***”‘I don’t wanna be part of the network!’ sings ERIC ‘SIR LORD VON RAVEN’ JOHNSON on his sophomore album, The Age of Machines. The eponymous track (a bona-fide rock n’ roll luddite anthem) echoes an anti-tech sentiment present in much of his work to date. His band, which uses the abbreviation SLVR, has a minimal online presence (no Facebook, Twitter or Instagram) and he’s even resisted getting a cellphone to this day. By avoiding such modern distractions, the venerable Lord Raven has had ample time to craft on of the most authentic and exciting rock n’ roll records you’re likely to hear this year—or any other... The Age of Machines offers four sides of soulful psych rock, effervescent boogie and heartbreakingly beautiful oldies-inspired rock n’ roll that never lets up....”—Andy Human, Oakland, 2015. (STREET DATE - 2/17/2015)
2XLP $25.65
02/17/2015
***“The rock 'n' roll rave-ups and in-the-red rawness of the SIR LORD VON RAVENS’ new Please Throw Me Back in the Ocean tap into a whole 'nother brand: screw-it-all naughty snotty. ‘Maybe I'll jump in the river /Maybe I'll cut out my liver ... I'm tryin' /I keep on tryin',’ sneers frontman ERIC VON RAVENSON, once of the TIME FLYS, on ‘I Keep on Tryin'.’ Recorded by indispensable organ and guitar pinch-hitter GREG ASHLEY, with producer JAY BRONZINI on drums, Please Throw Me slices the cheesiness thickly, with a sense of cut-and-run fun. It's throwback—hence a cover version of Fats Domino's ‘I'm Ready’—but not necessarily throwaway. I like a band unafraid to pay tribute to its true, unlovely loves, but I prefer originals like ‘Take It or Leave It,’ ‘Spit on Your Grave,’ and ‘PC Action,’ the latter two of which intentionally subvert the garage rock, allowing glitter to seep in.”—Kimberly Chun (SF Bay Guardian)
CD $12.00
05/05/2009
LP+CD $17.00
05/05/2009
MP3 $9.90
05/05/2009