea. Flipside 'Marie Ann' taps into a more '50s rock 'n' roll vibe complete with mid-song guitar wig-out.

So how do they manage live as a two piece? Well the drums and organ sound all come from Roman's keyboard. Neat huh! Anyways check out the video for 'Don't Lie To Me' below and head over to their lablel website to order a copy of the vinyl. Rock on!

Mojo Brothers are -

Roman (Drums, Bass, Organ, Vocals)

Matthias (Guitar, Vocals)

Click here for Off Label Records.

MOJO BROTHERS - Don't lie to me from MOJO BROTHERS on Vimeo.

Us and Them - Fading Within The Dwindling Sun (10")

Swedish duo's tribute to Sandy Denny!

This coloured 10” vinyl is out now on Fruits de Mer Records. It's a five-track tribute to Sandy Denny featuring three Denny-penned tracks and two more songs she made her own. Anyone doubting that Us and Them can due justice to the music of Sandy Denny need only check out the 7” they released a couple of years back which contained a sterling cover of 'By The Time It Gets Dark'.

As we approach the solstice, the sun is dwindling it does indeed get dark early. I can't think of a better soundtrack for to accompany the midwinter stillness. My advice – avoid the High Street madness, do your shoppong online (from Fruits de Mer reputable mail order service), find a quiet spot and let this music take its effect. It's a perfect piece of wintry folk, and another jewel in the Fruits de Mer catalogue. Just right for those moments of quiet reflection, when you take stock of the preceeding year and charge your batteries for the next 12 months. Have a great solstice everyone.

TRACKLISTING

Winter Winds

Farewell, Farewell

Next Time Around

Banks Of The Nile

Take Away The Load

Click here for more on Us and Them.
Click here for Us and Them on Facebook.

Click here for Fruits de Mer Records.

The Karovas Milkshake - In The Shade Of The Purple Sun

(This review first appeared in issue 53 of Shindig! magazine)

In their home city of Yekaterinburg, east of the Ural Mountains, The Karovas Milkshake have concocted an aural love letter to '60s UK psychedelia that should appeal to fans of the original genre as well as those of its recent torchbearers (The Bees, The Coral, Temples et al.)

Standout track 'Purple Sun Of Glastonbury' is a seven and a half minute sitar-driven freakout which conjures images of rituals, standing stones and the dark spirit of Brian Jones, complete with a searing backwards guitar section.

Light relief comes via the Austin Powers-y pastiche of 'Zombie Wok' and the jaunty continental pop of 'Cryptique'. There's also room for some Bolan-ish folksy warble (Apple Pie) and Barrett-fronted jug band blues (Sugary Life).

It's all executed with a playfulness that raises it a notch above most time travelling psych-pop. Yekaterinburg may not share a ley line with Glastonbury but on this evidence you'd believe it could.

Click here for The Karovas Milkshake website. 

Click here for The Karovas Milkshake on Twitter. 

Click here for The Karovas Milkshake Facebook.  

Click here for The Karovas Milkshake Bandcamp.

Bananas Magazine - Issue #14

Latest issue of the coolest zine around! Garage, punk and psych inky available from all good stores & distros!

I think we can all agree that 2016 has been a heinous beast of a year. Brexit, Trump, all those deaths and the murder of a forward-thinking, kind-hearted MP. A seismic year, the effects of which have yet to truly affect us. Where the hell do we go from here?! It's a point well made by editor Christophe in his column of the latest issue of Bananas Magazine. What we do need to do is pick ourselves up, dust ourselves down and continue to stand up and fight for what we believe in. As a musical community, (especially one as uniquely small yet global, as the garage scene is), is to keep the "citizen of the world" ethos alive, despite what Theresa May and nativist politicians the world over want to do. Hey, maybe here's not the place for politics but I just wanted to get that off my chest and try and remain positive.

Anyhow, one bright spot at the tail end of the year is issue #14 of the best garage 'zine around, a timely reminder that there are still good people, good events and great bands. If Ian Dury was around today it would be one of his reasons to be cheerful. Packed as usual with interviews, reviews, awesome illustrations that'll have even the most rural dwellers hip to the scene. Grab a copy from your local store or distro, or via the mag's website. And also check out their latest online comp, (see embedded player below). A soundtrack for your New Year's Eve party. Here's to 2017, stay strong brothers and sisters!

http://bananas-magazine.com/