Paces Lift & Ben Bounce

Paces Lift & Ben Bounce | Tropikoro | 3hive.com

Digging from vinyl bins all around the globe the beat making dynamic duo of Paces Lift & Ben Bounce go deep into the vast world of psych and tropical grooves on their sophomore release Tropikoro. Give the standout tracks “Telephone”, “The Marketplace” and “The Great Phantasmo” a spin below for a taste of Tropikoro’s radness.

Tropikoro is available now on vinyl (recommended) and digitally via Wax Thématique and Paces Lift & Ben Bounce’s Bandcamp page. Enjoy.

Billy & Dolly

Billy & Dolly | Five Suns | 3hive.com

Billy & Dolly | Five Suns | 3hive.com

Billy & Dolly’s new album Five Suns arrived in my inbox some time ago. I hadn’t heard of them and almost passed the release up, but their label name, Shit Krystal, peaked my interest enough to give it a spin and I am so glad that I did. Turns out these two are THE Bill and Dahlia from the early to mid 00’s band The Monolith, who I love!

Five Suns, their third release under the Billy & Dolly moniker is a solid slab of 12 distorted, grimy, indie-pop nuggets with just enough heavy (like Black Sabbath heavy) guitar parts to keep things interesting. Check out “Setting Sun” and “Marooned” below for a sampling. Five Suns is available digitally and on vinyl or cassette via Billy & Dolly’s Bandcamp page. Enjoy.

Corey Flood

Corey Flood | Wish You Hadn't | 3hive.com

Corey Flood’s debut EP, Wish You Hadn’t is a dark, brooding and quite addicting indie-pop meets post-punk effort. Clocking in at just under 12 minutes Wish You Hadn’t ends way too soon – there should be like 8 more songs – I want more Corey Flood! Hopefully there will be more to come.

I couldn’t choose a song to highlight because they are all so good. Please enjoy the entire EP stream below.

Wish You Hadn’t is available digitally and on cassette via Fire Talk records.

Salad Boys

Salad Boys | This Is Glue | 3hive.com

New Zealand’s Salad Boys have returned with their newest long player This is Glue. Like previous Salad Boys’ releases, This Is Glue blurs the lines between in-your-face rock and roll and laid-back jangle-pop. Give opening tracks “Blown Up” and “Hatred” (below) a spin to see what I mean.

This Is Glue is out now and available from Trouble In Mind Records. Enjoy.

Droopies

Droopies | Responsible People | 3hive.com

Droopies | Responsible People | 3hive.com

Philadelphia 3-piece, Droopies, are the definition of the term power-trio. Their sophomore release Responsible People is packed with in-your-face hooks as they bounce between shoegazey punk rock and jangly psych-pop, with one common denominator: fuzz and lots of it. These guys get pretty big sound for there just being three of them.

Responsible People is out now digitally via Droopies Bandcamp page and on a limited cassette release through Funny / Not Funny Records. Give “Gone Wrong” (below) a spin, then go get your hands on a copy of this bad boy. Enjoy.

Khruangbin

Khruangbin | Con Todo El Mundo | 3hive.com

Khruangbin | Con Todo El Mundo | 3hive.com

Houston, Texas trio Khruangbin (for the phonetically challenged like me, it’s pronounced KRUNG-BIN) came together from a common love of ’60s, ’70s and ’80s Thai funk and soul music (you can listen to their “Essential Thai Funk Mixtape” here). Their new album Con Todo El Mundo is a smoking hot, groove-filled slab of funk, psych and soul. Give “Maria También” a spin below for a sample – you will not be sorry. Con Todo El Mundo is out now via Dead Oceans and I can not recommend it enough. Enjoy.

The Prefab Messiahs

The Prefab Messiahs | Psychsploitation | 3hive.com

Massachusetts’ Prefab Messiahs are back with Psychsploitation, a new slab of psyched-out, fuzz-pop goodness. This time only taking 2+ years from their last release, Keep Your Stupid Dreams Alive compared to the 32 years between KYSDA and their first album, Flex Your Mind.

Psychsploitaion’s 10 tracks are politically charged and crammed full of all the reverb, fuzz and jangle you can handle. Give my favorite tracks “Having a Rave Up” and the appropriate album closer “Last Day on Earth” a spin below for a taste.

Psychsploitaion is available now on CD via Lolipop Records and on Cassette through Burger Records. Enjoy.

Sufis

Sufis | After Hours | 3hive.com

Sufis | After Hours | 3hive.com

Brooklyn (by way of Nashville) duo Sufis are back with the third LP, After Hours, out today (Jan 12) via Burger Records. It’s a groove-filled (seriously, this sucker is groovy as hell), psych-pop romp that’s been on repeat since it landed in my inbox. I highly recommend you spend some quality time with this album.

Give standout tracks “Till I Get Home” and “All Knowing (71)” (below) a spin to sample their goodness. Enjoy.

Favorite Releases of 2017 (Sam’s List)

Better late than never – my auditory loves of 2017, in rough order…

Thundercat Drunk (Brainfeeder)
Intoxicating, weird, vulnerable, and soooooo damn funky. My Album of the Year if I had to pick one.

Slowdive Slowdive (Dead Oceans)
The comeback album of our collective dreams.

Trementina 810 (Burger)
If this hadn’t been The Year of Slowdive’s Triumphant Return, I’d like to think this gorgeous offering of dreamy shoegaze from Chile’s Trementina would’ve been the talk of the town.

The xx I See You (Young Turks)
Now that producer Jamie Smith, aka Jamie xx, is getting his due as the driving force behind The xx juggernaut, I might be able to stop raving about him. But why stop now?

Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings Soul of a Woman (Daptone)
What a force. What a voice. What a loss.

Big Thief Capacity (Saddle Creek)
This album has quietly slipped on to a bunch of Best of 2017 lists because it is just that: a quiet album of incredible strength.

Grandaddy Last Place (30th Century Records)
“Even still the rockers are…”

Mountain Goats Goths (Merge)
A wonderfully engaging concept/tribute album – whether you are, were, or have ever loved a goth.

Boris Dear (Sargent House)
Rumored to be a farewell letter to their fans, it’s a welcome return to the nuanced take on sludge/drone/doom metal that first lured me in almost 20 years ago.

Fazerdaze Morningside (Flying Nun)
Nearly perfect bedroom pop.

Moses Sumney Aromanticism (Jagjaguwar)
All the feels.

Molly Burch Please Be Mine (Captured Tracks)
A sparse, timeless album that allows nothing to interfere with the purity of Molly’s hypnotic voice.

Doug Tuttle Peace Potato (Trouble in Mind)
Hypnotic psych pop with enough ragged edges to keep you awake.

Homeboy Sandman Veins (Stones Throw)
Based on record sales in the “>3hive Co-op Shop, not everyone agrees – but I think he’s one of the best, most versatile MCs around.

Waxahatchee Out in the Storm (Merge)
Katie Crutchfield finds her sound and voice amidst the rubble of a failed relationship.

Honorable mentions: Iron & Wine Beast Epic [buy vinyl], Protomartyr Relatives in Descent, LCD Soundsystem american dream [buy vinyl], Destroyer ken [buy vinyl], Open Mike Eagle Brick Body Kids Still Daydream, The Courtneys II [buy vinyl], King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard Murder of the Universe [buy vinyl], Jonwayne Rap Album Two, Priests Nothing Feels Natural, Robyn Hitchcock Robyn Hitchcock [buy vinyl]

Favorite Releases of 2017 (Todd’s List)

Here are my favorite albums/EPs from 2017, in no particular order…

Monster Rally Flowering Jungle (Gold Robot)

Spotting Spotting EP (self-released/Aarght)

The Rebel Set 4 Song EP (Hidden Volume)

Ty Segall Ty Segall (Drag City)

Molly Burch Please Be Mine (Captured Tracks)

Doug Tuttle Peace Potato (Trouble In Mind)

David Bowie No Plan EP (Columbia)

FRONDS Cold Across My Skin (Gold Robot)

Jake Xerxes Fussell What In The Natural World (Paradise of Bachelors)

Lilith Apology Plant (Disposable America)

Tall Friend Safely Nobody’s (Exploding In Sound)

Oh Sees Orc (Castle Face)

Bedouine Bedouine (Spacebomb)

UV-TV Glass (Deranged)

Destroyer ken (Merge)

Mountain States Whispers (Coaster)

Kevin Morby City Music (Dead Oceans)

Otoboke Beaver Love Is Short! (Damnably)

Century Palm Meet You (Deranged)

Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings Soul of a Woman (Daptone)
RIP

Slowdive Slowdive (Dead Oceans)

Open Mike Eagle Brick Body Kids Still Daydream (Mello Music)

Milo Who Told You To Think??!!?!?!?! (self-released)

Michael Nau Some Twist (Suicide Squeeze)

Thundercat Drunk (Brainfeeder)

Jack Cooper Sandgrown (Trouble In Mind)

Waxahatchee Out In The Storm (Merge)

OCS Memory of A Cut Off Head (Castle Face)

Once And Future Band Once And Future Band (Castle Face)

The Safes Tasty Waves (Hidden Volume)